No Old Glory in Pakistan, Egyptian Throne Restored, Texas Souls
Something strange is happening in Pakistan: no American or Israeli were seen.
Bhutto the not infallible and sainthood.
Bahrain tensions.
The King and the Pope.
Egypt inches closer to a 'restoration' of sorts- what about Lenin?.
"It's always you good men who do the big mischiefs." The Dauphin, Charles VII Something strange is happening in Pakistan. As I watched the disturbances, riots, and the flags on television I noted that something was missing: for the first time that I recall in a long time, they were not burning American flags, or Israeli flags for that matter. This is partly because the Late Benazir Bhutto had developed cordial relations with the US in recent months, and everybody knows that al-Qaeda/Taliban are responsible for her death- perhaps with some cooperation from renegade elements in the security services. Or maybe they just ran out of US and Israeli flags to burn in Karachi, or maybe the whole industry was outsourced. In any case it was a pleasant surprise.
BTW: maybe it is time for the media, Western media, to stop pushing Benazir on the road to canonization. Pakistani politicians, like all politicians are not infallible- in fact they are probably more so than in many other places....except the Middle East, of course. Besides, we don't have saints in Islam, we really don't, unlike the kaffir infidels who have not been content with Saint Ingrid Bergman and keep adding more.
Tensions in Bahrain may rise again after Interior Ministry agents raided the headquarters of the Islamic Works Society, an opposition group that had boycotted the (half) elections of 2006. Elaph reports that one detainee from the riots had 'confessed' about stolen weapons in the headquarters, but nothing was either found or planted. Earlier, the security forces has raided another site and arrested a leader of the Shi'a organization.
The society itself issued an interesting communique in which it said that 'riotous and unruly forces raided our headquarters in large numbers, under the guise of searching for stolen weapons..."
No word yet if Michael Jackson was involved in any way, shape, position, or color- or has he already left the island?
The Italian ambassador in Riyadh said that Saudi King Abdullah's recent visit to the Vatican was a call for a dialogue between religions. This visit does in fact represent a new breakthrough because for the first time a Saudi King has visited the Pope at the Vatican, and reflects a desire to ease 'things' within the kingdom (no, not THAT Kingdom, I mean the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). Only a few years ago, a Saudi king would not have dared even mention the Pope or the Vatican in public. It will be interesting to see if the Pontiff will be diplomatic enough to reciprocate.
In Egypt, they are moving steadily closer to installing Gamal (Jamal) Mubarak as official heir, or as perhaps official quasi-heir, to his father. Both president Husni Mubarak and his son have consistently denied that he is being prepared to inherit the throne from his father-and they both have lied through their teeth, of course. If I had looked into either of their eyes, I could have seen into their souls and known that they were lying. But then I am not a Tejano from either Midland or Crawford.
It is expecetd that as soon Mr. Mubarak wakes up from his years-long siesta long enough to pass away, his son will be crowned. This step will bring the Arab world a step closer to the restoration of absolute hereditary monarchy, a system that was devastated across the Middle East between 1952 and 1979. Perhaps the Russians will start thinking about a new Romanov dynasty, once they agree on what to do with the Starik, Vladimir Illyich Ulyanov Lenin.
What would Naguib, Nasser and Sadat say if they ever found out?
Cheers
mhg
m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com
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