<![CDATA[Investor's Iraq Forum - Iraq Dinar Forum, Iraq Investments, Iraq Stock Exchange, Iraq Bank, Iraq News, Iraqi Dinar]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com A forum community to discuss the New Iraqi Dinar and other investment opportunities in Iraq like the ISX - Iraq Stock Exchange and Iraqi Banks. en Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:55:18 GMT vBulletin 1 http://www.investorsiraq.com/images/impact/misc/rss.jpg <![CDATA[Investor's Iraq Forum - Iraq Dinar Forum, Iraq Investments, Iraq Stock Exchange, Iraq Bank, Iraq News, Iraqi Dinar]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com Thomas jefferson - 1787 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130457&goto=newpost Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:15:27 GMT "God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion.
The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is
wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts
they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions,
it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ...
And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not
warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of
resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as
to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost
in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from
time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
It is its natural manure." ]]> US Politics BABYBULL24 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130457 Changing Brokers OR Leaving Warka.. http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130456&goto=newpost Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:25:17 GMT If you have an account with any Broker in Iraq, regardless if it's Warka, Dar alsalam, Karmal, Al-Rabee. ect,...

I would suggest you think about this one thing if you decide to move/change brokers.

First and foremost, SELL OUT/CASH OUT. Slowly/Quietly.

Put in your sell orders and compile your cash position. This will allow for you to make sure that YOUR BOOKS and THEIR BOOKS match.

Also, if you simply bail on them, it gives them the upper hand to simply say that's all you had.

If you SLOWLY and METHODICALLY remove your assets, into a cash position, you stand a better chance of recouping most of your capital.

Make Sense??? ]]> cowpoke http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130456 Found graves containing the remains of Kuwaiti prisoners west of Karbala http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130455&goto=newpost Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:12:46 GMT Voices of Iraq: He was appointed Qaimmqam eliminate dates of the province of Karbala, said that a joint committee of the local administration and the Ministry of Human Rights and non-governmental organizations, I discovered three mass graves of prisoners of Kuwaitis.

Stai Mahfouz said that "a joint committee of local administration and the Ministry of Human Rights and human rights associations found three graves belonging to the Kuwaiti prisoners were executed during the former regime."

Stai did not explain details of the number of dead found in the bodies of evidence which indicate their identities, noting that "were found after examining the graves of many months, and making use of information and the coordinates provided by the United Nations and U.S. forces," indicating that "the cemetery is the first Behind the tomb of Ahmed Bin Hashim, which lies 19 kilometers from the town of Ain al-Tamur, and the second and third graves, were found near the Imam Ali dropper (50 km west of the city with eye). And expected dates Qaimmqam named "There is a fourth cemetery site to search for alleged (Alabjo Obtha) and two small Tltan deep in the Sahara." He pointed out that "The United Nations conducted a search of the remains in 1995, followed by U.S. forces in 2003, however, that the two sides were unable to find any cemetery for the remains of Kuwaitis." Kuwait says the 605 people who disappeared during the Iraqi troops entered Kuwait in 1990, which lasted seven months .

http://74.125.19.132/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http://www.sotaliraq.com/iraqnews.php%3Fid%3D44161&rurl=translate.google.co m&usg=ALkJrhgOX1zzylzAm3c8OlbQ0buLSHL3MA ]]> Iraqi General News ThisWillBe http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130455 Ubaydi: U.S. forces enter the cities is, if necessary, and will defend the U.S. bases had been attacked http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130454&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:36:39 GMT Ubaydi: U.S. forces enter the cities is, if necessary, and will defend the U.S. bases had been attacked

(Voice of Iraq) - 03-07-2009



PUKmedia 11:20 03/07/2009

"The Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qadir Obeidi's call for U.S. forces in Iraqi cities, once again, is likely if the Iraqi government requested it, pointing out that the Defense Department does not intend to take that step only if absolutely necessary and the situation gets out of control of Iraqi forces.

The Iraqi minister in an interview with Al Arabiya television in the program "from Iraq," airing Friday, July 3 that the American forces stationed outside the cities, much less what is being said about it up to about 130 troops deployed on the base 152, but declined to disclose the exact figures this regard.

Obeidi said that Iraqi forces were ready to intervene to defend the rules and the American forces in the event of any risk that application of the joint security agreement between the parties.

On the current role of U.S. forces, said Obeidi's role is to continue coordination with the Iraqi forces and provide support that includes firewall support when needed, and to provide logistical air support, especially the evacuation of the wounded in remote areas and at the same time, support for surveillance, monitoring and regulation.

The minister added that the role of U.S. forces will also include the organization of some complex communications across the area of Iraq and to help in the dismantling of the complex and explosive devices to Iraqi forces would be able to do these things themselves.

Under the agreement, the security, the role of U.S. forces from July on June 30 this year and up to the final withdrawal date, the end of 2011, will become the U.S. side, which still holds about one hundred and thirty thousand troops in Iraq by the packing and planning and implementation of security operations, as well as technical consultation and support of military intelligence.
]]> The US / UK and Iraq Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130454 President Talabani congratulates President Obama, the National Holiday of the United States http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130453&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:30:53 GMT President Talabani congratulates President Obama, the National Holiday of the United States
(Voice of Iraq) - 03-07-2009

Republic of Iraq
Office of the President
Press Office

July 3, 2009

His Excellency the President, Jalal Talabani, sent a cable of congratulations to U.S. President Barack Obama on the national holiday of the United States and reads as follows:

"President Barack Obama, the esteemed

President of the United States of America


I am pleased to extend my sincere congratulations to Your Excellency heartfelt congratulations on the national holiday of the United States of America - Independence Day, I hope that you will convey my sincere blessings, me personally and on behalf of the Iraqi people, to the American people, a friend.

The celebration of the National Baidkm this year is consistent with an important historic event in the life of our two countries.

In the thirtieth of June completed the coalition forces to hand over the security file in the Iraqi cities and towns to our armed forces to implement the agreement concluded between the two countries.

This is surely proof that our forces become ready to assume responsibility for the sustainable part of the previous period.

That our people would preserve the feelings of gratitude and affection for the United States and its armed forces for their contribution in ridding Iraq of the worst dictatorial regime defined by the region, and possibly the world, and for their effective work in order to provide an atmosphere of security and stability in our country.

And I am firmly convinced that the relations of friendship and alliance between our two countries will increase the strength and development during your tenure.

I hope for your friend, the permanence of prosperity and greatness, and you abundant health and personal success.

With the assurances of my highest consideration and respect

Sincere

Jalal Talabani
President of the Republic of Iraq "

It's always nice to get a birthday card.
]]> The US / UK and Iraq Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130453 Iraqi Parliament accuses Iran of Iraq to prevent the exploitation of oil wells, the joint http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130452&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:24:16 GMT Iraqi Parliament accuses Iran of Iraq to prevent the exploitation of oil wells, the joint
(Voice of Iraq) - 03-07-2009

Accusations of Iranian border guards exposure for the staff of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil

BAGHDAD: Ali Naseer

At a time in which it stressed the Iraqi border, security sources in four armed clashes between border guards of Iran and Iraq following the Iraqi side to send the staff of the Oil Ministry to examine the joint oil wells, the oil ministry has denied any clashes, and confirmed that the Iraqi side began months ago to invest a number of fields without any problems between the parties.

A report on the transparency of the oil ministry that one of the reasons for the low levels of oil production of non-exploitation of the oil ministry and the border of the fields exploited by neighboring countries.

The report, obtained by «Middle East» a copy of which was that Iraq was on the Iranian border has three fields, advanced productive and seven fields discovered and dug and 11 uncovered a combination of seismic surveys and other engraved.

The report emphasized that the policies of the previous conflict with neighboring countries, a negative impact on the migration of oil to the other side, who do everything in its power to invest and has intensified its activities in the area of exploration, drilling and production, especially in the fields, working in the south (west of Abu Safwan Ratqah Fakkah) and that the State of Kuwait has developed a new location in (Ratqah), and there is harassment and shooting and the arrest of the staff of the oil fields in the Maysan province from the Iranian side during the duty assignment of staff for cleaning and maintenance in the area and Fakkah Bazargan and other (common fields).

A source at the border guards, border police, accompanied by police force protecting the Iraqi oil installations Iranian forces clashed with Iranian forces, following the control of the oil field is the fourth of its kind on the outskirts of Basra and the Iranian flag on it.

The Chairman of the Committee on Oil and Gas Parliament Ali Hussein Al Blue «Middle East» that border violations to the extent that the use of fire to the staff of the Iraqi oil ministry and police of Iraq's border guards from the Iranian side there have been repeated again and again over the past six years, because of the presence of oil fields, the inter - the two countries, pointing out that the Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, in explanation of the causes of these violations for the host in the Parliament, that there is no Coa_khas or specific border points between the two countries, and that is not exceeded, by Iranian forces or exposure to the staff of the Iraqi oil and not allow them to conduct their work.

Member of Parliament and called for fixing the border between Iraq and Iran, also called the Oil Ministry to give priority to the oil well joint discussion with Iran and Kuwait to determine the rights of all parties but, as the Blue, has failed in this aspect.

For his part, denied the oil ministry spokesman Assem Jihad and Iraq there were no problems on the border with Iran, the common wells.

He told «Middle East» that the statements made by the border police and members of parliament, «is not correct, and I inquired of the Director of Maysan, the oil on the validity of the existence of such violations, and the latter denied it, although there have been a problem between the border guards are the actions of individual personalities, not because of the wells ».

Middle East
]]> Iraqi Oil Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130452 Hashemi: We look forward to the role of French in ousting Iraq from Section VII http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130451&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:19:26 GMT Hashemi: We look forward to the role of French in ousting Iraq from Section VII
(Voice of Iraq) - 03-07-2009



Professor Tariq al-Hashemi, Vice President of the Republic on the importance of the French role in ousting Iraq from Section VII as well as its legal and support of Iraq in international forums, he stressed the need for participation of French companies and investment in the reconstruction of Iraq, thus contributing to strengthening economic and political relations between the two countries.

This came during a meeting with Mr. François Fillon sovereignty Prime Minister of France Ms. Christine Lagarde Minister of Economy, Industry and Labor and the French delegation accompanying them.

Mr. al-Hashemi and the important role played by the European Union and in the rehabilitation of Iraq's return to the embrace of a healthy international community through the support and improvement of national sovereignty and to help them in the face of economic challenges in the restructuring of the political process in accordance with the standards established in the International Covenant document, stressing the importance of this role in the achievement of national reconciliation and the guarantee of human rights and address the financial and administrative corruption, which constitute together a political reform.

For his part, French Prime Minister on his country's keenness to provide support to Iraq in all its forms, and that his country will send a mission headed by the Minister for Judicial Justice to provide support and advice for the reform of the judiciary, which Mr. al-Hashemi said it in more than one occasion, either in regard to investment In Iraq, the French stressed the keenness and enthusiasm of the French companies to invest in Iraq.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Fillon as respect for the French Government and the appreciation of the role played by Mr. Hashemi to bridge the gap in views among Iraqi politicians expressed hope that the sovereignty meets the invitation to visit France and meet French President.
]]> Iraqi General News Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130451 Ouch! Colin Powell hits Obama over Intrusive Government http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130450&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:39:05 GMT Gee General - a little late to the game, don't you think?:giggle:

I'm sure the apologists for Obama who pointed out their great respect for Powell will be agreeing with him here as well :rolleye03:


http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-obama-agenda/


Quote:
Colin Powell, one of President Obama's most prominent Republican supporters, expressed concern Friday that the president's ambitious blitz of costly initiatives may be enlarging the size of government and the federal debt too much.
"I'm concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them," Mr. Powell said in an excerpt of an interview with CNN's John King, released by the network Friday morning.
Mr. Powell, a retired U.S. army general who rose to political prominence after a long and accomplished military career, said that health care reform and many of Mr. Obama's other initiatives are "important" to Americans.
But, he said, "one of the cautions that has to be given to the president -- and I've talked to some of his people about this -- is that you can't have so many things on the table that you can't absorb it all."
"And we can't pay for it all," said Mr. Powell, who was the first African-American to serve as secretary of state, under former President George W. Bush. He was also national security adviser to President Reagan, and was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1993.

Mr. Powell's comments represent the growing concern that began with hard-line fiscal conservatives but is now spreading to moderates about the rate of government spending and debt under President Obama, and the long-term impact on the country's fiscal sustainability and national security.
The national debt stands currently at $11.5 trillion and the deficit for the current fiscal year is projected to be close to $2 trillion.
Mr. Powell expressed alarm at "budgets that are running into the multi-trillions of dollars" and "a huge, huge national debt that, if we don't pay for in our lifetime, our kids and grandkids and great-grandchildren will have to pay for it."
"So, I think the president, as he moves forward with his initiatives, has to start really taking a very, very hard look at what the cost of all this is. And, how much additional bureaucracy [will] be needed to make all of this happen?" Mr. Powell said.."
]]> US Politics williambedloe http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130450 Iraq To Hold Roadshow On 2nd Round Oil Deals http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130449&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:31:42 GMT http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-...03-703664.html

JULY 3, 2009, 6:05 A.M.

Iraq To Hold Roadshow On 2nd Round Oil Deals

BAGHDAD -(Dow Jones)- The Iraqi oil ministry is holding a meeting in August to brief international oil companies on Iraq's second licensing round to award long-term contracts to develop some of the country's untapped oil and gas fields, a senior ministry official said Friday.

"We are planning a roadshow meeting in Istanbul next month," Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, deputy director-general at the oil ministry's petroleum contracts and licensing directorate, or PCLD, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Data packages and model contracts for the second bidding round, featuring 10 oil fields and one gas field, including the super-giant West Qurna phase 2, Majnoon and East Baghdad, are expected to be ready after the meeting in Turkey, Ameedi said.

Development of these fields could add a further 2 million barrels a day to current Iraq's production of 2.4 million barrels a day.

The PCLD is also planning to hold a workshop for companies in November before holding the auction in December, he added.

But Ameedi said the bidding process could be accelerated. "We are hoping to expedite the process so that we can actually sign the contracts by the end of the year." Ameedi said he didn't know yet if the ministry would roll fields that weren't awarded in the first round into the second which was held last Tuesday.

Five oil fields and two gas fields in the first bidding round weren't awarded because the Iraqi oil ministry wanted a remuneration fee for each extra produced barrel far less than what companies had bid for.

Only U.K. company BP PLC (BP) and China National Petroleum Corp. walked away from the first round after winning a contract. The companies secured a deal to develop Iraq's largest oil field Rumaila, which has proven oil reserves of 17 billion barerls. ]]> Iraqi Oil Oiler http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130449 <![CDATA[GOP sources: Palin won't run for re-election]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130448&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:18:27 GMT Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has told associates that she will not seek re-election next year, freeing her to pursue a White House bid in 2012, according to two GOP sources. Palin is to make her decision known later this afternoon from her home in Wasilla with her husband, Todd, and family by her... Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has told associates that she will not seek re-election next year, freeing her to pursue a White House bid in 2012, according to two GOP sources.

Palin is to make her decision known later this afternoon from her home in Wasilla with her husband, Todd, and family by her side.

By not running for re-election, Palin liberates herself from the political constraints that come with running for president while still in elected office.

Leaving office at the end of next year, the former vice presidential hopeful will be able to travel the country more freely without facing the sort of repeated ethics inquiries she’s been fending off since returning to Alaska earlier this year.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmi...eelection.html ]]> US Politics aug3 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130448 Isx http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130446&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:00:53 GMT What do I get the information to invest in the ISX. Who do I need to contact. Thanks What do I get the information to invest in the ISX. Who do I need to contact.



Thanks ]]> ISX News and Results prison life http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130446 Iran Cleric Says British Embassy Staff to Be Tried http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130445&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:42:33 GMT *Iran Cleric Says British Embassy Staff to Be Tried* Friday, July 03, 2009 Image: http://www.foxnews.com/images/service_ap_36.gif Image: http://www.foxnews.com/images/542912/0_62_070209_iran01.jpg (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529957,00.html?test=latestnews#) AP #story... Iran Cleric Says British Embassy Staff to Be Tried

Friday, July 03, 2009
AP

#story .gallery_container p.caption{display:none !important;} #story .gallery_container p.strut{color:#000;} June 28: Supporters of pro-reform leader Mir Hossein Mousavi flash victory signs during a gathering near Ghoba Mosque in Tehran, Iran.


A top Iranian cleric said Friday that some of the detained Iranian staffers of the British Embassy in Tehran will be put on trial, and he accused Britain of a role in instigating widespread protests that erupted over the country's disputed presidential election.
The announcement by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati came a day after the European Union demanded Iran release the staffers, who were detained on June 27. Britain is pressing EU countries to pull their ambassadors out of Tehran in protest.
Jannati, a powerful hard-liner who is close to Iran's supreme leader, told worshippers during a Friday prayer sermon in Tehran that the detained staffers "made confessions."
"In these events, their embassy had a presence," he said, referring to the post-election turmoil. "Some people were arrested. Well, inevitably, they will be put on trial."
He did not say how many staffers will be tried or on what charges. Earlier Iranian officials said all but one of the nine embassy personnel originally arrested had been released, but European Union officials said they believed more than one was still being held.

In London, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said of Jannati's comments that British officials are "very concerned about these reports and are investigating."
In Sweden, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said "it's not acceptable to file charges against the ones released or the ones still in custody," though he added that the report had not yet been confirmed.
Jannati does not hold a position in the government or judiciary, but is the head of the Guardian Council, a powerful body in Iran's ruling clerical hierarchy that stands above the elected government. He is also close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Jannati told the thousands of worshippers that the British "had designed a velvet revolution ... In March, they said (in their Foreign Ministry) that street riots were possible during June elections. These are signs ... revealed by themselves."
He also said those involved in protests "need to repent and ask God to forgive them."
Protests erupted in Tehran and other cities after official results showed a landslide victory for incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June 12 presidential election over his pro-reform rival Mir Hossein Mousavi. The pro-reform camp said the results were fraudulent.
The protests were quashed in a tough crackdown, and Iran's police chief has said 20 "rioters" were killed during the unrest. During his sermon, Jannati said seven or eight members of the paramilitary Basij militia were also killed. Basijis took a leading role in putting down the protests, often clashing with demonstrators.
Iran's ruling clerics have called the elections "pure" and "healthy" following Khamenei's declaration that the results would stand.
Still, Mousavi appears driven to maintain his opposition and even to raise the stakes — though there have been no protests since Sunday. In a challenging statement on Wednesday, he said he considered the government illegitimate and demanded political prisoners be released.
Jannati took a tough line, indirectly accusing Mousavi of treason.
Though he did not name Mousavi directly, Jannati pointed out that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, once said that "anyone disrupts unity has not only committed a sin but also has committed treason against the Islamic Republic and the system."
Jannati demanded that those involved in the protests "repent and ask God to forgive them." ]]> World News Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130445 See how many support prez eligibility bill law would require proof of White House candidates http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130444&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:19:18 GMT See how many support prez eligibility bill now Proposed law would require proof of future White House candidates Posted: July 03, 2009 12:10 am Eastern See how many support
prez eligibility bill now
Proposed law would require proof
of future White House candidates

Posted: July 03, 2009
12:10 am Eastern



By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Rep. Marcia Blackburn
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, has become the sixth co-sponsor of a proposal by Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., that would require documentation of eligibility from presidential candidates.
She has joined Reps. John Campbell, R-Calif.; John R. Carter, R-Texas; John Culberson, R-Texas; Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.; and Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, in support Posey's H.R. 1503 plan.
The bill's provisions are simple:
"To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require the principal campaign committee of a candidate for election to the office of President to include with the committee's statement of organization a copy of the candidate's birth certificate, together with such other documentation
as may be necessary to establish that the candidate meets the qualifications for eligibility to the Office of President under the Constitution."
It also provides:
"Congress finds that under section 5 of article II of the Constitution of the United States, in order to be eligible to serve as President, an individual must be a natural born citizen of the United States who has attained the age of 35 years and has been a resident within the United States for at least 14 years."

The sponsors' goal is to have the bill become effective for the 2012 presidential election, and it now is pending in a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

A participant at a forum on a political website noted "average citizens have to have a copy of our birth certificate just to apply for a passport, but the president of the United States doesn't have to show theirs??? This doesn't make sense at all."
Besides the support that is growing in the U.S. House, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., says he's in favor of both state and federal demands that future presidential candidates have a formal procedure to document their qualifications.
"The bill requires any federal candidates' campaign committee filing with the Federal Election Commission to produce a copy of the candidate's birth certificate," Coburn wrote. "If the bill makes it to the Senate, I will likely support it."
Is there such a thing as an ethical member of Congress? Find out in Sen. Tom Coburn's "Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders into Insiders"

WND earlier reported when Posey talked about his idea on a radio program..
"The last election is over," Posey said in the interview. "I don't think that outcome is going to change. Personally, I think it's futile to go there, but looking toward the future I think it would be reckless if we do not do everything we could to eliminate problems like that in the future. And that's why I filed the bill."
His comments came on the Andrea Shea King Show.
"I don't think a Supreme Court would remove a president from office if they heard the case. But ... we should make a good faith effort to make sure that things in the future are as they should be," he said. ]]> US Politics Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130444 <![CDATA[Texas trying to save 'NAFTA Superhighway'?]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130443&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:04:52 GMT Texas trying to save 'NAFTA Superhighway'?
Gov. Perry calls special legislative session on transportation

Posted: July 03, 2009
12:10 am Eastern



By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2009 WorldNetDaily


Opponents of the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor believe Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry is proceeding with toll road plans under the cover of a special session of the legislature.
Perry's stated goals include extending the authority of the Texas Department of [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Transportation[/color][/color], TxDOT, to operate for two more years with an allocation of $2 billion in state funds that could be targeted for building toll roads along Interstate Highways 35 and 69 in what was previously called TTC-35 and TTC-69 under the Trans-Texas Corridor plan.
The Houston Chronicle acknowledged transportation would the main focus of the special session and that an emphasis will be on a measure that allows private companies to build more toll roads across the state – an idea that opponents have dubbed "the largest tax increase in history."
TxDOT itself will be forced to cease operating under the state's Sunset Act, unless the state legislature passes new legislation authorizing the agency to continue.
WND called Perry's office for comment but received no return call.

