EurasiaNet provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. The web site also offers additional features, including newsmaker interviews and book reviews. http://www.eurasianet.org http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Fri, 5 Sep 2008 17:25:13 -0400 Fri, 5 Sep 2008 17:24:51 -0400 FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.9) unlicensed version http://www.feedforall.com BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN A football match could possibly give a kick-start to efforts by Armenia and Turkey to normalize relations. On September 6, Turkish President Abdullah Gul will travel to Yerevan to watch a 2010 World Cup qualifying soccer match between Armenia and Turkey, thus becoming the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav090508.shtml 36DCF2B3-6B29-4D64-853B-EDE21AE0CABC Fri, 5 Sep 2008 17:24:51 -0400 A three-sided diplomatic scrum is intensifying in Central Asia, as US, Russian and Chinese officials are stepping up efforts to wring energy-export deals from regional leaders. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav090508a.shtml 9C60950B-77B9-4FF1-BA61-30FF008F8456 Fri, 5 Sep 2008 17:24:30 -0400 BY GIORGI LOMSADZE US Vice President Dick Cheney carried a predictable message to Georgia on September 4, praising the Georgian government while assailing Russia’s "illegitimate and unilateral" attempt to detach Abkhazia and South Ossetia from the Caucasus country. While Georgians were certainly cheered by Cheney’s arrival in Tbilisi, they also realize that their country will be interacting with a new presidential administration in 2009. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav090408.shtml BE831BC2-8EAF-4FD0-BBA3-8150BE192C5F Fri, 5 Sep 2008 12:11:57 -0400 An analysis of Russia’s state spending shows that Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin is taking the country in a dangerous direction, girding for a new Cold War while neglecting the domestic infrastructure. Military and security spending is so lopsided in Russia that the country’s cash cow - the energy sector - is being starved of funds. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav090408a.shtml 05C3D98D-4609-432A-9671-8B6B23C5E476 Fri, 5 Sep 2008 14:01:41 -0400 BY SHAHIN ABBASOV US Vice President Dick Cheney, a polarizing political figure at home, is traveling in the Caucasus, aiming to rally local support for the US energy and strategic agenda in the region. Cheney’s first stop September 3 was Azerbaijan, where he announced Washington’s intention to ensure a "free stream" of oil and natural gas from the Caspian Basin to the West. For Azerbaijan, the Cheney visit signals the rapid approach of a moment when it will have to choose geopolitical sides between the United States and Russia, local experts say. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav090308.shtml 68E1187C-0F0B-4FA2-BFF3-DD916E6F391A Fri, 5 Sep 2008 14:01:24 -0400 Pakistan has angrily condemned a raid on a tribal region village that officials say killed at least 15 people, including women and children. Islamabad claims that U.S.-led troops used helicopters to fly in from Afghanistan and carry out the attack. A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp090408a.shtml 5D262FBC-AF28-4AA7-AC6E-997671FD719B Fri, 5 Sep 2008 14:01:07 -0400 BY MOLLY CORSO The Georgian school year could prove the latest casualty in the war over South Ossetia. Georgian officials are now grappling with a painful dilemma, as public schools in Tbilisi and elsewhere in Georgia are trying to figure out ways to accommodate both students and thousands of Internally Displaced Persons now living in the buildings. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav090208.shtml CFE62EB3-39C8-4C5F-A07F-FB3A8F22686E Fri, 5 Sep 2008 14:00:45 -0400 BY LILI DI PUPPO The September 1 European Union summit on the crisis in Georgia ended with sharp words for Russia, but there is lingering doubt over whether those words will translate into tough action. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav090308b.shtml 7AA5D2BF-7234-48B2-BCF0-AA21E6D29A4C Fri, 5 Sep 2008 14:00:25 -0400 BY MARK N. KATZ One of Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s most important foreign policy initiatives has been the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)--a regional international organization he co-founded in 2001 that groups together Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The stated aims of the SCO are to combat the "three evils" of terrorism, separatism, and extremism, as well as to promote various forms of cooperation among the member governments. In addition to these stated goals, however, Moscow has attempted to make use of the organization to resist efforts at democratization emanating from inside and outside the member states, to limit American and other Western influence in Central Asia, and to promote Russian foreign policy goals generally. A EurasiaNet Partner Post from The Slavic Research Center at Hokkaido University http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp090308f.shtml 3BAA9B16-3B5F-4EF0-BBB7-DA71BF94B9AF Fri, 5 Sep 2008 13:59:59 -0400 BY JEAN-CHRISTOPHE PEUCH The Vienna-based Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe is emerging as a new front in the ongoing diplomatic battle between Georgia and Russia. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav090208a.shtml 4E7CE737-0C4D-4195-B737-911EDAA87860 Fri, 5 Sep 2008 13:59:43 -0400 A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY GIORGI LOMSADZE Three weeks after the outbreak of fighting between Russia and Georgia, thousands of displaced Georgians are starting to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Some have returned to the city of Gori, which was the focal point of the Russian incursion. What they are finding is that the restoration of a semblance of normalcy is likely to take longer than they might have hoped. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav082908a.shtml 9B83B05A-9ACC-487D-9BC3-61E6D3F3D012 Fri, 5 Sep 2008 13:59:15 -0400