Putin has not been seen in public for 8 days, long enough for many to wonder where he is, and for the Kremlin to deny rumors of illness. Here are things that suggest all is not well with Putin - or with the Russian establishment ( Read more... )

Watch Radioactive Wolves on PBS. See more from Nature.

It's an interesting commentary on the effects of humans that a nuclear disaster can be so much better for nature.

Why is Russia occupying the port of Poti, Georgia's major port, and not the Tbilisi international airport, Georgia's major airport? Holding both would isolate Georgia, allowing Russia to operate there with little scrutiny; neither is needed for peacekeeping in South Ossetia or Abkhazeti. A strategy that involves holding one and not the other, ( Read more... )

I was going to write more about the war in Georgia, but I came across this excellent piece of background information about its origins first ( Read more... )