Yes, that really is a man in South Ossetia riding a tricycle through a war zone wearing a Tyrone GAA jersey.No, the picture is not photoshopped. It was taken by an Associated Press photographer and was published on the Guardian website last Wednesday.I can only assume that while the lad is somewhat unhappy about Russia invading his country and looting and destroying it, he might be just a little pleased to hear that his adopted Gaelic football county slaughtered the Dubs at Croker today.Okay, maybe 'slaughtered' isn't quite the most appropriate word.Sorry!...
Here's the first context - the Caucasus is a messy place, ethnicity-wise. Lots of different peoples living cheek by jowl:Here's the second context. Let's call it the Russian version of events. The key to this map is to look a little to the right of the conflict zone in Ossetia. Yup, that really is Chechnya right next door:One final context to this conflict. Let's call this the Georgian version of events. Key to reading this one is awareness that all other pipelines go through Russia to the West, with the obvious knock-on effects on Western Europe's energy security:there are more interesting maps relating to the energy issue and the Georgian conflict from Nosemonkey, well worth reading on this issue....
Straight from the 'fact is stranger than fiction' winter collection, we bring you prestige couturier Louis Vuitton's latest supermodel - Mikhail Gorbachev.Yes, the former Soviet Union supremo, the head of the Communist bloc, is now modelling for a French fashion house.God bless Champagne Socialism, eh?On a separate note, moving house is a total pain in the hole....
Belfastblogger.com has smuggled a bug into MI5 headquarters, and can bring you this exclusive transcript from the heart of the British security establishment…
007: Well Q, what have you got for me today old chap?
Q: Something a bit different today 007, we’ve got this high quality transmitter that allows you to just speak into it, and then it transmits the information to us. Spiffing, eh?
007: Excellent Q. Where does it fit? In the number 12 on my watch? On my buttonhole?
Q: Well, er, not exactly. Its in a rock.
007: A what?!
Q: A rock. Its cutting edge technology, 007. We’ll sit the “rock” on a Moscow street, then you or whoever sidle up to it every so often and tell it what you know. Very difficult to fake a rock, old...