Pakistan’s Zardari trying to get military to take over?

It seems the politicians in Pakistan want the military back in power. What else would explain President Zardari’s arresting hundreds of ex Prime Mininster Sharif’s activists, keeping the power to dissolve Parliament despite a pledge to rescind it, and Sharif’s attempt to topple the government with huge marches. All of this during a huge economic [...]

Truce in Pakistan with Taliban

I was worried about the truce between the Taliban and the government in the Swat valley in Pakistan. How silly:
On Wednesday, the provincial government signed an accord with the local Taliban leader that imposes Islamic law, or Shariah, in the area, and institutes a host of new regulations, including a ban on music, a requirement [...]

Pakistan and Sharia Law

Well, it seems that the Pakistan government has agreed to allow Sharia law in their Swat region:
The Pakistani government, desperate to restore peace to a Taliban-infested valley once known as the “Switzerland of Pakistan,” agreed Monday to enforce strict Islamic law in the surrounding district near the Afghan border, conceding to a long-standing demand by [...]

Around the World

I’ve been busy the last month or so and haven’t put up much about what’s happening in other countries. Here’s the latest in some of the countries I follow:

Mugabe has agreed to share power with Tsvangirai which should help out the situation in Zimbabwe, but it’s much too soon to celebrate as this shows:

While the [...]

A Couple Crazy Items

It seems that a company can not test meat more than the government dictates (via):

Because the Agriculture Department tests only a small percentage of cows for the deadly disease, a Kansas meatpacker, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, wanted to test all of its cows, but the government says it cannot. Larger meat companies worry that if Creekstone [...]

Pakistan

I must say that I’m pleasantly surprised by the situation in Pakistan. Musharraf did nothing to stop the opposition from taking power, in fact it even seems he might not have been able to (as the new military ruler seems to have distanced himself from politics, including Musharraf). And Pakistan is now at the point [...]

Serbia, Pakistan, and Kenya

Well, here are two pieces of good news and one bad:

the two main, non-Musharraf, parties seem to have made a deal to work together and form a government. One of the agreements was to bring back the judges who Musharraf got rid of. We still need to see how Musharraf reacts to this, but it [...]

Pakistan and Cuba

There were two possible changes of direction in dictator led countries, Cuba and Pakistan:

Fidel Castro has formally said that he is stepping down. Fidel might have been a step up from his predecessor (Batiste), but he was still a dictator. It seems that his brother, his likely successor, is a bit more pragmatic and open [...]

More Kenya and Pakistan

The situation in Kenya is getting worse and the assasination of Bhutto is getting more confusing:

Over 100 are confirmed dead in Kenya from rioting and the death toll is expected to go much higher. Kenya has been one of the most stable countries in Africa, but now there is the possibility of tribal war:

The election has [...]

Kenya and Pakistan

There are big questions and violence because of it in Kenya and Pakistan:

In Kenya, increased rioting followed the claim of victory by the current President, Kibaki. There seems to have been wide spread fraud:

The European Union’s team of election observers in Kenya said the electoral commission had failed to ensure the credibility of the presidential [...]

Fred Thompson Is Confused

Fred Thompson seems to be a bit confused, here’s his response to the slaying of Benazir Bhutto:
“They’re driven to distraction by the notion that a secular woman would be head of government,” the Republican presidential hopeful said of the woman who was slain yesterday as she campaigned for her country’s presidency after years in exile.
then [...]

Zakaria and Pakistan

I like many of Fareed Zakaria’s articles, but I don’t quite understand what he’s doing in this one. He’s arguing that Musharraf hasn’t been that bad for Pakistan. That might be defensible, but he throws in a few whoppers:
Many observers are frightened by what is happening in Pakistan. The country is seen as a collapsed [...]

Bush Backs Musharraf

Well, the President had been doing ok with respect to Pakistian, but now;
Bush was asked in the interview if there is any line Musharraf should not cross. “He hasn’t crossed the line. As a matter of fact, I don’t think that he will cross any lines,” Bush replied, according to an ABC transcript. “.
I think [...]

Musharraf

Hmm, Musharraf is getting a little weird:
He defended the decree issued 10 days ago that scrapped the Constitution, dismissed the Supreme Court and resulted in the arrests of 2,500 opposition party workers, lawyers and human rights advocates, and rejected an appeal by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to lift emergency rule.
“I totally disagree with her,” [...]

More Pakistan

I guess Musharraf was serious when he said that rallies would not be allowed:
As many as 5,000 party workers had been arrested across the country over the last three days, party officials said, and today any groups of people that formed on the street were immediately moved on by police.
The authorities said there were 8,500 [...]

Pakistan and the US

Musharraf now says that elections will be held by next February 15 and he will also give up his army post by then.  This sounds good, but here are things to remember:

one of the main reasons for his declaration of martial law was because the Court might have said his election was not valid–he has [...]