City of Dust

Tweet Dust in the Wind

Baku means city of wind, but a more precise description would be city of dust. I live across the street from a building that is being renovated -- I can handle the noise. It's the sand blasting that is killing me. Fine particles wind up on everything -- including my laptop screen. When stepping outside, it's in your face -- like a thick fog that pelts your skin.

The whole city seems to be undergoing a face lift this summer.

Georgia

I've been following the events in Georgia via the internet and through my friends and colleagues who live and work there. A Georgian friend sent me this email on Friday. It is impossible to confirm these descriptions. Here is an excerpt:

"We have already 100,000 refugees and numerous victims, nobody knows the correct number, but as we know right now Russians are raping women, abusing and killing children and old people, hiding themselves in the cellars or in the forests of villages ,nearby Gori, all around of central Georgia!
Nothing is left without robbing and looting and if they can't carry it with them then they are ruining everything! I do believe that still there are still people left in Europe valuing dignity and relationship rather than the price of oil."

There is no way to confirm some of this material, but I wanted to share it with those reading this blog. As many of you may know, she is referring to the oil pipeline that cuts through Georgia -- originating in Azerbaijan. The pipeline provides oil and natural gas for the west.