The Long March is destined to begin in less than 48 hours. I was hoping to have done more, much more, in talking about it, but things have been hectic on the academic front. So, let me just forward you to Juan Cole for some breakdown (I don't really agree that this is partition-time. or just not yet). Me, all I can offer you is this amazing corporate video. See. I am no pundit.
I get this message when I try to access the Juan Cole link from Pakistan. Strange. مشترک گرامی صÙØÙ‡ مورد درخواست شما برابر با قوانین جمهوری اسلامی ایران مسدود Ù…ÛŒ باشد . در صورت بروز اشتباه در مسدود شدن صÙØÙ‡ مورد نظر با ما تماس Øاصل Ùرمایید .
Prof Cole continues to miss the boat on Pakistan. There is a struggle going on in Pakistan to find the right balance of stability, democracy and the rule of law. Professor Cole, Musharraf, Obama and many Pakistanis are fixated on stability and miss out on how important rule of law is. He also seems to think that PML-N is more feudal than the Zardari alliance, or that there is something left about the Zardari alliance.
DilGudaz: How weird. Where are you in Pakistan that you are going through an Iranian ISP? Juan Cole wouldn't get on Iran's ba-qawanin list, for sure.
Awesome video Sepoy - I thought you were kidding and it was a pastiche till I googled it off stratpost! Incroyable as the French would say!!!! Course Rafael should have gone the whole hog and got at least a dozen extra's, with Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra to play the lead roles. That would have been really "going Bollywood" as it is this is just Bollywood-lite. Even the b-grade 70s Bollywood movies weren't that bad. And is it me, or does the whole thing look like an old Indian advert for Neem toothpaste; that SAM in the middle looks suspiciously like a giant tube of toothpaste as well :D
You know, I didn't make the Neem connection but that is spot-on!
This reminds me once again how unlyrical English can be. And as Zaid Hamid would say, you have evidence of a Hindu-Zionist conspiracy. :-)
I've been following some of the Long March developments via twitter. There aren't a huge number of Pakistani tweets on the subject, but I listed some of the key links for a real time feed on my blog: http://digdeeper.us/2009/03/10/twittering-freedom/ One twitterer says an arrest warrant has been issued for Samad Khurram? Good thing he is at Harvard.
I am using a satellite connection of a hospital close to Muzaffarabad. I guess the company through which the internet connection is provided has registered the connection as if it was in Iran to possibly circumvent the red tape of registration in Pakistan. Still strange though why Juan Cole's site would be filtered.
[...] Comment, Juan Cole argues that fears of the Taliban taking over Pakistan are overblown (via Chapati Mystery): The Pakistani Taliban are not going to take over the Pakistani government. That worry [...]