Pen-Elayne on the Web

In with the New

Hey cool, Georgia's interim leader is a woman! She's promised to repeal the state of emergency, saying there's no more need for it, as well as restore the parliament and hold elections within 45 days. This is the kind of thing that happens when a woman's on the job. ;) Seriously, I found most interesting the bit that spoke of what led to Shevardnadze's resignation: "After weeks of refusing to step down, in the end he said he was leaving office to avoid a bloodbath in a region steeped in violence. But by that time, some servicemen had joined the protesters and it was doubtful police and soldiers would have obeyed orders to use force." (emphasis mine) Considering what just went down in the heart of our own flawed presidential elections, I don't think we could assume the same level of conscientious disobedience in the "land of the free." (It also doesn't hurt that the US and Moscow were actively working to help oust Shevardnadze.)