He Who Represents Himself...

Charles Taylor, the deposed and despotic ex-leader of Liberia, refuses to participate in his sham of a war trimes trial at The Hague, saying that his resources are limited and he can't be sure of a fair trial. Taylor is accused of acts of genocide in Sierra Leone during his 14-year reign, before he exiled himself to Nigeria, who turned him over to international authorities (because Robert Mugabe can't be trusted either).

So, in order to make sure he gets the BEST defense possible, he's doing it himself, thus giving him the opportunity to pull a Slobodan Milosevich and act like a pudding-faced lunatic for four years, eventually dying before a foregone conclusion formality verdict is reached.

Either way, it looks like diamonds aren't forever after all...