Oh yes! Vast improvements…

IRAQ: Poor sell kidneys just to survive
Nizar Latif,Abu Zahra arrived in Baghdad two years ago, coming north from the city of Amarah. He brought along his wife, three daughters, a son and his dreams of getting a job that would end their life of poverty. He found work, washing cars, but with earnings of less than US$10 (Dh37) a day, it did nothing to make them richer. So he is planning to sell one of his kidneys. "I had hopes at first, but things were no better here," he said. "We lived in small, dirty rooms, I had this idea that I would be able to save a little money and slowly build myself up…Another immigrant to Baghdad from southern Iraq, 27-year-old Ihsan Mekad, said he had also decided to sell his kidney after years of scraping by with manual or menial jobs. "A lot of workers are doing this," he said. "It’s a way out. I’ve got a rich family with a man who needs a new kidney and they’ll give me $12,000 for mine. It’s something I’d rather not do, but I will…

Read the full article : http://www.uruknet.de/?p=52960

One third of Falluja youth illiterate, says study (just how America likes it!)
Omer al-Mansouri, AzzamanMore than one third the young people in the city of Falluja cannot read and write, a new study has revealed. The study by the Cultural House, an independent Iraqi group measuring education and illiteracy in Iraq, also shows a significant increase in the number of dropouts in Falluja schools….Nafai Raheem, a top Iraqi education expert, who took part in the study, said 2008 exam results were the worst in Falluja’s history. "Only 20% of pupils enrolled in Falluja schools passed their exams in 2008," he said. Raheem attributed the worsening educational standards in the city to U.S. occupation and the rising levels of violence in the country…

Read the full article : http://www.uruknet.de/?p=52961

SHOE PROTEST AT US EMBASSY IN LONDON

1PM, FRIDAY 19 DECEMBER

The shoe protest at George Bush's press conference in the Baghdad Green by Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi has made him a hero across the Middle East. When he shouted at Bush "This is for the widows and orphans of Iraq", he expressed the unreported feelings of millions in Iraq and beyond that the Bush occupation has been a disaster and that it should end immediately.

Since the protest Muntadar al-Zaidi has been held in custody and according to the BBC has been subject to brutal treatment. His brother has said that since his arrest he has a broken wrist, broken ribs and internal bleeding.

We are asking people to join the protest and bring shoes to be delivered to the Embassy with the letter in solidarity with the Iraqi people.

SHOE PROTEST AT US EMBASSY
1PM, FRIDAY 19 DECEMBER,
Grovsvenor Square
London W1A 2LQ

The Iraq Solidarity Campaign and the Stop the War is supporting this protest and is asking people to bring shoes to hand in to the Embassy

200 lawyers offer to defend Bush shoe attacker
* Detained journalist’s employer calls for his ‘immediate release’

AMMAN: Saddam Hussein’s former lawyer said on Monday he was forming a team to defend the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at US President George W Bush during his farewell visit to Baghdad.

“So far around 200 Iraqi and other lawyers, including Americans, have expressed willingness to defend the journalist for free,”
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C12%5C16%5Cstory_16-12-2008_pg4_5

Free Muntather al-Zaidi

The 50,000 Signatures Campaign for Muntather al-Zaidi
The campaign will proceed in demand of the release of the Iraqi Journalist, Muntather Al-Zaydi who hurled a pair of shoes at George Bush on 12/14/2008 in Baghdad in reaction to Bush's immoral invasion of Iraq and the war-crimes committed by the occupying forces with the aid of local warlords. We hereby sign below to demand the immediate release of the Journalist Montadhar Al-Zaydi, without any constraints or conditions. We also hold Al-Maliki's government and the Bush administration accountable and responsible for his life, dignity, and well-being… http://www.uruknet.de/?p=49604

But if you want to keep chuckling… Google 'Auntie Ziona'