Georgia agreed to modified Russian Peace Plan

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French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili said today they had agreed to a modified version of a peace plan with Russia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a halt to military operations in Georgia on August 12 in support of the plan proposed by Sarkozy, who flew to Georgia after meeting Medvedev in Moscow.

"It is a political document. It is an agreement of principles ... and I think we have full coincidence of principles," Saakashvili told a joint news conference with the French president.

Sarkozy said the text would be presented to a meeting of European Union foreign ministers today so they could throw their weight behind it. It would then provide the basis for a U.N. Security Council resolution. … Reuters
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Multicultural Blogs - update

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [Introduction]

Tupelo Bauhaus ▪ Jaleo ▪ Gaulois ▪ Colombia Fashion Shows (Medellin)

Prof. Durwen & Ureda ▪ Fashion Metropolis ▪ Ukraine’s Viktor Yushchenko

Henry VIII (Tudors) & Law ▪ Pre-Olympics ▪ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Hubris ▪ Russian Novel ▪ Tea Party ▪ Presidential Campaign ▪ Pakistan

Tokio Hotel Nomination (MTV) ▪ Gas Saving ▪ Jib Jab ▪ Smearing Obama Fans

China (Bush & Sarkozy) ▪ Musharraf (Pakistan) ▪ Ukrainian Crimea Rave

Olympic Opening Ceremony ▪ Ossetian War ▪ Gulag ▪ Great Adventures
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Beijing (CNN) - Emotion kicks off China's Olympics

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Fireworks, athletes and pageantry on a scale never before seen in the Olympics opened the Summer Games in Beijing on

08.08.08

[∞∞∞]

as the Asian nation kicked off the biggest and most scrutinized Games in history.

Chinese President Hu Jintao declared the the Olympics officially open, retired Chinese gymnastics champion Li Ning was carried through the air to light the Olympic cauldron and pyrotechnics exploded throughout Beijing as the crowd of 91,000 at National Stadium cheered wildly.

It was a stunning display from the nation of 1.3 billion people. Some media observers believe the Opening Ceremony may be the single most watched television event in history... More at cnn.com
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Multicultural Blogs - update

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [Introduction]

Obama’s Childishness ▪ Mergers & Acquisitions (ESMT) ▪ Wagner Festival

Global World’s Alliances ▪ Washington ESMT Event ▪ Hawaii Petroleum

Political System (USA) ▪ Ethanol Lobbyism ▪ ESMT ▪ Beijing Olympics

US Media Influences ▪ ESMT Event ▪ Campus Neighborhood ▪ Oriental Eatery

Lindau Bodensee ▪ Museum ▪ Wright ▪ Mud Food ▪ Flood & Fire ▪ Caucasus
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Anti-Bush Triumph \ Obama’s Whirlwind Tour

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A crowd of 200,000 in Berlin and an enthusiastic welcome in Jerusalem and Paris: Barack Obama's whirlwind tour of the Middle East and Europe has fascinated the crowds and impressed politicians. Will it be enough to overcome doubts about his foreign policy expertise?

On Obama’s Berlin Speech

Excerpts - From the very second he walked onto the stage with an athletic bounce in his step, waved, smiled, it was obvious here was a man who so obviously knows where he stands and is so confident in his message. This doesn't look like just another political product that needs to be sold -- at most just someone who needs to be coached in the details. Here comes a natural talent with the charisma of John F. Kennedy, the kind of man who only comes along once in a generation. [...]

He gave an almost poetic speech, a tour de force through global politics, but without many specifics, in which he invoked what has fallen by the wayside during the Bush years without even referring to George W.: the partnership with Europe, cooperation on climate protection, phasing out nuclear weapons. On the topic of Afghanistan, he called on the Germans to play a more active role. He didn't utter a single negative word abroad about his own government, about the lies that were used to justify the Iraq war, about the ongoing revelations of torture by the CIA, or the fact that 74 percent of Americans feel that their country is on the wrong path. … More by Erich Follath, Spiegel International
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Multicultural Blogs - update

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transatlantic daily NEWS "International Stuff" [Introduction]

Bauhaus ▪ Management ▪ US Crisis ▪ Obama & Merkel ▪ Trust & Respect

Bela Lugosi ▪ Economy Stimulation ▪ Obama’s Global Tour ▪ E. Keyes

Bela Lugosi Clip ▪ Obama’s Messiah Role ▪ Putin’s Russian Perspectives

Barack Obama’s Iraq Trip ▪ Good Advice ~ His Ego ▪ Love Guru

Troop Withdrawals ▪ Merkel’s Ukraine Visit ▪ China & Afghanistan

Presidential Candidates ▪ John Adams ▪ Hostility ▪ Iranian Fashion

Germans Awaiting Obama ▪ Michelle’s Fashion ▪ Russian Celebrations

Obama in Berlin ▪ Love ▪ Esther Vilar ▪ Iran’s Nuclear Program
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Barack Obama’s Berlin Speech to the People of the World

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In front of the Victory Column [photo] - July 24, 2008

Excerpt - So far Obama has provided scarce details -- and he has generated criticism in the US for not being more forthcoming with his ideas. For days now, his advisors have been warning that Obama is still just a presidential candidate and not the president. As such, he can only speak generally about his vision, and he can't make any concrete policy proposals. But perhaps he also went too far in announcing that this was going to be a "keynote speech on trans-Atlantic" relations.

Nevertheless, it could be that the trans-Atlantic relationship needs a new tenor a lot more right now than it needs new political projects. The degree to which tensions in the relationship have developed in recent years was illustrated by lines Obama gave in his speech that under normal circumstances would be self-evident, like: "The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand." Or even better: "We will reject torture." … More by Gregor Peter Schmitz, SPIEGEL INTERNATIONAL with 34 photos & video
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