Laughter was Forgetting? Recently released Soviet era documents, though often considered questionable sources, have revealed that Milan Kundera, celebrated Czech author of such works as The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting and Ignorance–most dealing with themes of displacement, sacrifice, sex and Totalitarianism–may have informed on a spy friend in order to keep his place at the university after being expelled from the Communist Party.

Not All Quiet on the Afghani Front…There really is nothing amicable about “friendly fire”; it’s simply a fatal error. And today marked another nine of them. An American air attack on an Afghan army post resulted in nine deaths and three critical injuries.

Throwing Rice at their Wedding The Bush Administration sent Secretary of State Condoleezza to Puerto Vallarta in order to meet with Mexican counterpart, Patricia Espinosa. Mexico’s drug cartel violence has reached a fever pitch loud enough to make adjacent U.S. feel threatened and of the mind a diplomatic intervention is required.

Rock and Hard Place Sandwiched between Russia to the north and Iran to the south, Azerbaijan has ever been in an uncomfortable geographic and political position. Since the Soviet Union fell, the oil bearing country has been able to keep Russia at bay while courting the interests of NATO and the U.S. Following the former’s war with Georgia, however, striking that balance has proven quite the challenge.

Shiites Restive in Sadr City Despite the relative calm washing over the city since its cease-fire, Shiites within its confines have grown increasingly angry regarding a government they consider “worse than Saddam Hussein['s].” For now, their fury has been kept in check, but how long before their pots boil over?