According to the Austin Business Journal, five state agencies stand to be abolished without legislative action: Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Department of Insurance, Texas Racing Commission, Office of Public Insurance Counsel and Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation.
Since 2005 – when Perry-appointed Texas Transportation Commissioner Ric Williamson began pushing plans to build TTC-35 under a public-private contract with Cintra, a Spanish transportation infrastructure company – Texas voters have challenged the agency's centralized authority.
Toll road opponents in Texas charged Williamson ignored widespread public objections to the development of private toll roads under public-private partnerships with foreign companies that would collect tolls under long-term leases.
Williamson died unexpectedly of a heart attack Dec. 30, 2007.
"Gov. Perry wants to get the legislature to reauthorize through 2013 the ability of Texas to enter into Comprehensive Development Agreements, or CDAs, with foreign developers to develop Texas highways under public-private partnerships," Hank Gilbert, a board member with TexasTurf.org, or Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, told WND.
The Houston Chronicle concurred, reporting Perry wants the special legislative session to end a state legislature-imposed moratorium on new toll road CDAs by obtaining new legislation that would extend authorization for CDAs through 2013.
"We are fighting to defeat any attempt by Gov. Perry to extend CDAs," he said. "Without CDAs, TxDOT will have a difficult time getting foreign development companies to come into Texas to convert our freeways to toll roads."
Gilbert told WND the Trans-Texas Corridor program in Texas was "alive and well."
"When Gov. Perry came out and said the Trans-Texas Corridor program was dead, all TxDOT did was to get rid of the name," he said. "It was all a lie."
WND has reported Gov. Perry has taken steps to engage in a public relations effort designed to distance TxDOT from the Trans-Texas Corridor.
WND has been reporting since 2006 that the TTC project planned by TxDOT over a 50-year period involved a 4,000-mile network of new four football-field-wide "NAFTA Superhighway" truck-train corridors and pipelines for oil, gas and water.
"Our big push right now is to get enough support in the Texas House of Representatives to kill any CDA legislation in this special session," Gilbert said.
The CDA with the Spanish company Cintra called for expending billions to develop TTC-35 parallel to I-35 from Laredo, Texas, at the Mexican border, to the Texas border with Oklahoma, north of Dallas-Fort Worth.
In exchange, TxDOT agreed to allow Cintra to collect tolls on I-35 for 50 years after the highway is completed.
The current TxDOT website also affirms that a public-private partnership proposal for developing I-69 has been submitted under a public-private partnership structure by ACS Infrastructure Development Inc., a highway infrastructure company headquartered in Madrid, Spain.
"As far as I know, the CDAs signed with Cintra for TTC-35 and with ACS for TTC-69 are still in place, despite what Governor Perry and TxDOT say," Gilbert charged.
The current TxDOT website substantiates Gilbert's accusation.
KeepTexasMoving.org, the official TxDOT website, continues to devote a section to making clear that while the name "Trans-Texas Corridor" has been phased out, the corridor construction projects continue, typically under their original designations.
The TxDOT website identifies the following components of the original TTC project remain active: TTC-35 and I-69/TTC environmental studies, the "Ports-to-Plains Corridor" intended to extend the original TTC corridor design into Colorado, and a new project called "La Entrada al Pacifico Corridor," or "The Entrance to the Pacific Corridor," intended to connect Texas with ports in Mexico along the Pacific Ocean. ]]> US News Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130443 Hospital lures Mexican moms. http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130442&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:53:43 GMT *Hospital lures Mexican moms* *Tucson Medical Center ‘birth package’ raises questions* By MARIANA ALVARADO Arizona Daily Star Published/Last Modified on Sunday, Jun 28, 2009 TUCSON (AP) — A Tucson hospital’s health-care package promises affluent Mexican women the chance to have their... Hospital lures Mexican moms

Tucson Medical Center ‘birth package’ raises questions

By MARIANA ALVARADO
Arizona Daily Star
Published/Last Modified on Sunday, Jun 28, 2009
TUCSON (AP) — A Tucson hospital’s health-care package promises affluent Mexican women the chance to have their babies in posh surroundings with access to the latest medical equipment.

But the marketing materials leave out a key draw in the arrangement: U.S. citizenship for the newborn.

Tucson Medical Center’s “birth package” gives an official nod to a generations-old practice of wealthy Mexican women coming to U.S. hospitals to give birth. Mexican families do the same thing at all local hospitals, but Tucson Medical Center is the only one actively recruiting their business.

The practice is legal, but offensive to some advocates of tougher U.S. immigration standards.

“What it really amounts to,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, “is buying U.S. citizenship.”

“This is different from any other kind of medical treatment,” said Krikorian, whose Washington, D.C.-based think tank studies the impact of immigration on the United States. “If you come for cancer treatment there’s no consequence for the United States. You pay your money, you go home.”

The Mexican consul general in Tucson said parents naturally want to give their children every advantage and securing U.S. citizenship is something a small percentage of Mexican families can afford.

“This is not a new phenomena,” said Juan Manuel Calderon Jaimes, who says he’s seen the practice for almost 30 years. “Many families of means in Sonora send their wives here to give birth because they have the resources to pay for the services.”

Expectant mothers can either schedule a Caesarean section or arrive a few weeks before their due dates to give birth at TMC. It is one of 13 packages aimed at Mexican families, some of which include a stay at a local resort and shopping excursion.

Tucson Medical Center’s maternity package costs $2,300 for a vaginal birth with a two-day stay and $4,600 for a Caesarean section and a four-day stay, assuming no complications. That includes exams for the newborn and a massage for the new mother. There is a $500 surcharge per additional child.

“These are families with a lot of money, and some (women) arrive on private jets and are picked up by an ambulance and brought here,” said Shawn Page, TMC’s administrator of international services and relations. “These are families with a lot of clout.”

U.S. citizenship for their children brings even more clout: the opportunity — and right — to live, work and study in the United States. Because their parents do not earn the same right, many children of such arrangements grow up in Mexico and come here as adults for school and work.

The United States recognizes the jus soli doctrine, which grants citizenship to those born on U.S. soil. Like the U.S., Mexico honors the jus sanguinis doctrine, which grants citizenship to a child based on the citizenship of the parents regardless of where the birth occurs. So a child of Mexican parents born at TMC would have dual nationality.

Aside from the maternity package, TMC offers 12 packages for international patients, including bone density tests, mammograms and urology procedures.

Many pair pampering with medical care.

Earlier this month, TMC launched the Mujer Sana (Healthy Woman) Health Tour Package, targeted to women 50 or older. It includes six exams at the hospital and three days and two nights at a Tucson-area resort and a shopping spree.

The hospital partnered with the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the program is marketed through the visitors bureau in Hermosillo, Sonora.

“TMC has generated a package dedicated exclusively to women, something Mexico hasn’t done,” said Miguel Angel Partida Ruiz, director of the bureau’s Sonora office.

He said the patients can bring their families and turn the trip into a mini-vacation. The Visitors Bureau has a contract with Super Shuttle to provide transportation.

Rocio Perez Medina, coordinator of “Vamos a Tucson” — the campaign to promote Tucson in Sonora — said the new TMC package is appealing.

Although a fixed price has not been set, the visitors bureau estimates the cost will be between $500 and $600, which includes the $150 exams at TMC.

Earlier this month, Perez Medina reviewed the results of the exams she took in order to sample the care patients would receive.

“It is very good, very thorough,” she said. The package can be purchased by one person or for groups of up to 10.

Aside from treating international patients and the local Spanish-speaking community, Page said, the goal of TMC’s international program is to reach out to U.S. citizens living in Canada or Mexico to come to Tucson for medical treatment.

South of the border, private hospitals are applying for international certification and partnering with U.S. insurance providers to cover medical costs.

Officials with the recently created Medical Tourism Cluster in Sonora say the cross-border patient phenomena illustrates the different niches.

“It’s good that Mexican patients go to Arizona,” said Hector Xavier Martinez, head of the Sonora Medical Tourism Cluster. “Hopefully, we can create agreements between private hospitals on both sides of the border.”

Next month, hospital officials will visit Tucson to promote Sonoran hospitals and the lower cost of medical procedures.

Among the hospitals that will participate are Hospital Cima Hermosillo, Grupo Medico San Jose, Clinica del Noroeste and Grupo Medico de Hermosillo.

Tourism representatives and bus and airline companies will also participate in the Tucson visit.

The cluster is also promoting the idea of building small clinics in tourist destinations such as Puerto Penasco, also known as Rocky Point. ]]> US News Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130442 New Message - ISX Website http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130441&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:18:11 GMT Disclaimer: As of this week will be (3) sessions per week, one of the meetings within the electronic trading. Will be held on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday every week. *Indicators of electronic trading for the month of June 2009:* Organized by the Iraqi Stock Exchange - Market... Disclaimer:

As of this week will be (3) sessions per week, one of the meetings within the electronic trading. Will be held on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday every week.

Indicators of electronic trading for the month of June 2009:

Organized by the Iraqi Stock Exchange - Market Iraq Stock Exchange - (4) electronic trading sessions during the month.

The number of companies traded shares (5) of the companies (17) companies listed in the electronic trading and the number of shares traded (788) million shares on a volume of (1,413) billion dinars during the implementation of the (509) held the circulation.

The number of shares traded electronically for non-Iraqi investors during the month (23,330) million shares and value of shares traded (volume) of non-Iraqis (39,904) million through the implementation of (57) was held out of the contracts executed during the month, has been implemented (7) contracts Company and Commercial Bank (7) contracts for the Company and the Bank of the Middle East (42) held at Warka Bank and the company held at the Mansour hotel company.

Monthly Bulletin of the electronic trading Chehrhuzeiran 2009

Table here - I don't know how to upload.



Manual handling indicators for the month of June 2009:

Organized by the Iraqi Stock Exchange - Market Iraq Stock Exchange - (6) sessions manually.

The number of companies traded shares (39) companies and the number of traded shares (2,783) billion shares and the rate of (464) million shares for each session.

A volume of (4,851) billion dinars and at (808) million dinars in the meeting.

Index closed the market capitalization (ISX Price Index) at the first meeting of the month (243,306) points and closed at the last meeting of the month (251,631) points.

The number of companies whose shares were traded by non-Iraqi investors during the month (18) divided by the sector (3) banking companies and (2) an investment company and service company, and (9) industrial companies and a hotel and (2) agricultural companies. The number of shares traded more than (378) million shares, exceeded the value of shares traded (volume) of non-Iraqi (260) billion dinars through the implementation of (67) contract of the contracts executed during the month.

Indicators of the Stock Exchange during the month of June 2009 the Iraqis for Iraqis and non-manual handling.

Indicators of trading as trading manual for the month of June 2009

Table here - I don't know how to upload.


http://translate.google.co.uk/transl...hl=en&ie=UTF-8 ]]> ISX News and Results Seaview http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130441 Huge challenge ahead for Petrel to get a slice of Iraqi oil contracts http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130440&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:11:48 GMT http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/huge-challenge-ahea d-for-petrel-to-get-a-slice-of-iraqi-oil-contracts-1801785.h tml (http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/huge-challenge-ahead-for-petrel-to-get-a-slice-of-iraqi-oil-contracts-1801785.html)... http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/huge-challenge-ahea d-for-petrel-to-get-a-slice-of-iraqi-oil-contracts-1801785.h tml
------------------------------------------------------------ ---

Huge challenge ahead for Petrel to get a slice of Iraqi oil contracts

By Daire O'Brien
Thursday July 02 2009

Has David Horgan's career reached its critical juncture?

Petrel Resources, like most of the Clontarf exploration companies has tested the patience of its investors but with oil back up over $70 a barrel, is now the time to grease our palms?

Well, with a share price hovering around 35p, valuing the company at around Stg£28m, Petrel is hardly a penny stock, but nor is any great optimism priced in.

The Iraqi government has just announced the biggest auction of oil development contracts since the industry was nationalised 40 years ago and few small cap oil stocks have as much Iraqi expertise as Horgan and his team, yet Petrel finds itself on the margins of the margins.

In an unusually candid statement to accompany Petrel's preliminaries recently, chairman John Teeling told shareholders that the company was owed millions by the authorities.

Petrel has a potentially lucrative contract to manage the Subba and Luhais fields in Southern Iraq, but Petrel had to cease work on the project because it is owed at least US$8m and constant changes in personnel and opaque legislation has left the company stumped.

The biggest chance that Petrel has of hitting scale is, however, Horgan himself.

Iraq is effectively the second home of the unconventional but hyper-brainy Harvard Business School Alumni.

He faces huge challenges in getting a piece of the action but the hope has to be that the new contracts auction ushers in a more robust commercial law environment. It could be his last chance.

- Daire O'Brien
]]> Iraqi Oil Oiler http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130440 Jeff Goldblum dead at the age of 56 in New Zealand according to Twitter... http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130439&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:10:47 GMT http://voab.us/blog/wiseass/jeff-goldblum-has-passed-away/ Or here--->http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/220019/june-29-2009/jeff-goldblum-will-be-missed Whew, for a second there I thought the 3 celebrity rule was about to be kicked to the curb. 1st...]]> VIDEO HERE----->http://voab.us/blog/wiseass/jeff-gol...s-passed-away/

Or here--->http://www.colbertnation.com/the-col...will-be-missed

Whew, for a second there I thought the 3 celebrity rule was about to be kicked to the curb.

1st three: David Carradine, Ed McMahon & Michael Jackson

2nd three: Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays & Karl Malden

Whew Jeff, you just tweeted death........

:giggle: ]]> That Was Hilarious! TerryTate http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130439 Flop to some Iraq oil sale may be victory to others http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130438&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:08:16 GMT Flop to some Iraq oil sale may be victory to others

Reuters, Wednesday July 1 2009

By Suadad al-Salhy and Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD, July 1 (Reuters) - To oil executives, Iraq's first auction of energy contracts since the U.S. invasion was a giant flop. To Iraqis, basking in a renewed sense of sovereignty and nationalism, it may turn out looking like a victory.

Iraq's embattled Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani did not look particularly pleased on Tuesday after Iraq secured just one deal to develop an oilfield out of the eight massive oil and gas fields it had put out to tender.

Despite the lure of the world's third biggest and largely underexplored oil reserves, energy firms balked at the cheap price Iraq was willing to pay them for helping it boost lacklustre oil production so that it can raise the billions it needs to recover from six years of war.

But by standing up to global oil majors and refusing to give up Iraq's prized oil wealth at any cost, Shahristani may end up bolstering his position, some Iraqi politicians say.

"Yes, we set tough contractual terms with foreign oil firms, but all that is to make it clear to all Iraqis we are keen to safeguard Iraqi oil revenues," Shahristani told reporters after bidding for the oil and gas fields had concluded.

The auction coincided with the pullout of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities under a bilateral security agreement, the first step toward a full U.S. withdrawal by the end of 2011. That has fuelled a sense of national pride as Iraqis start to believe they can throw off the shackles of a foreign occupation.

Having staked his ambitions for increasing Iraq's oil output on successfully attracting foreign expertise and capital into the country, the lack of deals at the auction has prompted questions about Shahristani's future as oil minister.

Only a BP-led group managed to secure a contract, for Iraq's biggest oilfield, Rumaila.


TACIT BACKING

Yet Shahristani's stance won the tacit backing of some of his colleagues on Wednesday when the cabinet also rejected the proposals from energy firms for developing the seven oil and gas fields that were not awarded.

"If the cabinet rejected these offers, that means, the rejection was for technical reasons not personal reasons," said Kamal al-Saadi, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Dawa Party.

"I do not think that Shahristani will resign, because he knows that the prime minister was the person who invited him to encourage companies to invest in this country and develop the oil wealth."

Nabil Ismail, of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which while partnered with Dawa in government is also its main rival for Shi'ite votes, said the cabinet and the minister were right to reject deals that failed to meet Iraq's needs.

"Shahristani will not resign," said Ismail, a member of parliament's finance committee.

"What he did was to preserve public funds. Shahristani proved that his policy is serving the people, not the reverse."

Political analyst Mazin al-Shammari said Shahristani's trump card was that he appeared to have the prime minister's support. To challenge Shahristani would be to challenge Maliki, and few would contemplate doing that at this moment in time.

"Maliki's attendance (at the bidding) is a blessing for Shahristani. I think he succeeded in his job," Shammari said.

Yet politics in Iraq is volatile and allegiances can be fleeting. The minister also faces vocal critics.

The Oil Ministry and the Shi'ite Arab-led government as a whole are embroiled in a dispute with semi-autonomous Kurds over land, power and Iraq's monumental oil wealth.

"It was definitely a failure," said Ali Balou, the Kurdish head of parliament's oil and gas committee.

"We advised Shahristani to work with parliament to provide legal cover for these contracts. Shahristani turned his back on parliament and then the oil firms turned their backs on him." ]]> Iraqi Oil Oiler http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130438 Iraq: Shahristani came out of the bidding round stronger than ever http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130437&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:07:14 GMT http://tacticalreport.com/view_news/Iraq:_Shahristani_came_out_of_the_bidding_round_stronger_than_ever/683 Tactical Newswires July 1, 2009 _*Iraq: Shahristani came out of the bidding round stronger than ever *_ The Iraqi Oil Ministry held on 30/6/9 a first bidding round of oil... http://tacticalreport.com/view_news/Iraq:_Shahristani_came_out_of_the_bidding_round_st ronger_than_ever/683

Tactical Newswires
July 1, 2009

Iraq: Shahristani came out of the bidding round stronger than ever

The Iraqi Oil Ministry held on 30/6/9 a first bidding round of oil service contracts and ended up with only one contract being awarded. The contract was for the Rumailah oil field and was awarded to BP-CNPC alliance.

Circles close to the Iraqi Premiership and sources close to the Oil Ministry and state-owned South Oil Company (SOC) show satisfaction with the way Oil Minister Hussein Al-Shahristani used to deal with bidders.

These circles and sources say that the tactics he adopted helped him win further presence, respect and strength in the country.

Besides, he could keep secret his conditions to award the contracts. He is said to have only told PM Nuri Al-Maliki about these conditions.

According to the same circles and sources, a preliminary evaluation of the results of the first bidding round show the following:

1- Al-Shahristani came out of the bidding round stronger than ever, even if this is to go at the expense of his relation with the oil companies;

2- Al-Shahristani contained all the campaigns that were waged against him to make him delay the awarding the contracts. Note that the campaigns were launched against him from all parts, notably from the Kurds and the Parliament’s Oil and Gas Committee.

3- Al-Shahristani failed to keep promises to help some oil companies get contracts. The same sources mention Total, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Statoil among these companies. According to these sources, these oil companies thought that Al-Shahristani would accept a price between $3.5 and $4 for each extra barrel extracted from the concerned oil field. However, this was not the case as he was setting a price of $2 or below for each extra barrel.

4- The BP-CNPC alliance was stronger and firmer than any other alliances, as both companies agreed to give Al-Shahristani one position while the companies that were part of other alliances were giving him different positions, notably in what concerns the issue of the extra barrel price.

Sources close to Al-Shahristani say that the latter is very confident that the companies will understand his conditions and affirms that the matter is merely economic and that he could not meet his promises because of the pressure on him. ]]> Iraqi Oil Oiler http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130437 Wall Street Journal says 3 banks on the verge of... http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130436&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:06:16 GMT ANYONE HAVE ACCESS TO THE WALL STREET JOURNAL TAKE A GOOD LOOK!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Many in the dinar market are waiting for large international banks to begin dealing in Iraqi dinars. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Iraq's central bank is on the verge of approving three foreign banks to offer financial services such as foreign exchange." (Subscription required. Find journal article here.)

Once International Banks become established in Iraq, the dinar should become widely available on the international market. How these banks offer dinar exchange, however, depends on their individual policies and procedures. We expect the dinar to be treated like all other foreign currencies, enabling investors to exchange dinars at their local currency exchange location or large bank.

Until then, investors will want to contact local Iraqi banks about exchanging their dinars. Find a list of local banks at the Central Bank of Iraq's website. ]]> Iraqi General News fb481777 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130436 BP takes risk in Iraq while others balk http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130435&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:02:07 GMT http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8db08786-672b-11de-925f-00144feabdc0.html *_BP takes risk in Iraq while others balk_* By Carola Hoyos, Chief energy correspondent Published: July 2 2009 Tony Hayward this week made the boldest decision of his tenure so far as BP’s chief executive. His move... http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8db08786-672b-11de-925f-00144feabdc0.html

BP takes risk in Iraq while others balk

By Carola Hoyos, Chief energy correspondent

Published: July 2 2009

Tony Hayward this week made the boldest decision of his tenure so far as BP’s chief executive. His move to return to Iraq to rehabilitate the giant Rumaila oil field is at least as risky as his predecessor’s move into Russia through a joint venture with TNK. And the rewards – although not immediate and far from assured – are potentially as significant for the company.

Rumaila, Iraq’s second-biggest oil field and one that BP discovered in 1953, was the first of the country’s eight fields to be auctioned on Tuesday. It was the first time that foreigners were offered access to Iraq’s oil since nationalisation more than 30 years ago.

Bids for the contract, which involves extracting oil from the field on behalf of the Iraqi government, were handed to the minister at the start of the televised event , and the rest of the fields followed in hourly intervals. BP’s first bid demanded a service fee of $3.99 for each extra barrel of oil it produced after the field hit a predetermined production rate.

BP was up against ExxonMobil, the biggest western oil company. The US company demanded $4.80 – substantially more than BP – but nevertheless won the contest because it promised to get the field to eventually pump 3.1m barrels a day, more than the 2.85m b/d that BP said it could get out of Rumaila.

But Hussain Shahristani, Iraq’s oil minister, accepted neither bid and sent the companies back to reconsider their demands, warning them that Iraq would pay not a penny more than $2 a barrel. Oil industry executives and analysts described this as a shockingly low price, given the political and legal uncertainties of doing business in Iraq.

Exxon balked, BP didn’t. What BP could not have known was that for the rest of the day one oil company after another – almost all of its peers were gathered in the room – would refuse to accept Iraq’s demands. Several analysts and rival executives later wondered whether BP would have been so quick to fold had Rumaila not been the first field to go in an auction that later yielded no other winners.

Alex Munton, analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said Iraq got a great – if not spectacular – deal securing the services of BP, and its Chinese partner CNPC, for $2 a barrel and a $500m signing bonus. For BP, he sees little upside potential because any gain made through rising oil prices would go entirely to Iraq.

“We would say that we see it as economically viable, but the profit margins are thin,” he said.

Managing the field, which represents an important new asset for BP’s thin Middle East portfolio, won’t be easy. The contract is deliberately vague about whether ultimate control lies with BP or Iraq’s national oil company, which resents BP’s presence.

But there are positives.

Rehabilitating the dilapidated field, scarred by war and sanctions, and getting it to produce more than any other in the world except Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar will be a huge, high-profile project. If done well, it would demonstrate BP’s abilities and possibly open up new business.

But what makes Iraq’s brutal terms and all the legal, financial and human risks worthwhile for BP is having a toehold in the country with the world’s third-largest known oil reserves. Very few such places are open to foreign participation, regardless of the terms that oil companies are willing to accept. ]]> Iraqi Oil Oiler http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130435 <![CDATA[We will be pressing for approval of oil & gas law in accordance with constitutional matters]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130434&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:01:59 GMT *Khalifa Jabir: We will be pressing for approval of oil and gas law in accordance with constitutional matters* Described the decision of the Commission on oil and gas in the parliament, Jabir Khalifa Jabir Bloc MP Fadhila the first round of licensing, which has won two British and Chinese, as... Khalifa Jabir: We will be pressing for approval of oil and gas law in accordance with constitutional matters

Described the decision of the Commission on oil and gas in the parliament, Jabir Khalifa Jabir Bloc MP Fadhila the first round of licensing, which has won two British and Chinese, as (failure) of the Ministry of Oil. Mr. Khalifa said in a press statement that the (first round of licensing is a failure of the Ministry of the small oil companies refused to participate and a tour of the most participation licenses).

The Oil Ministry announced on Tuesday (6-30) that it has agreed to grant a license to invest an initial field of only one of six oil fields and gas fields offered for investment, have been rejected bids for the other seven fields ... event held at the Rashid Hotel in Baghdad to declare the winning companies licensing the first cycle of the presence of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Chinese company canc bp of British investment in the license Rumaila daily production ceiling at two million, 850 thousand barrels per day, and the profit amounted to two dollars for each additional barrel of oil product from the field.

The successor to Mr. Jaber said he would exercise and members of the House of Representatives pressed for ratification of the oil and gas in accordance with constitutional matters.

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...sFWlL7HhmS8nGw ]]> Iraqi Parliament Seaview http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130434 <![CDATA[China, not Cheney, is now big player in Iraq's oil]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130433&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:58:17 GMT http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/16230/

China, not Cheney, is now big player in Iraq's oil

Author: Susan Webb

Attention Dick Cheney: Anyone who thought that by invading Iraq the U.S. would get a lock on Iraq's oil has another think coming.

Yesterday, Iraq’s cabinet approved a deal with the China National Petroleum Corporation and BP (British Petroleum) to develop Iraq’s largest oil field. CNPC is China’s biggest oil company.

The Rumaila oil field, near the city of Basra in southern Iraq, has proven reserves of more than 17 billion barrels, constituting around 15 percent of Iraq’s oil resources. Experts say it is one of the biggest oil fields in the world.

The CNPC-BP consortium was among 32 foreign bidders for eight oil development contracts at an auction held by Iraq’s Oil Ministry June 30. Bidders included transnational oil giants like Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, Lukoil, Japex, Total and the Korea Gas Corporation. The Chinese-British bid was the only one that accepted the Oil Ministry's terms, which offered the foreign ventures far less money per barrel of oil produced than the other oil firms apparently considered acceptable.

“The BP-CNPC coalition will raise the field’s production from 950,000 to 2.85 million barrels per day,” Oil Ministry spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement reported by the Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The bulk of the new oil will be produced by the Chinese firm, Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrestani said.

The CNPC-BP venture had been seeking to be paid $3.99 a barrel, but agreed to accept the Iraqi ministry’s $2 fee. Exxon Mobil dropped out of the auction rather than lower its reported bid of $4.80 a barrel, according to Oil Change International, a group that targets the oil industry as a political barrier to a clean energy world.

The Chinese-British consortium has probably been willing to accept the slightly less favorable terms offered by the ministry “because Iraqi oil offers such vast potential,” Oil Change says. Rumaila is “a huge elephant … but there could be much, much more.”

The June 30 auction was Iraq’s first oil and gas field offering to international companies in nearly three decades.

The move drew some opposition in Iraq. The Oil Unions Federation in Basra said Iraq’s oil fields could be developed without outside help. The director general of the state-run South Oil Company sent a memo to Shahrestani before the auction objecting to the length of the proposed 20-year deals and arguing that government-run oil companies are already doing much of the same work and only need technical help from foreigners.

Others say Iraq does not have the funds and technical wherewithal to repair and modernize its crumbled pipelines and other oil infrastructure.

Iraq is heavily dependent on oil revenues to rebuild its economy and improve the lives of the people, now suffering massive unemployment and deprivation.

The projected increase in oil production from the CNPC-BP deal would provide an extra $1.7 trillion for Iraq over the next 20 years, Iraqi officials say.

This is not the first Chinese venture into Iraq. A year ago China and Iraq signed a $3 billion deal to develop the Adhab oil field in southeastern Iraq. The China National Petroleum Corporation started drilling there this spring.

China’s refining giant Sinopec offered $7.22 billion last month to buy Addax Petroleum, a Swiss-Canadian company with operations in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Addax has oil licenses in two oil fields in northern Iraq, both near Kirkuk, and its drilling has already struck large quantities of oil repeatedly in the Taqtaq field, The New York Times reports.

Meanwhile, a Russian company is negotiating a contract with Iraq to work on the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline which carries oil from Iraq’s Kirkuk oil field to the Syrian port of Baniyas. In April, Syria’s prime minister, in his first visit to post-Saddam-Hussein Iraq, concluded an agreement with Iraqi officials to reopen the pipeline, which was badly damaged by U.S. airstrikes during the 2003 invasion and has been out of commission since then.

Iraq and Syria are also talking about building a natural gas pipeline from Iraq’s Western Akkas fields to Syria, the Niqash web site reports.

But China is clearly emerging as a major player in Iraq’s oil scene. Once an exporter of oil, China is now dependent on imports for more than half its oil.

“As the world’s second-largest and fastest-growing consumer of oil, China is showing increasing interest in oil fields in a country that has until very recently seemed to be firmly in the American sphere of influence for natural resources: Iraq,” writes New York Times business reporter Keith Bradsher.

“After six years of war, few Americans or Iraqis may have expected China to emerge as one of the winners in Iraqi oil,” Bradsher writes. But signs of improving security in Iraq, and the June 30 U.S. military pullback from Iraqi cities “just happen to coincide with an aggressive Chinese push to buy or develop overseas oil fields.”

It’s looking more and more like Dick Cheney and his Texas oil crowd are on the losing side of history. ]]> Iraqi Oil Oiler http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130433 <![CDATA[Bidders Balk At Iraq's Service Fee Demands]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130432&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:55:37 GMT http://www.energyintel.com/DocumentDetail.asp?document_id=628317

Bidders Balk At Iraq's Service Fee Demands

Monday, July 6, 2009

Iraq's landmark oil and gas licensing round last week fell rather flat, delivering just one deal, for the giant Rumaila oil field, awarded to BP and state China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC). Five other prized oil fields were left on the block after top oil companies refused to swallow service fees they felt were a decade out of date. But years spent poring over data for Rumaila, Iraq's biggest oil field, convinced BP and junior partner CNPC that they could afford to match Baghdad's $2 per barrel demand (PIW May19'08,p9). By tapping CNPC's lower cost model, the duo expects to treble Rumaila output to 2.85 million barrels per day in seven years and turn a profit. Exxon Mobil had promised to extract even more from Rumaila, but refused to cut its $4.80/bbl fee, giving BP the chance to boost its Mideast exposure.

If BP and CNPC are as good as their word, Rumaila alone would far exceed Iraq's current production of some 2.3 million barrels per day. The aim is for BP and CNPC to sign their deal in August, but the 20-year service contract still faces domestic political flak, not least from within the South Oil Co., which will supply 90% of the staff for the Rumaila joint venture operating unit. "BP made the difference," one senior Iraqi oil official told PIW. "Had they not agreed to cut their [fee] offer in half, we would have had a problem."

The Rumaila deal sets a low benchmark for the service fees paid to boost output, and protects Baghdad from accusations that it's giving away Iraq's oil. But it's a long way from the service fee bids made by oil companies for the other five oil fields on offer. Many of the majors had entered the round with modest expectations, but they were shocked at the low value Baghdad placed on their services (PIW Jun.29,p1). "We couldn't be complacent, so we bid beyond our comfort zone," one Western executive said. "We thought we had a fighting chance." But not, as it transpired, when Iraq was demanding a service fee of $2/bbl for fields such as Zubair, which bidders valued closer to $4-$10/bbl. The smaller Missan and Bai Hassan fields received service fee bids in excess of $20/bbl, versus Baghdad's benchmark of $4/bbl or lower. The Mansuriya gas field attracted no bids, while the Akkas gas field was bid at close to $40 per barrel of oil equivalent (see table).

While last week's round was a disappointment in terms of deals agreed, its simple formula of maximizing production and minimizing fees nonetheless demonstrated that 21st century technology could raise Iraq's production to 8 million barrels per day -- on a par with that of Opec kingpin Saudi Arabia. Iraqi officials are also promising to kick off a second bid round in August, which could include some of the fields untouched in the first tender. The companies would prefer to focus on the unfinished business of the first round -- bidders are preparing to negotiate for their fields of choice during the coming months, perhaps under an adjusted model. A high-level committee of experts is expected to review the existing bids and bilateral deliberations may follow. ]]> Iraqi Oil Oiler http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130432 <![CDATA[Washington post sells 'off-the-record' access to obama officials, lawmakers and its own reporters, editors -- $25,000 to $250,000...]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130431&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:26:37 GMT
Quote:
Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said today she was canceling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her [COLOR=#004276 ! important][COLOR=#004276 ! important]home[/color][/color]
 where for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record access to "those powerful few" — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors.




The astonishing offer was detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he felt it was a conflict for the [COLOR=#004276 ! important][COLOR=#004276 ! important]paper[/color][/color] to charge for access to, as the flier says, its “health care reporting and editorial staff."




With the Post newsroom in an uproar after POLITICO reported the solicitation, Weymouth said in an email to the staff that "a flier went out that was prepared by the [COLOR=#004276 ! important][COLOR=#004276 ! important]Marketing [COLOR=#004276 ! important]department[/color][/color][/color] and was never vetted by me or by the newsroom. Had it been, the flier would have been immediately killed, because it completely misrepresented what we were trying to do."




Weymouth said the paper had planned a series of dinners with participation from the newsroom “but with parameters such that we did not in any way compromise our integrity. Sponsorship of events, like advertising in the newspaper, must be at arm's length and cannot imply control over the content or access to our journalists. At this juncture, we will not be holding the planned July dinner and we will not hold salon dinners involving the newsroom. “




She made it clear however, that The Post, which lost $19.5 million in the first quarter, sees bringing together Washington figures as a future revenue source. “We do believe that there is a viable way to expand our expertise into live conferences and events that simply enhances what we do - cover Washington for Washingtonians and those interested in Washington,” she said. “ And we will begin to do live events in ways that enhance our reputation and in no way call into question our integrity.”




Executive editor Marcus Brauchli was as adamant as Weymouth in denouncing the plan promoted in the flier. “You cannot buy access to a Washington Post journalist,” Brauchli told POLITICO. Brauchli was named on the flier as one of the salon’s "Hosts and Discussion Leaders."




Brauchli said in an interview that he understood the business side of the Post planned on holding dinners on policy and was scheduled to attend the July 21 dinner at Weymouth’s Washington home, but he said he had not seen the material promoting it until today. “The flier, and the description of these things, was not at all consistent with the preliminary conversations the newsroom had,” Brauchli said, adding that it was “absolutely impossible” the newsroom would participate in the kind of event described in the solicitation for the event.




"Underwriting Opportunity: An evening with the right people can alter the debate," says the one-page flier. "Underwrite and participate in this intimate and exclusive Washington Post Salon, an off-the-record dinner and discussion at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth. ... Bring your organization’s CEO or executive director literally to the table. Interact with key Obama administration and congressional leaders."
Oh, you know that corruption within the Obama administration?

It's spreading............

:headbang: ]]> US Politics TerryTate http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130431 Police: Conn. teens mishear sex screams, beat man http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130430&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:23:21 GMT
Quote:
TORRINGTON, Conn. (AP) - Police say a Connecticut girl overheard her mother's screams during sex and thought she was being assaulted, so she rounded up some friends to attack the woman's companion.

The 16-year-old girl, two boys and a 19-year-old man were arrested Tuesday and arraigned Wednesday on assault and conspiracy charges.
According to Torrington police and the woman, the girl thought her mother was being attacked on June 6. Police say the teens went into the bedroom and beat the mother's 25-year-old companion with a baseball bat and punched him. The man, Roger Swanson of Torrington, says he suffered a black eye and several bruises.



The woman, Melanie Arnold, denies she screamed. She tells The Associated Press her daughter heard a slap and thought it was an assault.



THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.



TORRINGTON, Conn. (AP)—A group of teenagers misunderstood a woman's screams during sex and, thinking they were stopping an assault, beat a 25-year-old man in her bedroom, police said.



A 16-year-old girl who lives in the same Torrington home as the 34-year-old woman overheard her and the man on June 6 and rounded up four friends to stop what they thought was an attack, police Lt. Bruce Whiteley said Thursday.



One of the five teens beat the man with a bat and others punched him, police said. The man was treated at a hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening, and was released that night.



"Apparently he didn't have time to explain himself," Whiteley said.
The girl, two 17-year-old boys and Dilyen Langdeau, 19, of Torrington, were arrested Tuesday night and arraigned in Bantam Superior Court on Wednesday. Langdeau was charged with assault and conspiracy; the teens face similar counts. The fifth teenager was not charged.



A judge sealed the police report. The names of the girl and the two boys were not released because of their ages, and her relationship to the woman wasn't clear.



Messages left at a phone listing in the woman's name and at a phone listing for Langdeau's address were not immediately returned. It wasn't clear if Langdeau has hired an attorney.
There was no phone listing for the victim.



http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1
Well, either that woman's daughter is assuredly a virgin, or she hates her mom acting like a cougar.....

:giggle: ]]> TerryTate http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130430 ‘Rogue broker’ blamed for oil spike http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130429&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:21:17 GMT ---Quote--- The startling spike in oil prices (http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=GB@IB.1)to their highest level this year on Tuesday was caused by a rogue broker who placed a massive bet in the Brent oil market, triggering almost $10m (€7m) of losses for his company. PVM...
Quote:
The startling spike in oil prices to their highest level this year on Tuesday was caused by a rogue broker who placed a massive bet in the Brent oil market, triggering almost $10m (€7m) of losses for his company.



PVM Oil Associates, the world’s largest over-the-counter oil brokerage, said on Thursday it had been the “victim of unauthorised trading”. The privately owned company said that as a result of the unauthorised trades it had been forced to close substantial volumes of futures contracts at a loss.



London-based PVM said it had informed the Financial Services Authority, the UK regulator. But officials at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US regulator, claimed they had been kept in the dark for several hours in spite of an agreement between the watchdogs last year to exchange such market-sensitive information spontaneously.


Oil traders in London and New York said the “unauthorised trading” explained the exceptional spike in business activity and prices in the early hours of Tuesday that some initially thought must have been caused by a geopolitical event. “Trading volumes rose overnight and prices jumped more than $2 a barrel without apparent justification,” a senior oil trader in New York said.


Prices rose in one hour from $71 to $73.5, the highest level for the year, according to Reuters data. In total, futures contracts for more than 16m barrels of oil changed hands in that hour – equivalent to double the daily production of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, and far more than the traditional 500,000 barrels for that time of the day.



Traders said the broker implicated had allegedly accounted for at least half of the unusual activity, with the rest the result of others chasing the rally. Oil prices on Thursday fell to $66.5 a barrel, down almost 10 per cent from Tuesday’s peak.



The Financial Times has identified the PVM broker as Steve Perkins. PVM declined to comment and Mr Perkins could not be reached. Fellow traders said Mr Perkins was considered an experienced broker, well-regarded in the market.



This is the second episode of rogue trading in the oil market this year. In May, an oil trader at Morgan Stanley was banned by the City watchdog after he hid from his bosses potential losses on trades made under the influence of alcohol.



The incidents come as regulators are considering tougher oversight of the commodities markets after policymakers complained that speculators fuelled last year’s surge in oil and agriculture prices.



The involvement of PVM is ironic considering the company’s head, David Hufton, has been an outspoken critic of speculators in the oil market, calling some of the exchanges “electronic oil casinos”. In 2006, he said that “if futures exchanges did not exist, oil prices would be a lot lower”.
The $10m loss is a heavy blow for PVM, which reported profits of just $5.6m in the year to July 2008, according to its accounts.



http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e0ae2b2a-6...44feabdc0.html
Gee, can you say market manipulation?

I wonder if any of these guys own dinar.....

:giggle: ]]> World News TerryTate http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130429 Maliki: Iraq signed contracts with French firms to re-build infrastructures http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130428&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:15:26 GMT Maliki: Iraq signed contracts with French firms to re-build infrastructures July 2, 2009 - 03:26:53 BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on Thursday that contracts on re-building infrastructures were signed with French companies currently visiting Iraq with a... Maliki: Iraq signed contracts with French firms to re-build infrastructures

July 2, 2009 - 03:26:53

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on Thursday that contracts on re-building infrastructures were signed with French companies currently visiting Iraq with a delegation led by Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

“The contracts were signed in the fields of electricity, water and water treatment,” Maliki said in a joint press conference he held with his French counterpart Fillon.

“The French firms’ visit to Iraq express their wish to work in the country in light of unlimited vistas of interests in the political, security, economic and cultural fields of cooperation,” Maliki added.

Earlier, Fillon said the companies in his delegation want to work in Iraq without interference, particularly after a mechanism was laid to facilitate their activities and protect investments through the Iraqi-French companies council, founded between the two countries’ private sectors with the objective of enhancing investment.

“These companies are the largest in the fields of water treatment, electricity and transport,” he added.

Fillon arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Thursday on an official visit, the first by a French premier to Iraq since 2003.

Fillon held talks with his Iraqi counterpart Nouri al-Maliki and Iraqi officials on ways to bolster bilateral relations.

Several agreements are expected to be signed during the visit, Fillon’s office said.

The French delegation includes Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and the heads of the Total oil company, Lafarge building materials group and European aerospace giant EADS among others.

Maliki visited Paris in May, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy was in Iraq in February. ]]> Iraqi General News Adster http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130428 Huge news!!! No joke!!! Look! http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130427&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:47:40 GMT Everyone! This could be huge...Just yesterday, planes were dropping off these Notes/Pictures all over Iraqi Cities! They are offering a 25,000 note as a reward for the capture of this individual...Now, if the dinars were to LOP or Change currency, I don't think they'd be doing this, do you? Is this a mark of something Great about to Happen? This is NO joke, A friend of mine who is over in the Mosul area, picked this up from off the ground...

See below for a Picture and Reward offer using the 25,000 Note!

Attachment 6821
Attached Files
File Type: pdf note.pdf (455.8 KB)
]]> Iraqi General News fb481777 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130427 Happy 4th of July! http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130426&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:05:29 GMT *From the team at IIF, we wish you a Happy and Safe Independence Day!* Image: http://patriotic.jimrlong.com/BaldEagle-Flag/god-bless-america.bmp
From the team at IIF, we wish you a Happy and Safe Independence Day!

]]> SystemAdmin http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130426 Former Oil Minister: Cooperation with foreign companies should be formulated within the acceptable http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130425&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:58:30 GMT Former Oil Minister: Cooperation with foreign companies should be formulated within the acceptable

Published Date: Thursday 02-07-2009 06:53 am

Baghdad - Fayha News

Said Dr Issam Chalabi, the international oil and Iraq's former oil minister.
أن النفط ثروة وطنية تعود للشعب العراقي والأجيال القادمة وإن النفط كان المرتكز الرئيسي في كافة التقسيمات الجغرافية والسياسية، التي جرت في النصف الأول من القرن الماضي، ولا يمكن بأي حال من الأحوال التفريط بهذه الثروة.
That the national oil wealth belongs to the Iraqi people and future generations, although the oil was based in all major geographical and political divisions, which took place in the first half of last century, and can not in any way compromised by this wealth.

