Hundreds of thousands dead. Millions displaced, internally and externally. Homes burned, mosques destroyed, schools bombed, markets attacked, lives destroyed. Corruption rules. The kidnappers rule. The murderers rule. Welcome to Iraq, four years after liberation.
53% of Iraqis have a close friend or relative who has been hurt or killed in the war violence. 86% worry about a loved one being hurt. 51% say they try to avoid leaving their homes. 70% report multiple signs of traumatic stress.
In November 2005, 63 percent of Iraqis felt very safe in their neighborhoods. Today just 26% say the same. 33% don't feel safe at all. In Baghdad, 84% feel entirely unsafe. In 2005, 54 percent said their power supply was inadequate or nonexistent; now it's up to 88%. In 2005 just 30% rated their economic situation negatively. Today it's 64%.
75% say they lack the freedom to live where they wish without persecution, or even to move about safely. 48% cite security as the single biggest problem in their lives, up from 18 percent in 2005. 97% of Sunni Arabs and Shiites alike oppose the separation of Iraqis on sectarian lines.
42% think their country is in a civil war; 24% more think one is likely.
In the Richest Country in the World, Boy Dies of Toothache
An off and on homeless family, sick children, no medical insurance. Medicaid failed them. The dentists won't see the child because they don't accept Medicaid. Seeing the doctor in the beginning would've cost $80. Now, the boy is dead, and the bill is $250,000. Welcome to America.
Sick? Show me your insurance card. Don't have one? Go die.
Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday. A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him. If his mother had been insured. If his family had not lost its Medicaid. If Medicaid dentists weren't so hard to find. If his mother hadn't been focused on getting a dentist for his brother, who had six rotted teeth. By the time Deamonte's own aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After two operations and more than six weeks of hospital care, the Prince George's County boy died. Deamonte's death and the ultimate cost of his care, which could total more than $250,000, underscore an often-overlooked concern in the debate over universal health coverage: dental care.
I guess he's always "in town" since he works right around the corner, in the Senate, but last Friday, he was at George Mason University for a rally sponsored by Students for Barack Obama. I was invited to this event through Facebook, and since GMU is my alma mater, the political junkie in me just had more reason to spend my Friday standing up for a couple of hours so I can see Mr. Obama for about 20 minutes. Thankfully, he did make an appearance, and gave a moving speech about the way he grew up and how that has influenced his plans to run for president in order to take the country off the disastrous path it is on now. I won't go into much detail, because the speech is of course available for your viewing pleasure on YouTube.
But I would like to note something interesting about this event that will surely have an influence on the whole 2008 election process. The event, as I mentioned, was organized by SFBO, and the event was advertised primarily through a Facebook event page. If you don't know what Facebook is, well, there's not much hope for you. No really, it's a social networking site that began on the college level and has now expanded so that anyone can sign up. It's the 7th most visited site in the US, with more than 7.5 million users and 20,000 new members joining everyday. The fact that such a political event was organized through this website shows just how important new media will be in the upcoming elections. In the 2006 midterm elections, many candidates (or their staffers) created Facebook accounts, listing their political platforms, and other information that might attract young voters. Each Facebook account holder also had the opportunity to add certain "agenda items" that they considered important, such as "I support abortion" or "I oppose the war on Iraq". Your personal profile becomes a place for you to share your political opinions with friends and acquaintances, and a medium through which politicians can reach out to you. Candidates are also starting their own blogs in an attempt to tap into all forms of media to communicate with voters and potential supporters.
And of course, we all know the important role bloggers can play in reporting happenings, recording videos of events, and revealing information about candidates before the mainstream media can get to it. All it took was a YouTube video to bring down Republican Senator George Allen after the infamous macaca incident. In addition to recognizing the organizers of the rally, Senator Obama also recognized the creator of a Facebook group called "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)". It's really amazing how important these tools will become in the next few months leading up to the primaries and the elections. We will just have to wait and see who takes advantage of them most, and who does so successfully.
Until then, here are some pics and clips from the event taken by yours truly. (No, I didn't jump on stage after he finished talking, or race to grab his hand and get his autograph, or follow him out to his motorcade. Others definitely did, I witnessed. He was definitely a celebrity, and he knew how to work that crowd.)
You can watch the full video of the event here, or check the short clips below taken by me.
Another win today for the American justice system: jurors found Dr. Abdelhaleem Ashqar and Muhammad Salah not guilty of charges the US government brought against them in 2004 claiming they were tied to terrorism. Accused of funneling money to the Palestinian group HAMAS, a designated terrorist organization by the US, the two men had maintained that they had only provided money to fund social and humanitarian services for their fellow Palestinians. After a 3 month hearing, and two weeks deliberating, the 12 jurors proved once again that there is hope for truth and justice to be upheld in the United States, no matter how elusive they may seem these days.
These men and women were smart enough to see through the misrepresentation of Ashqar and Salah's actions by the government prosecutors who went as far as claiming they were responsible for the death of an American teenager who was killed by a suicide bombing in Israel. The government tried to convince the jurors by calling Israeli agents to testify against the two men. These were the same agents that knew that Mr. Salah was severely tortured in Israeli prisons to the point where he confessed to anything they told him to. They heard that the FBI had wanted to ask Dr. Ashqar to become an informant for them, indicating that they did not deem him a terrorist threat. The inconsistencies and lack of concrete evidence against the men was detected by the jury which in the end returned a not guilty verdict on the major changes.
This verdict comes as a major blow to the "Justice" Department's efforts at trying so-called terrorists. More than a year ago, a jury similarly acquitted Dr. Sami Al-Arian of charges that he was funneling money to Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian group on the US terror list. I wroteseveralposts about Dr. Al-Arian's case, who is still in jail today despite being acquitted by the jury in his trial. Unfortunately, the US government is going after minor charges and attempting to find ways just to keep him jail. He has been on a hunger strike protesting his detainment for 11 days so far (more about his case).
