More newspeak

[blamebrampton]

I am sick, and failed to phone my friend because I was asleep, and I am now also cranky with large parts of the world.

Apparently, Russia is engaged in Peacekeeping Operations in Georgia.

Clearly Vlad is a Farscape fan.

Sometimes I wonder if people read books, or, indeed, the papers. This makes me a little sad when it is people on the train, but when it is the leaders of nuclear capable nations, I despair. Vietnam redux has been horrible enough, we don't need the Soviet-Afghan war played out again. Or, you know, World War I.

When did the superpowers go completely mad? Was there a memo sent out that I missed? I have this vague idea that things were shiny for a few years around 1990, was I drunk? It's quite possible I was.

I had this vague idea  (which I admit was formed from reading books and newspapers, so is clearly not the sort of idea that we hold with in These Uncertain Times) that if you wished to regain power in former regions of influence the only certain way to do so was through economic influence. Surely that was the one part of the Reagan legacy everyone agreed on? Maybe I was drunk for that bit, too.

Back in Australia, the channel that is broadcasting the Olympics accidentally failed to screen a pro-Tibet ad that had been booked for a slot before the opening ceremony. But there was no interference from the IOC, honest. Also, I am quite tall and very blonde. And Californian. And a man.

In some happy news, a 111-year-old lizard is about to become a father,  and the Times has the best headline EVER: Dog-cloner denies Mormon sex kidnapping

Comments

[pingrid.livejournal.com]

Vietnam redux has been horrible enough, we don't need the Soviet-Afghan war played out again. Or, you know, World War I.

No, that's thinking too small. Let's go for WWIII right away.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It's like being back in the 80s. GAH! I suppose the one upside is that the US can't keep posturing at Iran while this is going on.

[pingrid.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't be so sure! It helps to have a few separate conflicts to merge together if you're making a quality world war.

[bryoneybrynn.livejournal.com]

The world is scary right now. I often have the sense that the world leaders are using playground tactics in the place of actual political understanding. Honestly, I try not to think too often about how precarious it is.

Okay, you'll appreciate this. As I'm typing, Olympics is on - women's swimming, 400 m freestyle - and they have a whole story on how the french swimmer was dating this italian guy and they broke up and now one of the other swimmers is dating him so the french girl has to swim AGAINST THE WOMAN WHO IS DATING HER EX-BOYFRIEND!!! *complete with dramatic music* Tell me they would even be mentioning this if she was a man. So pathetic.

Also that is the best headline EVER! lol

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I suspect they are a bunch of illiterate bullies, which was bad enough when it was an anti-politician prejudice, but is fucking terrifying when it seems to be an accurate assessment.

I became confused about the swimmers, due to being sick and having spent the afternoon napping, and thought it was the men's final, which was even funnier.

I've managed to avoid most of the coverage here because I just cannot get into these Olympics. However the Australian coverage seems to be all to do with either Australians (or Kiwis or Brits, which are nearly as good as Australians for Olympic purposes) winning medals, preferably against Americans.

And I have developed an unreasonable hatred of Michael Phelps after watching his posturing after the relay. I should just avoid the television.

[daybreaq.livejournal.com]

Well, there is a bit more to the story than that. I must admit I looked it up and it's one of those huge Britney-level, ongoing dramas being played out in Western European tabloids. One of the commentators in the US though *seemed* to put give a subtle implication that it was some deliberate plot of the Italian swim team to destroy the French swimmer which is a load of crap. Court of public opinion does currently appear to be leaning heavily in favor of the French swimmer though I don't think the Italians are all the villians they are made out to be. The Italian male swimmer boyfriend does appear to be a lout; but I think the Italian female swimmer just got caught up in a scandal and probably should just date someone else and the coaches just want to train promising swimmers who have the maturity to work hard and listen to them and just ... you know ... swim.

Here's the soap opera as I understand it (I must admit it *is* pretty juicy tabloid fodder!):

1.) 17 year old French girl wins a Gold medal in a swim event in the 2004 Olympics. She instantly becomes a huge celebrity in France.

2.) Newest French media darling starts dating hot but not so famous Italian swimmer.

3.)France's favorite daughter announces she's leaving France and her coach of 6 years to train in Italy to be close to her boyfriend because it's "true love."

4.)French swimming sensation's new Italian coach announces he doesn't want to work with her anymore because of "attitude problems." Interviews with the swimmer indicates she felt the coach wanted her to practice more than she needed or wanted to.

5.) Meanwhile, the French/Italian swimming supercouple become known for very public, screaming arguments which culminates in her throwing the ring he gave her IN THE POOL while at a competition!

6.) Hours after the ring in the pool incident privately taken nude photos and sex video of the French swimmer are released on the internet. The Italian ex-boyfriend claims he has no clue how they got there.

7.) The Italian ex-boyfriend starts dating an Italian female swimmer next, the one who happened to have broken the French swimmer's world record probably because she was practicing a lot at the time like those mean coaches seem to like their swimmers to do.

