A friend in the Ukraine sent me this:
"First, Russia is becoming almost fascist, it is not even funny. The pronouncements their officials make about Ukraine and Georgia that I hear on direct TV are really bad - cocky, arrogant, intolerant, and self-confident. It is amazing (very similar to the U.S. when it comes to the M.E.). There is so much anti-Ukrainian propaganda in Russia, not even funny. Some of my relativies live in Russia and the media they consume is all anti-Ukrainian. We can tell with mom as we call - they say all kinds of disgusting things about Caucusus and Ukrain, and use racial slures and militaristic statements (and they always say: "we've watched on TV here that...". But I don't blame them if this is the kind of media they get, no? It is just scary, Russia is getting more and more nationalistic in the dangerous sense. I wish I could express this: but it is more evident as I hear Russian officials speak in Russian - I know what it means their tone and the words they choose to use. Second, Ukrainian government is fucked up. A bunch of idiots just as before. They think that Europe and U.S. care about some Ukraine, Georgia, or Ossetia, or Abhaziya. Idiots. Or maybe they know, they just feed people with false info. Coverage of the "crisis" here is more or less "balanced". Some report Russia's atrocities. Some report that Ukraine was selling weapons to Georgia and supporting Georgia. Also I have watched a couple of interviews from Ossetya and Abhaziya. But I would say that it is more favorable to Georgia still.. Apperantly, Ukr. president and Georgian president are in godmother/gotfather relationship for their kids. Also, Timoshenko (Ulia, the queen of Orange REvolution, remember?) has said absolutely nothing ever since the crisis: the rumor she has been promised a lot of funds from Russia next year in presidential elections, so she keep low. You are right about falty depictions of Georgia's "democracy". They all forgot that this winter there were a sort of Revolution of Roses II against the current Georgian president and he tried to suppress opposition. As'ad, it is typical politics, big stakes, misrepresentation, little countries, big countries, typical bullshit. I am sick and tired of the coverage everywhere, U.S., Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, everywhere. Media makes me sick more and more - it is just not helping in understanding problems, it is a bad source of info, even if many media outlets kind of go with the flow, not intentionally misrepresent, but it is all rotten, that is the info they give us. WE will never know the truth. Third, Russia and Ukraine share the black sea, and Russia puts its ships in Ukrainian ports in the Crimea. After the "crisis" Ukraine asked for ships to fill out customs cards as Russian ships enter Ukrainian ports. Russian foreign affairs minister made a sarcastic statement like "what the f..", like, "what, Ukraine lost all the fear? they tell us what to do? that has to be corrected.." I could not believe my ears when I heard how confidently he could do it. You know, there is no hint of diplomacy in Russian foreign policy at all, so cocky, not even funny. It is different from U.S. You know, U.S. always masks everyhthing in the rosy story about democracy, rights, freedom, good, evil, all that bullshit. Russia's foreign policy is just like "we fuck the whole world. screw you. we do what we want. and we will tell you what to do." : ) In terms of NATO: people really do not think about it much (on the mass level) here in Ukraine. People are angry with all the attention and aid and $$$ Ukr sends to Georgia because we had big ass floods in Western Ukraine were whole towns are without houses right now and they send aid to Georgia. Stupid idiots. We have super inflation and the dollar exchange rate is really high - this is what people think about, not about NATO or Georgia. But the "Rus-Georgia crisis" is a good pretext for politicians to politely brush aside the real problems. It's like in spring when we had a typical dollar exchange rate crisis and people were loosing a lot of money, the president Yuschenko and all the others suddenly started talking about Ukr. famine of 1930s and making it a big deal, national holiday, historical studies, and bullshit like that on all the channels. Yeah, that politicians can do - change the subject, right? Finally, I am very uncertain about Russia. But I simply do not trust U.S. and NATO, you are kidding me, Ukraine is a puppet, it is a friend today, a foe yesterday. None of this can be trusted, As'ad, why do some people trust this "alliance" bullshit? You know, I was watching a biographical program about ex-president Leonid Kuchma, and he was talking about his foreign policy in 2001-2. Apparently, in 2001 Ukraine was accused of delivering big ass warhead or some tubes for weapons to Iraq, so in an interview Kuchma was saying how he was unofficially banned from all international summits after the accusations by the U.S. (who else has influence, right?) Anyways, then accusations cleared out: they figured that Iraq was basically surrounded 24/7 by U.S. planes prior to 2001 war and no way anyone could deliver any containers to Iraq with massive tubes or warheads under the U.S.'s nose. But this is the point, today Ukraine is a friend of U.S., tomorrow not. I want to scream so bad not to have people believe any of this bullshit about U.S. making the "little beautiful " Ukraine the point of its presidential campaign and a headline. Oh, do they also say there in the U.S. that Ukraine is a great democracy?"