When the bear gets you

In what appears to be a clear escalation of hostilities against an enemy that has already called for a cease fire, Russia is advancing against Georgia, marching troops against the town of Gori, sinking a Georgian naval vessel, and continuing attacks against Tbilisi International Airport. Russia seems to be after more than a bit of real estate. It seems to be more interested in regime change. The Georgians are dug in and preparing to defend Gori. If it comes to that, the details certainly will be gory.

French and Finlandian envoys arrived in the region to mediate the dispute. The week promises to be a tough one for Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel when she meets the supposed president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev on Aug. 15. She's likely to bring up the Georgia War, and he's likely to remind her of where her gas comes from. Russia claims it wants peace and is prepared to negotiate. A fourth round of talks has begun in the U.N. Security Council. While there is plenty of U.S. condemnation of the attacks, there has been no resolution on the issue. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has bravely called events "dangerously destablizing." Meanwhile, in Beijing, the Georgians took the gold medal in the women's 10-meter air pistol event, beating the Russians, who came in second.