General Ramblings

Well, it seems that there's been a lot of hits on my website and all in the last little while, so I decided to break from my vacation and write and entry so that people will have something to read. :)

I don't know even where to begin, since there umpteen different things going on, but I think the best way to do it might be to use a handy-dandy list:

1) The Capture of Saddam Hussein -- I'm not going to get into this since I don't think there's anything new to be said after the media frenzy. I did what to reiterate a couple of points though. First is that this is great news for Bush's reelection campaign. Now that they have him though, the only problem now is how to go about trying him for crimes against humanity. I personally think using Iraqi courts are the wrong way to go, since there will be many questions as to whether he will be able to receive a fair trial. My next thought was the ICC, but the United States is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and I'm pretty sure that there is an internal limitation to the treaty specifying that the crimes must occur after the ratification of the treaty. That might leave a special tribunal like the one they have for Yugoslavia, but I'm honestly not really up on the mechanics of the process.

2) Paul Martin -- Well, I've heard everything from the modern saviour of the Liberal Party to the cause of its demise, but not much in between. It should be interesting to see how the new cabinet works out, although it's really just a temporary fix until the election in spring 2004. I'm not saying anything yet.

3) Assassination attempt on Musharraf -- Perhaps a little underreported given the other things that have been going on, but it shows how close we are to having a possible anarchy on our hands in Pakistan. If having a country with nuclear weapons fall into anarchy is bad, having a neighbour with both nuclear weapons and a shaky relationship is even worse. I'm sure there must be a backup plan for the world community if something like this is ever successful - I just hope it's better than the post-war plan in Iraq.

4) Wesley Clark to give testimony -- This isn't a major news story, but I thought it was an interesting tidbit that might be overlooked. Poor Wesley Clark - he had so much going for him when he started out and it was almost completely squandered. Hopefully he'll learn his lessons in time to receive the VP nomination.

5) Saw Evanescence on Much Music today -- she's got a great voice, but mysteriously doesn't look like she does in the music videos. She's far from being unattractive, but it looks like her face and arms gained about fifteen pounds. I also assumed she was around 30 from the videos but in the interview she looked much younger. I watched an hour of her answering questions and I still have no idea what her deal is. OK music though.