Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. 09/05 to 01/14/07

You just have to love the Kurds

Posted on Friday, November 03 @ 03:49:21 PST
Topic: Iraq
By Zaid Sabah
BAGHDAD — One of the first things Mohammed Esam does when he wakes up each morning is check his computer.

It's not news he's after. Esam is eager to check out the jokes sent by friends that invariably crowd his inbox.

Esam, 27, said Iraqis have long used jokes as a way to criticize their government or spoof society. Under Saddam Hussein's regime, jokes could land you in jail or worse. Barbed jabs at the regime were whispered, but only among friends or close family members who could be trusted.

"You might be sent to death if you got caught," Esam says. "We were extra cautious when exchanging these jokes and never told them to people we couldn't trust."

Today, jokes fly around by e-mail and text messaging. "If the jokes are short, we prefer exchanging them in text messages via our cellphones," Esam says. "In this way, jokes reach everybody in Baghdad in a few hours."

The jokes often poke fun at politics or the gloomy situation in Iraq, where many face violence and an uncertain future. "Despite the bitterness and the miserable reality, we burst (into) laughter when we read jokes," says Zaid al-Mulla, 32, who works for a computer company.

Mulla recently received a fake news report from the year 2060. One of the items: Iraq is so peaceful it has to import criminals so the police and lawyers stay busy.

When U.S. forces killed terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, text messages flew around the country, including this "news" flash: "Suicide attack in hell 30 minutes after Zarqawi's arrival."

The Kurdish minority, who populates northern Iraq and was long oppressed by Saddam's regime, was the butt of many jokes in Iraq. Now Iraq has a Kurdish president, Jalal Talabani.

"For a long time, most of our jokes were ridiculing Kurds," Esam says. "Now these jokes are on one person: President Talabani." One of Esam's favorites: Americans told Talabani that they would bury the country's electrical cables as part of an overhaul of the power system. Talabani's response: Where will the birds perch?

Some of the Saddam-era classics still circulate, such as this one: In 1990 after Saddam invaded Kuwait and made it Iraq's "19th province," the emir of Qatar called to protest. "Who's this?" Saddam growls into the phone. The intimidated emir stammers a reply: "The emir of Iraq's 20th province."

There is a fair amount of dark humor. Someone created a parody of an Internet portal. Instead of a mail button it says "threats," a reference to the threatening messages and e-mails people receive.

"We will keep smiling even in the worst situations," Mulla says. "This is the only thing that keeps us alive."

Bechtel finishes $2.3 billion Iraq job, mourning 52 dead workers

Wrapping up more than three years of work that cost the U.S. government $2.3 billion (€1.8 billion), Bechtel Corp. is leaving Iraq with a subdued sense of accomplishment after suffering through a spree of violence that killed 52 workers.

This is good. For the benefit of Iraq and us it will be better if the Republicans win........


Voting | Vote | 2006 Elections - FOXNews.com

Just heard on foxnews! that the US Sec. of Intelligence just arrived in Baghdad to meet with the PM, hmmm!

Originally Posted by fsndirector

Can you imagine how insuffurable she would be if she was right even one time. Its a scary thought.

Not to worry...we are gonna' reval before the 13th...I will be surprised if it doesn't before the elections on Tuesday...how about a big WOOOOWOOOOWOOOOWOOOOT the gravy train is comin' in and comin' fast....sorry Neno....I just bubbled over.

YEAH BABY !!!!!!!! or should I say WOOOOOOOOOT !!!!!!!!!

Adster:

The date on the front of the book was 2006. The title was "World Currencies" I saw the pictures, they were of the new denoms, not the old Saddam ones. I saw the 25K, 10K 5K and 1K. all on one page. If there were more pictures I didn't see them. Hopefully there were shown on the following pages, but she didn't turn the page and I did not ask.

I thought I read this somewhere or heard it on the news. Has there been any mention of a significant amount of gold being returned to Iraq from Switzerland. I thought I read that Saddam had stashed alot of gold and it was now coming back to the country. Does anyone have any further info on this subject?

Originally Posted by Socata 850

Adster:

The date on the front of the book was 2006. The title was "World Currencies" I saw the pictures, they were of the new denoms, not the old Saddam ones. I saw the 25K, 10K 5K and 1K. all on one page. If there were more pictures I didn't see them. Hopefully there were shown on the following pages, but she didn't turn the page and I did not ask.

Currencies of the World

Originally Posted by Socata 850

Adster:

The date on the front of the book was 2006. The title was "World Currencies" I saw the pictures, they were of the new denoms, not the old Saddam ones. I saw the 25K, 10K 5K and 1K. all on one page. If there were more pictures I didn't see them. Hopefully there were shown on the following pages, but she didn't turn the page and I did not ask.

Whatever it's worth, the ASBH here is using the BoA book 2004 edition and the NID is in there.