The Games People Play: One Year After the Rise of the Maidan Movement in Ukraine

It is one year since mass protests erupted in Maidan Square in central Kiev and in other cities in the west of Ukraine. The protest movement was ostensibly aimed against "corruption," (1) but its central demand was to forge economic and political ties with the leading capitalist countries of Europe. The "Euromaidan" movement came to be dominated by right-wing nationalism and led to the overthrow of the elected president of the country in late February 2014. The author of the following article recently joined the editorial team of Ukraine's web journal Liva.com.ua. The website includes a section of articles translated to English.

Congratulations, my dear compatriots! You have an absolute and unquestionable victory - the victory of foolishness, cruelty, hatred and ignorance over common sense.

Could you have expected just a year ago, as people arrived with their coffees at Kiev's central square to join the movement proudly called "Euromaidan," how things would turn out? Could you expect that we would lose Crimea, thousands of our compatriots would die in war and children of Eastern Ukraine would hide in basements (2) instead of starting the school year on September 1, with traditional bunches of flowers in hand? Did you think at that time that you would fear to read the news because of the constant reports of death and destruction? Did you guess that instead of the promised average salary of 1,000 euros for each of you, you would get an unprecedented currency inflation (now at 20 hryvnia per USD) and a Cossack, M. Gavrylyuk, as your future MP? (3)

I know: The intentions of the majority might be sincere and the purest. You wanted to depose the president-oligarch Yanukovych, become a part of the West, overcome corruption and gain new ideals. But did you think that, in reality, you were taking the easy road? The development of society is not a Hollywood blockbuster. Oligarchy and corruption are not monsters from hell that can simply be killed off, and then peace and good order will reign. System changes cannot be achieved by deposing some bad officials and destroying some cities. It is also impossible to impose a new ideology by force or by destroying the monuments of older ideology.

Complete story at - The Games People Play: One Year After the Rise of the Maidan Movement in Ukraine

EuroMaidan - One Year Later. A Trip Down Delusion Lane...

EuroMaidan – one year later.

The one year anniversary of the start of EuroMaidan is upon us, so I thought it would be an interesting exercise to go back and see if some of those who strongly supported it last winter was still standing behind it, or if they have moderated or changed their views to any great extent. Of course by necessity, this will be a rather limited sampling because I don't have insider access or any kind of access to a lot of the so-called movers and shakers behind this event. So here are the methods when analyzing the Euro delusions madness.

My Methodology: - Or just skip ahead to the delusions!

1) I will be analyzing public posts from Facebook. Some of these posts have been made by people who I have "friended." Some are by people I have not “friended.” There are not any "Johnny-come-lately's" in this group. They must have been supporters of EuroMaidan since the very beginning. Indeed, some were very vocal in their support and indeed supported it with money or organizing events or allowing their extensive mailing lists to be used. These posts I show below were all made by individuals; none were made by media or the US Embassy in Kiev. The posters name and image has been blurred out; likewise so has the name and image of commenters, when posted.

2) I limited my selections to Facebook posts made within the last 30 days. I wanted to make sure I didn't go back two or three months for posts that might not necessarily reflect a person’s current views.

3) the posts I will be analyzing all made by the English-speaking ex-pat community, many of whom are in Kiev. In Ukraine, Kiev is the most elite of cities; and the English-speaking ex-pat community are in many ways among the elite of Kiev. Although they by no means fall into the category of oligarchs by the local meaning of the word, I wouldn't be surprised if at least a couple of these posters rank in the most elite 5% of the country.

4) I believe it's quite safe to say that the local ex-pat community considers the wishes of the average Ukrainian just about as much as they consider the wishes of the average slum-dweller in Calcutta. Not to be overly cynical of course, but some probably thought about what was best for their business interests over what was best for Ukraine and its people.

5) the list doesn't necessarily reflect the 12th worst to the worst. Some of the delusions ranked quite equally.

So, let the delusions begin!

The top 12 Euro delusions of the last 30 days.

12. Here's a fun one. Makes it feel like you're back in the seventh grade! Ahhh, the memories…

Notice too how it states authoritatively “Putin’s motorcade after the inauguration 2012.” Maybe that’s true… or maybe not. That’s what’s so great about the internet. You can take any picture and claim it to be just about anything you want it to be.



11. J’Accuse those that support Russia? We will all be judged by history! True, and Russia supporters we will be judged as correct. Makes you want to shake in your boots.



10. Hey, what good is a revolution if you can't make a few bucks off of it. Am I right? State that you stand behind dysfunctional government, corruption, and war crimes! Get your own Ukrainian patriot email address!



