Nadezhda Korotkaya, 77, a widow who lives alone in her small wooden house on the edge of Stary Vyshkov, still remembers the World War II. "The Germans came and went," she said. "But Chernobyl came here to stay." It was 25 years ago today that reactor number four at the Chernobyl power plant exploded, following an emergency shutdown (
detailed recounting of the disaster on Wikipedia).
A memorial was held in Kiev, Ukraine, this morning for the
liquidators who were the first human responders, with
a bell struck at the exact moment of the Chernobyl explosion on April 26, 1986. See also: a look back,
with The Big Picture.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Apr 26, 2011 -
23 comments
Newsfilter: Russian Government (by market control of
Gazprom company) reduces flow of natural gas to
Ukraine. According to a
NYT article "Russia is now asking for $220 to $230 per 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas, up from $50 now" ending soviet-era years of subsidized price. Yet Russia is still
subsidizing other countries (selectively applying free market ?) while
Pravda blames Ukraine politicians rhetoric. Pay or not paying,
Gazprom accuses Ukraine of tapping into some of the gaslines (apparently
80% of Russian
gas export pass trough pipes in Ukraine). Europe doesn't like not having is gas shipped as Ukraine agreed to the
Energy Charter Treaty.
Why should we care ? Shock waves in free market have global effects, meaning you'remore likely to pay energy more...and it's winter.
posted by elpapacito
on Jan 1, 2006 -
42 comments
Following up on a
previous discussion of the goings-on in Ukraine, it's now a CNN front-page story:
Viktor Yushchenko was, in fact, poisoned with dioxin.
"There is no doubt about the fact that Mr. Yushchenko's disease has been caused by a case of poisoning by dioxin," Zimpfer said. "What we can say at this point is that this concentration constitutes an amount which is 1,000 times above the normal levels that you would find in blood or tissue... We have made a final diagnosis as well as an additional diagnosis, that we suspect a cause triggered by a third party. So there is suspicion of third party involvement... We can state that there has been an oral intake," he said, adding that it was not known if it was from eating or drinking.
I am currently smoothing the crinkles out of my tin-foil hat in preparation for its constant use throughout the rest of my life. (Or do you think it works better if it's crinkled?)
posted by logovisual
on Dec 11, 2004 -
28 comments
The Orange Revolution --
A coup is taking place
right now in the streets of several Ukrainian cities. Following the "election" of Viktor Yanukovych, an election that
everyone from the Ukrainian man-on-the-street to
EU observers and
the US and
Canada say was marred by serious and obvious fraud, Ukrainians are turning out by the
hundreds of thousands to
show their support for the opposition candidate, the pro-West reformer
Viktor Yushchenko.
Individual cities and
municipalities, not to mention heads of
Ukrainian religious groups, have even announced that they will refuse to recognize Yanukovych as the Prime Minster.
The problem is, Yanukovych is supported by the Kremlin. Russia's state-run TV stations had been broadcasting propaganda on his behalf, they
called the election on his behalf before the polls were closed, and their increasingly despotic President Putin even congratulated him on his "win", before
backtracking slightly. And now reports are
trickling out--from
former American congressmen communicating via Blackberry, no less--about
Russian soldiers being flown across the border into Ukraine,
dressed in Ukrainian militia garb, and
set among the protestors. Phones have been cut across much of the country, including at the embassies. A semi-covert Russian-backed military push against the pro-democracy protestors is feared. Will this be another peaceful
Rose Revolution, as happened in Georgia one year ago today, or more like
Hungary, 1956? Stay tuned to
the Ukrainian bloggers and
webcams; this could
get messy.
posted by Asparagirl
on Nov 23, 2004 -
147 comments
