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norml Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-25-06 04:16 AM
Original message
All the 'Good News' From Iraq
All the 'Good News' From Iraq

By Stephen Pizzo, News for Real. Posted March 25, 2006.


For once, the president gave some solid advice on Iraq: If you want to know the truth about the war, read the internet. But the truth isn't as pretty as he hopes. Tools

I bet you guys didn't really listen to President Bush this week. Too bad, because for once he told the truth. I listened, heard the truth and checked it out. And, as he promised, it was a real eye-opener.

It happened at one of Bush's fake "town hall meetings" this week. An Army wife asked Bush why the mainstream media only focuses on "the bad news" from Iraq and never reports "the good news." Bush furrowed his brow and nodded in agreement. Earlier in the week the administration launched a Vietnam-era-style "blame the media" campaign to explain plummeting public support for both the war and Bush himself.

The woman's question offered Bush an opportunity for another anti-media riff on that theme. He sympathized with her distress and suggested (pay attention -- here comes the truth part) that she should turn to alternative sources for news, "like the internet." (He used to call it the "internets" until his handlers informed him that, like God, the internet is not plural.)

Whoa! When I heard Bush say that, it struck me. Of course! The internet! Why have I been relying on the New York Times and Washington Post and CBS, NBC, CNN to tell me what's really going on in Iraq. Hell, they don't even speak the language. And, of course, we learned four years ago we can't believe anything the U.S. government says about the war.


snip


http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/33998/
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pinniped Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-25-06 04:33 AM
Response to Original message
1. A bunch of clueless dopes.
Even if the media did report this alleged good news, that doesn't negate the baaaaaad shit coming out of there.

What the fuck is good news anyways? The morans already said Iraq is on its own and has to pay to rebuild their war torn country. Sorry, no more money, it was all stolen and relocated to secret offshore banks.

If five coalition soldiers died and five of these alleged insurgents died, that doesn't mean no one died and they reset the counter to zero.

Fake town hall attending dopes.
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radfringe Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-25-06 05:10 AM
Response to Original message
2. call him on his blather
we had a week of bush* reading the same speech (over and over again) - nothing new in it, same pile of crap, followed by "BLAME THE MEDIA"

first I'd like to point out - many of the journalists in Iraq are in "green zones" and do not leave those "zones" -- why? Because it's too dangerous to leave those zones alone. Those who venture outside of the "green zones" do so with an armed group of troops.
If things are sooooo great and wonderful, and progress has been made - why aren't the journalists just walking freely around?

secondly - I'm sure some things are getting better, but how much is really better after 3 years compared to the rest of the mess? Not much - access to electrical power is worse than it was under Saddam, access to clean water is questionable, most Iraqis are afraid to leave their homes, there is a civil war/secular conflict going on, terrorists/insurgents still roam freely (well, the list goes on)

finally - call bush* on his blather. If things are so great and wonderful then hip-hip-hooray. I suggest he put on his fly-boy costume, land another jet on another air craft carrier, stand under a sign that says "Victory in Iraq", and bring the troops home -- our job is done, put a mark in the "win" column
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ClintonTyree Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-25-06 06:21 AM
Response to Original message
3. The "good news" coming from Iraq.......
could fit on the head of a pin. Outside of the "green-zone" things aren't as rosy as the administration would have us think. That's the truth and if people want to find out the truth the internet is a great place to start. You won't get the sugar-coated shit you see on the Corporate Media, that's for sure.
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RBHam Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-25-06 06:35 AM
Response to Original message
4. This is good satire...
Mmmmm.....
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RBHam Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-25-06 06:36 AM
Response to Original message
5. good stuff
So I checked with Iraqis to see how much "good news" I could find. I read dozens of March postings by folks living in U.S.-'liberated' Iraq. Bush was right. It was time well spent. CNN, MSNBC, FOX, eat your hearts out. These postings are a revelation. And, hey, big dude -- thanks for the tip, George. Now I suggest you take your own advice and do the same.

Here's a sampler and some links to get you started on your search for all the "good news" from Iraq that the scheming evil U.S. media is hiding from you.

From A Star from Mosul:

March 9: It was about 6 p.m. last night when dad's mobile rang, dad was in the mosque, my aunt was calling him and so mom picked up the mobile instead. Mom's emotions on the phone only led to one conclusion: Someone is dead. … Mom put the mobile aside and said: "Uncle S is dead." … Yesterday he was shot by Americans on his way back home, and he died. Like many others, he died, left us clueless about the reason and saddened with this sudden loss. He was shot many times, only three reached him: One in his arm, one in his neck and one in his chest. But they said they're sorry. They always are.

From Healing Iraq:

March 16: Black-clad Mahdi army militiamen drag the body of Sheikh Ghazi Al-Zoba'i, the imam and preacher of the Al-Sabbar mosque around a street in Husseiniya, a mixed suburb north of Baghdad. … Someone shouts: "Drag the Wahhabi," while another describes him as a "bastard." … Then they dump him on the side of the road. Another militiaman suggests they bury him. "What do you mean bury him?" the gang leader snaps back with indignation. "Leave him here to the dogs." Then they joke about his underwear and cover the corpse with a cardboard that life looks absolutely normal in the surroundings. You can see children running about, stores open, religious holiday flags and even a traffic jam. Perhaps Ralph Peters will happen to drive by with an American army patrol and enjoy the scene of children cheering for the troops, while wondering where his civil war is, dude. I see people blown up to smithereens because a brainwashed virgin seeker targeted a crowded market or cafe. I see all that and more. … Don't you dare chastise me for writing about what I see in my country.

From A Family in Baghdad:

March 14: The situation in Iraq now is the worst that can be, since Baghdad fell in April 2003, meaning three years passed since the war, and the results we reaped were destruction, ruin, killings and bloodshed … billions of dollars were robbed, thousands of souls perished, our cities and villages destroyed, and there are some who are pulling the people apart, pushing them to a sectarian civil war. There is an occupation army filling the streets, doing what? We do not know … they build military bases which spell the message -- they want to remain forever, that they do not care for our souls, and that everything that is happening to us pours into their interest and is a reason for them to stay …


Iraq is torn apart …
Iraq is ruined …
Iraq became a heap of debris …
Is this what they want?
Was this their aim in this war?


This is what I want to say to the American people, I want them to know the real story of the war, not the story they hear in their biased media, financed by the government and its friends … I want the people here to stand up and face their responsibility for what is happening in Iraq … Do they join their government in its crimes against the Iraqi people? Or are they against her?

From Hammorabi:

March 20: Death and killing in Iraq become a daily event and apprehension of death is a concomitant issue with every person. The Iraqi politicians who fight for the power, their hands are stained with the blood of the innocent Iraqis … Iraq, as the rest of the world, is much better without Saddam but much worse in every other aspect, especially the security.

From: Riverbend:

March 19: I don't think anyone imagined three years ago that things could be quite this bad today. The last few weeks have been ridden with tension. I'm so tired of it all -- we're all tired.

Three years and the electricity is worse than ever. The security situation has gone from bad to worse. The country feels like it's on the brink of chaos once more -- but a preplanned, prefabricated chaos being led by religious militias and zealots. I'm sitting here trying to think what makes this year, 2006, so much worse than 2005 or 2004. It's not the outward differences -- things such as electricity, water, dilapidated buildings, broken streets and ugly concrete security walls. Those things are disturbing, but they are fixable. Iraqis have proved again and again that countries can be rebuilt. No -- it's not the obvious that fills us with foreboding.

The real fear is the mentality of so many people lately -- the rift that seems to have worked its way through the very heart of the country, dividing people. It's disheartening to talk to acquaintances -- sophisticated, civilized people -- and hear how Sunnis are like this, and Shia are like that … To watch people pick up their things to move to "Sunni neighborhoods" or "Shia neighborhoods." How did this happen?
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malaise Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-25-06 06:45 AM
Response to Original message
6. I did laugh when Dumbya suggested that
people read the blogs.
Great read.
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wolfgirl Donating Member (950 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-25-06 08:16 AM
Response to Original message
7. Some info re: that Army wife...
She is married to a Public Information Officer that toured embedded journalists around Iraq. If you saw her & her hubby on Hardballt his week, they both made references to their strong Christian values when discussing their concerns. It was a very enightening interview that gave me the distinct impression they were something more than just Bush supporters that happened to be at that event.
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RBHam Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-25-06 08:18 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. They didn't sell it well. They seemed like robots.
Maybe Cheney has their son tied up in his dungeon...

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wolfgirl Donating Member (950 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-25-06 08:25 AM
Response to Reply #8
10. Listening to the both of them
talk on Hardball gave me a very creepy feeling. He seemed to try and be a bit more tactfuland seemed very nervous. But she truly was ugly in her comments and even gaver her hubby some very odd stares.

I did a Google on her and got a link to a Bush Patriot website. At th site you could send $$ to get yourself listed as a Patriot. Very icky site.
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KharmaTrain Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-25-06 08:25 AM
Response to Original message
9. And What Sites Does boooosh Surf???
Somehow unless there's a free game involved, I can't see this dude anywhere near a computer.

Amazing how our "honest" corporate media didn't mention a recent survey among military types showing that 70% felt this invasion was going badly. These are the people on the ground...not the pencil pushers or the Stepford wives who give up any concept of self dignity so they can "land themselves a top gun".

I've met several Iraqi vets in recent months. Not a one has said this invasion was worth the fight or remaining around. While we may not hear "the good news", I assure you we sure haven't heard the worst either. Many are burried deep inside the memories of these young men and women...seeing death and destruction first hand and the trauma they'll have to carry with their rest of their lives.

BTW...has georgie been to a military hospital or funeral lately????
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norml Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-25-06 11:18 AM
Response to Reply #9
11. Chimpie don't surf!
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