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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 about Georgia’s Olympic team’s uniforms. They were designed by Samoseli Pirveli which makes traditional Georgian costumes — and the Olympic uniforms look like medieval Georgian traditional costumes. People hate them and say they look very conservative and un-sporty. More than 6,000 people signed a petition to change the 2016 uniforms. One person asked on social media: “Did we have the Islamic State come up with the design?” So the meme is a juxtaposition of the uniforms the Georgian athletes wore to the 2012 London Olympics, which were modern and sporty, with the ones for Rio de Janeiro 2016. PAUSE It was stressful for the athletes since everyone was getting very upset about the Olympic costumes. First Lady Maka Chichua made a really diplomatic gesture; she posted on Facebook some photos of herself and the President wearing the Olympic team costumes, looking happy.
Links: http://bit.ly/2aC1xe4 ; http://bit.ly/2aDeFwQ
THINGS TO READ
Lincoln Mitchell is optimistic about Georgia’s domestic situation, and thinks the upcoming parliamentary elections will be another example of how things are more stable than at any time in recent history.
Link: http://bit.ly/2a9lpjV
Lonely Planet has a piece on the 10 best things to do in Tbilisi.
Link: http://bit.ly/2aP82qJ
Social Science in the Caucasus looks at civil engagement in Georgia. They find that the most common way that people connect with their communities is by helping friends and neighbors with household chores or childcare.
Link: http://bit.ly/2aeJuqX
Newsweek has a profile of Paata Burchuladze, the opera singer who is now trying his hand in politics. They cite a poll by the International Republican Institute that says Burchuladze is currently the most popular politician in Georgia.
Link: http://bit.ly/2aP7FfH
Giorgi Lomsadze writes in EurasiaNet about Georgia’s Olympic national costumes drama.
Link: http://bit.ly/2avOdFB
The BBC also picked up the uniform controversy and highlight that Georgia and Iran haves perhaps the worst uniforms at Rio.
Link: http://bit.ly/2avOnwV
Also speaking of Rio, the Daily Mail has a story on Nino Salukvadze and Tsotne Machavariani, the mother-son duo who will be competing for Georgia in pistol shooting. It’s believed to be the first time ever a mother and son have participated in the same Olympics.
Link: http://bit.ly/2aC1ZcD
EurasiaNet’s Marianna Grigoryan follows-up on the hostage crisis in Yerevan. Many Armenians are more sympathetic to the hostage-takers than they are to the government.
Link: http://bit.ly/2a9lJ1V
Forbes has a piece on Anaklia’s new status as a popular vacation destination.
Link: http://bit.ly/2aBl7HW
Amnesty International calls for independent monitors to be allowed to visit detainees in Turkey. They say they have evidence that many of the roughly 13,000 detainees are being beaten, raped, and tortured, and denied food, water, and medical treatment.
Link: http://bit.ly/2anCEyd
No-Yolo published their list of the 10 best bars in Eastern Europe. Tbilisi’s Generator 9.8 makes the list. I have only stopped by there once and it had a Queen Only Karaoke Marathon. Wild and good singers.
Link: http://bit.ly/2aQaMDS
Chai-Khana is running a series on entrepreneurship in the South Caucasus. One article is about Georgian small businesses that are trying to use new technologies and management strategies to push their businesses onto the cutting edge.
Link: http://bit.ly/2a5AUh6
DF Watch has an investigative piece on the finances of the Georgian Lottery Company, which is operated by Lexor Capital, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands in the name of Dmitri Chikovani. The lottery company is almost 100 million dollars behind on the licensing fees it was supposed to pay to the government, because it hugely overestimated the amount of revenue that lottery ticket sales would produce. It is a great investigative article and one of the rare articles about something important that nobody was talking about. The background was that it was set up under Misha and its management was a total inside deal, never been very transparent.
Link: http://bit.ly/2aibgC7
The National Democratic Institute and Caucasus Research Resource Centers released their June 2016 public opinion poll. The results are that Georgians are slightly more optimistic about the country’s direction than they were in March of this year.
Link: http://bit.ly/2aQaEEr