Did the TSA steal my cufflink? Had a notice that they searched my bag. Only one was missing. The plastic stone might have looked valuable. I will never know.
Author Archives: RomanInUkraine
Great Days for Ukrainian Boxing
Phenom Lomachenko lives up to the hype, winning his pro debut by body-shot-KO.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-2457356/Vasyl-Lomachenko-wins-professional-boxing-debut.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
[youtube]lHzdrC04-H0[/youtube]
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Wladimir Klitschko defeats Russian Alexander Povetkin to retain heavyweight titles
http://www.newsday.com/sports/boxing/wladimir-klitschko-defeats-alexander-povetkin-to-retain-heavyweight-titles-1.6205344
How to Say Potato-Pancakes in Western Ukraine
A quick glance at this map reveals how effectively mountains protect local culture.
US Bureaucracy, for a change
Visited the VA while I’m in the US. There’s a new system called “My Health-E-Vet”.
I did manage to sign up, much to my surprise. Now, to make the system actually useful, I need to complete these three steps:
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1. Download, print, and sign the VA Release of Information (ROI) form (10-5345a-MHV) (PDF)
2. Mail your signed form to the Release of Information Office at your local VA health care facility. You can use the Facility Locator to find the address
3. Select YES – UPGRADE MY ACCOUNT
Note: Please, allow up to 20 business days to complete the Online Authentication process.
——————–
I stand in utter awe of this level of incompetence and bureaucracy. I don’t think I could achieve it if I made an active effort.
One characteristic which distinguishes US bureaucracy is resource intensiveness.
Pictures from the 2013 Property and Freedom Society Conference
Ten observations from the Crypto Currency Conference in Atlanta
1. Charlie Shrem is in the trenches of the regulatory fight. When he spoke on the panel of entrepreneurs he gave glimpses of a very ugly struggle for legality. He spoke quickly, in hurried detailed — big gushes of information. He spoke in terms of problems and solutions, the language of someone lost in the fight. There were banks closing the accounts of bitcoin businesses because they were competitors, because regulations were uncertain, for no reason whatsoever. There were impenetrable layers of bureaucracy and gatekeepers who say “that’s ridiculous” and hang up the phone. I’m rooting for you, Charlie.
2. BitPay’s Tony Gallippi says they’re going to start contrasting their service with that of credit cards, and the many hidden fees and burdens they impose. I can’t wait. Did you know that in the hospitality business, credit card companies can hold your money for four weeks before transferring it to you?
3. It was a big, diverse crowd. Bitcoin, as we should expect, impacts many sectors.
4. I know more than I think. Much more. This is a recurring problem for me. I always imagine the world full of logical, rational, hard working people who know more than me. But when I look more closely, where ever I look, I see trial and error, 60% solutions and dubious decision making. This is what entrepreneurship can look like. It’s a beautiful thing, really. It takes courage to blaze a new trail.
5. This relates to the previous point: Nobody is in charge, nobody completely knows what’s happening, and that’s awesome.
6. I hate streets named Peachtree, and high school parades that shut down large parts of a city, especially when I’m running late.
7. It was really cool to meet the people behind the Life on Bitcoin documentary. The couple has a great state presence. They offered a great idea for converting merchants: promise to organize a bitcoin bash at their restaurant, and leave a deposit to prove you’re serious.
8. When someone has a seizure, as happened during the conference, you mostly have to protect them from the good intentions of concerned bystanders. Don’t put anything in their mouth! (more) Cooler heads prevailed, and the unfortunate young man regained consciousness while waiting for first responders.
9. What the hell is this Russian hang-up with Ukraine? It came out of nowhere in the last place I expected, Atlanta. I had lunch with a seemingly nice guy who was both a libertarian and a bitcoin enthusiast. He should be an ally, right? As soon as I mentioned I was from Lviv, it started. That’s the poorest section of Ukraine. (It isn’t.) It’s the worst customer service in Europe. (My opinions vary.) Everyone who lives there wants to leave. (The population decline is actually the least dramatic in the west.) Ukraine’s economy isn’t even a fifth of Khazakstans. (Official numbers show them as close to equal, in fact.) Moscow, by contrast has had western style customer service for a long time. (I’ll take his word for it, because I have no desire to visit.) It’s a shit-hole. (Lviv rated #1 European city to visit.) His relatives are apparently burdened with occasionally having to visit the many apartments they own in Lviv — a consequence of their Soviet military past. The barbs kept coming. I politely disagreed, stated contrary impressions, failed several times to change the subject and restrained myself from escalating. Maybe I shouldn’t have. After lunch, he said goodbye with “nice meeting you, but I’m not sure I’d want to live in Lviv.” (I support that decision.) Maybe Muskovites like him fear Ukraine. They fear their own identity will be revealed as a hollow shell without the Ukrainian culture they claim as their own. I hope he watched the Klitschko – Povetkin fight.
