She had the good idea to fill in the previous week by excerpting some her e-mails (something I was doing in the first couple weeks post-(U.S.)election as well). So I'm sure she won't mind if I post this e-mail she sent me last week:
Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 04:00:29 +0300
From: Ina
To: Me
Subject: Re: NYTimes.com Article: Premier Victor in Ukraine Vote; Abuses Are Seen
Hi,
Yeah, it is an amazing time to be here, especially for my friends --
they are enjoying it, it is really like watching history happen
firsthand! We were at Independence Square in the crowd of people that
the NYT has pictures of a bunch of times -- although it's pretty cold
out there, so we weren't out there non-stop like some people.
It's late here (3am) and it's pretty intense -- the people at the
presidential administration are standing face to face with thousands
of militia...the pictures on TV are pretty crazy. Apparently at 10am
tomorrow Yuschenko is supposed to try to take over... I don't know if
we'll head down there, since it could really get ugly... Hopefully
everything will be resolved peacefully.
Well, I'm off to bed -- I'll try to send more updates! Have a good
trip to TX!!
love,
ina
Ina also sent me a couple more Ukraine-related blogs: narod.blogspot.com, written by a friend of hers who's also in Kiev on a Fulbright; and another one that was e-mailed to her, orangerevolution.blogspot.com.
Also, I was pleasantly surprised to get a comment to my previous post, and (apparently) from someone that I had blogged--TulipGirl. Go here for the comment.
I buried the Guardian's Special Report:Ukraine link at the bottom of the previous post. Thought I'd bring it to the fore, plus highlight this very brief but decent interactive guide: A brief history of Ukraine
Also buried in the previous post was this essay. Wanted to emphasize it again, since it provides the kind of "larger historical and political perspective" that I'm seeking to blog (and that applies not only to this particular essay, but to the entire OpenDemocracy site):
How Ukrainians became citizens
Alexander Motyl
25 - 11 - 2004
The massive popular protest against Ukraine’s fraudulent election is a pivotal moment in the country’s – and Europe’s – history, says Alexander Motyl.
Haven't yet followed through on the good intention to start contributing some $ to an OpenDemocracy subscription. But I think I will. It's essential we support media outlets like this. As they write here, "It’s in our name: openDemocracy.net is dedicated to opening up a democratic space - free thinking for the world."
Speaking of supporting good media, our first issue of The Nation arrived over the weekend. After subscribing in that post-election mania (specifically, while writing this post), I had some 2nd thoughts: was I just descending further into the lefty echo chamber? But those regrets are gone after reading through the Table of Contents: columns by Jonathan Schell, Alexander Cockburn and George Lakoff (all of whom I'd been planning blog entries on), and a surprisingly great Books and Arts section: an essay about Romare Bearden by Arthur Danto, with an accompanying interview with Branford Marsalis; and a review of two books about Orwell.
Once I actually read these, I'll have to do separate post.
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