8.) So, fast forward to yesterday: The French woman and the Italian woman both make the finals for THE event where the French swimmer won Gold in 2004 and the Italian swimmer later broke her record and the medals are won by .... two Brits (Gold and Bronze) and an American (Silver) ... probably because they practice a lot and don't have hot Italian boyfriends and don't make tabloid news yet.

On the "best headline EVER" the only thing that tops it is the actual story itself! Very bizarre story ... though I feel a bit guilty reveling in the strangeness of the story when a young man was kidnapped and raped. The similarities between the two women are an interesting ... coincidence ... yeah, it's JUST a coincidence! In general, I think keeping a distance from people who clone pit bulls is probably a good idea.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

MADNESS! But hilarious madness. I think that swimming is such an essentially dull sport aside from the actual races that journos look for interest where they can find it. Though I fully agree with your assessment; training will put you ahead of love affairs every time!

You are not wrong to be fascinated by the mormon rapist, and you are VERY right to be afraid of dog cloners!

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

You really ought not to tease people with a blond fetish in quite that way.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

You know, as soon as I hit post, I thought: aside from the accent, that would do nicely for Shiv. I think next year we ought to have a European meet-up in Oslo, handy for Pingrid, rich pickings for you.

[pingrid.livejournal.com]

Great idea. If all you foreigners starts saving now maybe you'll have enough money for at least two meals a day. It may be a tricky guess to hit the weekend with the good weather, though. ;)

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

That does work for me. Oh yes.

[spark-of-chaos.livejournal.com]

I must say after the push-and-poke that was Kosovo, it doesn't surprise me much that other analogous conflict zones around the world have stirred. Listening to the flying sparks in the Security Council of UN, though, I can only hope this doesn't as horrible as it has the potential to. :fingers crossed:

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

You're sadly right. Though Russia is a far scarier prospect than Serbia. I would be less worried if there were not Russian forces already in Abkhazia. Hopefully the UN and NATO still have some sway.

[spark-of-chaos.livejournal.com]

Hopefully the UN and NATO still have some sway
Hm. I can't say I share the sentiment of NATO involvement. If I am reading this at all right, Georgia didn't start this on their own (it would be sheer blinding idiocy if they up and went against basically Russia all unaided, wouldn't it?) - in the very same week they finished some training with US forces.

[thisgirl-is.livejournal.com]

Sadly, you were drunk. (Clicking the map brings up a graphic you can zoom in on.) The Cold War was technically not over when Iraq invaded Kuwait (1991), Africa was a mess (Battle of Mogadishu 1993, Rwandan Genocide 1994), and Eastern Europe went to pieces, particularly Yugoslavia, which had only ever been held together with PVA and duct tape in the first place.

And the superpowers have been crazy since there were superpowers - I give you the Habsburgs, who were neither the first nor the last crazy superpower, but perhaps among the most spectacularly crazy. There's something about having that much power that leads nations to think they are invincible. This never works out well. Especially for the poor bastards who aren't actually in charge.

Have I mis-read the stuff about the latest bit of former-USSR snafu? There seems to be a semi-autonomous region called Ossetia, which sits across the Russian/Georgian border but has more or less been left to its own devices. Georgia decided it didn't want them to be autonomous anymore, semi or otherwise, and sent troops in. Russia told them both to pull their woolly heads in, and when Georgia refused Russia sent troops in. Y/N? Because in this case Russia seems to be... not entirely in the wrong, but also seems to be getting smacked for picking on Georgia, which is confusing me.

And then Dubya weighed in: "I said this violence is unacceptable," Mr Bush said, adding: "I was very firm with Vladimir Putin. Hopefully this will get resolved peacefully." I'm sure Putin took that very seriously George, and will resolve the situation immediately. *eyeroll*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Oh the Cold War was over, the Americans just didn't want to admit it because there were still Soviets in power in Russia. But 1990 was actually really good on a global scale! I listed the high points below in reply to meredyth, though I omitted the fact that Chad was still a mess, but that was sadly a given for most of my lifetime, and so I left it out in much the same way one leaves Switzerland off the list of nations who have moved to neutral footings.

The Hapsburgs had a few good moments in the Lowlands, but yes, generally bonkers.

As to Georgia, well ... yes and no.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia were both Georgian provinces with dominant ethnically Russian populations. Although they functioned as semi-autonomous provinces, they were both still part of the country. The Russian-backed separatist movement in South Ossetia had been growing bolder for the last two years and had launched a series of attacks against Georgian forces in the province.

On August 1, for reasons best known to himself, Georgian President Saakashvili decided that he had had enough of this and sent troops in to 'suppress the independence movement'. South Ossetian reporting at the time said that the Georgian response had claimed six lives.

Georgia claimed that this was in response to South Ossetian aggression. Skirmishes continued throughout the week, I am not able to find casualty counts for the following days.

August 7 there were Russian-mediated peace talks held during a ceasefire. According to the BBC, hours later the Georgians sent a considerable force into South Ossetia. At least 15 people were reported dead. I think that Saakashvili was attempting to put on a display of force here, one that would stomp on the South Ossetian separatists. Why he thought this was a good idea, I can't begin to say. I am currently watching one of his ambassadors declaring that it was a proportionate response to Russian forces building in the region and a bid to counter the 'instability' caused by them. (She is also declaring that the Russians have committed acts of ethnic cleansing, so that is now being alleged on both sides.)

On August 8, Russian troops poured into the region and the death counts for the day seem to be around the 60-100 mark.

August 9 sees Georgia declare that it is in a state of war, Russia declares the death toll to be around 1400, Georgian troops give a figure closer to 130. Russia declares that Georgian troops have been ethnically cleansing Russian-identified villages

August 10, the Russians originally say no to a cease-fire as the terms proposed include Georgian peacekeepers, and Russia declares the Georgians had opened fire on them and were therefore not to be trusted as fellow peacekeepers. However the South Ossetian independence fighters say that Russia stayed out of the fighting for three days and then came in with extreme force, late. Like all parties in this story, I don't think they are reliable. Georgian troops seem to spend the day Running Away.

August 11, Russian bombing raids move south of South Ossetia and closer to Tblisi, and also bomb close to the South Caucasus pipeline. Russia declares that Georgia is not adhering to its own ceasefire and is bombing the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali. Russian troops also move out of the other ethnically Russian semi-autonomous region, Abkhazia, into Georgia, despite having declared there were no Russian troops active in Abkhazia.

August 12, ceasefire! Hurrah!

So, South Ossetian separatists started it, Georgia escalated it a bit, then Russia escalated it a lot. The UN and international media are all tossing their hands up in the air when it comes to substantiating casualty counts, but what is clear is that Russian involvement took it from a stupid spat to a proper war.

And as for the two leaders involved, Saakashvili is a gibbon and Putin is a scary scary fucker who has sent the man responsible for the Beslan disaster off to manage this one. Given the amount of utter misinformation released over Beslan, I won't be believing any numbers until they come from international witnesses.

and part II

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

As to Dubya, he makes Saakashvili look like a master strategist and Putin look like a man with ethics. He has made me like Ronald Reagan and I did not think that was possible.

Sorry for the great length, it's a complete clusterfuck of a situation, I had to visit about 20 news agencies to check the above, though the BBC reportage provided the framework. I have tried to only include events that there has been first-hand international coverage of.

One number that everyone seems to agree on is 100,000 refugees. This is not a clusterfuck that will go away quickly.

[drgaellon]

That Times story is outrageous...

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I feel there must be a very happy subeditor in their offices.

[blindmouse.livejournal.com]

Back in Australia, the channel that is broadcasting the Olympics accidentally failed to screen a pro-Tibet ad that had been booked for a slot before the opening ceremony.

Oh. I hadn't heard about that. God damn.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Channel 7 vs GetUp, Media Watch did a good wrap-up which will be repeated late tonight. Sigh.

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

Sick? WTF? Woman, are you trying to outdo my illnesses of doom? :(

When did the superpowers go completely mad? - you mean there was a time they weren't?

There was a brief break in the clouds around the early 90s, but then it got a blow job and everything went pear shaped.

Cherry and I were discussing the world etc, the other night, and I explained my 'new' theory that society has had a history of progressing much like a slinky someone has driven over - it's a series of flat spirals, where each loop is only marginally further forward than the previous. In each cycle there's this long period of clawing for improvement socially (as opposed to technologically or financially), a brief shining moment when we genuinely move ahead a tiny fraction, and then we spiral back down again for various reasons before trying to claw our way ahead once more.

Each cycle is fairly long, and I suspect that the early 90s were one of the rare 'pinnacle' moments and we will unfortunately now have to live our lives out on the downslope.

btw? Also, I am quite tall and very blonde. And Californian. And a man - I think you used to be my best friend on the internet. *sigh*

I am boycotting the Olympics. Does that make me an old grouch?

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

No ;-) Just virus. Fighting it off well, but it gave me earache and toothache. Oh the daftness!

BTW, I am traipsing through your itinerary and trying to think of cool, cheap suggestions, seemed more useful than general squeeage ;-)

I think it could have been 1990 that was the good year. Berlin was reunified, Solidarity won the Polish elections, the Singing Revolution happened in the Baltics and was not shot down, Nelson Mandela was freed, the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of diseases, Tim Berners-Lee came out with the World Wide Web, Mary Robinson became the first president of Ireland, Margaret Thatcher resigned and the Chunnel opened.

Admittedly there were still the odd poll tax riots, the fucking IRA, John Major, a few political assasinations in north and west Africa and Iraq did invade Kuwait, but that was dealt with by the UN at the time and only went postal at the US's behest in early '91, but still, not a bad year on the whole.

I think your old best friend on the internet might be Shiv's perfect man. And you and I can grouch together!

[violetage.livejournal.com]

I personally believe certain parties in office, not naming names, will do anything - including starting ww 3 - to stay in office beyond their allotted term. *sighs*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

The great tragedy is that this can be said for pretty much everyone involved.