Member Info for Looed

Let us hope you really do have to buy that bottle for Contra. Unlike Contra I consider myself quite sophisticated and will expect a slice off lemon in my G&T :)

Many think that the Arbitration will be announced in April. I just checked the Stockholm and Hague sites and both arbitration boards are working remotely but are fully operational. Hopefully that means some news soon.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is offering about $6.5 billion to address the immediate needs of developing states, including Georgia, as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa discussed how the bank can support Georgia in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in a phone conversation today with Georgian Finance Minister Ivane Matchavariani.

The ADB is fully committed to supporting Georgia at this unprecedented time and we are considering every option to ensure support is provided quickly and effectively. The ADB is ready to work with the government and key partners on countercyclical support that will enable it to meet the needs of the people most affected. Significant efforts are also underway to ensure that we can provide further support to the private sector", said Asakawa.
The ADB press release reads that Georgia is experiencing a dual shock from the direct impact of the pandemic and indirect effects of lower oil prices. The impact will be particularly severe on tourism and other services. Lower oil prices are negatively affecting remittances from neighbouring countries and trade flows are weakening as growth slows in these countries.

Asakawa recognised that Georgia has been a leading reformer and this has positioned the country well to deliver its response to the pandemic, including through tax concessions to the hard-hit tourism industry, capital expenditures to provide economic stimulus, and expanding access to funding for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and private individuals.

These measures will ensure that Georgia is able to use resources effectively and lay the foundation for a quicker recovery, read the press release.

Source - https://agenda.ge/en/news/2020/936

MadP - thanks for sharing.

Funny you mention the WHO as I was thinking of sharing an article on Taiwan and the WHO.

Taiwan is denied membership of the WHO as most governments and global bodies do not recognise Taiwan as a sovereign state. So Taiwan had to adopt a 'go-it-alone' approach. Taiwan did try to alert the WHO about a new human to human virus end Dec '19 but Mainland China denied such a virus existed. The WHO took no action and the world lost about 3 weeks until China finally revealed news on the virus. You can read more here - https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3904054

In that crucial 3 week period Taiwan halted flights from parts of Mainland China and monitored visitors from affected regions. Though Taiwan was one of the first places to be infected outside of the Mainland, to date there are 230 cases and 2 deaths. There has been a large increase in the past 10 days or so as many people return from overseas carrying the virus with them, so that number is likely to increase.

The treatment of Taiwan by the WHO has resulted in a petition to remove the head of the WHO and include Taiwan which has so far received over 500,000 signatures - https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3904702 It won't happen, but many countries do now look to Taiwan (and Singapore) for ideas and guidance.

Taiwan recently donated 100,00 face masks pert week to the USA. China bitterly complained, claiming that acceptance of these masks would spark a diplomatic crisis as this would imply Taiwan existed and would be an "affront to the Motherland". They urge the USA not to accept the medical supplies. https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3904112

RogerA - agree that is not good. I don't know if its happened elsewhere, but here the Govt nationalised face mask production to prevent hoarding, price hikes and to ensure front line staff as well as those most in need could get access. Doctors, nurses, the young and the infirm get unlimited access to masks. The rest of us can buy 5 masks a week at about 13 pence a mask. The day we can buy depends on the last digit of our ID card. There is a national database to ensure we only buy up to our weekly ration. It's not a direct comparison but its as though the Govt took over the pharmacy at Boots and made them mask distribution points. We have an app that shows real time stock levels at each "Boots" so you don't waste time going to pharmacies that don't have stock. Last week they launched online sales so we can order in advance and pick up from the local convenience store (if anyone has ever been to Taiwan or Japan you will know there is a 7-11 type store on every street corner.). They hope this means they can better plan mask production and be able to start exporting overseas as Taiwan was the worlds 2nd largest supplier of face masks. I really hope some can make it to the UK as soon as possible.

I usually get back to the UK around March / April and September / October - always the time for colds, flu's, allergies etc. I really noticed this time how ordinary it is for us to cough / sneeze / splutter into the air. One guy coughed right in my face - not on purpose, we just crossed each other as he coughed. I did see a couple of people wearing face masks in a city I visited, and I estimate about 10% of the people at the airport had a mask on as I left. Wearing face masks has been common practice in Asia for many years and I did wonder if the UK might move to ask people who have colds etc to wear masks to prevent the spread of germs to the elderly, infirm etc. who are vulnerable to CV and other life threatening illnesses.

No mention of FRR.

"Republican Congressman from Illinois Adam Kinzinger Praises Georgia For Fight Against COVID-19. He posted is statement of Twitter. “Great phone call with Archil Talakvadze (Speaker of the Parliament) about Georgia and their fight against COVID-19 as well as economic challenges we will all face” – he said. “Our friendship and bond remains as strong as ever.”

Congressman Adam Kinzinger sent couple of letters to the Georgian government criticizing failure to transit from mixed to fully proportional system, but the agreement between the government and Georgian opposition parties was reached afterwards with the help and involvement of facilitators (the US, EU and German embassies)."

This congressman was one of the critics of Georgia at the same time as some of his colleagues where writing about FRR. As far as I can see this guy isn't a paid lobbyist for FRR.

Article - https://www.georgianjournal.ge/politics/36423-republican-congressman-adam-kinzinger-praises-georgia-for-fight-against-covid-19.html

Lobbying info - https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000071040&type=P&state=&sort=A&cycle=2020

BryanWA - thanks for the shout-out. The news is very quiet on the FRR front, and most Georgia related news is CV focused. It's very possible things are going that would usually make the press on but it won't be reported on as resources are focused elsewhere.

I was in the UK last week and now in mandatory quarantine now that I am back in Asia . I felt I lived CV twice - I was in Asia when it first hit and then in the UK when things started to accelerate.

The day before I flew to the UK I went to a department store to buy some bread from the in-house supermarket. To enter, I had to attend the hand sanitation station and then pass the thermal body heat reader. There where zero checks when I landed in London. Even the folks at passport control weren't wearing gloves. When I left there I saw a few new signs in the airport pointing to the toilets so you could wash your hands.

Before I left the UK I pre-applied for quarantine which means I allow the authorities to geo-lock my phone so they can track my movements. Its an immediate 30,000 pound fine if you break quarantine. On landing I got a QR code so I could fast-track formalities. I was given a daily health record sheet, sprayed head to toe, luggage included, in alcohol spray so I can take a quarantine taxi (that gets sterilised between each journey) to go home. There are currently about 40,000 people in various stages of quarantine here, but we are all called at least once a day to check we are OK and ask if any symptoms etc. Counsellors are available at any time for those struggling with the mental effects of quarantine. Any one with symptoms is immediately taken to hospital for testing. This system means that there hasn't been (to date) any lockdown / social distancing measures and life goes on pretty much as normal. We know if the numbers of infected increase, or if we have community outbreak, that might change. Almost all recent cases are imported, especially from Europe, which is why I need to quarantine.

The Govt here say they have been preparing for this for 17 years after the devastation caused by SARS, so they have been very quick to act and very clear on messaging. I was living in HKG during the SARS crisis and I recall it as more scary than this. I hope the UK can cherry-pick what is working in other parts of the world as it develops it policies and practices.

Thanks Bugsy-b

Thanks SteveV - maybe others will know the history (if there is any) of this page and if it means anything.

I came across this - https://www.facebook.com/fronteraresources/

It says the cover pic was updated 6th March. I am not a FB member so can't see any other info or if more posts. I can recall talk about a FB group so not sure if this is the same.

Well a lot can change in 1 hour. Since I replied to ODR Taiwan has declared the UK (and 27 other countries) as 'Level 3 danger' which means I need to undergo 14 days mandatory quarantine on arrival. Luckily I can do it at home - so lots of time for sleuthing :)

ODR - thanks for your message. I live in Taiwan but am back in UK (freezing!). I was supposed to be here for 3 weeks but will be heading back to Asia on Wednesday in case more flights are cancelled etc. Taiwan was one of the first places to get CV so I feel like I am living it twice with things fast accelerating in the UK. Things are starkly different. If I go my local department store in Taiwan I need to use the hand sanitation station then pass a thermal body heat reader in order to enter. When I landed in UK a few days ago there was zero checks, and frontline staff didn't even wear gloves when checking passports etc. Though not a requirement, I pretty much self-isolated here - no pub, no meeting friends etc and the endless rain just adds to the misery :)

As of today Taiwan only has 50 confirmed cases. Now the UK is starting to take action hopefully it means numbers will soon be under control here as well. Taiwan went through a period of panic at the begining but things quickly settled down and other than tourism and transport, life goes on pretty much as normal.

