Kick Ass Blogger in the Hizzouse

by matttbastard

Yeah, that’s right — Kev has declared it to be so, and, thus, it is so.

Here’s how it works:

Choose 5 bloggers that you feel are “Kick Ass Bloggers”
Let ‘em know in your post or via email, twitter or blog comments that they’ve received an award
Share the love and link back to both the person who awarded you and back to MammaDawg
Hop on back to the Kick Ass Blogger Club HQ to sign Mr. Linky then pass it on!

Anyway, as per the rules, here’s my list (by no means exclusive) of 5 bloggers who kick my ass:

• Daisy – my favourite radical feminist revolutionary, Daisy is a self-described ‘old lady’ who used to party like a rock star (she still does, for all I know) and perfectly embodies the spirit of ass-kicking.
• April Reign – the Fearless Leader of the Bread and Roses media empire, April is both a tireless ass-kicking activist and a notorious WordPress theme fetishist.
• Purtek – eloquent, thought provoking and occasionally profane, Purtek makes Christianity cool.
• The baby-eaters of Birth Pangs – yes, I realize the rules seem to indicate that individual bloggers are to be recognized for their booty-booting prowess. Well, rules were made to be broken, especially for tireless abortionist-enablers @ BP like fern hill, dBO and Co. who make such a powerful collective impact on so many posteriors
• The ACR crew – and, since I’ve already bent the rules once, I would be remiss not to recognize the ass-kickers @ A Creative Revolution. Whether taking on the Canadian neocon establishment, founding and administrating the Canadian F-Word Blog Awards, or drinking their way through the best YouTube has to offer, Dr. Pale, Dr. Prole and Dr. Frank are, without qualification, kick ass bloggers.

So there you have it — 5 (ahem) bloggers who kick ass. For more ass-kicking awesomeness please feel free to check out the RSS feeds at the side and the world famous bastard.logic blogroll.

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PSA: Accountability for Musharraf and a Restoration of the November 2nd Judiciary

by matttbastard

Via Teeth Maestro:

People’s Resistance
Press Release – 18 August 2008

People’s Resistance attributes the resignation of retired General Pervez Musharraf as President of Pakistan to the long and untiring struggle of the Lawyers, students, civil society organizations and political groups. The civil society and media’s struggle against the arbitrary rule of General Musharraf forced the ruling democratic coalition to start the process of impeachment that eventually led to his resignation.

Though we celebrate his resignation, we call for the fair trial of General Musharraf for the long list of crimes against the people of Pakistan including removal of judiciary, abrogating the constitution, forced disappearances, torture and deaths in custody of citizens especially from Baluchistan, and for killing people in Tribal Areas of Pakistan.

In this vein the People’s Resistance demands the immediate restoration of the judiciary to its November 02 composition, as it was before the promulgation of the PCOs suspending the constitution.

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers

Musharraf Resigns

by matttbastard

Was never a matter of ‘if’, but, rather, when:

Speaking on television from his presidential office here at 1 p.m., Mr. Musharraf, dressed in a gray suit and tie, said that after consulting with his aides, “I have decided to resign today.” He said he was putting national interest above “personal bravado.”

“Whether I win or lose the impeachment, the nation will lose,” he said, adding that he was not prepared to put the office of the presidency through the impeachment process.

Mr. Musharraf said the governing coalition, which has pushed for impeachment, had tried to “turn lies into truths.”

“They don’t realize they can succeed against me but the country will undergo irreparable damage.”

In an emotional ending to a speech lasting more than an hour, Mr. Musharraf raised his clenched fists to chest height, and said, “Long live Pakistan!”

Good riddance.

So what happens next? As Kamran Rehmat notes, the resignation likely signals the end of the uneasy ruling coaltion between Asif Zardari’s PPP and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N:

The dominant view is that the desire to remove the former president was the glue – and part of an understanding – that held them together following a spectacular showing at the February 18 national elections, which saw Musharraf allies drubbed.

For starters, the PPP will be under tremendous pressure to restore the judges Musharraf deposed.

Pakistanis are not likely to quickly forget that the PPP has twice failed to restore them despite public assurances.

The PPP fears the deposed judiciary will revoke the indemnity granted to Asif Zardari, its leader, under a so-called National Reconciliation Ordinance.

Musharraf had decreed the ordinance last year, removing decade-old corruption cases against Zardari and his wife Benazir Bhutto, the slain former premier.

However, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, who pushed Zardari into making a pitch for Musharraf’s ouster early this month, will unlikely settle for anything less than the reinstatement of judges and a consensus president.

In that, the end of Musharraf’s rule may signal the beginning of real political drama.

Stay tuned, true believers.

Related: Arif Rafiq of Pakistan Policy Blog provides a minute-by-minute breakdown of Musharraf’s rambling resignation speech (h/t Abu Muqawama); BBC News has extensive coverage, including ‘key excerpts’ from the speech, a look back at Musharraf’s ‘mixed legacy’ and the impact his resignation will have on the ‘war on terror’; Pakinstani blogger Teeth Maestro calls for Pakistanis to “hold strong” and  “rebuild Pakistan” and  expresses concerns about the likelihood of a Zardari presidency (“Run for the hills!”)

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers