Terrible.
And why would the UN's figures for civilian deaths be three times that of the Iraqi government? Is that the result of a) Iraqi-U.S. downplay, b) shortage of manpower to do an accurate tally, or c) overestimation by the U.N.?
When will it stop?
*struggles to withhold comment/s*
*passes out*
*awaits the smelling salts*
*adjusts composure*
*remembers that payback is always a bitch*
"The majority of those killed are female students who were on their way home"
How is this going to achieve anything?
Oh wait, its MEANT to install hatred between the Shiites and Sunnis. Oh , thats alright then
<\depair and sarcasm off>
What gets me is that the people who created this mess are still in power, still making bad decisions.
Instead of using your time and energy to post the usual pro/con statements here at the Meta, let me suggest the following:
If you feel we should act to end our involvement in Iraq, sit down and call or write your representatives in congress.
If you feel this is all well and good, go have a beer, but spare us your righteous comments.
Bottom line, we don't need to discuss this again, we need to do something!
opps...did i really say "meta" instead of "mofi"...darn..sorry all...
Now, go make that call!
*Phones the meta to complain*
With all due respect HuronBob aren't you being a little presumptuous in your comment? I, and others I know, and maybe even other commenters on this thread do more, sometimes a lot more, than just make idle comments on blogs. I respect and agree with your message but I felt that perhaps it was a little blunt and kind of assumed that people are just wasting time with comments.
He's right about contacting your local representative. I understand that many of us do more than that, but I for one will not vote Labour for a long time, and have told my local (Labour) MP that. She probably doesn't give a fuck - the rant about fox hunting at the end probably didn't help, but at least she can see where her votes are going. And I feel sad that my life-long political opinions have been so fucked over in the last 5 years. Obviously we can do more, and maybe assuming the poster isn't doing more is wrong, but the general jaded feeling that monging on a web board is not enough is also understandable. This shit WILL continue unless we do something, which at the bottom line probably boils down to the ballot box.
Sorry. A moment of political-based ranting there. I'll be back to talking about lemurs tomorrow...
kamus...no offense intended. I do believe that the folks here are good people, and probably already speak up to right the wrongs.. My comment was just a reminder that it wouldn't take any more time to call and voice an opinion than it does to make a post.
This is actually my year to offend folks with nearly any post I make anywhere.... a new skill I seem to need to practice every single day!
So, er, what's the plan for fixing this mess? What am I supposed to be ringing people up and earbashing them about? Have we established this yet?
85100+ more dead...
Days like this in Iraq, you need a running ticker.
If you feel this is all well and good, go have a beer, but spare us your righteous comments.
I think some people use this site for therapeutic venting, HB. Let them release the pressure this way rather than have them kicking their poodles. It takes more time and energy to respond to these feeble (yet supply) clenched fists to the sky shouting, "Whyyyyyyyyyy!?" than it does to move on to the next comment.
No offense taken, HB. As I mentioned before, I agree with you- if all the people who commented on these subjects, did something more concrete, then we would be in better shape than we are now...well maybe.
"I am proud of the efforts we did. We liberated that country from a tyrant. I think the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of gratitude, and I believe most Iraqis express that. I mean the people understand that we've endured great sacrifice to help them. That's the problem here in America. They wonder whether or not there is a gratitude level that's significant enough in Iraq."
The Preznit on 60 Minutes.
Okay, so there's about 27 million Iraqis, and about 290 million Americans. If each Iraqi would just write 10 "thank you" notes, that'd almost cover it. Postage will be costly.
You know it's another sad day on planet Earth when one's mind has almost become numb to such headlines...
Sometimes I wonder, the countless individuals we never got a chance to know - who have been wiped away in an instant - and then lumped into a number. The numbers seem to get smaller, even though they continue on their upward and steady path. Oh, only 80 killed today? Yesterday there were 124. 150. 162 on BBC. MSNBC said 153. Oh, give or take a few, what's the difference?
We're bleeding, folks.
what's the difference should have been in italics (i.e., that's not what I literally think)
I agree completely. A sad day when this is almost shrug-worthy.
Pile the bodies high in Baghdad and Najaf.
Shovel them under and let me work—
I am the sand; I cover all.
And pile them high at Fallujah,
And pile them high at Samarra and Haditha.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?
I am the sand.
Let me work.
"came from the market visited by McCain" - what does that mean exactly? That they were there at the same public market he was, then were attacked elsewhere? Cause that seems like less of a story.
This, however, is a followup:
"The good news is that Senator Lindsey Graham got "five rugs for five bucks" at the market over the weekend."
UPDATE Greg Mitchell: "Well, a National Public Radio reporter returned and found that grateful merchant—and uncovered a quite different story. The carpet seller, Ahmed al-Krudi, recalled for NPR: "I didn't accept the money. I said to myself, 'they must be guests, so I must give them a good impression of Iraqis.' After all, we are occuped by these Americans — and they are accompanied by a lot of U.S. security."
Al-Krudi then said that actually he favored the insurgents: “We are not against the resistance. We are with them. However, he who claims to be with the resistance must fight the occupiers, not the Iraqi people. A huge number of U.S forces came yesterday. Why didn't they shoot at them, instead of harming us?”…
I wonder if Senator Graham knows his Iraqi Dollar Rugs are funding insurgents . . or . . insurgent sympathizers anyway.
To the Drudgemobile!
This is horrible and this is tragic and this gives us an idea of what it is like to live just one day in Iraq.
Was hoping one of the mainstream media outlets would say so.
"I think that there is progress being made. I believe that faster progress can be made in the political reconciliation process in Iraq," Gates said.
If that's progress, I'd hate to see a setback.
85100+ more dead... Days like this in Iraq, you need a running ticker.