Month: June 2007

Pakistan Update

quetta-cyclone-damage-reuters.jpgThings aren’t going great in Pakistan right now, the monsoon has started and hundreds have died to flooding, collapsing billboards, buildings and roofs. North South of Karachi a Cyclone took out part of the coastal highway, and killed 12. Update: Cyclone Yemyin has also sunk a fishing boat, and it’s feared that 32 are dead.

Meantime, the Taliban and extremists are continuing their campaigns within Pakistan, yesterday three CD shops in Charsada were bombed, and today another in Shabqadar was destroyed.  Suicide bombers intent on assassination are rumored to be in Islamabad, and power poles continue to be bombed. The extremist crows surely have come home to roost, and now they are directly attacking Pakistan and Pakistanis, seeing the writing on the wall that they will not succeed in either Iraq or Afghanistan, say what they might.

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Interview With Prachandra

In this video, you can see Prachandra of the Maoist Party of Nepal squirm a bit as he fields some hardball questions from the interviewer. The uneasy balance between the Royalists, the popular movement represented by the seven parties, and the Maoists continues to teeter, and all sides are hedging their bets since the elections were postponed.

Radicalism is Destroying Islam?

In two recent articles (here and here,) Ian Wendt examines radical islamism, and counsels that we must not drive the average, non-violent, muslim towards radicalism. A true statement to a point.  The world of radical islamism is much more complex than that however — Ian fails to account for state actors in his examinations, so they are partially flawed.
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The Supremes Release a New Hit

scotus.jpgThis should be number one with a bullet in no time, as the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that Free Speech overides limits on money in politics. Hurrah! Someone gets Free Speech right! Speech about candidates, issues, and elections must be free, and especially at election time. Take that McCain, take that Feingold — that’s got to smart.

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Christopher Hitchens Exposes Pakiwood

It’s the Rage Boy back again, as Christopher Hitchens exposes the Pakiwood productions of MMA and other extremist parties in Pakistan. You’ve seen articles here in the past explaining that the majority of Pakistan is somewhat moderate compared to the yo-yo’s in the Taliban-sympathizing MMA, but Christopher has been there and I have not

muslimrage-ii.jpg<<<<THIS IS Not Muslim Rage boy, but a new contender for the title.

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It’s the Rage Boy back again, as Christopher Hitchens exposes the Pakiwood productions of MMA and other extremist parties in Pakistan. You’ve seen articles here in the past explaining that the majority of Pakistan is somewhat moderate compared to the yo-yo’s in the Taliban-sympathizing MMA, but Christopher has been there and I have not, so perhaps you will believe him. Also for a great historical retrospective of Rage Boy Rants, stop by The Snapped Shot.

The Taliban’s Latest Recruit

daddullah-damned-2.jpgWhile we hear of every “short of mark” for our military’s recruitment months, we never hear of how the Taliban are doing in meeting their recruiting numbers. Early this year the now-deceased Mullah Dadullah was promising “Tens of thousands of suicide bombers” in Afghanistan. Later that fell to “thousands”, and now to “hundreds” — like the Spring offensive that never came, this too is a bust. To demonstrate how desperate they have become, here is a story of their latest recruit, a six-year old orphan. Continue reading “The Taliban’s Latest Recruit”