LibertyVox
07-22-2010, 03:07 PM
I had the fortune of growing up in several countries and have somewhat of an insider's familiarity with other cultures. Pakistan being one of them. Having lived or travelled through most of the British Common Wealth, one thing is obvious: the game of cricket is le motif essentiel for the Common Wealth's shared history.
Classical Liberalism has seen its candles burning low for many a decade now through out the world; It also seems that there is a lack ( or total absence ) of Classical Liberal thought in most of the third world states most of which came into being with the end of the Colonial Age. Overwhelmingly these states went the way of radical ideologies of various shades if not succumbing to monarchy and totalitarianism. Some of the countries which did liberalize somewhat followed the European Social Democratic model mostly in the realm of economics (neoliberal/Kenysian).
More on all that later.
For now, let me introduce Imran Khan the founder of Pakistan Tehreek -e-Insaf or Movement For Justice.
He is the only prominent politician to my knowledge in much of Western Asia whose ideas mirror the classical liberal thought. A hero to many Pakistanis he led Pakistan to Cricket's World cup victory in 1992 against Pakistan's mother country Britian:
YouTube - Imran Khan 1992 Wold Cup Final Cornered Tiger Interview (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iyk19yAJIE)
Well known for his philanthropy and spokesman for active volunteerism, he was known as a play boy in his younger days and is well respected in the Common Wealth and he took occasional endearing flak for it:
YouTube - The Late Show: Like a Tiger (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDyuz0zFyv0)
But after reading some of his writings and listening to a few of his interviews I don't think he is quite there yet as he has spoken of creating a welfare state (whether he means welfare economics or state is not clear to me). Educated at Oxford, he and his party's top brass represents the middle- upper middle class of Pakistanis familiar with the Westmnister model of democracy (which forms basis of Pakistani constitution) and fluent in English (the official not the national language of Pakistan).
How ever unlike the venal and regional satraps of the neocons (as most Pakistanis would describe their imposed ruling ELite), Khan is a refreshing change from the deluge that makes the third world... third world. There are very good reasons why Pakistanis view their government as puppet and opressive. I wouldn't recommend reading about Khan from a source such as wikipedia because you'll find mostly irrelevant non-issue nonsense stuff on him as the pro government brigade has been quite active online and against him. Again more on all this and more later....
For now a brief intro to Khan should suffice as his views echo majority of that of Pakistanis and diagramatically opposite to the uber leftist, pragmatic, psuedo socialist/fascist elite who surprise surprise echo Washington like a parrot (the best budgerigars a few billion in aid can buy). But in direct consonance with Dr. Ron Paul. Those from South and Central Asia familiar with both these personalities often draw parallels between them for a variety of reasons.
I felt it good to share this, as whatever I have garnered from my own observations and knowledge of the region (near east, central asia, south asia, caucuses and the middle east) and contrary to any and all public and media perception in the US, Pakistan seems to be a nation ripe for a libertarians staging ground in the so called muslim world least of which being the country's founder himself being the only classical liberal in the entire colonized world.
The following were prophetic words in 2007, when Iraq was the center stage and Afghanistan or AFPAK as Obama's team calls it was not much in the news:
This interview was done in 2007. Very prophetic. The end of the clip betrays shadows of paleo-conservatism of Satan's minion Cheney hiss-self from 1992.
YouTube - Neocons' War OF Terror And its Futile Destructiveness (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny8I4ujvX9k)
In this clip he is addressing a group of Pakistani policy makers and university students. And it may seem very surprising to some that he is making these arguments to Pakistanis instead of say a Western audience, but as said before believe it or not the kleptocratic slaves which what the pakistani regime was has been hand picked by the Bush administration after the dictator General Musharraf was forced to abdicate. Try to watch it with an open mind. One doesn't have to agree or be sympathetic, but I do believe you'll get an education of the region not available elsewhere in our media :
YouTube - Imran Khan explains the "War of Terror" and Pakistani Taliban (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9eh5G9Hqks&feature=related)
Classical Liberalism has seen its candles burning low for many a decade now through out the world; It also seems that there is a lack ( or total absence ) of Classical Liberal thought in most of the third world states most of which came into being with the end of the Colonial Age. Overwhelmingly these states went the way of radical ideologies of various shades if not succumbing to monarchy and totalitarianism. Some of the countries which did liberalize somewhat followed the European Social Democratic model mostly in the realm of economics (neoliberal/Kenysian).
More on all that later.
For now, let me introduce Imran Khan the founder of Pakistan Tehreek -e-Insaf or Movement For Justice.
He is the only prominent politician to my knowledge in much of Western Asia whose ideas mirror the classical liberal thought. A hero to many Pakistanis he led Pakistan to Cricket's World cup victory in 1992 against Pakistan's mother country Britian:
YouTube - Imran Khan 1992 Wold Cup Final Cornered Tiger Interview (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iyk19yAJIE)
Well known for his philanthropy and spokesman for active volunteerism, he was known as a play boy in his younger days and is well respected in the Common Wealth and he took occasional endearing flak for it:
YouTube - The Late Show: Like a Tiger (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDyuz0zFyv0)
But after reading some of his writings and listening to a few of his interviews I don't think he is quite there yet as he has spoken of creating a welfare state (whether he means welfare economics or state is not clear to me). Educated at Oxford, he and his party's top brass represents the middle- upper middle class of Pakistanis familiar with the Westmnister model of democracy (which forms basis of Pakistani constitution) and fluent in English (the official not the national language of Pakistan).
How ever unlike the venal and regional satraps of the neocons (as most Pakistanis would describe their imposed ruling ELite), Khan is a refreshing change from the deluge that makes the third world... third world. There are very good reasons why Pakistanis view their government as puppet and opressive. I wouldn't recommend reading about Khan from a source such as wikipedia because you'll find mostly irrelevant non-issue nonsense stuff on him as the pro government brigade has been quite active online and against him. Again more on all this and more later....
For now a brief intro to Khan should suffice as his views echo majority of that of Pakistanis and diagramatically opposite to the uber leftist, pragmatic, psuedo socialist/fascist elite who surprise surprise echo Washington like a parrot (the best budgerigars a few billion in aid can buy). But in direct consonance with Dr. Ron Paul. Those from South and Central Asia familiar with both these personalities often draw parallels between them for a variety of reasons.
I felt it good to share this, as whatever I have garnered from my own observations and knowledge of the region (near east, central asia, south asia, caucuses and the middle east) and contrary to any and all public and media perception in the US, Pakistan seems to be a nation ripe for a libertarians staging ground in the so called muslim world least of which being the country's founder himself being the only classical liberal in the entire colonized world.
The following were prophetic words in 2007, when Iraq was the center stage and Afghanistan or AFPAK as Obama's team calls it was not much in the news:
This interview was done in 2007. Very prophetic. The end of the clip betrays shadows of paleo-conservatism of Satan's minion Cheney hiss-self from 1992.
YouTube - Neocons' War OF Terror And its Futile Destructiveness (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny8I4ujvX9k)
In this clip he is addressing a group of Pakistani policy makers and university students. And it may seem very surprising to some that he is making these arguments to Pakistanis instead of say a Western audience, but as said before believe it or not the kleptocratic slaves which what the pakistani regime was has been hand picked by the Bush administration after the dictator General Musharraf was forced to abdicate. Try to watch it with an open mind. One doesn't have to agree or be sympathetic, but I do believe you'll get an education of the region not available elsewhere in our media :
YouTube - Imran Khan explains the "War of Terror" and Pakistani Taliban (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9eh5G9Hqks&feature=related)