Lessons in Headline Writing

Yesterday the media reported on the death of Saddam Hussein's right-hand man, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. Up until his demise, he was the highest-ranking member of Saddam's regime still at large.

Yahoo's headline on this story was Report Says Saddam's Number Two Is Dead.

And I thought "Man, do we really need to know every intimate detail of this guy's life?"

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OK, if obscure scatological humor isn't your thing, here's a picture of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? How does a retired Irish cop get to be Saddam Hussein's right-hand man? When the hell did William H. Macy join the Baath Party?