My faith in the American judicial system has not been completely restored, because cases like these should not have been brought to surface in the first place. Dr. Ashqar and Dr. Al-Arian have been wronged, and not even an acquittal can alleviate the suffering their families have endured for years and the emotional pain of being wrongly charged and incarcerated. The Muslim and Arab communities from which these individuals come in Virginia and Florida, respectfully, have also endured a heavy toll, being portrayed as supporters of terrorists and consistently targeted for simply practicing their rights as citizens of this country.
I would love to see that smirk on your face once again, Mr. Ashcroft, as you were so proud when you announced their indictment more than two years ago. Please, don't be disappointed now that the American people have, unlike you, chosen truth and justice above all else.
Thank you to the jurors who took their responsibility seriously and did their job by scrutinizing the evidence and showing the public that such cases are indeed nothing but witch hunts against the innocent men and women who dare to speak out against the injustices inflicted upon their Palestinian brethren. I hope the judge will follow suit and not allow these men to suffer anymore than they already have. Two points for justice, none for the War on the Innocent. It is also worth noting thatmost major media networks did not headline the verdict. In previous cases where similar charges were brought forth, and the jury returned convictions, the verdicts made headlines within minutes of the news. When their indictments were announced, every major news station dedicated the first reports to images of Ashcroft reading the charges. Had these men been found guilty, I assure you that CNN, Fox, CBS, and every other online, print, and tv media outlet would have emphasized the news beyond imagination. I waited to see if anything would make the CBS or ABC evening news reports, and my suspicions were confirmed. The verdict did not make it to the CNN homepage either, but was buried in the "law" section. If THIS is the type of media you rely on, you'd better think twice before tuning in again.
Even though I don't expect to see anything spectacular in the State of the Union Address, the political junkie in me makes me watch it in full every year. I enjoy looking at the attendees facial expressions and claps in coordination with what the president is saying. It's also fun to see how many smirks Dick Cheney can manage to pull off before the end of the speech, how many times Ted Kennedy will roll his eyes, and how many times Bush will say "nukelar". That's what I call good entertainment.
As I found my self dozing off towards the second half of the speech, I thankfully woke up in time to see the live action scene from the gallery where the NY construction-worker-turned-hero received a much deserved recognition by the president for saving the life of a man who had fallen on the subway tracks. But apparently, Wesley Autrey thought he was receiving a Grammy Award or something. I couldn't stop laughing as the president pointed to the gallery where Autrey was seated a few seats from Mrs. Bush. The man was beaming, and when the president looked up at him, he jumped up and started blowing kisses to the crowd, mouthing to the president "you da man" and flashing peace signs on his chest and just relishing his five minutes of fame. Even Bush looked like he was desperately holding himself from cracking up on the podium. It was indeed a moment to remember, and I'm sure everyone's eyes were wide open after that expecting another entertaining scene at the speech. If you missed it, the YouTube clip is below.
"oh my God, you already know what I'm going to say?"
"he's shaking my hand!!! ahhhhhhh!"
Pelosi: look at Condi, she wishes she was in my place! HAHAHAHA! Cheney: no, no, look at the idiot Kerry, he still thinks he's running for president! Bush: shutup you two, I'm getting scaaaaared!
If that guy can be president, I'm sure I can too!
Wesley Autrey waving to the crowd. You da man! (more below)
What happens when a Latino, a woman, and an African American decide to run for president of the United States? Well first of all, the neo-conservatives start to crap in their pants. After they take some of the pink stuff, they power up their lean, mean, candidate smearing machine!
Officially or unofficially, the election smearing campaign has begun. Several Democrats have announced the formation of "presidential exploratory committees," which is basically just a bunch of people getting together trying to guess how many hundred million dollars the candidate will need to win the nomination. The most prominent of these are of course Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, Governor Bill Richardson, and former vice-presidential candidate Senator John Edwards.
The smearing has already begun most prominently against Senator Barack Obama. Calling him "Barack Osama" was just a lame beginning. Then the "real stuff" appeared. "He's really an undercover Muslim!" (Forget the fact that he's an openly Christian man who has been part of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ for decades)
"His middle name is Hussain! Like Saddam Hussain!!!" (grow up! He is named after his father who was a Kenyan Muslim. Barack lived most of his life with his non-Muslim mother and converted to Christianity as an adult)
"He even studied in a MADRASSA!" (at age SIX, Obama was living in Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country, and he attended Muslim and Catholic schools there. They were not religious schools. And I'm sure at age six they would begin making him memorize the whole Quran and apply the Sharia in his daily live, right? He was S-I-X for God's sake!)
Whether it is Clinton's peeps who are spreading these rumors or it's just the lean, mean, neo-conservative smearing machine, the msm is having a field day with it.
Sadly, this is the kind of publicity Barack Obama is getting today. Forget reality TV, these elections are going to be SO entertaining.
And just in case you're still worried that a "Muslim" (aaaaahhhhh!) will become president, rest assured, the polls already indicate that he's behind Clinton.
My premature guess? Edwards will win the nomination. And then we'll all start snoring again.
(Photo from Wikipedia, with my lame attempts at humor scribbled on in red)
an idealistic 22-year old's attempts to vent feelings and rationalize happenings in this world through this space. although i have occupied this blog, i do not plan on enforcing this occupation through concrete barriers that will prevent visitors from traveling though this site. Nor will I use security check points to make sure that individuals have the right nationality/race/ethnicity in order to comment. this blog is an expression of my thoughts on international politics, human rights, globalization, culture, and society with a focus on the Middle East from an Arab American perspective.
