tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post5080774611551331992..comments2024-03-19T09:06:21.507-04:00Comments on Irtiqa: Off-topic: What will be the cost of one General's ambition?Salman Hameedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327330113822656571noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-62157015339397881212007-11-08T15:28:00.000-05:002007-11-08T15:28:00.000-05:00Well, it appears Musharraf has the full support of...Well, it appears Musharraf has the full support of the military, so any "legal cover" would just be a fig leaf anyway. Is the recently announced "February election" going to calm things, do you think?<BR/><BR/>The links to news and protest blogs in Pakistan are pretty neat. They seem to be popping up a lot whenever there are conflicts where media is either suppressed or can't get into a warzone (Iraq, Israel-Lebanon, Myanmar) I wonder if blogspot and the others ever figured they'd be the new Samizdat?Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18336895080318689408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-79567881127275727242007-11-07T11:44:00.000-05:002007-11-07T11:44:00.000-05:00Well...Bhutto today announced that her party is go...Well...Bhutto today announced that her party is going to stage a protest on Friday, unless the emergency is suspended. It is hard to tell what her intentions are. There are no demands from her about Musharraf stepping down from the Presidency. <BR/><BR/>However, she does have the power to hold mass protests. As far as I understand, Musharraf cannot simply suspend emergency without giving him some legal cover for his actions. That can only come from the parliament and even then he needs 2/3 majority to approve of his actions. Thats what makes Friday deadline interesting. But I think nobody knows how things will play out in Pakistan in the next couple of days, let alone couple of weeks. I'm sure it is exciting at least for political scientists...Salman Hameedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04327330113822656571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-88867622041760467872007-11-06T17:04:00.000-05:002007-11-06T17:04:00.000-05:00How is Benazir Bhutto playing this (if anyone outs...How is Benazir Bhutto playing this (if anyone outside the news blackout can find out)?<BR/><BR/>Does the popular response in Pakistan suggest people got tired of this after Zia ul Haq? He deposed Sharif years ago, though....Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18336895080318689408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-82256610348419268522007-11-04T13:52:00.000-05:002007-11-04T13:52:00.000-05:00Yes, and the proper way to define this is "hubris"...Yes, and the proper way to define this is "hubris". Musharraf thinks that he is only one who knows what is right, and thus he will do anything and everything to keep himself in power.<BR/><BR/>Lately, I have been listening to the Teaching company lectures on the great battles of the ancient world. What can be a better example of hubris than this: In 482BC, the Persian king, Xerxes ordered the sea at Hellespont to be whipped 300 times and scolded verbally after a storm destroyed the two bridges he was trying to build (oh and yes, he also beheaded those in charge of building the bridge). Now this is cool hubris!<BR/><BR/>Ok...so Musharraf hasn't gone as far (yet) :)Salman Hameedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04327330113822656571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-57299896566700758772007-11-04T02:08:00.000-05:002007-11-04T02:08:00.000-05:00He's really gone off the deep end, hasn't he? How...He's really gone off the deep end, hasn't he? How can you want to rule something so badly that you will destroy it instead of letting it go?hedgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07002804980576789573noreply@blogger.com