Crying "Uncle!"

Once again, my classes provide a wealth of knowledge this semester. In the feature article, Tales of the Tyrant, Mark Bowden describes highlights and daily routines of the once notorious dictator of Iraq. It's very well-written and reads like a narrative, rich with credible sources and intimate perspectives of the infamous leader. I know it's 9 pages, but that's 9 internet pages, and the first one is as good as the last. Here's an excerpt I found interesting:

His wife, Sajida, is known to have gone on million-dollar shopping sprees in New York and London, back in the days of Saddam's good relations with the West... Saddam himself isn't a hedonist; he lives a well-regulated, somewhat abstemious existence. He seems far more interested in fame than in money, desiring above all to be admired, remembered, and revered. A nineteen-volume official biography is mandatory reading for Iraqi government officials, and Saddam has also commissioned a six-hour film about his life, called The Long Days, which was edited by Terence Young, best known for directing three James Bond films.

I find this passage even more incredulous:

Saddam sees the prophet less as the bearer of divine revelation than as a political precursor—a great leader who unified the Arab peoples and inspired a flowering of Arab power and culture. The concocted link of bloodlines to Muhammad is symbolized by a 600-page hand-lettered copy of the Koran that was written with Saddam's own blood, which he donated a pint at a time over three years. It is now on display in a Baghdad museum.

I do hate taking things directly from other blogs I'm following, but Majority of Two had a hilarious video posted from YouTube, and I feel that I must share it as well. Check out the Backstreet Bird...

And again, apologies for the overload of YouTube videos, but this Russell Brand character caught my attention, he and his Amy Whinehouse mane: