Photos from Ananya's Second Birthday Party

I know its a bit late, but I finally am getting around to posting some photos from Ananya's second birthday party. Its simply amazing how fast they grow. She's now very chatty and putting together great "Punjenglish" sentence like: "Sco Dhoro Papa" - translation: "Let's go run Papa."

UK's Soft Diplomacy with Iran Succeeds

Interesting article in the Christian Science Monitor called Lesson's Learned: Iran's release of British Prisoners regarding Britain's success securing the release of its prisoners from Iran. Here's a snippet:

"This is vindication for the British diplomats, who came under a lot of criticism," says Ali Ansari, an Iran expert at London's Chatham house think tank. "Diplomacy worked. People should reflect on this: There are diplomatic options when we deal with Iran. It's a very salutary lesson."

And here's a great quote on the counter strategy by Israel:

"What is to be gained from following the Israeli example of last summer [when it invaded Lebanon after its soldier was captured]?" asks Rosemary Hollis, a Middle East expert also at Chatham House, "You can't use a sledgehammer to crack a nut. They still haven't got their service personnel back, and they smashed up half of Lebanon."