No Buyer Yet For Saddam Hussein’s Bond Villain Yacht

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A few weeks ago, I posted the story of a life-size replica of the White House in Atlanta that had gone into foreclosure—evidence, perhaps, of the recession reaching the upper rungs of the economic ladder (or of a sudden and unexpected outbreak of good taste among the monied elite.) In that vein, today I offer this story about how Saddam Hussein’s custom-built, Bond-villain yacht has gone without a buyer for months and is now being returned to Iraq for storage.

The 270-foot “Basrah Breeze” (also known as the “Ocean Breeze” and “Qadissiyet Saddam”) is decorated in the garish style of the deceased Iraqi dictator, complete with mahogany trim, gold bathroom fixtures, and plush carpets. And in case you happen to be a fugitive from Interpol or involved in a blood feud with an American president, the vessel also features a missile launcher and a secret escape hatch leading to a mini-submarine. Everything an aspiring Dr. Evil might require and all for the bargain price of $30 million. For all these amenities, Saddam himself never overnighted in his yacht, fearing a political uprising if he were to take to the seas even for a few hours.

The Iraqi government won the yacht from a Jordanian company in a court case last year and is apparently surprised (and not a little disappointed) that a buyer has not yet been found. The decision to bring the Basrah Breeze back to its home port in the Persian Gulf from its current home in the Greek port of Piraeus will save “docking and crew costs,” said an Iraqi government spokesman, who went on to say that it has proven difficult to sell the yacht “in the current circumstances with the world dealing with the financial crisis.”

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

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