| May 30, 2008 @ 3:44 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time.
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kattsmeow
Posts: 22,628
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http://onthescene.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/05/30/changing-iraq-one-picture-at-a-time/
You never know where the next story will come from.
One of my FOX colleagues, Andy Ryan, a reservist, has been deployed in Iraq for the last 18 months. We’ve been shooting emails back and forth for a while and just a few weeks ago he sent one that really caught my attention.
The email boiled down to this: Can one soldier and his camera really change Iraq one picture at a time…..
The whole concept got me wondering and once I saw Staff Sgt. Joe Cox’s pictures it was clear to me that Cox was capturing through his lens, the humanity that is often lacking in our coverage of Iraq. We often talk about this war in big broad strokes, but I thought, Cox’s story would provide an intimate look at the war and the people living it.
These are wonderful pictures! I haven't seen them all, but most make me smile and want to wave back at them!
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| May 30, 2008 @ 3:58 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time. |
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nah12
Posts: 3,973
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great post Katt!!!!  
sad thing is some don't want to see or think of it in that frame ....
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| May 31, 2008 @ 9:12 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time.
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Bj864
Posts: 3,960
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What do you mean by "changing Iraq"?
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| May 31, 2008 @ 9:29 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time. |
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kattsmeow
Posts: 22,628
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Read the article.
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| May 31, 2008 @ 11:44 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time.
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Nightowl001
Posts: 7,498
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I'm with Bj on this one. What is meant by "changing Iraq"? I'm glad this soldier stationed there has the eye and soul to capture the bits of life that struggle for some semblance of normalcy in spite of the war, and I'm glad the average Iraqi is okay with using him to provide them something they could otherwise probably not afford. This soldier is a good ambassador for the United States, in stark contrast to the recent story about the soldier who used a Qu'ran for target practice, but I still fail to see where his pictures are bringing about any change in anything. 
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| Jun 1, 2008 @ 1:11 AM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time. |
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RareQuestor
Posts: 2,652
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In consideration of the fact that none of us have lived in Iraq or indeed in a dictatorship as horrible as that which Saddam Hussein inflicted on the Iraqis, I suspect that we all lack the proper perspective to appreciate the changes which have occurred and which continue to occur.
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| Jun 1, 2008 @ 8:00 AM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time.
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sealacamp
Posts: 3,681
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What do you mean by "changing Iraq"?
Hit dog hollers loudest!
S
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| Jun 1, 2008 @ 7:34 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time. |
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Bj864
Posts: 3,960
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Read the article.
I did.
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| Jun 1, 2008 @ 7:57 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time.
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waiting41
Posts: 1,926
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What do you mean by "changing Iraq"?
It refers to changing the terrible perception of what is going on in Iraq that has been created by the left-wing liberal media in this country.
Hope that helps. 
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| Jun 1, 2008 @ 9:01 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time. |
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Nightowl001
Posts: 7,498
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It refers to changing the terrible perception of what is going on in Iraq that has been created by the left-wing liberal media in this country. Oh. So it doesn't really have anything to do with actually changing anything in Iraq . It's more like a magician's midirection, to make you look at something in their right hand when they don't want you to notice what they're doing with their left hand. I get it. 
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| Jun 1, 2008 @ 9:29 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time.
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nah12
Posts: 3,973
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very good Waiting...
but guess i'll quote ya since some have trouble with selective reading...  (hope you don't mind)
It refers to changing the terrible perception of what is going on in Iraq that has been created by the left-wing liberal media in this country. Hope that helps. |
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| Jun 1, 2008 @ 11:08 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time. |
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thegoodideaman
Posts: 1,915
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what Lovely Pictures,
they've Completely Changed my Preconception of War ...
thanks to these Pictures,
I now realize War is a Wonderful Thing,
and Children Love it ...
Maybe we should host one of these "Adorable Wars"
right here in our own Country ? ...
I wanted to see more photos,
so I did a Google image Search for Iraqi Children
Thanks ever so much ... 
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| Jun 2, 2008 @ 10:31 AM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time.
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waiting41
Posts: 1,926
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I now realize War is a Wonderful Thing
I couldn't have said it better. Good to see you have come to your senses.
Maybe we should host one of these "Adorable Wars"
right here in our own Country ?
This is sure to happen when B Hussein Obama is elected.
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| Jun 3, 2008 @ 11:07 AM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time. |
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Bj864
Posts: 3,960
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[QUOTE]These are wonderful pictures! I haven't seen them all, but most make me smile and want to wave back at them!
Wasn't there one of a little girl with one arm?
I cannot find anything about Iraq to smile about. People have been killed, lost thier homes, lost their jobs, lost their historic and spiritual buildings, been mutilated by bombs, been poisoned by radiation and become refugees by the millions. They cannot even get drinking water in many places.
Whats to smile about?
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| Jun 3, 2008 @ 11:14 AM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time.
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Novalite
Posts: 3,253
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BJ Whats to smile about?
The Iraqi people are free. Your country had to go through two wars to do that losing over a million people and taking nearly a century to rebuild it as well as overcome the hatreds that came from it.
Russia lost over twenty million and took centuries to do it and even now, is not totally free, China, who lost fifty million still is not free.
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| Jun 3, 2008 @ 11:52 AM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time. |
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kattsmeow
Posts: 22,628
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So, it would be better to wonder if or when you will be taken in for torture?
The things that Saddam had done to people was horrible.
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| Jun 3, 2008 @ 12:06 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time.
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Novalite
Posts: 3,253
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Katt So, it would be better to wonder if or when you will be taken in for torture?
No doubt. And don't forget, it wouldn't just be this generation having to undergo this torture but successive generations possibly exposing the torture to untold millions.
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| Jun 3, 2008 @ 12:58 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time. |
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eastham
Posts: 7,907
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The astronomer Carl Sagan, in a discussion of science versus pseudoscience, once said that real science differs from pseudoscience in that science:
"thrives on errors, cutting them away one by one..[while pseudoscience involves] "theories often framed precisely so that they are invulnerable to any experiment that offers a prospect of disproof, so even in principle they cannot be invalidated"...[and] "conspiracies to suppress it are deduced."
This thread began with the pseudosocialscience preposition that things are wonderful in Iraq, but we are just not seeing how wonderful things are in Iraq, because the real story is being suppressed. That the people in Iraq are now free and enjoying their freedom. See, we've captured it in a still photograph, so it must be true.
But how do you define freedom?
Freedom from want? Can you argue convincingly that the average Iraqi is better today than in 2003? Prior to the first Gulf War, the Iraqi economy was changing dramatically, emerging from a socialist orientated economy. According to the World Bank, in the 1970's and 1980's, Iraq lead the Middle East in the development of infrastructure, social services and health care. Trade was increasing. State trading companies were eliminated, imports and exports streamlined and various deregulation measures were put in place. Iraq eased its quotas on imports and brought in more goods from Japan. It increased its exports and entered into new trading relationships with Brazil and was a major regional exporter of concrete. Sanitation and electricity were readily available in Baghdad and most major cities and towns. The economic sanctions put in place following the first Gulf War did take their toll, but the country's infrastructure was in fairly good shape. The 2003 war changed everything. According to the World Bank, Iraq's human development indicators are the lowest in the region. Most Iraqis lack access to potable water and electricity. Hospitals and schools are in ruin. Infant and child mortality, which increased steadily during the time of economic sanctions, have jumped since 2003. In a report by the Special Inspector General for Reconstruction in Iraq, only 6 of the 142 health clinic planned for construction have been built; 8 million Iraqis have access to potable water versus 13 million before the war; and only 39 of the 136 sanitation projects planned are expected to be completed.
Freedom from fear? Saddam Hussein was a terrible man, but just because he's gone doesn't mean the average Iraqi can breathe easier. Sectarian conflict remains a terrible problem and kidnapping has become one of the most common forms of crime in Iraq, with about 50 people kidnapped daily. Once prosperous markets remain shuttered, because of the fear of carbombings, kidnappings and general lawlessness.
Political freedom? Yes, Iraq had a parlimentary election, but the freedoms once enjoyed by women in pre-war Iraq have been curtailed and there has been no improvement in the treatment of those in Iraq who have advocated for improved working conditions and human rights. Violent oppression against women is escalating across Iraq. In 1948, Iraq became the first Middle Eastern government to name a woman a judge. It was the first country in the region to have a woman in the cabinet. Women in the major cities and towns were free to wear Western dress, obtain a higher education and work in the professions. The new constitution has elevated the status of radical religious parties, most of which are very oppressive toward women. Now, women, and not just Muslim women, are being attacked for failure to wear the veil. Some have acid thrown in their faces, others are killed outright. Trade unionists and human rights advocates are routinely disappeared or murdered.
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| Jun 3, 2008 @ 1:13 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time.
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Novalite
Posts: 3,253
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East Can you argue convincingly that the average Iraqi is better today than in 2003?
Nope. I can argue however that the average Iraqi will be better off for centuries than they would be if nothing was done. A small price to pay for the freedom of generations.
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| Jun 3, 2008 @ 6:16 PM |
Changing Iraq, one picture at a time. |
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Bj864
Posts: 3,960
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The Iraqi people are free
Free? What kind of freedom is it when you cannot go to the grocery store or anywhere else without fear of being shot or bombed?
Sorry, but they are not "free".
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