Monday, July 09, 2007

Russia Gone Wild

For those of you keeping score at home, let's do a quick recap of Russia's recent activities:

1) Cyberwar against Estonia, following the removal of a Soviety WW2 memorial in Tallinn

2) Hostilities between Russia and Georgia in October 2006 (discussed here and here) with regard to Georgia's brief detainment of Russian intelligence officers caught in the act of spying

3) A cross-border attack on a village in Georgia in March 2007

4) Threatened to train Russia's nuclear missiles on Europe if the US missile defense shield were installed in eastern Europe

Meanwhile, all political power is being consolidated in the Kremlin, the state is nationalizing industry, foreign oil companies are being kicked out of the country, and those who dare to question President Putin are dying, repeatedly and dramatically. This is the type of country that is both threatening and unstable, and is searching for a familiar scapegoat to divert popular anger - the United States of America.

In Case You Were Curious...

Here is one writer's running diary of the Live Earth concert this past weekend. I am terribly upset that I missed it. Honestly, how could you listen to Al Gore call for a 90% reduction in greenhouse gases and not take the guy seriously? Such a thinker, so passionate, and with a fantastically persuasive environmental philosophy to boot.