Iraqi Cultural Foods

Op-Ed: Two Down (Europe, USA), One to Go (China)

Mounting sovereign debts crises in Europe and an anaemic rebound in America's economy were more than offset by the emergence of Asia – and, in particular China and India - as a global powerhouse. Yet, the warning signs are there: China's economic "miracle" has long been based on an artificial rate of exchange for its currency, the yuan (RMB); on unsustainable dollops of government largesse and monetary quantitative easing which led to the emergence of asset bubbles (mainly in real-estate) and to pernicious inflation; and, frankly, on heavily-redacted statistics. Real wages have been declining in China for quite a few years now as rural folk moved to burgeoning cities, bad loans proliferated, and consumption remained subdued as savings rates reached malignant, self-defeating levels. In an effort to sanitize humungous export proceeds, China amassed trillions of dollars worth of foreign exchange reserves, mostly invested in American treasury bonds, creating a dangerous exposure to the vicissitudes of the increasingly-more decrepit US dollar and to America’s downgraded sovereign credit rating. The Chinese authorities' attempts to clamp down on rampant speculation and price gouging are too little, too late, not to say irrelevant. The economy will screech to a shuddering halt in the mother of all hard landings. The Chinese house of cards and hall of mirrors will collapse ominously and swiftly. This will bring the entire global economic edifice into disarray with mounting imbalances and increased risk-aversion among investors. The second phase of the global crisis will resemble closely the Great Depression with massive write-offs in the values of equities, across-the-board crumbling of entire banking systems, and mounting, two-digit, unemployment rates everywhere. By seeing China for what it is: the world’s greatest-ever Ponzi scheme .Behind the hype, spin, propaganda and outright confabulations, the Chinese economic miracle is founded in its entirety on a simple principle, a sleight of breathtaking daring, a large (equal to two fifths of GDP) and steadily rising balance of payments (current account) surplus (mainly with the United States, the addict-partner in this dance of death) is used to hide and directly take out the results of a fetid state everywhere.

Iraqi Cultural Celebration kicks off multicultural week - News ...

The Chobi is a traditional Iraqi dance performed at weddings or holidays. The celebratory theme of the dance fit in perfectly with the goal of the Iraqi Culture Celebration Monday night.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln held the event as part of the Gaughan Week to showcase Iraqi culture. The event was sponsored by the Office of Academic Success and Intercultural Services, the Asian World Alliance and Iraqi Student Union as part of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month.

The event showcased food, music, fashion and dance. The celebration included an exhibit of cultural items and a speaker who talked about her experiences as an Iraqi refugee and her work with other Iraqi refugee families.

For the Iraqi students in attendance, the celebration provided an opportunity to combat misconceptions of the country.

"The media is always portraying Iraq as a war-torn country," said Shams Al-Badry, a sophomore civil engineering major and president of the Iraqi Student Union.

Al-Badry said there are many negative stereotypes of Iraqis, which the event tried to stay away from.

"I just hope people open up their minds to Iraqi culture and other cultures in general," she said.

The celebration started when Zainab Al-Baaj, an Iraqi refugee and MENA Hope coordinator for the Lincoln Good Neighbor Community Center, spoke on the status of Iraqi refugees in America. Al-Baaj has been in the United States for 18 years and came to America with her husband.

She said the main struggle for these refugees was learning English. The refugees also have to adjust to different customs, people, weather and food, Al-Baaj added.

"You have to learn all of these things one at a time," she said.

Al-Baaj spoke about education in Iraq in her speech.

Before the Gulf War in 1991, school in Iraq was mandatory from first to sixth grade, she said. After that students could receive an education from seventh through ninth grade and tested into 10th through 12th grade. After completing that, they were able to attend college or a university, she said.

"We have illiteracy in Iraq because of the effects of war," she said. "Now there are children who cannot write their names. It's very sad."

The last part of the conference focused on the role of women in the family.

"It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it in this country," she said. "Yes, you need the support of your family. It is for you. Did you or break.

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