Georgia

Georgia lawmakers may soon make trying to get a driver's license an even bigger headache for some residents. The state legislature is considering a bill that would require potential drivers to take the written test in English and without a translator. It seems like a silly idea to me.

Not only could this keep nonfluent speakers from getting to and from their jobs, it will probably lead to an increased number of unlicensed drivers on the road. And that puts English speakers at risk, too. In addition, critics argue that it further isolates non-English speakers, could discourage foreign companies from investing in Georgia, and unfairly targets minorities who can't benefit from the state's nonexistent public transportation system.

Proponents say the bill will increase public safety, since drivers need to read road signs. But the driving test and road sign test are already administered in English. Do you think it makes sense to limit the written test, too?

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California may be all right with Nadya Suleman having octuplets, but one state senator says such a thing shouldn't happen in the great state of Georgia.

Republican Sen. Ralph Hudgens has introduced a bill that would limit women under 40 to two embryos and women over 40 to three. A doctor implanted Nadya, 33, with six, a number that violated the medical field's self-regulations. The American Society For Reproductive Medicine supports limiting embryos to two for women under 35, and five for women over 40.

Defending his legislation, Sen. Hudgens said:

She is not married, She is unemployed, she is on government assistance, and now she is going to put those 14 children on the back of the taxpayers in the state of California.

Critics worry that Georgia fertility doctors would lose business to neighboring states. Others think that the bill is an attempt to outlaw abortion, since it defines an in vitro embryo as a human being.

I'm sure there would be outrage if a law attempted to limit natural conceptions. Do you think government should step in to stop an "octomom" repeat, or should it be left to the medical community?

• Today Georgians go to the polls to vote in the runoff for their US Senate seat. If Democratic challenger Jim Martin beats Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss, the Democrats will be one seat away from a 60-seat supermajority. — Atlanta Journal
• After declaring a fiscal emergency in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged lawmakers to "get off of their rigid ideologies" and work toward solving the state's financial crisis. The Governor warned that California could run out of cash in two months. — LA Times



• India's foreign minister has demanded that Pakistan arrest and turn over about 20 people wanted under Indian law as fugitives. Indian officials maintain that the planners of the recent attacks are at large in Pakistan and have demanded Pakistan take action. — New York Times
• A cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, caused by contaminated drinking water, has killed nearly 500 people. — BBC News

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• The US unemployment reached a 14-year high of 6.5 percent today. About 240,000 nonfarm jobs were lost in October alone. So far this year 1.2 million US jobs have been lost.— Bloomberg
• The still being recounted Minnesota Senate race between Al Franken and Senator Norm Coleman came within a margin of 236 votes at the end of Thursday. — Minneapolis Star Tribune



• Georgia's claims that it acted in defense against Russian aggression last summer are being called into question. — New York Times
• Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi started "suntan-gate" yesterday when he called Barack Obama "young, handsome, and tanned." When asked if the comment might have been misunderstood as undiplomatic or even racist, the Prime Minister told his opponents to get a sense of humor.— BBC News

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• Fed Cuts Interest Rate:
  In an effort to shore up the global market slide, the Federal Reserve and six other major banks worldwid cut interest rates. The Fed downgraded from 2 percent to 1.5 percent. Banks in the UK, China, and Canada followed suit after five days of tumbling stocks. The Fed's action will reduce borrowing costs immediately to US borrowers whose home-equity loans are tied to the prime interest rate.



• Judge Orders 17 Freed From Gitmo:
  A federal judge ordered the Bush administration to free 17 Guantanamo Bay detainees by the end of the week, the first such order in seven years of disputes over the detentions. The 17 men have been held since 2002 and are members of a western Chinese minority. The judge says, “I think the moment has arrived for the court to shine the light of constitutionality on the reasons for detention."
• Russia Begins Georgia Pull-Out:
  Russia says its troops are leaving the so-called "buffer zone" around South Ossetia and five of the six checkpoints have been dismantled. Under a ceasefire deal, Moscow has to pull troops out of other areas around South Ossetia by Friday, though they will keep 8,000 troops in areas they've recognized as independent states. The move is part of the deal brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in August.

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Jamil Ziyadaliev is a professional Stalin impersonator in Georgia. Hosts of weddings and other events pay him to dress up as the Soviet dictator. But he also sports the costume on days off, and I don't blame him. Thanks to Stalin similarities, Jamil receives free meals, car repairs, and passages through Russian checkpoints.

The most fascinating aspect of Jamil's unlikely career choice is that it reveals the unlikely respect many Georgians have for native son Stalin. A cult of Stalin persists in Georgia, a country of 4.6 million that has troubles with modern Russia. One Georgian historian explains: "Every Georgian knows Stalin came from here. He may have given his execution orders in Russian, but he did so with a heavy Georgian accent."

To find out what the Georgian government is doing to combat Russian love, read more