Small Ramp on the Upward Rise of a Georgian Wall

BBC News, this morning:

Russian MPs back Georgia’s rebels

(paraphrasing Mandy Rice-Davies) – well they would, wouldn’t they!

Putin, the hand rocking the Russian cradle, must be happy, but not surprised…  It was he who set the current format of the Upper House, the Federation Council in 2004 when, following the Beslan School Hostage Crisis he removed the system of regional elections to the Council and replaced it with a system of Direct Presidential Appointments.

Putin was the President in 2004!!

• Q.  And where is Beslan?
• A.  Why, in North Ossetia!

Hmm.

• Q.  And why did Russia invade South Ossetia?
• A.  To help all the Russian Nationals.

Hmm.

• Q.  And why are there so many Russian Nationals in South Ossetia?
• A.  Because since 1991, the USSR breakup, Russia has been dishing out passports faster than a slick blackjack croupier to anyone who had the merest pretension of looking interested in South Ossetia!  In fact, the normally, very strict rules on Russian Passport issue which reputably take months of inquest, are relaxed to be non-existent  for anyone from the area.

So the building blocks for a new wall were ordered years ago and are now being delivered.

It’s amazing to consider that it was only a few years ago that plans and ideas were still being seriously discussed for Russia to join NATO!  See links below as examples.

Russia in NATO? – by James A Baker III

The American people want Russia included in NATO – The Russia Journal

Russia’s Eventual Place in NATO – The New York Times

I still feel that the current situation has been engineered to serve Putin and the right-wing USA forces for the same ends – i.e. To create a local power structure using a “big common enemy” scenario to erect barriers to the exchange of ideas and thus maintain each side’s power base indefinitely.

Ian Bell in the Scottish Sunday Herald has a good take on this.  The comments following his article make valuable (and entertaining) reading as well!  see: Georgia was tricked, but by Russia or US?