This is hardly minute, but it deserves a mention here: The morning news in Baghdad wasn't good as the leader of the country I'm residing in decided to embark on his 'shock and awe' plan. Although I'm unsure of what you hear about American public opinion in Canada, I can assure you that I know noone here who thinks this is a good idea. Everyone I talk to seems either astonished at the degree to which 'democracy' is failing right now as distance grows between their opinion and that of the administration, or is numbed and jaded by months of bombardment with fear campaigns. I'll be interested to see what happens tomorrow (Thursday), as local Anti-War organizations are advocating a massive "Walk Out on the War" movement in which folks are encouraged to skip work in protest. The UC Berkeley chancellor has already sent out two e-mails to faculty, staff, and students reminding us all that the university intends to stay committed to continuing the educational program while providing an environment for open and 'rational' debate (read: please don't walk out in protest).

I'm very glad to be Canadian.