You sleepy?? Why?

Summer is just around the corner

We wait with breaths held

Not in anticipation

But in dread

Summer! Flowers and honey suckle

Sunshine, blue sky

Say they who know not

Our summer, our bane

It is a beauty that kills the unheeding

Strikes down the unwary

And although quite hazy

Quite unrelenting

Beware its seduction, stranger

We know better.

…………………………………………

Temperatures are rising above 40 degrees Celsius, with electricity supply provided for one whole hour every 72 hours!

WOW! Amazing how well the reconstruction efforts are going!

How many billions has America taken out of its pouch in the name of reconstruction in Iraq??

Where did the money go??

What are the priorities??

There is no national power supply to speak of.

There is no petrol to fuel our own tiny generators.

Why is there no petrol??

Iraq has no petrol for its own consumption?!

Don’t you find that a little hard to believe?

Did you know that the pipelines in Basra, (where Iraq’s very rich southern oil wells are located) are loading oil tankers under the protection of the Coalition forces for the benefit of – God knows who?? UNGUAGED!! (They shamelessly say the gauges aren’t working. It has been four years!)

Millions of barrels daily!!

What about us??

What about US??

When did we fall out of the equation?

Or is it that we were never in it?

We are going without sleep.

It’s too hot to sleep indoors.

Too dangerous to sleep outdoors.

My daughter and son dampen their clothes and lie down on the bare tiles of the floor.

I sit up all night with a meheffa (a hand-held fan) in my hand to stir the air about them so that they can sleep – even fitfully is good enough. Me – forget me.

Is this really the situation Mr. President aspired to?

I don’t have the stomach to speak of the darkness we live in, the cold water we bathe in …etc. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. Temperatures rise to above 55 degrees in July ….. in the shade ….

Comments

[UncleSammy]

Art Latham, ole buddy, you just don't get it do you? Bush doesn't give a damn about anybody except his "base" and they are making a killing off of this war. And if you aren't worth millions, you aren't his base...

He and his friends are getting richer at the expense of our soldiers and the Iraqi people.

[UncleSammy]

Art Latham, ole buddy, you just don't get it do you? Bush doesn't give a damn about anybody except his "base" and they are making a killing off of this war. And if you aren't worth millions, you aren't his base...

At the expense of our soldiers and the Iraqi people.

[Becky]

This is enough-the U.S. has led imperialist wars since the formation of its country. We need to start thinking about what has led us to this murderous and inhumane state and what we can do to change it and every person in the U.S. is responsible for it. We all have blood on our hands. It's going to take more than depending on Congress, we need to rise up and take action and learn from the history of political revolutions that HAVE been victourious over corrupt regimes. Ghandi was one example. What he achieved may or may not be considered a revolution but he was succesful in leading his people to victory.

[sandy]

I am so sorry.

I so wish that we were not there and had never gone. Please know that so many of us pray daily that we can end this horrible hell for you and us.

70% of us don't want to be there or even believe we should be there.

I so wish our congress would impeach those in charge of the US Government.

[ljm]

This on missing oil being pumped in Iraq. Usual suspects are expected to be corrupt. Also how much money has been spent to try and rebuild the electric grid and also the oil industry in Iraq. Billions spent by the US taxpayer and Iraqis with even less to show for it now as all Iraqis know. The GAO is our best agency for doing these reports. You can trust them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/12/world/middleeast/12oil.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1178942489-B7fkf2GZHr/rQ0fh3MK8AA

[Heather Ann]

I'm back, left comments below, but now I have a question. You may or may not be able or willing to answer. What I would like to know is what I should use my voice for in regards to Iraq. With elections are coming up one of the key points of debate is what to do in Iraq. Should I support someone who is in favor of immediate withdrawal, or is there a better solution? Unfortunately, what's done is done. There is no rewind button on life. We should NOT have destroyed a country, but we did. Now what? Of all the possible futures, which is the least terrible? What is the view from Inside Iraq?

[Art Latham]

My friend,
I am so sorry for you, and so sorry for us as well. The American people have become a herd of easily deluded sheep who fill their days with money-grubbing and nights with mindless TV shows. People everywhere suffer for that. Everywhere but in the corporate boardrooms.

What can save us all? Perhaps one large step would be if newspapers and media consortia such as McClatchy kept explaining to American citizens the almost unbelievable level of deceit, dishonesty and downright meanness of the present U.S. administration.

I started trying to inject a word into the mainstream conversation a couple of years ago. I asked my media friends to consider using it as well. They demurred. I take no responsibility for this at all, but now I hear it beginning to be whispered around me. I would like to hear it shouted from the rooftops (pardon the capital letters) IMPEACH! IMPEACH CHENEY and BUSH!

Some say that would slow the business of Congress. But I ask you: What, exactly is that business?

I know I am naive and idealistic, but I still believe it is to execute the expressed will of the people. And the people (not the campaign contributors, not the lobbyists) spoke loud and clear during our last election.

To paraphrase Bob Dylan: Come Congressmen, Senators, Please heed the call.

Don't block up the doorways or clutter the halls.

For he who gets hurt will be he who has stalled. . . . For the times they are a-changin'.

[Perry]

If the U.S. took every drop of oil Iraq can produce,it'll get taxpayers' money back in a few hundred years. Bush wanted oil prices to triple,so he could be popular at home. He wanted to sink the U.S. into debt that his grandchildren could choke on. He wanted to spend 300 billion,so Haliburton could make 30 million. Yeah,that was the plan all along...LOL.

[erich]

I too would like McClatchy to report more about allegations that oil tankers are moving unmeasured oil out of Basra.

For any Iraqis reading this i hope you know we live in a fascists state that fixes elections and maintains power by deceit and force. Many of us are ashamed of what our government has done and continues to do.

[alyosha]

I didn't originate this, but agree with the person who summarized the situation in Iraq as "The most brutal corporate takeover ever, bungled."

[Laura]

The Dalai Lama said recently that sometimes prayers are not enough. We also have to work. Please speak out. Tell others. Tell your representatives. Send money to the Red Crescent if you can, or the Red Cross, or Oxfam, or others of the agencies trying to help. Go to a demonstration. Post a sign. Write a letter to the editor. Breathe peace in and out. Make this wave grow. Make what Sahar is saying matter. Just do what you can.

[Den]

why do i have so many tools and still feel so helpless? Here I am typing on a computer that connects people together; yet i have nothing to offer save tears and sympathy? Are there no remedies available?
Is there no method of common human resolve that can bring the war beast to its knees? is there not an extent, of human compassion and empathy, that results in action? Simple, effective non-violent action. What might that action be?

[ljm]

How it impacts us here... There was a category 5 tornado in my state of Kansas over the weekend. That's the strongest category. An entire town was leveled. Our governor was on the news talking about how half our national guard equipment needed to help that town is in Iraq as are a large number of our national guard troops. It was the same when Katrina hit New Orleans. I wouldn't mind so much if all our people and vehicles were doing some good for the Iraqi people over there.

[Heather Ann]

This really should be FRONT PAGE NEWS! The pipes have no gauges?!?!?!?!?!? WTF! The lying @$#&*% in our government have NO respect for human life - did any of you see when Rumsfeld testified before congress how he spoke so casually and unemotionally of people dying as collateral damage? (I think that was the phrase he used.) I screamed at the TV for about 5 min, of course that makes no difference. I have started a blog to share my views with friends and family, (many of who did vote for Bush believing he actually was a Christian and would use those values to shape his policies - BUNCH OF LIES!) This AMAZING blog has really touched my heart and hopefully later today I will get a poem posted that I wrote in response to finding your amazing group of writers! Keep sharing with us and we will keep sharing your words with our contacts!
(PS - I don't usually cuss, but this just breaks my heart!)

[Daniel]

I am ashamed to say you were never part of the equation.
May God have mercy on us for allowing this tyrant ilk to harm your family. I will continue to keep you all in my prayers. I am in awe of your courage.

[Pat]

It saddens me that your reality is a complete nightmare. I can't believe thatany Iraqi would be without oil that is the very definition of insanity. By now it should be obvious to all and sundry that Bush has always kept his eyes on the prize (oil) and anything else has been a ruse to help get him his filthy loot. He has completely destroyed your country to fill his mates pockets with cash and to keep the great gas guzzling American tank full.
P.S. - if you are looking for most of the reconstruction money then look into the list of Cheneys cronies bank accounts.

[ljm]

I wish I could scoop you all up and bring you to my house, Sahar. The thing about the oil doesn't surprise me. It's always been about the oil. In Iran they claim they need nuclear energy so they can sell their oil to places like China and still provide electricity to the people of Iran. They also don't have the capacity to refine it there. As for Iraqi oil, there seems to be oil smuggling and other blackmarket activity. Who knows where the money goes from the sale of that oil? It's always been about oil. The super-rich multinational corporations have never cared what happens to people like you and me. Here, they avoid paying taxes and expect middle and lower class people to pay all the tax that funds their wars and anything left over that might provide services for us. The rich are busy moving their money around in tax free off-shore accounts.

They might as well hire the Bin Laden family construction business to come to Iraq and get the electricity going for the people there. Somehow, I doubt Al Qaeda would attack them if they were managing the reconstruction there.

Your kids are smart to be sleeping on the tile to stay cool at night. You need to be sure to get your time in sleeping. At the very least, your government should provide secure emergency shelters for sleeping during such hot weather. Our government should help make it happen.

[Laura]

Conversion: 40 Celsius, 104 Fahrenheit. July? 55 C, 131 F.

[Laura]

Hi Sahar: thank you again and again for reminding us what is happening at the home level in Iraq. The graft and corruption and evil of all this can numb us if we let it. Thinking of you fanning your children through the long, hot night fans a new fire in me.

And now I want to talk to you all who read these posts without leaving comments. PLEASE start talking. Please let these writers know you're there and that your attention is ON. And please, please do one more thing, just one more. Write a friend, send this site to people on your email list or your favorite blogs, link it on your blog, write a letter to the editor, or to your elected representatives. SOMETHING. Especially in the U.S., so little of what life is truly like in Iraq is being discussed. Please, let's all do something about it. Or do more of something about it. One thing today. And tomorrow, two, maybe? Thank you.

[Susan]

another Iraqi blogger visited New Orleans recently and found that the pace of reconstruction there was terrible - he compared it to Baghdad at the end of the war in 1991 and found Saddam did MUCH BETTER at providing services and reconstruction - at the end of three months - than the US authorities have done in the last 18 months in New Orleans.

These folks running our government today are not just regular evil folks who believe in wars based on lies and stealing the resources from other countries - they are also terrible incompetent.

I have no answers - but I have been working to stop them for over 6 years now.

Also, the blogger mentioned above has family in Baghdad trying to get out of Iraq, and a cousin was killed by unknowns recently.

Link to his blog:

http://twentyfourstepstoliberty.blogspot.com/

I could write a book for Americans called: The US Invasion of Iraq, or How We Delivered Them To Hell.