Eeyore's Important News and Views

Worries rise in Texas as Ike looms in the Gulf
TEXAS EVACUATIONS
Some of the evacuations ordered by officials in Texas in advance of Hurricane Ike:
MANDATORY EVACUATIONS (with approximate population totals, where available):
Brazoria County (288,000 people)Jefferson County (244,000)Orange County (84,000)Galveston Island (58,000)Eastern portion of San Patricio CountyLow-lying areas of Harris County ("tens of thousands," according to county officials)Low-lying areas of Chambers CountyAreas south of Texas 35 and the Blessing area in Matagorda CountyGoose Island and Mustang Island state parks
VOLUNTARY EVACUATIONS
Hardin CountyAreas north of Texas 35 in Matagorda County, as well as for residents of low-lying areas of Bay City and Van Vleck.The city of Kingsville
By Oren Dorell and Rick Hampson, USA TODAY
GALVESTON, Texas — Some are hunkering down, some heading out and all holding their breath as Hurricane Ike churns toward a weekend landfall on Texas' Gulf Coast. The storm threatens millions of people and an array of oil refineries with wind, rain and a wall of water up to two stories high.
Ike appeared headed toward this island city, wiped out 108 years ago in a hurricane that killed 8,000 — the deadliest storm in U.S. history. This time the mayor ordered all 57,000 residents evacuated, and elsewhere along the coast an additional half-million Texans also were ordered to flee.
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/2008-09-12-hurricane-ike-texas_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

This week we continue talking about tools
Construction tools and Land working tools this weekYou never know what you will have to repair, build or make. But to do it you need to one know how to use the tools and two have them on hand. For me tools fall into two categories, big ones and hand tools. Tools can make a difficult job easier or make an impossible job possible.

Scrounging ToolsHammers (straight and curved claw, framing and 2 pound and sledge hammers), wrecking bars (several different ones, long and short ones) nail pullers Chisels and saws.Ropes or cables and a come-a-long. If you have electric, a skill saw, sawzall and drill.You need a way to haul stuff, a pick up, trailer or van.Why scrounging? Because you never know when you might have to make due. Taking the dog house apart to patch the window, that the tree limb just came through, could make a big difference about how much damage the rain causes, or how cold it gets in the house.
Big toolsArc welder, sometimes you can’t repair or make something without one. It makes doing the impossible possible sometimes. If you can afford one get one with a generator attached, it will make life easier.Chainsaw, indispensable if you plan to leave in a hurry. It will make removing a downed tree a lot easier. I remember when I was growing up, I went hunting on a Saturday, at 4 am we got to the place, a tree was across the road. I had a ¾ inch rope, we tried to use that to move it by using the truck. Trying to move the tree broke the rope. No big deal we lost a hunting day, but if we needed to leave because of a storm, we would have been stuck or worse. I would buy at least a 20” and get a good brand. McCullough, Husqvana, Stihl or even Homelitte.
Carpentry Tools Hammers (at least two one 16 and the other a 20 oz).Saws (at least two, one 10 point cross cut and a rip saw, also a keyhole saw)Levels (1- 4 foot level, 1-6” one)Squares (1 framing square, combination or Tee square and 1 speed square)Several Measuring devices (tapes [from 50 feet long to 10 feet], yard sticks, and wooden rulers)Plumb Bob and chalk lines (bottles of chalk)Wood chiselsScrew driversDrill and bits (for both a bit and brace, egg beater type and electric)Pliers ( slip-joint, channel locks lineman’s)Back saw and miter box (electric one if you have it) several ones are betterBlock planes and jack planesGood viceStaple gun (regular one, slap stapler)Nail sets and punchesClamps many and varied.Carpenters apron (cheap canvas ones and good leather ones)A good folding 6’ ladder and good heavy extension ladder (longer then you need)If your rich get a table saw router and drill press (1/2 inch)
Plumbing Tools You have most of them in your carpentry tools, but you will need a hack saw with bladesFaucet wrenches, Allen wrenches, sand paper, torches if you are going to use copper, but PVC is easier to use.
Masonry Tools Wheel barrow bigger the better, two wheel models are very stableTrowels large, brick and pointing up typeLine level and regular levelsPlumb bobHammers chisels, wire brushShovels (long and short handled) and hoeMotor type mixer
Metal working tools Vice grips (the more different types the better and sizes)Wire cuttersTin cutters, yellow, red and green handles, duckbillHammer ball peenAgain a lot of the tools that have been mentioned (wrenches, screw drivers hammersYou will need punches, files, chisels, and more drill bits.Drill press and arc welder
Land working Tools (if you have a piece of land)Tractor with attachments, it will save you more time and let you do more workGrader box (for roads), plow, disk and a blade for the frontAxes, Picks, Maddox and shovels. As many as possible with extra handles.Maul, sledge hammer and extra wedges
Land Clearing Tools Again axes (both double bit and single bit) Maddox, Machete. Bush axe.Chain saw and come-a-long
Fencing Tools Again a come-a-longFencing PliersWire cuttersBolt cuttersAgain if your rich a backhoe would be nice and a well drillers rig.
Next time will talk about Kitchen tools and then guns as tools.Here is an interesting article i found on the web, it is about what will happen (or what is happening) when people get what they think is desperate. We are a lazy society, we think as a whole that we are owed something. We are owed nothing, just because someone has something you want or you think that you need, you expect to get it or steal it if you have to. Very sad how much character we lack now a days as a people.
This i guess will segway into next weeks Saturday Prep Talk post on tools for protection and this weeks post land working tools. I understand that this is England, but if i looked on the web hard enough i'm sure i could find a similar article about the US.

