The Carnival of the Liberated
Dave Schuler
Welcome to the Carnival of the Liberated, a sampler of some of the best posts from Iraqi and Afghani bloggers. This week we have ostomy supplies, demonstrations in Samawa, notes on the new constitution, losing hope, and much, much more.
Medical doctor Truth Teller of A Citizen of Mosul reports on the delivery of ostomy supplies in Mosul. The delivery was organized by blogger Waldschrat. Be sure to read the comments for info on the complications of getting pharmaceuticals into Iraq and notes from Waldschrat on getting involved, shipping into Iraq, etc.
Aunt Najma of A Star from Mosul is stopped on her way to school by the Iraqi National Guard.
Hassan of An Average Iraqi has comments on the draft constitution and pictures of the recent dust storm in Iraq.
Mama of Emotions… tells us about her daily routine.
Imad Khadduri of Free Iraq posts the insurgents' version of the killing of 14 U. S. Marines in western Iraq last week.
Ali of Free Iraqi comments on the most recent tape from Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri.
Friends of Democracy reports on the demonstrations which have taken place over the last week in Samawa here and here.
Ibn Al Rafidain comments on the heat and electricity.
There's been a lot of good stuff at Iraq the Model this week: observations on an interview with Tariq Aziz, women's protests (for and against the new constitution), the demonstrations in Samawa, the conference in Lebanon (I linked to Imad Khadduri's take last week—Mohammed's take is that it was a “Ba'athist conference”. Just keep scrolling.
IraqPundit commenting on a post from Juan Cole, wonders if the insurgency in Iraq really has popular support:
“Certainly some civilans support the insurgency and give the fighters help when they can. But broad? The majority of Iraqis hate the insurgents because they most often kill Iraqis. When locals do help insurgents, they do so out of fear. The Baathists created an entire population of trembling citizens who nearly all reported on each other. It was next to impossible to trust anyone. That is why people are used to being threatened by thugs, and they obey their instructions out of fear for themselves and their families. Before the invasion, observers thought the population supported Saddam Hussein. But those same people who applauded the dictator, danced when he fell. Cole can never understand that fear because he never lived it. And, of course, because he is not an Iraqi.”
Fayrouz of Iraqi in America posts an interview with a friend who's living in Basra. There's an enormous amount of interesting detail including the electricity situation (“What was funny that on Saddam's many national occasions, electricity was available, so everybody could watch TV and listen to his historical speeches”), water, security, life before and after Saddam, etc. Check it out.
neurotic iraqi wife returns with a long post that includes the absence of hair dye, the Witch of Babylon, the importance of Star Trek, and lots more. She's losing hope.
Dave Schuler posts regularly to his own weblog, The Glittering Eye. The Carnival was originally conceived by Ryan Boots.
