Elliott C. Back: Internet & Technology

Saddam Hussein, the notorious dictator of Iraq, was sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of 148 people in the town of Dujail in retaliation for an assassination attempt on him in 1982. In response to the verdict, Saddam is quoted as saying, “Long live Iraq! Long live the Iraqi people! Down with the traitors!”

Saddam yells at the court as a guard holds him back

Other crimes against humanity which Saddam is suspected of having involvement with are listed in Wikipedia:

• On March 16, 1988, the Kurdish town of Halabja was attacked with a mix of mustard gas and nerve agents, killing 5,000 civilians, and maiming, disfiguring, or seriously debilitating 10,000 more.
• Shortly afterwards, he convened an assembly of Ba’ath party leaders on July 22, 1979. The 68 people arrested at the meeting were subsequently put on trial, and 22 were sentenced to execution for treason.
• During war with Iran, Health Minister Riyadh Ibrahim suggested that Saddam temporarily step down to promote peace negotiations. Ibrahim’s chopped up body was delivered to his wife the next day.
• Several journalists have reported on Saddam’s ties to anti-Israeli and Islamic terrorism prior to 2000. Saddam is also known to have had contacts with Palestinian terrorist groups.

It’s amazing that dictators and tyrants still exist in this day and age.

1000 cellphones in your texas truck, arabic names, and three men charged with “collecting or providing materials for terrorist acts and surveillance of a vulnerable target for terrorist purposes.” I always thought that US citizens could own … property … without being called criminals?

“Psychologist Alan Marlatt of the University of Washington, a man with an apparent sense of humor, built a complete bar in his laboratory and served drinks to college student volunteers that were actually non-alcoholic but tasted like the real thing.” The moral of the story–watch what you drink.

Wondermark explores the real reason terrorists decided on liquid bombs: to cause terror and inconvenience air travel.

If your kangeroo an amputee? Then there may be a solution: a false leg.

According to Forbes, an Italian magazine Chi just published photos of Princess Diana immediately before she died:

The black-and-white photo in Milan-based Chi magazine showed the princess receiving oxygen in the wreckage of the car crash that killed her on Aug. 31, 1997. The picture was excerpted from “Lady Diana: The Criminal Investigation,” a new book by French author Jean-Michel Caradec’h.

The photos have not been widely circulated, but have been in existance and available, albeit without so much publicity, for years:

The royal family is of course upset at the publication and urges a global boycott, while Chi editor Umberto Brindani said “he had published the picture for the ‘very simple reason’ that it has never been seen before.”

Update: I’ve replaced the photo with a slightly better version, since people seen to still be interested in it.