Allotments get night guards as credit crunch sparks vegetable thefts Allotment-holders are introducing security patrols after a surge in fruit and vegetable thefts which has been blamed on rising food prices.By Alice KleinLast Updated: 5:58PM BST 06 Sep 2008Gardeners fear that with economic conditions worsening and household budgets under strain, people are stealing produce in order to save themselves money at the checkouts.A series of raids have prompted the Ottery St Mary allotment committee in Devon to launch evening patrols, with members visiting the set to keep an eye out for suspicious characters.The town council has arranged for a lock to be put on the allotment gate and local police have asked nearby residents to report anything unusual.Chairman of the committee, Adrian Foster, who has had raspberries, peas and runner beans stolen from his own allotment, said he had never experienced such high levels of thefts in the 22 years he has been there.He said: "In times gone by, we occasionally had thefts of produce or equipment but it was negligible. It's definitely the case that over the last three or four months we've noticed that a lot more produce has gone missing."People are much more aware now of locally grown vegetables and they do carry quite a high premium. I think that's contributing to the problem because people see that kind of thing as more valuable than hitherto."Torpoint Allotment Association in Cornwall has also introduced night time patrols. Chairman Peter McLaren said the regular inspections, introduced to tackle vandalism, were also deterring thieves.Ayesha Wilkinson, from the South West Counties Allotment Association, said: "Thefts are becoming more common. It's produce more than anything now because of the price of food. It's definitely got worse over the last few months."Mrs Wilkinson said it has been difficult to protect crops from produce thieves as most allotments are not very secure.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2694925/Allotments-get-night-guards-as-credit-crunch-sparks-vegetable-thefts.html

Paul: Reject the major parties, go for a third September 9, 2008 - 10:08pm
By SUZANNE GAMBOA and SAM HANANEL Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) - Libertarian-leaning congressman Ron Paul is urging voters to reject John McCain and Barack Obama and support one of the third-party candidates for president.
Paul, a Republican who abandoned his White House bid earlier this year, is gathering some of the candidates, independent Ralph Nader among them, on Wednesday to make his plea.
"The strongest message can be sent by rejecting the two party system," Paul said in prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press. "This can be accomplished by voting for one of the non-establishment, principled candidates."
He recommended Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party, former Georgia Republican Rep. Bob Barr of the Libertarian Party, former Georgia Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney of the Green Party and possibly others. He invited them to his news conference Wednesday.
Paul won no primaries in the Republican nomination contest but developed a strong following on the Internet and set a single-day record for raising money online. Thousands attended his protest last week near the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.
Some Republicans have been concerned Paul could siphon votes from the party in the same way Democrats accused Nader of doing in 2000 when he ran under the Green Party banner.
But when Nader ran in 2004 as an independent, he garnered just 0.3 percent of the vote from 34 states. The Constitution, Green and Libertarian candidates received even fewer votes. Nader claims he has enough signatures to get on the ballot in 45 states this year.
Nader predicted the gathering of third-party candidates would "raise the eyebrows" of pundits who are skeptical of the viability of independent presidential campaigns. The candidates will agree on several common issues they believe are being ignored by the major parties.
"This is the beginning of the realignment of American politics," Nader said.
Paul espouses limited government and individual responsibility. He is a critic of election laws that he says are designed to prevent third-party candidates from getting on ballots and participating in debates.
http://wtop.com/?nid=213&sid=1475202

