luckylucy

Awesome post, K98! Thank you! luckylucy

U.N. Security Council votes to end several Hussein-era sanctions against Iraq By Colum Lynch Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, December 15, 2010; 4:06 PM UNITED NATIONS - More than two decades after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday lifted a raft of sanctions designed to contain Iraq and prevent it from developing weapons of mass destruction. The 15-nation council voted to end restrictions on Iraqi's rights to develop a civilian nuclear program, agreed to restore Iraqi control of its oil revenues within six months and brought an end to the vestiges of the controversial $64 billion oil-for-food program, which allowed Hussein's government to export billions of dollars worth of oil to purchase goods. Vice President Biden presided over the session, which provided the Obama administration with an opportunity to highlight progress in the long, hard political transition in Iraq. Speaking on behalf of the council, Biden said Wednesday's action marked an important recognition of how far Iraq has come in improving its relations with the rest of the world. The passage of the resolutions "brings an end to the burdensome remnants of the dark era of Saddam Hussein," he said. The vote followed years of debate within the council over how to settle the matter of sanctions that had been imposed on the former Iraqi regime but that often seemed irrelevant under a government that had wide backing from the U.N. membership. The council's action will leave several issues outstanding, including a provision that requires Iraq to pay 5 percent of oil revenues to compensate Kuwaiti companies and individuals who suffered losses during the invasion. "My government appreciates the recognition of success we have achieved [and which] lifts another burden on Iraq's recovery, " said Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. "The adoption of these important resolutions marks the beginning of the end of the sanctions regime and restriction on Iraq's sovereignty, independence and recovery." Although all members of the council credited Iraq with making major strides in normalizing its relations with the outside world, they expressed concern about the delay in the formation of a government and continuing sectarian violence and attacks on ethnic minorities. Zebari assured the council that a new government would be formed "very, very soon." Biden also recognized the difficulties facing Iraq, but he insisted that Iraq was on the way to putting those behind it. "We're particularly concerned about recent attempts to target innocents because of their faith, including both Christians and Muslims,"he said: But he added:"The Iraqi people have emerged from the depths of sectarian violence and they have flatly rejected the grim future offered by extremists and they have earned themselves a chance for much better days ahead." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/15/AR2010121502386.html

Regarding you receiving the lower denoms ... could be they were out of the higher amounts. Personally, I wouldn't care as I think (believe, hope) it won't matter to us. regarding the smaller denoms coming out ... we've had lots of info seemingly "confirming" this is true, at least on the bases ... and, yes, if that is fact then it could point to an RV/RI soon. chapter 7 lifted ... much of that could depend on Kuwait .. what are they willing to "forgive" and allow to remain unfulfilled ... returning bodies, artifacts, the money owed, etc., or how much will they negotiate to be done ... we just saw an announcement that the UNSC is going to continue to hold Iraq's money for Kuwait (or oil money, I think) ... .. so, that might indicate that UNSC will still "monitor" those payments even if ch 7 is lifted ... but ... until it is done and I have USD in my hands instead of dinars ... it is all speculation ... but one of the best adventures I've ever been on and hopefully the most lucrative ... and I pray that the iraqi people will see the great improvements they have been promised and that Iraqi individuals will benefit from whatever happens. luckylucy Yes ... maybe, for those who have accounts ... remember, many hold their currency on their bodies or in their homes. Perhaps even if they have bank accounts. Regardless, surely they have some notes in their pockets they would want to exchange for the smaller denoms ... otherwise, what's the point. And, at the same time, getting an appreciated value. What a deal if it is true.

Thanks for posting your observation! ... see, doesn't it feel nice to get a thank you! that's why some post ... many know each other and are just offering support. Some, though, could be posting just to get their "count" up ... I don't know why ... but that is important to some. As long as they are posting nice stuff rather than bashing that's not a bad thing. have a great weekend! ... love the pic! luckylucy

I think the quantity or # of dinars in the order often dictates what they require before shipping a COD.

very funny ... thanks!

Let's keep our comments respectful. luckylucy

yep ... I read that in some doc. somewhere ... just can't recall where....

Welcome to DV Scooby Doo .... thanks for your post, but it is probably not wise to post the amount of dinars you own or to ask others to reveal what they have. Just a safety issue. luckylucy

Exactly!

I agree with your comments; and I, too, say Amen to igraham.

Ron and Shanny ... thanks so much! luckylucy

On this, we agree, doc. I gave you a point too! keepmwlkn ... !

This was posted so many times that one MOD put some in the "Trash Can" ... I think I've found all the posts you made on this topic, and they are merged here in this thread and placed in LOP Sectoin. By the way ... if you ever need to find your posts or threads again, just go to your profile and in left column under your name (first section) click on "Posts" or "Threads" and you can see all posts and threads (threads are the ones you start) ... and see where they are, etc. If you ever see anything in the trash can, it could be because of an unusually high number of duplicate posts ... or .. could be because member bashing got so bad, we closed and "trashed" it .. but, we never delete a post. Trash Can is kind of like an active archive. Hope this helps ... luckylucy

Yep, I've heard the same. Good suggestion. In fact, I don't think the traders will buy from you if you can't prove a good, legal source.... but ask the traders and bankers. If someone purchases stolen or smuggled dinars (or from any other illegal source), then that person could end up with no dinars and no money. The traders and bankers are in the same position .. they need to know that they have legally purchased or legally obtained dinars.

I suggest you call one of the traders or a bank and get their input. Like Ronscarpa says ... you might need to show the date of purchase for IRS reasons, but a CPA might tell you that a statement or affidavit might work for them. Also, think about getting all your buddies together who purchased this as a group and document something together. Unfortunately, from what I understand, it could be important to prove you obtained the dinars from a legal source. Remember, this is different from the notes being authentic ... authentic, real dinars can still be sold illegally, ie, linked to terrorism or money laundering, stolen, etc. .. I would NOT say your dinars are worthless (I'd fight the gov't on this one) ... but I'd call a trader or a bank and ask them about this issue. That's who will require something when you cash in. They can refuse the dinars or accept them ... and, personally, I would NOT walk into a facility with my dinars without knowing how they will be evaluated. It is actually just like anything else ... even if you purchased something thinking the owner had the legal right to sell it, if it was stolen merchandise, you end up with nothing and you've lost your money in the process. You are smart to start looking into this now. Good luck! Let us know what you find out. luckylucy

Thanks ... for bringing the post to us Ron .. interesting comments my the man!

Thank you! Great chat, Scooter ... awesome information! luckylucy Jeanette

CHAT FROM ANOTHER FORUM: Scooter Chat 6-27-10, Part 1 [scooter] Good Evening Folks [scooter] I hope all is well --- there’s been a lot of research and we now have an overabundance of information. [scooter] Now, for the past two weeks, I’ve been mercilessly pursuing information at the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of P*****ng Sites. The Ministry of Finance site has been beating me up pretty badly --- but I’m done converting, OCRing, and Translating this information. [scooter] I will be covering the Ministry of Finance next chat, as well the G20 meetings – the notes should be published by then. [scooter] However, I do have a request of the group tonight: [scooter] If there is anybody that can interpret Arabic writing, particularly Babylonian dialect, I would be interested in having a discussion. There are two hand written documents individually scanned into a JPG//PDF file that cannot be OCR’d or translated by any software known to mankind ---- It’s been killing me!!!! However, I am making a call to some universities tomorrow to get this bad boy because I want these documents badly! [scooter] “Strategic Federal Budget 2010-2012” http://www.mof.gov.iq/ar/index.php?n ... op=page&pid=80 [scooter] and the very important one [scooter] “Strategies as Economic Units 2010-2012” [scooter] hmmmmm [scooter] I wonder what economic units could mean [scooter] http://www.mof.gov.iq/ar/index.php?n ... op=page&pid=79 [scooter] There's the link [scooter] If you can help, I would appreciate it! [scooter] Now, for tonight, we will be covering the US Department of Trade Documents and several Ministry of P*****ng documentss. All MofP Doc’s refer to the RV in some shape or fashion. In fact, the government spending assessment, BLAST the government for its lack of capitol spending and not moving forward with the structural changes. [scooter] So Here they are: [scooter] 1. US Department of Trade -- Republic of Iraq – National Investment Commission --- Investment Law No. 13 --- Investment Guide is Superb! [scooter] 2. USAID -- Tijara Project --- Links for Reference – Great PowerPoint [scooter] 3. Iraqi Ministry of P*****ng -- Economic Committee [scooter] 4. Iraqi Ministry of P*****ng -- Technical Committee for Preparing the Five‐Year Plan 2010‐2014 -- [scooter] 5. Iraqi Ministry of P*****ng – Government Spending Committee – They got “Blasted” in this report! [scooter] So on to #1 --- US Department of Trade -- Republic of Iraq – National Investment Commission --- Investment Law No. 13 [scooter] Here is a link for you to review at your leisure -- http://trade.gov/static/Inv_Guide_2009.pdf [scooter] Oh yes, [scooter] I will post the links in a separate response [scooter] to the chat [scooter] they get miscomboberated when copying sometimes [scooter] If you haven’t seen this information you should really look at it, particularly since you are all investors in Iraq right now! [scooter] There are several segments that I think you might want to see, particularly what great lengths the Iraqi’s are going. Also, please remember the US is escorting America’s largest corporations over for a Business Development Mission in mid October – Date ring a bell? [scooter] ? Here’s the link: http://trade.gov/trade-missions/miss ... ctober2010.asp [scooter] But what is very interesting is the benefits the Iraqi’s are offering. Here’s some clips from the investment guide: [scooter] Investment Law No. 13: Privileges and Guarantees [scooter] It’s only the month when the ISX’s is targeted to opened up to the world. I know, I know – October????? [scooter] NOT!!!! Remember, the currency comes first --- get it internationally recognized, then move to the stocks, securities, bonds, etc…. [scooter] But what is very interesting is the benefits the Iraqi’s are offering. Here’s some clips from the investment guide: [scooter] Investment Law No. 13: Privileges and Guarantees [scooter] Why is this important [scooter] Because the open market only pushes the value upward [scooter] not downward [scooter] Plus you'll see in a second [scooter] Here's some snips [scooter] • Foreign investors have the right to repatriate capital brought into Iraq, as well as any profits earned, pursuant to the instructions of the Central Bank of Iraq, after paying all taxes and debts owed to the Iraqi Government and all other authorities. [scooter] OK -- Kind of cool [scooter] • Foreign investors are allowed to lease land for the life of the investment project, or for a term of up to 50 years. Extensions can be requested and obtained from the NIC for additional years based on need and economic considerations. Additionally, a bill is currently pending before the Iraqi Parliament (to be voted on in October 2009) which would allow foreign investors to own land. [scooter] Chinese oil contracts [scooter] for over 58 Billion [scooter] This year’s budget [scooter] was just over 70+ Billion [scooter] • Foreign investors may open accounts for licensed projects in Iraqi and/or or foreign currencies with Iraqi or foreign bank [scooter] I wanted this one in there [scooter] because of a couple of [scooter] reasons [scooter] The iraqi currency is going to be strong and Scooter Chat 6-27-10, Part 1 Scooter] There will be banks -- like HSBC -- [scooter] That will hold your money in IQD if you desire [scooter] That way [scooter] people can get the appreciative value of the IQD [scooter] and the high interest rate [scooter] from Iraq's CBI [scooter] just a thought [scooter] Here's some more [scooter] • NIC-licensed projects enjoy exemption from taxes and fees for a period of 10 years from the date that commercial operations begin. [scooter] Tax exempt for 10 years [scooter] Should draw the American Corps in [scooter] • Assets imported for an investment project are exempt from customs duties as long as they enter Iraq within three years of the licensing date. [scooter] But here’s the biggie [scooter] The Government of Iraq has drafted a new law on tariffs that will adopt the Harmonized System and apply modern WTO standards for calculating tariff rates for imported goods. This legislation is expected to pass the Iraqi parliament in 2010. Iraq was granted WTO observer status in 2004 and hopes to gain membership in 2010. [scooter] Now, will they make the WTO in this time – I would have never predicted in 2010 – However, the US Government is putting 2010 on the investment guide -- Somebody knows something we don’t! [scooter] Now to Tijara and US Aid -- http://www.tijara-iraq.com/ -- this is just for your benefit --- nothing to note immediately but there’s two links I want to share and then we’ll move on. [scooter] Just a couple of links for the group [scooter] June2010 Tijara Overview Presentation [scooter] http://www.tijara-iraq.com/?pname=op ... 1484&type=file [scooter] Tijara 2009 Progress Report [scooter] http://www.tijara-iraq.com/?pname=op ... 1053&type=file [scooter] Detailed p*****ng of the different areas of Iraq -- [scooter] Very detailed! [scooter] Goto at your leisure – detailed business analysis in each region of Iraq!  [scooter] Now to the good stuff: [scooter] Policy paper and the macro-economic indicators analysis prepared by the committee on economic policies working group may - 2009 [scooter] Ministry of P*****ng Economic Committee [scooter] http://www.iauiraq.org/reports/Secto ... cy-English.pdf [scooter] Here's a clip -- not strong statement but significant [scooter] enough in the context of the paper Scooter] 6- Financial Policy and Public Debt [scooter] The budget also provides hypothesis on the structure of various financial revenues that may be achieved, in addition to what are the financial and economic changes that should be adopted to achieve and improve the new financing sources. [scooter] Here's what they want to achieve [scooter]  Achieve equilibrium between revenues and expenditures in a way that ensures remedy of the general budget deficit and reduces the public debt burden as well as to keep it within the internationally recognized safe limits. [scooter] the paper suggest that equilibrium point at the real rate of 3.208 [scooter]  Structural imbalance in the revenue structure during the dominance of crude oil revenues and recession of other financial resources. This fact is a reflection on the reality of Iraqi economy. [scooter] Essentially --- [scooter] There's a major problem [scooter] They must act now [scooter] in order to prevent problems [scooter] in every department and segment of society [scooter] here's another paper from a different committee [scooter] Ministry of P*****ng and Development Technical Committee for Preparing the Five‐Year Plan 2010‐2014 -- Distributed September 2009 [scooter] Committee of Private Sector Development Paper Second Phase [scooter] http://www.mop-iraq.org/mopdc/resour ... ment%20_en.pdf [scooter] Page 3 [scooter] Therefore, the Five Year Development Plan (2010 - 2014) aimed at, as main axes, to accelerate the private sector growth leading to higher rates of its relative contribution to GDP during the plan period. This would maximize the ability of the national economy to fulfil the needs of different productive activities and to face the increasing domestic consumption. [scooter] Now in english [scooter] They want a higher contributions to build up GDP [scooter] Everyone Does [scooter] But what's more important [scooter] is that they realize they [scooter] need to facilitate consumption domestically [scooter] otherwise -- this exercise is meaningless [scooter] So Here's what they are going to do [scooter] Chapter three: future vision for the development of the private sector [scooter] Page 13 -14 -- The necessary policy for achieving the vision -- Attracting Investment [scooter] b. Setting up the programs of economic reform towards releasing the exchange rates, goods and services according to market standards and mechanisms. [scooter] "Releasing Exchange Rates" [scooter] essentially opening up to the world [scooter] c. Opening the local market to the neighbouring regional markets and treating them in the same way [scooter] Page 19 -- To raise and increase the