TBILISI, Georgia – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the cease-fire plan designed to end his country’s military conflict with Georgia, his office said Saturday.
However, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said troops would not completely withdraw from Georgian territory until they had finished cleaning up ammunition, weapons and booby traps left behind by Georgian forces.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili signed the deal Friday during a visit from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
President Bush on Saturday called the signing of the cease-fire agreement “an important development” and a “hopeful step,” but reiterated his call for Russian forces to withdraw from Georgia.
“Russia needs to honor the agreement and withdraw its forces, and of course end military operations,” he said, speaking from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, where Rice stood at his side.
“A major issue is Russia’s contention that the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia may not be a part of Georgia’s future,” he added, referring to the two breakaway areas at the heart of the conflict.
However, Georgia accused the Russian military of destroying a key railway bridge Saturday and starting about a dozen fires in the Borjomi Gorge, a scenic canyon in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park in central Georgia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Russian soldiers “mined and exploded” the Metekhi-Grakali bridge in the Kaspi District in east-central Georgia.
Georgian officials said they asked Turkey for help to fight the fires but said Russian air patrols refused to allow Turkish aircraft safe passage to the stricken area. There was no immediate comment from Russia.
…
So,the war ended. However, “news war” is still at it’s highest point. What do you think? Who do you believe? Who do you think will win the so called “news war”?
2008-08-16
Gorbachev: Georgia started conflict in S. Ossetia
Gorbachev told CNN’s Larry King that Russia moved additional forces into South Ossetia in response to “devastation” in the South Ossetia city of Tskhinvali.
“This was the use of sophisticated weapons against a small town, against a sleeping people. This was a barbaric assault,” said Gorbachev, the last president of the former Soviet Union.
But Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who also appeared on CNN’s “Larry King Live” Thursday, said he was “profoundly shocked” that Mikhail Gorbachev would use a television appearance “for basically vindicating lies and deceptions.”
Western television didn’t show what happened in Tskhinvali, only now they’re beginning to show some pictures of the destruction. So this looks like it was a well-prepared project. And with any outcome, they wanted to put the blame on Russia.
“This is the man, Mr. Gorbachev, who helped to, you know, bring down KGB kingdom. And he is the one who is, you know, justifying what the KGB people are doing right now in my country,” Saakashvili said.
“Shame on him. Shame on you, Mr. Gorbachev, for perpetuating the very regime you helped to defeat and you fought against as the head of the Soviet Union.”
…
I need no explanations. By the way Saakashvili is talking it is obvious that he is not in a “normal state”.
Finally western TV started to believe the truth. About time.
“This was the use of sophisticated weapons against a small town, against a sleeping people. This was a barbaric assault,” said Gorbachev, the last president of the former Soviet Union.
But Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who also appeared on CNN’s “Larry King Live” Thursday, said he was “profoundly shocked” that Mikhail Gorbachev would use a television appearance “for basically vindicating lies and deceptions.”
Western television didn’t show what happened in Tskhinvali, only now they’re beginning to show some pictures of the destruction. So this looks like it was a well-prepared project. And with any outcome, they wanted to put the blame on Russia.
“This is the man, Mr. Gorbachev, who helped to, you know, bring down KGB kingdom. And he is the one who is, you know, justifying what the KGB people are doing right now in my country,” Saakashvili said.
“Shame on him. Shame on you, Mr. Gorbachev, for perpetuating the very regime you helped to defeat and you fought against as the head of the Soviet Union.”
…
I need no explanations. By the way Saakashvili is talking it is obvious that he is not in a “normal state”.
Finally western TV started to believe the truth. About time.
Georgia signs cease-fire agreement
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili signed a cease-fire agreement on Friday, which the U.S. said means Russian troops must begin withdrawing.
The office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who brokered the agreement, said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also had confirmed Russia’s cooperation.
“His country will sign a cease-fire accord with Georgia and scrupulously respect all agreements, including a troop withdrawal,” Sarkozy’s office said.
