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Google News Has Russian Army Invading Savannah, GA
theodp writes "If you checked out Google-wannabe Cuil, you learned that mapping search results to relevant images isn't a trivial task. But even Big Dog Google isn't immune to embarrassing graphics gaffes. Readers of Google News were shown that Russian troops are thrusting into the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia, thanks to the Google Maps graphic accompanying a story about Russian incursions into Georgia — the nation-state in the Caucasus, not the Caucasian-pride-ridden state in the southern US. Yahoo! Answers also had some fun with the GA-Georgia mix-up — 'I live in georegia but i dont see rusia no where not even sound but they says theres tanks should i be worrie' (Google cache) — before a spoilsport deleted the question."
Now I understand where all those references to WWIII are coming from, the Russians are invading Georgia :)
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Who put the humor tag on this story? Where's the outrage against Russia's invasion of a sovereign country?
3 things about computers: they're alive, they're self-aware, and they hate your guts.
Google News Has Russian Army Invading Savannah, GA
so... ummm... russian army works for google?
Caucasian-pride-ridden state in the southern U.S
I am actually quite amazed that /. would put such an inflamatory phrase like that into a summary. By using the word "ridden" are you implying that being proud of your race is a bad trait? I do believe that while we are at the olympics, many people are 'proud' of their country, heritage or race. However, in light of the olympics, this is a positive thing as we cheer in the name of sport and friendly competition. The usage in the summary, gives the impression that all Georgian's are Klansman. One should note that Georgia has a higher percentage of African Americans (29%) than the US average http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13000.html, and I'm sure they are proud of being from Georgia.
Why not describe other countries that are predominantly Caucasian such as Sweden, or Ireland in the same manner?
Other uses that you should try:
Arab-pride-ridden (Iraq)
Jewish-price-ridden (Israel)
Linux-pride-ridden (./)
First of all, let's remember that the Georgians and the Russians have been provoking each other for years over this issue. They have both violated the ceasefire and it will probably be a while before we know who violated the ceasefire lines first.
You lament the invasion, and similarly George Bush stated, "Georgia is a sovereign nation, and its territorial integrity must be respected... We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand-down by all troops. We call for the end of the Russian bombings." Mr Putin expressed similar reservations about Iraq in April 2003:
Be sure to watch the media over the next few days - you'll see pictures of dead and wounded, buildings destroyed, and many other realities of war. Now ask yourself why you don't see any of those images from Iraq. Ask why we saw silhouetted shots of helicopters and long views of nighttime explosions instead of what was really happening on the ground.
We can see on both sides that morality is of little importance. Unfortunately, since we have taken Iraq unilaterally, Russia is free to take Georgia unilaterally, and any other province they can get away with. All they have to do is claim that their national security is threatened, which is a more grounded claim. Georgia is on the Russian border, not thousands of miles away, and they are dealing with their own problems in Chechnya.
It is time to give real power to the UN and the ICC in order to avoid more death and destruction. Unless states submit themselves to a common rule of international law, there will never be a chance for peace.
You are only partially correct. Georgia did start an offensive in South Ossetia against the independence movement there. However, Russia has most definitely gone beyond any peacekeeping role that it claimed. The Russians have bombed the Georgian town of Gori, which is well outside of the combat zone. If anything, it seems that Russia is using the Georgian attacks on South Ossetia as a pretense to invade the entire country. This has gone well beyond anything the Russians should be doing, regardless of what Georgia did in the first place. It is, as the Georgian president has put it, an act of war. Oh, and if you won't take this American's word for it, try the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7551595.stm
You sir, do not have a clue.
I have lived in Georgia for 14 eyars, having previously spent time in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. I can tell you that both northern states are by far-and-away more racist than Georgia. In 14 years, not once (NOT ONCE -- for emphasis) have I heard a white person use the N-word, while in both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, I witnessed not only frequent use of the word, but also blind, entrenched bigotry. Never have I seen whites and minorities live more harmoniously that in Georgia (the ghettoization of minorities in northern cities is NOT "harmony").
While there are white supremacists in Georgia (whom I have never met), I think it's safe to say they are a complete minority. Meanwhile, your own bigotry is available for all to see in the summary.
I always wanted to start a burger chain in Effingham country called "Effingham Burgers." You can get an Effingham Burger, or an Effingham Sandwich.
The come with effing fries.
And if you'd have followed the story for a bit longer, you'd realize that this was a damn near inevitable outcome of Russia's approach to "protecting" South Ossetia from Georgia. I was always wondering when the war would start. I'm just surprised it happened so quickly.
If you think this is about anything other than Russia's power politics-driven goals, you're a fool.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
Georgian army shelled a sleeping Tskhinvali, killing more than 1500 people. Without warning.
Let me repeat: Georgia killed more than 1500 civilians by shelling a sleeping city.
That's a war crime.
Then Georgia moved in with tanks and infantry. And _only_ _then_ Russian forces moved in. You just can't blame this conflict on Russia.
Gori was not the target of bombing, a military base and ammo warehouses were targeted. The civilian losses were, probably, a result of a stray bomb or caused by exploding ammo warehouse.
I have friends in Georgia, one of them has been mobilized yesterday. So I watch the situation carefully (I also speak Russian).
Russia _definitely_ overstepped its peacekeeping mandate, sure. But by now nobody cares about it.
What Georgia did _was_ an act of war. They invaded a defacto sovereign nation, violating a 1992 accord, and this was an outright violation of international law. They did so by shelling civilians in Tsinhvali.They didn't just violate some hypothetical border. They literally tried to reclaim the entire breakaway province. Some _1500_ innocents have died as a direct result of this aggression. Russian is not "invading the entire country", it is performing a series of preventative strikes (so beloved by the USA) on military bases to _prevent_ further military actions by Georgia and force Georgia so stop the war. Keep in mind that 90% of all Southern Ossetians hold russian citizenship.
Apparently "preventative strikes" on Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever by the USA is perfectly okay even in the name of the so-called "War on Terrorism", yet when Russian military actually tries to enforce a ceasefire and stop the Georgians from cutting the Ossetians to pieces (again, like the tried in the 90s), you get "omghee teh Russians have invaded teh poowah Georgians". What a joke.
Now, while Southern Ossetia is de-jure part of Georgia, it is defacto a sovereign nation. Remember Kosovo? This isn't any different. Except for that a fragile peace has been actively enforced by Russian peacekeepers for more than 10 years while the three sides (abkhazia, souther ossetia and georgia) were failing to reach a consensus. If there was any hope for the creation of semi-autonomous regions within Georgia - that hope is lost. You don't really think the Ossetians and Abhazians are going to want to be a part of Georgia after this? Georgia literally has 0 diplomatic credits now after repeatedly repudating on and violating international agreements.
It is, as the Georgian president has put it, an act of war.
Definitely, and it's completely at odds with arguments Russia had been making about the former-Yugoslavia situation, particularly the independence of Kosovo. They don't want provinces seceding from their mother country because that would legitimise Chechnya's attempts at independence, yet now they interfere when Georgia tries to stop a province from declaring its independence.
Ofcourse South Ossetia wants to join Russia, and Georgia has supported Chechnya (in words at least), so clearly different standards are in order here. On the other hand, I think Saakashvili overplayed his hand quite a bit, and was a fool for antagonising Russia. With a big and autocratic neighbour like that, an uncomfortable friendship works much better than outright hostility.
Then that Korean fuckwit, with enough military power, can blow you up without asking first.
The UN arrives at international consensus all the time, with very reasonable compromises for both sides, that the populations of both sides often are in favor for. For instance, declaring the Middle East a nuclear free zone for everyone - Israel, the US, and Iran. This is supported by everyone, except the governments of US and Israel. The US doesn't join the International Criminal Court because their first subject may be Henry Kissinger, or even GW Bush. Thus you can't expect the current government elite to make any move that could endanger themselves or their friends.
If you don't believe in law, then fine, we can continue to be an outlaw state, burning and pillaging at our whim. But when you are on the receiving end of the bullet, try not to complain.
Black Hats and White Hats?
I think this is definitely a Red Hat problem.
That may actually be a more insightful comment than you know. Georgia has been making progress towards NATO membership, and under article 5 of the NATO treaty this attack by Russia would have to be responded by all of NATO.
"stopping the ongoing genocide" -- that's Russian talking points, just like US invading Iraq for WMD, when will you stop trusting propaganda of people directly involved in the conflict?
"There were several attacks on Georgia, but strictly on military targets." -- I'm also sure that Georgians keep their tanks in the apartment buildings since I've seen some of them bombed by Russian planes.
"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -- Prof. Dumbledore
simple question, the guy claims he speaks russian, has friends locally, so he's going to be a ton better informed than your average ./er, what is *your* claim to authority ?
It would seem to me that someone with an ear on the ground is better informed than someone that simply reads the filtered and processed media, which can't help but always paint russia as the boogey man, even if there is no apparent reason to do so. In this particular case it seems that all the hype paints russia as the aggressor, whereas all the more informed sources paint georgia as the aggressor.
The small fact that the US has been quietly (Or not so quietly) bankrolling georgia's resistance to the russians is mostly ignored by US media (but it's all over the news in Europe).
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South Ossetia is not a sovereign nation, de facto or otherwise. It's recognized by no one, not even Russia. It's a province of Georgia with a separatist militia operating. Georgia has every right to put down an internal insurgency, Russia has no right to invade another nation.
This would be like if the United States invaded Russia in 1999 after Putin ordered the army in to put down Maskhadov's separatist forces. Chechnya was de facto sovereign by your standards, having signed a peace treaty with Yeltsin after the first Chechen War.
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You just regurgitated the majority of well crafted Russian Propaganda that has surrounded this affair. Allow me to cut this Gordian Knot.
South Ossetia is South of the Caucasus Mountains . Even the BBC seem to have gotten their heads out of there asses about this fact, and have finally shown a topographical map of the region. Surprise, surprise. It turns out that the only connection between "North Ossetia" and "South Ossetia" is a the Roki Tunnel constructed in 1957. Yet we are all expected to believe that South Ossetia, has a long rich and deep cultural connection to their northern neighbours, and not with Georgia.
Look at the provence's profile. Most of it lies above 1000m. Total population ~70,000(There are 250,000 Russian's living in London). Do you know what South Ossetia is? It's a mountain slope. I'm a firm believer in self determination, but wars of national liberation over a bushel of villages on a mountain crag is taking it too far. Comparisons to Kosovo are laughable. Kosovo has over 30 times the population and twice the land mass, with most of that actually being below 1000m.
Border populations like the South Ossetian's exist all over the world, and I'm not in favor of national lines being redrawn to accommodate a handful of malcontents. Oppressed populations perhaps, but there is exactly zero evidence of that. Zero. A war over any such region is totally and completely unjustified.
You want to know what South Ossetia really is? It's a mini Sudentenland. Yeah, yeah, Godwin's Law, sue me. It's a good comparison. A very good comparison in fact. South Ossetia is an excuse, and excuse and nothing more, for Russia to put the smack down on Georgia and bring what it regards as a "near-abroad" province back under its boot. And it's not even a very good excuse.
I've been saying the following for a while, with a new sentence getting added every few years or so. The Bear is up. He's out of Hibernation, and has taken a very long piss. He's licked his wounds. He's wolfed down a few morsels. He's been seen marking the trees around his old haunts. He's been heard growling and roaring, and seen pawing the ground. Here's my latest addition:
The Bear has just made his first big kill in a very long time.
The Bear is back, he is On-Form, and the everybody(especially younger types) had better start getting used to it!
May the Maths Be with you!