Thanks to MadP for posting. I don't know why but many of the search parameters I use don't seem to throw anything up here in UK. Maybe algorithims are different so I don't get as many hits as I would back in Asia. Hopefully I will be back to 'business as normal' once I get back.

The United National Movement (UNM) opposition party has denied to participate in parliament's work despite making an election deal with the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party last week, stating that not all of the conditions of the agreement have been fulfilled.

Opposition says despite election deal with ruling party, one issue remains unresolved
UNM MP Roman Gotsiridze says that the ruling party refuses to fulfil the section of the election agreement which concerns the ‘release of political prisoners.’

We return in parliament only after the political prisoners are released,” Gotsiridze said.
Ruling party denies opposition’s reports on release of opposition leaders
The ruling party denies any agreement with the opposition on the release of imprisoned opposition leaders and members, stating that the country has no political prisoners and has invited European Parliament members to look into the cases.

A bill on the election issue will be initiated in parliament later today which reflects the agreement between the ruling party and the united opposition on March 8 in talks mediated by the diplomatic corps.

https://agenda.ge/en/news/2020/748

This is a section only -Assay Results for HolesTOD-024 and TOD-025, Toral Pb, Zn & Ag Project, Spain

Europa Metals, the European focused lead-zinc and silver developer, is pleased to announce that the assay results for the remaining drill holes TOD-024 and TOD-025 have now been received from ALS Laboratories. These results contain the highest-grade intersection obtained by the Company to date from its drilling campaigns on its wholly owned Toral lead, zinc and silver project ("Toral" or the "Toral Project") situated in the region of Castilla y León, north-west Spain.

Highlights:

- Assay results received for the remaining drill holes TOD-024 and TOD-025;

- Thick, high-grade zone confirmed outside of the current Indicated resource area in hole TOD-025:

o 7.70m @ 17.3% ZnEq(PbAg) from 483.6m to 491.3m, including 4.3m @ 25.6% ZnEq(PbAg) from 486.3m to 490.6m;

o Highest grade intersection returned by Europa Metals to date from its drilling campaigns at Toral;

o Encouraging results that extend the current known high-grade area of the deposit and establish consistency with the historic grades encountered at the Toral Project from third-party drilling activities undertaken in the 1980s;

- Mineralisation confirmed above current Indicated resource area in hole TOD-024:

o 1.7m @ 5.1% ZnEq(PbAg) from 280.8m to 282.5m;

- Copper results identified in hole TOD-024:

o 0.9m @ 1.5% Cu from 278.9m to 279.8m;

- On conclusion of the current metallurgical testwork (expected during March 2020), the significant material recovered from drill hole TOD-025 will be utilised in a further phase of metallurgical testwork, to be undertaken by Wardell Armstrong International.

Laurence Read, Executive Director of Europa Metals, commented:

"Today's high-grade assay results from hole TOD-025 are the highest obtained by Europa Metals since we commenced drilling activities at Toral in 2017 and serve to establish continuity with the results of historic third-party drilling campaigns in the 1980s. The intersections have enabled us to obtain further mineralised core to continue with the metallurgical work programme, once the results from the current testwork are received and reported. As previously announced, we shall not obtain a further resource update at this stage, but will instead focus on establishing recoveries and potential future saleable concentrate product types of zinc, lead and silver from the high-grade mining profile being developed at Toral."



Myles Campion, Technical Director of Europa Metals, further commented:

"The drilling of hole TOD-025 was an exciting process as we were able to visually identify coarse-grained mineralisation. It is highly encouraging that this initial visual identification has now been verified via today's assay results. It represents the most significant hole drilled by the Company to date at Toral and also ranks highly in comparison with the historic higher-gr

A bit of a different view on recent political developments. Quite a long article so this is just a snippet -

"For Moscow, it is much more important to maintain a consistently unstable political situation in Georgia in order to hamper the strengthening of its statehood and economic development. As a result, it will be practically impossible for Georgia to access Euro-Atlantic structures given the persistent instability in the country."

