anyone hear the HAPPY IRAQI voter story on NPR today?

[diamond14]

NPR has really collapsed as any credible source of information...


this morning, I heard this HAPPY IRAQI voter story....NPR interviewed HAPPY IRAQIs in Jordan and America...the HAPPY IRAQIs were sooooOOOOO happy...some claimed that voters were DANCING in the polling place....all praised democracy and America...the HAPPY IRAQIs said it was great wonderful glorious BLAH BLAH BLAH...

[renegade000]

1. well the other day they also had

an iraqi voter story with all these families making plans for if they get killed at the polling places...

though ya i agree, that story was incredibly one-sided.

[douglasjkruse]

2. Probably really happy though?

It's feasible there are happy Iraqis voting for the first time, right? Why is that not a credible story? NPR has exposed the 'bad' things too...

[harper]

3. No, but I was disgusted with them yesterday

Yesterday morning I woke up to a creepy story about the poor soldiers who were killed in the copter crash. The NPR correspondent went to the base they came from and interviewed the folks at the local bar. Very rah rah and strange. And you're right...I no longer consider NPR a credible news source. Lots of Bush happy talk.

[Bluebear]

4. "Dancing at the polling places!"

Ever notice how quaint and National Geographicish our media paints any people not in Murka?

[leftchick]

5. I found some Happy Happy Iraqis this AM... *graphic*

Iraqi youths stand next to five dead bodies in Ramadi, an insurgent stronghold 113 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Saturday, Jan. 29, 2005. Insurgents claimed the men worked for the Americans. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

... perhaps they were happy yesterday?

[diamond14]

8. machine gun fire, bombings, killings are ALL OVER IRAQ today (link)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=1&u=/ap/20050129/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq


Iraqi Leaders Urge Voting As Bomb Kills 8

12 minutes ago Middle East - AP


By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A suicide bomber attacked a police station Saturday in a Kurdish town, killing eight people, and insurgents blasted polling places in several cities on the eve of landmark elections in which the president acknowledged many Iraqis will not vote because of fears for their lives.

In Baghdad, bursts of heavy machine gun fire rattled through central districts at midday, and several heavy explosions shook the downtown area in the afternoon. American fighter jets roared through the skies in a show of force.


Insurgents blasted polling places in at least eight cities Saturday and central Baghdad shook with shelling and heavy machine gun fire. American fighter jets roared through the skies in a show of force and buzzing U.S. military helicopters dotted the skyline.


West of the capital, in the insurgent bastion of Ramadi, five Iraqis with hands tied behind their backs were found slain Saturday on a city street. One of the bodies was decapitated. Militants accused them of working for the Americans.


Sunni Muslim extremists have warned Iraqis not to participate in the election Sunday, threatening to "wash the streets" in blood. Iraqis will chose a 275-member National Assembly and provincial councils in Iraq (news - web sites)'s 18 provinces. Voters in the Kurdish self-ruled area of the north will select a new regional parliament.

[peacetalksforall]

6. Two questions - are they paid by the admin and are they citizens of the

countries they are now living in?

Seriously...if these voting Iraqis are in the U.S. - what is their immigration status - work visas, student visas, refugee visas - naturalized citizens? Do other residents of the U.S. get to vote in their native countries elections?

Has there been any investigative journalist who has checked this out? Has the U.S. issued a statement about who they are sponsoring for voting in the Iraqi election?

[laura888]

12. obviously - this is a story being spoon-fed to the media by the WH...

and NPR is, in my view, not very different from CNN.

Yes, where ARE the investigative journalists? is our media just become too lazy to do anything but be mouth-pieces?

[spanone]

7. I see the Iraqis voting in the US and they are thrilled.

My question is, why aren't these people over there fighting for their own independence? It's easy to vote when you're thousands of miles away.

[laura888]

10. agreed - isn't it liked that these international voters will out-number...

...voters within Iraq because of hostile conditions within Iraq?

How democratic is that?

