Links and Minifeatures 2008 08 18 Monday

Carnival of Personal Finance

Kathleen Parker illustrates in three quick emails the responses of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and John McCain to Russia's Georgian aggression.

Well, duh: Bush accuses Russia of 'bullying and intimidation'

President Bush on Friday accused Russia of "bullying and intimidation" in its harsh military treatment of Georgia, saying the people in the former Soviet republic have chosen freedom and "we will not cast them aside."

Bush ratcheted up his rhetoric against Moscow as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Tbilisi, Georgia to pursue a diplomatic solution to the week-old crisis. Standing alongside Rice, pro-Western President Mikhail Saakashvili said he had signed a cease-fire agreement with Russia that protects Georgia's interests despite concessions to Moscow.

The problem is that President Bush appears to be just saying that, as opposed to doing anything about it. Of course, if Russia in committed to making contests into military ones, that trumps all other methods of dealing with a problem, at least in the short term. And President Bush is more than a little circumscribed by the current political situation.

Given the current situation in Georgia, is there much doubt what they're really saying?
Russia: Poland risks attack because of US missiles

A top Russian general said Friday that Poland's agreement to accept a U.S. missile interceptor base exposes the ex-communist nation to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons, the Interfax news agency reported.

The system scheduled for installation has no offensive capability worth mentioning. Yeah, it would be a bummer for those involved if a fragment of a missile came down on an enemy tank, but that would be a freak coincidence and it's not designed to damage anything but other missiles. All it really does is defend against incoming missile assaults, and if a certain unnamed country east of Poland has no intention of bombarding Poland with missiles, it makes no real difference to the situation. Worth making a fuss over? Not in the least, in that situation.

But a certain country to the east of Poland is making a big fuss. Appears to me like Russia threatened Poland with nukes while preserving a thin veneer of deniability of having made such a threat.

"Poland, by deploying (the system) is exposing itself to a strike - 100 percent," Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of staff, was quoted as saying.

100 percent? Sounds like they know where such a strike would be coming from. Estonia? Doubt it. Belarus? Almost certainly not. Hungary? I don't think so. What is the one nation with nuclear weapons that has invaded Poland multiple times in the last century (Minimum of twice, in 1920 and 1939, and could be five or more times, depending upon how you count)? Hint: It's not Pakistan. And no, I'm not talking about the tourists in Krakow and Warsaw, either. Military force invading upon explicit instructions of their government. Do you think the government of such a country might have a vested military interest in Poland being unable to defend itself against atomic aggression? And why might they consider themselves to have such a vested interest? If they had no interest in invading Poland - again - there's no reason to get antsy about it and make threats.

Here's another hint: What still extant countries participated in the most brazen land grab of the last five hundred years, one bold enough to make our own western settlers blush with shame (as well as a major reason why the US has the Polish descended population it does)? Which still extant country considers Poland part of its Empire? I'll even make it easy for you: Run "Poland Partition" through a search engine of your choice. How about "Solidarity Trade Union" Ringing any bells yet?

At a news conference earlier Friday, Nogovitsyn had reiterated Russia's frequently stated warning that placing missile-defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic would bring an unspecified military response. But his subsequent reported statement substantially stepped up a war of words.

I am Russia, hear me roar!

But what happens if Poland gives them what they want today? Do they have to listen closer, or do they have more independence of action with a missile defense? I submit that it's the latter - which is why Russia doesn't want them to have it.

A credible report of Russia conducting ethnic cleansing