Are you into Art?
Heyyyy!!!
I know I know….I missed you all too!
I am so sorry for being away for such a long time. I have been very busy, then I thought of you poor people, there must be millions of you opening their eyes every morning hoping to find a new post from me, so I thought, why don’t I blog and make you all happy?
Hehe I know, I am so great, and so modest too;)
So…
I know what is it that you want to talk about…
Food!
Oh, wait that is what I always love to talk about, I am sure you want to know about boring stuff like art and stuff right?
Hoofff…ok, what can I do, there are so many of you and only one of me! I will do
What you want;)
Are you into theatre?
Cause you are all about to witness one of the biggest and most expensive ones in the history: The Elections in Iraq.
If you're asking me (and I am sure you are, since you took the effort of remembering my URL and actually came here, again!), I think that the elections are nothing but an American game to give some kind of legitimacy to their presence in Iraq, by creating a government that supposedly is a legal Iraqi government, that is authorized "legally" to ask them to stay in Iraq, and will justify then, the much harsher attacks against anyone that resists their presence, the excuse will then be that: The elected Iraqi government asked us to do so and so.
Well, the same thing is happening now, but since the Americans are getting more and more embarrassed everyday for the shameful results of their occupation, what's better than giving Iraqis the "democracy" and "freedom "to the point that they themselves can ask the Americans to stay?
Very funny ha? Haha? Well I don’t think so.
This is the biggest theatre and the lowest one I ever saw, the first elections in the history were people don’t know who is running, and the ones that are running never announced any political or economical agenda, we don’t even know their names for crying out loud, they are too afraid to announce their names!!!!!
I am making documentaries for CBC, the Canadian channel, and I have been interviewing people, less than two weeks before the elections, and asking them: what are these elections for? And so many people think that it's to choose an Iraqi president, not a parliament! People don’t even know what these elections are for!!
Wanna hear something people don’t know too? These elections are not only to chose a parliament, they are also chose a municipality!! people will go to vote twice, two deferent ballots and two deferent boxes, in the same location and the same day, and no one knows about this!
Here is one new information for you!
Did you know that the "ratio" card of year 2005, that allows you to take sugar, flower and few other things too, which have been the main resource for Iraqi families' food since early nineties, will not be given except for those who will vote?
When you go to the voting center they give you a paper that allows you to take the card from the ratio shop in your neighbor!
Freedom… democracy…yahhhhoooooo! cheer up Iraqis and live happy!
The way the elections will happen is that people will write the number of the "list" that they want to vote for, that lists contains so many parties and people that no one knows their names, EXCEPT!:
The Shea list, which is now a religious duty to vote for, that is more important than praying and fasting, as Sistani said when he "ordered" Shea to go vote, and I am sure he didn’t mean that he wants people to vote for the communist party, do you?
And the other one that we all know is, guess who? Yes! Allawi! He, unlike all others, had the chance to declare his name since people already know him and he has all the American protection, so there is nothing to be worried about, or is there?
Well Allawi is spending like crazy on TV promotions on satellite channels, he also got 6 hours on air with Arabiya channel that seems to be rewarding him for his struggle against Aljazeera, anyways, Allawi has posters in the streets, but none of them survives for more than few hours, a day sometimes, before people tear them apart, I wonder where does he get the money for his campaign for? I will give you three options to test your brilliance: 1.Santa 2. His own many 3.our friends in the states?
And to tell you the truth people in the street are very sure that his list and the Shea list are already winning lists, voting and stuff is only the boring routine work.
I am sure that these elections came very much this way:
Condi: good morning Mr. preeesident
Bush: good morning Condi have a seat...
Condi: Mr. preeesident.. I think that we should make elections…….
Bush: come on Condi for God's sake again? I am still so tiered of the last one! And weren’t we supposed to have them only once every four years?
Condi: no Mr. preeeesident... I meant elections in Iraq!
Bush: ohhh! They are officially a part of the states now? That’s great! But ia m afraid we will have to some tricks again, Kerry will do his best to win Iraqi's votes, I hate this guy!
Condi: no no Mr. preeesident….I meant Iraqi elections for an Iraqi president!
Bush: other than me?
Condi: yes sir! We need one that can speak Iraqi!
Bush: hoofff! I should have learned that earlier!
Condi: don’t worry Mr. preeesident you still have a good chance, start learning Persian, sir!
Hehehe very funny right? Well I don’t think so.
I am afraid that the danger behind these election isn’t only in all what I said before, but I am afraid that it will be the bullet to kill the national unity, Shea want it and willing to defend it, Sonna don’t want it and willing to stop it, add to that recipe a lot of weapons and you will get a civil war.
I am for the elections as a principle, of course, but not these elections, not before so many thigns are cleared and discussed, I don’t even mind a shea government if shea are the majority, that would be their right, right? (there aren’t any kind of statistics, official or not, about the percentage of Sonna and Shea) but once shea take most of the votes, what would prevent them from ruling iraq with a Sharea law based on the Shea principles? What prevents that knowing that shea voted basing on a fatwa from Sistani that makes voting a religious duty? Will the Sonna agree on this? Will the Kurds agree on this? What about Kirkuk? What about the national revenue, how is it going to be distributed? Now you cant have a job in some nay governmental ministries and agencies if you don’t have a recommendation from a Shea party, how do you think will it be if there was a really Shea government? How do you assure al the parties, other than Shea in Iraq, that their rights will be saved and guaranteed?
Sonna, Kurds and of course also Christians and Turkman?
What guarantees the integrity of this elections while its held under the occupation?
Once all that is discussed and cleared, we will hold elections very smoothly, and we will all protect it against any foreign parties.
The Americans are stupid, but they aren’t THAT stupid, they must know that a civil war is really close if they continue along their present path of divide and rule, so they must, therefore, WANT this result, I Ask God that Iraqis continue to resist this idea by all means possible like they have been doing for the last two years, say Ameen!
Did I tell you about ballots? Besides the rumors that they are for sell if you have the money, I discovered that a ballot was sent to the ratio center to be given to all people, even Arabs! I can go take one! And I will only need an Iraqi ID to go vote! And you have no idea how easy it is to make a fake one hear, most of Sonna, about %80 basing on the survey made by the Islamic party, and about 90% basing on a survey made by a commission that works for the ministry of internal affairs, are not going to vote so they didn’t take their ballots, where do the ballots go then?
Today I interviewed some people that are running for the elections (as a part of my work for islamonline.net), and they said that they have no guarantees that this process will be honest and fair, they just said "we hope so!! At least we will try to keep close to try to expose the tricks if we could!!"
So if that’s what the candidates think, what do you expect from an average Iraqi to think?
26 Comments
Khalid, thanks for your perspective.
I would say that a couple things may work to prevent the She'at from establishing a theocratic government.
One is that there are lots of reports of Allawi actually being somewhat popular in the South. Assuming his and Yawir's lists get a halfway decent number of votes, the UIA will have to make compromises in order to enact its agenda. So they won't be able to achieve all of it. There's also the provision in the TAL that three governates can exercise a veto. So that's another check. My understanding was also that the She'at want to be able to change the personal status law so that She'at will be governed by She'at law, Christians by Christian law, Sunnis by Sunni jurisprudence, etc. Is that a bad thing or a good thing?
-praktike
-praktike
Wonderful insight into the problems facing your country and its first free elections. But it is only the first elections of many, many more. As they occur and as the different parties and peoples align themselves and work on more questions and answers, it will continue to be sorted out and settled.
In the meantime and even afterward..remember this:
"Fundimentalist, terrorist Islam is the Borg - you can fight it or be assimilated. There’s no third option, aside from death".
In case you don't know who the "borg" is, do a search on Google. There is NO difference between the two.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
Set Ray guns to "kill".
indeed that is true, but this is not the whole "visible" truth.
we all see on television what so-called "muslim" terrorists do, in their sunni-death-bermuda-triangle..
well, we do not hear what our shi'ite brothers are doing most of the time, unless you have a renegade "firebrand" cleric whom the shi'ite themselves are trying to kill.
the elections.. what a charade.
picture this, if at least 20% of sunni dont vote, and sunni constitute about 40% of iraqi popluation (i think more, if not for millions of our iranian "brothers" sneaking over the border) then easily you would have about 1.5-2 million people not voting, that would leave about 24 million votes, lets see HOW MANY votes come up in the aftermath!
the easiest and safest way would be for someone (NOT fundementalist-demented-with cloud over brain) to come and tell us: "This here fellow is your president, all hail him and worship him like you did the previous one"
and us, like the sheep we will always be, will do what he says, build him shrines and pray 25 times daily, the country will live in peace for ever after.
and I will marry the princess.
big deal.
(except for the me & the princess part)
dont bother worrying about the elections, the small people (those outside the pentagon and capitol hill)
should not get their blood-pressure up for nothing.
salam Khalid, stay safe, stay inside!
hmmm... can i comment on a question to someone else?
let me try:
pratike:
first, Allawi is not that loved anywhere in Iraq, let me explain in detail:
everything in Iraq boils down to sectarian thinking,
Allawi is a moderate Shi'ite, english-speaking, and is not on best-buddy terms with Iran.
The Shi'ite in Iraq follow these major sects:
the Al-Hakim sect
the Sistani sect
the Sadr sect
the Al-Ha'iri sect (residing in Iran)
and a couple of smaller sects as well:
now Allawi, unlike "alleged" scapegoat Ahmed Chalabi, did not pledge allegiance to any of these major sects.
Chalabi fortified himself with the Hakim group and is on their list..
also, you have to note (and believe) that if you join one of them sects, whatever the sect leader says, that will be your Quran (words of God) and is unbreakable under any condition.
I have a couple of friends who decided to go vote ONLY after sistani told his people to go vote..
SHEEP.
also, about the personal status law..
Iraq, since its conception, was and will not be an Islamic state per se (as in Islam is the religion and Rule is governed by it)
so all of us sunni, shi'te, christians, arabs, kurds and all others have lived in harmony under ONE law that was enforced on all (except if your father was president)
in different sects in islam (esp mainstream sunni and shi'ite) there are some differences (even if subtle) in the judging of actions,
for example:
Shi'ite have what is called "Al-Mut'a marriage" in which you can marry a woman for a pre-defined period of time have your fun, and when you're done divorce her with a word, easy as that.. some Shi'ite including some of my friends say its HALAL (Kosher, allowed by religion and such) but they fail to answer ONE question:
"DO YOU ACCEPT IF I MARRY YOUR SISTER THIS WAY?"
they all fall silent.
Sunni consider this to be HARAM (un-kosher, not allowed and so forth)
I dont say Sunni is better.. hell, the news are painting sunni people like the army of the anti-christ!
if you judge sunni and shi'ite and everyone according to THEIR law, iraq would be the Black hole of legal loop-holes..
things would really start to suck.
sorry for taking so much of your time, salam to you and salam to khalid and everyone!
(salam means PEACE, it is not a Prayer of death or sickness or anything.. like the TV tells us Islam is about!)
Khalid, do you remember the ugly statements you were making this summer during hurricane season while Florida was getting battered? You said that God was punishing Florida for the Bush election. What a horrible thing to say, Khalid. What an absolutely strange frame of mind you have. It makes a person wonder how you would explain the tsunamai in S. Asia? Does God punish them? And why...what in the world for, Khalid?
It is no wonder that you recieve so many ugly remarks to your comments. It's your personality that brings out the ugliness in people.
Artemis
Please...in defence of Khalid and any Iraqi that is passionate about their country (that leaves very few who are not): It has been a very difficult time for the lot of us. We all know Khalid and his family very well by now. I've met his brother and Niki. I cannot wait for many meetings with all of them because they are such warm and kind people. And I'm not saying Khalid is not justified in saying all the things he said. His remarks are quite apt in my eyes. Everybody that tries to criticize people that have seen such terrible times in Iraq, do so with such little weight. And of course, Artemis you have your opinion like others who have laid into any Iraqi that doesn't like what they've experienced and decide to voice it. I respect that completely. But just know that it is not so kind to lay such blame on persons under such stress. Whether you like it or not, it is people like Khalid, Majid, AnaRki13, myself, and younger bloggers like Najma, Nabil, and HNK that will be key to the improved future of Iraq. American bombs, bases, and puppets will not make Iraq a better place to live in the future. Let's try to be as positive and supportive as possible...especially to those living inside Iraq right now. Whoever thinks these elections are a sham at this point have the right to think this, the right to choose not to vote, and the right to choose not to risk their lives at the polling place, don't they? Listen to the Iraqi voice, in other words. And when Bush asks Iraqis "to defy the terrorists" and go vote...well, many inside Iraq now are just not willing to do this and it's understandable. For what? Many think, to legitimize the occupation? Many don't even know who the candidates are...So, lets see this election as an exercise only. I still believe because they are doing it by virtue of the ration cards that they should have held them a year ago at least...these cards were around then, and there's no reason they should have postponed elections. I could go on and on. But I just want to back up Khalid and say it's not so simple...things are not black and white for Iraqis these days. We are fed up with the lack of essential services (security, water, electricity). And because of the lack of any plan at all (or the inability of many to execute a plan because of assholes in the pentagon), we are faced with continued violence for an indeterminate amount of time. Put yourselves in our shoes. Imagine if you had half the problems an Iraqi inside Iraq has. Would you just be silent? Anyway, Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
And so, I think all Iraqis that have a voice should speak up about whatever they feel like speaking up about. ...Even if I disagree with it. If you'd love the troops to stay in Iraq because they make you feel safer, say it. If you don't, say that. Speak speak speak...never be silent.
Ma'ah salaam --as in--Society Always Leaves An Alien Mark-[mcpb]...out,
liminal
Sorry Lim, but you and a select few others always seem to be apologizing for Khalid. No more excuses.
There are real people dieing in an attempt to give this spoiled, little, american hating, brat a Government that is responsive to its own people. He, his brother, perhaps his whole damn family are not worth the effort.
I think that the elections are nothing but an American game to give some kind of legitimacy to their presence in Iraq,
Wrong Khalid. People like you are the reason Americans are in Iraq. Uneducated, intolerant, unenlightened conspirisists like yourself who live in a fantasy world. People like you who coddle terrorists because you think it convienient. It is people like you and your apologists that give ligitimacy to those that have murdered the likes of Hassan and so many others. People like you, who are in denial about the insanity of extremism in that part of the world. People like you who apologize for the extremists, call them mujihadeen, revere and martyr them. It is your fault that the Americans are there. You and those like you are the foundation that extremism hides behind. You stand in the way of your own progress. Western security demands that extremism be curtailed. If you cannot do it within your own world, then others must come do it for you.
Sandoval
just for the record:
I'm not apologizing for Khalid. -lim
chill out sandeee..
sheesh.
defending?
hmmm.
did I sound like I was defending him?
I don't know.. maybe I did, MAYBE I WAS, and maybe I wasn't..
You have already decided that I was so no use asking you.
take prozac three times daily, I'll see you on monday..
NEXT..
and BTW artemis:
God with all his mercy, does not PUNISH
he tests.
natural disasters throughout history have always been blamed on God or other suitable deity, so give him a break (and this is to anyone blaming everything on God)
Your God is Our God.
check this out:
You heard about Allah, right?
you know, the one responsible for creating all us terrorists and insurgents..
well, please bear with me:
Arabic and Hebrew languages join at the hip, the hip known as Aramiac, the OLD language..
the Old Arabic origin of Allah is Al-yah
meaning THE God.
Now, the old testament was written in Aramaic, then translated to Hebrew, riiiight?
So,In the Old testament, the name of the Lord God was
YHWH, spelled as Yehweh, more known to you as Jehovah..
Yah: Yehweh
look similar?
Ok now you can rip my head off but please check it for authenticity (the comparison not my head) before you maim me.. Ok?
and BTW: even NOW, God in Hebrew is Yahu..
touche!
You should share your thoughts about Yahweh with Khalid, my friend. It is not I that said God was punishing Florida with Hurricanes. I hope you do not think that I implied Allah was punishing S. Asia with an earthquake and tidal wave. If so, you would be wrong.
Artemis
Actually, I did not have you in mind, AnaRki13. Do you feel like you need to apologize for Khalid? I hope not. Making excuses for people like Khalid is just simply a continuation of the problem.
Sandoval
Now.. shut up and go vote.
Sandoval
im kind of surprised at your complete stupidity and ignorance. first of all, the new iraqi constitution has to get 2/3 of votes from each province, even the sunnis, in order for it to pass. you should pull your dead of the sand and start seeing the truth instead of your michael moore/zarqawi terrorist ideas. if you had spoke about saddam and the bathist party this way you would have been killed and your fat mother would have been ass raped. but you would never talk bad about saddam because he is your father and zarqawi is your queer lover.
Ouch!
temper temper!
poor guy haven't been hugged when he was little.. or maybe he was hugged too much!
why can't you talk without obscenities?
and why didn't you leave your name?
just curious!
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Hey guys:)
the funny thing is, whenever anyone, including me, writes something that the some red nicks cant say or even pretend its wrong, they suddenly come with somethign that is totally irrelivant to talk about, what the hell does the Florida story has anythign to di with the election? dont answer, i dotn want to make an argue about this and forget about the elections, you wish, to close that matter once and for all, i was kidding..i am so stupid, i wont do it aain, i am so sorry..you i know i didnt mean it..i really dont mean it..i swear i dont..God bless Florida...we all live in america..omma 3arabiyya wa7ida that risala khalida..hehehe:)
so please, stick to the election part ok? :)
you reminded me of a joke, biology student that never studied anything the whole year, and at the last night before the final exam he studdied one chapter: worms.
in the exams, there was only one question: about elephants.
so he wrote: the alephant is an animal that has a trunk that has a worm shape, and the worms are creatures that.......
and so went talking about the only thing he knows!
ok, enought alking, its the elections daya nd the number of explosions today is more than the words in this long post..
talk to you soon guys!
oh and, why zarqawi, usually i am acused to be working with bin ladin personally? i am offended! was i down ranked without me knowing?
me*)
looks likes we's needs to do a cleanin'...
lordy
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Are we into Theatre? Too funny, thanks for making me smile.
Ahhh, the day has come. Who can now deny legitimacy to the people of Iraq? None.. Not even France... Hah, not even you, Emigre. :) It's time for new leaves, Em.
At least a 72% voter turnout. Whatever representation they have chosen, it is afterall, their choice.
God bless them.
Partisan Hack 101
Hallelujah!
wesa needs cleaning here BIG TIME!
in the meantime, check out this link please:
http://elgoog.rb-hosting.de/index.cgi
ok so its pointless, so what? I like it!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Lim or Emigre, please, can the administrator of the blog please remove the obscenities written above?
My friend, when you use obscenities, you not only violate our freedom, you also deny yourself that same freedom.
so you say khalid is a terrorist? The way you are saying it makes you look worse.
this is a public blog, and your remarks, however smart you think they are, are offensive in reality.
Cheers.
Dear Bruno
Well, normally when fevers aren't running so high we might leave them up for your amusement but we decided that some things are a bit flammable at the moment, so in the interests of public safety we quarantined them.
Speaking off, did you know you can't mail perfume out of Australia anymore? Anybody who wants to mail perfume to Australia - it's illegal now. Our sweet smelling scents are too volatile.
When I read blogs from Iraq (and other countries) I often see the following line of argument:
The Americans couldn't be so stupid that they think X, therefore they really think Y.
I am always amused by this line of argument, because it assumes that there is a limit to our government's stupidity in foreign affairs.
In fact, our government's stupidity has no limits whatsoever. It is truly infinite.
How come? You must remember that in a democracy, people can be elected who have only a few years of political experience, and have no foreign policy experience. All they need to do is win one or two elections. By contrast, a dictator (e.g. Sadaam) has to avoid assassination every day to retain power, a more difficult task I am sure.
And because America is a huge country they have not spent much time in other countries. So President Bush probably isn't much more sophisticated than a typical American blogger. Result: statements and decisions that are inexplicable to the rest of the world.
Why do foreigners not see this? Because their politicians (ESPECIALLY in dictatorships like Iraq has been in recent decades - though to some extent in democracies as well I think) are more experienced, and thus more able in some ways, than ours. Sadaam Hussein was certainly a bad man, but one doesn't get to be dictator for 30 years without being smart. If Bush had to be a dictator somewhere, he would have been assassinated after 15 minutes.
To put the matter another way: imagine your most ignorant friend or neighbor and imagine him trying to run the affairs of another country 3000 miles away. Whether he is good or bad, the results will not be pretty.
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