* 150 Russian tanks in the suburbs of the South Ossetian capital
* Georgia recalls 1,000 Georgian troops currently in Iraq.
* RussiaToday puts death toll at 1,400.
* Georgia claims 5 Russian aircraft shot down.
* 1000s of Russian / Cossack volunteer forces are heading for Ossetia.
]]>
Wow! Unreal. Amazing. That was a pretty cool torch lighting.
First, the The Olympic torch entered the stadium and started a massive relay of about 7 or 8 Chinese Olympic Gold medalists. Nothing too out of the ordinary though the oppressive heat was definitely taking its toll on some in the crowd.
Eventually it was passed to 李宁 Li Ning, the Olympic Gold medalist for gymnastics who ‘took off’ straight up 100s of feet into the air like a kung fu fighter the movies (yes, he was on wires). He then ‘ran’ (you have to see it) around the entire stadium as a giant screen turned a picture of the torch into the faces of 1000s of torch bearers from around the world.
Absolutely stunning.
He ran to the end of the stadium and lit a giant ‘pipe’/wick thant shot up into the Olympic Cauldron and the games of the 2008 Olympiad are underway.
It’s midnight in Beijing. It means you have to stay up late to see this. DO IT! WATCH THIS! IT WAS AMAZING.
]]>
I’ve been watching the Opening Ceremonies with everyone here (they’re smiling so much I suspect they are about to cry). It’s quite a pageant, with lots and lots of color, and some pretty interesting visuals of money, Chinese characters, boats and fans. I’m not sure what the hell it is all about–story of China or something–no idea. We’re watching in Cantonese (and no one hear speaks that).
Nevertheless, you should tune in tonight. It’s pretty wild. We’re only a half hour in or so and it’s pretty impressive. Amazing what you can do when you have like 10,000 performers are your command.
And remember, the parade tonight is NOT in alphabetical order, but stroke count order.
]]>
AP is reporting that Russian television is claiming Russian troops are entering South Ossetia.
A Russian official denied bombing Georgia, but Russian state television said Russian troops were moving into South Ossetia and showed a convoy of tanks that it said had already crossed the border. The convoy was expected to reach the provincial capital, Tskhinvali, by evening, Channel One television said.
UPDATE: BBC is reporting 150 pieces of armor coming through the tunnel (one does wonder why the Georgians did not blow it up)
]]>
For many Americans you can now catch live coverage of the Georgia-South Ossetia crisis on the Kremlin’s Engilsh language service Russia Today. The MHZ Networks offers Russia Today as a free channel to residents in the Washington, DC area, and Russia Today is free to air on many satellites over the US. If you don’t have one of those services, you can also catch Russia Today’s Youtube Channel
Now, being a Russian channel, you’ll hear some stuff like:
* “We must stop the slaughter of Russians”
* “Russia will not tolerate deaths of compatriots”
and you won’t hear about Russian warplanes being involved or any resupply of South Ossetians from Russian territory.
But still, given that the US media is focused on the Olympics or the bus crash in Texas today (12 dead) at least you’ll get to hear something about what is going on (and lots and lots of live video).
]]>
The Georgian Messenger is the English language daily that is ‘live blogging’ events from South Ossetia. There latest blog post is pretty interesting.
]]>Georgia’s Rustavi 2 television station, citiing Russian news reports, just announced that Georgian troops have taken Tskhinvali.
Well all pretense of negotiated settlements and cease fires has seem to go out the windows.
Georgian troops and South Ossetian forces have engaged in some pretty heavy shelling today that’s left at least 10 Georgian troops dead. The BBC is also reporting that fighters from around the region are gearing up for battle and heading to the scene:
Moscow-based Interfax news agency quoted the head of Russia’s province of North Ossetia, Taimuraz Mamsurov, as saying: “Hundreds of volunteers from North Ossetia are on their way to South Ossetia. We cannot stop them or prevent them from going.”
It also quoted Sergei Bagapsh, the head of Georgia’s other breakaway province of Abkhazia, as saying: “About 1,000 Abkhaz volunteers are leaving for South Ossetia.”
Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, is under attack from many sides, according to published reports.
The London Telegraph is going so far as to call this a full scale invasion by Georgian forces, including photos of troops on the move.
]]>
Ok, so what’s the point?
They had a trial, he was found guilty, but now the Pentagon is saying even after he serves his ‘debt to society’ he will considered an enemy combatant and sent to some place like Guantanamo indefinitely.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said after the verdict Wednesday that Hamdan was now a “convicted war criminal” and that he was “no longer considered an enemy combatant.”
But on Thursday, Whitman said Hamdan’s status would revert to “enemy combatant” when his sentence is completed.
As an enemy combatant, Hamdan can be held indefinitely by the United States, although he would be eligible to appeal to an administrative review board to determine whether his status as an enemy combatant should continue.
So what the hell was the point of the trial????????????????
]]>
Yao Ming is out. He carried it yesterday and rules prohibit it from being carried by the same person twice. 110m hurdler Liu Xiang, the first Chinese gold medal winner in track and field and a national hero is a likely choice, but he’s under a tremendous amount of stress already being told to basically win or else. Perhaps we could see one of China’s astronauts, or as some have suggested, a child from the earthquake ravaged Sichuan province. Speculation is rampant with many names being suggested.
Despite media leaks of the opening ceremony, there was no leak of the cauldron lighting ceremony (it was not rehearsed as part of the process) and the actual person is a closely guarded secret. We’ll know in about 12 hours or so…
UPDATE: We now know–6 time medal winner Li Ning
]]>