Nauru's nightmare

I've always felt sorry for Nauruans. Exploited by colonial powers that turned much of their island into a moonscape, they became independent and completed the job. Income from their phosphate deposits went into a series of increasingly ill-advised investments and now they can't afford their socialist paradise.

And you thought we had it bad. The hare-brained schemes we sometimes get in the CNMI are nothing compared to Nauru. Harboring refugees for cash, money-laundering for the Russian mafia, just give them an idea.

For instance, what does Nauru have in common with Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela?

This week, it became the fourth country to recognize the breakaway Georgian enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

"It has no potential, just to trade in independence," says Russian analyst Sergei Markedonov of the Institute for Political and Military Analysis in Moscow, "Independence is a commodity — people will trade it."

And trade they do. There are reports that Nauru is getting $50 million for the deal. In the past, they recognized the Republic of China, then shifted to the People's Republic for something like $130 million. Ah, but Air Nauru went broke, so they went back to Taiwan (Check the line on the bottom of the home page) to get its replacement, Our Airline, flying.

No criticism is meant here. If countries like Russia, the Chinas and Israel want to practice recognition by checkbook, why not join in.

Picture the island of Banaba in Kiribati. Got it? Pretty remote. Now go 300 kilometers west. There's nothing there but Nauru. No wonder so many birds 'dropped by', and no wonder they have to have their own airline.

Some 11,000 (or maybe 9,000) people ring the island in the fertile coastal area. Nauru sued Australia in 1989 and ended up with a settlement to recover the mined lands. I don't think the amount was made public, but that doesn't matter: it wasn't enough; the interior is a wasteland.

The coastal plains are threatened by rising sea levels, and Nauru estimates 40 percent of its marine biota are dead due to silting and runoff with high phosphate levels.

Did I mentioned unemployment estimated at 90 percent, with 95 percent of the employed working for the government? The highest diabetes rate in the world and one of the most obese populations; this country just can't catch a break.

The first photo is from Nauru's tourism website (Hey, they're really trying to develop), the second's less-flattering pinnacles are from the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program-- they have a climate station on Nauru.

Runoff mouth, runoff election

I didn't expect the loopy extremists to stop with the evil fantasies about Barack Obama after he won, mind you. After all, Bill Clinton got a similar hazing when he was President-elect. Still, the volume should have gone down.

Gun sales are up, we hear. Encouraged by the National Rifle Association, squirrel hunters are trying to get one last assault rifle. Just in case. God bless a well-regulated militia.

But what if Obama gets a militia of his own? Yep, Georgia Rep. Paul Broun is worried about Obama's proposed civilian service corps. "That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it's exactly what the Soviet Union did." So he's a Nazi, or a Commie. One of those.

The election is over. What's going on? Wait. It isn't? Sure enough, there's a Senate runoff election. In Georgia. Saxby Chambliss, known for his dirty campaign against Mac Cleland, is facing a challenge from Democrat Jim Martin.

Whew, that was close. I didn't want to stop my campaign fixes cold turkey; this will allow withdrawal. Have they taken any polls yet?

Chambliss is reaching for a few big guns of his own: "Republican presidential nominee John McCain was scheduled to return to the campaign trail to stump for Chambliss on Thursday, following up a visit from Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) on Wednesday. The Chambliss campaign also extended invites to GOP stars Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee." (Maybe Palin would take his call if he said he was Mikheil Saakashvili.)

The political wonks are twittering about whether Obama should "risk" his momentum in campaigning for what is likely to be a losing cause. He hasn't committed yet, reportedly. Martin does have Obama's formidable volunteer organization at his disposal.

The question in one-issue elections is always who gets their voters out. Hmm, how about some scurrilous attacks to get out the base?

I know. Let's set off alarms about militias on the border and about businessmen, firemen, Fed-Ex drivers and garbagemen being recruited to 'watch' us. Oops, wrong President.

I wish Al Franken would do one of his meltdowns about this. But I forget; he's trying to be Senatorial these days and facing a recount in Minnesota. Another political fix! A fix of the other sort, Norm Coleman sympathizers are claiming, as his victory margin keeps shrinking. Yeah, Minnesota is right up there with the big cities in political corruption. Hey, it's a claim, it doesn't have to be true. Just ask Paul Broun.

"I'd never seen anything like that ad. Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden next to the picture of a man who left three limbs on the battlefield -- it's worse than disgraceful. It's reprehensible." --John McCain on Saxby's 2002 ad

Bad timing

Sylvester Stallone is set to push Synergy Vodka's "Russian Ice" brand starting September 1.

I can't believe they decided to go ahead with this advertising campaign while Russian troops are still parked in Georgia-- and that "There is a bit of Russian in all of us" slogan has got to go. According to Reuters:

"The advertising campaign concept was based on the fact that the actor has Russian roots," Synergy said in a statement, referring to Stallone's great-grandmother, Rosa Rabinovich, from the Ukrainian town of Odessa.

Umm, the Ukraine is not part of Russia. In fact their President flew into Georgia to express solidarity. They're worried they might be next on the Bear's menu.

The contract's reportedly for a year. Maybe after that Stallone will drag Rambo out of retirement so he can defend Georgia on film.

Editorial cartoons

A picture's worth a thousand words department. Cartoonists tweaking us about Georgia:

Ed Stein

Pat Oliphant

Bill Schorr

Georgia on my mind

Welcome to cyberwar. The Republic of Georgia (not the state) is using Google's Blogger to get its message out:

Cyber Attacks Disable Georgian Websites
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 11 • 12:00 Tbilisi, Georgia

Cyber Warfare Attacks by Russia Disable Georgian Websites; Government of Georgia Established Alternative Websites

A cyber warfare campaign by Russia is seriously disrupting many Georgian websites, including that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If you cannnot access official Georgian government websites, please go to the following sites for the latest official Government of Georgia news.

* http://georgiamfa.blogspot.com/ (this site)

* The website of the President of the Republic of Poland Lech Kaczyński: www.president.pl (go to the link: "information about the latest developments in Georgia.")

This one doesn't work: http://www.government.gov.ge/


(Oil) Power Politics

President George Bush is dithering, John McCain favors a more bellicose stance and Barack Obama seems to be falling into Bush's hand-wringing posture. Meanwhile, Russia's troops have cut the country in half. Realistically, there is nothing we can do to oppose the power play.

Bush has been pushing NATO to accept Georgia as a member, but was rebuffed because its democratic institutions have a long way to go. Not-so-incidentally, our European allies are dependent on Russian oil and gas. McCain and Obama also favor NATO membership.

Russia, newly rich, nationalistic and confident, is playing power politics. They have helplessly watched as the former Soviet Republics turned to the West. To former KGB Cold Warriors like Vladimir Putin, our actions must look like a remix of the old George Kennan containment policy. The pipelines through Georgia were intended to reduce Russian influence.

This pot has been simmering for 15 years. Residents of the breakaway South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions have been given Russian passports, giving Putin the pretext of protecting his citizens. Constant border tensions were the bait and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili bit, leading to the Russian invasion.

He may have counted on more Western support, particularly from his old friend Bush. There's a George Bush street in the capital and Georgia may be the only country where he was popular with the majority.

I wouldn't suggest taking a poll now, even if the Russians would let you do it. NATO membership is a lot further away.