Thank you for your contributions. Please learn how wikipedia works and read how other articles about separatist states are written. In your case it is particularly important for you to read and understand the wikipedia's neutrality policy.
We appreciate new contributors, especially from areas not well represented in the internet. However please understand that wikipedia's style is different from newspapers, where people freely use strong words and political cliches. Our goal is to provide correct information without excessive emotions. Facts must speak for themselves.
Here are a few good links for newcomers:
mikka (t) 22:08, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
Dear Mr mikka, Thanks for your welcoming. Actually those images belong to IAG (International Action Group) Abkhazeti, which gave me authority to use them freely only for web sites. Please let me know if you need official conformation from them.
As for neutrality, we must not forget the facts and truthfulness of these conflicts. I promise to be fair, nutral and always use valid and reliable sources when editing or contributin anything to Wiki.
Thanks for your warm welcome and withing you all the best
Hello Noxchi Borz, and thanks for taking an interest in the history of Georgia, which is, in a matter of fact, inseparable from that of Abkhazia, and to claim otherwise means to push a POV. The article, in my opinion, should focus on the fact that the region is home to both Abkhaz and Georgian peoples, both have their arguments and both suffered heavily from the conflict, not to say about the ethnic cleansing of the Georgians.
The current version of the article does lack neutrality. It doesn’t clearly explain the de jure (internationally recognized) status of Abkhazia and the Abkhazia location map within Georgia was removed without reasoning. I think a box containing the basic info about Abkhazia, as an autonomous republic within Georgia, should also be added.
I’ll probably start from the early history of Abkhazia… It’ll take some time, however. When contributing to the article about such a controversial and delicate issue, you have to have your edits backed up by millions of references, so you know…
Best wishes, Kober 20:07, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
People of such educational level control and manipulate the subject of Abkhazia on Wikipedia. Our professor at York has already banned students from using Wikipedia as a source or reliable data. Mr. mikka (a belorussian or russian) has logically pro Russian POV (i have not seen his neutrality in the issue). Tasc is another Russian with typical anti Georgian hysterics and POV. I have studied for a while now the issue of Abkhazia by researching various sources, historic materials and 200 pages of Helsinki Human Rights report on Abkhazia.
The history section is a complete falsification. Levon and Feodosius (kings of Abkhazeti-Egrisi) were of Georgian origins and not of Apsua or Abasgian. For two millennium Abkhazian history exist within Georgian (Roger Rosen, 2005). Im not going into more details.
Please open the article on Karabakh and compare it with Abkhazia. "Nagorno-Karabakh is a region of Azerbaijan that has declared itself independent as the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh" How is Abkhazia different from Karabakh? Abkhazia by all laws and officially is part of Georgia.
Also Mr Bagaph is not a President (the capital letter "P" indicates official status) as he was not officially recognized by international community as such, he is president (self-claimed). The term "de facto government" is wrong, the proper name is separatist government. Pro Georgian government is exile is very wrong. By official name its "Legitimate Government of Abkhazian Autonomous Republic in Exile" UN resolutions 95, 98, 2001, etc and Helsinki Convention on Abkhazia 1998. This government was democratically and officially recognized, headed by Zhiuli Shartava, Raul Eshba (an Abkhaz BTW), Tamaz Nadareishvili (whose ancestors live din Abkhazia since days of Prince Shervashidze) and later Guram Gabiskiria (killed and mutilated on September 27, 1995 along with Shartava, Eshba, and many others). Mr Saakashvili has removed Mr Alasania from heading this government and made him an envoy of president of Georgia to Abkhazia (a very serious and big mistake by Saakashvili in my opinion).
Unfortunately, you are Georgian and your editing will always be viewed as pro Georgian POV. That article is controlled by anti Georgian demagogues with pro Russian administrators like "belorussian" mikka. Luis Dingley, YU Noxchi Borz 19:16, 4 April 2006 (UTC)
Hi Noxchi, I'm apologize for my sarcasm at Talk:Abkhazia - I hope we can work things out. BTW, at Sir Oliver Wardrop, the correct way to link to the country is by doing this: [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], not [[Georgia]]. Take care, Khoikhoi 03:03, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
I found this while searching the Wiki Commons. All the best, Khoikhoi 04:58, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
Many thanks for your great work on Abkhazia and for your sympathy towards the victims of ethnic cleansing. Cheers, Kober 20:55, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
Hi Noxchi,
InShaneee was a good person to contact. No, Eupator is not permitted to make personal attacks. He has not broken the 3RR rule yet (neither have you) but both of you are getting close. Some other admins you might want to contact are El C and FrancisTyers.
When someone is personally attacking you like that, the best thing to do it report it to an admin, and ignore them. Do not insult him as well, as it just adds to the problem. Anyways, I'm pretty busy with a whole lot of other issues, and I'm afraid I can't really get involved. I hope that the admins that I mentioned can help. — Khoikhoi 06:39, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
Hallo, Noxchi. Sorry for replying so late... I was on my Easter holidays in Kakheti. I've never heard of a Rachvelian official in Mr Bush's administration:) It's very interesting. Racha is indeed one of the most picturesque areas in Georgia, with its mountains and historical monuments.
Stalin probably made movie about Saakadze to draw parallels between the Persian and German invasions and to turn Georgian patriotism into an instrumental of Soviet military success.
You said you have contacts with the Abkhaz diaspora in th US. Do you mean Mr Kazan et al? It's really interesting what they think about Abkhazia's future. As far as I know, Kazan has visited Tbilisi twice after his break with Ardzinba. Unfortunately, he seems not to enjoy much support in Abkhazia. I'm interested very much in your personal opinion about the region's future. Hopefully there's still a chance for peaceful solution.
We may also create articles about the Kartvelian studies and David Marshall Lang in particular, so as to prevent ones like eupator from confusing him with Tamerlane :). Wish you best of luck in your work on your masters. Cheers, Kober 17:25, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
P.S. You can call me Givi. This is actually my given name :). It's of Arabic origin, but I've never heard if it's in use in the Arab world.
Ah, Luis. Thanks for Georgia template. Nice gift! In return, please accept this present. I took it a few weeks ago from Mount Tabori overlooking Old Tbilisi. Regards, Kober 20:06, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
Hello, I am also happy that are people interested in Chechnya in Wiki. You mentioned Kraków. I am actually from this city. You are from Canada. I know there are Chechen people in Canada. I wonder if you know them. If you want to know more about Poland and Cracow you can e-mail me as well. Regards, Jasra 20:29, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
Gosh, it's been ages since I read some monograph on Warsaw Uprising, but I'll try to respond the best I can. As far as I remember there were no large specifically Ukrainian units fighting in Warsaw against the Poles at the time of the uprising. However, there were indeed Ukrainian units fighting against the uprising. The matter is pretty well-described in the article on 14th SS division, be sure to check it. A similar phenomenon, though this one did indeed start during the uprising and not after the war (as is the case of SS Galizien in Warsaw myth) happened to Andrei Vlasov's men. In Warsaw pretty everyone believed that all Russians fighting against the Uprising were Vlasov's men - which was not true. Nevertheless, in countless accounts the hiwi units are called własowcy, or Vlasovites. I guess the situation was similar to the western front, where all German tanks were called Panthers, even if they were not. Anyway, there were Ukrainians fighting against the Uprising, but not the Vlasov's men, as the myth had it - and not the 14th SS division. The fame of Vlasov, who was perhaps the best publicized of Russian generals fighting alongside the Germans, made all former Soviet citizens fighting alongside the Germans "Vlasovites", regardless of their true unit. However, as I mentioned, it was not until Vlasov's post-war trial that the Commie-controlled newspapers called him the butcher of Warsaw, thus adding greatly to myth's popularity.
Indeed the two largest hiwi units you mentioned were Dirlewanger's Bde and the 111th Infantry Regiment, composed primarily of Azeri soldiers. Interestingly, there were also at least two Azeri officers, former pre-war officers of the Polish Army, who took part in the fights on the Polish side. Anyway, the combat history of Dirlewanger's brigade is pretty well described in the wiki articles on him and the uprising. First it slaughtered up to 50,000 civilians in the Wola massacre, then moved to the Old Town (another 5,000 sick and wounded murdered after the Polish forces withdrew from the area, the remaining 35,000 being sent to concentration camps) and then to Czerniaków and Powiśle - along the Vistula. It's worth noting that, outside of the so-called criminal battalion (composed mostly of German criminals allowed to join the unit in exchange for being freed from the prisons and camps), the unit also included the so-called Russian Battalion (hiwis) and Eastern-Muslim SS Regiment, composed mostly of Azeri and Turkmen.
The third largest unit was the RONA brigade (or rather it's assault regiment) took part in the fights in Ochota and then in the city centre. They fought against the uprising for only 10 days (August 4-14th), but they managed to organize at least 500 mass murders - and ran their own, semi-private concentration camp in one of the marketplaces (Zieleniak). Then, after suffering some 30% in casualties, the regiment was moved out of Warsaw and was used to prevent the Home Army from breaking into the besieged city from the forests outside Warsaw.
There were also a number of smaller non-German units. Parts of the 13th SS Sonderbattalion (Belarusian) defended the German-only district of Warsaw. The 34th Police Rifle Regiment (under Franz Wichmann) was composed of three battalions, two of them being composed of both German and Ukrainian, while the other was purely German. Another "Ukrainian" unit was the 209th Cossack Schutzmannschaft Battalion, composed not only from Ukrainian Cossacks, but also from those from Russia. However, due to Polish complicated history, hardly anyone here knows that there are non-Ukrainian Cossacks and so the unit was also referred as Ukrainian. Probably the best-known Ukrainian unit to fight on the German side was the so-called Volhynian Legion, or Ukrainian Self-Defence Legion, which numbered some several hundred men altogether (between 300 and 700 men under Petro Diachenko, a pre-war officer of the Polish Army) and was in fact attached to the 13th SS Galizien in 1945. The unit fought in Czerniaków in mid-September and then in Kampinos until the very end.
Outside of Warsaw, in the outer line of defences against the Home Army, there were additional foreign units. Among them were the 3rd Cossack Regiment under Bondarenko (mostly Ukrainian), the IV/57 cavalry battalion (also Cossacks) and the 69th independent cavalry battalion (Cossacks). The three fought in the area of Kampinos Forest and Żoliborz. Other units to serve in German service in the area were the 572ns Infantry Battalion (Ukrainian; under Col. Zinovev) and the Russian 580th cavalry battalion (Russian unit under German officer, Ernst Kalamorz). The latter was later dispatched to the city centre, where it took part in the fights. Finally, there was also a separate I/111 Azeri Battalion (under Capt. Scharrenberg) and the II "Bergmann" Battalion composed of all nations of the Caucasus (under Mertelsmann).
Phew, I guess it's a pretty comprehensive list of all non-German units. There were also Hungarians stationed to the west of Warsaw, but their loyalty to their ally was limited, to put it mildly, and many of them defected to the Polish side while others commonly sold their arms to the Polish Home Army. And of course they were not hiwis. I hope you don't mind my reply is so unorganised, but I simply have to go now.
Oh, and thanks for your kind words, it's always nice there are people who actually value my work :) // Halibu tt 17:18, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis, I wrote an article on WED Allen. Could you please revise it? Your comments will be welcomed. Thanks a lot, Kober 20:21, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
P.S. This is a 1925 photo showing the Georgian and Polish officers in Poland. I’ve found it on the website of the Georgian Community of Poland.
Hey Noxchi,
You can email me here, and then I'll reply. I'd rather not mention my email on Wikipedia, as to avoid spam and stuff like that. I'm looking forward to the pictures, however! :D BTW, have you seen this gallery from the Wikimedia Commons? — Khoikhoi 01:49, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis, how are you? As I promised, I translated and put together some materials found across Georgian websites. Please check " Georgian emigration in Poland" and fix the mistakes. Given your brilliant knowledge of the issue, I hope you will make the article much better than it is now :). Cheers, Kober 22:21, 7 May 2006 (UTC)
Not quite sure. It was something about licence, I think. Now there is an action in commons to remove all the graphics which have not clearly difined copyrights. So I believe this time it had nothing to do with political reasons (I hope at least). For now I have provisionally repaired the template by putting another flag. However feel free to put a symbol with an emblem if you find one. Regards, Jasra 21:10, 8 May 2006 (UTC)
Hey Luis, thanks a lot for the barnstar and for your help with Georgia-related topics. I really appreciate it. I'd like to present you this picture by the Polish artist Ilya Zankovski showing Mt Ushba in Svaneti. Thanks again and best wishes. Kober 20:00, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
Tnx for the info. If you could provide proper references (info on the book they were reprinted in, preferably) it would save us some grief later. On a sidenote, 'Polska Pani' means 'Polish lady'...which neither me or Halibutt is :) Lady, that is :) If you wanted to say 'Polish misters', then 'Polscy Panowie' is right (but very formal - we are all collegues here, no 'Pan's' here). Still, we appreciate the effort :) -- Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus Talk 15:06, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
Although I certainly think that Międzymorze would have been a better solution that Soviet Union, neither can claim that it 'liberated' people who did not want to join that organization. Of course, Międzymorze never became a reality, but the Ukrainians and Belorusians who found themselves in the borders of the Second Polish Republic, while certainly had an easier life then in SU (no holodomor, for example), where at a disadvantage when compared to Poland. And as both of them did try to create their own states (see Polish-Soviet War for more info), the fact that they failed and got, well, partitioned between Poland and SU makes it quite obvious that they were not 'liberated' by any side.-- Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus Talk 15:17, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis, thanks again for the photos:) I was suggested to create a wiki portal on Georgia. I've just posted a proposal at Wikipedia:Portal/Proposals though I'm not exactly sure of how it should be created at this point. If you support the idea, please vote at this entry. Thanks, Kober 17:56, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
P.S. I'm preparing an article on the 17th-century Georgian-Armenian emigrant to Poland who served as the Polish envoy in Persia.
I'll be away from Wiki till June 16th. If you have any questions, please email me any time. Thanks a lot. All the best. Noxchi Borz 17:17, 15 May 2006 (UTC)
No matter how frustrated you may feel, please don't result to personal attacks—they only make situations worse. — Khoikhoi 00:37, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. My friend just emailed my this photo showing Cholokashvili and his friend Shalva Nebieridze in France. Unfortunately, it's of very poor quality. I'll try to get a better one. All the best, -- Kober 06:31, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
Eh, Luis. It's too painful to me to see how user:Macahel (a Georgian-speaker from Turkey) behaves here and denies Adjarians to be Georgians. This is how cultural assimilation works... -- Kober 21:20, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
To be fair, I was only reverting to Alex Bakharev's version (I did correct a few language errors on the way, however). I am sure that that version is more NPOV, however. Prague watchdog did not belong there. -- Pan Gerwazy 21:14, 5 July 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. I just thought you might be interested in voting for Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Józef Piłsudski. Regards, -- Kober 07:13, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
Dear Luis, I would like to ask for your attention, because there is a big deal going on on Georgia's talk's page. The argument is to make the
Georgia search criterion to result in a redirect to the
Georgia (country) page. It is understandable that this is an English wikipedia and most American users prefer a dab page. However, according to statistics more than 2,000 users per month read the article about the country of Georgia and the state of Georgia gets around 800 readers per month. I don't believe that the cultural and historical aspects should be compared of two Georgias, because there is nothing to compare. The country of Georgia is an ancient hitorical country, has more UN world heritage sites than the State of Georgia, has its own language which is different from all the other languages in the world and etc. I don;t want this to turn into a cultural discussion and also making the
Georgia search criterion to result in a redirect to the
Georgia (country) page is not an underestimation of the beautiful U.S. state of Georgia.
