Baby murderers

"Babies stashed in freezers. A tiny skeleton found in a fish tank. Infants suffocated in plastic bags.

Germans are reeling over a recent string of cases involving mothers accused or convicted of killing their babies. The grisly killings have come at a time when the country's low birthrate has left the government searching for ways to encourage people to have more children.

Many of the mothers have been struggling single women who hid their pregnancy from friends and family, gave birth alone and killed the newborn out of fear or desperation — increasing calls for support programs for single mothers.

And while experts say the rate of German mothers killing their children is no higher than elsewhere in Europe, the recent slayings have stunned the nation and prompted questions about cracks in Germany's much-lauded social welfare system.

Mom accused of freezing baby
In the latest case, police in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg said Wednesday that a 20-year-old woman confessed to putting her newborn infant in the freezer about three or four weeks ago, thinking it was dead.

An autopsy showed the child was alive when placed in the freezer and the woman, who was not identified, has been taken into custody."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24859570/

This is absolutely sick. I can' imagine anyone being able to kill their own child. Not only are these people killing their children, but they are killing them in sick ways. I have never heard of freezing a baby until now, and it disgusts me. I understand that times are tough, but that is no reason to kill a baby. At least give it up for adoption. These people should be committed.

Zimbabwe opposition: 50 killed over election

"More than 50 people have been killed in political violence since Zimbabwe's disputed March 29 elections and 25,000 have fled their homes, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said on Tuesday.

Official figures showed Tsvangirai beat President Robert Mugabe in the election, but failed to garner enough votes to avoid a second round poll, which has been set for June 27.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change says Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party has launched a violent campaign against its supporters since the March elections in a bid to avoid another defeat next month. The ruling party denies the charge, and in turn blames the opposition for the violence."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24839297/

It seems like the people in Zimbabwe take their politics a little too seriously. It is ridiculous that 50 people have been killed in order to prevent them from voting in the election. It makes me wonder how many people would've been killed back in 2000 if Bush and Gore were to have a 2nd election.

Yahoo CEO claims that the company is not "under siege"

"Yahoo Inc. CEO Jerry Yang rejected the image of his company as "under siege" Wednesday, telling conference goers that executives are rallying to streamline Yahoo's offerings and make it more relevant to consumers and to advertisers.

Yahoo faces the threat of mutiny from shareholders unhappy with the way its board handled a takeover offer from Microsoft Corp. that was ultimately withdrawn this month.

Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's "D: All Things Digital" conference in Carlsbad, California, Yang stood by his handling of the deal and painted a bright future for the Internet pioneer he co-founded."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24864318/

Yang handled the Microsoft situation well. He avoided a large corporate merger that could result in disaster for us, the consumer. Yahoo! is his baby, and he obviously didn't want it to be eaten up by a big corporation like Microsoft.

NASA puts rush order on space toilet fix

"NASA rushed Wednesday to get a special pump on board the shuttle Discovery to fix a balky toilet at the international space station, even as the launch countdown got under way.

The space station’s Russian-built toilet has been acting up for the past week. The three male residents have temporarily bypassed the problem, which involves urine collection and not solid waste.

Russian space officials are providing the pump to launch aboard Discovery on Saturday. The shuttle’s seven astronauts arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center a few hours ahead of the start of the countdown Wednesday afternoon."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24859800/

This sucks! I wouldn't want to know what it is like to be up in space with out a toilet. At least the part for the solid waste still works. You would think that NASA would upgrade their toilets a little more than once every seven years.

Sales of Spam rise as consumers trim spending

"Love it, hate it or laugh at it — at least it's inexpensive. Sales of Spam — that much maligned meat — are rising as consumers are turning more to lunch meats and other lower-cost foods to extend their already stretched food budgets.

What was once cheeky, silly and the subject of a Monty Python musical, Spam is now back on the table as people turn to the once-snubbed canned meat as costs rise, analysts say.

U.S. food prices rose 4 percent last year, the fastest pace in nearly two decades, according to the Agriculture Department. Many staples are rising even faster, with white bread up 13 percent last year, bacon up 7 percent and peanut butter up 9 percent.

There's no sign of a slowdown. Food inflation is running at an annualized rate of 6.1 percent as of April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The price of Spam is up too, with the average 12-ounce can costing about $2.62. That's an increase of 17 cents, or nearly 7 percent, from the same time last year. But it's not stopping sales, as the pork meat in a can seems like a good alternative to consumers."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24861341/

The world is going crazy. First it's gas prices, and now its food. When will these rising prices stop? I guess as gas prices go up, then the prices of everything else goes up. I really hope it stops. The cost of living has gone up way too much in recent years.

SPAM IS OUTLAWED IN ISRAEL!!

"Advertisers who send unwanted solicitations by telephone, text messages (SMS), e-mail (spam) or fax may be fined as much as NIS 200,000, according to a bill the Knesset approved Wednesday. The new law takes effect in six months.

In addition to being a nuisance for private e-mail users, spam has become a heavy burden on Internet suppliers and other companies, whose bandwidth and storage capabilities need to be constantly expanded to deal with the ever-increasing bulk of spam being sent every day - estimated at more than 100 billion e-mails worldwide. The bill also refers to mass solicitation by fax."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211872842504&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

I hope the US follows Israel and starts slapping fines on spammers. I absolutely HATE spam. It fills my email inbox with absolutely NOTHING. Not only that, I waste countless minutes deleting this junk. I think internet suppliers in America should start getting on the governments backs about putting in laws to enforce the ban of spam.

Israel concerned over Hizbullah legitimacy

"As Israel struggles to prevent Europe from talking to Hamas, the recent inclusion of Hizbullah in the new Lebanese government has created a new challenge: how to stop Europe from meeting Hizbullah ministers.

Diplomatic officials said that in recent days, a number of meetings have been held in the Foreign Ministry with the aim of developing a strategy to prevent meetings between European and Hizbullah ministers.

So far, no operative decisions have been made, one official said. The official said Israel's concern - and something Israel has been trying to prevent for years - was the legitimization of Hizbullah through high-profile political meetings.

In the brief period in 2005-2006 when Hizbullah was represented in the Lebanese government, Israel waged a relatively successful campaign against meetings between Western officials and the Hizbullah ministers.

This time, however, the chore is expected to be much more difficult, because so many more ministers affiliated with the group will be in the government."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211872830974&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

I really hope that Israel is successful at convincing the West to not meet with Hizbullah . Even if Hizbullah is elected into the Lebanese government, they are still Anti-West.

Italian man has his way with American tourists

A monkey's brain can control robots

"Monkeys have been able to control robotic limbs using only their thoughts, scientists report.

The animals were able to feed themselves using prosthetic arms, which were controlled by brain activity.

Small probes, the width of a human hair, were inserted into the monkeys' primary motor cortex - the region of the brain that controls movement.

Writing in Nature journal, the authors said their work could eventually help amputees and people who are paralysed."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7423184.stm


Controlling fake limbs with your mind....I LOVE IT. It is great for people with prosthetic limbs. I am sure it will make life a lot easier for them. As for people with all limbs, it will just make them more lazy because they wouldn't have to use their real arms and legs anymore. Although I'm sure most people with their limbs in tact won't be going for fake limbs. I think this is the first step into the future of controlling things with our minds.

Has Russian oil output peaked?

"The Kremlin often touts Russia's image as an "energy superpower," but now the country's oil production is declining. Some say Russia may have already reached peak oil output.

Underscoring the urgency of the issue, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's new cabinet made its first order of business on Monday the approval of a package of measures to relieve the oil-production crisis.