[thecorster]

11. I agree with you guys

but I'm really hopeful that this election goes well. I hope I can be proven wrong, that I'll have to tell all my Republican friends, "you guys were right, Bush brought freedom and peace to the region."

Wouldn't that would be great? If all these happy stories were in the majority? Then the troops would get to come home soon and we'd be out of this clusterfuck.

I don't know what the right answer is... should we continue to be realistic and battle the misconceptions presented by the media, or should we attempt to support the process and hope for the best?

(That wasn't rhetorical, by the way. I'd like some feedback.)

[laura888]

13. no - the process is being overly-supported by the media

What we do, as dems, is QUESTION what appears to be false, unfair, one-sided.

I really haven't heard ANY news via mainstream media that this voting process might possibly be a sham. Have you?

[thecorster]

14. true enough. but if you are smart enough to

listen to what they're saying, you can draw that conclusion. Unfortunately, most people don't care enough to think it out.

[Stirk]

16. I vote for being realistic. Ignorant optimism is what had

our bigger morons here in the states claiming that Iraqis would throw flowers and candy and invading troops.

[thecorster]

17. okay, that argument pretty much won me over.

Good point... that was the rationale for invading. Maybe this election thing is the rationale for something much larger. Say... invading Iran?

[Stirk]

19. Maybe so. It's a kind of PR stunt. The Iraqi people have no say

in who's going to be running the new government anyway. Even putting aside the question of election fraud, the people are just voting for an assembly, which will choose a council, which will then choose a president. They're completely divorced from power.

But that's not how our press reports it. You'd think they were voting for actual presidential candidates in Iraq if you just watched CNN.

But I agree with you. I think the neocons wanted to put this false "democracy" front on a new dictatorship, leave that new Saddam to keep the population in line, and move the troops next door- to the next "freedom" recipient.

[Ms. Clio]

22. What does that mean, that these fake elections "go well?"

That the conjob is a success? I am baffled by anyone who thinks there is anything remotely credible or useful in this sham process?

As far as the troops are concerned, they are not coming home anytime soon--military sources say they are there until at least 2006 and 2007, and why do you think they are building/have built at least 14 permanent bases?

[barb162]

24. I wonder what percentage will actually vote, like what if 15% of the

eligible voters come out. At what percentage Will the people of the world or Iraq see this as a valid election? I think typical turnout historically in many elections in this country is in the 40-50% range, especially local elections, and everyone here just lives with it. It's normal.

I don't want to turn on the news today as I expect a lot more polling place bombings.

[diamond14]

25. tomorrow, CNN/faux will show HAPPY IRAQIS at the polling place

just like many of their bushite 'news' reports out of Iraq....they will show ONE polling place with LOTS of HAPPY IRAQIS safely voting....what you won't see in the camera view will be the actual polling place location (inside the green zone? or surrounded by US tanks/troops), that the actual HAPPY IRAQIS were PAID with our tax money to read script for bushite fake sElections....and all the killings, shootings, and the rest of the polling places where NOBODY shows up....


it's real important to bush* that the American People view this insane public relations event as a LEGITIMATE ELECTION....soooOOOO....bush* is spending LOTS of OUR money on this insanity...


tomorrow, you can expect even MORE gushingly HAPPY IRAQIS, right from Iraq, PRAISING bush* and democracy and freedom and liberty....beaming through on your TV set....BIG BUCKS for paid pundits....that one single polling place with Happy Iraqis will be broadcast on ALL Main Stream Media (MSM)...rove will push out tons of 'talking points' PRAISING bush* and his drive to 'freedom' and 'liberty', as noted in his coronation speech....condi et al will appear on talk shows....

[Rockerdem]

26. The process is self-selecting

Its worse than an internet poll. The only people going to vote are going to be anti-insurgency and lean pro-American. Of course they are going to grinning and happy for the whore media cameras.

[barb162]

27. I think you will be quite right. As an afterthought and in one sentence

then the reporters will say as in, oh by the way, "45 Iraqis were blown up and 8 US personnel were killed at polling places around D Iraq." One sentence.

