Ukrainian Election Fraud

Ukrainian tryzubIt seems like the infrequent stories I post about Ukraine are often negative, and unfortunately this time is no different. This Metafilter thread nicely summarizes and collects links about the recent controversial presidential elections, in which examples of rampant fraud have been reported by basically every independent observer. Currently, Russia is the only nation acknowledging the “election” of pro-Kremlin Viktor Yanukovych, although Russian President Vladimir Putin is hedging his bets slightly, commenting that “We cannot recognize or protest results that are not yet official.” The “pro-West reformer” opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko has refused to back down, and huge demonstrations in his support have been taking place across the country.

As I hear more about this, I worry about the governmental response to such demonstrations, and reports from observers that “Russian soldiers [are] being flown across the border into Ukraine, dressed in Ukrainian militia garb, and set among the protestors” do little to ease my fears. I hope that this can all be resolved peacefully and that Yanukovych will concede if the results are proven to be fraudulent, although I’m very pessimistic about the whole situation right now…

Textbook Disclaimer Stickers

evolution disclaimerIn the wake of the Cobb County, Georgia School District’s decision to add warning stickers to science textbooks discussing evolution (reproduced verbatim at right), check out this page of satirical textbook disclaimer stickers.

I’m really getting sick of the religious right sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong, in this case trying to undermine science with religious beliefs. The national news finally picked up on a related story that I had posted about last summer, in which the National Park Service approved the sale of a creationist publication at the Grand Canyon that preached its own biblical version of how the Canyon was created. The more I hear about things like this, the more I worry about children who may be brainwashed into believing assertions like the Earth is only 10,000 years old because “the Bible told them so.”

Update: Davezilla’s take on the disclaimer is pretty funny.

50 Best Covers

As I mentioned in my recent post about the re-recording of Do They Know It’s Christmas?, I tend to dislike cover songs initially, although I do have to admit that some cover versions have won me over. UK’s Telegraph has compiled its list of the 50 best cover songs, and it seems like they did a decent job. I didn’t recognize some songs at all, though, and I was actually surprised to find that some songs I thought were originals were actually cover versions. Now I need to find some of the covers (and originals) to hear them for myself… 🙂

For a great reference on cover songs, check out The Covers Project, a comprehensive “database of cover songs (songs performed by an artist other than the original performer) with the intention of creating cover ‘chains.’” Very cool…

Ron Artest’s “Apology”

For those of you that haven’t heard, there was a huge brawl in an Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons game over the weekend that resulted in several players jumping into the stands and fighting with fans. NBA commissioner David Stern acted swiftly, banning nine different players for a total of 140 games, including the Pacers’ Ron Artest for the rest of the season. Personally, I agree with Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post that some of the players got off easy. Artest reportedly apologized in a People magazine interview, commenting, “I’m trying to be positive. I’m a big fan of the Nobel Peace Prize.” The audacity and inanity of that quote makes me dislike him all the more…