Crime & Punishment

"A capital punishment is always tragic news, a reason for sadness, even if it deals with a person who was guilty of grave crimes. The position of the Church [against capital punishment] has been restated often. The killing of the guilty party is not the way to reconstruct justice and reconcile society. On the contrary, there is a risk that it will feed a spirit of vendetta and sow new violence. In these dark times for the Iraqi people, one can only hope that all responsible parties truly make every effort so that glimmers of reconciliation and peace can be found in such a dramatic situation."
-Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi

A Human Test

"The test of a government's commitment to human rights is measured by the way it treats its worst offenders. History will judge these actions harshly."
-Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch

Saddam's Last Letter

Indian sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik gives finishing touches to a sand sculpture titled Fate Of Saddam at the Puri beach Bhubaneswar in the Indian state of Orissa, on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006. (Courtesy: Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

Excerpts from a letter in the name of Saddam Hussein posted on a website on Wednesday:

To the great nation, to the people of our country, and humanity,

Many of you have known the writer of this letter to be faithful, honest, caring for others, wise, of sound judgment, just, decisive, careful with the wealth of the people and the state ... and that his heart is big enough to embrace all without discrimination.

You have known your brother and leader very well and he never bowed to the despots and, in accordance with the wishes of those who loved him, remained a sword and a banner. This is how you want your brother, son or leader to be ... and those who will lead you (in the future) should have the same qualifications.

Here, I offer my soul to God as a sacrifice, and if He wants, He will send it to heaven with the martyrs, or, He will postpone that ... so let us be patient and depend on Him against the unjust nations.
Remember that God has enabled you to become an example of love, forgiveness and brotherly coexistence ...

I call on you not to hate because hate does not leave a space for a person to be fair and it makes you blind and closes all doors of thinking and keeps away one from balanced thinking and making the right choice ...

I also call on you not to hate the peoples of the other countries that attacked us and differentiate between the decision-makers and people ... Anyone who repents — whether in Iraq or abroad — you must forgive him ...

You should know that among the aggressors, there are people who support your struggle against the invaders, and some of them volunteered for the legal defense of prisoners, including Saddam Hussein ...

Some of these people wept profusely when they said goodbye to me ...
Dear faithful people, I say goodbye to you, but I will be with the merciful God who helps those who take refuge in him and who will never disappoint any faithful, honest believer ... God is Great ... God is great ... Long live our nation ... Long live our great struggling people ... Long live Iraq, long live Iraq ... Long live Palestine ... Long live jihad and the mujahideen.

— Saddam Hussein President and Commander in Chief of the Iraqi Mujahid Armed Forces

Additional clarification note:
I have written this letter because the lawyers told me that the so-called criminal court — established and named by the invaders — will allow the so-called defendants the chance for a last word. But that court and its chief judge did not give us the chance to say a word, and issued its verdict without explanation and read out the sentence — dictated by the invaders — without presenting the evidence. I wanted the people to know this.

Something History Has No Record of...

A decent provision for the poor is the true test of a civilization.
-Samuel Johnson

Such a civilization is not known to exist ever...
-Vinod Dave

Heard

If life is boring, risk it...

Three Responses of Picasso

1) When Picasso was asked to judge children's art: " What they could do took 75 years for me to learn."

2) When asked for an artist's statement: Picasso wrote alphabets from a to z and handed it over as one.

3) In his early career, an American woman bought a Picasso painting for $ 20,000 and asked him the meaning of the art work. Picasso answered: "Nothing more than that you have paid $20,000 for it!"

Be Afraid...

Human beings are never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond all doubt that they are right.

-Van de Post
The Lost World of Kalahari

Lust For Life

The emotions are sometimes so strong that I work without knowing it. The strokes come like speech.

-Vincent Van Gogh

Courage

Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.

Seneca, Letters to Lucilius

Erase Identity

Erase all artists' signatures from all the art works and erase our memories of who the great artists were who created those works. Then look at those works once more and see if they still claim the same amount of importance as they did before the erasure. At that moment, decide if all great art works end up in museums. We are so stupid to believe in famous names and not to believe in some genuine unknown and under-known artists who do not make it there.

Vinod Dave

Death

Death is very personal. You don't make it to suit others.

Tom Shooter, a New York based gay artist who was an abstract painter all his life and became a figurative painter after his lover's death to depict his relationship in order to be able to cope with his loss and did so till he died in 2004.