I ONCE saw a list of the social benefits under Saddam; it made the Scandanavian systems seem mean - no surprise that it's almost never mentioned.

Like any smart ruler he used the stick (a particulary brutal one of course - but perfectly acceptable to the US when he was usefulto them, e.g. in attacking Iran) AND the carrot. But the latter has largely vanished from history.

Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner - that I moved to Nice.