Rice said international observers followed by neutral peacekeepers should be dispatched quickly to Georgia and its separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where Russia has a peacekeeping mission.
Saakashvili warned at a news conference with Rice that “this is not a done deal yet” unless it included ways of stopping a repeat.
“We are under Russian occupation,” he said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that President Dmitry Medvedev has agreed to sign the document but added that it was not clear whether it has been amended since Russia made the commitment to sign.
The conflict began late last week, when Georgia launched a military incursion into South Ossetia in an effort to rout separatist rebels.
Russia — which supports the separatists, many of whom claim Russian citizenship — has peacekeeping responsibilities for the region and responded by sending tanks into the province for peace enforcement.
President Bush earlier chided Russia for Cold War-style behavior in its territorial conflict with Georgia, accusing it of “bullying and intimidation” as international pressure grew on Moscow to withdraw its troops from the region.
Medvedev remained defiant over Moscow’s actions, saying Russia had brought peace to the region.
…
And it was true. Only with the help of Russia persuading the leader of Georgia to end this cold-hearted elimination of people from the territory of South Osetia which didn’t belong to Georgia after 1991, the war was stopped. What would become if Russia didn’t react in time? It’s frightening to think about…
The office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who brokered the agreement, said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also had confirmed Russia’s cooperation.
“His country will sign a cease-fire accord with Georgia and scrupulously respect all agreements, including a troop withdrawal,” Sarkozy’s office said.
Rice said international observers followed by neutral peacekeepers should be dispatched quickly to Georgia and its separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where Russia has a peacekeeping mission.
Saakashvili warned at a news conference with Rice that “this is not a done deal yet” unless it included ways of stopping a repeat.
“We are under Russian occupation,” he said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that President Dmitry Medvedev has agreed to sign the document but added that it was not clear whether it has been amended since Russia made the commitment to sign.
The conflict began late last week, when Georgia launched a military incursion into South Ossetia in an effort to rout separatist rebels.
Russia — which supports the separatists, many of whom claim Russian citizenship — has peacekeeping responsibilities for the region and responded by sending tanks into the province for peace enforcement.
President Bush earlier chided Russia for Cold War-style behavior in its territorial conflict with Georgia, accusing it of “bullying and intimidation” as international pressure grew on Moscow to withdraw its troops from the region.
Medvedev remained defiant over Moscow’s actions, saying Russia had brought peace to the region.
…
And it was true. Only with the help of Russia persuading the leader of Georgia to end this cold-hearted elimination of people from the territory of South Osetia which didn’t belong to Georgia after 1991, the war was stopped. What would become if Russia didn’t react in time? It’s frightening to think about…
The world in confusion
War in Georgia. The main story world news have been talking about since the start of it. But do they talk about what had really happened? Do they know the truth? The whole world is in confusion. People don’t know who to believe.
I know facts that help to reveal who had really started war. I believe in that country. I pray for it. Do you?
I know facts that help to reveal who had really started war. I believe in that country. I pray for it. Do you?
2008-07-20
Vineyards
Vineyards are a lot like people with special talents: Many produce good fruit, some produce excellent fruit and a favored few consistently produce world-class fruit, shining brighter than others for reasons that are largely intangible.
While European winegrowers have for centuries celebrated certain parcels where climate, soil and variety converge seamlessly - Romanée-Conti and Chambertin in Burgundy, for example - through much of California's comparatively nascent modern wine era it was the winemaker, rather than the vineyard, who was doted upon.
It has taken some time, but as the 21st century dawned, a subtle shift of attitude in the collective California wine consciousness (among publicists, brand managers and critics) refocused la cause célèbre from vintner to vineyard.
If there is a recurring theme among these legendary vineyards, it's the fact that most have had to struggle to achieve their fame.
For winemakers, struggle is a good thing because vine stress yields small berries with a high solids-to-juice ratio, and it's from the solids, or skins, that a wine's chief flavors are imparted.
BACKUS Vineyard owner: Joseph Phelps
Vineyards Appellation: Oakville, Napa Valley
First planted: 1975
2008-07-17
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