Venezuela's Chavez says US ambassador must leave September 12, 2008 - 12:27am
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez ordered the U.S. ambassador to leave Venezuela within 72 hours on Thursday, accusing the diplomat of conspiring against his government and saying he would also withdraw his own envoy from Washington immediately.
Chavez made the move in solidarity with Bolivia after his Andean ally expelled the U.S. diplomat there, accusing him of aiding violent protests. He said a new American ambassador will not be welcome in Caracas "until there's a U.S. government that respects the people of Latin America," suggesting that diplomatic relations will be scaled back until President Bush leaves the White House.
"They're trying to do here what they were doing in Bolivia," Chavez said, accusing Washington of trying to oust him.
"That's enough ... from you, Yankees," Chavez said, using an expletive. Waving his fists in the air, he added: "I hold the government of the United States responsible for being behind all the conspiracies against our nations!"
Holding up a watch to check the time, Chavez declared: "From this moment, the Yankee ambassador in Caracas has 72 hours to leave Venezuela!" He told his foreign minister to recall Venezuela's ambassador to Washington, Bernardo Alvarez, "before they kick him out of there."
The U.S. Embassy said it was aware of Chavez's speech but had not received official notification. Embassy spokeswoman Robin Holzhauer said Ambassador Patrick Duddy is traveling in the United States this week.
The diplomatic spat brings relations between the two countries to a new low and raises questions about whether it could hurt trade. Venezuela is the fourth-largest oil supplier to the United States, and Chavez also threatened to cut off crude shipments "if there's any aggression against Venezuela."
Chavez has threatened to stop selling oil to the United States on a number of occasions. But the U.S. is Venezuela's No. 1 oil client, and taking such an action would debilitate his government financially.
Duddy, who was posted in Venezuela just last year, irritated Chavez last month when he lamented that U.S. and Venezuelan officials have not been cooperating in fighting drug trafficking. Deteriorating relations were giving cocaine smugglers the upper hand, he said.
The socialist president responded by warning that Duddy could soon be "packing his bags."
Simmering tensions between Venezuela and the U.S. began heating up even more this week after two Russian strategic bombers were deployed to the country at Chavez's invitation.
"The presence of those Russian planes in Venezuela is a warning," Chavez said Thursday. "There's nothing better to keep yourself from being attacked than to dissuade."
Hours before announcing the ambassador's expulsion, Chavez said his government had detained a group of alleged conspirators in a plot to overthrow him. He accused the group of active and former military officers of trying to assassinate him with backing from the United States.
Chavez has repeatedly accused Washington of backing plots to have him killed or ousted _ and U.S. officials have repeatedly denied the allegations.
____
Associated Press writers Ian James and Fabiola Sanchez contributed to this report.http://wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1365402

