Personal care products sat atop a mini-refrigerator: a cake of Palmolive Naturals soap, a bottle of Dove moisturizing shampoo, a pot of moisturizing cream and a stick of Lacoste deodorant “pour homme.” Hussein wasn't starving. The kitchen held a bounty of food: brown eggs, cucumbers, carrots, apples, kiwis and flatbread, plus orange marmalade, canned meat, a jar of honey and Lipton tea.
Via Jason Kottke [1], “Small, Cluttered Refuge Was a Far Cry From Luxury [2]”
I'm not sure what struct me about this article, whether it was the sheer number of American products to be found in Iraq (and in use by Hussein as he was behing hunted by the American military) or the apparent blatant product placement in the article. Yes, I didn't expect Hussein to be drinking Lipton tea, but then again, I'm sure that the executives of Lipton tea didn't expect Hussein to be drinking their product either (“We'll pay you not to endorse our product! Don't mention it! Don't mention it!”) and I'm sure the author of the article wanted the ironic tone (even including the book Hussein was reading when captured—Crime and Punishment).
But it seems … I don't know … scary in a way. That no matter what, even with the US (United States) 4^th Infantry knocking on the entrance to your spider cave, you can't escape (literally) these important messages from our sponsors … [3]
[1] http://www.kottke.org/remainder/03/12/4845.html
[2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-