Villians and Gentlemen

In the news...

There was a very interesting poll posted online today conducted by AP-AOL news:

Top Villains of 2006

President Bush……………...25%
Osama Bin Laden………..….8%
Saddam Hussein……….…...6%
Pres. Ahmadinejad, Iran.......5%
Kim Jong ll, No. Korea….…..2%
Satan……………………….....1%

I can't say I was not amused. I mean Bush ran away with this contest. Anyway the number 3 guy has been in the news quite a bit.

I am amazed but at the same time not that shocked. The reaction of Arab Sunni's to the execution of Saddam is unbelievable. They are groaning about the timing of his execution, the fact that he was taunted, and even the motive behind his execution. Lets set one thing straight there did not need to be one second of trial for his execution to be justified. Yet unlike his innocent victims he was given one. The fact that he was given the chance to die with dignity and the name of Allah and Prophet Muhammad on his lips was more than he permitted those he oppressed. Where was this level of disgust by Arab Sunnis when there fellow Arabs where massacred and dumped into mass graves. Where was this repugnance when Saddam used chemical weapons on his fellow Sunni Iraqis. Did they protest his continued aggression against another Muslim nation through 8 Holy months of Ramadan? Of course not. Did they complain that the Shia majority amongst them had no representation? No, but now they cry about not having enough representation in the new government (not to mention that they were begged to participate). They are aghast at the idea of his execution having been taped and shown publicly. Did they stand up when their fellow Sunni's in Afghanistan (Taliban) publicly beat women and executed "apostates"? Of course not the Taliban, the Sunni justified, where acting in accordance with "Shariah Law". So I am not shocked that such hypocrites would have no empathy for the guards who finally saw the moment that they would avenge the oppression they saw at the hands of the tyrant. These men who had brothers, fathers, and uncles tortured and murdered in prison (while it is said Saddam was allowed to tend to a garden while in captivity) and lived with mothers, aunts, and sisters raped and beaten are expected to hold their tongues. I will stand against that level of unprofessional ism but I can empathize with their outburst. I think this is a clear showing that Arabs have not yet let go of their arrogant nationalism. They hold their national identity above their religious associations. In fact their only reason for caring for Islam is that it is the religion born in Arab lands. To that I say shame on you Arab people for not standing strong and un-ambivalently against zulm (oppression) and tyranny. And the day will come when the tyrants of all the Arab states will taste the same fate as Saddam.

If you thought all of the people of the world had gone mad there was this ray of hope:

Congressman to be sworn in using Quran

"Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, D-Minn., decided to use the centuries-old Quran during his ceremonial swearing-in on Thursday after he learned that it is kept at the The Library of Congress. Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, D-Minn., decided to use the centuries-old Quran during his ceremonial swearing-in on Thursday after he learned that it is kept at the Library of Congress. Jefferson, the nation's third president and a collector of books in all topics and languages, sold the book to Congress in 1815 as part of a collection." Jefferson, the nation's third president and a collector of books in all topics and languages, sold the book to Congress in 1815 as part of a collection.'It demonstrates that from the very beginning of our country, we had people who were visionary, who were religiously tolerant, who believed that knowledge and wisdom could be gleaned from any number of sources, including the Quran,' Ellison said in a telephone interview Wednesday."