August 29, 2008RFID Tags Enable 24/7 Surveillance [Part I]Are you ready to begin living a tagged life? If you are, the future is here, courtesy of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags.Stage 1 of your tagged life is now here, in the form of new high-tech driver's licenses, which can be used at U.S. border crossings in Mexico and Canada. Each license incorporates a RFID tag encoded with a unique identification number. As you approach a border crossing, a RFID reader sends out a signal that an antenna on the tag picks up. The tag in turn reveals its ID number. By the time you arrive at the border crossing, Customs agents already have your name, address, photo, and other details in front of them. Ordinary U.S. passports also contain a RFID tag. The only difference is that the tag can't be read remotely, at least in theory. States on the U.S. and Mexican border have now started to issue RFID-equipped licenses. The state of Washington now issues an RFID tagged "enhanced driver license," which can be used for border crossings to and from Canada. In the near future, Arizona, Michigan, New York, and Vermont will begin issuing them.Although there's no law requiring you to obtain an enhanced driver license, once you sign up, you open the door to privacy invasion on an unprecedented scale. That's because the RFID tag number on your license is associated with your identity. Anyone with a RFID reader—an item you can pick up for a few hundred dollars—can interrogate the tag and access the data on it. Combine that with the growing number of products which contain RFID tags—credit cards, ATM cards, cell phones, key cards, etc.—and the potential grows exponentially for surreptitious tracking, wherever you go. Some people don't believe that's a problem. I do, though, because the data on the RFID tags in enhanced drivers' licenses isn't encrypted. An identity thief, a stalker, a private investigator, or anyone else who wants to learn your identity, and potentially match it to the growing array of data tied to your tag number, can remotely interrogate the tag with a simple RFID reader. You won't even know when it happens. (In contrast, the data on the RFID tags in U.S. passports is encrypted--although hackers have already figured out how to clone the data). Combine this potential for abuse with the huge plans corporations—and the government—have for "people tracking" via RFID tags, and the potential for 24/7 surveillance is obvious. For instance, an IBM patent granted in 2006 describes a network of interconnected RFID readers that IBM calls "person tracking units" (PTUs). IBM envisions installing PTUs everywhere that people go—in airports, shopping malls, sports arenas, theaters, etc. According to the patent, the PTU network would "keep records of different locations where the person has visited, as well as the visitation times."How do corporate America and the U.S. government plan to use the massive amounts of data gathered through RFID tags? Essentially, to facilitate 24/7 surveillance of everything you do and everywhere you go. I'll have more to say about that in my next blog entry...stay tuned. Copyright © 2008 by Mark Nestmann September 02, 2008RFID Tags Enable 24/7 Surveillance [Part II]in my last blog entry, I described how states on the U.S. and Mexican borders have begun to issue "enhanced driver licenses," which can be used at U.S. border crossings in Mexico and Canada. Each license incorporates a RFID tag encoded with a unique identification number. The ID tag number on your license is associated with your identity. I also described how corporate American plans to install a nationwide network of"person tracking units" (PTUs) everywhere that people go--from airports to shopping malls to museums. How do corporate America and the U.S. government plan to use the massive amounts of data gathered through RFID tags? ssentially, to facilitate 24/7 surveillance of everything you do and everywhere you go. Here's how I think it will work. Even if the RFID tag contains no personally identifiable data, that doesn't matter. That's because once the PTU establishes the link between your unique RFID number and your identity, "personal information will be obtained when the person uses his or her credit card, bank card, shopper card or the like." Enhanced driver licenses are ideal for this purpose because they are compatible with scanners already in use by many large retailers.Corporate America plans to aggregate this data and use it to make better decisions about how to market specific products to specific individuals. Based on your RFID profile, for instance, you might see the type of personalized advertising pitches that were a staple of the movie "Minority Report" (highly recommended). But naturally, this data would also be available for government inspection as well…and there's the real danger. Consider how China plans to use RFID tags. The new high-tech Chinese national ID card contains a record of the cardholder's employment status, ethnicity, health and reproductive history, and even religion. Plans are underway to use these cards in conjunction with state-of-the-art CCTV and related surveillance technologies in Chinese cities. The primary goal of the program, according to a company manufacturing the RFID tags, is "for the government to control the population in the future." The same potential exists in the United States or any other country that adopts this technology without careful consideration of the consequences. What can you do to slow down the RFID juggernaut? For starters, don't apply for an enhanced driver's license if the state you live in offers one. And while you're at it, get involved in the effort to reduce RFID surveillance. The most influential organization in this fight is CASPIAN—Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering. Visit their Web site at http://www.nocards.org to learn more.Copyright © 2008 by Mark Nestmann http://nestmannblog.sovereignsociety.com/

