Saddam through the years

Saddam Hussein was sentenced to die for the killings of dozens of Shiites in 1982. He was being tried on separate charges involving thousands of deaths.
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Saddam Hussein appears in this undated childhood photo.
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In December 2000, Hussein took part in a military parade in Baghdad, greeting army units with rifle shots. Back in the 1950s, before he ascended in the ranks of the Baath Party, Hussein was denied admission to the Baghdad Military Academy. ====================

Iraq's President Saddam Hussein acknowledges cheers from a crowd in Baghdad after the announcement of a cease-fire in the Iraq-Iran war in 1988.
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In 2002, Hussein displays a sword given to him as a gift before he was sworn in as Iraqi president for seven more years.
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Hussein joined members of his family for a portrait in 1991.
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Hussein's eldest son Udai (right) speaks with his younger brother Qusai before the opening of a congress for the regional command of the ruling Baath Party in Baghdad in 2001. Both sons were killed in July 2003 during a battle between U.S. forces and Iraqi gunmen in Mosul, Iraq.

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Undated photograph.
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Undated photograph
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Undated photograph found in a Baghdad palace archive.
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Undated photograph
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Hussein in 1978.
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Iraqi President Saddam Hussein holds up a gun in this 1991 photograph by his personal photographic Lazim Ali, which is currently on exhibit at "The Leaer's Museum" in Baghdad. The photo was taken in Anbar provence after the end of the Gulf War.
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Stuart Lockwood, a British boy among foreigners held in Iraq before the 1991 Persian Gulf war, appeared on televisions worldwide as Saddam Hussein patted his head. Iraq said it staged the meeting to show that the foreign "guests" were well, but the televised encounter provoked widespread condemnation of the Iraqi president.
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When a deck of 55 playing-size cards featuring members of Iraqi leadership was distributed to aid coalition forces in finding former Iraqi leaders, Hussein was the ace of spades.
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A ripped poster of Hussein hangs alongside a street in Basra, Iraq, in April 2003.
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A child rides past the smashed head of a Hussein statue in Baghdad in April 2003. ====================

Hussein undergoes medical exam in Baghdad in Dec. 2003.
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After Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a hole in December 2003, he could hardly believe the American soldiers did not immediately recognize him. "I am Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq," he declared.

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The hole in which American forces found former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein under a farmhouse near his hometown of Tikrit is seen in this image made from video.
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Captured former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein speaks in Baghdad Sunday Dec. 14, 2003 in this image from television. Top U.S. administrator in Iraq L. Paul Bremer confirmed the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in a dirt hole under a farmhouse near his hometown of Tikrit, eight months after the fall of Baghdad.
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A picture released in July 2004 by the U.S. Department of Defense shows Hussein arriving in shackles and under Iraqi custody for his initial interview with an Iraqi judge in Baghdad. The guards' faces were digitally erased by the source for security reasons.
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In August, Hussein went on trial for the second time, on genocide and other charges in connection with the Anfal campaign in 1987-88 that ended with the deaths of thousands of people.
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Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein yells at the court as he receives his verdict.
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This photo was released in August, 2005, by the Iraqi Special Tribunal, which said it was taken while he was questioned at an unknown location.
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AWAITING CHARGES: Saddam Hussein will be tried at the end of this year at the earliest. One of his lawyers says the defense will question the legitimacy of the Iraqi Special Tribunal and of the war.
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Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein speaks at his trial and tells the court he alone is responsible for the fate of 148 executed villagers from Dujail.
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IN THE NEWS: An Iraqi man, right, reads the latest on ousted dictator Saddam Hussein on a Baghdad street. "He won't get a fair trial, he'll get a political one," Hussein’s lawyer says.
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Saddam Hussein is awaiting trial.

