Georgia

In Georgia, hoping for any kind of cooperation is pointless

Published

1 year ago

February 20, 2023

Press Room

In Georgia, hoping for any kind of cooperation is pointless

Levan Bezhashvili member of the parliament of Georgia from the United Nationwide Motion.

Proper now, in Georgia, lawmakers from my get together, the United Nationwide Motion, are boycotting the parliament.

For many who have been following Georgian politics for a while, this would possibly look like one more episode within the nation’s unending political drama. However for us, the scenario is much more essential now than it’s ever been earlier than.

At present, over a fourth of the nation’s lawmakers are refusing to participate in any legislative or committee work — that’s a big quantity for a rustic that when stood out as an “island of democracy” in a really tough area.

We didn’t come to this determination calmly or on a whim, slightly we got here to it after months of mounting alarm concerning the situation of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who’s been sitting in a Georgian jail since October 2021.

Saakashvili’s well being has deteriorated drastically. He’s misplaced 46 kilograms since his imprisonment started, most in the previous few months. A crew of worldwide medical doctors discovered traces of arsenic and mercury in his blood. And medical consultants have concluded that until allowed correct medical therapy, his life is at risk.

But, the authorities have banned lawmakers from visiting Saakashvili. MEPs have been denied entry as effectively.

The previous president has only one request: to be allowed to obtain correct medical therapy in Europe or the US. It’s a plea that’s been backed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Moldovan President Maia Sandu, in addition to many different politicians and human rights organizations, with the Polish authorities declaring that it’s able to welcome Saakashvili for medical therapy.

Sadly, Georgia’s judiciary has refused to grant this request — a choice that many now see as a dying sentence.

And all this coincides with rising anti-European — and even pro-Russian — sentiment in Georgia, which has failed to meet any of the 12 membership reforms the European Union requested the nation to implement by the top of final yr.

The ruling Georgian Dream get together — and its casual chief, Russian-made billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili — has to date dodged each alternative to advance EU-requested modifications: There’s been no judicial reform, and controversial judges proceed to be appointed regardless of challenges from civil society and the EU. The media can be being focused, with journalist Nika Gvaramia in jail after being convicted of suspicious embezzlement offenses, and authorized circumstances have been launched in opposition to the impartial tv channels TV Pirveli and System, threatening their future.

Nonetheless, our parliamentary faction has sought to advance reform, and we known as for an emergency parliamentary session — however that was blocked.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was amongst those that backed Mikheil Saakashvili’s plea that he be allowed to obtain correct medical therapy in Europe or the US | Sergei Supinsky/AFP by way of Getty Photographs

Regardless of this, we’ve actively continued to work.

MP Khatia Dekanoidze has been agitating for Russia’s paramilitary outfit, the Wagner Group, to be designated a terrorist group, and advocating for Georgia to help the creation of a particular worldwide tribunal to prosecute Russia’s struggle crimes in Ukraine. MP Ana Tsitlidze has been working to get the federal government to enhance situations and help for autistic youngsters. And MP Rostom Chkheidze has been campaigning for brand spanking new faculty curricula to convey the nation’s training system into the twenty first century.

However the authorities’ determination on Saakashvili reveals us one factor: Hoping for any sort of cooperation is pointless.

We must always have seen it earlier. Regardless of widespread allegations of voter fraud in the course of the 2020 election, we listened to the voices that requested us to enter parliament in an effort to “change the system from inside.”

Then, after we continued our parliamentary work with the objective of organising a particular investigative fee to look into Saakashvili’s therapy, Georgian Dream started impeaching opposition MPs one after the other, till the our numbers fell beneath the required mandate to create a fee.

Our presence in parliament now will solely give additional legitimacy to a authorities that rejects compromise or cooperation, a authorities that’s dragging our nation nearer to Russia in opposition to its will. And it’s this that we reject.

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Georgia

Texas A&M baseball coach raises cheating allegations against Georgia pitcher: 'Certainly appears that way'

Published

4 hours ago

May 1, 2024

Press Room

Texas A&M baseball coach raises cheating allegations against Georgia pitcher: 'Certainly appears that way'

A recent baseball game between Southeastern conference foes was marred by controversy. Georgia Bulldogs pitcher Christian Mracna’s activity in the bullpen and during a game against the Texas A&M Aggies raised some eyebrows.

Social media videos surfaced showing Mracna appearing to work on his glove as he crouched in the corner of the bullpen during Saturday’s game. Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle seemed to take issue with Mracna’s behavior and believed the pitcher may have been using some type of foreign substance on the ball, which would be a rule violation.

“Certainly appears that way,” Schlossnagle said in a text to The Associated Press on Tuesday. “It’s part of the game … wish we would’ve caught it.”

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A Georgia baseball cap during the mens college baseball game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on March 03, 2024 at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, GA. (David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Mracna also appeared to reach for an unknown something that was near or behind a post, although the view was mostly obstructed.

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He went on to pitch for two innings during Georgia’s 5-4 win over the top-ranked Aggies. Mracna threw a total of 30 pitches over the pair of innings, 23 of which were strikes. He also struck out six of the batters he faced.

GRAND CANYON BASEBALL PLAYER GETS EJECTED FOLLOWING GAME-TYING GRAND SLAM AFTER BAT FLIP

Mracna was also seen touching the thumb area of his glove with his right hand when he was on the pitching mound.

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Since 2021, Major League Baseball pitchers are subject to forgiven substance checks from umpires. College baseball does not currently have the policy in place.

A general view of an SEC baseball. (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Georgia did not make Mracna available for comment after the game, and he has not publicly commented on the matter in the days the game ended.

