TBLPOD23jan2014

Sachmeli dis, new proc gen, border move, Lefort Osset chat, Lavrov BS, HR3547, 63 mill from US, HRW comments, EU Survey, old UNM post-Patarkatsishvili deal, Natsvlishvili Swiss rehab, BI’s fund to Davos, PM CNBC chat, Kornblum blasts Tufts, Poti mayor shift, Burj fine, 54 pardons, minister salary cuts, fancy gov car control, Ambos call for Broadcast board fix, Vashadze v Kay update, Margvel’s PR Turkey attack, Misha free gas, TV tower dark, strategic assets rethink, @MargvelashviliG, EBRD Dariali docs, Epiphany, Gov gives church land, mandarins junked, fake milk, donkey meat, Vake hotel protests, bank profits, Duty Free Kutaisi, Jumber loss, Ukrainian support, new IDP cash rules, threshold, EIU, piracy.

3 thoughts on “TBLPOD23jan2014

  1. Referring to the firms the GCF is meeting at the WEF in Davos, US-based farm machinery giant AGCO have been distributing tractors here through local company World Technic for some time.

    It was claimed that state-owned Partnership Fund has no representation at Davos while GCF does; this is not really the case. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Partnership Fund is Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili, who is present in Davos.

  2. 2009 comments on the importance of the 50% threshold in elections Links: http://goo.gl/SPDvya http://goo.gl/ISltrx

    Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili’s Interview with CNBC. Link: http://goo.gl/ByM3zm

    On the 21st of January John Kornblum, on some kind of retainer as Bidzina’s foreign policy advisor wrote a letter to The Tufts Daily: “To the Editor: I was distressed to read in your newspaper that former Georgian President Saakashvili had been appointed as a so-called “Senior Statesman” at the Fletcher School. This appointment is not only an example of bad judgment by Fletcher’s new dean, but it is even more a disservice to Fletcher students and to the entire university community. Saakashvili can in no way serve as an example for future diplomats and business executives.
    I am a former American Ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State who served as a foreign policy advisor to Saakashvili’s opponent in the October 2012 election for Prime Minister, which was conveniently not mentioned in Fletcher’s announcement. The reason for this omission is probably the fact that the 2012 election resulted in a resounding vote to transfer power to the Georgian Dream Party, even though the President and his party spared no effort to use the tools of government to block the campaign of challenger Bidzina Ivanishvili. Ivanishvili is a businessman who entered politics in an effort to end the repeated violations of civil rights, government violence against citizens and economic decay that characterized Saakashvili’s rule.
    I was on hand during the final dramatic weeks of the 2012 election and can attest personally to the ruthless oppression of freedom and violence against campaign workers that I observed. The fact that over 60 percent of the Georgian population was able to vote against Saakashvili is not only a testimony to Ivanishvili’s courage, but also to the support of Western governments who made clear to Saakashvili that he would not be allowed once again to steal an election.
    Fletcher’s new dean appears to be part of a group of senior military American officials who supported Saakashvili, whatever his crimes, because of his pro-NATO credentials. I am sure the dean will defend his decision, whatever facts may emerge. But Fletcher students and faculty can help achieve a positive result for this sad event, by ensuring that Saakashvili’s appearances result in a full and honest discussion of his legacy. Read about recent Georgian history; learn about Saakashvili’s treatment of prisoners, his ruthless suppression of demonstrators in May 2011 and the corruption and personal enrichment that infected his entire regime. Above all, force him to tell the truth. By so doing, you can help ensure that this bizarre appointment will at least have served as an example of how freedom can, in fact, win out over post-Soviet dictators such as Saakashvili in the strategic regions bordering on Russia.
    Sincerely,
    John C. Kornblum
    Senior Counselor
    Noerr LLP”

    The MEME this week is from a red carpet event. A group of Georgians are yelling at Leonardo DiCaprio to get his attention at “The Wolf of Wall Street” London Premiere. Link: http://goo.gl/P1tjjJ

    THINGS TO READ
    The 2014 Country report on Georgia by the Economist Intelligence Unit, a specialist publisher serving companies establishing and managing operations across national borders. According to the report, Georgia’s relations with Russia might get worse in late 2014 following the conclusion of the Sochi Olympics. The Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts that GDP growth will average 4.6% from 2014 to 2015, up from 2.4% in 2013. Consumer price inflation is forecast to reach 4% as consumer and public spending rises. The report also includes analysis about politics and the economy. Link: http://goo.gl/XNrPBL

    An article by Erekle Urushadze from TI Georgia about corruption in Georgia. According to the article, surveys clearly indicate that the problem of petty corruption and bribery is largely solved in Georgia. However, there are more complex forms of corruption that the majority of citizens do not encounter in their daily lives. These forms of corruption are, nevertheless, very harmful to the country as a whole. For this reason, organizations studying corruption conduct the so-called corruption perception surveys along with the corruption experience surveys. These studies are usually based on the opinions of people who have direct contact with spheres especially prone to corruption. TI Georgia’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index is one such study. The latest results of this study were published in December 2013. Link: http://goo.gl/hCXUsC

  3. Russia did not extend its border into Abkhazia, the only thing that was extended is the border zone inside Abkhazia, and only for the duration of the Olympics. This seems sensible for security reasons, and needn’t be controversial, except that the Georgian government is intentionally making a fuzz about this.

    I have a question: can you explain why Otsneba MPs are so unwilling to support members of the board of the Georgian Public Broadcaster, even those that were nominated by their Otsneba colleagues? What is behind this?

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