10. Atlanta’s High Museum is awesome, and free for military veterans.
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I also managed to visit Atlanta’s wonderful High Museum:
Ой у полі на роздоллі – автентичне виконання
[youtube]1AbHNh83Q6E[/youtube]
Ukraine’s chances for prosperity
Ukraine has several things going for it:
1- Absolutely no illusion among the people that the state will provide for them.
2- [Relatively] strong families and social networks (cause by the previous condition).
3- A culture and a relatively homogeneous society. Also, a fierce devotion to preserving their culture.
4- Smart, hard-working people.
It has several thing going against it too:
1- A kleptocracy which, almost by definition, means poor property rights and arbitrary rule of law.
2- An entrenched, Soviet style bureaucracy.
3- A victim complex — justified, but dangerous nonetheless.
4- A cultural marxist invasion through the University system (which so far, few people take seriously). It is fuel by the false perception that Ukraine’s choice is between the EU and Russia.
5- Hopelessness and alcoholism — from a lack of opportunities/investment.
6- The complete absence of a high-trust society, and no memory of one.
Gun ownership will help with #1 and #3, which will lead to bigger and freer markets. They would solve #5, #3, and import the solution to #6.
The other solution is secession. Secession would throw different systems into stark contrast and help with #1, #2 and even #6.
I’m hoping that the culture and the church are strong enough by themselves to resist #4.
For the time being, the market is importing a high trust society little by little, but so much is still decided by brute force that to some extent the ethics of the effective highway man are the most respected. Corporate raiding remains a problems.
So, to re-state my thesis: Gun ownership would solve half of Ukraine’s problems. Secession and voluntary segregation would solve the other half by casing varying ethical systems into stark contrast.
American Produce
After living and eating in Ukraine for over a year, American produce look bloated and unnatural. Onions are not supposed to be that swollen. Apples are not supposed to rival the size of my head. Carrots are not supposed to look that flawless.
Give me that dirty, crooked, small-ish, and *DELICIOUS* Ukrainian produce, please.
How I see myself as a writer:
:)
Russia goes on the offensive as for Soviet states prefer EU ties
I love the stand the Putin administration has taken against Syria, in defense of Edward Snowden, even against open demonstrations of homosexuality. But I’m completely sympathetic to all former Soviet States trying to get away from the Russian bear. They are obsessed with restoring their imperialism
A Friend’s Comparison of American and Ukrainian Women
Ukrainian women are the not only the most beautiful, but the most elegant and noble women in the world. Femininity is power. It is a power we men don’t have. This list doesn’t do the difference justice. It’s from a guy who wrote a book traveling here. But it’s a crass and humorous illustration of what is really a profound, gracious and elegant difference.
American girl: “What do you do?”
Ukrainian girl: “Why are you in Ukraine?”
American: Asks you to buy a drink
Ukrainian: Expects you to buy a drink
American: Flip flops because they’re comfortable
Ukrainian: High heels because men like them
American: 20 pounds overweight
Ukrainian: 5 pounds underweight
American: Looking for a stable career
Ukrainian: Looking for a stable husband
American: Won’t shut up
Ukrainian: Won’t open up
American: Hates makeup
Ukrainian: Qualified to be a makeup artist
American: Obsessed with celebrities
Ukrainian: Obsessed with money
American: Knows how to heat chicken nuggets
Ukrainian: Knows how to cook meals passed on from her grandmother
American: Pretends to be a porn star in bed
Ukrainian: Pretends to be a virgin in bed
American: Complains there are no good men
Ukrainian: Complains you didn’t buy her flowers
American: Feels uncomfortable with silence
Ukrainian: Feels uncomfortable with too much chatter
American: Treats you like a coworker
Ukrainian: Treats you like the master of her life
American: Relationship gets worse after first sex
Ukrainian: Relationship gets better after first sex
American: Never traveled but thinks she knows the world
Ukrainian: Never traveled and insecure about it
American: Obsessed with Apple
Ukrainian: Obsessed with Apple
American: Goes to supermarket in pajamas
Ukrainian: Goes to supermarket in mini skirt
American: Dresses like a bum even though she has money
Ukrainian: Dresses flashy even though she has no money
American: Sees men as misogynists who have institutional privilege
Ukrainian: Sees men as a bridge to a better life
American: Will believe anything you tell them
Ukrainian: Human lie detector
American: Pretend she’s strong and independent
Ukrainian: Knows she’s fragile and weak
American: Brags about dating multiple guys at the same time
Ukrainian: Brags about gifts that rich men bought her
American: Thinks lawyer are boring
Ukrainian: Thinks lawyers are accomplished men worthy of marriage
American: Goes out twice a week to clubs to get attention from men
Ukrainian: Goes out only once a month because she can’t afford it
American: Thinks casual sex and free birth control are essential to being happy
Ukrainian: Things marriage is essential to being happy
American: Fucks a guy who can make her vagina wet
Ukrainian: Fucks a guy who can improve her life in some way
American: Expert at taking webcam shots from magic angles
Ukrainian: Expert at posing sexy for photos in ugly park
American: Ideal man has to be witty, spontaneous, and interesting, with stand-up comedian level of humor
Ukrainian: Doesn’t care about a man’s personality as long as he has money
Buy Cell Phone Service
The other place (besides medicine) where US bureaucracy is worse that Ukrainian bureaucracy is in buying cell phone service. Took me almost an hour. I needed an ID.
