GEORGIA: FIGHTING RAGES IN S. OSSETIA, RUSSIAN TANKS HEAD FOR BATTLE

[Sasha]

I wouldn't be surprised if Rupert Murdoch bought it. He's been buying up a lot of media outlets lately.

Very close: 

As of 2007, the IHT is completely owned by The New York Times Company, after that firm purchased the 50% stake owned by the Washington Post Company on December 30, 2002. The takeover ended a 35-year partnership between the two domestic competitors. The Post was forced to sell when the Times threatened to pull out and start a competing paper. As a result, the Post entered into an agreement to publish selected articles in The Wall Street Journal's European edition. --  wiki

...they've made a deal with a devil, or Rupert Murdoch (he answers to both).

[ramallamamama]

http://warofillusions.wordpress.com/...s-of-the-east/

For the Jewels of the East

by Stefan Fobes

Two days ago, on the feared 8/8/08, Georgia invaded its Russian-backed separatist spinoff neighbor South Ossetia in a vicious attack to regain control of it, and captured the capital, Tskhinvali, killing Russian peacekeepers that were in there. Russia, in response, went in there with tanks and are just slaughtering the Georgian military. The Georgian President, Mikhail Saakasvili complained, saying that the Russians are attacking them in their own territory. South Ossetia, in a hard war with Georgia, won semi-independence from Georgia sixteen years ago, so that claim is weightless. Ethnic cleansing has been reported by the Russians, but as no specifics have been cited, I’ll just repeat their claim and leave it at that till something more solid than that pops up. The Russians have the nuts to say they have liberated the South Ossetians when everyone who could fled the country and those who haven’t have hardly any food or electricity. And all the buildings are smashed. Bush must be doing his ventriloquist act again. The mainstream media, for the most part, is giving marginal attention to this, continuing to show the usual cartoons, the Olympics, and some fluff john Edwards scandal, like all this is dust in the wind. This could turn into World War friggin 3, and FOX is debating whether or not John Edwards is the father of some kid. Just like during the Depression. The networks then wouldn’t show all the bank run riots, but they showed instead ostrich races. All by design. The mainstream media is always right on time when they want to manipulate the public. Just remember Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, from the looks of this pack of articles, US troops are possibly even in there right now, fighting alongside the Georgians and getting killed as I write this.

The Georgians have exited the South Ossetian capital, but with the understanding that South Ossetia has been doing its thing since breaking fully away from Georgia in 1992 and being left alone militarily for all the years between then and 2008, the next question should be who or what made Georgia go in there now?

2002. The new war on freedom arrives in Georgia. The cover story was that the Al-Qaeda fighters who were causing trouble in Chechnya decided to stay in Georgia for a while. Even the Georgian Defense Minister, whose country recieved enourmous benefit from this in terms of $64 million in military aid and weapons, had this to say: “For me personally, it is very difficult to believe in that [al Qaeda is in the Gorge],” commented Tevzadze, “because to come from Afghanistan to that part of Georgia, they need to [cross] at least six or seven countries, including [the] Caspian Sea… No, al Qaeda influence can’t be in the country.”

Magic carpets, man. You forgot about the magic carpets and the genies! How do you think they toppled World Trade Center Building 7 without even touching it with a plane? So thickheaded.

This aid has also come in the form of elite Green Beret training:

President George Bush called the May deployment of some 150 U.S. advisers to Georgia the latest front in the U.S. war on terrorism. Much like their fellow soldiers in the Philippines, U.S. Special Forces are teaching Georgian soldiers how to better fight Muslim extremists within their country. Also, as in the Philippines, U.S. troops are not permitted to engage in combat.

Plus, Israel is also providing training. The International Herald Tribune provides some details:

In addition to the spy drones, Israel has also been supplying Georgia with infantry weapons and electronics for artillery systems, and has helped upgrade Soviet-designed Su-25 ground attack jets assembled in Georgia, according to Koba Liklikadze, an independent military expert based in Tbilisi. Former Israeli generals also serve as advisers to the Georgian military.

It’s even deeper than that. From the Israeli DEBKAfile.com:

Last year, the Georgian president commissioned from private Israeli security firms several hundred military advisers, estimated at up to 1,000, to train the Georgian armed forces in commando, air, sea, armored and artillery combat tactics. They also offer instruction on military intelligence and security for the central regime. Tbilisi also purchased weapons, intelligence and electronic warfare systems from Israel.

These advisers were undoubtedly deeply involved in the Georgian army’s preparations to conquer the South Ossetian capital Friday.

Oh indeed. Wired.com Danger Room writer Nathan Hodge gives a definitive answer to the Georgia question.

As Sergei Shamba, the foreign affairs minister of Abkhazia, told me in 2006: “The Georgians are euphoric because they have been equipped, trained, that they have gained military experience in Iraq. It feeds this revanchist mood… How can South Ossetia be demilitarized, when all of Georgia is bristling with weaponry, and it’s only an hour’s ride by tank from Tbilisi to Tskhinvali?”

One of the U.S. military trainers put it to me a bit more bluntly. “We’re giving them the knife,” he said. “Will they use it?”

Feeding the Georgians! But then this leads to the next question. Why are Israel and the US working together? To answer that, I have to bring up a subject that few really think to tread down, and if not brought up, also can bring a debate to a dead stop when someone says, “Well since Israel and the US are against Chavez, Putin and Ahmadinejad, they must be good”. No they must and are damn not. They are all dictators to one degree or another and are no better than Western “democratic” dictators, a subject which I cover in Hugo Chavez: The Rising Neosocialist Face of the South American Union.

The planet, from my research, is ruled by a group of families or factions, all sharing the same goal to create a world government with the continents as states making up an Earth Union. It would have a world central bank, world army, microchipped population, and a cashless electronic credit type currency, but since each one of them has been programmed from childhood to do their absolute best to dominate everything in their sight, each family-faction wants to be world king.

I can hardly believe this every day of my life, but the facts are there in front of me. The Bank of International Settlements has called for all global currencies to be ditched in favor of a small block of currencies like the euro or the dollar. And The Independent reported two years ago that the UN called for:

The most potent threats to life on earth - global warming, health pandemics, poverty and armed conflict - could be ended by moves that would unlock $7 trillion - $7,000,000,000,000 (£3.9trn) - of previously untapped wealth, the United Nations claims today.

The price? An admission that the nation-state is an old-fashioned concept that has no role to play in a modern globalised world where financial markets have to be harnessed rather than simply condemned.

Sacrifice sovereignty to a pack of rapists and criminals? Screw that. With Timothy Geithner, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, calling for a global banking regulatory framework, and all the continent-wide unions such as the EU, African Union, the new Mediterranean and South American Unions, anyone with eyes can see that we are going into this fast. From what I’ve looked at, the Rothschilds, the chiefs of the central bank tribe are one of them, controlling Israel, the Zionists, and much of Europe, and having tremendous world influence. David Icke has well documented how they have done so since the early kibbutz work farm days there. Another are the Windsors, which control the US and much of Africa, also having much influence. Stewart Swerdlow, who claims that he was mind controlled and in secret government projects, says that there are at least two others. A Romanov line which controls Russia, Iran, parts of Europe and the Middle East, and a Yakuza and North Korea controlling Yamato family based in Japan. Most may not agree with everything he says, but what is for sure is that the official story we are told about the American Revolutionary War is 100% bull. Yes, I understand, the colonists were innovators with the guerilla warfare tactics, the redcoats never encountered the style before, etc. Britain is notorious in history for being the most ruthless, greedy, money and resource hungry colonial power ever. Which is why it had the most territory of all of them. I liken the American Revolution to a battle against a vicious, greedy, hungry, nasty enemy for years who will do anything to win and get money. And then one day just gives up and says “Ok, it’s all yours, guys!” The people on the opposing side would naturally get suspicious and wonder what was up their sleeve. This is exactly the story we are told to believe as historical fact in the history books.

Harold Brooks-Baker, the publishing director of Burke’s Peerage, the encyclopedic bible of aristocratic genealogy, said in 2004 that every single president from Washington and beyond has been closely related to European royalty, and that Kerry and Bush were related to every European monarch on and off the throne, with Kerry having the most royal relatives in history. Obama is a 10th cousin once removed of George W. Bush, and McCain is the 6th cousin of Laura Bush. George W. Bush is the 13th cousin once removed of Queen Lizard II of England. George W’s mom’s maiden name was Barbara Pierce, as in President Franklin Pierce. A direct descendent. How and why is this? Because the “exit” by the colonial powers was a con job to fool the disgruntled public while they left the royal bloodlines (Washington and Bolivar and Mandela) as viceroys and the secret society networks behind as their eyes, ears, and hands to manipulate these bloodlines into power and carry out other aspects of the agenda. That’s why you see the top dogs in banking, politics, the military, and entertainment all can claim close blood links with European royalty, and why there is such a high ratio of people in these top positions that are secret society initiates compared to those who aren’t.

Working with this understanding that there are factions who all want a global government, but also fight amongst themselves for the king of the ring title, you can understand then why Putin and Chavez, who are clearly dictators when you see who they call friends and ally themselves with, are being attacked by the West. They are just getting in the way of Windsor or Rothschild power grabs. The media, controlled in areas by all factions, then issue certain nationalistic or whatever lie is necessary to cover up what is really going on behind the scenes.

Every single nation that is called a hostile or rogue state by Bush & Co. all were countries, at the time the Project for the New American Century document, Rebuilding America’s Defenses was written, that did not have US military bases on them. Burma is one of them. It is a highly strategic point because it is the center of Southeast Asia which would offer easy access to China and other Asian nations militarily in a future conflict with them that is planned. The Middle East is also right near China and it is essential that they be taken to choke China like a noose. The same idea in Eastern Europe with Russia. Radical Islam was created through the Western intelligence agencies to provide justification for getting these countries under control.

Russia and China are the two most poweful nations in the East, and they are rapidly making alliances all over the place, and gathering up natural resources in Eastern Europe and Africa to further these goals. Recently, in a deal by state owned natural gas company Gazprom with Turkmenistan, Russia has gained control over the much desired Turkmen natural gas deposits, the fifth largest in the world. Putin has already announced that he wants the former Soviet Union reunited, and this is the reason you see why Russia has a possessive stance in regard to neighboring countries. And why the factions controlling the US and Israel are working together in this situation and have been fueling up Georgia to block them. A member of Rice’s Georgian “diplomatic” delegation said about Russia:

On board of Condoleezza Rice’s airplane one of the members of the US delegation said something even more explicit than what Secretary Rice had said. The member wished to remain anonymous.

“Russia needs to realize that the empire is gone. Austro-Hungarian Empire is not coming back. The Ottoman Empire is not coming back and nor is the Soviet empire,” Reuters quoted the US official as saying.

The U.S. official traveling with Rice to Tbilisi said a simmering confrontation between Georgia and Russia over two breakaway regions could lead to a catastrophe, and that Moscow should realize it is no longer Georgia’s imperial master.

These are the countries Russia has already allied themselves with.

* South Ossetia - Already wanted to join up with Russia before all this started. Most of its people now have Russian citizenship.
* Abkhazia - Another territory that split off from Georgia that also has been fighting the Georgians with Russia.
* Tajikistan - Russia is its primary economic and security partner
* Kyrgyzstan - Bending over backwards to be in Club Russia.
* Uzbekistan - Things are looking up economically between the two countries.
* Moldova - An economic takeover it looks to be. They are already majority owner of Moldovagaz, their big natural gas company.
* Armenia - The Armenian president says the country needs to develop a deeper relationship with Russia.
* Belarus - The Belarus President has named Putin the leader of the Russia- Belarus alliance.
* Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the BRIC nations, hosted an independent meeting in Yekaterinburg to discuss a new alliance between the nations. All were in sympathy towards each other’s growing separatist movements.

* Iran - Ahmadinejad and Medvedev called for strong Tehran-Moscow ties just two weeks ago. This was obvious but I’ll just put it here again just to show the raw extent of Russia’s alliances and influence in the region.

Russia is a member of the UN Security Council, which means it can veto any Iran resolution. It is also Iran’s ally now, so you can see how that’d go. Already the US, Britain, and other nations are trying to get together to put out independent sanctions on Iran. Even though they always end up hurting only the common people. That’s freedom.

Russia already has gained through that big deal with the Turkmen gas, which must have been devastating to the plans of the Rothschild-Israel and Windsor-Uk-US factions. Most of Asia and Eastern Europe is now on the Russia-China team. They had to move fast and stop Russia from gaining any more ground and put a stop to Russia’s aggression so they can snatch up the remaining Eastern European countries into NATO and the EU. Russia’s already threatened to nuke Ukraine and other countries around it if they joined NATO. Therefore team Israel and USA create a problem by arming up Georgia, giving them the knife to go in. Which they have. They knew Russia wouldn’t stand for what happened over there, and that they’d attack. Now the perfect justification has been created for NATO and the UN to curb Russia’s violent growth, in my view.

[Sasha]

The reports from the ground have slowed up and most news sources seem to be pushing the Bush-Cheney rhetoric about retaliation right now.  We might be seeing a shift in the stance of the NeoCons right now - chest thumping prep for US involvement.  God knows I hope I'm wrong.



Georgia says Russia bombs again as Bush lashes Moscow
Reuters Canada, Canada - 41 minutes ago
Russia, whose forces now control the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, is demanding an unconditional Georgian withdrawal. The early morning attacks by ...

Bush says violence in Georgia is unacceptable
Forbes, NY - 42 minutes ago
In response, Russia launched overwhelming artillery shelling and air attacks on Georgian troops. "We're alarmed by this entire situation, ...

News Minute: Bush, Cheney on Russia...The battle continues...Gas ...
WIS, SC - 46 minutes ago
Moscow says it sank a Georgian boat it claims was trying to attack its vessels in the Black Sea. And Georgian officials say Russia sent tanks deeper into ...

etc...

[Sasha]

25 minutes ago


Security Council holds third emergency meeting as South Ossetia conflict intensifies, expands to other parts of Georgia
SC/9419

Security Council
5953rd Meeting (AM)

The Security Council today held a third emergency meeting on the situation in South Ossetia, where the conflict was expanding in intensity and geographical scope, hearing briefings by senior United Nations officials and the views of members in an effort to coalesce around a unified position.

Explaining that his Government had requested today's meeting in view of 'the dramatic and dangerous developments of the past 24 hours in and around Georgia', the representative of the United States highlighted intensive Russian military activity in the South Ossetia region and a sharp escalation of military operations against Georgian forces in the conflict zone.

He said the conflict had widened with the launch of a Russian-backed offensive in Georgia's Abkhaz region, preceded by a demand by Abkhazia for the withdrawal of the peacekeeping presence in the Upper Kodori Valley. That area had since been bombed in a direct challenge to a Security Council-mandated Mission, and some Abkhaz officials had stated their intention to drive Georgian officials out of the Valley.

He said the question must be asked: what could the Security Council do to stop the violence and return to the status quo prevailing before 6 August? The Russian Federation claimed its military operations were intended to protect its peacekeepers and civilians in South Ossetia, yet its actions went way beyond that, and its expansion of the conflict to another separatist area of Georgia suggested other motives. The United States urged the Council to ensure adherence to the United Nations Charter and on Russia to consider carefully the implications of its aggression against a sovereign State.

Georgia's representative, whom the United States' delegation requested be allowed to participate in the meeting under a procedural rule of the Council, said it appeared that the Russian leadership had its own justification for an all-out invasion of his country. The international community had heard that the Georgian side had violated existing agreements, and Russia had asserted that it was engaging in peacemaking or peace enforcement. That was absurd; the question was whether Russia was trying to substitute for the Security Council, when in reality it was an aggressor in the conflict.

He said the Georgian leadership had reached out to the Russian political leadership overnight, but unfortunately the President of Russia had refused to engage his Georgian counterpart in dialogue. All Georgian troops had withdrawn from the conflict zone and a humanitarian corridor had been established. During the ceasefire, Georgian forces had been bombed and prevented from full-scale withdrawal. Georgia called on the Security Council -– the highest legitimate authority in the world -– for an immediate intervention to protect it from Russia's ongoing 'aggression and occupation'.

The representative of the Russian Federation recalled that, at the beginning of its aggression against South Ossetia, Georgia's representatives had said his country was beginning a war against South Ossetia and that it was undertaking the re-establishment of constitutional order in the breakaway region by trying to resolve a 50-year-long conflict through military means. Its military action had begun with tank and heavy artillery attacks on Russian peacekeepers, which had resulted in 12 deaths. The Russian Federation wondered whether the term 'ethnic cleansing' could be used to describe Georgia's actions. How many civilians had to die before it was described as genocide?

full article:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/KLMT-7HE4KS?OpenDocument

[Muggl3z]

I just saw on local news Channel 13 Indianapolis, after the Olympics that Cheney said "Russian agression will not go unanswered."

Oh #$%#

[trailhound]

* Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the BRIC nations, hosted an independent meeting in Yekaterinburg to discuss a new alliance between the nations. All were in sympathy towards each other’s growing separatist movements.

helluva team that bunch especially adding the caspian oil countries..and venezuela

[Sasha]

34 minutes ago



The Real Aggressor

By, Justin Raimondo
Antiwar.com
August 11, 2008

Georgian invasion of South Ossetia sets the stage for a wider war

The anti-Russian bias of the Western media is really something to behold: "Russia Invades Georgia," "Russia Attacks Georgia," and variations thereof have been some of the choice headlines reporting events in the Caucasus, but the reality is not only quite different, but the exact opposite. Sometimes this comes out in the third or fourth paragraph of the reportage, in which it is admitted that the Georgians tried to "retake" the "breakaway province" of South Ossetia. The Georgian bombing campaign and the civilian casualties – if they are mentioned at all – are downplayed and presented as subject to dispute.

The Georgians have been openly engaging in a military buildup since last year, and President Mikhail Saakashvili and his party have been proclaiming from the rooftops their aim of re-conquering South Ossetia (and rebellious Abkhazia, while they're at it). Avid readers of Antiwar.com saw this coming. In a column entitled "Wars to Watch Out For," I wrote:

"As President Mikheil Saakashvili deflowers his own revolution and shuts down the opposition media, he could well try to divert attention away from his political problems by ginning up a fresh conflict with the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which are protected by Russian troops and regional militias."

That's what Western reporters aren't telling their readers: the South Ossetians (and the Abkhazians) have had de facto independence since 1991, when they rose up against their "democratic" central government, which had banned regional parties from participating in elections. They beat back the Georgian army, which, nonetheless, inflicted a lot of casualties and damage. A low-level war has been in progress ever since, with Saakashvili and his ultra-nationalist party using the rebels as a foil to divert attention from their repressive domestic policies and Georgia's sad status as an economic basket case. As I wrote way back at the beginning of this year:

"Saakashvili, the great 'democrat,' is busy charging anyone who opposes him with being a pawn of the Russians (and therefore guilty of treason), but the West is calling on him to restore civil liberties – and, in an apparent effort to propitiate his Western benefactors, he has lifted some restrictions and called new elections. Widespread and growing opposition to his strong-arm tactics, even among many of his former supporters, spells political trouble for Saakashvili and his corrupt cohorts, however – and an appeal to Georgian ultra-nationalism (which was always the real ideological motivation of the Rose Revolutionaries) would bolster him in the polls and provide a much-needed distraction, at least from the ruling party's point of view."

What's particularly disgusting is the spectacle of the fraudulent Saakashvili's smug mug all over Western television – the BBC and Bloomberg, for starters – invoking his great love of "democracy" and "freedom" and calling on the U.S. to intervene in the name of supposedly shared "values." What drivel! Up until very recently, Saakashvili has been busy rounding up his political opponents and charging them with espionage, as his police beat demonstrators in the streets. When this happened, even our somnolent media sat up and took notice, but they seem to have forgotten.

Saakashvili uses the Western media as a platform to broadcast his great love for "freedom" and make the case against the Russian "aggressors," comparing the present conflict with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s – and even the bloody 1956 repression of the Hungarians! This is nonsense. Russia is not the Soviet Union, the Iron Curtain has long since been melted down for scrap metal, and, if anything, Saakashvili resembles the Hungarian satraps of the Kremlin rather than the heroic freedom-fighters, given his absolute fealty to his foreign masters in Washington, to whom he appeals for help in putting down an internal rebellion.

In any case, it wasn't too hard to have seen this coming a mile away, or to predict the American government's response. As I wrote in "Wars To Watch Out For":

"In the event of an outbreak of hostilities, expect the U.S. to do what they have done for the duration of Georgia's political crisis: proffer unconditional support to Saakashvili. With Russia aiding and giving political and diplomatic support to the Abkhazians and the Ossetians, and the Americans letting loose a flood of military aid to Tbilisi, this could be the first theater of actual conflict in the new cold war."

Which is precisely what has occurred. The United States is denouncing the Russians as aggressors in the UN Security Council and accusing the Kremlin of engaging in a policy of "regime change," in Ambassador Khalilzad's phrase. The Russian response: "regime change" is "an American invention," but, hey, in Saakashvili's case, it might not be such a bad idea.

