Archive for December, 2011

A LETTER FROM MASHA KAMENETSKAYA, ONE OF MANY
PROTESTERS IN ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA, LAST SATURDAY

When you feel that you have done the right thing in the right place

This is a letter from Masha Kamenetskaya, a young journalist and writer from St. Petersburg, Russia. She is describing her participation in the evening after the 10 December protest for fair elections in the city on the Neva.

SATURDAY 10 DECEMBER 2011: Finally I am home -- after a good and such a... real day. Even a romantic one, in some sense, when you feel that you have done the right thing in the right place.

I spent the day with my friends and loved ones -- who would have thought that a meeting of protest can be such a great occasion to see friends and to catch up with them? And I spent the day with the people living in the same city as I do. The people who smiled and who cared.

The day started with snow (in which some people saw the symbolic connection with the symbolic “against the war” white ribbons and white flowers worn and carried by the meeting participants), continued with lunar eclipse (have you heard of it? it took place an hour before the meeting in question on Pionerskaya Square), reached its pinnacle in the square itself, and ended with me at the theatre.

You want to know about the meeting, of course. While we were walking there, I saw quite a few people, those who supported one of the peaceful ideas for the meeting and who carried white carnations; police women jumping out of their cars like snowflakes; old-aged people, accompanied by their grandchildren -- all headed there. And I saw hundreds and hundreds of others, too. .A helicopter was spinning above the Kazan cathedral. OMON [special security forces -- auth] trucks were "hidden" from view just around the corner. There were also internal-security military vehicles there, too, with, probably, lots of soldiers inside -- but over the course of the day, we never once saw any Army soldiers.

People were snapping photos on their way to the square and saying cheerfully into their phones: "So where are you? Where should we meet?" It seemed as though they were all going to a big party. 

Shop clerks and waiters from cafes nearby were looking out the windows and also -- smiling, curious about the goings-on.

At the square itself: flags of different political parties, a flag with the "31" on it [reference to the Edouard Limonov’s “Strategy-31” political initiative], a flag with Che Gevara’s portrait, a black and yellow flag of unknown origins, protest posters -- the surreal decoration of a huge New Year’s tree. The Griboedov statue looking down on us all. An advertisement billboard with Dmitry Khvorostovsky [popular opera performer -- auth] on the back of it. 

Line of the OMON policemen, less emotional still than the stone Griboedov. The meeting was a legal one [approved by the municipality – auth.], and so the OMON guys were all relaxed (by their standards), they were just directing the traffic, just watching and observing. And they actually were not an eyesore today. Some photographer trying to snap a shot of a picturesque, perfectly orotund OMON policeman. He would have none of it. "But why not? Where does it say I can't photograph you?" - the photographer asks plaintively. The policeman says nothing. This dialogue in itself already feels like a small victory, doesn’t it? For the both sides. 

Someone is shouting slogans. I can't see the face of the speaker. Someone has pinned to his a coat a large piece of paper with quotes from the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Someone is handing out flyers and advisory notes for the meeting’s participants. Several photographers are climbing up on the trees to catch the full view. Some young people with hand-held cameras are interviewing people -- "for their blogs," they claim. 

I am trying to find the rest of my friends – the phone connection is spotty. 

It's 3.30 pm, people continue to arrive from every direction. Even at this point there are more of them than the officially stated "seven thousand" attendees. More than ten thousand even (we measured the number by eye view – based on the size of the square and the approximate crowd density). The crowd feels smaller because no one is pushing or elbowing their way through. One French guy in our party says: "Not that many people. In France, in Paris, we have one million in the streets on such important occasions." So ok, maybe for us this is just a start.

There are some famous speakers at the gathering -- Artemiy Troitsky [well-known music critic – auth.], Lev Lurie [noted local historian – auth.], Victor Shenderovich [popular satirical writer – auth.]. I can see in the crowd others journalists, artists, writers. I can feel people all around me, but from my vantage point, I’m not experiencing the crowd in the negative, threatening sense of the word. 

They are singing up on the stage. It feels strange, but it makes sense, somehow. There are also some stupid, excessively aggressive slogans being shouted (such as "Poltavchenko - to Chechnya!" [Poltavchenko being the newly appointed governor of St. Petersburg – auth.], which previously had been declared "unwanted" in the social-networks discussions. There are also some idiots in the crowd who later on would ignite fire bombs, but their number is very small. 
We discuss issues related to today’s events, as well as our personal matters. But we all are keenly mindful of where we are. It's getting cold, and we start to regret we didn't bring hot tea. We go to the pizza parlor across the street. It's noisy and very crowded in there. The pizza-parlor bar seems to be pulling in its weekly haul in just one hour. For a split second I get the strange feeling I know everyone in here. It's nearly 5 pm. The “official” part is to start wrapping up shortly. Later I will find out there were provocateurs in the crowd, too, inciting people to "overthrow the government." They were promptly arrested, which doesn’t feel right, either. But their actions were stupid. Most people in the square don't want to overthrow anything, they just want fair elections.

And off to the theatre I go from there. 

The performance I watch allows the actors to interact with the audience. One of the actors, playing a clown of sorts, comes off stage to walk in-between the rows. "Who did you vote for?" - he asks random people in the audience. "Oh, you didn't vote? Then you voted for "EdRo!" [the United Russia, pro-Putin party – auth.] This is quite unimaginable – this fearlessness. They are acting, of course, but they also want to show they care about more than the mere acting. Then they proceed to drag onto stage a random audience member, for public’s entertainment. "Did you go to the Pionerskaya square?" -- they inquire of the man all of a sudden. "I forgot," -- he mumbles. "Oh, how about that, you forgot!" – the actors retort in saccharine voices. -- "I don't know where it is exactly," the man stammers. -- "Oh, indeed, it must be so difficult to find out!" -- they nod sarcastically. -- "Now, go away!"

I am pleased -- not because of the performance as such, but because these guys on the stage played fairly, openly. They have a voice and they know how to use it.

The only disappointment of the day was... I don't know if this makes any sense to you... the TV-show "ProjectorfParisHilton." [Number one-rated comedy talk show on Russian TV – auth.] It is a show with four guys sitting at the table and discussing the news of the week from the humorous perspective. Until now, I used to respect those four fellows, I thought them clever and funny. They could have handled themselves and the situation in the country with dignity this time also, even though they work for the government’s primary TV channel, Channel 1. They also play clowns of sorts, you know. I was waiting to hear what they had to say.

Well, and what did they do? They just MENTIONED the elections briefly, and then they moved on to discussing some soccer match, as though there was nothing else of importance happening in the country. It was both un-funny and insincere. I realize that they had been told to keep their mouths shut about the elections, and so on. But this was their opportunity to use their voices, as some other public people have done. It would have been better if they simply, literally had kept silent. They could have just refused to go on the air this week. But they chose to obey the command.

Yet still, in all, this was a good, inspiring, honest day. I heard from other people those same words, too: "I really enjoyed this day!" – a very atypical statement for the normally skeptical and withdrawn citizens of for St. Petersburg.

I was thinking of how to finish this letter. I was thinking of all those big themes of today: inspiration, changing the rules set by others, trying to combat fear. And this is what came to mind:

‘It's a pun!” the King added in an offended tone, and everybody laughed, `Let the jury consider their verdict,' the King said, for about the twentieth time that day. 
`No, no!' said the Queen. `Sentence first--verdict afterwards.' 
`Stuff and nonsense!' said Alice loudly. `The idea of having the sentence first!' 
`Hold your tongue!' said the Queen, turning purple. 
`I won't!' said Alice. 
`Off with her head!' the Queen shouted at the top of her voice. Nobody moved. 
`Who cares for you?' said Alice, (she had grown to her full size by this time.) `You're nothing but a pack of cards!' 

Which, do you think, are they key words here?

Worldwide revolts against
egocentric, greedy leaders
- but not in Lithuania

2011 has been the year when people around the world began to speak up. Leaders in many countries, be it in politics, finance or other areas, have this year been forced to realize that it no longer is possible to deceive their citizens. In some countries the protests have evolved into revolts, often bloody, in which state leaders have been forced to abandon their posts.

But people in Lithuania have not reacted like that, despite the fact that the downturn and tightening measures they have been exposed to probably have been the worst and toughest in Europe.

Here in this country the elderly people sit in their small, dark apartments and suffer themselves quietly through catastrophic difficult time after their already minimal pensions were drastically cut, while prices for heating, electricity and food continue to rise.

Nor do the young take to the streets to protest against the injustice they are exposed to. Instead, they pack their
suitcases and leave their home country. Many probably forever. 350 persons every day, I have been told.

