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By Silvia Spring
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Russia: Another Hot Front
Is Russia trying to provoke a war on Georgia's border? Last week saw the latest in a series of flare-ups as Georgian troops moved into the remote Kodori valley in the breakaway region of Abkhazia. The Georgians were chasing local tribal leader Emzar Kvitsiani, who had declared that he'd form a private army to resist Tbilisi's authority. Georgia accuses Russia of encouraging Kvitsiani's mini-rebellion; worse, claim the Georgians, Russia's also helping separatists in another restive province, South Ossetia.
Why would Moscow want to set fire to the Caucasus, especially at a time when conflicts are intensifying from Afghanistan to Lebanon? According to Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, Georgia's been "enemy number one" to the Kremlin since its pro-Western Rose Revolution in 2003. This year, though, tensions have come to a head. Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili recently accused Moscow of being behind a mysterious explosion on a gas line. In May, Russia banned imports of Georgian wine, severely hurting its economy. Now skirmishes in Abkhazia and South Ossetia have come close to rekindling wars against Georgia's breakaway republics.
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The Kremlin denies undermining its southern neighbor, claiming it wants only to be the guarantor of various ceasefire deals with Georgia's rebel provinces. The danger is that future clashes could easily involve Russian troops, who are permanently stationed in both Abkhazia and Ossetia as peacekeepers. Any fire fights between Georgian and Russian troops could quickly escalate into something much more serious than a tribal revolt.
-- Owen Matthews
U.S. Affairs: Pipeline Politics
An effort by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney to prod Alaska lawmakers to approve a controversial $20 billion natural-gas pipeline project has misfired amid charges from some legislators that the veep was seeking to benefit major energy interests. In a highly unusual intervention in a state dispute, Cheney recently wrote Alaskan legislative leaders urging them to "promptly" enact a bill that would allow three giant oil companies--British Petroleum, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil--to build a massive pipeline. Under a proposed contract negotiated by Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski, the firms would get major tax breaks--an unpopular move at a time when all three are reporting soaring profits. Cheney contended the "needs of the nation" dictate that the pipeline be built, noting the project was endorsed by the Bush administration in May 2001--a reference to the proposals of the secret energy task force he headed.
-- Michael Isikoff
Congo
This week marks the first free elections in the Demo-cratic Republic of the Congo since independence in 1960. The International Crisis Group calls it "the most promising moment" in Congo's recent history, but warns that "there are huge dangers as well." The tale of the tape:
Too Much Choice? Congo has 25. 7 million registered voters, many of them illiterate, who have to grapple with six-page ballot papers that present 33 presidential contenders and more than 9,700 candidates. Drawback: losing politicians and former warlords may be tempted to take advantage of a weak state and launch new insurgencies.
Bad History: The setting for Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" also boasts a six-year civil war that ended in 2002, leaving more than 4 million dead, and more than 3 million displaced. Even now, 1,200 people a day die on average; half of them are children.
In Kofi We Trust: The poll is going ahead under the watch of the U.N. Mission in the DRC , which has 17,600 troops trying to keep the peace. It's a $432 million initiative, and is considered the most complex U.N. electoral-assistance mission ever undertaken.
-- Karen MacGregor
Fashion: Ayatollah Stylings
While fashion Week in New York and London doesn't happen until September, Tehran isn't waiting to strut its stuff. Last week, the nascent nuclear power held its first government-sanctioned fashion show since the Islamic revolution of 1979. "One of my dreams is to have a fashion show, not in Paris, but in Esfehan, the most beautiful city in Iran," says 39-year-old Iranian designer Shadi Parand. "Two weeks ago that was impossible. But now that the government has done one, why not?"
It's not quite Paris yet. Forget the skimpy outfits of haute couture: this 10-day event was meant to showcase the latest in Muslim fashions as a way to counter the creeping influence of Western style. The opaque overcoats and floor-length chadors that adorned most of the models left much to the imagination. The sponsors of the event--which included the Iranian police force and the Commerce Ministry --hoped to show that women can still dress stylishly by looking to the Qur'an rather than Vogue.
More important, says Shabnam Rezaei, editor in chief of culture magazine Persian Mirror, the fashion show was a bold move by hard-liners in Tehran to stem the growing agitation among Iran's swelling youth population. Previous fashion shows had been held underground in private homes. "The show was a cultural morsel the government allowed," says Rezaei says. "They realize that they have to loosen the noose a little bit or they will have a revolution on their hands." Hey, maybe it is Paris.
-- Zvika Krieger
Books: Gimme Shelter
Architects can save lives. Or so argue Cameron Sinclair and Kate Stohr, the co-editors of "Design Like You Give a Damn" ( Thames & Hudson. 336 pages ), a new book that illustrates how designers can solve humanitarian crises through socially conscious projects. The book profiles inventions like Peter Brewin and William Crawford's "Concrete Canvas," essentially a building in a bag that can be quickly set up as an emergency medical center or storage facility--perfect for organizations like Médecins Sans Frontières, whose Uganda office has expressed interest in the prototype. Designers can also lessen day-to-day burdens. In southern Africa, where women and children typically walk kilometers to collect water in 20-liter buckets that they carry on their heads, Pettie Petzer and Johan Joker developed the "Hippo Water Roller," which consists of a metal handle that clips on to a rolling 88-liter container, so four times as much water can be easily hauled.
-- Silvia Spring
Landmarks: World Wonders
When Philon of Byzantium compiled a list of man's seven grandest creations, in the second century B.C., he probably wasn't thinking too far ahead: only one of the "Seven Wonders of the World" exists today (the Egyptian Pyramids at Giza). Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber hopes to fix that by launching the New 7 Wonders Foundation, whose Web site, new7wonders.com, allows people from around the world to vote on a new list of landmarks. Twenty million have voted so far. Among the finalists: Machu Picchu, China's Great Wall, the Taj Mahal--and the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower and Kremlin.
--Zvika Krieger
THE DEBUNKER
Ever since Weblogs became known as blogs, there's been a steady drumbeat that the so-called pajamas media would soon make reporters and the MSM obsolete. A new survey from the Pew Internet Project dispels that notion.
Who Reads It: Turns out that most of the 12 million American bloggers write for themselves, and their biggest readers are Mom and Dad.
Not So Journalistic: Nearly 40 percent of bloggers describe their journals as personal diaries; 65 percent don't consider their musings journalism at all; 78 percent are mostly inspired by personal experience.
Almost Pro: Eighty-four percent say blogging is a hobby. And the top 100 bloggers--those who get the most traffic--are almost all professional writers or journalists already.
Reality Check: Marijuana is often called the "gateway drug," with authorities claiming that weed smokers will eventually end up on heroin. Not quite. A new study from the Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology suggests humans who smoke pot are no more likely to become addicted to heroin than those who do not. Ninety-seven million Americans have tried marijuana, compared with 3 million who've touched heroin. Three percent of pot dabblers is hardly a high rate of return.
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