The waiting game... The Champions League and ACORN

As far as I can tell sometime in the next hour or two (I'm still not so good with working with differences in time zones that aren't CO, the UK or here) 2 interesting things are going down.

At 9:45pm (my time) the first set of Champion's League group stage games kicks off.  I was offered a chance to go with Jenya to the Dynamo Kiev v. Rubin Kazan game tomorrow night in Kiev but our financial situation means that the trip would have been pretty irresponsible.

Secondly, reports are flying around the web that sometime soon there will be yet another ACORN video released that is even more damning than the 3 hooker/pimp/underage brothel videos that have hit this week. I can't say that I place as much importance on the ACORN troubles as many other political folks, but holy Moses (Cam's watching Prince of Egypt right now and I couldn't resist the reference) it's a awfully weird story to follow.

To be honest, I am much more excited about the CL but they probably won't be televised so I gotta entertain myself where I can.

Ridiculous...

Anyone catch this story about the Pastor in the San Diego area who was sited for holding an illegal gather at the house? He was told that he might face fines for each additional weekly Bible study at his own home.

The claim is that his residence isn't correctly registered/zoned as a religious meeting facility.

Even the most ardent atheist must see the danger of this kind of thought process. I am nearly certain that this won't stand and it's not something that requires a lot of hand-wringing except in the respect that there are actually folks who think this way.

LotD (summarized) - Fighting Talk (BBC)

This LoTD is a summary of a hilarious point I just heard on Fighting Talk (podcast it, listen to it).

A male from south central LA has a 1 in 3 chance of ending up in jail. A staggering fact until you consider that after current Gov. Rod Blagojevich is convicted, 4 of the past 8 Illinois governors have also ended up in prison....

You are more likely to go to get locked up from the IL state capital than Compton... gotta love Chicago politics.

TGIF Durban II!

To conclude my expression of disgust for the Durban II conference (see here and here), I am going to throw out a final chortle as it ended yesterday afternoon. It was such a hit that the scheduled Friday conclusion was moved up till Tuesday.

...so compelling and productive they cut it short by half, I guess... (too much awesomeness?) Yes, your work here is done UN.

And the hits just keep on coming

I already posted on the Durban II anti-racism sham in Geneva this week and updated that post as various nations decided to boycott in the past 48 hours.

It looks like the event hit bottom on its opening day when Iranian hate-monger President Ahmadinejad cranked things up with attacks on Israel. The BBC is reporting that a stream of delegates walked out - even the French were disgusted.

It boggles the mind that any nation that sent a delegation is surprised that this was the result. I'm all for diplomacy but all parties have to come together in good faith and from a reasonable point of view....

Update: Israel recalled it's ambassador to Switzerland for hosting this debacle. Also, I don't know how I missed this one but the conference was scheduled to start on Holocaust Remembrance day.... and the 120th anniversary of the birth of Hitler.

Like I said, the hits just keep on coming. Way to go UN.

Even a blind squirrel...

I suppose I could have used 'Even a broken clock...' as the title but I don't know that it would be more respectful than the one I chose. You be the judge...

I have been fairly unimpressed by our new president's first few months but Obama has gotten it right by refusing to attend the second round of the Durban anti-racism conference (this time held in Geneva) this month. The objections stem from a general anti-Semitic bias at the previous meeting in South Africa in 2001 which appear to have been codified for this year's event. Despite the left's insistence during the Bush administration that unilateral actions like this unnecessarily alienate our allies (or perspective allies), I must say I'm encouraged by this news.

Durban I and the UN Human Rights Council in general are absolute disgraces. We sent an envoy to Durban I, only to have them walk out over its show trial judgment of Israel. Obama will be joined in skipping this years event by Israel (obviously) and Australia, among others.

The United States is not actually a member of the HRC - of our own choosing. The body itself has a current or past membership which includes China, Cuba and Saudi Arabia so it's only logical that the US refuses to involve itself - regardless of political party. The council was conceived in 2006 to replace the similarly-named Human Rights Commission which had the distinction of being chaired by human rights stalwart Libya. Upon its inception, the US delegation had the audacity to suggest that member nations should have a satisfactory record in human rights themselves.... an idea that was voted down 170-4.

Sadly, the United Nations as a whole has become a senate of thuggery, dominated by voting blocs of repressive regimes. Isn't it obvious at this point that the UN has decided that despite our funding roughly 1/4 of its budget and housing it in New York, it is a decidedly anti-democratic, anti-American assembly.

The world has the right to have their ol' boys club but isn't it time we stopped paying for their party?

Update: I just learned that you can add Italy and Canada to the list of right-thinking nations who will forego Durban II.

Update 2: ...add Holland and Sweden to that list.

Update 3: ...and Germany and New Zealand.

LotD - James Lileks

Whom the gods would destroy, they first make ironic: [Former Chairman to the Federal Reserve] Ben Bernanke's childhood home sold - after foreclosure.

-Lileks

I caught this from him via Twitter. If you're a Tweet, I recommend you follow him... he's brilliant.

Kharkov/Donetsk Tidbit

I promised no long posts about the Donetsk trip and since this one is 9 pics, I'll make it up by making the text sparse.

