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Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (born April 28, 1937), was the President of Iraq from July 16, 1979 until April 9, 2003, when he was deposed in the United States-led invasion of Iraq.

Under the guidance of his uncle, he attended a nationalistic secondary school in Baghdad. In 1957, at age 20, Saddam joined the revolutionary pan-Arab Ba’ath Party, of which his uncle was a supporter.

In 1958, a year after Saddam had joined the Ba’ath party, army officers led by General Abdul Karim Qassim overthrew Faisal II of Iraq. The Ba’athists opposed the new government, and in 1959, Saddam was reportedly involved in the attempted United States-backed plot to assassinate Prime Minister Qassim.

Army officers with ties to the Ba’ath Party overthrew Qassim in a coup in 1963.

Ba’athist leaders were appointed to the cabinet and Abdul Salam Arif became President. Arif dismissed and arrested the Ba’athist leaders later that year. Saddam returned to Iraq,

but was imprisoned in 1964. He escaped prison in 1967 and swiftly became a leading member of the party.

In 1968, Saddam participated in a bloodless coup led by Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr that overthrew Abdul Rahman Arif. Al-Bakr was named President and Saddam was named his deputy.

Saddam soon became the regime’s strongman. According to biographers, Saddam never forgot the tensions within the first Ba’athist government, which informed his measures to promote Ba’ath party unity as well as his resolve to maintain programs to ensure social stability.

As a leading member of the Iraqi Ba’ath Party, which espoused pan-Arabism, economic modernization, and Arab socialism, Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup that brought his party to long-term power.

As vice president under his cousin, General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, Saddam tightly controlled conflicts by cementing firm authority over the apparatus of government.

In 1976, Saddam rose to the position of general in the Iraqi armed forces. He rapidly became the strongman of the government. Saddam was integral to U.S. policy in the region.

As Iraq’s elderly President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr became increasingly unable to execute his duties, Saddam took on an increasingly prominent role as the face of the government both internally and externally.

He soon became the architect of Iraq’s foreign policy and represented the nation in all diplomatic situations. He was the de facto ruler of Iraq some years before he formally came to power in 1979. He slowly began to consolidate his power over Iraq’s government and the Ba’ath party. Relationships with fellow party members were carefully cultivated, and Saddam soon gained a powerful circle of support within the party.

As President, Saddam maintained power through the Iran-Iraq War (19801988) and the Gulf War (1991).

While he remained a popular hero among many Arabs for standing up to Israel and the United States, some in the international community continued to view Saddam with deep suspicion following the 1991 Gulf War.

Saddam was deposed by the United States and its allies during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and captured by U.S. forces on December 13, 2003.

He stood trial for crimes against humanity before the Iraq Special Tribunal, which was established by the Iraqi Interim Government.

The Tribunal awarded him the death sentence and his appeal was rejected by the judge of the special court three days ago.

Afterwards, on Saturday, December 30, 2006, he was hanged to death.

Visiting Orlando is an experience of its own kind and there is nothing which even comes close to the thrills and excitement Orlando has to offer.

The main attractions at Orlando are Disney world and Universal studies and if you are planning to visit Orlando it would be wise to book your Disney tickets in advance as in my opinion tickets are more costly at the gates and the queues run into hundreds of yards in holiday season and I would imagine things aren’t very much different other wise either.If you think you are brave enough to wait in the long never ending queues to get the tickets then think again because its not just the long wait the other problem is that you will find different packages at the gates as compared to what is offered online and you will be standing half an hour thinking which tickets to get so be wise and book your Disney Tickets online.

One more tip before you set off to Orlando.You will not need a car there as everything is pretty close by and those hopper busses run all the time and are dirt cheap.

Happy holidays

One of India’s most powerful insurgent leaders, a devout Christian, sang “Silent Night, Holy Night” on Monday to supporters in New Delhi and said he hoped for “better things” to end a revolt that has killed thousands.Thuingaleng Muivah, general secretary of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), which is fighting for an independent homeland for Naga tribals in the remote northeast, was making a rare visit to New Delhi for informal talks with Indian officials.

Around 20,000 people have been killed in the Naga revolt since 1947, and the two sides have found no political solution despite more than 50 rounds of peace talks since a 1997 truce. The Nagas are known as fierce warriors and devout Christians.

Muivah, who is in his early 70s, sang in front of around 200 Naga students and rebel leaders in a government house in the capital, watched by stern-faced Indian intelligence agents.

“Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm, all is bright, round yon virgin, mother and child, holy infant so tender and mild,” sang Muivah, his deep voice drawing loud applause from the audience, seated in a large tent decorated with balloons.

Behind Muivah was a banner with “Merry Christmas” written in white letters. Nearby, a Christmas tree twinkled with multi-coloured lights as fellow guerrillas and students joined him in singing the carol.

THE GLOWING ‘white’ faces of Bollywood’s leading men and women stare out from the gaudy packaging on dozens of beauty creams piled ceiling high in the chaotic bustle of a Delhi pharmacy.Fair and Handsome, Lady Diana Whitening Beauty Cream, Milky Skin Now the brands’ purpose needs no imagination.

Skin-whitening creams are marketed aggressively in India, where ‘good, healthy’ looks are seen as the key to a successful life, not just for women but increasingly for men, who are having plastic surgery, too.

Nose jobs, fat removal by liposuction, genital surgery and facelifts are fashionable among the new rich, who also have botox to banish frown lines and eye bags.

“More and more wealthy young Indian men are getting surgery before they get married and in many cases to help them find a perfect match,” said Narendra Pandya who is one of India’s leading surgeon with a diploma from the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

“If one is handsome or beautiful in India, one doesn’t have to look for a job.

“The job will come to you. The new middle class understands the importance of appearance.”

Dr Anup Dhir, a senior consultant at the Apollo hospital, said the most popular operation for men was the nose job, or rhinoplasty, starting at £500.

Removing a scar cost from £300 and liposuction begins at £900.

Many young men consulting Dr Rashmi Taneja, a surgeon at Ganga Ram Hospital, want to look like their screen heroes.

“My patients range from rich young men wanting to look like the Bollywood star John Abraham and get married as quickly as possible, to executives who have an image to maintain.”

Social scientist Ajai Liu Niumai believes Indians want to exploit a bias towards a light skin.

Indians are conditioned over the ages to believe the “low castes” have a dark complexion and “higher classes” are fair.

The fashion for plastic surgery was linked to this.

“A few decades ago, men in south India considered plump and not-so-fair-skinned women attractive.

“But now they find slim, fair-skinned women from the north and the Indian diaspora the most beautiful of all.”

An increasing number of foreigners, many of them British Asians, are flying in for cheap operations. India has launched an aggressive campaign to sell itself as a medical tourism hub.

But the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons has expressed doubts about the quality of practices abroad.

The association also suggests some botched operations are left for the public health service at home to sort out when patients return home.

There is always a time when you never know what accessories to buy, accessories which are different and make you look elegant when you wear them. Wearing accessories is a must as they make your dress and you look good all round. It doesn’t matter what the accessory is whether its something small like a set of earrings or something big like a handbag it will make the world of a difference. Belisi Fashions is where you will find your desired accessories to match your outfits. Belisi fashions provide a wide range of ties, scarves, handbags and may other accessories. These accessories are unique and extraordinary. Belisi fashions not only provide accessories but also helps you choose the right ones and gives you advice on textures and styles of products.

The double Bench of Rajasthan High Court on Friday once again permitted entry of vehicles in Ranthambore national park.

Modifying the court’s earlier order, the double Bench in its judgement allowed entry of vehicles till the next hearing slated on January 16.

An order by a single Bench of Rajasthan HC on December 8 had restrained private owners from operating their vehicles inside the national park.

As the sanctuary and tourism department officials do not operate their vehicles inside the park and only private operators ply vehicles inside on valid permits, thousands of tourists had to leave the area disappointed.

A few days back, the same court while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) had also asked the state government to furnish a tourism plan for Ranthambore.

The court in its order observed that tiger conservation is of prime importance. The local tourism industry was badly hit by the ban.

While several of the tourists had started to return back, others were busy cancelling bookings.

Industry analysts say in the last 14 days since the ban was imposed, the tourism industry here must have suffered loss of over Rs 4-5 crores, including a loss of revenue of Rs 5-6 lakh daily, through sale of entry tickets, to the tourism department.

Online studies are the newest trend these days as people’s lives are becoming more and more busy and the expenses of higher education getting out of reach of the comman man.

The best thing about online education is that you can do your studies from the comfort of your home and can save the time you would have spent going to and from the university and if you add that time up it becomes a lot of time per week which you would be spending doing somthing productive if you opt for an online course.

There are a lot of online courses available and a lot of make shift so called universities cropping up these days but not all of them are operating legally and there can be nothing worse then spending a couple of years to get a certificate and finding out that its not even recognised anywhere, so the best way to go is enroll with some reputed university like Capella University which has been there since 1993 and offers 76 graduate and undergraduate specializations and 16 certificate specializations.You can even complete an online phd with them.

In a relief to passengers who are left stranded at airports owing to flight cancellation and delays due to technical snags, the State Consumer Commission has held that airlines operating from Delhi will have to pay a compensation of Rs 10,000 each to domestic travellers if the delay exceeded two hours.“Every airline operating from Delhi shall pay a minimum compensation of Rs 10,000 to every domestic passenger in case there is delay in departure and arrival of two hours or more than the schedule time…,” Justice J D Kapoor, president of the commission, said in a common order.

The commission also ordered that all the affected passengers of international flights would be paid Rs 20,000 each as compensation.

Late running, cancellation of flights, offloading of consumers with confirmed status of ticket and traffic congestion in the air and on the ground have become the order of the day, said Justice Kapoor adding, “they cause enormous mental agony, harassment and physical discomfort which are not assessable in terms of money”.

The commission, however, observed that the delays caused due to inclement weather, tyre bursts, which are beyond control of the service providers, did not entitle passengers to get compensation.

The order came on an appeal filed by Alliance Air Limited (AAL) against the verdict of a District Consumer Forum which had asked it to pay Rs 6,000 as compensation to one Daljit Singh Nirman who could not attend the meeting at Jammu as his flight got delayed by six hours at Delhi airport.

As per Nirman, a resident of Janak Puri here, his flight to Jammu on September 26, 1999 was scheduled to leave Delhi at 10.10 am.

On his arrival at the airport, he was informed that the flight would leave two hours after the schedule time whereas it finally took off after a wait of about six hours.

Later, he approached the forum which allowed his complaint.

Against this, AAL appealed to the commission which not only dismissed its appeal but issued a general order binding all airlines operating from Delhi to compensate their passengers for flight delays.

Count me as another happy iPod user. I’ve got a 2nd Gen 10 Gig (that I’m constantly juggling songs on when I find new stuff that I need to shoehorn onto it). Other than it getting a little flaky when I loaded a Linux OS onto it a couple of years ago to play some games (I reinstalled the software and all was fine), and a battery that drains too quickly in cold weather (I’ve gotta get a car charger), it still works like a champ. Apple has added a few welcome software features since I’ve owned it as well, including a better shuffle option and podcast download support. But I’ll buy a new one in a heartbeat when it dies so I can watch movies and TV shows (ripped and purchased from iTunes) and have a lot more songs in my pocket and car.

The reason that the iPod has been able to penetrate the market is because the iPod is, by and large, a wonderful piece of electronics. It isn’t perfect, but neither is much else in this world. I have two fourth-generation 40GB iPods, and I’m not willing to trade them in for anything else quite yet - certainly not for the Zune.