By Hal Brown
My little halbrown.org has stories that piqued my interest today. It’s an internationally read blog.
A Trump flunky is promoting free and fair elections in Georgia, a troubled NATO ally (an organization Trump is not a fan of) which happens to have the same name as a state where Trump, who just fired the man who succeeded in keeping our election free and fair, where he is trying to steal the election. (Note everyone is wearing a mask while last week with Trump and Pence he was maskless. (Click here to enlarge image.)
An American secretary state visiting a small country like Georgia, with a population of about four million, is major news in that country as the headline above demonstrates. The Georgia Today website has many stories about the visit:
Here in our homeland Pompeo’s visit may not be making major headlines, but the hypocrisy of it did get noticed. On RawStory, for example, they have a series of tweets blasting him to advocating for free and fair elections in a country which shares a name with one of our states where Trump is trying to steal the election.
Jam News, which covers the the Caucasus (a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and mainly occupied by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia) reports on the criticism being leveled about Pompeo not willing to meet with the active opposition to the current government, which is a related story (link here).
Excerpt:
Despite ongoing protests in Georgia since the parliamentary elections on Octo
ber 31 which the opposition claims were falsified, Pompeo’s agenda does not include meeting with the opposition.
Former US Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly criticized Pompeo’s refusal to meet with the leaders of the Georgian opposition, who tweeted:
“Pompeo is in Georgia, another country where election results are contested, he only meets with the government, this is a mistake.”
The Georgian opposition announced on November 18 a “demonstration of silence”. Supporters were invited to come to Rustaveli Avenue, where everyone will be given stickers with the words “Lies” and flags of Georgia and the United States.
Protesters have been invited to line up in a chain from the building of the Opera House towards Republic Square, Rustaveli Metro, Philharmonic Society and Melikishvili Street.
“Large banners with Georgian and American flags will be displayed on Republic Square, informing that the elections were rigged and the country is being seized by a Russian oligarch,” said Gigi Ugulava, one of the leaders of the opposition party European Georgia.
This is how AlJazeera covered the visit and the demonstrations of the Georgian opposition to the elections there.
This is from The Bulwark:
Excerpt:
As Georgia gets ready for runoff elections, tensions are high. The opposition and incumbents are at odds, and calls continue for the top election official to resign. Much is at stake in the outcome of the second round. Critics of the first round are calling for recounts, if not outright new elections. For Americans, recent developments in the Caucasus nation sound awfully familiar.
Web news search of Georgia Pompeo for more articles about his visit there.
Oh, the irony...