Mother Jones - Comments for "Sadr's Slump"

The recession has hit

The recession has hit designers of all kinds fairly hard. Forging alliances with other design companies is a great way to make connections, network, get recommendations, new clients, and new work. Good luck with everything!

Crowd size estimates are notoriously variable, depending on who's doing them. Here in the UK, there's a regular issue with the police under-reporting demonstrations by a factor of about 4 -- consistently. No source is cited for the estimate of 10,000 Sadrists, but elsewhere in the article it says:

"In Firdos Square, protesters sat in rows of 50 stretching back more than half a mile. They filled Sadoun Street, beside the Palestine Hotel and in front of the colonnaded traffic circle where five years ago American troops pulled down the dictator's statue in scenes televised around the world."

Fifty wide, half a mile deep -- if there were 10,000, that would indicate 200 rows. To be half a mile deep they'd have to be spaced 15 feet apart, which suggests to me that something is Not Right about the 10,000 estimate.

If, however, we go by the 4:1 metric, the rows would be about 3 feet apart, and we'd have a figure of 40,000 Sadrists. Which is closer to Sadr's usual turn-out.

Does anyone know how large Firdos Square is?

If Obama doesn't leave in 18 months, like he said he would prior to election, I've no doubt that Iraqis will respond very negatively, the citizens, not the government. It won't simply be Sadr and his group but rather all the citizens. We can't stay in Iraq, nobody should doubt that fact. Making Hillary Secretary of State will NOT change that fact.

Personally, I hope it fails and the US has no extended authority to remain after the first of the year.

Mother Jones - Comments for "Sadr&#039;s Slump"

The recession has hit

Mother Jones - Comments for "Sadr's Slump"