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Quickies - 2006

Lava cascades down the slope of Mayon volcano near Legazpi City, south of Manila.====================

Actor Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes pose for their official wedding portrait in Lake Bracciano, Italy, November 18, 2006.
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A mouse rides on the back of a frog in floodwaters in Lucknow.====================

Consumers enjoy mud therapy at a nursing home in Anshan, East China's Liaoning province. The mineral mud is believed to be able to alleviate pain from rheumatoid arthritis, sequela of traumatisms and peripheral nervous system diseases.====================

Singer Christina Aguilera performs at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California.====================

A boy raises a Lebanese flag in front of a larger one during an anti-war rally outside the Israeli embassy in Athens.
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Two young men play football on the dried up ground of West Common in Gerrard's Cross, Southern England.====================

U.S. President George W. Bush hands back a crying baby that was handed to him from the crowd when he arrived for an outdoor dinner with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Trinwillershagen, Germany.====================

Afghan women covered by burqas walk in the yard of the shrine of Imam Ali, son in-law of Prophet Mohammad, in the city of Mazar-i-Shariff, Kabul, Afghanistan.====================

Villagers dressed as heads on plates perform a pagan ritual in the village of Vevcani. Vevcani villagers mark the annual orthodox St. Vasilij Day with a carnival, which celebrates their 1,300-year-old pagan roots. The highlight of the carnival is a political satire, with masked villagers acting out current events.====================

Guru Lalu mesmerises Harvard students

There is nothing new in his theory. But, the novelty is that he has put it into practice and it has yielded results. Thats what makes him different from other management gurus.

Laloo held the attention of the Harvard and Wharton, America’s Ivy League school, students for more than an hour today as he explained the turnaround success story of the Indian Railways in heavily accented Bhojpuri Hindi interspread with one-liners in English. The learning was fun.

He transformed the loss-making organisation into a profitable one without privatisation. Some years ago, the Japanese Railways had also been incurring massive losses, but it made a turnaround after being privatised, but he has done it without corporatising the railways.

Laloo showed his acute understanding of market reality and functioning and finances of the Railways. He used some loaded expressions like 'internal resources,' 'operating ratio,' and 'fund balances.'

Ironically, in the US, the bastion of capitalism, the Railways run at a loss and in Europe it survives basically on subsidies.

The Railways, which was a few years back not in a position to pay dividends to the government, now boasts of a cash surplus of more than Rs 13,000 crore in a short span of 30 months. This would take a quantum leap to Rs 20,000 crore by the end of current fiscal. Over the last 30 months, freight volumes have grown by 8-10 per cent and similarly growth in passenger volumes has also been doubled.

He has given a ''steel frame'' to the Railways and irrespective of the change in the minister or the government, the growth story would continue.

Shane Warne's 700 th wicket - The Ashes cricket

Shane Warne's 700 th wicket - The Ashes cricket

trial of the evil - American experts

Of the 301 bodies found, 183 belonged to children. He said 90% of the children were under 13 years old. These people were twisting as they were getting shot at.

The captives were often bound and blindfolded. The captives were led into the grave and then executed with pistols or automatic assault rifle fire. The graves were then covered by those directing the execution. The victims had been killed in a highly organised programme of execution.

In some of the most harrowing evidence presented children died in their mothers' arms.

There are evidences:

of a child whose legs were cut in half by a bullet; Another child had wounds to the front and back; A pregnant woman and her unborn child had been killed by a single shot; while another child who had not been shot had probably been smothered to death by a corpse.

There is a terror that takes over as people try to get out of the way. It's a very common human response.

Saddam Hussein dismissed the testimony, saying American experts couldn't be trusted and suggested the court consider what is said by the American expert but also call a new trial expert that has nothing to do with the enemy or the army of the enemy.

Questions over Saddam trial justice

The advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has unveiled a damning indictment of the trial of Saddam Hussein, saying it was so flawed the verdict was unsound.

The HRW researchers have concluded that Saddam Hussein and his co-accused did not get a fair trial. The report of HRW confirms all the statements we gave about the trial, that it is a political trial, and doesn't meet any condition of a just court.

Saddam to be hanged within 30 days

Iraq’s highest appeals court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence for Saddam Hussein in his first trial and said it must be carried out within 30 days.

On November 5, an Iraqi court sentenced Saddam to the gallows for the 1982 killings of 148 people from a Shiite Muslim town after an attempt on his life there.

The appeals court decision must be ratified by President Jalal Talabani and Iraq’s two vice presidents. Once the decision is ratified, Saddam and other co-defendants sentenced to death at the trial would be hanged within 30 days.

conflicting reactions - saddam's sentence

A Iraqi court has upheld the death sentence handed down in November to former leader Saddam Hussein.

The failure of his appeal means the former dictator can now be hanged at any time in the next four weeks.

News of the court's decision has been met with conflicting reactions around the world.

WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN, SCOTT STANZEL

Today marks an important milestone in the Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law.

Saddam has received due process and the legal rights that he denied the Iraqi people.

The Iraqis deserve praise for continuing to utilise the institutions of democracy to pursue justice.

UK FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESMAN

As the prime minister has made clear, it [Saddam's execution] is entirely a matter for the independent Iraqi tribunal.

Our position is unchanged. We are opposed to the death penalty as a matter of principle but the decision is one for the Iraqi authorities.

RICHARD DICKER, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Imposing the death penalty, indefensible in any case, is especially wrong after such unfair proceedings.

That a judicial decision was first announced by Iraq's national security adviser underlines the political interference that marred Saddam Hussein's trial.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SPOKESWOMAN

Amnesty International is very disappointed about this decision.

We are against the death penalty as a matter of principle but particularly in this case because it comes after a flawed trial.

INDIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, NAVTEJ SARNA

It is our hope that the sentence will not be carried out and that the former president's life would be spared.

We would also hope that no steps are taken which might obstruct the process of reconciliation and delay the restoration of peace in Iraq.

a verdict on a whole dark era

India has obliquely warned United States and the current Iraqi regime that execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussain might obstruct the process of reconciliation and delay the restoration of peace in Iraq.

The verdict of the Appeals Court in Baghdad confirmed the death sentence against Mr Hussain and said the sentence must be carried out "within" 30 days. India hopes that the sentence will not be carried out and that the former President's life would be spared and that no steps are taken which might obstruct the peace process.

The Indian reaction on Iraq and Iran goes against the Anglo-American stated policies. Such a strong reaction is also a politically correct thing to do by the UPA government because the Left parties whose support is vital for the government's survival are also against the American policies on Iraq.

New Delhi's reaction is also a demonstration of pursual of its independent foreign policy.

Merry Christmas

"Designed from the inside out”

"Designed from the inside out” is how Toyota describes its new Auris space concept, revealed for the first time at the Paris Motor Show. Toyota combined Vibrant Clarity, a forward-looking and energetic appearance with a clear and rational approach to providing driver and passengers with a spacious and highly practical environment. The high waistline, short overhangs and forward balance of the cabin architecture ensure it retains a sense of dynamism and agility, a quality we call perfect imbalance.

Auris has a high quality interior, featuring an innovative sculpted, bridged centre console that is both elegant and practical, bringing the gearlever and other controls up to the perfect ergonomic height. This leaves an open section in the lower part of the console that increases the sense of space around the driver and front seat passenger.

The inside-out concept can also be witnessed in the panoramic glass roof, the flat rear passenger floor and high window surfaces, all of which contribute to the overall sense of interior light and space

The exterior is characterised by a powerful front-end treatment with strong vertical lines, wide shoulders and short overhangs, with sports-styled 19-inch alloy wheels, freeform geometric lamps, prominent brake callipers and deep rear bumper with integrated chrome exhausts adding to the dynamic look.

The striking gold exterior paint finish and interior piping reflect the car’s name.