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Mracna has appeared in 13 games for the Bulldogs this season. Saturday’s victory over Texas A&M marked Georgia’s 31st win of the season.

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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

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Georgia

Georgia governor signs law requiring jailers to check immigration status of prisoners

Published

11 hours ago

May 1, 2024

Press Room

Georgia governor signs law requiring jailers to check immigration status of prisoners

article

Clayton County Jail (FOX 5)

ATLANTA – Jailers in Georgia must now check the immigration status of inmates and apply to help enforce federal immigration law, under a bill that gained traction after police accused a Venezuelan man of beating a nursing student to death on the University of Georgia campus.

Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill into law Wednesday at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth. Most provisions take effect immediately.

The Republican governor signed a separate law that requires cash bail for 30 additional crimes and restricts people and charitable bail funds from posting cash bonds for more than three people a year unless they meet the requirements to become a bail bond company. That law takes effect July 1.

Kemp said Wednesday that the immigration bill, House Bill 1105, “became one of our top priorities following the senseless death of Laken Riley at the hands of someone in this country illegally who had already been arrested even after crossing the border.”

Immigration bill passes Georgia Senate

A controversial immigration bill has passed the Georgia Senate on Thursday, the day after the father of a college nursing student who was murdered in Athens addressed the chamber. Investigators say the man who killed her was in the country illegally. What the bill requires.

Jose Ibarra was arrested on murder and assault charges in the death of 22-year-old Laken Riley. Immigration authorities say Ibarra, 26, unlawfully crossed into the United States in 2022. It is unclear whether he has applied for asylum. Riley’s killing set off a political storm as conservatives used the case to blame President Joe Biden for immigration failings.

“If you enter our country illegally and proceed to commit further crimes in our communities, we will not allow your crimes to go unanswered,” Kemp said.

Opponents warn the law will turn local law enforcement into immigration police, making immigrants less willing to report crime and work with officers. Opponents also point to studies showing immigrants are less likely than native-born Americans to commit crimes.

The law lays out specific requirements for how jail officials should check with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to determine whether prisoners are known to be in the country illegally. Georgia law previously only encouraged jailers to do so, but the new law makes it a misdemeanor to “knowingly and willfully” fail to check immigration status. The bill would also deny state funding to local governments that don’t cooperate.

The law also mandates that local jails apply for what is known as a 287(g) agreement with ICE to let local jailers help enforce immigration law. It is unclear how many would be accepted because President Joe Biden’s administration has de-emphasized the program. The program doesn’t empower local law enforcement to make immigration-specific arrests outside a jail.

Republicans said Senate Bill 63, requiring cash bail, is needed to keep criminals locked up, even though it erodes changes that Republican Gov. Nathan Deal championed in 2018 to allow judges to release most people accused of misdemeanors without bail.

“Too many times we have seen some of our cities or counties, it’s been a revolving door with criminals,” Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said.

Supporters said judges would still have the discretion to set very low bails. A separate part of the 2018 reform requiring judges to consider someone’s ability to pay would still remain law.

But the move could strand poor defendants in jail when accused of crimes for which they are unlikely to ever go to prison and aggravate overcrowding in Georgia’s county lockups.

It’s part of a push by Republicans nationwide to increase reliance on cash bail, even as some Democratic-led jurisdictions end cash bail entirely or dramatically restrict its use. That split was exemplified last year when a court upheld Illinois’ plan to abolish cash bail, while voters in Wisconsin approved an amendment to the constitution letting judges consider someone’s past convictions for violent crimes before setting bail.

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Georgia

Former FSU Player Receiver Georgia For Players Opting Out in Orange Bowl

Published

18 hours ago

May 1, 2024

Press Room

Former FSU Player Receiver Georgia For Players Opting Out in Orange Bowl

A former Florida State Seminole turned NFL player made some pretty interesting comments as to why there were so many opt-outs in the 2024 Orange Bowl

The Georgia Bulldogs’ most recent college football matchup was a historic defeat of the Florida State Seminoles in the 2024 Orange Bowl. The Dawgs dominated in a 63-3 victory to close out their season with a 13-1 record and hand the Seminoles their first and only loss of the 2023 season.

While the victory was indeed a historic beatdown, revisionists claim that the Dawgs’ dominance should not be legitimately recognized due to the number of opt-outs Florida State had heading into the game. The Noles’ opt-outs were a result of the 13-0 team before being snubbed by the college football playoff committee and left out of the 4-team tournament.

In the aftermath of the controversial exclusion and historic victory, one former Nole has spoken out and blamed the Bulldogs for the reason so many Florida State players opted out of the Orange Bowl game. Former Florida State and newly drafted Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman claims that had Georgia won their game against Alabama in the SEC Championship, Florida State would not have any opt-outs.

Former FSU now Bills WR Keon Coleman says Georgia’s “choking” against Alabama led to the Florida State op-outs in the Orange Bowl.
“How y’all keep choking?” pic.twitter.com/4aGpz7B3B7
— Sidelines – Bama (@SSN_Alabama) May 1, 2024

“If you [Georgia] would have won, you would’ve found out who’s better between Florida State and Georgia.” Said Coleman. “You would’ve played us in the ‘matter bowl’, the bowl that mattered. We aren’t gonna play in the bowl that doesn’t matter, that’s a waste of time. But if y’all would have won and did what y’all were supposed to do, you would’ve had to see us.”

Many believe that Georgia’s loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship was inadvertently the reason that both the Bulldogs and Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff, given that the loss propelled Alabama into the fourth playoff spot. While Georgia may have some responsibility in the Seminoles’ opt-outs, it’s hard to imagine that Florida State’s starters would have made a 60-point difference in the game.