They have a point. The Georgian strongman is a thug and an opportunist who does an excellent imitation of George W. Bush-times-10: whereas GWB merely implies his political opponents are traitors to the nation, Saakashvili comes right out and says it – then drags them into court on trumped up charges of high treason. GWB has presided over a regime that has legalized torture, but only for foreign "terrorists" (José Padilla excepted). Saakashvili, on the other hand, throws his domestic political opponents – whom he labels "terrorists" – in jail and tortures his own countrymen. Georgia's notorious prisons are chock full of political dissidents. GWB justifies his aggression by invoking "democracy" and the doctrine of "preemption," while Saakashvili doesn't bother with such theoretical niceties, denying his aggression against South Ossetia in defiance of the plain facts.

In short: if you love GWB, you'll love President Saakashvili. Therefore it's no surprise John McCain is portraying the Georgians as the good guys and demanding that Russian troops leave "sovereign Georgian territory" without preconditions or delay. After all, when your chief foreign policy adviser has up until very recently been a paid shill for the Georgian government, what else could we expect? As I've pointed out on a few occasions in this space, Mad John has been spoiling for a fight with the Russians – in the Caucasus and elsewhere – for years, going so far as to travel to Georgia to proclaim his sympathy for Saakashvili's cause.

What's really interesting, however, is how Barack Obama has taken up this same cause, albeit with less vehemence than the GOP nominee. As Politico.com reported:

"When violence broke out in the Caucasus on Friday morning, John McCain quickly issued a statement that was far more strident toward the Russians than that of President Bush, Barack Obama, and much of the West. But, as Russian warplanes pounded Georgian targets far beyond South Ossetia this weekend, Bush, Obama, and others have moved closer to McCain's initial position."

While calling for mediation and international peacekeepers, Obama went with the War Party's line that Russia, not Georgia, is the aggressor, as the Times of London reports: "Obama accused Russia of escalating the crisis 'through it's clear and continued violation of Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.'" While his first statement on the outbreak of hostilities was more along the lines of "Can't we all get along?", the New York Times notes:

"Mr. Obama did harden his rhetoric later on Friday, shortly before getting on a plane for a vacation in Hawaii. His initial statement, an adviser said, was released before there were confirmed reports of the Russian invasion. In his later statement, Mr. Obama said, 'What is clear is that Russia has invaded Georgia's sovereign – has encroached on Georgia's sovereignty, and it is very important for us to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.'"

This nonsense about Georgia's alleged "sovereignty" rides roughshod over the reality of the Ossetians' apparent determination to free themselves from Saakashvili's grip, and it's the buzzword that identifies a shill for the Georgians.

full article with great links:
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=13285

[Sasha]

I just saw on local news Channel 13 Indianapolis, after the Olympics that Cheney said "Russian agression will not go unanswered."

Oh #$%#

I speak Q*Bert and couldn't agree more.  Lots of Oh #$%#!

[trailhound]

I just saw on local news Channel 13 Indianapolis, after the Olympics that Cheney said "Russian agression will not go unanswered."

Oh #$%#

draft anyone?

I been telling these brainwashed assholes i work with who support the war and of age to fight they should put up or shut up. I dont think most people grasp the realities of war cause all they know about it is hollywood bullshit. 

[Another_Ron_Paul_Supporte]

Sources of Russian News in English:

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/

http://english.pravda.ru/

http://www.ruvr.ru/onair.php?lng=eng (has a stream)

[Real Truth]

draft anyone?

I been telling these brainwashed assholes i work with who support the war and of age to fight they should put up or shut up. I dont think most people grasp the realities of war cause all they know about it is hollywood bullshit. 

they'll understand fast when they see their name on that paper that says "report to _____ camp at 8:00 to begin your training"

[Sasha]

RT just reported 80 Russian trucks just reached S Ossetia with medicine and aid

[Sasha]

they'll understand fast when they see their name on that paper that says "report to _____ camp at 8:00 to begin your training"

Didn't the old standard draft include males ages 18-35?  I wonder if they'll add all women of 'fighting' age to this one too?

[munkey]

I just read on a different forum a very disturbing link between what is happening and a video game.
 
this is the story line
the game was released in 2001

Eastern Europe, 2008
The world teeters on the brink of war. Radical ultranationalists have seized power in Moscow - their goal, the reestablishment of the old Soviet empire. Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan - one by onne the nearby independent republics slip back into the Russian orbit. Russian tanks sit in the Caucasus Mountains and the Baltic forests, poised to strike to the south and east. The world hold ots breath, and waits.
For one small group of elite soldiers, the war has already begun: U.S. Special Forces Group 5, First Battalion, D Company. Deployed on peacekeping duty to the Republic of Georgia in the Caucasus, this handful of Green Berets represents the very tip of the spear - the first line of defense. Equipped with the latest battlefield technology, and trained in the latest techniques of covert warfare, they strike - swiftly, silently, and invisibly.
They call themselves "The Ghosts"

[Real Truth]

Didn't the old standard draft include males ages 18-35?  I wonder if they'll add all women of 'fighting' age to this one too?

you can now be drafted at 16-42 I believe and women can be drafted too got to keep the military full

[mental leper]

Like I said ... don't poke the bear!!!   

I think it's got teeth, ya?

this is all a setup for disaster

[mental leper]

you can now be drafted at 16-42 I believe and women can be drafted too got to keep the military full

What? it's not enough that I have to fight my own government.. now they'll want me to fight other ones too!!?

[Protean]

Great points. Why would Georgia attack now all of a sudden? It doesn't make sense, they haven't dared to for 16 years, and now a sudden invasion. Only makes sense if you look at how they're now all of a sudden buddies with the US and how the US has been trying to piss of Russia for months now. Look at this, it's complete madness. Russians bombers in Cuba, US trying to build a missile shield around Russia, Russia pointing it's nukes at Europe. This must be Brzezinski. And Obama hasn't even taken office yet.

