Russia » Kyle Jarrard

Duh . . .

Jun 132012

The back-and-forth underscored the limits of Mr. Obama’s ability to “reset” ties between the two countries, as he resolved to do when he arrived in office. He has signed an arms control treaty, expanded supply lines to Afghanistan through Russian territory, secured Moscow’s support for sanctions on Iran and helped bring Russia into the World Trade Organization. But officials in both capitals noted this week that the two countries still operated on fundamentally different sets of values and interests.
via Putin’s Return Brings Rapid Chill to U.S.-Russia Ties – NYTimes.com.

But you do, Mr. Putin, all the time

Russia, Terrorists, War No Responses »

Jun 012012

BERLIN — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said Friday he saw dangerous signs of an emerging civil war in Syria but rejected outside military intervention as a solution to the 15-month-old uprising, which has grown increasingly violent despite a United Nations-brokered peace plan. “You cannot do anything by force,” Mr. Putin told reporters at a news conference after his arrival in Germany, his first trip abroad after reclaiming the Russian presidency. Russian support for the government of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, was a major issue on the agenda in his talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

via Putin Sees Worsening Conflict in Syria but Rejects Outside Intervention – NYTimes.com.

I wrote "Cognac: The Seductive Saga of the World's Most Coveted Spirit" because no one had ever put together a readable, independent history of this marvelous spirit. My connections to Cognac country inspired me to dig deep into an incredible story that ranges from an exploration of the ancient bedrock, to the long and tortured development of wine growing in this region of southwest France, to the phylloxera epidemic that nearly wiped out the industry, to the machinery of modern, foreign-owned Cognac giants spreading their eau-de-vie all around the world. Frank Prial, former wine critic for The New York Times, called "Cognac" an "enthralling volume ... a compelling story, not just about the world's best known eau-de-vie, but about the people who make it and the often violent history of the remarkable but little-known region of France from which it comes."