Events in the year 2006 in Iraq.
December 30 – Ex Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is executed by hanging.
Iraq (/ɪˈræk/ or i/ɪˈrɑːk/; Arabic: العراق al-‘Irāq); officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: جمهورية العراق (help·info) Jumhūriyyat al-‘Irāq), is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.
Iraq borders Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Jordan to the southwest and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south. Iraq has a narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (36 mi) on the northern Persian Gulf. The capital city, Baghdad is in the center-east of the country.
Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run through the center of Iraq, flowing from northwest to southeast. These provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land and contrast with the steppe and desert landscape that covers most of Western Asia.
Historically, Iraq was the center of the Abbasid Arabic Islamic Empire. Iraq has been known to the west by the Greek toponym 'Mesopotamia' (Land between the rivers) and has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6th millennium BC. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is often referred to as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of writing, law and the wheel. At different periods in its history, Iraq was the center of the indigenous Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Abbasid empires. It was also part of the Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires, and under British control as a League of Nations mandate.
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. (born March 31, 1948) served as the 45th Vice President of the United States (1993–2001), under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President and won the popular vote in the 2000 U.S. presidential election.
Gore is currently an author and environmental activist. He has founded a number of non-profit organizations, including the Alliance for Climate Protection, and has received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in climate change activism.
Gore was previously an elected official for 24 years, representing Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives (1977–85), and later in the U.S. Senate (1985–93), and finally becoming Vice President in 1993. In the 2000 presidential election, Gore won the popular vote by a margin of more than 500,000 votes. However, he ultimately lost the Electoral College to Republican George W. Bush when the U.S. Supreme Court settled the legal controversy over the Florida vote recount by ruling 5-4 in favor of Bush. It was the only time in history that the Supreme Court has determined the outcome of a presidential election.
Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was an English American author and journalist whose career spanned more than four decades. Hitchens, often referred to colloquially as "Hitch", was a columnist and literary critic for New Statesman, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Mirror, The Times Literary Supplement and Vanity Fair. He was an author of twelve books and five collections of essays. As a staple of talk shows and lecture circuits, he was a prominent public intellectual, and his confrontational style of debate made him both a lauded and controversial figure.
Hitchens was known for his admiration of George Orwell, Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, as well as for his excoriating critiques of various public figures including Mother Teresa, Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger and Diana, Princess of Wales. Although he supported the Falklands War, his key split from the established political left began in 1989 after what he called the "tepid reaction" of the Western left to the Rushdie Affair. The September 11 attacks strengthened his internationalist embrace of an interventionist foreign policy, and his vociferous criticism of what he called "fascism with an Islamic face." His numerous editorials in support of the Iraq War caused some to label him a neoconservative, although Hitchens insisted he was not "a conservative of any kind", and his friend Ian McEwan describes him as representing the anti-totalitarian left.
This is my final hour
I lay down my empire
Depose my arms
Renounce my throne and crown
These are my final words
Written with tears and blood
Sealed with a kiss
From this empoisoned lips
Close the gates
Caronte awaits
The bark has come for me
I'll cross the Styx
In a flaming trip
The journey of my life
The Antichrist is rising from fire, fear and lust
I'm facing my judgement day
My golden pyre is burning, I'm crumbling into dust
This is redemption time
Crawling before the infernal court
The trial to condemn my soul
I hear the hollow voices screaming to me:
"Blame and blasphemy"
Weak flesh, immoral living
These are my mortal sins
The veredict proclaims:
I shall burn in the eternal flames
Close the gates
Caronte awaits
The bark has come for me
The Antichrist is rising from fire, fear and lust
I'm facing my judgement day
My golden pyre is burning, I'm crumbling into dust
This is redemption time
Regard the dance of souls, twisting like a pale rag-
doll
With winding, stifling tongues, crackling flesh and
bones
Join in the deadly waltz
The Antichrist is rising from fire, fear and lust
I'm facing my judgement day
My golden pyre is burning, I'm crumbling into dust
Time line cold joy gone words pain flame
Bleed dreams free cry pray tears say fear
Life door burn soul
The time is near, don't waste your tears
You'll soon be free to live your dreams
Beyond the door, the trail of joy
I cross the line to meet my soul
No words, no pain, no fear, just cold
The flame of life will bleed and burn
Don't pray, don't cry, don't say I'm gone
Be strong, you'll never walk alone
Close your eyes
Leave your fears behind
And walk towards the shine
Close your eyes
Leave your fears behind
You'll never walk alone
The lights are off, the curtain falls
A stream of hope runs through my heart
Beneath the lies, the truth untold
So wise, so deep, so unforgettable
In peace you wrote your own demise
The love you left is great and beautiful
Now I'm prepared to say goodbye
Be sure, you'll never walk alone
Close your eyes
Leave your fears behind
And walk towards the shine
Close your eyes
Leave your fears behind
You'll never walk alone
Fly on your way
My angel of faith
Fly on your way
Forever, together
Closer to heaven
Close your eyes
Leave your fears behind
And walk towards the shine
Close your eyes
Leave your fears behind
Take my hand
Feel my touch
Break the spell
From my heart
Set me free
Take me home
Far from pain
Close to hope
Spread the wings
Of your dreams
Fly above
Seas of blue and gold
Day and night
Claim the sky
Moon and sun
Fall in love
Like the stars
Wish the dusk
So I pray
For my liberty
Spread the wings
Of your dreams
Fly above
Seas of blue and gold
From my eyes
Tears will flow
Like a stream
Wake up
You're trapped inside your dreams
Stand up
And fight this hollow freedom
Caught in my mind's prison-cell
Somewhere between God and hell
Rise up
A chance to change the world
Speak up
Those words that should be heard
It's your voice, it's your choice
It's never too late
Why time is killing me slowly?
I drown myself in this flood
Buried alive
Under the surface where lies
Honor and pride
Break out
The coffin of your thoughts
Dig out
The raised fist off your grave
Face your own truth
You will find your inner self
Why time is killing me slowly?
I drown myself in this flood
Buried alive
Under the surface where lies
Fury! Anger!
Suffering! Vengeance!
Sorrow! Misery!
Despair! Agony!
Treason! Anguish!
Tragedy! Terror!
Hideous! Hatred!
Painful! Inferno!
Serenity, so quietly
We ride on the wings of destiny
Eternity, so peacefully
We reach the point of majesty
Infinity, so wide and deep
Like crystal clear we dive into the magic sea
Passion! Liberty!
Honor! Glory!
Courage! Dignity!
Providence! Justice!
Violence! Prejudice!
Pardon! Mercy!
Saviour! Blasphemy!
Majesty! Inferno!
Serenity, so quietly
We ride on the wings of destiny
Eternity, so peacefully
We reach the point of majesty
Infinity, so wide and deep
Like crystal clear we dive into the magic sea
And then the treasure of shining mirrors
Glows brighter than a thousand suns
Serenity, so quietly
We ride on the wings of destiny
Eternity, so peacefully
We reach the point of majesty
Infinity, so wide and deep
Like crystal clear we dive into the magic sea
And then the treasure of shining mirrors
This is my funeral
Everyone is here
This is my funeral
Let's begin the rites
This is my funeral
I'm rid from all the pain
This is my funeral
It's time for the goodbye
This is my funeral
The saddest day of my life
This is my funeral
An ode to honor and pride
This is my funeral
Bring the red roses to my grave
This is my funeral
Pray for me and I shall be saved
Tears of sadness, tears of joy
Doleful grief, endless sorrow
Don't cry for me because I deserve
This gloomy journey
Somewhere I know there's glory and hope
All my special guests are coming, from hell
The envious crows, eagles of the doom
Black swans of death, vultures of misery
Come to me, this tormented soul is waiting
Rip off my wrecked heart
Feed from these warm entrails
Predators of my soul, come to me
Come to me, let's reach eternity
From here I can see, the eternal flames are thirsty
Higher, stronger, brighter they burn
Don't be afraid, it's just a state of mind
As soon as you'll pass, you will find the treasure
Don't be afraid, don't be afraid
Wake up and fight this hollow freedom
Stand up and be yourself for once
This is my funeral
An elegy to treachery
This is my funeral
The greatest day of my life
Praise the lord of the shadows
Join in the deadly waltz
Twist in the dance of souls
Among the madmen's crawl
This is my funeral
I see the curtain's fall
This is my funeral
Here ends all
This is my funeral
Fill your hand with hope
It's all that you need to go
Your starlight is shining in the dark
There's a place for us to smile
It's clear as the ocean's sky
Blue waters of purity and love
A purple sunset is painting my heart
Like castles of passion drawn over the stars
The falling star shines upon the path
Winding stairs are rising in the night
Climb the eternal trail of grace
So precious, so graceful and divine
The heavenly treasures you will find
All your beloved ones
Open your hand and see
Your dreams became reality
Blessed with glory and hope
Tell us the secret of love and life
Give us the answer
Why dreamers are so blind?
But higher, stronger, brighter they shine