Saddam sentenced to death.

[J.Twendrist]

They said you get a tv... not a computer.

[corpsestomp]

From some of these posts, I'm going to assume that none of you have ever been locked up.

Let me tell you, the kind of people here, that have great and overactive minds, it's more than just physical imprisonment, it's mental as well.

I spent a total of eleven days in jail. I spent most of the time reading, and I think I read somewhere near 5,000 pages worth of books in that time.

[Zrothum]

I spent 191 days in an 11x8. 21 in, 3 out.

Like was just said....it's the mental part that killed me. All you have is you in there. All that time is spent thinking. It's not fun.

[corpsestomp]

I'm glad someone else realizes that when you say "Three hots and a cot." That is all you get, that is absolutely it.

[Zrothum]

Cot is stretching it.

It's a 1/2" cotton stuffed canvas mattress on a concrete slab

[corpsestomp]

Well, mine was about the same, only I shared a cell, and we had bunks made of metal. In any case...

Saying a criminal might be more likely to want prison time instead of death, I think it really depends on the person, and whether or not they've served time before.

Personally, given the choice between death and life without the possibility of parole, I would choose death. Yes, it is a selfish choice, but I would either go insane or attempt suicide if locked up for the rest of my life.

[Fear, the Angel's Name]

There's a reason I'd have less trouble shooting a kid than a bear, and that reason is people like Bush and Saddam. I may be overdoing it a bit as I have never actually been put in the situation to shoot either a kid, or a bear, but the thought is what I am referring to. People are stupid, asinine, cruel, they cause famine, war, injustice, destruction... animals... they are just kind of there. I like that much more.

[CruelEdict]

Didn't read much of this thread, but I will just say that I don't feel it right for him to die. But that is because I do not agree with the war and for farther reaching consequences than "Terrorism". By doing what we did, we created a poewr vacuum that now leaves Iran the top dog in the Middle East and a common enemy to unite the remainder of Islamic nations against (the Israel/US faction).

Islam, as a friend of mine always says, does not play well with others. Not that I personally feel threatened by them, as they have managed to contain their own ambitions by allowing themselves to in-fight for a few centuries while the rest of the civilized world advanced far beyond them. Well, now due to our own idiotic policy, we are becoming too decadent too hang on to that which made us great and now we have become a threat to the world.

Go figure. Saddam is going to die because America invaded Iraq without solid reason to do so whatsoever. Just my thoughts.

[inscribed]

Since the subject of the war has already been brought up a couple of times, I'll take this chance to link an article I was sent recently:

http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2006-10-29-1.html

As a preface, the article is written by Orson Scott Card (I assume that everyone here is familiar with his work), and covers his thoughts on the middle east, the war, Islam, etc. Card is a registered Democrat and a strong supporter of the war. It is an extremely good read, if lengthy. Even if you disagree with the war, I strongly recommend reading it, and, hey, its Orson Scott Card, so you know it has to be a good read.

edit: Other essays of his are linked on the right side of the page. I don't always agree with his views on things, but I love reading his work. There's a few fans of his on this forum, so I figured I'd share.

[ajwetton]

And U.S prison is not all that cozy that you believe it to be, at least not from what I've been told. In fact, I've been told that the prisoners in jail do most of the work to keep the place running - cooking, repairing, etc, etc.

My cousin's Husband works in a prison, they did tours of the facility before it opened and trust me i've seen friends apt's that were nastier, and worsely furnished. i'm not saying its the Four Seasons, but if i were poor homeless hungry and in the winter freezing, i would consider commiting a bad enough crime to get locked up.

[Chayesh]

Simply because it was mentioned about 6 pages ago and I didn't see any correction, the US Supreme Court has held that no one can receive the death penalty in states that allow capital punishment for sex crimes that do not also include murder. While they agreed that indeed a life is forever changed by such an atrocity, they drew a line in the sand so to speak, that the delineating factor for the state's power to "bear the sword" is as recompense for the taking of life.

And Saddam...yeah, the death penalty is almost too good for him, however, die he must. It is the very least that should be done to him for the thousands he and cronies brutally murdered during his regime.

Oh...and with regard to DNA evidence, Raar, you're almost correct. DNA is ALWAYS left behind at a crime scene. Finding it and collecting it on the other hand, not always that simple.

[Lexi]

Hrm...

My cousin's Husband works in a prison' date=' they did tours of the facility before it opened and trust me i've seen friends apt's that were nastier, and worsely furnished. i'm not saying its the Four Seasons, but if i were poor homeless hungry and in the winter freezing, i would consider commiting a bad enough crime to get locked up.[/quote']

A homeless guy that commits a minor offence to get in jail won't end up in the same place as the man that murdered another man because his daughter had been molested.

[Mindflayer]

Who would be intimidated by three hots and a cot' date=' cable TV, weight room, getting paid to work, a roof over their heads no bills to pay. **** it's a better life than a lot of people have now.[/quote']

That and getting shanked with a sharpened plastic utensil over phone time, its a lovely life..

[Lexi]

Not to point a finger at you melinda, but this is why I hate foreigners. Everyone says that us americans are evil, cruel, hypocritical, and stupid. I agree with the stupid part, but you have no right to say we go into wars for "unbased" reasons, or to say our methods are wrong.

1. Saddam DID have weapons. Where you ask? Hidden, sold, or taken out of the country by allies, most likely.

2. Saddam committed acts of genocide and tested experiment biological weapons on tribes he detested(racial and tribal reasons; go look it up)

3. If given over to the people, he would have been totured, maimed, and killed on the spot.

4. America donates and helps more people in need in the world than any other country. Can't say that about the germans, french, spanish, or chinese.

5. America has eliminated hanging, electric chair, beheading, and shooting

squads in almost all the states, except for some counties.

6. America is the only country to have a working constitution and democratic government.

7. American soldiers is what allowed you to be born, cause I'm pretty sure world war I and II were real.

8. If you don't like america, why are you here.(obviously if you live here I mean)

9. Why do we keep troops overseas dying by approximately one per day? To keep the terrorists over there and not here attacking you while you sit playing fl.

10. I love america. God bless it. And to quote Saddam: "God is GREAT!"

Actually, my post had nothing to do about the war in Iraque. It was a reply to Fear's post:

I found out about that little discussion only a week or so ago, and I am going to look into it, but from what I have gathered thus far there is a fundamental, terrible difference in the mindsets of people who are deliberately cruel to animals, and people who are not. I'm willing to bet most of the actual guilty murderers on death row weren't very nice to animals when they were young. If my suspicions are true, it would do the world a favor to imprison people who are cruel to animals, or even better, castrate them, if such a thing indeed comes from genes. Give them a lobotomy, too, then they are safe, and they can't make more of themselves. Excellent idea.

And since it was brought up, my problem about America is that it is supposed to represent all that is best about the Western civilisation's ideologies - freedom, democracy, advancement and all that. Yet time and time again you act like the world police. Other countries can not develop nuclear missiles, but you have plenty of them. You create democracies through force, but only where and when it suits you - especially if there is oil. You often ignore the UN and act on your own accord. The refusal to accept the Kyoto protocoll. You generally piss off the world, and act all suprised when we critizise you. It's that attitude that you can do anything you want, because no one can stop you.

I have every right in the world to say whatever I want, and you should not in any way be immune to critique. That's quite a pompous attitude. Your methods are wrong. There is something disgusting in the way your president, one of the most influential men in the world and elected by the american people, lied to the entire world in his war efforts. At first, it was a war against terror. But since there was no terrorists in Iraque, it became a war against weapons of mass destruction. But since there was no weapons of mass destruction, it became a war against a man, and a war against dictatorship.

1. Saddam did not have any weapons of mass destruction. Most of the world agree on that.

2. Want me to bring up everytime the U.S did something bad? That'd be a long, long list.

3. The same can be said about thousands of other people across the globe. Will you go after them too? With guns blazing?

4. Do you have any actual numbers on this? I've only read the basics about economy, but I suspect you would have to take GNP or such into account to make a fair analysis.

5. Wow! In most counties! That's so great! Some nations that employ the death penalty are Afghanistan, Botswana, China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Pakistan, Rwanda, Somalia, and of course United States of America. Wohoo! Go democracy and human rights!

6. Out of every nation on the world, United States is the only working democracy? This is the very american attitude that bothers me.

7. Agreed. But American soldiers have also caused a lot of civilian suffering in Japan, Vietnam, the Middle East and so on. One right doesn't justify two wrongs.

8. I live in Sweden. We have some of the highest taxes in the world. I don't mind. We don't have all that many homeless people. Our school is free. Our healthcare is free. Our nature is free - you can walk in any forest or across any field without risking getting shot for traspassing. I think socialism is better than capitalism. So sue me.

9. All that trouble? Only for little me? That made me all warm and happy inside. I think the soldiers are dying because your government is trying to establish a foothold in the Middle East region. And for the oil, of course. War can be quite a lucrative business, you know.

10. There are many great things about America. And many bad things too. I think there are many ways in which the United States could improve, and be a truly great nation.

Ergh...

With power comes responsibility.

[Raargant]

What the hell? I take a nap and this turns into a thread on the war in Iraq?

[Lexi]

Well... It started out as a threat about Saddam Hussein..

[Raargant]

...

I find myself compelled to accept your argument...

[elfdude]

I didn't read much else after the post that im going to respond to. But NK's army is a joke and the US army excels in conventional warfare. If we are actually looking to just go in and actually fight them we would mop them up.

[Zrothum]

Well, I for one am done with this thread. Time to move on. I'm just gonna have to learn to accept the fact that I'm clearly right about everything and it's the world that's just wrong.

[Belegriel]

LMAO, I accepted that fact 9 pages ago and saved myself alot of grief.

[Lexi]

I like your signature, Belegriel.

[Belegriel]

They don't call it the king of battle for nothing.

[Zrothum]

Wasn't the general consensus that only middle schoolers still use all caps? Guess you didn't get the memo

[Shaun]

Believe me, I'm a proud American, but I am gonna agree with Melinda on this.

[Fear, the Angel's Name]

I think the reason why we act like World Police is because our general public supports such actions (generally) which is largely because we are pretty sure our government isn't going to do anything we'd consider overtly immoral (which is, again generally, true) and in the end, a lot of the actions we take make things turn out for the better on a grander scale.

Maybe Japan would have bombed your country next, or maybe Osama woulda sent a plane in your direction, but he didn't, and I think we all know why.

Nobody complained about the world police when Hitler was deposed.