The Devil Went Down to Georgia

I turn my back for five minutes and war breaks out.

Now being more something of an amateur expert on domestic policies in my own home, I have to confess I have no great knowledge (though perhaps enough not to make this mistake) to contribute about the situation in Georgia. However, I am sure I saw a report earlier this year, could have been on the BBC, which featured a local person looking wistfully across a river and it was something to do with South Ossetia and its independent status. I thought at the time 'uh-oh, that sounds like trouble'.

Of course in this time of citizen journalism, there is no shortage of online comment on the present troubles. And so here is mine:

War is bad (except when it isn't) and they should all just stop it right now!

But life and war, unfortunately, ain't that simple.

There are claims and counter-claims of attacks on villages in the area which each side see as justifying a military response.

The venerable (won Nobel Peace Prize 1990) Mikhail Gorbachev reckons Georgia started it. Yet it seems as my own grandmother's great-grandmother might have assessed all involved, in the region and across the globe might need their heads banging together.

As to the secondary commentary, donpaskini, ever thoughtful, gives a rundown of the 1st Battalion of Fighting Keyboardists broadly on the Right's take on the situation, and some on the left.

Meanwhile, 'Dave, Part of the Left' looks, sensibly, at the strange positions adopting ideological/partisan commitments on the issue takes one to, but says it doesn't have to be this way.

Here, Here and Here seem to give some balanced background and ongoing opinion, detail etc on the matter worth reading. Though no doubt we will all find our own preferred reading source, perhaps part of the problem.

While the Devil Went Down to Georgia is about a fiddling contest with less injurous weapons in the other Georgia , for the sake of those losing their lives and homes and being traumatised let's hope the 'international community', with the stakes similar, doesn't turn it in to one in this instance.

(As a slight aside and perhaps worthy of a post in itself, complete with philosophical reflections on the nature of 'art', journalism, news etc, I must object to some of the online content of the News Outlets and the photos they feature/buy. While still photographs have to do more/different work than moving pictures accompanied by words some featured images, I think cross a line. Some are so 'arty' that they clearly reflect the pretentions of the photographer/news outlet rather than trying to convey the reality of war and suffering. Also, isn't there some better way of labelling a series of images from a war zone than calling it a 'slide show'. Please people, some dignity!)