What the…?
: I go clicking through my list of Iranian weblogs and find this from Webgard:
Soon though, this community will have to break off in two: the camp that that doesn’t give a f*** about Jeff Jarvis and the camp that does. Each following their own underlying principles and language. And these changes will definitly take its toll… but whatchyagonnado?
(My asterisks. My kid reads this weblog, folks.)
I didn’t even know that I had a camp. Don’t think I want one.
It looks bigger than the last Internet World in NY
: Pictures of an Internet fair in Iran.
What the Iraqis say
: Channel 4 News took a survey of Iraqi opinions with many fascinating results:
Right now, would you prefer to see the US (and Britain) stay in Iraq or pull out?Should stay for a few years 31
Should stay for about a year 25
Should stay for a while, but leave inside 12 months 20
Should leave Iraq IMMEDIATELY 13
No opinion/not stated 11
So don’t buy reports that say they all want us out now.
On the other hand, they want power now:
How soon should Iraqis be handed political power? (Even if the American forces remain in Iraq).Straight away 40
Within three months 11
Within six months 11
Within one year 11
More than one year from now 9
Iraqis should not be handed political power 7
Don t know/not stated 10
Note that a majority do not say immediately. They know as well as we do that a structure has to be set up so local authority can succeed.
What kind of government do they want? Now what you’ve been hearing from many sources in the news:
What kind of political/governmental system would you like to see in Iraq?British/American style democracy. With various political parties competing openly for power 36
Islamic rule, but tempered to modern ideals of justice and punishment 26
A single presidential ruler, but not Saddam 7
Islamic rule in strict accord with the Koran (with Mullahs in charge) 6
A single party state, with open elections for political post 6
Return of Saddam Hussein 5
Other 6
Don t know/not stated 12
So they don’t want Iran. And wouldn’t you love to see that poll taken in Iran?
On their quality of life today vs. a year ago, not surprisingly at all — in a nation that has just come through a war, duh — more say life is worse: 47 percent say worse, in varying degrees; 32 percent say better in varying degrees; and 22 percent say it’s neither better nor worse or have no opinion. That’s hardly surprising. They just came through a war. Uh, duh.
But now look at their expectations for the future now that Saddam is gone. They were asked, “How do you expect your life to be in 5 (FIVE) YEARS time? (Compared to the way it was BEFORE the American/British actions).” A majorityi 52 percent said better in varying degrees; only 11 percent said worse; 7 percent said unchanged; and 31 percent said they didn’t know.
There’s much more. The Channel 4 story (also in the Spectator) leads with the bad; no surprise. [via Astigma]
: Update: Read the poll and then read this to see how Kofi Annan does not and should not speak for the Iraqi people:
Annan calls for quick handover of power to IraqisUNITED NATIONS – In his first major report on postwar Iraq, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Iraqis did not want democracy imposed on them by outsiders and rated lawlessness as their primary concern.
Alterman still doesn’t get it
: Alterman keeps coming back to the argument about attacks against Jews in France (see my earlier post about rationalizing hate here).
Now, about this
Tough Norwegian babes
: Two (related?) bits of news from Nettavisen, Norway’s web-only newspaper:
While it used to be mainly men both running sex shops and shopping in sex shops in Norway, women are taking over this scene these days….Norwegian women have passed their Danish neighbours and smoke more than any other European women.
Next we’ll hear that Norwegian women wear more leather.
Hey, lawyers…
: Not only does our blogosphere need a bloggers’ guide to the law, it also appears that some bloggers need a little pro bono defense. [via Bene Diction]
AOLogs
: Tony Pierce gets his dander up re AOL blogs:
:anyone who has seen an sophomore year computer science student’s homework assignment has seen what i am seeing with the aol journal: copycat bullshit created to see if it could be re-created.aol is not providing their members with anything they cant get just as easilly anywhere else. they are not providing their users with anything that they have asked for.
and once again they are creating something that isnt even half as good as what they are trying to copy.
Read it for the entertainment value alone; that’s always a good reason to read Tony.
What freedom makes you
: Blue Bird Escape — the wonderful weblog I quote often by an Iranian-American teen who just ended a visit to her homeland — never ceases to amaze me with its sweet insight. Today:
In Iran they say they will go to heaven because they are already in hell.I also wonder who I would have been if I never lived in Iran. Would I have known what freedom is? Would I have cared about the world?
