Archive for September, 2009
Posted on September 30, 2009 - by Venik
War in South Ossetia: Georgia started it
The responsibility for a war between Georgia and Russia in August last year in which 850 people were killed and over 100,000 fled their homes turns on one key point. Was a Russian invasion of the breakaway province of South Ossetia already under way on the night of 7 August when Georgia opened fire? Had [...]
Posted on September 30, 2009 - by Venik
Europe must decide if it wants to be more than Greater Switzerland | Timothy Garton Ash
The centrist triumph in Germany is important for all Europeans. But more crucial still is another vote in Ireland Once upon a time, and a very bad time it was, the world trembled when Germany spoke. Now it hardly notices. If, for instance, I had relied solely on American television and newspapers over the last [...]
Posted on September 30, 2009 - by Venik
Who do you blame for the war in Georgia? | Poll
An EU report has found that Georgia fired the first shot in last year’s war over South Ossetia, but that Russia had provided provocation. Who do you blame for the conflict? Original article Share on bebo Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share via MySpace share via [...]
Posted on September 30, 2009 - by Venik
Canadian space tourist Guy Laliberté blasts off
Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberté became the seventh space tourist today when he took off for a two-week mission to International Space Station Original article Share on bebo Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share via MySpace share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to [...]
Posted on September 30, 2009 - by Venik
Clown blasts off into space
Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil, got a rousing send-off when he lifted off into space aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz Original article Share on bebo Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share via MySpace share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe [...]
Posted on September 30, 2009 - by Venik
Russia and Georgia set to share blame for South Ossetia conflict
• EU inquiry likely to show both sides breached rules of war• Leaked findings reveal acute split among investigators An EU-commissioned report on the causes of the Russia-Georgia conflict in August last year is due to be published today, delivering what is expected to be the most definitive verdict on who was to blame. Heidi [...]
Posted on September 30, 2009 - by Venik
Circus tycoon Guy Laliberté becomes first clown in space
Cirque du Soleil founder takes off for International Space Station bearing red noses for astronauts Guy Laliberté, the Canadian circus billionaire who founded Cirque du Soleil, officially became the first clown in space this morning when he blasted off from the International Space Station. A Soyuz capsule carrying Laliberté and two astronauts lifted off on [...]
Posted on September 29, 2009 - by Venik
Wheels fall off the sanctions bandwagon | Simon Tisdall
US hawks are circling as enthusiasm for sanctions on Iran fails to materialise either among its neighbours or in China and Russia Despite strong words from Barack Obama and Gordon Brown, there is no sign of a consensus on what additional sanctions should or could be imposed by the international community if Iran continues to [...]
Posted on September 29, 2009 - by Venik
Market and Industry Report: Russian Tea Market Research Report
Download the PDF version of the report Russian Tea Market Summary of contents: – Introduction – Global Tea Market Summary – Issues and Trends Affecting the Global Market – Analysis of the Russian Tea Market – Analysis of the Indian Tea Market – Comparison of Russian and Indian Tea Markets – Opportunities for Indian Tea [...]
Posted on September 28, 2009 - by Venik
Letters: Don’t be too quick to discount Mackinder
I write in mild defence of the second director of the London School of Economics from the disapproval of Dr Tristram Hunt (A very foreign policy, 25 September). Understandably, for his rhetorical purposes Hunt over-dramatises his claims for Sir Halford Mackinder’s views and influence. Both were less determinist and more subtle than he suggests. But [...]
Posted on September 28, 2009 - by Venik
The saviour of Georgia? | Neal Ascherson
Caught in a diplomatic trap, the country’s best hope of escape could be a young opposition leader ‘The Russians like what they see in Georgia at the moment.” Irakli Alasania, the young Georgian whom many in the west would like to see replacing Mikheil Saakashvili as president, was in London this month, commenting bitterly on [...]
Posted on September 27, 2009 - by Venik
The G20 fantasy | Mark Weisbrot
Making the G20 into a permanent fixture doesn’t tip the balance of global economic power away from the US “The old system of international economic cooperation is over,” announced Gordon Brown at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh. “The new system, as of today, has begun.” The first part of that statement is partly true. The [...]
Posted on September 25, 2009 - by Venik
Chechnya president sues human rights activist over murder claim
• Group leader Oleg Orlov names Kadyrov’s ‘political guilt’• Kadyrov seeks 10m roubles damages over Estemirova claim The reputation of Chechnya’s Kremlin-appointed leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, was under question in a Moscow court today, as he launched a defamation suit against the leader of Russia’s leading human rights group, Memorial. Kadyrov is seeking 10m roubles (£207,800) [...]
Posted on September 25, 2009 - by Venik
Germany Now | Germany and Russia: likely bedfellows | Luke Harding
Angela Merkel isn’t about to do anything to jeopardise Germany’s ‘special relationship’ with Russia It was the most excruciating moment in German-Russian relations. Asked what he thought of Vladimir Putin, given Russia’s alarming slide on press freedom, human rights and many other matters, Gerhard Schröder came up with a memorable phrase. Putin, Schröder said, was [...]
