Dear DK,

My intent is:

To stay centered and walk my labyrinth of peace,

each day: to give peaceful energy step by step to the earth and all beings on it.

to receive peaceful energy step by step from the earth and all beings on it.

"to end all wars, one person at a time" - Deepak Chopra

Love, Mieke

I just read at FoxNews that the US is helping to fly Georgia troops out of Iraq to go home to help there.

This is a serious situation but will probably be resolved before too very long. A tale of the big fish trying to eat the little fish again.

Yes, of course, prayer and positive thinking may help but truthfully, when the members of the Georgia olympic team pull out because of war, then the purpose of the olympic games becomes defeated.

It is all a sad tragedy as so many civilians were unnecessarily killed, but with both the USA and Israel bombing places all over the world, why would not Russia feel justified to do the same?

The pot calling the kettle black is not really very smart to do, but at least George Bush did speak up. Strange at what the Russians could say to him if they chose to do so.

Let's all hope that this is resolved asap. It is a very sad way for the Olympic games to become interrupted!

Hi DK,

History repeats itself with slight reversals September 1924 Uprising Revolt in Georgia against the Bolshevists (Communists) a War of Independence. Bolshevists retreating..

The Georgians had gained their independence in 1920 but the Russian Soviet invaders maintained a regime of oppression and religious persecution.

The Georgians felt that the Russian Troops were a standing menace to their independence.

At this time in 1924 the revolt broke out in multiple places spontaneously. This indicates divine instigation…

To read the interesting facts and accounts of then 1924 [Click my name] we can see that only the names of the people in charge have changed, somewhat uncanny. We could almost use the same article written then today.

You can push the newspaper page around with the little hand/mouse.

Perhaps it is all the same souls and this is their chance to evolve and change the outcome.

There is only one thing that will bring an end to the perpetual unresolved conflict and that is the truth I am sure I can discern and deliver it….

Here's an interesting article by Josh Trevino:
http://joshuatrevino.com/?p=637

and a commentary on it over at the Agonist:
http://agonist.org/sean_paul_kelley/20080809/more_on_caucasus_war

They make a relevant argument that Saakashvilli militarized Georgia instead of making it more profitable
and rebuilding the country's infrastructure.

Of course, the USA was there so sell them all the weapons they could afford.

As long as the focus is on making profits by weapons sales, we will not have peace.

So I am going to give a little unvarnished truth here. It's ugly, but we need to face it:

We, the USA, have an economy that depends in part on large amounts of military hardware being sold all over the planet, and used, so that our customers need to buy more military hardware.

Granted, we didn't cause the situation in Georgia. But things might have turned out differently if we didn't take the position of capitalizing on it as a weapons market.

Hey, Barack Obama, how about saying a little something about that? Or do you need the Military-Industrial Complex's lobby money too much to criticize them?

DK,

Do you doubt Supra Universal Consciousness' wisdom/fair-play by saying that there are any innocent victims in any conflict?

This only shows your ignorance of the ways of the SUC to push people on higher and higher rungs of the universal evolutionary ladder.

Your need is to remove ignorance on this count. That is, of course, if you really suffer.

"All for One and One for All."

Yeah, Harb.

It does look like the One victim just shot It's Self in the obligatory foot!

Did It have to choose between the two?

Though Russia seems to be on the wrong, Georgia too has displayed little tact in cosying up to the West when it should realize that there is absolute certainty that if the Americans and Europeans ever have to make a choice they will side with the Russians (who have gas, oil and platinum, whereas the Georgians have only a pipeline route to offer), Georgia is going to get the worst of the conflict.

Yogi-one #4

"We, the USA, have an economy that depends in part on large amounts of military hardware being sold all over the planet, and used, so that our customers need to buy more military hardware.

Granted, we didn't cause the situation in Georgia. But things might have turned out differently if we didn't take the position of capitalizing on it as a weapons market.

Hey, Barack Obama, how about saying a little something about that? Or do you need the Military-Industrial Complex's lobby money too much to criticize them?"

Don't trivialize this issue with the money made by selling weapons being the sole factor. I guess, Iran, North Korea, Sudan etc will love to have America's weapons as well. Even though Pak was an ally during the cold war, the US did not give them the F16 fighter jets easily (Point being, if money was military industrial money is the sole criteria, they would have.) Its the neo con foreign 'polices' of the US under which the military industrial lobbyists thrive.

