Low key-ish but happy & social July 4 event by AmCham at US Embassy, 1500+ people, families, food, music in #Tbilisi #Georgia Whatever else you make of the day today & this year, here it brought nice people together.

at a precarious time, higher education should still think internationally, argues my friend/colleague Oliver Reisner but this should be done to protect and safeguard "reliable knowledge" -- what this means & much more, on #Ganatleba. ganatleba.substack.com/p/oliver-rei...

In Georgien wiederum erinnert man sich daran, dass @ralfmichaels.bsky.social durchaus vor einem Jahr mit Zerstörern einer Demokratie eine gemeinsame Konferenz (samt Galadinner) veranstaltet hat & nicht gerade klare Worte gefunden hat. Oder haben wir diese Abgrenzung irgendwo übersehen? 1/

Great gift, handmade in Tbilisi -- "materials that touched the clouds", bags, totes, pouches from paragliders, signed, and the origin story, too! (Turns out I brought one of the paragliders 20 years ago, so it's coming full cycle...) @forag.studio on Instagram. #Tbilisi #Georgia

How Georgia's surveillance system has grown -- detailed & compelling piece by George Beridze. The tech comes from #Russia. algorithmwatch.org/en/russian-s...

Nino Doborjginidze on how & why universities are a comparatively recent arrival in Georgia. While Eastern Christianity was a millenium ahead in integrating religion into their own langauge, the scholastic practice of disputation (in Latin) did not take hold open.substack.com/pub/ganatleb...

Right now in the great French bistrot Backstage 76 in Sololaki, Thursday night in #Tbilisi #Georgia

Right now in the great French bistrot Backstage 76 in Sololaki, Thursday night in #Tbilisi #Georgia

Looks like a great exhibition that I'll check out in next days Marcello Mastroianni in Georgia in Museum of Fine Arts on Rustaveli #Tbilisi #Georgia #Italy

Special shout out to driver of Bus 388 who is making life a bit more fun for kids & everyone by having spiderman ride up front. #Tbilisi #Georgia

More @zegfest.bsky.social , already discussed what we can learn from winning over authoritarians in #Hungary, now on #philosophy with Volodomyr Yermolenko -- "all culture starts with meeting the horror", even more needed in these times.

Kickoff of @zegfest.bsky.social today!! #Tbilisi #Georgia #storytelling

Fines apparently imposed even when there is no complaint. It seems that if you say "I'm a total idiot" -- they could also fine you over hate speech.

How @jamesbarr.bsky.social and some of his friends discover that there is an Illuminati conspiracy to undermine world order, after all.

Passenger that just boarded the bus.

Eye-catching map, lifted from @tomtugendhat.bsky.social's latest newsletter

Video going viral in #Georgia - appears to be police beating detainees. It looks bad. May explain recent arrest of few policemen & Imedi showed police violence. They'll have known it's coming & may have wanted their viewers to be prepared to see some bad stuff. www.facebook.com/share/v/18i1...

Today and tomorrow! At Ilia State University. With @gpaccardo.bsky.social & many more.

First ever open air film festival in Pankisi with some great films & people. Next week. Spread the word!! #Georgia

a very evocative piece, on how a Mtatsminda childhood & an engagement with #Hispanic #literature & culture led Ketevan Khuskivadze to face up to the authoritarian ghosts haunting #Georgia now. ganatleba.substack.com/p/ketevan-kh...

"For me to function like Jon Stewart, even once a week, just going off, just ripping what was happening - which, btw, I'm glad Jon's doing it - then I'm not a political leader, I'm a commentator." Barack Obama, in great @newyorker.com piece by @peterslevin.bsky.social Squarely applies to #Georgia

really excellent post on "bad news for those who think differently", situation in Georgia -- (in German) by @thomasfranke.bsky.social www.gzaeurope.org/post/thomas-...

Re upping this, superb event in Tbilisi on Friday and Saturday. #Tbilisi 2026 – Debates On Europe share.google/XONUg9Ej6n6P...

I had missed this bit, but saw it in @ocmedia.bsky.social 's useful roundup -- with the purges inside GD guard, lots we learn, for example just how much of a cut you apparently were asked for. More detail, and eventually the price came down a bit here: caspianpost.com/georgia/ex-g...

With detention of the Canadian tourist who brought his ADHD medication (w prescription!), apparently in jail for a month already, good reminder to read travel advisory ultra closely. (Acc to one report, he didn't have original packaging.) share.google/Jd5RFVAZyLj4...

a while back, some of you gave input to assess the state of autocracy in #Georgia. Results are in & detailed picture is not good. Courts, manipulating law; prosecution of oppo as worst features, many others bad also. For detail, incl surprise with AI, read here. open.substack.com/pub/hansgutb...

with everything else going on, the remarkable relevations on state surveillance in #Georgia (& much more) of this interview were not widely shared in English. (heard same from hotel managers: their staff are instructed to comply.) jam-news.net/interview-wi...

In what looks like kind of technical decision that may have wider reaching consequences, court in Germany has rejected the designation of #Georgia as a safe country of origin. This is still evolving, going to Federal Court, first summary (in German) here. open.substack.com/pub/furchtba...

here another interesting initiative for Independence Day / May 26th in #Georgia -- multiple wineries offering a special selection, and inviting people to toast Independence on the day itself. sakartvelostvis.com/en

Lots of good May 26 events in #Georgia & diaspora. Here's one in #Berlin by Gza. www.linkedin.com/posts/gza-eu...

How authoritarian has Georgia become at this point? The @nytimes.com tracker on authoritarianism provides 12 dimensions, many of which are more universally applicable, from democratic control, courts, rule of law. Take a look. We're now collecting input to assess how these map onto Georgia.

Little Ingorovka Tiger #Tbilisi #Georgia #cats

students of #IliaStateUniversity stood up for right thing, organized in elections (traditionally captured by state) & ran cool campaign. Lots of grim things - but this inspiring story using space available to good people. Well done!!! #Georgia #education ganatleba.substack.com/p/the-iliaun...

This kind of leveling & authentic connecting w people would work well in various other countries & contexts also.

end of Fidesz' reign today!!! We will party in Tbilisi, too. "O God, bless the nation of #Hungary With your grace and bounty!" #Georgia

Nice surprise!! There are Georgian Audio books on Spotify! #Tbilisi #Georgia

free research & science are under attack in Georgia -- but institution directly affiliated with Iranian regime is allowed to operate freely in Marneuli etc. A truly stark contrast. The people who point it out are threatened by Georgian authorities. open.substack.com/pub/ganatleb...

American historian @marcishore.bsky.social at #IliaUni talking about authoritarianism, known tropes, retro-hierarchies, scapegoating to avoid responsibility, Ionesco's rhinos roaming anew & how Vaclav #Havel's greengrocer is very relevant again.

Student arrested at Ilia University today, apparently for peaceful protest. Hello to @tum.de in Munich that continues to collaborate with & legitimize GD's key enterprises & would prefer its critics to shut up. #Georgia www.tum-scandal.com

When the moment will come, Kobakhidze cannot know, but he needs to worry about outliving his usefulness pretty much all the time, esp as the Orban model has been shown to be v vulnerable. Mdinaradze's name has been tested in their polling. #Georgia.

Cue the enthusiastic stray dogs!!!

The excellent @jamesbarr.bsky.social on the deeper past of #Iran & #Persia that shapes, in part, the present crisis, well worth listening to get a broader view. Podcasts at their best, thx @snellarthur.bsky.social pca.st/episode/ae4c...

"What did these USAID people do if they can't get a job now?" — an actual comment after the cuts. One answer: they helped halve abortion rates in Georgia, in a huge improvement for maternal health. Almost no one talked about it & and here's more on this & why. open.substack.com/pub/hansgutb...

International Dance Day was celebrated in Yerevan's Republic Square.

on standing up for values at a time of nihilistic totalitarianism in #Georgia -- remarks from an event in Berlin a month ago, here in English. open.substack.com/pub/hansgutb...

more on shadowy networks from the great Giorgi Lomsadze -- who is not only a friend but also my godfather (story to itself), so this is a truly nepotistic recommendation: tamadatales.substack.com/p/when-your-... #Georgia

the great Giorgi Lomsadze finally comes to Substack! You miss out if you do not follow!!! #Georgia tamadatales.substack.com/p/how-touris...

from a few days ago -- @reuters.com covers the restructuring of education system in #Georgia, very good overview by Lucy Papachristou, title says it all. www.reuters.com/world/europe...

Digging up Leonidze in Sololaki/ Mtatsminda. Traffic sometimes backed up hundreds of meters on Rustaveli. #Tbilisi #Georgia

Evocative writing, highly attentive & it makes some rather excellent points.