Pryvit! Another bitter cold day in Kyiv.

Not much to report here. Spent the whole day checking it out. Three personal highlights for me: First, Verkhovna Rada (parliament) rally. What a rally! What a decision! (Lytvyn's idea to do a secret ballot vote was stroke of genius.) Second, news that PORA blockaded kuchma's house in Koncha Zaspa, denying access, and lastly, this edited video clip, shown on stage, of Mrs. Yanukovych doing hand motions to the "Razom nas bahato…"

Outside our apartment in Ivana Franko park, Yush's people have built inflatable tents that look like a military field hospital. It's just down the hill from the Pres. Admin. Hmmm. Also a new stage has been built on institutska directly opposite the opening of Bankova st. where the demonstrators and riot police are. The stage was not used all day today. Hmmm….

On and around Maydan and Khreschatyk there are multiple field kitchens with feeding stations giving out endless meals and cups of hot tea from morning until night. Long lines of people waiting for their turn. Some company has set up a bunch of tents with rotisserie chicken equipment that roasts about 50 chickens at time. Trucks deliver chickens to the first tent where they get butchered, they then get passed to the oven tent, then to the serving tent and to the people. Long line that's actually roped off and orderly.

It's really a high to walk around the center now that half of western Ukraine is out here. My peeps. Being surrounded by that western Ukraine type of Ukrainian language is not something I'm normally accustomed to in Kyiv. Yet here it is. Guys from Lviv actually told me that they are surprised by Kyiv and they are finding themselves not immediately repulsed by Russian speaking Ukrainians here. Talk about a revolution.

Listening to Yushchenko's speech tonight, it's clear the end is still not at hand. Nothing from Tymoshenko tonight.

Petro

PS. Several new people were added to the mailing list today. If any of you want days 1-9 emailed to you I would be happy to do so. Just let me know.

for those of you who like maps... petro