Report the good news!

Maybe it's just because I'm living in the conservative Central Valley, but it seems that many who hear that I'm going to Iraq tell me something like: "Good, go report the good news. All the media focusses on is the bad news."

Of course, any good journalist's gut reaction to that statement is: How about I report whatever news is going on, good or bad?

Although I hope to find encouraging stories during my time in Iraq, I can almost guarantee that the majority of them will not be rosy. Part of the problem is that the bad news vastly overshadows the good news. Anyone who reads McClatchy's daily violence report gets a sampling of just how much bad news is out there. Although the two countries obviously can't be compared, the crimes committed in Iraq that amount to only one-sentence blurbs would be headline-grabbing stories if they were committed in the states. And these crimes are committed on a daily basis.

For example, take yesterday's violence report (read it regularly at http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/). By themselves, the incidents could be explained away as just the things that happen in a big city that is suffering from sectarian killings. But taken together, and compounded every day, they paint a frustrating picture.

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Baghdad

- Three civilians were killed and four others wounded in a parked car bomb explosion near Al Hurriyah square in Karrada Kharij neighborhood (Karrada out) downtown Baghdad at 10:34 a.m.

- Ten civilians were injured in a parked car bomb explosion near Ali Al Lami restaurant in Jadriyah neighborhood downtown Baghdad around 10:35 a.m.

- Gunmen assassinated a high ranking officer working for the Ministry of Defense. Col. Jawad Kadhim was assassinated near the building of the Ministry of Finance in Waziriyah neighborhood east Baghdad early morning Sunday.

- Three policemen working for the Ministry of Electricity were killed by gunmen in Waziriyah neighborhood east Baghdad around 11:30 a.m.

- Gunmen broke in the house of a four-member family in Ghazaliyah neighborhood west Baghdad and took them in a car then killed them few meters away from their house. The incident happened around 1:00 p.m.

- Around 2:00 p.m., gunmen broke into a house in Al Jami’aa neighborhood west Baghdad killing the father and injuring his two daughters.

- 10 volunteers were killed and 30 others injured when a suicide truck bomb broke in a volunteering center in Al Haswa neighborhood west of Baghdad around 2:00 p.m.

- Twenty-nine bodies were found in Baghdad Sunday. Seventeen bodies were found in Karkh, the western side of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (seven bodies in Al mail, four bodies in Al bayaa, three bodies in Saidiyah, two bodies in Doura and one body in Ghazaliyah). Twelve bodies were found in Rusafa, the eastern side of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (four bodies in Adhemiyah, three bodies in Sleikh, three bodies in Ur and two bodies in Baghdad Al Jadida).

Diyala

- Two gunmen were injured and captured by the Iraqi security forces in clashes in Al Mualimeen and Salama neighborhoods in Miqdadiyah town northeast Baquba early Sunday morning.

- The morgue of Baquba public hospital received Sunday the bodies of five civilians, which were evacuated from Buhruz town 5 kms south of Baquba. The hospital also received 25 injured civilians from the same town. A security source said that gunmen attacked the town with mortar shells early morning today.

- Secuirty forces in Khalis town north of Baquba city said that two civilians from one family were killed and another seven wounded when gunmen attacked the town with mortar shells Sunday morning.

Kirkuk

- Gunmen attacked the building of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party (PUK) in Al Uroba neighborhood south Kirkuk Saturday night. The guards of the building responded to the fire killing one of the gunmen, police said.

- Police patrols found two unidentified bodies Sunday in Domeez neighborhood south Kirkuk.

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