Re: some thoughts. vol. 2.

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: : OK. I'll try to keep it simple. : : 1. Say you live in the USA and make $6 an hour. You go to the BMW dealersip and try to get : : a car that costs $60,000. Is there any possible way that you will be able to keep up : : with payments? I don't think so. The current oil/gas situation is even worse. : : It's like you went to this dealership already having a debt that is more than your yearly : : income. So, if you will get the car, consider that you have it for free. : : What makes the matters even worse is that you can probably survive if the car gets : : repossesed by the dealership - you can walk or get a used car. Russia closes gas/oil : : pipe tomorrow, this will be it for the striving Ukrainian economy. : This BMW story is very interesting, but what does it all have to do with your previous statement that "Ukraine gets Russian gas and oil for free"? Please, enough of fables, give us the SOURCE of that information. If you can't, simply say so, no need for sad stories. : : 2. Considering prohibitions to sell production to Russia. Kravchuk's government demanded : : every plant that sold what was identified as "strategic materials" to Russia to : : have their trading agreements with russian plants double checked by the government : : bureaucrats. As a result - freight trains with production were stopped at the border : : and ordered to go back. I personally know about that as I learned this "the hard way". : : Most metals were identified as "strategic materials". The ban was lifted later, : : however the production was severely reduced and lot of russian plants have already : : found substitute suppliers. : You make it sound as if Ukrainian plants were sabotaged by Kravchuk, while Russian plants "found other suppliers" and are prospering. We all know that this is simply not true. Go to Russia and look at those plants. You will find old, outdated, and rusting equipment with no people around. So much for your "bad Kravchuk" theory. : : 3. Ukraine does not have serious fleet, planes are not properly maintained (I believe, : : some of them were given back to Russia as a payment towards the gas/oil debt), : : needless to say, no new weapons are being developed due to a lack of money. : : Nuclear weapons were given back to Russia. Ukraine is defenseless. : Yes, sure, and Russian Army is in a prime state. That's why they can't overcome a tiny bunch of Chechen separatists for the last ten month. I also know a few things about those "nuclear weapons" that you mention. Practically all of them in Russia are now long past the scheduled service period. Ten years more, and Russia will not have any nuclear weapons to speak about. What else did you expect if Russia can't even pay their silos' energy bills? So who is defenseless? : : 4. Don't want to get into "separatist tendencies" discussion : : (or rather "back to russia" tendencies) as it is too complicated. : : Maybe later. From my personal experience however - it was extremely difficult to get : : tickets to Egor Letov (Grazhdanskaja Oborona) concert in Kiev last year. He calls : : himself "soviet nationalist". He is very popular among young working people in Ukraine. : : Somebody already wrote here about Chornovil having tomatoes thrown at him in Crimea. : : Just a food for thought. : I see more speculation and no serious facts here. VV is also very popular "among young working people in Ukraine". I would say much more popular than some "Grazhdanskaja Oborona". : : I am not saying any of this is good. Just being realistic. Problems have to be identified : : before they can be dealt with. Just sitting and thinking "everything is gonna be OK" or : : "hey, we are not THE WORST" or calling anybody who doesn't agree with what is going on : : a "russian nationalist" does not solve anything. : Well, if you try to prove to us that "we are the worst", or "we are much worse than Russia", then what else do you expect? People will simply show you some well-known facts proving the opposite. No need to blame them for that. : : : : : 5. Again, being a source of cheap labor force : : is a "trampoline" that young economies use to get some competetive advantage : : on the market. Ukraine has everything it needs to attract foreign investors - : : a lot of well-educated people eager to find a decent job, plants looking to : : change the profile of their production, relatively stable political situation : : (much more stable then in Russia, for example). If, for example, BMW rebuilds : : the Kommunar Plant (ZAZ) and starts building some cars there, they will be able : : to sell them much cheaper then if the cars were assembled in Germany. : : They will also give workers a higher salary compared to what they are making right now. : : Both sides win. : : Huge problem that prevents all this from happening is the bureaucracy and corruption. : : From Yanko's and Andrew's responses it sounds like they would rather prefer to close the : : plant down than let somebody use it. : You must have misunderstood me in this case. : Sincerely, : Andrew

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