http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16088925

Musharraf Adviser Says Restrictions Are Necessary

All Things Considered, November 7, 2007 · Ahmed Raza Kasuri, senior legal adviser to Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, tells Michele Norris that the extraordinary steps Musharraf has recently taken are no different than what the U.S. did after the Sept. 11 attacks. He says they are necessary to bring peace to the country.

We have now become an excuse for totalitarian behavior in Pakistan. The mold is spreading rapidly, as mold always does.

Pedinska: a little bleach will take care of those new life forms before we need to run for it.

-- Jim White

Yes, and lots of sunshine (laws) as well. We need to be sure to get rid of the spores like Howie.

Fungal infestations can be difficult to eradicate, but with Glenn persistently searching out the (not so) hidden pockets of infection, and the rest of us applying the treatment, we just might be able to pull the patient out of the danger zone.

Why are we in trouble? And who is "we"? I want to try and understand your thinking on this. You do realize, all public and perfunctory protestations aside, Mushy is doing precisely what Bush wants him to do. Maintaining control of the government. It has always been a military dictatorship, a junta, since Mushy took power. If elections are held, the government, and the nukes, could, probably would, end up in the hands of the extremists who hate us and want to nuke India yesterday. Granted, none of this is good for anyone but this is what you get when you intervene too much, and incorrectly, or don't intervene at all.

The "we are all in trouble" was a takeoff on Glenn's header. I realize the complexity of the problem in Pakistan, and that there is no "good" solution. I also realize that Bush's tepid lip-pursings are just whispers of faux protest so he can muster some sort of feeble cred with the All-Democracy-All-the-Time crowd. Musharraf maintaining control via the military may work for now, but how long will that be a viable "solution"? No one knows. And the fact that his senior legal adviser has pointed to our own country's post-9/11 civil infringements as justification for their actions is galling to me, no matter the results. Although we are not as far along that path as Pakistan, there is truth in his words, the parallels frighten me. It's almost as if there is now a race to see who will loose the next nuclear weapon -- extremists in Pakistan, or extremists in the US?

You are absolutely correct that all of this is blowback from our many misguided interventions. "Do as I say, not as I do" rarely works for very long, and a whole pile of "wrongs" will never make a "right".

Thanks for the links. I'll check them out as soon as I can get back here to my computer (hubby dropped a log on his foot while replenishing the fire last night - we're off to get it xrayed).

Years ago I had some unique insight into Pakistani politics. When I first bought my house back in 1990 I advertised at local colleges for a roomate. The guy who moved in was a second cousin of Benazir Bhutto's. We had some enlightening conversations to say the least. But that was years ago and we didn't really discuss the situation with India, so I look forward to reading your links.

I also feel safer if Musharraf retains control, I just don't enjoy them comparing their governmental apparatus to ours. I don't want them giving Bush any encouragement.

(Getting back late and still trying to catch up)

Anonymous - thanks for the links. I have some knowledge of these situations but those were very good primers and I appreciate the info. Sure makes you wish that 'colonial aspirations' had never existed in the first place.

I saw a headline today on the way to work: Bush pleads for end to Pakistan's martial law.

Would it even be possible for Bush/Cheney to do anything remotely similar here... after Musharraf's attempt? --Anonymust

That's a good question. I think it would be very difficult for them to succeed at something similar here, but the possibility of failure certainly hasn't kept them from doing what they want in the past. And it still begs the question of what exactly they consider the definitions of 'success' and 'failure' to be.

my granddaughter patted my tummy. Then:

Papa, are you gonna have a baby? fatten belly.

a cold long winter is ahead. I gonna cut toothpicks.

Your granddaughter is very observant (they don't miss much, do they?). Did you tell her you're getting ready to hibernate? ;->

Would someone please be kind enough to let shooter out? I don't want to disturb the cat.

-- William Timberman

It was a moldy shooter.

One cannot help but wonder whether the sight of such comely models using them that way in a restaurant would be as likely as the sight of a nursing mother to cause growls about breast feeding in public... What do you think? ;~)

Only if they think they might accidentally be exposed to a glimpse of a nipple. I really believe it's visions of nipples that haunt them.