Atrocities in the name of Democracy.

[Avalux]

I've been doing a lot of reading this past week about the situation between Georgia and Russia. I realized I don't know crap about it, so it's difficult for me to gauge what I'm being fed by the MSM and our government.

I've learned that South Ossetia, since the dissolution of the USSR, has been recognized as part of Georgia by the world community. In 1992 and again in 1996, the region held referendums to declare independence from Georgia. Even though the referendums passed - the 1998 referendum by about 98% (with foreign observers present), they were declared invalid. The reason? Not enough Georgian citizens took part to make it a 'fair' referendum.

There is also a North Ossetia, which is independent of Georgia. The Georgian Democratic government calls South Ossetia "Samachablo" because calling the region South Ossetia might imply a sense of separatism and political ties to North Ossetia. The citizens of South Ossetia have had good relations with Russia for a very long time - most citizens of South Ossetia hold Russian passports and are able to travel to Russia easily. The strife in that region stems from Georgia's forced dominance over South Ossetia. This isn't just recent history by any means; Georgians and Ossetians have been fighting for hundreds of years.

The referendum of 1996, after Shaakashvili took power, came after he used very harsh rhetoric, vowing to bring the separatists in South Ossetia in line.

For whatever reason (US influence?) - the Georgian military lauched rockets into the South Ossetian city of Tskhinvali, killing innocent civilians. In response, Russian troops moved in and then things got really messy. I am not letting Russia off the hook here; the entire situation is extremely complicated.

But now we are hearing high drama rhetoric from Bushco (with the help of the US media) that the fledgling democracy of Georgia has been attacked by the big baddie Russia. As if Georgia, because they are a "democracy" is innocent of any wrongdoing. Where is Georgia's respect for the people of South Ossetia who want independence?

The word DEMOCRACY was at one time, a word that signified what most world governments should strive to be; representative of the people. Now it means nothing. Bushco has bastardized it and used it as a vehicle for their sordid war crimes. Iraq is a joke.

Now Georgia is following suit.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. the US has been arranging uprisings and the like around the world for years

it is not just the US. Other countries are guilty of it too. Trouble nobody admits to it that it's wrong.