As the world's second-largest oil exporter, Russia joins a growing number of top oil suppliers wrestling with how to address declining or peaking production. Like Venezuela and Mexico, Russia is heavily dependent on oil, which accounts for more than two-thirds of government revenue and 30 percent of the country's gross domestic product. Now, Moscow is trying to remedy a situation caused in part by outdated technology, heavy taxation of oil profits, and lack of investment in oil infrastructure."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080528/wl_csm/otapped

I guess this sucks for Russia. If their oil production has peaked, then that means they will be making less money. Not only that, they will have less power in the world. What sucks more is that our gas prices will probably go even higher!

Nude maid accused of really cleaning up

"A nude maid is accused of really cleaning up at a Florida man's home. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said a 50-year-old man hired the maid from the Internet on Friday to clean his Tampa home.

Authorities said the woman arrived at the home in a one-piece, light colored dress. She took off the dress and cleaned the house for $100-per-hour. Sheriff's office spokeswoman Debbie Carter said the man told deputies he left the maid alone in the bedroom to clean.

When the man's wife came home from vacation, she discovered $40,000 in jewelry missing from their bedroom.

Police are investigating."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_fe_st/odd_nude_maid_theft;_ylt=Arn_C8lgey9fyCSN107nfQ.s0NUE

I guess you should always keep an eye on the maid, whether she is naked or not. This guy and his wife are probably not on the best terms now...

800-word Harry Potter prequel to be auctioned

"An 800-word Harry Potter prequel is one of 13 card-sized works to be sold at a charity auction in the British capital. Waterstone's Booksellers Ltd. says the cream-colored A5 papers — each slightly bigger than a postcard — were distributed to 13 authors and illustrators, including the boy wizard's creator J.K. Rowling, Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing, novelist Margaret Atwood and playwright Tom Stoppard.

Rowling used both sides of her card to hand-write a prequel to her seven-book Harry Potter saga, while Lessing penned a story about the power of reading. Stoppard wrote a short mystery and Atwood was due to fill out her card remotely using a robotic arm controlled by computer linkup.

Other cards were completed by children's author Michael Rosen, illustrator Axel Scheffler, graphic novelist Neil Gaiman, Lisa Appignanesi, Richard Ford, Lauren Child, Irvine Welsh, Sebastian Faulks and Nick Hornby, who plastered his card with a collage."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_en_ot/harry_potter_prequel;_ylt=AiFXMw4l7uk4u.lF55NCwmGs0NUE

I would love to own this prequel. I don't really know or care much for Harry Potter, but I do know when I see something worth a lot of money.

Robots that can roam Antarctica

"Robotic rovers have patrolled deep space and the deepest seas, but scientists are still struggling to create drones that can overcome the multiple challenges of exploring Antarctica.

Georgia Tech researchers think the SnoMote — a small robot designed like a snowmobile — will be able to deal with the nasty weather and with slippery terrain that constantly cracks and shifts.

They envision dozens of SnoMotes roving Antarctica's vast expanses to add to data already collected by satellites and a handful of weather stations and sensors."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_sc/tec_ice_robots;_ylt=Aqhc9OgAhrd2djjSSIAbaJhxieAA

This is a great advancement into the exploration of Antarctica. I'm not too interested in exploring Antarctica, but I'm sure people who are will love these robots. It can save humans from getting too cold and sick. We can now do more than we ever did.

Former spokesman bashes Bush in new book

"In a shocking turnabout, the press secretary most known for defending President Bush on Iraq, Katrina and a host of other controversial issues produced a memoir damning of his old boss on nearly every level — from too much secrecy to a less-than-honest selling of the war to a lack of personal candor and an unwillingness to admit mistakes.

In the first major insider account of the Bush White House, one-time spokesman Scott McClellan calls the operation "insular, secretive and combative" and says it veered irretrievably off course as a result.