I would like you to participate in voting, if you find tme for it.
Sosomk 08:41, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
Dear Luis, people in my neighbourhood did not have the pic of Kakutsa, but I will try to get it from the Museum if I can.
I made a comment on prtal talk Georgia about the flag of Abkhazia. I hope I did not offend any Abkhaz government members with high sensibilities.:)) The pic was hillarious, I think it was awsome. I don't see any reasons why should Kober and Alsandero care about the idiots like Bagapsh and his government. If Bagapsh and his government doesn't like it, screw them. They are stupid anyway. I don't like many things about thm also. I don't justify any tolerane towards them. Russian media is also full of crap saying: cruel Georgian are oppressing the ethnic minorities. The fact that there is not a single house in Chechnya, which was not bombed by the Russians seems to be ok. Chechen genocide in Russia also seems ok, but making fun of the de facto, thug Abkhazia government is a facism. That does not make any sense. It would be better for Bagapsh to come on his mind soon and get the heck out of Georgia. Sosomk 08:32, 7 July 2006 (UTC)
Dear Luis, thank you so much for the award. It made me very happy. I am very pleased and proud to hold this Canadian award. Thank you for everything. Sosomk 12:15, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for uploading Image:TL021461.jpg. I notice the file's description page currently doesn't specify who created the content, so the copyright status is unclear. If you have not created this file yourself, then there needs to be an argument why we have the right to use it on Wikipedia (see copyright tagging below). If you did not create the file yourself, then you need to specify where it was found, i.e., in most cases link to the website where it was taken from, and the terms of use for content from that page.
If the file also doesn't have a copyright tag, then one should be added. If you created/took the picture, audio, or video then the {{ GFDL-self}} tag can be used to release it under the GFDL. If you believe the media meets the criteria at Wikipedia:Fair use, use a tag such as {{ Non-free fair use in|article name}} or one of the other tags listed at Wikipedia:Image copyright tags#Fair_use. See Wikipedia:Image copyright tags for the full list of copyright tags that you can use.
If you have uploaded other files, consider checking that you have specified their source and tagged them, too. You can find a list of files you have uploaded by following this link. Unsourced and untagged images may be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. feydey 15:47, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
If You want to make Your pictures available better then check out Commons - they provide Public Domain pictures to all wikiprojects ( here is more about their mission). Best, feydey 18:33, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for the award! -- Clevelander 01:35, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
Dear Luis, I recently reviewed your contributions to Georgia-related articles and would like to thank you for your great edits on the topic. If you don't mind, I used some of your pictures for the Caucasus Mountains page and the Mt. Shkhara article. If I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me (either at Wikipedia or by e-mail). Good luck, and wishing you all the best! D.Papuashvili 19:30, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. How are you? I really like your new userbox. It looks fine. Georgia parliament demanded the withdrawal of the Russian "peacekeepers" from the conflict zones yesterday. Things are going interestingly. Let's see what happens after this.
I'm currently using a slow 56k modem (: and my draft on Abkhazia history is not yet complete. Btw, I'll soon have a couple of photos of a military parade on Georgia's Independence Day 2006. The author allows us to use them for any purpose. If you need them let me know. Cheers, -- Kober 15:58, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
These are great images! Thanks! I'll be sure to put them to good use. -- Clevelander 22:25, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
Got the AG photos. Out to lunch, will respond in greater detail... -- Eupator 15:54, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
Hi, could you also give me a reference for the John Bull picture with some background info? Was the British press quite scathing of the inaction taken, or was there generally disinterest, etc? John Smith's 23:25, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. I revised the history section in the Sukhumi article and added a link to the Massacre page. It seemed to have been written for Russian tourists:) What do you think about it? Thanks, -- Kober 06:39, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
Sorry for my late reply, I was in Israel this past month. As usual, your pictures are amazing. :) I guess there wasn't a way to confirm the woman's age, as Jeanne Calment was younger when she died. Did the 130-er tell you about her life? — Khoikhoi 06:02, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
Hi, I recently came upon this picture on the history of Azerbaijan article. It really doesn't look like its the occupation of Baku (of 1920) for several reasons: The hats worn by the soldiers appear to be from the 1930s to the second World War era and not the pointy ones worn by Soviet soldiers during the Russian Revolution. The vehicle has to be at least 10-15 (they look like the troop transport GAZ trucks used during the war) years early for its time. The rifles are German Mausers (nearly all Soviet soldiers used the Mosin-Nagant rifle during the Russian Revolution), the machine guns held by them are Czech made ZB vz.26s which the first prototype didn't come into use until 1923. They look like soldiers arriving back from the war since many of them are decorated with medals. I originally raised my concerns about this image with Khoikhoi and I'm curious where exactly you found this or gave it to you.-- MarshallBagramyan 16:39, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
Hi! Glad you liked the Rila Monastery, it's kind of our national pride. Besides these in the article Bachkovo Monastery, there's Nikola Gruev's gallery here, as well as this free Creative Commons gallery. Hope you like them! Todor → Bozhinov 17:39, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
My dear freind, such comments as these
[1],
[2],
[3] are also offensive, bad faith and disruptive, please keep your personal opinions on your userpage and avoid polluting wikipedia with insulting material. It is actually quite remarkable how out of nothing you manage to do exactly what you accuse me of. POLITISATION. If you want to save face I strongly recommend to remove this text where applicable, otherwise I will report you as a violator of Wikipedian policies and if necessary request a comment on User Conduct. Personally I could not care less what churches are selected or chosen, but I have a right to an opinion and idea without prejedice insults directed at it. Funny you live in the western world yet free speach and civility is obviously not something you are familiar with.--
Kuban Cossack
17:49, 1 August 2006 (UTC)
Luis, the template looks great. Great job. Sosomk 13:42, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. I totally agree, the cost is too great. In my honest opinion I don't think Hezbollah can be whiped out. History tells us that it is nearly impossible to destroy guerrilla organizations. I think everyone wants this to end—it has gone on too long. I recently saw some images here, and I have to say that just because I am Jewish, I do not side with Israel on every action they take. — Khoikhoi 22:53, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi, I am on wiki now. Sosomk 18:20, 3 August 2006 (UTC)
P.S. my email is Sosomk@gmail.com Sosomk 19:18, 3 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi there, yes I am a Coptic Christian, and i would be very happy and excited to work on articles relating to Egyptian, Ethiopian orthodoxy articles with you. There is also an orthodox branch of wikipedia. I believe that orthodox christianity is the oldest of all and that people out there need to know this. I wanted to ask you, how is it that you are a descendant of Tutankhamen, does this mean you are a part of the royal family? Also, are any of your Ancestors Ethiopian? Cluckbang 21:35, 3 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
Hi there, in the coptic calendar almost every day is a holiday, and this repeats every 30 days, as you may know every month is 30 days except the 13 month which is 5 days (6 every leap year). If you'd like I can add the list to the Coptic article. I also agree with you that we should create a Coptic article. Please send the link to the article and I will add as much as I know from the experts I know about this religion Please let me know. Also do you know anything about Ancient Yemen, and how they are connected to the Semites of Ethiopia? Do you believe that Abyssinia was a South Arabian transplant in Africa?, because some see it as a theory. Also i just added to the Coptic Christianity, about how Ethiopia helped the Copts from being wiped out by the Arabs, when they threatened to close the nile. Bye
Cluckbang 18:33, 4 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
Hi, I found this photo on Portal:Georgia (country) and, since the copyright allowed it, uploaded a copy on Georgian wiki here. The copyright notice is attached. We would like to use it as a featured photo on the main page, if we're able to find enough info on the subject copy of the gospel. Hope you won't mind. Best. - Alsandro · T · w:ka: Th · T 17:40, 5 August 2006 (UTC) PS: would you mind uploading it on commons as well? - a.
Hi Ldingley,
I would like to know where you’ve got the Abkhazian flag of government-in-exile? I’m asking this question because I think that the article about the flag of Abkhazia could be improved with more infos about this specific flag.
Other question: could you provide a vectorized (. SVG) version of the flag and the coat-of-arms? I think it should be better for displaying…
Best regards,
-- MaGioZal 14:54, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
Luis, do you by chance have any images of or related to Nakhichevan? Thanks! -- Clevelander 13:56, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
Luis, this are great images! Thanks! If I upload them, I'll be sure to credit you. -- Clevelander 21:23, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
Hmmmm, I did some research on the history of the page, see the first version back in 2003:
Now see a later version that was altered by User:Efghij just a few hours later:
Now see the page after Jmabel work on it in 2004:
I also did a Google search and couldn't find anything about them being called "Gruzim" besides Wikipedia and it's mirrors. Therefore feel free to move the page to Georgian Jews and re-write the article to get rid of the word. Hope that helped! BTW, I liked the pictures. :) — Khoikhoi 03:49, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis, Thanks for the picture. It's very funny. As far as the POV pushing concerned, I hope my discussions helped. I was not very diplomatic, because I was straightforward. They are not diplomatic either, so it is ok. Now I am going back on my break and I will back every now and then and I am gonna finish the Sameba the first thing I come back. Sosomk 15:02, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
Well it appears that the Russian users are fleering up as well, probably for the same reason! Luis, I don't think the Russian editors would be POV-pushing on neutral articles, I actually think mikka has good intentions. He wants the article to be NPOV. If the article was already 100% neutral, him and Ghirla wouldn't have objections to it! Perhaps you could get Kober involved, he can usually find compromises pretty quickly. Until then, relaaaaaaaaaaaaaax. :) — Khoikhoi 05:18, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. How are you? Thanks again for your much-needed contributions. I'm not sure what I will be able to contribute to the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia, since I don't have significant information on that topic. I lived through the Abkhaz War and all I know is that a lot of Georgians were simply massacred or expelled without any justification whatsoever. I also have heard and read from fairly reliable sources that Basayev and Kupalba (Garry) were responsible for the Gagra Massacre where the separatists cut off the heads of Georgians and played soccer with their heads in 1992. I'm not sure if this is included in the ethnic cleansing article since I have not read it yet. Let me know if I can help in any way. Best Regards, D.Papuashvili 17:19, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
No problem and thanks for the kind words! :) -- Clevelander 15:07, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
The template is great, Luis. I needed it very much, but was not sure how to create it. Many thanks, -- Kober 15:55, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
P.S. Thanks for the corrections in the draft :)
1. History of Abkhazia 2. Abkhazia 3. Georgian-Abkhaz conflict 4. Georgia (country) (how I hate this title!) 5. Georgian Orthodox Church 6. Eparchy of Tskhum-Abkhazeti (!) 7. History of Georgia 8. Bagrationi dynasty 9. Culture of Georgia 10. Shota Rustaveli. Kober 16:39, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis, how have you been?
Yes! As a matter of fact, Andersen is the guy who's credibility I'm trying to defend by Grandmaster who believes him to be an "unreliable source". -- Clevelander 20:48, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
Mr. Dingley, please see the article on Chokha and add your great images. Sosomk 19:37, 26 August 2006 (UTC)
I couldn't help myself. :) BTW, keep an eye on the Lazistan article - every once in awhile some fringe Laz Jihadist group (no joke, I'm not trying to be racist or anyting) adds an image of a proposed "Islamic Emirate of Lazistan". It used to be a user called Lazistan adding the images, but now they got a different account. My friend got fed up after awhile. I think this same user is responsible for adding the Taliban flag to the Afghanistan article a month ago (the page got protected because of that). It's actually pretty funny, because I think this "group" is probably just one guy who has nothing better to do than draw pointless maps. :p — Khoikhoi 18:23, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
No you won't Luis. :) Maybe the controversial ones, but not all Georgia-related topics. As for Copts, I'm not sure. Check out some of the discussion at the discussion page. Do you have sources that say they're a separate ethnic group? I don't know enough about them to make that judgement, try asking one of the Egyptian Wikipedians such as Arab League, Meno25, or perhaps Ahmednh.
BTW, the People of Ethiopia article shouldn't have an an infobox. {{ Infobox ethnic group}} is meant for single ethnic groups, not people of a country. Take care. — Khoikhoi 19:25, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Oh yes sir. I would love to assist you in writing a separate article on the Coptic people. I truly agree with you that they are most definitely not arabs. This culture has survived with Ethiopia since, they use the coptic calendar. I will contribute to the article as much as I can. CluckbangCluckbang
I am not sure if its the correct translation in Coptic. I do agree with replacing the Copt article with the one you're working on right now. Cluckbang 17:28, 30 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
No, I am from Ethiopia, but I do follow the coptic religion, that is why I said I am a coptic christian in religion, I am sorry if i misled you by writing that in my user page. Yes I do believe that Copts are not arabs, most definitely not, their land was just occupied by the Arabs and some of the copts did end up being arabized and changed religions, but the present copts are different from the arabs Cluckbang 17:36, 30 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
Just as you have created an article on Copts, I wanted to create an article on the habesha people similar to the coptic article you have just created. Can you please assist me in creating this article? Cluckbang 17:42, 30 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
Great job on the Copts article, but to my disappointment, I noticed a lot of it was copied from here. :( Do you have permission from them? — Khoikhoi 23:26, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
I wanted to know if you could help me start the page for the habesha people article. In terms of adding the front pictures, like you did with the coptic article? Cluckbang 13:44, 31 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang Great! Thanks, this is the article User:Cluckbang/Habesha people
Thanks so much L. Dingley! However, I wanted to know how i could change the pictures on the template? Thanks so much. Take care Cluckbang 18:03, 31 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
Just one more thing Mr Dingley, how is it that I can protect the article from being edited by others, but rather decide myself after seeing their suggestions?
Cluckbang 11:59, 1 September 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
It would be a good idea to have a gallery/category of russian revolution in WikiCommons, linked from wikipedia in the corresponding series of articles. Unfortunately currently in Commons a couple of guys lead a huge campaign against the image tag "PD-USSR" (similar to the one used in your photos). If you have an account in Commons, wouuld you like to join the vote for deletion Commons:Template:Deletion_requests#.7B.7BPD-Soviet.7D.7D? `' mikka (t) 00:55, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Hey Luis. I'm back. Don't worry :) I wrote the article on Ketevan the Martyr a long time ago. :) Your Georgia infobox looks great. I'm currently focused on gathering the citations on Russian inolvement in the Abkhazian war. Thanks, -- Kober 20:04, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
I'll see what I can do, but it's not at all in my expertise. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 19:55, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
What would you think about a sort of collaboration (but not a true one) regarding the Ethiopian Emperors in which editors would add content to the existing articles one by one, chronologically? Please respond at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Ethiopia/History. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 04:19, 5 September 2006 (UTC)
All your pictures are copyrighted. At the same time you write that "the copyright holder has irrevocably released all rights to it, allowing it to be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, used, modified, built upon, or otherwise exploited in any way by anyone for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, with or without attribution of the author, as if in the public domain". That is a contradiction. As long as you say they are copyrighted we can't use them in the German Wikipedia. Is that what you want? -- 87.123.81.116 13:21, 5 September 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. How are you? My draft is becoming too long. How about to transfer some of its content to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict article and abridge the conflict section in the main History article? What do you think about it? Btw, Soso renewed our long-time request to move Sukhumi to Sokhumi on Talk:Sukhumi. Thanks, Kober 17:48, 5 September 2006 (UTC)
Thank you for your contributions. Please learn how wikipedia works and read how other articles about separatist states are written. In your case it is particularly important for you to read and understand the wikipedia's neutrality policy.
