In the Name of Tibet and Kosovo, Give Up on Abkhazia

It's called self-determination. People have a fundamental right to choose their form of government. As far as I can tell, the people of Abkhazia and South Ossetia strongly prefer independence or possibly absorption into Russia, rather than continued Georgian rule. There is no issue. It may be necessary to draw a line in the sand with Russia. Ukraine may be the place. Abkhazia isn't.

If I Were Vladimir Putin

This post has been moved to my ideas blog.

Message to Barack Obama re: Georgia

I sent his campaign this message tonight: McCain's response to events in Georgia can be portrayed as hotheaded -- as a reflection of the Cold War mentality in which he cut his teeth. Does the nation want to return to a hasty escalation of tensions against Russia for the sake of one brief event? It is reminiscent of the Archduke Ferdinand and WWI.