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Syria rebels attack regime-held Christian village By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press 11:33 A.M.SEPT. 4, 2013 · ⎙ In this image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian army fighters fire their weapons during clashes with government forces, unseen, in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video) — ASSOCIATED PRESS ·  ·  · ✉ · 0COMMENTS In this citizen journalism image provided by The Committee of Jabal al-Zawiyah, Jisr el-Sheghour, Maarat al-Naaman, Idlib, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian army fighters hold their weapons as they stand on a military tank in Idlib province, Syria, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center, AMC) — APIn this citizen journalism image provided by The Committee of Jabal al-Zawiyah, Jisr el-Sheghour, Maarat al-Naaman, Idlib, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, a Syrian man celebrates in front of a damaged government oil truck in Idlib province, Syria, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center, AMC) — APView of the French National Assembly as France's Prime Minister Jean Marc Ayrault, center, delivers a speech in Paris, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. Ayrault addressed parliament during a debate to rally support for a military strike again Syria. The U.S. and France accuse Assad's Syrian government of using chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 attack on rebel-held suburbs of Damascus that killed hundreds.(AP Photo/Christophe Ena) — APIn this citizen journalism image provided by The Committee of Jabal al-Zawiyah, Jisr el-Sheghour, Maarat al-Naaman, Idlib, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, a Free Syrian army fighter holds his weapon as he poses for a photograph in front of a military tank in Idlib province, Syria, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center, AMC) — AP BEIRUT — A nun and activists say rebel fighters have attacked a regime-held, predominantly Christian village, commandeering a mountaintop hotel and shelling the ancient community from there. The nun, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, says the assault began around dawn Wednesday with a suicide bombing at a regime checkpoint outside the village of Maaloula. She says she's heard firefights and regime airstrikes. The nun, speaking by phone from a convent in Maaloula, says regime troops are deployed at the village's entrance, while rebels have commandeered the Safir hoteloverlooking Maaloula and surrounding caves. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirms the attack and says the rebels are from the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. France's prime minister made a passionate appeal Wednesday for intervention in Syria, placing the blame for a chemical attack on Syrian President Bashar Assad and warning that inaction could let him carry out more atrocities. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault addressed the French National Assembly at the beginning of a debate on the wisdom of a French military response. Wednesday's debate will end without a vote - since President Francois Hollande can order a military operation without one - but it was part of his government's delicate dance to rev up support at home for an unpopular intervention. The French debate also offered a preview of the challenges the Obama administrationfaces when the U.S. Congress debates Syria next week. The U.S. and France accuse Assad's government of using chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 attack on rebel-held suburbs of Damascus that killed hundreds of people. Obama and Hollande are pushing for a military response to punish Assad for his alleged use of poison gas against civilians - although U.S. officials say any action will be limited in scope and not aimed at helping to remove Assad. The French government is in a particularly difficult situation, with many opposition party members claiming that the Socialist Hollande is merely acting as a lapdog for the U.S., the only other major power considering a Syrian military intervention. In what a possible sign of budding support for an intervention, officials from countries neighboring Syria who met Wednesday in Geneva did not express explicit opposition to any military action. Ayrault was careful to say that his certainty about the facts of the attack comes from French sources. But he mentioned for the first time a death toll of nearly 1,500 - which is around what the Americans have cited. "The Syrian regime carries the entire responsibility" for the attack, said Ayrault. "Not to react would be to send a terrible message to Bashar Assad and to the Syrian people: Chemical weapons can used tomorrow again, against Damascus, against Aleppo, maybe even in a bigger way." Ayrault said a punitive military response would help shift the balance in a 2 1/2-year-old civil war - which was tipping in favor of Assad - and was the only way to convince the Syrian leader that he must go to the negotiating table http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Sep/04/syria-rebels-attack-regime-held-christian-village/?#article-copy Many in the opposition have called for a vote in the French parliament, even though Hollande's administration could win one since his party holds a comfortable majority. Conservative French lawmakers have also said an attack without a U.N. resolution is risky, evoking the Iraq war when France pointedly refused to join the U.S.-led invasion without Security Council support. During Wednesday's debate, Christian Jacob, president of the right-leaning UMP party, criticized Hollande for ceding France's independence to the Americans. He said France's guiding principle should be: "always allied with the United States, never falling into line." Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of Assad's most vocal supporters, warned the West against taking any one-sided action in Syria. In an interview late Tuesday, Putin told The Associated Press that Russia "doesn't exclude" supporting a U.N. resolution on punitive military strikes against Syria if it is proved that Damascus used poison gas on its own people. Still he questioned the proof released by Britain, the United States and France as part of their efforts to build international support for a military strike. Any proof needs to go before the U.N. Security Council, Putin told the AP. "And it ought to be convincing. It shouldn't be based on some rumors and information obtained by special services through some kind of eavesdropping, some conversations and things like that." He did say, however, that Russia had frozen new shipments to Syria of a missile defense system. On Tuesday, the White House won backing for military action from two powerful Republicans - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and House majority leader Eric Cantor. In Syria, the Al-Baath newspaper, the mouthpiece of the country's ruling Baath party, branded American lawmakers who backed military action against Syria as "advocates of war and terrorism." "When the Obama administration seeks a broader mandate from Congress, which it basically does not need, this means that it prepares itself for what is bigger and more dangerous," the paper said in an editorial Wednesday. In Paris, Hollande said the U.S. vote "will have consequences on the coalition that we will have to create." He did not specify whether that meant a military coalition. Syria's parliament speaker sent a letter to his French counterpart ahead of Wednesday's debate, urging lawmakers not to make any "hasty" decisions. Syrian lawmakers sent a similar letter to Britain ahead of a parliamentary vote there that rejected military action against Syria. The Syrian conflict, which began as a popular uprising against Assad in March 2011, has degenerated into a civil war that has killed m .ore than 100,000 people. The two sides have fought to a stalemate, although the Assad regime has retaken the offensive in recent months. Rebel fighters control large rural stretches in northern and eastern Syria, while Assad is holding on to most of the main urban areas. The war has sent millions of Syrians fleeing into neighboring countries, and officials from those countries appealed for international help Wednesday, saying they are struggling to keep up. When asked, none of the officials - from Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey - said they were opposed to a strike.

Mr. Hakim: Iraq is not suffering from a leadership crisis, but is suffering from a crisis management Wednesday, September 04 / September 2013 20:44 | | | {Baghdad: Euphrates News} Mr. Hakim renewed emphasis on the importance of the managerial revolution, noting that extends to the management of all aspects of political, economic, security, and internal and external relations and international underscoring the need for administrative revolution in various fields. He noted in his speech Balmmeltqy cultural weekly that "the birth of the problems started since the monarchy fell administration in the republican era and dominated the language commands after control of the military and still state institutions ignore modern management methods and vocabulary substantial such as management of crises and national relations, returned to learn from the experiences of others is not defective and that every defect in behaviors administrative practices make us in the valley and the world in another valley. He stressed that Iraq is not suffering from a leadership crisis and produced a lot of leadership, but he also, but Iraq is suffering from a crisis management. Ended http://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http://www.alforatnews.com/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D49617:2013-09-04-13-54-35%26catid%3D37:2013-03-27-10-35-13%26Itemid%3D55

Najafi visit to the Central Bank and confirms Parliament's support and praises role in maintaining the exchange rate of the dinar Wednesday, September 04 / September 2013 16:52 | | | {Baghdad: Euphrates News} The President of the House of Representatives Osama Najafi on the importance of developing a strategy for fiscal policy coordination between the Ministry of Finance and the monetary policy of the central bank. He said during his visit today the Central Bank of Iraq and his meeting with the Governor of the Bank Basset Turki agency "continued support of the House of Representatives of the Central Bank and the independent policy for a sophisticated banking system is able to mobilize the financial resources of the country, and re-allocated to the service of economic activity." He praised Najafi, according to a statement his office, the role of the central bank and its quest to maintain the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar, in addition to the efforts of workers exceptional in the detection of corrupt files and to refer the number of employees in the bank and directors of Commissioners for some private banks to justice, expressing confidence Bmhnihm and honesty in maintaining money Iraq. He called for speedy resolution of cases related to money laundering, corruption and the protection of Iraq's money, especially after the withdrawal of Iraq from Chapter VII, stressing the need for the introduction of modern library in the banking deal and the dissemination of culture. Banking to the public, and support the work of the private sector banking. Ended http://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http://www.alforatnews.com/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D49617:2013-09-04-13-54-35%26catid%3D37:2013-03-27-10-35-13%26Itemid%3D55

Khalil between that "Committee Ststodh of the head of the Office of Financial Supervision of ministries lagging in the disbursement of financial allocations, and aspects of the financial allocations exchange, especially on the investment side." Hum another interesting post yota! Wonder what the financial allocations exchange entails?

Very interesting post K98 Very SooN Maliki and Allawi may be smoking the peace pipe

Thanks yota. Even Putin recognizes the will of the American People. Why can't our own government recognize ans aknowledge the majority of americans are against a strike on Syria?

Rayzur, I have thought and said the same things myself. Our Economic World is not what is being portrayed. IMHO, there is no way the US banks could aquire enough Gold, Silver, or Fiscal assetts to cover 17T in debt, and that's not talking about the derivitive markets, which may be in the Quadrillions. The possibility of the US becoming Basil III compliant is slim. April 9, 2013, 11:45 AM FDIC’s Hoenig: Basel III Is Well-Intended Illusion Article Comments REAL TIME ECONOMICS HOME PAGE » http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/04/09/fdics-hoenig-basel-iii-is-well-intended-illusion/ By Michael R. Crittenden International regulators hoping to bolster the health of the world’s largest banks are fooling themselves by focusing on risk-weighted capital measures, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Vice Chairman Thomas Hoenig said Tuesday. Speaking in Basel, Switzerland, the outspoken Mr. Hoenig said the Basel III capital regime international regulators have agreed on to require banks to have more sizable buffers against losses does not achieve its stated goal. Such approaches are an “illusion of precision and insufficient in defining adequate capital,” Mr. Hoenig said, relying too much on gauging past risks. “All of the Basel capital accords, including the proposed Basel III, look backward and then attempt to assign risk weights into the future. It doesn’t work,” he said. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/04/09/fdics-hoenig-basel-iii-is-well-intended-illusion/ I wonder why?

Sgt, that's a very good question. I have my money split between a bank and a credit union. The bank I have my money in is a very small bank with very little exposure to the derivative market, and they are CDARS certified. I think need to look at the exposure to the derivitive market for safety. Realistically, we have to pay bills. In the times we live in, we have to pay bills. I certainly don't have time to run around the country paying everything in cash. Please, if you have your money in any of the top 4 banks Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, and Citi Bank, you might be over exposed.

dog53, I use to think that this would not be possible here. I'm gonna give u a few links, that may change your mind. http://intellihub.com/2013/03/30/it-can-happen-here-the-bank-confiscation-scheme-for-us-and-uk-depositors/ This very long, but yet I found very informative. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx2LtUJAxbk. I have never been an alarmist, but something in my spirit has brought me here. The friends I have told about this won't even listen to it, just kind of like I told them about the Dinar. Some think they cannot afford to prepare and some think these things could never happen. Sometimes, I think God brought the Dinar into my life to open my mind to the true, realistic position of our economy. I have learned so much and I am always hedging to prepare for the worst, and truthfully I have never been that person.

I have no love for Maliki, but, I am All About letting the Coward Arabs handle this situation. I think there are many things coming into play here. The Saudi's and oil rich nations have promised to trade oil in the Reserve Dollar, so therefore, in trade, the US has to be, The Executioner, the deliverer of their Modus Operandi. The Israeli's don't want to get their hands dirty, yet they, at such a sensitive time, they are firing missles across the Mediterranean, as their leaders are toasting with US Ambassador, Dan Shapiro. http://www.latimes.c...0,2725776.story . The US is 17T in debt, The Fed has to keep printing the dollars or the whole system could collapse . There has been a plan since before the US attacked Iraq to sytematically take down the Middle East one country at a time. . So Why, would it matter to the US what crimes Supposedly Assad has committed upon his people? Is it, that we are the Saviors of the New World or Control of oil transportation of between Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and the profits made from the sale of this oil? Or is ito insure the ME will keep using the Petro Dollar? It's a house of cards. Seriously, think about the ME countries that are behind the US taking out Assad. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Large+Map+of+Middle+East&FORM=RESTAB#view=detail&id=08AD7FF71ABA53E5CE92A32A3B3877CA8B94ADED&selectedIndex=0 By taking control of Syria, changes the chess board. It allows the bypass of the straight of Hormuz . What countries will profit from this besides, Saudi and Turkey? See Iraq on the map?

Israel rattles region with ballistic missile test over Mediterranean http://www.trbimg.com/img-5225eae6/turbine/la-fg-wn-israel-rattles-region-with-missile-te-001/600 At approximately the same time that Israel was conducting a test of its missile-defense system, Israeli President Shimon Peres, center, was hosting foreign diplomats at his residence in Jerusalem, including U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro, right, and Cameroon Ambassador Henri Etoundi Essomba, to celebrate the pending Jewish new year, which begins Wednesday night. (Jim Hollander / EPA / September 3, 2013) By Edmund Sanders and Sergei L. LoikoThis post has been updated. See the note below for details.September 3, 2013, 7:20 a.m. JERUSALEM — Israel said Tuesday that it had tested a new version of its Sparrow target missile over the Mediterranean Sea, an unannounced launch that was immediately detected by Russia and quickly raised tensions in a region already on edge over a possible U.S. strike against Syria. U.S. and Israeli officials initially refused to comment on the test, raising questions about who was behind the launch and what was targeted. Russia was the first to announce that it had detected two unknown ballistic launches at about 9:15 a.m. Jerusalem time. Russian media said the objects fell into the sea. The news initially raised suspicions of a missile strike against Syria, but the Russian embassy in Damascus reported no sign of any explosions or damage from missiles, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported. Later, Israel’s Defense Ministry confirmed that it had conducted the launch, in conjunction with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. The exercise was also used to test Israel’s Arrow missile-defense system, the defense ministry said. “All the elements of the system performed according to their operational configuration,” the ministry said in a statement. [updated 7:40 a.m. PDT, Sept. 3: In Washington, Pentagon press secretary George Little called the test "long-planned" and played down the U.S. role, which he said was limited to "technical assistance and support." "This test had nothing to do with United States consideration of military action to respond to Syria's chemical weapons attack," he said. He said the test missile was fired to help "evaluate the Arrow ballistic missile defense system's ability to detect, track, and communicate information about a simulated threat to Israel." He did not explain why the test was conducted at a time of heightened tensions in the region.] Igor Korotchenko, a Russian defense analyst and editor of the National Defense journal, called the tests "totally irresponsible" at such a sensitive time. “Israel and the United States should have thought better of the grave risks of such tests at this critical time in this region before launching those missiles,” Korotchenko said in an interview. http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-israel-rattles-region-with-missile-test-20130903,0,2725776.story Polls: Israelis want US, Europe to attack Syria, but against IDF interventionBy GIL HOFFMAN 08/30/2013 14:48 Two-thirds of respondents to Gal Hadash poll concerned American attack on Syria would lead to Israeli involvement in war. IDF SOLDIERS take part in a drill on the Golan Heights, near the Syrian border, yesterday. Photo: REUTERS The US and European countries should attack Syria, but Israel should not be involved in the assault, two polls in weekend Hebrew newspapers found. While polls in the US and United Kingdom have found overwhelming opposition to their countries attacking Syria, a Gal Hadash poll published in Israel Hayom found that 66.6 percent of respondents would be in favor of American and European military intervention in Syria. Related: · PM, Gantz stress Syria message: Israel not involved, but will respond severely if necessary · Amid Syria tensions, IDF deploys Iron Dome battery in greater Tel Aviv area Only 17% opposed a US/EU strike and 16.4% did not know. When asked whether they thought such an attack would take place, 72.8% said yes, 15.8% no, and 11.4% did not know. Asked whether they were concerned that American intervention in Syria would lead to Israeli intervention in the war, 66.8% said yes, 28.7 said no and 4.5% did not know. Regarding what Israeli intervention there would be, 57.4% said limited IDF activity, 14.1% said Syria would attack Israel but the IDF would not respond, 12.9% said there would be all out Middle East war, and 15.6% did not know. A separate Ma’agar Mohot poll published in Friday’s Ma’arivfound that Israelis overwhelmingly oppose an Israeli strike on Syria. If America does not intervene in Israel’s northeastern neighbor, 77% of respondents who expressed an opinion said Israel should not get involved militarily, 11% said the IDF should, and 12% said they did not know and other answers. When divided among how people voted in the January general election, 79% of Likud voters opposed Israeli military intervention in Syria, while 96% of Labor and Meretz voters were opposed. The Ma'agar Mohot poll of 519 respondents had a 4.5 percentage point margin of error. The Gal Hadah poll was taken Wednesday among 500 adult Jewish Israelis and had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points. http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Polls-Israelis-want-US-Europe-to-attack-Syria-but-against-IDF-intervention-324787 Israel says it holds joint missile test with US Updated 8:45 am, Tuesday, September 3, 2013 The Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it, together with the U.S. Defense Department, had carried out a "successful test" in the Mediterranean and on an air force base in central Israel. Russian state-owned news agencies earlier said Russian radar systems had detected two "ballistic objects" fired from the central Mediterranean toward the eastern part of the sea. The United States, which has warships in the Mediterranean, is considering strikes against Syria for an Aug. 21 alleged chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb. http://www.seattlepi.com/news/world/article/Israel-fires-test-missile-in-Mediterranean-Sea-4782273.php

BackNewsNews Iraq Council of Ministers approves the unified pension law TUESDAY, 03 SEPTEMBER / SEPTEMBER 2013 14:22 Twilight News / Iraqi Council of Ministers announced on Tuesday, the endorsement of the Unified Retirement Law, while noting that the law specify the minimum pension to all retirees of Iraq to 400 thousand dinars. He said media adviser to Prime Minister Ali al-Moussawi said in a statement obtained "Twilight News", a copy of "The Council of Ministers approved today a law Unified Retirement," noting, that according to the new law "at least minimum pension of 400 thousand dinars." The Commission announced legal representative, earlier in the day, the completion of the drafting of the proposed law on abolition of pensions for members of the House of Representatives and provincial councils, local councils and the three presidencies, and as confirmed that he is ready for inclusion in the agenda of the Council for the first reading, pointed out that the law includes booking real estate and plots and cars accorded to officials. The large crowds of protesters had set off on Saturday in demonstrations swept 14 Iraqi provinces to demand the cancellation of the laws on retirement of MPs and members of local councils and presidencies and special grades and ministers as demanded fairly poor and achieve social justice, has used the security forces of violence against protesters in some provinces, which led to prepare them wounded, and organized a campaign of arrests of activists. And resulted in an overwhelming wave of anger that swept the country to the announcement by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, for his support and his support for the demands of the demonstrators, and make their demands in the Cabinet meeting held this week to legislate a special law to do so. R g / d p http://www.shafaaq.com/sh2/index.php/news/iraq-news/62911-2013-08-23-12-24-47.html

Dr. Adam Abdelmoula Dr. Adam Abdelmoula was appointed as UNDP Iraq Country Director on 4 August 2013. Adam recentlycompleted a 13-month period as the Resident Coordinator/Resident Representative/Designated Official (RC/RR/DO) for Syria (May 2012- to June 2013). Prior to that, he was the RC/RR/DO for Kuwait (March 2010 to May 2012) Adam was previously the Chief of the Middle East and North Africa Section of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) in Geneva. From 2004-2007 he was the Deputy Chief Human Rights Officer for United National Mission in Liberia. Prior to this, Adam was the Senior Human Rights Adviser and Team Leader for UNOHCHR/United Nations Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq/United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (2003-2004). From 1999-2003, he served in Somalia for UNOHCHR as a Senior Human Rights and Rule of Law Adviser. Before his career began in the UN system, Adam worked for the Fund for Peace, the Institute of International Education, Human Rights Watch, and Lawyers Committee for Human Rights based in the USA. From 1989 to early 1991, he worked for the Ford Foundation, as well as the Arab Lawyers Union in Egypt. He practiced law in the Sudan from 1982 to 1989. Adam holds a PhD in Public International Law from Georgetown University Law Center (USA); a Masters in International Law from Harvard Law School (USA); and a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from University of Khartoum (Sudan). He speaks fluent Arabic and English. A dual citizen of the Sudan and the USA, Adam is married and has three children. http://www.iq.undp.org/DrAdamAbdelmoula.aspx

Gm yota, So what's your take on this article? Are they limiting the exchange of $5000.00 per passenger at the official exchange rate?

Machine watched this today, if TRUE, we as Americans have something to worry about. I stress the If True part! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgRQgYEeNjI&feature=player_detailpage

CBS/AP/ September 2, 2013, 3:29 PM Syria's Assad warns against strike, says it could trigger regional war FRANCK FIFE,BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES 11 Comments / 15 Shares/ 75 Tweets/ Stumble/ Email More + PARISSyrian President Bashar Assad challenged the United States and France to produce proof that his regime attacked civilians with poison gas and warned that any military strikes against Syria would risk triggering a regional war. "The Middle East is a powder keg, and today the flame is coming very near. We cannot talk merely about the Syrian response, but about what might take place after the first strike. But nobody knows what will happen. Everyone will lose control of the situation when the powder keg explodes. Chaos and extremism will spread. There is a risk of regional war," Assad said in an interview published Monday by French newspaper Le Figaro. Last week, the U.S. laid out its intelligence assessment, blaming Assad's forces for an Aug. 21 chemical attack outside Damascus that killed, according to the U.S., 1,429 people, including 426 children. Obama's wait for Congress on Syria strike is historic twist Syria: Strikes would "tarnish" U.S. image in Mideast Complete coverage of the Syria Crisis The U.S., with warships at the ready in the Mediterranean, appeared poised to launch missile strikes against Assad forces, but President Obama announced Saturday that he would seek congressional approval for any military action. On Sunday, Kerry said the U.S. received new physical evidence in the form of blood and hair samples that shows sarin gas was used in the Aug. 21 attack. Kerry said the U.S. must respond with its credibility on the line. "We know that the regime ordered this attack," he said. "We know they prepared for it. We know where the rockets came from. We know where they landed. We know the damage that was done afterwards." Mr. Obama has faced resistance to the proposed strike both internationally and domestically, but France has backed the American position. On Monday, the French government released its own intelligence estimate, concluding that the Assad regime launched the attack involving "massive use of chemical agents" and could carry out other strikes of a similar nature in the future. The confirmed death toll cited in the French estimate - based in part from dozens of videos culled by French intelligence services - was at least 281, lower than the American toll. Assad dismissed the findings from both countries. "It is for those who are making the accusations to provide the proof. We have challenged the United States and France to put forward a single proof. Obama and Hollande have been unable to do so, even to their own people. ... I'm not at all suggesting that the Syrian army does or does not possess such weapons. Let's suppose that our army wishes to use WMD: is it really going to do so in an area where it is actually present and where soldiers have been wounded by these weapons, as the UN inspectors found during their visit to the hospital where they were being treated? Where is the logic in that?" U.N. chemical inspectors toured the stricken areas last week, collecting biological and soil samples, but it is not clear when they will present their findings. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57600996/syrias-assad-warns-against-strike-says-it-could-trigger-regional-war/

