Iraqi American Mojo

Taliban attempt to assassinate 14 year old activist

2012-10-10T22:21:00.002-07:00

Pakistani Taliban shoot a 14 year old girl.

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Democrats know how to create jobs

2012-09-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

Poverty, discrimination and ignorance restrict growth, Bill Clinton said in a great speech at the Democratic National Convention. HP: 'It turns out that advancing equal opportunity and economic empowerment is both morally right and good economics," Clinton said. "Why? Because poverty, discrimination and ignorance restrict growth. When you stifle human potential, when you don’t invest in new ideas, it doesn't just cut off the people who are affected; it hurts us all.'

4 Sunnis in Pakistan died for Shia

2012-08-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

"They ordered the passengers to step down and started enquiring about their sect.

Those who belonged to Shia sect were taken aside and later shot dead in cold blood.

The total killed were 22, including four Sunni Muslims, who protested and pressed the terrorists not to kill innocent Shia Muslims.

One Sajjad who luckily saved his life said that fellow Sunni passengers did a good job by saving many lives otherwise all Shias would have been brutally murdered.

The terrorists even beat Sunni passengers and forced them to help in identifying Shias so that they could kill them.

In spite of that, the Sunnis did not cooperate with them, he added."

Thanks Hayder for sharing.

It's not too soon to talk about guns

2012-07-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

Jon Stewart makes fun of people who say that it's too soon (after the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado) to talk about guns in America. They don't want us to "politicize" this incident.

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How long must we wait after a mass shooting to have a serious discussion about guns? The discussion will likely not result in stricter laws, based on how America reacted to other gun-related atrocities, but let us at least have a serious discussion about it. No it's not too soon.

NRA exploits "freedom"

2012-07-24T22:40:00.000-07:00

A great commentary by Lawrence O'Donnel tonight. It's about the NRA's insistence that limiting the number of bullets a gun clip can hold amounts to a restriction of our freedoms. Mr. O'Donnel points out that Americans' freedoms have been restricted in many ways and Americans have accepted those restrictions on our freedoms, yet when people talk about restricting the freedom to buy a magazine that can hold 100 bullets, the NRA makes it sound like an affront to the US Constitution.

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Syria now a magnet for Sunni extremists

2012-07-24T22:28:00.001-07:00

Naturally, without an American invasion.

NYT via MSNBC: "The video, posted on YouTube, is one more bit of evidence that Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists are doing their best to hijack the Syrian revolution, with a growing although still limited success that has American intelligence officials publicly concerned, and Iraqi officials next door openly alarmed.

While leaders of the Syrian political and military opposition continue to deny any role for the extremists, Al Qaeda has helped to change the nature of the conflict, injecting the weapon they perfected in Iraq — suicide bombings — into the battle against President Bashar al-Assad with growing frequency.

The evidence is mounting that Syria has become a magnet for Sunni extremists, including those operating under the banner of Al Qaeda. An important border crossing with Turkey that fell into Syrian rebels’ hands last week, Bab al-Hawa, has quickly become a jihadist congregating point."

Human trafficking is a world wide problem

2012-07-24T22:21:00.002-07:00

I received an email from a journalism student and fan of the blog asking me to write a post about his efforts to raise funds for his upcoming project to document human trafficking in Papua New Guinea. When I first read it I thought "human trafficking in Papua New Guinea? Really?" When I think of human trafficking, I think of places like Thailand and Vietnam. Dubai and India. Iraq. Even California. But tiny Papua New Guinea? Yes it is true. As this UN article points out, "Cases are seen in all parts of the world and victims are targeted irrespective of gender, age or background."

Please help Corey's efforts in his project. Good luck Corey!

Global warming is real and terrifying

2012-07-22T01:24:00.001-07:00

More evidence that if humans continue to burn fossil fuels at the current rate, we are headed for global disaster. Germany is the only rich country that seems to be serious about minimizing its carbon output:

"Germany is one of the only big countries that has actually tried hard to change its energy mix; on one sunny Saturday in late May, that northern-latitude nation generated nearly half its power from solar panels within its borders. That's a small miracle – and it demonstrates that we have the technology to solve our problems. But we lack the will. So far, Germany's the exception; the rule is ever more carbon."

I like Barack Obama

2012-07-19T22:17:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in a while, readers have reminded me. Thank you, faithful readers! I am flattered that you are interested in my writings and the articles that I link to, even though you may disagree with them. But I have lost the motivation to blog. I'm not sure why. I used to enjoy writing and expressing my thoughts about all kinds of things I thought were important. I still think about those things, politics especially. I watch at least one hour of MSNBC (usually Lawrence O'Donnel) almost every night. I love Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Real Time With Bill Maher is a must. It's why I got a DVR.

