Well, the end of another year is upon us. My, how the time has flown. Seems like it was only yesterday and the world was panicking about Y2K.
We're already well on the way to 2010. Everytime I read a book that happens to be set in the 'future', i.e. 2001, 2005, etc. I laugh.
Because, I'm living in the future, as unfuturistic as it may be. There are no flying cars, at least for general consumption, there are no colonies on Mars, human at least.
My resolutions are simple, timely and are needed for me.
1. Stay in shape.
2. Manage my finances better.
3. Pursue my dreams.
4. Attempt to spread conservative joy and happiness. Well, that might not be feasible, but its a start at least.
Continue to look out for the safety and well-being of my fellow countrymen. Support the men and women of the US Military and Law Enforcement.
Happy New Year, everyone. I pray this finds you well and safe..
Rhys.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
It's Over. Or perhaps, it's just begun.
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein executed
POSTED: 11:07 p.m. EST, December 29, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been executed, a witness said.
"Saddam's body is in front me," said an official in the prime minister's office when CNN telephoned. "It's over."
In the background, Shiite chanting could be heard. When asked about the chanting, the official said "These are employees of the prime minister's office and government chanting in celebration."
The witness reported that celebrations broke out after Hussein was dead, and that there was "dancing around the body."
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki did not attend the execution, according to an adviser to the prime minister who was interviewed on state television.
The execution was videotaped and photographed, state television reported, and those images will be distributed to the media.
Al-Arabiya television network reported that Barzan Hassan, Hussein's half-brother, and Awad Bandar, former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, were hanged after Hussein. All three were convicted of killings in the Iraqi town of Dujail nearly 25 years ago.
Earlier, Munir Haddad, a judge on the appeals court that upheld the former dictator's death sentence, and an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki each confirmed the paperwork needed for Hussein's execution had been prepared late Friday.
At the same time, a U.S. district judge refused a request to stay the execution.
Attorney Nicholas Gilman said in an application for a restraining order, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, that a stay would allow Hussein "to be informed of his rights and take whatever action he can and may wish to pursue."
Haddad had called Gilman's filing "rubbish," and said, "It will not delay carrying out the sentence," which he called "final."
Haddad wouldn't disclose the location of the execution and said it wouldn't be broadcast live on TV because of human rights issues.
Throughout the day, there were conflicting reports about who had custody of Hussein. Giovanni di Stefano, one of Hussein's defense attorneys, told CNN the U.S. military officially informed him that the former Iraqi dictator had been transferred to Iraqi but that the move in U.S. court could have meant that Hussein was back in U.S. custody.
There had been speculation that Hussein would be executed before Eid Al-Adha -- a holiday period that means Feast of the Sacrifice, celebrated by Muslims around the world at the climax of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The law does not permit executions to be carried out during religious holidays.
Eid began Saturday for Sunnis and Sunday for Shiites and lasts for four days. Hussein is a Sunni Muslim.
Meeting with half-brothers
Another defense lawyer, Badie Aref, told CNN that Hussein met with two of his half-brothers in his cell on Thursday and passed on messages and instructions to his family.
"President Saddam was just bracing for the worst, so he wanted to see his brothers and pass on some messages and instructions to his family," Aref said. The half brothers who visited were Sabawi and Wathban Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti, he said.
Another of Hussein's half-brothers, Barzan al-Tikriti, has been sentenced to death and is being held in Iraq under the same charges as Hussein.
Aref said the U.S. soldiers guarding Hussein on Tuesday took away a radio he kept in his cell so he could not hear news reports about his death sentence, which was confirmed that day.
"They did not want him to hear the news from the appeals court upholding the sentence," he said. "They gave him back the radio on Wednesday."
Aref said Saddam found out about the appeals court verdict "a few hours after it was announced."
Crimes against humanity
Hussein was convicted on November 5 of crimes against humanity in connection with the killings of 148 people in the rown of Dujail after an attempt on his life.
The dictator was found guilty of murder, torture and forced deportation.
The Dujail episode falls within 12 of the worst cases out of 500 documented "baskets of crimes" during the Hussein regime.
The U.S. State Department says torture and extrajudicial killings followed the Dujail killings and that 550 men, women and children were arrested without warrants.
CNN's Aneesh Raman, Arwa Damon, Ryan Chilcote, Sam Dagher, Jomana Karadsheh and Ed Henry contributed to this report.
He's dead. I'm reminded tonight of the many naysayers and critics of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"Bush lied." "There are no WMDs." "Too many soldiers have died, it's a failure."
I know I've harped on this quite a bit. But I don't think you people quite understand. It was a living hell over there while he was in power. The misery, torment, oppression; I know it's too much for us to fathom.
That a leader would inflict that type of pain on his own people. But, he is no different than other leaders of this brave new world.
We left the Cold War for a new and darker frontier. The war of Terror. A war where there are no set battle lines, a war where the good, the bad, and the innocent all must die. For what reason, you ask? Merely the fact that you are infidels. You are a threat. A threat to a lifestyle that feeds on the weak, the wounded and the innocent.
Yet we sit in our warm, comfortable homes without a thought for what goes on around us. Yes, I know you're tied up and stressed with running a household in this day and age. With gas prices at recordbreaking highs, the worry that rests in the back of your mind about the safety of your family.
Believe me, I do understand. So, why do we insist on tearing our Country apart? Why is there no support? Why is there no unity? Why must we defeat ourselves?
You give heed to the liberal way of thinking. I say 'liberal' in the general context of the word, not the stereotypical pattern of ridiculous thinking posed by the majority of Democrats and some Republicans.
Protect us, you say. But don't invade our privacy. Give us freedom of speech in order for us to reveal Top Secret documents to the world. The New York times, the Washington Post, Boston Globe, and many others should have no access to files that they have published.
In a matter of National Security, there should be no limit to what the Government can do. Come on, do you honestly think that a nonsexual satellite would have any interest in what you do in your spare time? Perhaps, it's that we as people prefer our anonymty rather than running the risk of someone finding out what we're doing.
"What is done in the dark will be revealed in the light," to paraphrase a Biblical reference.
POSTED: 11:07 p.m. EST, December 29, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been executed, a witness said.
"Saddam's body is in front me," said an official in the prime minister's office when CNN telephoned. "It's over."
In the background, Shiite chanting could be heard. When asked about the chanting, the official said "These are employees of the prime minister's office and government chanting in celebration."
The witness reported that celebrations broke out after Hussein was dead, and that there was "dancing around the body."
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki did not attend the execution, according to an adviser to the prime minister who was interviewed on state television.
The execution was videotaped and photographed, state television reported, and those images will be distributed to the media.
Al-Arabiya television network reported that Barzan Hassan, Hussein's half-brother, and Awad Bandar, former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, were hanged after Hussein. All three were convicted of killings in the Iraqi town of Dujail nearly 25 years ago.
Earlier, Munir Haddad, a judge on the appeals court that upheld the former dictator's death sentence, and an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki each confirmed the paperwork needed for Hussein's execution had been prepared late Friday.
At the same time, a U.S. district judge refused a request to stay the execution.
Attorney Nicholas Gilman said in an application for a restraining order, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, that a stay would allow Hussein "to be informed of his rights and take whatever action he can and may wish to pursue."
Haddad had called Gilman's filing "rubbish," and said, "It will not delay carrying out the sentence," which he called "final."
Haddad wouldn't disclose the location of the execution and said it wouldn't be broadcast live on TV because of human rights issues.
Throughout the day, there were conflicting reports about who had custody of Hussein. Giovanni di Stefano, one of Hussein's defense attorneys, told CNN the U.S. military officially informed him that the former Iraqi dictator had been transferred to Iraqi but that the move in U.S. court could have meant that Hussein was back in U.S. custody.
There had been speculation that Hussein would be executed before Eid Al-Adha -- a holiday period that means Feast of the Sacrifice, celebrated by Muslims around the world at the climax of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The law does not permit executions to be carried out during religious holidays.
Eid began Saturday for Sunnis and Sunday for Shiites and lasts for four days. Hussein is a Sunni Muslim.
Meeting with half-brothers
Another defense lawyer, Badie Aref, told CNN that Hussein met with two of his half-brothers in his cell on Thursday and passed on messages and instructions to his family.
"President Saddam was just bracing for the worst, so he wanted to see his brothers and pass on some messages and instructions to his family," Aref said. The half brothers who visited were Sabawi and Wathban Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti, he said.
Another of Hussein's half-brothers, Barzan al-Tikriti, has been sentenced to death and is being held in Iraq under the same charges as Hussein.
Aref said the U.S. soldiers guarding Hussein on Tuesday took away a radio he kept in his cell so he could not hear news reports about his death sentence, which was confirmed that day.
"They did not want him to hear the news from the appeals court upholding the sentence," he said. "They gave him back the radio on Wednesday."
Aref said Saddam found out about the appeals court verdict "a few hours after it was announced."
Crimes against humanity
Hussein was convicted on November 5 of crimes against humanity in connection with the killings of 148 people in the rown of Dujail after an attempt on his life.
The dictator was found guilty of murder, torture and forced deportation.
The Dujail episode falls within 12 of the worst cases out of 500 documented "baskets of crimes" during the Hussein regime.
The U.S. State Department says torture and extrajudicial killings followed the Dujail killings and that 550 men, women and children were arrested without warrants.
CNN's Aneesh Raman, Arwa Damon, Ryan Chilcote, Sam Dagher, Jomana Karadsheh and Ed Henry contributed to this report.
He's dead. I'm reminded tonight of the many naysayers and critics of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"Bush lied." "There are no WMDs." "Too many soldiers have died, it's a failure."
I know I've harped on this quite a bit. But I don't think you people quite understand. It was a living hell over there while he was in power. The misery, torment, oppression; I know it's too much for us to fathom.
That a leader would inflict that type of pain on his own people. But, he is no different than other leaders of this brave new world.
We left the Cold War for a new and darker frontier. The war of Terror. A war where there are no set battle lines, a war where the good, the bad, and the innocent all must die. For what reason, you ask? Merely the fact that you are infidels. You are a threat. A threat to a lifestyle that feeds on the weak, the wounded and the innocent.
Yet we sit in our warm, comfortable homes without a thought for what goes on around us. Yes, I know you're tied up and stressed with running a household in this day and age. With gas prices at recordbreaking highs, the worry that rests in the back of your mind about the safety of your family.
Believe me, I do understand. So, why do we insist on tearing our Country apart? Why is there no support? Why is there no unity? Why must we defeat ourselves?
You give heed to the liberal way of thinking. I say 'liberal' in the general context of the word, not the stereotypical pattern of ridiculous thinking posed by the majority of Democrats and some Republicans.
Protect us, you say. But don't invade our privacy. Give us freedom of speech in order for us to reveal Top Secret documents to the world. The New York times, the Washington Post, Boston Globe, and many others should have no access to files that they have published.
In a matter of National Security, there should be no limit to what the Government can do. Come on, do you honestly think that a nonsexual satellite would have any interest in what you do in your spare time? Perhaps, it's that we as people prefer our anonymty rather than running the risk of someone finding out what we're doing.
"What is done in the dark will be revealed in the light," to paraphrase a Biblical reference.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Merry Christmas.. belatedly as it may be..
I find myself thoroughly happy that the holiday season is nearly over.
What I don't find myself happy to see leave is our excuse of the holidays.
We now have no reason to treat our fellow man with any sort of compassion.
I had a chance to go into town where I am right now, it was a sight to see.
In a country where any sort of Christmas is non-exsistant, I find myself comparing it to the US during non holiday times. We ignore the needs of others and care only for ourselves.
I know, Americans, the majority of them at least, don't realize how good we have it here.
We don't know what it's like to go without food, without heat, only being able to scrounge enough for your family to eat. Men and women struggle to simply survive over here and in many countries.
Count the number of blankets you have in your house. Count the number of lightbulbs, shoes, or coats you don't wear. Think of a family somewhere in the world, in your state, in your country, in your neighborhood that has none of this.
To quote Dickens, "God Bless us, everyone!"
What I don't find myself happy to see leave is our excuse of the holidays.
We now have no reason to treat our fellow man with any sort of compassion.
I had a chance to go into town where I am right now, it was a sight to see.
In a country where any sort of Christmas is non-exsistant, I find myself comparing it to the US during non holiday times. We ignore the needs of others and care only for ourselves.
I know, Americans, the majority of them at least, don't realize how good we have it here.
We don't know what it's like to go without food, without heat, only being able to scrounge enough for your family to eat. Men and women struggle to simply survive over here and in many countries.
Count the number of blankets you have in your house. Count the number of lightbulbs, shoes, or coats you don't wear. Think of a family somewhere in the world, in your state, in your country, in your neighborhood that has none of this.
To quote Dickens, "God Bless us, everyone!"
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