The West, The East, and The Oil

The nation of Georgia recently tried to assert control over autonomous "breaking-away" regions it considered internal, but were opposed by the military intervention of Russia, which they called "peace-keeping." Then they dug in. (Globe)

In the midst of this conflict, Russia dropped some nasty comments about developments in the wider region, namely a missile defence base in Poland. (CBC)

Then started taking (verbal) swings at NATO. (Globe) Why is Russia turning back into the global bogeyman... blame Bush. (Tyee) And why not? Everybody else does. (And by "everybody" I mean Putin.) (Globe) Except Georgia, of course... they're miffed at the Russians and close their Consulate. (Globe)

When the inevitable dissection begins, I'm sure we'll find out it's the same old same old: people fight over resources. (Globe) Best way to get resources is to take them over, hence Russia threatens to annex Georgia. (Globe)

But afterwards, Russia's allies decide they aren't completely behind Russia's aggressive behaviour. So the Russians come out and tell the folks they went to war over (to protect their autonomous identity within the nasty nation of Georgia) that they figure they'll eventually absorb their region into Russia. (CBC) Uh... WTF?!

So why all this?

Oil. Pipelines. Resources. It's called the "New Great Game." (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) Local politico Gordon Price weighs in on the oil issue. (Price Tags) And a strong quote dug up by Price Tags.

Don't anybody just remember this: All You Need is Love!