A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake punched China today, toppling nearly all the buildings in one village and coming some 90 days before the Olympic Games begin in Beijing:

China’s worst earthquake in nearly three decades killed nearly 9,000 people Monday. The Chinese government, sensitive to accusations it did not move quickly enough in previous disasters, immediately launched a massive relief effort.

The 7.8-magnitude quake trapped nearly 900 students under the rubble of their school and devastated a hilly region in Sichuan and nearby provinces. The official Xinhua News Agency said 8,533 people died in Sichuan and dozens of other deaths were reported elsewhere.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao boarded a plane within hours of the quake and later arrived in the provincial capital of Chengdu. Thousands of army troops and paramilitary People’s Armed Police carrying medical supplies were also headed to the region, state television said.

The suddenness and terror of the earthquake can be seen in this You Tube video taken during the earthquake (h/t The Huffington Post):

The terror, destruction and death it brought was reportedly terrible to behold:
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ABC News says that based on exit polling it is calling the North Carolina primary for Senator Barack Obama — amid increasing signs that the Democratic party may be gravely split so many Democrats will stay home in November whether Obama gets the Presidential nomination or his rival, Senator Hillary Clinton.

Indiana, ABC News reports, is too close to call. But the conventional wisdom has been that if there was a “split” tonight, Obama would get North Carolina and Clinton would win Indiana. ABC News:

As expected, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has solidly won the North Carolina primary, ABC News projects, while he and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, remain locked in a tight race in Indiana.

Nearly unanimous support among African-Americans who accounted for a third of voters in North Carolina lifted Obama to easy victory, according to preliminary exit poll results.

About 91 percent of African Americans supported Obama in preliminary exit poll results. Obama also benefited from a surge of new voters; 18 percent in North Carolina said it was their first time voting in a primary, and they favored him by a vast 68-26 percent.

Meanwhile, the race is too close to call in Indiana. The Hoosier State is seen as Clinton’s best chance for victory, with demographics similar to Ohio and Pennsylvania — states she has won in the past — but Obama remains competitive in Indiana, a state that borders his homestate of Illinois.

But the larger issue for the Democrats as the rest of the results come will be: is the Democratic party now on the way to being badly broken? The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder, looking at some exit polls writes:

Forget the horse race numbers for a moment: if the surveys are accurate, the polarization within the Democratic Party has reached critical levels. Nearly six in ten Obama supporters in Indiana say they would be dissatisfied if Clinton were the nominee — that’s (I believe) the high percentage of Obama supporters who have ever said that.

In both IN and NC, two thirds of Clinton supporters say they’d be dissatisfied if Obama were the nominee — I believe that’s the highest number recorded for that question, too.

The percentage of Clinton voters who say they’d choose McCain over Obama in a general election is approaching 40% in Indiana. Put it another way: in North Carolina, less than HALF of folks who voted today for Hillary Clinton are ready to say today that they’d definitely vote for Obama in a general election.

And if the evening shapes up the way the conventional wisdom has suggested it could — Obama winning North Carolina, Clinton winning Indiana — this race will most assuredly go on for a while. Each camp will try and discount their loss in the state they lose. But a lot of what goes on will be aimed at Superdelegates, who will be under more pressure than ever to change sides.

If Clinton or Obama would win both states, the dynamics of the battle for the nomination could change. But if the ABC projection holds and Clinton wins Indiana the increasingly — and perhaps mortally — divisive battle for the Democratic nomination will continue as it did a week ago.

A woman who police believe to be Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the “D.C. Madam,” was found dead today, Tarpon Springs, Florida, police said.

The body has not been positively identified.

“Detectives are investigating an apparent suicide of a (white female) that appears to be in her early 50s,” police said in a news release.

Suicide notes were found near the body in a small storage shed next to a mobile home, police said.

Palfrey was reportedly staying at the home of her mother, who owns the property where the body was found, police said.

The 52-year-old woman was convicted last month in connection with a high-end prostitution ring catering to Washington’s elite.

She was found guilty of money laundering, racketeering and mail fraud. She was awaiting sentencing with a potential of 50 years in jail.

At least one lawmaker, Louisiana Senator David Vitter, a Republican, turned up in the phone records of her business, while State Department official Randall Tobias resigned in May 2007 after confirming he patronized Palfrey’s business.

Palfrey had unsuccessfully argued that her business was a legitimate, legal escort service.

More here.

His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is no ordinary Tibetan monk. His upcoming visit to the USA, the first outside his home in exile in India, can be considered as ‘historic’. There are speculations that the Karmapa, 22-year-old Buddhist monk, may emerge as the successor to the Dalai Lama in case the latter decides to step down, especially in view of the growing hostility shown towards him by Beijing in recent times.

More importantly, the Karmapa is the only major monk reincarnate recognised by both the Dalai Lama and China.

According to a recent BBC report: “India has allowed the Tibetan monk, the Karmapa Lama, who fled China and sought asylum in India eight years ago, to travel to the United States next month. The Tibetan monk arrives in New York City on 15 May, and then travels to Woodstock, New York; Boulder, Colorado; and Seattle, Washington, ending his US tour in the first week of June.”

The Karmapa website also provides the detailed schedule of his US trip.

The website mentions about birth and early years of the 17th Karmapa. “Prior to the birth of the first Karmapa, the arrival of a Buddhist master who would be known as the Karmapa had been prophesied by the historic Buddha Shakyamuni and the great tantric master of India, Guru Padmasambhava. Throughout the centuries, Karmapas have been the central figure in the continuation of the vajrayana lineage in general and Kagyu lineage in particular, and have played a very important role in the preservation of the study and practice lineages of Buddhism.

“In 1985 a male infant was born into a nomad family in the Lhatok region of Eastern Tibet. In the months prior to his birth, his mother had wonderful dreams during her pregnancy. On the day of his birth, a cuckoo landed on the tent in which he was born, and a mysterious conch-like sound was heard by many throughout the valley in which the family of the infant lived. In Tibet, such events are considered auspicious portents of the birth of an enlightened teacher.”

More here…

Although the BBC says that “the move is certain to enrage Beijing, which has put pressure on India to stamp out any political activity by Tibetan exiles,” I am not so sure. There is a flurry of diplomatic activity following dramatic protests wherever the Olympic flame passes through in the world…First there was a visit of Nancy Pelosi to meet the Dalai Lama in India…Then the US president spoke to his counterpart in China on the phone…And the wellknown stand of the French and German heads of state that they may boycott the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony…And so on.

China has not reacted so far although the news of the Karmapa’s visit has been in the air for some time now. The Karmapa’s US schedule does not in any way indicate that he would be doing much else than talking about Buddhism to the audience. But then this is no ordinary visit…And especially the timing of it…

At the abode of the Dalai Lama in India, the spokesman for the Central Tibetan administration said the Tibetan government in exile was “really appreciative” of India’s decision to allow the Karmapa visit. And with China maintaining a discreet silence, would the US (and others) be doing some behind the scene work to bring about some improvement in Tibet…And for the Beijing Olympics to be held without too much protest?

Yousaf Raza Gillani, who was Speaker of Parliament in Pakistan in the 1990s under the then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is expected to be sworn into office as prime minister on Tuesday. Gillani has been reportedly handpicked by Asif Ali Zardari, the late Benazir Bhutto’s husband, who appears to have his own ambition to capture that chair as early as possible.

(The Zardari’s PPP party has agreed to form a coalition government with the party of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in a coup in 1999, and other smaller groups who trounced the US-backed president’s allies in elections.)

Zardari is handicapped at the moment because he (the leader of the main party in the new Pakistan government) did not contest in the recently held Parliamentary elections. So until Zardari gets elected, probably in a few months, he has chosen a low profile politician for the prime ministerial chair and elbowed out the prominent candidates in the race.

According to the NYT: “Mr. Zardari chose Mr. Gillani over Makhdoom Amin Fahim, a much better-known party leader who ran the Pakistani Peoples Party during Ms. Bhutto’s exile abroad. He would probably have been much harder to dislodge as prime minister when Mr. Zardari was ready to take over.

“The selection of Mr. Gillani, 55, was announced after a bruising internal party fight in which Mr. Zardari, Ms. Bhutto’s widower, seemed determined to keep open the option of running for Parliament soon so he could rise to the prime minister post.

“Mr. Gillani, a journalism graduate from Punjab University in Lahore, has spent most of his life in politics, first in the Pakistan Muslim League-N, and then in the more populist Pakistan Peoples Party. He was minister with portfolios including railways, housing and environment.

“He served four and a half years in prison on charges of having put too many people on the payroll when he was Assembly speaker, though he was not convicted, said his brother, Ahmed Mujtaba Gillani. Some of his prison term, which ended in 2005, coincided with Mr. Zardari’s 11 years in prison on corruption charges.

“On Wednesday, the new coalition elected a parliamentary speaker, Fahmida Mirza, by the two-thirds majority needed for an impeachment vote. Ms. Mirza, the wife of Zulfikar Mirza, one of Mr. Zardari’s close confidants, is the first woman to be elected speaker in Pakistan.”

More here…

Here’s the BBC profile of Yousaf Raza Gillani…please click here

In Ohio on Tuesday, Barack Obama told a debate-audience that he favors opting out of NAFTA if the agreement isn’t re-negotiated so as to help more Americans keep their jobs.  Wednesday, CTV reported:

"Within the last month, a top staff member for Obama’s campaign telephoned Michael Wilson, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, and warned him that Obama would speak out against NAFTA….

"The staff member reassured Wilson that the criticisms would only be campaign rhetoric, and should not be taken at face value."

Thursday, one Canadian official denied that the conversation took place. Another Canadian official seems to disagree. Today, CTV reports:

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Admiration for Barack Obama’s oratory has reached Portugal’s executive mansion. According to this news account from Portugal’s Diario Digital, Prime Minister José Sócrates has adopted the phrase ‘Yes we can’ from the senator, along with other phrases from the campaigns of Democrats.

Translated By Brandi Miller

February 20, 2008

Portugal - Diario Digital - Original Article (Portuguese)

Prime Minister José Sócrates claimed today his three years in government have left the mark of modernity on the country, and he cited North American candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama, in using the phrase “Yes, we can.”

“Yes, we can do it” and “Yes, we can,” Sócrates said, at a ceremony honoring the three years that the Inov Jovem and Inov Contacto programs have been in place for professional internships for the young.

Instituting the Inov Jovem and Inov Contacto programs were the first decisions taken by the socialist executive, exactly three years after the PS [Socialist Party] gained its first absolute majority in legislative elections.

Speaking at the Parque das Nações [Park of the Nations], during the final session of the Inov Jovem and Inov Contacto programs, José Sócrates said he was “aware” and “impressed” with some of the phrases used in the race for the presidential nomination among North American Democrats.

READ THE REST AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing coverage of the U.S. elections from around the world.

Just two days before Pakistan goes to poll, at least 12 people have been killed in a blast outside the late Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) office in Kurram Agency in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Several people, too, have been injured while the PPP candidate Riaz Hussain Shah, who was in the office, reportedly escaped unhurt. Read here…

Violence before the polls is not unexpected in this subcontinent…Here’s the BBC report.

Z.L. (usually lowercase) stands for Zachor Livracha (may his memory be for a blessing).

Washington Post:

Rep. Tom Lantos, 80, a California Democrat whose experience during the Holocaust shaped his concern for human rights and his staunch view in favor of U.S. military intervention abroad, died early this morning, a spokeswoman told the Associated Press. He had esophageal cancer and died at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda.

Lantos, born in Budapest to Hungarian Jews, served 14 terms in the House of Representatives. He is the only Holocaust survivor elected to Congress. His district included southwest San Francisco and much of San Mateo County, where he was known for supporting the socially liberal agenda of his constituents. Last year, he announced he would not seek reelection because of his cancer treatment.

Lantos was a powerful figure on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where he had been the senior Democratic member since 2001 and its chairman since 2007.

For years, he sided with Republican neoconservatives who believe the United States should assert democracy abroad and use the military to intervene when a moral imperative or national interest is at stake.

In 2002, he supported the congressional resolution that authorized President Bush to invade Iraq and played a decisive role to gain Democratic support for the measure.

On the House floor at the time, he noted his own past as a Nazi-resistance fighter. “Had the United States and its allies confronted Hitler earlier, had we acted sooner to stymie his evil designs, the 51 million lives needlessly lost during that war could have been saved,” he said. “Just as leaders and diplomats who appeased Hitler at Munich in 1938 stand humiliated before history, so will we if we appease Saddam Hussein today.”

But after the Democrats gained control of Congress in 2006, Lantos became increasingly critical about the direction of the war and called for large withdrawals of American troops. He also held more than a dozen hearings on the situation.

The (NYC) Jewish Week:

Capitol Hill veterans describe Lantos - courtly, loquacious but tough - as a throwback to an earlier generation of lawmakers who were able to work across party and ideological lines.

The reaction from Jewish groups to the news was swift.

“For years people have looked to Congressman Tom Lantos as the conscience of the United States Congress,” said Rabbi Steve Gutow, executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA). “Chairman Lantos was a leader on so many issues of concern to the Jewish community such as anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and Israel.”

William Daroff, vice president for public policy of the United Jewish Communities (UJC), said Lantos “was a great friend of the Jewish community and the Jewish Federation system. As Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Lantos steered a steady ship during a particularly tumultuous time in American foreign policy.”

“We mourn the loss of Congressman Lantos,” said Nathan Diament, Washington director for the Orthodox Union. “He was a proud supporter of Israel and a proud Jew. His presence will be sorely missed.”

In announcing his expected retirement last month, Lantos said “It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a Member of Congress. I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country.”

California’s first lady Maria Shriver has just appeared as a special surprise guest at the rally for Barack Obama in Los Angeles to endorse him for President. It was aired live on CSPAN.

“I wasn’t on the schedule,” she said. “I thought to myself when i woke up this morning there’s no place I should be but right here today.”

She said this morning she told her daughter: “I think I should be at UCLA. She said to me ‘Mommy. If you think you could help, if you think you could change just one person just do it.’ So I am here today as a woman and a Californian. I believe elections are a lot like life — they are made up of moments…The more I though about it, the more I thought this election is about moments…This is a moment not just for the U.S. of A. and for the Democratic party — this is a moment for California.”

“The more I thought about it, the more I thought: if Barack Obama was a state he would be California…This is a moment. A moment to have a conversation with yourself. A conversation with your heart…We have to see beyond the labels that divide us.”

With the race neck-and-neck in California, this should carry some weight.
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In yet another sign of how youth is shaped by images and info in the news and entertainment media, a 16 year-old boy has been taken into custody for planning to hijack a plane in a suicide attempt.

Some early reports suggested the unnamed teen (newspapers often omit the names of minors) planned to crash it into a Hannah Montana concert in Louisiana — which could have raised the possibility that music critics were behind the plan.

But an FBI official later denied the teen planned to “crash” the concert.

CNN reports:

Authorities have charged a teenage boy who said he planned to hijack a commercial jetliner in an attempt to commit suicide, an FBI spokesman told CNN late Thursday.

The 16-year-old was taken into custody by airport police without incident on Tuesday evening after flying from Los Angeles, California, to Nashville, Tennessee, on Southwest Airlines Flight 284.

“His stated intent was to hijack the airplane and commit suicide,” said George Bolds, an FBI spokesman in Memphis, Tennessee. “He did indicate he intended to die in Louisiana. It appears he had a ticket to Louisiana.”
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BREAKING NEWS: Fred Thompson has pulled out of the presidential race.

Sample reactions from Andrew Sullivan, Michael vdG, and John Cole.

There’s not much to add here: High expectations. Unfulfilled. Yawn.

On the day of Bhutto’s assassination, the Nation of Pakistan reports of the U.S.’ military expansion in Pakistan.

EARLY next year, US special forces are expected to vastly expand their presence in Pakistan, as part of an effort to train and support indigenous counter-insurgency forces and clandestine counter-terrorism units, according to American defence officials involved with the planning, reports Washington Post.

These Pakistan-centric operations will mark a shift for the US military and for US-Pakistan relations. In the aftermath of Sept 11, the US used Pakistani bases to stage movements into Afghanistan. Yet once the US deposed the Taliban government and established its main operating base at Bagram, north of Kabul, US forces left Pakistan almost entirely. Since then, Pakistan has restricted US involvement in cross-border military operations as well as paramilitary operations on its soil.

But the Pentagon has been frustrated by the inability of Pakistani forces to control the borders or the frontier area. And Pakistan’s political instability has heightened US concern about extremists there.

According to Pentagon sources, reaching a different agreement with Pakistan became a priority for the new head of the US Special Operations Command, Adm Eric T Olson.

Read the rest on Watching America

UPDATE 6:20 PM MST: It’s been determined that one man wounded five persons and murdered four persons at both churches which are about 60 miles apart. Matthew Murray, 24, a home-schooled son (one of two brothers) of a prominent Denver family did the shooting.

Murray was five years ago an ‘associate’ at the Missionary Training Center, but was found ‘healthwise’ unfit for assignment after the 12 week training for missionary work.

People close-in would not say what the ‘health’ issues were.

That Missionary Training Center was the shooter’s first target, before he traveled to the other church and unleashed more mayhem.

Today, the Director of the Missionary Training Center said Murray was believed to have been sending hate mail to the Center for some time.

Murray’s father is a neurologist and a prominent multiple-sclerosis researcher in Lone Tree, an upscale community at the southeast end of Denver.

See original story and links to security guard’s story here…

Here is a photo of the security guard who was on duty at the New Life Church when the gunman came into the church shooting.

UPDATE: It’s been determined that one man wounded five persons and murdered four persons at both churches which are about 60 miles apart. Matthew Murray, 24, a home-schooled son (one of two brothers) of a priminent Denver family did the shooting. Murray was five years ago an ‘associate’ At the Missionary Training Center, but was found ‘healthwise’ unfit for assignment after the 12 week training for missionary work. That Missionary Training Center was the shooter’s first target, befre he traveled to the other churxh and unleashed more mayhem. Today, the Director of the Center said Murray was believed to have been sending hate mail to the Center. Murray’s father is a neurologist and a prominent multiple-sclerosis researcher. More on the story here

At the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Murray killed two sister, ages 16 and 18. Their father was also wounded twice and is in hospital.

The story of the female security guard who killed the shooter, Miss Jeanne Assam, is here… “Security Guard: ‘God Guided Me And Protected Me’”

Today there were incomprehensible deadly shootings at two different churches in Colorado

…one shooting took place just after midnight in the youth dormitory at the Missionary Training Center, in Arvada, Colorado, a city just northwest of Denver.

There, the gunman shot dead two young people in their early 20s, one from Alaska and one from Minnesota. The gunman also seriously wounded two other young people there, one from South Dakota.

All were in a Youth Worship Mission together and were cleaning up after a Christmas party. Their pictures were flashed on television. Many tears. The police were unable to find the shooter.

…The other shooting took place today as noon services were ending in Colorado Springs at the New Life Church, also called by some, The New Life Megachurch, that has 14,000 members, 350 employees and a huge ‘campus.’

The gunman opened fire there (it may be the same gunman that was in Arvada earlier, but this is not confirmed) and killed two persons, one a teenage girl. He shot three others who are in hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The New Life Church had taken an extra precaution after hearing about the Arvada incident earlier in the day.

A female security guard on the scene at the Colorado Springs church, shot the killer dead. (She is currently lauded for saving lives. This is all the info that has been released about her thus far, the sheriff only referring to the guard as ‘her’.)

Now come more televised pictures of the victims’ yearbook photos. More tears. Sheriff with badge. News conference/ gaggle of mikes. Brave. Contained. Tragedy. People in Michelin Tire Man parkas embracing in the freezing cold. Steam rising as network affiliate reporters report. Governor’s message. Senator’s message. People shake when they try to speak.

The New Life Megachurch has had difficult times this past year as it is the church founded by Pastor Ted Haggard, who was let go for engaging with a homosexual prostitute. Haggard was, nonetheless, popular with his church members, and the church was recovering.

Focus on The Family run by James Dobson, is just down the road in Colorado Springs. No doubt the reverberation of this tragedy reached them quickly.

Meanwhile, across the nation, in basements, garages, bedrooms, cellars, attics, living rooms, other disturbed persons write the next or the last entry in their journals of screed. They count and recount the ammo one more time. They know, they just know they are going to abate Evil and set things Right in the world. They use Mapquest to figure out how to get to their targeted ground zero. Perfectly functional, can drive a car. Perfectly deadly, sick as rabid dogs.

And no one notices. Or tries not to. Or says, not my problem. Or says, well, we’re all a little odd. Or just stays away and hopes for the best.

I can only say, that once again, likely the person or persons who were the shooters at the churches, will have had a history of instability that too many did not recognize for its homicidal and suicidal nature, or misinterpreted the severity of what they were seeing.

Personal freedoms are so highly cherished in our country, that sometimes, people do not want to try to interfere, even when they know someone is quite mad and NOT harmless.

In California, even when a person suffering from severe mental illness poses a clear danger to themselves or to others, there are laws that prevent sincerely concerned others from helping the severely ill person get the help they need.

Is it such in our culture that in order to avoid ‘the slippery slope’ of people perhaps wrongfully being detained for a ‘mental health hold’ by their grubbing relatives, that we have accepted continual and unceasing mass murder by seriously disturbed people? Is this the only trade?

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has shed his army uniform and says he will allow free and fair democratic elections in January 2008 after ending the current martial law in mid-December 2007. Whatever happens will bring little change b ecause the current upheavals in Pakistan are not a bloody choice between democracy and political stability under a military dictator. They are the suffering of people caught between the hammer of a violent force rising in world Islam and the anvil of various secular forces that separate the words of God, whatever that God’s doctrine, from governance through laws enacted by man.

Pakistan is the land that is burning but the power struggle between fundamentalism and secularism is scattered and global. Because of a concourse of circumstances and history, Pakistan has become the focal point of these flames similar to the spot upon which a magnifying glass concentrates the sun’s roaming rays.

Musharraf’s political troubles may have been worsened by his military cooperation with Washington in the war against terrorism and hunt for Osama bin Laden since 9 September 2001. But they stem less from being an American puppet than from the role of Islam in the violence and contradictions that characterise Pakistan’s domestic politics.
These contradictions cannot be effaced without a life-changing decision. Do the Urdu-speaking South Asian people of Pakistan want to belong to the melting pot of today’s subcontinent or live in a purist theocracy admired by a few Arabs and others?

Its people have two choices. Either they review their country’s birth theology to break the link between the State and specific religious doctrine. Or they become true children of Islam by submitting their country to the particular texts they believe contain the ultimate words of God.

This second alternative sends fear around the world since these children of Islam would control nuclear weapons. The fear is multiplied because those who blindly believe in purist religious doctrine often distrust “godless” reasoning in the modern terminology of tolerance, logic and science. Negotiating with them becomes perilous and unpredictable.

The current hope around the world is that martial law in Pakistan is the final death throes of military dictatorships, which has dominated the country for more than half its life. Numerous analysts, including many people in Pakistan, hope that an orange revolution might happen there because of popular uprising.

