tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156163748782234674.post8468546948810252590..comments2023-11-05T02:36:54.798-05:00Comments on Jamestown Foundation Blog: What is President Yushchenko Doing?Jamestown Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12021168990196781078noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156163748782234674.post-82182311214110910502009-10-02T04:23:19.776-04:002009-10-02T04:23:19.776-04:00In 1995, Kuchma traded the world's third-large...In 1995, Kuchma traded the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal for a few billion dollars worth of an IMF standby program.<br /><br />Far from helping Ukraine reform its economy and government, the money helped Kuchma retain his grip on power and carry out a program of grabitization.<br /><br />Thanks to this program, plants and factories built with slave and semi-slave Soviet labor became the property of a handful of oligarch cartels. They keep these assets as energy-inefficient and obsolete as possible -- as long as they can turn a profit by having the lowest paid workforce in Europe.<br /><br />They rule my country. There's no law in my country. My country is rapidly depopulating. <br /><br />Now let me supply you with a few Dominique Strauss-Kahn quotes from the Kyiv Post article <i><a href="http://kyivpost.com/business/49514" rel="nofollow">IMF says Ukraine needs reform, not just money</a></i>:<br /><br /><i>Loans can be useful to solve problems immediately, but the root of the problem lies within the country. <br /><br />No matter how many loans you get you may not solve these problems. Instead, you may increase the indebtness of the country, and thus end up in a worse situation than you started.<br /><br />The IMF works as a doctor not a policeman.</i><br /><br />As a drug dealer, I'd say. Because that's exactly what happens when the IMF money goes into something else other than reform.<br /><br />In Ukraine, it's happened before and it's happening now.Tarashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18139892487573795049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156163748782234674.post-8842016600559803152009-09-28T07:55:17.818-04:002009-09-28T07:55:17.818-04:00Taras.can you please provide some details of how t...Taras.can you please provide some details of how the IMF screwed you out of money aqn d how this money went to Ukrainian oligarchs? Richard HayesJamestown Foundationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12021168990196781078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156163748782234674.post-90508797617751024172009-09-25T15:11:18.690-04:002009-09-25T15:11:18.690-04:00As much as I hate Yushchenko for all the lost oppo...As much as I hate Yushchenko for all the lost opportunities, I fully share his stance on the IMF.<br /><br />To get elected Tymoshenko will beg, borrow and deal. The IMF is a good deal for her and a bad deal for me. Why? Because Tymoshenko pours the IMF money into a handful of oligarch banks and bills me for it.<br /><br />The IMF's not-so-invisible hand in Ukraine hurts ordinary Ukrainians like me and helps Tymoshenko-friendly oligarchs. It fills their pockets with my hard-earned money. <br /><br />To buy an 8G iPod Nano, <a href="http://www.ubs.com/1/ShowMedia/wealthmanagement/wealth_management_research/prices_earnings?contentId=170298&name=PreiseLoehne_2009_e.pdf" rel="nofollow">an average Kyivite should work for 82 hours while an average New Yorker should only work for 9 hours</a>.<br /><br />In the 90s, the IMF helped Kuchma turn Ukraine into a poor toothless kleptocracy. In the 2008-2009 comeback, the IMF is helping the oligarchs spread Ukrainians' “wealth” around. <br /><br />That's not what I stood for during the Orange Revolution. Dear IMF, please get out of my pocket!Tarashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18139892487573795049noreply@blogger.com