NATO forces say they won the battle of Panjwaii district in September. But it came at the cost of destroyed homes and farms, and the displacement of civilians. This NYT piece looks at trying to build the peace there.

For the past few days, tensions between Georgia and Russia have gone off the scale after Georgia arrested four Russian military officers and charged them with spying.

While Georgia released them today, this quote caught my eye in the AP story on CTV.ca:

"We won't forgive those who spit at us,'' Russian parliament's upper house speaker Sergei Mironov said.

Russia is apparently considering blocking Georgians living in Russia from cabling money home, among the other blockade initiatives that started today.

As the Boney M classic Rasputin ended: "Oh, those Russians."

From the Beeb:

Pakistan seeks Mumbai bomb proof

Pakistan arrests Taleban suspects

Troops shot dead in Balochistan

The second story is interesting because the arrests happened in Quetta in Baluchistan province -- a place long regarded as an Islamist snakepit.

However, are the arrests just for show because Pakistan's been in the news lately, or are they serious about disrupting the Taliban's comfort zone there?

Imagine making your living writing tourist brochure copy for Prince George, B.C.. Here's an excerpt from some such "literature" I picked up during my travels in late August in northern B.C.: