Civilianism News for November 13th

Remember Iraq? Some recent news from the Middle East from various sources.

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  Kirkuk, Iraq

  Oil Billions and Weapons of Mass Deception in Iraq – Last Thursday, Exxon-Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell won the development rights of a massive oil field — West Qurna near Basra in Iraq’s south. The two oil giants hope to boost daily production from the current 300,000 barrels to 2.3 million barrels a day at West Qurna, which the ousted and hanged Iraqi President Saddam Hussein wanted to give to a Russian oil company.  Last month, British Petroleum (BP) and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) won a contract to develop another oil field. The invitation to China to join the plunder of Iraq is probably a payoff by the US so that this Asian economic powerhouse and rising military power would not rock the pirates’ boat.

• Checkpoints in Iraq – There are more than 200 checkpoints in Baghdad; some of these checkpoints are manned by policemen, some by Iraqi army and some by both. Many of these checkpoints are equipped with explosive detectors that were supposed to enable the Iraqi forces to stop transporting explosives around the city or basically car bombs. And till now, the government and the Iraqi forces are still insisting on depending on these checkpoints as the main tactic to control the apparently unstoppable attacks of car bombs.”  Who could live like this and why do we accept this as how other people should live?
• Families Scour Anbar for traces of the missing – Iraqi families are upping their search for missing loved ones in Anbar province on the back of improving security and greater local cooperation in the hope of bringing finality to years of heartache.  Across the province families are scouring burial sites and official buildings seeking out any evidence that might reveal what happened to the thousands of people who disappeared during the recent years of violence. Umm Fadel has not seen her husband, Haj Abbas, since he disappeared during an overland trip to Syria in 2006. She says she has no idea about his whereabouts but suspects that he was killed by terrorist groups because he was a Shia.
• Christians fleeing Kirkuk, Iraq – Remember Iraq? According to Gatalian, the plight of Iraqi Christians has becoming increasingly perilous and he told Niqash that most of his relatives have already fled the country. “During the past 40 years there were some 1000 Christian families from Armenian origin but now only 70 families are left,” he said, adding that Christians in Kirkuk have lost all hope of staying in their city.
• Alcohol Sales Booming in Kurdistan – Kurdistan’s alcohol business is booming on the back of increasing local demand and looser social mores say local vendors.  Today new stores are rapidly springing up across the region, which has also become the gateway for the flow of alcohol into the rest of Iraq.The Turkish Export Promotion Centre recently ranked Iraq as the top global export destination for Turkish beer, worth some U.S $22.1 million in 2008. Most of this alcohol enters Iraq through the Kurdish Region. In Ainkawa, the predominantly Christian area of Erbil city, the alcohol industry is now thriving. The neighbourhood has become the alcohol centre for the whole of Iraq and tens of commercial offices representing alcohol businesses have set themselves up in the district. Alcohol stores and bars line the streets.” Why does everyone think people in the ME don’t drink?
• AFP: Obama hails Iraqi approval of 2010 election law – Iraqi Parliament Passes Electoral Law; Obama hails move toward Indpendence; Kurdistan wins on Kirkuk.  Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that the Iraqi parliament approved the electoral law to govern the elections scheduled for early next year. The vote was 141 in favor out of what Al-Zaman said were 175 attending (the Iraqi parliament has 275 seats, so a simple majority is 138). ” Whatever happened to stories of Iraq?
• Cooking Show: How to Make Dolma – “Though they make this dish in Greece, Turkey and other Arab countries, the Iraqi recipe is my favorite.” Iraqi cooking show with English subtitles!
• And finally — Bush to Develop Think Tank !  Affiliated With His Library – The George W. Bush Policy Institute—which would be the first think tank to be affiliated with a presidential library—will address issues that were priorities during Mr. Bush’s presidency, such as education, global health, political freedom and economic growth, and seek to promote advances by offering practical solutions, the former president said.” Note to Bush. This should be easy. First on the to-do list: develop the ability to THINK. Then buy a tank. Then shut yourself in it and never come out.  Take Sarah Palin with you.