Month: August 2008

TIME Aug 10 2008

Georgia Wants U.S. to Restrain Russia

Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008

Five days after Georgian troops stormed into South Ossetia to reclaim
control of the tiny breakaway territory, they were in retreat on
Sunday after being battered by Russian forces. But the Russians have
not confined themselves to pushing Georgian forces out of South
Ossetia, and ongoing Russian attacks have hit close to the Georgian
capital and along its coastline. Hundreds of South Ossetians are dead
and thousands have fled their homes, some sheltering in decrepit
schools with no electricity or water. Georgia is a close ally of the
U.S. and has a large troop contingent in Iraq. Its government is
hoping that President Bush and other Western leaders will lean on
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to call off his troops. But that hope
might be in vain, given the limits of Western leverage over Moscow,
and the need for Russian cooperation on Iran. Georgia’s Foreign
Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili spoke to TIME about her country’s
calamitous week and what comes next:

TIME: Didn’t you walk into Russia’s trap? Russia provoked Georgia, and
you responded, and then they launched an all-out attack. Was there no
other way out here?

Tkeshelashvili: We have been forced into this situation. There was
shelling of Georgian villages. We sent a special envoy. We tried to
communicate that all we wanted was negotiations. Then when the Russian
equipment and armed forces started moving into South Ossetia ‘ at that
point we had no other choice but to respond, otherwise we would have
stood by idly watching people die on the ground.

TIME: Why is South Ossetia such a key contest for Russia and Georgia?

Tkeshelashvili: We feared that Russia would do everything possible to
stop any prospect for the success of Georgia joining NATO. That is the
ultimate goal that Russia had, and still has. We are a former Soviet
country which is becoming fully independent and oriented to Western
development. That challenges every notion of the Russian Federation,
that their sphere of influence over former Soviet countries should be
very firm. We are getting closer to Europe, closer to NATO. If we are
successful, then other former Soviet countries will follow that
path. It is not only Georgia that is concerned. It is much bigger.

TIME: So what can the United States and Europe do?

Tkeshelashvili: We are hopeful. Europe and the U.S. have extremely
powerful leverage in persuading Russia that it has to stop its
aggression in Georgia, and it has to find what conditions there are
for genuine lasting, sustaining ceasefire and then security for this
part of the Georgian state. The United Nations and United States has
to stop Russian aggression. If Russia is successful then we are facing
the new world rules of behavior and coexistence of sovereign states.

TIME: That still leaves Georgia wanting full control over South
Ossetia.

Tkeshelashvili: Territories are not the end goal. We want to
consolidate George for development, democracy, and to be part of
Europe and NATO. That is our goal.

TIME: What is your major objection to the South Ossetia and Abkhazia
separatists?

Tkeshelashvili: We have to be clear what these movements are. In South
Ossetia, most of the government officials are active members of the
military and security forces of the Russian Federation. South Ossetia
and Abkhazia were multiethnic communities in which Georgians might
have been in the majority, but there were also large communities of
Greeks, Jews, Ukrainians, and Armenians there. Now both territories
have basically an apartheid regime. They are ethnically cleansed
territories where some remnants of previous ethnic communities are
oppressed with the help from Russia. I just was in the village of
Gori. I saw with my own eyes the level of destruction, a woman dead
among the destroyed buildings. It’s a humanitarian disaster.

TIME: You are recalling all the Georgian soldiers from Iraq. Is this a
big blow to your relationship with the US?

Tkeshelashvili: We are being bombed. Russia is a big state, we are a
small state. So we have to mobilize all the forces we have.

,85 99,1831244,00.html

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Daily Star, Bangladesh
Aug 11 2008

400 Years of Dhaka
Rescue Pogose house before too late

by Durdana Ghias

Weis House, one of the magnificent structures built by Nicholas
Pogose, an Armenian elite in the late 19th century, at Weisghat in the
city is now under threat of being occupied illegally.

Locals say British civil surgeon Dr Weis later bought the house built
by Pogose and so it is also known as Weis House. Bulbul Lalitakala
Academy has been using the house since 1955.

According to the Banglapedia, Armenians came to this country from
Central Asia and flourished in trade towards the end of the 17th
century. Many of them turned into business tycoons and built palatial
houses in the city.

Ruplal House, one of such houses that turned into a wholesale market
at Farashganj, was owned by an Armenian called Aratoon.

Shamsuz Jahan Noor, acting president of the academy, said the house
and the land is now under the threat of being occupied by some people.

The land is now a property of the Court of Wards as it is an estate of
Sir Salimullah or the Nawab family, said academy sources.

Four big semi-circular arches on both sides of a big portico greet
visitors to this grand palace. The portico has a wooden
ceiling. Pilasters with projected designs stand in the middle of the
arches.

A large open space lies in front of the house where big trees grew up
lavishly spreading their branches over gigantic wooden lattice
windows.

"These windows are called Louvered windows or khorkhori in local
language. These windows were very suitable for our local climate. They
were good for cross ventilation and protection from sunlight," said
Conservation Architect Dr Abu Sayeed M Ahmed.

The hall on the ground floor has marble floor while rooms on the first
floor have wooden floors. A decorated wooden staircase with floral
motifs and sculptures in the balustrade is the most attractive thing.

There are four exotic wooden statues on four posts of the railing of
the stairs in a state of prayer with an eerie expression on their
faces. The sculptures in the banisters represent dancing figures,
winged angels and also many forms of working class people.

There are similar wooden works on the top parts of the doors, leading
to the vestibule on the ground floor. According to experts, the wood
used in the balustrade was expensive Burmese teak wood.

A long spiral staircase, held by a cylindrical tower, leads up to the
roof.

"The tower has perforated screens and is terminated by battlements,"
said Dr Sayeed. "The house is in a good condition and has no
structural damage. It can be restored. One reason its wooded staircase
and floor were not plundered is it has been under Bulbul Lalitakala
Academy," he said.

The Pogose family contributed a lot to making educational and other
institutions in the city. Pogose School established by them is one of
the oldest schools of Dhaka.

"The house and the land is now under the threat of being occupied by
some people who were expelled from the academy due to misappropriation
of around Tk 55 lakh from 2004 to 2006,’ said Noor.

"The corruption came to light after an audit done by the deputy
commissioner’s office. Following the audit we had to take action and
expel two members," she said. `The audit is still going on."

"The expelled members are now trying to gobble up the land with the
assistance of local influential people. They have a plan to demolish
the house and build a super market with apartment building at this
place. But if it happens the peace and tranquillity of the academy
will be gone forever and we will lose the nice old place," said Noor.

"This is not only the building of the academy but also a part of the
heritage of this country. It will be a misfortune if the house cannot
be saved.’

She said it will be best if the Department of Archaeology takes hold
of the house. `Then we will be assured of at least the safety of this
place. An executive order from the government can also save the
house."

"We have applied to the Land Reform Board for a lease. If we can have
the lease then we will be able to put up a signboard declaring the
lease and that will help us a lot to ward off the land grabbers," said
Noor.

Contacted, two expelled members Amanullah Chowdhury and Nasir Ahmed,
denied all allegations against them and said they are trying to save
the land from the grip of the other group.

"We are trying to buy the land for the academy but the other party is
trying to take hold of the land," said Nasir Ahmed.

Asked if they have any plan to demolish the house, Ahmed said he wants
to keep the house as it is because it is a heritage building in old
Dhaka.

Monirul Islam, chairman, Land Reform Board, said they have received an
application in this regard and it is under consideration of the board.

He, however, could not specify when they can take a decision on the
lease. "We have received an application and it is being examined. If
there is no legal objection we will give them the lease," he said.

Photo at

Javno.hr, Croatia
Aug 10 2008

Four Croatians Being Evacuated from Georgia

Four Croatians who were on a student trip to Georgia are currently on
a bus driving towards the Armenian border.

ZAGREB, CROATIA – Four Croatians who were travelling through Georgia
on a student trip are currently being evacuated from Georgia with the
help of the Croatian Embassy there. This information was officially
confirmed by the Croatian Foreign Ministry.

– They are currently being evacuated through Armenia. They are on a
bus and their visas and all the necessary documents will be waiting
for them on the Armenian border, said ministry spokesman Mario Dragun.

– They are currently being evacuated through Armenia. They are on a
bus and their visas and all the necessary documents will be waiting
for them on the Armenian border, said ministry spokesman Mario Dragun.

According to Berislav Zivkovic at the ministry, the bus started off at
around 4 pm local time and it is presumed that the Croatians already
crossed the border.

They should be safe in Armenia before nightfall

As we learnt, the four Croatians are Oliver Anderlin, Drago Mezga,
Stjepan Bukovcak and Lukrecija Kireta. The four found themselves in
Georgia when the war with Russia started.

The Croatian Embassy in Greece, which is in charge of Armenia and
Georgia, is working on getting the four young people to Croatia
safely.

– The Greek Embassy has notified their families and the four young
people are communicating with us via text messages. We think they
should be safe in Armenia’s capital before nightfall ` Croatian Charge
d’Affaires at the Croatian Embassy in Athens, Vojko Senker, said.

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Javno.hr, Croatia
Aug 10 2008

Evacuated Croatian: We Are OK, We Are at Border

We are at the border now and I think we will be here for a while until
the papers are sorted out, one of the four evacuated Croatians said.

– We are just at the Armenian border. I suppose we will be here for
some time because of the paperwork, which takes time. But we are all
alright and we are not scared ` said Lukrecija Kireta, one of the four
Croatians who were on s study trip to Georgia when the war with Russia
began.

Via embassies, the evacuation of European Commission interns began in
Georgia at 4 pm local time. The interns were on a study trip through
Georgia. The group included for Croatians ` Lukrecija Kireta, Drago
Mezga, Oliver Anderlin and Stjepan Bukovcak.

Evacuation with help of Italy and European Commission

Lukrecija said she was in Georgia for a while together with other
interns. It was the European Commission that was the first to start
with the evacuations.

– Currently we are being evacuated by the Italian Embassy and the
European Commission. We were in contact with them the entire time. Of
course, with the help of the Croatian Foreign Ministry that sorted out
our visas for Armenia, since, as citizens of Croatia, we need visas to
enter the country ` Kireta said.

In a brief telephone conversation, she said she expected to be in
Brussels, where she has lived for the past five months, as early as
tomorrow.

– Drago Mezga, Oliver Anderlin and Stjepan Bukovcak will travel to
Italy ` she said.
From: Baghdasarian

Czech Happenings, Czech Republic
Aug 10 2008

Georgian events coincide with invasion anniversary – Czech ForMin

Prague/Tbilisi- Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, who has
cut his holiday short over the conflict in Georgia, today said Prague
supports Georgia where by a sad coincidence fights broke out shortly
before the 40th anniversary of the Soviet-led invasion of
Czechoslovakia, spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova said.

She told CTK that Schwarzenberg, who is returning to the office now
instead of August 18, as originally planned, is in contact with his
Georgian counterpart Eka Tkeshelashvili and also with Bernard
Kouchner, the foreign minister of France that presides over the EU
now.

Czech Ambassador in Tbilisi Ivan Jestrab today said that some 30
Czechs have left Georgia along with a convoy bound for the Armenian
capital Jerevan, from where most of them are to leave by a Polish
plane for Warsaw later today.

Further Czechs will leave Armenia in the same way on Monday, Jestrab
told CTK.

Another four Czechs, who find themselves in western Georgia and cannot
use their air-tickets to depart from Batumi by plane, will go to
Istanbul by car. The Czech consulate in Istanbul will help them reach
the Czech Republic, Jestrab said.

About 15 other Czechs want to remain in Georgia. The embassy knows
their identity, their whereabouts and it has connection with them.

Another 15 Czechs, however, reportedly stay in Georgia’s mountainous
areas, according to the embassy’s unconfirmed information. The embassy
does not know their names nor is it in contact with
them. Nevertheless, according to available information, all Czechs in
Georgia are in order, unharmed and face no problems, Jestrab said.

He said the situation in Tbilisi is calm, but local residents are
naturally nervous.

The Czech carrier CSA’s regular flights from Prague to Tbilisi and
vice versa on Saturday was cancelled over the security situation in
Georgia.

Another CSA plane is to depart for Tbilisi on August 12. "It will
depend on the general situation whether the flight will depart," CSA
spokeswoman Daniela Hupakova told CTK.

On Friday, the Georgian military used force to gain control of the
country’s separatist and pro-Russian province South Ossetia. It met
with armed resistance of the Russian military that sent in troops to
reinforce the Russian members of the South Ossetian peace corps.

Tens, hundreds and even thousands of victims have been reported by
various sources from the South Ossetian centre Tskhinvali.

view.php?id=327400

PRESS TV, Iran
Aug 10 2008

Ergenekon’s case a test of democracy for Turkish society

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 14:21:40 GMT
By Yusuf Fernandez, Press TV, Madrid

On July 25, a Turkish High Criminal Court in Istanbul formally
accepted to indict the underground ultranationalist and secularist
terrorist network known in the Turkish media as Ergenekon.

The indictment accused 86 people – 47 of whom are currently in prison
– of forming or belonging to a terrorist organization or of trying to
provoke an armed rebellion to bring down the government of Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The 2,455-page document also accuses the suspects of possessing arms,
explosives and classified documents. The arrests took place after a
yearlong investigation that began when the police discovered a house
full of ammunition and guns in Istanbul’s Umraniye district in July
2007. According to liberal-left newspaper Taraf, the investigation may
lead to new waves of arrests.

Among the defendants are some high-ranking ex-military officials, such
as retired senior generals Hursit Tolon as well as Sener Eruygur, who
heads the Atatürkist Thought Association (ADD). The objective
of Eruygur’s association is to spread the thought of Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk, the ultra-secularist founder of Turkey. The ADD helped
organize `republican rallies’ ahead of the July elections last year to
protest against an Islamist becoming president of Turkey.

Other members of Ergenekon included civilians, state bureaucrats,
journalists, academics, politicians and even members of organized
crime groups. Members of the judicial system were recruited to give
the network legal immunity. The chairman of the powerful Ankara
Chamber of Trade, Sinan Aygün, and the controversial
ultranationalist lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz, who has filed
countless suits against writers and intellectuals at odds with
Turkey’s official policies, are among the people detained for links to
Ergenekon. This is what the Turkish media has called the `deep state.’

The suspected leaders are now in prison on charges of having attempted
a number of coups and using illegal methods to influence the political
arena.

The founding charter of Ergenekon was propagated by Turkish media
outlets as well. It contains criteria for recruiting agents from among
the `trustworthy’ members of the Armed Forces. `These agents have to
be ruthless people with the ability to perform independently. They
should take orders directly from the commander of Ergenekon and they
should be unknown to higher-level administrators, the organization’s
personnel and its agents.’

The document also claims that the only way to protect a country is to
stop politicians that act counter to `ideologies that violate
principles of a regime in place,’ claiming that the most effective way
to stop such politicians is to `assassinate’ them. The Turkish `deep
state’ has its origins in what is commonly known as `Gladio’
operations. This network was set up during the 1950s and was made up
by indigenous stay-behind forces in NATO countries, which were trained
to conduct insurgent operations in the event of a communist invasion
or takeover.

Turkish Gladio groups were involved in covert operations against
leftist forces in the 1970s, when the clashes between leftist and
rightist groups brought Turkey to the brink of a civil war. They
gathered intelligence and were responsible for many political
assassinations of members and sympathizers of some leftist and Kurdish
organizations in the country.

In the late 1990s, the network changed its target to combat what it
saw as `the anti-secularist policies of the Justice and Development
Party (AKP) government’ and the increasing erosion of Turkey’s
sovereignty as a result of its application for EU membership.

Actually, some secularist forces refuse to accept the fact that the
AKP is one of the most popular political parties both in Turkey and in
the Muslim world. Its ideology combines both progressive and
conservative elements and its economic and democratic achievements
have played a key role in its popularity. In the eyes of the Turkish
people and other people in the region, the AKP represents two very
important things: Firstly, respect for the society’s traditional and
Islamic values, and secondly, a strong desire for change, development
and democracy.

Ultrasecularist parties have lost all the elections to the AKP since
2002 and have also lost their hopes for a short-term electoral defeat
of this party. Therefore, hard-line secularists of Ergenekon have been
seeking other ways to topple the AKP government, and break apart any
Islamist force in the country, put an end to the EU accession process
and set up an authoritarian state.

Several Turkish papers have reported that former General Sener Eruygur
had held plans for an imminent military coup. According to these
reports, the conspirators planned demonstrations in 40 cities. Snipers
would be hired to shoot at demonstrators and murder well-known people
in order to create an atmosphere of terror, thus giving the military a
pretext to intervene and topple the AKP government. Sympathetic
journalists were expected to support the operation.

This operation would have led to the isolation of the country or even
to a civil war as the Turkish public would not have stood silent
against the kind of coup Ergenekon would try to provoke and this could
have led to the lynching of the secularist opposition. AK Party deputy
Avni Dogan believes that if the Ergenekon organization was not
discovered, Turkey would have fallen into anarchy and chaos. `This was
the target of the organization. They planned to create a country of
anarchy and chaos,’ he told the Turkish daily Zaman.

The indictment document points out that Ergenekon cooperated with -and
in many cases had both created and subsequently controlled- some of
the main terrorist organizations in Turkey. The prosecutors accuse
Ergenekon of having ties with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) and its jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan. Some experts hope that
the true nature of the Ergenekon-PKK relationship will come to light
in the following months.

The investigation is likely to result in the reopening of cases that
have long been closed. Prosecutors accused Ergenekon of being behind
2006 attacks on Turkey’s administrative court and the pro-secular
Cumhuriyet newspaper allegedly carried out by `Islamists’.

These attacks infuriated secularists and led to demonstrations against
the Erdogan government. Ergenekon was also reportedly behind the
attack on former Human Rights Association (IHD) President Akin Birdal,
who managed to survive. The founder of the ultranationalist Turkish
Revenge Brigade (TIT), the organization that carried out the
assassination attempt against Birdal, is currently in prison as an
Ergenekon suspect.

Other crimes that could have been committed by Ergenekon would be the
assassination of the head of a business conglomerate, Ozdemir Sabanci,
who has reportedly been shot dead by militants of the extreme-left
Revolutionary People’s Liberation Front; the assassination of the
secularist journalist Ugur Mumcu; and that of academic Necip
Hablemitoglu.

The indictment also says Veli Küçük, believed to
be one of the leading members of Ergenekon, threatened Hrant Dink, the
famous Turkish-Armenian journalist, before his murder in 2007, a sign
that the network could also be behind his death.

There are also claims that the Ergenekon gang was planning to kill
some leading members of the Kurdish nationalist Democratic Society
Party (DTP) and even Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk, who has been
subjected to a hate campaign by right-wing media outlets.

The indictment against Ergenekon has produced mixed reactions from the
Turkish political community. For some reformists who support the AKP,
the indictment is a key step towards further democratizing the
country. Former AKP Parliament Speaker Manisa deputy Bülent
Arinç thinks that the ongoing Ergenekon investigation is also
an opportunity for an in-depth analysis of the past 50 years in
Turkey.

The indictment has been hailed by most Turkish media outlets as a
historic event, which may finally reveal the criminal activities of a
secret network with deep roots in the army and the security forces.

The newspaper Sabah, for example, has reported that the indictment is
a turning point for democratization and demilitarization because it
may put an end to military coups. The secularist paper Milliyet is one
of the few newspapers openly critical of the arrests. It has accused
the Erdogan government of trying to achieve political benefits with
their operation.