This view neglects the significant differences between Pakistan and the conditions that allowed peaceful uprisings to bring down the Berlin Wall, defeat the Soviet Kremlin and snatch freedom for Hungarians, Czechs, Georgians, Ukranians and others. In those countries, people were fighting for freedom from the Soviet system which was using local regimes to control and oppress citizens in favor of Soviet interests. In the final stretch, there was no dissension among the people about the need to throw out the foreign puppet masters and their local puppets.

Pakistan is a completely different story. No foreign power has enslaved it directly or indirectly. It chose the path of Islam in a neighbourhood that its founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, thought would be hostile to that religion because it had ruled Indian Hindus for centuries. From the day of its birth on 14 August 1947, Pakistanis have vascillated over whether their country should be a defender of the faith or a modern nation working to bring the best to its citizens. Jinnah died in September 1948 before he could set a course for them.

Field Marshall Ayub Khan started the long tradition of military dictatorships by seizing power in 1958 to “save the country” after 10 years of instability under civilians, including a war with India over Kashmir. Several military dictatorships later, Musharraf is using the same argument.

Ayub Khan modelled himself on Turkey’s Ataturk but did not succeed in breaking Islam’s links with the state, as did the Turkish army. Musharraf has a better record as an economic reformer but his dependence on Islamic politicians is much greater and control over territory is equally precarious.

Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), which make up half of Pakistan, are still wild tribal lands. Both are in the hands of local governments heavily influenced by Islam. Retrograde Taliban theology is popular in the northern areas bordering Afghanistan and is kept in place by local warlords who also have formidable military skills.
Musharraf was forced to retreat in defeat from the northern border areas in 2006 despite sending over 80,000 regular soldiers armed by the world’s most lethal military, the Americans. Over $10 billion in US military and development aid since 2002 has failed to stop traditional Islamists from gaining the upper hand. For Washington, this is a nightmare.

Despite these failures, many in the West see Musharraf as a stabilzing force especially if he enters democracy alongside civilian politicians. They are forgetting that any Pakistani government, whether dictatorship or democratic, may have to work in coalition with the Islamic parties if it is weak and will have to pander to them if it is strong.

Hopes of stabilization are like skating on thin ice. Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party is secular in name but Islamic piety runs through all its levels. Bhutto wears the Islamic scarf. Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group) was and still is overtly based on religious identity and his earlier electoral victories owed greatly to support from more radical Islamists.

Both Bhutto and Sharif also have serious corruption charges against them. Their record offers little hope of clean government if either returns to power, whether separately or together in a political alliance. That means Pakistan’s lawyers and Supreme Court, which were brave enough to confront Musharraf, will have to shelve those corruption charges in order not to weaken a civilian government.

Both civilians and dictators have awful records of governance in Pakistan. Musharraf deposed Sharif in 1999 because of the army did not trust Sharif after humiliation in the Kargil War with India earlier that year. Sharif had ordered the war for the foolish reason of building upon the popular euphoria that followed Pakistan’s acquisition under his watch of nuclear weapons capability in 1998.

General Muhammed Zia ul Haq, the dictator before Musharraf and earlier short spells of civilian rule, was openly Islamist and filled both the army and the feared intelligence service with Islamists and their sympathizers. Ayub Khan was moderate but he led Pakistan into the disastrous 1965 war with India to “liberate” the Muslims of Indian Kashmir. His successer Yahya Khan caused the break up of Pakistan by losing a major war with India in 1971 when East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh.

The war followed democratic elections in 1970 when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto led the Pakistan People’s Party to victory in the West but refused to reach a power sharing arrangement with Mujibur Rahman, whose Awami League had won twice as many votes in the East. The humiliated West Pakistan army blamed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s arrogance for Bangladesh’s creation and General Zia ul Haq later hanged him on charges of corruption. Bhutto’s daughter Benazir and her political rival Sharif each became Prime Minister two times during the 1980s and 1990s but both were deposed and exiled by the army for corruption and incompetence.

This is how Pakistan has reached the brink of implosion today. Whether democracy or dictatorship, Pakistan will continue to be a creation of Islam until its people decide to use religion as a personal path to God separate from their existence as a nation. Till then, modern liberal democracy will have little meaning for them.

There are no true democrats among Pakistan’s top politicians. There are only dictators in camouflage or venal civilians masking their craze for power with democratic jargon learned during their exile and education in the West. All are loyal to political Islam in one way or another.

UPDATE 4:15 MST
It appears that the man who took hostages came out of the campaign office, and was taken down to the ground and handcuffed, and is now being taken away in a tactical vehicle.

On a different front:
Newspeople are turning to analyse the background of the man who entered the campaign offices in Rochester New Hampshire 5.5 hours ago, claiming to have a bomb, and not allowing all hostages to be released within short order.

Some newspeople are saying their network (to each their own) gave people (that’s us) ‘an incredible opportunity to see this all unfold first person today.’

UPDATE 4:13 MST

A sixth hostage has been released. Another young woman, according to the Fox newsman onsite.

