Article

2003-04-01 Iraq

Hard times and hard liquor in wartime Baghdad

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Posted by Steve 2003-04-01 01:49 pm|| || Front Page|| [4 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Cheeze, life is getting tough all around. The Baghdadis are short on booze, the Marines are short on smokes...

Posted by Fred 2003-04-01 14:28:14|| 2003-04-01 14:28:14|| Front Page Top

#2 i seem to recall from Salam Pax's blog that nominaly only Iraqi christians can buy booze, not muslims, but that there are various "workarounds"

Note - beer was invented in pre-Islamic Mesopotamia (but without hops)

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-04-01 14:47:23|| 2003-04-01 14:47:23|| Front Page Top

#3 There was speculation a few years ago that beer was born in ancient Dilmun, located in the area of today's Bahrain. There was a lovely seal found that had a picture of two fellows sitting and drinking a pot of beer through straws. I believe it's on exhibit at the museum in Arhus, in Denmark, and that the motif has been incorporated into the state seal of one of the Gulf States. Probably because of the discovery of beer, Dilmun was considered a holy land in ancient Mesopotamia. Utu-napishtim, the hero of the flood story, who was gifted with immortality by the gods, retired there, to spend eternity boozing it up, and Gilgamesh went there to visit him and ask his advice when Enkidu died. I imagine Utu-napishtim has been pretty bored since the Muslims took over and banned the other staff of life...

Posted by Fred 2003-04-01 15:27:34|| 2003-04-01 15:27:34|| Front Page Top

#4 Somebody in Baghdad should start thinking ahead and start hoarding the stuff. He could get rich selling it to thirsty American boys in the not too distant future.

Posted by tu3031 2003-04-01 15:58:24|| 2003-04-01 15:58:24|| Front Page Top

#5 And the pessemistic press says it's OUR supply lines are in peril.

Posted by Capsu78 2003-04-01 16:14:00|| 2003-04-01 16:14:00|| Front Page Top

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