So much news about war

Yesterday I went to job early at the morning, but at the breakfast I read an alarming news: Georgia started the bombardment of South Ossetia.

You may read in Wikipedia that Ossetia is the land inhabitated by Ossetians - people who spoke Ossetian language. It is divided in two parts by Caucasus mountain chain. North Ossetia is the "Subject" of Russian Federation (it is similar to the State of the USA). South Ossetia is "de-jure" the part of Georgia. These parts are linked with a tunnel in the mountains.

Surely there are a lot of communication between Georgian, Russian and Ossetian people. Our southern neighbors visit us to study, to work or to marry. There are no problem since mostly Georgian and Ossetian people speak Russian well enough. However, South Ossetia always prefer to be as much independent as it was possible.

After the USSR broke apart, there was a war between Georgia and South Ossetia in which the second was completely destroyed. It was raised from ruins and now people live there again.

In the middle of the Friday, my boss entered an office and announced that Russia now is in this war too. Officially it is said we came there to help our peacemakers. In addition I could say that a lot of people in Russian Caucasus (in North Ossetia, Dagestan etc.), especially ones who have friends and relatives in South Ossetia demand government to protect this little land from devastation.

Now it is the end of the second day of war. My head is extremely confused with different kinds of information about conflict. CNN quotes Georgian inform-agencies and tells that Russian aircrafts are bombing Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Though later I saw TV reports from Tbilisi herself. Seems there are no bombing but people are alarmed and confused because they do not know what is happening. It appeared that in Georgia now translation of russian television are shutted and there are no ability to read Russian internet sites. I say, it is just in the worst USSR way.

Georgian people could know only what their government tell them and, also, what USA informational agencies could provide. To the great pity these could not provide much new information since they are citing mainly Georgian mass-media.

I am happy that on site of CNN people could find comparission of different information sources. However main titles mostly cites words of Georgian President.

The similar problem is with BBC. However it is told that German, French, Italy and Russian inform agencies make some different point of view. For example on www.en.rian.ru you can find pictures which you can not find on CNN.

But there in Russia I feel the problem with information too. Except this special site of Russian Information Agency "Novosti" (i.e. "News") most popular sites provide articles of sumbur and confusion. Many "news" are too old. You can read on the same page that "Medvedev stopped the war" and "The fighting is going on again" at the same time. Many articles are not marked with precise time. Just "9 August", for example, thoug it is too inaccurate for two-days war. It is all shameful, I say.

TV mostly repeat pictures that are evident enough. Thousands of people escaping from South Ossetia to North, ruined Tskhinvali (capital of the South Ossetia), many crying women and children. But too little of new and exact information.

I understand that it is too hard to get reliable information just now, but I need to mark that nowadays, in 21 century, having a lot of sources of information we are almost as blind as in 16-18 centuries when people have no radio or telegraph and because of it, for example, it was extremely unclear who is in war with whom in Caribean Sea.

I ask you one thing. Please read the news carefully and thoroughly before you start to judge the deal.