‘Not enough coffins’ as rescuers restore war-torn capital

[Joanne98]

August 15, 2008, 14:58

‘Not enough coffins’ as rescuers restore war-torn capital
Russian rescuers are continuing to recover bodies from underneath the debris in the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali – with many being buried in backyards without coffins. Doctors are working around the clock in mobile hospitals to care for the hundreds of injured people.

Over 1700 Russian emergency workers are helping civilians recover from the bombardment of the South Ossetian capital.

The scale of devastation in Tskhinvali is enormous, but the focus remains on the rescue and recovery operations.

After visiting Tskhinvali, Russia’s Emergencies Minister Sergey Shoigu has estimated it will take at least two years to rebuild the city.

He said that every day 120 tonnes of essential provisions and building materials are being delivered to Tskhinvali. A working bakery has been set-up so that there is some fresh bread in the city.

At the moment Russia’s Emergencies Ministry staff are striving to restore destroyed power and water supplies as well as communications. They have partially succeeded.

They are also searching the debris to recover bodies trapped underneath the rubble.

The injured are being treated at mobile hospitals and a special group of psychologists are driving around the city trying to offer support.

Many local people are suffering severe psychological traumas. Some have even lost their ability to speak after all they have been through – witnessing their houses having been bombed and relatives killed.

There is currently a shortage of coffins in the city, as well vehicles and sufficient petrol to transport them. That’s why many are having to bury their loved ones and neighbours in their own backyards.

To watch more about South Ossetians and Russians mourning the dead, please follow the link

Meanwhile, a series of shots could be heard from around Tskhinvali in the early hours of Friday morning. It’s believed some of them came from the mountains where a number of Georgian snipers are reported to be hiding.

South Ossetian officials have said there was a group of women snipers operating in the city, and on Thursday a male sniper who apparently held Ukrainian citizenship was detained in Tskhinvali.

He was reported to be hiding on a roof and aiming mainly at civilians and oil tankers.

The authorities have said that Ukrainians and citizens of the Baltic countries have been among the prisoners they have detained.

Continued>>>
http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29043

[AllentownJake]

1. I give the same weight to RussiaToday

As I would to Foxnews.

I'll wait to see what the BBC has to say and make up my mind on this crisis.

[Joanne98]

3. It's the anti-Fox. You got to love that.

[dipsydoodle]

4. The BBC ,

as a result of the propaganda spewing forth from Georgia, is now getting their reporters to cleary distinguish between what they told and what they have seen.

[AllentownJake]

5. Which is why I would trust their reports and the NPR reports

over anything I hear from American or Russian media.

[dipsydoodle]

10. As I've mentioned elsewhere before

it's a shame that you can't get our BBC News 24 hour video coverage on their site which obviously matches what we get on TV. I guess the powers that be don't want you to get more or less complete truthful news coverage - devoid of advertising too.

[Muttocracy]

13. yeah, those have been good sources

NPR can drive me nuts sometimes, particularly their hosts, but many of their field reporters are still great.

[Warpy]

6. Good plan

although "help" for Georgia from other pro western ex USSR states isn't outside the realm of possibility. It's a little unlikely unless they were in the country already for some other purpose.

I'll take everything with a pound of salt right now.

[AllentownJake]

8. Putin controls all russian media

Anything from a Russian Reporter is the same as Foxnews.

Russia cut a Journalist off the air when he reported honestly that targets in central Georgia were bombed. The journalist resigned after the broadcast.

I heard it on NPR so I'll trust it.

[Joanne98]

12. Bush controls all US media.

[AllentownJake]

17. I'm not watching CNN or Foxnews to get my opinion on this

Trusting Russian sources are the same thing.

[dipsydoodle]

2. But, but.......

the number of deaths there was said by the Georgians , as a result of their aerial bombardment which started all this, to be exaggerated :sarcasm:

[enlightenment]

7. You do realise that Russia Today is hardly an unbiased source

of news, right?

You have criticised other media as "corporate owned", "neocon", etcetera; Russia Today is no better, and they openly admit that they have a "pro-Russian" bias.

