Friends in the News

Some of you may best know her for her heart-wrenching version of "I Will Survive" on the drunken streets of Oxford. However, Anoushka is also our up-and-coming Middle Easten expert, as illustrated in this Newsweek article on the Dubai port scandal in which she was extensively quoted.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Booze

The whole "freedom fries" thing never caught on, but a recent Stanford study estimates that French wine sellers lost $112 million in sales as a result of the boycott. Of course, being the patriotic Californian that I am, I follow the advice of the Governator, who reminds us to "Be Californian, Buy Californian!" Minus last Friday. However, as that wine ended up on a ceiling thanks to someone's fancy-shmancy cork opener, it doesn't really count. I wonder if the boycotters bought Californian wine or just settled for Bud Light. Lest you think the French are alone in their wine troubles, the Spaniards are boycotting Catalonian bubbly. More Cava for the Germans and the Americans, The New York Times reports. Oh, what do I know? Some people, unlike me, have principles which interfere with their drinking habits. What I wish I was drinking now: Khvanchkara.

Minus Geneva: Prison Stories

This American Life, which is one of my favorite programs on NPR, had a great segment today on “Habeas Shmabeas.” Never thought that I would use funny and Guantanamo Bay in the same sentence, but one of the former prisoners -- released without charges or an apology after hellish treatment -- was pretty hilarious. The audio will be available on their site next week. The New York Times, meanwhile, puts a name and a face on the infamous hooded man standing on box Abu Ghraib photo. Ali Shalal Qaissi's business card for his prisoners’ rights organization, reprinted in the paper, incorporates the image. I wonder how many e-mails are sitting in his inbox right now.

Nonnka's Scribblings Elsewhere

"Sounding Suspect," Foreign Policy.