[Rainstorm]

35. I agree with you

I think all Americas should want for Democracy to succeed in Iraq. That is the best outcome for everybody, except the terrorists.

[OneTwentyoNine]

9. Happy?? These elections are as rigged as when SH held them...nt

[shadowknows69]

15. sure they're happy they don't have to vote in Iraq

and they've bought the bullshit that they're making a difference for their homeland.

[diamond14]

18. NPR just ran a SECOND "Happy Iraqi voters" story.....gawwwddd

this NEW story was about a large group of 'Happy Iraqi voters" who got together to carpool/vanpool down to Los Angeles to vote, several hundred mile journey....in the interview, they were all SooooOOOOOO happy...thrilled, cheering, etc....



NPR is not even worth listening to anymore...

[indigonation]

20. I have decided to try to lose the ill feelings I have toward the war

this weekend and let the American Iraqis celebrate a day in their joy. As much as I hate what this war is really about and the human cost, etc, etc, I am taking a step back to look at the proverbial "trees". We all know that this election is rigged and setup to favor American interests over there. But without sounding too much like a Bushbot, I support the Iraqis and the troops for their sacrifices. We just have to make sure they don't buy into the myth that this was all for "freedom and democracy" and not to line the pockets of a few corporations. We don't want the backlash from the wingnut propandists that keep trying to align liberals with terrorists and racists.

[moggie12]

28. I'm doing the same

Plus, I don't think the "happy Iraqi" stories are faked or overblown. For one thing, the Shia majority is probably very happy about putting "their guys" in power. And Saddam was, after all , a brutal dictator. The invasion was a terrible mistake from a "realist" foreign policy perspective (like Scowcroft tried to tell them), but that doesn't mean there aren't some actual positive aspects in the overall gigantic mess that has been made over there.

[signmike]

21. I believe it...also the Jessica Lynch story,

the tooth fairy, Santa Claus and Columbus.



...still not sure about Toledo... :shrug:

[freestyle]

23. Yeah, happy not to be in Iraq

Happiness is much easier when you aren't worried about being killed. The Iraqis in Iraq sure aren't happy.

[Comicstripper]

29. Are you saying they can't produce ANY positive stories from Iraq?

You know, I was against the war, and still am, but, uh...voting is good. And most want it. They may distrust the U.S.'s motives,and rightfully so, but I'm sure there are millions of HAPPY IRAQIS who are at least glad that they can elect a leader.

[diamond14]

30. duh....the Iraqis are NOT electing a leader tomorrow....

tomorrow, the Iraqis are electing a group of people, who will choose another group of people, who will then choose the president....


the whole set-up is a BIG BUSH SCAM.....it's a Public Relations ploy...worse, the entire bush* war has created such instablity, that any voters have a good chance of getting KILLED...it is immoral for bush* to spend millions of OUR dollars, encouraging Iraqis to go out and get KILLED....


the REALITY of these bush* sELECTIONS: it's making IRAQ even more unstable, providing the FUEL for bombings, killings and conflict....it looks like THAT's what bush* wants....bombings, killings, and conflict, because it provides cover for bushites to STEAL ALL THE OIL....

BTW.....where is all the oil money? and where did OUR $ 200 BILLION go to?

[Ms. Clio]

31. They're not electing a leader

And "millions" aren't voting.

What flavor of Kool-Aid is that you are drinking, anyway?

[Comicstripper]

32. Do you want me to go through the Kool-Aide thing again?

I was only saying that NPR can cover positive stories as well. If Iraqis are happy, they should report that. Whether it's warranted or not, it's an important part of the mood there right now. The confliction.

[Ms. Clio]

34. What you seem to fail to realize is that most of those "positive stories"

are as dubious as the fake news pieces that aired on television networks and the paid-off pundits who infest our print publications.

Spin, smoke, and mirrors.

[oasis]

33. I wonder if Uncle Sam provided "travel pay" to American Iraqis.

:shrug: