Category Archives: Civics

Then They Build Monuments To You

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

“First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you.” – Nicholas Klein, American trade unionist Yesterday was the International Day Against Homophobia, and as … Continue reading →

Posted in Civics, Politics | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Quality of Life, Political Economy, and Ethnocentrism

Posted on March 20, 2013 by

A CNN article caused an uproar in the Georgiasphere because it listed Tbilisi as an example of one of the world’s worst cities. This list was based on the Mercer “Quality of Living” survey which rates 221 cities based on … Continue reading →

Posted in Civics, Culture Shock! | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ban Smoking

Posted on March 19, 2013 by

Every once in a while I have to remind myself to be compassionate. I am easily annoyed by relatively insignificant things, and if I’m not careful I find myself reacting towards strangers with loathing and disgust, and when this spiral … Continue reading →

Posted in Civics, Health and Sickness in Georgia | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Mundane Mafioso

Posted on March 2, 2013 by

Did I make it an entire month without posting? Why yes, I did. My excuse is that February is a short month. The water in my apartment building has been corrupted. Rumor is that it’s due to a new motor… … Continue reading →

Posted in Civics, Health and Sickness in Georgia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Every Rose Has Its Thorns

Posted on October 3, 2012 by

Couldn’t resist the Rose pun. So the Georgian Dream has become a reality. It looks like they’ll take 80-84 seats in Parliament, based on the current numbers, but everyone agrees they’ll have a small Parliamentary majority. Last week I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventures in Adventures in Georgia, Civics, Politics | 7 Comments

What To Expect When You’re Electing

Posted on September 26, 2012 by

Last week we saw democracy in action in Georgia. On Monday, we’re going to see something completely different: a Constitutional Parliamentary Republic in action. I’ll start with my predictions: I predict that the President Saakashvili’s UNM will remain the ruling … Continue reading →

Posted in Civics, Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Georgian Prison Scandal: This Is Democracy

Posted on September 21, 2012 by

This week, Georgia’s prisons were reformed. This could never happen in America. There is no event that would cause every prison guard to be suspended, that would cause the police to be sent in to run America’s prisons, that would … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Civics, Politics | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Shoveling Snow and the Tragedy of the Commons

Posted on February 1, 2012 by

That’s a dramatic name for a rather prosaic entry. I’ll try to live up to it. Long story short, in New York City people shovel their sidewalks when it snows and in Tbilisi they don’t. ********************************************** I have managed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventures in Adventures in Georgia, America, Civics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

In Defense of American Heritage

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

Georgians are perhaps overly fond of mocking the United States of America for being a “young” nation. Georgians attribute a whole host of negative traits to this deficiency – our lack of respect for tradition, our liberal values, our loose … Continue reading →

Posted in Civics, Culture Shock!, Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Election Year Woes

Posted on January 20, 2012 by

When I left America, toward the end of 2010, I was so utterly disgusted with American politics and American policy that not following the news in America was easy. I felt that if things continued on their trajectory, I always … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Civics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments