John Cole has an interesting contrast, in a photo essay.

What Tim Blair said.

The Administration has declared a no-gloat zone, but it doesn’t apply here.

The mainstream media have not exactly covered themselves in glory. Regular readers have already read it, I’m sure, but for anyone new, I wrote this in the wake of the Afghanistan victory.

It wouldn’t have to be rewritten much to apply to this war. Better start gathering up bandages and contributing blood…errrr…printer’s ink.

That’s apparently one of the signs in Baghdad, aimed at the human shields.

I wonder if any of them are devoting some time to reflect, asking themselves, “Why do they hate us?”

The Palestinians are shocked and dismayed at the fall of Saddam’s regime. They never learn.

“This is a sad day for all the Arabs and Muslims, particularly the Palestinians,” said Nael al-Am, a 36-year-old grocery owner in Ramallah. He is one of the few merchants who still keep a large-size poster of the deposed Iraqi president. Friends describe him as a staunch supporter of Saddam.

“I invested a lot of money in buying a satellite dish and a new TV set because I wanted to watch the day the battle for Baghdad begins,” explained the bearded shopkeeper. “I was sure that this was going to be one of the great battles of the century, where an Arab army would inflict heavy losses on the invading crusaders. I feel as if a dagger has been stuck in my heart when I see American soldiers strolling in the heart of Baghdad.”

I guess there will be a lot less candy and ullulating in Gaza tonight than when the WTC fell.

They’re not all deluded, however.

“Sahhaf reminded me of [Egyptian radio propagandist] Ahmed Said, who during the 1967 war, told us that the Israeli warplanes were falling like flies,” said Abed al-Zamel, a 70-year-old retired schoolteacher from Silwad village near Ramallah. “Once again the Arabs have fallen victim to the lies of their leaders and media. We never learn from our mistakes. When the war erupted, I warned my sons not to watch Arab TV stations so they would not be disappointed and depressed when the truth eventually comes out.”

Time to start learning from your mistakes. Perhaps a free Iraqi people can teach you a few lessons.

If Saddam is still alive, I hope that he’s watching what’s happening. I wonder if he had any comprehension of how much he was despised by what he perceived to be his chattel?

Or if he cared?

So sayeth a moron at “Democratic” Underground. Others say that it’s being staged.

There are a few sensible souls there, though. Some manage to rejoice with the Iraqi people, despite their hatred of “the chimp.”

So sayeth a moron at “Democratic” Underground. Others say that it’s being staged.

There are a few sensible souls there, though. Some manage to rejoice with the Iraqi people, despite their hatred of “the chimp.”

So sayeth a moron at “Democratic” Underground. Others say that it’s being staged.

There are a few sensible souls there, though. Some manage to rejoice with the Iraqi people, despite their hatred of “the chimp.”

On one of the greatest days for human freedom in recent memory, as Iraqis, delirious with joy and disbelief that they can finally sincerely cheer in the streets as a tyrant’s statues fall, Spider Robinson is compelled to write an essay describing just how much the twenty-first century sucks.

Pieces like this really make me miss Poul Anderson and Bob Heinlein.