capacity of the economic units on competitive bases. [scooter] They need to be competitive with surrounding states [scooter] Page 20 – To liberalize the interest and exchange rates, and to reduce restrictions on the flow of capital. [scooter] Here's where they were selling the concept [scooter] Page 21 -- The positive results arising from the implementation of this vision relate to the liberation of the centrally restricted economy and transferring it to a market economy. It includes the policy of releasing the exchange rate as one of the most important pillars and reform policies to resolve the imbalances in the money markets and to achieve stability and raise the competitiveness of the economy, [scooter] This document -- government spending [scooter] They get "Blasted" in this document big time [scooter] Here's some snips [scooter] Republic of Iraq Ministry of P*****ng and Development Cooperation Department of Government Investment [scooter] Analysis of Investment Spending Level and Its Relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Fixed Capital Formation for the Period 2004-2008 – Distributed 2009 [scooter] http://www.mop-iraq.org/mopdc/resour ... ment%20_en.pdf [scooter] This Documents “blast” the government s efforts – Dismal to say the least! [scooter] Page 2 of 7 An initial assessment of the investment budgets performance in Iraq: [scooter] First Sentence: The initial assessment of the performance of annual investment budgets shows low execution and spending rates compared to the size of set allocations [scooter] During the evaluation of the performance of the budget, it appeared that there is an exaggeration in requesting the allocations, which will lead to enlarging the size of the federal budget of the State and the seizure of large amounts that could have been allocated to other areas or sectors to actively contribute in pushing the economy forward. [scooter] Here’s the “Kicker”: [scooter] not this one [scooter] 3. Despite the existence of the national strategies for development documents (2004-2007) and (2007-2010), the annual allocations did not come up to those strategies, even roughly, as the percentage of the total allocated for investment during the period 2005-2009 reached to about (70406.7) billion dinars, while the size of the amounts proposed by the development strategies for the same period were about (153) billion U.S. dollars, equivalent to about (190068.5) billion dinars. [scooter] This would mean that the percentage of allocated amounts to the proposed amounts according to strategies was about (37%) which is a modest percentage. This would be a more negative picture, if we take into consideration the expenditure made from the investment allocations. [scooter] Good luck getting into any international arena with 37% [scooter] In english -- Embarrasing [scooter] Way behind in Capital formation [scooter] Only 37% --- This definitely will not fly with WTO or International Standards!!!!! Unbelievable! These guys were ruthless in their assessment – but justifiably so!!! [scooter] Page 5 -- Fixed capital formation and the coefficient of capital / output Despite the difference between the concepts of development, it is possible to say that there is a general agreement that the achievement of higher growth inevitably requires higher investment, as the fixed capital formation is one of the important factors for determining the level of investment activity. [scooter] Makes sense – Invest in capital get a bigger return right! [scooter] These jokesters [scooter] took the money [scooter] and spent it everywhere but capital [scooter] Almost done [scooter] Page 6 – 7 Proposals to activate the investment policy in Iraq There are other more important reasons related to the failure of the macroeconomic policies that have not been able so far to draw the right and integrated economic policy capable of extrapolating the reality of macro-economic variables adopted by the Iraqi economy, and then following new economic policy which is able to develop the investment program in the country. [scooter] Some PinPoints [scooter] 2. Requiring the authorities to submit technical and economic feasibility studies for their proposed new projects. [scooter] 8. Raising the degree of coordination between authorities responsible for economic policy making in the country (Ministry of P*****ng and Development Cooperation, Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Iraq). [scooter] Now [scooter] The reason I added those statements [scooter] The government has been spending money with hand shake deals [scooter] for them to be recognized internationally [scooter] that will never ever be tolerated [scooter] ever!!!!! [scooter] If they are to be recognized [scooter] This has to be fixed ASAP! [scooter] For this reason [scooter] We've seen [scooter] the CBI and MofF [scooter] finally get their act together [scooter] and started publishing the real info [scooter] to the IMF's GDDS system [scooter] OK [scooter] enough from me for now -- but ---- next chat we'll go throught MofF and G20 notes [scooter] I'm done

Well said, Tom. Ron is a great guy! jeanette/luckylucy

Thanks K98. I was wondering what happened to Hill ... and here's what I found: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/25/obama.iraq.ambassador/ By the CNN Wire Staff June 26, 2010 7:54 a.m. EDT (CNN) -- President Barack Obama nominated Ambassador James Jeffrey, currently the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, to be the next ambassador to Iraq on Friday. Jeffrey has served as ambassador to Turkey since November 2008. He also served as special advisor to the Secretary of State for Iraq in Washington and was deputy chief of mission and charge d'affaires in Baghdad. He is replacing Christopher Hill, who began serving as ambassador in April 2009. When he accepted the post last year, Hill said he would stay on for one year. In recent months, he agreed to stay on for the summer as government formation progressed. Obama also announced that he nominated Robert Jackson to be ambassador to Cameroon and Alejandro Wolff to be ambassador to Chile. Jackson is currently the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Morocco. Wolff is the deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, a position he has held since December 2005. The U.S. Senate must approve the President Obama's nominations before the nominees take their positions.

Thanks for posting Qman .. .impressive letter and summary of what Arizona wants and needs.

Great reporting Superman!

I just love your Avatar ... or is that your portrait?

To clarify the bill and presidential order and the dates ... both of these were signed in 2009: Presidential Order regarding assistance in Gaza ... (nothing about immigration). http://www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2009-02-04-E9-2488 Federal Register: February 4, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 22) DOCID: fr04fe09-106 FR Doc E9-2488 Presidential Documents U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement NOTICE: Part II DOCID: fr04fe09-106 DOCUMENT SUMMARY: [[Page 6115]] Presidential Determination No. 2009-15 of January 27, 2009 Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related To Gaza Memorandum for the Secretary of State By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 2©(1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (the ``Act''), as amended (22 U.S.C. 2601), I hereby determine, pursuant to section 2©(1) of the Act, that it is important to the national interest to furnish assistance under the Act in an amount not to exceed $20.3 million from the United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for the purpose of meeting unexpected and urgent refugee and migration needs, including by contributions to international, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations and payment of administrative expenses of Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State, related to humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees and conflict victims in Gaza. You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register. (Presidential Sig.) THE WHITE HOUSE, Washington, January 27, 2009 [FR Doc. E9-2488 Filed 2-3-09; 8:45 am] Billing code 4710-10-P US House Bill 1388 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-1388 An Act Entitled The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, an Act to reauthorize and reform the national service laws to read a summary of the bill: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1388&tab=summary'>http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1388&tab=summary Occurred: Introduced Mar 9, 2009 Occurred: Referred to Committee View Committee Assignments Occurred: Reported by Committee Mar 11, 2009 Occurred: Amendments (52 proposed) View Amendments Occurred: Passed House Mar 18, 2009 Occurred: Passed Senate Mar 26, 2009 Occurred: Signed by President Apr 21, 2009 This bill has become law. It was signed by Barack Obama. [Last Updated: May 18, 2010 1:01AM] Last Action: Apr 21, 2009: Became Public Law No: 111-13. For more information on the costs to Americans ($3 per American in 2010); votes, revisions, etc., visit: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1388 Retraction by Baltimore Reporter (providing an alternative to Liberal Medial): http://www.baltimorereporter.com/?p=6763 Their retraction states " This article was in error. We apologize for any misinformation. The URI to TrackBack this entry is: http://www.baltimorereporter.com/wp-trackback.php?p=6763" ... they've apparently totally removed the article, but you can see from the blogs and title, it was in reference to the misinformation regarding HB1388.