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POPSIndian Removal Act: "Trail of Tears." Hollywood has left the impression that the great Indian wars came in the Old West during the late 1800's, a period that many think of simplistically as the "cowboy and Indian" days. But in fact that was a "mopping up" effort. By that time the Indians were nearly finished, their subjugation complete, their numbers decimated. The killing, enslavement, and land theft had begun with the arrival of the Europeans. But it may have reached its nadir when it became federal policy under President (Andrew) Jackson.
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POPSLe Monde: "Why didn’t the US step in this time?" In the past, at least in 2004 and 2006, the US had stepped in to stop a potential Georgian invasion. Why didn’t the US step in this time? Why did they not yank the Mad Dog Saakashvili's chain as before? Was the Bush attempting to start WW2 to justify remaining as emperor in decline? Did the Russians save us all from further excesses from the 'Axeman of Evil'? How big a hand had the Zionist in this debacle? Why is blubber-mouth still allowed to cause grief?
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POPSNormal Guy Supports NORML In Georgia this is news! Not known for its progressive agenda, that NORML even operates here is a bit of a shock. Not long ago the state senate passed a resolution for secession from the Union! That the reporter took the tack of feigned shock that a person supporting marijuana reform might be "normal" is indicative of the mentality and hypocrisy that threads it way through the fabric of the Old South.
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POPSGeorgians Rally Against Their President This is the fruits and blow-back from his invasion of South Ossetia which provoked Russia to defend and counter-attack and Georgia was defeated in short order (while the MSM propaganda machine blamed Russia for a "unilateral assault" on Georgia). The president calls for unity to "liberate Georgia" while thousands want to be "liberated" from him! President Saakashvili is Georgia's "Bush".
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POPSRussian Passports For Akhalgori Residents For example, the following testimonies from local residents are cited. Natela T: "Our neighbour saw with his own eyes stockpiled Russian passports in the regional office. Where we live they have already given us our salary in roubles (instead of lari), but the Ossetian administration is still not saying anything about passportization. What's going to happen next, I can't say." An Ossetian woman (her name was not given): "Some people living in Akhalgori have already got the necessary documents ready - a copy of their identity card and two photographs. But the Georgians are holding back for the time being. They are waiting until the Georgian government introduces dual citizenship. The Ossetians will clearly immediately take up Russian citizenship. When there was Georgian rule here, they didn't place us in any important positions, there wasn't a single Ossetian in the government structures.
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POPS A New Circus Comes to Town 
Washington's Marion Barry being jailed while elected, Quixotic Bill Clinton unfazed by the Rush Limbaugh windmill and riding off into the sunset with fair Dulcinea Lewinsky unceremoniously dumped from the saddle. And, of course, there's Obama's Toddling Town, the Windy City of Richard and Richie Daley with its "corruption that works." Am I the only person who experienced an unexpected surge of warm fellow-feeling for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when Hillary was named secretary of state? I wouldn't wish dealing with her on my worst enemy, who'd be Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I think about the next four years of Hillary's dutiful efforts at global peacemaking, and I hear a chorus of voices echoing around the world--from Israelis and Palestinians, Iraqis and al Qaeda, Taliban and NATO troops, Pakistanis and Indians, Sri Lankans and Tamil Tigers, Georgians and South Ossetians, Colombian soldiers and FARC guerrillas, Hutus and Tutsis, Congolese rebels and other Congolese rebels--all saying,
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POPSGeorgia's account regarding war inaccurate Attempts to make Russia the Evil Empire proof to be a hoax. Original press coverage N.Y times revealed one sentence in paragraph 35 on Aug, 08 2008 that the war started when Georgian forces bombarded Russian civilians and Peace-Keepers, hardly what I would consider unbiased reporting.
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POPSGeorgia accused of targeting civilians Revenge The BBC saw evidence of the cycle of revenge since the war, with the demolition of most houses in the former ethnic Georgian villages on the northern outskirts of Tskhinvali. Zaur Gagloyev (photo: Alan Tskhurbayev, Institute of War and Peace Reporting) No, it wasn't ethnic cleansing... we just let them go from our land Zaur Gagloyev The houses, whose occupants fled during the war to other parts of Georgia, were burnt by Ossetians immediately after the fighting.
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POPSEthnic Georgians face citizenship dilemma in Abkhazia Not all Gali residents are concerned with the passport situation. Zura B., an unemployed man who asked not to be identified, said he would probably take an Abkhaz passport since he cannot visit Moscow with his Georgian passport. "They won’t take away my Georgian passport and I won’t swear to anything. There are ways to get around such things," Zura said.
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POPSThe Trouble With Saakashvili Still, if Georgian democracy needs Saakashvili to survive, it also needs, eventually, to reckon with him. If and when the Russian occupation can be ended and the imminent threat to the country overcome, the test for Georgians will become whether they can use democratic institutions to investigate and challenge their president's behavior and hold him accountable for the huge reversal he has inflicted on the country. That point was made in Washington last week by Nino Burjanadze, the former speaker of the Georgian parliament who helped Saakashvili lead the Rose Revolution of 2003. Burjanadze broke with her old ally last spring and created the Tblisi-based Foundation for Democracy and Development to address the glaring weaknesses in Georgia's new politics. She's been advocating for a freer press, more independent judges, and a more powerful and independent parliament -- the absence of which arguably opened the way to Saakashvili's Ossetian blunder.
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POPSBush Wants $1 Billion to Georgia for Attacking South Ossetia The NYT finally admits that Georgia was the aggressor: "fighting that began on the night of Aug. 7 when Georgia tried to establish control over a breakaway region, South Ossetia, only to be driven back by Russian forces". And to put that $1 billion figure in perspective the articles says: The aid would dwarf the $63 million the United States provided to Georgia last year, roughly a third of it for training its soldiers, police officers and border guards. Excluding Iraq, the infusion would make Georgia one of the largest recipients of American foreign aid after Israel and Egypt. That Dick Cheney was "sent" by Bush is indicative of the neocon agenda. Georgia did not attack without US or Israeli knowledge, but with their full support. So in essence, the US is to pay $1billion to Georgia for a defeated military invasion and attempt to capture South Ossetia--i.e. for a proxy war.
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POPSMoscow’s Plan is to Redraw the Map of Europe: Mikheil Saakashvili Since Russia’s invasion, its forces have been “cleansing” Georgian villages in both regions – including outside the conflict zone – using arson, rape and execution. Human rights groups have documented these actions. It hopes the west will forget ethnic cleansing in Abkhazia drove out more than three-quarters of the local population – ethnic Georgians, Greeks, Jews and others – leaving the minority Abkhaz in control. Last week Vaclav Havel, the former Czech president, put us on alert: “Russia does not really know where it begins and where it ends.” He noted that the Moscow regime is “a lot more sophisticated” than the Soviets under Leonid Brezhnev. He should know – he was on the front line the last time Russia invaded a European country. Backing Georgia with Europe’s political and financial institutions is a powerful response. The most potent western response to Russia is to stay united and firm by providing immediate material and political support.
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POPSUSA ground troops attack in Pakistan village? Sad. Tragic. Annoying. No. #1) The use of the term: "Afghan coalition forces." Other stories say: "NATO forces." In reality, if this was done it was done by USA troops but like in Iraq they say "Coalition Forces," when there is no real coalition: There are approx 158,000 USA troops, 140,000 USA paid mercenaries and 'private security contractors,' 3 troops from Latvia, 11 soldiers from Moldova, , 37 fine men from the Ukraine, 40 soldiers from Estonia, 70 fighting Albanians, etc. -- all of them pressured or bribed to participate except for Merry Old England with 5,500 approx. troops, loyal Australia with 900 -- (& 2,000 Georgians now gone). Some "coalition." No. #2) Who is this soldier? Since he appears to have a M-16 is he American? Where are his identifying patches? Why face hidden? Thus, in fact, thus, he's an 'unlawful enemy combatant." This is a sad and tragic photo for a U.S. fighting man. Looks like the KKK
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POPSMinneapolis-St. Paul: The “Delegation” From Georgia Georgia --- the country, which has made headlines in recent weeks after it was invaded by neighboring Russia. “Sen. Obama has expressed clear support,” he said. “And Sen. McCain has clearly expressed his support. We are very grateful to both campaigns that they understand the situation.”
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POPSUN: Georgians Effectively Blocked from Homes On Saturday, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a member of the chamber's foreign relations committee, visited Gori to observe the distribution of U.S. food aid. Asked whether the United States was considering new military aid, Corker said "these subjects are part of a longer and mid-term discussion" when Congress reconvenes in September. Russia supplies the EU with about a third of its oil and about two-fifths of its natural gas. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said European nations should adopt a united energy policy to avoid becoming too dependent on Russia. He said the EU nations should "use our collective bargaining power." "Without urgent action we risk sleepwalking into an energy dependance on less stable or reliable partners," Brown wrote in The Observer newspaper. Brown said he spoke with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev by telephone Saturday, and told the Russian leader "to expect a determined European response" to the crisis.
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POPS'Ethnic cleansing continues' All the while Europe and the rest of the World stand by and do nothing...except condemn and talk. Inaction only emboldens Putin. Where will he move next? I wonder what John Bolton would do?
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POPSThousands of Georgians Demand Russian Troops Leave U.S. Destroyer, Laden With Relief And Cruise Missiles, in Port On Sunday, a U.S. Navy warship carrying humanitarian aid for Georgia anchored in the southern Georgian port of Batumi. It was the first of five American ships scheduled to arrive this week with supplies. The McFaul is loaded with 72 pallets of humanitarian aid, and is also outfitted with an array of weaponry, including Tomahawk cruise missiles. U.S. Air Force flights that have brought in more than 1 million pounds of humanitarian relief. “There are very specific requirements for Russian withdrawal. Putting up permanent facilities and checkpoints are inconsistent with the agreement. We are in contact with the various parties to obtain clarification,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office said he had pressed Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during a phone conversation Saturday to quickly remove Russian troops from an axis between the Georgian towns of Poti an
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POPSInternational Criminal Court and Russia No teeth... like everything else the UN sponsors. Cont... (Russia apparently will help ethnic Russian citizens of Georgia file claims with the ICC. Russia itself has no power to ask the ICC to act, but Georgians do. Sneaky!) Meanwhile, here’s a question for the weekend. Suppose Georgia had been a member of NATO when Russia invaded its territory earlier this month. Would NATO military forces have honored the treaty obligation and launched a military response even though no one in the west thinks that Georgia is worth World War III? If not, would NATO have been revealed as a meaningless institution? Or should we assume that Russia would not have attacked Georgia in the first place for fear of provoking a military response from NATO?
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POPSGeorgians tell of ethnic cleansing But a dozen interviews with those who fled the fighting, and a trip through seven Georgian villages just south of the fighting, indicated the killing this month was not that systematic, nor on that scale — based on what is known so far.
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POPSKremlin Unleashes "Mafia-on-Steroids" Style Chechen Thugs ........continued........ to disband the unit. The generals refused. At the time, their stubborn support for the outlaw Yamadaev Brothers seemed baffling - a quiet Chechnya was a longstanding Russian goal. But last week, it all made sense: Putin's military, which had been planning the invasion of Georgia for many months, intended to unleash the worst criminals in uniform it had on the Georgian people. Why? Two reasons: First, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wants the Georgians to suffer - to really suffer. And Chechens are the world's subject-matter experts in atrocities. Second, this gives the Russian army itself a veil of deniability: When Putin's spokesmen insist that the Russian military isn't involved in the worst savagery in Georgia, they're technically telling the truth (if we don't count air attacks and artillery bombardments), since the Chechen thugs on their payroll are on the job.
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POPSGeorgian Villagers Recount Tales Of Marauders The violence was much worse in ethnic Georgian villages in the separatist territory of South Ossetia. Displaced persons told stories of how they hid in basements while Ossetian and Chechen irregulars rampaged through their villages. They recounted tales of neighbors being shot and of homes being torched. Events happened so fast that many, especially the elderly, didn’t have enough time to escape. "They poured gasoline on houses and lit them on fire everyday," says 84 year-old Alexi Datashvili, one of about two dozen elderly and feeble residents from the Georgian villages In Gori itself, Russian officials have impeded Georgian television broadcasts, replacing them with Russian programming. The recently modernized Georgian army base in Gori has been thoroughly ransacked. Several hundred meters north of the base, Russian forces are digging new artillery positions – an indicator that Russian troops are not intending to pull out soon.
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POPSRussia's Ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin Brands Saakashvili a "Nazi" The ministry cited new operations by Russia, including the re-occupation of a military base in Senaki in the west of the country where explosions were heard by AFP. US officials said Russia had moved short-range SS-21 missile launchers into South Ossetia since fighting there halted last week, and has yet to give any sign of a significant pullback of its troops from Georgia. Instead, there were indications that Russia was adding troops and equipment to its force in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, strengthening its hold over the breakaway Georgian regions, the officials said. Russia denies deploying the SS-21s. The withdrawal will not be implemented "very swiftly", a defence ministry official was quoted as saying Tuesday in the Russian daily Kommersant. "Nobody is planning to withdraw the Russian contingent very swiftly, as there is no such necessity," he said.
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POPSBalance Of Power- II In the waining days of the Neo-Con administration, McCain needs all the help he can get for his election and furthermore, the Geopolitical strategies of NATO and the " NEW Europe ", mostly quite right wing, must do all they can to undermine Russia and China. Human rights in Russia, China and the demand from the collective West for more Democracy are diversions and fueled by propaganda.
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