Sadr City

On one of his first days in America, Hussein Albayati visited the Statue of Liberty. He'd seen photos, of course, but he wanted a firsthand look, so shortly after the former Iraqi translator arrived in this country, he made the trek with a friend, also an Iraqi. "It was really an experience I'll never forget," he says. "Maybe some Americans don't recognize how important this symbol is for people who live under dictatorships." It was the start of Albayati's remarkable journey. He moved from the squalor of Sadr City to the scenic beauty of Monterey, Calif. He went from unemployment to grueling labor at ... Read Full Story

As further proof that the U.S. occupation forces in Iraq either do not have the situation under control and/or that the U.S. leadership of the occupation force cares nothing for LGBT lives, reports out of Baghdad indicate that at the urging of Islamic clerics gays are being hunted down and murdered. Meanwhile the allegedly pro-U.S. puppet government in Afghanistan is allowing sharia law to be implemented so as to strip women of legal rights and protections. Frankly, if this is how the supposedly friendly puppet regimes are operating , then it is definitely past time that the USA troops be brought home. I would ... Read Full Story

Three near-simultaneous car bombs rocked crowded market places in eastern Baghdad's impoverished Sadr City district on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people and wounding 45, Iraqi officials said. The blasts near three separate markets in the sprawling Shiite district came during late afternoon rush hour when workers and schoolchildren usually do their shopping before heading home, an interior ministry official said. The bombings occurred within minutes of each other, suggesting they had been coordinated. "The explosions started about 4:30 pm (1330 GMT) in three market places. Among the victims were women and children," said a Sadr City policeman. Sadr City was once one of ... Read Full Story

A parliamentary committee on Sunday criticized police for raiding an exhibition featuring a cartoon lampooning Iraq's prime minister. Last Thursday, police raided a cartoon exhibition in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and seized a drawing depicting Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki with a long nose trying to repair a car labeled "sectarian distribution of jobs," according to lawmaker Mufid al-Jazairie. Al-Jazaire, who is chairman of the parliamentary education committee, said the raid was a violation of constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression. Freedom of expression has often been cited as a pillar of the new democracy that was established following the collapse of Saddam ... Read Full Story

At least 41 people were killed and more than 60 wounded in three near-simultaneous car bombs in market places in Baghdad's Sadr city on Wednesday, interior and defence ministry officials said. The blasts near three separate markets in the sprawling Shiite district came during late afternoon rush hour when workers and schoolchildren usually do their shopping before heading home, an interior ministry official said. The bombings occurred within minutes of each other, suggesting they had been coordinated. "The explosions started about 4:30 pm (1330 GMT) in three market places. Among the victims were women and children," said a Sadr City policeman. Sadr City was ... Read Full Story