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The End of Another Year ...

your country is known to have problems:
1. The UN has to open a special section just to get information about the chaos and bloodshed, UNAMI
2. The above section can not be run from your country
3. The politicians who worked to make your country in this sorry state, and are not found within its borders or anywhere nearby.
4. The only thing that America and Iran can agree is on the increasingly poor state of your nation.
5. An 8-year war and a blockade of 13 seem the "Golden Years" of the country.
6. Your country is purportedly 'selling' 2 million barrels of oil a day, but you make a queue of 4 hours for black market gasoline for the generator.
7. For every 5 hours without power, you get an hour of public electricity and then the government announces it will stop providing that hour.
8. Politicians supported the war spend tv time debating whether the question of "sectarian killing" or "civil war."
9. People consider themselves lucky if they can really identify the body of his relative who has been missing for two weeks.

A day in the life of an average Iraqi has been reduced to identifying corpses, avoiding car bombs and try to maintain contact with family members detained, of whom some have been banished and other hostages.

2006 was decidedly the worst year yet. No, really. The magnitude of this war and this occupation is now when it hits with full force into the country. It's like having a large piece of hard, dry earth you are determined to destroy. You put the first blow in the form of an infrastructure damaged with missiles and the latest in weapons technology, the first cracks begin. Followed by several small strokes in the form of politicians like Chalabi, Al Hakim, Talbani, Pachachi, Allawi and Maliki. The cracks slowly begin to multiply and spread through the once was a solid piece of earth, reaching their ends as many skeletal hands. And apply pressure. Surround him everywhere and strips and push. Slowly but surely, begins to separate, a chip here, a bit more over there.

That is Iraq today. The Americans have done a good job to break it. This past year has nearly everyone convinced that that was the plan from the beginning. To them have been too many failures as they have been simply failures. 'Errors' were too catastrophic. The people who elected Bush administration to support and promote were openly and publicly terrible, from the "conman" and embezzler Chalabi, to the terrorist Jaffari, or the militia man Maliki. Decisions, such as dissolving the Iraqi army, abolishing the original constitution and allowing militias to take charge of Iraqi security were too damaging to not be intentional. The question now

is: but why? It really took the last few days asking this. What can you win America damaging Iraq to this extent? I am sure that only genuine idiots still believe this war and occupation have had to do with WMD or an actual fear of Saddam.

"Al Qaeda? Produces laughter. Bush has effectively created more terrorists in Iraq for the past 4 years than Osama could have created in 10 different terrorist camps in the distant hills of Afghanistan. Our children now play games shooters and 'jihadi', pretending to give an American soldier between the eyes, and it becomes a Humvee.

This year especially has been a turning point. Virtually every Iraqi has lost so much. Too . There is no way to describe the loss we have experienced with this war and this occupation. There are no words to reflect the feeling that makes you know that are daily almost 40 corpses in various states of decay and mutilation. There is no compensation for the dense, black cloud of fear hanging over the head of every Iraqi. Fear of things so far from one's hands, that borders on the ridiculous, such as your name is 'too Sunni' or 'too Shia'. Fear of greater things, as the American tank police patrolling your neighborhood with black bandanas and green banners, and Iraqi soldiers in black masks carrying control.

Again, I can not but wonder why he has done all this. What is the reason to destroy Iraq and, most beyond repair? Iran appears to be the only winner. Their presence in Iraq is so established that publicly criticizing a cleric or ayatollah verges on suicide. Do they have done so out of hand the United States the situation is now irretrievable? Or it was part of the plan from the beginning? My head hurts just asking questions.

What has me more confused on this now is: why add fuel to the fire? Sunnis and moderate Shia are being chased out of the South's largest cities and the capital. Is tearing Baghdad with Shia leaving Sunni neighborhoods and Sunni-Shiite neighborhoods abandoned some under threat and fear of other attacks. People are openly fired at checkpoints or on the road ... Many universities have suspended classes. Thousands more Iraqis no longer send their children to school - not safe.

Why make things worse now insisting on the execution of Saddam? Who gains if they hang Saddam? Iran, of course, but who more? There is real fear that this execution is the latest blow to Iraq to pieces. Some Sunni and Shia tribes have threatened to arm their members against the Americans if Saddam is executed. The Iraqis in general are watching closely to see what happens next, and preparing for the worst.

This is because Saddam no longer represents himself or his regime. Despite the constant insistence of American war propaganda, Saddam is now a symbol for all loa Sunni Arabs (never mind that most of their governments are Shiites). The Americans, despite his speeches and newspaper articles and Iraqi Puppets, have made it very clear that they consider that he represents the Sunni Arab resistance against the occupation. Simply, with this execution, what the Americans say is: "Look, Sunni Arabs, this is your man, we all know. We are going to hang up, he symbolizes you. " And make no mistake, this trial, the verdict and the execution are 100% American. Some of the actors were Iraqi enough, but producing, directing and editing were pure Hollywood (though low budget, by the way).

This is, of course, why Talbani does not want to sign his death penalty-not because they have suddenly grown a conscience in the mafia but because they want to be the author of the hanging-could not reach far enough if you did this.

Maliki's government could not contain his joy. They announced the ratification of the execution order before the competent court to do. A few nights ago, some American news program interviewed the head of Maliki's office. Basim Al-Hassani who was speaking in English with an American accent on the next run as if waiting for a carnival. Sitting, looking sleazy and more than a bit ridiculous, his dialogue interspersed "gonna", "gotta" and "want to" ... Whatever happens, I suppose, when only people with whom you mix are American soldiers.

My only conclusion is that Americans want to withdraw from Iraq, but would like to leave behind a civil war with all of the law because it would be good if they withdraw and things started to go better, does not it?

We reached the end of 2006 and I'm sad. Not only for the situation in the country, but by the situation of our human values \u200b\u200band Iraqis. All of us have lost something of the compassion and civility that I felt made us special four years ago. Nearly four years ago I was embarrassed every time I heard an American soldier had died. They were occupiers, but they were also human beings and they know that death in my country gave me sleepless nights.

If it had not stirred feelings expressed in this blog, I do not believe now. Today, they are just numbers, "3000 Americans killed in nearly four years? Really? That is the number of Iraqis who died in less than a month. "Americans had families? Too bad for them. We too. Also dumped in the streets and waiting to be identified in the morgue.

Is the American soldier died today in Anbar more important than my cousin who was shot last month on the night of his commitment to a woman he wanted to marry during the last six years? I do not think so.

Just because the Americans die in smaller numbers, that does not make them more meaningful, right?
- posted by river @ 1:00 PM

Forgot My Combination To My Brinks Lock

When all else fails ... The Lancet study

... Execute the dictator. It's that easy. When American soldiers killed dozens, when the country you are occupying is threatening to break into smaller countries, when militia and death squads roaming the streets and have put in power a group of mullahs - execute the dictator
Everyone expected this verdict from the very first day of trial. There was a brief interval in which the first judge, it was believed that it might be a coherent trial where Iraqis could hear explanations and see what happened. That soon ended with the first false witness for the prosecution. The events that followed were so ridiculous that even today are hard to believe.
The sound suddenly disappeared when the defense or one of the defendants got up to speak. We could hear the witnesses but could not see them - hidden behind a curtain, their voices were changed. People who were supposed to have died in the Dujail incident were found to be very much alive.
Judge after judge was called to court because the court was seen as too fair. Not immediately condemn the defendants (even if it was in the interest of the media). The brightest jewel was the final judge they brought. His reputation rivaled only by Chalabi, a well known thief and murderer who fled to Iran to escape not political condemnation, but the wrath of his father after he stole to the restaurant he ran.
So we all knew the result would (Maliki was on television 24 hours before the verdict telling people that "they did not rejoice too much"). I think what surprises me right now is the absolute stupidity of the current Iraqi government. The timing is ridiculous, "just before the congressional elections? How convenient for Bush!, Iraq today is at its worst since the invasion and occupation began in April 2003, now looks like a honeymoon. Is it really the time to execute Saddam?
I am more than a little worried. It is Bush's last letter. The elections came and went and put in power a group of extremists and thieves (no, no ...! I mean Baghdad, not Washington). The constitution, which appears to have drowned in the river of Iraqi blood since the elections has been forgotten. Only dig up when one of the Puppets wants to tear the country. Reconstruction is an aspiration from another time. I swear we no longer want buildings and bridges, security and an undivided Iraq are more than enough. Things must be deteriorating beyond imagination if Bush needs to use the letter "Execute the Dictator."
Iraq has not been this bad in decades. The occupation is a failure. The various governments pro-American or pro-Iran government have failed. The new Iraqi army is a deadly joke. Is it really time to turn Saddam into a martyr? Things are so bad that even the Iraqis for the occupation retract his initial frenzied "WE LOVE AMERICA." Laith Kubba (who looks like Mr. Catfish for his big mouth and constant look stupid) was recently on the BBC saying that this was just the beginning of justice, people who today is responsible for the loss of life also face justice. Seems to have forgotten that he was one of those who supported the war and occupation, and an important member of one of the murderers pro-American governments. But history will not forget Mr. Kubba.
Iraq saw demonstrations against and for the verdict. The pro-Saddam demonstrators were attacked by the Iraqi army. That's how free our media is today: the channels showing the pro-Saddam demonstrations have been closed. Iraqi security forces promptly raided. Welcome to the new Iraq. Here are some images from the Salahiddin and Zawra channels:


Zawra Chain. The caption says: Baghdad: Zawra satellite channel has stopped broadcasting by order of government.



