Word: tyrants
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...That's the dilemma The First Emperor summons the passion to explore: the uneasy, sometimes fatal relationship between art and government, the composer and the tyrant. You can expect that of Zhang Yimou, who suffered serious censorship restrictions on many of his early films, but who is now in charge of the entertainment for the 2008 summer Olympic games in Beijing. In this sense, even those he has staged it half a world away, The First Emperor is a risky statement, a declaration of war ? a war of nerve ? against the Emperor, the Chairman or the censor...
Almost four years since the invasion of Iraq, many Iraqis now call for a return to the days of the former Iraqi tyrant, Saddam Hussein. Given the bloodbath that has ensued since the invasion and the sectarian violence that has taken hold in the region, this reaction comes as no surprise. Just before his defenestration, former Secretary of Defense Donald R. Rumsfeld commented in a recently leaked memo that his current plan of action for Iraq cannot hope to stabilize the region. Another leak revealed a second memo written by Stephen J. Hadley, Bush’s national security advisor...
...Sadr--were undignified even by Saddam's standards. As if to block out the barbs, Saddam loudly intoned his final prayer, the traditional Islamic invocation to God and the Prophet Muhammad. But that too was cut short: without warning, the hangman opened the trapdoor beneath his feet, and the tyrant was silenced forever...
...Would an international tribunal for Saddam, sanctioned by the U.N., have been preferable to the trial conducted by the Iraqis? As I argued before Saddam's hanging, I don't think the tyrant got a raw deal. His trial, though flawed and highly compromised by violence, ultimately resulted in a just verdict supported by the evidence. The trouble is that because the court that tried Saddam was set up by the occupying power and run by a partisan Shi'ite government, few Sunnis believed the proceedings were legitimate, or accepted the court's verdict as impartial. And that was before...
...struggling democracy fighting terror and sectarian strife. They were eager to deprecate the fact that Saddam was tried in court before courageous judges under the laws of his nation, with a chance to defend himself. They were willing to pretend it was no big deal to see a tyrant brought low, to see injustice punished and justice done...