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[verbena-19] Tomgram: Michael Schwartz on Why the Media Gets... : Last December, in an ABC poll (taken in conjunction with the BBC)which reflected a degree of hopefulness about the elections soon to take place and the possibility of a better future, only 46% of Iraqis felt the country was better off than under Saddam Hussein (and those figures are guaranteed to be even lower today), while two-thirds opposed the very presence of U.S. troops in the country. When it came to "conditions in the village/neighborhood where you live," they were asked to "rate" a number of topics "using very good, quite good, quite bad or very bad?"
[audacious ontology] u.s. embedded to israeli: On 20 September, a group of prominent neo-conservatives and their allies published another open letter: 'Even if evidence does not link Iraq directly to the attack,' it read, 'any strategy aiming at the eradication of terrorism and its sponsors must include a determined effort to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.' The letter also reminded Bush that 'Israel has been and remains America's staunchest ally against international terrorism.' In the 1 October issue of the Weekly Standard, Robert Kagan and William Kristol called for regime change in Iraq as soon as the Taliban was defeated. That same day, Charles Krauthammer argued in the Washington Post that after the US was done with Afghanistan, Syria should be next, followed by Iran and Iraq: 'The war on terrorism will conclude in Baghdad,' when we finish off 'the most dangerous terrorist regime in the world.'
[THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BILL FISHER] IRAQ TOLD TO REBUILD ITSELF: While President Bush gave the impression that Iraq was slated for a complete makeover, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld appeared less certain. He told the Senate Appropriations Committee in March 2003, “I don't believe that the United States has the responsibility for reconstruction”¦(reconstruction) funds can come from”¦frozen assets, oil revenues and a variety of other things, including the Oil for Food, which has a very substantial number of billions of dollars in it.”
[Newsie8200's Penndit] Media News Monday 3/27/06: Bush, the media, and... : Instead, they are looking at alternatives such as branded entertainment within TV programs (61 percent), TV program sponsorships (55 percent), interactive advertising during TV programs (48 percent), online video ads (45 percent) and product placement (44 percent). Additionally, 80 percent will spend more of their advertising budgets on Web advertising and 68 percent are looking into search engine marketing." Advertisers who attended the forum were advised to pay greater attention to the increase in DVR penetration, which was ascribed to the rapid deployment of set-top boxes by cable and satellite companies.
[la'ikoa] U.S. will not help Iraq rebuild: Simpson concluded that "...there is a real, abiding anger [among Iraqis] that the richest nation on Earth should have taken over their country and made them even worse off in so many ways than they were before." But at least they can get a latte.
[Today in Iraq] DAILY WAR NEWS FOR SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 2006 ... : It is, however, somewhat ironic to be concerned with such events during a week when hundreds, perhaps thousands, more have been killed, and during a time when reports emerge continually of currently operating government torture centers (I'm talking about Iraqi government torture centers here) killing dozens or hundreds of people. And it is also ironic to be talking about a trial for the aftermath of an event, the attempted assassination of the head of state, which did actually occur (that seems to be undisputed), and for which we learned today (not for the first time) that those who were executed actually had trials (however fair or not), which is more than can be said for anyone incarcerated by the Americans in Bagram or Guantanamo or dozens of other secret prisons, dozens of whom have been killed (including being tortured to death).
[Quicksilverscreen.com : Exploring the hive mind - Memes for the masses] Stupid Bush Tricks: "Nothing he [Saddam Hussein] has done has convinced me””I'm confident the Secretary of Defense””that he is the kind of fellow that is willing to forgo weapons of mass destruction, is willing to be a peaceful neighbor, that is””will honor the people””the Iraqi people of all stripes, will””values human life. He hasn't convinced me, nor has he convinced my administration."””Crawford, Texas, Aug.
[Today in Iraq] DAILY WAR NEWS FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2006 ... : IRAQI SECURITY FORCES PLAGUED BY CORRUPTION, MISMANAGEMENT: Senior military advisors acknowledge that "[t]rying to reform the police forces could take years, because sectarian loyalties have become entrenched, and police officers are rooted in their communities." When Shiite militiamen attacked dozens of Sunni mosques after the February bombing of the Shiite Askariya shrine, many "police units stood aside, either out of confusion or sectarian loyalties, according to Iraqi witnesses." Rumsfeld's testimony ignored the administration's responsibility for the unprepared state of the police force.
[People Get Ready] "We've dealt with Katrina": Whether he likes it or not, it was his own administration that bought those trailers and left them to rot in a field in Arkansas while hundreds of thousands of people languish, hoping beyond Hope for the opportunity to return to their homes to begin the process of rebuilding their lives.
[Bad Attitudes] Wa-Wa Land: Basically Accurate And Reflects... : were “basically accurate and reflect reality.” The problem, he said, was that news reporting has created a negative impression “because what’s newsworthy is the car bomb in Baghdad.
[ Global War] Mr. President, Maybe You Have Lost Your Mind: Bush, who speaks as if he has ascended to an even higher plane of unreality, marked the third anniversary of the invasion Sunday by touting a "strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq." I know that "victory" is a word that focus groups love, but did anyone else hear an echo of Richard Nixon's "secret plan" to end the war in Vietnam? Does anyone else remember that there was no "secret plan''?
[Hammer Of The Blogs] Tuesdays With Moron: It might truly be said that the Iraq War became the Iraqi Civil War when the number of those killed in sectarian and ethnic clashes, in death squad activity and in assassinations, torture and executions surpassed the number killed in the war between the United States and the resistance. It’s hard to say exactly when this happened, but it took place last summer, at least, and it has continued to this day.
[Dailywarnews.blogspot.com] Today in Iraq: says Ali Hili, a 33-year-old gay Iraqi exile in London who, with some 30 other gay Iraqis who have fled to the United Kingdom, five months ago founded the Abu Nawas Group there to support persecuted gay Iraqis. (Abu Nawas was a great 8th century classical poet of Arab and Persian descent who is known throughout Middle East cultures, and is famous for his poems in praise of same-sex love.) Said Hili, “We believe that the Badr Corps is receiving advice from Iran on how to target gay people.” In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been carrying out a lethal anti-gay pogrom against Iranian gays, notably through entrapment by Internet -- and this tactic has recently begun to be used by the Badr Corps in Iraq to identify and hunt down Iraqi gays.
[Crooksandliars.com] Crooks and Liars: CHENEY: No, I think it has less to do with the statements we've made, which I think were basically accurate and reflect reality, than it does the fact that there is a constant sort of perception if you will that's created because what is newsworthy is the carbomb in Baghdad, it’s not all the work that went on that day in 15 other provinces in terms of making progress in rebuilding Iraq. (transcript via TP)
[Thecarpetbaggerreport.com] The Carpetbagger Report » Blog Archive » Cheney's mendacity knows ...: Cheney: No, I think it has less to do with the statements we've made, which I think were basically accurate and reflect reality, than it does the fact that there is a constant sort of perception if you will that's created because what is newsworthy is the carbomb in Baghdad, it's not all the work that went on that day in 15 other provinces in terms of making progress in rebuilding Iraq.
[Juancole.com] Informed Comment : 07/01/2004 - 07/31/2004: I do think there is a risk that higher than expected oil revenues will lead to a real appreciation of the currency, whether through a change in the nominal dinar/ dollar rate or a one off increase in dinar prices (a burst of inflation), as more dollars (or dinars, if iraq converts dollars to dinars) are chasing the same set of local goods (I have not thought this through enough to have a sense of which is more likely). But some inflation as the economy grows is not the same as hyperinflation (an ever increasing rate of inflation), and indeed, the substitutability of foreign goods for local goods ultimately will act as a break on the increase in local prices.
Reflected tags on Technorati: Blog, Iraq, Iraq Reviews
