And the World Keeps on Spinning

All the world's eyes are temporarily on Beijing now. Which, unfortunately, might just make it the perfect time for this sort of thing:

Fighting in the border region between the former Soviet republic of Georgia and a breakaway Georgian enclave escalated sharply Friday morning to its highest level in years.

Georgian officials said their troops had made a significant incursion into the breakaway region, South Ossetia, in response to what the officials contended were provocations from over the border, including shelling. The Georgian officials said they had taken up positions outside the capital of the enclave, Tskhinvali.

At least 25 civilians and troops were killed in the fighting that started Thursday, officials from both sides said.

Just an ugly reminder that, for some, the Cold War only froze conflicts, and ended nothing. And a startling reminder that, even in the age of the iPhone and the Google, troops of sovereign nations can, and will, still make incursions, take up positions in enclaves, and risk war with a former superpower to defend a tiny piece of territory that few in the rest of the world have ever even heard about - and fewer, sadly, probably care about.

The Security Council has called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. Let's hope that, while the athletes parade in Beijing, and most of the world's leaders watch them, cooler heads can prevail in New York.