You have got that right. Please check this site. The amount of refugees and the amount of money to take care of them is overwhelming. http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php

Take Your Money Out of the Bank! (Must Watch Video) Sunday, September 1, 2013 18:41 You need to take your money of the Banks! Why? “Individual and public taxpayer money is not safe in the big banks. This video will show why and how the government plans to confiscate depositor money when (not if) the next crisis hits in order to prop up the big banks. The actual government documents outlining the confiscation plans will be highlighted.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-2eJQqXm7s&feature=player_detailpage

Call for quotation international experiences in building the economy 09/02/2013 12:00 AM BAGHDAD - morning called Academy economic government agencies to quote a number of experiments special economic countries advanced passed conditions similar to the conditions of Iraq for the purpose of developing economic sectors. said Tahsin Ali told the (morning) that there are several states have passed conditions similar to the conditions experienced by Iraq (k Germany and South Korea) and other countries that girl its economy from the ruins of war and the ruins of the wrong policies. said Ali that Germany began the process of economic reform through reform of the banking business and the establishment of the largest bank to finance projects of industrial production, adding that it led to the establishment of industrial revival in that country and developed by in the ranks of developed nations. drew academic economic to it is possible to benefit from the experience of South Korea, which has developed its economy through an alliance with businessmen and investors and attention to industries existing and developing them in addition to the expansion of the commercial capital and then turn it into industrial investments and fiscal policy for the benefit of industrial companies President, and the establishment of Export-Import Bank to provide financing for exports. noting that the policy Korean included reducing government interference in the economy and the privatization of commercial banks and to cancel a number of laws and regulations impeding the economic activity and to seek regional balance and to provide a platform for social welfare. between Ali said government economic agencies could provide feasibility studies in this regard and to consider the possibility of quotation experience of these two countries because Iraq needs a government reform of the banking system in addition to the advancement of the domestic industry and the development of production in order to achieve self-sufficiency and export the surplus of it. http://www.alsabaah.iq/ArticleShow.aspx?ID=53298

Economic Reform Act step on the path of comprehensive development 09/02/2013 12:00 AM Specialist acknowledges its importance in the real transformation to a market economy BAGHDAD - Hussein ثغب Tamimi represents the law of economic reform, passed by the Council of Ministers recently glimmer of hope to all those concerned with economic experts and the private sector in particular because he axis foundation in economic work after the transition towards a market economy, especially The new law deals with the economic reality in accordance with the principles of a free economy, where it came from assertions that stage that follows the adoption of this law will revolutionize major development in all sectors as provided by the law of climates safe working environment attractive for international companies and their capital. genuine transformation specialist in economic affairs Saif Hilfi said in an interview for the (morning) that the law of economic reform represents an important turning point and positive at the stage of real shift towards an open market economy, where the focus was on the adoption of a market economy and the formation of the top of the economy. , adding that Iraq needs at this important stage to the renaissance of development and economic through the promotion of the investment process and the influx of foreign capital wishing to invest in Iraq, especially since he has the elements and kegs investment in more than five large sectors such as oil, trade, agriculture, electricity and tourism. pointed out that these incubators all have promising investment opportunities will create a great environment for investment and Ostglet effectively development would lead to a renaissance of large and influential in economic life. concepts of economic openness and pointed out that the law came to address the economic problems, where already we need to form a new higher council of the economy. He pointed out that the Iraqi economy is going through now in transition still REO blurry and clear in the turn of the Iraqi economy Constitution and desires and political requirements of the post-change confirms that Iraq has admitted he went to a market economy has shifted from the idea of a centralized economy and government control of the joints of the economy to absolute faith in the market economy and the application of concepts economic openness and freedom of markets and establish priorities of international trade, but on paper.ballasts for economic progress and said that despite the twists and turns of economic Iraq is still suffering from the presence of ballasts for economic progress and the opening of markets, represented by the presence of staff still believe the economy totalitarian and apply the priorities of state control over all the joints of economic life and those they influence directly on the reality of the economy, as well as there are a number of laws and legal materials that hinder the application of the concepts theories of the market economy and the move of the establishment of a higher council for the national economy is the need for urgent and important because it is a step contribute effectively to remove all the obstacles that stand in front of the overall development of the Iraqi economy, which impede progress and moving to a market economy. monetary policy and sees Hilfi importance that there be coordination at a high level between the administration of the proposed Council and the Council of Ministers and the same time the ministers concerned the economy such as oil and Planning and Finance and the Central Bank of Iraq, as well as some private Iraqi banks and the actors and the number of owners experience and competencies involved in economic affairs and some representatives of unions actors as a link Iraqi banks and economists actors who have a long tradition in explaining and developing mechanisms monetary and fiscal policy in the country, because this serves the activation of this Council and its decisions in the formulation of policy concepts the three fiscal, monetary and economic policy that have a role in understanding and policymaking three and identify approved the next stage and the mission in Iraq, we need to address the economic policy. identify obstacles to development and predicted Hilfi that the Council's active role in identifying the obstacles that stand in front of the economy and in front of his success and strengthen the concepts of a market economy and diagnose the negative things that hinder economic progress as well as identify and diagnose the laws enacted in time Previous At the time of the application of socialist systems, which does not correspond with the concepts of a market economy and try to change these laws and create an environment of new legal is to create and enact laws that serve the transformation process the new Iraq, and all these things contribute to serious actor in economic development with the participation of civil society organizations and unions economic development. http://www.alsabaah.iq/ArticleShow.aspx?ID=53297

Zebari arrives in Cairo to participate in the meeting of Arab foreign ministers to discuss Syria's military strikeSunday, 01 September / September 2013 16:48 [Follow-up - where] Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Sunday in the Egyptian capital Cairo to participate in the meeting of Arab foreign ministers to be held today at the headquarters of the League of Arab States to discuss the Syrian crisis, and a military strike against Syria by the United States and France. It is scheduled to take the Arab ministers a clear attitude towards the crisis during the meeting which will be held on Thursday evening, at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo. The Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Ben Helli, announced on Saturday that the meeting, which was scheduled for next Tuesday has been submitted to Sunday [today] in the light of current developments. The Deputy Secretary General of the Arab League, that "the Arab foreign ministers will discuss the recent developments on the Syrian territory, pointing out that the minister will make a clear and explicit about the crisis." He pointed out that the absolute priority will be for a peaceful solution, noting the existence of a comprehensive condemnation of the use of chemotherapy in the Gota Rural Damascus. Ended. Older: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alliraqnews.com%2F

U.S. spy agencies mounted 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011, documents show By Barton Gellman and Ellen Nakashima, Published: August 30 E-mail the writers U.S. intelligence services carried out 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011, the leading edge of a clandestine campaign that embraces the Internet as a theater of spying, sabotage and war, according to top-secret documents obtained by The Washington Post. That disclosure, in a classified intelligence budget provided by NSA leaker Edward Snowden, provides new evidence that the Obama administration’s growing ranks of cyberwarriors infiltrate and disrupt foreign computer networks. Additionally, under an extensive effort code-named GENIE, U.S. computer specialistsbreak into foreign networks so that they can be put under surreptitious U.S. control. Budget documents say the $652 million project has placed “covert implants,” sophisticated malware transmitted from far away, in computers, routers and firewalls on tens of thousands of machines every year, with plans to expand those numbers into the millions. The documents provided by Snowden and interviews with former U.S. officials describe a campaign of computer intrusions that is far broader and more aggressive than previously understood. The Obama administration treats all such cyber-operations as clandestine and declines to acknowledge them. The scope and scale of offensive operations represent an evolution in policy, which in the past sought to preserve an international norm against acts of aggression in cyberspace, in part because U.S. economic and military power depend so heavily oncomputers. “The policy debate has moved so that offensive options are more prominent now,” said former deputy defense secretary William J. Lynn III, who has not seen the budget document and was speaking generally. “I think there’s more of a case made now that offensive cyberoptions can be an important element in deterring certain adversaries.” Of the 231 offensive operations conducted in 2011, the budget said, nearly three-quarters were against top-priority targets, which former officials say includes adversaries such as Iran, Russia, China and North Korea and activities such as nuclear proliferation. The document provided few other details about the operations. Stuxnet, a computer worm reportedly developed by the United States and Israel that destroyed Iranian nuclear centrifuges in attacks in 2009 and 2010, is often cited as the most dramatic use of a cyberweapon. Experts said no other known cyberattacks carried out by the United States match the physical damage inflicted in that case. U.S. agencies define offensive cyber-operations as activities intended “to manipulate, disrupt, deny, degrade, or destroy information resident in computers or computer networks, or the computers and networks themselves,” according to a presidential directive issued in October 2012. Most offensive operations have immediate effects only on data or the proper functioning of an adversary’s machine: slowing its network connection, filling its screen with static or scrambling the results of basic calculations. Any of those could have powerful effects if they caused an adversary to botch the timing of an attack, lose control of a computer or miscalculate locations. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-spy-agencies-mounted-231-offensive-cyber-operations-in-2011-documents-show/2013/08/30/d090a6ae-119e-11e3-b4cb-fd7ce041d814_story.html?hpid=z9

