Saddam

Somehow, it's unfortunate to know that former Iraq president Saddam Hussein was executed recently. Even more, the manner by which he was executed was quite cruel - probably more so because of the photos (and videos?) that circulated on the Internet. For all the wrongs that he may have done in the past, i believe it is not right to take his life. I strongly oppose death penalty. I believe it's wrong to perpetuate violence with violence.

I remember the time when the infamy of Saddam was at its peak. I think it was in the early 90s on the height of the Gulf War. As a kid, I look at Saddam as the notorious guy - with the thick mustache and all. On the other hand, there was George Bush (the older one) - who I considered the "good guy". Scud missiles vs. Patriot missiles. Also common were the phrases "Saddam'it" and "Bushit". And of course there was the popular novelty song that went something like "Sasasaddami na problema natin"... something like that.

But then again, the execution also shows that evil does not go unpunished. Though I disagree with the hanging, it is somehow good to know that a powerful dictator was brought to justice. I just hope this is a lesson to corrupt and abusive leaders and government officials all over the world.

9/11 Remembered

All of us have our own 9/11 stories. I was a college sophomore then when the attack on the twin towers happened. I recall that we were taking an accounting examination at the cyberlib section of the main library of Silliman University. It was about 8 PM or so when I finished the exam and went straight home. When I got home, everyone was glued onto the TV screen. Apparently, there had been an air mishap as a plane hit one of the World Trade Center towers. It was incredibly eerie. How could such a tragedy happen? Later on, we were shocked both in grief and horror as another plane crashed into the other tower. Then another crashed on the Pentagon. The drama and disaster was unfolding before our very eyes. Then another plane that was reportedly on its way to the White House, crashed on a field. It was clearly a terrorist attack.

As several floors of both towers were burning, panic was all over the streets. You can see papers and documents and other debris "flying out" of the buildings. Some of these stuff were actually people who had no choice but to jump off from their windows. It was really horrific. Then the towers came crumbling down while the whole of New York was seemingly covered in smoke and ash. Those amazing (in a bad way) series of events will forever be etched in my memory.

I can't believe it has been 5 years. A lot of things happened since then. Things were discovered and some questions were answered. I've watched numerous documentaries on this, from National Geographic Specials to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911. Apparently, the tragedy would have been avoided if US officials (especially Pres. Bush) were paid more attention to intelligence reports.

Anyway, as I recall the events of 9/11, here are some cool before and after images of the tragedy which I found on the Internet: