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  1. “Of the 84 trillion dinars in Iraq, the government has only 20%, equivalent to 16.8 trillion dinars, and a member of the Iraqi parliamentary finance committee says that the government will need more cash after the approval of the federal budget law.” 84 - 16.8 = 67.2 Trillion Dinars in chunky cash stashed at home. 84 trillion dinars in circulation / 1310 = $64 billion dollars $114 billion dollars in foreign currency reserves $114 / $64 = $1.78 Time to increase dinar exchange rate and roll out Lower denomination notes. Go Stronger Dinar $1+ Go Purchasing power
    21 points
  2. REMEMBER, no one really knows what will happen, or when. They're simply stating their opinions based on what they perceive to be happening in Iraq... So, take everything with a grain of salt ... RON Militia Man It's the CBI's job to make a rate change adjustment. It's not the parliament or it's not the Council of Minister's or the Finance Committee's job to do that... Frank26 These are good times for our investment because the things that are happening are not negative, they're moving in a positive direction...we are right at the edge of cliff, on my tiptoes, with my arms spread wide open, with my chest sticking out leaning forward over this cliff and all I need is a little gust of wind to knock me over and fly like a bird into the international world with this new national currency...
    7 points
  3. REMEMBER, no one really knows what will happen, or when. They're simply stating their opinions based on what they perceive to be happening in Iraq... So, take everything with a grain of salt ... RON Nader From The Mid East No one can change the rate besides the CBI...telling you the truth, we're not ready yet. They're working on it. They have good news. They have good things going on but they're not ready. When they're ready you will know...we all will know...
    7 points
  4. Talking abiut printing 250 Dinar and now this….20,000 is bullshit. The cash shortage can only be fixed by chnaGe the rate and calling in all the big nites and relaxing the lower denoms and coins!
    7 points
  5. Presidency of Parliament meets with the Finance Committee in preparation for approving the budget money and business Economy News / Baghdad Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi chaired today, Wednesday, the meeting of the Finance Committee, in preparation for submitting the budget to the House of Representatives and determining the session for voting on it. The Media Department of the House of Representatives stated in a statement, "The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Muhammad al-Halbousi, chaired today the meeting of the Finance Committee, in the presence of the chairman and members of the committee, to discuss the remaining matters and issues in the provisions of the Federal General Budget Law, and to reach a clear vision in preparation for submitting it to the House of Representatives and setting a session to vote on it." Al-Halbousi appreciated the "efforts made by the Finance Committee and made appropriate notes regarding it," noting that "this budget is no less important than the previous budgets, but rather the most important, as it is for three years, with a review of the schedules annually." He emphasized "the importance of the projects contained in the budget, which is reflected in the service program in accordance with the implementation of the government program." Al-Halbousi touched on, "The Council's approval of the Social Security Law guarantees the entitlement of workers and the involvement of the private sector, which reduces the budget," pointing to "the need to reduce spending in order to increase non-oil resources." He reaffirmed the "speedy implementation of the general budget law," pointing to "the importance of accommodating large segments of society through creating job grades to appoint graduates in the governorates and including adequate financial allocations for them." In turn, the Chairman of the Committee, Atwan Al-Atwani, welcomed Al-Halbousi, reviewing the most important findings of the Finance Committee and its procedures in completing the budget items and schedules. Views 226 Added 05/24/2023 - 7:21 PM
    6 points
  6. Sorry for the skepticism, but how many times have we traveled this stupid journey?
    6 points
  7. REMEMBER, no one really knows what will happen, or when. They're simply stating their opinions based on what they perceive to be happening in Iraq... So, take everything with a grain of salt ... RON NORV [aka Kaperoni] ...I have always stated with the success of Iraq's economy will come the increase of the dinar. ...some interesting news...Article: "The Social Security Law includes many privileges for workers in the private sector" This law was passed last weekend...This is critical to get people off the government payroll and working for the private sector which has been stated already will not only diversify Iraq's economy but rebuild the country. Article: "Retirement: The insurance law will provide a salary for more than two million workers in the private sector." They plan to launch this law in August. Which in essence means they will launch the private sector at that time. This is big news. So we can expect significant changes come August to Iraq's economy coming yet this year.
    6 points
  8. Added @ 5:40 PM MDT: Pimpy I would like to see Iraq un-peg their dinar from the US dollar and peg to the same basket that the Arab Monetary Fund uses...22 or 23 nations are involved in this organization and they all trade using their own special dinar. That value is really high. It's the SDR rate, which I think is 1.76 x 4. That's how they figure out what the value of their [basket] dinar is worth.
    6 points
  9. Passengers And Delegations Sign A Contract To Activate The POS Electronic Payment System 05/24/2023 Earth News / The General Company for the Transport of Passengers and Delegations announced one of the formations of the Ministry of Transport, today Wednesday، On signing a contract to activate the PSO electronic payment system, and the actual work of the system began in the company’s transactions, according to the directives of the Prime Minister, Minister of Transport, Razzak Mohibis Al-Saadawi regarding the implementation of the electronic payment system in the ministry and its formations. The general manager of the company, Engineer Karim Kazem Hussain, confirmed، In a statement received by Earth News “ Today, a contract was signed to activate the POS electronic payment system with the Iraq Gate Company, one of the specialized companies ( and licensed by the Central Bank ) for the purpose of work and to start applying it in the company's transactions”. The general manager added that “ the actual operation of the system will actually start from next Friday for the company’s vehicles operating at Baghdad International Airport and within the company’s transactions for financial payment. The system will be applied in general the company’s transactions successively within The company's endeavors to switch from cash payment to electronic payment ”. He pointed out that “ working with the electronic payment system comes within the vision and plans put forward by the Iraqi Central Bank for government institutions that contribute to getting rid of the problems of cash dealing and keeping pace with development and also strengthening the national currency compared to foreign currencies”. 05/24/2023
    5 points
  10. Next meaning THIS or NEXT week ??? They change their minds more than my ex-wife. Whether the argument is for or against the fact they're pin heads and incapable of self rule: it's certain this is deliberate foot draggin. One day some day our ship 🚢 will dock. Just hope it's not the proverbial ship of the desert...a CAMEL 🐫
    5 points
  11. "Not going beyond next Saturday" The Finance Committee confirms the resolution of most of the budget items in preparation for voting on them Economy / Local | Today, 13:03 | The Finance Committee confirms the resolution of most of the budget items in preparation for voting on them » Baghdad News Agency Today (baghdadtoday.news) Baghdad Today - Baghdad A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, MP Mudar Al-Karawi, confirmed today, Wednesday, that the items of the 2023 budget are almost complete and the vote will not exceed next Saturday. Al-Karawi told (Baghdad Today) that "the items of the 2023 budget are almost complete after completing more than 95% of its axes and solving all important problems and complications," pointing out that "the sessions of the Parliamentary Finance Committee during the coming hours will decide what remains so that the budget is ready for voting." He added, "The budget may be put to a vote tomorrow or Saturday at the latest in order to resolve it within the House of Representatives," stressing that "all complex files, including the financial deficit and the rights of the provinces and the region, were resolved by the Finance Committee." Earlier, the parliamentary finance committee revealed the failure of meetings and meetings to reduce the deficit in the federal budget for the year 2023. A member of the parliamentary finance committee, Jamal Kojar, told (Baghdad Today) that "the percentage of the fiscal deficit in the budget law will remain the same without any change, as well as the general total will remain the same, there is a restriction not to make any manipulation in the general total sent by the Iraqi government, and for this there is no reduction of the deficit." Koger pointed out that "the committee worked during the last period to make some transfers, so about 5 trillion were transferred between the paragraphs of the law, and we also worked to amend some articles, with the addition of approximately 15 new articles to the law, without adding financial allocations, this is not our prerogative, as we are our supervisory role, and this role is focused on reviewing and knowing all the paragraphs and items of the budget law." He added that "the committee hosted most ministers, independent bodies and governors in order to see the details of the budget for these bodies, so that it can monitor what will be spent after the adoption of the budget, and this is the basis of its oversight role." In March 2023, the Council of Ministers approved the draft general budget law for the country for the year 2023, with a deficit of $ 48.5 billion, and referred it to Parliament for review and opinion before approving it, and transferring it to the president. The media office of the speaker of the council said in a statement that "the Council of Ministers approved the draft federal budget law for the fiscal years 2023, 2024 and 2025." The quantities of crude oil exports in the 2023 budget will reach about 3.5 million barrels per day, including 400,<> barrels per day through the Kurdistan region. Earlier, Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani confirmed that the draft federal budget law that was voted on will be repeated for three years, noting that the ministries of finance and planning can make amendments and with the approval of the House of Representatives in the event of changes in numbers, oil prices or quantities.
    5 points
  12. From WRAL-TV; Winning MegaMillions Numbers Tuesday, May 23, 2023 03 10 22 65 66 MB 19 Megaplier 2X Congratulations Trakkr! You matched tonight's megaball plus one! Sorry; We had no other winning matches.
    5 points
  13. 5 points
  14. REMEMBER, no one really knows what will happen, or when. They're simply stating their opinions based on what they perceive to be happening in Iraq... So, take everything with a grain of salt ... RON Dallasdude I personally have said for months that I did not expect a rate that favored us with the passing of the budget, because they have said repeatedly for months that the official exchange rate will be in the 1300 range when budget is passed..their economy needs time to grow and over a period of time we hope gets in the 1 to 1 range or 1.50 to 1 whatever the case may be...this is not meant at all to be negative, because quite honestly I really love the progress this current Iraqi administration is making... Frank26 Remember when they had the 50s before? They got rid of them because they were worthless at the program rate. So they're going to bring them back again? They're useless. I think a 50 note would be about $0.03 cents with the program rate they have right now. Don't get over excited, 'Oh, the lower denoms are coming out now!' I don't know when. But they are in the process of the monetary reform education showing the citizens this is what we're about to do...it's a slow gradual process. It's exciting is what it is..!
    5 points
  15. MM 5-23-2023 11 28 34 45 68 MB 22 PB 5-24-2023 04 12 27 47 62 PB = 20
    5 points
  16. Al-Halbousi decides the date for voting on the budget 2023.05.25 - 01:03 Nass News Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi confirmed that the Finance Committee will hand over the draft budget to Parliament on Thursday evening, and that next Saturday is the date for voting on the draft. The Parliament Speaker said in a statement to the official media that the budget is in its final touches and that the Finance Committee continues to work and is ready to hand over the project on Thursday evening, and Saturday will be the date for voting on it.
    4 points
  17. Can the starving Iraqis wait until August? That's the real question.
    4 points
  18. Added @ 10:48 PM CDT: Frank26 Nothing is late. It's actually on schedule. Many people think this should have happened last month or at the beginning of the year...but they don't understand the logistics of what the CBI is doing with your [Iraq's] monetary reform. You as a [Iraqi] citizen now understand. You see the evidence...
    4 points
  19. The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Planning, Maher Hammad Johan, said in an interview with the official newspaper, followed by "Al-Iqtisad News", that "many items have been included in the general budget for the current year in favor of the citizen, as a result of the damage incurred by him as a result of the change in exchange rates in the past months." I hope purchasing power is one of the items Go Budget Go Stronger dinar $1+ Go purchasing power
    4 points
  20. Economist: The government and the Central Bank are working to end the phenomenon of (dollarization) Economy | Today, 21:52 | Economist: The government and the Central Bank are working to end the phenomenon of (dollarization) » Baghdad News Agency Today (baghdadtoday.news) Baghdad Today - Baghdad Economist Nabil Jabbar al-Tamimi confirmed on Wednesday that the government and the Central Bank of Iraq are working to end the phenomenon of dollarization. Al-Tamimi told Baghdad Today, "There is dealing in dollars in many transactions and things inside the country, not just cars, and this is completely unacceptable." "The paths of hard currency must be identified in certain files, which are imports only, so that it becomes a surplus in the dollar, because if dealing in dinars becomes, the citizen will not buy dollars from the market," he stressed. He pointed out that "stability must be supported for the Iraqi dinar, so that the purchase of cars is dealt with in dinars and the dollar is dispensed with, explaining that it is an important step and will enable the stability of the market, and was absent from the sight of successive governments." It is noteworthy that the government is trying to control the continued rise in the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar in the markets three months after its decision to officially raise the value of the Iraqi dinar at the rate of 1320 per dollar. The Ministry of Interior recently banned traders and citizens from dealing in dollars in markets and shops, and limited transactions to Iraqi dinars. The government took a decision last February to raise the value of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar after its price at the end of 2020, 1470 dinars per dollar, which was implemented by the previous Iraqi government to fill the deficit in expenses and salaries due to the decline in oil prices in global markets.
    3 points
  21. Video.. Al-Halbousi: Voting on the budget next Saturday Time: 05/25/2023 00:50:58 Read: 455 times {Politics: Al Furat News} Speaker of the House of Representatives, Muhammad Al-Halbousi, announced that the draft financial budget law will be put to a vote before the House of Representatives next Saturday. A statement by the Parliamentary Media Department quoted Al-Halbousi as saying, "The budget is in its final touches in the Parliamentary Finance Committee, which will present the draft law to the Presidency of Parliament on Thursday." He added: "There are some notes on the budget that will be resolved before handing them over to the presidency of the Council." Al-Halbousi confirmed that "there are many segments that will be included in the appointments, but the budget law cannot cover all applicants for appointment, and there is a priority for the government, and sufficient and necessary allocations have been provided for the social welfare file."
    3 points
  22. May 24, 2023 At 11:15am on July 7, 1919, a US Army convoy consisting of 81 military vehicles departed Washington, DC for a perilous journey to San Francisco. The army convoy wasn’t responding to an emergency or preparing for battle. In fact, since World War I had just ended, the United States was shifting focus back to its own domestic challenges. And one of those challenges was the pitiful state of America’s road network. There were hardly any roads in the US back in the early 1900s, and most of the ones that existed weren’t paved. That was actually the entire purpose of the Army’s 3,251 mile cross-country convoy: to demonstrate just how BAD the roads really were. Among the convoy’s participants was a 28-year old Army officer named Dwight Eisenhower, and he wrote extensively about the journey. He observed that much of America was almost impassable, even for military vehicles. Roads in the Great Plains turned into bottomless mud pits when it rained, and Eisenhower wrote that during one particularly rainy day, 25 trucks slid off the road. By the time they got to Utah, the dusty desert roads clogged up their engines, causing them to abandon a dozen vehicles along the way. And the steep grades of the western forests and mountains caused their travel to slow to a pedestrian pace. Eisenhower found humor in the convoy’s ever-present troubles, writing later that they were like “a traveling troupe of clowns.” But despite his positive outlook, the need to improve America’s infrastructure was burned into his memory. Decades later when Eisenhower became the military governor of occupied Germany after World War II, he witnessed first hand how much better and more efficient the German autobahn road network was. And he knew the United States needed to modernize its highway system. Eisenhower became US President a few years later in 1953. And the following year he appointed Lucius Clay to head the national highway project. Clay was a civil engineer and former Army general who had spent his career overseeing complex infrastructure projects, leading large organizations, managing enormous budgets, and solving major logistics challenges. He was even responsible for organizing the miraculous Berlin Airlift in 1948-1949, in which over 270,000 flights brought 2.3 million tons of supplies into West Berlin during the Soviet blockade; it was considered logistically impossible… but Clay pulled it off. In short, Lucius Clay was eminently qualified for the job of establishing an interstate highway system in the United States. When Eisenhower presented Clay’s report to Congress, virtually everyone agreed that America’s lack of infrastructure was a problem. And both political parties understood that building a highway system was critical for national defense and economic growth. Naturally they disagreed on several issues; for example, Eisenhower wanted to fund the project with tolls. Others in Congress wanted to issue debt, while others wanted to fund it with taxes. But in the end, both Congress and the White House quickly reached a compromise to pass the Federal Highway Act. And on August 13, 1956-- less than two years from when Lucius Clay took charge-- the groundbreaking of the first interstate highway took place near St. Louis, Missouri (I-70). The US interstate highway system is a monument to the sensible, efficient way that the federal government was once able to solve large, complex challenges. There used to be grown-ups in charge who could clearly recognize a problem, rationally discuss practical solutions, prudently consider the consequences, and quickly reach a compromise to make it happen. They also used to put competent people in charge of things… real leaders with actual qualifications and experience. In contrast, the guy who is in charge of the federal highway system today is Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Pete was nominated for the job despite having zero experience leading complex organizations, no idea how to manage a huge budget, and no knowledge about transportation or infrastructure. What could possibly go wrong?!? Under Pete’s leadershit, supply chains broke down. Seaports became a total disaster. Highways have continued to crumble. Airports achieved historic chaos, including FAA outages and record flight cancellations. And America’s rail system became a literal hot mess. Curiously, after a February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio spewed toxic chemicals and fumes, Buttigieg couldn’t even manage to comment on the crisis for weeks. He did, however, find time to insist that Ford and General Motors should use female crash test dummies. Anyone else with such a pitiful track record would have been fired long ago. But not Pete. Instead, he was awarded a massive $1.2 TRILLION budget from the 2021 infrastructure bill. And much of this money will be spent according to his personal discretion. Essentially this means that Pete Buttigieg now manages the world’s largest infrastructure fund. Infrastructure is a popular asset class among many private investors, and plenty of asset management firms set up infrastructure funds to develop toll roads, railways, etc. Brookfield Asset Management, for example, has more than $100 billion worth of infrastructure funds in its stable. But Pete now has more than 10x that amount under his management. In fact his $1.2 trillion “fund” is larger than all of the world’s private infrastructure funds COMBINED. Yet again, Pete has no experience managing large sums of money. He has no real investment experience. In fact, to give you a sense of Pete’s dimwitted investment ethos, he said at one point that his main concern was to “make sure we take all this money, this $1.2 trillion… and actually deliver $1.2 trillion worth of value”. A professional asset manager would strive to deliver a 5x or 10x return on investment. But not Pete. Pete’s tiny reptile brain can’t figure out how to generate a 1x return. Let’s be honest, though… what more could we possibly expect from an administration that has a diversity and inclusion obsession and hires people based exclusively on pointless ‘identity’ characteristics? In Pete’s case, one of the biggest reasons he has the job is because he’s ***. And this is really sad; someone’s sexual orientation shouldn’t matter one bit. The only thing that should matter is competence, of which Pete has none. Even if one were to agree that ‘identity’ characteristics are important… can they at least still pick qualified people??!?! But the guy who shakes hands with thin air doesn’t pick qualified people. All he thinks about (assuming he’s still capable of thought) is what’s swinging or not swinging between your legs. How much melanin content you have in your skin. Who you sleep with. These are the only characteristics that matter. Brains? Irrelevant. Integrity? Laughable. Experience? Preposterous! Pete is obviously far from being the first diversity hire in US history. But he’s emblematic of a much larger trend that puts diversity and inclusion ahead of delivering results to the American public… at a time when America is in critical need of delivering results. Similarly, this debt ceiling fiasco further demonstrates the government’s inability to deliver results. In Eisenhower’s era, they worked together and got things done. It wasn’t perfect and there was plenty of disagreement. But they knew how to compromise for the good of the nation. Today, POTUS literally starts the conversation by flat-out rejecting any compromise… which is the exact opposite of what the country needs. Apparently his four decades of experience only taught him how to be childish, petty, and destructive. Despite all of America’s problems, I’ve been very clear that there IS still a way out of this mess. However one of the key ingredients is capable leadership… and that’s far from a sure thing. We can certainly hope that sensible, practical people take charge in the near future. But hope is not a viable course of action. And it’s for that reason that it makes all the sense in the world to have a Plan B. To your freedom, Simon Black, Founder Sovereign Man Neither this email, nor any content provided by our organization, is intended to provide personal tax or financial advice. This information is intended to be used and must be used for information purposes only, as general guidance and aimed at expanding your thinking. We are not investment or tax advisors, and this should not be considered advice. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment or employing any tax strategy. You should consider your own personal circumstances and speak with professional advisors, and independently research any information that you wish to rely upon, whether for the purpose of making an investment or tax decision, or otherwise. No content on the site or in this email constitutes - or should be understood as constituting - a recommendation to enter in any securities transactions or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented here, nor an offer of securities. Blacksmith Global Ltd. Isidora Goyenechea 2800 Las Condes Santiago, Región Metropolitana de Santiago 755009 Chile
    3 points
  23. They've starved this long, what's another 3 months?
    3 points
  24. Iraq recovers $20 million seized in Kuwait 32 years ago money and business Economy News / Baghdad Today, Wednesday, the head of the Integrity Commission, Haider Hanoun, announced the recovery of more than $20 million from Kuwait. Hanoun said in a statement to state television that "the authority recovered an amount of 20 million and 437 thousand and 157 US dollars," noting that "this amount was withheld in the National Bank of the State of Kuwait, and it is from the funds of the Iraqi embassy in Kuwait for the year 1990 after the severance of relations." He added, "This came through news received by the Iraq Money Recovery Fund, where the funds were searched for, the full amount was recovered, and it was duly returned to the state treasury through the Central Bank of Iraq." He stressed, "We are currently in the process of discussions with a Swiss legal law firm, as an understanding has been reached with it and the procedures for contracting with it have been completed due to the importance of having such a legal entity representing us in Switzerland with the aim of knowing the amount of funds, whether they are financial, gold fickles, or gold bars in Switzerland, which belong to Iraq to work on recover it". Views 74 Added 05/24/2023 - 3:21 PM
    3 points
  25. Parliamentarian: The budget will be approved after settling three articles related to Kurdistan 2023/05/24 60 Baghdad / resource news Today, Wednesday, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party bloc in Parliament, Representative Vian Sabri, revealed a new date for approving the budget. Sabri said, "There is an agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, which is the oil agreement, and another related to items 12, 13, and 14 within the budget, and work is still valid on these items." And she added, "After these articles are resolved within the Finance Committee, the parliament session will be determined to vote on the budget."
    3 points
  26. Why the hell don't they invite me over to cash out and I'll be outa here!!!
    3 points
  27. I forgot to post for MM - but I did not win, so no worries my friends. Next time 😀
    3 points
  28. The government owns only 20% of the cash in Iraq ECONOMY Iraqi Government Logo - Ir Of the 84 trillion dinars in Iraq, the government has only 20%, equivalent to 16.8 trillion dinars, and a member of the Iraqi parliamentary finance committee says that the government will need more cash after the approval of the federal budget law. According to Rudaw Media Network, the volume of Iraqi currency is 84 trillion dinars, but only 20% of this amount of cash is at the disposal of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Iraq. The Central Bank of Iraq's measures to curb dollar smuggling have reduced the collection of dinars that used to come by selling dollars, especially since these sales are approaching $200 million a day. An official at the Central Bank of Iraq, who preferred not to be named, told Rudaw Media Network that "the majority of citizens keep their money with them in their homes and do not deposit it with banks, and we seek to urge them to deposit and use electronic cards in buying and selling transactions." The foreign currency reserves of the Central Bank of Iraq exceed $ 100 billion, and this comes from oil sales, and for the purpose of obtaining cash from the Iraqi currency, the Federal Ministry of Finance urges the Central Bank of Iraq to provide it through the sale of dollars. Jamal Kojar, a member of the Iraqi parliament's finance committee, told Rudaw Media Network that "the government's lack of cash is linked to the reluctance of citizens to deposit their money in banks and keep it in their homes instead of banks." While the government has only 20% of Iraq's currency, equivalent to 16.8 trillion dinars, the government will need 16.5 trillion dinars per month after the federal budget law is issued and comes into force. "When the budget is approved, the government will need more cash to cover salaries and project expenses, and although the central bank has the authority to print more currency, this step will cause inflation," said MP Jamal Kojar. The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ammar Hamad Khalaf, announced on (March 31, 2023) to Rudaw Media Network that "the contracting procedures for printing a currency of 20000,2023 Iraqi dinars, by the Central Bank of Iraq, are ongoing, and they are taking place abroad, and this new denomination of currency will be introduced in late <> or early next year, with the aim of facilitating dealing with dinars in the markets." The Central Bank of Iraq's move comes as data from the Iraqi Ministry of Planning indicate that inflation rates in the country have risen by 7.2%.
    3 points
  29. https://newatlas.com/remarkable-people/brian-shul-death/ REMARKABLE PEOPLE SR-71 pilot, photographer and storyteller Brian Shul dies at 75 By Loz Blain May 21, 2023 Legendary SR-71 Blackbird pilot, photographer and storyteller Brian Shul has reportedly passed away, aged 75 Brian Shul VIEW 7 IMAGES VIEW GALLERY - 7 IMAGES The aviation world has lost one of its brightest luminaries. Major Brian Shul was an incredible survivor and a top gun pilot – but also a gifted photographer and storyteller with the ultimate access pass. His brilliant tales of flying the extraordinary SR-71 Blackbird – the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft in history – will live forever. What a life would've flashed before this man's eyes. Born in Quantico, Virginia in 1948, Shul earned a history degree at East Carolina University before signing up to the US Air Force. He was sent to Vietnam, where he flew 212 air support missions before his T-28 Trojan light attack plane was shot down near the Cambodian border. Unable to eject, Shul took a terrifying gravity ride to the ground, crashing into the jungle deep in enemy territory. As he described to me in our 2016 interview, the plane exploded into flames. Shul was trapped in the burning wreck, watching the visor of his helmet start to melt, figuring it would burn his eyes out if it dripped onto him. He crawled free of the wreckage, severely burned, then found a place to camouflage himself and hide, as enemy patrols combed the area searching for him, coming within a few feet of his hiding spot. Sled Driver Brian Shul, left, with New Atlas's Loz Blain, Reno Air Race 2016 Joe Salas/4theriders.com His eventual rescue, by Special Operations Pararescue soldiers, turned into a firefight, but no American lives were lost and they got him out alive, taking him to a military hospital in Okinawa. The medical staff didn't expect him to make it, given the extent of his burns and other wounds from the plane crash. Through two months of intensive emergency care, 15 major operations and month upon month of grueling rehab work, Shul kept focused on the goal of returning to active duty. That meant he had to pass an Air Force flight physical – from the Air Forces Chief of Aerospace Medicine, no less. The Chief had taken a special interest in Shul's case, and wanted to test him personally, so that if he passed, nobody could question the judgment. "He gave me a two-day physical," Shul recounted, "and they were real hard on me, and they came out and said, 'We can't flunk you.' I've got a steel pin in this finger, but the regulations just said I needed to be able to grip. So they couldn't flunk me." So, two days after being released from hospital, Shul was back in the air, this time flying fighter jets. He flew air shows as part of the first A-10 Thunderbolt demonstration team, and became an instructor at the USAF's Fighter Lead-In School, rising to become the Chief of Air-to-Ground Academics. A pair of beasts: Two SR-71 Blackbirds on the tarmac Lockheed Martin Then, he applied to fly the world's highest, fastest aircraft. Lockheed Martin's legendary SR-71 Blackbird has still never been outpaced by any manned aircraft shy of a rocket. Designed in the slide rule era and first flown in 1966, this awe-inspiring machine could go 3.5 times the speed of sound – more than fast enough to outrun enemy missiles, and hit altitudes up to 85,000 ft (26,000 m). To fly the Blackbird, Shul had to pass another brutal physical – this time, the test given to astronauts. He passed, claiming to have one of the highest scores the instructors had seen. "I was very strong internally," he told me, "even if I looked like hell on the outside." And so began more than 2,000 hours in the fastest plane in history, experiencing things most of humanity could barely even dream about. But the rest of us can dream all the clearer thanks to Shul getting that job. Because he wasn't just the best of the best of pilots, he was an extraordinarily talented photographer and a flat-out gifted storyteller, who shared everything he could about his experiences in the most vivid detail. Which is all the more amazing given that the Blackbird was, at the time, "The world's most top secret, least photographed jet," as Shul puts it. Some pictures can be found in the original link. Self portrait: Brian Shul in his space suit, visor down as he flies the SR-71 Blackbird Brian Shul/US Air Force I'm proud to own a signed copy of his incredible book Sled Driver, which Shul described as the greatest challenge of his remarkable life, since he didn't think of himself as a talented writer. "To take an emotional experience with an incredible jet like that, and turn it into a readable, plausible, intelligent conveyance of that feeling … it was the hardest thing I've done," he told me. "When you sit in front of a blank computer screen, you've got all this excitement about writing this book. The first paragraph I wrote, I showed it to my girlfriend, and she said, 'OK, you've used the word "magnificent" seven times in the first paragraph.' Haha! That's terrible!" His most famous stories, the one about the Speed Check and the one about the slowest SR-71 flyover ever attempted, make their way around the internet periodically, thanks to Shul's sparkling writing and the absolute insanity of the Blackbird. Once retiring from supersonic life, Shul traveled widely as an inspirational speaker, sharing his extraordinary life with hundreds of thousands of awe-struck audience members around the world. Indeed, just two days ago he was finishing up a keynote speech at the Nevada Military Support Alliance's Annual Gala in Reno, when he collapsed, suffering a cardiac arrest, and couldn't recover despite in-house doctors performing emergency CPR. He passed away, aged 75, the grim reaper finally bringing in one of his toughest quarries. Water vapor is condensed by the low-pressure vortices generated by the chines outboard of each engine inlet Michael Haggarty/US Air Force The world was absolutely a brighter and more interesting place with Major Brian Shul in it, and his captivating stories will live on as humanity's most vivid memories of one of its greatest engineering creations. Rest in peace, legend!
    3 points
  30. Wasn't it Nader that said about a month ago that everything is done...there's nothing left to do...they are ready. Just curious.
    3 points
  31. Charles is lockstep with the WEF oligarchs and a long time propagandist of the global warming/climate change/carbon banning fraud. Anything for a buck....er, pound.
    3 points
  32. Along with this solved problem came the demise of hundreds of "mom and pop" stores along the Mother Road. Politicking was evident when it came to plotting the new freeway system. I do agree we need some "Mentally cognizant people in charge along with experienced people as heads of departments. Not to forget some of these very departments are not authorized under the Constitution. But that is another subject for a different post.
    2 points
  33. 2 points
  34. There are several articles out this morning confirming nothing isn't going to happen before August. So Frankie...put you Dinars away for now.
    2 points
  35. Here's an article of Dinarian interests... Some items in 2023 Budget are still in dispute. Treat as a rumor. Not verified. Your opine. From Other Sources: The Parliamentary Finance Committee Confirmed, On Wednesday, That Most Of The Budget Items Have Been Decided In Preparation For A Vote On It. ARTICLE: The Parliament’s media department said in a statement, “The Finance Committee, chaired by Atwan Al-Atwani & in the presence of its members, resumed a meeting to resolve some technical matters related to the federal general Budget Law, in preparation for submitting it to the House of Representatives.” He explained, “The committee decided to visit a delegation of its members to the Ministry of Finance to view the files that need clarification, in addition to resolving the file of lecturers & contracts after 10/2/2019 & the rest of the groups in order to adapt their conditions.” He added, “During the meeting, it hosted the head of the Martyrs Foundation, Abdul-Ilah Al-Naili, regarding the work of the commission & its budget, while Al-Naili reviewed a vision about the foundation’s needs for financial allocations for the implementation of projects for the foundation’s development & social programs.” He continued, “A number of proposed items & materials were discussed in order to ripen them in a way that contributes to maximizing revenues, investing resources for the state treasury, establishing projects, as well as supporting farmers who use modern irrigation systems & voting on them.”
    2 points
  36. If history has anything to do with it, another couple of years.....😔
    2 points
  37. Launching the first direct freight service between the UAE and Iraq 2023-05-23 // 06:25 Shafaq News / DP World Group launched "DB World", the first direct freight service between the UAE and Iraq, to facilitate the flow of goods between the two countries. This service launches what is known in the sector as "unaccompanied trailer vehicles", which are trailer vehicles that can be transported by sea without the driver and the trailer traveling with it, as the trailer is left on the dock by the driver, and then it is towed inside the ship and taken out. of it alone. This service is the first of its kind in the UAE and is provided by P&O Navigation, a subsidiary of the DB World group. This service takes about 36 hours to transport trailers between the port of Jebel Ali in the UAE and the port of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq. Unaccompanied trailers are loaded onto ro-ro cargo vessels, without the driver and trailer tow at the port; Once the trailer reaches the port of Umm Qasr, an Iraqi truck can drive it to its final destination anywhere in the country; Once delivered, the empty trailer is returned to Umm Qasr Port and shipped to Jebel Ali. Goods shipped by road from the UAE to Iraq had to be transferred from the original truck to a locally licensed vehicle, which is a time-consuming process that can expose the goods to damage and contamination, and threaten safety. https://shafaq.com/ar/اقتصـاد/طلاق-ول-خدمة-للشحن-المباشر-بين-ال-مارات-والعراق
    2 points


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