9. The next delusion concerns Russia’s objectives. Did you know that their objective is the destruction of the EU? Neither did I. It seems that the EU is doing a super job destroying themselves. They really don't need Russia's help.



8. This delusion is obviously a transference of guilt. Ukraine has a long record of voters receiving bribes in exchange for their vote. I wouldn't be surprised if this graphic originally had a Ukrainian flag on it.



7. Here is a Halloween themed delusion. It seems if Ukraine doesn't treat Russia to more of its land and people, Putin’s army will trick it out of them. Huh? That doesn't even make sense. But then he goes on to quote Dmitri Tymchuk, who has a track record of not making sense. So maybe that does make sense? For more about Dmitri Tymchuk, see this article... How Full of Shit Would You Have To Be, To Be More Full of Shit than Dmitry Tymchuk?

6. Here's a delusion that's totally assed backwards. Everything that they claim to be wrong with Russia is actually what's wrong with the countries of the West. Russian culture enables Vladimir Putin's global aggression? A more realistic headline would be American culture (or lack of it) enables Obama's global aggression.



5. Indeed. We will screw the Russians if and only if he ever get finished screwing ourselves. Slava Ukraina!



4. Oh, it’s a photoshopped picture that puts Medvedev, Putin and Strelkov on trial at Nuremburg. Photoshop, is there nothing you can't do?



3. Oh goody! A commemoration of EuroMaidan on it's one year anniversary! Will there be a parade of Nazis? Don't forget to BYO tires to burn!

And get a load of the description. It seems that EuroMaidan led to "freedom in Ukraine after the horrible and ongoing sacrifices." Anyone who's been paying attention would understand that the horrible and ongoing sacrifices are just beginning. But hey, all you so-called "people with dignity," come out and commemorate this historical event! Although if you really do have dignity you'd be a whole lot wiser to stay home.

Note that this is an event organized by foreigners in Ukraine. There is a larger event going on the evening of November 21st.

UPDATE: The number of listed attendees is up to 279.



2. Supporting Russia is supporting crimes against humanity? Say it ain't so! Well if those pictures are the worst examples they can come up with, I'd have to say Ukraine and its supporters have a much worse record. And I'll say that IS so!

Besides, these photos were not taken in Russia. They were taken in Novorussia. Novorussia, Russia. What's the difference? Both contain the letters r-u-s-s-i-a. So, no difference, by the average Ukrainian thinking...



1. When you write an article like this, you always hope that somebody steps up big with a delusion that stands well above the rest. And thankfully, somebody stepped up and took on that challenge in a big way!

Our number one euro delusion winner is feeling guilty that he cannot be a part of the "ATO." (Anti-Terrorist Operation) To which I have to ask, "why?" If two teenage girls from Austria can figure out how to join ISIS, it would seem to me that someone who has his own mini business empire could figure out how to join the ATO. There are any number of foreigners who have already joined the fight, either on the Ukrainian side or on the Donbass side. So it's not that it can't be done; it's that the author hasn't put much effort to stand behind what he claims to believe in.

But hey, I'm sure that pretending to be all gung-ho about the ATO does not hurt his business interests in Kiev in the least.



Thanks for taking this trip down Delusion Lane. Hopefully you're living somewhere more attached to reality. Until next time!

Baghdad Burning - Ten Years On...

NoBC4U Note: This is from a woman in Baghdad who blogged events during the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. I thought her final blog post most poignant, on the 10th anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. I already see parallels between Iraq and Libya. And Syria. And Ukraine. And I'm sure that a lot of the things she writes about here will be discussed again on the 10th anniversary of all of these US-led disasters.

It's even more poignant because Iraq is back in the news again, for all the wrong reasons. 

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

Ten Years On...

April 9, 2013 marks ten years since the fall of Baghdad. Ten years since the invasion. Since the lives of millions of Iraqis changed forever. It’s difficult to believe. It feels like only yesterday I was sharing day to day activities with the world. I feel obliged today to put my thoughts down on the blog once again, probably for the last time.

In 2003, we were counting our lives in days and weeks. Would we make it to next month? Would we make it through the summer? Some of us did and many of us didn't.

Back in 2003, one year seemed like a lifetime ahead. The idiots said, “Things will improve immediately.” The optimists were giving our occupiers a year, or two… The realists said, “Things won’t improve for at least five years.” And the pessimists? The pessimists said, “It will take ten years. It will take a decade.”

Looking back at the last ten years, what have our occupiers and their Iraqi governments given us in ten years? What have our puppets achieved in this last decade? What have we learned?

We learned a lot.

