Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union.Gorbachev:
"What happened on the night of Aug. 7 is beyond comprehension. The Georgian military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas. Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against "small, defenseless Georgia" is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity.
Mounting a military assault against innocents was a reckless decision whose tragic consequences, for thousands of people of different nationalities, are now clear. The Georgian leadership could do this only with the perceived support and encouragement of a much more powerful force. Georgian armed forces were trained by hundreds of U.S. instructors, and its sophisticated military equipment was bought in a number of countries. This, coupled with the promise of NATO membership, emboldened Georgian leaders into thinking that they could get away with a "blitzkrieg" in South Ossetia.
In other words, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was expecting unconditional support from the West, and the West had given him reason to think he would have it."
(rest of Gorbachev's WaPo article)
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AP alert: Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones Died!
AP alert: Whoops! No she didn't!
AP alert: Whoops again! Yes she did!
TheNation: Stephanie Tubbs Jones: Champion of Electoral Justice
Stephanie Tubbs Jones was a high-ranking Democratic super-delegate, and so was the Arkansas chair of the Democratic Party Bill Gwatney who got shot and killed 2 weeks ago and his killer then got shot and killed by the police. Democratic super-delegates are dropping like flies in the last two weeks! It's bad for your health to be a Democratic super-delegate!
Gunman shoots, kills Arkansas Democratic party chairman
Here's 3 more who died: John Stroger, Julia Carson, and Tom Lantos.
Special commentary by Big Dan: "The Democrats should combine all the eulogies for dead super-delegates at the DNC convention in Denver to save money".
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ABC News: Gun Control Lobby Claims McCain Insider Had Ties to NRA Spy Op
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GOING POSTVILLE!
AMY GOODMAN: It’s been three months since immigration officials descended on the tiny town of Postville in northeastern Iowa to conduct what would become the largest immigration raid in US history.
On May 12th, helicopters, buses and vans carrying dozens of armed immigration agents descended on Agriprocessors, the largest kosher slaughterhouse and meatpacking plant in the country. Nearly 400 workers, most of them Mexican and Guatemalan, were arrested. Nearly 300 of them were charged with aggravated identity theft and Social Security fraud. Many were sent to prisons scattered across the state.
Postville lost more than a quarter of its population in the raid. And for those left behind, namely the wives and children of the men taken away, the town has been turned into what some have described as an open-air prison. Dozens of immigrant women remain in Postville without status or a means of support. Many of them are even forbidden from leaving and have been made to wear electronic monitoring bracelets.
The women are now forced to rely on donations from St. Bridget’s Roman Catholic Church and the local food pantry. [Father] Paul Ouderkirk spent the past half-century as a priest and had been in retirement for five years when he was called back to active duty at St. Bridget’s after the raid. He joins us now on the phone from Postville.
Welcome to Democracy Now!
Iowa Town Turned into “Open-Air Prison” as Wives of Men Arrested in Largest Immigration Raid in US History Forbidden to Work…or Leave
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NEPA:
We went to the game last night. The SWB Yankees are on their final homestand of the year until Monday, this is your last chance to see them until next year, a splendid time is guaranteed for all!