It is said that there is a sudden surge in activity onsite.

This may be the beginning of a denouement.

On a different front:
Current discussion on Fox regarding Fox earilier claiming to have identified man who is hostage taker, by name, even though Fox said tactical and law enforcement officials would not confirm: Troy Stanley. However, now it appears the name might be Leland Isenberg or Isenburg. The discussion is interesting to watch re how some newsminds find their way through seeming conflicting info that had been undestood as fact a short time earlier. It may be that the man who has claimed he has a bomb, has more than one alias. It would not be unusual for a person captured in an ongoing psychosis to have more than one persona.

It appears that the cable news is turning a bit away from the critical situation, to asking
–what will happen re copycats at other campaign headquarter/office sites in coming days.
–How has Clinton campaign handled the current invasion of the office in NH
–One newsman from Vermont is using that spooky film trailer tone of voice to say, ‘This has been a dramatic day for the Clinton campaign!!!’ as though the Globbleflaks have landed and are going to destroy planet earth. It’s odd to see that musty old media style used to try to dramatize a situation that , at this point, needs no further dramatizing.
– Various persons in Congress and Senate have been given brief air time to express concern for all

UPDATE
It appears a fifth hostage, a young woman, has been released from the hostage situation at the Clinton campaign office at Rochester NH.

There is newsmedia speculation, but not Tactical or Law Enforcement confirmation, that there is a sixth hostage inside the office with the man who earlier entered the offices apparently claiming he was carrying a bomb. Two of the earlier hostages released were said to be a woman and a baby.

EARLIER REPORT
Four hostages have been released.

The man who is the hostage taker, at this moment, is still inside the New Hampshire campaign office with his ‘bomb.’

It is unknown if there are any hostages left inside with him; SWAT NH has issued a terse statement that such can be ‘deduced,’ but has not confirmed there are no more hostages.

A throw-in phone has been employed.

Both Fox news and CNN have been reporting with restraint, meaning without opinion interspersed — with two exceptions, one a small misleading statement, and one set of statements more potentially disruptive to the de-escalation of the crisis situation.

The first: A Fox news fellow onsite, said Fox was “not going to show the SWAT teams” actions presently on camera. However, it is far more likely that Fox and all other news agencies, have been prevented from access to film the SWAT teams, as part of law enforcement’s containment protocol. It’s not a matter of Fox’s will.

News agencies onsite may have had to agree not to film the SWAT teams in process in order to retain their news access to the site.

NH law enforcement, clearly wants no interference or speculations from media during this ongoing critical incident. (as occurred at Columbine massacre, for instance)

Secondly, a Fox newsperson at the desk back in the studio has just broadcast an off the cuff opinion that it’s alright to lie to a hostage taker…

The commentator in studio goes on to say as though he’s a knowledgeable ‘critical incident specialist,’ which would seem unlikely …. Tell [the hostage taker with the ‘bomb’ strapped to his body,] that there are going to be no charges filed, lie to him, tell him that Hillary is in the truck out front waiting to meet with him, Lie to him.’

Several problems with this: one being, the man who is the ‘hostage-taker with a bomb’ situation is still involved in a highest risk standoff and negotiation with law enforcement and SWAT.

It is better, during a critical incident, to not in any way speculate…. as rumor, inaccurate information, and braggadocio only confuse communications, which nowadays travel through more than one venue nearly instantly.

Also we do not know, and neither does the Fox newsman in studio, if there is a television inside the campaign office that the man who is the hostage taker has access to. In critical situations, Tactical tries to contain all potential ‘triggers’… before the fact. Read the rest of this entry »

Nawaz Sharif, the exiled former prime minister of Pakistan, has boarded the plane in Saudi Arabia and should reach his country at 5.25 pm (about 1200 GMT), his nephew told news agencies. Meanwhile Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has gifted to Sharif two bulletproof Mercedes cars and also lent a helicopter for use during the elections from his personal fleet.

Well if George Bush can gift so much to his protege General Musharraf for years, why not the Saudi King who hosted Sharif in Saudi Arabia after Musharraf grabbed power from Sharif and threw him out of the country? Pakistani leaders, both military dictators and civilians, just can’t resist the temptations of gifts…while the country can go to the dogs!!!

A news report says that King Abdullah during his farewell meeting with Sharif said: “As he (Nawaz Sharif) is dear to me, so I was concerned about his security and well-being,” sources said. Sources further disclosed that Nawaz Sharif had accepted the offer and later the car was airlifted here in Lahore, his hometown, on Friday where it was handed over to his nephew Hamza Shahbaz Sharif.

“It is pertinent to mention that following suicide attack on the PPP rally in Karachi on October 18 in which more than 140 people were killed, the US Embassy had provided Benazir Bhutto with a bulletproof car equipped with latest explosive- device jamming system. The car would remain in her use throughout the election campaign.”