We appreciate new contributors, especially from areas not well represented in the internet. However please understand that wikipedia's style is different from newspapers, where people freely use strong words and political cliches. Our goal is to provide correct information without excessive emotions. Facts must speak for themselves.
Here are a few good links for newcomers:
mikka (t) 22:08, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
Dear Mr mikka, Thanks for your welcoming. Actually those images belong to IAG (International Action Group) Abkhazeti, which gave me authority to use them freely only for web sites. Please let me know if you need official conformation from them.
As for neutrality, we must not forget the facts and truthfulness of these conflicts. I promise to be fair, nutral and always use valid and reliable sources when editing or contributin anything to Wiki.
Thanks for your warm welcome and withing you all the best
Hello Noxchi Borz, and thanks for taking an interest in the history of Georgia, which is, in a matter of fact, inseparable from that of Abkhazia, and to claim otherwise means to push a POV. The article, in my opinion, should focus on the fact that the region is home to both Abkhaz and Georgian peoples, both have their arguments and both suffered heavily from the conflict, not to say about the ethnic cleansing of the Georgians.
The current version of the article does lack neutrality. It doesn’t clearly explain the de jure (internationally recognized) status of Abkhazia and the Abkhazia location map within Georgia was removed without reasoning. I think a box containing the basic info about Abkhazia, as an autonomous republic within Georgia, should also be added.
I’ll probably start from the early history of Abkhazia… It’ll take some time, however. When contributing to the article about such a controversial and delicate issue, you have to have your edits backed up by millions of references, so you know…
Best wishes, Kober 20:07, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
People of such educational level control and manipulate the subject of Abkhazia on Wikipedia. Our professor at York has already banned students from using Wikipedia as a source or reliable data. Mr. mikka (a belorussian or russian) has logically pro Russian POV (i have not seen his neutrality in the issue). Tasc is another Russian with typical anti Georgian hysterics and POV. I have studied for a while now the issue of Abkhazia by researching various sources, historic materials and 200 pages of Helsinki Human Rights report on Abkhazia.
The history section is a complete falsification. Levon and Feodosius (kings of Abkhazeti-Egrisi) were of Georgian origins and not of Apsua or Abasgian. For two millennium Abkhazian history exist within Georgian (Roger Rosen, 2005). Im not going into more details.
Please open the article on Karabakh and compare it with Abkhazia. "Nagorno-Karabakh is a region of Azerbaijan that has declared itself independent as the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh" How is Abkhazia different from Karabakh? Abkhazia by all laws and officially is part of Georgia.
Also Mr Bagaph is not a President (the capital letter "P" indicates official status) as he was not officially recognized by international community as such, he is president (self-claimed). The term "de facto government" is wrong, the proper name is separatist government. Pro Georgian government is exile is very wrong. By official name its "Legitimate Government of Abkhazian Autonomous Republic in Exile" UN resolutions 95, 98, 2001, etc and Helsinki Convention on Abkhazia 1998. This government was democratically and officially recognized, headed by Zhiuli Shartava, Raul Eshba (an Abkhaz BTW), Tamaz Nadareishvili (whose ancestors live din Abkhazia since days of Prince Shervashidze) and later Guram Gabiskiria (killed and mutilated on September 27, 1995 along with Shartava, Eshba, and many others). Mr Saakashvili has removed Mr Alasania from heading this government and made him an envoy of president of Georgia to Abkhazia (a very serious and big mistake by Saakashvili in my opinion).
Unfortunately, you are Georgian and your editing will always be viewed as pro Georgian POV. That article is controlled by anti Georgian demagogues with pro Russian administrators like "belorussian" mikka. Luis Dingley, YU Noxchi Borz 19:16, 4 April 2006 (UTC)
Hi Noxchi, I'm apologize for my sarcasm at Talk:Abkhazia - I hope we can work things out. BTW, at Sir Oliver Wardrop, the correct way to link to the country is by doing this: [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], not [[Georgia]]. Take care, Khoikhoi 03:03, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
I found this while searching the Wiki Commons. All the best, Khoikhoi 04:58, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
Many thanks for your great work on Abkhazia and for your sympathy towards the victims of ethnic cleansing. Cheers, Kober 20:55, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
Hi Noxchi,
InShaneee was a good person to contact. No, Eupator is not permitted to make personal attacks. He has not broken the 3RR rule yet (neither have you) but both of you are getting close. Some other admins you might want to contact are El C and FrancisTyers.
When someone is personally attacking you like that, the best thing to do it report it to an admin, and ignore them. Do not insult him as well, as it just adds to the problem. Anyways, I'm pretty busy with a whole lot of other issues, and I'm afraid I can't really get involved. I hope that the admins that I mentioned can help. — Khoikhoi 06:39, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
Hallo, Noxchi. Sorry for replying so late... I was on my Easter holidays in Kakheti. I've never heard of a Rachvelian official in Mr Bush's administration:) It's very interesting. Racha is indeed one of the most picturesque areas in Georgia, with its mountains and historical monuments.
Stalin probably made movie about Saakadze to draw parallels between the Persian and German invasions and to turn Georgian patriotism into an instrumental of Soviet military success.
You said you have contacts with the Abkhaz diaspora in th US. Do you mean Mr Kazan et al? It's really interesting what they think about Abkhazia's future. As far as I know, Kazan has visited Tbilisi twice after his break with Ardzinba. Unfortunately, he seems not to enjoy much support in Abkhazia. I'm interested very much in your personal opinion about the region's future. Hopefully there's still a chance for peaceful solution.
We may also create articles about the Kartvelian studies and David Marshall Lang in particular, so as to prevent ones like eupator from confusing him with Tamerlane :). Wish you best of luck in your work on your masters. Cheers, Kober 17:25, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
P.S. You can call me Givi. This is actually my given name :). It's of Arabic origin, but I've never heard if it's in use in the Arab world.
Ah, Luis. Thanks for Georgia template. Nice gift! In return, please accept this present. I took it a few weeks ago from Mount Tabori overlooking Old Tbilisi. Regards, Kober 20:06, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
Hello, I am also happy that are people interested in Chechnya in Wiki. You mentioned Kraków. I am actually from this city. You are from Canada. I know there are Chechen people in Canada. I wonder if you know them. If you want to know more about Poland and Cracow you can e-mail me as well. Regards, Jasra 20:29, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
Gosh, it's been ages since I read some monograph on Warsaw Uprising, but I'll try to respond the best I can. As far as I remember there were no large specifically Ukrainian units fighting in Warsaw against the Poles at the time of the uprising. However, there were indeed Ukrainian units fighting against the uprising. The matter is pretty well-described in the article on 14th SS division, be sure to check it. A similar phenomenon, though this one did indeed start during the uprising and not after the war (as is the case of SS Galizien in Warsaw myth) happened to Andrei Vlasov's men. In Warsaw pretty everyone believed that all Russians fighting against the Uprising were Vlasov's men - which was not true. Nevertheless, in countless accounts the hiwi units are called własowcy, or Vlasovites. I guess the situation was similar to the western front, where all German tanks were called Panthers, even if they were not. Anyway, there were Ukrainians fighting against the Uprising, but not the Vlasov's men, as the myth had it - and not the 14th SS division. The fame of Vlasov, who was perhaps the best publicized of Russian generals fighting alongside the Germans, made all former Soviet citizens fighting alongside the Germans "Vlasovites", regardless of their true unit. However, as I mentioned, it was not until Vlasov's post-war trial that the Commie-controlled newspapers called him the butcher of Warsaw, thus adding greatly to myth's popularity.
Indeed the two largest hiwi units you mentioned were Dirlewanger's Bde and the 111th Infantry Regiment, composed primarily of Azeri soldiers. Interestingly, there were also at least two Azeri officers, former pre-war officers of the Polish Army, who took part in the fights on the Polish side. Anyway, the combat history of Dirlewanger's brigade is pretty well described in the wiki articles on him and the uprising. First it slaughtered up to 50,000 civilians in the Wola massacre, then moved to the Old Town (another 5,000 sick and wounded murdered after the Polish forces withdrew from the area, the remaining 35,000 being sent to concentration camps) and then to Czerniaków and Powiśle - along the Vistula. It's worth noting that, outside of the so-called criminal battalion (composed mostly of German criminals allowed to join the unit in exchange for being freed from the prisons and camps), the unit also included the so-called Russian Battalion (hiwis) and Eastern-Muslim SS Regiment, composed mostly of Azeri and Turkmen.
The third largest unit was the RONA brigade (or rather it's assault regiment) took part in the fights in Ochota and then in the city centre. They fought against the uprising for only 10 days (August 4-14th), but they managed to organize at least 500 mass murders - and ran their own, semi-private concentration camp in one of the marketplaces (Zieleniak). Then, after suffering some 30% in casualties, the regiment was moved out of Warsaw and was used to prevent the Home Army from breaking into the besieged city from the forests outside Warsaw.
There were also a number of smaller non-German units. Parts of the 13th SS Sonderbattalion (Belarusian) defended the German-only district of Warsaw. The 34th Police Rifle Regiment (under Franz Wichmann) was composed of three battalions, two of them being composed of both German and Ukrainian, while the other was purely German. Another "Ukrainian" unit was the 209th Cossack Schutzmannschaft Battalion, composed not only from Ukrainian Cossacks, but also from those from Russia. However, due to Polish complicated history, hardly anyone here knows that there are non-Ukrainian Cossacks and so the unit was also referred as Ukrainian. Probably the best-known Ukrainian unit to fight on the German side was the so-called Volhynian Legion, or Ukrainian Self-Defence Legion, which numbered some several hundred men altogether (between 300 and 700 men under Petro Diachenko, a pre-war officer of the Polish Army) and was in fact attached to the 13th SS Galizien in 1945. The unit fought in Czerniaków in mid-September and then in Kampinos until the very end.
Outside of Warsaw, in the outer line of defences against the Home Army, there were additional foreign units. Among them were the 3rd Cossack Regiment under Bondarenko (mostly Ukrainian), the IV/57 cavalry battalion (also Cossacks) and the 69th independent cavalry battalion (Cossacks). The three fought in the area of Kampinos Forest and Żoliborz. Other units to serve in German service in the area were the 572ns Infantry Battalion (Ukrainian; under Col. Zinovev) and the Russian 580th cavalry battalion (Russian unit under German officer, Ernst Kalamorz). The latter was later dispatched to the city centre, where it took part in the fights. Finally, there was also a separate I/111 Azeri Battalion (under Capt. Scharrenberg) and the II "Bergmann" Battalion composed of all nations of the Caucasus (under Mertelsmann).
Phew, I guess it's a pretty comprehensive list of all non-German units. There were also Hungarians stationed to the west of Warsaw, but their loyalty to their ally was limited, to put it mildly, and many of them defected to the Polish side while others commonly sold their arms to the Polish Home Army. And of course they were not hiwis. I hope you don't mind my reply is so unorganised, but I simply have to go now.
Oh, and thanks for your kind words, it's always nice there are people who actually value my work :) // Halibu tt 17:18, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis, I wrote an article on WED Allen. Could you please revise it? Your comments will be welcomed. Thanks a lot, Kober 20:21, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
P.S. This is a 1925 photo showing the Georgian and Polish officers in Poland. I’ve found it on the website of the Georgian Community of Poland.
Hey Noxchi,
You can email me here, and then I'll reply. I'd rather not mention my email on Wikipedia, as to avoid spam and stuff like that. I'm looking forward to the pictures, however! :D BTW, have you seen this gallery from the Wikimedia Commons? — Khoikhoi 01:49, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis, how are you? As I promised, I translated and put together some materials found across Georgian websites. Please check " Georgian emigration in Poland" and fix the mistakes. Given your brilliant knowledge of the issue, I hope you will make the article much better than it is now :). Cheers, Kober 22:21, 7 May 2006 (UTC)
Not quite sure. It was something about licence, I think. Now there is an action in commons to remove all the graphics which have not clearly difined copyrights. So I believe this time it had nothing to do with political reasons (I hope at least). For now I have provisionally repaired the template by putting another flag. However feel free to put a symbol with an emblem if you find one. Regards, Jasra 21:10, 8 May 2006 (UTC)
Hey Luis, thanks a lot for the barnstar and for your help with Georgia-related topics. I really appreciate it. I'd like to present you this picture by the Polish artist Ilya Zankovski showing Mt Ushba in Svaneti. Thanks again and best wishes. Kober 20:00, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
Tnx for the info. If you could provide proper references (info on the book they were reprinted in, preferably) it would save us some grief later. On a sidenote, 'Polska Pani' means 'Polish lady'...which neither me or Halibutt is :) Lady, that is :) If you wanted to say 'Polish misters', then 'Polscy Panowie' is right (but very formal - we are all collegues here, no 'Pan's' here). Still, we appreciate the effort :) -- Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus Talk 15:06, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
Although I certainly think that Międzymorze would have been a better solution that Soviet Union, neither can claim that it 'liberated' people who did not want to join that organization. Of course, Międzymorze never became a reality, but the Ukrainians and Belorusians who found themselves in the borders of the Second Polish Republic, while certainly had an easier life then in SU (no holodomor, for example), where at a disadvantage when compared to Poland. And as both of them did try to create their own states (see Polish-Soviet War for more info), the fact that they failed and got, well, partitioned between Poland and SU makes it quite obvious that they were not 'liberated' by any side.-- Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus Talk 15:17, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis, thanks again for the photos:) I was suggested to create a wiki portal on Georgia. I've just posted a proposal at Wikipedia:Portal/Proposals though I'm not exactly sure of how it should be created at this point. If you support the idea, please vote at this entry. Thanks, Kober 17:56, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
P.S. I'm preparing an article on the 17th-century Georgian-Armenian emigrant to Poland who served as the Polish envoy in Persia.
I'll be away from Wiki till June 16th. If you have any questions, please email me any time. Thanks a lot. All the best. Noxchi Borz 17:17, 15 May 2006 (UTC)
No matter how frustrated you may feel, please don't result to personal attacks—they only make situations worse. — Khoikhoi 00:37, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. My friend just emailed my this photo showing Cholokashvili and his friend Shalva Nebieridze in France. Unfortunately, it's of very poor quality. I'll try to get a better one. All the best, -- Kober 06:31, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
Eh, Luis. It's too painful to me to see how user:Macahel (a Georgian-speaker from Turkey) behaves here and denies Adjarians to be Georgians. This is how cultural assimilation works... -- Kober 21:20, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
To be fair, I was only reverting to Alex Bakharev's version (I did correct a few language errors on the way, however). I am sure that that version is more NPOV, however. Prague watchdog did not belong there. -- Pan Gerwazy 21:14, 5 July 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. I just thought you might be interested in voting for Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Józef Piłsudski. Regards, -- Kober 07:13, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
Dear Luis, I would like to ask for your attention, because there is a big deal going on on Georgia's talk's page. The argument is to make the
Georgia search criterion to result in a redirect to the
Georgia (country) page. It is understandable that this is an English wikipedia and most American users prefer a dab page. However, according to statistics more than 2,000 users per month read the article about the country of Georgia and the state of Georgia gets around 800 readers per month. I don't believe that the cultural and historical aspects should be compared of two Georgias, because there is nothing to compare. The country of Georgia is an ancient hitorical country, has more UN world heritage sites than the State of Georgia, has its own language which is different from all the other languages in the world and etc. I don;t want this to turn into a cultural discussion and also making the
Georgia search criterion to result in a redirect to the
Georgia (country) page is not an underestimation of the beautiful U.S. state of Georgia.
