Dean's World

Welcome to the Carnival of the Liberated, a sampler of some of the best posts from Iraqi and Afghani bloggers. This week we have Khalid's story of his detention and interrogation by the Iraqi mukhabarat, more on the new constitution, three new Iraqi bloggers, the return of Rose, and much, much more.

Must reading! Khalid Jarrar of Tell Me a Secret tells the story of his detention and interrogation.

The BBC is still stonewalling Afghan Lord. And they don't like being criticized on his blog:

BBC directly asked me to remove all the remarks, comments and/or article which were prepared by myself about BBC in my blogs. Why is BBC asking me to remove my articles? If their journalist hasn’t committed the threats why they are they scared of my weblogs? BBC itself is an international company for media and is claiming that they are trying their best to defend the freedom of expression, but how comes they ask others to stop and remove their posts?

Afghan Warrior reports on how life is improving in Afghanistan after the Taliban. Good news. It's going to take what he reports which mostly appears to be the result of government and institutional aid and foreign investment to attain sustainable growth in Afghanistan.

Truth Teller of A Citizen of Mosul has a table showing the gap between the cancer-treating drugs they have and what they need in the oncology department of the Mosul hospital.

An Average Iraqi tells us that death comes easily in Iraq these days and even a slight misstep can be fatal.

Sunshine of Days of My Life explains her facility with English.

One of my favorites among the Iraqi bloggers, Rose of Diary From Baghdad, is posting again although perhaps for the last time. Now she's Rose in Dubai—she and her husband are working there now. If the best and the brightest leave Iraq because of the violence there, it will have longterm effects.

You really should read Imad Khadduri of Free Iraq's account of the symposium on the future of Iraq and its implications for the Arab world held in Beirut last week.

I wonder if some of the cases of “poisoned melons” that Ali of Free Iraqi says people are talking about aren't salmonella resulting from poor water and sanitation conditions.

More musing from Friends of Democracy on the relationship between Islam and democracy. Is the defense of oppressive regimes the will of Allah or the will of the oppressors?

Hammorabi is pretty upset with the BBC, too, and accuses them of biased reporting.

Ibn Al-Rafidain observes that one of the greatest losses in a society dealing with terrorism whether in Iraq or in Britain is the loss of trust in one's fellow citizens:

Mistrust & Fear is the preferable method, for the terrorists, to debilitate the community civilized relations. I believe what the terrorists trying to do is to make the Muslim communities feel alienated in their own western countries, in which they were born and bred.

Omar of Iraq the Model has more commentary on the evolution of the new constitution there.

Wafaa' Al-Natheema writes about Arab contributions to music throughout the ages.

Iraq Blog Count has a pair of new Iraqi blogs for us: Al-Shekhili and Iraqi Konfused Kollege Kid

There's also a new Iraqi blogger in Mosul from the same family as Aunt Najma and Truth Teller: Mama of Emotions. She's posting about her two vocations: mother and dentist. Don't be surprised that so many of the Iraqi bloggers are healthcare professionals: their classes are taught in English. Hat tip: A Star From Mosul.

Dave Schuler posts regularly to his own weblog, The Glittering Eye. The Carnival was originally conceived by Ryan Boots.