From 2004 until now, Georgia had the most employer friendly legislation in the world. Labor unions were for all practical purposes forbidden from operating. That's changing. There have been very many strikes after the elections and union organizing is enjoying a renaissance.

After several-year interval Georgian-Russian dialog has ensued. What does Georgia expect from this dialog with 88% of its population, supporting relations with Russia? Answer to this question is intertwined with the reasons that conditioned increase of the supporters of the dialog with Russia while Russia as an image of enemy, is considered as a stigma for the last 20 years and not only desire of relations but even mentioning it in a slightly positive context, was almost equivalent of expulsion from the society.

For the first time I can remember in my fifteen years of watching Georgia, judges have publicly disagreed with prosecutors on high profile cases. This is something new and important, and I'm surprised that there is little conversation about it in the media.

Waste a.k.a. garbage, rubbish, trash, refuse, junk and litter is unwanted or useless materials, as our beloved Wiki is teaching us. Litter refers to waste disposed of improperly, hence the title of this distressing editorial. One of the biggest paradoxes of life in Georgia is that in this country of hi-tech, ubiquitous cell phones, ostentatious fashion-shows and, let us say, of European culture, waste is mismanaged regardless the efforts of authorities, and litter is mishandled by the public in spite of our claim to be called a civilized nation.

When you take a taxi now, the driver doesn't seem to mind if you wear a seat belt or not. Mind you, it is still officially the law that everybody in the front seat of a car wear a seatbelt, but now it is treated as one of those optional laws. Some taxi drivers still wear theirs out of habit or fear or maybe because they're just plain smart. Some don't. Many will tell you that passengers don't need to anymore now that Georgian Dream is in power. I find this very interesting and will often ask taxi drivers about it. I have been told by several that it was Misha's law or, more often, that it was Vano's law and that they aren't in power anymore so it is optional.

There used to be a statue of Stalin at a school in the village of Zemo Alvani. On the night of 17 June 2011 it disappeared, officials claiming they didn't know anything about it. One recent morning, it came back to where it once was but now wrapped up. The new officials are pleading ignorance, but locals say it will be unwrapped on Stalin's birthday, 22 December 2012. Putting up or in this case the re-putting up a statue of Stalin will become international news, particularly in this period of trying to figure out the likely direction of the new Georgian Dream government.

For those who don't know, the climate is changing due to the activity of human beings. There are several human activities that cause it but the main one is burning fossil or hydro-carbon fuel like gasoline and coal. Most people in countries with strong education systems know that it is happening. The correlation between education and accepting climate change is clear. Educated people understand this and accept this and uneducated people don't. Hurricane Sandy hit New York city a few weeks ago and caused such damage just before the US election, practically everybody saw it as evidence of climate change. And yet this topic is so infrequently discussed in Georgia unlike everywhere else.

We need to make some decisions about power at the local level, about how different levels of government are funded, and about who is elected. The current system is hyper-centralized. All decisions are made at the center and are simply carried out at the local level. Almost everybody I know outside of Tbilisi feels powerless. They believe that the decisions that influence their lives are made in Tbilisi and that those who have the power to make these decisions derives that power not from their neighbors but via the central political leadership.

I would like to talk about the senior civil servants who have served under the Saakashvili administration. This is an important group with a great number of talented individuals. Afterwards let me say a few words to them.