Social Networking Sites Not Just for Friends — It’s Also for the Feds Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Guess who may be checking you out on Facebook, Wikipedia and MySpace? The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are poring over non-verifiable profiles on the Web to help decide who should be allowed into the country and who may pose a threat to national security. Information is even being collected through Google searches, DHS and FBI sources confirmed to FOXNews.com. Sources say that immigration officials vetting applicants for citizenship or asylum scan personal profiles, looking for telling pictures or information to help confirm marriages, verify background details and see with whom they're chatting online. Even U.S. citizens are having their Web profiles reviewed. People who buy one-way airline tickets, for example, are automatically flagged for security reasons, and authorities say a passenger’s name may be crosschecked against Facebook, YouTube or MySpace. Remember those hunting pictures that you proudly posted online — the ones that show you holding a gun? If Homeland Security doesn't like what it sees, it could use them to ban you from stepping on American soil. Charles H. Kuck, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said millions of ordinary people check out their friends and other people's friends on Facebook and MySpace, so it shouldn't be surprising that the government does, too. "We've known for years that immigration's been using these [sites] — Facebook, MySpace, going on Google, you name it — both at the ports of entry and beforehand, when [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] is determining cases," said Kuck. "It's the information age and the folks at CSI and DHS are taking advantage of it." But some critics say using these Web sites to gather information about individuals is unfair. The problem, they say, is that the sites have no verification process. Wikipedia and Facebook can be edited by anyone with access to the Internet. Sites such as YouTube and MySpace have no content requirements, beyond those that filter offensive or objectionable material. And nearly all sites allow users to make up a profile in someone else's name. (Just see how many fake celebrity profiles there are out there.) "When you have someone's personal freedom at stake, when you're getting into who's going to be allowed in the country, it's too important to rely on open source online sites that can't be trusted," said Jason Richards, a Florida attorney who has written about the use of Wikipedia. "It's a travesty." Two weeks ago a federal appeals court ruled that the Department of Homeland Security should be disallowed from using Wikipedia as its sole source of information after agents consulted the online encyclopedia entry of a woman from Ethiopia who was seeking asylum. Immigration officials questioned whether an Ethiopian travel document proved the woman's nationality. Agents presented a Wikipedia entry as evidence that the document didn't prove nationality. The judge agreed, but the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the decision, saying more information was needed. As of yet, no legal precedent has been set for the use of other open source Web sites such as Facebook, but many experts say as long as DHS continues to use these sites, it is just a matter of time. "We've gotten into culture of laziness. It's the easy way out when you go look up someone online, go to Google, Facebook, etc." Richards said. "It's a good starting point, it can take you places, but it can't be the end point." Former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner said immigration officers are told to consult as wide a range of available sources as possible — Facebook and MySpace among them — and it is common knowledge that some sites carry more weight than others. "At least with Wikipedia, there is ongoing updating and editing, and the updating may not be authoritative but it is an increasingly trusted source," Meissner said. "[MySpace and Facebook] are even less reliable sources," she said. Officials are also trained to be cautious of applicants who set up fake Web sites or stage photos to improve their immigration status, Meissner said. "You can never be sure if an attorney or a person is trying to approximate or copy circumstances or game the system," she said. "[DHS officials] might try to Google to get information, and follow those leads. But it would not seem — on the face of it — that it would not seem to be sufficient for determining something that is as significant- for the government as well as the individual." Kuck said more needs to be done to train federal authorities to use some common sense in their Web investigations. "Someone writes something about you that says, 'Hey, you're a terrorist,' well, that's serious," Kuck said. "But other times one of the main problems is they don't use the rule of reason. It's a culture of no." Ultimately, he warned, when it comes to personal information, it’s up to the individual to show good judgment when posting anything online. "It's shocking what's out there about you on the Internet — what you wrote on that Facebook page, MySpace page back in high school that you don't use anymore. Anything you've ever written and anything anyone's ever written about you, it's all still there," said Kuck. For now, experts say that until Facebook meets Wikipedia's fate in court, how DHS officials react to that photo of you smiling, dressed in local garb and brandishing a spear while on vacation is up to them, and you'll be judged accordingly. "You hate to tell people, "You should go online and Google yourself." But before you go and get on that plane, well, maybe you should," Kuck said. Now might be a good time to change that profile picture. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,419705,00.html

EU moves to protect Ukraine from Russia
Jamey Keaten - Associated Press Writer - 9/10/2008 12:25:00 PM

PARIS - The European Union is drawing a line in the sand with Russia: the bloc isn't going to let Ukraine get dissected like Georgia.

