In the past I've pointed out various sources for news on the elections in Iraq and what's really going on there. One of the sources has been the Baghdad-based newspaper Al-Sabah, which has lots of interesting bits of news but is horrendously translated on their English language page.
Well, the folks over at Friends of Democracy have done us all a big favor and launched a site devoted to real news about the election and conditions in Iraq, direct from people on the spot and really well translated for the English language reader. It includes news taken from local newspapers and other sources, including many literate and insightful Iraqis who are writing specifically for FoD. The great thing is that all of this is now gathered together in one place and made much more accessible. The site also includes a lot of non-news factual resources relating to the election and the government. There's also an arabic language version for those in Iraq and elsewhere in the Arab world. The Arabic language version is the result of a remarkable project to provide real-time English/Arabic translation, which took longer than expected, which is why the site is only debuting now.
There's so much misinformation going around about how the election is being run, how the Iraqi people feel about the election, and even what the purpose of the election is, that it's a great thing to see this well done site which anyone can go to for accurate information on the election and the situation in Iraq presented in a nice format.
If you care about the situation in Iraq and want to have the facts at your command rather than relying on propaganda and rumors, you need to spend some time at Friends of Democracy.
Dave
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Dave Nalle
Let me quickly follow this up with something I just got off the Friends of Democracy website. These are poll results from a poll taken this week by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning
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72.4 % of all of those polled said they would participate in the elections. [
97% of Iraqis in Kurdistan said they would participate in the elections.
96% of Iraqis in the southern provinces (mainly Shiite areas) said they would participate in the elections.
33% of Iraqis in the central provinces (Sunni Area) said they would participate in the elections.
10% of Iraqis in Central provinces (Sunni Area) said they have not yet made their mind if they were going to vote or not.
62.1% of those polled said that the elections will be neutral and free.
17.8% said elections will not be neutral and free.
66% said that the elections must take place under current circumstances.
53.3% said the security is good in their area.
21.7% said that security was average in their area.
25% said that security was bad in their area.
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These are very believable numbers based on other polls that I've seen. The one thing to point out is that even the problem areas in Iraq seem to be heading towards better voter turnout than we see in most non-Presidential elections here in the US, and the most secure areas are blowing our best-ever election turnout away. Now who says the Iraqis aren't eager for democracy.
Dave
2 - David Flanagan
I'm praying that the vast majority of Iraqis will defy the terrorists and choose liberty for their country. I so much want to see that nation emerge as a democratic force to be reckoned with.
May God bless their election and give them courage to stand against fear and terror.
David
3 - RJ
The people elected in Iraq in just a few days will be in charge of writing that country's Constitution.
This is a BIG deal...
4 - Dave Nalle
>>The people elected in Iraq in just a few days will be in charge of writing that country's Constitution.
This is a BIG deal...<<
And it's something almost all Americans I've talked to don't understand. People here seem to think that they're actually electing a government here, when what they're really doing is electing their equivalent of a constitutional convention which will then create their government. People also don't seem to understand that voters in Iraq are mostly not voting for specific candidates, but voting for parties or coalitions of parties who will then announce their actual representatives after the election - in most cases anyway. This is being done for security reasons, of course.
The point is that while this is democracy it's radically and fascinatingly different from what we have here in the US and frankly I think that the way it's being done is absolutely brilliant. It encourages coalition building, cooperation between divergent groups, and a sense of loyalty to the process rather than individual candidates or a particular ideology.
Dave
5 - RJ
Much of Europe votes for "lists" of candidates. Parties rule in Europe, whereas individual candidates rule in the US system.
Which is interesting in the sense that it explains a lot about the mentalities of voters in Europe vs. voters in the US...
Socialism bs. individualism, and all that...
6 - RJ
bs = vs...
7 - Dave Nalle
This goes beyond even the European model, since in Europe you at least know who the candidates are, and no European country, even Italy has as many weird fringe parties as Iraq or the extensive network of creative coalitions and compromises.
Dave
8 - Shark
In the Kingdom of the Blind...
Man, I hate to break up the overly opptimistic and highly deluded "Democracy In Iraq!" Circle Jerk, but that even though your recommended 'news on the ground' site looks like some amateur (CIA?) BLOG (and we all know how accurate blogs can be!) -- the news over there still sounds pretty grim.
Frankly, boyz, the best you can hope for (and I believe this HAS ALREADY BEEN PREARRAGED BY BUSH AND BLAIR) is that the new 'Iraqi government' will ask the foreign troops to get the hell out.
And we will.
But y'know what: either way, Iraq is the New Afghanistan -- and we're the new Brits.
Bloodbath.
Daily.
Before the election.
After the election.
Yankee Come Home.
PS:for those interested in REAL NEWS direct from IRAQ check out this site
And it's ALL grim, btw.
Have a nice day, and you may now return to your delusional masturbatory state of Right Wing Denial.
