Wednesday-Night

 
Wednesday-night.com on Russia
Q&A: Conflict in Georgia (BBC)
Russia & Georgia another viewpoint

6 September
Cheney bashes Russia for ‘brutality’ in Georgia
Cheney visited Georgia this week, telling President Mikheil Saakashvili that the United States will help the country rebuild its government and economy. The U.S. has promised $1 billion in relief to Georgia.
Russia has accused the U.S. […]

Welcome home to all the summer’s happy wanderers. We have missed you - and you have missed some fascinating evenings - and look forward to catching up with your news, along with your thoughts on The News as it unfolds.
Speaking of unfolding,-  or more accurately, unravelling -, the Republican Convention will surely go down in […]

The Medvedev Doctrine and American Strategy
(Stratfor) The fifth point is the critical one: “As is the case of other countries, there are regions in which Russia has privileged interests.” In other words, the Russians have special interests in the former Soviet Union and in friendly relations with these states. Intrusions by others into these regions […]

See also Wednesday Nights 1375 ; 1376 and 1378
August 22
The US Banking System Is in Trouble
… Chris Whalen is the managing director of a service called Institutional Risk Analytics, whose primary business is analyzing the health of banks and financial institutions. If you are one of their clients, you can go to […]

See also: Candidates and Issues
An acerbic analysis from George Monbiot gives the candidates something to ponder:
If we seek to understand US foreign policy in terms of a rational engagement with international problems, or even as an effective means of projecting power, we are looking in the wrong place. The government’s interests have always been provincial. […]

See also Global Treaty on Climate Change
August 13
Elephant seals join fight against climate change
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Elephant seals swimming under Antarctic ice and fitted with special sensors are providing scientists with crucial data on ice formation, ocean currents and climate change, a study released on Tuesday said.
The seals swimming under winter sea ice have overcome […]

(Strategic Forecasting Inc.) Kosovo, Russia and the West
2007 saw the resurgence of a long-dormant issue: independence for Serbia’s breakaway province of Kosovo. The tiny region is a key pressure point on the fault line between Russia and the West.
The subject of independence for Kosovo is re-emerging as a serious issue. The West seems intent on […]

See photos and more
Starting this Wednesday Night on a different note (!), our very special diva, Susanna Eyton-Jones, and Shem Guibbory will give a brief performance as a warm-up to their in-studio recording the following week. They will present a 13-minute chamber piece for violin and soprano entitled ‘Iglesia Abandonado’, by […]

Two and a Half Cheers for the Mediterranean Union
by Chris Patten
(Project Syndicate) Maybe it is time to be a bit more generous to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and look at the outcome of what he does rather than the way that he does it.
The original launch of the Mediterranean Union almost […]

Trucks are loaded with sugar cane, which will be used to produce biofuels, in Brazil. Photograph: Paulo Whitaker/Reuters
More on Biofuels
July 28
Biofuels Down, Energy Saving Up in EU Climate Plan
(Reuters/Planet Ark) BRUSSELS - Biofuels are down and energy efficiency measures are up as the European Union’s ambitious plan to fight climate change works its way towards […]