Most Turks also back the government’s campaign against Ergenekon. They
think that the ongoing investigation has managed to remove the threat
of the `untouchable deep state’ working against Turkish democracy and
stability. According to a poll published by Zaman, 65% of the Turkish
public consider the indictment a necessary measure to save the country
and its political system.

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Tla?Ä?ov?Ã?¡ agent?Ã?ºra Slovenskej republiky (predplatn?Ã?©), Slovakia
Aug 10 2008

Special Charter Plane to Bring Slovaks Back From Georgia

Bratislava/Tbilisi, August 10 (TASR-SLOVAKIA) – Slovakia is to respond
to the conflict between Russia and Georgia in South Ossetia by sending
a charter plane to Georgia to bring its citizens home, SLOVAKIA was
told by Foreign Affairs Ministry press department director Igor Skocek
on Sunday.

The aircraft is due to depart for the Armenian capital Yerevan later
on Sunday, as the airport in the Georgian capital Tbilisi is currently
closed. Eleven Slovak citizens in Georgia have already expressed their
desire to leave.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry is in continual telephone contact with
Slovak citizens in Georgia and their relatives in Slovakia. A crisis
phone line was receiving calls all night, said Skocek.

A crisis-management meeting on the ongoing conflict in South Ossetia
chaired by Foreign Affairs Ministry State Secretary Olga Algayerova
was held at the ministry on Friday.

bub/df/tf

Agence France Presse
Aug 10 2008

Canada advises citizens to evacuate Georgia

OTTAWA (AFP) ‘ Canada Sunday urged its citizens in Georgia to evacuate
as Russian attacks spread across the country.

"If you have no urgent need to remain in Georgia, then you should
consider leaving as soon as possible," the foreign ministry said in a
statement.

"The situation is volatile and could deteriorate without notice.
Canadians in Georgia should evaluate carefully the implications for
their security and safety, monitor local developments, and follow the
advice of local authorities."

The warning said that Canadians seeking to leave through Azerbaijan
need a visa to that country, but that they could obtain a visa to
Armenia at the border.

It also noted that the US embassy is organizing an evacuation convoy
from Tbilisi to Yerevan, Armenia, on Monday.

The US State Department issued a travel advisory Saturday to
discourage Americans from visiting Georgia or its rebel territories of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia due to the conflict with Russia.

The department said it had authorized all "eligible family members" of
US embassy and consular staff to leave Georgia.

SBR Forum, Costa Rica
Aug 10 2008

UFC 87: Looking to ‘seek and destroy’ the books

08/09/2008 11:07 AM
By: Bread | sbrforum.com

The Welterweight Championship is on the line tonight at UFC 87,
slated for a 10:00 p.m. (Eastern) start time from the Target Center in
Minneapolis. Montreal native Georges St. Pierre is the heavy favorite
to take the belt against Indiana flatlander Jon Fitch in the main
event. On the undercard, Brock Lesnar meets Heath Herring while Kenny
Florian takes on Roger Huerta in what might be the closest bout of the
evening.
The only things more amusing than some of the outrageously silly UFC
fighters’ names are the slogans associated with many of their pay per
views. UFC 87: Seek and Destroy, carries on the torch of dopey
nicknames.

What is not dopey, however, is the stacked fight card. Saturday night UFC fights¦Let’s get it on!

Georges St. Pierre (-360) vs. Jon Fitch (+300)
Our main event just happens to be for the Welterweight Championship.
It also just happens to feature one of MMA’s most enthralling
fighters, Georges St. Pierre (16-2-0). He even has fitting nickname,
`Rush.’ Watching this talented Canadian in the octagon can certainly
be rush inducing.

After a shocking loss to reality show meathead Matt Serra, who was an
11-1 underdog, St. Pierre has been untouchable. He laid the beatdown
on Jeff Koscheck and Matt Hughes. Then four months ago he exacted
some revenge on Serra in impressive fashion, en route to regaining his
belt.

Because of guys like St. Pierre, Anderson Silva and Mike Tyson, I will
never again take anyone with a little girl’s voice lightly. It
wouldn’t end well for Bread.

Opponent Jon Fitch (21-2-0) is certainly no slouch. Riding a 15-fight
winning streak, Fitch’s last loss came in Dec. 2002. To put that in
perspective, Pat Venditto wasn’t even in high school yet. He has
victories over some impressive names: Josh Burkman, Thiago Alves,
Diego Sanchez. Most of those victories are followed with one of the
sport’s best celebrations ` Fitch running around the mat like a
lunatic with a freakish crazy eye. I look forward to it.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be seeing that celebration tonight.
Look for St. Pierre to continue his dominance. Georges St. Pierre
-360.

Brock Lesnar (-240) vs. Heath Herring (+180) Big Brock Lesnar (1-1-0)
is back. Listed at 6-3, 265 lbs, the man is just a monster. The UFC
wants this guy to do well. He brings with him a huge fanbase from his
WWE days. Heck, he even lists that as a personal accomplishment on
the UFC website: "WWE Champion." Um, should someone tell him that pro
wrestling is all fake? I’m not going to be the one, but someone
should.

Lesnar’s first pro MMA bout was against someone named Min Soo Kim.
Don’t worry, I had no idea who he was either. Brock pummeled him into
submission by strikes in less than two minutes. Enter the UFC, where
Frank Mir exposed the big guy’s weaknesses. Mir took a pounding for
most of the first round, until landing a leg lock on Lesnar for the
victory.

No problem. Lesnar was then setup for a patsy match against a
43-year-old UFC Hall of Fame inductee, Mark Coleman who saved himself
the embarrassment of enduring senior citizen abuse and injured
himself. Enter Heath Herring.

Herring (29-13-1) is not the patsy that I think the UFC wanted to help
propel their newest big name. He is an inch taller than Lesnar, and
about 15 pounds lighter. He was born in Waco, TX, so you know he’s
crazy. Herring sports a variety of crazy hair colors and styles. He
looks like a space cowboy bar brawler. He carries his own personal
silly nickname, `The Texas Crazy Horse,’ very well.

Nowhere was Herring’s insanity levels on more display than New Year’s
Eve 2005. During his K-1 pre-fight staredown with opponent Yoshihiro
Nakao, Nakao made the bird-brained decision to lean in and give Heath
a kiss on the lips. Herring promptly knocked his suitor out with a
blow to the jaw. The fight was declared a no contest.

In his last fight, he took a split decision from the physical specimen
that is Cheick Kongo. Lesnar seems to have no respect for his latest
hobby. Unlike most fighters who praise their opponents leading up to
a match, Lesnar has the `I’ll beat everyone I have to, to make it to
the top, I don’t care who it is’ attitude. Sadly for Brock, unlike in
the WWE, you cannot be declared a champion in the UFC by the writing
team.

The UFC has even put this card in Lesnar’s hometown of Minneapolis,
where he wrestled collegiately and even had a brief stint with the
Vikings. The crowd will be pulling for him hard. I don’t think they
will be going home happy. Heath Herring +180.

Kenny Florian (-160) vs. Roger Huerta (+130)
UFC President Dana White has already said that this is his personal
pick for fight of the year. I would tend to agree with him. Kenny
`Kenflo’ Florian (9-3-0) will be bringing his elbows of death with
him. He has lost only to Sean Sherk and Diego Sanchez in `The
Ultimate Fighter 1′ finale. All others are usually defeated in bloody
fashion. With a background in Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu, Florian is no
joke.

Roger Huerta (22-1-1) is known as `El Matador.’ I believe that is
French for `doormat.’ I could be wrong. Either way, the Sports
Illustrated cover boy is 6-0 in the UFC. His last victory against
Clay Guida was an exciting bout from beginning to end. Huerta was
getting smacked around for much of the fight, before catching Guida in
a nasty third round choke hold.

