Reporters on the Job

Scott's photo subject was the huge hotel across the street from the Duma. The hotel has been covered with a banner for President Vladimir Putin's favorite party ( see story) "United Russia." But as he and his interpreter were leaving, they were stopped by two Russian police officers, who demanded to see identification. The police said they had orders to confiscate the film, and that their commander had been watching Scott with security cameras. "Do you have a letter with permission to photograph that building?" the officer demanded. "It's a [government] regime building."

Scott and his interpreter thought they were joking. But then Scott showed them a press pass from the office of one of Putin's top aides. "That guy," the policeman said dismissively, about Putin's aide: "What power does he have anymore?" Scott and his interpreter were let go, and walked away, he says laughing at the absurdity of it, as a tourist toting a camera strode past.

David Clark Scott
World editor

Cultural snapshot

EFREM LUKATSKY/AP

• Christmas in Tikrit: US Army soldier Salvador Martinez of Puerto Rico sings carols during a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in the battalion headquarters at a former Saddam Hussein palace in Tikrit.

Meanwhile, Thailand's Defense Ministry is selling 2 million "Happy New Year" postcards and offering a free trip to Iraq to support its 443 medical and engineering troops in Iraq. The effort is to raise money for food and medicine for Iraqis. Each card purchased will be entered in a drawing. "Winners of the draw will ... travel with an armed forces delegation on a C-130 plane to give moral support to our troops at Lima Camp in Karbala," a ministry spokesman for Thai forces, Maj. Gen. Palangkul Klahan, told Reuters.

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