Have you guys seen this? Great blog from a 26-year-old Iraqi woman...

[Vektor]

"Now we're being 'officially' told that the weapons never existed. After Iraq has been devastated, we're told it's a mistake. You look around Baghdad and it is heart-breaking. The streets are ravaged, the sky is a bizarre grayish-bluish color- a combination of smoke from fires and weapons and smog from cars and generators. There is an endless wall that seems to suddenly emerge in certain areas to protect the Green Zoners... There is common look to the people on the streets- under the masks of fear, anger and suspicion, there's also a haunting look of uncertainty and indecision. Where is the country going? How long will it take for things to even have some vague semblance of normality? When will we ever feel safe?"


Excellent writings and first hand accounts from a young woman living in the war zone...

http://www.riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

[stellanoir]

1. many of us have loved

riverbend since she first posted on Salam Pax's site in early '03.

She's had her site since 8/03. She's incredibly eloquent and always provides a much clearer perspective of what's happening over there. It's heartbreaking. But I love her intrepid spirit.

She had a gig working in IT prior to our invasion, wherein she was paid more than her male coworkers because she was so incredibly proficient. She hasn't been able to leave her home without several male famial escorts since our illegal invasion.

"Freedom is on the march". . . indeed.

[Vektor]

2. Oh! I didn't know...

I just discovered her today. I sure am glad I did.

[thecrow]

3. I read Riverbend regularly!

I find her reporting on the Iraq war much more informative than anything our MSM puts out.

[Vektor]

4. As do I.

Her posts following 11/2, (Black Tuesday) are particularly telling. What a bright and courageous woman.

[stellanoir]

5. she's the best !!!

on edit- one of the most profound things she ever wrote was. . .am paraphrasing. . ."peace is like water. . .you never know how valuable it is until someone takes it away."

[Vektor]

6. I believe it.

I cannot believe I did not find her sooner.

[stellanoir]

8. don't sweat it

there are a gazillion blogs to pay attention to . So little time, Yikes.

[gumby]

7. Buzzflash recently offered a book

of her blog entries.

http://www.buzzflash.com/premiums/05/04/pre05043.html

[Viva_La_Revolution]

9. she got me with this one...

Concerning our news being shown over there

"I've been enchanted with the shows these last few weeks. The thing that strikes me most is the fact that the news is so... clean. It's like hospital food. It's all organized and disinfected. Everything is partitioned and you can feel how it has been doled out carefully with extreme attention to the portions- 2 minutes on women's rights in Afghanistan, 1 minute on training troops in Iraq and 20 minutes on Terri Schiavo! All the reportages are upbeat and somewhat cheerful, and the anchor person manages to look properly concerned and completely uncaring all at once."


They featured it on the buzzflash page :-)


Then I read some of her other entries, and I cried.

[Vektor]

14. She hit the nail right on the head.

I need to send her blog to some of my moderate friends who aren't sure what to think of this war, and don't know how bad things really are.

[Vektor]

12. Oh, that's cool to know.

I'll add it to my wishlist.

[BikeWriter]

10. I've corresponded with several Baghdad bloggers. They are...

kind, intelligent, and gentle people.

[Vektor]

13. Thankfully,

they can provide us with some real insight as to what is going on over there - what the MSM won't tell us.

This is the first blog I have found from an Iraqi citizen. I am riveted.

[BikeWriter]

15. I'm glad you found it. Spread the word! :-)

[Vektor]

16. I definitely will.

She's a great writer.

[Starfury]

11. Can't believe I missed her blog until now!

Here's her take on US TV:

"Furthermore, I don’t understand the worlds fascination with reality shows. Survivor, The Bachelor, Murder in Small Town X, Faking It, The Contender… it’s endless. Is life so boring that people need to watch the conjured up lives of others?

I have a suggestion of my own for a reality show. Take 15 Bush supporters and throw them in a house in the suburbs of, say, Falloojeh for at least 14 days. We could watch them cope with the water problems, the lack of electricity, the check points, the raids, the Iraqi National Guard, the bombings, and- oh yeah- the ‘insurgents’. We could watch their house bombed to the ground and their few belongings crushed under the weight of cement and brick or simply burned or riddled with bullets. We could see them try to rebuild their life with their bare hands (and the equivalent of $150)…

I’d not only watch *that* reality show, I’d tape every episode."

----

Now THAT would be an awesome show! :)