Lawyers protesting Musharraf in Pakistan - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

MikeWaters · 11-05-2007, 02:13 PM

It's interesting that it is only the lawyers who are protesting.

Two things at work:

1) cynically, it's because they have the most to lose with no courts in place
2) idealistically, they may be the educated ones most interested in moving towards democracy.

One thing to worry about:

A lot of Pakistanis are pissed at the USA for propping up and supporting Musharraf. "We traded our democracy to protect theirs."

Something I didn't know:

Literacy rates are very low in Pakistan. So newspapers have little influence as compared to TV (and all the TV news have been shut down, with the exception of state-run).

It will be interesting to see how Bush and his cronies respond. So far it's a tepid response from Rice. It will be kind of darkly ironic how our troops die so we can have democracy in Iraq, if in fact we do not support democracy in Pakistan.

Indy Coug · 11-05-2007, 02:19 PM

Tepid response?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapc...tan/index.html

I think the best course of action is to not immediately sling verbal bombs at someone, for better or worse, we rely on in the fight against terror. If things continue to degenerate, we can appropriately increase the political pressure on Musharraf. If he steps back from the ledge, then we haven't unnecessarily burned bridges.

MikeWaters · 11-05-2007, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

Tepid response?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapc...tan/index.html

I think the best course of action is to not immediately sling verbal bombs at someone, for better or worse, we rely on in the fight against terror. If things continue to degenerate, we can appropriately increase the political pressure on Musharraf. If he steps back from the ledge, then we haven't unnecessarily burned bridges.

Boy you are thick.

This is what Condie said:

Quote:

"We believe that the best path for Pakistan is to quickly return to a constitutional path and then to hold elections," Rice said.

"We believe". Not "We have told". Not "we have requested". Not "we insist". Not "we demand."

No, it is "we believe" as in, "it's our personal opinion." From Condie, not from the President (although hopefully Bush will speak up today).

Let's compare Condie to Britain:

Quote:

Britain called on Pakistan's government to release all political prisoners detained under the emergency. A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown told CNN that Britain is reviewing its aid program, worth $493 million over the next three years.

"Called on". Did you catch that Indy? Do I need to explain the difference. Did you see "$"? Do you know what that means?

I'm tired of suffering fools. If you were a politician, I could see why you might lie and obfuscate. But on a freaking silly message board? It's unbelievable.

JohnnyLingo · 11-05-2007, 02:34 PM

Boy, CG sure is an angry place as of late. Between you and SIEQ getting mad at the smallest things, the environment here has turned decidedly hostile.

Indy Coug · 11-05-2007, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Boy you are thick.

This is what Condie said:

"We believe". Not "We have told". Not "we have requested". Not "we insist". Not "we demand."

No, it is "we believe" as in, "it's our personal opinion." From Condie, not from the President (although hopefully Bush will speak up today).

Let's compare Condie to Britain:

"Called on". Did you catch that Indy? Do I need to explain the difference. Did you see "$"? Do you know what that means?

I'm tired of suffering fools. If you were a politician, I could see why you might lie and obfuscate. But on a freaking silly message board? It's unbelievable.

Well, it's easy for you to say from your computer sitting in your moral highchair, but obviously the world is a little more complicated than your knee-jerk black and white world. Furthermore, what is said in public is not necessarily the same thing that is said in private.

It's entirely possible the US is taking a less confrontational public stance while applying the screws behind closed doors.

MikeWaters · 11-05-2007, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

It's entirely possible the US is taking a less confrontational public stance while applying the screws behind closed doors.

You may note in the OP, I said "so far".

11-05-2007, 02:13 PM	#1
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	Lawyers protesting Musharraf in Pakistan It's interesting that it is only the lawyers who are protesting. Two things at work: 1) cynically, it's because they have the most to lose with no courts in place 2) idealistically, they may be the educated ones most interested in moving towards democracy. One thing to worry about: A lot of Pakistanis are pissed at the USA for propping up and supporting Musharraf. "We traded our democracy to protect theirs." Something I didn't know: Literacy rates are very low in Pakistan. So newspapers have little influence as compared to TV (and all the TV news have been shut down, with the exception of state-run). It will be interesting to see how Bush and his cronies respond. So far it's a tepid response from Rice. It will be kind of darkly ironic how our troops die so we can have democracy in Iraq, if in fact we do not support democracy in Pakistan.

11-05-2007, 02:19 PM	#2
Indy Coug Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Between Iraq and a hard place Posts: 7,569	Tepid response? http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapc...tan/index.html I think the best course of action is to not immediately sling verbal bombs at someone, for better or worse, we rely on in the fight against terror. If things continue to degenerate, we can appropriately increase the political pressure on Musharraf. If he steps back from the ledge, then we haven't unnecessarily burned bridges.

11-05-2007, 02:34 PM	#4
JohnnyLingo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,175	Boy, CG sure is an angry place as of late. Between you and SIEQ getting mad at the smallest things, the environment here has turned decidedly hostile.