“Before they realized what is going on and who was robbing them, the Lithuanian people got clubbed by PM Kubilius’ ambitious austerity policy and the younger ones started emigrating in catastrophic numbers, seeing no future in the country whose GDP was reduced (from a low post-Soviet level) by some 20% by the combination of the old nomenklatura rent-seeking policies and the global Great Recession. Lithuania is hollowing out, unfortunately,” wrote Dr. Val Samonis in an article here in VilNews last April, concluding that “the Greeks won, the Lithuanians lost!” See https://vilnews.com/?p=5117

“The Baltic states have discovered a new way to cut unemployment and cut budgets for social services: emigration. If enough people of working age are forced to leave to find work abroad, unemployment and social service budgets will both drop. This simple mathematics explains what the algebra of austerity-plan advocates are applauding today as the “New Baltic Miracle” for Greece, Spain, and Italy to emulate. The reality, however, is a model predicated on economic shrinkage as a result of wage cuts. In the case of Latvia, this was some 30 percent for Latvian public-sector employees (euphemized as “internal devaluation”). With a set of flat taxes on employment adding up to 59% in Latvia (while property taxes are only 1%), it would seem hard indeed to present this as a success story.”

This writes the professors Jeffrey Sommers, Arunas Juska and Michael Hudson in today’s VilNews, under the headline "The Baltic Tigers" False Prophets of Economic Austerity.” See http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28085

Contempt for leaders implies social revolution
Incompetence leads to loss of confidence in directing classes

Here is another interesting article, by T.R. Fehrenbach in San Antonio express-news:

A large part of the world is continuing to show restiveness and rebellion toward the groups that run society.

Not just to governments, to which Europeans have become rather cynically apathetic — but to the entire “expert” structure of modern societies. Governments can always be changed by bullets or ballots, but distrust of and contempt for the directing classes implies social revolution.

Historically, several things have brought this about. In 14th century France, the failure of the feudality to protect the kingdom against the English created a vast, bloody peasant uprising. Nations that lose wars usually repudiate their ruling bodies. And sometimes proof of sheer incompetence may bring down the leading classes, whether chosen by birth, economic or military power, or election. In fact, if ruling classes precipitate their downfall, it proves their incompetence.
Incompetence is often more a spur than oppression. From my war experience, I know that troops would rather serve a capable SOB than a popular, wishy-washy commander. (You can cuss the first; the second may make you dead.) Nothing can destroy an army faster than loss of confidence in its leaders, and that goes for nations.

Which brings us to the question: Today, whom do we trust?

Politicians? The polls, where taken, indicate otherwise, from Europe to America. After all, no president, premier, secretary of the treasury or finance minister, nor any chief economic adviser or council predicted the current mess — and in the aftermath, all show symptoms of the Japanese disease, which causes governments to either not know what to do, or knowing, lack the bowels to do it.

Bankers and financial bigwigs? Since 1908 most people love neither them nor their shills and Wall Street analysts, for the reasons listed above. They have shown, in crisis, that their primary instinct is to save their own asses. This of course spawns cowardice in “the markets.”

Media, including pundits and script-readers? These put forth myriad versions of reality, guided more by their stomach juices than rational perception of what happened and who did it. Politicization has killed much trust in media. People no longer believe what they read in the funny papers, if they read them at all.

Economists? See politicians and bankers, above. They are the last to grasp what's going down (or will go down), and this dismal crew can't agree on much in any case. (Let me say in fairness that modern economies are too complex to allow working models or money games. If economists went back to basic economic principles — read Adam Smith — and abjured pet theories and half-baked panaceas, they might be worth paying.)

Clergy? The mainline, or mainstream churches are so caught up in populist neo-paganism (that is, modern culture), that they provide little relief or comfort.

Can any leading class be trusted? Polls show that Americans trust the medical profession (nurses over doctors) first and the military second. OK. These professions are the most vital to society, whose first duty is to survive.

Only incompetents would want to harass the first and down-size the second.


Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Incompetence-leads-to-loss-of-confidence-in-1920816.php#ixzz1g19JohO1

U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Dalia Grybauskaitė fronted the OSCE conference in Vilnius this week.

By Mark Kurosky
mark.kurosky@gmail.com

This week The Republic of Lietuva has demonstrated its prestige and accomplishment being a contemporary world player and a voice for democracy taking center stage hosting the OCSE Ministerial Conference and the ESCO "Making Women's Voices Heard" convocation.  Lithuanian President, Dalia Grybauskaite, must be offered kudos for assuming a leadership helm in both of these world conferences.  Witnessing President, Dalia Grybauskaite, partner with and stand side by side US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, a woman undeniably known as the spouse of one of the most powerful men in the world in contemporary history, can only be a source of tremendous pride for Lithuanians worldwide.

