Russia acts like Germany in 1938, and we have time for relaxed irony? And with a touch of pox on both their houses, at that?

This is Tribune thumb-sucking at its best — while the newspaper burns. From their man in Russia, for God’s sake, here reporting from Tbilisi.

Now see what I found in the Wall Street Journal:

First of all, it’s by one guy in Poti, another in Gori, each on the ground, as we say. The lede is crisp and business-like:

“Russia, under intense diplomatic pressure, announced it will begin pulling troops out of neighboring Georgia — but it leaves behind a battered Western ally.

Since a separatist dispute flared into open war Aug. 8, Moscow has occupied chunks of Georgia’s territory, strangled its economy, cut transport links and damaged key investment projects.”

There’s diplomatic reporting, from Georgian economy minister, the Russian president, Sec. of State Rice, White House spokesman, the German chancellor, the Georgian First Deputy Minister of Economic Development, etc.