Magnus... pay it forward
Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]
No one knows me like I do.
Come faeries, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame.
- W B Yeats
quote:I'd suspect that the civilians joining the war are Sunni Muslims, who make up about 30-40% of the population, and who benefit most from Saddam's regime. Whereas the Iraqi infantry I'd guess is mainly made up of Shi'a muslim conscripts. The Shi'a make up about 60-70% of the population and are treated pretty damn badly by Saddam's regime. Iraqi asylum seekers in the UK were nearly mainly Shi'a till recently. Now we're seeing a lot more Sunnis. Big surprise.
Originally posted by Kat:
Why are civilians joining the war while Iraqi soldiers are not pulling their wait? Doubt it is to support Saddaam, more a case of protecting themselves from an invasion.
"Switching between different kinds of chuu chuu sometimes gives this "urgh wtf?" effect because it's giving people the phi phenomenon."
Come faeries, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame.
- W B Yeats
"Switching between different kinds of chuu chuu sometimes gives this "urgh wtf?" effect because it's giving people the phi phenomenon."
"Switching between different kinds of chuu chuu sometimes gives this "urgh wtf?" effect because it's giving people the phi phenomenon."
Come faeries, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame.
- W B Yeats
Some Jarhead last night: "this dumb a$$ thinks hes fireproof"
Capitalism Kills - Kill Capitalism
What hits the fan is not evenly distributed.
quote:Okay, so we are pulling out the “liberating the women” argument. Far ‘nuff, whilst we are at it in Iraq, lets invade Kuwait and liberate its women
Originally posted by Raymund P.:
Now I am assuming your female, how would you feel if it were illeagle for you to go to school, drive, work, show your face? True this is in part due to the religion, but then again the religion is forced on you. You, being female, have little to no rights. Personally, when I put myself in that position I get angry, how do you feel?
quote:By comparison women’s rights in Iraq are not as “backward” as you would believe:
"Women in the Middle East" Number 12, April 2003
Bulletin of Committee to Defend Women's Rights in the Middle East
Editor: Azam Kamguian
Assistant Editor: Mona Basaruddin
· Kuwait: Demands for votes for women
In an overview of the current state of affairs for women in Kuwait, Rola Dashti, chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) of FARO International, a Kuwaiti financial-services consulting, says that, unlike women in all but two other Arab states, Kuwaiti women can neither vote nor run for political office, despite having one of the highest literacy rates in the region. Thus, she notes, Kuwaiti women have no say in such important societal matters as reform, economics and war; they are forbidden by law from participating in the development of their own country.
Dr. Farida Al-Habib, the Chief of Cardiology at Kuwait Armed Forces Hospital stressed that Kuwait females now serve their society as journalists, editors, doctors, important board members, and a female ambassador. "Women have more of a role to play than simply to cook and clean for men," she said. "We are here to contribute to society," she continued, pointing out the irony of her own situation: her job requires her to enter the "small veins and arteries in the hearts of men" to unclog the blockage, yet they "block me from voting."
The Emir of Kuwait issued a royal decree giving women complete political rights by the year 2003, but the measure was defeated by a 32-30 vote in the Kuwaiti Parliament. The opposition argued that suffrage went against the tenets of Islam and tradition.
quote:Women are going to need a massive amount of support when the war is over, specifically in aid for health issues, and in other areas. I do wonder if they will get it:
Setting the Record Straight: Information for Reporters on the Iraq War
https://www.madre.org/art_iraq_setRecStr.html
By Yifat Susskind
Associate Director
WHAT would a new US-imposed government mean for Iraqi women?
· Iraq’s government brutally suppresses civil and political rights, but has guaranteed women social and economic rights.* Before US-led sanctions destroyed Iraq’s ability to provide services, women enjoyed rights to education, employment, freedom of movement, equal pay for equal work, universal day care and five years maternity leave.
· While Iraqi women long for democratic rights, they have little reason to be optimistic about a new, US-backed regime, likely to be a military dictatorship under different leadership.4
· The US is currently working to incorporate Muslim clerics into the Iraqi opposition. These leaders have a theocratic agenda that directly threatens women’s rights.5
· Unlike “regime change” in Afghanistan, where the oppression of women was a key public relations point for the Bush Administration, the US has made no effort to push for the inclusion of women in a “post-Saddam” Iraq.
* The Ba’ath Party has used women’s rights as a means to consolidate its power. Like the US during World War II, Iraq facilitated the entry of women into the workforce to offset a labor shortage caused by its war with Iran. More generally, the Ba’ath Party has supported the participation of women in the public sphere, where they can more easily be indoctrinated and mobilized on behalf of the state.
quote:People often harkern back to the “improved” conditions for women in Afghanistan. If you would like to read some more about women’s rights in Afghanistan following the instalment of the new government, you may be interested in reading this interview:
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is asking international donors for $5 million to address the specific needs of women in Iraq for the next six months, the BBC reports. Dr. Thoraya Obaid, head of the UNFPA, has voiced concerns that women’s needs are frequently overlooked when providing relief.
Full article: https://womensissues.about.com/gi/dynamic...asp%3Fid%3D7690
quote:
THE BOSTON GLOBE:
The "Boston Globe" carries a contribution today by Martha Davis of the U.S.-based Northeastern University School of Law. She urges the U.S. Senate to ratify, and President George W. Bush to support, the international Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. She says the Bush administration is "backpedaling" on the issue, in a political move "to shore up" his domestic conservative base.
Davis says that, as "one of the few countries in the world that have failed to ratify the convention and formally endorse women's equality rights, the United States is keeping company with -- and giving cover to -- the likes of Afghanistan and Somalia." She says U.S. ratification of the convention would help isolate "countries that truly deny women equal rights and substantially increase the international pressure available to promote constructive change."
The treaty requires that nations ratifying the convention on women's equality take action in political, economic, social, and cultural fields "to guarantee the human rights of women." Bush administration conservatives are concerned that signing the international treaty would threaten the autonomy of U.S. internal policy -- a charge Davis says is "baseless."
"[By] ratifying the convention," she says, the United States "would simply be recommitting itself to women's equality and signaling its willingness to participate in the global dialogue with 169 other ratifying nations about how to achieve that goal."
It was a day for screaming at inanimate objects.
What this calls for is a special mix of psychology and extreme violence...
Some Jarhead last night: "this dumb a$$ thinks hes fireproof"
It was a day for screaming at inanimate objects.
What this calls for is a special mix of psychology and extreme violence...
Capitalism Kills - Kill Capitalism
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