TBLPOD26dec2013

2013’s Best fight, quote, song, priest, practical joke, campaign slogan and protest! Ugulava demayored, Georgia residence issues, top proc German arrest, Girvliani MP questions, ZZ guard no bail, UNM back to parliament, Chiora v Beselia, prison hunger strike, Christmas paroles, Russian visas, BI Forbes chat, BI looses a B, Vere Palace protest, quick EU sigs, Reconciliation not Reintegration ministry, ADB infrastructure, discrimination draft, budget, pres salary, Misha on Ukraine no go list, Misha at Fletcher, Kakhi on gas price, IDP Batumi flats, UK visa TB test, bank complaints, 30 min WiFi limit, forest policy, New Year’s stuff.

5 thoughts on “TBLPOD26dec2013

  1. BEST OF GEORGIA 2013:
    The categories for this year’s best of Georgia 2013 are best fight, best quote, best song, best priest, best practical joke, best campaign slogan, and best protest.

    Best fight: Ratiani versus Davitashvili on Maestro’s program “Arguments” Link: http://goo.gl/v7nCeG

    Best quote: Zakaria Kutsnashvili, a Georgian Dream MP from Tianeti, about virginity certificates: “virginity certificates can only be issued by a husband… Since he is the only person who can issue such a certificate, if he is interested in doing it with lawyers and experts, we can’t do anything about that. So, we should not take this issue too seriously and we should talk with our spouses.”

    Best song: BI’s cousin Lala Ivanishvili’s “A call from Israel” Link: http://goo.gl/IifTKN

    Best priest: The May 17th priest who took a stool, or Taburetkha, from a woman selling nuts on the street, allegedly to prevent other people from using it. He then later waved the stool around threateningly toward the 17th of May LGBT protesters.

    Best Practical Joke, intentional and unintentional: UNM unveils their new party flag, which is identical to the current Georgian flag except it replaces the four crosses in the quadrants with hearts. Link: http://goo.gl/1aohd0

    Best campaign slogan: Labor Party leader Shalva Natelashvili – “fighting against the rich.”

    Best protest: Onise Gergedava who took his shirt off outside Gldani Prison #8 and smeared honey on himself in a show of solidarity with former Interior minister Bacho Akhalaia. Yes, you heard that correctly, he smeared honey on himself for Bacho in reference to Tsotne Dadiani.

    The MEME this week:
    Bank of Georgia’s Orange Santa video. Since 2007, Bank of Georgia has released videos of an orange santa dancing every year. The videos are all accessible on OrangeSanta.ge.

    THINGS TO READ
    An article by Ted Bromund on the Heritage Foundation website about problems with Interpol. The author says that Zura Adeishvili illustrates the problem precisely. By treating all of its members equally, Interpol assumes that all of their requests for help are equally valid. According to the article it is impossible to determine the question of Adeishvili’s innocence or guilt outside of a courtroom, but there is reason to fear that the case is predominantly political. The Heritage foundation completed it’s transition from a conservative think tank to a Republican cheer leading squad by making Jim Demint go from being the fourth poorest senator to a millionaire when they brought him on board to lead it. And of course they have a long alliance with their libertarian brothers in the UNM, but they do have a point with this one. Link: http://goo.gl/Xg3lAT

    TI Georgia’s final report on the misuse of administrative resources covering the period from the 1st of July to the 12th of November 2013. The monitoring of the period revealed that, compared with the Parliamentary Elections in 2012, there were considerably fewer instances of the use of administrative resources for electoral purposes. This made the pre-election period seem more calm but also more competitive. Link: http://goo.gl/XLNFq9

    An article in DFWatch.net about EMC’s study of religious conflict in three Georgian villages—Nigvziani, Tsintskaro and Samtatskaro. After a year of religious conflict between christians and muslims over muslim prayer houses in the villages, there has been no satisfactory resolution. EMC criticizes the central government for not taking substantive steps to defend human rights and respond to violations. Instead the central government has tended to delegate authority to the clergy to solve these issues. Very much cause for concern and worth reading. Link: http://goo.gl/2RDuHX

    An article about the Martyr Queen Ketevan. According to the article, DNA analysis suggest that Archaeologists discovered some of Ketevan’s remains amongst the ruins of St. Augustine’s Church in Goa, southeast India. Queen Ketevan was a 17th century queen from the Kingdom of Kakheti in eastern Georgia. Since 1989, various delegations from Georgia worked together with the Archaeological Survey of India to locate Ketevan the Martyr within the Augustinian church which was founded in 1572. In the year 1613, the emperor of Persia, Shah Abbas I led an army to conquer the Georgian kingdom and Queen Ketevan became his prisoner. The queen was held in Shiraz, southern Iran for approximately ten years, but in 1624, the emperor sent soldiers to convert her to the Islamic faith and to force her into his harem. However, she resisted his orders and as a consequence was tortured and strangled to death in September 1624. Link: http://goo.gl/HlaQS6

    An article on civil.ge about draft law on legal status of foreigners and stateless persons which the parliament adopted with its first reading. Citizens of more than 100 countries and territories are now able to enter into Georgia and stay in the country without visa for 360 days. The bill, which will replace the existing law, will instruct the government to draw up within three months the list of the countries, whose citizens will not require visas. Link: http://goo.gl/fUbso2

    ANNOUNCEMENTS:
    On the 28th of December, Art Avenue Gallery will host the Personal Exhibition of the photographer Misha Korkia starting at 6PM. The exhibition will be followed by a live concert of the Georgian band “Lady Heroine.” The Address is 5 Marjanishvili str. For additional details visit: Facebook.com/ArtAvenueAdvertising

    Till the 14th of February, Dimitri Shevardnadze National Gallery presents the exhibition “Western European Paintings from Ekvtime Takaishvili’s Treasury” featuring German, French and Italian paintings from the 16th through 18th centuries. The Address is 11 Shota Rustaveli Ave. For additional details visit: Museum.ge

    Here are the New Year’s events in Tbilisi:
    – Santa Claus and Tovlis Babua will meet with children everyday till the 7th of January in Mtatsminda Park from noon to 4 PM;
    – Ice skating will be organized in Rike park till the 1st of February. It will be free of charge;
    – New Year’s premiere of “The Christmas Song” at Marjanishvili theater till the 19th of January;
    – New Year’s concert on Europe square on the 31st of December at 10:30 PM.

  2. Mr Mullen,
    You failed to mention the winner of the Best Ex-President still in Georgia and not in jail or executed?
    Eduard S

    Oh yea, did you fail high school geography? Goa is not in Southwest India, it is located in the Western Ghats region, on the west coast of India.

  3. Hi Mark, Mankato is pronounced man KAY toe. Nevertheless, I’m glad you brought that piece of history up as the plight of the Dakota people is one of the saddest in our nation’s history.

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