If Russia uses the same tactics in the Ukraine as it did in Georgia

If Russia uses the same tactics in the Ukraine as it did in Georgia, that is to issue passports to citizens with a Russian heritage before invading, then Crimea may be the bate in an eloborate trap set for the Russian Navy.

Crimea is defendable, only if Russia controls it’s southern flank ( the Roki Tunnel in Georgia ). And that strategy requires a Navy. Modern warfare follows a pattern of deployment in increasingly larger theaters, allowing for testing and training of the forces as the strategy develops. Coordination of land and sea elements is a must if Russia’s goal is to regain control of Eastern Europe. If Crimea is a the second stage of such a strategy, Russia must know it cannot be supported by air power alone and will depend heavily on seaports in Georgia.  

Russians may be enigmatic, their policies may be paradoxical and they may speak in riddles…but their actions are obvious and simple to counter. Let the Russian Navy in, and don’t let them out of their little pond. The following is self-evidence of Russian intentions.

Vienna, September 23 – Under the terms of new legislation nominally intended to promote the repatriation of “Russian compatriots” and thus help solve Russia’s demographic problems, Moscow can now offer Russian Federation citizenship to more than eight million Ukrainians, even though the Ukrainian constitution prohibits dual citizenship.

Window on Eurasia: Moscow Can Now Offer Russian Citizenship to Eight Million Ukrainians.

Pushing a Fast-Fix May Leave Home Owners Out in the Cold

Many expect Legislation to be passed this week to address the crisis on Wall Street. While the Banks and Brokers have had years to prepare for this inevitable consequence of irresponsible lending, and non-existant oversight of the Banking Industry, the general public ( i.e. home owners ) are not so well prepared.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said, “The credit markets are still very fragile right now and frozen, we need to deal with this and deal with it quickly…more.”

Democrats would like to modify the plan, changing the bankruptcy laws to allow a Judge authority in home owner for-closure cases. They believe that protecting the assets of individuals would force Banks to require better credit for loan applications, as well as larger down-payments, stating that the effect would strengthen the Banking Industry and the market in general. The question is whether Democrats will get the 60% support required to force the modifications.

And of course the President has to sign the Bill…quickly….hopefully…

Chinese Proposal to End Anonymity on Internet

Many people believe that the internet is the single greatest development of Democracy in recorded history. Threats to that Democratization occur daily, and are recorded diligently by amateur and professional bloggers alike. When news of cyber-crime, or cyber-war is reported by main-stream-news agencies, a cold chill moves through the ether.

When Goverments add to the Climate of Fear, an Arctic Wind blows strong.

I felt that shiver when I read the article below; 

U.N. agency eyes curbs on Internet anonymity | Politics and Law – CNET News.
September 12, 2008 4:00 AM PDT
Posted by Declan McCullagh

…When NSA takes the lead on standard-setting, you have to ask yourself how much is about security and how much is about surveillance,” said the Electronic Privacy Information Center’s Rotenberg. “You would think (the ITU) would be a little more sensitive to spying on Internet users with the cooperation of the NSA and the Chinese government.

Recently, I down-loaded Googles’s Chrome Browser , it has a feature that I find relevant to efforts of certain government efforts to gain control of publications on the world wide web. Incognito allows people to explore the web while leaving limited spore, and suffering little or no damages to their vehicles.

I really have to wonder if I’ve gained a false sense of security, and whether we’re all being monitored and recorded, and the release of stories like the one above are just breaking the news gently.

Moscow’s Use of Russian Passports in Georgia Disturbs Other Post-Soviet States

How many Eastern Europeans enjoy dual citizenship with Russia? Will recent events in Georgia affect the number of pass-ports in other nations that border Russia? The conclusion of this article at Window On Eurasia.

Window on Eurasia: Moscow’s Use of Russian Passports in Georgia Disturbs Other Post-Soviet States.

“..With Russia’s actions in Georgia, Moscow has invoked a principle which has not yet been accepted by the international community or even by the Russian government as a universal precedent has been created that suggests a country has the right to intervene in a territory on which “compactly live” its dual citizens.

Many countries, such as Ukraine, prohibit dual citizenship either in their constitutions or by law because their governments fear that the most dangerous situation would be to have a large number of people on their territories who sometimes could act as citizens of their country and sometimes as citizens of another. And that danger only increases, Mesherova continues, when one country secretly or semi-secretly passes out passports as the Russians did in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and reportedly are doing so in Crimea as well despite the laws of the country in which Russian officials are acting in this way…”

The obvious reaction by Western Powers would be to monitor the traffic and distribution of Passports in nations neighboring Russia.

Ethnic Cleansing Case Against Russia at the International Court of Justice

It will be interesting to read the U.S. reaction to the International Court of Justice findings on both the ethnic cleansing charges and the soveignity issues presented by Georgia against Russia. Pres. Bush has declined to sign the treaties that would acknowledge the Courts authority.

The Georgia Minister of Foreign Affairs blogs via an internet provider in the U.S. currently, due to hostile cyber activity in Georgia. The following quote is from that blog. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia: Ethnic Cleansing Case Against Russia to Open on Monday, September 8, at the International Court of Justice

Monday, September 8, 2008

Hearing to focus on Georgia’s request for provisional measures by the Court to prevent further cases of ethnic cleansing following the Russian invasion of Georgia

The International Court of Justice will hear arguments on Monday, September 8, in the case Georgia has brought against the Russian Federation for ethnic cleansing and for its support of separatism on Georgian territory. The charges relate to instances of ethnic cleansing beginning in the early 1990s and through recent days.

Other nations in the Caucus region will be watching closely, certainly Armenia has great concern. Armenia recently hosted a foot-ball game with a team from Turkey. The obvious hope is that sports will provide an opening for further diplomatic progress. Ethnic Cleansing ( Genocide ) has been a stumbling block for repairing relations between those two nations. As it stands, Armenia is effectively trapped between a war and a closed border with Turkey.

The Ukraine is also in turmoil, being at odds with Russia and fearing the same military adventures may come to their nation.

The U.S. is currently reconsidering the standing relationship with Russia, a major concern being nuclear issues. As the election nears in America, the world will have one eye on the International Court of Justice, and the other eye on the Election.

Will the Court come to any conclusion before the inauguration of the new President, or will they wait, hoping for a President that is more supportive of it’s authority? George Bush scuttled the previous administrations efforts to establish the Court.

 

 

 

Last October, I notice an old pump

 

Last October, I notice an old pump, in a neighbor’s backyard. The memories flowed from my memory well. Cool memories of water on the hot days of my youth on the farm. Hot years, no rain for months. Dust, and more dust, on and in and around everything.   

But the well never went dry. The red pump, on a cool well that stood at the center of our lives in the dry years. The hard years. Years before water was sold in disposable plastic bottles that could make dust shine. Before vending machines, microwave ovens, and other means of instant gratification. I don’t trust those little plastic bottles.

The well was true, the pump was dependable, and the water was always cool for those willing to take it’s handle, and work it. I remember working that pump, and how I hated the burn in my arms as I worked the handle while my brother carried the water to the hogs. Hot, dusty hogs standing knee-deep in dust. And I remember the cool water that trickled across my bare feet while I pumped.

I left that farm as soon as I was able. I kept the pump in the back of my mind. And when I see an old pump, the memories flow cool like water from a deep well.   

Cool water, on my bare feet. It don’t get no cooler than that in a dust-bowl…

The Ant and the Elephant

Dreaming of Utipia

Many of the people I meet on the internet are self-proclaimed socialists. Not that they bare any resemblance to socialists of five or six decades ago. Today’s egalitarians are much more pro-active than their predecessors, and much less prone to violence ( violence of their own commision ). Dreamers, not doers.

One common fantasy among these neo-Leninists is the myth of ‘Mother Russia’, and I wonder if their love for the myth is inappropriate to the point of humor. Consider;

The Ant and the Elephant

An ant was strolling across a wheat field ( Perhaps I shouldn’t say strolling. To an ant, the blades of wheat must look like tall Canadian Pines ). He found a very sad ant. It would seem that the latter ant had fallen in love with an Elephant ( The sad part is; the Elephant had died before the wedding ).

“Why so sad, comrade? Your love was monumental, and your name will be known world-wide!”

No words can console a despondent lover, who realizes that digging a grave will take the rest of his life…

Russia, like the Elephant is dying, if she is not dead already. Held down by the weight of her own corpse, she cannot rise to consumate the love of the sentimental left. It would be humorous if it were not so sad to see the Castros, and the Chaves of the world pledging their undying love to a dead dream.

Pismires and Politics ‘08

Chrome is Heavy

Google’s Gambit

Most people use Microsoft’s Browser ( about 70% ), yet MS makes no revenue directly from that usage. Google sells advertisement that is viewed mostly on Microsoft Browsers. What would Microsoft lose, if they blocked all advertisement with their browser? Nothing. What would Google lose? Everything. Chrome is a heavy risk.

Whether it ever happens or not, Google must develop their own browser, and it better be competitive with the other browsers out there. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just survivable.

Chrome, in it’s current state doesn’t threaten any of the several major browsers, but it’s obviously fast, accurate and at least as reliable as the others. Add the fact that it’s in Beta, and welcoming criticism and suggestion and you have a formula for growth.

I’m not going to add another techy review, there’s a link in the side-bar with much of that. I will add a link to Chrome for those who are interested in downloading.

Download Chrome

p.s. Is it obvious that I like Chrome? Chrome’s quality is self-evident.