Glenn Reynolds has an interesting opinion of Saddam's capture.#

THE LESSON: Saddam's capture also shows the importance of patience, and of ignoring the kvetching of the Coalition Of The Pissy. While people bitched, the military just kept gathering intelligence and keeping Saddam on the run until he slipped and they caught him. And looking at the TV images, he seems docile, exhausted, and ready to be caught. That's the fruit not just of a single lucky break, but of the sustained campaign of keeping him moving.

Those who, frankly, would just as soon see the entire war as a failure, are ready to call anything short of perfection a failure. But persistence pays off. It's worth keeping in mind on other subjects.

Dave Winer is leading a discussion on what to do with him.#

Now that Saddam is in custody, where should he stand trial, Iraq, the US, somewhere else?

If you could decide his fate, would you put him in jail for life like Noriega, or put him to death, or create a special punishment for him, one that fits his crimes?

How do you feel now that something is over? Or is it? Could Saddam yet resume power in Iraq or has Murphy met his match?

Moxie thinks about the punishment he deserves.#

While the details of the trial haven't been decided, I am decided that though the death penalty sounds apt, a sterile injection just doesn't match up to the crimes he committed. With the big DP he still might qualify as a martyr and death in the long run is so much less painful than say, a weekly bikini wax.

Perhaps he could be assigned the role of Dennis Kucinich'sCampaign Information Minister. Why kill someone when you can subject him to round-the-clock music of The Backstreet Boys and N'synch? Maybe Al Gore can put Saddam in his lock box and explain ad nauseum how the Republicans stole the last election not to mention that he invented the internet.

Matthew Gross posts Howard Dean's statement on Hussein.#

WEST PALM BEACH-- Governor Dean issued the following statement this morning:

"This is a great day for the Iraqi people, the US, and the international community.

"Our troops are to be congratulated on carrying out this mission with the skill and dedication we have come to know of them.

"This development provides an enormous opportunity to set a new course and take the American label off the war. We must do everything possible to bring the UN, NATO, and other members of the international community back into this effort.

"Now that the dictator is captured, we must also accelerate the transition from occupation to full Iraqi sovereignty."

Doug Miller ponders on the security of Saddam's hideout.#

Interesting. CNN just mentioned that there was no perimeter security surrounding Hussein when he was captured. That makes me wonder how critical the Iraqi resistance regards him. Of course, it could also have been a means of trying not to attract too much attention to him.

Charlie Stross has a very interesting opinion of the capture.#

While shedding no tears for the beast of Baghdad -- who climbed to the top of the Ba'ath party of Iraq over a pile of corpses, by way of the secret police -- I can't help wondering whether this is a good thing for the west. I suspect his being at liberty may have been a restraining factor on the various Iraqi factions jockeying for power -- and taking pot-shots at the occupiers. Now he's out of the way, the spectre of a revived Ba'athist dictatorship has lifted from the followers of al-Sadr and the various other Shi'ite factions and the communists and the nationalists and the just plain pissed-off that their country has been invaded. The factions who suffered under Saddam no longer have to worry about that stuff: we may just have released the brakes on the armed resistance. Moreover, if Saddam is smart enough (and I hope he isn't) and the military authorities stupid enough (and after Gantanemo Bay I fear that they are), he may use a trial as an opportunity to wrap himself in the flag of Iraqi nationalism and turn himself into a martyr to the anti-American cause.

Adam Yoshida can't wait for blood.#

Nearly one hundred and thirty-nine years ago, to the day, General William Temesech Sherman and his Army of Georgia captured the City of Savannah. General Sherman then telegraphed the President, "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition and also about 25,000 bales of cotton." For some reason, today's capture of Saddam Hussein calls to mind that long-ago event. Whatever some will try to say, this is a great victory for the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, for the members of the Coalition, for the President and his Administration, and for those people everywhere who supported the liberation of Iraq. It is not, however, as some have tried to claim a victory for everyone.

Howard Dean's supporters (those, at least, who are not admitting that they are crying in despair as a result of the capture of Saddam) and the crowd at Democratic Underground are trying to assert that this is, "everyone's victory." To which, I must reply: a victory yes, but one in which no credit it due to you. Now that we are successful in Iraq, everyone will probably try and jump on the bandwagon once more. We should not let them. If Howard Dean was the President today Saddam Hussein would still be in command in Baghdad, still be dealing with terrorists, still murdering his own people, and still dealing with terrorists. The same goes for most of the other Democratic Presidential candidates, who would not have had the courage or fortitude to lead us into this war of their own volition.

[...]

We now have the execution of Saddam to look forward to. Mark it on your calendar. Hopefully we'll get a public hanging, seeing as he's going to be tried by the Iraqi people. Frankly, I don't imagine they'll be in what can exactly be called a 'charitable' mood.

Matthew Stoller has the best sentence yet...#

Look at how quickly Hussein has been trivialized as a symbol...

Tacitus writes about what it will mean to Iraqis and about the trial.#

I'll lay money that he'll in time be turned over to the judgment of his peers.

And when he is, remember this. Remember it when you troll throught the web archives of the usual suspects and read the dark musings of how Uday and Qusay were purposefully "silenced" to protect Bu$hco. Remember it when the well-fed unfortunates of Guantanamo, with their quality medical care and free Korans, are held up as examples of the utter rot of American ideals. Remember what we did in this moment. And remember that 25 million Iraqis sleep a bit more soundly tonight, free of the tyrant who has haunted their days and nights for decades, it will be because of us -- and the much-maligned but very real Coalition of the Willing.

Look forward also to the forthcoming criticisms of the Iraqi court that will try and sentence Saddam Hussein. There will be complaints that it does not conform to "international" law or standards. There will be griping because no -- or too few -- transnational bureaucrats are employed, consulted or heeded. There will be mutterings that the whole process is managed by American puppeteers. Think I'm wrong? It has already begun. But a court of Iraqis is precisely the right thing to do. The sad, unremarked fact of international tribunals post-Nuremburg is that they are too often unjust and unfair. The Yugoslav tribunal, for example, will never, ever call or convict a single cutthroat bandit of the KLA; and the Rwanda tribunal is thoroughly detested by most Rwandans for its ineffectiveness and indeed hostile attitude toward the post-genocide Rwandan state. These things do not bring closure to those who need it most: they impart judgment from abroad and on high, geographically and politically removed from the scenes of the crimes. An Iraqi court in Iraq -- that will make a real difference in a way that the self-anointed human rights/internationalist lobby does not understand or acknowledge. And why would they? It's their employment on the line, after all.

Allah is not too happy about it.#

*RRRING* "Yes, hello? No, Allah has not turned on the TV yet. He just woke up. Why? Saddam is on TV? Glorious! Did he make a new video? No? Well, why else would he be on tele--- ALLAH WILL CALL YOU BACK."

Let Allah just boot up his computer here. Okay, deep breaths. Perhaps, perhaps he has become a shahid in a glorious martyrdom operation, yes? Let us go to the Jew Fox News site--OH NO. NO, FUCK. Okay, okay. Maybe--maybe he looked proud and defiant as they captured him. Yeah! Maybe he had on hismujahid army uniform and that fruity little black beret and OH JESUS FUCK, NO. Okay, all right, Allah has to keep it together here. He can handle this. Just so long as there is no gloating by the Jew. Allah can swallow any infidel bullshit except gloOH GOD, WHY? WHY MUST ALLAH SUFFER SO?

Okay, well, it's been greating knowing you, kufr. Allah has to go take care of something now. Have a great life!

From The Orient reminds us of the difference between Christmas and Christmas.#

There's Christmas and then there's Christmas. Do not confuse the two.

Firstly, there is the Christmas for children. It's the Christmas from your childhood, the excitement, the fantasy, the magic and the delight. It's also the Christmas that the parents of young children enjoy. You get a second chance for the magic of Christmas to shine, through looking at your children. Of course, parts of it you have to pay for this time, but some of it is still free. Last year we went to a nativity play, on a farm, in a barn with donkeys and everything.

And then there is the adult Christmas. Consumerism, the shopping, the tack, the crap Christmas versions of popular TVprograms, Christmas songs (with a few exceptions; Fairy Tale of New York being one), and the carol singers.

Marlise Simons reports the General Clark with testify at the Milosevic Trail.#

The two men confronting each other in court next week have met many times before. General Clark spent many hours with Mr. Milosevic in 1994 and 1995, when he was special adviser to Richard C. Holbrooke, who was trying to end the Bosnia war. They were both at the 21-day peace negotiations Mr. Holbrooke led in Dayton, Ohio, in 1995, and they spent lengthy sessions negotiating before NATO began bombing Serbia and its province of Kosovo in March 1999.

Mr. Milosevic, whose trial began in February 2002, is facing 66 charges, including genocide, stemming from his role in those wars, which left more than 200,000 people dead, destroyed villages and towns, and drove more than a million people from their homes. General Clark will be a witness for the prosecution.

Prosecutors want to know how much Mr. Milosevic knew — or could have known — about crimes committed by members of the Bosnian Serb military who were on Belgrade's payroll and by Serbian police officers and other forces directly under his command.

General Clark faces direct cross-examination by Mr. Milosevic, who conducts his own defense and usually demands as much time to question a witness as the prosecution. Frequently, he is given more time.

Amy posts pretty pictures.#

Michael Feldman reports on the sick/sad world we live in.#

Thomas Northington, a long-unemployed and homeless artist, was alone and adrift on the streets of Boston when he somehow ended up under the wheels of an MBTA bus he had just been thrown off of for not having the full fare. Suddenly, there were two competing bidders to claim the body - a sister from Kentucky and a previously unknown son from nearby Brockton. Suspicion abounds that the newfound familial competition to claim the body may be more about claiming the right to sue the MBTA.....

Richard writes about how Halley is nagging Glenn Reynolds to be on his blogroll.#

The way this reads is, Halley first asked to be on Glenn's blogroll, then Glenn said yes, and then since he hasn't yet, Halley is asking (in public no less) why not. So let's assume that's the way it went down. First of all: if you have to ask to be on a blogroll, doesn't that give some indication as to the quality of your weblog? (The alternative is that he promised to put her on his blogroll, then she had to ask if he was going to keep his promise. But still, she feels the need to ask. In public!) In other words, if her weblog was good enough to be on Glenn's blogroll (in Glenn's opinion and his opinion only: it's his blogroll, remember), it would already be there, now wouldn't it? At the end, she tells Glenn what to do with his weblog ("just do it"). If you were told to do something—by someone who is neither your parent nor boss—would you do it?

Richard is great at writing down what is on my mind.

Richard links to Nigel Farndale on Stalker Guilt Syndrome.#

When not engaged in a specific task, my mind is prone to drift. I'm known for it. Indeed a friend once suggested that in the unlikely event of Carly Simon ever writing a song about me it would go: "You're so vague, you probably don't realise this song is about you". I mention this in my defence, to explain what happened the other night. I got off at Clapham North tube, one stop before where I should have got off - where I always get off - which is Clapham Common.

At the top of the escalator I stared blankly at the familiar, but not quite familiar enough, topography of ticket booths and newsvendors. I soon realised what I had done and got on the escalator heading back down. Then I noticed the woman in front kept turning round to glance at me. Did I have an ink stain on my shirt? Spinach on my teeth? When she reached the bottom she almost broke into a run.

Tony Pierce challenges silly assumptions about sex and how to have it safely.#

am i to believe that nobody i ever met ever got a disease?

nobody?

impossible.

do people tell you about diseases they get?

if they dont tell you and they dont tell me, then nobodys telling anyone,

and if nobodys telling anyone then perhaps thats why we have this completely unrealistic and untrue collective unconsious which says: i wont get a disease because people that i know and people who are like me are clean. it's only Other people who get stds.

or pregnant.

heres another thing: everyone i know gets laid. even i get laid and im no runway model. which tells me that whatever is out there can spread fast.

Krystal writes about being busy with work.#

Now the most stressful thing I have to deal with is working at Marshall's. We are oh so busy now. I covered the front end today. I was pretty nervous about it walking into work today because it was a beautiful day and I knew that we would be super busy. And I was exhausted to top it all off. We ended up getting really busy, just like I thought, but it was ok. I think I did a really good job today and I was really satisfied when I left the place. My manager commented on the good job I did and said she knew who to have cover the front when it was needed. I'm really happy about that because I sort of felt like I had been slacking lately.

She also adds,

ps- I think about it all the time and I'm worried and I hope you are doing ok.

Why would I be okay? I can scarcely think of one good or okay thing about not being able to talk to her about us. She wants to just forget and not think or talk about it. She's completely in her right because I'm a bastard... but that doesn't make me feel any better.

Her and her new guy both posted the same lyrics to a great song on their respective LiveJournals. Ugh, why do I even read them? There's some horrible yet slightly shallow and meaningless about being upset when your ex-girlfriend starts associating a band you shared together with someone else.

AntiPixel is glad that evolution happened the way it did.#

I've decided there has to be a reason why food and eating in general should be so pleasurable this season, and it must be because we're being given a kind of metabolic cue — winter is coming: eat up!

A vestigial and long-buried sense of impending deprivation heightens our sense of taste, thereby encouraging us to eat and prepare ourselves for the winter.

Of the millions of happy accidents of evolution, this has to be up there in the top hundred thousand or so.

Chris Winters writes about architecture goggles.#

Just like beer goggles architecture goggles tend to make you see all problems as solvable by a particular architecture. It doesn't matter if it's MVC, command pattern, inversion of control, whatever. It's so easy to not even realize you have the goggles on because as you gain more experience with a particular architecture you become more aware of the deeper abstractions lying within ("oh, everything's just an action!"). Then you apply them everywhere.

The Binary Circumstance writes about the new secret courts American government agents have been blessed with.#

How ironic that the United States is starting to look more and more like Saddam Hussein's dictatorship just as we're fighting a war so that all the world can be free from arbitrary slaughters of terrorism and the injustice of tyranny. While ironic, it is certainly understandable. Any country built upon the premise that certain people have the right to use force to steal freedom and property from other individuals is doomed to descend into dictatorship and slavery. This is true not just of the U.S. but all countries that are ruled by mandatory, coercive governments.

As evidence that the U.S. looks more like Saddam Hussein's Iraq every day I present the government's latest weapon in "the war against terror." The FBI has new rules for conducting surveillance:

[...]

What was that again? Yes, you read it correctly. The surveillance activities of the FBI will subject to the oversight of a SECRET intelligence court. That means that nobody is allowed to know what they're up to except those who are let in on the secret.