Economic Bayati proposes the formation of a committee to monitor the market to curb rising prices when approving increase the salaries of employees 01-09-2013 11:03 AM Baghdad (news) .. Suggested that a member of the Finance Committee MP / coalition in Iraq / Hassan Auzmn Bayati, the formation of a committee by the Ministry of Commerce to monitor the local market for not granting the opportunity for traders to exploit the decision to increase the salaries of employees to raise prices in the market. Bayati said (of the Agency news): It's the government, represented by the Ministry of Trade that you import materials that are exploited by the Iraqi trader to lift their for the purpose of putting them on the market at competitive prices to further reduce prices and their impact on the citizen, what would cause high inflation in the country. added: must tighten teams censorship on the local market and follow-up procedures for selling and issuing instructions and penalties for merchants who take advantage of events or the decision to increase salaries rise in commodity prices in the market. This was announced that the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers to increase the salaries of employees, especially with the lower will be disbursed early next year within the budget of the year (2014). / End / 8.'s. M / - See more at: http://www.ikhnews.com/index.php?page=article&id=99162#sthash.vx8yZJjl.dpuf

Arab and international The arrival of three U.S. military transport planes to the Incirlik base in Turkey 01-09-2013 01:12 PM (News) .. landed three American military transport aircraft at Incirlik Air Base Turkish city of Adana near the Syrian border. explained Turkish media that the aircraft carrying military cargo, without reference to normal these shipments. For his part, Turkish television reported that six fighter jets F-16 and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, took off from the airbase. / End / - See more at: http://www.ikhnews.com/index.php?page=article&id=99194#sthash.CY8QnkWB.dpuf

Legislation to support investment 01/09/2013 12:00 AM Yasser incumbent yielded considerable efforts made ​​by the National Investment Commission finally issuing important measures on overcoming the difficulties faced by international companies investing in Iraq, which hindered and delayed much the implementation of some investment projects because of administrative routine abhorrent to some circles that cling to him in the block building and refers to the smell of corruption behind , and Otherwise Bmaz explain delay the entry of construction kits for six months to a year? Of course, arguments and requests تغلفها old laws earlier and cause delays in implementation. was able body, according to Mhaorha legal exempting foreign companies from books health chests, and did not know what the motives for such a procedure, it may be valid in circulation local emergence of the phenomenon of fraud, and we see nothing to do for global companies, especially known weigh in world in terms of financial solvency and international reputation in the implementation of strategic projects in most countries of the world, as a هنوا that implements the largest residential project in the Middle East-sized technology and construction, but a project بسماية which delayed implementation because such measures sterile. then that the completion of transactions tax exemption for supplies reconstruction and construction for companies short time is other unfinished calculated for the body to achieve, as well as in facilitating the work of representation company in ports, borders and study the possibility of completing transactions companies with the General Authority for Customs and GCT via e-mail will facilitate procedures and overcome obstacles to invest the time factor for the implementation and completion of projects. amazed often when I read a statement by Rais project team بسماية when counting these measures a great accomplishment Midallal on the size of the suffering of his company with this routine killer, how satisfied ourselves promise correct mistakes Moundz by the company away, as these measures are supposed to be to be important that must be Taatkvlh our departments of government without Menyet on one because it is at the heart of our duties, anyway talk about such a long and things نعدها but experience? Does it make sense that you National Investment Commission to make efforts with any new investment project? Or is it that it requires the transfer of these measures to draft Aoukanon legislation obliges all parties to implement it, especially in the field of construction and investment constraints because it is not reasonable that the same body contacts with the departments to persuade them of the need to facilitate the task of setting up a strategic venture? Is the issue is a matter of persuading, or the duty is supposed implemented without reference to the red tape? However, I touch that the National Investment Commission began Bemczuarha right now, and in the light of the investment law, the responsibility for seeking to pass new legislation meant to facilitate the tasks and work investing companies and so we trust that the investment environment Iraqi pure and attractive, not repulsive to invest and also fully agree with Charlie Team Leader Company هنوا that which actually achieved منجزا in favor of investment in terms contributed to an escalation of work on a project بسماية, but this should be assessment issued us we assess the achievements aimed at and for so let to refer this to the enactment of measures and this is the responsibility and the subsequent task that must be borne by the National Authority for Investment to culminate success in completing done for the benefit of all companies coming to build a new Iraq http://www.alsabaah.iq/ArticleShow.aspx?ID=53208