These are the latest headlines about the conflict from Drudge:

Georgia ‘overrun’ by Russian troops; full-scale ground invasion begins…
Ultimatum…
US military surprised by speed, timing…
McCain condemnation upstages White House…

And this:

Bush warns Russia to pull back in Georgia

For a little background from somebody that truly understands that part of the world, read this from Rurik at Talon:

“Georgia is a republic with close ties to the United States, and it exists in a very rough neighborhood, in which it has made a number of serious enemies. This has always been true for Georgia, for at least a couple thousand years. It has also been true for just as long, that Georgia and their rulers have often been indiscreet and have often brought about their own undoing by provoking larger neighbors.”

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George has put together several good books on the history of aviation in the former USSR. He knows his airplanes and also understands the culture and mechanics behind the “curtains” that have driven Russia to it’s current position on the world stage.

Thanks go out to all of my friends in cyber-land for your patience with me over the course of the years. Your faith and inspiration is the only reason I’m still here. A special hat tip goes out to the Gray Dog and John Kerry for influencing me during the 2004 election cycle. Kerry was the last straw for this Vietnam Vet and was the ultimate wakeup call. The Gray Dog made me realize we could still make a difference, and that the war was still at hand, just in a different realm.

Our latest additions to the web:

Rurik has assembled a good team that you need to check out. Thumbs up to all of you!

I try to ignore the gravity of our current situation for the most part, but physics always wins out in the long run folks. It’s like everything else: you either learn to live with it, or die trying. After all, life is a challenge by nature. If it isn’t, well, you’re probably just not doing something right.

IOR would also like to welcome James Rawles to the blog roll.

Here’s the picture I used for the above graphics. It’s the bugs bottom taken from the backside of the web. See the eyes, that’s the illusion. Reality wins again folks…….
Here’s the view from topside.

And that should explain that.

LGF operative This Ain’t Hell made it out to Arlington Cemetery for the “laying of the wreath” by Vice President Cheney at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. TAL managed to get some good pictures and some video, so check it out.
Wreath laying at Arlington’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers

H/T to ya TAL and thanks for providing the following video: Nice job!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8je6VjeZq0

And on a related note The Gathering of Eagles folks made a stand against the Phelps wackos. Check out this post from The Mountain.

Gathering of Eagles vs. Fred Phelps Pod People

Rurik over at Veteran-American Voices put it succinctly with this post:

“Veterans Day truly honors all veterans. Some were grievously wounded, and instead of their lives, gave parts of their bodies. The others gave, at a minimum, two years of their lives in the midst of their precious youth, to serve while their friends partied or jump-started their careers. To live under abstemonious circumstances, often in inhospitable places and conditions. Those who served in the rear, always were aware that when things turn really ugly, even the clerks can be handed a rifle and told to use it, in places such as Bastogne, Pusan, and Chosin, and others. Even those who served in peacetime had to remember that peace can suddenly change, leaving them at an unprepared first line. And thanks to the Cold War, which cost some hundreds of lives apart from the various hot flare-ups, and the conflicts that have followed, there has never been real peace for America since sometime in the 1930s – and most of those vets ended up in World War II anyway.”

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Rurik is a well renowned scholar when it comes to Russia and aviation history. He’s the author of these three excellent books on the subject so check them out. This guy knows his airplanes as well as the history behind them.

He just returned from another trip to that part of the world, and has some very interesting and sobering observations of life over there. The following is his post at Veteran-American Voices recounting his trip and his impressions of current day life in Russia.
If you read anything today, read this…..

First Reactions on the 2007 Russian Trip

Nice job George. I’ll email you later when and if I can get this spinning ball to slow down just a little. Sheesh, sometimes gravity wins, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to keep the blue side up now does it?……..