In Ukraine, it’s as simple as buy bubble gum. Money, sim card, done.
Anti-IP article in Ukrainian literary magazine
My friend Andriy making waves as usual: http://litakcent.com/2013/09/24/avtora-avtora/
There was a Ukrainian poet who translated the works of Jim Morrison. He couldn’t publish the book because of IP fears. Eventually he self-published and enjoyed spectacular success as well as fierce condemnation.
My friend Andriy defends him in this article as makes a more general argument against IP. The outcry against his article was severe, the discussion was intense, and the support expressed was surprisingly strong (though still the minority opinion).
Reburial of Galician SS soldier remains
Story and photos here.
First, some context and empathy for the soldiers:
The Galician SS division formed in 1943 when it was already clear that the Nazis would lose the war. Approximately 15,000 young men, mostly from Western Ukraine formed the division. The division was unique among SS division in that it formed with two stipulations: 1) they would only be used to fight the advancing Red Army. 2) they were allowed to have priests in the division. The latter is relevant because the first thing the Red army did when it captured Galicia in 1939 was slaughter all the priests (and deport all the seminary students to Siberia).
I regard their effort as a mostly heroic effort to resist the Bolsheviks who, long before WWII even started, had slaughtered many more innocent people that the Nazis ever would.
I know my grandfather, a Ukrainian patriot who did time in Poland’s Bereza Kartuska prison (and may have survived only because the guards abandoned the prison upon the Soviet invasion of 1939), advised young men from his town against joining the Galician SS division, not because it wasn’t a noble cause, but because their effort was futile. (Later that year, it was my grandfather’s Jewish neighbor who warned him, with only minutes to spare, that the Bolsheviks were coming to take him away.) Indeed, most of those young men died in the battle of Brody, which in the sweep of history was a minor speed bump on the Red Army’s road to Berlin.
“Of the approximately 11,000 Galician soldiers deployed at Brody, about 3,000 were able to almost immediately re-enter the division. Approx 7,400 were posted as ‘Missing in combat’ . . . . The 3000 survivors of the Galician Division were used as a nucleus for the rebuilt 14th SS division. Those that were captured were either executed or sent to slave-labour camps.”
I believe in honoring these men, but the Nazi uniforms are in poor taste. The Galicians were not loyal to the Nazis, they were loyal to Ukraine. They need to stop being so stupid about the symbols they choose. Also, from a utilitarian perspective, Nazi dress-up parties only fuel the false legitimacy of the Soviet Union, of the imperial ambitions of Putin’s Russia, of Ukraine’s Party of Regions, and of the bullshit prosecutions and show trials of innocent men like John Demjanjuk.
More broadly, this reburial demonstrates why Ukrainian history is so difficult to read and discuss, but maybe that’s why I’m attracted to it. If all the information around me was honest, true and complete, I’d have to find a new hobby.
Comments and contrary opinions are welcome.
Elmer!
I was thrilled to bump into the notorious Elmer during my brief visit through Kyiv, and delighted that he had time to join me for coffee.
If you’re not already reading it, I highly recommend his blog:
http://tap-the-talent.blogspot.com/
An Indian Restaurant With Cow-Hide Chairs
I can imagine them shopping online for “Indian furniture” without distinguishing American Indians from south Asian ones. I find these incongruities charming. The entrepreneurial equivalent of a toddler learning to walk.
Coffee Innovation
At one coffee house in Kyiv, they put this hour-glass timer on my table, and delivered my coffee before the sand ran out.
Meanwhile in Lviv, the self-proclaimed coffee capital, a barista competition:
New, Modern Supermarket around the Corner
It’s as if they read my recent rant about grocery shopping. God bless capitalism.
A culture in search of a state
Russia, the concept created by Czar Peter I from the Muskovites and conquered peoples, has been a state in search of a culture. Ukraine has been a culture in search of a state.
