They witnessed. They protested. They fought with ballots. They won.

Ukraine appears all but in the hands of progressive Viktor Yushchenko — and so another nation steps towards the ranks of the free.

WHAT TO THINK: A roundup of reactions at IP, including the Russian centrist opinion that Vladimir Putin-style fascism will be over before it begins.

Never trust a former totalitarian state to reform itself: Freedom House, the most authoritative independent arbiter of human liberty around the globe, has downgraded Russia from the category of "Partly Free" to "Not Free."

Says Freedom House, "Russia's retreat from freedom marks a low point not registered since 1989, when the country was part of the Soviet Union."

There's much more in an annual report, including an encouraging list of good news. And this:

Freedom House survey data also shed some light on the debate about the relationship between the lack of political rights and civil liberties and the growing threat of international terrorism. According to a Freedom House analysis of global terrorist attacks of a five year period from 1999-2003, 70 percent of all attributable deaths by terrorism were perpetrated by terrorists and terrorist movements originating in Not Free countries. By contrast, only 8 percent of global fatalities from terrorism were perpetrated by terrorists and groupings with origins in the free world. "This suggests that the expansion of democracy and freedom is an important component in the international effort to rid the world of the terrorist scourge," said Adrian Karatnycky, principal analyst of Freedom in the World.

The absence of freedom is a foothold for evil. (More on the danger of partial individual liberties here.)

"The revolution has been dubbed 'The Orange Revolution,' orange being the campaign color of Viktor Yushchenko. The demonstrators say they are tired of living under a corrupt government and in a corrupt society. They are totally convinced Yushchenko won the election and that the will of the people has been thwarted by the government and by Moscow. They intend to stand their ground until their victory is recognized in Ukraine and throughout the world."

"...One cannot help being impressed by the protesters. They have begun each day of the protest in Kiev in prayer and all activities are accomplished with a collective sense of respect, kindness, and an intention to conduct a peaceful revolution."

— Bob Schaffer, in an interview with National Review

It was through a news e-mail from Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi that I first heard about French troops firing in to a large crowd of pro-government protesters in the Ivory Coast two weeks ago. A video capturing the event (large download here) has been qualified by some on the right as an incomplete picture, but suspicion of a lethal blunder by the French is growing.

Glenn Reynolds is eager to see first-hand reports on the assumption that they will provide the clearest indication of what happened and what consequences it wrought.

That sentiment certainly seems clear enough. Is it the Third World that is fearful and contemptuous of President Bush, or the gaggle of elites, crooks and thugs who oppress those millions?

Nor is it much of a stretch to say that the nationality of the soldiers involved have contributed to low coverage.

They're engaged, they're beautiful and they held a rally just to remind people of what a butcher Fidel Castro is. Of whom do I speak? Liberté Cherié of the French progressive right, with tireless "Liberté, J'écris ton Nom" leader Sabine Herold in tow. Liberty activism never looked so sharp.

Want the United Nations to assume a prominent role in liberated Iraq? Think again. Craig Brett excerpts a report of the latest, wholly preventable, internecine struggle. Why is the former Yugoslavia a story of such imperceptible progress? Because the United Nations, in the five years since NATO action against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, has failed to bring any substantive or protected civil and political liberties to Kosovars — and the province ranks dismally in Freedom House's standings, less free than Kuwait. What would you expect from the United Nations, many of whose members defy in totality its charter? Case in point: never appoint an administrator who doesn't believe in the mission.

Japan isn't the only youthful democracy reorienting itself to serve the cause of protecting and expanding liberty:

The Hungarian parliament has modified the nation's constitution to allow for speedier deployments of troops for NATO military missions. Hungarian MPs voted overwhelmingly late Monday by 312 to two to give the government sole control in deciding NATO troop deployments, which before required the backing of a two-thirds majority in parliament.

Streamline, improve: executive power as the Commander-in-Chief is a wonderful thing.

Speaking of the Gauls, Andrew Apostolou challenges Europe's anti-American stereotype with the very likely result from European Union expansion:

In the ongoing battle inside the EU over how to deal with the U.S., it is the French, not the British, who will be on the losing side. As Blair made clear to Congress on July 18 and on November 10, in the traditional foreign-policy speech that prime ministers deliver at the Mansion House, the EU is not just France and Germany. Instead, it is an association that will grow on May 1, 2004, to 25 states, thanks to ten new members, of which eight will be from Eastern Europe. The new EU will have a clear pro-U.S. majority. Already, five current EU members and seven of those set to join in 2004 have troops in Iraq (Bulgaria and Romania, expected to enter the EU in 2007, also have forces in Iraq). Blair reminded Congress in July that the East European states that are about to join the EU "believe in the transatlantic alliance." Battling against the perception that "Europe" is Chirac and Schroeder, he pleaded with Congress: "So don't give up on Europe. Work with it."

That, perhaps, is the crowning irony of President Bush's trip to Britain: Contrary to much that Americans hear, Britain is not an isolated U.S. ally beside a heaving mass of angry European states. Rather, Britain, and its American alignment, will represent the majority view among EU states, with the ungrateful anti-Americanism of Chirac doomed to be the minority creed.

That's right: Europe is bigger than France and Germany. And wiser, too.

So much for the grand socialist dream of Lionel Jospin & Co. to save French workers from themselves:

Wite the economy sliding towards recession, France’s centre-right government is losing patience with the country’s 35-hour working week.

The 35-hour week was introduced by left-wing former prime minister Lionel Jospin five years ago amid visions of a society with lower unemployment and more leisure time.

But with unemployment at 9.6 per cent and wage freezes common, 36 per cent of the French want the system scrapped and 18 per cent want it suspended, a survey by pollster CSA showed.

Many blamed the 35-hour week for cutting staff numbers in hospitals in August, contributing to 15,000 heatwave deaths.

...[A] CSA survey, published in L’Expansion magazine last month, found 67 per cent of the French felt the 35-hour week was no use at fighting unemployment. Most felt the law disadvantaged French companies.

As the Wall Street Journal put it today, if France can boast some of the world's most competitive companies with a ponderous labor anchor such as this one, imagine what the Gauls could do without it.