Did you know

[paineinthearse]

I run a Yahoo group for my town. The following was just posted. If you were the moderator, how would you react?

Note: No source was given.

=================================================================

Did you know that 47 countries have re-established their embassies in Iraq?

Did you know that the Iraqi government employs 1.2 million Iraqi people?

Did you know that 3100 schools have been renovated, 364 schools are under rehabilitation, 263 schools are now under construction and 38 new schools have been built in Iraq?

Did you know that Iraq’s higher educational structure consists of 20 Universities, 46 Institutes or colleges and 4 research centers?

Did you know that 25 Iraq students departed for the United States in January 2004 for the re-established Fulbright program?

Did you know that the Iraqi Navy is operational? They have 5- 100-foot patrol craft, 34 smaller vessels and a navel infantry regiment.

Did you know that Iraq’s Air Force consists of three operation squadrons, 9 reconnaissance and 3 US C-130 transport aircraft which operate day and night, and will soon add 16 UH-1 helicopters and 4 bell jet rangers?

Did you know that Iraq has a counter-terrorist unit and a Commando Battalion?

Did you know that the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully trained and equipped police officers?

Did you know that there are 5 Police Academies in Iraq that produce over 3500 new officers each 8 weeks?

Did you know there are more than 1100 building projects going on in Iraq? They include 364 schools, 67 public clinics, 15 hospitals, 83 railroad stations, 22 oil facilities, 93 water facilities and 69 electrical facilities.

Did you know that 96% of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received the first 2 series of polio vaccinations?

Did you know that 4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school by mid October?

Did you know that there are 1,192,000 cell phone subscribers in Iraq and phone use has gone up 158%?

Did you know that Iraq has an independent media that consist of 75 radio stations, 180 newspapers and 10 television stations?

Did you know that the Baghdad Stock Exchange opened in June of 2004?

Did you know that 2 candidates in the Iraqi presidential election had a recent televised debate recently?

OF COURSE WE DIDN’T KNOW!

WHY DIDN’T WE KNOW?

[mmonk]

1. Send them a link to Antiwar.com

I bet it has facts they don't know.

[jdj]

2. because it's hard to learn shit with one's head in one's butt?

these people kill me.

and of course, none of this stuff is documented.

[Maraya1969]

3. OMG that requires SUCH a lot of fact checking

but two or three debunks should do it. I'll check a couple for you.

How much you want to bet this is going to become a huge "FORWARD TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW" email?

We'd better get some facts now.

[Dookus]

4. odd

they have 7 times as many government employees as the US has, per capita. That seems unlikely.

[RBHam]

5. Because that list is mostly bullshit...

You should have seen what Iraq had BEFORE they were bombed and sanctioned back into the third world...

It is my considered opinion that the post-British secular elite would have deposed Hussein themselves if the CIA hadn't propped him up in the first place...

[Ironpost]

6. are you for real, i'm not wanting to be an asshole.

[paineinthearse]

8. Not meant for hard analysis

Just putting this out to the group to show the asswipes on the local level. The local guy "forgot" to include that. I've since deleted his post and reminded him the group if for local issues.

I'd seen those "facts" somewhere else months ago and would be satisfied to know the original source. Probably freerepublic or gopusa.com.

[Ironpost]

14. my apoligies to you.

[Nickster]

7. How to respond to so much crap in posting? Hmmmmm

I always find it amazing that the dark side can throw so much crap at us dis-information wise and we are left with the burden of tracking down all the facts that will be soundly ignored until they throw out their next pile of crap on us. Personally, I've stopped responding to crap postings like that with anything more than a short succinct as I can post.

Well, since Iraq is doing so well, we can leave now right?? If they have 55k police, (I'd love to see ANY basis for that claim alone) then we should be able to start withdrawing our mere 138k troops right?

Or something like, Did you know that it cost taxpayers 300 billion dollars and over 1400 American Soldiers to install an Iranian style Theocracy?

[paineinthearse]

9. .

:thumbsup:

[Maraya1969]

10. Here's one

The Iraqi children are being vaccinated for Polio but it must be made clear that it is with the help of UNICEF and the UN'S Children's fund.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The U.N. Children's Fund and Iraqi health teams began a five-day campaign Sunday to vaccinate 4 million Iraqi children against polio.

Thousands of health workers and volunteers fanned out across the country, going door-to-door to give all children under the age of 5 the two drops that will protect them against the crippling disease.

Carel de Rooy, UNICEF's representative in Iraq, said the campaign is routine and has nothing to do with a possible war.

"This was planned months ago. Every year we do this," he said after visiting a dispensary. "What we are doing here over the next five days is just to maintain a polio-free Iraq."

UNICEF has been working for six years to rid Iraq of polio, helping train 14,000 volunteers and contributing $500,000 to the effort, most of it donated by the European Union.

UNICEF also supports a program to speed up vaccinations against measles, which kills more children than any other disease in this Arab country, and is trying to improve nutrition for Iraqi children, a quarter of whom are malnourished.


http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/02/24/iraq.children.polio.ap/

[readmoreoften]

11. how about just by debunking their shit with shit

Did you know that 47 countries have re-established their embassies in Iraq?

That's incorrect. Only 12 have, and those embassies are completely empty.

Did you know that the Iraqi government employs 1.2 million Iraqi people?

This is untrue. The government only employs 260,000 people. Most of them work less than 3 hours a week. Under Saddam, 6 million Iraqis were employed

Did you know that 3100 schools have been renovated, 364 schools are under rehabilitation, 263 schools are now under construction and 38 new schools have been built in Iraq?

Did you know that 2400 schools were destroyed?

Did you know that Iraq’s higher educational structure consists of 20 Universities, 46 Institutes or colleges and 4 research centers?

And the occupation has done nothing to change that.


Did you know that the Iraqi Navy is operational? They have 5- 100-foot patrol craft, 34 smaller vessels and a navel infantry regiment.

If by 'operational' you mean they go fishing.

Did you know that Iraq’s Air Force consists of three operation squadrons, 9 reconnaissance and 3 US C-130 transport aircraft which operate day and night, and will soon add 16 UH-1 helicopters and 4 bell jet rangers?

yeah, your tax money bought that.


etc.


They make shit up, we switch the meme.

God these morons are so stupid.

[manic expression]

22. Nice! One thing, though

More than 2,400 schools were destroyed/ransacked (over 3,000 I believe), and furthermore, "renovated" pretty much means NOTHING. "Renovated" schools have open sewage running in them. "Renovated" means a contractor was merely hired to do something to the school, and this virtually always means that they do nothing or very little.

Also, don't forget that hospitals are in DIRE shape, with very little supplies and overwhelming demand (you know, 'cause Iraq is so secure).

This is just the crust, Iraq's problems are much deeper thanks to our base, disgusting and wrong actions.

[paineinthearse]

23. Thanks for all your help

I just deleted the post, changed the policy (added requirement all non-original posts must reference original source) and will read all suggestions tomorrow AM.

[Maraya1969]

12. 180 newspapers for such a small country?

Apparently they do have a lot of media now - all saying whatevertheheck they want.


iraqi crisis report
home

Chaos in the Iraqi Media

The United States risks losing a major opportunity to forge an open media in the Middle East.

By Anthony Borden in London (ICR No. 23, 20-June-03)

Efforts by the US-led authority in Iraq to establish responsible media are in crisis, with bitter inter-agency rivalry, senior staff changes and poor planning undermining early efforts to launch programming and lay out a framework for media development.

The stakes are high. A prerequisite for any kind of emerging democracy is a professional and trusted media, to convey facts, support responsible debate and represent the diversity of communities and views within Iraq. But the absence of a reliable Iraqi media exacerbates the frustration, and growing anger, felt because of the lack of an Iraqi authority and basic security and services. Powerless and uncertain, Iraqis need a voice.

There has been a dramatic post-war boom in local media, with the launch of up to 150 newspapers and many radio stations. Indeed, there is a bewildering - exciting - diversity of new voices for a changed Iraq emerging from decades of dictatorship. But the majority are highly partisan media established by rival political interests jockeying for position, and could be destabilising in a fragile post-conflict environment. Many are directly produced by political parties, or by former senior Ba'athists or other figures with a political, rather than a journalistic, orientation. Informed media with balanced reporting is largely absent.

These are among the conclusions of an independent needs assessment of the media in Iraq, coordinated by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, in association with the publication Index on Censorship and the media development group Baltic Media Centre, with project support from International Media Support, Denmark. (See http://www.iwpr.net/pdf/Iraq_Media_Assessment_Report.pdf)

The central problem is a conceptual one: the US administration has not firmly separated its policies for media from its agenda for public diplomacy (otherwise known among hacks as spin).

http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/irq/irq_23_1_eng.txt

[yankeeinlouisiana]

13. Here's a link to

a site that lists the same BS.

http://zebrax.blogs.com/zebrareport/2005/02/iraq_did_you_kn.html

This seems relatively new. It's dated February 15th. I'm sure this will debunked or clarified shortly by snopes.

[paineinthearse]

20. Thanks!!!! I asked for source.

Anyone can post to this site.

I just posted as Kristen (as in freeper):

"Would love to know the original source of this material!!!!!!!!
Posted by: kristen | February 18, 2005 10:28 PM"

[Kansas Wyatt]

15. Did you know...

Aside from a few things being an offshoot for a bitch country dominated by the U.S., that Iraq probably had a lot of that before we bombed and destroyed most of it?

True, at least they don't have Saddam anymore, but Iraq is still a combat zone and the same dipshit who wants to control them, controls us.

[Maraya1969]

16. While following links for embassies in Iraq

I ended up looking at UK embassies, of which there are 3. And there was a link directly under it. Check it out. Basically there MAY be 47 embassies in Iraq but NO-ONE is in them!


http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618386640

[Wrinkle_In_Time]

17. Simple, tell them to provide proof of their claims...

... since none are given.

You could take the approach that readmoreoften suggests above, but I would also want to see proof of those claims too. DU posters are probably going to provide that.

{Edit: correcting some stuff}

[paineinthearse]

21. DU posters are probably going to provide that.

:grouphug:

I've already tightened up the group rules to require that unless material is original, its source must be cited.

[Maraya1969]

18. The new stock exchange in the local Hotel 6

Under the title 'WARPROFITEERS" here is the article about the new stock exchange. It isn't trading anything. Their stock market fell the day before the US declared war on them.


(SOMEBODY PLEASE STOP ME!!!!!!!!!)




Iraq: Baghdad Stock Exchange to Reopen in Hotel
Financial Times
January 22nd, 2004

After several months of work by financial and technical advisers with the US-led civilian authority in Iraq, a revamped Baghdad stock exchange is due to open this month, temporarily housed in a disused hotel.



The exchange last traded officially on March 19 2003, the day before the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein was launched.



Bankers say the plan is to relist 10-15 stocks a month, with companies only being requoted after their accounts have been verified by internationally recognised auditors. Checks will also be made with big shareholders to weed out former regime members.



Ultimately, the country's 114 listed companies could be quoted on the exchange, which was launched in 1992 and became a hotbed of speculation.



Maria Khoury, head of research at Atlas Investment Group, a Jordanian investment bank, believes the market will offer regional and international investors an opportunity to test Iraq's financial waters without overcommitting in a high security risk country.



Atlas this week launched a comprehensive guide to Iraq's capital markets. It contains research on all 114 companies set to relist, as well as more than 40 formerly state-owned enterprises that may soon be privatised.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11157

[Solly Mack]

19. Stock Exchange info

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0202/p14s01-wmgn.html

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11157

the link below mentions the June date:

http://www.milkeninstitute.org/publications/publications.taf?function=detail&ID=385&cat=Arts&mode=print

and finally

The Iraq Stock Exchange web page:

http://www.isx-iq.net/page/about.htm

I think I'm gonna go through the list for funsies...

[Stop_the_War]

24. And there apparently are no sources to back these claims up...

[Catherine Vincent]

25. This was posted on FR.

Also get ready to receive spam emails with that from the right wingers.

[thjay]

26. OMG I got this email today

only more was added to the end which pissed me off so much I figured I'd have to find some time this weekend to research a reply. This is what was added to the did you know?:

......................
OF COURSE WE DIDN'T KNOW!


WHY DIDN'T WE KNOW?


OUR MEDIA WOULDN'T  TELL US!


Because a Bush-hating media and left wing liberals would rather see the terrorism prevail in the world rather than exercise some common sense and patriotism.


The lack of accentuating the positive in Iraq serves only one purpose. It undermines the world's perception of the United States and our soldiers.


I AM ASHAMED OF THOSE AMERICANS WHO WOULD RATHER SEE TERRORISM SUCCEED THAN A REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT.


All of these fact are verifiable on the Department of Defense website -- and many other independent sources.


Please pass it on!

[merh]

27. Did you know that the universities existed under Saddam

and that Iraq was probably one of the most progressive nations in the Middle East? Yes, SH was an evil dictator, but Iraq was not a backwards nation.

"Did you know that Iraq’s higher educational structure consists of 20 Universities, 46 Institutes or colleges and 4 research centers?"

Did you know that the head of the Iraqi Stock Market is some 24 year old repuke, wiz kid?

AND THESE REALLY PISSES ME OFF!
Did you know that 3100 schools have been renovated, 364 schools are under rehabilitation, 263 schools are now under construction and 38 new schools have been built in Iraq?

Did you know there are more than 1100 building projects going on in Iraq? They include 364 schools, 67 public clinics, 15 hospitals, 83 railroad stations, 22 oil facilities, 93 water facilities and 69 electrical facilities.

Did you know that 4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school by mid October?

Iraqi children went to school when SH was the dictator. We had to renovate and rehabilitate and build new schools BECAUSE WE BLEW THEM UP IN THE FIRST PLACE. The building projects are necessary because WE BLEW UP THEIR INFASTRUCTURE AND HOSPITALS!

God, how I hate these fucking idiots who post crap like this.
SHOCK & AWE -- WE BROKE IT AND NOW WE ARE PATTING OURSELVES ON THE BACK FOR TRYING TO FIX IT!



Edited to add: It was the Gulf War and UN sanctions that harmed Iraq.
We attacked and invaded a nation that was crippled and without a true military (we had destroyed most of their military equipment in the Gulf War) and now we are saying how great we are to rebuild what we destroyed. Repairing the buildings will never make up for the 100,000 plus we killed.

Link to a thread about Iraq before the war
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2247284