UKRAINE

Very encouraging. As a first generation Ukrainian-American, I'm glad to see my people getting it together and throwing off the yoke of Russian domination.

You know those types of Irish-Americans who've never been within a thousand miles of county Cork but then get soused and rant about those "damn English!"? Occasionally, that's me with the Russians. Get a few vodkas in me and watch out. Of course, several moments afterward I will defiantly lay claim to Tolstoy and Chekhov as part of my culture n' heritage.

Putin's sure not to be happy about the Ukrainian Supreme Court's demonstration of independance. Maybe President Bush can look inside Putin's soul again and tell us exactly what he sees now?

Here's some poetry by Ukrainian national hero Taras Shevchenko. As you can probably surmise from Shevchenko's writing, we're a generally bummed out people. This poem, in particular, could be put to music and serve as the Ukrainian national anthem. Can you blame us? It's been a damn rough couple centuries. Let's put it this way: For the Ukrainians, the Nazi occupation was a brief respite.