New Year, Same Old Sleaze

OK, I'm back. More or less. Severe sinus problems followed by a cold have had me sidelined for a few days, but my vital functions are beginning to kick back in. It's good to see that the new year is shaping up to be just as shit as the last one. Within hours of Saddam's execution, there were people using Google to try and find 'explicit pictures Saddam hanging' - I know, because their poorly defined search term brought up one of my old stories which simply contained those four words (but not in that phrasing). What kind of sick fuck looks for that sort of thing? Really? Of course, as it turned out, explicit footage of Saddam's execution really did exist. It turns out that a whole bunch of sick fucks were present at the event with their bloody video-enabled mobile phones, and happily released it in all its gruesome detail to the world. The ultimate in happy-slapping, I suppose. Maybe it will start a trend - people staging impromptu executions and recording the results on their mobiles. I'm sure it would prove an instant success on YouTube.

Anyway, getting to the point - the pictures of Saddam's execution surely plunge the human race to new low. I know that he was a very bad man and that justice had to be seen to be done, etc,. But I really don't care. Even the worst of people deserve to be given some dignity under such circumstances. Surely the way in which we treat the likes of Saddam says something about us - shouldn't it define the difference between the likes of him and the likes of us (decent human beings, or so we like to think)? The treatment he received in his last minutes was every bit as inhumane and indefensible as anything he and his lackeys were responsible for - being 'decent' human beings surely means that we don't behave in such a way. Not even to our worst enemies, or the most depraved of criminals. The only good thing to have come out of this whole distasteful business is the growing wave of revulsion amongst civilised people.

With a start this sordid, the year can only get worse. I shudder to think what further depravities and affronts to human decency 2007 has in store for us. Indeed, with regard to such things, I really must start writing for The Sleaze as a matter of urgency - illness has but me way behind schedule. Mind you, despite the lack of new material, traffic is still buoyant. Ah well, on with the show...