Reuters: “Austrian rightist [slight understatement] Joerg Haider, the best-known West European politician to visit Iraq in recent years, was proudly photographed in February beside President Saddam Hussein — or was he?
A German coroner says the man Haider met was one of at least three Saddam Hussein lookalikes, men who have undergone surgery and mimic the president’s gestures and expressions perfectly.”
Projected cost of a war with Iraq: $100 – $200 Billion
Mach3 Turbo: $7.99
Hmm…
As “Chaplinitis” swept across America around 1915, Charlie Chaplin look-alike contests became a popular form of entertainment…Legend has it that Chaplin himself once entered — and lost — one of these competitions…in a San Francisco theater.” [thanks Justine]
This brings to mind what Christopher Hitchens says about Churchill’s wartime speeches:
“what was not revealed until the late 1970’s – that many of these exercises in ‘Finest Hour rhetoric were recorded and delivered by Mr. Norman Shelley, a ‘Children’s hour’ actor with a gift for mimicry”
In fact people often show a preference to fakery, Walt Disney’s hand writing was so bad, that the famous Disney signature was actually done by someone else in the studio. When some original Disney cells went up for auction in New York, those with the celebrated, but unauthentic autograph fetched less than those actually signed by Walt.
So clearly, given the chance, people will opt for the fake if it looks more like the icon, and Saddam’s moustache is an icon. Obviously alternative to war, markets crashing and having to listen to Chris Mathews is to send over a hairdresser with a Gillette and some shaving foam.