I like to watch shows about history and science. I'm reading "The House of Wisdom" for a second time. I have learned new things at work. Very interesting things that involve math and science. But somehow I have lost the motivation to write about all the interesting things I have learned. My life is changing. I am shifting priorities. I am busy with my job and my social life. I am riding my bike everywhere.

I have often started writing posts without finishing them and never published them. The other night I wanted to write a post about John McCain and his defense of Huma Abadin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. I thought it was a noble thing that Senator McCain did, and it reminded me of the time he shook his head and grabbed the microphone from an old lady who had heard that Obama was an Arab. "No, no he's not, ma'am, He's a decent family man citizen whom I just happen to disagree with," Mr. McCain said respectfully yet assertively. I was going to call that post "I like John McCain.

On another night I started writing another post about Michael Moore's movie "Capitalism: A Love Story". It was a great movie that featured part of Jimmy Carter's 1975 speech about a crisis of confidence in America. I wrote the post, even embedded the YouTube video, and then I fell asleep in my bed before finishing it.

Really the only thing I would like to say tonight before I fall asleep is that I like Barack Obama and I hope he will be reelected. Obama did not grow up rich like Mitt Romney did. Romney refuses to release his tax returns, even as a growing number of Republicans demand that he does. Mrs. Romney got on TV and said today "we've given all you people you need to know." I think that is one of the most condescending things I've heard a rich person say in a long time. I would be very surprised if Mitt Romney is elected President, but it may happen, given the ignorance and prejudice of many American voters today. But I hope it doesn't happen and I hope Barack Obama is reelected President.

Bombings across Iraq target Shia

2012-06-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

"In total, more than 21 bombs exploded on Wednesday in Baghdad and the southern Iraqi cities of Kerbala, Balad, Haswa, which are predominantly Shi'ite areas that have been targeted before by Sunni Islamist insurgents."

Obama is pro business

2012-06-12T22:21:00.000-07:00

Republicans like to say that Obama is anti-business. The truth is that Barack Obama is very pro-business. He is so pro-business he bailed out GM, one of America's biggest companies. It turned out to be a smart move.

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Teenage Sudanese woman sentenced to death by stoning

2012-05-31T20:16:00.003-07:00

HRW: "Intisar Sharif Abdallah, whose age has not been determined but is believed to be under the age of 18, was sentenced by a judge on April 22, 2012, in the city of Omdurman, near Khartoum. Since her sentencing, she been held in Omdurman prison with her 5-month-old baby, with her legs shackled."

Abdul Karim Qasim was first to nationalize Iraqi oil

2012-05-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

In the video bellow John Perkins talks about the US relationship with Saddam when Abdul Karim Qasim was President of Iraq. I want to post this to remind people and myself that Abdul Karim Qasim nationalized Iraqi oil. Some Arabs seem to believe that Saddam was the first Iraqi president to nationalize Iraqi oil. He was not.

Many Arabs praised Saddam as if he was the original populist who did good things for ordinary Iraqis. He was not. It reminds me of my post Iraqi Goodfellas - I will always remember that dinner with the Iraqi woman who said that Saddam made education free!

Thanks 3amu for the forward!

Political satire is good

2012-05-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

I love political satire, and there's plenty of it in America.

Iraqi lawmakers fuel resentments

2012-05-13T14:01:00.001-07:00

"Iraq’s lawmakers have hightailed it out of town for a six-week vacation without following through on promises to cancel a pricey perk for free armored cars that they approved for themselves in the annual budget.

It is the sort of move that is fueling resentments among the struggling Iraqi public, many of whom accuse the country’s leaders of being corrupt and only in politics for their own profit."

Iran wants to replace Sistani with hardline cleric

2012-05-12T13:21:00.002-07:00

This cleric is also very wealthy: “Shahroudi is one of the wealthiest men in Iran,” said Mr. Khalaji, the analyst and former student in Qum. “He imports goods, has businesses and owns many factories. His personal life is luxurious.” By being a government insider, he said, the cleric made a fortune in past years by importing auto parts and equipment for oil exploration from Eastern Europe.

Austerity sucks

2012-05-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

I've been reading about austerity imposed by the IMF and World Bank for many years. Lately it has been imposed upon European countries, and they don't like it! Just like Jamaica didn't like it. In Feb 2010 I wrote:

"The devastating economic effects of the 1973 oil embargo hurt even more in poor countries like Haiti and Jamaica, which had to import all their oil. Watch the excellent documentary Life and Debt to learn more about Jamaica's debt crisis that ensued after the embargo."

But I did not mention the austerity imposed upon Jamaica by the IMF and World Bank after the crisis. Watch the documentary to learn more. Also in that post I quoted a Wikipedia article about the 1973 oil embargo without linking to it (I just updated it with the link).

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Europeans have decided that austerity is not working, while Republicans in America think the US govt should practice some austerity. Actually I think the US govt should practice some austerity, especially in the area of "defense" spending. But not right now, at a time when laying off soldiers would hurt the economy further. It's an election year!

I remember Iraq in the 70s, when the govt in Baghdad was benefiting from the spike in oil prices. The regime enriched themselves, of course, but they also spent money on infrastructure and education. My father benefited directly from that policy. I give credit to President Ahmed Hassan al Bakr. But the Baath party was a socialist party, after all, and it wasn't the first socialist party to gain power. The Iraqi Communist Party, led by Abdul Karim Qasim, gained power in the 50s. There was great progress in Iraq in those days. I wish Iraq could be like that again.

PS: The Wiki article to which I linked about Ahmed Hassan al Bakr says: "During his rule, Iraq was blossoming; high economic growth due to high oil international oil prices strengthened Iraq's role in the Arab world and increased the people's Standard_of_living"

Some Tunisian Muslims want to kill for Allah

2012-05-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

because they believe that showing an image of Allah is blasphemous. I like to call these people "mujrimeen" (murderers) instead of muslimeen.

'A panel of five Tunisian judges on Thursday convicted TV magnate Nabil Karoui of “disturbing public order” and “threatening public morals” by broadcasting the French movie “Persepolis,” an animated film that contains a fleeting image of God. Karoui was fined $1,600. Two of his staffers, including the woman whose job it was to check the movie for moral and legal problems, were fined $800 each. Prosecutors and lawyers representing Islamist groups argued that the owner of Nessma TV should be sentenced to prison for up to five years; at least two lawyers called for the death penalty.'

Norwegians sing song that mass murderer hates

2012-04-26T20:43:00.001-07:00

"Some 40,000 people gathered on the streets of Oslo on Thursday to sing a Norwegian nursery rhyme that mass murderer Anders Breivik says he hates."

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Usama bin Ladin's widows & kids go back to KSA

2012-04-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

'The government spokesman confirmed to NBC News producer Fakhar Rehman that 14 members of the family had been deported on court orders "to the country of their choice, Saudi Arabia." '

Attacks against Pakistani minorities have spiked in recent years

2012-04-19T07:35:00.002-07:00

"Attacks against Sikhs, Christians and Hindus have spiked in Pakistan in recent years as the Taliban and their allies gained strength. Atrocities by Muslim extremists against religious minorities now are so common that they rarely illicit more than routine condemnation by officials, much less collective contrition or shame."

Nepali slaves in the Middle East

2012-04-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

Very sad how some people (these are Muslims?) take advantage of the poor people of Nepal. Thanks Ghassan for sharing.

Mecca has skyscrapers

2012-04-14T18:59:00.001-07:00

I did not realize that Mecca has skyscrapers until I read this post: "Looming large over the Grand Mosque and the Kaaba (the black cube-shaped building that is the holiest site in Islam) is the largest and second tallest building in the world, called the Royal Mecca Clock Tower complex."

Now Mecca has the second tallest building in the world.

Thanks Haydar for sharing.

Remember when I posted Starbucks in the Arab World? That was Christmas 2009, and I reported there were 26 Starbucks in Mecca. I wanted to verify that number again and found that Starbucks has changed its website since then, and the pages that showed the number of Starbucks in each location no longer exist. I had to use Google to find the number is still 26, and I learned that these 26 Starbucks are in Mecca province, which includes Jeddah, and there are many more Starbucks in Jeddah than Mecca. In 2009 I thought all of them were in the city of Mecca. I should have realized how improbable that would be.

While searching for these facts I read an interesting post about Saudi's rejection of Starbucks' new logo, which has been deemed too sexy for Islam. But a giant hotel with shopping malls and with a giant clock on top of it is kosher!

PS: "The developer and contractor of the complex is the Saudi Binladin Group, the Kingdom's largest construction company"

5,000 "honor" killings every year!

2012-04-11T18:11:00.002-07:00

"The UN estimates that around 5,000 women and girls are murdered each year in so-called “honor killings” by members of their families"

Corruption in America not as visible, but is disgusting

2012-04-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

"The U.S. was one of 29 countries out of a 31-nation sample to score below 60 on a 100-point scale on questions regarding the enforcement of political finance laws, regardless of how strong or weak the country’s regulations were, according to the new report."

We're tied with Tajikistan! And then there's this: