TBLPOD20dec2012

Unions, Gvaramia of R2 nabbed & other big shots, Kutaisi attacks, Kremlin chat, Gilauri & Rikhe, Cartu shaft, TI: Who owned Georgia, Abkhaz don’t like NGOs, Pres funds to NGOs, pardons, Nana Kakabadze on “The West”, Gunava Russia & heroin, Okruashvili starves a little, Gente on justice and revenge, Fairbanks on double standards and push back to the West, numbers on BI, Misha, gayness, families & sex, cops walking, Vano uncle arrest, Gegeshidze to DC, Gelashvili bordello, Chanturia resigns, more condoms, extra trains west, Kiev flights, CIS, santa & tovlis babu. Happy Chanakwanzamas!

2 thoughts on “TBLPOD20dec2012

  1. Regarding the question whether in the context of Abkhazia you should qualify every mention of President/government/authorities/minister with ‘breakaway’ or ‘de facto’, I would go about it as follows.

    Ask yourself whether you want to stress their illegitimacy every time you mention these institutions.

    If the answer is yes, then go ahead using these qualifiers.

    If the answer is no, then they serve no purpose and you should drop them. This does not mean that you think these institutions are legitimate. To give an analogue, to call Assad President of Syria doesn’t mean you think he deserves to be, nor does your calling Kim Yong-Un Great Leader of North Korea mean that you really have to think he is a great leader.

  2. Let me first thank you dearly for having the podcast. It’s great in general. I’m also happy about that you in overall are a little light hearted and not academics without humour even though you sometimes (or more than often) have further insights and knowledge than an average former soviet international relations disguised as a “caucasian expert “ pretending for the moment to be a kartvelologist. What I would like more of are details, contexts and discussions. If you could make the podcast five hours long everything would be perfect. The negative side with this suggestion might be that you could loose some listeners (90%) and you would have to quit your other more unimportant occupations. Most essential would be if you could chain Dunbar in the studio so he always would be there for informative/witty/intelligent/whimsy comments. If you are too politically correct and weak hearted to enslave an Englishman try continue bringing some other people in as you have sometimes done and discussed. But please no more NGO people or people in the do good expat circle and no more Americans, the warning example is Nick Clayton. For this reason the socialistic German speaking former postal service worker is of great value. After all we remember that Lenin’s dream of communism was based on the German postal service and the Prussian army. Maybe occasionally bring in a half mad Neapolitan chef or a Greek freelance photographer who could convey other cultural backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. You are less good is when you all totally agree and fall into tears over how good Obama and the cliché liberal-left ideas are and that the most important question on earth is gender-therapy. As we all know life was bearable even before this fantastic revelation. The all time low was when you celebrated that every American in Tbilisi was Obama devotees except the three that outcasts that were evil ignorant republicans. What you want, a one party community? This happen quite rarely so just try to cut it as you normally try to do with grant and donor lingo. Don’t misunderstand me, I many times agree with your opinions but discussion needs dynamics and opposition, even strange, opinions. Maybe you could spread the age and bring in a reactionary cranky old lady or an untamed idealistic teenager sometimes. Or maybe an untamed revolutionary pensioner and a cranky bitter teenager. If you absolutely must have more American NGO people please bring someone from the NRA or AJC so you can have a spiritual discussion and don’t just agree on your common reverential ideas. In general the established Soros “NGO” dogma is too strong in your interpretation of the Georgian events. There is also sometimes a too strong camaraderie towards the NGO sector. Some kind of universal NGO-jingoism. GYLA is for example not neutral or objective but mostly an instrument of the Republican Party and Usupashvili who founded it. When did they ever criticize Bidzina? Tina is still on the Board. It’s more of a clan with vested interests. They give the idea of NGO a bad name. They tend to exploit the universal human rights values and justice to promote their own politically and ideologically motivated agendas. This will in the end bring down also the honest and highest valuable NGOs. Journalists have a code of honour and so should NGO people have so they don’t end like many of the journalists of the former Soviet Union. Sometimes the podcast now is too much of a helper for uninformed and cretin expats in the donor and NGO business to not look like ignorant colonisers on holyday paid by someone else dressed in well meaning truisms without meaning or substance. But in taken all together, you are really great! Thank you Camrin, Mathias and Mark. Especially respect for Camrin who is a vegetarian in Georgia, sometimes actions speak louder than words.

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