***

Florian seems like a nice enough kid from Boston. He even stepped in
and did color commentary in Joe Rogan’s absence for UFC 83. It would
be great if one day he could save my bleeding ears from Rogan’s
screaming. Huerta has the Alcoholics Anonymous third step prayer
tattooed on his right forearm. What does any of this have to do with
anything? Not much. Dana White is right; this fight is a tough call
either way. For such a closely contested bout, go with the value.
Roger Huerta +130.

Demian Maia (-285) vs. Jason MacDonald (+225)
For the wife and me, our favorite running UFC theme is to keep track
of all the redheads, or dark dirty blond fighters. There are tons of
them. I guess when you are born with orange hair, you have to learn
how to fight at a young age. The fun part about them is, 30 seconds
into the fight these guys look like they have some major pigmentation
issues. Giant red splotches all over their body. What can I
say¦we are easily amused.

Well they don’t come more flaring bright orange than Canadian fighter
Jason MacDonald (21-9-0). He possesses one of the weaker nicknames in
the game, `The Athlete.’ How far away are we from someone dubbing
themselves as `The Human?’ This is getting ridiculous.

MacDonald’s opponent for this middleweight matchup is Demian Maia
(8-0-0), a Brazilian fighter influenced by the legendary Gracies. The
majority of his victories are achieved by some form of a choke out.
Maia has stated that his favorite technique is to, "Submit my opponent
without him hurting me, or me hurting him.’ Well that’s no fun.

I highly anticipate the moment when Maia is choking out poor
MacDonald, forcing his face to turn shades of red and orange never
before seen by mankind. It will be a giddy moment in the Bread
household. Demian Maia -285.

Manny Gamburyan (-320) vs. Rob Emerson (+260)
The battle of the Lightweights pits Manny `The Anvil’ Gamburyan
(9-3-0) against Rob `The Saint’ Emerson (9-6-1). It’s a draw on the
worst nickname.

Gamburyan reminds me why I don’t fight little guys when I go out. In
dress attire, standing at a whopping 5-5, 155 lbs, I would almost want
to take it easy on the guy. Then I would be dismantled in sad
fashion. No thanks.

Manny’s actual name is Manvel. He was born in Armenia. He likes to
enter the ring to the music of Armenian band System of a Down. If Joe
Rogan’s decibels don’t make your ears bleed enough, perhaps Manvel’s
music can help.

Gamburyan lost in The Ultimate Fighter championship to Nate Diaz.
Manny was beating him up pretty good until dislocating his shoulder.
That was a bad night for Bread. Manny has won two in a row since
then.

Dana White must love Rob Emerson for some reason. On the reality
show’s fifth installment, he first lost out to Diaz. Then he returned
as a replacement for an injured fighter, and lost to Corey Hill. Then
on the finale’s undercard, he was slammed to the mat by Gray Maynard
and submitted. Problem was, Maynard slammed his own head too hard and
fell unconscious. The fight was declared a no contest. Emerson
hasn’t shown anything, but like the Terminator, he keeps coming back.

This will be an easy victory for Gamburyan. The only concern would be
the karma train. In his last bout with Jeff Cox, Manny broke the
unspoken rule of professional fighting. He faked the glove tap than
many fighters do to begin a round, and smacked a spinning leg kick at
his opponent. Not good. Fortunately for gamblers, Emerson will not
be the one to avenge the karma gods. Manny Gamburyan -320.

TTING/8639/ufc-87-looking-seek-destroy-books.aspx

GulfNews, United Arab Emirates
Aug 10 2008

UK issues travel warning to Georgia

Agencies
Published: August 10, 2008, 14:34

London: Britain on Sunday advised its citizens to leave Georgia unless
it is necessary that they stay, while the Foreign Office advised
against non-essential travel to the conflict-torn country.

"If you or your family have no urgent need to remain in Georgia you
should leave as soon as possible. It is wise to do so while some air
services are still available and the border remains open," the Foreign
Office said in a statement.

The office said that visas for Armenia can be obtained at the border
and entry into Azerbaijan is only possible with a visa.

The office advised against travel to separatist regions of South
Ossetia, Abkhazia and also the upper Kodori Valley, also known as
upper Abkhazia.