A Day Of Two Headlines: Fighting In Georgia, Olympics Peace

The two biggest headlines this Friday could not be more opposite: Fierce fighting between Georgia and Russia and the rave reviews from the Olympics opening ceremony.

The AP on the fighting in Georgia:

Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases Friday after Georgia launched a major military offensive Friday to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, threatening to ignite a broader conflict.

Hundreds of civilians were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won defacto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated.

The Olympics Opening Ceremony:

Now ascendant as a global power, China welcomed scores of world leaders to an opening ceremony watched by 91,000 people at the eye-catching National Stadium and a potential audience of 4 billion worldwide. It was depicted as the largest, costliest extravaganza in Olympic history, bookended by barrages of some 30,000 fireworks.

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Comments

[enilorac]

It seems dictators just love to start bombardments and take-overs of small countries when no one is willing to sit around a round table to collectively care. The Russian Bear attack upon Europe feels rather like Gulf War 1, with Irag marching in to Kuwait.

[VolvoBirkenstock]

Oh, well. This site has a scandal to report and the outbreak of war is now not even on the front page.

[Bendersky]

It's a little comparable to the '36 Olympics in Berlin: Dictators using the Olympics to prop up their own poltical system and their desire to be perceived as superior. Not a whole lot of mention in the press these days about the Tibetan's monks killed by the Chinese amid their protests during the running of the Olympic torch.

Free Tibet. Boycott the Olympics.

[VolvoBirkenstock]

Upon hearing the news that Georgia had been invaded, MissLindseyGraham grabbed the hem of her hoop skirt and fainted.

[SwingingFromCenter]

Shame on Georgia for using the Olympics as a tool to launch a military attack. Entire WARS have been stopped for the Games in the past, and these clowns go and use it as part of a strategem.

I hope the Russians squash them.

[JayeSutter]

Unity my ass. Sure, 16 Chinese police officers were killed by Muslim extremist in China. It looks like unity but at what cost? No decent, no religious freedom, no protest, no real democratic ideas.

If that is unity, give me the messy conflict of the First Amendment and protest and real life any day. Screw the ceremony, the marching in lock step. Hell, this is about as unified as Berlin in 1936.

Freedom is marching to your own drummer and it is messy as hell. And this ain't it.

[piotr]

In comparison to the situation in Georgia the Olympics is no news at all. No coincidence that the war is starting today, they want the western folk to have a dilemma - report on the sports or the war, watch the war or the games.

[VolvoBirkenstock]

But...But...But...W looked into Pootie Poot's eyes and saw his SOUL!

[majormoderate]

yea and it was like looking into a mirror for him.