# I gotta hand it to Saddam. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 20, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068 "2005-10-20T13:08:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068/21 "2005-10-21T02:22:20Z")
I guess he’s just doing The Last Great Act Of Defiance. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068/22 "2005-10-21T03:26:04Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Is sociopath an actual disorder? ( pardon my blazing ignorance.) It’s more or less filed under [antisocial personality disorder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociopathy) in the DSM-IV. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068/23 "2005-10-21T03:42:25Z")
He’s as hard to read as ever, that’s for sure. I expect he really thinks he’ll get out of this and get back in power. He has probably not suffered from low self-opinion since he was a poor child with a stepfather who neglected him and a mother who didn’t want to have him in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Good\_Egg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Good\_Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Good_Egg)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068/24 "2005-10-21T04:27:21Z")
Nobody wants a _boring_ trial, now. I heard today Michael jackson was called for jury duty. You think…? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068/25 "2005-10-21T14:00:06Z")
This just in: [Saddam’s trial lawyer found dead.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4363582.stm) . It’s gotten messy already. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068/26 "2005-10-21T14:10:37Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > This just in: [Saddam’s trial lawyer found dead.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4363582.stm) . > It’s gotten messy already. Well, it won’t be boring. Any bets on an outside-based prison break attempt? He’s got a lot of his old boys’ club still runnin’ around… ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068/27 "2005-10-22T00:31:03Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > Why not? If he’s accused of thousands of crimes, shouldn’t each be examined and weighed based on their merits? > > I remember before the war, there was a thread about Saddam. Someone claimed that he and his sons were killing people by slowly feeding them through a plastic shredder. My bullshit meter went off, and I asked if there was any evidence of such a thing, or just rumors. (Remember Kuwaiti babies thrown from incubators, anyone?) Some smart Doper searched for commercial plastic shredders capable of shredding a person, and was not able to find any near large enough for the task. > > Each of the charges needs to be examined properly. If they just want to try him for a single murder, convict and execute him, so be it, but if all of the accusations I’ve heqard floated are piled on in the indictment, justice shouldn’t be dispensed by assuming if he’s guilty of one crime, he must be guilty of them all. You have a point, but there’s no denying that old Saddie’s **evil** , and I seriously doubt that in even the most unbiased court, he’d be found “not guilty” of everything he’s accused of. (Frankly, I have to wonder why they’re bothering to try him and don’t simply go ahead and execute him.) I think that the reason Saddie’s putting up such a fight is because he knows its the only chance he’s got of staying alive. If he can cow the judges, then they might _not_ have him sent before the firing squad. Also, the longer he ties up the trial, the longer he stays alive. ---
**Author:** ![Omphaloskeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bcef8e/32.png) [@Omphaloskeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omphaloskeptic)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068/28 "2005-10-22T02:20:06Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > I remember before the war, there was a thread about Saddam. Someone claimed that he and his sons were killing people by slowly feeding them through a plastic shredder. My bullshit meter went off, and I asked if there was any evidence of such a thing, or just rumors. (Remember Kuwaiti babies thrown from incubators, anyone?) Some smart Doper searched for commercial plastic shredders capable of shredding a person, and was not able to find any near large enough for the task. Regardless of whetther this actually happened, if the search didn’t find any existing commercial shredders large enough then it can’t have been a very thorough search. A link to a bunch of videos from [SSI (Shredding Systems, Inc.)](http://ssiworld.com/watch/watch-en.htm) made the rounds a while ago; several of those shredders are shown handling steel drums, refrigerators, sofas, etc.: plenty large enough for a person. > [@](#): > > Each of the charges needs to be examined properly. If they just want to try him for a single murder, convict and execute him, so be it, but if all of the accusations I’ve heqard floated are piled on in the indictment, justice shouldn’t be dispensed by assuming if he’s guilty of one crime, he must be guilty of them all. Um, what are you talking about here? I’m sure you can find and read the indictment if you care enough, and it doesn’t include “all of the accusations [you’ve] heard floated.” The current trial is actually quite specific and deals with a single incident (Dujail), which (your BS meter will be happy to hear) involves neither babies in incubators nor plastic shredders. And, though I don’t claim to be an expert on the court’s legal procedures, I don’t think the court is operating under the rule that if he’s found guilty of that crime, then he must also be responsible for all the evil under the sun. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068/29 "2005-10-22T03:43:51Z")
> [@Omphaloskeptic](#): > > Regardless of whetther this actually happened, if the search didn’t find any existing commercial shredders large enough then it can’t have been a very thorough search. A link to a bunch of videos from [SSI (Shredding Systems, Inc.)](http://ssiworld.com/watch/watch-en.htm) made the rounds a while ago; several of those shredders are shown handling steel drums, refrigerators, sofas, etc.: plenty large enough for a person. Huh. [Beavis]Well I’ll be damned.[/Beavis] Upon examining the site, I’ll just ask you instead of downloading the videos: the rumor was specific that it was a _plastic_ shredder. Is the one which shreds the sofa specifically for that purpose? > [@](#): > > Um, what are you talking about here? I’m sure you can find and read the indictment if you care enough, and it doesn’t include “all of the accusations [you’ve] heard floated.” The current trial is actually quite specific and deals with a single incident (Dujail), which (your BS meter will be happy to hear) involves neither babies in incubators nor plastic shredders. And, though I don’t claim to be an expert on the court’s legal procedures, I don’t think the court is operating under the rule that if he’s found guilty of that crime, then he must also be responsible for all the evil under the sun. I didn’t mean to imply I thought all of the floating rumors were included in the indictment. I phrased myself badly. What I meant was that some people don’t really think that there _needs_ to be a trial-- that he’s guilty of almost anything and everything. Every charge has to be throroughly examined. A trial involving a guy who shoots someone while holding up a liquor store can be swift because there may only be a handful of people connected with the crime-- maybe one or two witnesses, the guy who sold him the gun, someone who bought the stolen goods . . . Saddam’s crimes involved a Cast of Thousands. Dozens of army people, politicians, myriad victims, dozens of witnesses, documentation-- it’d take a long time to comb through all of that shit even if it’s only done in a cursory fashion. This one single incident could take a _loooooong_ time to sort out if it’s done correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068/30 "2005-10-22T19:19:03Z")
> [@Saddam Hussein](#): > > _Its not my fault that Im so evil > Its society, > society. > You see, my parents were sometimes abusive > And it made a prick of me! > But I can change, I can change! > I can learn to keep my promises I know it! > I’ll open up my heart and I will show it! > Any minute now I will be born again!_ I’m just impressed that, at age 68, he ruffed it up with a couple of guards and, aparrently, won. Good for you, Saddam. You’ve done one thing that made me smile among hundreds of things that make me want to puke. I wish more pieces of shit like this got their comeuppance. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068/31 "2005-10-22T19:31:41Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Could you imagine Cindy Sheehan saying she wanted to drink Bush’s blood? Well… now that you mention it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-hand-it-to-saddam/327068.md?page=1)