All the world's a stage

Hangman, hangman, upon your face a smile,
Pray tell me that I'm free to ride,
Ride for many mile, mile, mile.

Oh, yes, you got a fine sister,
She warmed my blood from cold,
Brought my face to boiling hot
To keep you from the gallows pole,
Your brother brought me silver,
Your sister warmed my soul,
But now I laugh and pull so hard
And see you swinging on the gallows pole

From "Toronto Star" 1/4/07 http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/167592

The letters to the editor columns have captured these sentiments well, as the following four by non-Muslims show.

"Saddam was fit to go down in history as a tyrant. Now he has been elevated to the status of a martyr by an impatient America," wrote Rajneesh Tiwari in the Hindu, the much respected English-language secular daily in south India.

"Although there were few sympathizers for Saddam, his execution will only increase hatred for America and other Western nations," wrote Aditya Deshpande in the same newspaper.

"It is because of American policies that terrorism is increasing in the world," wrote Dr. Chandra Sekhar.

"The Bush administration has destroyed an ancient civilization and its ruler. If Saddam deserved the death penalty for ordering the killing of 148 Shiites, what ought to be the penalty for Mr. Bush for the deaths of 600,000 Iraqis?" asked Ram Das.

When you think about it, the overall Indian response is perhaps not that different than the sentiment of Canadians in this regard. By this I do not mean the views of our political class and many in the media establishment, which remain under the spell of the American spin, but rather those of ordinary Canadians.