ولفت وزير النفط العراقي السابق الانتباه إلىأنه تم التوقيع على مذكرة تفاهم بين وزارة النفط العراقية وشركة" شيل" البريطانية الهولندية وأشار قائلا:" إن لهذا العقد خصوصيته إذ استدعيت شركة واحدة فقط دون اتاحة المجال لشتى الشركات للتنافس. فلايمكن ابرام عقد بعشرات المليارات دون تقديم عروض تنافسية. وعموما لسنا بحاجة إلى شريك وإنما يلزمنا معدات وصيانة. ويجب أن نضع نصب أعيننا ان قوانين النفط والغاز الصادرة في العهد السابق لاتزال سارية المفعول. وهي تؤكد على ضرورة تطوير النفط من خلال الاستثمار الوطني المباشر. وفي حال تحويل العمل إلى اسلوب شراكة تقضي هذه القوانين بوجوب استصدار موافقة خاصة من قبل البرلمان . على كل حال لسنا ضد التعامل مع شركات نفطية اجنبية ولكن ضمن صيغ مقبولة".
He and the former Iraqi oil minister, was drawn out that the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Iraqi Oil Ministry and the "Shell" The Anglo-Dutch saying: "The privacy of this decade as the company was called in only one area without the provision of the various companies to compete. Flaimkn the conclusion of the contract without providing tens of billions Offers competitive. generally do not need a partner, but we need equipment and maintenance. We must bear in mind that the laws of the oil and gas in the former era are still valid. It stresses the need to develop the oil through a national direct investment. In the case of the conversion work to provide such a method laws that seek specific approval by Parliament. in any case are not against dealing with foreign oil companies but within the acceptable formats.

http://www.alfadn.com/news.php?action=view&id=2229 ]]> Iraqi Oil Big.V http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130425 Iraq Referendum on U.S. Troop Deal May Be Delayed http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130424&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:27:33 GMT *Iraq Referendum on U.S. Troop Deal May Be Delayed* Posted GMT 7-3-2009 3:38:49 BAGHDAD (Reuters) -- The next major milestone in the gradual U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, a referendum on a bilateral security pact passed last year, is likely to be delayed, politicians said on Thursday.... Iraq Referendum on U.S. Troop Deal May Be Delayed

Posted GMT 7-3-2009 3:38:49


BAGHDAD (Reuters) -- The next major milestone in the gradual U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, a referendum on a bilateral security pact passed last year, is likely to be delayed, politicians said on Thursday.
The referendum was due to take place before the end of July, according to a deal reached in the Iraqi parliament last year that placated Sunni Arab groups opposed to the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement and secured its approval.
The vote would mark the next step toward a full U.S. withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2011 after a partial pullback on Tuesday, when U.S. combat troops left Iraqi cities.
If Iraqis reject the agreement in the popular vote, the 130,000 U.S. soldiers still in the country more than six years after the 2003 invasion will be given just a year to leave.

http://www.aina.org/news/20090702223849.htm ]]> Iraqi Parliament Big.V http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130424 <![CDATA[eBay Seller Claims Certified Kenya Birth Certificate Includes a "Right Footprint."]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130421&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:06:02 GMT eBay seller claims certified Kenya birth certificate Says copy sports embossed seal, signature of physician Posted: July 02, 2009 11:30 pm Eastern © 2009 WorldNetDaily WASHINGTON – The eBay birth certificate saga continues. A seller claiming to have a certified copy of Barack... eBay seller claims certified Kenya birth certificate
Says copy sports embossed seal, signature of physician

Posted: July 02, 2009
11:30 pm Eastern

© 2009 WorldNetDaily

WASHINGTON – The eBay birth certificate saga continues.
A seller claiming to have a certified copy of Barack Obama's birth certificate issued in a Mombasa, Kenya, hospital in 1961 is back up on eBay telling her story. Six previous times the posts have been removed.
Even when the seller offered only autographed pictures of those allegedly responsible for securing the document, the posts have been removed.
The seller now insists a YouTube video will be produced, presumably including images of the document. Then, the seller says, the full story will be given to WND.
"So now eBay removes my listing for selling a picture?" asks the latest post. "That doesn't sound bizarre to anyone?"

The seller claims in the latest post on eBay that the birth certificate contains the name of Obama's mother and father, the name of the physician

present, along with a signature, and that it is "an exact copy of the original 1961 Mombasa hospital birth certificate. Includes 2009 embossed seal of the hospital in Mombasa. Contains a 2009 signature from staff that issued this copy with embossed seal."
It also allegedly includes a "right footprint."
A sixth auction by the eBay seller was scrubbed by the Internet giant today. Besides sporadic email communications, there have been no discussions between the seller and WND.
WND has reported about the on-again, off-again offers referencing Obama's birth – and by extension his eligibility to be president – for the past week.
The last auction was for a photograph of individuals who reportedly contributed to the strategy through which the still-unproven document was obtained.
The seller explained previously that Kenyans had boasted Barack Obama II was born in the Coast Provincial Hospital in Mombasa at 7:24 p.m. Aug. 4, 1961, which correlates to speculation that has existed over the president's birthplace since prior to his election. ]]> US News Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130421 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130420&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:55:47 GMT OK, let's get the UGLY part out of the way first. Crows are ugly :yelrotflmao: Just kidding my friend, I only have the good and the bad...threw you under the bus! Don't worry, to be honest, Chaka is ugly too :wave:

The GOOD : Warka just dropped 41K into my account for ; INTEREST CAPITALIZATION TRANSACTIONS that's a good deal! It's like 25% free shares of a $1 dinar stock...pro-rated over 12 months! Just for holding cash...makes me feel better about all the orders I miss out on. "IF" that's really interest and not something related to one of my purchases within the last month...either way, I got 41K free dinar!!! Try that at your local Bank...Good Luck! :muscle:

The BAD : I submitted an ISX order Monday the 29th, Warka came back with : "Please note that the last ISX white board session was June 18th 2009 and this order for the companies that will trade electronically will be submitted at July 7th 2009 trading session."

I KNOW THIS!!! Will stupid people quit spamming Warka's e-mail with purchase requests for stocks that aren't trading! jk Or balance inquiries, or prior transaction detail! KEEP UP PEOPLE!!! Warka is too busy to babysit you! Know your goal! Also, What happened to July 5th????

It appears that Sunday trading sessions are still taxing ISX Staff, but "if" they fill my order, I'm still greatful. My order for June 21st for Warka & Middle East Bank came back as : Although your order was submitted the requested shares could not be obtained, oh well...I'm a patient man.

Maybe there is an UGLY : My purchase orders for both banks were higher than anything that traded...not sure what happened there. ]]> Kickabuck http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130420 Banking Outlook Middle East 2009 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130419&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:07:26 GMT *Banking Outlook Middle East 2009 (http://www.terrapinn.com/2009/bankingme/) *A unique CEO level banking conference focusing on strategy and opportunity for commercial, investment and retail banks. A unique and timely event organised in association with the Dubai... Banking Outlook Middle East 2009

A unique CEO level banking conference focusing on strategy and opportunity for commercial, investment and retail banks.
A unique and timely event organised in association with the Dubai International Financial Centre that addresses the strategic changes Middle Eastern banks need to make as they stand at a critical juncture in their history
  • How many CEOs can you fit on one stage?
    We feature a unique line-up of high level speakers – the only CEO level banking conference in the
    Middle East
  • A unique event specifically designed for the region’s banking sector
    We have developed an agenda tailored to the region’s banks as they stand at a critical juncture in
    their history
  • Board level and executive management focused content
    Assessing the sweeping changes that will impact banking institutions across the organisational
    framework and uncovering opportunities in the new banking age
What is Banking Outlook Middle East 2009?

For much of 2008, Middle East banks were largely able to regard the unfolding financial crisis with some detachment. But as 2009 dawned, bankers warned that the regional industry may face historic circumstances which will lead to fundamental restructuring.

Banks in the region need to become accustomed to a very different operating environment; Accounting standards need to be reviewed in great detail, as do current corporate governance and transparency practices.

The banking industry’s meeting of choice

Banking Outlook Middle East 2009 is a big-picture, strategy-focused event, developed in partnership with the DIFC, that will address every major challenge and opportunity currently facing banks and, through an exceptional speaker faculty of world-leading figures, will give the banking industry new direction as it stands at a major crossroad in its history.

Core issues for 2009
  • Can Middle East banks distance themselves fromthe global financial turmoil?
  • Is consolidation in the industry finally inevitable?
  • How will family owned financial institutions react?
  • Is this global banking meltdown the result of
    ineffective corporate global regulation or less than ethical corporate entrepreneurial management?
  • Ensuring adequate capitilisation through
    collaboration     – working with shareholders,
    strategic investors and governments
  • The role of corporate governance in ensuring transparency and maintaining sustainability and soundness of the region’s financial system
  • What are the long term effects of government intervention?
  • The role of Islamic finance in providing strength and stability to the Middle Eastern banking effort
  • Will investment banking as we know it rise back from its ashes when the problems are resolved?
  • Interpreting risk measures and how they are affected by changing market conditions


Dr Hussain Hamid Hassan,
Chairman Shari’ah Advisory
Board, Dubai Islamic Bank Shayne Nelson,
Regional CEO,
Standard Chartered Bank
Salaam Al Shaksy,
CEO,
Dubai Bank
Per Larsson,
CEO,
UBS Middle East Khaled Mohammed Al-Aboodi,
CEO,
Islamic Development Bank


Guiding the region’s banks towards the new era

Concerted actions by Governments and Central Banks signaled their determination to stabilise their banks. This commitment and intervention removes the existential threat to the biggest institutions. Even those which have not directly received funds, still benefit from their stabilising presence and expect to return to profitability
by the end of this year!

Join the region’s CEOs, Chief Economists and Regulators and witness the evolvement of the Middle East’s banking sector!
]]> Middle East Affairs Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130419 Asiacell hopeful following US withdrawal http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130418&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:35:44 GMT *Iraqi GSM operator Asiacell is hopeful that network services could improve following the withdrawal of the US military from major Iraqi cities if the use of mobile “jamming” devices decreases.* Both Asiacell and Zain Iraq recently blamed jamming devices, which the US military is believed to... Iraqi GSM operator Asiacell is hopeful that network services could improve following the withdrawal of the US military from major Iraqi cities if the use of mobile “jamming” devices decreases.

Both Asiacell and Zain Iraq recently blamed jamming devices, which the US military is believed to use to prevent the detonation of roadside bombs, for degrading the quality of their network services.

Dr Diar Ahmed, CEO, Asiacell said he hoped that the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq’s cities would help alleviate the problem, although he added that fixed jamming devices, which are thought to protect military bases, could remain in use.

“We have no clue if these devices will be removed from their [US military] bases, as we are not only talking about mobile devices, but also about fixed devices as well,” Dr Ahmed told CommsMEA.

“We hope that the mobile devices will be much less in the street. But we don’t know if the fixed devices are removed or not."

He added that other organisations apart from the US military could also be using the devices, leading to doubts about whether use of the devices would fall even in built up areas. “We’re not sure if these devices are only used by the US or multinational forces. Some Iraqi forces or the Iraq ministry of interior might use them. We cannot say. We have no clue if these interferences are to be reduced,” he said.

The use of jamming devices came under the spotlight after the Iraqi government imposed fines worth just over US$20 million on Asiacell, Zain and Korek Telecom for providing “bad service” in May. Zain and Asiacell both contended that jamming devices used by security services were to blame for outages and poor network quality.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/56069...-us-withdrawal ]]> Iraqi General News Seaview http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130418 Where Are The Jobs, Mr. Obama? http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130417&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:31:12 GMT *Job Growth Numbers for June 2009* Overall, the Obama Administration is now 3.4 million jobs below where they should be to create 3.675 million jobs promised by the end of 2010. The only sector to create jobs in June was the Education/Health sector, even though it still was 18,174 jobs short of... Job Growth Numbers for June 2009

Overall, the Obama Administration is now 3.4 million jobs below where they should be to create 3.675 million jobs promised by the end of 2010. The only sector to create jobs in June was the Education/Health sector, even though it still was 18,174 jobs short of the Obama Administration's monthly target.

http://www.rove.com/job_reports/6

]]> US Politics PraiseKingGeorge http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130417 <![CDATA[$25 To see Michael Jackson At The Staples Center Monday " THIS IS IT TOUR"]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130416&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:18:45 GMT SORRY I couldnt let this pass , it's too bizarre


Posted on Jul 02, 2009 @ 03:15PM
print it send it
Random Things

Fans who wish to attend Michael Jackson's star-studded memorial service at Staples Center will have to shell out $25 to sit in the stands, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

Family, friends and VIPS will have seats on the main floor for The Tuesday, July 7th Staples service, first reported by RadarOnline.com, while the general public will be plucking down $25 to sit in the stands.

The memorial service will feel like a concert production featuring guest speakers, a lot of music and video screens inside and outside of Staples, a source close to the planning tells RadarOnline.com.

Michael Jackson's close friend Elizabeth Taylor is expected to attend, along with Diana Ross.

T-shirts that were going to be sold on Michael's upcoming "This Is It" tour will not go to waste. They will be sold outside Staples to people entering the service.

The service will be held between 10am PST and noon PST. The Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey circus will be on standby, literally. The circus act just happens to be in town and is slated to begin their run at the Staples Center from July 8 to July 11.

"We will not be taking part in the memorial service," spokesperson Stephen Payne confirmed. "We are prepared to make any logistical changes with equipment and such to help out."

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusive...ckson-memorial ]]> US News ISX_TIME http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130416 Obama Deficit vs. Bush Deficit http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130415&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:17:06 GMT *Bush Deficit vs. Obama Deficit in Pictures (http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/)* Posted March 24th, 2009 The Heritage Foundation Image: http://blog.heritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/wapoobamabudget1.jpg Bush Deficit vs. Obama Deficit in Pictures


Posted March 24th, 2009
The Heritage Foundation






President Barack Obama has repeatedly claimed that his budget would cut the deficit by half by the end of his term. But as Heritage analyst Brian Riedl has pointed out, given that Obama has already helped quadruple the deficit with his stimulus package, pledging to halve it by 2013 is hardly ambitious. The Washington Post has a great graphic which helps put President Obama’s budget deficits in context of President Bush’s.




What’s driving Obama’s unprecedented massive deficits? Spending. Riedl details:UPDATE: Many Obama defenders in the comments are claiming that the numbers above do not include spending on Iraq and Afghanistan during the Bush years. They most certainly do. While Bush did fund the wars through emergency supplementals (not the regular budget process), that spending did not simply vanish. It is included in the numbers above. Also, some Obama defenders are claiming the graphic above represents biased Heritage Foundation numbers. While we stand behind the numbers we put out 100%, the numbers, and the graphic itself, above are from the Washington Post. We originally left out the link to WaPo. It has been now been added.


CLARIFICATION: Of course, this Washington Post graphic does not perfectly delineate budget surpluses and deficits by administration. President Bush took office in January 2001, and therefore played a lead role in crafting the FY 2002-2008 budgets. Presidents Bush and Obama share responsibility for the FY 2009 budget deficit that overlaps their administrations, before President Obama assumes full budgetary responsibility beginning in FY 2010. Overall, President Obama’s budget would add twice as much debt as President Bush over the same number of years.

http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/...t-in-pictures/


. ]]> US Politics PraiseKingGeorge http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130415 <![CDATA[Ban''s report on Iraqi attempt to come out from under Chapter 7 expected in mid-July- UNSC President]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130414&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:53:12 GMT Politics 7/2/2009 10:28:00 PM mid-July - UNSC President UNITED NATIONS, July 2 (KUNA) - The President of the Security Council Ruhakana Rugunda of Uganda on Thursday said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's report on Iraq's attempt to come out from under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter is expected to be issued by July 15.
Rugunda told a press conference on the council's programme of work during the month of July and in answer to a question by KUNA that he was told that the report would be issued by that date.
He added, however, that the council has not set a date to discuss that report but has put the issue in the footnote of its provisional schedule.
Asked what his opinion was about Iraq's attempt, he said "I think we should wait for this report, then we'll be in a better position to answer you." A UN official told KUNA that Ban needs more time to put the report together as he continues consultations with the Iraqi government, in accordance with council resolution 1859, and other interested parties inside and outside the council.
The report was originally scheduled to be issued in late June. (end) sj.ajs KUNA 022228 Jul 09NNNN

http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesP...16&Language=en ]]> Iraqi General News ThisWillBe http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130414 Iraqi Oil Auction Flops As International Companies Stay Aloof http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130413&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:25:56 GMT * Iraqi Oil Auction Flops As International Companies Stay Aloof (http://www.rferl.org/content/Iraqi_Oil_Auction_Flops_As_International_Companies_Stay_Aloof/1766993.html) * Image:... Iraqi Oil Auction Flops As International Companies Stay Aloof


Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani had touted the auction as a key step to boosting oil output and giving the government much-needed funds for rebuilding programs.

July 01, 2009

(RFE/RL) -- Iraq's oil industry has suffered a blow as its first auction of production rights in over 30 years failed to draw the support of international oil majors.

Only one deal was agreed in the bidding in Baghdad on June 30.

The result of the auction showed, as one industry analyst put it, that the Iraqi government and the international oil companies inhabit different planets.


The main stumbling block was the wide gap in the expectation of profits from Iraqi oil. The government was offering foreign investors a fixed fee of around $2 a barrel for extracted crude, while some bidders, such as the U.S. ConocoPhillips, were seeking nearly $27 per barrel!

Asked whether the outcome represents a setback to Baghdad's plans to revitalize the oil industry, Nicosia-based oil-industry analyst Rafiq Latta said: "On the face of it, it looks that way. One winning bid out of eight [leases offered] is a pretty poor show, especially given the hype and the amount of work that's been put into this round."

The only deal agreed was with a consortium led by BP and including the China National Petroleum Corp, which settled for $2 a barrel for the right to further develop Iraq's biggest oil field, Rumaila, in the south of the country.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani tried to put the best face possible on the disappointing day, saying the Rumaila contract foresees almost a trebling of production from that field, which would go a long way toward meeting the projected national output of 4 million barrels per day.

Resistance To International Entry

The plan to open Iraq's oil fields to foreign investment is a controversial one. The industry has been in Iraqi hands since it was nationalized in 1972, and not everyone is in favor of allowing the big international corporations back in.

Analyst Latta says Oil Minister Shahristani does get some political cover from the fact that the foreign corporations found the terms too strict for their liking.

"He can go back to parliament and his opponents and say, 'well, look, the terms were tough,' whereas previously he was accused of being soft and selling out the country," Latta says. "So he does gain from that."



Security is a key concern for foreign investors.

Among the other restrictions imposed by the government is one that winning companies must put down a deposit of $2.6 billion before even beginning their investment in the oil fields themselves. They would also have to join a partnership with Iraqi government-owned companies, and share management of the fields despite fully financing their development.

Latta points out that that the main Iraqi partner company would be the South Oil Company, which is hostile to the presence of foreign oil concerns, as are many Iraqi politicians. He says the "astonishing" difference in pricing is partly due to factors like that.

"The companies' offers were in turn very much affected by the fact that they are looking at what they see as a very high-risk environment," Latta says.

They felt that if they were to enter such an environment, they should be well compensated.

Latta concludes that Iraq's vast energy resources give it great potential for the future, but whether this is ever fully realized rests mainly on political factors, not on any geological difficulties. ]]> Iraqi Oil Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130413 Iraq – report on relevant resolutions http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130412&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:58:24 GMT *Iraq – report on relevant resolutions *Resolution 1859 (2008) of 22 December 2008 Para. 5: decides to review resolutions pertaining specifically to Iraq, beginning with the adoption of resolution 661 (1990), and in that regard, requests the Secretary-General to report, after consultations with...
Iraq – report on relevant resolutions
Resolution 1859 (2008) of 22 December 2008
Para. 5: decides to review resolutions pertaining specifically to Iraq, beginning with the adoption of resolution 661 (1990), and in that regard, requests the Secretary-General to report, after consultations with Iraq, on facts relevant to consideration by the Security Council of actions necessary for Iraq to achieve international standing equal to that which it held prior to the adoption of such resolutions.
The report of the Secretary-General is expected to be issued during July 2009.
http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/powe.htm
 ]]> Iraqi Debt pepper http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130412 U.S.: Vice President Arrives In Iraq http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130411&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:57:40 GMT
U.S.: Vice President Arrives In Iraq

July 2, 2009
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Baghdad on July 2 for a three-day visit during which he will meet with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and with U.S. commanders and troops, Reuters reported. Biden’s trip to Iraq had not been announced previously. ]]> Iraqi General News DealOrBuyDinar http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130411 Iraq To Move Up Second Energy Bidding Round http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130410&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:53:58 GMT *Iraq To Move Up Second Energy Bidding Round* July 02, 2009 BAGHDAD (Reuters) -- Iraq plans to bring forward a second bidding round for major energy contracts, a spokesman has said, and it may also give foreign firms another chance to bid for oil fields that were not awarded during an energy... Iraq To Move Up Second Energy Bidding Round

July 02, 2009
BAGHDAD (Reuters) -- Iraq plans to bring forward a second bidding round for major energy contracts, a spokesman has said, and it may also give foreign firms another chance to bid for oil fields that were not awarded during an energy auction this week.

The country's second major bidding round for energy deals "was supposed to be at the end of the year but we have moved it up. We will announce the new date. It could be in the next few months," said Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad.

