As you have probably heard, Pakistani President Musharraf has fired the Chief Judge of the country's Supreme Court which has caused a storm of protests. In the latest, police closed down a TV channel that was covering the protests:

Pakistani riot police have stormed a private television channel's offices after it refused to stop covering protests in Islamabad over moves to sack the country's top judge.

Police smashed windows and fired tear gas in the Geo TV office as a hearing against Iftikhar Chaudhary, the suspended chief justice, resumed in the Supreme Court.

General Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistan president, later apologised for the police raid and promised swift action against those responsible.

We have, of course, allied ourselves with a really despicable person in Musharaff, but the alternative is perhaps even more despicable. If the opposition Islamic extremists get power, they then have the nukes at their disposal, and who knows where that would lead?

Unfortunately, it looks like things in Pakistan may well be spinning out of control. Let's hope somebody in Washington has a good contingency plan in the event the Pakistan government is overthrown.