"The question is not whether or not both sides are guilty of doing bad things. The question is who is responsible for the situation being what it is today."

This situation is appearing more and more to me like a Mafia blood feud.

Who started it?

In my opinion that is the least important point.

In my opinion the most important points are:

1. How is it affecting the civilian populations of all national/racial groups involved.

2. What realistic solutions exist to ensure stability, peace and perhaps even prosperity for those civilians.

Distinguishng who started it won't help, because it is completely unrealistic to expect any of the parties involved to agree on this, or indeed not to become more inflamed by the whole issue.

Your point about self determination is of course entirely correct, but depending on which corner you're in, it could mean that Russia is right to support the self determination of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but it could also mean that Georgia has the right to determine the best way of handling a crisis that is occurring inside its internationally recognized borders.

But all that is a pointless vortex of endless knit picking that I do not intend to indulge any further.

Because while we carry on with that, the two most insincere men in the world (Butt and Pushin)are posturing and flexing their flabby torsos at each other like a couple of motorcycle boys at a gay pride festival.

This whole crisis has nothing to do with Georgis, Abkhazia, Ossetia or even oil. It is about national ego.

(hope you enjoyed the imagery)