The EU tugged Ukraine westward on Tuesday by launching a symbolic new accord, wading into Moscow's backyard for a second straight day on fears that Russia is flexing its muscle among former Soviet states.The 27-member bloc stopped short of offering Ukraine membership during an EU-Ukraine summit hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. But the two sides began work on an "association accord" - a step that offers closer political and economic ties and in the past has been designed to prepare nations for eventual membership.The summit was a potential boost for Ukraine's pro-Western President Victor Yushchenko, who hailed the move. He has recently faced the unraveling of a political alliance that was behind his country's Orange Revolution in 2004."The EU does a huge favor to Ukraine by inviting it into this accord. This shows that (the EU) cares," said Arkady Moshes, director of Russian program at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, by telephone."The EU wants to try at least to show Russia that the old sphere of influence is obsolete ... and that bringing the old Soviet borders back would not be accepted," he added.The meeting came a day after Sarkozy, whose country now holds the rotating EU presidency, led a diplomatic push in Georgia and Russia to cement a cease-fire deal and soothe tensions between the two neighbors following last month's war.He won a commitment from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to let EU monitors into parts of Georgia now occupied by Russian troops, and a timetable for Russian pullback of some forces from key positions inside the Caucasus Mountains nation. They also set a date for international talks on security in the region.Georgia amounts to a test case for a potentially more complex and consequential situation with Ukraine, which has historic ties to Russia and like Georgia has been signaling its hope to join the EU and NATO.Ukraine's population of about 45 million is nearly 10 times that of Georgia, and about one in six are ethnic Russians _ and a political fracture between the Western-minded president and prime minister has given ethnic Russians more political clout in recent months.The Kremlin has watched warily in recent years as Ukraine and other former Soviet republics have pressed for closer Western ties _ and Moscow vehemently objects to their joining the Atlantic alliance.Many Ukranians fear that Moscow covets Ukraine's strategic Crimea peninsula on the Black Sea, which is home to an ethnic Russian majority and is the site of a proud Russian naval base in the port of Sevastopol.The head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, said closer ties between Europe and Ukraine should not upset Russia. "We don't need a Cold War in Europe, we need cool heads," he said at a news conference after the Paris summit.Sarkozy insisted that the EU's overtures with its eastern neighbors "aren't directed against anyone," but he also sought to cast Ukraine as part of the bloc's orbit in the strongest terms yet."We say solemnly that Ukraine is a European country that shares a common history and values with European Union countries," he said.However, French diplomatic officials have acknowledged that EU member countries are divided about how quickly to try to integrate Ukraine _ if at all.In a clear message to Moscow, Sarkozy said Ukraine's borders are "perfectly non-negotiable. And for that matter, nothing in the discussions we had yesterday in Moscow led me to believe there's any question about them."Russia's intentions are clearly on many minds. "These aren't the best of times to take on this dialogue," Yushchenko said.The association accord launched Tuesday has three key objectives: freeing up travel restrictions to EU states for Ukrainians, pointing out that future ties remain "open" between Ukraine and the bloc, and emphasizing that the country shares a common history and values with Europe.The accord isn't likely to be signed until next year at the earliest. Its launch came with a call for deeper ties in foreign policy, military cooperation, and energy policy, among other issues.For Sarkozy, the summit culminated a two-day focus on former Soviet states.After marathon negotiations with Medvedev in Moscow on Monday, Sarkozy said that at one point he threatened to walk out of the talks.When Medvedev stepped out of the negotiation room, the European delegation noticed that a draft of the text eliminated a reference to Russia pulling back its forces to positions held before Aug. 7, Sarkozy said.With jacket in hand, Sarkozy threatened to leave, saying "we cannot accept the invasion of a country," he said. At that point the Russians wheedled him back to the table and agreed to put that back in, he added, speaking to pool reporters on the flight from Moscow to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.The Finnish institute's Moshes said both sides can claim a partial victory after Monday's talks.The EU helped cool tensions in its neighborhood, he said, while predicting the bloc will "acquiesce" to Russian recognition of independence of the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.The real question, though, he added, is whether the latest Sarkozy-brokered Russia-Georgia agreement will hold. "The EU is trying to do what it can; whether it will succeed is another matter."