Faiza

How could I forget Faiza? She is the mother of the three Jarrar boys, an engineer, and an activist, I believe, though she keeps a very low profile in that respect. She shares her strength with many of us who read her blog, and continues to have hope where there may seem to be none. She has raised three remarkable young men. They are involved passionately in reclaiming their country and working constantly in relief efforts.
Given the Zaouk family disfunction, this close and committed family is very comforting to me.

it's kinda hard to describe the play of various childlike expressions that passed across dubya's face as he announced the "great success" of the Iraqi "elections." It was almost as though they'd decanted him from the nursery just in time to tell the grownups what a wonderful thing he'd done in the sandbox. Certainly he had been watching the news heads in their celebratory approach to the story,. and just then had learned that 'his' administration had done this glorious thing for these oh so grateful people over there. Underneath it all, was a repeating flash of 'oh boy, I fixed it for them, and all my friends will get rich (er) too!' There was absolutely no inkling of any comprehension of what is *really* going on.

There are two articles on Alternet that I wish -oh how I wish- someone would hold him down and read to him.



I almost think he does not know - he carefully doesn't know - couldn't imagine how badly everything has gone in Iraq. How much we are hated there, and laughed at around the world for our - his - the "New Century" people - overweening pride, and mentality of ruling the world.

I remember waking up in my hotel room outside of Heathrow on Nov. 3 , thinking that we'd gotten rid of him and our collective embarrassment. I met no one NO ONE in England who was not still amazed that we 'yanks' had actually elected that doofus. And then elected him again. Oh my.

There are so many people in this country who don't wanna know, either. Like my sister, for one. She ends her email with a sig line suggesting "see what the Iraqi's say" and a link to a Fox News sponsored site - for cryin' out loud. So finally, I can't stand it anymore, and I send her a link (labeled "real Iraqis") to the Jarrar's blogs, and Riverbend. I Figure from there she could read others' like I did , but NOOoooo "Oh I saw those, and a few others," dismissively. sigh. All those years of not having a sister - now I've got one again, and she's a Bushy.

Maybe when I get Alzheimer's, I'll forget all this bloodshed, in my name - NO I did not vote for that *^%$ - I make less than $15k a year, but I donated three or four times to the DNC and misc. progressive causes. I still have some hope that the internet and the communications it enables will save us - save the world FROM us.

Dancing happy Iraqis on the news. Oh my. How can any reporter actually IN Baghdad spin this whole thing the Bush way.

A demonstration in SF today, calling this a sham election, designed to allow the US corporations to lock in on Iraqi oil. Curiously enough, just what most Iraqi's think. And here comes Tony Blair, covering his behind, and pumping up the happy talk concerning these elections. I may need to quit watching the news entirely.

I have developed an enormous amount of respect for the few Iraqis I've come to know through their blogs. "where is Raed" was the first one I read - and was by Salaam Pax, with interjections from a young fellow named Raed. Baghdad Burning, by Riverbend, a young lady who writes like an angel, and is angry like an avenging angel, was the second. Raed's turned out to be "A Family In Baghdad." An incredible amount of care and work went into that blog site. Actually several. Do check it out - and all its links.
Raed says the people who are voting have to go there to collect their ration cards. The regime in place there now have tied receiving your next food rations to going to vote, where the rations cards are being distributed in exchange for a ballot. He allows as how this may be just a rumor, but it is such a prevailing rumor, makes no nevermind if it's true or not. There were a few TV shots on tonight's news showing an official sort of document in voters' hands - seemed to be laminated - more like a ration card than a voter registration. I'd love someone to confirm that for me.
--
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-- Martin Luther King Jr.

To vote or not to vote

Oh Raed, you break my heart. Everything you say is true, in your detailed analysis of recent US/Iraq history - or I should say, I believe it to be true, in substance, if not in every tiny detail. If you vote, you feel you would be validating each act of terror perpetrated by the invading forces, and Bush Administration. I can hear this, and feel this. But - and a big 'but,' are you not also validating each and every act of Iraqi on Iraqi terror of the so called insurgents? Massive casualties inflicted upon innocent Iraqis - women and children - in the name of an insurgency that DOES NOT WANT YOU TO VOTE. And why is that? No matter how corrupt the current US backed leaders, no matter how farcical the thought of Alawi or his minions in power - the beginning of Iraqi freedom has to start SOMEWHERE. So you vote now, and end up with puppets. So vote them out later. If nothing else, the puppets will most likely improve security for the ordinary citizens, making a later vote more legitimate. And the vote after that, a bit more legitimate. It is a process, may take a long time, but IT HAS TO START SOMEWHERE. If you have no input to where it starts, how are you going to change it later?
I started out with this 'blog registration' process, because I did not want to post anonymously.
I am watching CNN tell many small stories about Iraqis - all of them love us. What a surprise. - but - again - are so many of Iraqi men working as police, national guard, etc., are they all traitors? Maybe there is more than one way to do this thing? It seems to me that so many of them putting their lives in so much danger, they must be considered as patriots? I can't believe that all of the many thousand Iraqis working in security forces can be against their country. Maybe this is just their way of trying to build a new Iraq. How can I suspect each and every one of them of being "tools of the infidels?" If one 'faction' ( I really hesitate to blame all political divisions merely on sectarianism) feels they are being marginalized, squeezed out of the political process, would they not want to vote in greater numbers to see that this cannot happen? Boycotting a vote has always perplexed me. If there is any chance of an open election process, doesn't every single citizen have the obligation to vote?

Oh my God. What colossal hubris: CNN question of the day: is Iraq worth American sacrifice? WHO asked us? Oh my God.