So why are the Russians in Georgia?

Now there are many Americans at this point wondering why President Bush and the world are concerned about events in Georgia. After all, there is no real reason the Russians should be invading Atlanta. Savannah is not blockaded, and refugees are not fleeing to Tallahassee. However, there is another Georgia on the other side of the world.

Located on the western shores of the Black Sea, Georgia used to be part of the old Soviet Union, Russia still considers Georgia a part of the country. They are thinking its inevitable that it gets reabsorbed into Russia proper. The South Ossetia dispute goes back to the disolution of the Soviet Union. South Ossetia contains a lot of ethnic Russians and the dispute was the subject of a UN mission. Unfortunately, the only way to get a consensus of the issue, which is the only way that disputes seem to get solved lately, resulted in the deployment of RUSSIAN peacekeepers in the disputed areas. There is another area around an old Soviet-era army depot in the Northwest of the country which is also part of this as well. Abkhazia is a separate, so-called "Autonomous Region" which Georgia has no control except for a small valley which has been overrun by Russians. The Russian forces have moved beyond the disputed areas and are threatening to cut Georgia in half and cut off its access to the sea.

The problem with this and the reason we need to be concerned is that Georgia is a major exporter of Oil and Natural Gas and its the access to that and the pipelines that carry it to the Black Sea from not only Georgian sources, but from Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as Iran. Again, this is another war for oil and the access to it. Georgia is a major exporter of oil to Israel and there is a threat to those sources as well. Israel has major investments in Georgia.

Today, President Bush promised a major US commitment to the region for "humanitarian" reasons. Unfortunately, such missions can get tangled in hostilities, especially when tempers are high. This can end up being bad. I can only hope that wiser and cooler heads will prevail in whatever happens. But, history has shown that its usually not the case. An already overstretched US military may have to resort to the nuclear option in a conflict that should remain local and contained.

Unable to resist......

Well, I heard about this from a friend and thought I might post this here. The following items are actually up for bid on e-Bay Australia. For all those jilted ladies out there......

SO HERE'S THE STORY SO FAR.........

Once upon a time there was a women who, after 22 years of marriage, found evidence that the soon to be ex-husband, had had 'The Tart' in their marital bed this very afternoon. This low life deceitful son-of-a-person ( I'm all for political correctness) blatently denied that this event took place even though the evidence is irrefutable and is now up for auction on e-bay.

The first tiny warning bells started ringing around about the same time a text message was received by the wife stating 'Where are you darling, I'm waiting'. As the wife had left the soon to be ex-husband at home only a couple of hours earlier to go to work, she thought it somewhat strange getting a message of that ilk from him. After a while curiosity got the better of her and with some trepidation, she decided to go home after telling her boss she had an upset stomach, which was no lie. When she arrived home an hour or so later, everything seemed normal but she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. His car was parked in the drive-way where she had seen it earlier on and when she got inside, there he was infront of the T.V. watching a DVD as usual. She explained she wasn't feeling too well and said she was going to lie down for a while. His re-action to this was a bit odd to say the least. 'Why don't you lie down here on the couch for a while and I'll get you a cup of tea', he said. That was her first clue that something really was amiss here. Call him chauvinistic if you want and you would be right because this low-life had never made her a cup of tea in over 22 years of marriage.... so why offer now. Yep, you guessed it, he didn't want her going into the bedroom.... now why was that you may ask. She concluded later that 'The 'Tart' must have been in the process of getting her ass dressed and out of there pronto when she had unexpectedly arrived home. Of course she made a bee line for the bedroom then, with soon to be ex-hubby on her heels and apart from an unmistakable aroma of some cheap perfume resembling nail polish remover hanging in the air, nothing seemed to be different - except for one thing. Oh, you men, you will never understand why we have those, annoying to you though they may be, throw pillows and cushions on a bed and what they mean to us women. They are aesthetically important to our decor and when you see them piled up on a chair in a corner of the room, instead of on the bed where you arranged them a few hours ago, those tiny warning bells you heard earlier were now starting to sound like 'Big Ben'. Walking over to the bed, she started slowly taking it apart whilst the soon to be ex-husband stood in the doorway watching. Initially, when she first took the doona cover off, she was sure he just thought she was going to have a lie down but he was oh so very wrong. After the doona was deposited on the floor, she picked up her pillow, turned it over, checked under where it had been and then threw it on the floor. Then came his pillow, she picked it up and here was where she found the first of the two items up for auction - an empty condom packet. With forefinger and thumb, it was gently lifted from the bed and dangled in front of the soon to be ex-husband's nose. He had, by then, turned a lovely shade of red and you could see his mind was racing,... 'how the hell am I going to get out of this'. He then said the only inane thing he could come up with at the time which was, 'What's that?'. As a couple, they had not used condoms for many years, or at least she hadn't, but surely that didn't mean he could have forgotten what one looked like! For some reason, she continued to strip the bed and when the top sheet was removed the location of the 2nd item up for auction, 'The Tart's' knickers, were discovered at the foot of the bed.

Explanations were needed pronto and would you beleive it, he actually came up with some. They were all a pack of lies and instead of admitting it, apologizing and starting to grovel, this is what he came up with. 'I dropped my phone down the toilet, I didn't want to put my hands down there and I could't get it out with the toilet brush so I used a condom because I couldn't find any rubber gloves'. Well, well, well, that was thinking on your feet eh! She thought she had heard it all now but figured she would see how big a hole he really was keen to dig for himself so she then asked. ' When was that then and where did you get the condom from?'. He replied, 'It happened just after you left for work and I rummaged around and found one in the pocket of an old jacket in the wardrobe'. 'So how is your phone then, is it working?' she asked... 'No, it's stuffed', he replied. 'So how do you explain sending me a text message a couple of hours after I was at work then'. 'What message? It wasn't from me, my phone's not working', he replied but noticed he had gone a funny shade of green as it began to sink in that he had actually sent the text to her by mistake. 'What about these knickers then, what are they doing in our bed and whose are they', she asked thinking to herself, this will be good. She wasn't disappointed, as blatant as lies go, it was a classic. 'Sorry love, I've been meaning to tell you for years but I am a closet transvestite and they are mine'.

10 out of 10 for trying buddy but your out of here........ systematically his clothes were gathered up and thrown out the front door along with 'The 'Tart's' knickers which, after second thoughts, were scooped up and retrieved. YES, there really is a God for it started to rain then. Not just that fine rain which gets on your damn nerves but bucket loads of torrential rain which the soon to be ex-husband found himself standing in whilst calling the soon to be ex-missus all the names under the sun. He was gathering up his wet soggy clothes and the photo she had thrown at him of them outside the church on their wedding day (she thought that maybe a nice touch) when he screamed out for his car keys and wallet. Off she went to get them and with no hesitation, handed them over and told him to get lost in no uncertain terms then watched as he drove away. Dangling in her hand was the key she had slipped off his keyring, to the soon to be ex-husband's 'Harley Hog', his pride and joy - which brings me nicely to the next item that will probably be sold on Ebay at a start price of.99c and of course, with no reserve!

Nagasaki

Today marks another sad aniversary as the 63rd aniversary of the Atomic bombing of Nagasaki Japan. Nagasaki was a target thanks to its shipyards and a large torpedo factory. However, it was not the original target of the "Fat Man" plutonium device. Kokura was the original target but was obscured by clouds. Nagasaki was alos obscured by clouds, but there was a sufficient break to drop the device which detonated almost 3 km northwest of the planned target. It did however, damage most of the industrial valley of Nagasaki.

Thanks to a raid earlier in the week where conventional device were used, most children of the city were evacuated. Unfortunately this did not include several groups of POW's and the enormous Christian population of Nagasaki.


Thanks to its status as an open port in the 1700's and 1800's, Japanese Christianity was allowed to only flourish in this area. In between massacres of Christians by various Japanese leaders, (due to the fact that Christianity was perceived to be a tool for western domination) there were churches constructed in Nagasaki, including the largest cathedral in the the Eastern Hemisphere. More Christians were killed by the atomic bombing of Nagasaki than all the Japanese emperors ever accomplished.

Eight POWs were known to have died in the bombing. Fortune saved the remainder, working in coal mines deep underground emerging to find devestation.

Thirty-Two Hundred American citizens were also killed. Some were Japanese-American, others Caucasians trapped in the city during the war. Nagasaki's status as a open city also led it to have a large population of expatriate citizens. Large numbers of these populations were undoubtedly killed as a result of the bombing.

Nagasaki is really the forgotten bomb, the one they don't really talk about. However, all of what happened here is bad and should be remembered, lest we repeat the mistakes of that time.

Praan

Praan - Palbasha Siddique

Bhulbona ar shohojete
Shei praan e mon uthbe mete
Mrittu majhe dhaka ache
je ontohin praan

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami
(Repeat 2X)

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
dao more shei gaan

Shei jhor jeno shoi anonde
Chittobinar taare
Shotto-shundu dosh digonto
Nachao je jhonkare!

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami
(Repeat 3X)

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
dao more shei gaan

Footnote:

The lyrics are based off a poem.
From Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore (sung by Palbasha Siddique).

“Stream of Life”

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day
runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.

It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth
in numberless blades of grass
and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.

It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth
and of death, in ebb and in flow.

I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life.
And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.

Another Drive By Blog......

Thanks Heather for a nice way to put this.....

Anyway, I havne't been much of a visitor or even a drive by blogger for the past few days. LIfe is starting to get me down, but its times like these that show the kind of person you are. I tend to internalize but then again, I have not had a lot of time to do much.

First off, the inevatable has happened. The Victor/Victoria has reached the end of her useful life. She still runs, but the tags have come due and I need to get another vehicle. For what it would cost to fix her up, I could buy another car in similar condition so it behooves me to get another car.

Meanwhile the expired tags mean that I either a - drive a car with expired tags and risk getting pulled over by the cops (No thank you), or b - get a ride. I have chosen the latter with my brother suppling the wonderful vehicle.

Those of you who follow my blog may remember the blog a LONG time ago about the Neon I used to have. The Neon was sitting in my carport and should have been decommissioned but my brother, in his infinite wisdom and sense of love for the vehicle thought otherwise. So he fixed it up and it promptly broke down again, after which he fixed it.. to a certain extent. Anyway, since I have lengtherned an already long story, I shall trunkate it to say that this is the car I am stuck with. No Air conditioning on what has proven the hottest days of this year. A transmission shift that has to be operated by a magic combination that only works at the whim of the automobile.

The only problem with this arrangement is that since my brother's other car is down, he has to ride to work from me. This is good for him as it gets him to work early since I push him to get ready so I can get to sleep. It leaves me though, with two hours less to do the things I like to do with is play here and blog and comment or just read. So, my dear readers and online friends, I am sorry that I haven't been here as of late and I have no idea how long this arrangement will continue. It appears that with my bad credit, an automobile may be unobtainable in the near future so this promises to be a long month.

Anyway, friends, I hope to be back full time soon and I will try to visit tonight.

Now back to your regularally scheduled programe......

The Joys Of Boys............Girls can do some of this stuff too!

Today I discovered that I can reaccess my AOL mailbox and I discovered a treasure trove of jokes and other things. Among them was this that was sent to me by a friend in Ohio. This sounds like one of Z-Frogs blogs.....

The Joys Of Boys............Girls can do some of this stuff too!

The following came from an anonymous mother in Austin, Texas..

Things I've learned from my Boys (honest and not kidding):

1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a

2000 sq. ft.house

4 inches deep.

2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3.) A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane)doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.

8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9.) A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a

36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies.

10.) Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old Boy.

11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12.) Super glue is forever.

13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool, you still can't walk on water.

14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15.) VCR's do not eject "PB &J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20.) The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.

21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24.) 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.

a) For those with no children - this is totally hysterical!

b) For those who already have children past this age, this is hilarious.

c) For those who have children this age, this is not funny.

d) For those who have children nearing this age, this is a warning.

Facts about your Spaceport bartender.....

1. What is your occupation? Security Officer

2. What color are your socks right now? Black. I ONLY have black socks.

3. What are you listening to right now? Sibelius Symphony No. 1 by the Philharmonia Orchestra, Vladimr Ashkenazy conducting.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Eggs and those flakey biskits with jelly on them. Ummmmm.

5 Can you drive a stick shift? I learned really late in my driving life. I have a tendancy to burn out a clutch. I want to respect the automobile so I try not to drive on a stick too much if I can help it. Besides its VERY expensive to replace a clutch.....

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Sky Blue

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My best friend Stephanie.

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I swiped this from Heather's blog and I like her

9. How old are you today? 44 years and one month exactly today. Not sure if I need to go into more detail than that...... After all, this isn't particle physics.

10. Favorite Drink? I love iced tea... NO LEMON. If I wanted tea flavored lemonade, I would ask for it.... Mc Donalds has come out with an excellent sweet tea that I could live on....

11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Don't watch much sports. I watch baseball only if the Cardinals are playing. I could really go for airplane racing at one time if they had it on TV. No one covers what I like anyway.....

12. Have you ever dyed your hair? No. Still I am starting to get these grey spots in my hair and whenever I let my sideburns grow, I get this "Reed Richards" look with the grey on the ends....

13. Pets? No I don't but I would love to have a cat, but then again, I have so much stuff in my life and I'd want the time to be with my friend.

14. Favorite food? Lately I have fallen in love with Michelinas Lean entrees. I take them to work and they are tasty and have a wide vareity of flavors. .

15. Last movie you watched? At the theaters I saw Hancock a few weeks ago. At home I just watched "The Wind and the Lion" directed by John Milius.

16. Favorite Day of the year? Every day is just like any other....

17. What do you do to vent anger? I find that people tend not to be interested in what I am angry about. I usually talk to myself and vent. Usually I am alone with ym anger.

18. What was your favorite toy as a child? I had a lot of toys that I loved. Nothing really stands out as a favorite. I shouldn't have to think about that really and now that I do if I had a favorite, I would still have it....

19. What is your favorite, fall or spring? Spring because winter's death grip is off the world and new life is begining Also, its warmer. I dislike the cold miserable weather.

20. What was your first job? Working at the Boys Club as a councilor. However, I had a really good job working at Bass Pro as a packer. Just couldn't keep up with the 40 packages an hour they called for. I delivered Chinese Food (cooked it too) for a bit.

21. Cherry or Blueberry? Not usually a berry kind of guy....

22. Do you want your friends to email you back? I think this is one of those e-mail test things, so I really don't expect anything like that. Feel free to leave a comment though.

23. Who is most likely to respond? I hope a few people....

24. Who is least likely to respond? to this? Pretty much everyone who just does blog-by readings ( I’m guilty of that myself )

26. When was the last time you cried? I been crying a lot lately. My best friend is dying of Cancer, my brother is going through financial difficulty and the stress is starting to get to me.

27. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes, a few boxes and some suitcases.

28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this? See #22

29. Who is the friend you have had the shortest that you are sending this to? See #22

30. What is your favorite smell? Fresh bread baking. Ever since they closed St. Louis Bread at the mall for that damn construction, I have missed that smell terribly.

31. What inspires you? A beautiful sunrise, a wonderful song or other piece of music, a movie that you wish the story would never end, a place that is natural with green trees and grass , filled with nature. Finally the idea of flight inspires me. The idea that you can take off in a plane and go anywhere in the world that vehicle can go is something that triggers my wunderlust..

32. What are you afraid of? I am afraid of not being able to make it. Knowing I live on the ragged edge of disaster just makes life a bitch. Its a daily struggle to just get out of bed sometimes.

33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? I guess it depends on my mood. It has to be plain or cheesy. No spicy for my delecate tummy.

34. Favorite car? One that runs and is paid for and works. A car I don't have to worry about.

35. Favorite cat breed? Spayed and Neutered.

36. Number of keys on your key ring? 5 for home, 1 for work three for the car, 1 for the storage room.

37. How many years at your current job? 2-3 years

38. Favorite day of the week? Payday

39. How many states have you lived in? Three, Missouri, Texas and Kentucky..

40. Do you think you're funny? I can make people laugh. Just wish I could do it professionally.