It's kinda funny watching Western powers raging on Russia as a "threat to democracy" while they trample old ladies and freeze people's bank accounts -- of their own population, no less.
I've never been to Ukraine, but it doesn't seem like a unified or even a real country, it should be divided at least between Russian east and Euro west, it feels right.
Hi Tom, most of Ukraine's coal, iron, ore and factories are in the east! Before the US ochestrated Maidan Revolution, Ukraine was OK as a nation. Now, its western part is crippled. All the Ukrainian prostitutes spreading across western Europe is one sad indication of this.--Linh
Hi Linh. But isn't that an older phenomenon? When I was in Prague 20 years ago, I think all the streetwalkers were either Polish or Ukrainian.
Incidentally, this whole Covid thing hasn't been very good for whores, has it. Are they required to request "vaxx passes" to screw now? I saw the ad of a whore guaranteeing that she was "triple-vaccinated". No, not against syphilis, against Covid. LOL.
If the situation in the US deteriorates even further in the next decades, we might see them doing that. But I don't think they will go all the way to Prague to prostitute themselves. :( :/ Sad world. Cheers.
Your description of Ukraine reminds me of Andre Vltchek's Indonesia.
We live in Moscow and my husband's crazed Ukrainian relatives sent our family a joyful meme about the Ukrainian military shooting their "Russian brothers" .
Thanks for reposting this. I remember reading it the first time. Very interesting and very sad.
Considering how much better things have been going in Crimea for much of the local population, it is perhaps not outside the realm of possibility to consider that Russian suzerainty/sovereignty might dramatically improve the overall prosperity and wellbeing of the general population.
Linh, did you talk with any pro Russian Ukrainians when you were there? If so, do you think they would prefer an independent nation aligned with Russia like Belarus or to be absorbed into Russia at this point?
My favorite part of this debacle du jour is how the US State Department condemned Russia for dictating terms to a sovereign nation. Very short list of nations we don't dictate terms to often successfully
Hi Al, the mood in Kiev was so intensely jingoistic and anti-Russian, a pro Russian person would not have aired his views in public, and I was only in public places during my one-week stay.
A curious phenomenon was the presence of Vietnamese in Ukraine. They were particularly numerous in Kharkiv, which I didn't get to. I did meet a Vietnamese woman in Kiev, and on the bus back to Poland, there was kid of about 17 or 18, so roughly military age, who was almost certainly Vietnamese. Since he was headed to Poland, it means he had gotten out. (Many native Ukrainians had also gotten out.) Since it was stupid enough for native Ukrainians to be drafted into the army to fight Russians, it was doubly so for Vietnamese. Most of the Vietnamese in Ukraine had gotten there when it was still a part of the Soviet Union.
Speaking of getting out, there were many Russians in Vietnam before Covid. With its sun, beaches and great food, including Russian food, these Russians were very comfortable. In Nha Trang, many shops had signs in Russian. In Busan, South Korea, there is also a Russian expat community.
Thank you Tom. I've seen some of those videos and they are surreal. It's indicative of what's happening at the highest levels of society when ground level reaches those conditions. It's heartbreaking, spooky and fascinating in a sad way.
I'd actually like to. I ended up in a V.A. psych ward due to an undiagnosed tick born Babesia and then the homeless shelter in Marion, IN. For a county seat in a small Midwestern city, its desolation was spooky. I did pass James Deans birthplace. They keep it nice.
Hi Linh, thank you for these reflections. I'm from Northwestern Indiana and have passed through and around Gary and other increasingly hollowed out places around this region, spent a little time around Kabul and generally seek the ruined fringes of our world so your writing hits home. Thank you.
Hi Troy, next time you're near Philadelphia, give Camden a visit, preferably on foot. It's even scarier than Gary. It's hard to believe both cities were once industrial powerhouses. Whitman's house and grave are in Camden. Hardly anyone visits them.--Linh
Philadelphia looks pretty bad right now. There is this guy doing these videos of the streets and it's really spooky. Trash, drugged people, lots of homeless. Most "Third world" cities look way better than this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLzbQMaXr5M
Thank you, Linh. I'm glad you braved the discomfort of a long bus ride and no doubt other dioscomforts to give us an idea of what Ukraine looks like today. From a multitude of small facts, you have painted a bleak picture of yet another society that has fallen victim to American interference. One of those little facts that has stuck with me is that of those people standing in subway stations, silent with their heads bowed - an image of helpless despair.
A peculiar feature of the American empire is that, unlike most past empires, it does not recognize any fiduciary responsibility to the people it seeks to dominate. It did so on a modest scale with respect to the Filipinos (after first killing tens of thousands of them), but in all other parts of the world with which it interfered, it created only exploitative and disruptive relationships. Even in the letters of a Roman governor like Pliny the Younger, one finds more sense of some constructive responsibility than in the utterances of Victoria Nuland.
It's kinda funny watching Western powers raging on Russia as a "threat to democracy" while they trample old ladies and freeze people's bank accounts -- of their own population, no less.
I've never been to Ukraine, but it doesn't seem like a unified or even a real country, it should be divided at least between Russian east and Euro west, it feels right.