During an address at the "Making Women's Voices Heard" event, and as quoted on the Lithuanian Presidential website, President Dalia Grybauskaite stated, "Any discrimination impairs the well-being of our societies. Gender gaps, glass ceilings and brick walls - an environment you navigate daily. Only through personal example and greater visibility we can attract everybody's attention to this problem and encourage combating it."  

The Lithuanian President further "urged participants of the discussion to be good examples in the fight against gender inequality by assuming more responsibility in decision making, showing personal initiative, efforts, and persistence. She underlined that only public and vocal messages about gender equality issues could encourage women to be more determined in the struggle for their rights".  The President praised Lithuania's efforts in the protection of women's rights and claimed Lithuania's example of such "good practice".

In stark contrast to the foregoing, and under the witness of the world's center stage spot light, one must then ask how President, Dalia Grybauskaite, the members of the Lietuva Seimas, and the contemporary, educated Lithuanian society at large, can not only tolerate, but actively promote openly stated discrimination toward gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered members of Lithuanian society.

A looming white elephant in the Lithuanian living room
It seems Lithuania's human rights agenda is both conditional and selective.  How ironic that President, Dalia Grybauskaite, takes a valiant position on one cause and yet ignores another as a looming white elephant in the Lithuanian living room.  In the greater scheme of things, is this not even hypocritical?  Yet, perhaps one cause only deflects the denied importance of another.  For anyone aware of the bigger picture of the state of affairs in contemporary Lietuva this is only a conundrum.  Although gender equality in itself is valid, in the wider scope of the premises of basic human values of the European Union, discrimination based on sexual preference or sexual identity is no less than intolerable.  Intolerable.  Within due time, and not soon enough, these affairs in Lithuania will be challenged by the governing bodies of the European Union.

And, with Lietuva in this week's world view as host to two high level conferences, and on the very day of her departure from Vilnius and arrival in Geneva, Switzerland, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, presented a landmark speech stating, "The US has publicly declared it will fight discrimination against gays and lesbians abroad by using foreign aid and diplomacy to encourage reform".

The irony of such a proclamation on the day of Hillary Clinton's departure from Lietuva can surely be no mistake.  Perhaps Lietuva should well hear this bell tolling loudly for her in Vilnius, in the Presidential Palace, and in The Seimas.  For Hillary Clinton to make such an unapologetic statement for this "other arena of human rights" at just such an optimal moment, and to covertly imply this as a personal message to Lietuva, could not have been have been any more profound than had Hillary Clinton made this speech prior to departing Lietuva.  Such a statement posed by Hillary Clinton inside Lietuva would have been a personal affront and smear to President Grybauskaite, and, obviously, Hillary Clinton thinks highly enough of the Lithuanian President to shield her from such pubic world disgrace.  But disgrace is still disgrace whether it be addressed at afar from Geneva or from the floor of the LitExpo or The Seimas.  

Lietuva's official governmental position on "selective human rights", and its mentality of discrimination based on sexual orientation and sexual identity may be embedded in contemporary Lietuva's longstanding tradition of Catholicism.  However, one can only wonder, were these common tenets upheld throughout Lietuva's long history as Europe's longstanding pagans?  Perhaps this is unlikely.  In indigenous North American cultures such as the Native Americans, homosexuals and cross-gender individuals are revered as shamans, healers, or seers.  I don't know about the pagan Lithuanians.  However, I do know, these are simply no longer contemporary world values for any evolving society irrespective of history or religion.  This is such a shame for Lietuva, for its democracy, and for its citizens.  Lietuva aspires to be so much and to play such important roles in contemporary society as we have witnessed this week.  Yet, Lietuva fails so miserably in basic human protections and human rights for all citizens.  Shame, shame, shame on my beloved Lietuva.          

Mark Kurosky
Prescott, Arizona, USA
mark.kurosky@gmail.com

Mark Kurosky
I am a 54 year old, gay male, a  Lithuanian American, second generation born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1957, and I now reside in Prescott, Arizona.  My grandparents immigrated from Lietuva in 1910, from Kacergine and from Miroslavas.  I grew up immersed in Lithuanian culture, I am fluent in the language, have traveled Lietuva, and have family still within the country.  My dream is to return to reside, work and thrive in Lietuva, however, for me most personally as a gay man, I feel that the atmosphere there would be unsafe, inhospitable, and uncomfortable.  And I find this to be a shame as I would love nothing more than to go home to my beloved motherland.