Source - https://www.eurasiareview.com/10032020-moscows-political-trap-for-georgia-stable-instability-oped/

Thanks Ivy - its going to be a bit quiet from me for a day or so. Just leaving to airport then 14 hours on a plane trying not to breathe or touch anything!

MadP - I think this article is of interest in that it does contain quite some detail (and a fair bit of nonsense). As far as I can remember this is potenitally one of the most concise explanations of the GOGC position -

"The contract between the firm and the government is confidential and its details can’t be confirmed. But Georgian authorities have cited a list of reasons for breaking ties. They say that the territory under licensing is too large and encompasses lands not meant to be used for extraction; that not all the promised investment has been realized; that most drilling still occurs in Soviet-era wells and there are no new ones; and that the parties are in dispute over the claimed amount of oil and gas deposits and those actually commercialized."

Many articles claim FRR are fraudulent / dubious / infamous etc.

I am sure Corbyn has had lots of articles in places that are considered respectable. Doesn't mean the totality of the rest of the content should be discounted out of hand. I much prefer to see all angles to a story rather than the ones that only match my mindset.

A VERY selective customer & paste from the Arbitration boards - both seem very similar.

The Hague
The notice of arbitration shall include the following:
(a) A demand that the dispute be referred to arbitration;
(b) The names and addresses of the parties;
(c) A reference to the arbitration clause or the separate arbitration agreement that is invoked;
(d) A reference to the contract out of or in relation to which the dispute arises;
(e) The general nature of the claim and an indication of the amount involved, if any;
(f) The relief or remedy sought;

and
During the course of the arbitral proceedings either party may amend or supplement its claim or defence unless the arbitral tribunal considers it inappropriate to allow such amendment having regard to the delay in making it or prejudice to the other party or any other circumstances. However, a claim may not be amended in such a manner that the amended claim falls outside the scope of the arbitration clause or separate arbitration agreement.

- https://pca-cpa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/01/Optional-Rules-for-Arbitrating-Disputes-between-Two-Parties-of-Which-Only-One-is-a-State-1993.pdf

Stockholm -
A Request for Arbitration shall include:
(i) the names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail
addresses of the parties and their counsel;
(ii) a summary of the dispute;
(iii) a preliminary statement of the relief sought by the
Claimant, including an estimate of the monetary value
of the claims;
(iv) a copy or description of the arbitration agreement or
clause under which the dispute is to be settled;

- https://sccinstitute.com/media/293614/arbitration_rules_eng_17_web.pdf

Pt.5
The Democrats have fully embraced the bogeyman of Russian interference. They use this as a blanket means of explaining everything they don’t like — from American capitalism’s unpredictable manager Trump, to the social-democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders. At the end of the day, small-time congressmen being bought and paid by Frontera isn’t the main issue — and the problem goes deeper than companies writing checks during elections. For these lobbyists wouldn’t go far if the entire political environment in Washington wasn’t so open to their adventures abroad. The real problem is that there is no discussion in either party about how anti-Russian rhetoric has been used over the last three decades to turn poverty-stricken post-Soviet regions into sources of corporate plunder.

The Georgian government — weak, fractured, and politically dependent on Western goodwill — is badly bruised by the denunciations to which it has been subjected in the US Senate. Fearing more retaliation, it has backed off from pursuing Frontera in the Georgian courts — a move which would have given it temporary control over company management and the ability to hire back the fired workers. This is an egregious example of political blackmail, as a company widely acknowledged to be fraudulent continues to be forced upon Georgia.

While US officials emptily complain of “Russian interference,” the government and the population in Georgia is completely stripped of their own sovereignty. It seems that Georgians can’t make basic decisions without parts of the US government having their say first. In the name of stopping Russian intervention, the Americans grant themselves the right to intervene; in the name of protecting democracy, they stop Georgians having any say over what a foreign firm does on its soil.

Source -https://jacobinmag.com/2020/03/frontera-resources-georgia-republican-congressmen-russian-interference/

Note - Jacobinmag states it "is a leading voice of the American left, offering socialist perspectives on politics, economics, and culture. The print magazine is released quarterly and reaches 50,000 subscribers, in addition to a web audience of over 2,000,000 a month."