Variant Ides
Now that the only readers I have left are the NSA, FBI, and White House I'll go back to posting innocuous curiosities: Today is the Ides of March. The Ides of May is May 15th; the Ides of July is July 15th, and the Ides of October is October 15th. The Ides of the remaining months are on the 13th day of those months. I have no idea what that's all about, but I bet one of my CIA readers can explain it.
posted by Aethlos at 12:16 AM
3 Comments:
Speaking of Caesar, I was listening to coverage of Sadam's trial on NPR when it occured to me that Sadam's broadcasted anti-US message just may resonate very well with the psychology of a war-weary public in Iraq. I wonder what it would take for this judicial process to unravel? And what would it take for Iraqi people to crave the return of Might Makes Right? Here's Shakespeare's Caesar from Anthony and Cleopatra (I:iv) "It hath been taught us from the primal state, / That he which is was wish'd until he were; / And the ebb'd man, ne'er loved till ne'er worth love, / Comes dear'd by being lack'd." There's a Pheonix from the ashes story just waiting to happen here. And if the public is too tired to endure the formation of a federation, and if the US is too in(com)p(e)otent to help it along, they could easily fall back into the lap of another dictator, perhaps the same one, if he reappeared to them as a New Man.
i think this is fantastic... WOW. THANK YOU!
Possible, except I think Saddam really came to power because western governments (ours included) thought he would be a stabilizing force there because of his religious moderation and his willingness to do business with the West. It is certainly possible that Iraq could have another dictator, but I don't think it will be Saddam because he certainly doesn't have western support, he doesn't have al Qaeda support, and the Sunni minority have permanently lost their stranglehold on the country. I think there is a good possibility the Sunnis will spring him from jail, though. As much as I recognize the symbolic importance of trying him in Iraq under the new constitution, I have always felt he belonged in the International Criminal Court.
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