Copyright laws prevents release of historic jazz recordings

2011.05.05

No logic to this. New creations should assume Creative Commons by default and if you want copyright, then you’d have to spend some cash on it.

1930s an audio engineer named William Savory (above) made a lot of high-quality recordings of live jazz performances of Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Teddy Wilson, Lester Young, Bunny Berigan, Coleman Hawkins and others. The National Jazz Museum in Harlem acquired the collection after Savory died.

via. Boing Boing

Yanukovych’s Bodyguard is a Russian National

2010.10.07

Ukraiinska Pravda reports that the bodyguard of the Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, is Russian.

Питання безпеки Віктора Януковича, а, отже, фактично кожен крок життя президента України контролює людина з російським паспортом у кишені та невідомо якими погонами під цивільним костюмом.

Read the Google Translation here.

Having ‘learned’ the lesson from the Yuschenko era, the president cannot trust anyone that is Ukrainian. Why is that? Is he afraid? What is so great about this Vyacheslav Zanevskiy?

This has some serious consequences as to national interest. As Pravda points out, this person holds the leader’s life in his hand. What would happen if Yanukovych was to go against Russian interests?

via Українська правда.

“Insensitivity” Near Ground Zero

2010.08.23

One by one, the arguments against the proposed Islamic community center and mosque near Ground Zero have collapsed. A “13-story mosque”? No such plan. “At Ground Zero”? Wrong again. The imam’s radical politics? A myth. His shadowy jihadist financiers? Imagined. His failure to denounce terrorism? Debunked. The “angry battle” he’s “stoking”? Please. The guy isn’t even returning phone calls. The anger and stoking have come from the other side.

So the mosque’s opponents have fallen back on one last argument: sensitivity.

via Is a mosque near Ground Zero “insensitive”? – By William Saletan – Slate Magazine.

Yanukovych Preps Azarov for Ukrainian (Off-Air Leak)

2010.07.27

No need to pretend to be Ukrainian if you can’t speak it.

Transcript:

President Yanukovych [informal Russian]: Well, I’ll be addressing you…in the Ukrainian language. [switches to formal Ukrainian] Mykola Yanukovych [name, patronymic], I would like to hear you out…on the current situation — on issues of relevance.

via. Ukrainiana

Let Bill Educate Palin

2010.07.14

I’m not taking a position. It’s just an interesting spiel.

In Case You Missed It | Talking Points Memo.

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From Russia With Dumb: Casting Overview

2010.07.09

Awesome new movie in production. Studio releases their cast/crew list.
From Russia With Dumb: TPM Casts The Russian Spies Movie | TPM Photo Galleries
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Yanukovych’s Addiction

2010.07.05

Ukraine Cocaine Bust After Yanukovych Demonstrates the Power of Combustion


A couple of days ago Yanukovych “confessed to his addiction to drugs”. He explains how he was able to purchase drugs on the Internet:

Later, the administration demonstratively decided to join the gang and try the drugs themselves by setting them on fire in front of the President’s house:

This only reminds me of the Simpson’s episode where the city decides to burn down the marijuana fields – later accidentally inhaling the smoke.

Later today, Bloomberg reported: “Ukraine Law Enforcement Officers Seize Biggest Haul of Cocaine on Record.” Good work Yanukovych, fight your addiction!

Hey, but when are you actually going to fight your REAL addiction? When are you actually going to fight against corruption?

Sources:

Bloomberg

Ukraine News Blog

Ukrainiana

Yanukovych Can’t Get A Decent Cameraman

2010.06.29

Watch this clip and be amazed at the selection of shots and its montage from President’s national address on the Constitution Day.

Looks like they grabbed a fifth-grader off the street to do their job. They probably didn’t even give him candy for it.

Come on guys, I know you suck at politics, but what happened to quality!? I mean, this is worse than Van Helsing. This is just embarrassing for a National Holiday video.

Here is somewhat transcript:

Yanukovych: Adopted in 1996, the Constitution of Ukraine, in its key tenets, has passed the test of time. In terms of defining human freedoms and rights it is regarded as one of the most progressive in the world. That said, the state-building experience over the years that have passed since the adoption of the supreme law of the land, has proven that the Constitution of Ukraine under modern dynamic historical conditions needs certain changes. Some of its norms, namely those hastily adopted in 2004, have become a cause of loss of balance and profound government crisis, and thus an object of criticism from within the country and from the international community. At the same time, I want to emphasize: Rectifying the current shortcomings — the constitutional improvement process — must in no way become a political act. It is a serious change of social relations that has to rest on the will of the people, reflect today’s reality, and define the state’s progress in general.

2:09-3:23

Once again, I greet all compatriots on the Constitution Day of Ukraine. I wish you concord, peace and goodness. May the upholding of the constitutional norms and the unwavering protection of human rights and freedoms become a guarantee of the successful development of the Ukrainian state, the strengthening of humanism and the supremacy of law in our land.

4:07-4:31

Via Ukrainiana

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Will Russia Bite U.S. in the Ass?

2010.06.28

F.B.I has recently uncovered a Russian spy ring of agents living as family members in suburbia, who gathered information on “nuclear weapons, American policy toward Iran, C.I.A. leadership, Congressional politics and many other topics.”

This makes me wonder, with the recent Obama’s selling out of Ukraine to achieve political stability/equality with Russia, will Russia bite Obama’s ass?

Also, if you do want to keep your lunch money, maybe you just need to stand up for yourself. Congratulations to Belarus for standing up for what is right.

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Ukrainian Constitution Day Celebration

2010.06.28

June 28th is the 14th annual Ukrainian Constitution Day. Marking this day, in 1996, after struggle for independence, Ukraine set its modern path as an independent nation. June 28th, 1996 is the day Constitution was put to practice.

To commemorate this, I have released an epub form of the Ukrainian Constitution on the Ukrainian Books website.

This is the first ever book on this service. Without any promises, I am intending on gradually expanding this library/catalogue to include public domain books in the Ukrainian language.

This service can be accessed through Stanza and will be available for regular browsers later this year.

You can read more about the Ukrainian Constitution here: Ukrainian Constitution on Wikipedia.

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