[Maniacus]

lol yea man i sometimes wonder if we've really come that far in the past 50 years in terms of getting smarter, alot of people are just dirty turnip peasants (elitism o yea!).

As for the whole Georgia thing, thats a whole propaganda war around the whole thing, so ya gotta look at the facts.

1. Georgia invaded South Ossetia for no aparent reason despite peace talks going on and the news seem to be overlooking this, i mean Russia wasnt the agressor in this.
2. Russia came in to defend its passport holders and to make sure people in the area know who's top dog. Not really unreasonable i mean Israel does it all the time in Palestine and none of the US politicians seem to blink, bit of a double standard.
3. Now if everything froze here, Russia pulled back with an agreement that for the moment neither the Georgian army nor the Russian army would enter South Oscetia, Russia would have won the propaganda war in my mind, however they got a tad greedy and pushed out of the borders of Southern Oscetia and into Georgia. Perhaps to show the Georgian government that if Russia wanted to they could crush them and their US allies wouldnt do much to help em, mebe a few food drops or something and thats what i think this is, Russia reaffirming its dominance and gaining a very very loyal ally in the region. The Oscetian millita. I mean its quite genious in the long run in case of another apocalyptic world war ensues, they've gotten themselves a people who will fight with them. Anyway sorta trailing off here lol.

Whats your thoughts on this Zin? or anyone else?

This Russian guy definitely aint a turnip peasant (not sarcastic)

"There are no good guys here. Not Saakashvili, not Putin, not the South Ossetian separatists, not the politicians from the West.

I believe the Georgians were reacting to provocation from Ossetian separatists, and the situation gave Russian forces the chance to make their presence felt in Georgia.

But there is no justification for Saakashvili to order the attack on South Ossetia as it was bound to lead to civilian deaths.

From what I've read he's just as bad as Putin.

This situation is analogous to Kosovo, where separatists there provoked action from Milosevic and Serbia. He was called a war criminal, but Saakashvili is seen as the victim in the West.

The media coverage has been biased on both sides. I expect this from the mainstream Russian media - but not from Western media. The only information I can rely on is independent Russian news sites.

There was a lack of historical context in much of the Western media and the overwhelming sense that Russia was to blame.

The reaction from the international community merely plays into Putin's hand. He wants Russia to be feared and respected. Condemnation from the West results in ordinary Russians rallying behind the government. "