Tuesday, December 6, 2005

crap about iraq nobody cares about

...my son is a bit left, but he has been in Iraq for over a year now and swears that the situation is not good at all. He sent me an article with the following precursor:

hey dad,
i was looking for a good article about how things are here that matched up with some of the things i see. there's alot of hyped up writings about how bad things are doing than (not nearly as much lying garbage about how things are getting better i imagine) this one i thought is nice and to the point, free of sensational hooplah and last but not least: accurate. i doubt they report much in the states about how things really are doing so this is like a quick overview for you to read while your bored at work. something about bush's latest speech outlining our planning in Iraq just really irked me. so many blatant lies it's just ridiculous. enjoy.

... i asked him, "Really? are you sure this is a non-biased and a realistic view of how it is there? and can i publish this?" He replied:

sure and yes.
so much of this rings true like you wouldn't believe. especially when dealing with the contract world and seeing all the private companies that are out here using indian, pakistani, philipinno, and central american labor. and the term 'haji' is something i've used every day all the time without even thinking of how it's completely racist. i think every guy here uses that term well before iraqi or 'LN' local national, the PC term. after reading this i can see all these reflections of what it's talking about in the big picture in my every day little picture. it really opened my eyes.


...who am i to argue since he's there and i'm here?

80 comments:

  1. it's funny how some of the statistics in that article are the same ones the dems are throwing around to counter bush's latest speeches. more than 50% unemployment, still less electricity and clean water then pre-invasion ect.

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  2. i have asked my son since to find an article that he can agree is truthful, but portrays the GOOD side of what's going on there in Iraq... he has yet to respond.

    we'll see.

    Brandon? got one?

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  3. http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/

    This guy is an Iraqi blogger so he offers some interesting perspectives. Seems sort of hopeful(ish). Things aren't great, but better than they were, etc. He's got a lot about the second round of elections. Also a lot of pics on the sight.

    Also some good links to other Iraqi blogs on the right-hand side.

    For a contractor's viewpoint, this guy seems fairly biased against the war, but offers up some interesting insights.

    http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2005/11/29/8156/7183

    He's got some tidbits at the end about which groups love us, which ones hate us, etc. I'm sure it's not anything either of you don't know, but it is a helpful reminder that it all depends on who you ask.

    For me, personally, I have a hard time figuring out which side is right. From one side I hear how it all sucks and everything is shit and they had it better before we came. From the other side I hear how it's sooo much better now and we're winning the war and there are elections, etc. And also this (both sides of the argument) seems to be from many people who are actually over there. If the one side says the other side is TOTALLY LYING AND IGNORANT, I have a hard time buying the credibility of that perspective (i.e. this seems to be almost conspiracy-minded in that EVERYONE who doesn't agree with the Iraq-is-fucked perspective is actually part of a massive cover-up or completely blind or everyone that says things are sort of screwed is TREASONOUS and against the U.S.).

    Why can't it be both? Why can't some things be shitty and some things be good? I don't know that I expected everything to be hunky dory and for us to be outta there by now. Did anyone else? I don't even remember this as being something that was sold to us even though I keep hearing how Bush lied about WMDs and then lied about how easy it was going to be. I just remember him saying how hard it was going to be. But that could be me.

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  4. ...thanks for the added insights from the bloggers in Iraq and Lieberman...

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  5. actually, that's brilliant. Thank you. I'm going to pass that on to a couple of people.

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  6. actually, that's brilliant. Thank you. I'm going to pass that on to a couple of people.

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  7. actually, that's brilliant. Thank you. I'm going to pass that on to a couple of people.

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  8. actually, that's brilliant. Thank you. I'm going to pass that on to a couple of people.

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  9. Build a watch in 179 easy steps - by C. Forsberg.

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  10. Ever notice how fast Windows runs? Neither did I.

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  11. 640K ought to be enough for anybody. - Bill Gates 81

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  12. If ignorance is bliss, you must be orgasmic.

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  13. Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.

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  14. 640K ought to be enough for anybody. - Bill Gates 81

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  15. What is a free gift ? Aren't all gifts free?

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  16. All generalizations are false, including this one.

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  19. All generalizations are false, including this one.

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  20. actually, that's brilliant. Thank you. I'm going to pass that on to a couple of people.

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  22. Calvin, we will not have an anatomically correct snowman!

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  24. Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.

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  26. Suicidal twin kills sister by mistake!

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  27. If ignorance is bliss, you must be orgasmic.

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  28. Ever notice how fast Windows runs? Neither did I.

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  29. I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing!

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  30. Give me ambiguity or give me something else.

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  31. Calvin, we will not have an anatomically correct snowman!

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  32. Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.

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  33. Ever notice how fast Windows runs? Neither did I.

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  34. Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies

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  36. A lot of people mistake a short memory for a clear conscience.

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