Republicans loose ministers, finally CenterPoint indictments, NATO summit, Kerry, Ankvab fail, more GegeshidzeGate, new Ajara leader, Chugo and others for Otsneba MPs, Hahn in Batumi, Nats Anti Crisis Plan, attempts to pull Dekanoidzes passport, Burchaladze plan, femicide protest, family murdered, Georgian mob boss arrested in Moscow, Daesh confirmed Omar al Shishani is dead, two other Pankisi Daesh deaths, Samegrelo drownings, earthquake, trade up, Kalashnikovs for sale, EBRD waste, air quality monitoring, runway fixed, new Batumi trains, grape subsidy, Lilo US factory, Kakheti pipeline, Czech award to Geo movie, Cartu gives Shekhvetili venue, Dinamo for the blind, UNESCO puts Mskheta back on list, polyphonic Nirvana, nuke transit, new busses, Lelos in Kilmarnock
TBLPOD.com
A discussion in English of the week in Georgia (the one near Chechnya not the one near Alabama) Don't know what a podcast is? Don't worry, just click on it and listen. კეთილი იყოს თქვენი მობრძანება! თუ ინგლისური იცით, დააჭირეთ ისარს და მოისმინეთ კვირის საინტერესო ამბები
Don't know what a podcast is? Don't worry, just click on it and listen. That's it. Nothing scary about it.
კეთილი იყოს თქვენი მობრძანება! თუ ინგლისური იცით, დააჭირეთ ისარს და მოისმინეთ კვირის საინტერესო ამბები.
The MEME this week is a polyphonic adaptation of Nirvana’s 1991 hit Smells Like Teen Spirit; the song is by the folk ensemble Mdzle-vari. Almost two hundred thousand hits.
Link: http://bit.ly/2acT8Kn
THINGS TO READ
EurasiaNet’s Josh Kucera recaps what Georgia received at the NATO Summit, and in his view it isn’t very much. NATO didn’t make a commitment to provide Georgia with more defensive weapons.
Link: http://bit.ly/2a12iNJ
In a great investigative piece, Maia Edilashvili writes in EurasiaNet about the recent cases of nuclear material being smuggled. Turkey is concerned that Georgia could be used as a transit route to bring nuclear material into its territory.
Link: http://bit.ly/29Hl9LD
NATO published its communique from the Warsaw Summit online. Georgia is encouraged to continue implementing reforms and preparing for membership.
Link: http://bit.ly/29VvLWu
Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty’s Brian Whitmore provides his analysis on the Warsaw Summit: it’s a big deal and a positive step forward for NATO, especially the commitment to strengthen multinational forces in Poland and Baltic states.
Link: http://bit.ly/29GyUYy
Michael Cecire writes about the Warsaw Summit in World Politics Review. NATO took big steps to deter Russia, but it won’t matter much for Georgia’s hopes of joining the Alliance.
Link: http://bit.ly/29y8vQn
Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stav-ridis writes in Foreign Policy about the winners and losers of the Warsaw Summit. He counts Georgia among the losers, because full membership still looks like a distant possibility. Stavridis is being vetted as a possibly running mate for Hillary Clinton.
Link: http://bit.ly/29KyV18
Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty also have a piece on Abkhazia’s referendum and the political intrigues going on there.
Link: http://bit.ly/29SBxLG
Lincoln Mitchell’s Georgia Analysis addresses the bitter mood in Georgia as we get close to the parliamentary elections. He reminds us that regardless of which party wins, Georgia is still on a positive democratic path.
Link: http://bit.ly/29FXk9w
Social Science in the Caucasus looks at who Georgians think the country’s closest economic partners should be. Respondents were allowed to choose three countries. Most of the key demographics chose Russia, but residents of Tbilisi favored the EU.
Link: http://bit.ly/29GstpF
Dominic K. Cagara of DF Watch has a piece in OpenDemocracy about the Pankisi Gorge. His view is that foreign media focuses too much on terrorism, and not enough on the region’s social and economic issues.
Link: http://bit.ly/29GzipJ
Transparency International re-published this 2012 report on Center Point Construction and its numerous scandals.
Link: http://bit.ly/29BbtiK