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My link Only link I could find. Most articles are referring to the 40 days off in the past years.

Was wondering why or would we hear something about Talabani being in Minn. for treatment if he is? Any sightings, newspapers, anything like that? Former post says that "he will be returning from Washington before the summit". The Mayo clinic in Minn. and Washington are a little bit aways apart. Also stated that he will be having other meetings while he is here for treatment... Is he traveling to Washington for those meetings after his check up? Just looking for some clarifications. Figured if the Iraq President was here in the states surely someone would be reporting about it as they have done in the past when he visits the clinic. Just looking for some confirmation. Thanks

US Embassy Warns of Travel Restrictions during Baghdad Summit Posted on 07 March 2012. Tags: Arab League Summit The U.S. Embassy wishes to inform U.S. citizens living and working in Iraq that the Government of Iraq will host the Arab League Summit in Baghdad March 27-29, 2012. During this period, the Government of Iraq may take extraordinary security precautions which could have a significant impact on travel throughout Baghdad. The Embassy recommends that all U.S. citizens be prepared to adjust travel plans according to the possible impact of this event and to the extent possible avoid travel in Baghdad, or flights in or out of Baghdad during the Summit. My link Sounds very likely, definetly after these bombings. From what I've gathered, they have cancelled the orders for the armored cars as well? Either way, not sure you'd ever get me into that city for something this high profile without some serious securtiy and a bulletproof ride... Hope they make it happen and all goes smooth.

Conflicting numbers... Definetly inclined to take the numbers from the CBI but just wondering why the difference. States it's the sales for Wed but the website is still updated for tues the 6 so as far as I can tell it's a typo... BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Central Bank of Iraq’s (CBI) dollar sales was slightly down to $212,814 million in its daily auction on Wednesday, compared to $212.816 million in the previous session. The exchange rate reached to 1,166 Iraqi dinars for one dollar. “The demand hit $20,750 million in cash, covered at an exchange rate of 1,179 Iraqi dinars per dollar, and $192,64 million in foreign transfers outside the country, covered at an exchange rate of 1,179 Iraqi dinars per dollar,” according to a CBI news bulletin received by IraqiNews.com news agency. None of the 21 banks that participated in today’s session offered to sell dollars. The Central Bank of Iraq runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday. My link EDIT: This from Feb. 29th. Sorry, it's early!

Iraq sets deadline for Exxon's answers over KRG deals * Deadline expires in a few days * So far no response from U.S. oil group By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD, March 6 (Reuters) - Iraq has set a deadline of the next few days for Exxon Mobil to explain its position on oil agreements signed with the autonomous Kurdish region, which the central government considers illegal, a government spokesman said on Tuesday. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced in November the signing of a deal for six exploration blocs with Exxon, the first major oil company to deal directly with the Kurds in northern Iraq. Iraq's central government has said that deal could jeopardise Exxon's contract to develop the supergiant West Qurna-1 oil field in southern Iraq. Officials say they are waiting for the U.S. firm to reply. "Exxon came to Baghdad last month and asked for more time to return with a reply on Kurdish deals and the government decided to give them a final deadline," said Faisal Abdullah, a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani. "The government is waiting for Exxon's answers to decide its final position towards the company and its deals with Kurdistan. The deadline expires in the coming few days," Abdullah said. Exxon Mobil late last month disclosed its plans to explore for oil in Iraq's Kurdistan in the company's annual report, breaking months of silence over the investment that has outraged Baghdad. The KRG said the production-sharing contract with Exxon was signed on Oct. 18, 2011. The Iraqi government wants Exxon to make it clear whether it will proceed with the Kurdish deals or freeze or cancel them. Exxon's move into Kurdistan has drawn attention to tensions between Baghdad's Arab-dominated central government over who has the authority to develop oilfields in the Kurdish zone. The central government gives the Kurdish authorities 17 percent of federal oil revenue and insists on a monopoly on exports. Shahristani, architect of recent Iraqi oil deals and a strong opponent of Kurdish energy autonomy, said last month Exxon could be blocked from participating in a bidding round for exploration deals in May because of its Kurdish deal. Iraq's oil and gas field have suffered from decades of neglect because of war and economic sanctions. In the past three years it has done a raft of deals with foreign oil firms, and more deals are on offer that would make it the world's biggest source of new oil production over the next several years. However, Baghdad has offered fee-for-service contracts rather than the production-sharing agreements which foreign firms consider more lucrative. The Kurdish region has offered production-sharing deals to firms willing to do business directly with it, but before Exxon's deal last year, only smaller firms had agreed to participate. My link

BAGHDAD, March 6 (AKnews) - Many Iraqis consider that holding the Arab summit in Baghdad will be success for the Iraqi people and democracy, while others consider that the gathering is merely a diplomatic protocol to announce data and speeches. Najah Mahdi, a 70-year-old retired teacher, told AKnews that the Arab summit in Baghdad is a step forward for the country because it will allow the Arab community to fulfill its real leadership role to build an Arab society that can prove its existence in this world. "The Arab summit will show that Iraq is able to host all the Arab and international conferences and summits at Arab and international levels," she said. Saif Ali, 22 and a student of fine art, said the Arab summit represents the presence of official delegations and receptions in addition to press conferences and statements, none of which will benef the Arab citizen. "The Arab summit won't give anything new for Iraq and it is useless, the fact that the Arab rulers don't deal with their people on the basis of human rights in democracy and civil, social and economic rights except a few of them." Private sector worker Firas Abbas, 40, assured that holding the Arab summit in Baghdad "won't satisfy the ambition if the Iraqi politicians don't end their disputes to take Iraq out from the current crisis". "There should be a serious move to overcome the obstacles and end the political crisis," he added. Tunis Abdul Rahim, 52, meanwhile said that Iraq is not ready to host the Arab summit in terms of security and economic aspects. "The country lost large amounts of money in order to hold the summit that could have supported hundreds of poor families," he said. "Holding the summit will affect low income [families] if [economic] curfews were imposed in Baghdad, and this will make people angry about the orders issued by the Iraqi government." Law students Ahmed al-Fayyadi and Sajad Rashaq at the University of Imam Sadiq said holding a successful Arab summit in Baghdad means the success of the Iraqi people by conveying "independence and democracy". The 23rd Arab summit is scheduled to be held on March 29. Iraq has hosted the summit twice in the history of the Arab League: first in 1978 and again in 1990. My link"]My link[/url]

