Yesterday, the Russian parliament passed a non-binding resolution requesting that Medvedev declare to two provinces under conflict in the region as independent countries. The western powers “strongly urged” Medvedev not to do so. Strongly urged? What the hell is that?

On Friday, Russian troops invaded the country of Georgia. As I write this, five days later, President Medvedev of Russia and President Sarkozy of France are holding a press conference announcing a ceasefire but this is not the end of fighting.