Bush reassured its ally Japan yesterday, that North Korea is still under its list of state sponsored terrorists. Another ally Pakistan has long been a culprit for sponsoring terrorism in India and Afghanistan. The Afghan president is literally begging the US to aggressively address the Pakistan's involvement in his country. India has long given up asking the US to reconsider its policy. Nothing changes even after CIA has for the first time acknowledged that Pakistan's intelligence agency was directly involved in the bombing of Indian Embassy in Kabul a few weeks ago.

On the issue of Washington lobbyists influencing policy, check this by Freyja:

The sudden outbreak of war in the Caucasus brings to light an especially dangerous example of McCain's lobbyist problem, and suggests he'll never be free of his lobbyist problem. At every turn, John McCain is entangled by the ties of the lobbyists who serve as his campaign staffers and advisers.

McCain's top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, was until March a registered lobbyist for the Republic of Georgia.

www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12409_Page2.html

His firm continues to work on behalf of Georgia and other countries in the region. In 2006, lobbyist Scheunemann accompanied McCain on a trip to Georgia.

www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/us/politics/20mccain.html

And since Friday, McCain and Scheunemann have been issuing bellicose pronouncements on behalf of Georgia in its conflict with Russia over the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia. However neither of them mentioned that Scheunemann was a Georgian lobbyist.

"The conflict in Georgia also brought attention to another complicating feature of McCain’s campaign: His ties to Republican operatives with extensive lobbying practices. Scheunemann was, until earlier this year, registered to lobby for the government of Georgia.

A public relations firm working for the Russian Federation pointed out Scheunemann’s lobbying past to reporters — a sign that McCain’s stance is not, for better or worse, being welcomed in Moscow — as did Obama’s campaign.

“John McCain’s top foreign policy adviser lobbied for, and has a vested interest in, the Republic of Georgia and McCain has mirrored the position advocated by the government,” said Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan, noting that the “appearance of a conflict of interest” was a consequence of McCain’s too-close ties to lobbyists."

The conflict in South Ossetia is complex and nearly every observer of the situation blames both Georgia and Russia for escalating the long-simmering tensions there.

www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/world/europe/10ossetia.html

As Ben Smith at the Politco notes, Barack Obama issued a statement condemning the violence and urging both Georgia and Russia to end the conflict and avoid further escalation. It was similar to the line taken by the Bush administration and virtually all other western nations, all of whom recognize that there's plenty of blame to spread around and little advantage to wade in immediately scoring points against one of the parties to the war.

www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12409_Page1.html

Not John McCain, however. His statement was frankly confrontational toward Russia, which he blames exclusively for the fighting. McCain also calls for NATO to be inserted into the conflict, though Georgia is not a NATO member. McCain also dusted off his bizarre call for Russia to be kicked out of The G-8. And Randy Scheunemann immediately tried to politicize the conflict - without however mentioning that he was a lobbyist for Georgia.

"Sen. McCain is clearly willing to note who he thinks is the aggressor here,” he said, dismissing the notion that Georgia’s move into its renegade province had precipitated the crisis. "I don't think you can excuse, defend, explain or make allowance for Russian behavior because of what is going on in Georgia.”

He also criticized Obama for calling on both sides to show “restraint,” and suggested the Democrat was putting too much blame on the conflict’s clear victim.

“That's kind of like saying after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, that Kuwait and Iraq need to show restraint, or like saying in 1968 [when the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia] ... that the Czechoslovaks should show restraint,” he said."

www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12409_Page2.html

As shown by the contrast between the reactions to the fighting in Georgia from Obama and McCain, the US cannot afford a president who is instinctively and immediately belligerent in every international crisis. Further, McCain is ensnared irretrievably by the lobbyists he's surrounded himself with.

www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0808/McCain_camp_defends_Scheunemann_against_Obama_CampaignKremlin.html

Americans can't be sure of knowing what kinds of conflicts of interest lie behind John McCain's pronouncements on both foreign and domestic issues.

The parallel to McCain's problems this week with voters in Wilmington, OH is striking.

www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-campaign8-2008aug08,0,4031248.story

In his latest visit there, McCain tried to downplay the role that his campaign manager, Rick Davis, had in lobbying for the DHL deal that now threatens to leave tens of thousands unemployed in southern Ohio. Indeed, McCain personally had intervened in the Senate to push the DHL deal through. Yet as Obama manager David Plouffe pointed out, until the Cleveland Plain Dealer this week uncovered Davis' role as a lobbyist for DHL, McCain had tried to keep concerned Ohio voters in the dark about that most basic of facts:

"[John McCain] was there a month ago in this community and was asked a question about this DHL issue and did not say one word about his role in this or the role of his campaign manager. That is the furthest thing from straight talk that we can imagine."

www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/08/plouffe-mccains-dhl-deal_n_117790.html

McCain's lobbyist entanglements will keep getting worse as this campaign progresses. They should help to keep him out of the White House, where his lobbyist buddies don't belong.

8. Posted by Freyja on August 9, 2008 08:49 PM

PUTIN TO US: STAY OUT OF THIS CONFLICT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/11/putin-to-us-stay-out-of-o_n_118107.html

Quote:
_________________________________________________
"I've expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia and that we strongly condemn the bombing outside of South Ossetia," Bush said in an interview with NBC Sports.

In turn, Putin criticized the United States for airlifting Georgian troops back home from Iraq on Sunday at Georgia's request.

"It's a pity that some of our partners instead of helping are in fact trying to get in the way," Putin said at a Cabinet meeting. "I mean among other things the United States airlifting Georgia's military contingent from Iraq effectively into the conflict zone."
__________________________________________________

Is there any doubt where McCain is on this...

from The Nation:

"The outbreak of war in Georgia on Friday offers a disturbing and somewhat surreal taste of what to expect from John McCain should he become our nation's Commander in Chief. As the centuries-old ethnic animosities between Georgia and Ossetia boiled over into another armed conflict, drawing in neighboring Russia, McCain issued a stark-raving statement from Des Moines that is disturbingly reminiscent of the language used in the lead-up to NATO's war against Yugoslavia in 1999, a war McCain zealously pushed for:

"We should immediately call a meeting of the North Atlantic Council to assess Georgia's security and review measures NATO can take to contribute to stabilizing this very dangerous situation," McCain said.

Calling on NATO to "stabilize this dangerous situation" is not going down well with Russia, where images of dead Russian peace-keepers and of frightened Ossetian refugees streaming across its borders have put the country in a very vengeful mood. It's hard to imagine what measures NATO could take under a McCain presidency, but in the mind of a man who thinks US troops should stay in Iraq for 100 years, and who runs around singing "Bomb Bomb Iran!" it's not hard to guess--and even harder not to be horrified by what it may mean come January 2009, should he win...."

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080818/ames

From the AP: 'Vice President Dick Cheney spoke Sunday afternoon with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili [...] Cheney told Saakashvili that "Russian aggression must not go unanswered...."'

Conservative media pundit Pat Buchanan (on NBC in Feb): McCain “will make Cheney look like Gandhi.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/

Dear Richard,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6uRg9aslZg

and the real meaning of American Pie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsZFiMo8TIc

And a saying of Don McLean: “You got to love each other, cause otherwise politics is just a joke”.

History here too is repeating itself :)

Love, Mieke

Mieke, your comment triggered an insight I think I will use in the movie.

"When history no longer repeates itself evolution has occured"

Spelling correction "When history no longer repeats itself evolution has occurred"

This conflict is bringing some insight to me as to the political and government system flaws and “illusions” or fictions that manifest the conflict and there are a lot of dynamics at play here and many different players far away from the conflict itself. Politics being how various needs and wants are expressed and met or obtained how combined efforts are implemented and what joint ventures are formed and funded.

Since one is working on the new Universal Self Government Systems Design and the truth based shifts in perception and perspective that are required for “EveryOne a life worth living”, it is bringing to light some of the new system design requirements and questions to be answered.

Here we have a big game being played. Let’s touch on the players and their motivations, the reality and the illusions.

We have a small group of men in Russia and a small group of men in Georgia the so called leadership or management. We will call these the “main” Chess players. We have the citizens of Russia and the citizens of Georgia, then we have these artificial boundaries drawn up by who based on what, something arbitrary perhaps? Then we have the citizens of this small region in question. We will call the citizens the pawns in the game being played by the chess players. There are other players here as well, the bankers, the insurance industry, the arms dealers and defense industry.

The chess players claim to be representing the interests of the pawns and actually to be serving them. I would venture to say that the interests of the pawns are second to the interests of the Chess players. In fact the pawns are the first to be sacrificed. Those making the war moves are far removed from the conflict, the sacrifice, and the horror.