I would like you to participate in voting, if you find tme for it.
Sosomk 08:41, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
Dear Luis, people in my neighbourhood did not have the pic of Kakutsa, but I will try to get it from the Museum if I can.
I made a comment on prtal talk Georgia about the flag of Abkhazia. I hope I did not offend any Abkhaz government members with high sensibilities.:)) The pic was hillarious, I think it was awsome. I don't see any reasons why should Kober and Alsandero care about the idiots like Bagapsh and his government. If Bagapsh and his government doesn't like it, screw them. They are stupid anyway. I don't like many things about thm also. I don't justify any tolerane towards them. Russian media is also full of crap saying: cruel Georgian are oppressing the ethnic minorities. The fact that there is not a single house in Chechnya, which was not bombed by the Russians seems to be ok. Chechen genocide in Russia also seems ok, but making fun of the de facto, thug Abkhazia government is a facism. That does not make any sense. It would be better for Bagapsh to come on his mind soon and get the heck out of Georgia. Sosomk 08:32, 7 July 2006 (UTC)
Dear Luis, thank you so much for the award. It made me very happy. I am very pleased and proud to hold this Canadian award. Thank you for everything. Sosomk 12:15, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for uploading Image:TL021461.jpg. I notice the file's description page currently doesn't specify who created the content, so the copyright status is unclear. If you have not created this file yourself, then there needs to be an argument why we have the right to use it on Wikipedia (see copyright tagging below). If you did not create the file yourself, then you need to specify where it was found, i.e., in most cases link to the website where it was taken from, and the terms of use for content from that page.
If the file also doesn't have a copyright tag, then one should be added. If you created/took the picture, audio, or video then the {{ GFDL-self}} tag can be used to release it under the GFDL. If you believe the media meets the criteria at Wikipedia:Fair use, use a tag such as {{ Non-free fair use in|article name}} or one of the other tags listed at Wikipedia:Image copyright tags#Fair_use. See Wikipedia:Image copyright tags for the full list of copyright tags that you can use.
If you have uploaded other files, consider checking that you have specified their source and tagged them, too. You can find a list of files you have uploaded by following this link. Unsourced and untagged images may be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. feydey 15:47, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
If You want to make Your pictures available better then check out Commons - they provide Public Domain pictures to all wikiprojects ( here is more about their mission). Best, feydey 18:33, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for the award! -- Clevelander 01:35, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
Dear Luis, I recently reviewed your contributions to Georgia-related articles and would like to thank you for your great edits on the topic. If you don't mind, I used some of your pictures for the Caucasus Mountains page and the Mt. Shkhara article. If I can be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me (either at Wikipedia or by e-mail). Good luck, and wishing you all the best! D.Papuashvili 19:30, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. How are you? I really like your new userbox. It looks fine. Georgia parliament demanded the withdrawal of the Russian "peacekeepers" from the conflict zones yesterday. Things are going interestingly. Let's see what happens after this.
I'm currently using a slow 56k modem (: and my draft on Abkhazia history is not yet complete. Btw, I'll soon have a couple of photos of a military parade on Georgia's Independence Day 2006. The author allows us to use them for any purpose. If you need them let me know. Cheers, -- Kober 15:58, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
These are great images! Thanks! I'll be sure to put them to good use. -- Clevelander 22:25, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
Got the AG photos. Out to lunch, will respond in greater detail... -- Eupator 15:54, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
Hi, could you also give me a reference for the John Bull picture with some background info? Was the British press quite scathing of the inaction taken, or was there generally disinterest, etc? John Smith's 23:25, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. I revised the history section in the Sukhumi article and added a link to the Massacre page. It seemed to have been written for Russian tourists:) What do you think about it? Thanks, -- Kober 06:39, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
Sorry for my late reply, I was in Israel this past month. As usual, your pictures are amazing. :) I guess there wasn't a way to confirm the woman's age, as Jeanne Calment was younger when she died. Did the 130-er tell you about her life? — Khoikhoi 06:02, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
Hi, I recently came upon this picture on the history of Azerbaijan article. It really doesn't look like its the occupation of Baku (of 1920) for several reasons: The hats worn by the soldiers appear to be from the 1930s to the second World War era and not the pointy ones worn by Soviet soldiers during the Russian Revolution. The vehicle has to be at least 10-15 (they look like the troop transport GAZ trucks used during the war) years early for its time. The rifles are German Mausers (nearly all Soviet soldiers used the Mosin-Nagant rifle during the Russian Revolution), the machine guns held by them are Czech made ZB vz.26s which the first prototype didn't come into use until 1923. They look like soldiers arriving back from the war since many of them are decorated with medals. I originally raised my concerns about this image with Khoikhoi and I'm curious where exactly you found this or gave it to you.-- MarshallBagramyan 16:39, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
Hi! Glad you liked the Rila Monastery, it's kind of our national pride. Besides these in the article Bachkovo Monastery, there's Nikola Gruev's gallery here, as well as this free Creative Commons gallery. Hope you like them! Todor → Bozhinov 17:39, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
My dear freind, such comments as these
[1],
[2],
[3] are also offensive, bad faith and disruptive, please keep your personal opinions on your userpage and avoid polluting wikipedia with insulting material. It is actually quite remarkable how out of nothing you manage to do exactly what you accuse me of. POLITISATION. If you want to save face I strongly recommend to remove this text where applicable, otherwise I will report you as a violator of Wikipedian policies and if necessary request a comment on User Conduct. Personally I could not care less what churches are selected or chosen, but I have a right to an opinion and idea without prejedice insults directed at it. Funny you live in the western world yet free speach and civility is obviously not something you are familiar with.--
Kuban Cossack
17:49, 1 August 2006 (UTC)
Luis, the template looks great. Great job. Sosomk 13:42, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. I totally agree, the cost is too great. In my honest opinion I don't think Hezbollah can be whiped out. History tells us that it is nearly impossible to destroy guerrilla organizations. I think everyone wants this to end—it has gone on too long. I recently saw some images here, and I have to say that just because I am Jewish, I do not side with Israel on every action they take. — Khoikhoi 22:53, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi, I am on wiki now. Sosomk 18:20, 3 August 2006 (UTC)
P.S. my email is Sosomk@gmail.com Sosomk 19:18, 3 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi there, yes I am a Coptic Christian, and i would be very happy and excited to work on articles relating to Egyptian, Ethiopian orthodoxy articles with you. There is also an orthodox branch of wikipedia. I believe that orthodox christianity is the oldest of all and that people out there need to know this. I wanted to ask you, how is it that you are a descendant of Tutankhamen, does this mean you are a part of the royal family? Also, are any of your Ancestors Ethiopian? Cluckbang 21:35, 3 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
Hi there, in the coptic calendar almost every day is a holiday, and this repeats every 30 days, as you may know every month is 30 days except the 13 month which is 5 days (6 every leap year). If you'd like I can add the list to the Coptic article. I also agree with you that we should create a Coptic article. Please send the link to the article and I will add as much as I know from the experts I know about this religion Please let me know. Also do you know anything about Ancient Yemen, and how they are connected to the Semites of Ethiopia? Do you believe that Abyssinia was a South Arabian transplant in Africa?, because some see it as a theory. Also i just added to the Coptic Christianity, about how Ethiopia helped the Copts from being wiped out by the Arabs, when they threatened to close the nile. Bye
Cluckbang 18:33, 4 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
Hi, I found this photo on Portal:Georgia (country) and, since the copyright allowed it, uploaded a copy on Georgian wiki here. The copyright notice is attached. We would like to use it as a featured photo on the main page, if we're able to find enough info on the subject copy of the gospel. Hope you won't mind. Best. - Alsandro · T · w:ka: Th · T 17:40, 5 August 2006 (UTC) PS: would you mind uploading it on commons as well? - a.
Hi Ldingley,
I would like to know where you’ve got the Abkhazian flag of government-in-exile? I’m asking this question because I think that the article about the flag of Abkhazia could be improved with more infos about this specific flag.
Other question: could you provide a vectorized (. SVG) version of the flag and the coat-of-arms? I think it should be better for displaying…
Best regards,
-- MaGioZal 14:54, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
Luis, do you by chance have any images of or related to Nakhichevan? Thanks! -- Clevelander 13:56, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
Luis, this are great images! Thanks! If I upload them, I'll be sure to credit you. -- Clevelander 21:23, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
Hmmmm, I did some research on the history of the page, see the first version back in 2003:
Now see a later version that was altered by User:Efghij just a few hours later:
Now see the page after Jmabel work on it in 2004:
I also did a Google search and couldn't find anything about them being called "Gruzim" besides Wikipedia and it's mirrors. Therefore feel free to move the page to Georgian Jews and re-write the article to get rid of the word. Hope that helped! BTW, I liked the pictures. :) — Khoikhoi 03:49, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis, Thanks for the picture. It's very funny. As far as the POV pushing concerned, I hope my discussions helped. I was not very diplomatic, because I was straightforward. They are not diplomatic either, so it is ok. Now I am going back on my break and I will back every now and then and I am gonna finish the Sameba the first thing I come back. Sosomk 15:02, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
Well it appears that the Russian users are fleering up as well, probably for the same reason! Luis, I don't think the Russian editors would be POV-pushing on neutral articles, I actually think mikka has good intentions. He wants the article to be NPOV. If the article was already 100% neutral, him and Ghirla wouldn't have objections to it! Perhaps you could get Kober involved, he can usually find compromises pretty quickly. Until then, relaaaaaaaaaaaaaax. :) — Khoikhoi 05:18, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. How are you? Thanks again for your much-needed contributions. I'm not sure what I will be able to contribute to the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia, since I don't have significant information on that topic. I lived through the Abkhaz War and all I know is that a lot of Georgians were simply massacred or expelled without any justification whatsoever. I also have heard and read from fairly reliable sources that Basayev and Kupalba (Garry) were responsible for the Gagra Massacre where the separatists cut off the heads of Georgians and played soccer with their heads in 1992. I'm not sure if this is included in the ethnic cleansing article since I have not read it yet. Let me know if I can help in any way. Best Regards, D.Papuashvili 17:19, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
No problem and thanks for the kind words! :) -- Clevelander 15:07, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
The template is great, Luis. I needed it very much, but was not sure how to create it. Many thanks, -- Kober 15:55, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
P.S. Thanks for the corrections in the draft :)
1. History of Abkhazia 2. Abkhazia 3. Georgian-Abkhaz conflict 4. Georgia (country) (how I hate this title!) 5. Georgian Orthodox Church 6. Eparchy of Tskhum-Abkhazeti (!) 7. History of Georgia 8. Bagrationi dynasty 9. Culture of Georgia 10. Shota Rustaveli. Kober 16:39, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis, how have you been?
Yes! As a matter of fact, Andersen is the guy who's credibility I'm trying to defend by Grandmaster who believes him to be an "unreliable source". -- Clevelander 20:48, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
Mr. Dingley, please see the article on Chokha and add your great images. Sosomk 19:37, 26 August 2006 (UTC)
I couldn't help myself. :) BTW, keep an eye on the Lazistan article - every once in awhile some fringe Laz Jihadist group (no joke, I'm not trying to be racist or anyting) adds an image of a proposed "Islamic Emirate of Lazistan". It used to be a user called Lazistan adding the images, but now they got a different account. My friend got fed up after awhile. I think this same user is responsible for adding the Taliban flag to the Afghanistan article a month ago (the page got protected because of that). It's actually pretty funny, because I think this "group" is probably just one guy who has nothing better to do than draw pointless maps. :p — Khoikhoi 18:23, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
No you won't Luis. :) Maybe the controversial ones, but not all Georgia-related topics. As for Copts, I'm not sure. Check out some of the discussion at the discussion page. Do you have sources that say they're a separate ethnic group? I don't know enough about them to make that judgement, try asking one of the Egyptian Wikipedians such as Arab League, Meno25, or perhaps Ahmednh.
BTW, the People of Ethiopia article shouldn't have an an infobox. {{ Infobox ethnic group}} is meant for single ethnic groups, not people of a country. Take care. — Khoikhoi 19:25, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Oh yes sir. I would love to assist you in writing a separate article on the Coptic people. I truly agree with you that they are most definitely not arabs. This culture has survived with Ethiopia since, they use the coptic calendar. I will contribute to the article as much as I can. CluckbangCluckbang
I am not sure if its the correct translation in Coptic. I do agree with replacing the Copt article with the one you're working on right now. Cluckbang 17:28, 30 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
No, I am from Ethiopia, but I do follow the coptic religion, that is why I said I am a coptic christian in religion, I am sorry if i misled you by writing that in my user page. Yes I do believe that Copts are not arabs, most definitely not, their land was just occupied by the Arabs and some of the copts did end up being arabized and changed religions, but the present copts are different from the arabs Cluckbang 17:36, 30 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
Just as you have created an article on Copts, I wanted to create an article on the habesha people similar to the coptic article you have just created. Can you please assist me in creating this article? Cluckbang 17:42, 30 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
Great job on the Copts article, but to my disappointment, I noticed a lot of it was copied from here. :( Do you have permission from them? — Khoikhoi 23:26, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
I wanted to know if you could help me start the page for the habesha people article. In terms of adding the front pictures, like you did with the coptic article? Cluckbang 13:44, 31 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang Great! Thanks, this is the article User:Cluckbang/Habesha people
Thanks so much L. Dingley! However, I wanted to know how i could change the pictures on the template? Thanks so much. Take care Cluckbang 18:03, 31 August 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
Just one more thing Mr Dingley, how is it that I can protect the article from being edited by others, but rather decide myself after seeing their suggestions?
Cluckbang 11:59, 1 September 2006 (UTC)Cluckbang
It would be a good idea to have a gallery/category of russian revolution in WikiCommons, linked from wikipedia in the corresponding series of articles. Unfortunately currently in Commons a couple of guys lead a huge campaign against the image tag "PD-USSR" (similar to the one used in your photos). If you have an account in Commons, wouuld you like to join the vote for deletion Commons:Template:Deletion_requests#.7B.7BPD-Soviet.7D.7D? `' mikka (t) 00:55, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Hey Luis. I'm back. Don't worry :) I wrote the article on Ketevan the Martyr a long time ago. :) Your Georgia infobox looks great. I'm currently focused on gathering the citations on Russian inolvement in the Abkhazian war. Thanks, -- Kober 20:04, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
I'll see what I can do, but it's not at all in my expertise. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 19:55, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
What would you think about a sort of collaboration (but not a true one) regarding the Ethiopian Emperors in which editors would add content to the existing articles one by one, chronologically? Please respond at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Ethiopia/History. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 04:19, 5 September 2006 (UTC)
All your pictures are copyrighted. At the same time you write that "the copyright holder has irrevocably released all rights to it, allowing it to be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, used, modified, built upon, or otherwise exploited in any way by anyone for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, with or without attribution of the author, as if in the public domain". That is a contradiction. As long as you say they are copyrighted we can't use them in the German Wikipedia. Is that what you want? -- 87.123.81.116 13:21, 5 September 2006 (UTC)
Hi Luis. How are you? My draft is becoming too long. How about to transfer some of its content to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict article and abridge the conflict section in the main History article? What do you think about it? Btw, Soso renewed our long-time request to move Sukhumi to Sokhumi on Talk:Sukhumi. Thanks, Kober 17:48, 5 September 2006 (UTC)