Just a quick update on some of the events that have been happening around the big wide world lately (most will sound familiar unless you’ve buried yourself in a hole for the past week or so):

Georgia/Russia: As expected, “ceasefire” never really means ceasefire, and the saga continues. On the one hand I wonder what the heck Georgia was thinking when it somehow decided to pit itself up against the Russian military machine. On the other hand I also realize that this crisis has been a long time in the making, and and it was probably only a matter of time before the two sides concluded that slinging words at each other wasn’t enough and decided to send in the tanks as well.

Of course, as horrible as the situation is for the Georgians who’ve had to deal with the fighting firsthand, the conflict also brings into question the future of the world’s current international regimes — especially NATO, theUNSC, and even the G8. Whether Georgia’s bid to join NATO is dead on its feet is, of course, a question important to the Georgian Government, but a threat to future NATO has broader reaching consequences. The collapse of NATO would have both symbolic and practical effects on the US security posture and its alliances in Europe. Meanwhile minister from the G7 (that’s the G8 minus Russia) warned Russia it would face a strong reaction from the international community if it tried to effect a change of leadership in Georgia.

Pakistan: The rising tension in the Caucasus has stolen the spotlight from the ongoing political confusion in Pakistan where, on Pakistan’s Independence Day, rumors are circling that Musharraf will resign within days. Of course, this is Pakistan, and no one knows for sure when Musharraf will step down or whether (in fact) he will step down at all. While some media say he’ll be gone “in days,” while others simply state the timing as “soon,” and still others don’t guess at the timing at all. Of course, it’s no surprise that media predict Musharraf’s resignation would only add to the country’s confusion and disorder.