From famous politicians and leaders like Sadat, MLK, Ghandi and JFK to lesser known people like James Reeb, Theo van Gogh, Óscar Romero & Ita Ford, any agent of true change and reform faces the very real threat of a violent death in today's world. It's a brutal reality that is probably not going away any time soon. 

This is a sad, sad day but we can hope that some good will come of it. Sadat's peace accord with Israel still stands today, largely because of his legacy. Ghandi & King are both almost universaly revered today when in their own times they were hated and villified by a very large percentage of the population.

I don't think it would be unreasonable to hope that in twenty or thirty years Prime Minister Bhutto's name will have become synonymous with peaceful reform in Pakistan, much like Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi is in India today.

But it still sucks.

Failing to do so, they dropped the child near my vehicle. Some witnesses said the child had been rigged as a human bomb. I can't be sure. What followed was a massive explosion, killing scores immediately, tearing many bodies in half and sending blood, gore and flames up into the vehicle.

The ones who advocating suicide bombing as martyrdom are twisting Islam in a way not unlike those who justify killing abortion doctors by twisting Chrisitanity.  The Koran is pretty clear that suicide is a sin. 

Bin Laden and his ilk think calling suicide bombing 'martydom' makes it not suicide, but it is.

Unfortunately, this is just like the Mafia in the Italian neighborhoods.  Too many good people are either afraid of being silenced in some spectacular and gruesome fashion (along with scores of innocent bystanders) or just don't want to be targeted by those who go along with the bloody-minded fanatacism being promoted as "true faith".  Sooner or later, like the German people during the war against Hitler's Nazis, they will be subjected to even greater horrors, whether it is the United States pulling the trigger or some other world power stepping in if it pulls out.

It's sad, really.  Bhutto was a modern thinker amongst the Pakistani people, basically exiled because she didn't support the status quo of the military leadership.  It was bound to happen sooner or later, this assassination.  What happens next is unknown at this point.

My prayers go out to those people.  Judging from the men and women that I've worked with in my time, there are some good people getting swept up in this new horror for our 21st Century.  Let's hope that something happens soon to prevent it from spreading worldwide again.

This whole thing smells like three-day-old fish

We all saw that Musharraf was refusing to step down and he has conveniently placed the blame on those he already opposes and is trying to crush

Since he is " friendly" to the american govt. He will not have any fingers pointed at him by Bush or our western media. You have to look at other news coverage from unbiased countrys for any allegations of that.

The whole thing reads like a badly written TV movie, easy to see the plot.

Another modern female leader who speaks for democracy is Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma (Myanmar).  I am surprised she is still alive after all these years!

http://www.asiaamerica.org/

It's important to note, as terrible a tragedy as this is, that Bhutto and her family were extremely corrupt.  They helped ruin Pakistan, and it was her original regime that is partly responsible for the current mess Pakistan is in.  There is a lot of evidence concerning her government's complicity with the Taliban and giving North Korea nuclear technology.  I am not convinced another reign by her would have been better than Musharraf.  Of course, it would be better if this had not happened.

And if you are looking for a "babe" that is a modern female leader, google Yulia Tymoshenko of Ukraine.