Global Voices Online

Social Science in the Caucasus posts more details, including a video, on Creative Commons and comments on the importance of introducing the licensing concept to the South Caucasus. My Caucasus Knot also weighs in on the significance of promoting Creative Commons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Steady State is confused by the ongoing crisis between Georgia and Russia over the breakaway region of Abkhazia. The blog says while Abkhazia claims to have shot down numerous drones monitoring troop movements in the region, Georgia denies that more than one was downed. Even then, Tbilisi lays the blame on Russia leading to a situation where one or more of the conflicting parties will sooner or later be exposed as spreading false information and misleading the international community.

Social Science in the Caucasus examines statistics released by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service on the number of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas issued to citizens from the three South Caucasus countries. According to that data, Armenia has the most number of visas issued with Georgia second and Azerbaijan third.

My Caucasus Knot comments on the price of political advertising ahead of this month's parliamentary election in Georgia and compares the situation with that during elections in Armenia. Despite concerns with higher than normal rates for the pre-election campaign period in Armenia, the costs in Georgia are comparatively astronomical.

Penny for your Thoughts comments on the opinion that support for Georgia in its current conflict with Abkhazia risks bringing the United States into needless confrontation with Russia. The blog says that contrary to that view, there are strategic reasons why Washington should support Tbilisi in its continuing spats with Russia.

Social Science in the Caucasus, the blog of the Caucasus Resource Research Centers, looks at the the subjective well-being of citizens living in all three South Caucasus republics. Although the data used for the survey is from 2006, the survey finds that the impact of poverty and unemployment is more significant than in other former Soviet countries such as Ukraine and Russia.

Window on Eurasia highlights the opinion of a Moscow-based military analyst who likens the recent escalation of tensions between Georgia and Russia to the Winter War with Finland. According to Pavel Fel’gengauer, military affairs analyst for a Russian newspaper, Russia might have miscalculated.

Vlog Europe says that it will soon be visiting Georgia to conduct a seminar on video blogging as well as covering this month's parliamentary election there through the Danish SILBA organization. Writing on his own blog, Raymond Kristiansen provides more more details about the exercise and also solicits suggestions and feedback.