Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Thoughts on Iraqi electionswith 19 photos attached.

Paul O'Hanlon | 18.12.2005 21:27 | Analysis | Anti-racism | Social Struggles | World

This is a 500 word article about the Iraqi elections with 19 photos attached.





















THOUGHTS ON IRAQI ELECTIONS WITH 19 LABELELED PHOTOS


Dick `Lon` Cheney is off to Baghdad to doubtless bask in the reflected glory of the successful `election ` results. Turnouts of 70% have been reported and the media spin will undoubtedly be better spun than the October referendum results where results of 105% were reported. The Bush cabal is desperately trying to capitalise on the combination of the trial of Saddam Hussein, the elections and the temporary lull in violence. The kidnapped CPT volunteers figure little or nothing in the news and are likely to be as forgotten as the British hostages in Lebanon John McCarthy and Brian Keenan were in the 1980's.

So what do these elections mean? Anything? Do elections ever mean a thing? Typically the only candidates who can run are millionaires backed up by billionaires. Instead of one-man one vote it is more of a case of one dollar one vote – or more like one million dollars one vote. A PR specialist one said that "Give me $20,000,000 and I'll get a brick elected." That seemed to happen in 1980 when thick as a brick Ronald Reagan was elected and again in 2000 when not very bright Bush lost the election by 500,000 votes to Al Gore but the US Supreme Court ruled in his favour.

Gore Vidal, perhaps America's greatest writer talks of the one party two party system meaning there is no real difference between then two US parties, Republican and Democrat. Somewhat more crudely in has been characteried in the US by the epithet `SAME SHIT, DIFFERENT ASSHOLE`.
The two main British parties, Labour and Conservative are virtually the same with Prime Minister Tony Blair's name being an anagram of `I'm Tory Plan B`.

The results of the Iraqi elections will not be known for about 2 weeks but whoever `wins` will be a puppet of the occupation and will have no power to reverse Paul Bremer's orders. Elections held by an occupying power are illegal under the Vienna Convention – something unlikely to trouble the occupying powers.

When I was in Syria, sadly likely to be `next` on the crazies list, I found it all but impossible to explain how democracy works. Tony Blair is seen as a liar by most British people but despite only polling 22% of the electorate won a comfortable victory in this year's election and has the power of a medieval king to attack whoever George Bush tells him to next. In the run up to war some 80-90% of Spaniards and Italians were vigorously against the war yet the governments of these countries sent troops to Iraq in any case.


No British Prime Minister since 1935 has held a majority of the popular vote – the days of "God save the King from Baldwin." That's democracy.

The Iraqi elections got off to a bad start with an attack on the Green Zone and the deaths of 19 people after the polling finished.


Sad to say, the violence in Iraq is far from over. As the Iraqi people say so wisely "The Oil is our curse."



19 labelled photos attached

Word count 520 words



Paul O'Hanlon
- e-mail: o_hanlon@hotmail.com

Comments

Hide the following 2 comments

Excellent photos and comment

21.12.2005 04:53

I also despise Ann Clywd, Aaronovitch, and Hari who some left wingers like the SWP seem to think are Oh so radical.

No war but the class war


Stalin was right

21.12.2005 05:41

Notice how the Yids always occupy positions of power in countries not belonging to them.
Aaronovitch, Melanie (I'd fight against Britain if there was a war with Israel) Phillips, Johann (some of my relatives were killed in the holocaust so that must mean im a bit left wing and you shouldnt criticise me for taking money from a big corporate newspaper ) Hari,
Not to mention Mandy Mandelson and his membership of the sinister Illuminati group.
I hate to say it but i think Hitler was onto something.
Which country in the world has the highest absolute number of Jews?
No, you must be anti semitic but your right, yes you guessed iot its the USA.
Thankfully we have at least 6 million less (+ their offspring) to deal with thanks to tha Nazis.
I dont think stalin was a big fan of them either.
He wouldnt be the only one.

Zionist conspiracy


Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech