Still not sure what to make of the Russia / Georgia situation?

The esteemed Michael Totten reports directly from Georgia, where he consults with some authorities on the situation. And the verdict is that Russia is ultimately the aggressor. They initiated the conflict, using paid ethnic group thugs, and when the Georgians responded, they attacked using conventional forces. All while rolling out the standard Soviet-style propaganda, which news organizations like the AP duly repeated as news stories, with no actual reporting done by anyone not Russian. But when you go and check in South Ossetia, as Michael Totten has done, there are no casualties of Ossetians from supposed Georgian aggression. But there are plenty of wounded and dead Georgians, many of whom were working as peacekeepers, and got killed for it. Beware Putin and the return of Soviet aggression.

One way to determine if you are reporting things correctly is if the Russians cyberattack your website, which has happened to Michael Totten. Bush was stupid to declare Putin a friend he could trust, but hopefully our political candidates won't be so naive. Notice that talking to them isn't having much effect.