Russia has scored a big geopolitical win by slapping tiny Georgia around. Now what?

Who's telling the truth on the Georgia crisis? Rick Salutin says trust no government.

From the Globe and Mail:

When it comes to foreign policy, Noam Chomsky says, the rule is, all governments lie. There may be exceptions, but not among big powers. Does this mean a nasty retreat to cynicism? It seems counterintuitive to never trust anyone. But governments aren't individuals, they're institutions. You aren't giving up on "people," you're adopting a stand toward public bodies. Start from honest skepticism, and you might get somewhere.

The Globe and Mail's Marcus Gee argues the West can't abandon Georgia to Russia. I also include some counter-thoughts from author Misha Glenny.

From the Guardian:

Last year Saakashvili paid a reported €500,000 to engage Brussels' Aspect Consulting to brand Georgia as a western wannabe, a Nato and European Union aspirant, emphasising everything from its fabulous food and drink to its liberties and democratic politics.

The PR campaign went into overdrive last week when Georgia found itself on the receiving end of post-Soviet Russia's first ever invasion of another country. Reporters covering the conflict have been showered daily with emails providing news, contact details, mobile phone numbers of officials, video footage, background material, and tele-conference access to Georgians from Saakashvili down. Highly efficient, highly effective, usually punctual. ...

Even the Russians are complaining that their side is losing in the publicity stakes. "You can't fail to notice that Russian leaders are ignoring the opportunity to convey their point of view to the world," wrote the Moscow pundit, Aleksei Arbatov. "Saakashvili is really never off American TV screens. I suspect that if [Russian president] Medvedev decided to talk to foreign journalists, they would, of course, respond."

Auteur Quentin Tarantino hopes to do for the Nazis what he's done for small-time Los Angeles hoodlums in a forthcoming film. German film critics are up in arms over the script, which got leaked online.

From the BBC:

Poland has signed a preliminary deal with the US on plans to host part of its new missile defence shield.

From the BBC (Aug. 14):

Reuters news agency says the Israeli army has made reporting in Gaza "almost impossible" after it cleared a tank crew that killed one of its cameramen.

Fadel Shana and eight other Palestinian civilians, mostly children, were killed by a shell packed with darts in April.

The army's top lawyer said the troops acted properly as they suspected his camera tripod was an anti-tank weapon.

Reuters says it shows the army is not meeting an obligation to protect civilians in combat areas.

Below you can see Georgia state TV reporter Tamara Urushadze just after the moment of impact as she did a standup near Gori:

From the BBC story: (contains video of the incident)

Speaking after being bundled into a bulletproof vest, she said she thought it was a sniper: "I think it was some kind of a bullet. I can't say anything else right now, because we can't see anyone here and I don't know who made the shot." 

Her left arm appeared to sustain a wound.