Women in Iraq: The first victims of 'freedom'

Yanar Mohammed, architect, sculptor, and founder of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, is interviewed in Guernica Magazine.

"When I was a student, I was dressed like a modern girl and I wore long shorts. That is part of the past. There is fear in the streets. You cannot go out in the streets. You are looked at as if you come from another age. If there are any militias on your street, they will tell you to go back home and dress decently. They could beat you up or punish you worse than that. Some of us who have grown up in Baghdad are used to wearing what we please and walking where we please. ...

"At its worst, the women look like black objects: black gloves and black stockings—no flesh can show. I have never before in my life seen young women dressed like that. In 1993, when I left Iraq, I had never seen the black gloves. Now you go to Baghdad and with the high level of poverty you see women begging on the sides of the street; even the beggars wear black. ...

"The Star Academy winner [Iraqi singer who won on the Lebanese "American Idol"-style show] is a young woman who is in an open dress and is lovely. She is a symbol of the Iraqi life we used to have. That's what people voted for. If these Islamists grow stronger and more powerful, she will not be able to look like that or sing like that. This is the answer to the U.S. administration when it tells us that this is the elected representative government of Iraq. These Islamist parties are not only U.S.-backed but also backed by the Iranian government and ruling parties. They do not represent the people of Iraq. The U.S. said they’d bring democracy but they waited to see who is stronger— the rule of the jungle—and gave power to the strongest, best funded and best armed. But, then again, maybe the U.S. was hoping to have an Islamist modernist government, similar to the Saudis. They were thinking of something like that, but the genie came out of the bottle, and it will not go back any more. ...

"At this point, the women of Iraq do not even dream to have even a small part of the reality we used to have before. We have been put under the most notorious Islamic authority in Iraq. Our monies and resources have been taken away from us. If there was the possibility of a resourceful society, we have lost that also."

Gonzales: 'Pride and Deception'

Another translation from WatchingAmerica.com. Colombian newspaper El Tiempo calls for the Latino leadership in Congress to 'join the outcry' for Alberto Gonzales' resignation.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez: a 'Terrible Betrayal'

"In a community so desperate for good role models, the ascent of Gonzales represented a double triumph: Not only would he be the first Latino Attorney General, but he would also be the first Latino to occupy one of the four positions of greatest influence in the presidential cabinet.

"Two years on ... Gonzales hasn't lifted a finger in defense of the Hispanic community.

"His record shows a noticeable tendency to erode minority voting rights."

"The latest scandal in which Gonzales has been involved is the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors, in what appears to be a political purge of government officials who failed to adhere to the political agenda of the Republican Party."

In what the paper calls the "most aberrant" case, U.S. Attorney Carol Lam was dismissed for allegedly neglecting cases of illegal immigration in San Diego in "her eagerness to prosecute real criminals."

Lam