rare bird

Kuchma has not been foolhardy at all, so far as I can tell. He seems, like Putin, to be a politician of the highest ability. He is trying very hard to checkmate Yushchenko so that even if Y. wins he will have lost the ability to produce any real change as president. So we won't see the Russian army taking over Kiev. On account of the response the EU/NATO/UN would give to an obvious threat to Europe's security? If this is the case, then I guess NATO has won the Cold War, and we are in a new era, one where Russia cannot project power by flexing military muscle. The only reason I bring it up is because one does not have to go that far back in time to remember the Russian army invading Ukraine, ostensibly to save it from the Nazis, but in reality to keep it under Russian control. These memories are fresh in the minds of Yelena's grandparents and parents, I am sure. When we talk about public opinion, whose is Putin afraid of offending? Ukraine's? Remember, most Russians...

This is a link to an NPR story about Neil Innes, the man responsible for Monty Pyton's music. I never even realized it was one person. He's still touring, though his newer songs have a more satirical bent.

Note: this is not mine. It's beautiful, though. Just like the 12 days, it goes through all of these individually before the end. I'm only showing the end, though. when the twelfth bug appeared, my manager said to me 1. tell them its a feature, 2. say it's not supported, 3. change the documentation, 4. blame it on the hardware, 5. find a way around it, 6. say they need an upgrade, 7. reinstall the software, 8. ask for a dump, 9. use a debugger, 10. try to reproduce it, 11. ask them how they did it, 12. see if it happens again.

I wish Blogger expanded postings automatically so the casual reader would see comments. Since they don't, I'll keep posting comments manually when they're really good. This one is from our guest resident scholar in international affairs, Hamlet: I think the answer to this question depends on what the scale of the violence is and where the source of the violence is. It really depends on who starts it and what form it takes. Kuchma would be foolhardy to instigate the masses, and there is no way to see Russia brazenly rolling tanks into Kiev. There would be easier ways to bring the military into this story that would not galvanize the ever important public opinion. Perhaps the violence will start with a Yushchenko supporter targeting part of the political infrastructure. This isn't too unthinkable. It could be as benign as a building vandalized, or as bad as an assassination attempt (poison seems to be a preferred method here ;) ). Or, perhaps Russian spesnatz w...

Rare birders are secret admirers of Apple and everything it stands for. They really wish they owned a Mac, though they never have. They can only imagine how nice it is. They think IBM (or Sony, or any other worthy company) projecting Apple into the economic stratosphere would be an immensely wonderful thing.

Somehow I just find him hard to believe. Couldn't say why. Must be those clenched teeth behind his face. I think Putin deserves our confidence as much as, oh, say Kim Jong Il?

This is an excellent analysis of where the situation currently stands, with an eye towards the end. It also appreciates the supreme power of the president in Ukrainian politics and that defying him is a long hard slog. I wish more members of the western press, not to mention western politicians, understood the situation this well.

This was written by the BBC on Nov. 25: The political crisis in Ukraine looks as though it will head towards one of three outcomes. 1: The government candidate for president, Viktor Yanukovich (who has been declared the election winner) will back down in the face of large scale protests and accusations of fraud. 2: The opposition supporters, who've been on the streets to back their man, Viktor Yushchenko, will grow tired and dispirited and will melt away. 3: There will be a violent confrontation. Mr Yushchenko is certainly trying to keep up the pressure. He's called for a general strike starting today. The extent to which that strike call is heeded and could well give us a clue as to how things will unfold. From Kiev here's our correspondent, Sarah Rainsford. First Broadcast 25th November 2004 #1 has not happened, but if the Supreme Court declares the election invalid it won't matter. The question is whether or not Pres. Kuchma will back d...

Scientists from the RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a "home computer" could look like in the year 2004. However the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home. Also the scientists readily admit that the computer will require not yet invented technology to actually work, but 50 years from now scientific progress is expected to solve those problems. With teletype interface and the FORTRAN language, the computer will be easy to use. If this is any guide, it suggests that our predictions for 2054 have to take into account that computers then will be a lot smaller, even more affordable, and use more technology that hasn't yet been invented!

Orange Christmas! 

Kuchma and Putin have come to an agreement. Neither of them will agree to Yuschenko's demands that a re-run of the runoff between him and Yanukovich proceed; they want completely new elections with new candidates, and two rounds again. This way Kuchma can choose another apprentice whom he thinks is more attractive than Yanukovich. Kuchma also made an announcement that the situation is causing a banking crisis, and that the exchange rate was going to jump five times from what it is now. The announcement caused a panicked run on the banks that nearly did cause the exchange rate to jump that much. Now all the business owners can think about, including Igor's boss, is their cash and accounts. The result of this evil plot is that momentum of the democratic movement has been challenged. The Supreme Court has gone into chambers to make a decision about whether or not the election was valid. They do not have the power to order a new election.

My sources tell me President Kuchma has gone to Moscow to meet with Mr. Putin. Well, it shows you who's pulling the strings.

Ukrainian deputies and supporters backing opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko try to prevent two other supporters from entering the parliament hall in Kiev, November 30, 2004. Supporters of Yushchenko broke through a fence surrounding Ukraine's parliament, massing around its main door after the chamber failed to debate a no confidence vote in the government. Photo by Mykola Lazarenko/Reuters 

Kuchma and Yanukovych are not negotiating in good faith. Apparently Yanukovych has even offered the post of Prime Minister to Yuschenko if he allows Yanukovych to become President! What a sheister! "Sure, just let me be president, and I'll make you No. 2 (a job Yuschenko has had before!) but you'll be totally impotent (because the president is omnipotent in Ukraine). I've also confirmed from Igor that Russian special forces are in Kiev, and they're wearing Ukrainian uniforms! Igor confirmed it from one of Yuschenko's personal assistants, with whom Igor goes to university. Igor is upset that the US and EU are basically doing nothing while Russia seeks to more or less, annex Ukraine. What has happened to NATO's original mission?

Here are several pictures from Kiev, courtesy of Igor. They're protesting all night long! Be sure to click on the pictures to get a larger view.

Marching in the street! 

These are Igor's workmates - they all came out for the protest 

Igor & friends 

Igor & friends 

flags and all kinds of people