9 - spiderleaf
Why does the logo look like people are running for their lives from the bombs being dropped on them? oh, probably because that's what democracy means in wingnut land.
10 - Shark
Here's a fun game to kill an hour or two: TRY to track down the original "poll" quoted above.
I googled and got RIGHT WING BLOGGERS quoting each other quoting "Alsharq Alausat" translation of a poll.
No poll related to the Iraq Ministry of Planning. Can't find it.
And "Alsharq Alausat" is a LONDON-based 'newspaper' that is selling TOMMY FRANKS' BIOGRAPHY on its front page.
Pan-Arab indeed!
Or "Go figure", as Flanagan would say.
Nothing other than blogger quoting each other -- and apparently DaveNalle got the same email this AM.
POLL SHOWS IRAQIS WILL VOTE!
POLL SHOWS IRAQIS LOVE AMERICANS!
POLL SHOWS SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN!
Feh.
More propaganda from the Nasty Right.
Seig Heil!
11 - Shark
Spidey, yeah, the LOGO is just too rich. Looks like it was designed by someone's nephew who is just about to graduate from "Columbia School of Graphic Design".
And yeah, the irony is just too much: a pair fleeing in fear, the ground shaking beneath their feet.
Maybe that's what you get when you report "what's happening on the ground" in Iraq: tremors from explosions.
12 - Eric Olsen
well, if it's all grim, then it isn't complete, is it? I think the point of the post was that the news ISN'T all grim and that the media is doing a much better job of reporting the death and destruction than reporting the "nation-building" that is going on from within
13 - Shark
Q: Is the glass half full or half empty?
A: Who cares: it contains hemlock!
Have a nice day.
14 - Dave Nalle
Shark Fantasized:
>>Man, I hate to break up the overly opptimistic and highly deluded "Democracy In Iraq!" Circle Jerk, but that even though your recommended 'news on the ground' site looks like some amateur (CIA?) BLOG (and we all know how accurate blogs can be!) -- the news over there still sounds pretty grim.<<
Why is it that any positive news from Iraq is immediately labeled as CIA propaganda by those who are reveling in the possibility that Iraq will turn into a bloodbath just because they want to see the US embarassed? Democracy in Iraq is a real site, privately funded with tiny donations from thousands of people, and while it may not be as professional looking as CNN, they've gotten actual Iraqis on site to report what is actually going on. And if you bother to read it, the news there is NOT all positive or all pro American. It's a balanced selection.
>>Frankly, boyz, the best you can hope for (and I believe this HAS ALREADY BEEN PREARRAGED BY BUSH AND BLAIR) is that the new 'Iraqi government' will ask the foreign troops to get the hell out.<<
You're dead wrong on this, but keep hope alive.
>>PS:for those interested in REAL NEWS direct from IRAQ check out this site<<
Ah, I see you found where international socialist propagandists are posting their version of news.
>>And it's ALL grim, btw.<<
And I see you don't bother to actually read the sites you reference. There are some negative reports there, but there are also plenty of positive ones. It's actually a more balanced site than I expected when I saw the pack of academic socialists and Guardian hangers-on who are running it.
Dave
15 - JR
"Socialist" - it's the new "anarchist".
16 - Eric Olsen
Remember the Maine!
17 - Dave Nalle
>>"Socialist" - it's the new "anarchist".<<
Except that I like Anarchists and not so much the Socialists.
Dave
18 - Shark
DaveMcCarthy sez: "...those who are reveling in the possibility that Iraq will turn into a bloodbath just because they want to see the US embarassed?"
Too late, babe; the US has been embarassed for the last four years.
19 - Dave Nalle
Shark: Too late, babe; the US has been embarassed for the last four years.
Wait, I thought you moved to Canada.
DAve
20 - Jim Carruthers
Interesting how all the Iraqi Information Ministers named Dave, who are so keen to bring good news from Iraq aren't actually there doing their job.
"Hello, Iraq, can I talk to Dave about the triumph of democracy?"
"Dave's not here man. and if you see that asshole, tell him he owes me for the damage deposit on the country. That son of a bitch trashed the place, turned it into a crack-house, and just fucked off."
21 - andy marsh
That would be one of those famous Canadian quotes there wouldn't Jim? Dave's not here man. You really crack me up!
22 - Jim Carruthers
Actually, Andy, it is a famous Canadian quote from Tommy Chong, a Canadian who has been released from a US prison on trumped up charges for selling bongs.
Because you help spread freedom by throwing people in prison not for what what they've done, but who they are, and what the government thinks they say.
23 - andy marsh
Hey, I knew it was Tommy Chong...I didn't throw him in jail! I personally believe marijuana should be legal! I'm not a big bong fan though...
24 - spiderleaf
Andy, holy shit... are we agreeing on two things today??
Hell must have indeed frozen over... either that or there really is hope for this world after all...
;)
25 - andy marsh
I think if you got to know me spiderleaf, you'd be amazed. I'm not as ignorant as Jim says I am!