Google News Has Russian Army Invading Savannah, GA 413
theodp writes "If you checked out Google-wannabe Cuil, you learned that mapping search results to relevant images isn't a trivial task. But even Big Dog Google isn't immune to embarrassing graphics gaffes. Readers of Google News were shown that Russian troops are thrusting into the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia, thanks to the Google Maps graphic accompanying a story about Russian incursions into Georgia — the nation-state in the Caucasus, not the Caucasian-pride-ridden state in the southern US. Yahoo! Answers also had some fun with the GA-Georgia mix-up — 'I live in georegia but i dont see rusia no where not even sound but they says theres tanks should i be worrie' (Google cache) — before a spoilsport deleted the question."
A local radio station was having fun (Score:4, Interesting)
with the Georgia invasion and some local power outages caused by storms. Unfortunately since its not exactly relevant to Americans it seems that we can make light of such a situation. Needless to say they were talking to some people and lead a few along the lines that Georgia had just shot down two Russian planes and while the power was out in lots of places (it wasn't) they were still on the air "for now".
Got to love Russia's timing on the invasion. I guess we could have expected it from the Chinese if it were hosted elsewhere. Time will tell if the Olympics changes how the Chinese treat their neighbors all in the name of obtaining trust based respect on the world stage or if they use the fact that after the Olympics end they can just whack Taiwan or hit Tibet harder.
Re:What's so funny about an illegal war? (Score:5, Interesting)
On a more serious note. (Score:3, Interesting)
On a more serious note, yes it's horrible (The United States) Russia is invading (Iraq) Georgia and it could set a nasty precedent for them to do it elsewhere in the (Middle East) former Soviet States. If they get away with this, what would keep them from say, invading (Iran) East Ukraine, which has a high population of (Pro-Islamic) Pro-Russian supporters? Sadly, I don't see any Western Countries comming to the aid of the opposing forces against (The United States) Russia. No one out there seems to want to upset (America) Russia.
Yay perspective!
you dont know zit about it (Score:3, Interesting)
then suddenly a few months ago these 'separatist' political group started wearing uniforms and acting like a militia. and then proceeded to break away.
naturally, as this is a region in the MIDDLE of georgia, they moved their troops there to assure their territorial integrity.
naturally voila - the MAFIA administration of russia, which had suppressed ANY opposition inside russia by killing its own human rights advocate citizens, opposition members, any dissenters, have suddenly embarked on a PEACEKEEPING mission. and COINCIDENTIALLY, abkhazia, another ethnic region that russia had its eyes on, started attacking georgian troops at the SAME time. what a coincidence.
peacekeeping mission somehow involves bombing civilian buildings in tblisi, georgian capital. totally irrelevant to anything going on.
behold the reality of modern russia - ruled by a mafia, ruled like a mob rules its neighborhood, and attacking other neighborhoods when it has the chance. expect more of this to come, if the u.s. and west keeps licking the mob's boots.
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=139586 [militaryphotos.net]
Re:Pay Attention (Offtopic) (Score:3, Interesting)
Why should anybody give an ineffectual organisation more power?
To make it less ineffectual?
What has the UN done since its inception to curb the tide of illegal and immoral wars?
Not a lot, but then again, it has little power to do so.
I agree completely that the UN isn't working the way it should be, but your arguments don't sound very logical. The problem is with the decision making process, the veto power of a handful of members, and the lack of power to actually do something once a decision has finally been made.
Re:A local radio station was having fun (Score:3, Interesting)
Russia SUPPORTED territorial integrity of Georgia until yesterday. That's why peacekeeping forces were there - to stop bloodshed between separatists and Georgians.
However, independence of Kosovo established a precedent. Probably that's why Georgia started this war.
Re:Dear theodp: You're a bigot. (Score:3, Interesting)
I agree with you 100%. I grew up in Massachusetts and lived in California for 8 years and recently moved to Texas. The most amazing about Texas is the racial integration that I never saw in states I previously lived. The South in general gets a bad rap when in actuality many northerner are far more racist.
Re:Analysis (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/08/021207.php [powerlineblog.com]
Forget the Olympics, forget goofball Edwards: this is important, lads.
Re:A local radio station was having fun (Score:3, Interesting)
Where'd you get your news from? Interfax? Russian peacekeeping forces were as much peacekeepers as the Chinese military in Tibet.
There was no support of territorial integrity whatsoever. Unless you call the de facto annexation of South Ossetia by the generic handing out of Russian passports to everybody "preservation of territorial integrity".
Nice try.
Re:A local radio station was having fun (Score:3, Interesting)
The small fact that the US has been quietly (Or not so quietly) bankrolling georgia's resistance to the russians is mostly ignored by US media (but it's all over the news in Europe).
Quite clearly we are losing the media war in Europe (battle over their hearts and minds, if you like). The two stories I read on the Brittish and German news are extremely pro-Russia (and strongly anti-US). I think this is yet another sign of our declining power in the world, and it makes me sad.
Re:aha! (Score:5, Interesting)
I lived in 'the South' for 31 years. I have JUST moved to NYC and have never encountered the racism, even while living in New Orleans, that I have encountered from Blacks towards Whites as I've seen here... and that's just hearing from strangers in the Subway - because they were purposely talking loud enough for every one on the car to hear them.
I have also heard racism come out of the mouths of the white, educated locals as well. Having heard it from them I suspect the racism goes deeper as well.
Overall, my experience here in the last 10 weeks is that New York City has more hate in it than any where I've lived, in the three states I've lived, in 'the South'.
Re:A local radio station was having fun (Score:3, Interesting)
Chechnya was de facto sovereign by your standards, having signed a peace treaty with Yeltsin after the first Chechen War.
The Russians honored the peace agreement until Chechen's invaded Dagestan [wikipedia.org].
Yes, the response was over the top, but if the radicals kept well enough alone then then Russia might have not went back in.
I'll concede the whole Caucasus region has been politically messed up for the past 100 years so one could basically create arguments blaming the Geopolitiks of WWI (Germany, Ottaman Empire, Russian Civil War, Stalin/Lenin) causing the situation we have today down there.
No one will ever win the argument of who shot first. You'll have to work on who is going to shoot last.
Re:aha! (Score:4, Interesting)
"I don't "hate black people". I'm just sick of watching this, and hearing about non-existent lynchings."
That's a permanent condition, so what I do is live in the country where among other advantages, there is ample personal space. We cannot change the African-American crime situation because we are White, but we can avoid them. White Flight works for me. I don't hate them either, but there is zero reason for me to locate in their neighborhoods. If I were rich and urban I'd live in an economically segregated community. Since I'm middle class and prefer rural spaces I choose them.
This will surely be unpopular on Slashdot, but I argue it is perfectly fine and good to locate away from humans one has no cause to embrace. Thanks to country custom (armed resistance to trespass) and the Second Amendment, in my area African-American crime is largely confined to areas where they live. Whites move away as problems increase, but there is plenty of land.
Nothing can or will be done about minority crime in the US, so the only options for the average person are mobility and self-defense, both of which are equally useful for dealing with non-minority crime.