Since those lofty moments in 2004, now considered the “good old days”, Baghdad along the Tigris River today is a mess at best and a sewer at worst. The Iraqis have elected their government since 2004. In the intervening years from 2005 to now, the various religious groups have fought one another while the Iraqi police try to learn on the job and stop the chaos. During this time, the infrastructure, like the roads are in very poor condition, with lots of garbage everywhere. Many streets are blocked with concrete walls. There are many checkpoints inside the city manned by soldiers and police, all ill-trained or prepared for potential threats as they seldom check cars or ask people for identification. One news reporter who kept track encountered more than 26 checkpoints and none of them stopped us to ask for identification. The soldiers and police at the checkpoints are ONLY there to get their salaries and make a living. They go through the motions of providing security. Give them some money, and they will let you through. There is no loyalty to Iraq, otherwise, they would ask each car at a checkpoint for ID. According to locals there, that since the government does not enforce the law, the soldiers do not want to ask for identification and hold people accountable because they fear reprisals on them and family. Makes complete sense with terrorists in their midst.

Political assassinations are inside jobs and when officials do not like each other they try to have each other killed. Now, that sounds like America’s wild west!

Traffic is the worse in Baghdad. Despite the fact that police are present in cars,or  on foot on busy intersections, and despite the fact the street lights do work to control traffic, nobody gives a hoot. Cars whiz right through red lights in front of a police car and the police do nothing. Woe to you if you are a pedestrian!  Watch out for the motorcycles!

Inside the Green Zone, which has always been the “safe” area where foreign embassies are located, it is no longer safe despite two Iraqi checkpoints and a U.S. Embassy checkpoint manned by Africans (not American troops). Inside the Green Zone, there are other checkpoints but cell phones, and all liquids and medicine are banned. The speed limit is five miles per hour because of very hard road bumps that could break a tank’s tread. The Green Zone was the hub for years when America was present, now, it is like a semi-ghost town or a camp. There is not one store in this area.

Electricity remains the core problem for the millions living there. During the hot summer, there are fewer than ten hours of electricity per day. Temps easily average in the high 90′s and more. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki promised in February to improve services, yet, all of the basic needs of electricity and water and sewage services are lacking.

The rift between the Sunnis and Shiites remains as bad as ever. The Sunni districts of Baghdad have been surrounded by concrete walls (like those found in Israel), and there are only one or two gates to get in and out. The Shiites control 90% of everything from government to most stores for shoppers.

Corruption is Iraq’s mantra. When you go to any government ministry, nothing is done for you unless you pay them. An Iraqi passport will cost you $1500. The bribes are not conducted in open but in the men’s restroom or toilet stalls.

So, this is what America got for billions of dollars and thousands of US lives. A democracy that is so fragile, its life and death is always one step away.

That was two years ago. Today, after almost two years of unemployment via the four Federal extensions, there is a sense that he has given up. Sad, but not unexpected when you think of the the hurdles he faces: unemployment for nearly two years (except for a four month job with the US Census last year), age (he is 55), aging skills, over-qualified or under qualified for many jobs, and stiff applicant competition from all ages (those more recently just unemployed). Who said that college grads earn more than high school grads? Not always true, and he should know, he has two degrees. He was telling me that to pass time, he has tried to volunteer at various agencies and even there, there is competition because of the glut of unemployed trying to maintain their sanity by volunteering.

He, like others in the same boat, are at odds of what to do next. Go back to school? How? Major in what other field? What career could one obtain in the shortest time of a year? What happens if that also fails? Get a job a Walmart? Target? Funny, because as he told me, he has tried and either did not “qualify” by their online tests or the interviewer looked at him with suspicion about why he was unemployed. No matter what he said, whatever spin he spun his unemployment dilemma, he felt he was wasting time because of the many others, more recently unemployed, or younger applicants. Being unemployed more than one year has been said to be akin to a “death sentence” because of all of the above. That is how he feels.

He told me that when the interviewer asked about why he could not find a job, he was baffled himself. He spun his skillsets and told them to contact former references, that, nothing was wrong with his work product. The interviewer seemed not hear it or believe it because of his comments about being out of work for over a year. My friend felt like screaming at the person, a smug, coy, 30ish HR person. Even when he has pointed out that his skills are NOT outdated at all, it did not seem to make a difference.

So, this is how a middle aged, college grad, becomes obsolete and into forced retirement. I really feel for the guy, it can happen to anyone, anytime. He is at a loss of what to do, he cannot seem to get even a Walgreen’s job. But, if the job market in his area and elements are bad, his far worse enemy is his attitude. I have noticed a change from a vibrant person to one that is beaten over the course of time. As he tells me, he continues to search and send off resumes like he did nearly two years ago. Some of the gigs ask for skills that he possesses but to employers they might seem dated or obsolete because he has not worked. Time and rejection has taken a toll on his self esteem, all while his savings are robbed for daily expenses. The unemployment he has received simply kept the theft of savings to a minimum. It now ends and consequences will be dire as days turn to months and months to years. He figures he can last six months with scrimping before the mortgage is threatened.

It is a good thing his wife works and earns good money, but even that area has been hit hard in terms of relationship. I help as best I can but I cannot save him.

Question 2: Why are the nearly 300 verses that advocate violence towards non-believers not purged from the Koran?

Question 3: Since Taqiyya (deception) is permissible within Islam, how can we in the West trust what you say?

Question 4: The Koran states that Sharia Law supersedes all other laws. Do you agree with the Koran? And if you disagree, how can we trust that you are not practicing Taqiyya?

Question 5: Why has there been no fatwa or decree issued by an Islamic cleric against Osama Bin Laden?

Question 6: Why has there not been a decree or fatwa issued by an Islamic cleric against those Muslims who commit acts of terrorism against the non-believers?

Question 7: We see mass organized street protests against the offenders of Islam. Why have we not seen any massive organized demonstrations by the Muslim community against terrorism committed by Muslims here at home in the name of Islam? A demonstration of “NOT IN MY NAME” would have eased the fears of millions of Americans, but such demonstrations have not been forthcoming.

Question 8: The Muslim Student Association has wreaked havoc on our college campuses against not only Israel, but Jewish students and Jewish organizations have been the target of Muslim wrath. What has MPAC done to address and alleviate the assault on Israel and Jews?

Question 9: Many of our elite universities are the beneficiaries of millions of dollars of Saudi oil money in exchange for biased Middle East public policy departments hostile to the Jewish State of Israel. Do you condone such policy and if not, have you taken a public stand against such practice?

Question 10: The Hamas Charter calls for the destruction of Israel. Do you agree with that Charter? If not, then what steps have you taken to influence Hamas leadership to give up that quest? Any evidence to support your claims…..press releases, letters, etc.?

Question 11: Anti-Semitism today is primarily emanating from the Muslim World. A leading Egyptian Islamic cleric Yusuf al Qaradawi has recently called for the use of violence against Jews and the United States. Have you publicly denounced his comments?

Question 12: The Anti-Semitism we are now witnessing in Europe, not seen since the days of pre-World War II, is a direct correlation to the influx of Islamic immigration to that continent. Is Europe providing a glimpse of what is in store for American Jewry as Muslim continue their influx here at home?

Question 13: Why do Muslim nations prohibit the construction of churches and synagogues within their midst while you continue to build mosques funded by Saudi money here in the United States?

Question 14: Islamic textbooks published with Saudi money are being used here in Islamic schools. Anti-Semitic material has been found in these textbooks. Do you monitor what is being taught and can we see a copy of the textbooks?

Question 15: When we look at a map of the world and the numerous conflicts throughout the globe, we note that just about all of the conflicts are between Muslims and their non-believing neighbors. In India, Thailand, Chechnya, Africa, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, etc. we are witnessing the slaughter of Jews, Christians, and Hindus. Consequently, should we in the West not be weary of the danger Muslim immigration poses to the rest of us here at home?

Women’s shelters in Afghanistan began with the arrival of Western Human Right agencies and now 14 exist in Kabul. They are there to provide a safe refuge from the cruel ways of Islamic law and life. Afghanistan women have generally embraced them as their way out of religious hell.

Does Afghanistan hate women that much? There is seldom any good news coming from Afghanistan about its women. In that country, they are the most oppressed and always the target of hate crimes only second to Westerner’s. They are the dirt of that society despite them claiming to be in a “Islamic protected and revered” status.

The story continues at:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Why-Does-Afghanistan-Hate-Women

And why not????

They will succeed if they stay resolute in the face of raw power and bloodshed because they have the numbers. Over 60% of the citizens in Iran are under age 30! Think about it. These are kids born after 1979, for the most. They, like Egyptian youth, are intelligent and are not zombies. They know other countries are better than Iran.

Iran banned any celebration of Valentine’s Day and warned that violators would be prosecuted because it subverts its Islamic law. The Iranian regime snuffs out anything it thinks may cause its under 30 group to be “western”. Iran and its “mullahs” has a regime that thinks of bogus reasons cemented in Islam to issue such stupid decrees to its citizens. In reality, it is not better than Communism, which did much the same thing and we know what happened in 1991. People revolted.

Iran’s idiot regime also banned, in the sacred name of Islam, the following aimed at the under 30 yr group:

For more about the idiocy of the Iranian regime in power, go to:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Iranian-Regime-Outlaws-Valentines-Day?

For more info, go to the dedicated Capri website at:

http://1991-94mercurycapri.blogspot.com/

Nyet. Saudi Arabia demonstrates how progressive this modern Islamic country is:

Sibat did not make predictions in Saudi Arabia and is not a Saudi citizen nor a resident there.

Sibat’s big error was that he made predictions on an Arab satellite TV channel from his home in Beirut. He was arrested by the Saudi religious police during his pilgrimage to the holy city of Medina in May 2008 and sentenced to death last November.

He is to be beheaded on April 2, 2010. Sibat was charged with sorcery and witchcraft and under the great Islamic law that is actually unclear about these charges and their definitions, should be murdered and beheaded. Terrorists love this most appalling method to terrorize citizens into compliance. Like stoning until dead, it is simply barbaric and gives Islam and their followers a very bad name in non-muslim, non-Islamic countries.

By beheading Sibat, age 49, his five children in Lebanon will no doubt grow up hating Saudi Arabia and Islam with much vitrol, that they may become terrorists against Islam-and rightly so. They may seek revenge on Saudi King Abdullah, if he is still alive or others. It is this kind of horror that does create a terrorist.

Saudi Arabia is no different than al-Qaeda in this regard despite its oil, its modern veneer, its society and customs are still ancient being based under Islamic law.

Is Islam so weak, so insecure as a religion, that it must resort to such barbaric rituals as stoning and beheading for stupid, trite, so called “crimes” , such as, a woman talking to a man not her husband, a woman refusing to marry some man she does not love, some man talking about what may happen in a country or making a prediction, which may or may not occur???

Surely, there must be some modern Saudis out there (under 40 yrs), you know, those who went to Harvard or Yale or Cambridge, who must be disgusted with this sort of thing and are in a position to change it.

Many of Islamic laws and customs seem to have their roots in another political system called Communism in order to control their population.

Pronunciacion

Many Hispanics speak English but with problems in pronunciation. The problems can be so bad that to a native English speaker, it is unclear to them what word is trying to be spoken.

La pronunciacion del ingles es complicada proque no existen reglas generales que determinen la correcta pronunciacion de las palabras. Los sonidos que mas se diferencian del espanol! El hecho de que la pronunciacion del ingles sea bastante confusa se debe en parte a la variedad de sonidos que representa cada vocal. De las cinco vocales que hay, hay que asignar alrededor de 20 sonidos diferentes.

The most typcial problems in pronunciation revolve around the letters of  A, E, I, U, V, J. For instance, most Hispanics will say a V sound with a B sound. So, to an English native, the word VOTE sounds to them like BOAT. When Hispanics try to learn a word by spelling it letter by letter, there is much confusion. For many, If you tell them to write A, they write E, because E in Spanish sounds like A in English. When you say E, the Hispanic writes A, when you say I, the Hispanic writes E, because their I sounds like an E as in the word “eat”.

La mayoria de las consonantes inglesas se pronuncian como las consonantes espanolas correspondientes. En ingles, los dias de la seman y lose meses del ano siempre se escriben con mayusculas. En ingles, no existen reglas especificas de acentuacion.En ingles, no existe el concepto de nombres masculinos o femeninos. En ingles, solo hay un articulo definido, tanto para el singular como para el plural y en ingles solo hay dos formas de articulo indefinido, a diferenca de las cuatro formas que hay en el espanol. Existe un articulo indefinido para los nombres singulares y otro para los plurales.

Example:  a room (un cuarto) o some rooms (unos cuartos)

SI el nombre empieza con una vocal, el articulo se convierte en “an”. Example: “an office in the building” no “a office in…”.

Si el nombre termina con Y, hay que eliminar la Y y anadir IES: the city = the cities, the family = the families.

Si el nombre termina con FE o F, hay que elminar la FE o F y anadir VES: the wife = the wives, the knife = the knives.

VERBOS

To Be ( ser y estar)

ingles                 

he, she, (el, ella) it,  is (es/esta)

they (ellos, ellas) are (son/estan)

To Live (Viver)

he, she (el, ella)  it (el) lives

they (ellos, ellas) live (viven)

To Work ( trabajar),

There is or (o) there are = hay

En contraste al espanol, en ingles es necesario usar los pronombres para identificar al sujeto.

En ingles se escribe con letra mayuscula las siguientes categorias se palabras: nombres de paises (United States), nacionalidades (Mexican, German), idiomas (English, no “english”), dias de la semana (Monday (lunes)), y meses del ano (May, June (junio)).

Contracciones: En ingles se usa las siquentes contracciones casi siempre en el ingles hablado y frecuentemente en el ingles escrito:

do not = don’t  o does not = doesn’t     EXAMPLE: We don’t like to travel. He doesn’t like her.

Oraciones

El orden se las palabras no varia tanto como en el espanol. En ingles, casi siempre, el sujeto va primero, el predicado segundo, y despues, el atributo o complemento.

EXAMPLE:

Mary gives sick people medicene. En espanol: Mary les da medicamentos a los enfermos.

The white truck = El camion blanco.

Throughout the movie, there are so many little things for any woman or man to get angry about. The total hypocrisy of that religious custom under the veil of “Islam”, from the Mullah, who was a thug and in prison to the husband who drives an American Chevy Camaro convertible! The only one in town. The horrible life a woman leads in this religion is just not understandable with any sense of fairness. Worse, I am sure this sort of thing happens all the time in big and little cities in Iran and elswhere today. Men wield the power.

Soraya is married to a man. They have two boys and two daughters. The relationship has been in the dust for sometime. Her husband and the town’s Mullah (who was once a convicted criminal) create this sick pact. Soraya’s husband has been screwing a 14 yr old girl, he is 40-ish, that has the approval of the girl’s father for money. Soraya knows this, yet remains silent. She is confronted by the Mullah and he suggests to her that “they” have a relationship. Soraya kicks him out. Angry, the Mullah and her husband now plant lies in the village that she is committing adultery with another man.

The final scene is so graphic, so upsetting. Soraya is stoned to death by the men of the town, from the Mullah, Husband, her two sons, the town major, and strangers. She is placed into a pit, bottom part of the torso is buried including arms, which are tied.  At first, the stones miss, but the husband aims carefully and then smashes one into her forehead and blood spills onto the white dress. Soon, a barrage of rocks and boulders begin to smash her defenseless body. The white dress turns blood red. Soon, she collapses. Her husband checks for life and discovers she is still alive! He screams, “the bitch is alive!”.

This movie is why the Western non-muslim, Islamic countries will never accept their way of life.