Russia blocks draft Security Council resolution on Georgia crisis

Russia has rejected a draft resolution circulated at the UN Security Council calling for an immediate withdrawal of its forces from Georgia, which Moscow said goes against the terms of a previous ceasefire agreement.

Russia has insisted its forces began leaving Georgian territory on Tuesday, following a cessation of fierce fighting that started on Aug. 7. But Moscow said any UN declaration should include the initial six-point plan brokered by France last week.

Georgian officials have accused Moscow of ignoring its obligations under a French-brokered agreement that both sides withdraw to positions held before fighting began 11 days ago when Georgian forces moved to retake control of the breakaway province of South Ossetia.

Read more here.

NATO-Russia feud erupts over Georgia conflict

MOSCOW: NATO-Russia relations plunged to their lowest point in years Tuesday over the conflict in Georgia and Russia's failure to withdraw from the former Soviet republic.

The Russian military took 21 Georgian soldiers prisoner in the latest flaring of tension in Georgia.

As Western criticism intensified, Moscow pulled its navy out of joint exercises with NATO, while foreign ministers from the alliance declared that "business as usual" would now be impossible.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer accused Russia of failing to respect a French-brokered peace plan requiring both sides to move troops back to their positions before Georgia launched an offensive on the separatist region of South Ossetia.

Read more here.

Iran launch troubling: US … Israel plays down concern

CRAWFORD, Texas (Agencies): The White House said Sunday that Iran’s announcement it had launched a home-built rocket into space was “troubling” because such technology could also be used for ballistic missiles. “The Iranian development and testing of rockets is troubling and raises further questions about their intentions,” spokesman Gordon Johndroe said as US President George W. Bush spent time on his Texas ranch. “This action and dual use possibilities for their ballistic missile program have been a subject of IAEA discussions and are inconsistent with their UN Security Council obligations,” Johndroe said, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency — the UN nuclear watchdog. He spoke after Tehran said it had sent a home-built rocket carrying a dummy satellite into space on Sunday, in a move that could further exacerbate tensions with the West over its nuclear drive.

“The Safir (Ambassador) rocket was successfully launched. All its systems ... are Iranian made,” Reza Taghipour, head of Iran’s space agency, told state television, adding that a “test satellite was put into orbit.” “We have paved the way for placing a satellite in space in future,” state television said, showing images of the pre-dawn rocket launch. Western governments suspect Iran is trying to build an atomic weapon and have voiced concern that the technology used in the Islamic republic’s space program could be diverted to military use, claims denied by Tehran. Sunday’s development came amid an international standoff over Tehran’s long-standing refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, a process which makes nuclear fuel but also the core of an atomic bomb.

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In Battered Villages, Georgians Speak, if They Dare

By C. J. CHIVERS

KARALETI, Georgia — The young Georgian woman stood behind the entrance of a darkened home. Only her dark brown eyes were visible, peering from a mail slot at strangers walking toward the door.

“Peaceful people!” she cried in relief, and swung the door inward, revealing two families standing in the shadows of their looted home. They had little food. Their house had been ransacked.

For more than a week, the villages on the roads running south from Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, some 20 miles to Gori, a central Georgian city now under Russian occupation, have been a corridor of grief, violence and crime.

Read more here.

9-1-1 0n 9/11

Interesting Times Revisited

On this date in 1895, American frontier murderer and outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, is killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas.

NATO warns Russia on ties, offers Georgia support

NATO allies say that regular contacts with Russia is impossible until its troops are fully withdrawn from Georgia, and say they were "seriously considering" the implications of Moscow's actions.

"We have determined that we cannot continue with business as usual," the 26 NATO states said in a joint declaration after emergency talks in Brussels over the South Ossetia conflict.

Separately, they agreed to set up a new forum known as a NATO-Georgia Commission to deepen ties with Tbilisi.

NATO secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a news conference it would function along similar lines to an 11-year-old arrangement with Ukraine but would not prejudge Georgia's prospects of entering the alliance.

Read more here.

Much at stake in Russia-Georgia conflict

By Charles Krauthammer

The Russia-Georgia cease-fire brokered by France's president is less than meets the eye. Its terms keep moving as the Russian army keeps moving. Russia has since occupied Gori (appropriately, Stalin's birthplace), effectively cutting Georgia in two. The road to the capital, Tbilisi, is open, but apparently Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has temporarily chosen to seek his objectives through military pressure and Western acquiescence rather than by naked occupation.

His objectives are clear. They go beyond detaching South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgia and absorbing them into Russia. They go beyond destroying the Georgian army, leaving the country at Russia's mercy.

The real objective is the Finlandization of Georgia through the removal of President Mikheil Saakashvili and his replacement by a Russian puppet.

Read more here.

Georgia, Russia, and Iraq?

Georgia’s borders on the Black Sea, surrounded from the north, east and south, by four countries Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia and Turkey.

From Azerbaijan, through Russia to Europe are the “corridors of power”, where the energy line passes via the Russian territory, across Georgian territory to Turkey (then to Europe) or to the Black Sea.

It is in the EU interest that “corridors of power” via the Georgian territory to stay safe and secure, and the need for the Russia’s oil and gas, is the strength of the “Russian defense” that the EU will not take the Georgian side.

The U.S. knows this, to “liberate” the EU from the Russian oil and gas, and will dominates the oil and gas export to the EU with Nabucco line (3300 kilometers), which will start in 2010 and become operational year 2013.

Read more here.

Pic(k) of the Day

Me & My Sister

Ash : hey
zachbosch1979: hey there
Ash : what are you up to?
zachbosch1979: just woke up
Ash : ahhh
zachbosch1979: watching Girls Behaving Badly
Ash : I love that show!
zachbosch1979: it's on right now
zachbosch1979: i love it too
Ash : I'm about to post to the game
zachbosch1979: yay
zachbosch1979: i need to do some work on it tonight
zachbosch1979: how's the rest of your day been?
Ash : exhausting
zachbosch1979: i can imagine
Ash : Jackie and Jessica got into a huge fight this morning
Ash : about Jessica moving to Hermitage
Ash : and they were not speaking
Ash : yet...they were both here
zachbosch1979: Jessica is moving to Hermiatge
Ash : yes, in August
zachbosch1979: it's an all right place to live
Ash : yes, she's very excited about it
zachbosch1979: but Jackie doesn't want her to go
Ash : nope, but Jesse told Jessica that he would help her out with
money and stuff
zachbosch1979: well she's old enought now
Ash : and that royally pissed Jackie off
zachbosch1979: lol
Ash : so jackie told Jessica all kinds of bad stuff about Jesse
Ash : like how he knocked some girl up when he was twelve?
zachbosch1979: huh?
zachbosch1979: omg
Ash : you didn't know?
Ash : anyway, it totally crushed Jessica
zachbosch1979: my my
Ash : she called mamma squalling while we were at your house
zachbosch1979: that was kinda of evil-ass-bitch of Jackie wasn't it?
Ash : which was a really bitchy and immature thing for jackie to do
IMO
zachbosch1979: lol
zachbosch1979: at the exact same time...
Ash : ...
Ash : we are so weird
Ash :
zachbosch1979:
zachbosch1979: sounds to me like Jessica going to Hermitage would be
the healthiest thing all the way around
zachbosch1979: for everybody
Ash : for sure
zachbosch1979: is Crystal feeling better?
Ash : she's asleep
Ash : so I guess
zachbosch1979: sorry
zachbosch1979: i hope she wasn't too pissed off
zachbosch1979: i felt bad but at the same time
zachbosch1979: we hadn't even talked at all
Ash : annoyed?
Ash : yeah, I know what you mean
zachbosch1979: it felt like the minute we said anything to each other
she got angry
zachbosch1979: but then agian, i have no idea what it's like to be
pregnant, so i'll just shut up now
zachbosch1979: hee hee
Ash : lol
Ash : right now I'm looking for new wallpapers for my computer
Ash : specifically fantasy, which is kinda hard considering
Ash : fanasy usually equals nekkid ladies
zachbosch1979: i have a nekkid lady for a wallpaper right now
Ash : still there?
Ash : really?
zachbosch1979: umm-hmm
zachbosch1979: it's cordelia naked as they day she was born
Ash : your joking
zachbosch1979: no
Ash : no, no, of course you aren't
zachbosch1979: hee hee
Ash : hey, have you ever heard of the band 'Breaking Benjamin'?
zachbosch1979: i think so
Ash : I'm going to see them in concert
Ash : they sing So Cold
zachbosch1979: really?
zachbosch1979: ah yes
Ash : yes, with Jamie
zachbosch1979: wow
zachbosch1979: sounds fun
Ash : I'm hoping so
zachbosch1979: sorry if i'm slow
Ash : s'okay
zachbosch1979: checking email at the same time
zachbosch1979: have you heard of the weakertnas
zachbosch1979: WeakerThans
Ash : only in the where's Dawn post you wrote
zachbosch1979: hee hee
zachbosch1979: they're great
zachbosch1979: i've been wearing their CD out
Ash : cool, what kinda music are they?
zachbosch1979: post modern punk pop
Ash : rockin'
zachbosch1979: they do
zachbosch1979: brb
Ash : kay
zachbosch1979: back now
Ash : excellent
zachbosch1979: yay
zachbosch1979: do you wanna see pics of Cordelia naked
Ash : I'm looking at Disney wallpapers
zachbosch1979: two topics totally unrelated
Ash : why would I want to see cordelia naked?
zachbosch1979: it's weird
zachbosch1979: really really weird
Ash : seeing cordy naked?
zachbosch1979: yep
zachbosch1979: actually it's a really cool site
zachbosch1979: not having anything to do with cordy being naked
zachbosch1979: http://www.buffy.nu/
zachbosch1979: all kinds of updates and pics on all the buffy actors
and stuff
Ash : cool
zachbosch1979: it's where i found out about the animated series
Ash : who did Vincent Kartheiser play on Angel?
zachbosch1979: um
zachbosch1979: not sure
zachbosch1979: who is vincent kartheiser
Ash : I'm sooo totally, like, in loooovvvee with him
Ash : lemmme see
Ash : he was in that Paradise movie with James woods and Melanie
Griffith
Ash : wait
Ash : how do I put the link in YM?
zachbosch1979: hm
zachbosch1979: i just type it out
Ash : screw that
zachbosch1979: or copy it from an address window
Ash : okay, have you ever seen Crime and Punishment in Suburbia?
zachbosch1979: nope
Ash : really? that's the coolest movie ever
Ash : I absolutely recommend it
zachbosch1979: cool beans
Ash : okay, well, like four or five years ago
zachbosch1979: hey
Ash : yeah?
zachbosch1979: i know who he is now
Ash : who?
zachbosch1979: connor
zachbosch1979: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0440229/
Ash : that's a really bad pic of him
Ash : but, yeah that's him
Ash : Who was Conner?
zachbosch1979: connor was angel's son
Ash : ahhh
zachbosch1979: and father of cordelia's demon antichrist child
Ash : that was evil?
zachbosch1979: kind of
Ash : oh, yes that's right
zachbosch1979: he was a cool character
Ash : cordelia had sex with Angel's son?
zachbosch1979: yep
zachbosch1979: grogy huh
zachbosch1979: the she got pregnant with Jasmine
Ash : huh
zachbosch1979: still there?
zachbosch1979:
zachbosch1979: hey there
zachbosch1979: are you there?
Ash : hey, sorry about that
zachbosch1979: it's ok
Ash : yeah, my computer shut off for some mysterious reason
zachbosch1979: hmmmmmmmmmmm
Ash : do me a favor?
zachbosch1979: yep
Ash : save this conversation after we are through, and send it to me
zachbosch1979: ok
zachbosch1979: easy to do
Ash : excellent
zachbosch1979: do you know who that is ----->
Ash : no
zachbosch1979: dawn
Ash : .....
zachbosch1979: ......
Ash : okay, we are not seeing the same thing
zachbosch1979: what do you see
Ash : it is an icon that says select an album
zachbosch1979: oh
zachbosch1979: click it
Ash : with some misc. photos
Ash : it says I have no photo collection
zachbosch1979: really
Ash : but it is missing the point
Ash : I don't want to share any photos, just see yours
Ash : do whatever you did again
zachbosch1979: ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Ash : maybe cause my computer went off, it freaked up
Ash : ...
Ash : Is that all you did?
zachbosch1979: yep
zachbosch1979: what do you see now
Ash : same thing
zachbosch1979: it says its waiting for you to accept
Ash : *mystified* how do I accept?
zachbosch1979: i guess click share photos
zachbosch1979:
Ash : I'm making an album
Ash : maybe that will make it work
zachbosch1979: AH
Ash : apperently not
Ash : whee
Ash : are you there?
zachbosch1979: yep
zachbosch1979: did it work
Ash : ....
zachbosch1979: i tried to resend the invite
Ash : don't you see my pic?
zachbosch1979: apparently not
Ash : damn it
zachbosch1979: this is fucked up
Ash : you click share albums
Ash : did you click it?
Ash : you even there?
zachbosch1979: yep
zachbosch1979: trying to get back
zachbosch1979: is it working now
Ash : Is it?
zachbosch1979: where is the share albums thingy
Ash : ------------------->
Ash : it should be over there
Ash : oh, oh wait
Ash : click photos on the toolbar
Ash : then click share an album
zachbosch1979: nothing happened
Ash : okay, do you still have the Yahoo! Photos thing on the right
side of the page?
Ash : the notebook looking thing?
zachbosch1979: yes
Ash : okay, let's both just close that, since it doen't work
Ash : you close it?
zachbosch1979: yes
Ash : okay, now try clicking that in the toolbar again
zachbosch1979: kay
Ash : goddamn it
Ash : okay, click select an album
zachbosch1979: kay
Ash : what happened?
zachbosch1979: two folders came up
zachbosch1979: the one i made and one with a pic of me and daniel
zachbosch1979: i click the one i made?
Ash : yes
zachbosch1979: done
Ash : HURRAY!!!!
zachbosch1979: hurray
zachbosch1979: so where are yours
Ash : WE DID IT!!!
Ash : ....
zachbosch1979: ok
zachbosch1979: so who is that?
zachbosch1979: it's dawn!!!!!!
Ash : yay!
Ash : she's so little!
zachbosch1979: i know
zachbosch1979: it's from clarissa explains it all
Ash : when was Dawn on that?
zachbosch1979: not sure
zachbosch1979: her name was elsie on the show
Ash : cool
zachbosch1979: thats faith
Ash : how recent was that pic, do you know?
zachbosch1979: faith
zachbosch1979: not sure
Ash : I thought she was a little chubby in the last season
zachbosch1979: she was
zachbosch1979: i noticed that too
Ash : But I've seen recent pics of her, and she's not chubby at all
Ash : and it always made me wonder
zachbosch1979: wonder what?
Ash : like if they made her put the weight on
zachbosch1979: ah
Ash : to look 'world weary' or something
zachbosch1979: maybe
zachbosch1979: i thought she was pregnant at first
Ash : That would have been a twist
Ash : hey!
zachbosch1979: hey
Ash : Michelle Trachtenberg was born in 1985
Ash : she's my age
zachbosch1979: same as you
Ash : whee, that makes playing her so much more cool
zachbosch1979: yay
zachbosch1979: brb
Ash : kay
zachbosch1979: back now
Ash : yay
zachbosch1979: hurray
Your Photos are now being shared with Ash .

zachbosch1979: huh
zachbosch1979: i can't add photos?
zachbosch1979: that sucks
Ash : majorly
Ash : hey, I think I'm going to turn my computer off
Ash : It's acting funny
zachbosch1979: mine too
zachbosch1979: maybe the storm
zachbosch1979: i'll send the conversation though
Ash : oh, yeah
zachbosch1979:
Ash : yay
zachbosch1979: kay
zachbosch1979: love you
Ash : love you too
zachbosch1979: night
Ash : goodnight

Russia says troops withdrawing from Georgia

Moscow/Tbilisi, Georgia - Russia's military pledged to begin a withdrawal from Georgia on Monday, but late in the day there was no sign of a pullout on the ground.

Under a French-brokered ceasefire, President Dmitry Medvedev promised his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, that Russian troops would start moving out by noon.

Medvedev arrived late Monday in the Russian city of Vladikavkaz, the headquarters of Russia's 58th army now deployed in South Ossetia and Georgia.

But a Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa journalist said Russian troops were entrenched at checkpoints along the east-west highway from Tbilisi to the strategic town of Gori, just 10 kilometres from the border of the separatist region of South Ossetia, ripped apart by 10 days of fighting.

Interesting Times Revisited

On this date in 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair ended in Sullivan County, N.Y., with a mid-morning set performed by Jimi Hendrix.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to resign

By ZARAR KHAN
Associated Press Writer
Published Monday, August 18, 2008

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — President Pervez Musharraf announced Monday he was resigning to avoid an impeachment battle with Pakistan's ruling coalition that would harm the nation.

Musharraf said in a televised speech that he will turn in his resignation to the National Assembly speaker later Monday. He said he leaves office knowing whatever he has done "was for the people and for the country."

"I hope the nation and the people will forgive my mistakes," Musharraf said.

Read more here.

Georgia: Russian military entrench themselves deeper

By Adrian Blomfield in Gori

Far from pulling out, Russian military units are entrenching themselves in new positions deeper into Georgia.

Trenches have been dug and tanks, camouflaged with tree branches, are scattered through fields and in forests ever closer to the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

In the town of Gori, under occupation for a fifth day, residents are cut off from the outside world and running short of food. Orthodox priests handed out a loaf of bread to each of the few remaining residents in the eerily deserted town.

"When is it going to stop?" said Rusudan Kardzikidze, a 78-year-old pensioner. "When are they going to leave?"

Justified by Russian claims of atrocities committed by Georgia in the provocative advance through breakaway South Ossetia that provoked the conflict, the reprisals in Gori have been swift and brutal.