the rain is the calm before the storm

The long-awaited trial of Saddam Hussein begins nearly two years after his capture. In Baghdad with the ousted Iraqi leader defiantly questioning the validity of the court before pleading not guilty. He refused to confirm his identity telling the presiding judge: "Who are you? What is all this?"All eight defendants pleaded not guilty to charges of ordering the killing of 148 Shia men in 1982. If convicted, they could face the death penalty. Full Story...

Yup, it’s quite a farce. The trial of Saddam Hussein started today, lasting a little over three hours. It produced little of note and was adjourned until the 28th of November. Let me begin by saying that I believe that Saddam Hussein should be tried for his crimes, but by the ICC. I firmly believe that, despite assurances made by the current Iraqi government that the judiciary is both impartial and capable, the proceedings can too easily be manipulated by those currently occupying the country. Saddam Hussein is in US custody, that in itself should speak volumes.

There is little doubt that the United States is concerned about Hussein openly talking about the relationship between the Reagan administration and his government, something that would surely receive attention were an impartial court to hear the case against him. Therefore, the validity of the proceedings must immediately come into question. Given that he’s been in US custody for two years one can only speculate as to what has been discussed and/or arranged. Beyond that, the propaganda that his trial provides the Bush Administration with regards to domestic support for the war, especially amongst a crumbling conservative base, is crucial.

So much will be left out of public eye. So much will be left unaccounted for. And while vengeance and punishment will be served, nothing close to resembling justice will be grazed upon.

The rain is the calm before the storm. It is relative calm, which is to say, I'm about to jump out of my skin and have a break down in about 30 minutes. Tomorrow the same shit is going to hit the fan.

I feel like I'm in a war with myself and the randomness of existence. These tired metaphors of what people use when they cannot think of anything original to say. That’s me.What I'm feeling I cannot express here and I would never think of describing the smallest detail in this space, of trying to explain or justify the validity of my unbalanced state of mind or the fucked up situation I’m in.

I'm just trying to stave off reality for a little longer by writing this, as I’m prone to do. I started to write a blog post about freedom, faith and self-realization, you know, just get out some of the philosophical crap that's running around my head as I sit at home alone. It was going to be very short and... bam bam bam, take that bitches... but then it started to get way too long and academic because I had too much to say and too much to qualify, so I deleted it.

There are those people who like to say, 'look who I know!' and then say a bunch of names of famous theorists, philosophers, historians, etc and explain them all to you so you know that they know what is. It's a game that academics like to play. It distinguishes the learned from the unlearned. It posits the speaker as a respectable and superior person and they know it. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with talking at length about interesting, important and intellectually challenging and stimulating ideas. Even though a lot of it is just coffee house philosophizing, discussing intellectual matters with an intellectual is better than sex. Learning IS it's own reward. This post is boring compared to what I just deleted, but I'd feel like I straight up wasted my time if I didn't post something. So.... bam bam bam... take that bitches.

...or something like that.