Rising divorce cases in Iraq since US-led invasion

Mission accomplished? We have all heard how divorce rates have been on the rise in the Army since the start of the Iraq war. However, it seems that the problem can also be found in Iraqi families. Divorce cases have doubled in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. In some areas near Baghdad, the number of divorces has quadrupled. As John Paul II stated, war is indeed “always a defeat for humanity.” I can’t help but wonder what some bloggers have to say about the tragedy the invasion is causing to the Iraqi and military families.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 1:54 pm and is filed under Family, Katerina Ivanovna, Violence, War and Peace, Women, war. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

54 Responses to “Rising divorce cases in Iraq since US-led invasion”

Policraticus says:

July 8, 2008 at 2:03 pm

It’s just an inconsequential byproduct of the more important U.S. victory in Iraq.
Morning's Minion says:

July 8, 2008 at 2:19 pm

It’s bringing American values to Iraq!
Christopher says:

July 8, 2008 at 2:33 pm

Well, SOME bloggers will no doubt find this a cause for concern, both for the military and the people of Iraq.

Q: Are there any positive developments in Iraq recently?
Katerina says:

July 8, 2008 at 2:53 pm

Actually, these are some developments happening as we speak:

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, July 8
08 Jul 2008 10:52:25 GMT
Source: Reuters
July 8 (Reuters) – Following are security developments in Iraq at 1030 GMT on Tuesday.

NEAR MOSUL – A roadside bomb killed four contractors and wounded eight others when it hit their convoy on Monday on the outskirts of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. Their nationalities were unknown.

MOSUL – Gunmen killed two people in two separate incidents in western Mosul on Monday, police said.

KIRKUK – A roadside bomb wounded one woman and a policeman outside a court building in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, a police chief Brigadier-General Sarhat Qadin said.

TAL AFAR – Gunmen killed a member of the Sunni Arab Iraqi Islamic party on Monday in Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said.
Phillip says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:01 pm

And also this:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article4276486.ece
Katerina says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:05 pm

Great! There was no Al-Qaeda in Iraq before we invaded (which not even Petraeus denies), so basically we spent billions of dollars to invade Iraq and now spending many more billions to fix the mess we created. And, of course, destroying lives and families in the process… sounds like really positive development to me!
M.Z. Forrest says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:06 pm

With Al Queda gone, we can go home now. Good. Let’s bring the troops home. Mission accomplished.
Phillip says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:22 pm

Actually the links to Al-Qaeda and terrorism in general are more complex than that. See pages 62-75.

http://intelligence.senate.gov/080605/phase2a.pdf
Christopher says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:22 pm

In the Anbar province, security is being transferred to provincial Iraqi control.

Touring Sadr City, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, received a glimpse of the success that has seen attack levels in Iraq fall to their lowest in four years – a 90 percent decline in attacks during the past year alone. “Less than 60 days ago, the streets of Jamilla Market in Baghdad’s Sadr City district weren’t even safe to walk. Now shops are open and business is coming back.”

The second Village of Hope training center class graduated during a ceremony held at Patrol Base Stone in Hawr Rajab, July 3:

The graduating class of 58 Iraqi citizens spent 60 days training in electricity, carpentry and plumbing. Six of the students were returning trainees who took part in a newly created supervisors’ course.

The training program aims to teach local citizens of Hawr Rajab, about 10 kilometers southwest of Baghdad, a sustainable construction skill that will allow them to gain employment. Some of the graduates were former Sons of Iraq workers.

After attacks by al-Qaida left Hawr Rajab in ruins in November 2007, many houses were left inhabitable.

Soccer Tournament Celebrates Sunni and Shia Unity in Yethrib:

“This is the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime that we’ve done something like this. Because of the sectarian violence in the area, we haven’t been able to hold this kind of event since 2003,” said Shouket Ahmed Rahman, mayor of Yethrib.

Shouket, who was born and raised in Yethrib, said this soccer tournament marks a dramatic turning point for the local villagers in the district. He said this tournament is momentous because it brings various groups of people together, both Shia and Sunni, to rejoice and commemorate the substantial progress that has been made in the Salah ad Din province.

Across the city this summer, a handful of parks and pools are opening to the public. And places like Zawra Park, where three swimming pools opened yesterday after repairs financed by the U.S. military, are drawing crowds of Iraqi families.

And according to gulfnews.com, Al Qaeda is reputedly leaving Iraq in droves for hot spots like Sudan and Somalia.
Br. Matthew Augustine Miller, OP says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:31 pm

MZ,

Pehaps we could follow the bishops advice for responsible transition in Iraq instead?

From A CALL FOR DIALOGUE AND ACTIONON RESPONSIBLE TRANSITION IN IRAQ:

“Basic benchmarks for a responsible transition in Iraq include: fostering adequate levels of security; curbing wanton killings, indefensible terrorist attacks and sectarian violence; strengthening the basic rule of law; promoting economic reconstruction to begin to create employment and economic opportunity for Iraqis; and supporting the further development of political structures and solutions that advance stability, political participation, and respect for religious freedom and basic human rights.”

Yes, let us leave Iraq, but let us leave with the prudence and discerment which our leaders have thus far failed to exhibit.

Appearently, people other than myself don’t see the wisdom in this USCCB document:

http://www.justpeace.org/bishopsandunjustwar.htm
jh says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:36 pm

Christopher the fact that something hopeful could come out of Iraq is anathema to some folks but keep on preaching the news.

We were told one year ago to collectively put down the Crack pipe as I recall

Though Rapid withdrawal seemed to be the gospel some were not convinced of washing ones hands of the situation like Pontius Pilate was exactly the responsible thing to do. Colin Powell did have a point if we break it we got ot help fix it

Al Qaeda was not going away and thanks to the many brave Americans , Iraqis, and others the truth of AQ have been shown and the Muslim street has been revolted.
Katerina Ivanovna says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:39 pm

Al Qaeda was not in Iraq before the 2003 invasion.
Phillip says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:40 pm

Actually, per the report above, it was.
jh says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:43 pm

Katerina I will agree that AQ had not made IRaq ground zero in 2003. The crucial mistake we made was we underestimated how big AQ was and their ability to shift the battleground so quickly. The planning for Post Invasion for Iraq was to say the least lacking and the numbner of troops insufficent

Questions such as if the Iraqi Army should have been disbanded will be debated for decades and right now I am not sure we know if that was correct or not. IT will take time to see.
Katerina Ivanovna says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:49 pm

Christopher,

If we’re going to play the link dump game, I’d be happy to link to the bad developments as well. Perhaps broken families and lives lost everyday due to an unjustified war are more important than swimming pools being open in Iraq.

A lot of people say that Vox Nova is biased and, for the sake of the argument, let us say we are quite biased around here. Well, why doesn’t Catholics in the Public Square also report the negative developments in Iraq?
Christopher says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:49 pm

I don’t think there’s any question that if the U.S. pursued a policy of “immediate withdrawal” such as was being demanded in pre-”surge” 2006 as opposed to adopting the present policy, it would have resulted in greater bloodshed.

Considering what’s happening on the ground, the better we can equip and transfer control to the Iraqi army (and this is happening if you continue to follow the news — not necessarily Reuters, mind you), the sooner we can actually follow through with withdrawing combat forces out of Iraq.
Christopher says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:51 pm

If we’re going to play the link dump game, I’d be happy to link to the bad developments as well.

In which case you’d be competing with Reuters and CNN, but I think they’d out-do you.
Katerina Ivanovna says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:52 pm

(and this is happening if you continue to follow the news — not necessarily Reuters, mind you)

So, I guess Reuters is biased then?
M.Z. Forrest says:

July 8, 2008 at 3:57 pm

I’m for a responsible transition Br. Augustine as long as it is a transition and not just a less injurous deployment for our troops.
Policraticus says:

July 8, 2008 at 4:10 pm

Great, Christopher. You excel at highlighting the cultural tokenism, brief spurts of non-violence, and isolated skills training in Iraq. Those things do not offset the wider political, social, and moral problems this war has caused. Your selectivity, however, reads much like a Novak NRO piece or Cheney sound bite, But if that’s your goal, then “Mission Accomplished!” Meanwhile, others will look more soberly at the news and judge things from the spirit of universality and the common good.
Christopher says:

July 8, 2008 at 4:17 pm

The present efforts in Iraq appear to be consistent with the advice of our bishops: ”

“Our nation’s military forces should remain in Iraq only so long as their presence contributes to a responsible transition. Our nation should look for effective ways to end their deployment at the earliest opportunity consistent with this goal.”

But by all means, keep on with the suicide bombings and the negative; there’s certainly a dearth of coverage in that area.
jh says:

July 8, 2008 at 4:25 pm

Policraticus,

To be fair I do not think what Christopher is posting is isolated events. It is a much bigger trend that we saw that started a year and half ago.

Not 3 months ago people were saying the IRaqi Govt was a paper tiger. Needless to say they have proven many people wrong. Even those State Department and Pentagon types that were afraid to let them take off the training wheel in late March and who participated in the great GREEN ZONE FREAK OUT OF 2008. All of which was printed but sadly not much followed up.

Is Iraq like Kansas today? No it is not but these elections that are coming up I think are going to show some surprises.

The common good? Well perhaps it is being accomplished now. Benchmarks are being met and it seems the Iraqis , after being told a million times that of course they did not want this democracy thing, are still hanging in there.
Policraticus says:

July 8, 2008 at 4:27 pm

But by all means, keep on with the suicide bombings and the negative; there’s certainly a dearth of coverage in that area.

Interesting rhetorical attempt. Suicide bombings, divorce rates, and the death of civilians tend to register a bit more noticeably on my moral radar than swimming pools, trade schools, and affectionate soccer spectators.
Policraticus says:

July 8, 2008 at 4:32 pm

To be fair I do not think what Christopher is posting is isolated events. It is a much bigger trend that we saw that started a year and half ago.

They are isolated–geographically, socially, and chronologically. Saying certain activities in Iraq are more freely undertaken or that violence has decreased since six months, a year, or a year in a half ago does not constitute a “much bigger trend” in a five and half year occupation. It’s like breaking the sugar bowl and then picking up a few pieces and claiming–”Look, there’s a big trend of improvement!!! Victory is closer!”
M.Z. Forrest says:

July 8, 2008 at 4:32 pm

How many more swimming pools have to open before our troops can come home?
jh says:

July 8, 2008 at 4:35 pm

Polcratus,

As to Suicide Bombings those are going down big time. AQ is being evicted from Mosul as we speak and that is largely their signature item

Death of Civilians are plummenting. THe job is not yet done and a Cornered Tiger is the most dangerous. I suspect there will be some horrific last gasps we shall see but it appears the tide is turned.

At some point Sanity and the common good makes us have to examine what is working so it can continue. It is not just because of US efforts either and the IRaqi people are the ones that deserve most of the credit
TeutonicTim says:

July 8, 2008 at 4:39 pm

Maybe the increase is caused by women feeling empowered to escape the prison of arranged marriages, and marriages of young teens?

Man, this blog will stretch anything to make a point!
jh says:

July 8, 2008 at 4:41 pm

It appears the Geographic area of this trend is exapnding greatly. It started first in the An bar Provinece a year and half ago and has now greatly expanded.

Even the media is commenting on this. As Iraqi Forces and structures are coming online Violence is going down. As the Govt is getting stronger we shall see this continue.
M.Z. Forrest says:

July 8, 2008 at 4:47 pm

TT:

Maybe we can offer abortion Bagdad to get rid of those unwanted pregnancies using that logic.

jh:

How many more swimming pools? Let me know where, I can’t imagine they cost more than a million or two a piece. They are worth a lot less than another dead soldier.
Policraticus says:

July 8, 2008 at 5:03 pm

Yeah, TT makes no sense…as usual.
jh says:

July 8, 2008 at 5:05 pm

MZ

The point is not hte swimming pools. Much more is going on than that and it is time people tune in.
Katerina says:

July 8, 2008 at 5:22 pm

Maybe the increase is caused by women feeling empowered to escape the prison of arranged marriages, and marriages of young teens?

Really? Did you even read/listen the report? Firstly, Men are leaving the women behind because they are threatened to be killed given the fact that their wives are from a different sect. Secondly, men are the ones divorcing their wives and marrying older/wealthier women. Divorced women are looked down upon (apparently) in Iraq, so women are the ones who suffer the most with this situation.

I guess the Reuters “factbox” would have pleased Christopher and co. more if it would’ve said: “X number of people died because of a roadside bomb… AND two pools were opened in a nearby neighborhood.”
Katerina says:

July 8, 2008 at 5:28 pm

Interesting rhetorical attempt. Suicide bombings, divorce rates, and the death of civilians tend to register a bit more noticeably on my moral radar than swimming pools, trade schools, and affectionate soccer spectators.

What about the newspapers that are opening and the “freedom of speech” Novak praises? Who is reading newspapers when they threaten to kill you if you don’t divorce your wife? Who is paying attention to the “freedom of speech” when you haven’t seen your relatives in months and then happen to stumble upon their bodies in a river later on because they were kidnapped and executed?
TeutonicTim says:

July 8, 2008 at 6:44 pm

“TT:

Maybe we can offer abortion Bagdad to get rid of those unwanted pregnancies using that logic.”

What logic? That people don’t like to be forced into relationships, especially abusive ones? Maybe women feeling safer from honor killings is allowing them to end their “marriages”.

I guess I should have expected yours and Policraticus’ response.
TeutonicTim says:

July 8, 2008 at 6:45 pm

I guess we could see a drop in the hymen “repair” surgeries as well.
Policraticus says:

July 8, 2008 at 9:06 pm

I guess I should have expected yours and Policraticus’ response.

Absolutely, you should. Nonsense is typically met by swift dismissal.
Magdalena says:

July 9, 2008 at 12:39 am

I am against the war. But I think at a certain point even anti-war people have to recognize when progress is being made. It doesn’t undercut the arguments against invasion at all to acknowledge that the situation in Iraq lately seems to be SO much better than it was. We should applaud this – the sooner lasting peace comes, the sooner we can decamp.
Christopher says:

July 9, 2008 at 1:36 am

Katerina points to one cultural indicator, and I concur that it merits attention and is disturbing. I thought she might take that as incentive to find out what is actually being done to facilitate Sunni-Shiite unity or increase the safety of some Baghdad neighborhoods and bring back families who have fled. That children felt safe enough to play in a swimming pool might be be taken as indicators that some neighborhoods in Baghdad are improving.

Look, I just grabbed a couple stories from the past 2 weeks. Forget about the swimming pool and the Sunni-Shiite soccer match. I could have just as well mentioned a pilot literacy program (5.6 million Iraqis are illiterate), a new playground opening in the Saydiyah neighborhood of Baghdad; a new Baghdad maternity hospital; a free health clinic in Northwest Baghdad; a groundbreaking ceremony for a new school or a 5.6 million dollar power plant or the largest public works station in Baghdad; the repair of a water pipeline in Ramadi or a small Iraqi village receiving running water for the first time ever.

Also from the past month. (I won’t burden you with the links, Kat).

We can talk about how violence in Iraq is the lowest it’s ever been in 4 years; has been reduced by as much as 80% in some areas; that the number of attacks in Baghdad fell from 1,278 in June of 2007 to 112 last month; that the success among the Sunnis in Anbar province (collaborating with U.S. forces in joint operations to remove Al-Qaeda) has spread amongst Shiites elsewhere.

Perhaps a swimming pool isn’t worth the price of a dead soldier. How about a new school or a hospital or a neighborhood free of Al Qaeda, where people can live without fear of being taken hostage or murdered?

We can all sit back and have a chuckle at my expense, or we can take those things as possible signs that things are getting better, and seriously ask ourselves what needs to happen on the ground to ensure things continue to improve?
Daniel H. Conway says:

July 9, 2008 at 3:28 am

“a neighborhood free of Al Qaeda”

A neighborhood plagued by Al Qaeda is a consequence of this war. The war brought bin Ladenism to Iraq. Saudis, our allies, financed other Saudis and Syrians to go into Iraq and wreak havoc-after the war began.

For those cultural conservatives who create idols of “the Family,” war’s incredible and predictable disruption of the family is a disgrace.

The Iraq War has and will damage “the Family” more than gay marriage.

Good work team.
jh says:

July 9, 2008 at 8:53 am

“The Iraq War has and will damage “the Family” more than gay marriage. ”

Good Grief
Phillip says:

July 9, 2008 at 9:29 am

This is from a commentary but it points to progress that cannot be denied:

“America, its allies and the Iraqi people have won the war against terror in Iraq. How do we know? Simple. Just follow the money. European and Asian investment companies are beating a path to Iraq, money in hand. Iraqi Airlines is flying high thanks to a colossal $5.5 billion contract with Boeing and the United Arab Emirates just canceled billions of dollars of Iraqi debt as they moved to restore a diplomatic mission in Baghdad.

When foreign countries start investing billions of dollars in a country, its a safe bet they are aware of the risks involved. And, unlike the old news media and our elected Democrat officials, they see a relatively stable country ripe for investment.

The influx of foreign investment is largely due to the improved security in Iraq, which continues to improve even after the withdrawal of nearly 25% of U.S. combat brigades. The Joint Chiefs of Staff recently acknowledged cautiously that security ‘is on its way to becoming sustainable.’

American and Iraqi forces have driven Al-Qaeda in Iraq out of its last redoubt in the north of the country in the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror. Al-Maliki, Iraq’s prime minister said that “the government has defeated terrorism in the country.” Pretty unequivocal. In fact, things are going so well in Iraq that the discussion has now shifted to a timetable for more troop withdrawals.

The American media is silent on all this good news, possibly out of embarrassment for being so incredibly wrong on pretty much every single issue having to do with Iraq. They would like to forget their near universal scorn for the now successful surge. The Democrats had declared defeat and there was no way they would accept anything more. The media trumpeted their views. Lo and behold, the surge worked. Horror of horrors, Bush was right.

When evidence of the progress on the ground was too overwhelming to ignore, new talking points emerged on the left. Democrats avowed that our military victory meant nothing. (Think about that a second) What really mattered, they intoned with one voice, was the political progress, as measured by Congressionally established benchmarks.

More horrors. It appears that a March 2008 report shows that the Iraqis have met 15 of the 18 benchmarks. The silence from the left, and the old media is now deafening.

Desperate to ignore any and all evidence of our astounding victory, the left, aided and abetted by the old media, continue to desperately search for any smidgen of bad news from Iraq. Not finding any, new talking points are starting to emerge. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, the left has moved its focus off Iraq – to Afghanistan. The war has merely shifted, they say. We haven’t won, they claim. For shame.

Even in Afghanistan, the tide is turning. But don’t expect to get the straight poop from our elected officials or our very own media. They will continue their 45 year strategy of re-defining reality to their own liking, unaware that the world has changed. The media no longer has a lock on what news Americans hear and Democrats no longer have a lock on defining the issues.

The good news is, the old media is breathing its last biased breath. Even experts are astonished at the rapid rate of decline of this once robust profession. Prime indicators of this decline: New York Times stock is rated one step above junk bond status and the Los Angeles Times, for the first time in their history, had to lay off 250 jobs, 150 of them newsroom jobs. Yet, despite market realities, the old media continue to cling to the notion that the liberal point of view is the only valid one. Hasta la vista, baby.

The Democrats are also starting to see the writing on the wall, with congressional approval ratings in the single digits for the first time ever. Even Obama, the most liberal of all Senators, is having to do the flip-flop two step regarding Iraq, allowing that the surge has achieved some stability and that the next president would be foolish to fritter away those gains – much to the dismay of his followers, who have invested their whole lives in the notion that America is the bad guy and terrorists are merely freedom fighters. “
TeutonicTim says:

July 9, 2008 at 11:58 am

“Nonsense is typically met by swift dismissal.”

OK, consider the attempt at correlation in this post swiftly dismissed.
digbydolben says:

July 9, 2008 at 3:10 pm

Not 3 months ago people were saying the IRaqi Govt was a paper tiger. Needless to say they have proven many people wrong.

Actually, jh, it’s beginning to look like Maliki and his crew, under pressure from the Shiah ayatollahs (Sistani, in particular) are going to prove YOU and your fellow apologists for this flagrantly neo-colonialist adventure wrong, by asking for the withdrawal of all American forces and the autonomous control of Iraq’s oil industry.

I wonder what McCain and his supporters will say then. Will their cover be blown, and will they be shown for what they are: colonialist occupiers whose REAL purpose in invading Iraq was to maintain the dollar-structure of the world’s carbon fuel economy, to provide a permanent American beach-head in the Arab world, and to protect the Zionist State against the natural consequences of its illegal land-grab?

It seems to me that Obama, with his plan for staged but total withdrawal from Iraq, is more in line with what the majority Shiah-government want for their country than is McCain and the still-rabid remnant of the “neo-conservative” clique that continue to dominate Republican foreign policy thinking.
digbydolben says:

July 9, 2008 at 4:18 pm

Also, Phillip, “Teutonic Tim” and the rest of the McCain faction’s blowhards should take a look at THIS, including the links:

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/07/out-by-2011.html#trackback
Phillip says:

July 9, 2008 at 4:20 pm

And?
TeutonicTim says:

July 9, 2008 at 8:41 pm

““Teutonic Tim” and the rest of the McCain faction’s blowhards”

Now you are stretching and misrepresenting. I’ve NEVER went out and vigorously supported McCain. Maybe you should think before you speak.

Maybe you should be put under moderation like I was…
digbydolben says:

July 9, 2008 at 9:09 pm

I’ve NEVER went[sic.] out and vigorously supported McCain.

Sorry for being overly pedantic, but I’m an English teacher, and, unlike the kind of “blowhards” who create sound-bytes for neo-fascist Republicans, I CARE about language and grammar. Many of those who don’t are DELIBERATE polluters of the “elevated discourse,” which, according to the poet Auden, is more essential to democracy than a mere ballot.
TeutonicTim says:

July 9, 2008 at 9:19 pm

Wat choo tallkin’ ’bout willis? Mine engliche iz just fin

Apparently, as an English teacher, you have a thing for, how could one say, I can’t remember the word, oh yes, I believe you really, really like commas.

Anyway, unlike an english teacher, I work real life hours at an actually difficult job (engineering). I wrote that response after working for 13 hours straight, so get off your high horse.
digbydolben says:

July 9, 2008 at 9:57 pm

Anyway, unlike an english teacher, I work real life hours at an actually difficult job (engineering).

hahahahahahahahaha!

You should SEE what I’ve just been through today, at an International Baccalaureate Teacher-Training Workshop here in New Mexico–intensive training sessions on assessing and curriculum construction, lasting from 8:00 a.m. in the morning until 4:30 p.m. with half an hour for lunch.

In any case, with an attitude like that–typical, I agree, for most Americans–your children (if you have any) are probably as illiterate as you are!
TeutonicTim says:

July 9, 2008 at 10:18 pm

Wow, 8:00-4:30. That’s vacation.

Now you go and insult my family and children. You need to shut the hell up and act like an adult.

Worm. Now go to bed an pray for forgiveness. You have another “long”(8:00-4:30) day ahead of you tomorrow!
digbydolben says:

July 9, 2008 at 10:27 pm

Nope, tomorrow it IS a twelve-hour day.

And I don’t think I’m going to “pray for forgiveness.” Instead, I suggest that YOU pray for sufficient enlightenment to appreciate the instrumental importance of COMMUNICATION SKILLS in your children’s educations.

I’m not at all surprised, however, in the contempt shown by an average American upper-middle-class slob for the education professionals who work with his children: I encountered it almost every day in my profession, and it’s the principal reason for my imminent expatriation.
TeutonicTim says:

July 10, 2008 at 8:28 am

Good. Leave. Shut the hell up before you go and many people will be pleased. I’m continually amazed at the contempt “education professionals” have for “upper-middle-class slobs” that just happen to be more intelligent than themselves. It’s amazing how similar you all are.
digbydolben says:

July 10, 2008 at 12:57 pm

Fool, this website is accessible from Europe: you’ll see me here all the time!
TeutonicTim says:

July 10, 2008 at 3:41 pm

Fool, for an “educational professional”, your reading comprehension skills are rather lacking. I told you to shut the hell up and leave. Shutting up is not dependent on where you are, so just go ahead and do it already.

Vox Nova