Issue no: 1085 • SEPTEMBER 21 - 24, 2018 • PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY PRICE: GEL 2.50 In this week’s issue... Bakhtadze to Fox TV: Georgia-US Co-operation at All-time High NEWS PAGE 3 Georgia’s Alliance of Patriots in Crisis as Faction Chair Quits Party POLITICS PAGE 4 FOCUS The Church Remains Politically Neutral ON HINDSIGHT POLITICS PAGE 5 An exclusive interview with former US Ambassador to Introducing the Tbilisi Georgia, John Teft PAGE 6 Free Zone BUSINESS PAGE 7 Minister of Education Discusses The Final Frontier: Bitcoin Mining Remains Accreditation Concerns with Profi table, Regardless of ASIC Size University Rectors BY JOHN MERCURIO istorically, hardware advancements in bitcoin mining have yielded better profi t margins. The move to ASICs from CPUs and GPUs brought processing bitcoin trans- needs to change. these newer chips is (according to multiple SOCIETY PAGE 11 Hactions to a new level and made old hardware Consider the car engine. For years, people experts) astronomical. obsolete, meaning those with the fastest and assumed that higher engine volumes meant Bitfury is leading the way by focusing on smallest chips brought home the most value. “faster” engines, and faster cars. That is, of improving all performance characteristics of Welcome to Georgia, The But as hardware becomes more complex, that course, until the advent of turbo-charged, hybrid our next generation of hardware. We are look- Musical: First Show of the will no longer be true. In short – hardware supe- and electric vehicles. The small volume of a 1.6- ing at all factors, including silicon packaging, riority will be measured by more than nanom- liter Formula-1 engine is irrelevant if the race chip effi ciency, optimal power distribution, cool- Season Sells Out! eters. Investors must start looking at overall car can achieve 300kmh. In this case, and as will ing designs and speed of development. We think performance. soon be the case with mining hardware, second- that this will lead to a turnkey solution that CULTURE PAGE 15 The economics of crypto-mining are rather ary technical characteristics don’t tell the whole delivers the best ROI for our customers – regard- straightforward. Mining equipment and infra- story. Performance characteristics will. less of ASIC size. A FASCINATING SHOW TO SEE IN TBILISI! structure costs are considered capital expendi- In the ever-competitive market for mining In 1993, Intel upended the entire microproces- tures (CAPEX) while operational expenditures ASICs, we’ve already seen a similar effect. Cus- sor market when they released Pentium. Pentium (OPEX) primarily consist of electricity costs. tomers, understandably, have expected a serious microprocessors were not any smaller than their The success of a mining operation is then based performance increase when they moved from existing products, but unbelievably faster and on two fundamental parameters – your cost per 16nm ASICs to 7nm ASICs. But one by one, min- more effi cient. The “Pentium” effect is coming terahash/second (TH/S), which is really the ing vendors fell short. Mining machines based to the crypto mining industry soon. Bitfury is price of your equipment; and your Joules per on 7nm technology not only demonstrate unim- ready. terahash (J/TH), which indicates the power effi - pressive results, they also have identical perfor- Are you? ciency of your hardware. mance characteristics to the massively deployed INFO & TICKETS: GET 15% DISCOUNT!DISCOUNT! Missing from this equation is the cost/ben- and well-known 16 and 14nm ASICs. John Mercurio is the acting chief communications offi cer www.musical.ge Use code GT15 during THIS TUESDAY Tel: +995 577 55 00 33 checkout at tkt.ge/musical efi t analysis of technological innovation. That The cost, however, of producing and releasing at The Bitfury Group AT MUSIC AND DRAMA STATE THEATRE, TBILISI GEORGIA TODAY 2 NEWS SEPTEMBER 21 - 24, 2018 Ministry of Education Meeting with OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities BY SAMANTHA GUTHRIE n Monday, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, Levan Kharatishvili held a working meeting with the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities (HCNM) Lamberto Zannier. Kharatishvili briefed Zannier on programs and projects Oimplemented for the ethnic minorities in the fi elds of education, science, culture and sport. The meeting also focused on the ongoing reform of the education system spearheaded by Minister Mikheil Batiashvili. Zannier received compre- hensive information on all aspects of education in Georgia and on the basic aspects of the new reforms. At the end of the meeting, both sides agreed on the necessity of deepening cooperation and taking specifi c steps for- ward. Zannier will be visiting Georgia until September 21. Within the frame- work of the visit, the Commissioner will meet with the President of Geor- gia, Chairman of Parliament, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and other government offi cials. Zannier will also hold meetings with the CEC Chair- person, Public Defender, and UN Offi ce in Georgia, in addition to meetings with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President, civil society organiza- tions, and members of Georgian national minority groups. Photo: Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport World's Highest Georgian Restaurant Opens in Dubai including penovani khachapuri and BY ANNA ZHVANIA khinkali, all served by professional danc- ers. Hosting live folk music events and serving Georgian wine, the restaurant odi, the highest-up overlooks Dubai with spectacular views. Georgian restaurant in Every three months, Georgian art is to the world, opened in be put on display there. As the offi cial Sofitel Downtown description of the restaurant states, "We Dubai on the 31st fl oor. also source the freshest, organic ingre- MModi is the venture of famous Georgian dients from Georgia, thus encapsulating chef, Guram Baghdoshvili. The restau- a complete Georgian dining experience, rant serves traditional Georgian cuisine, right here in the heart of Dubai". GEORGIA TODAY SEPTEMBER 21 - 24, 2018 NEWS 3 US Department of State Praises Georgia’s Anti-Terrorism Efforts BY THEA MORRISON n the Country Reports on Terror- ism 2017 , the United States Depart- ment of States says that the Gov- ernment of Georgia is “generally capable of detecting, deterring, Bakhtadze to Fox TV: Iand responding to terrorist incidents.” The document reads that Georgia is a longstanding member of the Global Coa- Georgia-US Co-operation lition to Defeat ISIS, adding it continued its strong engagement with the United States across a range of counterterrorism- at All-time High related issues. It also says that Georgia participated and still continues its aggressive policy. BY THEA MORRISON in numerous bilateral exercises and “Russia occupies two historical regions remained a solid US security partner. November 21 anti-terrorist operation in Tbilisi. Image source: guardian.ng of Georgia… Many locals had to leave “In May, US and Georgian leadership Georgia improved infrastructure in fi ve more people were detained by the SSSG these territories because of this,” signed the Agreement of the United land border sectors and also established in connection with the case. eorgian Prime Minister Bakhtadze said, noting that the Govern- States of America and the Government a Risk and Threat Assessment Unit, The report added that Georgia is a Mamuka Bakhtadze told ment of Georgia is fully committed to of Georgia Concerning Security Meas- which operates in line with the European member of the Council of Europe’s Com- Bret Baier, the host of Spe- peaceful resolution of the confl ict. ures for the Protection of Classifi ed Common Integrated Risk Analysis Model, mittee of Experts on the Evaluation of cial Report with Bret Baier “Unfortunately, Russia is still trying to Information, establishing a legal founda- and signed the Tactical Memorandum Anti-Money Laundering Measures and on the Fox News Channel, undermine our peaceful initiatives,” he tion for bilateral intelligence sharing that with the NATO Maritime Command, the Financing of Terrorism, a Financial Gthat his country's relationship with the stressed. will strengthen counterterrorism coop- promoting cooperation and information Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional United States is at an 'all-time high' and As for Georgia’s aim to become a NATO eration and enhance the Georgian mili- sharing between NATO and Georgia’s body. Also, Georgia’s fi nancial intelli- that he is 'encouraged' by President member, the PM says it is the country’s tary’s interoperability with North Atlan- Joint Maritime Operations Center. gence unit, the Financial Monitoring Trump's 'dialogue' with Putin. main priority. tic Treaty Organization (NATO) member “This makes Georgia a non-operational Service of Georgia, is a member of the Bakhtadze says Trump’s decision to “Although our economy is not large, states,” the report reads. partner of the NATO-led Operation Sea Egmont Group. have a dialogue with Russia is a good we are spending over 2% of our GDP on The US Department of State says the Guardian, one of NATO’s activities to “Georgia’s anti-money laundering and step, adding there is no other alternative. our armed forces… Our soldiers are fi ght- State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) counter terrorism…The Georgian gov- countering the fi nancing of terrorism “But we should also take into consid- ing international terrorism… We are the has the lead in handling terrorism-related ernment approved and implemented the legal framework remains largely in com- eration the regional context because largest per capita contributors to the incidents and is generally well equipped Joint Action Plan on the Management pliance with international standards, in turbulence is growing but direct inter- international missions, so…if Georgia and well trained. of Crisis – Extreme Situations in the Field particular with updated FATF recom- action with Russia is at the highest level joins NATO, this will make the region “In 2017, Georgia’s law enforcement of Civil Aviation,” the document says.