MEANWHILE, BACK IN IRAQ...

Taking a little break from wingnut outrage over Ahmadinejad, Hollywood, or whatever else they've stumbled upon, here's a picture of another casualty of Fredo's War:

She didn't die directly from violence, sectarian or otherwise, but from cholera:

Cholera Outbreak in Iraq Is Spreading
With New Cases in Tikrit, Mosul, Basra, Baghdad
GENEVA Sep 25, 2007 (AP)

An outbreak of cholera in Iraq has spread with new cases confirmed in Baghdad, Basra and for the first time the northern districts of Tikrit, Mosul and Dahuk, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

This takes to 2,116 the number of confirmed cases of cholera in Iraq, and 11 deaths from the disease, WHO said.

"It shows that people are moving, and when people are moving they are spreading cholera," said Claire-Lise Chaignat, a cholera expert at WHO.

The global health body also said it estimates that more than 30,000 people have fallen ill with acute watery diarrhea, which may later be confirmed as cholera.


There is a cholera outbreak because only 30% of Iraqis have access to clean, drinkable water despite the billions we've spent on Iraqi infrastructure. USA Today includes this tidbit:

"Chaignat said a further confirmed case in Basra was likely unrelated to the
other outbreaks as cholera is endemic to the southern district."

For the BushBots:

Main Entry: 1 en·dem·ic

Pronunciation: en-'de-mik, in-

Function: adjective

Etymology: French endémique, from endémie endemic disease, from Greek endEmia action of dwelling, from endEmos endemic, from en in + dEmos people, populace -- more at DEMAGOGUE

1 a : belonging or native to a particular people or country b : characteristic of or prevalent in a particular field, area, or environment

2 : restricted or peculiar to a locality or region synonym see NATIVE- en·dem·i·cal·ly /-'de-mi-k(&-)lE/ adverb- en·de·mic·i·ty /"en-"de-'mi-s&-tE, -d&-'mi-/ noun- en·de·mism /'en-d&-"mi-z&m/ noun