Agreed that a discussion about what's actually happening in the Ukraine would be a good idea - I've got a feeling we are being presented with a rather over-simplified picture in the media. The impression comes across to me that there are some pretty unpleasant people involved in this on both sides. The oligarch's who profited from the

Here's a thought-provoking articlem in today's Guardian which suggests it's a lpt more complicated than the way it's being presented.
Ukraine's postmodern coup d'etat

"Some protesters have been chanting nationalistic and secessionist songs from the anti-semitic years of the second world war.

"Nor are we watching a struggle between freedom and authoritarianism as is romantically alleged. Viktor Yushchenko, who claims to have won Sunday's election, served as prime minister under the outgoing president, Leonid Kuchma, and some of his backers are also linked to the brutal industrial clans who manipulated Ukraine's post-Soviet privatisation.

"On some issues Yushchenko may be a better potential president than Yanukovich, but to suggest he would provide a sea-change in Ukrainian politics and economic management is naive. Nor is there much evidence to imagine that, were he the incumbent president facing a severe challenge, he would not have tried to falsify the poll.

All revolutions seem to end up with the ordinary people who made them betrayed. That doesn't mean they aren't necessary.

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As for the question of people bringing in parallels with US elections - well, with the US administration taking a leading role in denouncing fraudulent election practice, that was pretty inevitable. And it's not just the Mudcat - in all the letter pages or discussion programmes, which I have seen in recent days, when the Ukraine was mentioned, this aspect has alwasy been raised. Perhaps the pot actually is blacker than the kettle, in this case, but...

Some of the indications of fraud which have been reported from the Ukraine elections have distinct parallels in what has been alleged in respect of US elections - including the case where more people were reported to have voted in one area than the actual number of registered voters.