In this situation we have the people of this region in question currently under the control of the Georgia chess players unhappy and wishing to be aligned with the Russian chess players. No doubt this region has tangible assets aside from the people simply living there which the chess player in Georgia does not want to lose.

From a humanistic perspective the citizens of this region should be allowed to decide their alignment and joint venture agreement. Of course here we must ask the question though is this desire to be a part of the Russian Federation the want of the “whole” of the citizens of this small region or is it the desire of a few of them that will obtain some disproportionate advantage by instigating the new joint venture with the new party?

How do we ensure that the needs of the pawns are put first over the wants of the Chess players? Collective control and decision making would work but how do we balance some of the disadvantages of collective control that might prove to be true? Where an individual agent would be much more efficient and timely in making decisions? Can we overcome these disadvantages using technology? Can the two be integrated? How does the collective ensure that the individual agent’s intentions remain in alignment with the intentions of the collective? Transparency is one way.

What of the artificial divisions created by labels, and the artificial boundaries created by lines on a map? Are they not the true source of conflict that by design destroys unity? Would we not erase them from our minds so we can live as one in harmony?

Hi Dr. DK

It is kind of chilling to see what looks like a red balloon in the foreground of that picture and to review all the lyrics of 99 Luftballons.

Panic bells, it's red alert.
There's something here from somewhere else.
The war machine springs to life.
Opens up one eager eye.
Focusing it on the sky.

I would hope that all will participate in destroying a huge illusion. I am constantly seeing references that maintain a perspective based on a falsity.

“The government wants”
“Russia does that”
“The US did this”
“China has decided”

These are all false statements not based on reality but based on fiction. These labels cannot think or decide. Only individuals can.

The illusion created is that the whole country is making this decision or taking this action and it is not. There is no mechanism in any Nation yet by which the whole country can make a decision. This illusion obscures the fact and reality that a few individuals are making these decisions; for sure they are influenced by the many that grant these individuals and small groups the power to make them. The question to ponder is: are the decisions and actions of these individuals and small groups influenced by their own individual needs and wants? Are their own needs and wants in alignment with the collective intentions and interests?

If there is a conflict between the individuals and the many which interest is favored? That these individuals have finite minds perhaps impaired with fiction and limited knowledge should we be concerned as to the quality of their decisions? How can multiple discerning minds be brought into play to destroy any fictions and how can the wealth of a collective intelligence be used to overcome the limitations of a single finite mind?

The cost to bribe or influence a single individual is minimal, the cost to influence or bribe 10,000 is phenomenal putting them out of reach of those that would corrupt them.

“The Self of the "It" which is”

The Great Itself

Mieki, thanks for the American Pie I never understood all the symbolism till now. I couldn’t help to think all the spirits referenced in it were some how communicating their still living in me presence. You know on my refrigerator is a John Lennon magnet; nobody knows how it came to be there, it just appeared. It serves to remind me there is a Great Work still to be completed.

Communism Socialism and Capitalism have not worked to produce a world providing everyone a life worth living even in their own individual domains, due to ego impediment, the fiction of separation and the suppression of individual freedom and the use of force. Rather than the specific system it has more to do with the level of consciousness. So we seek first to raise this and from this will result a new system that will work.

One is building a new system government having collective control with individual sovereignty.

Current management and leadership that fail to evolve will be relieved of their positions without force.

Where the controlling group has used economic devices to replace armies and brute force; one will use communications and technology to replace the use of economic force. Where money was used as the currency of power this next evolution will use the truth and collective intent as the currency of power.

Out of control hot spots erupt on Her skin like a cancerous plague. It's the ending of one world and the beginning of a new one. Which one do I/you/we align with and support?

I would suggest that with every "hot" issue one focuses on that one also contribute one "cool" and soothing issue wrapped in peace and love.

The imbalance is created by us through our eyes and mouths via communication. If we took more time to see the positive within and around us perhaps more of the same would be generated in the larger world.

I'm not suggesting we ignore the disease of resistance. I am suggesting that healing requires different focus and action.

What is the "intention" of communication?

For example someone could ask Intent Bloggers to do something about this invasion. Rather than talk about the problem what can we do together to assist the dissipation of fear? What can we do together to heal the situation? Perhaps IntentBlog is not the place to do that kind of energy work? Perhaps IntentBlog is the place for discussion?

Trish~~

Hi Richard,

You are welcome. At least John Lennon was and still is (r)evolutionary in his song "Imagine" and this truth will emerge when there are no borders anymore.

Here on this internet we are at least trying to remove the borders and to reach a common view.

This goes with ups and downs cause there is one real condition that should be fulfilled first:

having real peace within oneself.

Up till now it normally takes a whole lifetime of a human being to reach this state. And perhaps, if one believes in reincarnation more than one.

My solution still is my first comment hereabove # 1.

Dear Trish,

It is not so easy to do something about this invasion just like that.

If you ask yourself the question: what is the intention of communication, perhaps here on Intentblog it is trying to move together into a direction that is appreciated by everyone who blogs here.

Perhaps more results can be obtained at Intent.com especially for your other questions.

Love, Mieke

Go Russia!

I dare the American government to militarily do anything about it: I double dare em!

Oh yeah!

Paul Craig Roberts is pretty good: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20483.htm

pax vobiscum

Joan McCarter: Invading Sovereign Countries: It's OK if You're Bush

Bush today:

"Russia has invaded a sovereign neighbouring state.... Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century.... We have no doubts about it. This is a deliberate attempt to destroy an entire country and change the regime."

www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7717486

Right. Invading a sovereign state to destroy a country and change the regime isn't acceptable in the 21st century. Good to know.

Which leads us to precisely the problem, as expressed today by Charles King, Russia expert and professor in the School of Foreign Service and the Department of Government at Georgetown University, in an interivew with Glenn Greenwald:

"Given the US's precarious condition militarily - where we're occupying two countries, fighting two wars - versus Russia's strength, and then you look at the aspect of soft power or moral credibility, there's that exchange in the UN where the US ambassador to the UN said that Russia had intended 'regime change' in Georgia, to which the Russian ambassador replied that that was an American concept, obviously referencing Iraq. Even if the US were inclined to do more, and Georgia's expectations of what we would do had been accurate, what would really our options be to intervene in any meaningful way in this conflict in a way that would influence Russia?"

www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/radio/2008/08/11/king/index1.html

The U.S. has no moral authority, Bush's having "looked into Putin's soul" notwithstanding.

Michael Clark: McCain on Georgia: Even Cheney isn't bellicose enough

Nobody outside Georgia tried harder to get the US to rush precipitously into the conflict with Russia than John McCain - even though by Monday he'd retreated to the point of merely urging more diplomatic pressure. His first reactions tell you what kind of president he'd be, however. And clearly he's bellicose in a way that makes even Dick Cheney look like a wuss.

On Friday as soon as fighting broke out McCain put all the blame on Russia and called for the involvement of NATO. His campaign, via Georgian-lobbyist turned foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann, also immediately set about politicizing the crisis by trying to use it to score points against Barack Obama.

"[Scheunemann] also criticized Obama for calling on both sides to show "restraint," and suggested the Democrat was putting too much blame on the conflict’s clear victim."

www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12409_Page2.html

Of course Georgia was not merely a "victim" in provoking this crisis, and the only country Obama actually singled out for blame was Russia for invading Georgia's sovereign territory.

"I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia, and urge an immediate end to armed conflict. Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full scale war. Georgia’s territorial integrity must be respected. All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis."

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/08/08/1255737.aspx

But Obama did call for restraint and that was so inexcusable that the McCain campaign has inflated its attack further.

"In fact, the initial response from the Obama campaign was characterized by precisely the kind of rhetoric that the leaders of these nations warn against--a meaningless statement that equates the victim with the victimizer by calling on both sides to show restraint. Asking the Georgians to show restraint is like asking the Hungarians to show restraint as Russian tanks rolled into the country in 1956, or for restraint from the students in Prague in 1968.

The reaction of the Obama campaign to this crisis, so at odds with our democratic allies and yet so bizarrely in sync with Moscow, doesn't merely raise questions about Senator Obama's judgment--it answers them."

www.johnmccain.com/mccainreport

Except that Obama's statements, unlike McCain's, were in fact in sync with the statements of America's allies and of McCain's personal ally, George Bush:

"We urge restraint on all sides — that violence would be curtailed and that direct dialogue could ensue in order to help resolve their differences," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters."

What's more on Sunday, two days after McCain began denouncing Obama's call for "restraint", Dick Cheney praised Georgia for its "restraint".

"The vice president praised President Saakashvili for his government's restraint, offers of cease-fire, and disengagement of Georgian forces from the zone of conflict in the South Ossetian region of the country," the statement said."

www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Georgia/idUSN1049425020080811

With even the blustering Cheney on board, it looks like just about everybody thought the Georgians needed to show some restraint - except John McCain. That shows the kind of president he'd make.

In Monday's The Huffington Brief, there is an article by Nathan Gardel on his interview with former Jimmy Carter's security advisor, Brzezinski, who gives all credit to Putin for this invasion. He compares Georgia to Finland, and Putin to Stalin.

At the bottom of this article is a photo of Putin with a caption saying that Putin assults the USA. In reading the article, Putin is dismayed that the USA participated in sending the soldiers from Georgia who were in Iraq back to Georgia to support their countrymen. He takes on the USA for not supporting his side in this action, and it is most interesting to contemplate that point of view.

In light of all of this I wonder at just exactly what kind of understanding Bush and Putin really have since Bush has vociferously spoken out against the Russians for their actions.

However, if anyone has not noticed yet, which nations of the world still continue to use powerful weapons from the air and the sea, dropping bombs, and deploying ships?

I almost suspect that the timeliness of this event may affect the upcoming election. Could it be designed for that purpose?

I wonder....

The war comes to close...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/12/russias-medvedev-halts-mi_n_118345.html

Enjoy.
__________________________________________________

"Let's all hope that this is resolved asap. It is a very sad way for the Olympic games to become interrupted!" Arizonasunset

...sorry to interfere your Olympic viewing experience with a distracting war.

Now please go back and have your fill.

_______

The last I heard there were no nations (including Georgia) threatening boycott of the Olympics. In fact, Russian and Georgian athletes embraced each other emotionally...

You got to get your priorities right. I would buy peace in Georgia-proper, Ossetia and Abkhazia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Sudan etc, any time, if it means suspension of a world sports event and interrupting the multi-national corporate sponsors and the image building propaganda of nations.

Good Morning IB,

Big News over your morning coffee.

Russia ends operations in Georgia.

(hat tip to Vanessa)

The Russian President, Dmitriy Medvedev has ordered his troops to halt all operations in Georgia.

Russia has already issued two demands on which peace is dependent: (1) That Georgia remove its military from positions from which it can continue shelling South Ossetia, and (2) that Georgia sign a legally binding international agreement not to use force in South Ossetia - which is more or less what Russia has been demanding this past decade.

Russia has already rejected the three-point French plan proposed by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, claiming that it is unacceptable since it contains no mention of Georgian atrocities.

Note: Should it become clear that Georgia did engage in atrocities in South Ossetia, as Russia claims, this suddenly becomes a whole new political ballgame, since then Russia's intervention suddenly begins to resemble the US intervention in Serbia very closely indeed. This will be investigated by the international community, I hope, to ensure credibility

As per the Guardian:

"Aelita Dzhioyeva, a lawyer who fled South Ossetia on Thursday, said she had managed to call relatives in the city on their mobile phones. "The situation is dire," she said. "People have no water, no electricity, no gas and no food."

She added: "My relatives told me Georgian soldiers burnt to death a family of seven people in their apartment. An 18-year-old boy who climbed out into the street for a few moments was shot dead by a sniper."

Marianna Chibirova said she had fled to Tskhinvali from her village and hid in a basement. "When the firing died down I ran out to the home of my relatives on a different street," she said. "I saw that the city hospital was completed destroyed, and around it lay corpses and injured people, a lot of them. And the injured lay there dying for three days because no one could get to them."

At a field hospital close to the registration point surgeons attended to wounded soldiers. One South Ossetian serviceman was furious that Russia had not intervened to help earlier.

"Where was Russia?" he shouted. "Where were the Russian troops for the first three days? Now they say on television that Russia defended us, they saved South Ossetia, but that's rubbish.

"Russian tanks only came this morning when we had already pushed the Georgian forces out of Tskhinvali. We did it – Ossetians, ourselves, at the cost of many lives. And Russia came only at the end to take up positions that we had already won. And now I'm lying here and my friends go on dying there."

