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Georgians hope U.S. will help defend way of life

TBILISI, Georgia — The road to the airport is named George W. Bush Street.

Across from historic Freedom Square, where former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin went to school, is a Marriott Courtyard. And the presidential palace under construction is often called the "white house."

This tiny nation that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1991 has deep economic and emotional ties with the United States, so much so that its beleaguered president, Mikheil Saakashvili, attended Columbia and George Washington law schools.

Now this democratic nation of 4.6 million people is looking to the United States for help as a massive military offensive from neighboring Russia threatens Georgia's existence.

"The dream of Georgia is to be like the U.S.," says Georgia's chancellor, or minister of administration, Kakha Bendukidze. "The relationship is based on more than geopolitical considerations. It's based on values that we share."

'Putin has given us an order that everyone must leave or be shot'

“The soldiers told us they had an order from Putin - leave or be killed.” Manana Dioshvili showed no emotion as she described how Russian troops forced her to flee her home. Her former neighbours nodded in agreement, huddled together in a kindergarten whose windows had been blown out by a Russian bomb.

“That's how they explained themselves to us,” she recalled of the moment they fled the ethnic Georgian village of Kurta, near the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali.

“They said, ‘Putin has given us an order that everyone must be either shot or forced to leave'. They told us we should ask the Americans for help now because they would kill us if we stayed.”

Vardo Babutidze, 79, was not lucky enough to be visited by Russian soldiers. Her husband Georgi, 85, was shot twice through the chest by an Ossetian paramilitary who came to their house to demand weapons.

Russia says troops to leave Georgia by Friday

TBILISI (Reuters) - The Kremlin said its forces would pull back from Georgia's heartland by Friday to positions set out under a French-brokered peace plan, amid mounting Western criticism about the slowness of the troop withdrawal.

Washington said it had yet to see any serious pullout and accused Russia of targeting civilians and wanting to strangle Georgia.

Don't hold your breath.



Russian soldiers take prisoners in Georgia port

POTI, Georgia (AP) — Russian soldiers took about 20 Georgians in military uniform prisoner at a key Black Sea port in western Georgia on Tuesday, blindfolding them and holding them at gunpoint, and commandeered American Humvees awaiting shipment back to the United States.

The move came as a small column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles left the strategic city of Gori in the first sign of a Russian pullback of troops from Georgia after a cease-fire intended to end fighting that reignited Cold War tensions.

The two countries on Tuesday also exchanged prisoners. However, Russian soldiers seized Georgians in Poti — the country's key oil port city — and commandeered four U.S. Humvees that had been used in U.S.-Georgian military exercises.

It's not enough to invade our ally, now they're taking our stuff.


Russia hits back at Nato warning

Russia has dismissed a warning by Nato that normal relations are impossible while its troops remain inside Georgia.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Nato of bias and of trying to save the "criminal regime" in Tbilisi.

He insisted Moscow was not occupying Georgia and had no plans to annex the separatist region of South Ossetia.
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Some Russian troops have been seen leaving Gori, the largest Georgian town close to the South Ossetia border.

But BBC correspondents on the ground say there are still Russian artillery positions in place. In addition, there are Russian checkpoints close to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

Polish government approves missile deal

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's government gave formal approval to a missile defense deal with the U.S. on Tuesday before a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the deputy prime minister said.

Grzegorz Schetyna said Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Cabinet signed off on the deal for Poland to host 10 missile interceptors at its regular weekly meeting.

It was the first of several steps required after negotiators last week reached an agreement following about 1 1/2 years of talks. The deal still needs parliamentary and presidential approval.

Those are expected to be formalities because both Tusk's Civic Platform party and the main opposition Law and Justice, linked to President Lech Kaczynski, support the deal.

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Islamic terror cell 'may have been plotting to attack Queen'
A terror cell caught with details of bomb-making and suicide vests may have been plotting to attack the Queen and members of the Royal family, it can be disclosed.

The cell, which included Britain's youngest ever terrorist, arrested on his way home from his GCSE chemistry exam, was found with information about the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh along with the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex and the Princess Royal.

Also on the list were Princess Michael of Kent, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and The Duke and Duchess of Kent.

Bomber Kills 43 at Algerian Police Academy
Suicide car bomber kills 43 Algerians amid surging violence by al-Qaida-allied movement

A suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into a line of applicants at an Algerian police academy Tuesday, killing at least 43 people in the deadliest terror attack to jolt this energy-rich U.S. ally since the 1990s.

Witnesses said the blast in the town of Les Issers, some 35 miles east of Algiers, tore a 3-foot-deep crater in the road, ripped off parts of the police academy's roof and damaged much of its facade and nearby buildings.

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Bear Attacks Inside Anchorage Have People on Edge

Even in a city whose logo is "Big Wild Life," the summer of 2008 is testing residents' tolerance for large carnivores.

The problem is bears, black bears and bigger grizzlies. So far this summer, three people have been mauled in the city.

Some people say humans are to blame for the confrontations and insist that no bears should be killed because of the attacks.

On the other side is a growing chorus of people like Devon Rees, who want something done about the big bruins.

WATER: Conserve or we'll do it for you, state says

Conserve water or the government will do it for you.

That's the blunt message of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan for improving California's water supply, which went on the road for a series of community meetings Monday.

"Conservation ---- boring as it is," alone can provide rapid results, said Phil Isenberg, chairman of the governor's group studying the issue. He spoke in a Monday morning conference call before that evening's meeting in San Diego on the governor's Delta Vision Strategic Plan.

The plan calls for environmental improvements in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, source of much of California's water. Water shipments from the Delta have been cut because of threats to an endangered fish, the delta smelt. The pumps used to move water south are believed to suck in the fish's young, killing them.

So, let me get this straight. You're in a dire drought and you're not using your water source because it might hurt some fish?



Fay strengthens over Florida as it dumps rain
Flooding remains a concern as officials call it a 'boomerang storm'

NAPLES, Fla. - Tropical Storm Fay rolled ashore in southwestern Florida on Tuesday without much fanfare, but stubbornly hung around like an unwelcome houseguest, gaining power and threatening — once again — to become a hurricane.

The storm first hit the Florida Keys, veered out to sea and then traversed east across the state on a path that would curve it toward to the Florida-Georgia border. The failure of Fay to weaken meant a whole new swath of the state had to prepare for a worse storm, and meant Florida could wind up getting hit three separate times.

Very strange, that it didn't weaken. Current forecast path has me getting hit with a bunch of rain Sunday night. Still no biggie, I think.