Russia Today is the first 24/7 English-language news channel to present the Russian point of view on events happening in Russia and around the globe. The channel was established in April 2005 by the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization TV-Novosti.

Its founder is Russia’s biggest news agency RIA-Novosti.
http://www.russiatoday.com/corporate_profile

An interesting article about this media outlet from a largely non-political source:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117990468.html?categoryid=14&cs=1


Joanne, you're certainly entitled to your opinion on this situation - but perhaps if you did a little more research with a little less rhetoric you could develop a stronger argument.

[Joanne98]

11. What's wrong with the Russians point of view? Are they the only people on Earth

not allowed to have one? Quite frankly I never believe anything the US media says anymore. Even if it's true, which is hardly ever, it's to slanted to stomach.

The odds on Russia Today or any other anti-US media being truthful is pretty damn high at this point.

[enlightenment]

14. Nothing is wrong with their point of view, Joanne -

but to choose one side over another is no better than choosing FOX or another media-outlet you despise and relying on them for your information.

I'm suggesting that instead of posting something new every minute or so - which is what it looks like this morning - that you take a little time and try to locate a few sources that are not openly biased.

All news is slanted, regardless of the source, and it is rational to be sceptical of what you read or hear or see. If you simply choose to accept one perspective because you hate the other perspective, that's your choice, but you can't expect people to take you seriously.

[Joanne98]

16. I know. But I've already posted good info. Now I'm having fun!

[Joanne98]

9. Here's their take on Condi's press conference. LOL

Georgia signs South Ossetia ceasefire agreement

The Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has signed the French-brokered ceasefire agreement with Russia aimed at bringing stability to South Ossetia. The announcement has come during the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Tbilisi. Both Russian and Georgian troops will now return to the positions they were in before the crisis in the Georgian breakaway republic began.

However, Russian peacekeepers would take up additional security measures before an internationally accepted solution to the conflict is found.

Prior to her arrival in the Georgian capital, Rice stressed the US commitment to preserving Georgia's territorial integrity.

Czech criticise neighbours

Meanwhile, the Czech President Vaclav Klaus has criticised his colleagues from Poland and the Baltic states for lambasting Russia's actions in South Ossetia.

The Czech leader says he won't follow the line portraying Russia as bad and Georgia as good.

He dismissed the comparison of recent events with the so-called Prague spring, when Soviet tanks entered Czechoslovakia.

Klaus said the widespread recognition of Kosovo has influenced the problems in Georgia.

The Czech President also called on all sides to settle their differences as soon as possible.

http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29069

[Joanne98]

15. Oh GOD I love this website. They are totally fucking with Fox! LOL

You know that couple with the children in Georgia that Fox keeps putting on. BWHAHAHA!!!!!!!!



August 15, 2008, 2:26
Conflict divides Georgian-Ossetian border residents
In peacetime, residents of the Georgian-Ossetian border region mixed and even intermarried, regardless of their ethnic origin. But five days of intense conflict have split apart friends and families along ethnic lines.

For years, villagers of Balta, near the Georgian-Ossetian border, lived peacefully together. But now many of the men have left to join their respective sides in the conflict.

Many in the village are asking themselves where they should go, being half Georgian or half Ossetian.

Lyudmila Tinikashvili, an Ossetian by origin, lived in the village with her Georgian husband for over thirty years.

"We're outside politics, we're ordinary people. We just want to keep the same links and relationships as before the conflict. When it started, all the Georgians left for Georgia. All out relatives are there," said Lyudmila.

Georgian Nanuli Pavliashvili came to the village when she got married, almost forty years ago. Two of her daughters are married to Ossetians. She is worried what will happen to her family.

"Of course we're not being driven out yet but we are afraid. Nobody knows what's going to happen," she said.

Despite the conflict, last week in the village church a Georgian-Ossetian couple got married.

The villagers are raising funds for the victims of the conflict. They say it doesn't matter whether they are Georgian or South Ossetian - they are just ordinary people who lost their loved ones during a war.