I think things between Russia and Georgia have been firmly escalated for a while now, what with the Georgians killing two Russian advisors in the Abkhaz territory last year, as well as arresting Russian "peacekeepers" in Ossetia. Russia is pretty clearly trying hard to disrupt it's neighbors by stirring up ethnic animosities, which has never seemed like a sane plan given that many of these ethnicities splash over into Russian territory.

This kind of tension has been in existence between Georgia and the Russian Federation for the last decade, with periodic upsurges in belligerent invective exchanged between the two followed by lulls of diplomatic stability. I highly, highly doubt a full scale war will break out between Russia and Georgia - the costs are too high, Georgia's too big, and the tensions between the two aren't grave enough to have the Georgian government enter a war of attrition with Russia. They've got enough troubles as it is.

I was lucky enough to study with the esteemed Johanna Nichols when I attended UC Berkeley. She taught outstanding courses in the linguistic and ethnographic history of Georgia and the surrounding territories, and she inspired me to go on and read extensively about Georgian, Armendian, Chechen, etc. history.

Would you describe tonight's event as a "hot chat" in any way, shape or form?