Russian and Georgia

Several days ago, Russia invaded the country of Georgia, with the apparent intention of taking over the country. Here is an example of actual imperialism at work–the Russians are attempting to re-establish control over the entire area that used to be the USSR. Where is the outcry from the American Left? You know, the guys who are constantly complaining about “American imperialism” and “colonization?” When are the people who have been picketing against the Global War on Terror for the last seven years going to start objecting to this land-grab for oil? Hell, Ukraine–in much more danger than any American Democrats–has had the backbone to stand up to the Russian aggression and refuse to allow them access to Ukrainian ports.
And what about civilian deaths? The U.S. invasion of Iraq was the most surgical military operation in history–we took out an entire army while civilians watched safely from balconies a few blocks away. Russia has already deliberately bombed apartment buildings and a civilian airport–and they’re fighting a country with an identifiable uniformed army, not a paramilitary suicide squad hiding in crowds of civilians.

Another thought, and one that gets lost on the (pro-Obama) media, is that Obama’s first reaction to this situation was to tell both sides to cease fighting. While McCain took the time to ascertain what the situation was and called for Russia to stand down, Obama demonstrated that he has no more credibility in foreign diplomacy than a second-rate elementary school playground monitor–casting the victim of violence into moral equivance with the instigator.

UPDATE: The Georgian ambassador to the U. S. is on FOX News, and has confirmed that Russian troops are targeting civilian centers. He is calling for international aid against the overwhelming Russian forces.

UPDATE:My prediction is that Russia will attempt to divide Georgia in half and take the half with the oil. If they keep it, they’ll move on the other half in a few weeks.
They should be stopped–by us. We owe it to the Georgians.

S.2433

Barack Obama has introduced a bill to the Senate, called the “Global Poverty Act,” which would send $843 billion dollars of aid to foreign countries. That is the equivalent of adding $2,500 to each and every taxpayer’s burden in the country, and sending all of it overseas.
It has already been approved in one form and is still under debate.

Update: E-mail to my senators

I have just been informed of Senator Obama’s “Global Poverty Act,” S. 2433. The Congress of the United States already takes far too much money from the citizens to send overseas as aid. Not only does this not promote the interests of the United States or the individual citizens taxed, but most countries receiving it have asked for it to stop. They need investment, not hand-outs.

It is unacceptable for the United States Congress to levy the equivalent of an additional $2,500 in annual tax for every taxpayer in the nation for program that neither Americans nor the intended recipients want.

Update:
Some countries receiving U. S. aid are already asking us to stop. Aid does NOT help people; underdeveloped countries need investment.

An E-Mail I Recieved From a Friend:

An email from Ireland to the brethren in the States:

A point to ponder despite your political affiliation: ‘We, in Ireland, can’t
figure out why people are even bothering to hold an election in the United
States. On one side, you have a pants wearing lawyer, married to a lawyer
who can’t keep his pants on, who just lost a long and heated primary against
a lawyer who goes to the wrong church who is married to yet another lawyer
who doesn’t even like the country her husband wants to run.

Now…On the other side, you have a nice old war hero whose name starts with
the appropriate Mc terminology married to a good looking younger woman who
owns a beer distributorship.

What, in Lords name, are ye lads thinking over there in the colonies?

Cinematic Believability

This is an argument that I’ve made several times, and I was surprised, as I went through my blog history, that I haven’t posted it before. Essentially, there are two ways to make fiction believable: realism and plausibility. Many people confuse these, but they are quite different: realism means that the story generally conforms to the nature of the “real world”–that is, no elements of fantasy. Plausibility means that, whether the story requires an initial suspension of disbelief or not, it progresses in a believable manner from it’s own viewpoint.
The movies that I generally use to contrast these elements are Pumpkinhead and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Both movies are about revenge taken on a bunch of teenagers after they cause drunken motor accidents–Pumpinhead then focuses on plausibility without realism, while I Know focuses on realism… without much plausibility.
In Pumpkinhead, a group of teens passing through a small rural town kill a small boy while racing their dirt bikes while drunk. The story then progresses unrealistically, as the father of the boy makes a pact with a local witch to send a “demon of vengeance” after the offenders. If one can suspend disbelief and accept that this happens within the world of the movie, the story then progresses both plausibly and interestingly.
I Know What You Did Last Summer begins similarly: a group of teens drinking and driving hit a Maine fisherman and then leave him for dead, attempting to hide the body by tying underwater. While this is a much more realistic scenario, for the story to progress we must then believe that the fisherman managed to hold his breath underwater–not only long enough to untie himself, but while unconscious. Said fisherman then waits a year, finally going on a rampage both sociopathic in nature and requiring superhuman strength.
While this approach may appeal to some viewers–and both of the above movies have their own “cult” followers–it is worth noting that the three biggest American horror franchises (Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street) all opted to forego realism.

George W. Bush Draws 15,000

In South Korea.

So far, no major news outlet has reported anything but the few hundred protesters that also showed up. Unlike Obama’s Germany appearance, the government wasn’t throwing free beer, brats, and bands to boost attendance: these folks showed up because they appreciate what American and George Bush have done for them.

No Lodge Last Night…

… For me, at least. I went to a Neighborhood Watch meeting instead. I felt compelled to go; I keep getting invited and not showing up–I feel anti-social! Except for meeting my neighbors, however, it was a complete waste of time… Thankfully, I live in a very quiet neighborhood.

Definitely a step up from my last two residences!