Job Discussion Forums

[moonraven]

Good analysis--which also confirms the point that I made in this thread (and for which I received a blast of name-calling and other skilled debating techniques) that the Iraqis were better off under Hussein.

Not only was the body count lower, but they had things such as:

houses
water
electricity
food
medical care
great museums
jobs where they didn't have to dodge car bombs every 15 minutes

and a long list of similar items from the bottom of the pyramid of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

[AsiaTraveller]

moonraven,

Let's be sure to note that Saddam's Iraq had all those things UNTIL the U.S. attack and destruction in 1991 and the resulting sanctions. In fact, pre-1991 Iraq had been much envied throughout the Middle East for its education and health infrastructures. Let's also not forget that Iraq's electrical and drinking water systems were deliberately targeted and destroyed by Bush the Greater. They never fully recovered, leading to mass deaths among the population (especially among children).

From 1991 until the Bush the Lesser's "Second Gulf War" of March 2003, Iraq remained a basket case. And that was the country that posed such a great danger and "threat" to its neighbors and the rest of the world.

**********
taikibansei,

EXCELLENT ANALYSIS!

[moonraven]

I have no problem with that qualification.

But even from 1991 to March 2003 Iraq was in better conditions than it is now as regards ALL of the items on my list.

[AsiaTraveller]

Exactly right!

[juststeven]

Bush wants all people to be at the top of Maslow's pyramid: Republican 'self-actualization'.

[Cardinal Synn]

Who'd have believed that this thread began as a light hearted discussion about the fascinating yet slightly racey courtship practices of the South American Brown tufted Capuchin Monkey?
Amazing!

[Josh Lyman]

The reason 60% of them want the US gone is that the US military (read: Jews) are blamed for everything that happens. Whether it is an assassination of a cleric or the bombing of a hotel, it is all some part of a Zionist plot.

The misconception in here is amazing.

http://www.c-span.org/resources/pdf/hrdossier.pdf

If you made the same posts under Hussein as you do about Bush, you would never post again. Systematic torture, rape, political oppression, torture of children, genocide, constant fear, and you think that because the population forced to be loyal to a madman, were rewarded and lived comfortably, that the people of the country were so well off. Tell it to the marsh Arabs; tell it to the Kurds; tell it to the Shi�ites.

Hey, but they had �great museums!�

Hussein gave them physiological needs (when he wasn�t executing them, gassing them, turning them into refugees, or taking their children away), and nothing else.

[Stephen Jones]

considering Josh that the main proponents of the war in Iraq were the neocons, who are mainly ex-leftist Jews, and the Christian Zionists on the religious right, it is possible that those who believe in the Zionist conspiracy theory suffer only from painting things with too broad a brush.

Incidentally the link you give doesn't appear to open either in Firefox or IE.

To a large extent the US is responsible for all of the things that are wrong. It was the US and no one else that invaded Iraq, and then disbanded all the forces of law and order, allowing disaffected elements, militants and common criminals to take over. If the US governments allowed the Us to descend to the state of anarchy Iraq is in now you'd be hearing most Ameiricans blaming it for the complete breakdown in law and order.

The truth is that the US is incapable of even protecting itself in Iraq. To suggest that it is providing any protection at all to the average Iraqui is laughable.

[AsiaTraveller]

Stephen,

You repeatedly write Iraqui in your posts on Dave's forums.

There is no u required after q:

Iraqi

[Guy Courchesne]

Iraqui is how we write it in Spanish, like Yanqui.

http://www.c-span.org/resources/pdf/hrdossier.pdf came up just fine. You need Acrobat Reader to see it.

I don't think anyone would say that Hussein is some kind of saint. I think most Iraquis are quite happy he's gone. That's old news. The new news is the occupation force. I don't think any of us would like to see foreigners occupying our homeland. It should be left completely up to the Iraquis themselves to forge their own path, even if that means full scale civil war amongst themselves. Democracy cannot be imposed from without...it must be taken from within. In the end, perhaps they won't want democracy anyway...it's not exactly a tried and true formula in that part of the world.

2 cents

[blue jay]

Today I read in the paper that blogging is becoming popular for Iraqis to communicate their feelings to others:

Here are some examples:

Voices from Iraq: Bloggers from Iraq:
http://www.ratzingerfanclub.com/iraqi_blogs/

very interesting phenomenon..this new internet age..

[Guy Courchesne]

That's some excellent reading BJ. Get the true info from the source...Iraqis in Iraq. I enjoyed this quote from Riverbend in Baghdad.

[Stephen Jones]

I managed to download the dossier. The site is messed up somehow because the plug in doesn't open it. I suspect the latest security patches break it.

Iraqi it is. I still think it shouldn't be

Strange that 'q' is followed by 'u' in all but the transliteration of Arab names. Presumably because it is always followed by 'u' in Latin.

[thelmadatter]

The lack of "u" after "q" in English transliteration of Arabic is to note an Arabic consonant which is lacking in English, somewhat similar to the Spanish "j" and the German "ch" but pronounced more forcefully. We pronounce it "k" because it is the closest consonant we have to the sound.

[stillnosheep]