November 2004

Scott Clark in Kiev has this to say about the dynamics of the revolution: “So will Yanukovych be sworn in today? I suspect he will be. There is an authority vacuum out there right now which is being filled more and more by Yuschenko standing at the head of the multitudes on the street. Kuchma…

Just to revisit a past post on the Ukrainian perhaps-revolution, I think I ought to make myself a little clearer. What I meant by a “slow rot” as the government’s legitimacy or authority is eroded doesn’t exclude dramatic change. What I meant was a distinction between a coup de theatre (or indeed coup d’etat), for…

The Kos links to an Ohio newspaper article concerning the coming recount there. No orange jackets though…

Well, whatever was about to happen clearly didn’t. Yushchenko called for a general strike and the occupation of public buildings after the results were announced. It’s unlikely that anything dramatic will happen today as the EU-Russia summit takes place. In other news, reports of local administrations rejecting the government, demonstrators digging in, etc. are steadily…

Reuters, BBC reporting that the CEC has declared a Yanukovich win. Whatever is going to happen, is probably about to happen now.

The crisis is now picking up with impressive speed. The Central Elections Commission was due to announce the final results at 1400GMT but they haven’t produced yet. Russian-soldier rumours are increasingly frequent and credible, as are rumours that a run-off election will be held. A heavily-reported story that a military crackdown, either Ukrainian, Russian (false-flag),…

Over in the Ukraine, they’re a-demonstrating still over the bizarre results of the presidential election. (99% results for the president, 100%+ turnouts..) With the presidency surrounded by a huge crowd clad in orange, what happens next? Some voices in the last few days have suggested that the crowds lack momentum, and that the regime will…

The Periscope is reporting (excellently) on the Ukrainian situation, and has stated that Russian special forces (Spetsnaz) are actually in Ukraine. If true this is of course a critical fact of the highest order. I wonder though if a 1968 solution is really possible? The reports speak of Spetsnaz in Ukrainian uniform and (seemingly) integrated…

A Norwegian has built a full-motion flight simulator in his living room. A website is here, with videos. It’s all in Norwegian (as well as in hardware).

Be afraid. Be very afraid. Go on. Apparently the security services have foiled a “9/11 attack” on London. The Daily Mail, the Sun, and ITN News all say so. They have all apparently run with a story sourced to a nameless “senior authoritative source” who claims that the training of “suicide pilots” was interrupted, ostensibly…