What's the Deal in Georgia?! (The Country)

[Little Linguist]

Is anyone else worried about this? The American government better not do anything stupid - like use this as a precursor to an invasion of Iran.

[pure_mercury]

Originally Posted by Little Linguist

Is anyone else worried about this? The American government better not do anything stupid - like use this as a precursor to an invasion of Iran.

I think that the chances are likelier that the Russian government does something stupid.

["?"]

The whole matter makes no sense to me, although I have not had the opportunity to follow the matter closely. I understand that it has been brewing for quite some time and Bush has advised Russia to stand down. I am not sure how we can tell anyone what to do in our present situation in Iraq, but this is how world wars get started.

[ajblaise]

I couldn't believe my ears when I heard what Russia's excuse was on the radio, they are apparently on a "peacekeeping" mission.

It looks like they dropped bombs on journalists from Greece, Israel, and Holland.
YouTube - Russia invades Georgia - 8/8, 2008

[pure_mercury]

I'd like to see a Camomile Revolution in Russia that gets rids of Putin and his cronies. That country deserves a chance at a true liberal democracy.

[Magic Poriferan]

Originally Posted by pure_mercury

I think that the chances are likelier that the Russian government does something stupid.

I'd say the odds are 100% since they already have.

[pure_mercury]

Originally Posted by Magic Poriferan

I'd say the odds are 100% since they already have.

I meant REALLY stupid, like overthrow the Georgian government, and take over the country or install a puppet regime. As it stands, they may get away with keeping South Ossetia if they back off a little now.

[Magic Poriferan]

Originally Posted by pure_mercury

I meant REALLY stupid, like overthrow the Georgian government, and take over the country or install a puppet regime.

Does anybody have a stupid-o-meter so we can precisely compare these two levels of stupid?

Originally Posted by pure_mercury

As it stands, they may get away with keeping South Ossetia if they back off a little now.

Puzzling. I told my brother that perhaps they've been feeling forgotten ever since China became so important, so now, they use the Beijing olympics as the stage for the beginning of a new era of Russian hostility.

...

That's actually far more plausible than I'd want it to be.

[pure_mercury]

Originally Posted by Magic Poriferan

Does anybody have a stupid-o-meter so we can precisely compare these two levels of stupid?

Current situation = John Edwards. Possible overthrow scenario = George W. Bush. Is that a good approximation?

Puzzling. I told my brother that perhaps they've been feeling forgotten ever since China became so important, so now, they use the Beijing olympics as the stage for the beginning of a new era of Russian hostility.

...

That's actually far more plausible than I'd want it to be.

Many, many people have spent their lives and careers trying to figure out Russia. It is often a fool's errand.

[Magic Poriferan]

Originally Posted by pure_mercury

Current situation = John Edwards. Possible overthrow scenario = George W. Bush. Is that a good approximation?

I don't know... Edwards seems a little too low on the charts. It may not be takeover yet, but bombing another country's capital is still serious business.
I can't really put my finger on where that's at, though.

Originally Posted by pure_mercury

Many, many people have spent their lives and careers trying to figure out Russia. It is often a fool's errand.

Actually, my INTJ brother speaks Russian and has spent a lot of time in Russia. He even had a Russian girlfriend(actually, I think she was Kyrgyz or something). He seems to be rather familiar with Russian ways, but he still admits that it's very perplexing.

I remember talking to him about how some EU members said it was "only a matter of time" before Russia was a part of the EU. I was aghast at how ignorant these guys had to be, and I asked my brother "do these people know Russia at all?", he replied "You know who understands Russia? Nobody fucking understands Russia! Not even Russians".

So there you have it.