Iraq seeks Italy's help on UN Chapter VII removal 06/03/2012 10:23 ERBIL, March 6 (AKnews) - Iraq's deputy parliament speaker Qusay al-Suhail has called on Italy to help lift the UN Chapter VII sanctions imposed on Iraq, reports Aswat al-Iraq. According to a statement from Iraq's parliament, Suhail sought help in a meeting with the head of the political department at the Italian foreign ministry Sandro Bernardin and the Italian ambassador to Baghdad Gerardo Carante. The meeting saw both parties discuss ways to improve political and economic ties between Iraq and Italy. A decision on Chapter VII is expected to be made by the UN Security Council in June. The news follows Australia's support for the withdrawal of Iraq from the Chapter VII sanctions. My link

Iraqi government: Most disputes between Baghdad and Erbil will be resolved after formation of Nechirvan government 06/03/2012 12:31 BAGHDAD, March 6 (AKnews) - The Iraqi government said today that most of the outstanding problems between Erbil and Baghdad will be resolved after commissioning officially the new Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani to form the government on Wednesday. Mariam al-Rayyes, adviser to Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said: "The federal government wants to resolve all the outstanding issues according to the Iraqi constitution." The most prominent points of dispute between Baghdad and Erbil include the budget of the Peshmerga, Kurdistan's share of the Iraqi public budget, the oil contracts between the Kurdistan Regional Government and foreign companies. A sticking point is also the application of Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution regarding disputed areas of land, which states that resolving the issue of these areas should be done in three phases - normalization and a national census followed by a referendum among the population to determine the fate of the regions. It was announced yesterday that the President of Iraqi Kurdistan Massoud Barzani is expected to assign the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister elect Nechirvan Barzani with forming the new KRG cabinet on Wednesday. Upon the assignment, Nechirvan Barzani will have 30 days to announce his new cabinet. Nechirvan Barzani was elected as the new KRG prime minister by the parliament of Kurdistan Region to replace outgoing Barham Salih on February 16. The move is part of a political deal between Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party and Salih’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Under the deal, the two parties entered elections together and shared power. Each party gets the chance to head the government for two years in each four-year term. http://aknews.com/en/aknews/4/294152/

Australia Supports Taking Iraq Out of Chapter VII Posted on 01 March 2012. Tags: Australia, Chapter Seven, Chapter VII, Karbala, Kerbala The Australian ambassador to Baghdad, Lyndall Sachs (pictured), said her country supports the lifting of United Nation’s Chapter VII sanctions on Iraq, a decision on which is expected to be made by the UN Security Council in June.[/u] Sachs said: “My country has good relations with Iraq, in particular [because] it received the largest Iraqi communities during their migration from the country during the former regime and they’re currently residing in Australia and have good jobs.” The ambassador also visited Karbala to hear about potential investment opportunities in the province, particularly in the areas of agriculture and finance. Sachs said however that some Australian companies are concerned about the unstable security situation in the area, but Karbala’s governor, Amal al-Din al-Har, said such concerns are unnecessary. If the Ch 7 release is a pre-req does that put the RV to rest until the fall? My link"]My link[/url]

I agree, keeping my fingers crossed. Still a long ways about but at least it looks good on paper!

My link Arab League satisfied with security arrangements for Baghdad summit 01/03/2012 16:17 CAIRO, March 1 (AKnews) - The security preparations by Iraqi authorities for the upcoming Arab summit in Baghdad are “very good”, said the Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi. Arabi told a press conference in Cairo today: “The Arab League has informed all the member states about the security preparations." He added that he expects the turnout for the summit to be “big”. The upcoming Arab summit is expected to be held in Baghdad on March 29 after it was delayed several times last year due to the wave of uprisings that swept across Arab countries in February 2011. A number of leaders from Arab countries are set to attend and AKnews reported on Tuesday that Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal will represent Saudi Arabia at the gathering. By Sara Ali

"99 weeks of unemployment", I never said anything about unemployment...

That's funny Crow, I joined 15 days after you brah... So therefore, I'd say I'm about as new as you are. Just because I don't post doesn't mean I don't visit, read, and follow. Just tired of people bashing people all the time. Get's old. I'm pretty sure everyones here for the same reason, on this site and others. I was just saying that if everyone would cut down the telephone game it'd be for the better of all. Bro. Ya'll can neg me as much as you want, clearly the plus, minus game has no value here anyways...

I'm with Ski. Why keep posting and spreading the BS if it's BS? Apparently everyone doesn't believe what he has to say so let it be. Are you even a member of these other sites? Have you looked to see if it has been posted and not someone elses rumor? That's why this whole deal has become such a huge game of telephone... Find a new hobby man or at least I hope your 99 weeks are up soon.

It would be nice if someone could find a date for that CNBC video because it looks a little out dated to me... DOW is down at 10,000!