georgia

The World in Brief

Thursday, October 23rd, 2008

Laughter was Forgetting? Recently released Soviet era documents, though often considered questionable sources, have revealed that Milan Kundera, celebrated Czech author of such works as The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting and Ignorance–most dealing with themes of displacement, sacrifice, sex and Totalitarianism–may have informed on a spy friend in order to keep his place at the university after being expelled from the Communist Party.

Not All Quiet on the Afghani Front…There really is nothing amicable about “friendly fire”; it’s simply a fatal error. And today marked another nine of them. An American air attack on an Afghan army post resulted in nine deaths and three critical injuries.

Throwing Rice at their Wedding The Bush Administration sent Secretary of State Condoleezza to Puerto Vallarta in order to meet with Mexican counterpart, Patricia Espinosa. Mexico’s drug cartel violence has reached a fever pitch loud enough to make adjacent U.S. feel threatened and of the mind a diplomatic intervention is required.

Rock and Hard Place Sandwiched between Russia to the north and Iran to the south, Azerbaijan has ever been in an uncomfortable geographic and political position. Since the Soviet Union fell, the oil bearing country has been able to keep Russia at bay while courting the interests of NATO and the U.S. Following the former’s war with Georgia, however, striking that balance has proven quite the challenge.

Shiites Restive in Sadr City Despite the relative calm washing over the city since its cease-fire, Shiites within its confines have grown increasingly angry regarding a government they consider “worse than Saddam Hussein['s].” For now, their fury has been kept in check, but how long before their pots boil over?

Afternoon Apertif: Daily News Roundup

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

After all that build-up, Hurricane Gustav has come and gone, leaving huge swathes of power outages and a big ol’ mess for returning evacuees to clean up, but no broken levees or national disaster areas.  While people begin making their way back to that part of the waterfront, Gustav’s sister Hanna is heading ominously toward Florida.  No rest for the wicked, as they say.  Hanna is expected to hit landfall on Friday.  Ike will be following sometime thereafter.  On top of the actual danger and damage being done, The Channel Wire, a tech news company, has reported that phishers are massively exploiting these events.  How depressing.  Please, be cautious when giving out personal information online.  (Servicey!)

John McCain is releasing an ad stating that Palin is much more experienced than Obama.  As questionable as that claim is, I look forward to the irrefutable rebuttal in which Obama says he’s just much, much smarter.  Kidding, of course.  About the rebuttal.  Obama is way too classy to say something like that.

General Petraeus is saying that troops could depart Baghdad as soon as next summer!  Attacks are down to a mere five a day (which is still, I know, really sad and terrifying.  My heart goes out to all Iraqis), and American troops have withdrawn out of 14 of 18 provinces!  There is a long road ahead, but there appears to be, if not a light at the end of the tunnel, at least some road signs up ahead.

Still-President Bush has announced that the US will donate $1B in aid to Georgia, following their altercation with Russia over South Ossetia.  Still-Vice President Cheney is due to arrive in the former Soviet republic tomorrow for “discussions” with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

On a lighter note, the return of “90210″ had a solid showing in the ratings last night, bringing in 4.9 million viewers and dragging the CW network into first place for adults 18-49 years old.  Congratulations, Brenda, Kelly and the whole gang at Beverly High!

And don’t forget that Sarah Palin will be making her speech at the Rupublican National Convention tonight!  More coverage on that to follow…

Evening Nuggets: Daily News Roundup

Monday, September 1st, 2008

Another distraction for McCain? It was reported today the 17-year-old daughter of John McCain’s running mate, Alaska governor Sarah Palin, is five months pregnant and out of wedlock. The news came while many eyes were already focused on FEMA’s response to Hurricane Gustav along the Gulf Coast, pulling even more attention from the Republican National Convention, which began today. It also sparked a discussion in both camps over how much importance the media should place on it and whether it might affect Palin’s performance or McCain’s campaign for the presidency. McCain’s rival, Barack Obama, appeared on TV to agree that it was a private matter and should be left alone.

Iraq regains control of Anbar. The U.S. officially relinquished control of the region, which includes Fallujah, the site of the biggest battle in the 5-and-a-half year war. American troops will play backup and let Iraqi military and police lead the way, bringing the total to 11 of 18 provinces that the war-torn nation will take responsibility for securing. Anbar once held the grisly distinction of being the center of the Sunni insurgency and being the location for a quarter of the American death toll. Both Americans and Iraqis at a festival celebrating the handover expressed surprise at the turnaround, according to the New York Times.

Google is releasing its own Web browser. Google Chrome is supposed to be available on Tuesday and marks a new challenge to arch-rival Microsoft, which has attempted to usurp some of Google’s prominence on the Web by developing its own search engine and trying to buy Yahoo, Inc. With the expectation of a Google cell phone (gPhone or an iPhone, take your pick), the stakes are as high as ever as the digital titans duke it out. But with Google controlling about two thirds of the search market and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer being used by 75% of Web users (not to mention the market dominance of Microsoft’s Windows operating system), is anyone else wondering what’s happened to free-market competition? It’s still a relevant question: uniformity makes it easier on consumers but denies healthy competition.

E.U.: Watch it, Russia. Russia’s handling of a conflict with Georgia over South Ossetia, which wants independence from Georgia, drew a unanimous warning from 27 members of the European Union after a one-day emergency summit today. According to The Economist, the E.U. previously had threatened Russia with “decisions on the continuation of discussions on the future of relations”–an empty threat in mangled English that would have made George Orwell cringe. Whether the current threat has any bite remains to be seen.

Breakfast Bites: Musharaff, Money and…. Bigfoot?

Friday, August 15th, 2008

Early “retirement” Pakistani President Pervez Musharaff is expected to step down in the next few days. The news came after leaders of the ruling coalition said they planned to impeach him.

Money matters Inflation has skyrocketed to a 17-year high, so each party’s presumptive presidential nominee is talking taxes. Both Obama and McCain say their plan is a net tax cut. Obama released the specifics of his plan and McCain shot back, calling it an “economic disaster.” Economists say neither plan will realistically shave down the federal deficit. Here’s a fact box giving the down low on both proposals.

Changing hands While the pols are promising to cut down on your costs, some interesting exchanges have been gong on. Donors gave McCain a boost last month, sending $27 million into his campaign coffer. A John Edwards associate is trying to explain why he gave $14,000 to his former mistress (and alleged baby mama). Federal investigators say Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who faces a slew of criminal charges stemming from alleged fibs on his financial disclosure forms, accepted an electronic generator before Y2K.

A big discovery Two Georgians claim to have found Bigfoot’s body. Most say it’s a hoax. My assessment? If FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder shows up on the scene, it’s gotta be real.

Afternoon Tea: News Roundup

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Denver Debauchery With just 10 days until the Democratic National Convention kicks off. The media is salivating over every scheduling change and RSVP. The Obama camp has decided to let Hillary Clinton’s name be added into the mix to appease the legions of Clintonites who won’t quit ’til their gal has a fair shot at clinching the nomination. Some are concerned that HRC is scheming to steal the spotlight, but we know that the big O will be the shining star. And we’re not talking Obama — Oprah has confirmed that she’s leaving the windy city to attend Obama’s big Thursday night speech. Smart, considering that everything she touches turns to gold and some university researchers are saying that the chatty surrogate has already delivered one million votes to Barack. Former Virginia Gov. and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Warner has been tapped as a keynote speaker, leading some to speculate whether he’ll ultimately get the veep nod (meanwhile, reports are swirling that Sen. Joe Biden is quickly climbing the short list). Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who has been charged with assault and perjury, has gotten the go-ahead from a judge to leave the state for the big event…. though we’re not sure why Democratic leaders would want him there.

Xtreme Campaigning Aspiring First Lady Cindy McCain demonstrated the dangers lurking on the campaign trail yesterday when she sprained her wrist shaking hands with an “enthusiastic supporter.” Apparently she has carpal tunnel syndrome or something… maybe from transcribing all her luddite hubby’s e-mails? The GOP nominee has been fundraising this week and talking to people about their hardships and the failing auto industry in the swing state of Michigan to show he cares more than his vacay-bound opponent. He’s also hinting that he might be open to a veep who doesn’t completely abhor abortion rights

Conflict Continues The Georgian government says Russia just won’t let up. Moscow continues to ignore warnings from the U.S. — Secretary of Defense Robert Gates maintains that we won’t intervene with force, so we’ve sent Condi to broker a cease fire that will hold up. The BBC has a day-by-day breakdown of what’s happened so far.

In it to win it In case you haven’t heard yet, Michael Phelps is, like, paramount to a Greek God. He’s closing in on breaking the standing record for most golds in an Olympics Games and has been named the “icon of the games.” Not everyone is showcasing good sportsmanship. A Swedish wrestler threw his medal in a tantrum of sorts after getting upset over the judging. Chinese gymnasts snagged a gold, but the U.S. says they’re cheating because their team members too young. And as NBC’s “multimedia phenomenon” coverage blitz continues to draw in record viewers of the Games, Tibetan protestors are clashing with police in Nepal.