Brian Mefford: Eight oracles for Ukraine in 2015

Eight Oracles for 2015: Since ancient times, people have always been interested in knowing the future. For example, the famous Oracle of Delphi was known for its accuracy is predicting the fate of the fledging Greek democracy. While Delphi is 2000 kilometers away from Kyiv and hasn’t offered oracles since the 4th century, we have turned to the Oracle of the Dnipro for guidance in the New Year. Instead of a pretty young maiden in a white robe inhaling nitrous oxide fumes to prognosticate, the Oracle of the Dnipro is a 40 year old man in a navy sports coat who spent much time on the Maidan while occasionally inhaling tear gas during the events of Euromaidan. In addition to proper prognostication, proper interpretation of oracles is critical. Take the 5th Century BC Lydian King Croesus who created an incredibly wealthy kingdom and frequently made use of the Oracle of Delphi. In 547 BC he interpreted an omen from the Oracle of Delphi that if he “goes to war he will destroy a great empire” as confirmation of his desire to attack the Persian King Cyrus. What he didn’t realize was that the kingdom to be destroyed would be his own. Defeated in battle, captured, chained and laying on a burning funeral pyre, Croesus last words were “Solon, Solon” in reference to the philosopher who told him, “Count no man happy until the end is known”. Thus, while the Oracle of the Dnipro offers his predictions for 2015, remember that these are gauged by percentage probabilities based on the situation as of January 1, 2015 and subject to change. Solon’s wisdom to “Count no man happy until the end is known” is as true today in Ukraine as it was in western Turkey 2500 years ago. Thus, without further ado, here are “Eight Oracles for 2015”: