"Can one man make a difference?" Daredevil wonders. "There are days when I believe and others when I have lost all faith." This weekend should restore that faith for anyone who's ever asked the question. Because even though millions of people around the world have crafted a collective statement aimed at shutting down ch-ch-ch-Cheney and the Jets, it's really a story about individuals—each demonstrator alone electing to follow the dictates of conscience. If winning a war is the province of heroes, preventing a needless one is the domain of daredevils.

The Amazing Hulk

He isn't particularly large—he's a little gimp, actually—but you'd never know it from the mass celebration today in North Korea that hails the Great Leader's birthday.

Weeks in the making, you've got your marches, your dancing children, your group songs, your lengthy praises, it's the whole Cult of Personality package and it just keeps getting better. The state newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, wishes Kim Il Jong a happy 61st and many more, while offering the U.S. less-than-felicitous greetings:

"All servicemen of the Korea People's Army should always be on the alert. All party members and workers must burn with hatred and hostility in their hearts toward U.S. imperialists."

KCNA reported that Kim has flown fighter aircraft, written operas and shot 11 holes-in-one in his first try at golf.

Iron Man

That, of course, would be Saddam Hussein, who also runs a tight ship. He said yesterday that any talk about him stepping down was "impertinent." Now we hear that the Iraqis have been gloating it up big-time over this weekend's peace protests.

"These demonstrations expressed in their spirit, meaning and slogans the decisive Iraqi victory and the defeat and isolation of America," Al-Jumhuriya said in a commentary.

The Mighty Thor

That would be French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who brought down the Hammer of Rhetorical Thunder at the UN on Friday.

It's been clear from the outset that the Bush team is lacking in diplomatic finesse. According to this analysis, it's our Anglo-Saxon heritage that causes us to express ourselves like a bunch of penny-counting weasels reconciling receipts in the back office. That works for running a business, but it's not the way to stir people's hearts and sway their emotions. For that, you need the gift of eloquence.

Just how good was de Villepin's speech? For the past 24 hours we've been hearing how Powell and Blix pretty much put the room to sleep, then Dominique steps up and when he's done, the members of the traditionally staid security council were on their feet, whistling, clapping, exchanging high-fives. Nobody had ever seen anything like this before. Here's an extract of de Villepin's remarks:

"This message comes to you today from an old country, France, from a continent like mine, Europe, that has known wars, occupation and barbarity. An old country that does not forget and knows everything it owes to the freedom fighters who came from America and elsewhere—and yet has never ceased to stand upright in the face of history and before mankind. Faithful to its values, it wants resolutely to act together with all members of the international community. France believes in our ability to build together a better world."

Nothing he [Saddam Hussein] has done has convinced me—I'm confident the Secretary of Defense—that he is the kind of fellow that is willing to forgo weapons of mass destruction, is willing to be a peaceful neighbor, that is—will honor the people—the Iraqi people of all stripes, will—values human life. He hasn't convinced me, nor has he convinced my administration."

We Aren't Worth Saving

That's the thought that comes to me when I read things like this: D.C. police release videotape of fatal shooting.

A couple of weeks ago, Allen Price was shot to death at a gas station in Washington, D.C. This happens from time to time, but the tragedy of Price's slaying is overshadowed by the reaction of other customers who were present at the scene of the crime. One of the bad Samaritans is shown in the photo at right.

Police said the station surveillance video showing the January 31 slaying of Allen E. Price is disturbing because it not only shows the crime, but the apathy of those who were there, including one man who continued pumping kerosene after looking briefly at Price's body.

Not only did the man finish pumping his kerosene, but paid for it and drove off, giving the camera its clearest look at Price lying on the ground.

The Raven's Perch

We're sorry that our comments feature is acting wonky yet again. Haloscan says "they're working on it." If they didn't offer the ability to edit comments I would probably have bailed on them by now. Our apologies but do e-mail in any comments pro tem.

Xian at Salonika has provided a superb overview of what the impending collapse may portend for us here at Salonblogs. If you have any questions or concerns about how to go about saving your blog if this server goes offline, you'll want to give that a close read. I saved a copy to hard disk.

One of your solutions is to move your site elsewhere right now. There are a few headaches involved, one of which is getting everyone who's linked to you to update their pages with your new address. Rob at Emphasis Added made the escape and reminds us to adjust accordingly. As Xian points out, it's a bit of a hassle to do this, but longer one waits, the tougher it gets.

10:29:21 AM