Reuters sorts the New York Times out!!! The NYT needs to get its' act together as they simply release one story after another that discredits its' already tarnished reputation: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsa...RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-ELECTION-BALLOTS.xml&rpc=22
That tanker truck filled with bogus ballots story struck me as weird and illogical. On one hand, tanker trucks, full or empty, probably are common across the border. On the other - most oil/chemical/water tanker trucks are designed to get liquids in and out. Sure, you could open the top hatch and drop a few thousand pieces of paper in, but then it would get kinda annoying to open a bottom hatch and have to dig all these ballots back out. And these tankers are hardly ever fully dry, so you risk liquid spoiling all these ballots, don't you? Sounds like a lot of work when a crate of boxes in the back of a pickup truck, along with a few thousand dinar bribe, would have made everyone's life a lot easier.
No Eligibility Unfortunately, I am not eligible to vote in the Iraqi elections. Apparently, Iraqi citizenship is only passed down through the father, so I will not be partaking in the election. Too bad, I fancy a nice day trip to Ammann.
For those like me who hadn't a clue what you were talking about here's the orginial NYT article: Police Seize Forged Ballots Headed to Iraq From Iran
How do you see the new 275 member parliament shaking out, IM? The big question for me is whether: Sunnis + Secular Shia (Allawi) = SCIRI + Sadr + Dawa And if it's close, where do the Kurds break?
Update: 1. "Scattered" violence but nothing major yet. Looks like the bad guys are losing it. Democracy is a freakin tank. 2. NY Times is run by liberal freaks. I expect no less. I also expect it from ABC, NBC, CBS (though CBS is not sooo bad). The LA Times shouldn't even call itself a NEWSpaper. 3. Stopper, I have no idea what your formula meant. But seems to me the big question is whether any group will have a majority. That would of course be a disaster. So, come one Sunnis! Go get your purple finger! 4. Speaking of purple fingers, this whole thing is getting out of control. Some of those Iraqi women are leaving the voting booth with freakin purple hands! Iraq may have a purple-ink shortage soon. Go Democracy!
The "Novak says Bush knows the person who leaked" thread has more views than The "Iraq Election Thread" Which goes to show that most posters on here have their heads up their ying-yangs. I already knew that. Yet I am still disappointed.
A couple of points. There is not much to talk about in an election thread just hours after the polls open. Second, I came in here soon after the thread was started looking for a discussion about the Iraqi elections, when the damn thing immediately turned into a Bill Archer style, rip the NYT, circle jerk. Sorry, but that is just not that interesting.
According to NPR reporters on the ground, Shiite polls are well-organized with moderate attendance while the Sunni polls are overcrowded, contain too few boxes, and names can't be found in the voting registers. Cars and bicycles have been banned. Sunnis who can't find their names at one polling station must walk miles to another polling station. Women aren't voting at the Sunni polls.
Ok, I'm bored, so I will play along. I would like to see where the NYT times got its info, but I wouldn't dismiss it simply because a US official said it was wrong and claims "the borders are closed" (that would be a neat trick, and should help us quickly snuff out the insurgency that is in its last throes ). Remember, this is the same military that purchased "free" press in Iraq. What is the guy supposed to say, "yes, we have heard that report as well, and we are now checking to see if hundreds of thousands of phony ballots have already come into the country courtesy of our friends in Iran." That would go over real well, particularly with the Sunnis with several hours to go until the polls close. I'm not by any means accepting the NYT story, but I am not about to discredit it and join in the "we're gonna have an ink shortage!" brigade. Anyone who cares about this country and our troops is hoping for a decent result with lots of participation, but that doesn't mean we have to join in a giant Bushwhack celebration.
http://baghdadblog.msnbc.com/?GT1=7516 "The Fallujah vote has gone off, so far, without any violence, but there have been problems. Thousands of voters were turned away from a number of polling stations due to a lack of ballots and ballot boxes." Great news from the heart of the insurgency
Congratulations to Iraq on the vote. There really isn't a viable alternative to the vote. I believe the government needs to have 2/3 control, so look for some strange unweildy coalition. One of the interesting things (heard this on NPR): Something like six insurgent groups are supporting the election and have vowed to kill anyone looking to disrupt the election. What's up with that?
So, are these folks now former-insurgents? Do they go back to the killing right after the election? Color me confused.
So far, this appears to be VERY good news. Of course we'll see waht happens if the Sunnis don't get an "appropriate" amount of power.
www.ap.org Sunnis appeared to have turned out in large numbers - even in insurgent bastions like Ramadi and Haqlaniyah - to try to curb the power of Shiite clerical parties now in control. "I came here and voted in order to prove that Sunnis are not a minority in this country," said lawyer Yahya Abdul-Jalil in Ramadi. "We lost a lot during the last elections, but this time we will take our normal and key role in leading this country." Fallujah teacher Khalid Fawaz said he also took part "so that the Sunnis are no longer marginalized." ....how can you "prove" you're not a minority? Am i missing something?