Agreed. Brzezinski tactics involve humiliating a foreign power to lose face. Looks like two birds with one stone: Distancing Russia from the rest of Europe and taking the fire away from the Chinese and their hosting the Games. Uncle Zbig, one evil MoFo.

[Sasha]

you can now be drafted at 16-42 I believe and women can be drafted too got to keep the military full

Oh my.  I just found a corroberating site.  Gotta practice,... "Hell No We Won't Go"!

[Sasha]

What? it's not enough that I have to fight my own government.. now they'll want me to fight other ones too!!?

Unfortunately, even if you were fighting for this current US Government, its not yours.

[mental leper]

Unfortunately, even if you were fighting for this current US Government, its not yours.

thats the true kicker ...isn't it?

[Protean]

draft anyone?

I been telling these brainwashed assholes i work with who support the war and of age to fight they should put up or shut up. I dont think most people grasp the realities of war cause all they know about it is hollywood bullshit. 

They all need to watch this movie. After they clean their pants up, they may just wake up.



The Day After

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After

I just saw this a few weeks back. The current conflict scenario with Russia is WAY TOO SIMILAR to the one in the film--F___in' Scary!!!!

[Sasha]

thats the true kicker ...isn't it?

 

[Sasha]

They all need to watch this movie. After they clean their pants up, they may just wake up.



The Day After

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After

I just saw this a few weeks back. The current conflict scenario with Russia is WAY TOO SIMILAR to the one in the film--F___in' Scary!!!!

I saw that flick as a child and had nightmares for weeks, scared the hell out of me.

[Protean]

I saw that flick as a child and had nightmares for weeks, scared the hell out of me.

Yes. It took me a few days to get my cheery self back. Lord help us. This world is too beautiful for these power hungry monsters to destroy.

(huge sigh)
 

[The_lizard]

I saw that flick as a child and had nightmares for weeks, scared the hell out of me.

no way man, same! i remember that show vividly and the nightmares i had. i thought the russians were going to kill us all. being a kid sucked during the cold war. nuke drills where you hide under your desk. my whole 9th grade social studies class was the soviet union for the whole year, a hour a day....boring as hell and scary.

[NotSure]

Wow, I was telling everyone I talked to about The Day After on 8/8 when I heard about the invasion. When I saw it when it was shown live when I was really young, and I remember the scene when they said the Berlin border crossing was closed, I remember thinking, there's the sign, time to get the f**k out! I had the exact same feeling on Friday for the first time in my life since then, I AM FREAKED OUT!!! First sign of the Israeli-made Apocalypse WWIII.

They all need to watch this movie. After they clean their pants up, they may just wake up.



The Day After

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After

I just saw this a few weeks back. The current conflict scenario with Russia is WAY TOO SIMILAR to the one in the film--F___in' Scary!!!!

[Sasha]

no way man, same! i remember that show vividly and the nightmares i had. i thought the russians were going to kill us all. being a kid sucked during the cold war. nuke drills where you hide under your desk. my whole 9th grade social studies class was the soviet union for the whole year, a hour a day....boring as hell and scary.

yeah, the under the desk drills once a month and Russian studies.  The schools must have all been under orders to hardwire the fear of Russians into us.  I had memorized the major NATO and Warsaw Pact military units capacities and placements by 12 yrs old.  Maybe I was just freaked the hell out.

[The_lizard]

yeah, the under the desk drills once a month and Russian studies.  The schools must have all been under orders to hardwire the fear of Russians into us.  I had memorized the major NATO and Warsaw Pact military units capacities and placements by 12 yrs old.  Maybe I was just freaked the hell out.

heh, yeah i remember in 10th grade the social teacher split us all up and one half of the class did  nato and the other warsaw. we had to do reports in teams about strategic locations and just crazy stuff i never thought i would have to remember 

[Phineas]

i knew it in my gut when i saw it happen on 08/08/08 ...alot of people dont realize it yet but this is bush's ticket to cancel the election, putin just got reinstated as commander in chief yet a day ago he was at the olympics with bush sipping daiquiris ...ww3 is potentially brewing and ann coulters worried about how much coverage the edwards affair gets ...ive got a real bad feeling about this...

[Sasha]

...ive got a real bad feeling about this...

I think anyone paying atention should.

[Real Truth]

i knew it in my gut when i saw it happen on 08/08/08 ...alot of people dont realize it yet but this is bush's ticket to cancel the election, putin just got reinstated as commander in chief yet a day ago he was at the olympics with bush sipping daiquiris ...ww3 is potentially brewing and ann coulters worried about how much coverage the edwards affair gets ...ive got a real bad feeling about this...

That's how I was feeling

[Phineas]

I think anyone paying atention should.

yep earth just turned bizarro world type crazy...if there was a time for preparation it is now

[bulgaria1992]

I think that both sides are controlled by the same evil jewish royallty that controlls britan and america.  Everything is staged,  and there will be a WW3 in the years to come. Its all part of their New World Order plan to controll the world. After the war they will propose a plan of a one world government as a solution. After that it will be impossible to break free from thier power.(by ourselves)

[GoodBush]

Mikheil Saakashvili looks like a scared puppet.



Maybe taking down the game plan before broadcasting would have been a good strategy.