Meanwhile Reuters adds: “Pakistan police detained thousands of supporters of Nawaz Sharif to stop them greeting the former prime minister on his return from exile in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, according to party loyalists. U.S. ally President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Nov. 3 to safeguard his own presidency, but under pressure from Saudi King Abdullah reluctantly acquiesced to the return of Sharif, the leader he deposed in a bloodless coup eight years ago.”

Pakistan’s Dawn has more…

While The Daily Times says: “Former premier Nawaz Sharif has reached an understanding with the government, whereby he and possibly Shahbaz Sharif may not destabilise the Musharraf regime or boycott the elections, according to sources in government. Also, while Sharif may not personally contest the upcoming general elections, Kulsoom Nawaz and Hamza Shahbaz would be allowed to contest the elections from Lahore, sources told Daily Times on Saturday.”
The Times of India reports: “Despite a call by an opposition group for boycotting the upcoming general elections, former Pakistan prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif will file their nominations on Monday, the last day to submit the papers for their candidature. Pakistan People’s Party chairperson Bhutto will file her nomination papers from two parliamentary constituencies in Larkana, a traditional stronghold of her family in Punjab province. Nawaz Sharif, the head of the PML-N party, will file nominations with his wife Kulsoom and his brother Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore.”

AP via MSNBC: State Dept. security chief to resign in aftermath of Blackwater shooting

WASHINGTON - The State Department’s security chief announced his resignation on Wednesday in the wake of last month’s deadly Blackwater USA shooting incident in Baghdad and growing questions about the use of private contractors in Iraq.

Richard Griffin, the assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, announced his decision to resign at a weekly staff meeting, according to an internal informational e-mail sent to colleagues.

New York Daily News.com is reporting:

Air America host Randi Rhodes wasn’t mugged

See this story, plus fact check at end of article.

BY David Hinckley and Tina Moore

Tuesday, October 16th 2007, 12:28 PM

There’s no truth to the rumors that Air America host Randi Rhodes (above) was mugged near 39th St. and Park Ave. Sunday night. She is scheduled to return to the air on Thursday.

Air America radio host Randi Rhodes is temporarily off the air, but claims she was brutally attacked near her Manhattan apartment are bogus, her lawyer and a police source said today.

Fellow host Jon Elliott claimed on the liberal radio network that Rhodes had been mugged while walking her dog, Simon, on Sunday night. Elliot, who said Rhodes lost several teeth in the attack, waxed about a possible conspiracy.

“Is this an attempt by the right-wing, hate machine to silence one of our own?” he asked on the air, according to Talking Radio, a blog. “Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we’re winning? Are they trying to silence intimidate us?”

A police source said Rhodes never filed a report and never claimed to be the victim of a mugging. Cops from Manhattan’s 17th Precinct called her attorney, who told them Rhodes was not a victim of a crime, the source said.

Rhodes’ lawyer told the Daily News she was injured in a fall while walking her dog. He said she’s not sure what happened, and only knows that she fell down and is in a lot of pain. The lawyer said Rhodes expects to be back on the air Thursday. He stressed there is no indication she was targeted or that she was the victim of a “hate crime.”

Rhodes started with the Air America when it launched in 2004. Her show airs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays.

The network released a statement that said Rhodes “experienced an unfortunate incident.”

“The reports of a presumed hate crime are unfounded,” the statement read by a receptionist at the network’s New York offices said. “Ms. Rhodes is looking forward to being back on the air on Thursday.”

Still, the tale lived on in the blogosphere.

“What the %$#$ is WRONG with you people?? Are you that SICK in the head that just because you don’t agree with someone’s political views you believe that they deserve to be mugged? Are you on the right that DEMENTED??,” a blogger called neddlenosehanty posted on watchingthewatchers.org.

Another blogger shot back, “I very seriously doubt if this unfortunate woman was mugged by a conservative. To jump to the conclusion that she was mugged by someone on the right is bigotry of another kind. Think not?”

_________
Clarification/fact check from Dr. E on the NY Daily News article re ‘tale living on in blogosphere,’ and ‘blogger’. The original story published by the newsblog watchingthewatchers.org reports only what a fellow radio peronality said / speculated about Miss Rhodes; no speculation about conservatives or other by the journo. The two NY Daily News quotes from watchingthewatchers.org are the opinions of two commenters to the seemingly neutral reportage on the Randi Rhodes story there.

Here’s the original piece from watchingthewatchers journo Rogers Cadenhead: http://watchingthewatchers.org/news/1311/air-america-host-randi-rhodes-mugged

See our earlier post which reported the original reports, gave background on talk show hosts who’ve been in the news in the past due to attacks and gives a wide cross section of left, right and centrist blog reaction to the initial report.