The White House responded angrily Wednesday to McClellan's confessional memoir, calling it self-serving sour grapes."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_mcclellan_book;_ylt=AgBSzTjU1ayyRqOtSPhEKMis0NUE

This is politics, backstabbing and lying. If I were Bush, I would be pissed off right now. Maybe Bush did wrong things, but this guy was working for him as a close aide. Now he goes off and tries to make money off of his former boss. What a jerk. I guess the plus side to this is that we get to hear the truth, or at least the truth according to McClellan.

19 year old mayor in Oklahoma?

"Like any red-blooded American teenager, John Tyler Hammons digs rock music, fast cars, video games and...fiscal planning?

Apparently so. The AP reports that the University of Oklahoma freshman trounced 70 year-old Hershel McBride to become the mayor of Muskogee, Oklahoma, making it the first city in the nation to be governed by a self-admitted gamer.

But while he could own any of his peers at Halo 3, the fresh-faced leader is turning his sights on cleaning up the town's politics by establishing an independent ethics commission and locking down campaign finance reporting."

http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/19-year-old-gamer-becomes-mayor-of-oklahoma-town/1215787

Wow, this guy is younger than me and all of my friends and he is the mayor of a city. I have a lot of respect for this guy for taking on a big job at such a young age. This guy is destined to be a future leader of America, in my opinion. Too bad he's going to have to put the video games aside.

Lawyer sues Delta for ruining family vacation

"A New York lawyer is suing Delta Air Lines for $1 million, saying his family vacation turned into a nightmare after they were stranded in an airport for days and treated disdainfully by airline employees.

Richard Roth, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of himself and his mother, said he planned the Christmas 2007 trip to Buenos Aires to celebrate his mother's 80th birthday. She had grown up in the city, but had not returned in years, he said.

Instead, Roth, his two teenage children, his wife and mother spent three days in airports, went days without their luggage, were treated rudely by airline employees and were forced to spend $21,000 on unused hotel rooms in Argentina, replacement clothes, and other costs."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080528/us_nm/airlines_delta_suit_dc

I would be so mad if I was this guy too. I hope he wins the lawsuit. I have flown many times and know what its like to be delayed. But to be delayed like this family, and to have to pay for hotel rooms that aren't even being used would just make me flip. I hope Delta has to cough up the money. Even if it isn't a million dollars, hopefully it is the expenses that cost this family and a little bit extra. Maybe a free vacation from Delta on top of it??

Who’s Smarter: Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg?

"A variety of legends have grown up around Bill Gates’ brief career at Harvard. (He dropped out halfway through and co-founded Microsoft). On Tuesday night, during an interview at the “D: All Things Digital” conference in Carlsbad, Calif., Mr. Gates regaled the audience with his strategy of not bothering to attend classes and then catching up in a single intense burst during a separate reading period at the end of the term.

On Wednesday afternoon, Facebook founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, himself a Harvard dropout, appeared to one-up Mr. Gates. Mr. Zuckerberg acknowledged that he had also skipped classes, in particular avoiding “Art in the Time of Augustus.”

When it came time for the end-of-term study period, he was too busy building the prototype of Facebook to bother to do the reading. So in an inspired last-minute save, he built a Web site with all of the important paintings and room for annotation. He then sent an e-mail to the students taking the class offering it up as a community resource.

In a half an hour, the perfect study guide had self-assembled on the Web. Mr. Zuckerberg noted that he passed the course, but he couldn’t remember the grade he received."

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/whos-smarter-bill-gates-or-mark-zuckerberg/index.html

I don't know who is smarter. Both have done huge things in terms of technology and communication. Bill Gates made PCs what they are today. Mark Zuckerberg made Facebook, a huge communication tool, what it is today. Overall, Bill Gates achievements are definitely more note worthy. Zuckerberg is still young, so there is no telling what he could do to surpass Gates in terms of achievements. In terms of book smarts/studying for tests, Zuckerberg would be "smarter." But at the same time, you have to realize that Gates did not have the technology that Zuckerberg did.

68 dollars!!!

"Can you imagine losing your home over a $68 dental bill? That's what happened to one Utah woman.

Sonya Capri Ramos says her Salt Lake City home was sold out from under her in 1996 to pay a collections agency seeking payment for dental work performed on one of Ramos's daughters. And despite the fact that she had made three years of payments on a $51,000 mortgage, the title changed hands for just $1,550 at a sheriff's auction.

But the story doesn't end there: Ramos, 41, said she didn't find out that her home no longer belonged to her until two years after the sale. To date, she hasn't moved out.

Instead, she said she continues to make mortgage payments on the home and is fighting what has become a decade-long legal battle to reclaim ownership."

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/PersonalFinance/story?id=4896048&page=1

I feel really bad for this lady. I hope she will be able to keep her house. It really sucks that she may lose it over a 68 dollar dental bill. If she is still able to pay off her mortgages, I say let her keep it.

House prices at a new low

"U.S. home prices dropped at the sharpest rate in two decades during the first quarter, a closely watched index showed Tuesday, a somber indication that the housing slump continues to deepen.

Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller said its national home price index fell 14.1 percent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, the lowest since its inception in 1988. The quarterly index covers all nine U.S. Census divisions.

Prices nationwide are at levels not seen since the third quarter of 2004, according to Maureen Maitland, a S&P vice president. However, the index is still up 60 percent versus 2000."

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=4937414

So this has a good side and a bad side to it. The good side is for the rich people. The saying is true, "as the rich get richer, the poor get poorer." Rich people will be able to go out and buy many houses as investments and just watch the prices rise in the future. The bad side is that the poor people are going to be hit hard. Our economy may go to hell because of this.

10 year old boy almost sneaks on a plane....AGAIN!!

"A 10-year-old boy who last year talked his way onto airline flights to Texas tried another getaway Tuesday but was stopped at a boarding gate, authorities said.

Security tapes show Semaj Booker passing through a metal detector and other procedures before 5 a.m. at a checkpoint operated by the Transportation Security Administration at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. His mother had reported him missing to Tacoma police at 3 a.m.

TSA is investigating why he was not required to show a boarding pass at the checkpoint, said Dwayne Baird, Northwest region spokesman for TSA in Salt Lake City."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=4943126

This kid is slick, or at least he was. I would never have the guts to go on a plane alone when I was 10, let alone try to sneak on one. This is one independent kid. This kind of reminds me of Home Alone 2 when Kevin accidentally got on the wrong flight and ended up in New York.

Gay marriage to be recognized in New York

"Same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere will be recognized in New York in response to a state court ruling this year, Gov. David Paterson's spokeswoman said Wednesday.

State agencies, including those governing insurance and health care, must immediately change policies and regulations to make sure "spouse," "husband" and "wife" are clearly understood to include gay couples, according to a memo sent earlier this month from the governor's counsel.

Gay marriage is not legal in New York, and the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, has said it can only be legalized by the Legislature. But the memo, based on a Feb. 1 New York Appellate Division court ruling, would recognize the marriages of New Yorkers who are legally wed elsewhere."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,359547,00.html

Iraq to be missing from the Olympics?

"Sports has been one of the few things unifying Iraqis in recent years — with soccer victories bringing Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds alike into the streets cheering.

But a bitter fight between the government and the country's Olympic committee and sports federations is putting Iraq at risk of being banned from World Cup qualifying matches and this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.

The feud is mired in politics. The government accuses the National Olympic Committee of corruption, while supporters of the group charge that officials really want to control the independent sports groups so they can install their own people in lucrative and prestigious posts."

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4941253

I think this is ridiculous. The Iraqi government shouldn't start making accusations of corruption when something like sports is bringing a war torn country together. If Iraq participates in the Olympics and then World Cup, it will be one huge step in bringing the country back together, no matter what background one is from.

Chinese Premier has a Facebook

"Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao now has a Facebook page.

It's not known who set up the profile that now features Wen's official government photo, but it's clear the premier has some fans — with more than 13,000 "supporters" as of Wednesday.

The Chinese government doesn't have the most approachable reputation, but Wen's been praised for his quick and sympathetic response to the May 12 earthquake in central China that's killed more than 67,000 people.

"This is Grandpa Wen Jiabao, hang on child, we will rescue you!" he shouted at one point to a student trapped in the rubble, state media reported.

His Facebook page was set up two days after the quake. It's full of supportive comments and photos of him walking through the rubble and comforting victims."

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=4943431

People are supporting him, cool! I think it's awesome that the Premier is rising to the occasion and the people are supporting him.

Cellphones and Cancer

I am sure cell phones cause cancer because of all the radiation that they give off. Not only that, you are putting it right next to your head. At the same time, I also kind of don't care. This day in age, EVERYTHING can give you cancer. If I live my life living in fear of getting cancer, then I just might die because of the high blood pressure I have that is caused from it. Cell phones have become a way of life. I think the cell phone manufacturers should come up with a way to make cell phones that don't give off radiation.

Olypmics are still on in China

"BEIJING -- Amid a massive relief and reconstruction effort pulling resources to central China's earthquake-ravaged Sichuan province, Chinese officials said preparations for the Summer Olympics remain on track.

Euphoria for the August Games has understandably been overshadowed by the devastating magnitude 7.9 temblor that resulted in more than 67,000 deaths and left millions homeless. Chinese officials are now eager to show the world that they are capable of handling the massive humanitarian crisis and the Olympics at the same time.

"The preparations for the Olympic Games have moved into the last and critical stage," Chinese Vice President Xi Jin- ping told state news media this week during a visit to sporting venues getting their finishing touches.

"We will do it well while working hard for quake relief," Xi said. "We will pay equal importance to the two things and not delay one for the other.""

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-olympics29-2008may29,0,2587142.story


I hope China knows what it is doing. The relief effort after Hurricane Katrina is still ongoing. China has a disaster that is almost as big, if not bigger, and they plan on relieving it while holding the Olympics. I hope that they can pull it off.

Leader of Iran says Syria will still oppose Israel

"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Hassan Turkmani in Teheran on Monday, and expressed his certainty that Damascus would continue to stand on its previous stance of opposition to Israel.

Ahmadinejad also emphasized that the two countries would continue to keep close ties.

During the meeting, the Syrian defense minister told Ahmadinejad that the Syrian leadership "will not abandon the front lines until all threats from the Zionist entity have disappeared," semi-official Iranian news agency FARS reported.

The Iranian president went on to emphasize the Islamic Republic's support for the Palestinian nation, and said this backing amounted to "supporting efforts for a safe region, since the Palestinians are on the front line of the battle against Zionist aggression.""

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211434110285&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

This is a very scary thing. It scares me to think that there are people out there ready to wipe out my homeland. It is especially scary when theres the possibility that these people that want to wipe out my homeland may have a nuclear weapon. The President of Iran, in my opinion, seems crazy enough to go through with wiping out Israel.

"Controversial academic Norman Finkelstein, who was refused entry into Israel last week, said Wednesday that he has not yet decided whether to pursue his case in court.

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) detained and deported Finkelstein, who is a prominent critic of the Israeli occupation, when he landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Friday. He was interrogated for several hours and held in an airport holding cell before being returned to Amsterdam, where he had been lecturing. Finkelstein said he was told he could not return to Israel for at least 10 years."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211872839843&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


This man should never be let into Israel. Why should someone who is so against a country and wishes for it's death be allowed in? Why does he even want to go there? I was disgusted when I saw him on campus a couple of weeks ago. The Shin Bet said he didn't give good answers to their interrogation questions. Well, of course he didn't. This is a man that supports Hamas and Hezbollah, two groups that the US recognizes as terrorists.

Peace on the horizon????

"With tensions simmering between Georgia and Russia over Abkhazia, a new effort is under way to jump-start peace talks in the separatist region.

