LOOK at the GLORIOUS outcome of the Iraqi election!!!

[UdoKier]

VERBATIM from the sludge report:



THE DAY AFTER:

Allawi: 'Terrorists were defeated'...

U.S., Britain agree on exit strategy: First troops out in late '05...

DEMS SKEPTICAL...

Kerry: 'We Should Not Overhype'....

Al Qaeda Vows to Fight on in Iraq...

SUICIDE BOMBER HAD DOWN'S SYNDROME...

Baghdad Mayor: Erect Statue for Bush...


Well, shee-it, smiling kids giving the thumbs-up sign? No arguing with that! Us naysaying "skeptical" libs and dems ought to just pack up and go home because Iraq is officially the next SWEDEN!

Thank* you, thank you, thank you, wonderful, unbiased Drudge Report!

And thank you, thank you thank you, generous, democracy-spreading Bush administration!




















*typographical error. All instances of "thank" should read "fuck".

[Richardo]

1. Remember what the "thumbs up" gesture means in Arab culture

...it's not good.

[Oreo]

4. Interesting!

Thanks
http://shockingelk.com/text/thumbs_up/

What Does "Thumbs Up" Mean in Iraq?

On April 5, 2003 A CNN interviewer asked a few Iraqi men how they feel about George Bush. The Iraqi men repeated his name and held their thumbs up. One Iraqi man who spoke English said "we don't know."
Throughout the Arab world, a "thumbs up" is equivalent to giving someone "the finger" in Western culture.
The website for a company which sells advice books on how to conduct International business, getcustoms.com, states:

"Thumbs up" as a positive gesture quickly gained popularity in the U.S.A. ... However, in most of the Middle East and parts of Africa (notably Nigeria), this symbol can be obscene.

The US's Defense Language Institute has a different take on the gesture, from a PDF created on February 2, 1999 and last modified on April 27, 2000:

Thumbs up This gesture, expressing connotations of "I am winning," historically is offensive to many Arabs. After the Gulf conflict, however, Middle Easterners of the Arabian Peninsula adopted this hand movement, along with the OK sign, as a symbol of cooperation toward freedom.

--MORE--

[papau]

5. US Media ignores US use of food aid to force Iraq registrations/votes

US Media ignores US use of food aid to force Iraq registrations/votes

http://www.dahrjamailiraq.com/hard_news/archives/hard_n...
EYEWITNESS: BAGHDAD | Main

January 31, 2005
Some Just Voted for Food
Inter Press Service
Dahr Jamail

BAGHDAD, Jan 31 (IPS) - Voting in Baghdad was linked with receipt of food rations, several voters said after the Sunday poll.

Many Iraqis said Monday that their names were marked on a list provided by the government agency that provides monthly food rations before they were allowed to vote.

”I went to the voting centre and gave my name and district where I lived to a man,” said Wassif Hamsa, a 32-year-old journalist who lives in the predominantly Shia area Janila in Baghdad. ”This man then sent me to the person who distributed my monthly food ration.”

Mohammed Ra'ad, an engineering student who lives in the Baya'a district of the capital city reported a similar experience.

Ra'ad, 23, said he saw the man who distributed monthly food rations in his district at his polling station. ”The food dealer, who I know personally of course, took my name and those of my family who were voting,” he said. ”Only then did I get my ballot and was allowed to vote.”

”Two of the food dealers I know told me personally that our food rations would be withheld if we did not vote,” said Saeed Jodhet, a 21-year-old engineering student who voted in the Hay al-Jihad district of Baghdad.

There has been no official indication that Iraqis who did not vote would not receive their monthly food rations.

Many Iraqis had expressed fears before the election that their monthly food rations would be cut if they did not vote. They said they had to sign voter registration forms in order to pick up their food supplies.


Snip

[Liberal In Texas]

9. Which probably means the photographer posed them like that. N/T

[ktowntennesseedem]

2. Hey Bush!!! Go thank yourself!!!

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. Another pic - the other side....

http://bushspeaks.com/home.asp?did=194


http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13
Buttons for brainy people - educate your local freepers today!

[Swamp Rat]

6. Drudge is just doing his part for the "Iraqi Election" TV sitcom.

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. God bless 'em, they are so desperate to write good news about

our "investment", that they need to hype that election thing as if were the stupid-bowl. My guess is that it will even get worse after this as they try and further suppress the Sunnis in favor of a more "representative" government.

[Oreo]

8. More on thumbs up... from the US Navy

Thanks for the info Richardo... the US Navy even says that Thumbs up means FU.

http://www.msc.navy.mil/msccent/taboos.htm
Hand Gestures: By and large Bahrain is cosmopolitan enough that most of its inhabitants have been exposed to Western ways. Still, there are several hand gestures used in the U.S. which could have a different meaning if used in the Middle East. There are the "thumbs up", "peace (or victory), and the "okay" signs.

Thumbs up, meaning "everything is great" or "I’m Okay" to the West can be equated to the "middle finger" by Middle Easterners. Of note, hitch-hikers do not "thumb a ride", rather they hold their hand horizontal to the road and wave it up and down as though telling motorists to "reduce speed".

Peace or the victory sign is generally understood when the pads of the fingers are pointed away form the person making the sign (in other words, palm out.) When the sign is made with the knuckles facing away from the person making the sign (palm in) the sign may be taken for a "devil sign" or "the middle finger extended."

Okay, the circle made with the thumb and index finger, the other three fingers extended can be misunderstood to be the sign of "the evil eye"

Finally , it is interesting to compare the way Americans and Arabs count on their fingers (as a trivial example of how our cultures differ). Generally, Americans start with the index finger calling it "one". Two, three, and four are the remaining fingers, with the thumb popping up last as number five. Arabs generally start with the "pinky" finger as number "one" counting down through the fingers until the thumb again is five.

[CoffeeCat]

10. Iraq is part of the Iran PR campaign...

This temporary "honeymoon" for Iraq will be used to leverage support for actions against Iran.

These elections are meaningless. We all know that. Just like the capture of Saddam and Bremer turning over the keys to Alawi. Bush hyped up those events too--as if they spelled success and meant peace for all Iraqis. Saddam's capture and Bremer's departure were staged, canned PR events devoid of meaning.

Media outlets are showcasing these revolting, syrupy, stories about Iraqi citizens dancing in the streets and crying tears of joy. It's all temporary smoke and mirrors. The Iraqis still can't take their children to school, because it's so unsafe. Most of them stay in their homes because of the violence. The insurgency is growing--not lessening.

We'll continue to see an onslaught of these saccharine stories, and the administration will continue to tout nonexistent freedom, democracy and peace.

Just watch--*'s SOTU speech will speak about a new Iraq--as if it's Disneyland--happy, carefree and more fun than Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Like it or not, Bush's ratings (approval and Iraq approval) will get a bounce from this.

I'd bet anything that this bounce will be used as a springboard into some Iran shenanigans. I'd expect some serious Iran issues to come about within the next two weeks.

Maybe I'm off here, but that's just how I see things going in the next 2-4 weeks. I think we need to be prepared for a depressing month of February.

Sorry to be such a Gloomy Gus. :(