Their hard life is in hopes of improvement, as the country's rich oil will bring more cash in the coming years after a number of international firms get development rights.
A place where violence occurs most, the Iraqi capital has witnessed waves of bombings, including three high-profile coordinated car bombings since August.
The above is the opening to Li Laifang and Gao Shan's "Yearender: Iraq goes ahead amid violence in 2009" (Xinhua) which is the journalists' evaluation of the year as well as a few upcoming events (such as national elections, which are supposed to be held in March) on the horizon. Journalists -- they don't publish in Playboy, sorry, kids. The Iraq War continues and part of the reason it does is because 'reporters' like Amy Goodman go breathless, on air, about the latest issue of Playboy. Good to know that subscription went to good use, Goody, and it's probably the closest you've come to any sort of on air admission, but don't mistake that garbage for news. Garbage and gossip. Possibly if Playboy had done a feature on the Iraq Inquiry right before the centerfold, Amy Goodman would have been interested in that?
In the real world, Iraq remains an issue. From Asher Dvir-Djerassi's "Government responds only when people take action" (Las Vegas Sun):
Our moderator began our discussion by asking if the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will ever come to an end. Going around the room, one student said that President Barack Obama has announced a 2011 deadline for the withdrawal of troops in Iraq. In response, a student claimed Obama cannot put a deadline on the war in Iraq that has continued with unpredictable changes, and that Iraq lacks a solid and legitimate government.
As we began to talk about the war in Afghanistan, a student who has dual citizenship between the United States and Pakistan said the U.S. government must invest in education. From living in Pakistan and visiting Afghanistan, she contended that the population is heavily illiterate and uneducated, allowing for Islamic fundamentalism and regression.
Many other students at the Sun Youth Forum agreed that a troop increase will not solve the root of conflict in Afghanistan and acknowledged that the U.S. must also heavily invest in the Afghan economy and infrastructure.
After 30 minutes of discussion on this issue, a student asserted that whatever our perspective is on the war, it will not affect Obama’s policy regarding the Middle East. He continued to state that by looking at poll results, the majority of Americans favor withdrawal from Afghanistan, but Obama has discounted this perspective.
And these conversations take place on campuses around the country. It's only in Panhandle Media that you can't find Iraq. Now some might point out that Amy Goodman's wasting all of our time with Playboy this morning because there was an apparent terrorist attempt in Detroit. Some might point out that what she's done is minimize reality to ridicule concerns. Some might point out that if she was ever to address real issues and not just grudge f**k on a daily basis, the left might be informed. But that's not her role. Her role is to find out whatever the big story in the MSM is and scream "NO! NO! NO!" All she can do is respond. She can't influence anything because she's too busy chasing after MSM. She can't set a course because she's forever responding.
The Iraq War has not ended. Sandy Davis (Baton Rouge Advocate) reports on the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of Louisiana's National Guard preparations to deploy for Iraq. During the 2004 deployment, Davis explains, 22 service members lost their lives.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
xinhua
li laifang
gao shan
the las vegas sun
asher dvir-djerassi
the baton rouge advocate
sandy davis
