Thanksgiving, 2003: Bring Those Guys Over Here

I’ve been trying hard not to work today. I figure it’s a holiday and I deserve a day off. It’s hard to escape the feeling that I ought to be doing something productive though. So while I went to go look at the review of one of our new books today, I stopped as soon as I got to the part where the reviewer 1) notes other companies have covered a similar topic and 2) then complains that didn’t do exactly what they did (and the point of that would be?). No, I did not read on, I just closed the window and said, “Fuck it, today I’m not working.”

So, no game industry crap today. Instead, let’s talk about Georgia. No, not the state, the country. There’s an interesting article from the Washington Post about the recent success of their opposition movement, which bloodlessly deposed long-time politico Eduard Shevardnadze. The Georgian opposition was apparently inspired by the revolution that swept Yugoslavia’s president, Slobodan Milosevic, from power in October 2000. The Georgians traveled to meet with leaders of the Serb resistance (and vice versa) and many were trained in the techniques used in Belgrade. The Georgians also got a TV station to twice run a documentary about the ouster of Milosevic, which further helped spread knowledge of the tactics used. According to the article:

“Most important was the film,” said Ivane Merabishvili, general secretary of the National Movement party that led the revolt. “All the demonstrators knew the tactics of the revolution in Belgrade by heart because they showed . . . the film on their revolution. Everyone knew what to do. This was a copy of that revolution, only louder.”

So here’s what I’m thinking. If the election next year is also stolen, we fly some Serbs and Georgians over here to teach their tactics, then head off to Washington. And seeing as how criminals like Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris have not be prosecuted (to the contrary, stripping people of their voting rights was a great career move for Harris) for their despicable actions in 2000, I see no reason to feel assured that the current administration will give up its stranglehold on Washington.

Now one key fact about both of the revolutions above is that the US and Russia were involved, sending diplomats to say, “You’re done, buddy, time to move along.” I’m sure this helped things along. Trouble is there’s only one superpower these days. There’s no one to send an ambassador to DC to say, “Bush, Cheney, Rummy, you’re out, chuckleheads.”

Maybe I shouldn’t be so cynical. Then again the shenanigans surrounding Bush’s Omnibus Appropriations Bill and the huge problems and conflicts of interest surrounding computer voting terminals does not make me feel optimistic.