[Sasha]

23 minutes ago


Georgia Took a Huge Gamble in South Ossetia But Russia Will Not Be Intimidated

http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=7058

The government of Georgia entered South Ossetia in the hope of unifying this region within Georgia properly, rather in name only. However, while Georgia may have hoped that her closeness with America and NATO members may of helped, this may turn out to be a complete disaster? After all, the Russian Federation "is not a paper tiger" and instead this nation is gaining in economic, political, and geopolitical influence. So will Georgia regret their recent policy towards South Ossetia and will Abkhazia make the most of Georgia`s weakness?

It would appear that the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, decided to ignite this war because of several factors. This notably applies to Georgia`s close relationship with America and the perception that this would insulate Georgia from a Russian backlash. Also, Georgia is pro-NATO and her armed forces are helping in Iraq. Therefore, this may have given the leader some confidence and this also ties in with increased military spending in Georgia.

After tensions led to clashes between the Georgian army and various South Ossetian militias it was hoped that a binding ceasefire would be implemented. However, instead of this, both sides were involved in fighting and the situation became more tense. Then on 7 August the situation took a huge nosedive because the leader of Georgia ordered a major military operation whereby the Georgian army would take back South Ossetia by force. However, the Russian Federation responded quickly and the following day her armed forces entered South Ossetia in order to protect the Ossetians from Georgian nationalism.

Therefore, Georgia`s gamble backfired from the onset because both leaders of Russia, President Medvedev and PM Putin, stated that the armed forces of Russia had an obligation to preserve the status quo and to protect the Ossetians because the majority had Russian passports. Also, for the Russian Federation this was all about America and her meddling in this region. After all, the USA is supporting major energy routes which bypass the Russian Federation and Iran. This applies to supporting oil and gas pipelines which exploit the natural resources of Central Asia and Azerbaijan respectively and then this energy is linked to Europe via pipelines which go through Georgia and Turkey.

Given this, the stakes were very high and when America told Russia to respect the unity of Georgia, it became apparent that America and Georgia had hoped that this pressure would have silenced Russia. However, this was badly judged because Russia "is not a paper tiger" and her armed forces swiftly entered Tskhinvali, the regional capital of South Ossetia, and re-took the region after bombing Georgian forces within South Ossetia and inside Georgia itself. So Russia`s response was extremely swift and instead of a Georgian victory the opposite is happening and now the restive region of Abkhazia threatens to create a war on two fronts for Georgia.

America is now "sabre-rattling" by stating that relations may suffer long-term between America and Russia. However, for Russia it is clear that NATO expansion and America`s missile shield in both the Czech Republic and Poland (still not fully agreed) is all about containing Russia. Therefore, when President Saakashvili of Georgia ordered the attack on South Ossetia it left Russia with no option but to defend her sphere of influence.

Now the situation on the ground looks firmly within the control of Russia but this conflict is still in its infancy and wars are never easy to predict. Therefore, much depends on the leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia because they may sense that this is a great opportunity to seek independence or complete autonomy from Georgia. So now it is vital that Russia contains independent movements in Abkhazia and South Ossetia which are technically within Georgia, but in reality both regions desire to join the Russian Federation.

Whatever, Russia is clearly telling America, NATO, and the EU, that mutual respect is needed and while Russia respects the sphere of influences of America, NATO, and the EU, it is now vital that other nations respond like Germany towards Russia. Therefore, Russia desires to be taken seriously and the leader of Georgia enabled Russia to show the world that they mean business. So will America understand this geopolitical reality or will they ferment another crisis in the "backyard of Russia?"

Overall, it would appear that Georgia is the big loser because now both Abkhazia and South Ossetia understand that Georgia desires to take both regions back by military force. Yet now it is clear that Russia will not stand back and refrain from protecting the people of Abkhazia and South Ossetia respectively. If Georgia had waited for a political solution then maybe her claims would have been supported internationally. However, by attacking South Ossetia first, the high moral ground was lost.

Now it is hoped that nationalist forces can be contained within the region and it is in the interest of Russia to contain both Abkhazia and South Ossetia. At the same time, it is vital that America and the EU do the same with regards to Georgia. If bloodshed erupts in Chechnya or in Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan, then we know that outside meddling is causing mayhem. However, it is not in the interest of outside powers to upset the applecart, therefore, much now rests on the status quo being maintained.

Therefore, Georgia must learn from their mistake and President Saakashvili should seek a compromise with Russia. If President Saakashvili does not learn quickly then he will threaten the unity of Georgia. Now it is hoped that all sides will sit down and talk about the seriousness of this situation. However, it is clear that Russia "holds all the aces" at the moment but they must not play poker. Instead Russia must be a responsible power and they have to contain both Abkhazia and South Ossetia by protecting the citizens of both regions.

Lee Jay Walker Dip BA MA
http://journals.aol.com/leejaywalker/uk/
TOKYO,
JAPAN.

[Another_Ron_Paul_Supporte]

Georgian news in English:

http://www.geotimes.ge/

[Sasha]

RT reporting that Georgian forces are trying to flood the basemens of citizens hiding in Tshkvaili.

That's totally inhumane, and supports every claim of genocide that Russia has made so far.  Will need corroberating report to confirm since Russia made initial claim but, what the hell man?

[Sasha]

10 minutes ago



McCain Adviser Was Lobbyist for Georgia
By MARY JACOBY
August 11, 2008; Page A5

John McCain's top foreign-policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, is a leading expert on U.S.-allied Georgia -- and was a paid lobbyist for the former Soviet republic until March, in the run-up to what has become a major battle between Georgia and Russia.

Democratic rival Barack Obama's presidential campaign was quick to try to paint Mr. Scheunemann's dual roles as a conflict of interest after Sen. McCain swiftly took Georgia's side in the dispute, and cited it as evidence that Sen. McCain is "ensconced in a lobbyist culture," as Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan told reporters over the weekend.

But given the rapid escalation of the fighting, and the fact that Georgia is being viewed as a victim of its neighbor's aggression, Mr. Scheunemann's ties to the small nation and its pro-Western Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili may look less like a weakness and more like a strength in the first foreign-policy crisis of the general election campaign.

"In a major international crisis, what is their response?" Mr. Scheunemann said of the Obama campaign in an interview Sunday. "To take a cheap shot at me, as if helping a struggling democracy is somehow wrong." Mr. Scheunemann took a formal leave of absence from his two-person lobbying firm earlier this year amid controversy over Sen. McCain's ties to lobbyists.

Mr. Scheunemann's firm, Orion Strategies, continues to represent Georgia in Washington, and signed a new $200,000 contract with the country in April. Mr. Scheunemann remains an owner of the firm, though he is no longer registered to lobby for it. Mr. Scheunemann said he has made more than a dozen trips to Georgia since he began lobbying for the country in 2004.

The crisis puts a spotlight on Mr. Scheunemann, 48 years old, who has long been a leading neoconservative voice in the American foreign-policy debate. He played a prominent role advocating for toppling Saddam Hussein, serving in 2002 as executive director of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq. At a key moment before the war, he helped to line up allies in "New Europe" -- notably former Soviet bloc states like Latvia -- to write a letter in support of the invasion. That came as "Old Europe" American allies like France and Germany resisted.

Mr. Schueneman has made a career in lobbying for countries, including Georgia, that aspire to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Russia's objections to expansion of the Western military alliance are a factor in the current assault in the Caucasus.

As a foreign-policy aide to then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott in 1997, Mr. Scheunemann accompanied Sen. McCain on a trip to the newly independent former Soviet republic. At a dinner, Sen. McCain first met Mr. Saakashvili, who had been a law student in Washington, and was then a young reform-minded Georgian parliamentarian, Mr. Scheunemann said.

In 2003, Sen. McCain returned to Georgia and gave a speech calling on then-President Eduard Shevardnadze to conduct fair presidential and parliamentary elections. The elections weren't perceived as fair, however, and democratic activists launched the protests known as the Rose Revolution that led to Mr. Saakashvili's gaining power.

In August 2006, Sen. McCain returned to Georgia on another congressional delegation, visiting Mr. Saakashvili at a presidential villa on the Black Sea. While Mr. Scheunemann watched from a dock, Sen. McCain and the Georgian leader rode jet skis together, Mr. Scheunemann said.

"He knows all the top players" in Georgia, Zeyno Baran, an analyst on energy and the Caucasus region at the Hudson Institute in Washington, said of Mr. Scheunemann.

Mr. Scheunemann is an architect of the U.S.-led expansion of NATO to include former Soviet satellite states, a bipartisan policy begun under the Clinton administration intended to contain Russia.

But in the 1990s and early 2000s Russia had little economic and diplomatic power to stop its former satellites and republics -- including Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Romania -- from joining the Western alliance.

Sen. McCain has said that NATO leaders' failure to advance Georgia's application for membership at a summit of the alliance in Romania earlier this year emboldened Russia to invade.

Mr. Scheunemann said he had foreseen the possibility of a Russian attack on Georgia. He had long counseled President Saakashvili to avoid overreacting to provocations from the Russian-backed breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia that are at the center of the current conflict, these people say.

"At all sort of critical moments, when there have been repeated Russian provocations, Randy was a calming influence" advising Georgians against responding to Russia with military action, Ms. Baran said.

Mr. Scheunemann's firm has earned more than $2 million since 2004 lobbying U.S. officials, including Sen. McCain and his staff, on behalf of various clients including Georgia, records show.

[Sasha]

10 minutes ago



Cyber Attack Hits Georgian President’s Phone Call with CNN
posted by,  Victor Philip Ortiz
PC magazine



Shortly after noon east coast time in the United States, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer attempted to interview Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili by phone on his live news program.  The first attempt was unsuccessful and the second attempted about ten minutes later was able to successfully connect President Saakashvili.  President Saakashvili apologized for the missed connection earlier blaming the problem on a “cyber attack” against the Georgian VoIP phone system.
 
Biltzer wanted to get Georgian President’s firsthand account of the current situation with respect to the two day violent conflict that has broken out with Russian forces.  The magnitude of the Russian military response has NATO and leaders around the world concerned and closely monitoring the situations. The disruptive cyber attack came shortly after reportedly President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered the ceasefire and communicated that message to the Russian side.  Communications were eventually established via satellite phone system that is much less susceptible to cyber attack and other military jamming techniques.  This specific attack came just hours after reports that cyber-attack appears to have crippled a number Georgia's websites.
 
The ability to disrupt an advisory’s communications has always been a military tactic and that is what makes the Internet a prime target.  “This is a sign of things to come” said Steve Idelman - CEO of Solutionary a leading security firm.  Cyber warfare strategies, tactics and weapons are relatively new.  One thing is certain, given the increased number and sophistication of the tactics used in cyber attacks, cyber warfare capabilities are at the top of military wish lists of an estimated 140 countries.  Cyber war is now a part of modern warfare.