BuzzMachine... by Jeff Jarvis

December 15, 2003

Armed moblog
: The NY Times reports on the Sony camera used to capture video of Saddam's lice hunt and other highlights of battle. donload commview 4.1 crack

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And the Second Coming would bring a real bull market
: One of the most ludicrous financial leads I've seen in ages:

The capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein gave an initial boost to stock markets worldwide on Monday, leading some analysts to believe that a bigger rally would occur if the United States reels in Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

And if Elvis reappears...donload commview 4.1 crack

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You can't judge a blogosphere by its cover
: Eugene Volokh argues that the blogosphere does not march right and Matthew Ygelsias agrees. Both analyses are worth reading. donload commview 4.1 crack

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RSS, Inc.
: David Galbraith says this is what is needed to make RSS viable for business. I think he's right. donload commview 4.1 crack

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A plug
: If John Podhoretz had a weblog (hint! hint!) he could plug this himself. Instead, he has to go to others: His nephew and a cohort have started a neat web mag: Agora.donload commview 4.1 crack

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Iranian weblog reaction
: It is fascinating to see not only Iraqi weblog reaction to the capture of Saddam but also Iranian weblog reaction -- for, of course, Saddam was their hated enemy as well.
Hossein Derakhshan makes sure we remember that Saddam had backing from us and France in his war against Iran.

Nobody was happier than most Iranians seeing Saddam looking like stinky homeless men--except for Iraqis of course.
I broke into tears when I saw the most brutal dictator in the world was captured, who once was a close friend to both Mr. Chirac and Mr. Rumsfel--at the same time....
Although the Iran-Iraq war was the war between two groups of dictators whose entire existence was based on the war. (Ayatollah Khomeini used war to get rid of his internal opponents, as well as Saddam) However, there was a huge history of anti-Persian feelings among Arabs and anti-Arabism among Iranians involved.
Now, patriotically speaking, nothing is more painful than seeing Palestinians grieving for Saddam, while our whole foreign policy is stupidly tied to the issue of Israel-Palestine. Not to mention that Yasser Arafat was a big supporter of Saddam during the war with Iran, as well as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, UAE--and France.
It was France that revived the low-tech, soviet made army of Iraq after it was almost destroyed by the Iranian US-made army. I still don't forget that all we could here were Mirages, Sokhos, Migs as Iraqi fighters. if it wasn't for the support and silence of the US, Europe and Russia, Saddam couldn't resist the faithful, strong and patriotic Iranians (with a cover of Islamic radicalism of course).
He is now in the US custody, helpless and miserable. But however we have problems with the regime of Mullahs, we shouldn't let the world forget that they once were backing the same brutal man. I'm delighted to see Iranian government intends to open a case against him for the war crimes during the bloody eight year war--maybe it leads to some big scandals, especially in Europe. They weren't as anti-war activists as they are now. Ask thousands who have lost their voices, kidneys, lungs, etc. and waiting to see an end to their painful lives in hospitals in Tehran.

: Iran4Dummies subscribes to Debka's view that Saddam was not in charge but was, instead, a prisoner himself, held captive by his own men for the $25 million bounty (but they blew that).
: Nema Milaninia at Iranian truth writes about a confrontation with a student:

Yesterday afternoon a professor had brought up the issue of Saddam's arrest and asked the class what they felt about. Almost everyone was disappointed, for a variety of reasons. The professor then discussed the issue with me and I was very clear to her "If I was in your class I'd yell at every single one of your students as a human, an Iranian, a Shi'ite and a peace-loving citizen of this world." Coincidentally one of these students walked into the office as we were carrying on this discussion and the professor told the student about my stance and we consequently got into our argument. The position of the student was that no student condones what Saddam did but that they afraid that Saddam's arrest will give more weight to the American war machine. They also hate the US occupation and wish that Iraq was ruled by its own and controlled by its own. In addition, though they did not like Saddam he did represent to them a man who at least fought against the Americans, rather then be subservient to them, as so many of the other states are. In response, I told him 1) a man like Saddam, Hitler, Kissenger, Idi Amin, whatever, should never be looked upon as the defender of anything. ...

: Pejman has multiple posts on the news.
: Sassan says:

First of all to all of those Iranian soldiers who lost their lives for the 8 year battle, between Iran and Iraq, we now know the legacy of a true dictator which kills his own people.
congrats everyone

: I earlier sent you to Pedram's eloquent graphic comment. donload commview 4.1 crack

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Then what will make America safer, Mr. Dean?
: The illogic of Howard Dean's reaction to the capture of Saddam Hussein is only now fully sinking in. He said:

"The capture of Saddam is a good thing which I hope will help keep our soldiers safer. But the capture of Saddam has not made America safer."

Hmmm. That's not the best response to Joe Lieberman's statement:

If Howard Dean had his way, Saddam Hussein would still be in power today, not in prison, and the world would be a more dangerous place.

It is almost as if Dean is agreeing with Lieberman's accusation, saying that he thinks Saddam should, indeed, still be in power and not under arrest. Now I'm sure that's not what he thinks; I hope to God that's not what he thinks. But by this illogic, he's essentially saying that there was no self-interest in deposing and arresting Saddam and it makes no dofference to us whether he is in captivity.
That is on its face absurd.
That ignores the true liberal issue: The welfare and future of the Iraqi people.
That also ignores the issue of the fate of Iraq as a stable democracy -- and not as a breeding ground for terrorists who would, indeed, come attack America... or Israel... or Europe....
If Iraq stays destabilized because people were hedging their bets on the eventual success of Saddam vs. America, that is clearly more dangerous for Iraq and for us and for the world.
It's a good thing that Saddam has been captured. Dean should have said that and left it at that.
A wise president knows when to find the nearest period.donload commview 4.1 crack

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Salam speaks
: Salam Pax says all the interesting things happen when he's out of town. So he's back and he posts about the arrest of Saddam:

...but the images on TV left no chance to doubt. He looked like a tramp getting a physical and for some reason you expected him to bite that soldier's finger a la Hanibal Lecter. But he just sat there. There was another moment when the GC members were describing their meeting with Saddam and told the journalists about the deriding remarks he made when they asked him about the Sadir's assasination and the mass graves, he sounded like he has totally lost it.
I want a fully functioning Saddam who will sit on a chair in front of a TV camera for 10 hours everyday and tells us what exactly happened the last 30 years. I do not care about the fair trial thing Amnesty Int. is worried about and I don'r really care much about the fact that the Iraqi judges might not be fullt qualified, we all know he should rot in hell. but what I do care about is that he gets a public trial because I want to hear all the untold stories

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Zeyad's page
: I just went out and bought three copies of The Weekly Standard because I do believe that Zeyad's page there is a moment in journalistic history. The Standard just put up the page online (thanks). donload commview 4.1 crack

: Glenn Reynolds says this marks the end of the dictatorship of big media.donload commview 4.1 crack

: UPDATE: Ryan Pitts at the Spokesman review talked to his print editors and got a story in the paper with the views of the Iraqi bloggers. It's wonderful. I only wish I'd gotten a link....donload commview 4.1 crack

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In the rat hole
: Greg Palkot (by chance, a long-ago high-school friend) did a great report from Saddam's rat hole this morning, showing us the smarmy shack nearby and the outdoor kitchen (with what appears to be Tupperware, by the way -- American knowhow) and the pit in which he hid. Greg crawled down into the hole and came back up with wry drama repeating Saddam's words and the soldiers' reply. Great TV.donload commview 4.1 crack

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Zeyad's report
: Just what we've been waiting for: Zeyad's report on Baghdad post-Saddam. It's good we waited; it's a nuanced and sad view of all that has been lost:

Just as we expected, he was dragged out of a narrow cellar close to a small mudhut near his former stronghold in Tikirit. The timing was a surprise to Iraqis. I was beginning to doubt that he would be captured at all.
Yesterday afternoon I was still asleep when I sensed a commotion in the house, there was gunfire outside. I was a bit reluctant to get up and check since there was no power. Nabil stormed into my room shouting hysterically "They caught Saddam! They caught Saddam!". "Yeah Sure" I responded and covered my head with the blanket. I slept for another hour but the increasing gunfire and excited voices made it difficult. I got up and went out in the street, everything looked normal. I stumbled to my grandmother's house where everyone was huddled in front of the tv watching Al-Jazeera. The news were still uncomfirmed, so we waited impatiently for Bremer's press conference. When he announced "We got him" everyone in the room cheered out loud. The following video of Saddam in his long hair and beard was a shock to us all. My grandmother burst in tears.
Al-Jazeera repeated that video a hundred times in that hour. I don't know what got into me but I really felt sorry for the man. For the first time in years he looked so human. He was just a typical helpless 66-year-old Iraqi at that moment. I stared hardly at his eyes and tried to convince myself that this was the same man who destroyed Iraq and sent millions to their deaths. I found myself talking to the screen "Why did you have to do this to yourself?", "Why did you have to put us into all of this?", "Why didn't you fight back or at least kill yourself to spare us these images?".
I had no reason to, but I felt humiliated. I sank into an overwhelming depression and sadness, and I had a desperate need to get terribly drunk. I should have felt joy but I didn't. And I'm still dissapointed with myself.
I went out again, the streets were empty now, everyone was at home watching the news. Celebratory gunfire continued for hours. In the evening, I went out to fond armed teenagers filling our street carrying Saddam's pictures. They were shouting the vilest things about Sistani, Hakim, and even Ali Bin Abi Talib. Some of the mob were dressed in Fedayeen clothes with grenades and explosives in their hands. I got foolish and tried to take photographs. They dragged me in their midst and I thought this was it. Some accused me of being a spy, and others shouted "Kill the bastard". My parents and some neighbours were all over me and convinced the kids to leave me alone. After that they blocked the street and started to threaten passing cars, all the while shooting in the air. 4 or 5 IP cars showed up and the crowd dissipated. Shops closed and the streets were empty again.
I went to Omar's and told him we'd better postpone our trip to Basrah because the situation didn't look very good. I didn't go out today. It was totally different in the rest of Iraq, people were happy and danced in the streets the whole day. There is a glimmer of hope for Iraqis that Saddam's ghost won't be stalking them anymore. Some people described yesterday as the best day since April 9.

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Freudeschaden: The coalition of the pissy's Schadenfreude
: The DNC and Dean blogs are experiencing the opposite of Schadenfreude -- that is, rather than pleasure in another's pain, they are experiencing pain in others' pleasure -- with the capture of Saddam Hussein. Call it Freudeschaden.
Tim Blair finds the tears at joy on Dean's blog; Matt Drachenberg finds them on the DNC blog.
I once worked in a company where the politics were so bad that people actually wished for the company to fail so it would make their enemies look bad -- not stopping to think, of course, that such failure would backfire on them and put them out of a job.
That's the state we're in with American -- and European -- politics and the Iraq war. Some people want the U.S. and the president to fail in this war -- not stopping to think, of course, that such failure would backfire on the people of Iraq (let's see a few bleeding hearts for them and their future) and on the people of the modern world (with another base for growing terrorism). It's not just short-sighted. It's suicidally selfish.
Let me give you a hint, Deanies and DNCers: The war is not a winning issue for you. Look at the poll results here; it will only help win a primary, not the presidency. How about finding an issue that will really help people -- say, health care. How about turning the Democratic Party back into the party of positive change rather than the party of pissyness.donload commview 4.1 crack

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Coalition of the pissy update
: Juan Cole, leader of the coalition, concludes: "What happened Sunday was that the Republicans captured a former ally, with whom they had later fallen out." By this logic, Ross Perot should go hide in a hole in the ground.donload commview 4.1 crack

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Treo news
: Mobilewhack reports that Java will be brought to the Treo 600, opening up a wonderland of new software.... like blogging aps.donload commview 4.1 crack

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Brave man
: Al Franken is going on a USO tour to the Middle East. Will have have the guts to do his anit-war jokes for an armed crowd?donload commview 4.1 crack

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Attempts at anti-war humor
: Two columnists try the same lame joke. From Greg Palast at Working for Change:

Former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein was taken into custody yesterday at 8:30 p.m. Baghdad time. Various television executives, White House spin doctors and propaganda experts at the Pentagon now wrestle with the question of whether to claim PFC Jessica Lynch seized the ex-potentate or that Saddam surrendered after close hand-to-hand combat with current Iraqi strongman Paul Bremer III.

From Linwood Barcley in the Toronto Star:

Details are still a bit sketchy, but American forces in Iraq say a lot of the credit for tracking down Iraq's elusive dictator has to go to Private Jessica Lynch.
"If she hadn't decided to interrupt her book tour to come over here and give us a hand," said L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator of Iraq, "Saddam Hussein would probably still be out there somewhere and who knows when we would have found him."

The laughtrack of the pissy.donload commview 4.1 crack

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How they did it
: A nice summary of how intelligence led to Saddam.donload commview 4.1 crack

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Reuters, the wire service of the Coalition of the Pissy
: Reuters wasted no time, not even 24 hours, to piss on the good news in Iraq. You saw all those Iraqis out celebrating the capture of the despot who made their lives a living hell? Well, Reuters informs us that they weren't really celebrating. Reuters knows what they are really thinking. Reuters says they are mad at the U.S.

Joy at the capture of Saddam Hussein has given way to resentment towards Washington as Iraqis confront afresh the bloodshed, shortages and soaring prices of life under U.S. occupation.
The morning after Iraq's U.S. governor revealed the ousted strongman was a dishevelled prisoner, Iraqis flooded the streets to snatch up newspapers emblazoned with photos of the man who ruled them by fear, now humbled and captive.
Many were ecstatic to see Saddam in the dock and hoped he would answer for his deeds but said they would not rush to thank America -- in their eyes the source of their problems since a U.S.-led coalition toppled Saddam in April.

And then, in the worst journalistic tradition, the reporter picks a few man-on-the-street quotes to back up what he wants to say and then calls that news.
Well, we don't need Reuters to know what Iraqis are thinking. We have Iraqi weblogs now.donload commview 4.1 crack

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Santa Hussein
: The beard may have been gray, but Saddam sure looked like Santa to Bush and the GOP. In the adrenalin rush of the news, Bush's approval rating rose 4 points; his Iraq approval rating rose 10 points. As various commenters have said, the Dow is likely to do the whoopee dance today. But then the adrenalin wears off. It'll be more interesting to see what this does to the Democratic ranks. Anybody seen any polls yet?donload commview 4.1 crack

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