Foreign Affairs

The following piece was written by Sarmad Ali, one of my very good friends from Columbia. When I first met him, I knew I had to be friends with him, as I knew that he must have surely felt very much out of his element upon first arriving. He’s spent more than one holiday with my family both in California and Connecticut and we are always welcome to have him and to serve as his surrogate family in the US.…

BBC: Hundreds of protesters in France have rung in the New Year by holding a light-hearted march against it. Parodying the French readiness to say “non”, the demonstrators in the western city of Nantes waved banners reading: “No to 2007” and “Now is better!” The marchers called on governments and the UN to stop time’s “mad race” and declare a moratorium on the future. The protest was held in the rain and organisers joked that even the weather was against…

The Washington Post: When the State Department recently asked the CIA for names of Iranians who could be sanctioned for their involvement in a clandestine nuclear weapons program, the agency refused, citing a large workload and a desire to protect its sources and tradecraft. Frustrated, the State Department assigned a junior Foreign Service officer to find the names another way — by using Google. Those with the most hits under search terms such as “Iran and nuclear,” three officials said,…

One would think that one of our most valuable embassies in the Arabic-speaking world would have more than 0.6 percent of its staff fluent in the language of the host country, wouldn’t you think? Nah, that’d make too much sense. Reuters: WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Among the 1,000 people who work in the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, only 33 are Arabic speakers and only six speak the language fluently, according to the Iraq Study Group report released on Wednesday.…

This book was originally published in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1983. From the preface: “New innovations and wonders which are being made every day in the press, the growing up of real men or genuine writers, and emotional legends of love for people are unthinkable from the wise guidance and utmost care of the dear Comrade Kim Jong Il, a great leader and a benevolent teacher. “He is always among journalists and teaches them every detailed problem…

The Associated Press: ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — A leading Kazakh writer has nominated actor Sacha Baron Cohen for a national award for popularizing Kazakhstan. Novelist Sapabek Asip-uly called on the Kazakh Club of Art Patrons to give Baron Cohen its annual award, according to a letter published by the Vremya newspaper Thursday. Baron Cohen’s fictional character Borat ”has managed to spark an immense interest of the whole world in Kazakhstan, something our authorities could not do during the years of…

Reuters: Saddam, 69, initially refused to stand when brought in to hear the verdict from Kurdish chief judge Raouf Abdul Rahman, at a quickfire, 45-minute hearing. When he did, shakily, with clear emotion, he yelled the defiant Arab battle cry “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Greatest) and “Long live Iraq” as the judgment was read. “The court has decided to sentence Saddam Hussein al-Majid to be hanged until he is dead for crimes against humanity,” Abdul Rahman said, ignoring Saddam’s earlier…

Reuters: LONDON: Britain will send jailers to Pitcairn Island after six men – a 10th of the island’s population – lost their final appeal against convictions for child rape and indecent assault. The British colony – the world’s least-populated legal jurisdiction – is home to descendants of crew from the Bounty, who settled there with Tahitian wives in 1790 after a legendary high-seas mutiny. A British Foreign Office spokesman said seven New Zealand prison officers would be dispatched to establish…

I spent a good portion of last night listening to Game 7 of the NLCS on the radio last night. For those of you that missed it, the highlight of the game was Mets centerfielder Endy Chávez’ amazing grab in the sixth inning, saving the Mets from what should have been a two-run homer. Josh Levin, my editor over at Slate, has a great piece stacking up this play to the most famous baseball catch in history, Willie Mays’ The…

Associated Press; Wednesday, October 18, 2006; 3:19 PM: By HEIDI VOGT The Associated Press THIAROYE, Senegal — At a funeral in this Senegalese fishing town, mothers wept for their sons _ dozens of whom drowned when the wooden craft they hoped to take to Europe was caught in a storm. Then the mothers decided to stop it from happening again. The group from that March funeral has grown to 357 women _ all having lost a son, husband or cousin…