"Europe is now seeing what was elected. Without his teleprompter telling him what to say, he is not capable of a decent speech. He also continually referred to the Prime Minister as 'Gordon'....gave the Queen an ipod of his speeches (remember the movies he gave Mr. Brown?) and again enlightened those watching, that indeed, he is a lightweight, empty suit. The world, without the filter of the American liberal press, will soon see the cartoon figure that has been elected."
#2
Mr. Toad lives in London or Man Crush. Either way it's not pretty. Anyway, it looks like Gordon Malenkov has finally found his Stalin. Did Barak look away from the teleprompter and call him Melanie yet?
Posted by: ed ||
04/02/2009 14:48 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Michelle HUGGED the Queen!!!!! I laughed...and laughed...and laughed but I'm not sure who will have the last laugh over this breach of etiquette.
Maybe it's finally time to face the reality staring us from the wall the experiment has failed and the Quaid's dream is a distant and rapidly receding memory. Everything that could have gone wrong in a nation's sixty-year history has indeed gone horribly wrong. Looking back over the years, there are few glories but a growing string of calamities. A few sporting glories here and there briefly managed to camouflage a system built on the most rotten of foundations: corruption. But it couldn't last.
With no illusions to either being a political analyst, this writer can only offer what can be termed as an honest layman's point of view. The way it appears to these untrained eyes is that this nation has been ruled by a coterie of the privileged few since its inception in 1947. The poverty stricken populace is represented by a perpetually toothless parliament by people who are among the wealthiest in the land, having been born into families that own tracts of land that stretch as far as the eye can see. This is a country where a Seven Star monstrosity is being erected at the cost of billions for the rich and famous to congregate and sip their imported lattes while 90 percent of the people struggle to find clean water to make a cup of tea. There would be joy among the masses if the Taliban ripped down this obscene tower of wealth and symbol of social injustice.
Maybe it is time to welcome the Taliban with open arms because in actuality it is a movement driven and fuelled by extreme depravation, injustice and poverty, rather than any religious scriptures. The Taliban would be far more representative of 90 percent of the masses than almost all of the people occupying seats in our National Assembly today or any other year of our miserable history.
If the Taliban sweep to power -- as they are destined to, unless there is a dramatic, impossible reversal in the way wealth, resources and justice are shared in this country -- the only person to suffer would be you and I: "The Haves." We, seven percent of the population who read English-language newspapers and watch English-language TV stations and watch pirated Hollywood movies and have a "liberal" outlook that is western-leaning in orientation, would find our lifestyles stifled. How would the common man's lot be any worse than it already is under our successive civilian or military governments? The Taliban will one day come to power because those who "have" in this country have never given an inch to those who have nothing.
On the one hand, we have in our Parliament individuals representing the poverty stricken masses who can hardly count how many acres of land they own. On the other, there are those who toil night and day to put together a square meal because they haven't an inch of land they can call their own. The feudal landowning classes are the ones who have by their 60 years of avarice invited the Taliban in, and hopefully when the Taliban do arrive, the first thing they do is redistribute land and wealth based on people's talent and hard work, rather than the fortune of being born a landowning parasite.
The second set of parasites have been the military and the corrupt bureaucracy who time and again have tasted and been seduced by fruits of power and have slowly but surely attempted to turn the state into a perfect example of modern fascism. Then there is the denial syndrome and the conspiracy-theory syndrome, which leave us living in a delusional, detached world several steps removed from reality. Each time we stumble, it's always because of a "hidden hand," or those who want to "tarnish the image of Pakistan," but it can never, ever be of our own making. Anyway, let's keep things simple: the Taliban are not interested in wasting their time tarnishing anything, what they want is to rule of Pakistan, a goal they have stated in no uncertain terms. But the current favourite explanation for any of the countless atrocities we are surrounded by is that "the terrorists could not possibly have been Pakistanis, because no Muslim would kill his own people." History would beg to differ, as more Muslims have been slaughtered by fellow Muslims than by those nasty "infidels," and continue to be slaughtered.
From what could be made out through our TV networks, none of the attackers of the Sri Lankan team were Japanese or Canadians, or Nepalese Hindus carrying Norwegian SIM cards, or indeed Martians. They were, each single one of them, men born into the Muslim faith. The sole terrorist captured at the slaughter at the Police Academy likewise uttered only three words as he was captured "I am Muslim," and even then we have experts and anchors claiming "no Muslim or Pakistani can be involved in terrorism." Which must mean that the Taliban are made up of non-Muslims pretending to be Muslims? Is that what the official line of denial is?
Let's also face it: the Indians would be deranged if they, with their "hidden hand," are encouraging a Taliban revolution in Pakistan, because with 100-million-plus disaffected Muslims there, it would hardly take long for the flames of Taliban terror to start firing in India as well once they have dealt with Pakistan, seemingly some time fairly soon.
The Americans, despite their best intentions, remain completely and woefully off-target in so many respects. First up, the entire neutral and Muslim world judges them to a large extent upon their actions in respect to the Middle East problem and the matter of Palestine. If only the Americans would even pretend to make the odd token meaningless vote once every ten years censuring Israel for its catalogue of brutalities against human rights and the Geneva Convention it would help pacify millions of inflamed passions. Alas, the Americans are never seen to be attempting even a façade of justice when it comes to the Palestinian issue, and each additional Israeli aggression inflames and arouses passions, adding thousands to the Taliban's recruitment drive.
Then there is the small matter of their constantly supporting the wrong side. Alas, throughout history, the Americans have almost always ended up supporting Third World leaders who end up turning on their own peoples. Countless corrupt generals have been propped up by US governments in the short-sighted effort to secure their own goals, whether it was to contain communism or obtain markets, or both. The party line is the noble cause of spreading "freedom and democracy." But, certainly, nothing in this world comes without strings attached, and American-backed democracy usually comes with economic dependence and servitude contained in the small print.
Why don't we see the American ambassador ever opening schools for the poor or opening hospitals for the masses of Pakistan? Why don't they even attempt to win hearts by occasionally siding with the people of Pakistan rather than with our blood-sucking leaders? Surely, they realise that the billions that are pumped into the country in the name of the "War on Terror" are just a way for a parasitic elite to feast on the spoils while the masses continue to rot. Most have already started shipping their enormous wealth abroad to safety in their plush apartments in New York, London, Paris, Barcelona and Dubai. The paintings, the carpets, the jewels, suits and gowns have already reached safely and it's a matter of time before the exodus of the elite that occurred in Iran in 1979 is re-enacted here in Pakistan. The question is: will it be weeks, months or a year or two? Unless there is an immediate turnaround in the manner in which wealth, opportunity and justice are distributed in this country, Pakistan is doomed and most certainly the Quaid's Pakistan will, alas! never come to pass. Sixty years of greed and corruption have finally cooked the goose and thus: Game over.
The writer is a filmmaker and entrepreneur
Posted by: john frum ||
04/02/2009 06:55 ||
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#1
Why don't we see the American ambassador ever opening schools for the poor or opening hospitals for the masses of Pakistan? Why don't they even attempt to win hearts by occasionally siding with the people of Pakistan rather than with our blood-sucking leaders?
Maybe its because you are a completely ignorant, zealous, piece of shit country that has contributed nothing to the world at large except the most extreme terrorism and stone age intelligence.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
04/02/2009 8:13 Comments ||
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#2
Why don't we see the American ambassador ever opening schools for the poor or opening hospitals for the masses of Pakistan? Why don't they even attempt to win hearts by occasionally siding with the people of Pakistan rather than with our blood-sucking leaders?
Cause the leaders are smart enough not to declare war against the United States and lose? [The Germans, Japanese, and now the Iraqis have learned that trick in getting the American ambassador opening schools for the poor or opening hospitals for the masses. The leaders of Vietnam and North Korea didn't learn that one, settling for a antebellum status.]
#7
Pakistan is a sovereign nation. The US can't simply go in there and build schools. We have to work through the Paki government too. Hence so many of our problems in Afghanistan.
But be careful when you start arguing that things can't possible get worse -- they always can.
#11
Why don't we see the American ambassador ever opening schools for the poor or opening hospitals for the masses of Pakistan?
Maybe because the Taliban considers truly educating and treating girls and women equally unIslamic and the Americqn taxpayers would abhor the idea of funding the madrassas?
#12
Sounds like a tough situation. Suggest you consider mass converting to Buddhism.
Posted by: ed ||
04/02/2009 15:15 Comments ||
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#13
Omar doesn't admit that Islam itself has kept Pakistan down but he does at least admit that the terrorists of Pakistan are muslim.
He doesn't acknowledge the terror and discrimination against Hindus that have reduced their numbers from about 15-20% of pakistan (actually w pakistan) at partition to less than 2% today.
#14
same old story. The rich rape the poor and a revolution is born.
Funny thing is that there is a solution out there to this problem. It is a brilliant, God given plan for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It worked well for about 200 years until the "liberals" and "progressives" decided to trash the whole system, just for kicks.
It's slightly different here in the US. The rich get greedy and force the middle class to work and then throw the fruits of their labor to the poor. What the rich always seem to forget is that, when all is said and done, they are grossly outnumbered.
Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States has sought to help Pakistan transform itself into a stable, prosperous, and democratic state that supports U.S. interests in the region, is capable of undermining Islamist militancy inside and outside its borders, commits to a secure Afghanistan, and actively works to mitigate prospects for further nuclear proliferation. Washington has also hoped that Pakistan, along with India, would continue to sustain the beleaguered peace process to minimize the odds of a future military crisis between them. Between fiscal years 2002 and 2008, the United States has spent more than $11.2 billion, presumably to further these goals. The FY 2009 budget request includes another $1.2 billion.
Despite this largesse, the United States has failed in large measure to achieve all but minimal progress toward most of these objectives. Pakistan is more insecure, not less, since the onset of U.S.-Pakistani reengagement in 2001. Pakistanis appear to be more distrustful of the United States than they are of al Qaeda. Indeed, about 80 percent of Pakistanis recently polled said that al Qaedas principle aim is standing up to the United States, and 57 percent support that goal. In that same survey, more than 52 percent blamed the United States for the violence wracking the country, compared to 15 percent who blamed various militant groups. Fewer than one in two Pakistanis believed that al Qaeda and the Taliban operating in Pakistan pose a serious problem, and wide swaths of Pakistanis embrace negotiating with the raft of militant groups savaging their country and oppose military action to eliminate them. Since joining forces with the United States, albeit reluctantly, Pakistan continues to lurch from one crisis to another, be it economic, political, or military.
Pakistans intentions and security perceptions, not the amount or modalities of U.S. aid, are the crux of Pakistans problem. Given these apparent, divergent perceptions and interests, how, if at all, can the United States cajole, persuade, or compel Pakistan to cease and desist from engaging in policies, such as supporting some forms of militancy, that are inimical to U.S. interests? Can the United States help Islamabad pursue policies that will secure Pakistans future as a successful, democratic state at peace with itself and with its neighbors, capable of providing for its citizenry? There are no elegant or even probable solutions for the myriad problems riddling Pakistan. Indeed, the path for the United States is very narrow but must be pursued, given the far more harrowing alternatives. This will require a significant change in policy from what has been pursued over the last seven years. This new course must focus more resources and attention to rebuilding and professionalizing Pakistans civilian institutions including the police and justice systems, the federal and provincial assemblies, and the political parties while undertaking efforts to encourage civilian control over the military and intelligence agencies. Pakistan, and its citizens, must be a partner for change not merely objects of policy if such an approach is to succeed in any measure. While hoping for the best, Washington must also prepare for the worst case scenario that Pakistan, despite reconfigured assistance and cooperation, remains unable or unwilling to act to secure its future and that of the region.
[ADN Kronos] By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Orakzai tribal area in northwest Pakistan, the scene of a suspected CIA drone attack on Wednesday and a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, plays a dual role in the regional battle with militants.
Orakzai is situated close to the Afghan border and helps the Taliban keep their sanctuary in the Tora Bora cave complex in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, via the Nawa Pass.
But Orakzai also provides a conduit for Taliban fighters in the neighbouring Khyber tribal area to mount attacks there against convoys carrying NATO supplies for international forces in Afghanistan.
Wednesday's suspected drone attack followed signals from the Pakistani Taliban that it intends to break recent peace deals in the tribal areas and in North West Frontier Province's Swat valley.
At least 14 people were reported to have been killed in Wednesday's attack on a house in Orakzai but their identities were not immediately confirmed.
Officials said the targets were Taliban and Al-Qaeda members who have found safe havens in tribal areas near the Afghan border. The US - frustrated by a resurgent Taliban which it believes is drawing support from northwest Pakistan - has launched more than 35 similar attacks there since August 2008.
"The peace deals in North Waziristan and South Waziristan tribal areas besides in the Swat valley will soon be broken," an unnamed source in the militants' circle told Adnkronos International (AKI).
Two recent events in Swat suggest the Taliban intends to re-start its insurgency against the Pakistani military in the troubled district and divert security forces from guarding the country's border with Afghanistan.
The first was the occupation by Taliban militants of former federal minister and Pakistan Muslim League MP Ameer Maqam's residence in the town of Behrain while he was in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
"Seventy to eighty Taliban broke inside my house and forcibly pulled out my two servants.
They occupied the residence and then destroyed it with explosives," Maqam told AKI.
"Who says that there is peace in the Swat valley when the militants are roaming freely and occupying other people's property?" he said.
In another incident, armed men calling themselves Taliban fighters late last month captured an emerald mine in Shangla, a neigbouring district of Swat. The district mayor confirmed the emerald mine's capture.
The NWFP government in February struck a peace deal with the Taliban in the Swat valley and allowed them to establish Islamic law there.
The accord ended two years of fierce conflict in which at least 1,700 government soldiers and hundreds of civilians were killed and 600,000 people were displaced.
A local militant leader last month complained that Islamic law was not being implemented fast enough in Swat, however, and threatened to quash the peace deal.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
As the MSM-Net reports on how the Islmaist Milterr threat is expanding DEEPER INTO PAKISTAN, methinks we can surmise Radical islam gener desires to mil knock out Pakistan, etc. AMAP ASAP before POTUS Bammer's new troops from Iraq arrive.
e.g. TOPIX > US COMMANDER WANTS 10,000 MORE/ ADDITIONAL TROOPS [beyond 21,000 OBAMA + USDOD had already allocated]
In Hollywood, it appears the cows have come home to roost...
You're Scarlett Johansson. You're pretty and you're pretty famous, too. And you've just been offered the part of the Black Widow in Iron Man 2! That's got to be some payday, right?
How about $250,000, which is what Marvel Studios offered Johansson and Mickey Rourke to be in the film? The stars negotiated the number up to something over $400,000. Still, it's not hard to imagine that even a year ago Johansson could have expected to break seven figures for a role in a big franchise film. It's a pretty thrifty deal for such a recognizable name.
Continued on Page 49
#2
Another year of Oblahblah-nomics, and the talent might be happy to get a can of prunes, a cup of raw oats, and a single sheet of SplinterPro brand toilet paper for the oh-so-very-critical work they do.
F*ck all these celebs, most movies suck now-a-days anyhow. I'd rather read a good book, there are a ton of those for half the price of a box of popcorn at the theaters.
I bet if someone did make a well made pro-military movie about Iraq or Afghanistan they would do huge returns at the box office. Americans are sick of these bullshit whiny libtard movies - rendition, valley of elah, lions for lambs & stop/loss - horrible shit.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[ADN Kronos] By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Orakzai tribal area in northwest Pakistan, the scene of a suspected CIA drone attack on Wednesday and a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, plays a dual role in the regional battle with militants. 
