An Arab Woman Blues - Reflections in a sealed bottle...

I was at a friend's place the other night, and whilst this friend was busy preparing dinner, I was left to zap the TV at my convenience...It is not often that am given this privilege of zapping as I please. I really made up for it, that night and zapped my head away... Engrossed in my nervous hobby, fate or luck had it that I land on Al-Sharqiya - an Iraqi TV channel. As a rule of thumb, I try avoid watching Iraqi TV altogether. It just depresses the hell out of me. In particular the Iraqi Shiite channels where permanent, chronic, non stop " latmiahs " are aired live. Latmiah is the act of pounding one's breast with one's fist or hand...usually followed by scenes of wailing and ultimately by scenes of heavy self flagellation - a 24/7 Ashura . (Ashura is a Shiite religious day characterized by mass hysteria in the "new" Iraq) The other Iraqi TV channels, I find them as dodgy as the Shiite ones. You have Al-Baghdadia (where Muntather Zaidi - the shoe thro...

My users stats are still frozen at number 33'000, by blogger.com for the past 3 weeks already. And what's with this number 33'000 ? Is it some mystical numerology or what ??? Yalla, unfreeze the damn thing now !!!

I don't think you have read this in any of your news outlet. Someone jumping from the 10th floor in some dump in Indianapolis is more important than the slaughter of the minorities in Iraq, in particular the Christians of Iraq whom you generously came to "liberate" along with others... Two days ago in Baghdad, a Sabaen/Mandaen family was murdered in broad daylight. Their only crime was their religion. Yesterday, 5 Chaldeans from Kirkuk were murdered in cold blood. They belonged to two families. They were just sitting at home, trying to keep safe. The names I was able to memorize are : Bassem, Mona and Suzanne. The Chaldean Archbishop, Louis Zako issued a plea for the world to save the Christians of Iraq from murder. He textually said : " This is a deliberate policy on the part of the government, they fail to protect us...they want us to leave Iraq. We are Iraqis through and through. This is our land too. I ask my congregation to remain steadfast and not to leave this...

Paola Pisi, editor of URUKNET , kindly forwarded me some fresh, official info from the latest UN report as to the rough composition of the bulk of the Iraqi refugees. You can always trust Paola to dig out the exact information for you, and for that am most appreciative. According to official sources - and please bear in mind that official sources only take into account the Iraqis who officially registered with them. So accordingly, the figures/ratios are as follows as per the January 2009 UN Report on Refugees. And I am quoting : " There are also trends in Iraq's refugees. 55% of those registered by the United Nations are Sunnis. Another 18-20% are minority groups such as Christians, Mandeans, Yazidis, Turkmen, and Shabaks, even though they only make up 3-4% of Iraq's population." That leaves only 25% Iraqi Shiites who have also been exiled since the American occupation, since 2003. What is most evident, is that the bulk of the refugees are made of Sunnis -- 55%. Tha...

This is an Appeal to all people of good faith and particularly addressed to those who are currently involved with Iraqi refugees. You see, the truth is being buried even deeper and I, as an Iraqi woman will never accept that to happen without putting up a fight... The truth is being occulted with a black magical spin...and I, will never allow that to happen... But am not God, nor some mythical Super Woman and I cannot do it alone. I need your help. We all know what the American occupation forces have been guilty of in Iraq and in particular Baghdad. Their crimes are more documented at least by the victims. Maybe not in full details because of the huge cover up that the Iraqi puppet government and the American admin and media are engaged in, but nonetheless, the gross abject crimes committed by the Americans are relatively well known in comparison... In comparison to the vicious, sadistic crimes of the Shiites Militias...These on the other hand have not been documented because the cover...

These days, when there are news of explosions going on in Baghdad and its vicinity, like daily, I avoid reading the full story. I just read the headlines. I don't want to know anymore. I don't want to know the number of dead, I don't want to know the exact location, I don't want to know how it happened, who did it, what time, the names, age and sex of the victims...I just don't want to know anymore. I say to myself, if it is anyone I am related to, I will find out about it...sooner than later. Right now, I just don't want to know because -- am saturated. I am saturated with deaths, killings, explosions, people disappearing, people in detention, people in need, people in distress, people losing their homes --- am saturated with numbers, with names of places, with stories and memories that have developed a life of their own now - settling themselves in my mind, in my waking and sleeping hours, like unwanted tenants who have appropriated your private space, like a...

Very impressive, don't you think ? Very impressive the "ouverture" by the "anti-imperialist" "anti-zionist" representative of the Iranian government, bearing the title of President and who goes by the name of Ahmadinejad. I, too, was very impressed. What audacity ! What balls ! The President of Iran rightly exclaimed - Israel, the Jewish state of Israel supported by 99% of the Jews living on stolen land - to be a racist and cruel entity. His "propos" are absolutely correct on that count. And look at the outrage and indignation of the Europeans, all ruffled in their holocaust sympathies. How come they do not extend their holocaust sympathies to the Palestinians living under a brutal occupation for over 60 years, a brutal occupation inflicted by those same holocaust survivors ?! And I do understand the elation and exaltation of all those "well meaning" "anti-zionist" supporters. I can even go as far as to say that I can und...