The communist party of Ukraine was taking donations to ship their unpopular president to the US.  Not the most loved moment I've felt since I've been here.

Umm...  that's obviously Freddie Mercury graffiti.  Not sure what else to add about that.

Some of the figures from Ukrainian history at the base of the statue in central Kharkov dedicated to Taras Shevchenko - arguably Ukraine's greatest poet/artist.

I have issues with their teachings but there can be no arguing with the Orthodox church's sense of the aesthetic.

Yup, that's an Italian restaurant.  Nothing like the Ukrainian version of ethnic sensitivity.

Street kids in Kharkov.  They were literally fighting for scraps of food and change with the dog.

Jenya said these cars are from about 1947.  

Donetsk still has their classic Soviet manhole covers.  Being in Kerch, I'd never seen one as they were stolen to sell for scrap long before I got here.

A statue of the Welsh founder of Donetsk John Hughes.

Was that fast enough?  Ok class, any questions?

Kharkov

I just re-ordered these pictures and then realized that my memory wasn't right... the events protrayed did not occur in this order.

We got to look around Kharkov today and I really enjoyed it.  I don't have a ton of time since we leave for the train station for our 10:30 PM departure, so this will be very brief.  All pics are photoshoped by Sergey.

Graffitti on some wall.  AIDS awarness art.  Jenya does lectures on AIDS in schools so we thought we needed some shots with the wall.  

We are positioned to have wings... wings that were origianlly on flying condoms.  Very weird.

This is an anti-Yushenko/anti-American rally by the communists.  I did feel a bit uncomfortable was we walked around taking pictures with Sergey and Jenya speaking to me very loudly in English.  They had a donation box to send President Yushenko to the US - and it was pretty darn full!

Beautiful orthodox monestary downtown.  We got some good shots and ate tastey treats baked by the monks.

And what tour is complete without a pic of a huge Lenin statue.  It's not actually John Lennon but Sergey liked the idea that it could be.

The Ranger has landed

I was beginning to wonder if the day would ever come....  

I looked back through my archives and we started raising funding in March, as best I can figure, we purchased it sometime in April and after missing the first truck by a few days, it arrived in Ukraine in mid-August.  Since then, we have proceeded to incur another $4500 or so in additional expense to get it through customs and into our hands.  10 months of work came to fruition today when I backed the Ranger off the tow truck at the Hope Center.  It was a great feeling.

With his official capacity as director and honorary lightning rod for bureaucracy on hold, Andrey took it on it's first joyride around camp.  He hooted and hollered around the streets and giggled  like crazy driving up and over assorted bumps, jumps and curbs.  I think it may have been his first time at the wheel of a true off-road vehicle.

You'll notice the CO license plate...

Andrey acquired those while in the US in the fall and surprised me with it today.

With this picture and photoshop, Sergey intends to create the impression that he's actually in the US right now.

I have to thank all of you who have already given to this monstrosity of a project.  I also need to remind you that we still need to raise over $3000 in customs fees to cover what we've already paid out... please get in touch if you can help us with this.

Also, I must thank Andrey.  He traveled the 6-hour round trip to Simferopol countless times (sometimes as much as 3 times/week), battled with customs, regulators, bureaucrats, politicians and bizarrely even a doctor.  Why he had to get approval from the Kerch medical department, I will never know.  It gave him nightmares, grey hairs, headaches and maybe even Tourettes a few times.  All of this because he believed me when I told him this was a great addition to the camp.

Thanks.

Finally, some perspective!

I haven't said anything about the historic few days that have started this week (MLK, inauguration) mainly because I don't trust myself to get into it without getting longwinded, preachy, and unproductively cynical.

Today Carlos Whittaker does a better job than I think I could have.  He's an Obama guy who actually brings a bit of reality and perspective the inauguration.  Check it out.

Exchange rate

I just caught from a respectable Ukrainian blogger that the Hrivna is trading at 7.40 to the US dollar today.  Neeka is a great resource for an eyes-on-the-ground perspective from Kiev, which is completely different than our Kerch.

In some ways a more favorable exchange rate helps us - at least in the short term - to stretch the dollar even further.  Unfortunately this can only serve to increase the already devastatingly high inflation in Ukraine - already pushing 30%.  Over time, it will only serve to create greater need, more demand for our already-limited resources and exacerbate the destructive social problems that we are trying to combat.  I hate to say it but I think Ukraine is rapidly heading in the wrong direction for the benefit of its people.

LotD - Jonah Goldberg

"Sometimes I wonder if he was a taste-tester at a red paint chip factory."

-Jonah Goldberg

 

One down, two to go..

On Facebook today I wrote that today could be a trifecta of loserness.  Obviously the election is on and my guy is trailing.  Second, Liverpool was playing Atletico Madrid (Tammi's team in Europe).  Lastly, I have been losing a lot at Scramble, a Boggle-like game that they have on Facebook.

Just now, in the 95th minute, Steven Gerrard stuck in a penalty shot for the Reds to tie AM.  While it's not a win, with the pleasant surprise of Chelsea (the team supported by the most fervent Obamaton I know of) losing to a pathetic Roma side, it feels like a victory.

One down, two to go.  Come on big John!

Election Day...

...the highlight of every "refresh button's" career.

KOR Kast Walk of Shame... Sorry Ryan

I am much ashamed for having forgotten such an important date...

Today at 1pm MST the first episode of Ryan Dobson's KOR Kast Radio went live on Castle Rock internet radio.  I tuned in 15 minutes late but still got to hear (and SEE) Marshall, Ryan and Jeff Baldwin from Worldview Academy.  It's still being podcasted (like the episode that I was on!!!) so you can catch it delayed from iTunes but now it is a one-hour weekly show.

Not only can you listen live (a somewhat dangerous proposition for Marshall) but you can also watch them with streaming video and interact via phone, IM, text message and a slick live forum - which Ryan and Marshall read real-time.  I was in on it today and it was a blast.

Serious, you need to hear/see this show next week.  I'm scheduling a post to drop next Monday morning to remind us all to listen to the boys.  See you there.

Early Voting

I actually went and voted this morning.  I had planned on it yesterday but I was diverted to go play xbox over my lunch break.  It wasn't so much that I value Halo (1 or 2) over my civic duties, but when you have a week to cast an early ballot and only one lunch to blow your friends up with video rocket launchers, well......

Some of my observations about elections and voting today:

Random person in line with me:  I took up my spot in line and realized I was directly behind a guy - whose name I couldn't remember at the time - who I helped guide on an antelope hunt last fall with Pack String Ranch Outfitters.  Now I have recalled that his name was John something-or-other but since that eluded me I just stood behind him quietly.

Most bizarre aspect of polling locations:  A faux ballot the size of sleeping bag (for us to review while in line) when in reality I will be voting on a computer.  Why not a more usable multi-page pamphlet?  If it was just a blown-up version of the real ballot it would be reasonable but I'm tapping a touch-screen so what's the point?

Second most bizarre:  After talking to folks at the entrance and standing in line for 10-15 minutes, the poll worker who checks your ID is still required to ask, "Are you here to vote?"  A half-dozen smart alec remarks came to mind but I decided (being in a battle ground state) I better not jeopardize my vote.

Question I can't answer:  On my ballot every Dem candidate was on top (presumably alphabetically, listed by party) except for president in which McCain-Palin had top billing.  Why?

Best voting booth quote:  Mark, delivered dead-pan upon learning that they were out of 'I Voted' stickers - "If you don't give me a sticker, how will I know not to vote again?"

Get in, vote and then give me your stories.......

Poll Results and Thoughts

The final results are in...  because I'm tired of it and we have plenty of votes.

• 34 total voters (in my poll) of which 31 plan to actually vote for president  in the upcoming election.
• From that number, 23 are going McCain and 4 for Obama....  This is about the breakdown I expected.
• 4 are either undecided or voting 3rd party.
  

My unabridged thoughts about this are:

If, like in my poll, only 8% abstained from voting (either on principle or from laziness) we would be having a record turn-out this year.  In reality, you would have to add all those who visited the site and didn't bother to vote, whereby my mock election would be even less popular than the actual election.

Not making any correlations, but the percent voting Obama (11%) in my poll is coincidentally almost the exact same portion of the US population that believes Elvis is still alive (hehehe).  No commentary there....

And the fact that 2/3 of my readership are McCainites may indicate that I'm a far right fascist.

Reverse Christianification of Secular Junk

I am going into this post assuming that most of the readers are familiar with we Christians' propensity for taking popular secular stuff and Christianizing it in an attempt to be.... maybe funny, maybe relevant, maybe holier than thou.  Some of the obvious highlights are:

• Our local Christian station refusing to play a secular song unless it is recorded - completely unchanged - by a Christian artist.
• T-shirts like Lord's Gym which take a known phrase or brand and give it a clever (?) twist.
• Church signs like this one: 

(please feel free to comment on your favorites which I've neglected to mention)

We all know that this is a strange phenomenon but I think we ought to acknowledge that is goes both ways.

You have the WWJD; "what would Jesus DRIVE" campaign and the WTFWJD (if you don't recognize that one right off, don't Google it - just trust me that it's a very secular version of that acronym).

Or how about the Darwinized ichthus (AKA Christian fish), followed by the chomping Christian fish, followed by another posed Darwin fish....?  Sure it's a slightly more clever knock-off than most Christian ones but a knock-off nonetheless.

Or the "Jesus was a community organizer" tag-line.  I've seen it used by Christian and secular Obamatons alike but it seems to have a whiff of knock-offism to it.

Then you have those that are hybrids like the "Jesus is my homeboy" shirts.  I still can't figure out whether that one was designed as an uber-cheesy Christian thing in the vein of the photo above or a secular shirt trying to co-opt the image of Christ.  If you think about it, it works either way.

So what do you say?  What's your favorite/least favorite knock-off from either direction?

Breaking News!!!!!! Childhood shots of Joe the Plumber (and how he became a media figure)

Early fashion sense

In his first work truck

With the tools of his trade