Saddam death penalty

[lisztisforkids]

I am against the death penalty in almost all cases, this being a good exception. It will give Iraq a sense of closure from his era, and in the long run quell much violence coming from his side if sectarian factions (I hope).

[pianistimo]

evil should carry on.  there should be no dictums for dictators.

actually, this is now a hard question - but would have been an easy one months earlier.  i thought we were at war when we first went in.  that means - against the powers that were ruling not against the civilians.  too many civilians have died over this one bad apple.  not to mention - our 3000 plus troops.  a spoiled one - as witnessed by his brashness during trial.  i hope that he sees the fault of his ways before he dies - but i think he'll probably be sticking out his tongue.

he had no respect for personal property or rights (especially of women).  i think he's a huge superego imposed on a very small brain.  what if he escapes?  like his nephew.  then we'll all enjoy hell again.  although, being that his nephew was only 9 - he at least, had an excuse.

[Bob]

I think some people, maybe this one included, should be kept around to study.  Locked up for life, but in another 10,20,30 years... he might say something that affects the view of history.  I doubt he's sitting around explaining the way everything works and how he did things now.

[pion]

Ok I'll say it. If there is anything to learn from the current mess in Iraq, it is that it may not be possible to achieve stability in this country without the use of extremely brutal methods. How else could one achieve a stable and prosperous China, for example? I am sure Saddam deserves capital punishment for his crimes, but the alternative to Saddam has proven to be even worse than his crimes. I think it is ironic that he should be hanged at a time when the country is in chaos, and with the chaos being directly attributable to the stopping of his brutality. Pity Shakespeare is not around to write a play about it.

[jakev2.0]

I'm for the death penalty for Saddam only because torturing him to the brink of death, reviving him, and repeating the process for the rest of his life was not considered as a punishment (though it should have been).

[opus10no2]

He ain't all that bad, he jus be chillz.

He's in his 70s, just let him die naturally on a paradise island with daily lapdances, why not?

[prometheus]

I oppose the death penalty for Hussein.

[lisztisforkids]

I oppose the death penalty for Hussein.

 Care to elaborate?

[pianistimo]

i asked my son about this question today when we went out to the mall.  (he was driving).  he gave the same answer as prometheus and said that he thought more violence would erupt from killing him.  he didn't think he'd escape prison (when i said - what if he escaped?)  although the thought has crossed my mind of what would happen if a militant group or the country of iran let him out.

guess that it's in the hands of God.  i mean - whatever will happen will happen.  saddam is probably coming to terms with it - but obviously does not like being on the opposite side of interrogation.

interesting that my son also repeated someone else's words here about the country probably being better off at the time saddam was in power than it is now.  i'm sure many iraqi's agree.  it's just that in our country - the president declared war.  my son asked  'well, how many presidents let the country vote on war.'  i suppose he's probably right.  if we had voted - i don't think there would have been a majority rule on that.  too much suspicion of foul play instead of absolutes.  especially since saddam was quick about moving his stuff around.  wonder what information that is 'top secret' is still that?  i mean - if saddam truly had the capabilities of knocking out israel - perhaps (and this is my thoughts now) we were protecting our interests in israel as much as here.  and, many americans being christian - would obviously not want the holy land bombed.

[opus10no2]

guess that it's in the hands of God.

god suxx

[pianistimo]

God didn't create the mess we're in. we did.

[opus10no2]

if that is so, then god doesn't exist, sorry 

[pianistimo]

i suppose good and evil don't exist either.

[opus10no2]

both are constructs of the human conciousness. like the concept of theism, and hence - atheism.

[pianistimo]

but what IS consciousness?  does it exist in cells?  i mean - can you find it in the brain.  or does our flesh return to dust and our spirit return to God?

[opus10no2]

Obviously it's unknown, 'god' is one answer people come to...

Scientists continually tell us how, when, and what is going on, but they never tell us why.

Evolution has been proved to exist, and naturally it makes christianity look a little silly.
But evolution neither proves nor disproves theism, it's an answer to how, but not why.

[gilad]

at 6am iraqi time i think saddam hussein will be only a memory to some, and a blot on the face of history. the man will cease to be, but the consequences of his actions will be felt for generations.
I disagree with his death penalty. I dont see how it solves anything to kill a man in this way.
Personally id have been interested to see saddam in future, what he says, what he feels, etc.
I am not a ground zero however, i have suffered no torment at the hands of his croonies. I can not feel the pain they do, from losing their beloved family members etc.
the issue is not between me and saddam.
Is the issue here closer to home for anyone else here?
I actually have some sympathy for the man, to die in such an indignified way.
I also disagreed with the death sentences carried out on nazi leaders, the same leaders who'se regime led to the inhumane death of my relatives who lived and then died in europe, and the millions upon millions of people who died as result of nazi policy and the nazi war machine.
If the man is no longer a danger to society, id keep him alive, if a high profile individual is behind bars and neutralised id prefer to his that person, an architect of history, good or bad, kept alive.

[Bob]

(Bob thinks dark thoughts...)

(eats popcorn and watches CNN)

(wonders if it would be inappropriate to count down... 10... 9.... 8....)

(wonders what else is on tv)

They say it's only a few minutes away...

[Bob]

And it's done.

Another moment in history lived through (except him), another landmark in changing times.

[jakev2.0]

Some sense of confidence in the new Iraqi Government.
Some sense of closure for the families of all the people he murdered.

December 30th 2006 is not a bad day for humanity. 

[gilad]

woops, i f'ed up, i meant to edit.

at 6am iraqi time i think saddam hussein will be only a memory to some, and a blot on the face of history. the man will cease to be, but the consequences of his actions will be felt for generations.
I disagree with his death penalty. I dont see how it solves anything to kill a man in this way.
Personally id have been interested to see saddam in future, what he says, what he feels, etc.
I am not a ground zero however, i have suffered no torment at the hands of his croonies. I can not feel the pain they do, from losing their beloved family members etc.
the issue is not between me and saddam.
Is the issue here closer to home for anyone else here?
I actually have some sympathy for the man, to die in such an indignified way.
I also disagreed with the death sentences carried out on nazi leaders, the same leaders who'se regime led to the inhumane death of my relatives who lived and then died in europe, and the millions upon millions of people who died as result of nazi policy and the nazi war machine.
If the man is no longer a danger to society, id keep him alive, if a high profile individual is behind bars and neutralised id prefer to see that person, an architect of history, good or bad, kept alive.

[counterpoint]

How dumb can people be...

A murderer is killed.

Where is the humanity?   

100.000 people were killed in the Iraq war.

Where is the humanity?   

[ada]

Congratulations, aren't we all happy? What a lovely note to end 2006 on.

Is George Bush sleeping well tonight? I bet he is. Even though he had to get someone else to do his dirty work, but hey why not? Who wants real blood on their hands? We sure don't. But we sure as hell like to watch.

Anyways, killing Saddam makes us feel just a little bit better about losing the war.

And now the internet is the new town square. Lets come and watch the dictator hang. It's spectacle, its bread and circuses, it's ... entertainment!

We've had our rent-a-crowds and our PR-flunky manipulated media opportunities as statues were pulled down; our cynically twisted versions of reality played out from the comfort of our lounge rooms on CNN during the hunt for the elusive weapons of mass destruction.

Oh yeah there was also the "mission accomplished" joke, but let's not dwell on that one too much, people have short memories (thank god for that says George W).

Pulling your shock-headed quarry out of a rat hole and inspecting his teeth on the breaking news makes great TV! But man, this beats it all! Can you catch the snuff on YouTube yet? Who's looking?

What? You say nations that use and condone state sanctioned murder are barbarous and backwards? No way. They are virtuous and justified. It's what god wants. An eye for an eye and all that.

That's why I support capital punishment. Just a little bit. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. (It's a bit like being a bit pregnant, aint it?)

And in this case Saddam was like really, really bad. That's what the good people told us. And really, really bad people deserve to be killed by really, really good people. That's just how it is.

Saddam killed lots of people in the most horrific way. But not the US. Oh no. All those people who died in Iraq in this most senseless and brutal of military actions were collateral damage. And they were dirty muslims anyway.

We can kill with impunity, because, well, because we CAN. Because we are right. And we are good. And they are wrong. And they are bad. 

Cos we are like the greatest nation on earth, man. We've bought the lines and we've bought the lies cos that's how we've been brought up here in the US of A.

We don't like to think too much man cos sometimes it hurts our heads.

And if we stopped to think for one minute we might think that we're, like, wrong about some things.

And that just couldn't be possible. Oh no, no, no, no, no.

[etudes]

US suck
they will get the same result as iraq!
revenge has just begun

[johnny-boy]

I oppose the death penalty for Hussein.

There comes a time when we have to give up our "wimphood" and do the right thing. The only logical thing to do with a diseased bug is to exterminate it.

John

[ada]

There comes a time when we have to give up our "wimphood" and do the right thing.

Exhibit A 

[pianistimo]

there has been exhibit A B C D E F G H and I - all on tv.  the terrorists who take prisoners and behead them or terrorize them.  if terrorists are harbored they hurt their own country in the end.  that's just the way it works.  if they come here - they might get away with a bit more and more - but they're in effect committing suicide (as they know). 

but, i do not think democracy is an end-all.  it's just the best form of government we know today. 

[lisztisforkids]

Let me just remind everybody that the US did not execute Saddam. The Iraqi's did. The US had no part in the trial whatsoever. The Iraqi people were the only people that had a word in this, so go ahead, when you critisize the US for hanging Saddam, remember who really hung him, the very people he tortured and murdered, not the US. The people you claim to be defending from America.


  Ask the Jews if they wouldhave liked to let the Nazis go.....

[etudes]

Let me just remind everybody that the US did not execute Saddam. The Iraqi's did. The US had no part in the trial whatsoever. The Iraqi people were the only people that had a word in this, so go ahead, when you critisize the US for hanging Saddam, remember who really hung him, the very people he tortured and murdered, not the US. The people you claim to be defending from America.


  Ask the Jews if they wouldhave liked to let the Nazis go....Hypocrites.

USA were the one...who brought down Saddam's regime that leads to the trials...which obviously was a plan of US from beginning

[lisztisforkids]

USA were the one...who brought down Saddam's regime that leads to the trials...which obviously was a plan of US from beginning

 Are you attempting to defend Saddam? Ofcourse it was part of the plan to have Saddam tried, why are you so upset at the US about Saddam?

[minor9th]

What ever else is wrong with their government, you have to hand it to their quick appeals process! This would have taken years in the US courts.

[prometheus]

That's because it wasn't a fair trail.

[pianistimo]

saddam didn't think so either.

[counterpoint]

Saddam was the last remaining "excuse", GW Bush had for bombing Iraq.

Now we should ask ourselves: was it worth it?

Who has any benefit of the situation now - compared to the years before this war?

[lisztisforkids]

That's because it wasn't a fair trail.

  A fair trial? Hahaaha! Please tell me your joking, ask the Iraqis if it was fair.

[johnny-boy]

That's because it wasn't a fair trail.

I thought he got off easy. 

[prometheus]

Most of them will tell me Hussein should have been tortured to death.

Your point?


It is kind of silly that Bush calls this a 'step towards democracy'.

[johnny-boy]

Most of them will tell me Hussein should have been tortured to death.

Your point?


It is kind of silly that Bush calls this a 'step towards democracy'.

I'm not "most of them".

They should have used Dr Korvorkian. Have a heart.

I'm not a Bush fan.

John

[prometheus]

Are you Iraqi?

[johnny-boy]

No, I'm an Earthling.

[johnny-boy]

And furthermore... ah forget it.

John

[prometheus]

You cannot be 'not most of them' if you aren't Iraqi.

[johnny-boy]

This was in reference to your quote Promey: "Most of them will tell me Hussein should have been tortured to death" -Promey - in which "most of them" didn't refer to any particular group of people - dah.

I know, I know, English is your 99th. language.

Anyway, it's a good thing the scumbag is dead.  "Ding dong the witch is dead, the wicked witch, the witch is dead".

John

[gilad]

As Coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined her.
And she's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead.
Mayor
Then this is a day of Independence For all the Munchkins and their descendants
Barrister
If any.
Mayor
Yes, let the joyous news be spread The wicked Old Witch at last id dead!

now all that they need to do is get the munchkins to stop slaughtering 3000 of themselves every month etc.

[prometheus]

That's because I was responding to lisztisforkids and there was no need to quote because you posted your message 14 seconds before I did. When I started to type my message there was no other post. So my post would have become a direct reaction to lisztisforkids talking about the Iraqi people.


The 'them' in 'most of them' has to refer to something because 'them' by itself is meaningless.

[johnny-boy]

That's because I was responding to lisztisforkids and there was no need to quote because you posted your message 14 seconds before I did. When I started to type my message there was no other post. So my post would have become a direct reaction to lisztisforkids talking about the Iraqi people.


The 'them' in 'most of them' has to refer to something because 'them' by itself is meaningless.

Kudos to your weaseling expertise Promey.  You could probably weasel out of anything. Have you ever actually admitted you were wrong? It’s not that difficult. Try it, say: “I was wrong” – you’ll feel so much better.

John

[prometheus]

Yes, I was wrong.

[johnny-boy]

Now I feel ashamed... 

[prometheus]

No worries. Everyone will see exactly which part I was wrong.

[ada]

And in news just to hand ... iraqi authorties announce that they've arrested two guards associated with an anauthorised video of saddam's hanging that made its way onto YouTube (as speculated in my earlier post).

US military authorities say saddam was courteous and dignified until the end, unlike the guards who heckled and taunted him.

The unofficial snuff video, which contrasts the former dictator's behaviour with that of his executiononers,  has overshadowed the oh-so-sanitised official hanging video and now threatens to turn saddam into a martyr.