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"Dozy Old Fat Git" Registered: 16 February 2005
Posts: 1467
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This from John Ibbotson:
" Rioting by people in suits and ties is the worst possible public relations disaster. When scruffy young men in jeans throw rocks at police, those of us watching from afar might not know where our sympathies should lie. The police may bedefending a corrupt regime or simply trying to restore order; the demostrators may be students fighting for freedom or mere thugs. But when lawyers - lawyers - take to the streets, overseas opinion swings massively in their support. They are the very definition of an educated middle class. If they are risking a crack over the head to protest the latest ' state of emergency ', then the real emergency must be what is happening to the state. And so Pervez Musharraf can expect no outside public support as he tries to save his regime through force, and any Western politician who fails to condemn the Pakistani President's actions courrts condemnation by his own people. Though it is hard to imagine George Bush could sink any lower in the esteem of his countrymen. From the Mediterranean Sea to Punjab, the Bush administration confronts an unbroken string of foreign policy failures. Strife in the Palestinian Authority; civil war in Iraq, Iran resurgent; much of Afghanistan insurgent; and now, Pakistan plunged into repression and chaos. It almost got this bad for Jimmy carter. His well-meaning but foolish policies led to the fall of the Shah, unrest throughout Central America, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. but, at least, president Carter could point to the Camp David Peace Accords, George Bush can point to much less. even before it managed to complie its own impressive record of failure, the bush admionistration set out to dismantle many of the successes of its predecessors by withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocvol, the land mines treaty and the anit-bal;listic missile treaty. Even before the attacks on New York and Washington, the President had strainted long-standing alliances and worsened relations with Russia [ over missile defence ] and China [ over the downing of surveillance aircraft ] His neglect of Afghanistan after the Taliban were toppled allowed the Al Quaeda and Taliban leadership to escape and regroup, and contributed to the instability that now leaves Pakistan on the brink. Two of the three members of Mr. Bush's ' axis of evil ', Iran and North Korea, have only strengthened by his confrontational policies. the killing in Darfur goes on, however much of Mr. Bush protests. america's standing in the world is at its nadir. for the moment, all that has to be set aside. Mr. Musharraf is infintely preferable to the mullahs who would replace him. But his determination to remain the head of both the military and the government is placinhg Canadian and other NATO forces in Afghanistan at risk. the Pakistani army has not only failed to root out insurgents in the country's borderlands, but reports from the region say the insurgents are themselves expanding in reach,infiltrating the cities, giving the Taliban a secure base and source of fresh recruits for operations in Afghanistan. By redeploying the military to support the state of emergency, observers fear Mr. Musharraf is bound to further weaken the government's control over its own territory and people. Daniel Markey, a senior fellow at the Council on Froegin Relations, reflected the Washington consensus yesterday at a press briefing when he declared that the Bush Administration's priority will and must be to pressure Musharraf for a clear time line leading to early parliamentary elections. but as violence escalates, hopes for accomodation deteriorate. And as they deteriorate, India braces for the possiblity of mass migrations of Pakistani refugees across its border, while Afghanistan braces for renewed and strengthened Taliban incursions among returnees. All thanks to Mr. Bush's ill conceived and poorly executed strategy to confront the legitimate threat of Islamic extremism. the Bush adminsitration is not utterly bereft of foreign policy sucesses. Libya has stopped making mischief, while democracy in Europe has spread east to Ukraine. the president can point to a basket of new trade agreements, and the United States is leading an agressive and well-funded campaign to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. But it's the thin gruel when set beside the failures and fears that now infest Beirut and Baghdad, Khanahar and Karachi. Geoge Bush will have much to answer before the bar of history. And there's still more than a year to go. There I was , at the head of the old 68th... |
![]() Registered: 24 January 2005
Posts: 3424
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Bush presses Musharraf to hold elections
For once I wouldn't mind being a Pakistani policeman, getting the chance to take it out physically on such a large mass of lawyers! Too bad American lawyers don't rise up so they can get beaten down! SEMPER FI The Gunny PROUD TO BE AN INFIDEL Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don’t. “The Meek shall inherit the earth….after I’m through with it.” A pessimist's blood type is always b-negative |
"Curmudgeon"![]() Location: Washtenaw County, Michigan
Registered: 21 January 2005
Posts: 1923
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While I have sympathy with the plight of the people – I do admit that a crowd of lawyers getting beaten does appeal to me in a rather dark way.
"It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it" DOUGLAS MacARTHUR, 1952 |
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Registered: 19 February 2006
Posts: 1286
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people always hate lawyers until they come to a place in life where they have to employ one. I dont know that educated middle class people would "rise up" in america, I think they would just leave and there would be no one to fill the gap and it would plunge this nation into a second world status, that is exactly what happened in germany no one really rose up they just left, protesting is stupid it rarely produces results and often has negitive consequences for thoes involved.
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"Dozy Old Fat Git" Registered: 16 February 2005
Posts: 1467
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protests don't work, reppearso?
So I guess the American Revolution, the French Revolution, The Rise of Garibaldi, let's not forget Mussolini and Hitler,[who started out as ' protesters' to the corrupt/ineffectual regimes in power ] Ghandi...the Soviet Revolution..the Mujahadeen against Russia, the Taliban..all those were 'exceptions' to your hypothesis that protests rarely work.. I could give you some other examples if your brain could stop farting long enough... There I was , at the head of the old 68th... |
![]() Location: Where America's day begins.
Registered: 08 March 2005
Posts: 1003
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http://www.theonion.com/content/news/nations_snowmen_march_against The world would be a friendlier place if every city on earth had one...
I saw this and I thought of your Post... So-Sorry... Hafa Adai! |
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Registered: 19 February 2006
Posts: 1286
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Most of thoes references you stated entailed much more than a protest, a revolution is an armed/or unarmed hostile take over not throwing rocks in the streets. As long as the autorities maintain order its just a protest which produces no results. There are usually alot of other factor involved for a revolution to take place, most of the success of a revolution does not take place in the streets throwing rocks at national guard it occured behind doors and must be orgainized enough to over throw the powers that be who usually have much greater resources the best time for a revolution to occure is some sort of economic depression. But you already knew that you just wanted to flame.
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"Dozy Old Fat Git" Registered: 16 February 2005
Posts: 1467
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not to sound pedantic,[ well, yes, actually ] but.. all revolutions begin with protests...it is the extent and popularity of the first that leads to the second..
but, of course, you know all that as you are the leader of a protest, yourself, having risen up against the crass overlords of the military training establishment, unfortunately without the support of minions to overthrow the masters... oh, and I'm not FLAMING you.. I'm protesting your actions... you want fries with that? There I was , at the head of the old 68th... |
![]() Location: South Western Colorado
Registered: 24 November 2005
Posts: 1264
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http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?i...e29b44cdc4e9&k=69009 I found this fitting for this particular post I wonder how many Headstones on both sides of our Northern boder will have Blame Bush written on them as the last word It is so easy to blame others for their failure.Or at least in this case their Country's short comings.
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Registered: 06 September 2006
Posts: 509
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No, inbred. A revolution can be any change brought about society. ot just a change in government. That's why, for example, we have a "Medical revolution" when most of the older ideas about medicine were brought down and replaced with new ideas. Revolutions can be peaceful too, but I don't expect you to understand that, as you are too busy plotting the downfall of the military to worry yourself about these things. |
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