We learned that while life is not fair, death is even less fair- it takes the good people. Even in death you can be unlucky. Lucky ones die a ‘normal’ death… A familiar death of cancer, or a heart-attack, or stroke. Unlucky ones have to be collected in bits and pieces. Their families trying to bury what can be salvaged and scraped off of streets that have seen so much blood, it is a wonder they are not red.

We learned that you can be floating on a sea of oil, but your people can be destitute. Your city can be an open sewer; your women and children can be eating out of trash dumps and begging for money in foreign lands.

We learned that justice does not prevail in this day and age. Innocent people are persecuted and executed daily. Some of them in courts, some of them in streets, and some of them in the private torture chambers.

We are learning that corruption is the way to go. You want a passport issued? Pay someone. You want a document ratified? Pay someone. You want someone dead? Pay someone.

We learned that it’s not that difficult to make billions disappear.

We are learning that those amenities we took for granted before 2003, you know- the luxuries – electricity, clean water from faucets, walkable streets, safe schools – those are for deserving populations. Those are for people who don’t allow occupiers into their country.

We’re learning that the biggest fans of the occupation (you know who you are, you traitors) eventually leave abroad. And where do they go? The USA, most likely, with the UK a close second. If I were an American, I’d be outraged. After spending so much money and so many lives, I’d expect the minor Chalabis and Malikis and Hashimis of Iraq to, well, stay in Iraq. Invest in their country. I’d stand in passport control and ask them, “Weren’t you happy when we invaded your country? Weren’t you happy we liberated you? Go back. Go back to the country you’re so happy with because now, you’re free!”

We’re learning that militias aren’t particular about who they kill. The easiest thing in the world would be to say that Shia militias kill Sunnis and Sunni militias kill Shia, but that’s not the way it works. That’s too simple.

We’re learning that the leaders don’t make history. Populations don’t make history. Historians don’t write history. News networks do. The Foxes, and CNNs, and BBCs, and Jazeeras of the world make history. They twist and turn things to fit their own private agendas.

We’re learning that the masks are off. No one is ashamed of the hypocrisy anymore. You can be against one country (like Iran), but empowering them somewhere else (like in Iraq). You can claim to be against religious extremism (like in Afghanistan), but promoting religious extremism somewhere else (like in Iraq and Egypt and Syria).

Those who didn’t know it in 2003 are learning (much too late) that an occupation is not the portal to freedom and democracy. The occupiers do not have your best interests at heart.

We are learning that ignorance is the death of civilized societies and that everyone thinks their particular form of fanaticism is acceptable.

We are learning how easy it is to manipulate populations with their own prejudices and that politics and religion never mix, even if a super-power says they should mix.

But it wasn’t all a bad education…

We learned that you sometimes receive kindness  when you least expect it. We learned that people often step outside of the stereotypes we build for them and surprise us. We learned and continue to learn that there is strength in numbers and that Iraqis are not easy to oppress. It is a matter of time…

And then there are things we'd like to learn...

Ahmed Chalabi, Iyad Allawi, Ibrahim Jaafari, Tarek Al Hashemi and the rest of the vultures, where are they now? Have they crawled back under their rocks in countries like the USA, the UK, etc.? Where will Maliki be in a year or two? Will he return to Iran or take the millions he made off of killing Iraqis and then seek asylum in some European country? Far away from the angry Iraqi masses…

What about George Bush, Condi, Wolfowitz, and Powell? Will they ever be held accountable for the devastation and the death they wrought in Iraq? Saddam was held accountable for 300,000 Iraqis... Surely someone should be held accountable for the million or so?

Finally, after all is said and done, we shouldn't forget what this was about - making America safer... And are you safer Americans? If you are, why is it that we hear more and more about attacks on your embassies and diplomats? Why is it that you are constantly warned to not go to this country or that one? Is it better now, ten years down the line? Do you feel safer, with hundreds of thousands of Iraqis out of the way (granted half of them were women and children, but children grow up, right?)?

And what happened to Riverbend and my family? I eventually moved from Syria. I moved before the heavy fighting, before it got ugly. That’s how fortunate I was. I moved to another country nearby, stayed almost a year, and then made another move to a third Arab country with the hope that, this time, it’ll stick until… Until when? Even the pessimists aren’t sure anymore. When will things improve? When will be able to live normally? How long will it take?

For those of you who are disappointed reality has reared its ugly head again, go to Fox News, I'm sure they have a reportage that will soothe your conscience.

For those of you who have been asking about me and wondering how I have been doing, I thank you. "Lo khuliyet, qulibet..." Which means "If the world were empty of good people, it would end." I only need to check my emails to know it won't be ending any time soon.

Riverbend Blogger at Baghdad Burning

Complete story at - Baghdad Burning