Earlier this month, Mathew Bryza, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, visited the Abkhaz capital Sukhumi. Bryza’s Abkhaz visit was followed by one by Irakli Alasania, Georgia’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Bryza said his efforts at shuttle diplomacy are aimed at building on a peace plan proposed earlier this month by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili that offers Abkhazia broad autonomy but not independence.

"What I was doing was trying to convince the leadership in both Sukhumi and Tbilisi that there is not only an urgent need but a real possibility to rejuvenate a real peace process," Bryza told RFE/RL in a May 21 interview."

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp052408.shtml

If Abkhazia agrees to the plan in which it is autonomous, but not independent, then peace will hopefully flourish in the region. It is also understandable if the Abkhaz reject the plan as well. The Abkhaz want their own homeland not to be controlled by others. Therefore, they will fight for their right to be independent.

SPIES

"The never-easy relations between Russia and Georgia have suffered a fresh blow, with Russian media reporting that federal security services have detained a Georgian-born Russian citizen on charges of spying for Georgia and engaging in terrorist activities in the North Caucasus.

The charges -- which Shota Khizanishvili, the chief of staff of Georgia’s Interior Ministry, has dismissed as "primitive provocation" -- echo Georgia’s 2006 expulsion of four Russian military intelligence officers accused of spying, and come amid already heightened tensions over Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia.....

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has used even starker terms, accusing Russia of attempting to "redraw the postcommunist world order" with its attempts to drive a permanent wedge between Tbilisi and its restive separatist regions.

Saakashvili, who was due to discuss the issue with U.S. President George W. Bush during a meeting in Israel on May 15, has had some success in raising the Abkhaz question to the international level.

Bush expressed concerns about the issue during his first phone call with newly inaugurated Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. And Georgia’s reintegration minister, Temur Iakobashvili, this week dramatically credited France with staving off a war over Abkhazia through private talks with Moscow."

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp051808.shtml


So Georgia and Russia are spying on each other....big surprise. I am sure the US has their own spies in both countries as well. As for France preventing a war in Abkhazia, that is really great. Hopefully this situation can be resolved peacefully and soon.

McCain to talk with Russia about Nukes if/when elected

It is great that McCain has expressed his interest in talking with Russia about reducing nuclear arms if he is elected President. I think it is very good for his campaign, as it shows that he is interested in making American and the world safer. As the video says though, many elected Presidents do not keep their promises.

A hope for peace between Georgia and Russia

"With Georgian-Russian tension over the break-away territory of Abkhazia continuing to rise, the United States and European Union are stepping up diplomatic intervention efforts.

The European Union announced May 9 that a group of foreign ministers would head to Tbilisi to explore ways of halting the hostile actions and rhetoric that have marked Georgian-Russian relations in recent weeks. The EU delegation, due to visit Georgia on May 12, is expected to comprise the foreign ministers of Slovenia, Sweden, Poland and Lithuania. Mutual enmity between Tbilisi and Moscow has spiked since the April 20 downing of a Georgian unmanned reconnaissance drone on April 20."

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav050908.shtml


Peace should be made between Georgia and Russia before it is too late. If things get heated between Russia an Georgia, the consequences may not be good.

Video in which Abkhazia claims to shoot down two more Georgian spy planes

I think that it is interesting how it mentions that the US is backing Georgia in its right to survey the area. It's almost as if it is the Cold War. Russia is backing one nation while the US is backing another.

The West is not too happy with Russia

"Georgian officials are scoring points in the court of public opinion, as the spat between Georgia and Russia over the downing of a drone reconnaissance plane escalates into a broader, more philosophical discussion over the sovereignty of nations.