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/10/georgia.russia5)

*

And a quote from another article by The Guardian:

"The Russians concentrated on claims of atrocities by Georgian soldiers when they took control of South Ossetia. They claimed women were herded into houses which were then burned down, people were crushed with tanks, prisoners had their throats slit, grenades were thrown into bomb shelters. Russian soldiers are no strangers to war crimes. They did similar things to Chechens each time they recaptured Grozny. But if Russia substantiates its claims, it should make those who support the Georgian leader pause for thought. If Russian tanks stop at the borders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the verdict of history will hinge on what happened in Tskhinvali last week."

*

As for accusations of seeking regime change in Georgia, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman categorically denied these claims, attacking the US by saying that Russia 'desires peace in the region' and that (I paraphrase) 'Russia is not in the habit of regime change; that is more up the US' alley.' (per Sky News).

*

Sergei Lavrov (per CNN):

"We have no plans to throw down any leadership," Lavrov said. "It is not part of our culture. It is not what we do."

However, Lavrov said Moscow did not trust the country's leadership.

He said Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's "barbaric and brutal action" had undermined trust in Georgia.

Lavrov also had harsh words for the West, saying he was "deeply disappointed" Western powers had not talked Georgia out of attacking South Ossetia last Thursday."

*

Whatever ulterior motives Russia may have in this intervention, they have been extremely politically savvy: If Georgia has indeed engaged in ethnic cleansing then the Kosovo precedent has given them the oppurtunity... and the fact that they have not changed Georgia's government or occupied the country when they could have done so, keeping to their stated purpose, does tend to strengthen their credibility. We might have got a show of military strength which adds to the credibility of Russia's word and guarantees, which will not be without its political consequences.

Meanwhile, the lesson for Georgia has been clear, bought at enormous material cost and a high cost in military lives: If you have a powerful neighbour into whose face, with justification or not, you constantly spit, and violate a guarantee which it gave, calling its bluff, you can reasonably expect retribution.

The only thing that remains to be seen now, in my view, is (1) what kind of a deal can be brokered regarding Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and in my view the former will likely become independent while the later will eventually become part of Russia, (2) how to broker lasting peace between Russia and Georgia, and (3) whether Georgia engaged in atrocities against the civilian population. Time will tell - and I will be most interested in the news for the next few days.

BBC got the news out first:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7555858.stm

Followed by Sky News.

CNN has the story as well.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/12/georgia.russia.war/index.html

As per CNN, one of the three pipelines had been damaged in the fighting, but there was no oil in it at the time.

Russia has (per CNN) also issued demands for a demilitarised zone along the South Ossetian border.

"Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an earlier news conference Tuesday that Russia wanted a demilitarized zone to be created in Georgian territory before a cease-fire took effect.

The zone had to be big enough to prevent Georgia's military from again attacking the breakaway province, Lavrov said."

As per the AP Russia reserves the right to 'quell any pockets of resistance within South Ossetia' and advises that 'Saakashvili should go' since they do not consider him a credible partner but are not forcing that part.

And Mikhail Gorbachev has written an article regarding Georgia for the Washington Post...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/11/AR2008081101372.html

Georgia was just a bate, obeying the orders from US top officials to lure Russia into the conflict and to distract the world's attention from a much larger theater of actions.

The war is just starting. Read this:

file:///Users/11/Library/Mail%20Downloads/ Putin%20Walks%20into%20a%20Trap%20by%20Mike%20Whitney %20:%20Information%20Clearing%20House%20-%20ICH.html

Ref: 28, try this link instead:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20508.htm

This is fascinating:

"Russians were told over breakfast yesterday what really happened in Georgia: the conflict in South Ossetia was part of a plot by Dick Cheney, the Vice-President, to stop Barack Obama being elected president of the United States.

The line came on the main news of Vesti FM, a state radio station that — like the Government and much of Russia's media — has reverted to the old habits of Soviet years, in which a sinister American hand was held to lie behind every conflict, especially those embarrassing to Moscow. Modern Russia may be plugged into the internet and the global marketplace but in the battle for world opinion the Kremlin is replaying the old black-and-white movie.

The Obama angle is getting wide play. It was aired on Wednesday by Sergei Markov, a senior political scientist who is close to Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister and power behind President Medvedev.

“George Bush's Administration is promoting interests of candidate John McCain,” said Dr Markov. “Defeated by Barack Obama on all fronts, McCain has one last card to play yet - the creation of a virtual Cold War with Russia . . . Bush himself did not want a war in South Ossetia but his Republican Party did not leave him any choice.” The Americans were now engineering an armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Dr Markov added."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4535173.ece