Ahh.. another thing to remember not to do -- don't invite people to rock climbing on days when it's already too late to take the class. Even if one remembers before driving there (as today), it still gets their hopes up, and that's no fun. Right now, I'm hoping one of my climbing friends calls soon -- I can't get in touch with any of them, and don't really want to boulder.

Two bits of news from Al Jazeera.. first, Saddam is going home. As my conversation with a Frenchman yesterday prodded, I think I've come to the conclusion that Saddam Hussein wasn't bad for Iraq -- quite the contrary. Iraq is part of the, from my perspective, primitive parts of the world, with a regressive, dangerous worldview, so my expectations for it are quite low, but given the qualities of the masses and the politics of the area, it may be that a better system that's stable is not yet possible there. Saddam, like Tito, did an admirable job keeping the country together, achieving relative stability in a country with internal divisions far more different than ours. His actions, even the killings and other things that bring us great revulsion, bear those aims out. Not everything he has done can be excused, nor would I want to live in such a primitive place, but he has actually surpassed the low standards I have for that region. This present American experiment in establishing a more advanced government there will prove interesting. The stakes are high -- it would be a disaster if Islamic law were to be introduced in Iraq.. a regression. Perhaps the Americans will succeed, or perhaps things will corrupt and fall apart. I consider it to be a stupid risk to have taken, but I watch with the same skeptical interest that no doubt was similarly present in those watching to see if/how communism could be established in relatively backwards countries without disaster. Perhaps a better job will be done in this experiment. If it fails, I hope that Saddam can be restored to power.

The second story is that Disney is apparently to release a feel-good propoganda film, perhaps meant to be in the context of Moore's F911 film. Interesting.