I was wondering the same thing. I don't remember reading anything about this law before. It sounds like they want the US out of there as soon as possible and there won't be any HCL anytime soon. This is not good. :fryingpan
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Gosh I remember the first article a day or two ago and it said that eighty-five members voted for this. Unless the correct translation meant 85%, I and everyone else would have considered that a rejection of the law.
Since this article says something totally different I guess we will need to see more reports on this. However, so long as there is a state of emergency declared in the country the Parliament grants Maliki the right to keep troops in Iraq without their concurrence. :rolleyes:
Talk about flip flopping! The government, and maliki himself go on and on about how they welcome and thank the military precense......make up your mind folks you want em in or out??:yak:
Iraq Occupation Coming To A Head Over Oil .... This claims that the oil workers HAVE BEEN ON STRIKE FOR 3 DAYS ALREADY!!! Sigh.. which is it? Are they waiting for Monday or are they on strike NOW?
Or maybe Kevin Zeese has an agenda of his own. This seems to be the case very often - the reporter and/or the people he's chosen to interview.
I can't get over how they jump on every push to sell the oil as proof that the whole thing was just about the oil. The fact is that oil is Iraq's foremost asset and they need to sell it internationally in order to finance the rebuild of their country. Nobody wished, engineered, or bullied this fact into existance. What would they have us do - advise them to hoard their oil and watch their people starve??
And, as for a civil war going on if the US pulls out - it won't go on for long - some other country (Iran?) would move right in while they were busy fighting each other and they would not give a flying fiddler's fingers whether they were wanted, or not. Maybe more than one country would move in and fight over it!
Am I way off base?
http://smileys.on-my-web.com/reposit...seball-012.gifNo, I'd say you are right on base. http://smileys.on-my-web.com/reposit.../darts-048.gif
Don't forget that both the media and unions are very liberal. This comment about Maliki: "it will be evident to all Iraqi's that he puts the demands of U.S. occupation forces ahead of the needs of the oil workers" is such garbage - the oil workers are trying to get more for themselves, not for the general Iraqi population. When 95% of the country's economy is based on oil, by striking the oil workers are holding their own nation hostage. Given the precarious situation of Iraq, it is reasonable for Maliki to force the end of the strike. Our own president has done it to airline pilots - imagine if doctors tried to strike!
It's unfortunate that unions weren't outlawed after the basics they stood for became law, such as minimum wage, child labor laws, OSHA, etc. Though this is in the U.S., not Iraq. Even so, if the oil workers want more in oil profits than their fellow Iraqis get, they should invest in the oil companies and collect the dividends.
I would not put a lot of stock into that article. (Let me preface that I am not bashing the poster of this article)
Let us consider the source of this story, I looked up this news site countercurrents.org, and came to the conclusion that they are waaaay out there on the left side. Their objective is not to post any good news from Iraq, but to make things as dark for the U.S. as possible. (IMO)
I looked at a list of other stories there, and it was nothing but doom and gloom.
Here is a copy of their "about us" section
www.countercurrents.org came online on 27th March 2002. 'Countercurrents' is a non profit organisation and the site is financed by our personal income and the small contributions received from the readers.
www.countercurrents.org is an alternative news site. "We bring out what the mainstream media fails to tell you, or hides from you. These are the things that really matter. The things which may determine the fate of planet earth! The future of our children! In a word, the survival of the species!"
In short, let's stay optimistic about June, still plenty of good news out there!