The view from Baku is no less merry. Civil society activists and reporters chastise the government for what they describe as attempts to intimidate independent media.
Azerbaijani-US ties may not be in full bloom right now, but nevertheless Baku has decided that the work of the governor of California deserves a little appreciation. The Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles has presented Arnold Schwarzenegger with a handmade Azerbaijani carpet that features the onetime Terminator's portrait, Trend news agency reported on May 4.
The gift dovetails with Azerbaijan’s efforts to take its rivalry with Armenia to the Golden State, home to one of the world's largest Armenian Diasporas and the perceived headquarters of the Armenian lobby in the US.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili hopes that voters in Tbilisi’s May 30 mayoral election will not let a pair of pouty lips sway them from voting for the ever-bustling, ever-loyal Mayor Gigi Ugulava.
After giving a televised endorsement for Ugulava on April 26, Saakashvili warned voters not to fall into the honey trap that is Irakli Alasania, the handsome, full-lipped, 36-year-old leader of the moderate opposition bloc Alliance for Georgia and Ugulava’s main rival.
“We can vote for candidates [other than Ugulava], who pout their pretty lips and say ‘Look, I am so pretty,’” the comparatively thin-lipped Saakashvili told Rustavi-2 TV. But if pouty lips matter, the president went on saying, Tbilisi residents might as well elect as mayor Nanka Kalatozishvili, the popular hostess of the Georgian game show equivalent of Fox News' The Moment of Truth.
Even though his lips are a popular topic of discussion, Alasania hasn't sought to capitalize on the one natural advantage he seems to have over his competitors. Rather, he roughly emulates Obama’s presidential election slogans with the think-positive motto “We Will Bring Change.”
Ugulava knows a thing or two about appearances, too. His low-carb weight-loss scheme has long been popular in Tbilisi under the name of the Ugulava Diet.
After tanking by more than 18.2 percent in 2009, the Armenian economy could definitely use some Chinese cash. Hundreds of millions of dollars in life support from international donors have not yet made up for that amputated economic growth.
On the sidelines of the World Expo, where China flaunted its booming economy, Sargsayn signed a cooperation memo with Chinese telecommunication technology giant Huawei Technologies. Sargsyan tried to gauge the interest of Huawei and its rival Zhong Xing Equipment in several projects in Armenia.
International development groups have urged Armenia to diversify its sources of income after revenues from foreign remittances and its once booming construction sector dried up amidst the global financial crisis.
Countries throughout Eurasia lay claim to the tamada (toastmaster) tradition, but in few places is the role of tamada as celebrated -- or as formalized -- as in the South Caucasus. It requires a keen sense of timing and of presentation; a sense of humor as well as of tragedy, and an ability to draw forth an audience with words that stir the emotions. It is not just about making toasts. Rather, it is the ultimate piece of interactive theater. In a region known for its endless news dramas, EurasiaNet's news tamada will help readers make sense of them all.
About The Author
Giorgi Lomsadze is a freelance reporter for EurasiaNet.org who lives in Tbilisi, an ancient stronghold of the tamada tradition. He has a lifetime of experience both attending tamada-hosted supras (traditional Georgian feasts) and acting as tamada.
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