Georgia and Russia have traded accusations of skullduggery and nefarious intentions since the April 20 downing of an unmanned Georgian reconnaissance plane off the coast of the separatist territory of Abkhazia. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. On April 23, following a closed-door session of the United Nations Security Council, Georgia appeared to have gained the upper hand in the PR battle. After the session, which featured a debate on the drone shoot-down, four leading Western countries issued a statement critical of Russia’s recent behavior. The statement expressed specific concern over Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s April 16 order enabling an expansion of commercial and political contacts between Russia and Abkhazia. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "We call on the Russian Federation to revoke or not to implement its decision," said the statement, issued by the United States, Britain, France and Germany.

Russian officials, having lost the round at the UN Security Council, effectively told the Western allies that they were dreaming if they thought Moscow would back down. "This is not something which is going to happen," Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s envoy to the UN, said in reference to the statement."

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav042408a.shtml

I like the fact that the West is condemning Russia. I feel like Russia and Putin are trying to get back on track to become a world Super Power again.

Russia Defends Itself

"In trying to parry Georgian accusations of thuggish behavior connected with the shoot-down of an unmanned reconnaissance plane over Abkhazia, Russia is adhering to the maxim ‘the best defense is a good offense.’

Georgian leaders have distributed a video, said to be from the destroyed drone, showing what appears to be a MiG-29 firing an air-to-air missile. Russian officials have steadfastly denied that one of their military jets was involved in the April 20 incident. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. On April 23, the Russian ambassador to Georgia, Vyacheslav Kovalenko, repeated Kremlin claims that Abkhaz defense forces were responsible for bringing down the reconnaissance plane. Georgian officials counter that Abkhaz forces do not possess MiG-29s.

Russian officials also charge that what they characterize as "spy plane" flights constitute a violation of the 1994 ceasefire agreement covering the Abkhazia conflict. The flights additionally flout United Nations Security Council decisions relating to peacekeeping operations in the conflict zone, Russian diplomats assert.

Far from accepting blame, a wide variety of Russian officials, as well as state-controlled media, portray the incident as instigated by Tbilisi. "It is another provocative demarche that will lead to nothing but the further deterioration of an already tense situation," the official RIA-Novosti news agency quoted Leonid Slutsky, the first deputy chairman of the Russian Duma’s International Affairs Committee, as saying.

The UN Security Council was scheduled to hold a closed-door session on April 23, during which Russia planned to present evidence that would discredit the Georgian version of events. "I assure you that we have a lot to say at the session about the unconstructive, even provocative actions by the Georgian side," Vitaly Churkin, the Russia’s UN representative, told the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper on April 23."

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav042308f.shtml


This is all politics. I feel that Russia did shoot down the Georgian aircraft but are just trying to cover it up. Although Russia doesn't recognize Abkhazia as a free state, I feel that they want to defend it just to make sure Georgia knows whose the more powerful one in the region.

Russia Violating Georgian Airspace?

"Officials in Georgia are aiming to use the alleged downing of a Georgian reconnaissance drone by a Russian military jet to foster international support for a reduction in the Kremlin’s peacekeeping role in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

In an April 21 statement, Georgia’s Foreign Ministry asserted that a Russian fighter MIG-29 shot down an unmanned Georgian Interior Ministry reconnaissance drone off the Black Sea coastline of Abkhazia at 09:53 on April 20. Video footage allegedly recorded by the drone before it was struck shows a twin-tailed dark grey fighter jet sinking below the drone before an air-to-air missile is presumably released in a trail of smoke. The screen then goes to static. No markings on the jet can be identified in the tape.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has described the video footage as "clear proof" of a Russian violation of Georgian airspace. The United Nations Security Council is expected to discuss the incident at its April 23 session. Georgian Foreign Minister Davit Bakradze will attend the meeting to present Georgia’s claims about the attack."

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav042208b.shtml


Russia is in a tight situations. Georgia feels that Abkhazia is still part of Georgia, so therefore it is Georgian airspace and they have the right to fly over Abkhazia. Russia has no right to fly over Abkhazia according to Georgia, let alone attack a Georgian aircraft. Although there isn't clear proof that it was a Russian jet that shot down the Georgian aircraft, it is pretty obvious that it was.