[Aaus-list] a modest proposal

[Max Pyziur]

Tied to the proposal that was circulated today (3/22/2014) and is 
appended to the far end of this email, on December 1st, 2004, it was 
shocking to see the inactivity of HURI, AAUS, CIUS, and other organizations 
unable to provide any sort of expertise to the ongoing public discussions 
that were taking place.

So I penned a criticism, on the matter that is just as relevant now as it 
was then.

I am including it here, along with the statements of two notable 
Ukrainian-Americans, both of whom are attorneys, of whom one is also a 
scholar.

fyi,

MP
pyz at brama.com
##############




Date Wed, 1 Dec 2004 14:15:46 -0500 (EST)
>From Max Pyziur <pyz at brama.com>
Subject Did I miss the obituary?


Greetings,

What follows is a spontaneous (more or less) editorial.

Excuse me, but I must have missed the obituaries.  Where are all of the 
Diasporan institutions, both collectively and individually.

Having perused the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, Ukrainian Weekly, 
CIUS, and Encyclopedia of Ukraine web sites and there is little if no 
mention of the Orange Revolution.  Add to that the UABA 
(Ukrainian-American Bar Association) and some others to help us understand 
what is or isn't proper VR pariliamentary procedure.

The only people/organizations doing the heavy lifting here are Infoukes, 
Brama, Roman Senkus, and Dominique Arel;  the rest seem to have rolled 
over and are playing dead, save for a few self-appointed fearless leaders 
- one probably calling for the revocation of the never-as-yet-received 
Pulitzer prize awarded to the current NY Times reporter covering the fSU; 
another probably proclaiming some sort of Republican triumphalism of 
George W. Bush's success in developing Democracy in Ukraine (given that 
he's failing horribly in Iraq).  Thank goodness for all of the individuals 
taking initiative and getting out into the streets!

(I should mention Radek Sikorski at the AEI holding his roundtable last 
week as being the example to aspire to.)

People, you've been handed a narrative which Hollywood itself couldn't do 
much better at creating.  The non-initiated (CJ Chivers, Jim Lehrer, Diane 
Roeh to name a few) are scrambling to understand it.  Sure, it's 
overwhelming to everyone to try and read all of the news and at the same 
time listen to Radio Lux (or whatever your favorite Ukraine Internet radio 
feed is). (I myself along with running Brama have a day job where among 
other things make sure $5 billion is assets under management is correctly 
reported for several thousand accounts). But that shouldn't propel you 
into stupor and inactivity!  Don't wait for your phone to ring or your 
email to be uber-shtupped.

off soapbox, but more to follow ....

Max Pyziur                                     BRAMA - Gateway Ukraine
pyz at brama.com                                  http://www.brama.com/

#####################

Date Wed, 1 Dec 2004 13:13:29 -0500
>From Distinguished Diasporan Ukrainian-American Attorney
To holowins at FAS.harvard.edu
Subject HURI and Ukraine

To the Staff of HURI;

As an early supporter of and active fundraiser for HURI (from the early 
70's), it is with great regret that I must concur with the comments made 
by Vlodko Lupan as to the obvious inactivity of your organization in light 
of recent developments in Ukraine.  As you should know, there is a 
revolution going on that is of historical proportions.  HURI has a moral 
obligation and duty to actively stand up and take a position rather than 
merely make academic commentaries from the sidelines. IT WAS FOR THIS 
PURPOSE THAT THE UKRAINIAN COMMUNITY RAISED MONEY OVER FOUR DECADES FOR 
HURI.  I would strongly suggest that you review your attitude to present 
history - if you do not do so then do not look to the Ukrainian community 
for any future support.

Regards,

##############################


Date  Wed, 01 Dec 2004 15:11:29 -0500 (EST)
>From Notable scholar and attorney
To "pyz at brama.com" <pyz at brama.com>
Subject:RE: [aaus-list] Did I miss the obituary?

I generally agree with your criticism, and will attempt to answer your
question:
The organizations are probably forming committees to propose agendas to
discuss at meetings where committees will be appointed etc. etc.
The academic institutions are probably trying to contextualize the
situation in Ukraine with post-modern post-structuralist paradigms in
the hope of subverting the dominant discourse, or at least getting
another grant.
The politically active are trying to use the situation in Ukraine to
further their rightist or leftist agendas and are frustrated because
Ukraine doesn't quite fit either.
The rest of us are working at day jobs and busily writing op-eds or
letters to the editor which get routinely rejected, or trying to discuss
Ukraine on public forums populated by cranks and weirdos trying to use
Ukraine to further their political agendas.
I think that covers it; now back to work and Ukraine!

Notable scholar and attorney



On Sat, 22 Mar 2014, ajmotyl at andromeda.rutgers.edu wrote:

> As you all know, the North American media are constantly looking for
> Ukraine experts to interview. Because so few genuine Ukraine experts are
> known to them, media outlets either go to bogus experts or to the same
> handful of genuine experts.
>
> I have a modest proposal to make to the AAUS, HURI, and CIUS. Why don't
> you all get together and compile a simple press packet with names of
> experts, areas of expertise, and contact info. Then e-mail it to all of
> us, to various listserves, and to all possible journalists. If the packet
> has these three institutions' imprimatur, it will be regarded with respect
> by the media.
>
> This has to be done quickly, but, fortunately, compiling such a packet in
> the form of a simple PDF can be done in a few hours. And remember:
> everyone who studies Ukraine--even if it's culture, literature, or
> history--knows infinitely more about Ukraine than the bogus experts. So no
> need to be modest. Help spread real knowledge about Ukraine. Dare I say
> it's our obligation as scholars?
>
> ajm
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Aaus-list mailing list
> Aaus-list at ukrainianstudies.org
> http://mail.ukrainianstudies.org/mailman/listinfo/aaus-list_ukrainianstudies.org
>