Hi Tom, most of Ukraine's coal, iron, ore and factories are in the east! Before the US ochestrated Maidan Revolution, Ukraine was OK as a nation. Now, its western part is crippled. All the Ukrainian prostitutes spreading across western Europe is one sad indication of this.--Linh
Hi Linh. But isn't that an older phenomenon? When I was in Prague 20 years ago, I think all the streetwalkers were either Polish or Ukrainian.
Incidentally, this whole Covid thing hasn't been very good for whores, has it. Are they required to request "vaxx passes" to screw now? I saw the ad of a whore guaranteeing that she was "triple-vaccinated". No, not against syphilis, against Covid. LOL.
Hi Tom, Ukrainian women are among the most beautiful on earth... --Linh
Hi Tom, you mean all those slim, gorgeous blondes in Prague weren't Wisconsin coeds on Spring Break?--Linh
If the situation in the US deteriorates even further in the next decades, we might see them doing that. But I don't think they will go all the way to Prague to prostitute themselves. :( :/ Sad world. Cheers.
Your description of Ukraine reminds me of Andre Vltchek's Indonesia.
We live in Moscow and my husband's crazed Ukrainian relatives sent our family a joyful meme about the Ukrainian military shooting their "Russian brothers" .
Thanks for reposting this. I remember reading it the first time. Very interesting and very sad.
Considering how much better things have been going in Crimea for much of the local population, it is perhaps not outside the realm of possibility to consider that Russian suzerainty/sovereignty might dramatically improve the overall prosperity and wellbeing of the general population.
Linh, did you talk with any pro Russian Ukrainians when you were there? If so, do you think they would prefer an independent nation aligned with Russia like Belarus or to be absorbed into Russia at this point?
My favorite part of this debacle du jour is how the US State Department condemned Russia for dictating terms to a sovereign nation. Very short list of nations we don't dictate terms to often successfully
Here's a photo I took on 2/9/16 in Kiev. It's of a cute little girl asking, "DADDY, WILL YOU PROTECT ME?" http://linhdinhphotos.blogspot.com/2022/02/taken-in-kiev-on-2916.html
Hi Al, the mood in Kiev was so intensely jingoistic and anti-Russian, a pro Russian person would not have aired his views in public, and I was only in public places during my one-week stay.
A curious phenomenon was the presence of Vietnamese in Ukraine. They were particularly numerous in Kharkiv, which I didn't get to. I did meet a Vietnamese woman in Kiev, and on the bus back to Poland, there was kid of about 17 or 18, so roughly military age, who was almost certainly Vietnamese. Since he was headed to Poland, it means he had gotten out. (Many native Ukrainians had also gotten out.) Since it was stupid enough for native Ukrainians to be drafted into the army to fight Russians, it was doubly so for Vietnamese. Most of the Vietnamese in Ukraine had gotten there when it was still a part of the Soviet Union.
Speaking of getting out, there were many Russians in Vietnam before Covid. With its sun, beaches and great food, including Russian food, these Russians were very comfortable. In Nha Trang, many shops had signs in Russian. In Busan, South Korea, there is also a Russian expat community.
Thailand before the Covid hoax was also awash in Russians especially major beach locations like Pattaya and Phuket.
This dude can write!
Thank you Tom. I've seen some of those videos and they are surreal. It's indicative of what's happening at the highest levels of society when ground level reaches those conditions. It's heartbreaking, spooky and fascinating in a sad way.
I'd actually like to. I ended up in a V.A. psych ward due to an undiagnosed tick born Babesia and then the homeless shelter in Marion, IN. For a county seat in a small Midwestern city, its desolation was spooky. I did pass James Deans birthplace. They keep it nice.
Hi Linh, thank you for these reflections. I'm from Northwestern Indiana and have passed through and around Gary and other increasingly hollowed out places around this region, spent a little time around Kabul and generally seek the ruined fringes of our world so your writing hits home. Thank you.
This life is quite a Space Ghetto sometimes.
Hi Troy, next time you're near Philadelphia, give Camden a visit, preferably on foot. It's even scarier than Gary. It's hard to believe both cities were once industrial powerhouses. Whitman's house and grave are in Camden. Hardly anyone visits them.--Linh
My kids want to go to aquirium in Camden. I'd rather take them to the one in Donetsk. It's safer.
Philadelphia looks pretty bad right now. There is this guy doing these videos of the streets and it's really spooky. Trash, drugged people, lots of homeless. Most "Third world" cities look way better than this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLzbQMaXr5M
Hi Tom, here's a photo taken in Philly on 7/25/15: https://linhdinhphotos.blogspot.com/2015/07/jesse-james-on-7-25-15-kensington.html
Thank you, Linh. I'm glad you braved the discomfort of a long bus ride and no doubt other dioscomforts to give us an idea of what Ukraine looks like today. From a multitude of small facts, you have painted a bleak picture of yet another society that has fallen victim to American interference. One of those little facts that has stuck with me is that of those people standing in subway stations, silent with their heads bowed - an image of helpless despair.
A peculiar feature of the American empire is that, unlike most past empires, it does not recognize any fiduciary responsibility to the people it seeks to dominate. It did so on a modest scale with respect to the Filipinos (after first killing tens of thousands of them), but in all other parts of the world with which it interfered, it created only exploitative and disruptive relationships. Even in the letters of a Roman governor like Pliny the Younger, one finds more sense of some constructive responsibility than in the utterances of Victoria Nuland.