In yesterday's snapshot, we noted Nouri al-Maliki was calling for early parliamentary elections. I'm sorry but where is the New York Times report on that? Where is CNN's coverage? Prashant Rao (AFP) hasn't even Tweeted about it.
Maybe they'll be all over this story after this goes up? Or maybe tomorrow?
Alsumaria reports today that Nouri's announced he wants parliamentary elections in three to four months.
Probably not.
Look at the targeting of Iraq's Emo youth. We covered that for over two weeks here as the mainstream media ignored it. I begged, badgered and bribed for coverage of that topic (going so far to turn over the Aspen place to one publisher and his boy toy for a full year ). That's not how it's supposed to work. I'm not supposed to be calling friends and aquaintences in the media, the press, and pitching them stories out of Iraq.
Friday, Nouri gave a speech in which he made the call for early parliamentary elections. Where's the coverage?
Parliamentary elections are supposed to take place in March of 2014. This month, April 20th, provincial elections are supposed to take place. In only 12 of Iraq's 18 provinces, but they're supposed to take place. Nouri's insisting that Anbar and Nineveh Province can't hold provincial elections April 20th because of violence (and ever shifting reasons). He states they're going to have wait six months for elections.
So what does that mean for early parliamentary elections?
If Nouri gets his way, what does that mean for Nineveh and Anbar?
Around July, Iraq holds parliamentary elections -- or some provinces do. If Anbar and Nineveh can't hold provincial elections until October, per Nouri's decree, then they can't participate in parliamentary elections, can they?
In the March 2010 elections, Nouri's State of Law came in second to Iraqiya. Anbar and Nineveh are strong holds for Iraqiya.
Think that doesn't matter?
Think Nouri hasn't factored it in?
Yesterday, he returned to publicly claiming that the 2010 elections involved cheating.
No, he wasn't fessing up to the fact that he didn't earn a second term. But he didn't. Barack Obama saved his ass after the voters rejected him. The US-brokered Erbil Agreement went around the Iraqi voters, the ballots, democracy and the country's constitution to award second place Nouri a second term as prime minister.
The whole thing is a joke at this point.
And I don't just mean 'elections' in Iraq. I mean the hideous coverage -- or what passes for coverage -- from non-Iraqi outlets.
Protests have gone on for over one hundred days but most Americans have no idea because there is no American coverage. Nothing inidcating 100 days-plus of protestes.
There's no coverage of anything.
An e-mail to the public account asked what my biggest disappointment about the press and Iraq was? The e-mailer went on to list several New York Times articles published before the start of the Iraq War. That is so in the distant past. I'm all for holding accountable, but I would love just a little bit of awareness that the press continues to ignore what is going on in Iraq. Spare me the nostalgia trips or the false belief that the press got better.
I don't see it. But them I'm now going to have to spend at least an hour on the phone calling social contacts in the media to beg for some coverage, to beg that they assign someone to this story or that they ask their token reporter in Baghdad to cover it or . . .
It's over, I'm done writing songs about love
There's a war going on
So I'm holding my gun with a strap and a glove
And I'm writing a song about war
And it goes
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Oh oh oh oh
-- "I Hate The War" (written by Greg Goldberg, on The Ballet's Mattachine!)
The number of US service members the Dept of Defense states died in the Iraq War is [PDF format warning] 4488.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
i hate the war
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