That auction will be the follow-on to the tender held in Baghdad on June 30 for eight major oil and natural-gas fields.

The auction awarded just one field to a foreign group led by BP, a disappointment to those who had hoped the round would help Iraq quickly revive a struggling oil sector and boost production of about 2.4 million barrels per day.

The auction revealed a deep gulf between what the Iraqi government was willing to pay and what foreign firms expected to earn for developing the fields, most already in production.

Jihad said the unawarded oil fields might be offered in another bidding process, or could be added to the second round and in some cases might even be developed by a future national oil company if the company is revived.

The second round is seen as even more lucrative than the first because the fields on offer have not yet been developed.

Jihad said that the government planned to develop two major gas fields, Akkas and Mansuriyah, on its own after neither was awarded to a foreign bidder in the June 30 auction.

"Akkas and Mansuriyah will be developed by the national oil company after approval of the new oil law," Jihad said.

The creation of a new national oil company would be dependent on parliament passing long-delayed hydrocarbon legislation. The laws have been held up for years by feuds between the central government in Baghdad and minority Kurds in northern Iraq.

There are few signs the impasse will soon be broken.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Iraq_To...d/1767726.html ]]> Iraqi Oil Big.V http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130410 Intense Search for American Soldier Captured in Afghanistan http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130409&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:34:20 GMT *Intense Search for American Soldier Captured in Afghanistan* Thursday, July 02, 2009 Image: http://www.foxnews.com/images/foxnews_story.gif Image: http://www.foxnews.com/images/542819/4_62_c320.jpg (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529816,00.html#) AFP July 2: A U.S. Marine takes up... Intense Search for American Soldier Captured in Afghanistan

Thursday, July 02, 2009
AFP

July 2: A U.S. Marine takes up a fighting position after off loading from a helicopter during the start of Operation Khanjar.

Insurgents have captured an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan after he walked off post with his three Afghan counterparts, officials said Thursday.
Spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said the soldier disappeared Tuesday. The U.S. military is offering a $25,000 reward to any Afghan national for information about the soldier's whereabouts.
"We have all available resources out there looking for him and hopefully providing for his safe return," Mathias said.
Mathias did not provide details on the soldier, the location where he was captured or the circumstances.
Maulvi Sangin, who claims to speak for the Taliban in the province, said that the U.S. soldier was seized when he and the others were on their way to the Yousafkhel security checkpost, and took them to a secret location, according to an Afghan news Web site. Sangin claimed the abducted soldiers were drunk when captured by the Taliban.
U.S. officials could not confirm that these claims are true, and not Taliban propganda.
The news broke as thousands of U.S. Marines launched a major anti-Taliban offensive in southern Afghanistan. The missing soldier was not part of that operation.

"We are not providing further details to protect the soldier's well-being," she said.
Afghan Police Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said the soldier disappeared in the Mullakheil area of eastern Paktika province, where there is an American base.
The soldier was noticed missing during a routine check of the unit on Tuesday and was first listed as "duty status whereabouts unknown," a U.S. defense official said on condition of anonymity.
It wasn't until Thursday that officials said publicly that he was missing and described him as "believed captured." Details of such incidents are routinely held very tightly by the military as it works to retrieve a missing or captured soldier without giving away any information to captors.
Initial reports indicated that the soldier was off duty at the time he disappeared, having just completed a shift, the official said on condition of anonymity because details are still sketchy.
The missing man is an enlisted soldier, and his family has been notified.
Two U.S. defense sources said the soldier "just walked off" post with three Afghan counterparts after he finished working. They said they had no explanation for why he left the base. He was assigned to a combat outpost, one of a number of smaller bases set up by foreign forces in Afghanistan, the officials said.
Zabiullah Mujaheed, a spokesman for the Taliban, could not confirm that the soldier was with any of their forces. A myriad of insurgent groups operate in eastern Afghanistan, and the Taliban is only one of them.
The most important insurgent group operating in that area is known as Haqqani network and is led by Siraj Haqqani, whom the U.S. has accused of masterminding beheadings and homicide bombings. ]]> World News Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130409 NYC forced to honor Islam Sept. 11? http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130408&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:25:45 GMT NYC forced to honor Islam Sept. 11? Resolution backed by CAIR urges closing schools on Muslim holidays Posted: July 02, 2009 11:59 am Eastern By Aaron Klein © 2009 WorldNetDaily NYC forced to honor Islam Sept. 11?
Resolution backed by CAIR urges closing schools on Muslim holidays

Posted: July 02, 2009
11:59 am Eastern



By Aaron Klein
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Will the New York City school system be compelled to commemorate Islam on Sept. 11?
It has been widely reported the New York City Council passed a resolution Tuesday recommending the school system shut down to commemorate two of the most important Muslim holidays, however the reports did not note the holidays fall on Sept. 11 in some years.
The council vote, which was non-binding, is at odds with the opinion of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has said he is opposed to adding any more days off to the school calendar. Bloomberg, however, recently relinquished control of the school system to a newly appointed board of education, which could approve the holiday plan.
The Islamic holidays being considered for commemoration are Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr. The former commemorates the Islamic belief Abraham was willing to sacrifice Ishmail. The latter marks the end of the Islamic fast period of Ramadan. Jewish and Christian tradition relates Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, not Ishmail.

Islamic holidays are set based on the lunar calendar, meaning the dates corresponding to the Gregorian calendar change each year. As first noticed by Andrew Walden, publisher and editor of the Hawaii Free Press Eid al-Adha falls on Sept. 11 in the year 2016, according to the accepted Umm al-Qura calendar.
Eid al-Fitr, meanwhile, will begin at sunset Sept. 9 and continue to sunset Sept. 10 next year. The dates, though, depend on the official citing of the new crescent moon as certified by the Saudi "hilal committee," which at times has shifted holidays by one or two days, meaning Eid-al-Fitr could technically also be celebrated on Sept. 11 in 2010.
The council's vote reportedly comes as the culmination of a three-year lobbying effort by U.S. Muslim groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. The council resolution cited New York City's growing Muslim population as well as the fact that the system observes major Jewish and Christian holidays.
The resolution's advocates have cited a statistic claiming Muslims make up 12 percent of the city's public school students and, therefore, they deserved recognition.
Bloomberg told reporters before the vote that not all religions could be accommodated on the school system's holiday schedule, only those with "a very large number of kids who practice."
"If you close the schools for every single holiday, there won't be any school," Bloomberg said. "Educating our kids requires time in the classroom, and that's the most important thing to us."
While Bloomberg recently handed control of the school system to a new education board, the state Senate could take action to put the mayor back in control.
"Right now the degree of control the mayor has over the education system is completely unclear," Councilman G. Oliver Koppell, the only council member to vote against the resolution, told FoxNews.com. ]]> US News Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130408 Biden Lands in Baghdad, on Surprise Visit to Meet With Iraqi Officials http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130407&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:05:02 GMT *Biden Lands in Baghdad, on Surprise Visit to Meet With Iraqi Officials* *The trip comes two days after the White House announced the vice president would be assigned to oversee political reconciliation efforts among Iraqi factions. * FOXNews.com Thursday, July 02, 2009 Vice President... Biden Lands in Baghdad, on Surprise Visit to Meet With Iraqi Officials

The trip comes two days after the White House announced the vice president would be assigned to oversee political reconciliation efforts among Iraqi factions.


FOXNews.com
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Vice President Biden landed Thursday in Baghdad on a surprise visit to meet with Iraqi officials and U.S. military commanders, as well as speak to U.S. troops on the ground.
The trip comes two days after the White House announced the vice president would be assigned to oversee political reconciliation efforts among Iraqi factions.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama asked his No. 2 to work with Gen. Ray Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Christopher Hill on mending fences in Iraq.
Biden will be "working with the Iraqis toward overcoming their political differences and achieving the type of reconciliation that we all understand has yet to fully take place, but needs to take place," Gibbs said.
As a senator, Biden advocated a plan to partition Iraq into semi-autonomous regions for the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds -- but Gibbs said the vice president is "perfectly suited" for the role of unifying the country given his knowledge of the region.
Such a responsibility would be the highest-level overseas duty assigned to Biden, who has trended toward more domestic matters despite his foreign policy credentials, touted during the campaign.
The Biden visit comes after the U.S. met its Tuesday deadline to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraqi cities. ]]> The US / UK and Iraq Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130407 Too many jobs lost, Obama says in AP interview http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130406&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:46:42 GMT *Too many jobs lost, Obama says in AP interview* Image: http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/nws/p/ap_logo_106.png (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/brand/SIG=br2v03/*http://www.ap.org)Image:... Too many jobs lost, Obama says in AP interview


AFP/File
By JENNIFER LOVEN, AP White House Correspondent Jennifer Loven, Ap White House Correspondent – 3 mins ago
WASHINGTON – With joblessness rising, President Barack Obama said Thursday he was "deeply concerned" about unemployment and conceded that too many families are worried about "whether they will be next" to suffer economically.
In a White House interview with The Associated Press, Obama said that since he took office, "we have successfully stabilized the financial markets," and "started to see some stabilization on housing."
"But what we are still seeing is too many jobs lost," said Obama, commenting after new government figures showed the unemployment rate had risen to 9.5 percent last month.
On an important international subject, Obama is scheduled to travel to Russia next week, and he said the agenda includes talks on a new treaty to curtail long-range nuclear missiles. Asked why he intends to meet with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the former president, Obama said he "still has a lot of sway." Putin now is nominally the second-in-command in the Kremlin.
Obama also is to meet with the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev.
It is important that both Medvedev and Putin hear the same message from the U.S., said Obama, who added that he believes Putin "has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new."
Obama praised Russia for its cooperation in attempting to persuade North Korea and Iran to abandon their nuclear development programs. The United Nations recently approved "the most robust sanction regime that we've ever seen with respect to North Korea," he said.
Asked if he was resigned to Iran's possession of nuclear weapons, he said, "I'm not reconciled with that, and I don't think the international community is reconciled with that."
Obama spoke sympathetically of white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., who won a Supreme Court case this week after claiming they had been unfairly denied promotions because of their race. But he added, "Keep in mind the Supreme Court didn't close the door to affirmative action" to help minorities.
At the same time, he conceded the justices were "moving the ball" on the issue with a 5-4 ruling in the case.
Obama, a former teacher of constitutional law, said, "I've always believed that affirmative action was less of an issue or should be less of an issue than it has been made out to be in news reports. It hasn't been as potent a force for racial progress as advocates will claim and it hasn't been as bad on white students seeking admissions or seeking a job as its critics say."
Asked about his plans for detainees currently held at the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the president said the idea of indefinite detention being part of his legacy as president "gives me huge pause."
But he also said there are some detainees who don't fall neatly into existing categories for criminal prosecution in the United States or under international law. He said dealing with them is going to be one of the biggest challenges of his administration. He said he's not comfortable with mandating indefinite detentions on his own through executive orders, but he didn't explicitly rule that out.
And his view of Michael Jackson, whose death has dominated news coverage for nearly a week: The president said Jackson was "one of our greatest entertainers" and "I still have all his stuff on my iPod." But he said Jackson's life had been tragic and in many ways sad.
On light subjects:
• The president spoke enthusiastically of the White House pastry chef. "Whatever kind of pie you want, he will make it," Obama said, adding ruefully that that was a problem for him and wife Michelle in regard to their weight.
• Asked whether he was a bigger fan of Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan, one the reigning MVP of the National Basketball Association and the other a retired superstar, the basketball-playing president said without hesitation: "Michael. I haven't seen anybody match up with Jordan yet ]]> US News Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130406 Biden fails to draw crowd in Erie http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130405&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:12:54 GMT *Biden fails to draw crowd in Erie* Posted July 1, 2009 11 :29 AM Wattsburg, Pa. — Vice President Joe Biden visited a small town on the outskirts of Erie today to talk to rural folks about federal stimulus money that can be used to expand broadband access to the Internet for rural areas that... Biden fails to draw crowd in Erie

Posted July 1, 2009 11 :29 AM
Wattsburg, Pa. — Vice President Joe Biden visited a small town on the outskirts of Erie today to talk to rural folks about federal stimulus money that can be used to expand broadband access to the Internet for rural areas that typically have poor connections.
Apparently stimulus money and broadband are not all that interesting to the local folk here: Only around 100 or so people have showed up so far to hear Biden talk at noon at Seneca High School off Route 8 in Wattsburg.
The room looked so sparse that about 30 or so chairs were removed by volunteers to give the illusion of a full house.
The effect didn't exactly work.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt...yfourthestate/ ]]> US Politics AbuSpinoza http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130405 Electronic trading question... http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130404&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:48:53 GMT I put in an order for 200k Eastern Brewery. Mr. I emailed me back with this.... I don't want to bother him so does anyone know what he's talking about? Why would i need to adjust my order accordingly? Does this mean that we can ONLY order stocks now that are trading electronically, isn't that like only five or something?


Quote:
Please note that as the ISX going fully electronic there will be no trading sessions until July 5th 2009 where all the trading sessions will become electronic.



Please note that the last ISX white board session was June 18th 2009 please check the official ISX website www.isx-iq.net bulletin report on July 5th 2009 to view a list of the new companies that are trading electronically to base your stock order accordingly.



Upon receiving your package my department will provide a confirmation and updated balances.



Best regards,
]]> ISX News and Results shellie01 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130404 Iraq: Iran Has Reduced Arms Shipments To Militants - Mullen http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130403&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:52:40 GMT

Iraq: Iran Has Reduced Arms Shipments To Militants - Mullen

July 1, 2009
Iran has reduced the amount of weapons it supplies to insurgents in Iraq but still affects the violence there and in Afghanistan, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said July 1, VOA News reported. Mullen said the Iranians “are clearly not shipping as much as they used to, but that does not mean they have stopped.” Mullen also said he has not seen any signs of broader changes in Iran’s military policy, even after the Iranian presidential election and the subsequent turmoil.




This is a good sign that Iran may be moving away from supporting the insurgency in Iraq. At least there may be reason to hope it is. U.S. troops have been pulling out of Iraqi cities over the last few months, a process which ended on June 30th. It remains to be seen if the Iranian's, who are Shia, will continue to try undermine what is a Shia dominated government in Iraq now that the U.S. troop pullout from urban areas has been completed.

I think it's safe to assume that Al Qaeda, who are Sunni, will continue to be Al Qaeda. However, in spite of the minimal to absent reporting by the media, Al Qaeda's back was broken in Iraq following the surge and the alliance formed between Iraqi Sunni Awakening Council and the U.S. military back in 2007.

While unfortunately insurgents and Al Qaeda can still set off a bomb in a marketplace or near a mosque from time to time their operational abilities were crippled at that time and remain so. July will reveal a lot about the Iraqi forces ability to secure their own country and also the will of the insurgents to continue their efforts to undermine the government of Iraq.

]]> Iraqi General News DealOrBuyDinar http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130403 Iraq to launch state oil company! http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130402&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:43:32 GMT *Iraq to launch state oil company!* Published on1 July 2009 - 10:40pm *Iraq has secured just one deal to exploit an oilfield at its first auction of energy contracts since the US-led invasion six years ago. Six oilfields and two gas fields were available in the televised auction.* *A... Iraq to launch state oil company!

Published on1 July 2009 - 10:40pm



Iraq has secured just one deal to exploit an oilfield at its first auction of energy contracts since the US-led invasion six years ago. Six oilfields and two gas fields were available in the televised auction.

A consortium led by British Petroleum (BP) signed a contract to exploit the Rumaila oil field, which is Iraq's largest. The other energy contracts failed to secure buyers, mainly because the bidders refused the oil ministry's terms. Most foreign oil companies are not interested in the Iraqi oilfields as they will only generate a few dollars per vat. Baghdad says it will now start a state-run company to exploit the oil fields. Iraq has the third-largest oil reserves in the world.

http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/ir...te-oil-company ]]> Iraqi Oil copper13 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130402 DNO in north iraq, KRG http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130401&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:39:53 GMT http://www.genel-enerji.com/info_note_eng_300509.pdf Tawke Oil Field: • Oil in Place : 1.9 Billion Barrels • Recoverable Reserve (3P) : 400-800 Million Barrels • Daily Production : 60.000 barrels/day • Number of wells : 14 • API Gravity : 23 – 27 API degree • Distance to ITP : 50 km... http://www.genel-enerji.com/info_note_eng_300509.pdf

Tawke Oil Field:
• Oil in Place : 1.9 Billion Barrels
• Recoverable Reserve (3P) : 400-800 Million Barrels
• Daily Production : 60.000 barrels/day
• Number of wells : 14
• API Gravity : 23 – 27 API degree
• Distance to ITP : 50 km (tie-in pipeline is completed)
• West Dohuk Oil Structure is an additional potential to Tawke Oil Field (1.5 Billion
Barrels Oil in place)
• Operator : DNO
• Net profit oil to foreign contractor after Royalty,
Government back in rights and Contractor’s cost recovery : 12 %
• Aggregate Government take of profit from the project : 88 %

+++

Dohuk Exploration Block:
• Oil in Place : 2.2 Billion Barrels
• Number of Wells : 0
• Operator : DNO
• Net profit oil to foreign contractor after Royalty,
Government back in rights and Contractor’s cost recovery : 11 %
• Aggregate Government take of profit from the project : 89 %

++++

BENENAN ( HAWLER) 2-3 Billion Barrels????

This gives us, OIP :

1.9 Billions Barrels (Tawke)
+1.5 Billions Barrels (Tawke west)
+2.2 Billions Barrels (Dohuk)
+2.5 Billions Barrels (hawler )?????
------------------------------
=8.1 Billions Barrels TOTALT,

------------------------------

From times today:
Until now, major oil companies such as Chevron and ExxonMobil have stayed out of investing in the Kurdish zone for fear that investing there might prompt Baghdad to blacklist them from bidding for the far larger fields down South. But those fears have diminished as the stalemate in parliament over oil has dragged on. Big Oil might also be emboldened to make deals on oil fields in the Kurdish areas since last week, when the Chinese oil giant Sinopec announced that it was acquiring the Swiss oil company Addax Petroleum, which operates in Iraqi Kurdistan. "It will be much more difficult to blacklist Sinopec," says Yousni. "This is China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, not some small oil company," he says. Having dared to take on Baghdad, China has increased the Kurds' ability to become an autonomous economic power, and perhaps allowed other companies to follow suit. "The Chevrons and Exxons of this world can now do the same, and go into Kurdish fields." For now, some may see that as a safer bet than the riches on offer, at a steeper price and risk, further south.

http://www.time.com/time/world/artic...908265,00.html



-----
The Chevrons and Exxons of this world can now do the same, and go into Kurdish fields ]]> Iraqi Oil DNOINT http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130401 NEW - ISX / CEO JULY Statement http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130400&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:24:39 GMT Symposium on the financial investment in Iraq, reality and prospects. Mr. Taha Ahmed Abdul Salam, Director of the Commissioner of the market, Iraq Stock Exchange, gave a lecture titled financial investment in Iraq, reality and prospects in coordination with the Gulf Commercial Bank, on... Symposium on the financial investment in Iraq, reality and prospects.



Mr. Taha Ahmed Abdul Salam, Director of the Commissioner of the market, Iraq Stock Exchange, gave a lecture titled financial investment in Iraq, reality and prospects in coordination with the Gulf Commercial Bank, on Thursday, 25/6/2009. One of the most important recommendations of the lecture as follows:

1 the inclusion of a new joint stock companies provide the conditions by which the listing requirements of the law of financial markets and listing procedures from the new securities. And follow-up of companies that have been suspended for the circulation of its non-disclosure standards in coordination with the Securities. Commencement of the examination and approval of the inclusion of non-Iraqi companies, especially those in Iraq will Bparwatha through its Global Holding.

2 that the basic role of the market in the implementation of the privatization of public sector companies at the time of the privatization law in Iraq.

3 motivate brokers to open branches in the regions and provinces and neighboring countries to achieve the required expansion in the profession and to attract investment in the stock market.

4 Coordination with the Central Bank of Iraq for the purpose of approval of the deposit of government bonds and semi-governmental organizations when they are released at the center of the filing and circulation in the Iraqi market for securities in accordance with the style of electronic trading. He urged the companies to contribute to the issuance of debt securities when the need for liquidity rather than increasing the capital and kept the price of the stock lower.

5 work to raise awareness of financial and investment provided by a permanent law through the continuation of the discussion of its articles, instructions and rules, even if a number of them to change if approved by parliament.

6 Adoption of the rules for the acceptance of new companies to the brokerage of securities trading activity for the development of the first in the market and the need to develop a second mediation services and not merely to increase the numerical sterile. It is for justice and transparency of the selection should be in the formats and rules to apply based on the principle of competition, and include all economic strata in the country.

7 amendment and development of the financial investment companies (5) for the year 1998. To allow it to play the specialized companies and companies that consider the market maker orders increase their capital, and to develop mechanisms to implement its tasks and functions of the President to stimulate the establishment of new companies and owned the top to activate the investment.

8 follow-up programs and plans of action for corporations to contribute to the study of annual reports and detect irregularities and financial management and accountability for negligence and not only by public bodies that have receded because of its control of the owners of older, but through the means of control in the form of securities and the registration and control of companies and the Central Bank of Iraq. The low prices of shares traded during the 2006 and 2007 was the result of the decline of the performance and activity of most of the companies for reasons related to the type and level of employment, management, hours of work and cost of production and failure in many cases in addition to security risks. But this does not relieve companies of the importance of developing the means of production through the action plans, participation and other borrowing and to restore its position in the domestic market and to achieve a surplus reflected divided and distributed the profits to the increase in its share price in the market, but not altered the expected share price suffering from financial losses or poor .

9 plans to reduce the dependency of the stock companies to increase their capital as a source of funding because the increase in the number of shares, which occurred in the nineties and the beginning of the decade and continues to directly impact on the value of the stock on the bourse, especially when the nominal value of one dinar. The value of this amendment (the IPO price) is accounted for on the basis of their performance and financial position and share price in the stock market is one of the main tasks to strengthen the share price and is subjected to a continuing decline in influence and thus the volume of liquidity available for investment.

10 adopted the Central Bank of Iraq and the Iraqi Bank Association and a number of Iraqi banks, the issue of establishing an investment fund dedicated to investing in the Iraqi Stock Exchange. We call for continued efforts to mobilize support for the implementation of investment decisions. ]]> ISX News and Results ISX_TIME http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130400 July 02: 1170 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130399&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:21:09 GMT *Announcement No. (**1442)* The 1442 daily currency auction was held in the Central Bank of Iraq Thursday 2-7-2009 so the results were as follows: Number of banks *13* Auction price selling dinar / US $ *1170* Amount sold at auction price (US $) *102.150.000* Cash: *$* *16.000.000*...
Announcement No. (1442)


The 1442 daily currency auction was held in the Central Bank of Iraq Thursday 2-7-2009 so the results were as follows:

Number of banks 13
Auction price selling dinar / US $ 1170
Amount sold at auction price (US $) 102.150.000
Cash: $ 16.000.000
Transfers: $ 86.150.000 ]]> CBI - Exchange Rates bultn http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130399 Adviser to the Central Bank: monetary policy in the country on the verge of a new developments after the military withdrawal http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130398&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:07:02 GMT *Adviser to the Central Bank: monetary policy in the country on the verge of a new developments after the military withdrawal* 2009-07-02 08:47:54 BAGHDAD (Iba) / Central Bank / developments / .. adviser said that the Iraqi Central Bank monetary policy in the country on the verge of a new... Adviser to the Central Bank: monetary policy in the country on the verge of a new developments after the military withdrawal

2009-07-02 08:47:54

BAGHDAD (Iba) / Central Bank / developments / .. adviser said that the Iraqi Central Bank monetary policy in the country on the verge of a new developments are in favor of the national economy after the withdrawal of foreign military from Iraqi cities.
واضاف مظهر محمد صالح لوكالة الصحافة المستقلة ( إيبا ) اليوم الخميس ان الاعلان الرسمي للانسحاب هو اعتراف بتحسن الواقع الامني وهو نقطة الانطلاق التي تخدم السياسة النقدية وتسهم في تعزيز قيمة صرف الدينار ازاء الدولار وتنعكس ايجابا على العملية الاقتصادية برمتها .
The appearance of Mohammed Saleh told the independent press (Iba) said Thursday that the official announcement of the withdrawal is a recognition of the improved security, a fact which serves the starting point of monetary policy and contribute to the enhancement of the value of the dinar against the dollar and reflected positively on the whole economic process.
واشار صالح الى عزم البنك على وضع البرامج المتطورة خلال العام الجاري وتفعيل الاتفاقيات الدولية وتوصيات المؤتمرات الخاصة بالبنك والمصارف العراقية .
The benefit of the bank's intention to develop high-technology programs during the current year and the activation of international conventions and recommendations of the Bank and Iraqi banks.
رادّا الانتقادات التي وجهها عدد من المعنيين بالشان الاقتصادي للسياسة النقدية .
Rada criticism by a number of those involved in economic affairs of monetary policy.
وشدد على ضرورة تأسيس المصارف بصورة مهنية ضمن انظمة وآليات عمل بعيدة عن اعتبارات الحجم وبما يتناسب ومصالح البللاد .
He stressed the need for the establishment of banks within the professional systems and mechanisms of action are far from considerations of scale and commensurate with the interests of Albullad.
مؤكدا ان التكامل الاقتصادي بما فيه النقدي ، مسألة بالغة الأهمية لرفع مستويات المعيشة المواطن والمنافسة الدولية المعتمدة على الافضليات .
Stressing that economic integration, including monetary, issue of great importance to raising the living standards of international competition and citizen-based preferences.
وتابع صالح ان البنك يؤكد على اعداد الدراسات والبحوث التي يعتمد عليها في رسم هذه السياسات وباستقلالية وشفافية مهنية ، مثلما هو الحال في البنوك العالمية .
The benefit of the Bank emphasizes the preparation of studies and research upon which these policies in the design and the professional independence and transparency, as in the case of international banks.
منوها الى ان جميع القائمين حريص على تطوير عمل المصارف والمحافظة على المكاسب التي تحققت خلال الفترة السابقة .
Adding that all those keen to develop the work of banks and to preserve the gains achieved during the previous period.
يذكر ان صالح ذكر في تصريح صحفي ان المعنيين بشؤون السياسة النقدية للبلاد يتابعون الغموض في فهم اشارات السياسة النقدية للبنك التي واصلت مواجهتها لحالتي التضخم الجامح وتدهور سعر صرف الدينار العراقي وعبر مظاهر الاختلال الاقتصادي والاجتماعي الصعبة التي عاشتها البلاد منذ اكثر من ثلاثة عقود من الزمن .(النهاية)/20/
The Saleh said in a press statement that concerned with the affairs of the country's monetary policy following the uncertainty in understanding the signals the monetary policy of the bank, which continued to face the cases of hyper-inflation and the deterioration of the Iraqi dinar exchange rate and through the manifestations of the imbalance of economic and social experience of the difficult country for more than three decades. ( end) / 20 /


http://74.125.53.132/translate_c?hl=...cQIAeESEy2Vt5Q ]]> Iraqi Economy Big.V http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130398 Calls on the Government to an economic agreement with the IMF without the obligations of the future http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130397&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:04:24 GMT *Calls on the Government to an economic agreement with the IMF without the obligations of the future* 2009-07-02 08:51:10 BAGHDAD (Iba) / IMF / loans / .. economic expert called the Iraqi government to deal with the International Monetary Fund to obtain a loan, to be without the... Calls on the Government to an economic agreement with the IMF without the obligations of the future

2009-07-02 08:51:10

BAGHDAD (Iba) / IMF / loans / .. economic expert called the Iraqi government to deal with the International Monetary Fund to obtain a loan, to be without the obligations of the future.
وقال الدكتور علي المانع لوكالة الصحافة المستقلة ( إيبا ) اليوم الخميس ان المواطن العراقي لربما يدفع ثمنا باهظا مرة اخرى جراء التزامات صندوق النقد التي انفكت البلاد منه بداية العام الجاري في حال عدم الاتفاق بشكل عملي على اليات تسديد القرض المحتمل البالغ 7 مليارات دولار .
Dr. Ali Al-Manie told the independent press (Iba) said Thursday that the Iraqi citizens may pay a high price again by the obligations of the IMF, which has been the country from the beginning of the year in the event of a disagreement on the practical mechanics of the possible repayment of the loan of $ 7 billion.
واضاف ان الدول النفطية التي تراهن الولايات المتحدة على مساهماتها في تمويل القروض عبر صندوق النقد للدول ، ستواجه صعوبات في تسديد قيمة صادراتها ، حيث ان خفض قيمة الدولار سيقلل من قدراتها على تقديم تلك القروض ، منوها الى ان ذلك سينعكس سلبا على العراق في حال غياب الاتفاق .
He added that the oil states are betting that the United States for their contributions to finance the loans through the IMF to the States, will face difficulties in the payment of the value of exports, since the devaluation of the dollar will reduce the capacity to provide such loans, adding that it will have a negative impact on Iraq in the absence of agreement .
واعرب المانع عن ثقته بالجهات المسؤولة عن السياسة المالية في العراق من خلال وضع بنود مشتركة تخدم المواطن .
He was confident with anti responsible for fiscal policy in Iraq through the establishment of common items serve the citizen.
مؤكدا ان العراقيين مازالوا يعانون من تبعات سياسة الصندوق تجاه الزامه الحكومة برفع الدعم عن المشتقات النفطية وغيرها من الخطط التنموية .
He said the Iraqis were still suffering from the consequences of the Fund's policy to commit themselves to the government to lift subsidies on oil derivatives, and other development plans.
يذكر ان خبراء في صندوق النقد الدولي توقعوا ان تشهد قيمة عائدات الدول النفطية تراجعا قد يكون مدمرا على خلفية الانخفاض المتوقع لقيمة الدولار الامريكي..ويؤكد الخبراء ان خفض في قيمة الدولار سيكون له بالغ الاثر على اقتصادات الدول التي تقوم عملتها بالدولار ومنها المملكة العربية السعودية وعدد من الدول الخليجية الاخرى .(النهاية)/20/
The experts at the International Monetary Fund expected to see the value of the proceeds of oil-producing countries, could be a devastating setback against the backdrop of an expected decrease of the value of the dollar .. and the experts, that the reduction in the value of the dollar will have a dramatic impact on the economies of States that its currency to the dollar, including Saudi Arabia and the number of of the other Gulf states. (end) / 20 /


http://74.125.53.132/translate_c?hl=...3DvOoyRTOG8ZBQ ]]> Iraqi Economy Big.V http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130397 Its official...Britain beats you all....its the BEST http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130396&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:55:05 GMT At being the most VIOLENT country in Europe, its worse then South Africa and the US. UK has a figure of 2,034 offences per 100,000 people. Austria has 1,677. South Africa has 1,609. Canada has 935. At being the most VIOLENT country in Europe, its worse then South Africa and the US.

UK has a figure of 2,034 offences per 100,000 people.

Austria has 1,677.

South Africa has 1,609.

Canada has 935.

US has 466.

Australia has 92.

Police minister says 'figures are misleading'.

The new today 4th home secretary says he is going to 'crack down on crime'. So did the other 3.

Still want to come here now for your holidays?
If you do, then either bring a bodyguard or a gun.....if the bodyguard gets killed at least you can sell the gun. ]]> baz http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130396 <![CDATA[eBay founder link to Obama unveiled; Serve on the 28-member President's Commission on White House Fellowships.]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130395&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:25:12 GMT eBay founder's links to Obama unveiled
Endorsement, appointment included in billionaire's connections

Posted: July 02, 2009
12:00 am Eastern



By Drew Zahn
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Pierre Omidya, eBay founder
Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar's politics have become the subject of blog commentary because the web auction site over the last week repeatedly scrubbed an offering of an allegedly genuine copy of President Barack Obama's birth certificate – from Mombasa, Kenya.
But the company said it wouldn't get involved in any discussion of Omidyar's activities or political statements.
Spokeswoman Evonne Gomez said, "We certainly wouldn't comment on our founder's political concessions or beliefs. He is not involved in the day-to-day operations of the company."
She said if a question was submitted in writing, she would consult on whether it would be answered. A question submitted by WND didn't, however, produce a response.
"I will coordinate with colleagues on the corporate side," she said. "We wouldn't comment on his political views or associations."
Omidyar, a billionaire, former CEO and current chairman of eBay, earlier this month was appointed by Barack Obama to serve on the 28-member President's Commission on White House Fellowships.
According to a White House press release from June 17, Omidyar joins former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, General Wesley Clark, former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, and several others on the committee, which recommends candidates to the president for selection as White House Fellows. The release calls the White House Fellowship "America's most prestigious program for leadership and public service, providing young individuals with experience working at the highest levels of the federal government."
Omidyar further serves as a trustee of the Punahou School in Hawaii, the elite private high school that Obama graduated from in 1979, and endorsed Obama's candidacy for president on his blog in March 2008.

WND reported has reported that over the last week eBay has scrubbed at least five auctions offered by a seller known to the public only as "colmado_naranja."
The sale was for a document that purportedly was a Kenyan birth certificate for Obama.
Gomez told WND any items that are removed are being of company policy.
The "birth certificate" seller allegedly obtained Obama's document while traveling in Africa. The seller explained that the Kenyan natives boasted that Barack Obama II was born in the Coast Provincial Hospital in Mombasa at 7:24 p.m. on Aug. 4, 1961, which correlates with speculation that has existed over President Obama's birthplace since even prior to his election.
WND also reported that the seller, colmado_naranja, then tried to sell a "dissertation" on Obama's birth, including the "supporting documents" – which presumably includes the Kenyan birth certificate advertised on the seller's original auction page.
Nonetheless, like the four previous auction pages posted by the seller, the fifth sale for the "dissertation" was scrubbed by eBay administrators.
Further, an alert notice was sent to eBay members who had been in contact with colmado_naranja, warning them that the seller may be fraudulent and attempting to extract private information from prospective buyers.
Previously, colmado_naranja claimed, the auction pages were removed because of an eBay policy prohibiting the sale of government documents, even though WND discovered several foreign birth certificates and even a driver's license – albeit all from 1935 or older – for sale on the auction site.
An eBay help desk representative said the fifth auction auction for "the dissertation" was removed because the company believed, "a third party had accessed the [seller's] account."
The latest offering from colmado_naranja is an auction for a photograph of several people who reportedly helped in the hunt for the "birth certificate," and a promise that more information would be unveiled in a planned YouTube video.
President Obama's place of birth, however, remains only one of several questions and possible avenues for answers that remain in determining whether or not Obama is a "natural born citizen" under the U.S. Constitution and eligible to serve as president. ]]> US Politics Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130395 London Mayor To Visit Vietnam To Boost Financial Sector Cooperation http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130394&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:08:35 GMT Full story: _London Mayor To Visit Vietnam To Boost Financial Sector Cooperation (http://www.vnbusinessnews.com/2009/06/london-mayor-to-visit-vietnam-to-boost.html)_ Full story: London Mayor To Visit Vietnam To Boost Financial Sector Cooperation ]]> Vietnamese Dong Forum shevaub http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130394 <![CDATA[Fitch cuts Vietnam's local currency debt rating]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130393&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:07:32 GMT Full story: Fitch cuts Vietnam's local currency debt rating ]]> Vietnamese Dong Forum shevaub http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130393 Forex trading rate may be expanded http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130392&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:06:06 GMT full story: _Forex trading rate may be expanded (http://www.vnbusinessnews.com/2009/06/forex-trading-rate-may-be-expanded.html)_ full story: Forex trading rate may be expanded ]]> Vietnamese Dong Forum shevaub http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130392 Vietcombank H1 gross profit $138 mln http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130391&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:03:23 GMT full story: _Vietcombank H1 gross profit $138 mln (http://www.vnstocknews.com/2009/07/vietcombank-h1-gross-profit-138-mln.html)_ full story: Vietcombank H1 gross profit $138 mln ]]> Vietnamese Dong Forum shevaub http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130391 Bond yield rises to 6-month high on inflation concerns http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130390&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:02:18 GMT Full story: http://www.vnstocknews.com/2009/07/bond-yield-rises-to-6-month-high-on.html Full story: http://www.vnstocknews.com/2009/07/b...h-high-on.html ]]> Vietnamese Dong Forum shevaub http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130390 Central bank bans dollar sales fees http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130389&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:59:54 GMT Full story: _Central bank bans dollar sales fees (http://www.vnbusinessnews.com/2009/07/central-bank-bans-dollar-sales-fees.html)_ Full story: Central bank bans dollar sales fees ]]> Vietnamese Dong Forum shevaub http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130389 Ruby Plaza Displays 15-tonne Sapphire Block http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130388&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:57:34 GMT Full story: _Ruby Plaza Displays 15-tonne Sapphire Block (http://www.vnbusinessnews.com/2009/07/ruby-plaza-displays-15-tonne-sapphire.html)_ Full story: Ruby Plaza Displays 15-tonne Sapphire Block ]]> Vietnamese Dong Forum shevaub http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130388 Monetary policy expert discounts talk of dong depreciation http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130387&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:56:22 GMT Full story: _Monetary policy expert discounts talk of dong depreciation (http://www.vnbusinessnews.com/2009/07/monetary-policy-expert-discounts-talk.html)_ Full story: Monetary policy expert discounts talk of dong depreciation ]]> Vietnamese Dong Forum shevaub http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130387 <![CDATA[The latest on eBay's 'Kenyan birth certificate']]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130385&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:01:14 GMT The latest on eBay's 'Kenyan birth certificate'
Now it's an autographed photograph for sale

Posted: July 01, 2009
9:11 pm Eastern



By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
The eBay auction seller who has tried multiple times to sell an allegedly genuine copy of Barack Obama's 'birth certificate' from Mombasa, Kenya, now is offering for sale a photograph of several individuals who reportedly contributed to the strategy through which the still-unproven documented was obtained.
And the seller, identified as "colmado_naranja," who claims to have obtained the document while traveling Africa, suggested more information will be revealed on a YouTube video that is planned.
"My user name is InspectorSmith. I've had the account for some time. I have never uploaded anything. ... So this will be the first time that I've ever uploaded anything. So you'll get your document yet, up close and personal," the seller wrote on the latest eBay posting.
The seller explained previously that Kenyans had boasted Barack Obama II was born in the Coast Provincial Hospital in Mombasa at 7:24 p.m. on Aug. 4, 1961, which correlates to speculation that has existed over the president's birthplace since even prior to his election.
In each of the seller's first four attempts at auctioning the "evidence" of the claim, which would presumably render Obama ineligible to serve as president for violating the "natural born citizen" clause, colmado_naranja offered the purported Kenyan birth certificate that "proved" the story.
The eBay website, however, has a policy forbidding the sale of certain government documents, which presumably led to the auction page being removed.

Screenshot of the seller's fifth attempt, with bids approaching $1,000,000, shortly before it was remove
In the fifth attempt at auctioning "the truth about Obama," the seller didn't mention the birth certificate, offering instead a "dissertation" on Obama's birthplace, and the auction page still disappeared.
Ultimately, eBay sent e-mails to those who had exchanged information with the seller, warning them the contact from the seller may be an attempt at fraud.
Now the seller has posted an offer of an autographed photograph of a couple of the people who purportedly helped obtain the document. There were several dozen bids, bringing the price to $365, today.
"I want to make clear that this whole endeavor to obtain information on O's birth was a three man job (more accurately 2 men and 1 lady). Andylenny. Smith. Dawnella Wilson. Smith and Andylenny are (due) the credit for actually getting their hands on the proof. Dawnella Wilson is due credit for financing the whole undertaking. The photo in this listing is up for auction. On the left is Smith and on the right is Andylenny. This photo will be signed by Smith, as Smith. This will be the only autographed photo put up for auction. One auction, one winning bidder, one photo. No more," the seller wrote.


The latest auction is active as of this afternoon on eBay.
The seller offered thanks to the eBay community, those who wrote in about the issue, attorneys and paralegals who made contacts and "all military personnel that have written to me with their support, opinions and offers as hired guns."
"There won't be anymore eBay auctions for documents, stories or dissertations," the seller wrote.
"After the YouTube video I will be heading over to WorldNetDaily to talk with Joseph Farah. I will disclose everything to them," the seller continued. Contact between the seller and WND has so far been limited to an exchange of e-mails.
And no such YouTube video could be found today.
The seller also addressed the doubts held by Jerome Corsi, a senior WND staff writer who traveled to Kenya and Hawaii both investigating Obama's birth circumstances.
"I have great respect for you. You're not just a talker but, a doer as well. While many have talked of O's birth, you actually went abroad to get something tangible. Congrats. However, just because you couldn't pull it off doesn't mean that I wasn't able to."
While WND has made repeated outreaches to colmado_naranja, the validity of the claims – as well as the previously advertised "Kenyan birth certificate" – remain a mystery. The seller has so far declined to allow the document to be seen or photographed.
In the original listing, colmado_naranja explained, "I am not posting any photos of the birth certificate here on eBay. I have not seen this birth certificate anywhere on the Internet, to post it here on eBay would lead to a flood of facsimiles on the Internet. This would inadvertently decrease the value of the certificate as well."
Corsi was skeptical of the entire offering, after he traveled to Kenya last year to look into Obama's past and remaining ties to the nation.
While there, however, immigration authorities detained Corsi and his publicist – holding them under armed guard and without food – to prevent Corsi from holding a news conference revealing what he had discovered. Eventually, thousands of dollars in bribes were required to set the writer free.
Corsi told WND that despite contacts in government offices, the help of others and even the offer of financial reward, the Coast Provincial Hospital in Mombasa would not confirm Obama's birth there nor provide access to records.
"When I was there, I tried to get records from that hospital, but I couldn't do it," Corsi said. "The hospital either had no records or wouldn't release them.
Corsi wouldn't rule out the possibility that the eBay seller may have somehow obtained a genuine document, but stated only that his efforts in Kenya proved fruitless. ]]> US News Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130385 Feds Threaten to Seize California Parks If Closed by Budget http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130384&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:44:53 GMT Feds Threaten to Seize California Parks If Closed by Budget

National Park Service Regional Director Jonathan Jarvis warned in a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that six parks that could be closed to help reduce the state's ballooning budget deficit occupy former federal land that could revert to the U.S. government.


AP
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
SACRAMENTO -- California officials said Wednesday they are trying to avert the federal government's threat to seize six parks that could be closed to help reduce the state's ballooning budget deficit.
National Park Service Regional Director Jonathan Jarvis warned in a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that all six occupy former federal land that could revert to the U.S. government if the state fails to keep the parks open.
The sites are Angel Island, a former federal military and immigration facility in San Francisco Bay; the top of Mount Diablo east of San Francisco, where the Navy once operated a microwave relay station; Point Sur State Historic Park in coastal Big Sur; and three beaches -- Fort Ord Dunes near Monterey, Point Mugu State Park near Malibu, and Border Fields along the Mexican border.
The properties are among the 220 state parks Schwarzenegger has proposed closing to save $143 million. Legislators are considering the move as part of efforts to close a $26 billion budget deficit.
The Republican governor has rejected Democratic proposals to add a $15 fee to annual vehicle registrations to raise money to run the parks.
"Lands conveyed to the State under the Federal Lands to Parks Program must be open for public park and recreation use in perpetuity as a condition of the deed," Jarvis warned in a June 8 letter to Schwarzenegger made public Wednesday. "Any parkland thus conveyed, if it is found to be unavailable to the public for parks and recreation use, may revert to federal ownership for re-disposal."
The state could also lose future parks funding, Jarvis warned. California has received $286 million from the federal government since 1965 benefiting 67 parks on Schwarzenegger's closure list, Jarvis said.
"We're reviewing the letter and state parks director Ruth Coleman is in the process of talking with the National Park Service and Jon Jarvis about these very issues," said Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Lisa Page. "They are discussing a variety of outcomes and solutions depending on what final budget package is passed by the Legislature."
The National Park Service's California project manager, David Siegenthaler, but did not immediately return a telephone message Wednesday.
Jarvis said in his letter that California could consider options "short of park closures" that would keep the state in compliance with federal law. Neither Page nor California Department of Parks and Recreation spokesman Roy Stearns could immediately say what those options might be.
"Ruth has called him, talked to him, promised to find solutions and options that may keep the family intact, the park systems intact," Stearns said.
Stearns said park service officials are being cooperative, as Jarvis promised they would be in his letter. ]]> US Politics Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130384 Dinar is now on the Forex!! http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130383&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:26:04 GMT http://www.forex.tradingcharts.com/q...t=SubmitUSDIQD

Any thoughts? :happy64: ]]> Iraqi Dinar Speculation GodsChild http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130383 Democrat Senator Steers $135 Million Of TARP Funds To Bank That He Founded http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130382&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:30:08 GMT Hawaii senator helps bank he founded get aid


Central Pacific Financial did not meet criteria, holds bulk of Inouye's wealth



By Paul Kiel and Binyamin Appelbaum


updated 2:35 a.m. ET, Wed., July 1, 2009

WASHINGTON - Sen. Daniel K. Inouye's staff contacted federal regulators last fall to ask about the bailout application of an ailing Hawaii bank that he had helped to establish and where he has invested the bulk of his personal wealth.

The bank, Central Pacific Financial, was an unlikely candidate for a program designed by the Treasury Department to bolster healthy banks.

The firm's losses were depleting its capital reserves. Its primary regulator, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., already had decided that it didn't meet the criteria for receiving a favorable recommendation and had forwarded the application to a council that reviewed marginal cases, according to agency documents.

Two weeks after the inquiry from Inouye's office, Central Pacific announced that the Treasury would inject $135 million.

Many lawmakers have worked to help home-state banks get federal money since the Treasury announced in October that it would invest up to $250 billion in healthy financial firms. But the Inouye inquiry stands apart because of the senator's ties to Central Pacific. While at least 33 senators own shares in banks that got federal aid, a review of financial disclosures and records obtained from regulatory agencies shows no other instance of the office of a senator intervening on behalf of a bank in which he owned shares.

Inouye (D-Hawaii) declined a request for an interview but acknowledged in a statement that an aide had called the FDIC to ask about Central Pacific's application. Inouye said he was not attempting to influence the outcome. The statement did not address Inouye's personal role in the inquiry, including whether he directed the aide to make the call or knew at the time that it had been made.

Even if Inouye were directly involved, it would not violate the rules the Senate sets for itself, experts said.

Both the FDIC and the Treasury said the decision was not affected by the involvement of Inouye's office.


Share holder and founding member

Inouye reported ownership of Central Pacific shares worth $350,000 to $700,000, some held by his wife, at the end of 2007. The shares represented at least two-thirds of Inouye's total reported assets. Inouye has requested a delay in filing his annual financial disclosure for 2008, which was due this spring, and he declined to provide the current value of his investment. Since the end of 2007, the bank's stock has lost 79 percent of its value.

Central Pacific was founded in 1954 by a group of World War II veterans including Inouye who were emerging leaders in Hawaii's Japanese American community.

"The time had come to fund a bank that could provide equitable service not only to the Japanese, but to all communities," Inouye is quoted as saying in an exhibit in the lobby of one of the company's Honolulu branches. Inouye, who became the bank's first secretary, said that he initially invested $3,000, the minimum amount possible.

Central Pacific is Hawaii's fourth-largest bank, holding about 15 percent of the state's deposits. In recent years, it increasingly used the money to make loans in California, funding several large residential developments. By last year, the bank was facing the consequences of California's collapsing housing market. In July , Central Pacific reported a quarterly loss of $146 million, matching its total profit in the previous three years.

In October, shortly after the government announced that it would invest billions of dollars in banks to spur new lending, Central Pacific submitted an application under the initiative, called the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP.


Bleak outlook

The bank faced long odds. More than 1,600 banks submitted applications to the FDIC in the three months after the program was announced, according to a report by the FDIC's inspector general's office. The agency forwarded 408 applications to Treasury, which approved only 267, or roughly 16 percent of the total.

Central Pacific's situation was even bleaker because it was in trouble with the FDIC. Regulators had raised concerns about the bank earlier in the year. The bank would soon sign an agreement with its state regulator and the FDIC requiring it to raise an additional $40 million in capital and to improve its management practices.

After the bank applied for bailout funds, weeks passed. Andrew Rosen, a spokesman for Central Pacific, said that regulators had told the bank that the process would take "some time" because of the glut of applications.

In late November, still waiting for an answer, the bank's government-affairs officer called Inouye's office to ask that it check on the status of the application, according to Rosen. (Rosen said in an initial interview that the bank had not contacted Inouye's office about the application. After Inouye was contacted for this story, Rosen said that he'd been mistaken, that the bank had called Inouye's office.)

One day after the bank's request, an Inouye aide called the FDIC's regional office in San Francisco, which regulates Central Pacific. Inouye said in a statement that the staffer, Van Luong, "simply left a voicemail message seeking to clarify whether Central Pacific Bank's application for TARP funds had actually been received by the FDIC." The statement said that the bank was soon notified that the application had been received, "and that closed the matter."

"This single phone call was the entire extent of my staff's contact with regard to Central Pacific Bank, to any outside agency," Inouye said.

Internal FDIC e-mails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that Luong's question was referred from San Francisco to FDIC headquarters in Washington. A few days later, Alice Goodman, who heads the FDIC's office of legislative affairs -- and whose office is typically the point of contact for congressional inquiries -- called Luong to say that the application "was still under process."

The internal e-mails show that the application had been forwarded to an inter-agency council headed by the Treasury Department that reviews cases in which a bank did not meet the criteria for a federal investment. Those criteria require banks to demonstrate their viability without the benefit of federal funding.

Shortly after the Inouye staffer's phone call, the council approved Central Pacific's application.

So far, more than 600 banks have received federal investments. While some recipients have started to repay aid, the Obama administration announced this spring that it would continue to accept applications from community banks until November. The crush of calls from Capitol Hill on behalf of specific applicants led the Treasury to announce earlier year that it would start releasing a weekly list of congressional inquiries. It has yet to do so.

The question of what role members of Congress have played in influencing the Treasury's decisions is under review by the special inspector general appointed to oversee the financial rescue program. A spokesman for the special inspector general said a report is expected later this summer.

Such contacts by members and their staff do not violate the rules Congress has established to govern itself. "Congress has never been willing to adopt strong conflict-of-interest rules for its members, but for the most part, has left it up to each member to decide for themselves whether they have a potential conflict of interest," said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a watchdog group.


Similar cases

The most similar known case comes from the House. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) arranged a meeting between regulators and OneUnited of Massachusetts, a bank in which her husband held shares. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who did not own shares in the company, subsequently inserted language into the bailout bill that effectively directed the Treasury to give special consideration to that bank.

The report by the FDIC inspector general found that 26 of the 408 companies whose applications were sent to the Treasury faced enforcement actions as severe as those against Central Pacific. Because the FDIC inspector general did not name these 26 banks, it is unclear how many ultimately won the Treasury's approval. Nor is it clear whether any other bank used the Treasury money -- as Central Pacific did -- to address a capital shortfall identified by regulators.

Several financial analysts said they know of no other instances in which Treasury money was used this way. But they said it was impossible to be sure because banks are not required to disclose such regulatory actions, for instance those requiring that firms raise additional capital. Central Pacific had made this disclosure voluntarily.

Andrew Gray, an FDIC spokesman, said the Central Pacific decision was not unique, but he declined to name other banks, citing a policy against commenting on specific institutions.

ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31675539...shington_post/


. ]]> US Politics PraiseKingGeorge http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130382 Helen Thomas VS. Robert Gibbs The Puppet http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130381&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:20:25 GMT This town hall is a joke! http://www.breitbart.tv/white-house-reporters-grill-gibbs-over-selected-questions-for-obama/ This town hall is a joke!

http://www.breitbart.tv/white-house-...ons-for-obama/ ]]> US Politics Ringworm http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130381 How the FBI Broke Saddam - Download FBI Interrogation reports http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130380&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:29:21 GMT *How the FBI Broke Saddam* Where were Iraq’s WMD? How close was Saddam Hussein to Al Qaeda, really? These were vital - but still unanswered - questions when the Iraqi despot was yanked out of a spider hole in December 2003 and placed in U.S. military detention. Lives were at stake - along with... How the FBI Broke Saddam

Where were Iraq’s WMD? How close was Saddam Hussein to Al Qaeda, really?
These were vital - but still unanswered - questions when the Iraqi despot was yanked out of a spider hole in December 2003 and placed in U.S. military detention. Lives were at stake - along with the entire political rationale for the U.S.-led coalition invading Iraq.


http://www.aina.org/news/20090701170335.htm ]]> The US / UK and Iraq Big.V http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130380 Financial Investment of the Banks, Iraqi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130379&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:12:29 GMT Took care of the Iraqi legislature and the monetary authority for the banks and the privacy of the conservative hold on the traditions and norms of banking, Fmnhaa privileges in the area of financial investment in securities in particular. The contracts for the establishment of the Iraqi banks... Took care of the Iraqi legislature and the monetary authority for the banks and the privacy of the conservative hold on the traditions and norms of banking, Fmnhaa privileges in the area of financial investment in securities in particular.

The contracts for the establishment of the Iraqi banks items relating to the organization and function in the area of financial investment, including:
A participation in the establishment of joint stock companies whose shares subscription.
B Organization of the IPO in the capital.
C broker buying and selling stocks and bonds.
D to carry out investment in the Central Bank of Iraq as a means of monetary policy.
E portfolio management and its customers. Except for the purchase of shares of the bank itself as a process of reducing the capital of the bank.
And the establishment of mutual funds.

For the purpose of the organization of such operations by the Bank to prepare a regulation for investment inside and outside Iraq, published on its website in accordance with the provisions of Article (33) of the Banking Act No. 94 of 2004.

Financial investment also play a major role in assessing the performance of investment banking where the face of the president the use of funds of the bank. It is an important factor in evaluating the performance of the banking in the light of the criterion (Camel).

The banking literature suggests that there are several methods for evaluating investments, namely:
A component of the examination and analysis of financial statements.
B method of financial analysis of investments and revenues.
C assessment of the financial performance of the companies contributed to the bank, which include (liquidity, activity, profitability).

5 depend on the assessment of capacity investments on the size of the data and published information, the level of disclosure to investors and shareholders and the public.

Statistical data indicate that the investment banks, amounted to (568, 436, 3)
Million dinars at the end of the year 2008 and accounted for 79% of the total investments of the banking system, which amounts to (469, 4.332)
Million and accounted for 1% of the total assets of banks, governmental organizations.

The majority of investment banks, money is an investment in treasury as at (460, 198, 2) million, followed by foreign investment, which amounted to (948.615) million dinars, the deposits with the Central Bank with the amount of (399, 247) million dinars, Thus, investment in stocks and bonds in the amount of (093, 42) million dinars.

As for the banks amounted to civil (901, 895) million and accounted for 21% of the total investments of the banking system and the proportion is 12% of the total assets of banks, private and focused investments in money because the Treasury amounted to (413, 619) million shares as it thus was (398, 113) million, followed by foreign investment, according to (938, 82) million and deposits with the Central Bank, and fixed deposits as at (000, 72) million (152, 8) million, respectively.

As for investment banks to the private bank was the top Middle East, bringing its total score (998, 186) million, followed by the Commercial Bank of Iraq with the amount of (771, 140) million dinars, with the amount of Bank of Baghdad (149, 112) million dinars, and then with the amount of Bank Al-Mansour (292, 111) million, followed by the remaining banks, respectively.

Shows that most investment banks, private investment and secure the first instance in the form of remittances, followed by the Treasury and foreign investments and deposits of the bank stocks and then fixed deposits.

Associate Director-General
Control of banking and credit


http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...7Yces0M1bbclPQ ]]> Iraqi Economy Seaview http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130379 RV NEWS...Anyone?! http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130378&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:08:09 GMT Hi Everyone, Have not heard any good RV/RI rumors/news lately.

Anybody hear anything about a potential July 4th date?

JUST ASK'N!!!

BK :sun: ]]> Iraqi Dinar Speculation Big Kahuna http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130378 Parliamentary: the transfer of the first round of licensing to the Council of Ministers in violation of the laws http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130377&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:44:56 GMT Parliamentary: the transfer of the first round of licensing to the Council of Ministers in violation of the laws... Parliamentary: the transfer of the first round of licensing to the Council of Ministers in violation of the laws

The deputy described the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives Shatha al-Musawi, the oil ministry dealing with the licensing round of oil and transmission to the Council of Ministers that it is not an effect only in the decades of monopoly.

He said that the North and South Rumailah represent about 35 percent of the oil wealth that was before the investment, and the receipt of tenders and opening of the transmission in a matter of hours is a violation of all laws, however, a method in place, adding that the Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, has promised during his attendance to the Parliament that bids are not transmitted until after a study by the ad hoc committee of the Council of Ministers, and this may take up to six months.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 ]]> Iraqi Oil Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130377 Hashemi, renews his criticism of the first licensing round for oil fields http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130376&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:37:54 GMT Hashemi, renews his criticism of the first licensing round for oil fields... Hashemi, renews his criticism of the first licensing round for oil fields

Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, said the reservations made on the first licensing round for oil fields, based on legal grounds.

Hashemi said in a presidential statement that the oil fields on the first licensing round is already producing fields and is currently run by oil companies of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil.

He said, adding that the entry of foreign oil companies in these fields is already under production and disrupt the work happens undue overlap between the companies on the one hand and the Iraqi foreign the other hand, might reflect negatively on the plans.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 ]]> Iraqi Oil Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130376 Oil companies to withdraw from the investment in the fields of oil and gas field in Iraq http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130375&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:25:43 GMT Oil companies to withdraw from the investment in the fields of oil and gas field in Iraq
PUKmedia agencies 10: 07 01/07/2009


Pulled out a set of international oil companies to invest in two of the fields of oil and gas field from the fields before the first licenses in the J, which was launched in Baghdad on Tuesday.

The source familiar with the foreign oil companies that participated in the round of licensing had not made any offer to invest Mansourieh gas field, located in Diyala province.

The most likely source is the unstable security situation in Diyala and the reluctance of foreign companies in the investment field Mansourieh which is one of the discovered fields and undeveloped.

It withdrew from the Italian group of companies compete to develop the field of the Khawr al-Zubayr in southern Iraq because of the lack of agreement with the Iraqi government on the size of profits.

The Iraqi government said it would give the company invested in the field, two for each additional barrel of oil produced by the company which produces the field, however, that the company is now called deduct four dollars per barrel, which has hampered the agreement.

Also apologized to a group of Chinese companies to invest in the field of Albozorkan southern Maysan province after the government set the amount of two dollars for each additional barrel of oil produced by the company, which in turn called for deductions of $ 21 per barrel.

The Alliance of British and Chinese companies to invest won Rumaila in southern Iraq by the deduction of two dollars for every barrel produced an additional two companies after the development of the field, which is the biggest in Iraq.

The contracts concluded within the current licensing round of service contracts under which the Iraqi government gives companies investing a fixed amount for each additional barrel produced by these companies.
]]> Iraqi Oil Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130375 Met with Deputy Prime Minister Rafie al-Issawi in his office on Tuesday the U.S. economy, Ambassador Marc Wall http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130374&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:19:25 GMT Discuss with Wal-Issawi, the Framework Agreement and the preparations for the Washington Conference for Investment
PUKmedia Baghdad: 13: 40 30/06/2009

Met with Deputy Prime Minister Rafie al-Issawi in his office on Tuesday the U.S. economy, Ambassador Marc Wall.

During the meeting, and focus on the need to accelerate the implementation of the provisions of the Convention and to initiate the establishment of strategic projects and services in addition to the physical preparations for the convening of a conference in Washington soon to discuss offers of U.S. and global companies for the implementation of investment projects in Iraq.

The Deputy Prime Minister said: we must join efforts and work actively to promote the advancement of economic and physical development and, particularly after the implementation of the most important stage in the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities and the time of the construction and provision of services.
]]> Kurdish Economy Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130374 Kurdistan province, a member of the Group of Petroleum Exporting Countries http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130373&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:13:36 GMT Kurdistan province, a member of the Group of Petroleum Exporting Countries

News Aka: 1 3:38 01/07/2009

Announced an economic expert, international oil companies seeking to expand their investments in countries that have membership in the group of oil exporting countries, noting that the province of Kurdistan, "has become a member of this group.

The North Nuri, an economist said, "A group of Petroleum Exporting Countries will have strategic roles in the production of energy in the world."

Recalled that the President of Kurdistan Regional Government Nechirvan Barzani said in a speech read on his twenty-fourth of the month "since the first of June has become a member of the Kurdistan region of a group of oil exporting countries to world markets."

Nuri said, "is not required to be members of the oil-exporting countries, regions and even granted this right, and OPEC is calculated for this group a special account."

It should be noted that the first of this month witnessed the export of oil from the Kurdistan Region in particular, a formal ceremony in the oil pipeline between Kirkuk and Ceyhan in Turkey.

his part, said Bayazid Hassan, member of the Commission on oil and gas in Iraq's parliament that "the export of oil from the Kurdistan Region will address the problems of lack of part of the Iraqi budget for 2009."
]]> Kurdish Economy Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130373 For The Record... http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130372&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:12:32 GMT Enjoy & please pass it along - http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.p...&pageId=102677 ]]> US Politics Zerep11 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130372 Effects of the global financial crisis on Iraqi economy and society http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130371&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:10:25 GMT The Iraqi economy is also expected to be adversely affected by the reduced exchange rate of the dollar, because of its close connection with the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar. This is reflected in a reduction of purchasing power. In addition, the dollar is the currency used for evaluating Iraq's oil revenues and is the largest proportion of Iraq's reserve assets of hard currency.

The conclusion that develops from the observations above is that it is necessary today to explain the adverse effects of the global crisis by applying transparency and clarity, on the one hand, and by launching a societal debate about the roots of the crisis, the possible negative repercussions on our national economy, and the ways to confront it and reduce its negative effects, on the other.

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/arti...ew/8727/1/368/

lots of stuff in here. let me know if you see anything good dont have time to read ]]> Iraqi Dinar Speculation spartakis http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130371 Obama Launches Investigation Into Companies That Employ Illegal Immigrants http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130370&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:05:03 GMT *Obama Launches Investigation Into Companies That Employ Illegal Immigrants* *Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun notifying businesses of plans to audit their I-9 forms -- employment eligibility documents that employers fill out for every worker. * AP Wednesday, July 01, 2009 ... Obama Launches Investigation Into Companies That Employ Illegal Immigrants

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun notifying businesses of plans to audit their I-9 forms -- employment eligibility documents that employers fill out for every worker.


AP
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration launched investigations of hundreds of businesses around the country Wednesday as part of its strategy to focus immigration enforcement on the employers who hire illegal workers.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun notifying businesses of plans to audit their I-9 forms -- employment eligibility documents that employers fill out for every worker -- the agency told members of Congress in an e-mail Wednesday.
Immigration officers served "Notices of Inspection" to 625 businesses, the Homeland Security Department said. By comparison, 503 such notices were issued to businesses last year, the agency said.
Employers are required to keep the I-9 forms and must check the authenticity of documents provided by the employee. The Homeland Security Department said it would not release the names or locations of the businesses that are being audited because of the ongoing investigations.
"ICE is committed to establishing a meaningful I-9 inspection program to promote compliance with the law," John Morton, Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, said in a statement. "This nationwide effort is a first step in ICE's longterm strategy to address and deter illegal employment."
President Barack Obama has said his administration's strategy for stemming illegal immigration would focus on employers who hire illegal workers.
The Bush administration was criticized for deploying armed agents to raid businesses and arrest workers suspected to be working illegally. Critics said the Bush administration did not do enough to go after the employers.
The Obama administration has been trying to build its credibility on immigration enforcement to boost the chances of passing an immigration reform bill in Congress. The administration has doubted whether it has enough votes right now to pass immigration reform. But some members of Congress emerged from a meeting with Obama last week saying immigration reform could be done by the end of the year or early next year.
The I-9 audits are certain to cause concern among employers who have complained that identifying illegal workers is fraught with problems, from recognizing fake identity documents made to look authentic to risking violating anti-discrimination laws.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has said investigations will focus on businesses that knowingly hire immigrants who cannot legally work in the U.S.
"Employers want the rule of law. They want a level playing field, but it has to be combined with being able to get the workers they need in a legal, reliable way. That's what we are looking for in immigration reform," said Tamar Jacoby, president and CEO of ImmigrationWorks USA, a national group of employers who support immigration reform.
The group wants lawmakers to craft immigration reform legislation that will make it easier for businesses to hire temporary workers.
ImmigrationWorks USA recently lobbied Capitol Hill on immigration reform. A handout distributed to attendees was called, "Don't Wait for ICE to Knock on the Door." It gave tips for preparing for immigration audits and work site investigations. ]]> US Politics Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130370 the movement of investment activity will be in Iraq after the withdrawal of foreign troops http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130369&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:50:06 GMT 7/1/2009 Expert: the movement of investment activity will be in Iraq after the withdrawal of foreign troops...
7/1/2009

Expert: the movement of investment activity will be in Iraq after the withdrawal of foreign troops

itizen / EYBENS expected the deputy chief of Baghdad, said the investment group investment in Iraq will be active after the announcement of a wider withdrawal of foreign military forces from Iraqi cities.

The economic expert, Abdul Sattar said the announcement of the Sudanese military withdrawal from the cities, gave a clear reference to the fact that security in Iraq has become a stable, adding that a return to the reasons that Iraq was deprived of investment for these years indicates that the unstable situation was the most prominent.

He said the move to create a direct relationship with flexibility in the investment side, so the economic reform that will take the next step after this country especially after a decade many conferences and exhibitions this year, aimed at attracting capital to work in Iraq.

He pointed to the importance of the Sudanese announcement of the licensing contracts yesterday was preceded by similar decisions in the sectors of tourism, industry and agriculture.

Sudanese refused to consider the recent bomb attacks in different parts of the country, warning letters to foreign companies announced its desire to work in Iraq.

The holding of meetings with representatives of several foreign companies over the past few days, they emphasized that such attacks are a reaction to the temporary security and stability, hoping to activate the recommendations of the recent conferences hosted by the Government in the countries of the world to invest in the country.

The foreign military forces announced a withdrawal from Iraqi cities on the thirtieth of last June, observers have counted this historic step and a prelude to a full withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 ]]> Iraqi Economy Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130369 If Obama tries to ram through a third term would... http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130368&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:42:01 GMT If Obama tried to ram through legislation for a third term, IF HE POLITICALLY SURVIVES his first term, would you support what the Hondurans did...a military coup?

I'll be the first to answer MY own question. YES, and hell YES. ]]> US Politics ptolemy http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130368 Insurance company achieved more than 4 billion of profits in 2008 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130367&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:40:40 GMT
7/1/2009

Insurance company achieved more than 4 billion of profits in 2008

The director of reinsurance company Abdullah al-Rahma al-Moussawi said the company made a profit of more than (4) billion in 2008 compared to one billion, (77) million in 2007.

Musawi expressed the hope to achieve larger profits this year, indicating that what achieved during the past two years the equivalent of what was achieved during the past years, other than the company.

Musawi said that the work of re-insurance company depends on the activity of insurance companies, governmental organizations, private and not the company's branches abroad. ]]> Iraqi Economy Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130367 Industry and Minerals Minister calls for Brazilian companies to invest http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130366&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:19:52 GMT
7/1/2009

Industry and Minerals Minister calls for Brazilian companies to invest

Citizen / Omar Khuzai also met with Minister of Industry and Minerals Fawzi Hariri Franco, who is visiting Brazil is currently the governor of the city Sawbernardo of the State of Sao Paulo.

During the meeting, and a number of issues concerning the re-activation of the Iraqi commercial relations and ways of strengthening the Brazilian in the industrial field. And the minister held a press conference brought together more than ( 150) figure of businessmen, industrialists, investors and members of provincial council Sawbernardo. advance a detailed explanation on the history of relations between Iraq and Brazil, stressing the desire of the Iraqi government and the pursuit of activating and strengthening the economic relations between the two countries on the basis of mutual benefit.

His Excellency the Minister reviewed the investment opportunities available in Iraq, especially after the establishment of security and provide a conducive atmosphere for investors.

The minister said that Iraq is a fertile ground for investment in all areas, and he is currently an opportunity for many international companies to enter the Iraqi market, calling at the same time, Brazilian companies to visit Iraq and investment in accordance with the national investment program. the other hand, carried out the Al-Mansour, one of the companies of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, a number of projects for the rehabilitation of laboratories and production lines for the development of new products and access to energy within the design of Ktpalastosmarip 2008.

An official source at the ministry that the company entered into a contract with a specialized European companies for the supply of an integrated production line to produce a special solar panels with modern international standards and capabilities of up to (250 watts for about one) and it is hoped to begin pilot production of the line during the month of November of this year 2009.

The source confirmed that this line, which has a production capacity of design (12) Mika watt per year and will cover a significant proportion of Iraq's need of solar energy in addition to providing substantial financial difference if it had been imported from abroad, as well as the solar energy that is non-polluting to the environment, noting that Iraq was that of the need for solar energy, which is an alternative electrical energy, which the country suffers from the lack of pointing out that solar energy has become essential in many applications of b (street lighting - water purification, especially in villages and rural areas - spray and drip irrigation - Alcathodip protection of the pipeline transportation of oil - processing power to remote areas.

at the same source confirmed that the company reached the final stages of the implementation of the rehabilitation of the German gas plant and production capacity amounts to (9600) L / day indicating that the company has the potential to design and set up and operation (the tanks - oxygen systems - medical devices - purification plants, water desalination and small - the various computer systems - solar power plants), and noted that the company's typical products (such as distilled, and Geyser solar observatories, and a truck with solar pumping mills and the production of electric power ]]> Iraqi Economy Hue Mi http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130366 Iraqi PM Critical of Consensus Democracy, Calls for a Presidential System http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130365&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:48:45 GMT *Iraqi PM Critical of Consensus Democracy, Calls for a Presidential System* Nouri Kamal al-Maliki assumed office as prime minister of Iraq in May 2006, more than five months after the general elections for parliament had taken place. In the interim period between the general elections and... Iraqi PM Critical of Consensus Democracy, Calls for a Presidential System


Nouri Kamal al-Maliki assumed office as prime minister of Iraq in May 2006, more than five months after the general elections for parliament had taken place. In the interim period between the general elections and Al-Maliki's swearing in as prime minister, the incumbent prime minister, Ibrahim Al-Ja'fari, who was keen to stay in office, was the subject of strong opposition, particularly by the Kurds and the Sunnis. Both men, Al-Ja'fari and Al-Maliki, are members of the Islamic Da'wa Party (the Islamic Call Party), one of the four key political groups that comprised the primarily Shi'a coalition which had run in the elections under the banner of United Iraqi Alliance (UIA). The United States, which exercised considerable if invisible influence on the Iraqi political scene, also favored Al-Maliki because of his "reputation as someone who is independent of Iran." [1] Al-Maliki was essentially a compromise candidate who was viewed as less dominant than his predecessor and hence more agreeable to the competing political forces within the UIA and to the Sunnis, but mostly to the Kurds.

http://www.aina.org/news/20090701143104.htm ]]> Iraqi Parliament Big.V http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130365 Actor Karl Malden Age 97 DEAD http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130364&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:44:46 GMT Steets of San Francisco will never be the same Image: http://qgeek.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/malden.jpg Steets of San Francisco will never be the same

]]> US News ISX_TIME http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130364 <![CDATA[Michael Jackson's Will Filed in Court, Excludes Ex-Wife Debbie Rowe]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130363&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:09:45 GMT Michael Jackson's Will Filed in Court, Excludes Ex-Wife Debbie Rowe

Wednesday, July 01, 2009
AP

June 30: Carlene Trimarchi, of Seldon, Long Island wears a glove and holds a Michel Jackson poster outside the Apollo theater.
#story .gallery_container p.caption{display:none !important;} #story .gallery_container p.strut{color:#000;}


LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson's 7-year-old will was filed Wednesday in a Los Angeles court, giving his entire estate to a family trust and naming his mother as a beneficiary of the trust and the guardian of his three children.
The will names singer Diana Ross as a successor guardian to 79-year-old Katherine Jackson if necessary.
The will, dated July 7, 2002, estimated his estate at that time at more than $500 million. It gives the entire estate to the Michael Jackson Family Trust. His former wife Debbie Rowe is cut out of the will.
The documents said Jackson's estate consisted almost entirely of "non-cash, non-liquid assets, including primarily an interest in a catalogue of music royalty rights which is currently being administered by Sony ATV, and the interests of various entities."
It also names Jackson's longtime lawyer John Branca and John McClain, a music executive and a family friend, as co-executors of the will.
Jackson, who died Thursday at age 50, left behind three children: son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and son Prince Michael II, 7. Rowe was the mother of the two oldest children; the youngest was born to a surrogate mother, who has never been identified.
The children are named in the will.
In a statement, Branca and McClain said: "The most important element of Michael's will is his unwavering desire that his mother, Katherine, become the legal guardian for his three children. As we work to carry out Michael's instructions to safeguard both the future of his children as well as the remarkable legacy he left us as an artist we ask that all matters involving his estate be handled with the dignity and the respect that Michael and his family deserve."
Katherine Jackson was granted temporary guardianship Monday of Jackson's three children. A judge held off on requests to control the children's estates, and gave her limited control over her son's troubled, but lucrative finances.
Rowe, who was married to Jackson in 1996 and filed for divorce three years later, surrendered her parental rights. An appeals court later found that was done in error, and Rowe and Jackson entered an out-of-court settlement in 2006.
Neither Rowe nor her attorneys have indicated whether she intends to seek custody of the two oldest children. ]]> US News Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130363 Federal agents hunt for guns, one house at a time http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130362&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:56:50 GMT *Federal agents hunt for guns, one house at a time* *By DANE SCHILLER Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle* *June 30, 2009, 9:36PM* Federal agents hunt for guns, one house at a time



By DANE SCHILLER Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

June 30, 2009, 9:36PM






In front of a run-down shack in north Houston, federal agents step from a government sedan into 102-degree heat and face a critical question: How can the woman living here buy four high-end handguns in one day?
The house is worth $35,000. A screen dangles by a wall-unit air conditioner. Porch swing slats are smashed, the smattering of grass is flattened by cars and burned yellow by sun.
“I’ll do the talking on this one,” agent Tim Sloan, of South Carolina, told partner Brian Tumiel, of New York.
Success on the front lines of a government blitz on gunrunners supplying Mexican drug cartels with Houston weaponry hinges on logging heavy miles and knocking on countless doors. Dozens of agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — sent here from around the country — are needed to follow what ATF acting director Kenneth Melson described as a “massive number of investigative leads.”
All told, Mexican officials in 2008 asked federal agents to trace the origins of more than 7,500 firearms recovered at crime scenes in Mexico. Most of them were traced back to Texas, California and Arizona.
Among other things, the agents are combing neighborhoods and asking people about suspicious purchases as well as seeking explanations as to how their guns ended up used in murders, kidnappings and other crimes in Mexico.
“Ever turning up the heat on cartels, our law enforcement and military partners in the government of Mexico have been working more closely with the ATF by sharing information and intelligence,” Melson said Tuesday during a firearms-trafficking summit in New Mexico.
Firearms dealers visited

The ATF recently dispatched 100 veteran agents to its Houston division, which reaches to the border.
The mission is especially challenging because, officials say, that while Houston is the number one point of origin for weapons traced back to the United States from Mexico, the government can’t compile databases on gun owners under federal law.
Agents instead review firearms dealers’ records in person.
People who are legally in the United States and have clean criminal records, but are facing economic problems are often recruited by traffickers to buy weapons on their behalf in order to shield themselves from scrutiny.
Knocks at the door of the shack that looked to be the definition of hard times went unanswered.
“I am out of here,” Sloan said a few moments later, as a pit bull lazily sauntered from the back yard. “I don’t like pit bulls walking up behind me.”
On second thought, Sloan switched to Spanish and interviewed a neighbor.
The neighbor said the woman left a month ago after a fight with her husband or boyfriend, who still lived there with what she called “other degenerates.”
“An angry ex-girlfriend or wife is the best person in the world, the greatest source of information,” Sloan said.
The night before, the duo were in a stakeout where they watched a weapons sale.
They also combined efforts with the Drug Enforcement Administration for an aircraft to stealthily follow traffickers to the border.
On this day, agents weren’t wearing raid jackets or combat boots and weren’t armed with warrants.
Guns were hidden under civilian shirts.
Another tip took agents on a 30-minute drive from the shack to a sprawling home with a pool in the back and an American flag out front.
It turned out two handguns, of a type drug gangsters prefer, were bought by a pastor for target practice.
Some stories, they say, are hard to believe.
The lamest so far came from a police officer: He said he bought a few military-style rifles, left them in his car and — on the same night — forgot to lock a door. He couldn’t explain why he didn’t file a police report or why he visited Mexico the day after the alleged theft. ]]> US News Alasad PGen4 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130362 <![CDATA[Iraq: Government Approves BP-Led Consortium's Bid On Rumaila Field]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130361&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:27:06 GMT
Iraq: Government Approves BP-Led Consortium's Bid On Rumaila Field

July 1, 2009
The Iraqi government July 1 approved an offer by the BP-led consortium, with Chinese partner CNPC, to develop the 17.8 billion barrel Rumaila field in the country’s south, The Associated Press reported. Government officials did not say when the agreement will be signed. ]]> Iraqi Oil DealOrBuyDinar http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130361 <![CDATA[Unbelievable: Obama Asking States To Lie When Counting Jobs 'Saved or Created' By Stimulus Bill]]> http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130360&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:19:52 GMT

July 01, 2009

Unbelievable: Obama asking states to lie when counting jobs 'saved or created' by stim bill

By Rick Moran


President Obama is going to have a triumph with his stimulus bill - even if he has to get the states to fudge the number of Americans it's supposed to be helping.

It won't matter if unemployment tops 10%. Obama will simply point to these fictional numbers he will be getting from states and say, "You think it's bad now? Look at how bad it would have been if I hadn't acted?"

It's a win-win situation; and Obama is rigging the final score:

Meanwhile, some state officials worried about how they were supposed to count jobs credited to the stimulus. Now, the White House Office of Management and Budget has given states guidance calming these concerns.

"All we're asking them to do is a simple headcount; tell us how many people you hired," said Rob Nabors, the deputy director of the office, in an interview.

Recipients won't be asked to grapple with complicated estimates, he added. Instead, they may use their best guess whether a job would have been created or saved in the absence of a recovery plan, and to not count it if they are uncertain.

Philip Mattera, research director for the economic development research group Good Jobs First, said the method appeared to be "a bit impressionistic" and presented pitfalls. "One is the risk of unreasonable reporting; the other risk is how the whole system is perceived because of the possibility of unreasonable reporting," he said.

Craig Jennings, a senior policy analyst at the nonpartisan OMB Watch, also said the new guidance could allow state officials to use their own definition for the number of hours in a "full-time equivalent" job, thus making it possible to credit stimulus projects for more employment.
That's a quote from a piece by Louise Radnofsky of the Wall Street Journal who points out that such vague means by which to count jobs comes as a "relief" to state officials who can now not only help out the Obama administration but also do a little boasting of their own about how many jobs have been "saved" by our Messiah.

No doubt we will hear one day from the White House that the stim bill is a spectacular success. Will the people buy it?

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/...king_stat.html


. ]]> US Politics PraiseKingGeorge http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130360 Dem Leaders Avoid Thanking Bush For US Victory In Iraq Today http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130359&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:11:36 GMT Obama and the State run media is attempting to rewrite history. They are saying Obama is fulfilling a campaign promise of getting the troops out of Iraq. We all know that this was decided when President Bush was still in office. Dem Leaders Avoid Thanking Bush For US Victory In Iraq Today... Obama and the State run media is attempting to rewrite history. They are saying Obama is fulfilling a campaign promise of getting the troops out of Iraq. We all know that this was decided when President Bush was still in office.

Dem Leaders Avoid Thanking Bush For US Victory In Iraq Today
Barack Obama, who supported genocide in Iraq, did not have the decency to thank George W. Bush today.
Nancy Pelosi could only mutter something about the war coming to an end.

The state-run media did not publish the remarks by Iraqi President Jalal Talibani to the American troops today. After all, Talibani has a record of thanking the US for liberating his country from the evil psychopath, Saddam Hussein.
The state-run media never seemed to appreciate his courage and gratitude much for some reason.



Here is President Talibani at the White House: September 2008

PRESIDENT TALABANI: Well, Mr. President, thank you very much for giving me the honor of meeting you again. I think it's clear that we are in Iraq looking to you as a hero of liberation of Iraq from worst kind of dictatorship. And now we are working with your -- with you, Mr. President, for finalizing the strategic framework agreement between United States and Iraq.

And also, we are always getting benefit from your views about how to secure Iraq. I think you know very well that you and we in Iraq achieved very good successes on terrorism. Now I can say all parts of Iraq liberated from terrorist control and activities. It's true that some groups remain hiding themselves from here or there, but there's no place, no inch of Iraqi land under the control of terrorist activities. There are some terrorist -- still groups working -- hiding themself, and thanks to you and sacrifice of your brave army and to Iraqi people, now we can live in peace and security.

Sadly, once again this good news from Iraq was missed by the media.

This situation seemed a pipe dream not so long ago: Iraq's security forces, serving an elected government, assume primary responsibility for the good order of their own country.

We all recall the delighted leftist claims that Iraq had entered a hopeless civil war. Wrong. That Iraqis preferred al Qaeda to us. Wrong. That Shia militias represented the people. Wrong. And that Iran would seize control. Wrong again.

Looking back over six years of good intentions, tragic errors, generosity, arrogance, partisan vituperation, painful deaths and ultimate vindication, two things strike me: the ever-resisted lesson that human affairs are more complex than academic theories claim, and the simple truth that most human beings prefer a measure of freedom to immeasurable repression.

Now the symbolism of our troops withdrawing from Iraq's cities is richer than Washington grasps. Mesopotamia created urban culture: Ur, Babylon, Nineveh and countless lesser-known sites are where humans first worked out ways to live together in close quarters in large numbers. The coming wave of terror will strike cities that make Baghdad seem a youngster.

The "cradle of civilization" is rising from the grave again.

Here's a sincere thanks to our men and women who made this happen.
Congratulations!

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/ ]]> US Politics arh777 http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130359 Any Thoughts on a Currency Rebase with These New Share Prices http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130358&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:07:53 GMT Now that the ISX is posting it's prices in 10 fil increments instead of the 50 fils we seen previously is the strongest evidence to me that a rebase of the currency is in the near future.

Before we could balance the buy/sell with the current denominations, but now that there is an adjustment in the stock prices of 1 step increments they will have to add a 10 dinar somewhere in the sequence and then rebase or rebase then add a 5 and 1 fil to complete transactions. ]]> ISX News and Results ISX_TIME http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130358 Karbala Hotels - Paid Up Shares http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130357&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:58:11 GMT *Dear Warka Investors,* Karbala Hotel has announced that it will be *issuing 100% paid up shares at the price of IQD (1) per share* for those shares owned prior to holding its general assembly meeting. Investors are kindly requested to submit their signed *authorization letters to purchase... Dear Warka Investors,

Karbala Hotel has announced that it will be issuing 100% paid up shares at the price of IQD (1) per share for those shares owned prior to holding its general assembly meeting.

Investors are kindly requested to submit their signed authorization letters to purchase the paid up shares by July 6th 2009 Warka business hours and any request received after this date and time will be considered null and void by our bank.

Best regards,

ISX Department
Warka Bank for Investment and Finance

http://www.warka-bank.com/inner.php?type=3&id=52 ]]> Seaview http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130357 July 01: 1170 - No cash http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130356&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:26:02 GMT *Announcement No. (**1441)* The 1441 daily currency auction was held in the Central Bank of Iraq day Wednesday 1-7-2009 so the results were as follows: Number of banks *14* Auction price selling dinar / US $ *1170* Amount sold at auction price (US $) *129.560.000* Cash: *$* *-*...
Announcement No. (1441)


The 1441 daily currency auction was held in the Central Bank of Iraq day Wednesday 1-7-2009 so the results were as follows:

Number of banks 14
Auction price selling dinar / US $ 1170
Amount sold at auction price (US $) 129.560.000
Cash: $ -
Transfers: $ 129.560.000 ]]> CBI - Exchange Rates bultn http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130356 Jaber Khalifa: delay approval of oil and gas law is a Significant attract investors http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130355&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:51:23 GMT A decision of the Commission on oil and gas representative Jaber Khalifa Jaber said the lack of activation of the previous laws relating to the oil sector and to delay the adoption of the oil and gas law had been significantly affected in attracting investors to the oil sector. Jaber said in a... A decision of the Commission on oil and gas representative Jaber Khalifa Jaber said the lack of activation of the previous laws relating to the oil sector and to delay the adoption of the oil and gas law had been significantly affected in attracting investors to the oil sector.

Jaber said in a press statement on Tuesday that failure to activate the protection of important laws such as the hydrocarbon wealth and dispersal of views in approving the oil law has led to the loss of the general legal framework, which is searching for a foreign investor.

Jaber called on to work the old law until the oil and gas law of Iraq, stressing the need to mainstream the economic concepts of foreign investment and private sector support.

http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl...jJJlbgKkuWulVQ ]]> Iraqi Parliament Seaview http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130355 Iraq auction terms deter oil firms, BP wins prize http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130354&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:42:01 GMT Iraq auction terms deter oil firms, BP wins prize http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=9746 Iraq Fails to Award Most Oil Contracts in Historic Bid Round http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=9745 No major Iraq oil output increase in next 5 years: IEA... Iraq auction terms deter oil firms, BP wins prize http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=9746


Iraq Fails to Award Most Oil Contracts in Historic Bid Round
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=9745

No major Iraq oil output increase in next 5 years: IEA
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=9744 ]]> Iraqi Economy Noosa http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?t=130354