The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia

The Booman is convinced, based on both Bush and Clinton foreign policy, that we'll soon be in a shooting war with Russia over Georgia, that they have called our bluff, realized we're in Iraq and Afghanistan too deep, and now do not have a choice other than to save face by throwing down.

Read the essay, it's a good one. It explains very well why both the left and the right are eager to take a crack at the Russian Bear, and he has a point.

But as Atrios asks, what are we going to do about it? There's not much we can do about it, frankly. The age of American hegemony ended officially ended last week, folks. At this point we either have to prove to the world that we can fight a third war, or we'll prove to the world that we can't. Russia is holding all the cards right now, and unless we want this to go nookular, Russia will continue doing its thing. We're not in control anymore. That era of America was killed by the Bush Doctrine.

UPDATE: The Times of London is reporting that the Russians have taken Gori and are now fortifying Tblisi, cutting Georgia in half. Nothing we can do. Nothing Europe or China will do, because they need Russian oil and gas. Russia is holding all the cards here, folks. Every single one of them. Why should they stop now?

Midpoint Music Festival Rocks Out

Cincinnati's Midpoint Music Festival is next month, and it's surely worth checking out if you'll be in town September 25-27. Lots of acts, many venues and a good time to be had by all. Drop by the Festival's main site for a list of bands, including The Purrs, Why?, Backyard Tire Fire, and Robert Pollard's new project Boston Spaceships making their tour debut.

Advance 3-Day passes are on sale for $29, including shuttle service to the venues. There's a ton of bands and it's a great way to experience the city!

iDropped

Some of you know I'm the proud owner of an iPhone 3G. It's pretty damn cool. But there are issues with it, and those issues are enough to turn people away from the product and back to other smartphones from other carriers besides AT&T.

Apple is denying anything's wrong of course, and so is AT&T. So is the iPhone 3G right for you? The biggest question is if AT&T has 3G coverage in your hometown or not. If they do (I live in Cincy and I'm here 99% of the time within 3G range) then you're fine.

If you're on the road a lot or live out in an area without 3G coverage, you're going to be in trouble. I've noticed that my iPhone will switch from 3G to standard EDGE network coverage without issue if you're deep inside an office building for example, but you have to reset the network settings to 3G to pick up 3G coverage again once you're in a location that should get 3G coverage. It should do it automatically, and it's not. That can be a REAL pain in the ass if you're in a building where Wi-Fi is not available, or where it's locked down because you're in a work environment.

Apple and AT&T have a fair amount of work ahead of them to make the iPhone 3G live up to the hype. When it works, it works great. When it doesn't work, you have to have an IT degree to get it working again. If it's the iPhone software or AT&T's network, Apple needs to get on the ball. There are too many competitors out there that have better service, and once they catch up on the functionality of the iPhone, Apple's in real trouble, because AT&T's 3G service leaves a lot to be desired so far. That may change, but everyone's gunning to the be the "iPhone better than the iPhone" and the brand power of Apple's product is only going so far.

Microsoft took what Apple did right and fixed what was wrong and the rest is history. Will Samsung, Verizon, RIM, or Sprint do the same 20 years later?

The Public Relations War

...in Georgia is being won hands-down by the Georgians.

"We are in the process of invasion, occupation, and annihilation of an independent, democratic country," Saakashvili said at a news conference Monday.

"The goal of this operation is regime change in Georgia."

Saakashvili then abruptly ended his conference call with reporters, saying, "We have to go to the shelter because there are Russian planes flying over the presidential palace here, sorry."

Video footage showed a chaotic scene outside the palace, with the president being rushed away under heavy security.

Somebody's selling the Big Bad Soviets meme hardcore. Again, cui bono? Who benefits from Russia becoming the next Axis of Evil member? On the surface it appears to be McSame, but why pick a fight with Russia?

Quit Whining About Gas!

...because the Village says it's more affordable now than it was during the Kennedy years, so why are you complaining?

But perception is not reality where gas prices are concerned. By June of this year, disposable income had risen by an average of $1,627 per person over last year's figures, according to the Department of Commerce, while the average person's real expenditures on gasoline increased by about $490. Our incomes are still outpacing gasoline price increases. The problem is that our incomes aren't outpacing the increase in gas prices lumped together with increases in everything else -- air conditioning, food, etc. Our homes, meanwhile, are losing value.

Oh, THAT'S why we're complaining. Well gee. So the problem's not gas prices, it's the fact that gas prices taken along with the other ass-reaming price increases and the housing collapse are screwing the American people over. But GAS isn't the problem. Nope.

Nick Petraeus, Agent of S.T.U.P.I.D.

Jeff Huber weighs in on General Petraeus's promotion to CINC-SUCK.

As top military official in Iraq, General David Petraeus followed the same formula that he used in his previous tours there, first as commander of the Mosul district and later as the officer in charge of training Iraqi security forces. He gained short-term results by passing out crates of weapons and bags of money to anybody who wanted them (which was everybody), then he posted press releases telling everyone how brilliant he was, and then he shrugged when things fell apart for the poor knee knocker who relieved him.

As top dog in Iraq, Petraeus caught an enormous break in Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr's decision to declare a cease fire in August 2007, and again when Sadr agreed to a second cease fire in March 2008 after Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki launched an offensive against Sadr's Mahdi Army and botched it, and yet again when Sadr recently announced that he'll turn his Mahdi force into a social service organization. For those small blessings, Petraeus can probably thank the influence of Grand Ayatolla Ali al Sistani and Shiite brass in Iran (i.e., the guys he blames for all his blunders.)

So what does this mean?

Come September, King David will move upstairs and take the reins of Central Command, at which point he'll be praetorian governor of Egypt, the Arabias, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the rest of the 'Stans.

Which of course allows him to stab Obama in the back, and make his own run in 2012 as the "I told you so" candidate.

Conserva-Smackdown

Over at CounterPunch, Paul Craig Roberts unloads on the GOP. Yeah, it's ranty (CounterPunch often is) but it needs to be said, and there's good stuff here on the site. To wit:

Georgia was part of Old Russia and the Soviet Union for two centuries. After Soviet communism collapsed, the US taxpayer funded neoconservative National Endowment for Democracy broke every agreement that President Reagan had made with Gorbachev and began using US taxpayers’ money to rig and purchase elections in former constituent parts of the Russian/Soviet empire.

The Endowment for Democracy purchased Georgia as a US colony. The affront to Russia was extreme, but at the time Russia was weak. Oligarchs with outside money had grabbed control over Russian resources, and Russia was in dire straits and could not resist American imperialism.

Putin corrected the situation for Russia.

Now using American weapons Georgia for reasons yet to be revealed has violated its own agreement with Russia and attacked South Ossetia, killing in the process Russian peacekeepers. Vladimir Vasilyev, chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee for Security told the press: “The things that were happening in Kosovo, the things that were happening in Iraq – we are now following the same path. The further the situation unfolds, the more the world will understand that Georgia would never be able to do all this without America.”

The more you look at it, the more Bush and Nameless One's fingerprints seem to be all over this little spat.

Square In The Nuts

The Obama camp is fighting back on the "Obama is an out of touch celebrity" meme with an ad pointing out McSame went all Hollywood a long time ago himself.

To provide a little context, the McCain campaign decided in recent weeks to embrace the “celebrity” narrative with both arms. It’s the principal anti-Obama attack in every ad, every press release, every surrogate talking point, and every speech. The irony, of course, is that the attack is coming from John McCain, a bona fide political celebrity, as evidenced by his cameo in “Wedding Crashers,” his appearance on “24,” his stints on “Saturday Night Live,” and the fact that he’s been on “The Daily Show” more than any other guest ever.

Really, it's bad form to use PWNXXORED, but I think in this case I'll justify it.

The Aftermath of Johnny Boy's EPIC FAIL

So, the Village has digested John Edwards' les Affaire d'FAIL and has come up with the following conclusion:

1. The Media covered up the affair, because the Media wouldn't run with this story and it's proof that
2. The Media is based towards Librul Democrats, therefore
   
3. The Edwards story is bad for Obama and good for McSame, because
   
4. Edwards cost Clinton the nomination and now the GOP will win due to the fact that
   
5. The Dems and by turn Obama are now hopelessly mired in a sex scandal.

Got it? Good. Class dismissed. The rest of you have to write "More than ever, Washington really needs a renewed sense of bipartisanship" 1000 times on the blackboard.

StupidiNews!

• Both Isaac Hayes and Bernie Mac passed away over the weekend. The world's just a bit dimmer for it.
• Missouri has picked the President correctly since 1960 and 25 of the last 26 elections as the battleground state, and the key to Missouri -- and possibly the Presidency -- is Springfield and Greene County. My friends there say of course it could go either way, naturally...
  
• The second night of the DNC Convention is officially Hillary Night. But will that be enough for her?
• Many big financial players are concerned that the dollar's recent gains will be short lived, and may be totally erased by October. Considering the US jobless numbers and consumer spending numbers are dismal, a lot of smart people believe things will be worse for the rest of the year and into 2009, including myself. Enjoy gas at $3.75 or so while it lasts...
• ...because OPEC nations took in as much in the first six months of 2008 as they did in all of 2007. Oh, and the Georgian conflict is causing oil to jump.

Well, You Saw This Coming

The Nameless One weighs in on South Ossetia.

Vice President Dick Cheney says Russia's military actions in Georgia "must not go unanswered."

Cheney spoke Sunday afternoon with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. "The vice president expressed the United States' solidarity with the Georgian people and their democratically elected government in the face of this threat to Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Cheney's press secretary, Lee Ann McBride, said.

Cheney told Saakashvili "Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States, as well as the broader international community," McBride said.

What pray tell, with our ground troops a tad busy at the moment, should our answer be Mister Vice President? A shooting war with Russia? He's on the McSame page as McSame, while Obama is pointing out Bush's lack of diplomacy with Russia led to the fact we can't do a damn thing about this.

And what the hell is Condi Rice doing through all this? Isn't she supposed to be our Russia expert? How incompetent can you get, when the SecState is a RUSSIA EXPERT and missed this little powder keg?

The Guardian newspaper goes over what's next for the region, which is A) status quo antebellum, B) war spreads to other parts of Georgia and another breakaway province or two or C) the Ukraine gets involved, and we have a shooting war between multiple former Soviet republics. So far, it's looking like Option B is happening now.

There's not much we can do. We have no diplomatic or military stick to wield right now without Russia going "Hey assholes, IRAQ" to our faces and continuing to bitchslap the Georgian Army around. Again, this is what the Bushies have brought us. McSame wants to up the stakes here, Nameless One style.

At this point, everything's up to how far Russia feels like going with this.

And our President Bush? He's letting Nameless and Condi run the shop while he's busy playing beach volleyball.

Yeah, we're screwed.

PS: The Iraqis Are Encouraging The Terrorists

...because they want a timeline for withdrawal. Now.

Clearly Obama and the Iraqis are working together because both the Iraqis and the Democrats are trying to legislate defeat and...umm wait...Ya know it would be a shame if anything happened to the Iraqi Foreign Minister. Clearly the terrorists would want to attack him for working with the Americans and trying to get them out of Ira...errm no, um...because he was giving in to demands of the enemy of the Iraqis, the Iraqi govern....no dammit! Umm...he's a Sunni and the Sunnis want the Americans to stay forever unlike the Sh...oh screw it, OBAMA IS A SCARY BLACK MAN BOOGA BOOGA SLEEP WITH YOUR DAUGHTER AND MAKE LITTLE MOCHA BABIES THAT HATE AMERICA AND DO TERRORIST FIST BUMPS AND HE'S ELITIST FOR GOING TO HAWAII WHEN YOU CAN'T BECAUSE IT'S NOT LIKE HAWAII IS AMERICA RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

What's the Why in South Ossetia?

The question people are asking now about the conflict in Georgia is "Why?" Why did the Russians come down like an Iowa tornado on Georgian troops?

There are two theories. One, the other, or both may be correct.

Theory one is that Russia is going after the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline which is the main moneymaker for the Central Asian former Soviet Republics to make money by delivering oil to the Med...oil that does NOT go through Russia. The West has been funding this project for 15 years now, and BP owns the pipeline.

Much like Russia continues to fund Communist Cuba on America's doorstep, we're trying to give Georgia an economic boost into capitalism. About 1/3 of the pipeline runs through Georgia. It's all about the oil.

Theory two is that it's not all about the oil, but the fact the Russians aren't going to put up with any more Kosovo situations. Sick of the West funneling arms and equipment into places like Georgia and setting up pro-Western dictators like Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, the Georgians thought the US would back them up if they made a play for South Ossetia. NATO made Kosovo off limits to the Russians and REALLY pissed them off. They have decided that it will not happen again. NATO will not claim Georgia.

The Georgians were wrong. The proxy war led to the proxy being smashed by the Russians. We left them out in the storm just like we did with the Iraqi Kurds, who got smashed by Turkey.

One, the other, or both may be correct. For theory one to be correct, Russia would have to occupy Georgia. This may be the beginning of a series of "annexations", the stuff of nightmares in the region, and the US being involved in yet another war.

But Russia may opt to do the same thing to send a message to the US on theory two...get your pro-Western governments off our back yard. This is our turf. We're daring you to do something about it. Theory two also looks strong. I think it's both economic and political, as they are often tied together with oil being involved.

Considering NATO is tied up in Afghanistan and the US is tied up in Iraq, Russia clearly feels it can operate with impunity in the region, and is feeling pretty burly right now.

The United States on Sunday accused Russia of trying to overthrow the government of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, where Russian troops have been battling Georgian forces over the breakaway territory of South Ossetia.

At an emergency session of the United Nations' Security Council, the U.S. alleged Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili "must go."

"This is completely unacceptable and crosses a line," said the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad, who made the allegation.

In a crackling exchange of a type rarely seen since the end of the Cold War, Khalilzad asked Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin whether the Russians were seeking "regime change" in Georgia with the military operation they launched Friday.

In response, Churkin objected to the disclosure of a confidential phone call between top diplomats and said "regime change" was "an American expression."

The Russians are now playing hardball with Georgia and with the West. They've seen the US get away with Iraq and Afghanistan now for years. Now it's their turn. This is what the Bush Doctrine has wrought upon realpolitik. Again, they are daring the world to do something about it. There's little it can do, frankly. The rapid expansion of NATO into Russia's turf has clearly been viewed as a hostile act. Russia has moved swiftly against Georgia given the excuse of bringing liberty to the Russian people of South Ossetia.

Given that we've got a lame duck President, an election year, and we're militarily tied up, Russia saw the brass ring and went for it. Whether it's for oil or territory or both, they moved.

Will they stop or keep going? Can the world even respond militarily? John McSame wants to clearly antagonize Russia further. But it's not the Georgians who were sent a clear message over the last four days. It was the United States. That message is "Get Out."

This is the inevitable next step in the Bush Doctrine: other powers will see what we did and copy it to their own benefit. McSame promises more of this. I'm not sure if Obama doesn't yet, but I believe McSame would actually be far worse.

McSame McWar McTime

Politics makes for strange bedfellows, and Russian politics seems to make the strangest beds of them all. On the topic of the Russian invasion of Georgia, both President Bush and Barry O are on the same page, asking for calm and diplomacy.

McSame on the other hand seems to think that Georgia was justified to attack Ossetia, but that Russia is *not* justified in attacking Georgia in turn.

When the North Caucasus slid into war Thursday night, it presented John McCain and Barack Obama with a true “3 a.m. moment,” and their responses to the crisis suggested dramatic differences in how each candidate, as president, would lead America in moments of international crisis.

While Obama offered a response largely in line with statements issued by democratically elected world leaders, including President Bush, first calling on both sides to negotiate, John McCain took a remarkably — and uniquely — more aggressive stance, siding clearly with Georgia’s pro-Western leaders and placing the blame for the conflict entirely on Russia.

What pray tell does McSame want us to do to Russia exactly? Is McSame trying to look foolish by saying Georgia is free to bomb the crap out of Ossetia? Or is he trying to look foolish by saying that Russia has no right to have military troops in another sovereign country it has no right to attack, while we're in Iraq and Afghanistan? Or is he trying to look extremely foolish and dangerous by trying to say we should get involved militarily while deep in two wars already?

This is a call not even George W Bush is willing to make. Let's think long and hard about what McSame as Bully-in-Chief would mean for the world with his temper and his disdain of international diplomacy. He actually manages to embody the worst characteristics of both Bush and the Nameless One: a nasty temper and mean personality, a sense of total entitlement, an extreme disconnect from reality bordering of willful ignorance, and the tendency to spout off without thinking.

After 8 years of vicious, vengeful belligerence tempered by bouts of guilt in the White House, we're in danger of trading it in for vicious, vengeful belligerence exacerbated by volcanic bursts of anger.

No matter what you think about Obama, he wins this particular point hands down. There are times for diplomacy and we need a President who understands this, not one who thinks he's the star of a Vince Flynn novel.

Above all this little war needs to be ended by the adults. A couple thousand people have already died and more will follow unless reason breaks out. McSame shouldn't be anywhere near this one.

A free world with that man at the helm is one of unending war, not just in the Middle East, but EVERYWHERE.

VP Joe (A Real American Zero)

I mentioned in passing that Joe F'ckin Lieberman was being kicked around as McSame's Veep, and I'm sad to say the odds of his selection have gone way, way up now.

Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic vice-presidential nominee who has endorsed John McCain, is being vetted as a potential running mate for the Republican presidential hopeful, according to an adviser to Mr McCain’s ­campaign.

Mr Lieberman, who has campaigned for the Arizona senator, has long been ­considered an unconventional but plausible choice for Mr McCain.

Although Democrats have rejected Mr McCain’s image as a maverick politician, Mr Lieberman’s support for the presumptive Republican nominee has, much to the chagrin of his former ­colleagues, helped to boost Mr McCain’s reputation as a bi-partisan legislator with friends on both sides of the aisle. Mr Lieberman, a staunch supporter of Israel, could also help Mr McCain win over Jewish voters.

“[McCain] loves Lieberman. And he is on the [short-]list because Lieberman has never embarrassed anyone, never misspoken. The first rule is, don’t take someone who costs you votes,” said one McCain adviser.

Since Joe F'ckin Lieberman's official job these days is to correct McSame's more idiotic/senile statements in public anyway, just give him the job. You know you want to, Sidney. Team Village Bipartisan Maverick Awesomeness would get so much press love it's not funny.

Then maybe the Dems can happily strip the asshole of his Senate chairmanships and we can get on with it.