Giving with one hand and taking away with the other
Remember Benazir Bhutto? Well, it looks like she is set for a comeback of sorts in next year's elections, as "Former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto could return home and contest next year's polls...a confidant of President Pervez Musharraf has said" (Source).
However, Benny might be well advised to avoid working the campaign trail in Rawalpindi, Karachi and points in between, as the same mate of Musharraf reckons "there is a constitutional bar on her becoming prime minister". The constition of Pakistan is not one of my specialist subjects, but it would look as though the various prosecutions she has been the subject of put her in breach of the Presidential oath: "I will discharge my duties, and perform my functions, honestly, to the best of my ability, faithfully in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law, and always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, well- being and prosperity of Pakistan.
I note also that you have to be 45+ Muslim to be Pres, and talking shop with hubby is out of the question because "And that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as President of Pakistan, except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as President".
However, Benny might be well advised to avoid working the campaign trail in Rawalpindi, Karachi and points in between, as the same mate of Musharraf reckons "there is a constitutional bar on her becoming prime minister". The constition of Pakistan is not one of my specialist subjects, but it would look as though the various prosecutions she has been the subject of put her in breach of the Presidential oath: "I will discharge my duties, and perform my functions, honestly, to the best of my ability, faithfully in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law, and always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, well- being and prosperity of Pakistan.
I note also that you have to be 45+ Muslim to be Pres, and talking shop with hubby is out of the question because "And that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as President of Pakistan, except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as President".
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I disapprove of this "Islamic Republic" rubbish. If we called ourselves The United Kingdom, in Christ, of Great Britain and Northern Ireland the muslims would have heart attacks brought on by fury. (Hey! There's an idea!)
It's rather a shame that we dont have a general like the late great Zia Ul Haq to deal with Tony Blair in the same way as he (Zia Ul Haq)dealt with Benazirs Daddy.
String him up for treason.
Brave of her to go back at all, I'd say _ after they hanged her father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and have been pursuing her on (trumped up?) charges for years....
Wasn't her father's murderer Zia Ul Haq, the peculiar little Sandhurst-educated Islamist general under whom the rot set in in Pakistan? Sharia law including a rapist's charter, massive expansion and funding of the security services including oodles of cash for dodgy 'Madrassahs' and the Taliban over the border? Think I'd rather have the fragrant Benazir, sticky-fingered husbands and all.....
For shame, PH!
I have heard all sorts of tales of what BB got up to when she was living in these parts, but don't fancy testing the defamtion laws. I think she is more likely to drag Pakistan forward than Mushy or the fundies, and provisionally I wish her well.
David Allen
I have an interest in dictators , proper ones, not pussies like Blair
Islamic republics are dangerous. The largest islamic nation in the world does not pose as an islamic nation. Indonesia - 198m people, most of them muslims - just calls itself Pancasila From Many, One.
What's the formal name of Israel. Is it a Judaic Democracy or what? I think putting the name of their religion on their name tag is aggressive.
PHitch - who are your favourite dictators?
Israel's offical name in transliterated Ivrit is Medinat Yisra'el, or 'State of Israel'. Fairly pithy.
The Vatican styles itself 'Status Civitatis Vaticanae' or 'Stato della Città del Vaticano'. Our friends the Saudis run with 'The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia'.
My favourite is 'The Co-operative Republic of Guyana'.
Favourite dictators? Does anyone have the lowdown on Salazar? I've heard one amusing story about him, but apart form that, nothing. Strange that a 20th C dictator so close to home seems to have slipped under the radar so completely (where are the books? the documentaries?) compared with Franco next door.
I like the Guyana idea. How about the Sulky Republic of Zimbabwe? Or the Amusing Republic of Somalia? The Toxic Republic of Russia, might work.
David, we discussed certifiable dictators a while back, and PH was a fan of Idi Amin Dada. As the song used to go, "Idi, Idi, Idi Amin - the greatest man there's ever been".
And "I have shaken the British so much I deserve a degree in philosophy". Hmm.
Quality thoughts there Verity. There was an Alexei Sayle skit some years back wherein he ruminated on this Great Nation of Ours beng called 'Great Britain', "because we don't have Bloody Brilliant France or Not Bad Italy".
Well Verity..
Number One.
Adolph Hitler .
Great dress sense and good taste in music, also an admirer of all things British
Number two.
General Pinochet.
A true friend to the Uk during the Falklands campaign and an implacable enemy of communist worms such as his pygmy like persecutors Blair and Straw.
Number three
Idi Amin.
Always kept a great sense of humour all whilst coming up with some highly brutal methods of murdering his opponents and disposing of their bodies.
Number Four
Emperor Bokassa, just for the sheer insanity of his coronation.
Number Five
Jaun Peron
Lots of charisma, shame he wasn't Brutal enough.
Alexei Sayle's little quip is born, obviously, of great ignorance, although it may not be his fault that he didn't get a primary education. I suspect, though, that he doesn't understand the word "Great" in his country's name, thanks to his comprehensive "education", smacks of malice rather than ignorance on the part of the teacher.
Grande Bretagne, in case the lefty Alexei is reading this, means "Big Britain" - to differentiate it from the French plot of earth of the same name on the other side of the Channel, Brittany, which is considerably smaller. Duh and double-duh.
One sees this ignorant usage in a lot of posts.
PHitch - Idi Amin was said by his British superiors when he was on our side over the Mau-Mau, that he was virtually bone from the neck up. I do not feel this is a good quality in a dictator.
Verity
I didnt say I thought him to be an effective dictator , just
"good value"
He styled himself "Lord of All The Beasts of The Earth And The Fishes in The Sea. Also King of Scotland."
Verity need I say more?
sublime!
A true megalomaniac , he also had a sinister white sidekick who styled himself "Major" Bob Astles, an ex second hand car salesman from London.
Marvelous (+:
V - all very true about GB, but still quite a good joke.
I think Ceausescus's 'Mighty Oak of the Carpathians' is a pretty good honorific, as is 'His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings and Elect of God'.
I'll have to check on Reza Pahlavi. Who, it turns out was an Imperial Majesty, King of Kings and Light of the Aryans. Perhaps not the wisest ruler the world has ever known, but the way he was abandoned by the West after his fall is utterly shameful. I recommend 'The Shah's Last Ride' for the details.
Mr C
shameful to abandon the pahlavi family?
hohoho
A CIA creation as was saddam and Osama Bin Laden
OK, he was indeed a friend of the boys of Langley, but I'm thinking in terms of Uncle Sam not offering asylum.
I quite like the cut of the jib of this Islam Karimov cove, president of Uzbekistan, boils his enemies to death and has a beautiful and ruthless billionaire daughter.
Quite pissed off our man in a kilt ,the whore mongering egotistical British ambassador.
He is on my list of favourites.
As always on this blog, where to begin?
C - Alexei (or however it's spelled; who cares?)'s joke isn't funny because it isn't based on a true observation. The "truth" is manufactured so Alexei could say something that would sound funny to people who had been educated - soi disant - in comprehensive schools.
The abandonment of the Shah by America was sickening. Hi, Jimmy Cahduh, Ah'm lookin' at y'all! And yur lovely wife Rosalyn, she of the trailer trash name 'n' trailer trash looks and habits! America got a name in the ME for not standing by its allies. This abandonment did not go unnoticed by the greedy eyes of the people who wish our civilisation harm.
James Earl (Jimmy) Carter and Bill ("Ah did not have sexual relations with that woman - Ms Lewinsky), Clinton, two good ol' southen boys, wrecked America's Middle Eastern policy and brought us to where we are today. Neither one of them responded to clear and highly dangerous threats to America. (The taking of the US embassy - American real estate - in Tehran, plus American hostages - who they kept for over a year! What kind of superpower is that? - and the bombing of the US Marine barracks - killing over 100 marines while they slept - in Beirut.)
Just to add, it's all in the will to win. H Ross Perot, who started EDS, of Texas, personally sent a helicopter rescue team to the US embassy and got all his staff out. A private capitalist succeeded.
Jimbob failed. And Jimmuh was a peanut farmer ... dependent on the weather for his crop. Passive.
Abandoning the Shah was disgraceful.
Not sure I get the point about Carter being a peanut farmer. Surely all arable farmers are dependent on the weather to some extent - it's nothing personal.
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