Shlonkom Bakazay?

Zeyad clears things up about the gaps of information and odd timing of Grand Ayatollah Ali Taqi Al-Sistani seeking medical treatment in London. He did, in fact, leave al'Najaf to seek medical treatment. Trust in Zeyad. I do. Although, I fear because Sistani is not in Najaf it allows for more terrible things to happen now. It's strange to me that this wasn't cleared up as it was happening, though. According to Zeyad, there is no controversy over who is to succeed him, either. He says:

... I wish to comfort the sensational media that there will be no power struggles in the Hawza after Sistani's death. There will always be a peaceful consensus on who would be the supreme marji' in Najaf, as it has always been that way for centuries.

It's always good to hear from Zeyad. Thank you for this very important post. And I apologize for jumping to conclusions. I hope there'll be more information forthcoming about the situation.

lim.

so why even debate it?

I'm going to move on to a topic that will wash over the mind with a subtle brush of liquid doodoo: My opinion of the state of American politics. Bush, Kerry, and both of their crews are a bunch of muppets. Crypto-fascism, veiled republican idolatry, and the sole principled (, though cracking a bit lately,) democrat that could bring us 4 more years of shrub is the Nader. I hope he pulls out at the last second. (heheeeheeehe) And yes, the pendulum has swung to the right in America. But how has it done this? Through lies that don't hold water, inciting fear in the hearts of people, and sending mixed messages in order to keep the population, the masses psychologically terrorized and off-balance. And yes, I'm mildly disturbed that Nader could accept GOP help in Michigan to get on the ballot. Isn't that throwing away all he stands for with the stroke of an tiny ill-decision? Call me crazy, but this is getting out of hand. So I'm defnitely a ABB (Anybody But Bush) nonetheless. So realistically, I want said muppet Kerry to be put in Beit Ub'yaad. But I honestly doubt his ability to pull off a victory against a man who has the pulpit and is pulling all stops to win political points with every issue, with every word that is pushed out of his mouth.

Wasn't it just last week when the final 9/11 report came out with several recommendations that Bush said that he had to 'look into' the possibility for an intelligence czar? And now, he supposedly approved one...but it is clearly a watered down version of what the Republican Chair of the committee, Thomas Keane suggests...namely a cabinet-level official that would hold the president accountable for failures in regard to the "war on terror". Of course, Bush Inc. have handily avoided any accountability thus far...so, whose to say that they will be held accountable for a single thing. What must we do? Actively Resist. Are you going to tell your grandchildren you were a Bush supporter, a complacent fence-sitter, or an active resister?

1. get the vote out...make sure everybody you know votes.
2. stop talking in circles and complaining about everything...
3. act: do something fun, creative, interesting, different to subvert the muppets and the foul policies they implement!

So this is a call to action. Let's spark the pendulum to swing from the dark and dreary depths of a fear-mongered neocon-nightmare of preventively doctrinating the earth for corporate gain. I know I wax-idealistic here, but you'd be surprised how liberating it is to practice democracy...even if it feels like you are being singled out for speaking out. In a real democracy, you should use the right to speak out and not just fall behind and be quiet. That would be the worst thing possible for America. So, act!!! It's so much fun.

Billboards, Graf Art, Stencils, Video Art, Performance Art, Write to the Editor, a Conversation with your Bush-loving brother-in-law...take the street and your mental landscape by storm creatively...not destructively. Right now I fear the mainstream might transform the complacency that racked public sentiment (until it started sinking in that Iraq has no WMD and there is absolutely no connection between 9/11 and Iraq) into a rallying point for a sicker Kerry-complacency that might await us. He's practically a copy of Bush on many issues. Many people believe that Kerry can bring hope to America again...but I believe that we need to put him in the White House and like Naomi Klein said in her most recent article, "then [we] get back to work". And I'll be damned if hope is not alive without him. I don't need a muppet to con me into thinking he's the saviour of this country. I'm not that stupid. He's just not Bush...and sadly, that's good enough for me. I'm trying to be optimistic. Can you tell?

:x
lOvE oVeR fEaR,
LiMiNaL

I'm reeling of these past couple days, but let me address a disturbing development. First Professor Juan Cole of Informed Comment:

Al-Hayat: Marines have arrested Dr. Muthanna Harith al-Dhari, son of the leader of the Board of Muslim Clergy, a fundamentalist Sunni organization. Muthanna was interviewed on the Lebanese Broadcasting Co. harshly critiquing the way the delegates were chosen for the national congress to be held in mid-August. He later discovered 5 humvees heading toward his living quarters at the Umm al-Qura Mosque in Baghdad. He was taken into custody.

If Muthanna committed a crime, for which he was being arrested, it should have been announced to the press. Otherwise, the Allawi government looks as though it is sending the rather thug-like signal that political figures who refuse to cooperate in the national congress and who are critical of him will be arrested. If that is what is going on, it is sad to see the US Marines deployed for the purpose of these political arrests. It is also a shame that the US ban on the military arresting civilians hasn't been extended to Iraq.

Okay folks...this is the beginning of what will probably be many arrests made in the name of a powerless puppet government trying to keep the lid on until January. The problem is that it could ultimately backfire on Allawi and the puppet squad. Here is the Jazeera article...who else is reporting this?

"We were on our way to the headquarters of the AMS, going out from the studio of the LBC (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation), where Dr al-Dhari had given an interview.  

"A US patrol emerged suddenly and stopped our convoy. They searched the cars, and then asked us to step aside and called for reinforcements.

"A number of Humvees arrived with detecting devices. They gave us body scans, and told us that Dr Muthana and two of his companions were to be arrested because the device detected remains of explosives on Dr al-Dhari's hands." 

Is Al Jazeera inciting violence because they report something of enormous significance? This is no joke. And here's an article about the Marine who was in the film 'Control Room' who was recently silenced. Even his wife was told she could not give any more interviews. ...

Sabah Ahmad, the technical manager of the al-Basaer newspaper, told Aljazeera.net the staff condemned the arrest of their editor which they considered an illegal act.

"Journalists in Iraq condemn the arrest of Dr Muthana and we will ask media unions inside and outside Iraq to interfere and call on the US to free him.

"It appears that he was arrested for saying something in a broadcast interview that the US occupation authorities did not like," Ahmad said.

What a splendid message to send to the Iraqi people. And I hope some people pick up on this (at least) in the British Press...I haven't checked if they have, but I feel like nobody will. Thanks for such a great start to using US forces to implement a de facto dictatorship. We've already been here...this is what we're supposed to be moving away from, I thought. Good job. Way to represent the United States in its best interest. All such behavior is going to have the opposite effect. I wish the morons making the decisions to do such inately retarded things will wake up and realize they are in a supposedly FREE Iraq. If not, they will have millions of people wishing to see their backs a lot sooner than they wish & and this freedom shall remain a myth to 'liberated' Iraqis.

...and, incidentally, Larry King. Prince Bandar, the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the US, flashing subtle messages in F9/11.

RRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! that's all everybody needs to know. i'm confused...i dont have details yet. so, i can't respond to the situation yet. i'm so angry , more later...i need 411...................

So, the question is 'are the terrorists trying to drive Christians out of Iraq?' Well, people that have read my earlier comments know what I have to say about this matter. But let me reiterate and do a run of the gamet review of what the reactions of others have been. First, I am convinced that this will only strengthen the resolve of Iraqis to stick by one another. In other words, Fayrouz' Christian cleansing plan will become even further from a possibility. I will have more proof of this once I speak to people on the ground, but this is my immediate feeling. Backing my feeling up already is blog miestro Abu Khaleel in Iraqi letter to America. As expected though, Fayrou has, in effect,again called for an end of the Christian minority in Iraq for some perplexing reason that I still cannot comprehend. It would be a most strange and unlikely event, I repeat.

UPDATE: And Professor Cole, THANK YOU for this:

Even the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt condemned the bombing of churches. It seems possible that the perpetrators of the church bombings may have created enormous sympathy for the Iraqi Christians, and that their tactic may have backfired on them.

It's exactly my thoughts. Major backfire...

The reactions from the blogosphere are very important to me as I've not heard what's happened yet. I hope to know more by tonight/tomorrow Baghdad time. I'm just getting too angry now about a few things that I've been thinking about lately. These overt terrorists must be stopped...no matter who they are.

And what about the mental terrorists? [even tho the folllwoing are not only mental terrists]

They need to take a serious hike on a downward spiral to hades.

I honestly wonder what people think of Chalabi now that he's been helped to be reinvented by Al Sadr himself. When will criminals that are just trying to take advantage of Iraqi sentiments, hopes, and fears for personal gain just be called criminals without hesitation. Just like in America now...when will criminals who have only manipulated American sentiments, hopes, and fears in order to push a dangerous agenda on a slippery slope just be called criminals. What is so wrong with pointing these things out? Bush lied. Chalabi lied to Bush. Wolfowitz has an Arabic girlfriend named Shaha and was willingly deluded into buying INC bullshit along with Pearle and Feith. Rumsfeld dodges deftly and Cheney still *actively* deludes himself and Americans into believing that there's still a connection between 9/11 and Iraq when there plainly isn't.

ARGH! I'm furious. Why is the truth so dangerous when it comes to Iraq? And why must people be hidden from it?

Why can't we accept that this sketchy adventure is a failure on so many levels so we may *actively* correct things that aren't too far out of reach yet?

Also, I've been having a disagreement with a professor of mine over some very fundamental things about what is happening...so I'm a bit discouraged by what I see as a very educated and jaded person. It's ok to think differently..and as long as we keep this attittude alive, we will be better for it. To only allow opinions that align with your own into your menatl stratosphere is a very narrow way to exist...so, I try to read all our Iraqi friends' blogs, even though they think I don't. And I appreciate each and every opinion, although I'm skeptical of some. It's a free country, though...I can be as skeptical as I wanna be.

Ok...I'll post more on reactions later on and tidy it up a bit. Note: it's approaching evening, but the picture above has been a hit so i'll file this post at an earlier time in order to leave the picture on top.

Peace be on all Iraqis.

And thank you to all the Muslim bloggers who have given their condolences to the Christian community in Iraq. It means very much to my family and I in this difficult time. I wouldn't want such a day to revist any Iraqi. Long live Iraq.

More steam from me later,
lim.

Poor Amy Goodman...but she's asking the right questions. It's normal to be marginal when you seek justice these days...even in times where everybody is outraged at the current administration. But I won't forget the sanction years.

Look how former Sec. of State Mad. Albright reacts in this video just after Kerry's speech at the DNC when confronted about one of her many "stupid statements" about Iraqi children (specifically the 60 mins Stahl interview) or listen or read it.

Heads up, River is back. Check her out. My fears of communications monitoring have been somewhat confirmed by her. So, things are remarkably well in liberation. Just great...

I'm still not sure exactly what has happened with the bombings. I'll comment when I know more. Anxiously awaiting some word, too...

Otherwise, it's a lazy sunday afternoon in my air-conditioned nightmare.

psST: Josh Marshall of the great site talkingpointsmemo.com clears up the niger docs. forgery matter. sounds like 'Good Fellas' meets sketched out former spy that was egged on by the berlusconian plutocracy in a mamet-esque set and knock-out. mayyybe??? berrrr'haps? well, whatever...i'm sure we'll find out much worse things as history unfolds. Don't mess with Joe Wilson you fools.

out,
lim.

there have been several explosions at churches just now. in karada...that is very bad. at a hotel in baghdad...which one, i don't know yet. and at a church in mosul too...

more later...

9/11 Reforms Could Weaken Rights, Says White House

By Maura Reynolds and Greg Miller, Times Staff Writers

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration warned Friday that the two central reforms proposed by the Sept. 11 commission — creating a powerful intelligence chief and establishing a new counterterrorism center — may remove barriers protecting intelligence from political influence and undermine civil liberties. ...
 
"We need to, in considering each of these recommendations, place a premium and real attention on how to protect civil liberties while better safeguarding our homeland," the official said.

Since when has this administration been concerned about our civil liberties? This statement rings so hollow and is disingenious. If it is true or not doesn't matter.

Also, a heads up for Juan Cole's latest post: 'Did al-Qaeda Game Bush into Iraq War?'

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz allowed themselves to be manipulated by Libi and Chalabi because it suited them.

The question is whether letting ourselves be duped in this way suits the American public.

The idea of deliberate allowance of disillusionment on the part of those named in order to bring about the war is what I've thought about for far too long. I'm not sure they thought Iraq would be as difficult of a situation. But they didn't bother to learn a thing about Iraqi society before the invasion/occupation, so that is essentially support for this premise. A big thanks to Professor Cole for stating it so plainly. The concept that this administration was being willingly fooled needs to be given credibility and stated in such a manner. And does it suit anybody in the world for that matter? There is no doubt that time will tell.

There is also Dana Priest's 12 July article in the Washington Post & today's Harold A. Gould's article, 'Was Iraq a Mutual Charade?' that support the idea that this was deliberate duping.

I honestly hope that it will have been worth it. I want to be convinced that it was and is worth it right now. But I just can't bring myself to this conclusion because there are too many disturbing realities that have come about on the ground in Iraq as a direct result to the 1) lack of security and its direct relation to a lack of employment [the unemployment rate is at 70% and that's hard to believe] 2) lack of trust in Iraqis [as thousands of South Asians and other foreigners are responsible for jobs that Iraqis could easily do] 3) lack of control by Iraqis of promised funds after the country's infrastructure was destroyed, especially the important electricity and water systems [only 400 million dollars have been used while hundreds of million dollars that were from selling Iraqi oil have gone missing] 4) prison abuse as a system problem that has caused an incalcuable amount of psychological damage to Iraqi society that will manifest itself in only negative ways in the future 5) lack of medical supplies and equipment and a possible humanitarian crisis caused directly because of incompetence in planning 6) lack of legitimacy of the interim government that grows by the minute and could result in complete failure and illegitimate elections if any at all 7) lack of real progress with school rebuilding and repairs and the list can go on and on. See Abu Khaleel's several blogs if you want an eloquent Iraqi expressing these matters forthrightly.

All these mistakes do is sow tainted relations and resentment between Iraqis and those "trying" to help. I want to talk about the good news, but the thing is we need security first. And until security is reached, we have to bring attention squarely upon matters that cause continued pain and suffering of Iraqis. I praise those IP and ING that are trying to do this very dangerous job. They are true patriots of Iraq.

ps

I noticed today Iraq has completely disappeared from the front page of CNN.com, even though things are much worse than a year ago. And we ask why are our leaders disillusioned? Iraqis wish for self-determination will not go away. Iraq won't be quietly swept under the carpet like Afghanistan was. There must be elections. It is so important. There must be legitimacy. It is the only way security shall be truly established. It is in nobody's interest-except extremists from both ends of the cultural spectru-for Iraq to continue to be unstable.

'Can't Blair see that this country is about to explode? Can't Bush?'

The Prime Minister has accused some journalists of almost wanting a disaster to happen in Iraq. Robert Fisk, who has spent the past five weeks reporting from the deteriorating and devastated country, says the disaster has already happened, over and over again

01 August 2004

The war is a fraud. I'm not talking about the weapons of mass destruction that didn't exist. Nor the links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qa'ida which didn't exist. Nor all the other lies upon which we went to war. I'm talking about the new lies.

For just as, before the war, our governments warned us of threats that did not exist, now they hide from us the threats that do exist. Much of Iraq has fallen outside the control of America's puppet government in Baghdad but we are not told. Hundreds of attacks are made against US troops every month. But unless an American dies, we are not told. This month's death toll of Iraqis in Baghdad alone has now reached 700 - the worst month since the invasion ended. But we are not told.

The stage management of this catastrophe in Iraq was all too evident at Saddam Hussein's "trial". Not only did the US military censor the tapes of the event. Not only did they effectively delete all sound of the 11 other defendants. But the Americans led Saddam Hussein to believe - until he reached the courtroom - that he was on his way to his execution. Indeed, when he entered the room he believed that the judge was there to condemn him to death. This, after all, was the way Saddam ran his own state security courts. No wonder he initially looked "disorientated" - CNN's helpful description - because, of course, he was meant to look that way. We had made sure of that. Which is why Saddam asked Judge Juhi: "Are you a lawyer? ... Is this a trial?" And swiftly, as he realised that this really was an initial court hearing - not a preliminary to his own hanging - he quickly adopted an attitude of belligerence.

But don't think we're going to learn much more about Saddam's future court appearances. Salem Chalabi, the brother of convicted fraudster Ahmad and the man entrusted by the Americans with the tribunal, told the Iraqi press two weeks ago that all media would be excluded from future court hearings. And I can see why. Because if Saddam does a Milosevic, he'll want to talk about the real intelligence and military connections of his regime - which were primarily with the United States.

Living in Iraq these past few weeks is a weird as well as dangerous experience. I drive down to Najaf. Highway 8 is one of the worst in Iraq. Westerners are murdered there. It is littered with burnt-out police vehicles and American trucks. Every police post for 70 miles has been abandoned. Yet a few hours later, I am sitting in my room in Baghdad watching Tony Blair, grinning in the House of Commons as if he is the hero of a school debating competition; so much for the Butler report.

Indeed, watching any Western television station in Baghdad these days is like tuning in to Planet Mars. Doesn't Blair realise that Iraq is about to implode? Doesn't Bush realise this? The American-appointed "government" controls only parts of Baghdad - and even there its ministers and civil servants are car-bombed and assassinated. Baquba, Samara, Kut, Mahmoudiya, Hilla, Fallujah, Ramadi, all are outside government authority. Iyad Allawi, the "Prime Minister", is little more than mayor of Baghdad. "Some journalists," Blair announces, "almost want there to be a disaster in Iraq." He doesn't get it. The disaster exists now.

When suicide bombers ram their cars into hundreds of recruits outside police stations, how on earth can anyone hold an election next January? Even the National Conference to appoint those who will arrange elections has been twice postponed. And looking back through my notebooks over the past five weeks, I find that not a single Iraqi, not a single American soldier I have spoken to, not a single mercenary - be he American, British or South African - believes that there will be elections in January. All said that Iraq is deteriorating by the day. And most asked why we journalists weren't saying so.

But in Baghdad, I turn on my television and watch Bush telling his Republican supporters that Iraq is improving, that Iraqis support the "coalition", that they support their new US-manufactured government, that the "war on terror" is being won, that Americans are safer. Then I go to an internet site and watch two hooded men hacking off the head of an American in Riyadh, tearing at the vertebrae of an American in Iraq with a knife. Each day, the papers here list another construction company pulling out of the country. And I go down to visit the friendly, tragically sad staff of the Baghdad mortuary and there, each day, are dozens of those Iraqis we supposedly came to liberate, screaming and weeping and cursing as they carry their loved ones on their shoulders in cheap coffins.

I keep re-reading Tony Blair's statement. "I remain convinced it was right to go to war. It was the most difficult decision of my life." And I cannot understand it. It may be a terrible decision to go to war. Even Chamberlain thought that; but he didn't find it a difficult decision - because, after the Nazi invasion of Poland, it was the right thing to do. And driving the streets of Baghdad now, watching the terrified American patrols, hearing yet another thunderous explosion shaking my windows and doors after dawn, I realise what all this means. Going to war in Iraq, invading Iraq last year, was the most difficult decision Blair had to take because he thought - correctly - that it might be the wrong decision. I will always remember his remark to British troops in Basra, that the sacrifice of British soldiers was not Hollywood but "real flesh and blood". Yes, it was real flesh and blood that was shed - but for weapons of mass destruction that weren't real at all.

"Deadly force is authorised," it says on checkpoints all over Baghdad. Authorised by whom? There is no accountability. Repeatedly, on the great highways out of the city US soldiers shriek at motorists and open fire at the least suspicion. "We had some Navy Seals down at our checkpoint the other day," a 1st Cavalry sergeant says to me. "They asked if we were having any trouble. I said, yes, they've been shooting at us from a house over there. One of them asked: 'That house?' We said yes. So they have these three SUVs and a lot of weapons made of titanium and they drive off towards the house. And later they come back and say 'We've taken care of that'. And we didn't get shot at any more."

What does this mean? The Americans are now bragging about their siege of Najaf. Lieutenant Colonel Garry Bishop of the 37th Armoured Division's 1st Battalion believes it was an "ideal" battle (even though he failed to kill or capture Muqtada Sadr whose "Mehdi army" were fighting the US forces). It was "ideal", Bishop explained, because the Americans avoided damaging the holy shrines of the Imams Ali and Hussein. What are Iraqis to make of this? What if a Muslim army occupied Kent and bombarded Canterbury and then bragged that they hadn't damaged Canterbury Cathedral? Would we be grateful?

What, indeed, are we to make of a war which is turned into a fantasy by those who started it? As foreign workers pour out of Iraq for fear of their lives, US Secretary of State Colin Powell tells a press conference that hostage-taking is having an "effect" on reconstruction. Effect! Oil pipeline explosions are now as regular as power cuts. In parts of Baghdad now, they have only four hours of electricity a day; the streets swarm with foreign mercenaries, guns poking from windows, shouting abusively at Iraqis who don't clear the way for them. This is the "safer" Iraq which Mr Blair was boasting of the other day. What world does the British Government exist in?

Take the Saddam trial. The entire Arab press - including the Baghdad papers - prints the judge's name. Indeed, the same judge has given interviews about his charges of murder against Muqtada Sadr. He has posed for newspaper pictures. But when I mention his name in The Independent, I was solemnly censured by the British Government's spokesman. Salem Chalabi threatened to prosecute me. So let me get this right. We illegally invade Iraq. We kill up to 11,000 Iraqis. And Mr Chalabi, appointed by the Americans, says I'm guilty of "incitement to murder". That just about says it all.

Baraka=Barack=Blessing [in arabic]

Barack Obama is a blessing. There is oration after Clinton afterall. Watch his DNC speech.

Join him in his beginning. He has a blog, too.

background: Read his speech given at an anti-war rally in Hyde Park, Chicago in October 2002

Here's the latest news story about the tragedy of Zaydun. I've recently heard from Zeyad and he's ok. My thoughts are with Zaydun and all his family.

i saw the film "outfoxed" today. it's so well done and extremely poigniant in describing the fascist television station, fox news, that takes a couple pages and improves on certain aspects of media in stalinist russia. it's pandering to the far-right and adjunct status to the republican party is captured remarkably. oreilly's mistreatment of guests, including the son of a port authority worker that died at the world trade center, is one of the most disturbing parts of it. professor lawrence lessig (stanford) does an excellent job of breaking this down on his blog. what a twisted and psychotic man, bill O. so, i recommend the film for another eye opener. also, uncovered: the truth about the iraq war" should be released in selected theatres along with "outfoxed"...both directed by robert greenwald. "control room" resonates most with me from the politic docs i've seen lately.

i want to see more and more experimental political docs. what is an experimental political documentary? is it just applying experimental editing techniques alone? no...that's too simple. for me it's also the fusion contrast and fissive qualities of different subject matters when confronted with one another so that they create fluid jagged or just relevent or absurd subtexts to be interpreted by the viewer--almost like djing realities instead of music. (writing this reminds me of that wolfgang iser theory stuff i read and wrote about so long ago, "the act of reading") yea, so..editing has to be creative and skillful, but the story and it's resulting subtexts must remain as fresh as possible as to not lose people. ya see, i have an attention-span problem. and ok, sure, there might not be much of an audience for this, but there's the possibility to explore expressive modes and powerful abstractions that are yet untouched. so that's my most recent project. i've been working to pull something like this off for some time. it's coming along well so far. i'm so addicted to this computer... you have no idea. ..love being cyborg.

remember the guy that was completely torn to pieces by all pro-war proponents? this is the last few paragraphs from scott ritter's article in the international herald tribune, 22 July. he pretty much lays down the simple logic, pointing towards the failure of a foolish policy. is there time to change it? bring the troops home. yea, it's wishful thinking but i have to say it.

i'll try to do more of my own posting, but things are going to be busy the rest of the week. the pains & joys of getting settled in a new place are beginning to take up most of my time. i'll have some really important matters to address soon.

click for full article

Regardless of the number of troops the United States puts on the ground or how long they stay there, Allawi's government is doomed to fail. The more it fails, the more it will have to rely on the United States to prop it up. The more the United States props up Allawi, the more discredited he will become in the eyes of the Iraqi people - all of which creates yet more opportunities for the Iraqi resistance to exploit.

We will suffer a decade-long nightmare that will lead to the deaths of thousands more Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis. We will witness the creation of a viable and dangerous anti-American movement in Iraq that will one day watch as American troops unilaterally withdraw from Iraq every bit as ignominiously as Israel did from Lebanon.

The calculus is quite simple: the sooner we bring our forces home, the weaker this movement will be. And, of course, the obverse is true: the longer we stay, the stronger and more enduring this byproduct of Bush's elective war on Iraq will be.

There is no elegant solution to our Iraqi debacle. It is no longer a question of winning but rather of mitigating defeat.

I'm going to try to collate some articles about Iraqi artists. Come back to this post for more.

'Iraqi Drama in Crisis'
Art Imitates Iraqi Life in All Its Chaos and Misery
Leading Iraqi artist dies
Looted Iraqi Art Displayed Online
Kathem Al Sahar
Punk Rock in Iraq
Iraqi Elvis
AfroPop Worldwide Interview of Kazem
Iraqi Theatre Struggles for Normality
on Iraqi Cinema, 'baghdad blues'



some websites:

IraqiArt.com
Rahim Al Haj, Iraqi oud player's website
oriental tunes.com
belly dance museum Check out my favorite, Taheya Carioca!!!
songs of assyria
ilham al madfa3y's streaming music
on Old Iraqi music

"we have no more aims, no more strategic aims, no more ideology... all we want to do is keep a lid on the situation until january 2005 when there'll be elections, at which pt we get out and we say the iraqis made a mess out of it... we gave them the opportunity for democracy. they didn't want it... it's their fault.."

essentially, the american government authorities have quit already. did they ever try, though?

and while many american soldiers suffer openly, being put through so much shit...how can the americans have quit, then? well, because there was no true plan to succeed in the first place. and americans have to keep the lid on until Jan 2005, or they can't leave. that's when the shit will percolate rapidly.

so there it is...
eat some negroponte, the new ruler of iraq

and the caliphite of baghdad, allawi...is completely irrelevent only miles away from his stronghold. what is happening in so many cities outside of baghdad that are not effectively controlled by negroponte and his allawi? yes, just that... they are not controlled by the new puppet government that still represents an occupation. so there's a weak central government now, that's obvious. and that's what's desired. problem is...this will not control the iraqi population who are under more and more duress from the lack of basic services and especially security.

right now, we are witnessing the recreation of another typically arab state. a place where torture thrives, corruption is the order, and security is the major question. when liberties in the US are being sacrificed for our supposed safety, how do you really think the integrity of the liberties of iraqis are truly being kept by this new facade, this new iraqi face of an occupation?

this seems like the most foolish and dangerous adventure that any nation has undertaken. we are seeing how extremism feeds extremism. and i mean extremism inside the current american administration feeding the extremism of militant islamic fundamentalists. it will be to the detriment of the U.S. itself to continue along its current path. the dangers are increasing for those of us in the west by the minute when taking the entire set of problems in middle/near east at the moment. and there is still no attempt to invigorate a debate to change the cause of these terrible events that have taken place. until this is done, the iraq war will have been a gift to terrorists and bin laden himself...who i'm sure is wishing bush will continue on his rampage. looks like iran is next if certain people have their way.

i hope there is hope. until the day i find it, i'm going to try to focus on something positive in this truly sick world.

now, i wish people would only understand why it is so difficult.

lim.

black bush

this is meant as a counter-point to fayrouziZ most recent post. i completely disagree with her and i am iraqi christian. she mentioned this to me when i met her in the spring. basically, her idea amounts to the quasi-ethnic cleansing of iraqi christians from iraq, most of whom are not of arab blood. how is this going to be possible? the bottom line is that just because you're christian, doesn't mean you're going to have an easier time leaving iraq...even if you wanted to leave. you're iraqi (and especially if you only hold an iraqi passport, unlike all those corrupt bastards that spend half their time in switzerland or london) and people don't want iraqis even though we've been so kindly "liberated" with bombs and lies. don't expect those applications to go flying through just because of this sick liberation...and if you're christian and want to migrate, good luck because unless you have some connection with a church group that really helps you out...it's not going to happen. and even if it does, it might take 4-5 years or more to get papers through. i still have some cousins that are refugees having waited for over 5 years...and they're iraqi, christian, professionals with excellent degrees. why'd they leave iraq? because of saddam, the crippling sanctions and the fact there was no life, no future in iraq. is there a future now? well, sure, one filled with blood and chaos. that's fucking great. thanks a lot you vacuous subaltern beings.

also, there's the matter of choice. i know many iraqi christians who are headed back to iraq to help. and many many more that want to stay. so, i don't know where fayrouz' logic of "the only choice left...is to leave" comes from...

i would love to imagine how other iraqis would react if suddenly all iraqi christians were given, GET OUT OF IRAQ FREE CARDs. and there would be some sort of kit that came along with it that includes a rosary, some holy water, a bible, a passport, a visa (to desired country of arrival), immigration papers that have already been cleared, work permit, and a lonely planet guide for the destination. along with an ipod, some oakleys, a voucher for a hot automobile, a sexy cel phone, and a pilates mat that says, "i left iraq for the love of god"

please, no offence, but i think it is a load of garbage to be completely honest. displacement is displacement...and not all iraqi christians would be happy campers in their new environment or even slightly willing to adjust to the 3 bedroom/2 bath/2 car garage/fast food and stale culture mental fuck that a life in the west would offer them. (and i dont mean western culture is negative at all...i just mean it is a lot different for most. and i've witnessed first hand how difficult it is for somebody to adapt to such a different reality that has different support systems and social cues.) personally, i dig the fusion of eastern and western, anyway, and again no offence, good luck with the "iraqi christian exodus campaign" fay...i'm sure some of my cousins would commend you on your efforts (i mean it, because many of them want out of the current situation). but i doubt they would recognize it as plausible or even remotely realistic.


a sidenote: has anybody picked up the scent of a possible INC-chalabi-Iran-Al Qaeda connection? i have...who knows??? chalabi is supposed to be an agent for iran, isn't he? things have been pretty quiet about that as of late. i wonder what the status of this is now.

we've been in contact recently with family, and they said that every six hours there is two hours of electricity. 6 to sometimes 8 hrs/day total.

i'm sick of so many people around me that consistently take so much for granted. and the part of american existence that values sitting around watching your money and caring for your money more than you care about your kids. materialism as religion. fuck this bullshit.

they make me want to hide from them.

how much more meaningless can life get?

what is all this shit happening around me? i can't make sense of it.

from new yorker mag...rippin off cheney's infamous, "go fuck yourself" on the senate floor. isn't that what the current administration is saying to the world each and every day though? slip like freudian, bleep like a cheneyian

***

Vice President Dick Cheney cursed at Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat, in a confrontation on the Senate floor while members were having their annual group picture taken earlier this week. . . . According to [an] aide, Mr. Cheney . . . responded with a barnyard epithet, urging Mr. Leahy to perform an anatomical sexual impossibility.
—The Washington Times.

After Mr. Cheney successfully delivered th epithet and started to walk away, Mr. Leahy—sotto voce—referred to the Vice-President using a term more often heard in taverns an locker rooms than in the august Senate chamber, a term that refers to a sexual act commonly acknowledged as taboo among all cultures that proscribe incestuous contact between a mother and a son.


Mr. Cheney—apparently hearing Mr. Leahy’s remark—stopped, turned, and invited his colleague from across the aisle to engage in a sexual act that is considered a felony in some states, and which involves oral-genital contact.


Mr. Leahy then suggested...