Greetings from Damascus! Not much to say just now, except I'm astounded by how comfortable and amazing this place is. I suppose it's a bit like Prague would be if it were in the Middle East. Last night I popped in at a club and found it was Monday movie night. They were playing "Crash" (the recent one, not the Cronenberg one) which I'd be wanting to see. Everybody laughed when the D.A. thought the Iraqi fireman named Saddam was black. Beer easily during Ramadan, mediocre local stuff for about two bucks a bottle. Siteseeing today, and tomorrow I'll might fly to Aleppo for what appears to be a ridiculously low price. I dealt with dyed-in-the-wool Syrian bureaucrats today - something about permission to do something, which I apparently don't quite have yet.