US film director Oliver Stone said Friday he would travel with a Venezuelan-led air mission going to Colombia to pick up three hostages being released by Marxist rebels.  “It’s wonderful,” the Oscar-winning filmmaker said in Santo Domingo airport in southwest Venezuela, from where a first air convoy left for Colombia on Friday. “I’ve never been in such a thing and I’m proud to be part of this.” Stone said he

where my lungs begin: France bans smoking in cafes, hotels and clubs on Jan. 1, stamping out the habit popularized by Jean- Paul Sartre puffing Gauloises in hazy brasseries.    Mon dieu!  And I thought it was l’Anglais Walter Raleigh!  

My wife gave me Eric Clapton’s new autobiography for Christmas, and I must say that it was compelling reading.  Of course, I was interested in the musical bits, but he was very open and honest about his drug and alcohol addictions, a subject with which I’m unfortunately familiar.  Normally, when I see a blurb that screams, “Open, frank, searing!!”, my reaction is, “Blah, blah, blah.”  For one thing, I couldn’t

In “The Big Picture(s),” I noted the case of Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi stringer working for the Associated Press with a history of taking staged photographs of Islamic terrorists, who was detained by the US military as a security threat in April 2006. In follow-up posts, I have noted that the AP’s coverage of the case has ignored — but demonstrated the wisdom of — the AP policy regarding conflicts of interest. Apparently,

Matthew Yglesias claims that he has no idea who in the US would benefit politically from a worsening situation in Pakistan… but then argues that who should benefit is not the “toughserious” hawks who focused on Iraq, but rather “cowardly cowards like Brian Katulis though it was more import (sic) to focus on Pakistan.” The quoted link is to a piece titled “Strategic Reset” by Katulis, Lawrence J. Korb and Peter

I’ve gotten years of great use out of my puppy blender–despite the fact that a hangover in our household is a rare event–but it’s finally given up the ghost (tried frappeing 2 long-haired miniature dachshunds at once).  I’ve heard good things about this Oster.  Any recommendations?

We’ve expressed our weariness with Peggy Noonan’s schoolmarminess from time to time.  I think that happyfeet has done so most often and most forcefully, in the comments.  But Gleen’s reaction to one of Peggy’s “simply will not do” reflections is truly bonkers: John Edwards is not reasonable. . . . .[W]e can’t have a president who spent two minutes on YouTube staring in a mirror and poofing his hair. Really,

so close to God: Ghulam Mustafa, a witness at the scene, said he saw bodies with missing heads and limbs. “This happens only in Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan. Why not America?” he said.