Salahiddin green screen which appeared suddenly, says Salahiddin
satéite channel via


Sharqiya channel announcing the latest news: Two channels, Salahiddin and Zawra, closed. Security forces ransacked the offices of the stations.

not have to do with man (the presidents come and go, governments come and go). It is the frustration of feeling that the whole country and each of them and the Iraqis from inside and outside are at the mercy of American politics. It is the rage of feeling like a mere chess piece being moved forward and back at will. It is the aggravation of having a government so blind and insensitive to the needs of its people who do not even seem necessary to comply with formalities or pass a law. And there are the dead. The thousands of dead and dying, with Bush sitting there smirking and lying about progress and victory in a country where all Iraqis and outside the Green Zone is losing.
Again ... The timing of this is impeccable, two days before congressional elections. And if you do not see, sorry, you're stupid. Let's see how many times takes this as a "success" in his upcoming speeches.
One final note. I read somewhere that some families of dead American soldiers are visiting the north of Iraq to see "so that their sons and daughters have died." If that is the goal of the visit, then, "Ladies and gentlemen, to your right is the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, to your left is the refinery Dawry ... Each of you get this: a gift bag containing a color poster of Al 3 x 3 Sayid Muqtada Al Sadr (Long life and prosperity), the Ayatollah Sistani t-shirt and a map of Iraq at redrawn with the Islamic Republic of southern Iraq. Plus ... Hey, you! You, the woman behind! Would that I see is a lock of hair? Cover up or stay home! ".
.
And that is why they have died.

- posted by river @ 8:25 PM

Gordon Brown Spotting

This has been the longest season I've been away from writing in my blog. There have been several reasons for my disappearance. The most important is that whenever I felt urged to write about Iraq, about the situation, I felt invaded by a certain hopelessness that can not be described in words and I suspect others and other Iraqis feel also.

is very difficult at the present moment to connect to the Internet and read articles from so-called experts, analysts and politicians. They argue and write about Iraq as I can write about the Ivory Coast or Cambodia, with a detachment and a lack of feeling I guess is what is called being fair. Hearing American politicians is even worse. Ranging between idiots like Bush in a constant and total denial, and opportunists who want to use the war and the subsequent chaos to promote themselves.

The latest horror is the study published in the journal Lancet concluded that 600 000 Iraqis have been killed since the war began. Reading about it left me in a confusion of feelings. On the one hand sounds like a reasonable number, it was not unreasonable. On the other side I wanted the figure was wrong. But ... who to believe? "American politicians or highly reputable scientists using scientifically reliable research techniques?

were typical responses. The war supporters said the number was nonsense because, of course, who want to admit that an action so fervently supported by them has led to the deaths of 600,000 Iraqis (even if they were crazy Iraqis)? Admitting that number is the equivalent of admitting that they have promoted a tsunami or an earthquake with a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale, or the occupation of a developing country by a ruthless superpower ... oh wait, that's what really happened . Is it really so absurd number? Thousands of Iraqis are dying every month, this is undeniable. And, yes, they are dying as a direct result of war and occupation (very few of them and they really have died of happiness (as supporters of the war and Puppets would have you believe).

For American politicians and military personnel the latest tactic seems to be to play dumb and talk of bodies in morgues and official statistics. But as every Iraqi knows, not every death is reported. As for getting reliable figures of the Ministry of Health or any other official Iraqi institution is as likely as getting a grammatically correct sentence from George Bush, especially since the minister was disqualified for providing mortality figures correct. So far the only Iraqis I know that many qualified exorbitant, or are out of touch with Iraqi reality, living abroad and supporting the war, or Iraqis inside that directly benefit from the occupation ($) and likely living in the Green Zone.

The chaos and lack of adequate facilities are the result of people being buried without passing through the reservoir or the hospital. During the U.S. military attack against civilians in cities like Samarra and Fallujah, victims were buried in their gardens or in mass graves in football fields Or have forgotten this already?

literally do not know a single Iraqi family that has not seen the violent death of a first-or second grade in the last three years. Abductions, militias, sectarian violence, revenge killings, assassinations, car bombs, suicide bombers, American military attacks, military raids of Iraqi forces, death squads, armed robberies, executions, detentions, secret prisons, torture, mysterious weapons, with so many ways to die "is the number so unlikely?

There are Iraqi women who have not removed the clothes of mourning since 2003 because each time we approach the end of the appropriate period of mourning, some other relative dies and the countdown begins again.

pretend that the figure of 600,000 is totally wrong and that the minimum is the correct number close to 400,000 Is that better? Before the war the Bush administration Saddam was claiming that 300 000 Iraqis killed in about 24 years. After this latest report published by the Lancet. 300,000 seems quite modest and tame. Congratulations Bush and company.

Everyone knows that the "official figures" of Iraqis dead or dying as a direct result of war and occupation are far from reality (yes, even you, war hawks, in the depths of your tiny heart). This latest report is probably closer to the truth than anything that has been published so far. And what about the American deaths? When will someone study on the actual number of these? If the Bush administration is lying so vehemently about the number of Iraqi dead, one can only imagine the extent of lying about dead Americans.

- posted by river @ 11:35 PM

Hcg Shot And Hot Flashes

Summer Stag .... The slaughter at Qana

Residents of Baghdad are systematically being pushed out of the city. Some families are waking up to find a Klashnikov bullet and a letter in an envelope with the words "Leave this area or another." The perpetrators of these threats are Sadr's followers. The Mahdi army. This is public knowledge, but no one dares say it aloud. In the last month we had two different families staying with them in our house, after they had to leave their neighborhoods due to death threats and attacks. Not only the Sunnis, Shiites are Arabs, Kurds-most of the middle class areas are being targeted by militias.

Other areas are being overrun by armed Islamists. Americans have absolutely no control in these areas. Or maybe you just do not want to control them, because when there is a clash between Sadr's militia and another militia in a residential area they surround the area and observe what happens.

Since early July, the men in our area have been patrolling the streets. Some patrol the terraces and others sit quietly next to the barricades "home" we have placed on main roads that go to our area. I really can not be trusted in any way the Americans or the government. You can only hope that your family and friends remain alive-not safe, not secure-just alive. This is good enough.

for me was in June marked the first month that I dared not leave the house without a hijab, or headscarf. Normally not seen the hijab, but it is not possible to drive around Baghdad without a hijab. It is not at all a good idea. (Take note that when I say "driving" really mean "sit in the back seat, "I have not driven for a long time). walk bareheaded in the car or on the streets also puts family members at risk, as well as you. You risk hearing something not want to hear and then the father or brother or cousin can not just sit by and let it pass. For a long time do not drive. If you are a woman you risk being attacked.
Miro
my old dresses, jeans and T-shirts and colorful skirts-and it is as if studying a wardrobe from another country, another life. There was a time, a couple of years, you could, more or less, dress as you like when you were not going to a public place. If you went to a house relatives or friends could wear trousers and a shirt, or jeans, something that no current view. We do not do this because there is always the risk that the car is stopped and reviewed by one or another militia.

no laws that say we have to wear the hijab (yet), but there are men in black robes and turbans, the extremists and fanatics who were liberated by the occupation, and, at some point, you get tired of challenging them. Do not want to see you. I feel as if the black or white scarf I pull over my head any way make me invisible to a certain extent, it is easier to blend with the masses shrouded in black. If you are a woman, do not want to draw attention, do not want Iraqi police attention, not the want of militant dressed in black, do not want the American soldier. Do not want to be noticed or seen.

I have nothing against the hijab, while the use is a choice, of course. Many of my friends and relatives wear the hijab. Many of them began to use after the war. It started as a way to avoid problems and undue attention, and now simply because there is no point carrying it off. What is happening to the country?

I realized what had become common until mid-July when M., a childhood friend, came to say goodbye before leaving the country. Entered the home, complaining of the heat and the roads, her brother following behind, very close. It was not until the end of the visit when the peculiarity of the situation struck me. She was preparing to leave before sunset, and took the beige headscarf folded neatly beside her. As I told one of his neighbors had been shot, opened the handkerchief with a flourish, set him on the head like a pro, and lit it with a pin under the chin with the precision of an experienced user of hijab. All this without a mirror, as if he had done hundreds of times before ... I would be fine, except that M. Christian.

If M. can wear one without complaining, I can

This last month I said goodbye to more people than I can count. Some of the 'goodbyes' were hurried and furtive-the sort you say at night to the neighbor who has received a death threat and is leaving at dawn, quietly. Several

"goodbyes' were emotional and deeply suffered, the relatives and friends who can not live any longer in a country that is crumbling stitching.

Many of the 'goodbyes' were said stoically-almost casually-with a fake smile carved on the face and the words, "See you soon" ... Just to get out the door and the weight derrumbarte want to separate you from other loved more.

During times like these I remember a speech Bush made in 2003. One of the great things he mentioned was the return of jubilant 'exiled' Iraqis to their country after the fall of Saddam. I like to see some figures on Iraqis and outside the country currently are occupying ... Not to mention internally displaced Iraqis abandoning their homes and cities.

Sometimes I even wonder if you ever come to know exactly how many hundreds of thousands of Iraqis left the country this bleak summer. I wonder how many of them come back. Where do they go? What will their lives? Is it time to follow them? Is it time to wash their hands of the country and try to find a stable life somewhere else in another?

- posted by river @ 12:38 AM

Back Of Shoe Rubs Ankle

Although the sun is blinding this time of year in our part of the world, the Middle East is seeing some of its darkest days ... I woke up this

morning to meet with scenes of carnage and destruction on television, and for a few brief moments, I thought it was footage of Iraq. It took me a few seconds realized it was actually Qana in Lebanon . The latest village to see Israeli air strikes. The images were beyond gruesome-body parts and corpses being hauled out from under tons of rubble. Wailing relatives and friends, searching for loved ones ... So far, according to humanitarian organizations, 34 were children. They were killed while they were sleeping inside their bomb shelters-much like the Amriya Shelter massacre in 1991

saw the corpses of children on television, lifeless and twisted grotesquely, what remained of their faces frozen in expressions pain and fear. I just sat and cried in front of TV. I do not know how I can still feel that sort of sorrow towards what has become a daily reality for Iraqis. It is not Iraq but it might be: It's civilians under lethal attack, is a country fighting occupation.

I'm so frustrated I can not think clearly. I am full of rage against Israel, the USA, Britain and most of Europe. The world is going to hell for standing by and allowing the slaughter of innocents. For the love of God, "" 34 children?? The UN is beyond useless. Has gone from being a union of nations working for the good of the world (if they ever were even that) to a bunch of gravediggers. They're only good for digging mangled bodies removed in the wrecked buildings and helping to identify and bury them in mass graves. They will not stop the killing, or even speak out against it-just come to help clean. "They are worth so little the lives of Arabs? If this had happened in the U.S. or UK or France or China, somebody, for now, I would have dropped a nuclear bomb ... How is this happening?

¿Where is the Security Council? Why have not they stopped Israel? Ehud Olmert recently told Condi that he needs 10 to 14 days of bloodshed, and has not done anything about it! Where are the useless Arab leaders? Can not the pro-American, spineless emirs crawl out of their palaces enough to condemn this taking of lives? Our presidents / leaders are only as influential as their oil barrels.

And the world is wondering how to create the "terrorists"! A Lebanese girl aged 15 lost five of his brothers and sisters and their parents in the Qana bombing ... Ehud Holmert could also kill her now because if you think that will grow with anything but hate in his heart to him and everything what he represents, he is a dreamer Is

this whole debacle the fine line between terrorism and protect the nation itself? If a militia, insurgent or military resistance-then it's terrorism (unless of course the militia, insurgent (s) and / or resistance have been funded exclusively by the CIA). If the Israeli army, American or British, then it is a preemptive strike, or a "war on terror." No matter the loss of hundreds of innocent lives. Never mind the children who died last night, after all, were only Arabs, right?

right?

- posted by river @ 10:16 PM

promises

Open Big Breast Movie

Atrocities ... ... ..

be a long summer. We're almost at its midpoint, but it seems as if the days were just crawling slowly. It is a combination of heat, flies, the hours and hours without electricity and the corpses which keep appearing everywhere.

one day before yesterday was catastrophic. It began with news of the killings in Jihad Quarter. According to people who live there, black-clad militiamen entered cars in the morning and opened fire on people in the streets and even in homes. They began pulling people into the street and checking their identity cards to see if they had Sunni names or Shia names and then took the Sunnis and killed some were executed there. The media is playing it down and talk about 37 dead but the locals said that the number is closer to 60

The most horrible massacres is that the area had been isolated for nearly two weeks by forces Interior Ministry security and Americans. Last week a car bomb was placed outside a mosque "Sunni" visited by people from the area. The night before the slaughter, a car bomb exploded outside a Shiite Husseiniya in the same area. The next day was full of screaming and shooting and death for people in the area. Nobody knows for sure why Americans and the troops of the Ministry of Interior did not respond immediately. They stayed there for about sitting on the edge of the area and let the slaughter happen.

At about two o'clock in the afternoon, we received terrible news. We lost a friend in the killings. T. was a 26 year old engineer working with a group of friends in a consulting office in Jadriya. The last time I saw him was a week ago. Had come to our house to tell us that his sister had promised and had brought some pictures of the last project I was working half-collapsed school building outside of Baghdad.

usually left his house 7 in the morning to avoid traffic jams and heat. Yesterday, he decided to stay home because he had promised his mother he would bring Abu Kamal to fix the generator that had stopped suddenly at his home last night. His parents say that T. was leaving the area on foot when the attack occurred and was shot twice in the head. His brother could only identify him by the shirt he wore short sleeve stained with blood.

The people of the area is at home and no one dares to enter, so do not even begun ahn wakes for people who have been massacred. I have not seen his family and I'm not sure you have the courage or energy give my condolences. I feel like I've said the traditional words of condolences a thousand times in the past few months, "baqiya ib il akhira ahzan hayatkum ... ..." or "Let this be the last of your sorrows" It's just empty words because as we know that in today's Iraq, any suffering, no matter how big it is, not the last.

There was also an attack yesterday in Ghazaliya though we have not heard of casualties. People are saying it is the militia Sadr, the Mahdi Army, who is behind the killings. The news the world hears about Iraq and the situation in the country are absolutely different. People are being dragged by force from their homes and areas and murdered in the streets, and Americans, the Iranians and the Puppets talk of national conferences and progress.

It is as if Baghdad was no longer a city, a dozen smaller cities each infected with its own form of violence. Has reached the point where I fear sleeping because the morning always brings bad news. The television shows the images and the broadcast stations. The newspapers show images of corpses and angry words jump on you from its pages, "civil war ... death ... killing ... bombs ... rape ..."

Rape. The latest of American atrocities. Although it is certainly not the last, is just the most publicized being. The poor girl Abeer was neither the first to be raped by American troops, nor the last. Rape is a taboo subject in Iraq. Here, families do not report rape, come. We've been hearing rumors the last three years of rape in prisons controlled by the Americans and during sieges of towns like Haditha and Samarra. The naiveté of Americans who can not believe that their "heroes" committed such atrocities is ridiculous "" Who ever heard of an army violations by the occupying??. If you're a country, why not people?

In the News estimated his age at 24 years but Iraqis from the area say she was only 14. Imagine your sister, your daughter 14 or 14 years. Imagine it being gang raped by a gang of psychopaths, and is then killed and burned to conceal the rape. In the end, her parents and a sister five years of age were also killed. Hail! American Heroes ... lift up your heads high supporters of the "liberation" - can be proud of your troops today. I do not think the troops should be brought to justice. I think that should be delivered to residents of the area and only then would be true justice. And the ass of our Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, is requesting an "independent investigation", tucked safely in your residential area protected by the Americans, because it was your daughter or sister who was raped, probably tortured and killed. His family is abroad safe from falling into the hands of furious Iraqis and psychotic American troops.

fills me with rage to hear and read about it. The pity I once had for foreign troops are gone. Has been eradicated by the atrocities in Abu Ghraib, the deaths in Haditha and the latest news of rapes and murder. I see them in their armored vehicles and, to be honest, I can not take me to worry about if they have 19 or 39, I can not take me to worry about if you go home alive, I can not take me to worry more about the parents or children have left behind. I look and I just wonder how many innocents have been killed and many more kill before returning home. How many more young Iraqi women raped?.

Why Americans do not go home? Have done enough damage and we hear of how things in Iraq would collapse if "cut and were" but the fact is that things are not going anything right now. How worse to wear? People are being murdered on the streets and in their own homes-what is being done about it? Nothing. It is convenient for them-Iraqis can kill each other and they can sit and watch the bloodshed-unless they want to join with murder and rape.

Buses, planes and taxis leaving the country to Syria and Jordan are sold to the end of summer. People are buying and leaving en masse and most plan to stay outside the country. Life here has become unbearable because there is already a life as people living abroad. It's just a matter of survival, to get a fix overnight in one piece and coping with the loss of loved ones and friends-friends like T.

is hard to believe. T. really gone ... I was checking my email today and I saw three unopened emails in my own inbox. For a giddy moment I thought heart stopped was alive. T. was alive and it was all a terrible mistake! I got carried away by the wave of giddy disbelief for a few precious seconds before falling when my eyes fell on the date of the e-mails, had sent the night before he was killed. One of the emails was a collection of jokes, one was a compilation of photographs of cats, and the third was a poem in Arabic about Iraq under American occupation. Had highlighted a few lines describing the beauty of Baghdad despite the war ... And while I always thought that Baghdad was one of the most beautiful cities in the world, I'm finding it very difficult at this moment see any beauty in a city stained with the T. Blood and so many other innocents.

- posted by river @ 11:43 PM

Nadine Jansen Weight Gain 2000 2010

Zarqawi ...

So finally "Zarqawi" is dead. This was the interesting news that greeted us yesterday morning (or was it yesterday? I've lost track of time ...) I did not bother with the pictures of him who taught because personally, I've been saturated with images of broken bodies, bleeding.

have been different reactions. There is general consensus among family and friends that they were not wrong, whoever he is. There are also doubts about who he really was. Is it there? Was it really the great terror the Americans made him be? When did it really? People swear he was killed in 2003 ... The timing is extremely suspicious: just when people were really getting fed up with the useless Iraqi government, Zarqawi is killed and Maliki is hailed as the victorious leader of the busy world! (And no Iraqis celebrating in the streets-concerns for electricity, water, death squads, tests, corpses and extremists in positions of power are prevalent now.

I've been listening to reactions-mostly pro-war politicians and the naïveté they reveal is astounding. Maliki (the current Iraqi prime minister) was almost mareándose when he published the news (tried his best and saved). Do we really believe that this will end the resistance against occupation?. While there are foreign troops in Iraq, resistance or 'insurgency' will continue-why is it so hard to understand? Why is this strange idea?

"A New @ s Day for Iraqis "is the motto of the current Iraqi puppet government and the Americans. Just as it was" A New Day for Iraqis l @ s "on April 9, 2003. And it was" A New Day for l @ s Iraqis "when they killed Oday and Qusay. Another "New Day for Iraqis @ s" when they caught Saddam. More "New Day" when they made the draft of the constitution ... I'm starting to think it's like one of those questions you do on an IQ test: If " New "equals" more "and" Day "equals" Suffering ", what means" New Day for Iraqis @ s?

How do I feel? To hell with Zarqawi (or as Bush calls Zayrkawi). It was an American creation-came with them, and no longer need it, apparently. His influence was greatly exaggerated, but he was the justification for each family who killed their troops and military aggression. First it was WMDs, then Saddam, after Zarqawi. Who will be next? Who will be the new excuse to kill and arrest Iraqis? Or is that excuse is no longer necessary?. They are free to do whatever they want. The Haditha massacre was a few months ago the test. "We no longer need it most," our elderly neighbor commenting story as if he were swatting flies, "are fifty Zarqawis in government."

So now that Zarqawi is dead, and as, according to Bush and our Iraqi puppets he was behind many of the suffering of Iraq, things will get better, right? Car bombs will fall, will end the ethnic cleansing, the siege and military attacks will end ... This is what we were promised, is not it? This sounds very good. Now, who would have to kill to stop the death squads of the Interior Ministry and the trigger-happy foreign troops?

- posted by river @ 12:47 AM

Can Rotator Cuff Cause Pain In Wrist?

Bad Day ... Viva Muqtada

has been a horrible day. We have awakened because of unbearable heat. Our area has an average of 4 hours of electricity a day and the rest is supplied by the generator, which means that we can use ceiling fans, but there is no way for us to use air conditioners. We woke

sinister silence, an indication that the generator was not working. E. went to the neighbor's door to check, and got the confirmation. Might not be running all day. The neighbor responsible for it would bring the "doctor of the generators" as soon as it became available.

The power supply back only twenty minutes before 6 pm, as if they laughed at us. The moment the lights flickered, we gather in the kitchen and could hear the howling and shouting with joy of the neighborhood children.

Before that we heard the news about the hostages lot of Salhiya area of \u200b\u200bBaghdad. Salhiya is a busy area where many travel agencies have offices. Has been particularly busy since the war because everyone who wants to leave to Jordan and Syria made a reservation from one or another office in the area.

According to people who live and work in the area, about 15 police cars stopped in the area and uniformed men started catching civilians in the streets and in their cars, giving them a packet at the head and pushing them into police cars. Anyone who tried to oppose, or beat him and pushed him inside a car. It is estimated that the total number of people who were taken is about 50.

This has been happening all over Iraq. Mystery Men from the Ministry of Interior civil assault and taken away. Only that has not happened to many people at once. What is disturbing is that the Iraqi Ministry of Interior has denied having anything to do with the latest mass detention (which is the last pattern, why get involved with human rights organizations about mass arrests, torture and murder?! Stick to deny it!). Not a good sign, means that these people will probably be found dead in a few days. We pray to live again ...

Another part of the news was particularly bad during the day, later. Several students riding a school bus were killed in the Dora area. Nobody knows why. It is not clear. Were they Sunni? Were they Shia? Most likely, they were mixed ... Leaving the final exam, having been up the night before to study the heat. When they left their homes, probably only worried about whether they would condone or suspended. Her parents leave with words of encouragement and prayer. Now will never return home.

are ongoing ethnic cleansing and it is impossible to deny. It is killing people according to their ID card. Extremists on both sides make their lives miserable. Some work for "Zarqawi", and others to the Iraqi Interior Ministry. We hear kill Shiites in the "Sunni Triangle" and corpses of Sunnis who call Omar (a Sunni name) arriving by the dozen at the Baghdad morgue. I never thought I would miss the car bombs. At least one car bomb is indiscriminate. Because you're not looking for you Sunni or Shia.

Still no ministers in key ministries (defense and interior). Iraq is falling apart and Maliki and his team are still discussing who should get more power, who is more qualified to oppress Iraqis with the help of foreign occupiers? Above is the rumor that the Iraqi parliament will vacation during July and August. They are so tired of arguing and fighting for power, they need to take a couple of months to rest. Leave their well-guarded home for two months, and spend some time abroad with their families (who can no longer live in Iraq, are too precious for that!)

Where does one for prevent death and destruction? Are Americans happy with this progress? Bush insists Still we progress?

Emily Dickinson wrote: "Hope is something with feathers." If what you wrote is true, then hope has flown far, far away from Iraq.


- posted by river @ 2:53 a.m.

Welcome Letter For Visitors Church

is fascinating to see the world beyond Iraq prepare for the World Cup. Receive e-mail photographs of people waving flags and banners supporting either team. Oh! Here we also have flags and banners-drilled black banners all over Baghdad, announcing deaths and wakes. The flags are all of one color, usually black, green, red or yellow-representing a certain religious party or political group.

A friend owns a shop in Karrada had a little problem with a certain flag last week. Karrada was one of the best shopping in Baghdad before the war. It was the area to which you were when you were a shopping list unrelated, such as shoes, a potato peeler, pink nail polish and a dozen blank CDs. You could be sure to find everything you need in less than an hour

Immediately after the war, SCIRI, Da'awa and other parties have opened offices in the area. Stores that previously exhibited Garments and posters of women with make-up, adopted a more subdued picture. Soon, instead of photographs of charming women advertising Dior perfume, shops put pictures of Sistani, looking half-alive, shrouded in black. Or pictures of Sadr, grim and dark, and almost certainly not smelling like Dior.

This friend owns a small cosmetics shop where he sells everything from bars to paint lips headscarves. His apartment is located just above the premises, so that when you look down from the window of his room, you can see if someone is at the door. G. inherited the shop from his father, who was selling Sewing instead of cosmetics. The store has been in the family for twenty years. Before the war, his wife and her sister going, getting the most persuasive sales duo known in the history of cosmetics (proof of this is a garishly colored neck scarf I bought four years ago and has never left cabinet). After the war, and several threats in the form of letters and broken windows, G. began to run the business personally, and, besides cosmetics, introduced a dark line Abbaye appropriate loose headscarves.

The last time I visited G. in his shop was two weeks ago. Since January, the store G. has been the center of some football activities. His obsession with football has gotten to the point of closing the store two hours earlier, and thus E., cousin and other friends can gather for PlayStation FIFA games. These tournaments are basically a group of grown men sitting, driving digital little men running after a ball digital, passionately shouting and insulting each other. If you go to the store trying to buy something during those hours, you risk being thrown out or you just say "Take it, just take it (whatever). Take it and GO! Every World Cup year, G. and his wife joke, only half, to change the name of her only son by footballer of the year. (As a sort of compromise, family and friends have agreed to call his 14 years, "Ronaldinho" until the end of the World)
G.
's cousin, who has lived in Canada about 15 years, recently sent a G a colorful Brazilian flag, great, perfect for hanging in a window. He told us how he was planning to hang right in the center and paint under in big bold letters "VIVA BRASILIA!". E. seemed to doubt while G., excitedly described how she would change the colors of the exhibition, green and yellow to match the flag.

took nearly two days complete before the problems started the first sign of trouble came through a neighbor of G. Passed by the shop and told G. a turbaned young cleric in black, going against the window had turned their attention to the flag. According to Abu Rossul neighbor, the young cleric stopped, gazed at the flag, I note the store name and address and went his way. G.encogiéndose downplayed his shoulders, "Well, it could also be a follower of Brazil ...." Abu Rossul was not so sure, "To me it seemed more the type Viva Sadr! ...

A day later, G. had a visit at noon. A young priest dressed in black entered the store and gave a brief glimpse inside. G. tried to interest you in some lovely headscarves and Abbaye, but was left out of his apparent mission. Claimed to be representative of the Sadr press office was a few blocks away and had a message for G.: the staff of that office was not happy with the window of G. Where was their awareness of national pride? Where was his sense of religion?. Instead of the pagan side of a player could place important photos of Sadr, or, better yet, Muqtada! Why did a foreign flag stuck obscenely in your window? If he felt the need to put a flag, and was the Iraqi flag to be placed. If he felt the need for a green flag, as the window, and was the green flag of "Al il Bayt" ... Democracy is, after all, a matter of having choices.

G. I was not happy at all. He told the young priest would find a "solution" and made peace by donating some shoes cheap man and a cotton T-shirts selling at times. That night conferred with various relatives and friends and, although nearly all advised him to take it down, insisted that he remain in the window as a matter of principle. His wife even offered to turn it into a curtain or bed sheets to enjoy them until the end of the world. He was adamant to keep it.

Two days later, he found they had slipped under the large aluminum outer door a letter of warning more dramatic. In short, told G. and people like him pay @ sy required him to remove the flag or put in a dangerous situation. It costs a little to impress a man like G., but that day had removed the flag and the window was back to normal.

"Meanwhile, Muqtada issued a fatwa against football. I've downloaded, and this is the translation of what he says when someone asks for a fatwa (interpretation from the point of view of Islamic law, n. of t) on the football World Cup.

"Actually my father's position on this topic is not undefined. Not only my father but Sharia also prohibits such activities which keep their fans too busy to pray, keep people in oblivion (the prayer). Habeebi, the West created things to us from completing ourselves (perfection). What do we do? Running after a ball, habeebi ... What is this? A big tall man, a Muslim, running behind of a ball?. Habeebi, this "goal", as it is called ... if you want to run, run towards a noble goal. Follow the noble goals that will complement and do not you stoop. Runs after a goal, keep that in mind and everyone follows its own path toward the goal to please God. This is one thing. The second thing is more important, we find that in the West, and especially Israel, habeebi, Jews, would they have been playing soccer? "You see them play like Arabs play? They keep us busy with football and other things while they have left. Have you heard the Israeli team, curse them, have the World Cup? Or the U.S.? Only other games ... We kept busy with them, singing, playing soccer, and smoking, trash of this kind, satellites used for things blasphemous while they occupy themselves with science etc.. Habeebi Why? They are better than us, not we better than them.

Important Note: The Sharia does not prohibit the football or sports, are prohibited only in Muqtada's dark little head. I wonder what tennis, swimming and yoga ....

I heard the fatwa to him getting emotional about playing football and not know whether to mourn or laugh. Foreign occupation and being part of a puppet government these things are OK. Football however, will be the end of civilization as we know, according to Muqtada. It's fun. Do not look like anything but reminds me of Bush. Two sentences can hardly bind properly and millions of people still believe that his word is law. So when Bush raves about the "beginner Iraqi government," freely chosen "for power, you can look at Muqtada and see one of the beginners. Currently he is one of the most powerful men in the country for his followers

So this is democracy. This is one of the great minds of Bush's democratic Iraq

militia Sadr now controls parts of Iraq. Only a couple of days, his militia with the help of Badr, were preventing women from going to the market in the southern city of Karbala. No women were allowed to go to market and store owners complained that their businesses were suffering so. S Welcome to the new Iraq.

black humor is seeing what we have become and it is also distressing. Muqtada Al-Sadr is a measure of how much we have regressed in these past three years. Even during the Iran-Iraq war and sanctions, people indulged in sports to divert their thoughts from daily life. After the occupation, we won a match against either another and we comforted us @ s mism @ s with "Well, we lose wars, but we won the football! In a country that once celebrated sports, especially football, to a country where the concern is if the players are sufficiently long pants or sports fans will face eternal damnation ... In this we have become.

- posted by river @ 12:05 AM

What Does It Mean When Someone Says To You Milf

American Hostages ...

was about 10 or April 11, 2003. There was no electricity in our neighborhood since the end of March. He was also cut water and l @ s most Iraqis still did not have generators. We spent the days - and nights - listening to the war plans of the Americans and British, while listening for the tanks invaded the city, and praying. We also tried desperately to follow the news.

Iraqi television channels controlled by the government, apparently, had ceased to exist. Transmission had been bad since the war began - sometimes we could access the channel clearly, and sometimes it was just a confusing blur of faces and distorted anthems. The official Iraqi radio was not much better, it sometimes seemed that they were transmitting from Mars, from far away it was. When we tuned clearly, nothing made sense: Sahhaf, the Minister of Information, would say "no tanks in Baghdad!" and yet, by contrast, spoke of explosions and charred corpses of cars with families still inside.

In early April we had given up on getting any information from television and had to rely on the news we received through radio stations such as Monte Carlo, BBC and Voice of America. VOA was nearly as useless as Sahhaf - you could never tell if the news we received were real or were simply propaganda. Between news, VOA broadcast the same songs over and over again. I can not still hear the song of Celine Dion "A new day has come" without shuddering because in my head I hear the sounds of war. "I was waiting for someone ..." the roar of a plane overhead ... "That comes a miracle ..." the BUUM of a missile ... "My heart told me to be strong ..." the rat-tat-tat of an AK-47 ... Today I hate that song.

A television station had been broadcasting from the beginning of the war was an Iranian station called "Al Alam". They had been broadcasting in Arabic to the Iranian public with prior government permission and had continued to issue even after stop doing that Iraqi stations. Their coverage of the war was rather neutral. They gave facts and avoided unnecessary comments or opinions and that, to some extent, made them trustworthy - especially when we had really no other options.

We had heard comments about the downing of the statue in one or another radio station, but no s @ of us had seen it because we had no television due to lack of electricity ... @ S some Iraqis were using old televisions and connecting a standard car battery which is what they did in 1991. E. and my cousin managed to dig up the dust a small television, old, white black and my aunt had overlooked during spring cleaning in recent years. The connected and made operational in about 20 minutes (and after carefully dusting). Since there was no Iraqi station. There was only the Iranian transmitting clearly. The tanks were ramming Baghdad and bombing everything on the road. The Apaches were flying low and it seemed that every hour intensified the shooting and bombing.

was about 9 pm on April 11 when we finally saw the material on the overthrow by American troops of the statue of Saddam - with the American flag plastered on his face. We watched, stunned, as Baghdad was looted and razed by hordes of men, watched and saluted by American soldiers in tanks. Now, looking back, it is rather ironic that our first glimpses of the "fall of Baghdad" and occupation of Iraq came to us via Iran - through that Iranian channel.

immediately started hearing about the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and that they had formed a militia to Iraqis who had defected to Iran during the Iran-Iraq war. Could be heard already in the country and helping to loot and burn everything from governmental facilities to museums. Hakims and Badr debut, followed by other clerics with their guards and militias personal, all infiltrating from Iran. Today

govern the country. Over three years, and having used brutal militias, assassinations and kidnappings, have managed to install themselves firmly in the Green Zone. We constantly hear our new puppets rant angry and against Syria, against Saudi Arabia, against Turkey, even against those who should be thanked for his rise to power, the United States of America ... But no one dares to talk about the role Iran is playing in the country.

In recent days we have heard from Iranian attacks in northern Iraq, Kurdistan areas are on the border with Iran. Several sites were bombed and various news agencies are reporting that thousands of Iranian troops are prepared along the border of Iraq. Previously, there was talk of Iranian revolutionary guards infiltrating areas like Diyala and even parts of Baghdad.

Meanwhile, the new puppets (simply a return of the same OLD puppets always) after having taken several months to decide in the end, who would play the role of prime minister, are now disputing and fighting for the ministries "important" and which party should receive what ministry. The reason for this is that as a minister is named, say, SCIRI, enter "their people" in key positions, their relatives, friends and cronies, and (most importantly), his personal militia. As soon as Al-Maliki was named prime minister, announced that armed militias would be converted into part of the Iraqi army (which can only mean the Badristas and Sadr's henchmen.)

few days ago we were watching one of the many ceremonies held at the appointment of new prime minister. Talbani stood in front of various politicians in a large room in the Green Zone and said, rather cynically, that Iraq would not accept any 'tadakhul' or interference neighboring countries because Iraq was a "sovereign country free of foreign influence." The cousin almost burst out laughing and E. was wiping his eyes and gasping for breath ... as Talbani pompously made his statement, yet it sonrisas.Sonriendo big belly and behind him was a group of American commanders or generals and to his left was Khalilzad, patting him affectionately on the arm and looking like a father to his firstborn!

So while hundreds of Iraqis killed, with bodies popping up everywhere (last week found a dead man in the open space opposite the school of the daughters of my cousin) Iraqi puppets are taking their time to decide who can carry the greatest theft in which ministry. Embezzlement, after all, should not be taken lightly, one should devote the necessary amount of thought and debate, even though the country is being dismantled.

Regarding news of the new Iraqi military, things do not go as well as Bush and his team paint them. Today we saw the scenes of Iraqi soldiers in Anbar graduating. The whole ceremony was quite normal until the end, their commander said they would be deployed in various areas and suddenly it was chaos. The soldiers began to act out their hardships and express openly verbally attacking his superiors, screaming and pushing. They were promised when they enlisted in their areas, which would be deployed in their own regions, so it makes sense. There are reports that are currently on strike, refusing to be deployed outside their own provinces.

something Would it help to imagine that the area where they were supposed to be deployed to northern Iraq was? Especially with Iranian troops on the border ... Talbani announced a few days ago that the protection of Kurdistan was the responsibility of Iraq and I completely agree with the change. Because Kurdistan is part of Iraq. Before that would make this statement, it was understood that only the Peshmerga would protect Kurdistan-apparently, against Iran, are not sufficient.

The big question is: What will the U.S. with regard to Iran? There are indications of the possibility of bombings, etc.. Although I hate the Iranian government, people do not deserve the chaos and damage of air strikes and war. I'm not really concerned about this problem, because if you live in Iraq know that America has its hands tied. As soon as Washington makes a move against Tehran, American troops in Iraq will be attacked. It's that simple: Washington has powerful arms and planes ... But Iran has 150,000 American hostages.

- posted by river @ 12:59 AM

Congratulation Messages For A 2nd Marriage

A Royal Visit ...

is officially spring in Baghdad. We often joke that in Iraq there is no spring. Once spent a cold and windy with a couple of months of humidity and dust storms, and hence a dry heat, blazing, scorching, call it summer. This is the month, however, in which wind on rugs and carpets and we get the summer clothes.

Unpacking the summer clothes and remove the clothes for the cold is a process that leads us in our home almost a week. When you end the transition from winter clothes to summer clothes, the house ends up smelling of mothballs and unused hand soap, which sometimes used to store clothes or white clothes to protect them from insects.

Apart from the usual "spring cleaning", etc.. recent weeks have been volatile, even by the standards Iraqis. A'adhamiya area in Baghdad has seen some heavy fighting, especially during the last week. There is almost always some action in A'adhmiya, but a week ago reached the point where there was open confrontation in the streets between the militias of the Ministry of Interior and the guerrillas. As a result we have with an elderly relative. His son, second cousin of my mother, left her in our home with these words: "Your heart can not cope with all this turmoil. Several bullets shattered the windows of the second floor and we would have a heart attack. "

Apparently, before this latest outbreak of violence in A'adhmiya, there was a "secret pact" between the guerrillas and the Iraqi police that no attacks would be launched against Iraqi security forces in the area while the special commands Iraqis (the militias of the Ministry of Interior) not attack houses of the village as they had been doing over the past year.

So we spent the days with Bibi Z. ("Bibi" is an Iraqi word meaning "granny"). We do not know exactly how old he is, but we estimate that eighty enough. Is an aspect that seems fragile-a soft, almost transparent, a small face framed by tufts of white hair. His dark eyes are still very alive and have a look of permanent fascination because her brows are so white that just stand out from your skin.

Having the distinction of being the oldest member of an Iraqi family has its privileges. Bibi Z. has been installed as temporary reigning queen of the house - moving from room to room with grace and authority of royalty. In the first ten minutes of arriving at our house, took my room I was soon relegated to the uncomfortable sofa in the living room. He spends the hours supervising everything from homework to housework, and inevitably advising on the best way to store winter clothes, roll up the carpets, and study algebra. Although no longer cooks, sometimes deigns to sample our food and always finds that it lacks a spoonful of this or a pinch of that.

is always fascinating to sit with someone of the older Iraqi generation. They inspire mixed feelings - have seen so much tragedy and triumph to live in a country like Iraq, which leaves a @ simultaneously excited by the possibilities and frustrated with what appears to be a life instability.

The earliest memories of Bibi Z. are clearly remembers the monarchy and all subsequent governments and leaders; even know gossip about some of those now returning. "That young guy who wants to be king, Sharif Ali Al says," I think it is the result of a romance between a princess and an Egyptian palace servant. " Makes confidence as we see him in a brief report of one of the Iraqi channels.

Around 10 this morning is cut the power and it was too early for the generator. He commented that it would be possible to know what had happened overnight unless we listened the radio. Bibi Z. told us about the first television she saw in 1957. One of his neighbors had become richer as a television and her husband went to work, the ladies of the neighborhood gathered at home to watch an hour of TV. "We put our abbaye when the presenter spoke," she laughed. "It took Umm Adil two weeks to convince us that the presenter could not see us when we saw him."
"And were so bad politicians?" I asked him later when we were looking to make a statement Jaffari.

"History repeats itself ... Politicians are opportunists ... But they do not bother me, but the Iraqis were ill were better. " Went on to explain that through all the drama and change that combine to form the colorful mosaic of the Iraqi political scene over the past century, one thing remained constant, the Iraqi request loyalty toward each other.

He talked about the student revolts during the years of the monarchy. "When Iraq signed the Portsmouth Treaty, the students revolted and organized demonstrations against the king were chased throughout Baghdad. My father was a police officer and yet when they chased the students in our district, I inadvertently got at home and help them escape by jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Iraqis were Iraqis and we had our differences, but we took care of each other ... And women and children were sacred - no one dared touch the women and children in the house: "

The only unforgivable sin was to have loyalty to the old foreign occupier. "Today, the only ones who can guarantee their survival are those loyal to an occupier - and even they are safe." He sighed heavily when I say this, gently tapping with a rosary in her thin hands.

"For the first time in many years, I fear death." Nobody said last night in particular, as we sat after dinner, sipping tea. All objected, wishing him long life, saying he has many years ahead. Good wishes. We shook his head as if we understood him - as if we could not possibly understand. "Everyone dies eventually and I have had a longer life than most Iraqis-today children and young people die. I only fear death because I was born under a foreign occupation ... I never dreamed that he would die in another. "

- posted by river @ 11:54 PM

Beard Trimming Template

Nomination ... Uncertainty

After being absent from the Internet during few days, I returned to find my inbox flooded with dozens of e-mails with the title "Congratulations". In mid-March "Baghdad Burning" won the best blog nomination of Africa and the Middle East and received a Bloggie , so I thought that the sudden rush (surge) of e-mails of congratulations were due to that esteemed blog award for (we would like to thank the academy ....)

But I was surprised to find that BOOK "Baghdad Burning" had been selected for the Samuel Johnson Prize! , a prestigious British award for works of nonfiction. I do not even know he was in the short-list and I received a big surprise ... I told myself I had to be a mistake because the other names on the list were selected very famous until I received confirmation British publisher Marion Boyars.

Since then I am a bit stunned. I feel as if all this were happening to someone else, and I have to keep reminding myself as I fill the water tanks, while clean kerosene stoves to keep them, while changing the roles of newspaper in the parakeets cage (" I hope you know that the person who is cleaning your cage is a nominee Samuel Johnson).

I would just add that no matter if the book wins or loses, the fact of being on that list is, in itself, an incredible honor.

Baghdad Burning (Feminist Press)

Baghdad Burning (Marion Boyars)

- posted by river @ 11:23 PM

Day April Fools ...

O 'kithbet Nees' as is known in Arabic.
If the current Iraqi government would choose ANY day as your day What would be better than the 1st of April? After all it is called appropriately enough "The Day of Fools. "

stupidly have been trying to keep a government together since they announced the results of the elections. S @ And we've been waiting patiently. It's like being under the threat of punishment for weeks and weeks until finally you want the punishment to be realized once.

do not think anyone thinks they will do some improvement or significant changes, only @ s who are tired of waiting for the final formation. People need to know who will be in power because they need to know who to pay bribes, or who have a check mark (tazkiya) when they need to do something. We need to know to guide us as religious party's henchmen take an Interior family.

have so far been discussing Prime Minister's chair so far. I'm almost hoping that Bremen were back here again to organize the full version of "Puppet on A Month" as the 2003.

In any case, if you tell a joke about the "Day of April Fool" to an Iraqi (though late, or maybe next year), I suggest the following:

1. "You know I will be out this summer! (For best effect suggests breaking a candle for the half and throw it in the air with a whoooop ...!). "

2. "You know The Americans have said they will go to 2010 and that will not leave permanent bases behind! (You have to say with a straight face.) "

3. "You know They have found three bodies on the fringe of trees on two streets away! "

4. "You know, at last the government formed !!!." Puppet

5. "You know, I have not stopped to ________ (fill in the name of a relative or friend, everyone knows someone in prison these days )!!!"

6. "You know, Chalabi has resolved the crisis gasoline! "

7. "You know, there are no longer religious militias have been banned throughout the country! (This has to be said quietly, just in case)

8." Good news! The U.S. will make public how they were spent billions of dollars of Iraqi oil and donations!

9. "You know, going to rebuild the country and think it will take five years!"

10. "You know, I've caught Zarqawi! (This only works with Iraqis who believe they really exist).

- posted by river @ 10:46 PM

Kolkata Gay Cruising Places

...

Last night I sat zapping between Iraqi channels (between the half dozen or so sometimes I try to watch). For me it is a tradition to see what the Iraqi channels thrown when there is power. Generalizing still no Iraqi brand really neutral. The most popular are supported and have been founded by different political parties currently vying for power. This was especially evident during the period immediately preceding the election.

trying to decide between a report on bird flu on one channel, a montage of bits and pieces of several latmiyas in another string and an Egyptian in a third. Shargiya stood in the channel which many Iraqis see as a reasonable channel wise (and during the elections showed its support for Allawi in particular). I was reading the little headlines that scroll across the bottom of the page. Salzburg - mortar fire in an area of \u200b\u200bBaghdad, an American soldier killed here, another wounded over there ... found 12 bodies of Iraqis in a Baghdad area, etc. Suddenly one caught my attention and I stood on the couch, wondering if I had read that right.

E. I was sitting at the other end of the room, taking apart a radio later would not know how to compose. I called him with the words "Come here and read this. Surely I have misunderstood ...". He stood in front of the TV and saw how moved the words about corpses and Americans and puppets and when it appeared the matter than I expected, I jumped and I pointed out. E. and I read in silence and E. seemed as confused as I was.

The line read:

وزارة الدفاع تدعو المواطنين الى عدم الانصياع لاوامر دوريات الجيش والشرطة الليلية اذا لم تكن برفقة قوات التحالف العاملة في تلك المنطقة

Translated:
"Minister of Defense requests that civilians do not comply with the orders of the army or police patrols at night unless they are accompanied by forces coalition's work in this area. "

is so busy is the country at this time.

switched to another channel, the channel "Baghdad" (Aligned with Muhsin Abdul Hameed and his group) and had the same story, but instead of generic "coalition forces" they put "American coalition forces." We checked two other channels, Iraqiya (pro-Da'awa) did not mention it and Forat (pro SCIRI) also did not put it into your news ticker.

What we discussed today when we have repeated on another channel.
"So what does it mean?" Asked the wife of my cousin when we have come together to eat.
"It means that if they come at night and want to get home do not have to let them in." I replied.
"Do not ask permission precisely, "said E. "They take the door down and take people, or did you forget?"
"Well, according to Minister of Defense, we can shoot, right?. If you transferred your property would be considered burglars or abductors .. . 'I said.
My cousin shook his head, "if your family is inside, not going to shoot them. They come in groups, do you remember?. They come armed and in large groups, shooting or resistance would jeopardize the people inside the house. "

" Besides that, the first time they attack, how can you be sure that he had no Americans with them, "said E.

We sat drinking tea, tangling with the possibilities. Confirmed what has been obvious to Iraqis since the beginning, the Iraqi security forces are actually militias allied to religious and political parties.

But also clarifies other issues of concern. The situation is so bad on the security front the two most important ministers in charge of protecting Iraqi civilians can not trust one another. The Minister of Defense can not even trust their own staff, unless they be "accompanied by American coalition forces."

Certainly it is difficult to understand what is happening lately. Hear there are conversations between Americans and Iran over security in Iraq, and then the American ambassador in Iraq accuses Iran of paying militias in the country .. Today there are complaints that the Americans killed 20 to 30 men from Sadr's militia in an attack yesterday at a huseeiniya. The Americans claim that the responsibility for the attack should lie with the Iraqi security forces (the same security forces they constantly praise)

This contradicts claims by Bush and other politicians that American troops and Iraqi security forces control the situation. Or that control, just not a good way.

have been finding corpses throughout Baghdad for weeks - and always the same: holes drilled in the head, multiple shots or strangulation, and that the victims were hanged. Military-style execution. Many people were taken from their homes by security forces-police or special army brigades ... Some were gathered in mosques.

few days ago we went to pick up one of my cousins \u200b\u200bto school. It happens that your school is quite close to the local morgue. E, our cousin L and I sat in the car because of traffic parked a bit away from the school to wait for our other cousin. I looked carefully at the commotion near the morgue. There

dozens of people - mostly men standing around a single group. Some smoked cigarettes, others leaned on cars or trucks ... Their expressions varied - grief, horror, resignation. In some faces there was an anxious look of fear and anticipation mixed. It is a very specific look, you can find only outside the Baghdad morgue. The eyes are wide open and bloodshot, as if searching for something, the brow furrowed, his jaw tight and his mouth is a thin frown. It is a look that says they are going to enter the morgue, where corpses lay in rows, and pray for not finding what you are looking for. My cousin sighed

deeply and told us that we opened a couple of windows and doors-cerrásemos was going to check the morgue. A month before the guy had taken his wife to a mosque during prayer, had not yet found. Every other day someone in the family goes to the morgue to see if they carried his body. "Pray that you will not find it ... or vice versa ... ..- I just hate uncertainty. " My cousin sighed heavily and left the car. I said a silent prayer while crossing the street and disappeared into the crowd.

E. and I waited patiently for H, who was still in college and L. I was in the morgue. The minutes lengthened and E and I still sat in silence - talk seemed almost blasphemous under the circumstances. L came first. He looked tense and I found myself biting my lip. "Have you found? Hopefully you have not been found ... "I said to nobody in particular. As he approached the car shook her head. His face was still and grim, but behind this expression could see relief. "He is not here. Hambulilah (thank God). "

"Hamdulilah" E and I repeat in unison.

all look back at the morgue. Most cars had over simple, narrow wooden coffins for the child or daughter or brother. A hysterical woman dressed in a black abaya was struggling to get inside, while being restrained by two relatives. A third man came to untie the coffin tied to the roof of your car.

"Look at that woman. Have found their son. I saw them identifying him. A bullet in the head. " The woman continued to struggle, her legs suddenly loosened, their cries filled the afternoon, and although that day was surprisingly warm, I pulled my sleeves trying to cover my suddenly cold fingers.

continue to see the various scenes of grief, anger, frustration, and every once in a while an almost tangible relief when someone left the morgue without found what they feared most find - eyes moist by smell, a lighter step than when they entered, having been given a reprieve of the death of a loved one to claim the morgue ...

- posted by river @ 9:51 PM

Can The Mucus Plug Look Green

Three years ...

been three years since the beginning of the war that marked the end of the independence of Iraq. Three years of occupation and bloodshed. Spring

should mean renewal and rebirth. For l @ s Iraqi spring means reviving painful memories and preparing for future disasters. In many ways this is like 2003 years before the war when we stored gasoline, water, food and first aid supplies and medicines. We do so again this year but now they argue about what we do. Bombs and B-52 are much easier to see than any other possibility.

do not think anyone imagined three years ago that things would be as bad as today. Recent weeks have elapsed in tension. I'm so tired of everything ... We are all so tired.

three years and the electricity supply is worse than ever. The security situation has gone from bad to worse. It feels as if the country was on the brink of chaos once again, but a planned chaos before hand, prefabricated, and directed by militias religious fanatics.

school, college and work have been issues that have worked again, and have stopped working again. It seems that for every two days of school / work there five days of sitting at home waiting for the situation improves. Right now the university and the school closed because it is near the "arba3eeniya" or "Day 40", more black and green flags, hordes of men in black and "latmiyas." We were told that children should try to return to class next Wednesday. I say "try" because prior to the long-awaited parliamentary meeting two days ago the schools were closed. After pump in the Samarra mosque schools closed. The children have been at home this year longer than they have been in school.

Arba3eeniya worries me the most this year. I worry that we will look more like what happened in the Askari mosque in Samarra. Most l @ s Iraqis believe that everything was prepared for those who have more to gain by dividing the Iraqis.

I sit here trying to think what makes this year, 2006, much worse than 2005 or 2004. There are visible differences, such things as electricity, water, dilapidated buildings, broken streets and ugly concrete security walls. Those things are annoying, but they are bearable. L @ \u200b\u200bs Iraqis have demonstrated time and again that countries can be rebuilt. No, it is not obvious what we fear.

The real fear is the mentality of so many people lately, crack seems to have broken through the very heart of the country, dividing people. It is disheartening to talk to acquaintances, sophisticated and civilized people, and hear that the Sunnis and Shiites are so-so. See people who pick up their things to move to "Sunni neighborhoods" or "Shia neighborhoods" How could this happen? I read constantly

analysis mostly written by foreigners or by Iraqis who have spent decades abroad, saying it has always been split between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq (observation, which ironically sehace only evident when you're not living among Iraqis l @ s) ... but with the dictator nobody saw or nobody wanted to see it. That simply is not true, if there was division among fans of both sides. Shiite extremists and Sunni extremists. Most people simply could not get to make friends not related to its neighbors based on their religious sect. People do not care, you could ask that question, but everyone was going to look like you're stupid or rude.

I remember when I was a child during a visit he was playing outside with one of the children of neighbors. Amal was exactly my age, even we were born in the same month separated by just three days. We were laughing at a joke silly when he suddenly turned and asked timidly, "Are you Sanafir or Shanakil?." I stood there, confused. Sanafir is an Arabic word for "smurfs" and Shanakil is the Arabic word for "Snorks". I do not understand why I was wondering if it was a Smurf or a snork. Apparently it was the indirect way of asking whether it was Sunni (Sanafir) or Shia (Shanakil).

"How?" I asked with a half smile. She laughed and asked if he prayed with his hands at his sides or folded across my stomach. I shrugged, not very concerned and a little embarrassed to admit they did not yet know how to pray properly, at the tender age of ten years.

Later in the afternoon, I sat at my aunt and I remembered to ask my mother if we were Smurfs or Snorks. She gave me the same blank look I had noticed Amal. "Mom, do we @ s pray with their hands like this or like?". Got up and did the two positions of prayer. My mother's eyes cleared and shook turning his head looked up at my aunt. "Why are you asking? Who want to know?. I explained as Amal, our neighbor Shanakil, had asked earlier that day. "Well, tell us @ s Amal are neither Shanakiles or Sanafires. We are Muslims, there are no difference.

was years before that found that half the family was Sanafir and the other half was Shanakil, but nobody cared. At family gatherings we do not sit to discuss the Sunni Islam or Shia Islam. The family did not care if this cousin prayed with his hands on the sides and one other with hands clasped in front of his stomach. Much @ s Iraqis of my generation have that attitude. @ S have been educated to believe that people who discriminate in any way, positive or negative, based on religious sect or race, are people backward, uneducated and uncivilized.

The most worrying aspect of the situation now is that discrimination based on sect has become commonplace. The average educated person in Baghdad still feels contempt for all this talk Shia / Sunni. Sadly people are being pushed to declare this or that because political parties are promoting it with every speech and every newspaper, everything is 'us / them'. Constantly read about how "we Sunnis must unite with our Shia brothers ...", or "we the Shia should forgive our Sunni brothers ..." (notice how we, the Shia and Sunni brothers do not seem to fit into any equation at this point.) It seems that the political and religious personalities forget throughout the day tod @ s are simply Iraqis.

And what role are the occupiers playing in this?. It is very convenient for them, I think. It's great that the Iraqis are abducting and killing each other, because that occupants may be presented as the neutral third party that is foreign to promote peace and understanding among people who, before the occupation, were very peaceful and understanding. Three years later

da war, and we managed to go back in a visible way, and in a not so visible.
Only in recent weeks, thousands have died in senseless violence, and, as I write this, the Iraqi and American armed Samarra bombing. The sad thing is the air strike, one of the hundreds of air raids we've seen over the past three years. The sad thing is the resignation of the people. Feel is their home in Samarra, because there is nowhere to go. Before we gathered refugees in and around Baghdad. Now l @ s @ s Baghdad are propylene looking for a way out of town ... ways out of the country. Find a safe haven abroad has become the typical Iraqi dream.

Three years later and the nightmares of bombings, apprehension and fear have evolved into another kind of nightmare. The difference between then and now is that even three years ago we were concerned about material things, possessions, houses, cars, electricity, water, etc ... It is difficult to define what worries us most now, even the most cynical war critics could not imagine that the country would be so bad three years after the war ... Allah ill yistur rab3a (God protect us from the fourth year).

- posted by river @ 3:28 a.m.

Sample Letter For Beauty Therapist

And the Oscar goes to ...

is, again, time for the Oscars. We've been bombarded with propaganda from the Oscars for almost a month now. MBC and One TV (a chain of the Emirates) have been engaged since January to cover the Oscars live. It seems as if all the interviews and programs of the past week had been on the Oscars-Barbara Walters, Oprah, Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight, an endless stream of nominees and analysts.

Now that I've seen the nominees-we see them all the years I have come to a conclusion: Iraqis need a gala awards. While Hollywood stars are good entertaining, our local superstars, Hakeem, Jaffari, Talabani, Allawi et al. are GREAT entertainers. This past year has seen the development of several dramas and our local politicians have us hooked!

So, not surpassed by Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey, we present the Oscars of Baghdad Burning Special! Except for our awards suggest changing the name of the Oscar statuette to something more local and family (Oscar is too similar to the pronunciation of the Arabic word "Iskar" which means "drunk", so if we use "Oscar" I fear the show is hijacked by Sadr's religious militia, so that would suggest "Savid Awards)."

Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, we present the nominees for Sayid Awards 2006!

Nominees for Best Actor:

Ibraheim Al-Jaffari in "Free Iraqi Elections" for its attempt to portray the Prime Minister of a "legitimate" Iraqi government and independent non-sectarian. George W.

Bush,
, in "OIF: The War on Terror." The third installment of the original "Operation Iraqi Freedom Iraq: Weapons of Mass Destruction "and" Operation Iraqi Freedom: Liberating Iraqis. " Bush's nomination is due to its compelling incarnation as president of the world's first mentally disabled.


Bayan Baqir Solagh in "The House of Torture" for his performance in the world as the surprised and indignant Iraqi Minister of Interior over the scandal of the torture house.

Abdul Aziz Al Hakeem in "Men in Black (turbans)"
, as the deeply devout Mullah pretending to be independent of their teachers Iran.

Mihsan Abdul Hameed in "Sway" for his accurate portrayal of a slaughter and pro-war, then suddenly anti-war and anti-occupation Sunni politician.

Nominated for Best Actress:

Condi Rice "Viva Iran" as the vicious Secretary of State in the charade to stop Iran's program of nuclear power (in spite of Iranian control of Iraq.)

Nominees for Best Supporting Actor:

Jalal Talbani, in "President Kaka (Kaka = Kurdish word meaning" brother ") his attempt to make the leadership role "legitimate" the New Iraq (and although technically he's the star of the film, he was nominated as best supporting actor as the PM has managed to put in the spotlight all year.

Dick Cheney in "OIF: The War on Terror" for his role as the devoted, fanatical VP and his relentless insistence that all is well in Iraq.

Muqtada Al Sadr in "Viva Iran" as the Young, charismatic and black turbaned leader of the militia dedicated to protecting Iran from harm and to promote tolerance between Sunnis and Shiites (although the Sadr militia is responsible for vandalism and attacks against Sunnis and secular).

Scott McClellan in "OIF: The War on Terror" and "Denial" best known for his ability to keep his face unmoved while reading press releases from the White House.

Nominated for Special Effects:

Ahmed Al Chalabi in "Law disappearing" for his magnificent evaporation of the Iraqi political scene this year. Mr. Chalabi is a master of illusion and received a previous nomination for his disappearance from Jordan in "The Petra Bank Scandal."

Best Production:

"OIF: The War on Terror" (originally titled "My Father's War") produced by the Washington neocons, including Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, etc.
"Iraqis Free Elections" - produced (and directed) by Abdul Aziz Al Hakeem et al and his army (almost literally) of supporters (the Badristas).

Best action film:

"OIF: The War on Terror" starring George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Condi Rice and others. An insistent drama set in Iraq. Rated "G" by gullibility and "R" by "Republican"

"Disappearing Act" starring Ahmed Al Chalabi, Adnan Al Pachachi and Ghazi Al Yawir.

"Free Iraqi Elections" - a black comedy based on the incredible theory of free elections under foreign occupation led by Abdul Aziz Al Hakeem, Ibraheim Al Jaffari and Muqtada Al Sadr.

"Kangaroo Court" - starring Saddam Hussein, Barzan Hassan and several judges, prosecutors and lawyers.

Many special mentions:

First and foremost an honorable mention to them that Bush's speechwriters. Should be the job difficult in the world write notes to make Bush sound / look not great or even good, but passable. It must also be a challenge having to write speeches using words of two syllables or less.

A special mention to the Saudis for their support to Sunni extremists and Wahabis, the Iranians for their support to Shiite extremists, and the Americans for their support of chaos.

And while our "glietterati" Green Zone retire to their camps to celebrate their great victory, Iraqis wonder what wonderful new film opportunities ahead. There is much talk of working in a "Bombshell" - in the staging of the pre-production of more psychological thriller this year announced "Iraqi Civil War" .

- posted by river @ 2:50 a.m.