Quietlearner

IF THE NAME OF THE GAME IS CONFUSION, THEY SEEM TO BE DOING A GOOD JOB. TRUST IN THIS RV MY DINARIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS, FOR SOON IT SHALL COME TO PASS, OH YES COMING IT IS, LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT. :lol: GOSH I LOVE DEMEROL, HECK, RIGHT NOW I LOVE EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING, GOOD MORN TALK TO YOU ALL SOON, GOD BLESS, QUIETLEARNER AND STILL BREATHIN EBRIL AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTED IN BOTH TEXT AND SPIRT Aswat Al Iraq / Politics , Baghdad Alawi calls Talabani for implementing Arbil accords in "text and spirit" 8/5/2011 12:17 PM BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Head of Iraqiyah political bloc called President Jalal Talabani to continue implementing Arbil accords in " text and spirit", according to a presidential statement. The statement added that Alawai sent a letter of thanks to President Talabani for his "distinguished" administration of the political blocs meeting". Iraqi political blocs met last Tuesday at Talabani's residence during which they approved many points, including sending the Higher National Strategic Policies Council law to the parliament for endorsement and finalized new nominees for security ministerial posts within the coming two weeks. Since March 2010 elections, the country is passing through a state of mistrust, particularly between the main two political blocs (the State of Law and Iraqiyah), where the last demands the implementation of Arbil agreement and the formation of the Higher National Strategic Council. Iraqiyah bloc warned many times the possibility of withdrawing confidence from the government and calling for early elections. RM (TS)/SR Read more: http://en.aswatalira...eshow&id=144123 --------------------------------------------------------------------- HCL The HCL - here it is - Breaking news! Energy Commission announces the preparation of the law of oil and gas instead of the government law . Friday, 05 August / August 2011 Twilight / Committee revealed the parliamentary oil and energy, on Friday, prepared for a draft law of oil and gas substitute for the law "Almtariql" when the Council of Ministers, stressing that there is political consensus to expedite the enactment of this Act. A member of the Commission on oil and energy parliamentary Farhad Atroshi in an interview ( twilight ) The committee has prepared a draft law of oil and gas instead of the bill, passed by the Council of Ministers earlier, noting that "in the absence of the government to the oil and gas law, the Energy Commission agreed to provide the alternative prepared by the House of Representatives for a vote. " House of Representatives was unable to pass Bdorth previous oil and gas law, passed by the Council of Ministers in 2007. Atrushi explained that "the draft law of oil and gas from the most important laws of political blocs agreed to speed up the legislation," noting that "differences emerged between the political blocs to change the law after the State Council for some of its provisions." The government's Energy Committee, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani announced last July it has completed amendments to the draft law of oil and gas and sent to the prime minister to make adjustments. It is said that the most prominent states in the law of oil and Alghazho that the ownership of the oil and gas belong to the Iraqi people in all regions and governorates, and this applies the law on oil operations in all regions of the Republic of Iraq, including the soil and subsoil on land as well as in inland waters and territorial waters, and excludes the scope of this law, oil refining and gas processing and their industrial uses, as well as storage, transport and distribution of petroleum products **When you click on the link, the article is arabic. You will have to use a translator http://www.shafaaq.c...2-08-12-40.html Read more: http://dinarvets.com...government-law/ Read more: http://translate.goo...5-06-57-44.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOI SEATING GOI - here it is !!!! breaking news!!! http://dinarvets.com...ithin-two-days/ Read more: http://ar.radionawa....12532&LinkID=66

Just have time for one thought was pretty good.... Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has invited other nations to invest in Iraq, saying the country is restoring its strength after decades of internal and external war and international sanctions. Talabani spoke during the third day of debate at the United Nations General Assembly. He said Iraq is working on legislation to protect investors and their capital. He also called on Iran and Turkey to stop bombing Kurdish areas of Iraq. Those two countries say they are targeting Kurdish separatists operating from Iraqi territory. The leader of the new African nation of South Sudan is scheduled to speak later Friday, as well as the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. General debate continues on Saturday and Monday through Friday of next week. On Thursday, in one of the most controversial of the speeches, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad harshly criticized the United States, Israel, and the West, accusing them of provoking wars, causing worldwide recession, and spreading "totalitarianism." His statements provoked a walkout by delegations from the United States, France, and more than two dozen other nations. The speech came after several hundred protesters rallied outside the United Nations, voicing their displeasure over Ahmadinejad's presence at the General Assembly. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged world leaders to put pressure on Israel to achieve peace with the Palestinians and to not allow them to act above the law. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/-Iraqi-President-Appeals-for-Investments-in-UN-Speech-130429583.html

Froto, I need to apologize to you as well. After reading the article I found myself angry as well. The posting is again, an error on my part. I only have an hour or two during the week right now to post. I am trying to bring forth the hottest stuff on the net in an attempt to somehow give back to the folks that give so much on this sight. I responded to your post aggressively if not outright rudely, as I found it to be both condescending and insulting. That being said I still had no reason to take it where I did. I hope I haven't offended you further with my first response. If so, please except my sincere apology. I am fighting something I can t see right now. I have fought all my life and I am truly tired of this enemy. Unfortunately, I still in state I am in, fight this cancer, go back to the old ideal ism that when pressure is applied I bring it back times ten. You know the deal. I have no intentions in regards to furthering any political ambitions nor do I personally have any opinion on the current state of affairs this once great, God fearing Country is in. Actually I am becoming settled with the fact that in accordance with biblical implications, what is happening has been foretold and is simply coming to pass. I don't believe there is anything that will change this. What I do know is that sooner or later I will have to answer for my actions. This being said, there will be no excuses. My sharp tongue this morning was uncalled for and unwarranted. May God bless you and your Family with only the things that he can provide. I will leave this conversation now, hoping that I have not affected you and your day in a negative way. With my utmost respect, Quietlearner, and learning and learning and learning......................

Brisco- I need to apologize for my adolescent response. I truly did not mean to in any way offend you and yours. You are correct in saying that I should have read the article. Please except my apology. Currently I am in a place where I only have about an hour maybe two to post what I can. It is up to the Doctors. I have a new software program and I had not set up the parameters correctly. I want you to understand that I am here to assist the Dinar Family, nothing more. I have learned more from this site, your posts included, in a short time than any other subject I have studied. I have been laying for a fight anyway. I am fighting this darn cancer and I am trying to keep in prospective what is important. Right now this error on my part is not. What is important here is that I leave this conversation without in anyway offending you further. My best wishes to you and your family. Thank you for your service from mine and me.. It is appreciated more than you know. Life is short, life is sweet, savior it brother. Angry all the time works, however, after forty years of it, I am quite frankly burnt out. I would much rather be someone very different thus this sincere apology. The guy that wrote the first response is no longer available. God bless you with only the things he can provide. With my Utmost respect, Quietlearner

Froto, Its apparent that you have not read much of what I do write and publish. Believe me I have enough volitional control to recognize a compulsion. Please understand that I would not have published the ilk above had I read the article. I monitor the news and it comes in spurts. I have a new program, capture wizard 4.0 that makes posting extremely fast and in this instance much to much so. Please. I am amazed at your profound ability to glean such insight about ones character after one re-post. You sir should think critically before you attempt to pin anyone to a re-published article. I am simply trying to bring our site the news the way it is written as fast as it hits the net. You need only head over to my profile and read some of my posts to understand that what I say to you is fact. Good day sir. Quietlearner Brisco, I have watched your ilk across this site now for some time. You offer little to nothing at best when you attempt to play moderator. I would appreciate the simple consideration for you to take the same amount of time or less to conjure up this fantasy that some how I am posting this ilk as my own. Every piece of news on this site is re-posted from one source or another. Had you had the courtesy to take a look at my profile you would find that my opinion on the piece would have drawn a much stronger response than yours, however I would have had the common courtesy to not shoot the messenger but rather I would have taken the time to express my feelings to the original author. (linked) As usual your ilk has left me with nothing more than a feeling of not wanting to every see your abusive verbal vomit again. Therefore, maybe you should consider not reading anything I post. Good day to you sir. Quietlearner Optomistic1, Please direct your comments on the piece to the original author the link is provided on the the piece. This piece was truly an error on my part as I am just getting use to some new software that should allow us to post breaking news right along side the big boys. I am working on insure that it doesnt happen again by setting parameters as to what kind of posting it will cache and post. Thank you, Quietlearner Robinsnest, THIS IS NOT MY OPINION, WRITING OR POST. It is a piece that my new software grabbed and posted along with two other pieces. I am working on shrinking the parameters and setting so that this does not happen again. This piece is the opinion of a woman that writes editorials. I realize this is a huge issue for all of us, myself included. Please know that I have no feeling that even remotely mirror this persons. Good Day. Queitlearner Thanks Zigmeister, I wish I could tell you that was what I was thinking but, the darn thing is a software error post on my part. Now would certainly not be the time to post an article like this. The author is both rude and I believe insult each and every person that has served over there. I lost many in the first war. They will be missed. Quietlearner

23 September 2011Arbil, Iraq — Turkish warplanes have bombed suspected rear bases of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, rebel officials said on Friday. The bombings began late on Thursday evening and continued past midnight (2100 GMT), and come after Ankara threatened earlier this month to launch a ground incursion into Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region where the PKK maintains bases. They said there were no casualties as a result of the bombings, which targeted locations in the Qandil mountains, near Iraq’s border with Turkey. “There have been no casualties from the attacks, which continued until 1:00 am (2200 GMT Thursday),” said Dozdar Hammo, a PKK spokesman. “There were attacks against the Qandil mountains area.” A PKK source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attacks began at 11:30 pm Thursday evening, and targeted the Kriskan village in the Qandil mountains area. On Thursday, a radical Kurdish group that Turkey says is a PKK front claimed responsibility for a bomb attack two days earlier that killed three people in the centre of Ankara. The PKK says the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons is a splinter group outside its control. Kurdish rebels fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey have recently escalated their attacks on Turkish targets. Three security officials were killed in two separate attacks in east and southeast Turkey, on Wednesday and Thursday. The successive assaults come days after the Turkish government threatened to launch a ground incursion against PKK camps in northern Iraq. The Turkish air force has bombed suspected PKK targets repeatedly since August 17. The PKK took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/September/middleeast_September455.xml&section=middleeast&col=

Political discourse is full of unhelpful comparisons: shrieking keffiyeh wearing activists like to demonize Israel by comparing it to Nazi Germany or apartheid South Africa and unlettered Eurosceptics (usually found skulking the Telegraph’s comments section) like to compare the European Union to the USSR. Pro-Iraq War Tories had the impertinence to dub Charles Kennedy ‘Charlie Chamberlain’ in the lead up to the 2003 invasion. And not to revert to easy-Lib-Dem-clap-on-Question-Time mode, we all know how that turned out… So those uneasy with inappropriate analogies must have been taken aback by the Centre for Policy Studies publication ‘Guilty Men’ (if you don’t want to read the whole thing, you can view a brief précis at The Spectator website). The term ‘Guilty Men’ of course refers to the classic text of 1940 that condemned fifteen British public figures for their appeasement stance against Germany throughout the 1930s. The journalist Peter Oborne and his colleague Francis Weaver have appropriated the term for their critique of British pro-Euro public figures of recent decades. Today’s ‘Guilty Men’ include Danny Alexander, Tony Blair, Paddy Ashdown, Ken Clarke, Will Hutton, Michael Heseltine and Nick Clegg amongst others. In the foreword, Peter Jay justifies the title: “In choosing the title of their book from that famous earlier study of national betrayal by the nation’s élite, the authors of this book have chosen well. Like the appeasers, those who after 1950 worked to deliver their country into the hands of a foreign power…” (piii Eurosceptics may have the upper hand given the current political and economic turmoil unfolding in the Eurozone but that is no excuse for historical ignorance by applying such a loaded term to Europhiles (even if they have indulged in some unsavoury character assassinations in the past). All in all, there isn’t anything particularly revelatory in the book. We all know about the Beeb and FT’s pro-Europeanism just as we know that The Daily Express, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Sun are not too keen on the whole project. Oborne and Weaver’s work is also based around a number of counterfactuals such as: “Mr [Danny] Alexander ran the pro-euro campaign, and had he had his way would have steered Britain directly to economic catastrophe.” Yet it is just as easy to respond with another; that is, if the criteria set out at Maastricht had been adhered to, then the Eurozone would not have been in the mess that it is in. Invoking Churchill in their final chapter, they call on a number of British politicians to come out and apologise: “Top of the list comes Tony Blair, who during his party conference speech of 1999 implied that Conservative euro-scepticism stood in the foul tradition of South African racism. There can be no place in our national debate for this kind of cheap and debased argument, which sadly poisoned so much of the British debate over the single currency.” (p65) But come on Mr Oborne, just look at your title. Are Europhiles analogous to the Nazi appeasers of the 1930s? Really?

Almost 50,000 U.S. troops occupying Iraq. We are still paying almost $50 billion just this year for the war in Iraq. And while we don’t hear about it very often, many Iraqis are still being killed. There’s an awful lot of discussion underway about the massive cuts in the Pentagon’s budget that may be looming as part of the deficit deal. But somehow few are mentioning that those potential cuts from the defense department’s main budget don’t even touch the actual war funding — this year alone it’s $48 billion for Iraq and $122 billion for the war in Afghanistan. Just imagine what we could do with those funds — we could provide health care for 43 million children for two years, or hire 2.4 million police officers to help keep our communities safe for a year. Or we could create and fund new green middle-class jobs for 3.4 million workers — maybe including those thousands of soldiers we could bring home from those useless wars. Barack Obama, back when he was a presidential candidate, promised he would end the war in Iraq. In 2002, he called it a “dumb” war. The U.S. role in the war has gotten smaller but it sure isn’t over. And it hasn’t gotten any smarter. A year ago Obama told us that all combat operations in Iraq were about to end, that “our commitment in Iraq is changing from a military effort” to — what exactly? The 50,000 or so troops still in Iraq are there, we are told, to train Iraqi security forces, provide security for civilians, and, oh yes, to conduct counterterrorism operations. Apparently “counterterrorism operations” don’t count as part of a military effort? Even worse, the Obama administration, following its predecessor’s footsteps, is clearly committed to keeping U.S. troops in Iraq beyond the December 31, 2011 deadline agreed to by the Bush administration and Iraq back in 2008. That agreement was supposed to be absolute — it called for all U.S. troops to be pulled out by the end of this year. (There were loopholes, of course — the agreement said all Pentagon-paid military contractors had to leave too, but didn’t mention those paid by the State Department, so guess which agency is taking over the check-writing to pay the thousands of mercenaries preparing to stay in Iraq for the long haul?) But now the Obama administration is ratcheting up the pressure on Iraq’s weak and corrupt government, pushing Baghdad’s U.S.-dependent leadership to “invite” U.S. troops to stay just a little bit longer. Iraq’s elected parliament, like the vast majority of the population, wants all the troops out. But democratic accountability to the people doesn’t operate any better in Iraq than it does here in the U.S. So the Iraqi cabinet made its own decision, without any messy consultations with their parliament, to “open negotiations” with Washington over how many and how long U.S. troops would continue occupying their country. Of course it’s good news that no U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq in August. The bad news is that scores of Iraqi civilians were killed. We don’t know exactly how many – the Pentagon says it doesn’t do body counts. But we know some of them. According to IraqBodyCount.org, 36 Iraqi civilians were killed in the first five days of the month. Just on one day, August 15, the New York Times reported 89 Iraqis killed, another 315 injured in apparently coordinated attacks. And on the last day of the month, August 31st, at least seven Iraqis were killed, another 25 wounded. And those are just the ones we know about. The Iraq War isn’t over. It still costs too much in the lives of Iraqi civilians and in U.S. taxpayer dollars. We still can’t afford dumb wars. We need to bring those 50,000 troops and those fifty billion dollars home. And the way to do that is to follow the money: keep the pressure up on the links between our economic crisis and the costs of these illegal, useless wars. It’s really dumb if we don’t. by Phyllis Bennis is a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies and author of Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/09/23/meanwhile-back-in-iraq/

Higher oil prices and rising exports in the first eight months of the year have meant Iraq has already eclipsed the total amount it earned from crude exports in 2010, figures published on Thursday showed. The country, which depends almost entirely on oil sales for government income, generated $55.733 billion (41.493 billion euros) in the first eight months of 2011, compared to $52.202 billion all of last year, according to an AFP tally of figures released by the oil ministry. Exports and prices have both been higher in 2011 than last year, resulting in the marked rise in revenues. Crude exports in 2011 averaged 2.19 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of August, compared to 2010 figures of 1.89 million bpd. Average prices, meanwhile, have risen from around $90 per barrel in January to between $104 and $114 per barrel from March to August. By comparison, oil prices ranged from $71 per barrel to $86 per barrel in 2010. Data published by the ministry on its website on Thursday showed Iraq exported 67.9 million barrels of oil in August, earning revenues of $7.124 billion. Oil prices averaged $104.92 for the month. That compares to overall exports of 55.4 million barrels during the same month a year ago, earning income of $3.957 billion. Iraq exported 67.2 million barrels in July this year, but average oil prices of $108.8 per barrel meant income was higher, at $7.311 billion. The August export figure equated to average daily exports of 2.19 million barrels per day (bpd). In February, Iraq approved a national budget that was based on oil prices of $76.50 per barrel and average exports of 2.2 million bpd. Partly as a result of higher oil prices, Iraq's cabinet has targeted a 36 percent boost to public spending, in a budget proposal outlined this month. Oil sales account for around 90 percent of Iraq's government income. http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Iraq_eclipses_2010_oil_income_in_eight_months_of_2011_999.html

AGI) Erbil - Turkish planes have resumed bombing the positions of the PKK, the Kurdish separatist party, in the north of Iraq. The news was reported by a PKK spokesman who said that no one had been killed.Bombing started yesterday evening and continued today. The areas most affected are those in the Qandil Mountains near the border with Turkey . . http://www.agi.it/english-version/world/elenco-notizie/201109231555-cro-ren1062-turkey_resumes_bombing_of_pkk_in_iraq

CAMP SPEICHER, Iraq -- For U.S. Army Pfc. Walter Stiles, the road out of Iraq begins by kicking tires on a dusty military base near the village where Saddam Hussein was born and buried. The drive ahead is long and dangerous -- down Iraq's main north-south highway, a prime target for bombings. It's a trip he must complete several times this month, part of a security escort for 53 trucks hauling fuel and equipment out of the country in a massive push to shutter U.S. bases by the year's end. "Don't want a tire coming off. That'd be no fun," Stiles, 25, of Huntington Beach, California, said dryly as he peered beneath the 18-wheelers and checked the trucks' batteries. The base is located outside the northern city of Tikrit and close to Saddam's birthplace and grave in the village of Ouja. Gathered in front of the four-mile-long convoy, Staff Sgt. Robert Cowan Jr. of Knoxville, Tennessee, led his soldiers in prayer. "Everybody should be wide awake and alert," he told them. "Let's make it a good trip: safe and sound." "It's game time." More than 1.5 million pieces of equipment -- from tanks to television sets -- have been shipped out of Iraq over the last year to prepare for the planned American military withdrawal. Nearly 900,000 remain. And another 2.4 million deemed not worth the price to ship out, such as trailers and power generators, have been sold off or turned over to Iraqis. The U.S. has promised to withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year as required by a 2008 security agreement between Washington and Baghdad. Some 44,000 U.S. troops and an estimated 58,000 American contractors are scheduled to clear out -- along with their equipment. It's still unclear if the U.S. military will keep several thousand troops in Iraq as leaders weigh whether staunch political opposition in both nations is worth the risk. A residual U.S. force could continue to train Iraqi security forces and work to contain the growing Iranian influence in Baghdad. The uncertainty has been a logistical nightmare for American commanders, who could be asked at the last minute to keep some equipment and manpower back -- but for now must push ahead in case the withdrawal plan stands. "For us, the enemy is time," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Ed Cardon, who was overseeing the military's path out until he left Iraq a few months ago. "One of my goals is to maintain as much flexibility for as long as possible," Cardon said in a July interview with The Associated Press at a U.S. base outside the southern city of Nasiriyah, which will be the final stop for troops and equipment before heading into Kuwait. "But we are dealing with a hard physics problem. So there is a point where a decision needs to be made." U.S. officials have been reluctant to state publicly a final deadline for such a decision. But Army officials say that the withdrawal will pick up speed in late September, and troops and equipment that have already left aren't likely to return even if Iraq asks U.S. forces to stay. It's slow going on the road itself. Behind the wheel of his team's armored truck this month, Stiles drove no faster than 40 mph. It took four hours for his Texas-based platoon from the Army's 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, to drive 88 miles and drop off the equipment at another military base, where the trucks would overnight before heading farther south. Most cars on the bumpy Mosul-to-Basra highway whizzed by Stiles' truck. The military radio crackled, alerting the men that a planned air patrol to monitor the convoy's route from above was canceled. Somebody swore softly. It was the only sound in a tense moment. The squadron has not suffered any deaths or serious wounds among its soldiers, despite being part of what unit commander Lt. Col. Dolph Southerland calls "a pretty big target." For all the tension the withdrawal process has given the Americans, it's been a bonanza for Iraqis looking to make a quick buck. Farther down the road, in Baghdad, Iraqi vendors are hawking U.S. Army uniforms, fans and power generators, housing trailers and even latrines that have been auctioned off or simply left behind as Americans troops pull out of bases around the capital. So far, the military has given the Iraqi government $132 million worth of equipment. At least 50,000 individual items, including vehicles and communications equipment, have gone directly to Iraqi security forces to help protect the country. Additionally, the U.S. military says it sold 7 million pounds of unusable equipment as junk to Iraqi scrap vendors in August alone. At his roadside stand in Baghdad, 27-year-old Haider Qassim peddles DVD players, toasters and even canned food that he says was plucked from the trash piles outside closed U.S. bases. Among his best sellers: brown suede lace-up boots -- the kind that U.S. soldiers wear -- that go for about $50. "We take whatever the garbage vehicle contains," said Qassim, adding that his profits support his entire 13-member family. "Sometimes it contains good things including air conditioners, and used flak jackets; other times, it's just OK, like bath supplies. But I've never had bad luck." And a few miles (kilometers) away from the sprawling Victory Base Camp where the U.S. military in Iraq was headquartered until recently, Salim Muglad has filled a lot with trailers that appear to have been used by contractors and soldiers. Muglad, 38, said he bought the 150 trailers at an auction outside Victory Base for $180,000. He's hoping to make twice that much by selling them to foreign oil companies that need housing for their employees in Iraq. "The Americans are leaving at the end of the year, and they're trying to sell these things," said Muglad, pulling out a thick wad of $100 bills from his pocket. At least some of the trailers were originally owned by contractor Solution Managers International, based in Fairfield, N.J. SMI Mideast Operations Director Jai Ganesh said the trailers were sold to the highest bidder once the company was told it had to be out of Victory by the end of August. "I wish we had made profit or at the least break even! Unfortunately we didn't," Ganesh said in an email interview. "In fact I think no one on the base did." Two hundred miles south, Army planners squatted over a map covering the floor at Camp Adder this summer to plot out when -- and how -- American forces will leave. All bases up north will be closed in mid-October, according to the schedule, with the exception of a joint U.S.-Iraqi air base in the town of Balad that will stay open until mid-November. After that, there'll be a crazy push to get equipment and troops through Camp Adder, outside Nasiriyah, until it too shuts down a few days before Christmas. An official ceremony marking the end of U.S. forces in Iraq has already been set for Dec. 15, even though American officials in Baghdad are negotiating whether troops will stay. Either way, "it's a transition," said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq. "The farther we move down the road, the fewer options we're going to have." Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/23/road-out-iraq-brings-speed-bumps-for-us/#ixzz1YmaTpcGK

It was built for... well, not to put too fine a point on it, victory. I’m talking, of course, about the ill-named Camp Victory, the massive military complex, a set of bases really, constructed around an old hunting lodge and nine of former dictator Saddam Hussein’s opulent palaces near Baghdad International Airport. Within months of American troops entering Baghdad in April 2003, it was already “the largest overseas American combat base since the Vietnam War.” It would become the grand visiting place for American politicians -- back when the U.S. was still being called the global “hyperpower” -- arriving in what was almost imagined as our 51st state. It was the headquarters for the American military effort and later “surge” strategy in Iraq. It was also the stomping grounds for at least 46,000 U.S. troops stationed there and who knows how many spooks, contractors, hire-a-guns, Defense Department civilians, and third-world workers. It had its own Cinnabon and Burger King, its massive PXs, and it’s 27-mile perimeter of “blast walls and concertina wire,” as well as its own hospital and water-bottling plant. It was a “city,” a world, unto itself. American reporters passed through it regularly and yet for most Americans who didn’t set foot in it, our massive outpost in the heart of the oil heartlands of the planet (the place we were supposed to garrison for decades, if not generations) might as well not have existed. For all the news about Iraq that, once upon a time, was delivered to Americans, the humongous Camp Victory itself never struck journalists as particularly newsworthy, nor generally did the billions of dollars that went into building the more than 500 U.S. bases, mega to micro, that we now know were constructed in that country at U.S. taxpayers’ expense. All this was true until Camp Victory was at the edge of what can only be called ultimate defeat and finally found, if not its chronicler, then its obituary writer in Annie Gowan of the Washington Post. Perhaps it’s often true that only at a funeral do any of us get our due. But with the last American slated to leave Camp Victory (though not Iraq) in early December, with the gates to be locked and the keys turned over to the Iraqi government, she quotes Lt. Col. Sean Wilson, an Army public affairs officer, on the emptying of the base this way: “This whole place is becoming a ghost town. You get the feeling you’re the last person on Earth.” (Of course, Iraqis might have a different impression.) The U.S. military will evidently conduct no final interment ceremonies in which the base is renamed Camp Defeat before being abandoned. Nonetheless, even as Washington hangs on grimly to its remaining militarized toeholds in Iraq, that should be the one-line summary obit on America’s great Iraq adventure. In his latest piece of reportage for TomDispatch, “Obama’s Arc of Instability,” Nick Turse offers an eye-opening reminder that, while the U.S. is drawing down to bare bones in Iraq, it has actually been building up its forces, operations, and infrastructure in the Greater Middle East. Still, somewhere in the Camp Victory story, isn’t there a modest lesson that Washington could draw? (Though, as Turse makes clear, it won't...) http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/09/23-1

Ahmed Rasheed Reuters 9:06 a.m. EDT, September 23, 2011 BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's leadership has changed the draft of a long awaited oil and gas law in a way that would give central government more control over the country's vast crude reserves and provoke a clash with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. The law, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, would give Baghdad more power to manage and develop the OPEC member's petroleum resources, the world's fourth largest. It alters a 2007 version agreed among political blocs that gave regional powers partial authority over their reserves. The amendments are set to provoke a political fight between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government and the Kurds, who are part of his ruling coalition and wield considerable clout in the Iraqi legislature. Iraq's Arab-dominated central government, led by Maliki, and the Kurdish region have for years disputed control of Kurdish fields. The row shut down exports from Iraqi Kurdistan from October 2009 to February of this year. "We're still giving space to discussions to resolve this issue. We have not reached the moment of opening fire on Maliki's government," a senior Kurdish lawmaker told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The amended law, approved by the cabinet in late August, has been sent to parliament for final passage, but the legislature's speaker Osama al-Nujaifi said talks to resolve the dispute could take a long time. "The amended draft concentrates authority to sign oil deals in the hands of the central government and the oil ministry, while the Kurdish region sought more power in the process of signing contracts," Nujaifi told Reuters. "The only way out of this issue is dialogue and discussions ... it will be very complicated," he said. NEW POWER The amended law would give the oil ministry authority to hold bidding rounds for most oil and gas fields, leaving currently producing fields and discovered but undeveloped fields close to them in the hands of a newly created Iraqi National Oil Company (INOC). The 2007 draft version restricted the ministry to auctions for discovered, undeveloped fields. The changes could result in the inclusion of Kurdish fields in future auctions, which the Kurds say they will not accept. "The amendments to the draft infringe on the constitution, which stipulates that the central government and regional authorities should jointly run oilfields," said Bayazed Hassan, a Kurdish MP and a member of parliament's energy panel. Kurdish and central government officials are discussing the amended law at high levels, and the Kurds have made clear they could review their support for Maliki's government if a resolution is not found, officials said. The new oil law has long been considered vital to securing foreign investment to boost Iraq's oil output, now at around 2.75 million barrels a day, and rebuild its shattered economy. International energy companies want a stable legal framework for oil and gas deals. Iraqi officials have said petroleum resources belong to all sects and ethnicities in Iraq, and logically the central government should manage them. The Kurdish region and the provinces, particularly oil-rich Basra and Sunni-dominated Anbar, have argued for more local control. "Enacting a new oil law is essential to develop Iraq's energy sector and we are seeking to have new legislation, away from political wrangling," Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said. "Any disputed details in the draft should be left for technical teams to resolve, not politicians." SEAT FOR SHAHRISTANI The new draft calls for INOC to control coveted, already-producing oilfields -- Kirkuk's 2.3-billion-barrel Bai Hassan, and the 6-billion-barrel Nahr Bin Umar field in the south, for example. The law would create a federal oil and gas council as the ultimate policy-setter. It would give the council power to approve policies proposed by the oil ministry, agree procedures for negotiating and contracting during bid rounds, and ratify drilling, development and production contracts. Under the old version, the federal council could only draw up policy and issue instructions. The new law eliminates a clause that required the council to have Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish representation, and adds a clause reserving a council seat for the deputy prime minister for energy -- now former Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani. Kurdish officials see Shahristani as a major obstacle in the tense relationship between Baghdad and Kurdistan on energy issues. He has called for oil contracts signed by the Kurds to be reviewed by Baghdad and turned into service contracts. The Kurdistan Regional Government adopted its own oil and gas law in 2007 and signed more than 40 production-sharing contracts with foreign firms, which Baghdad deems illegal. (Additional reporting by Waleed Ibrahim in Baghdad and Shamal Aqrawi in Arbil; Editing by Jim Loney and Anthony Barker) http://www.courant.com/news/nation-world/sns-rt-us-iraq-oil-lawtre78m311-20110923,0,1379521.story

Key industry leaders to discuss current and future opportunities in Iraqi energy industry at Iraq 2011: Future Energy Conference Commencing on September 26, 2011, Iraq 2011: Future Energy is an industry summit strategically designed to provide stakeholders in the energy sector with a comprehensive understanding on how to develop a highly efficient and profitable industry with a focus on Iraq. http://www.ameinfo.com/275703.html

RV time ! http://gulftoday.ae/portal/f255159b-9ab6-40ee-997a-5be76e3adecb.aspx

This is encouraging I do believe... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903703604576586032257974062.html

Thinking outside the box as usual and decided to ask jeeves. whom no longer exists so now it's ask, com Anyway I dont know what to think, check it out its news. http://www.ask.com/web?q=number+of+US%20Dollars+in++Iraqi%20Dinars&qsrc=8&o=102280&l=dir

Thank you all !!! May your RV dreams come true and your lives be fulfilled with the love and laughter through out.

The damn thing didn't RV. I will gladdy take the beating from those that bash. I have tried to apply simple reason to a complex problem and it simply put, falls short. I am sure some of you will recall my hopeful prediction. I must say that after attempt to keep up this past month I am tired, more tired than I can ever remember. I have willed this thing to RV, prayed and prayed it would RV. I have begged it to RV and finally rationalized it via a theory or two and a hopeful prediction. I now realize I really and truly do not know when this thing is going to RV nor do I have any idea what the rate is going to be. What I have learned is that I have received a better education from this site in six months than I have ever received in my life regarding investment and finance. I am sorry this didn't RV folks. I truly wanted to see it happen and have an opportunity to meet some of you and say thanks in person. You see for me wealth is simply the ability to go and meet people from other parts of the the Country and World that you wouldn't have been able to reach without the funds. My time is growing short and it is time for me to back away from this and spend time with my family that are here with me, for those of my family members that I met on this site, I am so glad we could meet. My life has been richer and fuller, actually, I have become a better person for knowing you. I will miss you. Hug your Children and all your love ones, Tell them you love them and cherish each and every moment you have here with them. Wealth in the end has nothing to do with money. You can measure your wealth by simply looking around you. Who is there? You know the deal, dance like no ones watching, sing like no ones listening and LOVE like theres no tomorrow, as there may not be...... I will check in from time to time as I can. Until then, I am preparing for another journey, God Bless you all. Quietlearner Paul David Lanphere, Father, Friend and Brother

Hey G, Quietlearner here. How many Americans like ourselves actually hold Dinar? I believe it less than 2 million. Now if we think this through, we are but a speck on the screen of life. Sorry to put it that way, but we will not even touch the millionares club created by the States lotteries. I dont think it a bad Idea to keep quiet about your wealth no matter what. But so far as the American Public taking up arms, Im afraid that too much of a reach for me. I mean my goodness, our forefathers fought and died over 1/3 of the taxation going on right now in American. There tea party was no joke. I think as long as the Football is going, the beer is flowing and we have a leader willing to continue to BS the American public into believing its all OK because he/she says so, They wont even bat an eye. Respectfully Always, Quietlearner

Saddam Hussein was a WMD threat and a terror threat to the United States and its allies. Too many of the post-9/11 critics have forgotten or were never aware of this fact. Even in last week’s NRO symposium, writers called the invasion of Iraq an “unjust war,” an “optional war,” and finally a “result of the flawed intelligence that skewed the perceived threat posed by Saddam Hussein’s regime to the United States.” There is little doubt that the pre-war intelligence on Iraq was faulty, mostly because of Saddam’s continuing attempts to convince Iran that he still maintained a potent WMD capacity despite years of sanctions. Unfortunately, in the years of recriminations following the invasion of Iraq the actual truth was lost, until it became commonplace for even those who supported the invasion to admit that Saddam did not pose a WMD threat. Likewise, as he was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks, many believe he was not a terror threat either. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Before the consensus is written in stone, it is worth going over the evidence collected since the removal of the Saddam regime. Leaving aside the fact that he slaughtered more than a million of his own people and was prone to launching unprovoked wars against his neighbors — both good reasons for his violent removal — what threat did Saddam actually pose? Let’s go through just a sliver of the evidence. SADDAM AND WMDS When American tanks smashed into Baghdad, Saddam had already completed construction of an anthrax production facility, which was a week away from going live. If it had been permitted to go into production, this one facility could have produced ten tons of weaponized anthrax a year. Experts estimate that anthrax spores that infect the skin will kill 50 percent of untreated victims. Inhaled anthrax will kill 100 percent of untreated victims and 50 percent of those receiving immediate treatment. That means that a mere 1 percent of Saddam’s annual production (200 pounds) sprayed by crop-duster over New York City would have killed upwards of three million people. Anthrax, however, was far from the only WMD Saddam was actively researching and working assiduously to acquire. He also had teams working overtime to create a stockpile of some of the most deadly biological weapons possible. Several years ago, the press had a field day when two suspected mobile bio-labs, presented at the U.N. as evidence of Saddam’s continuing WMD development programs, actually turned out to be weather-balloon stations. That same press, however, then ignored the fact that postwar investigators found five actual mobile bio-labs in and around Baghdad. One of these labs was discovered in a mosque, which had been placed off-limits to prewar U.N. inspectors. Another was found in Baghdad’s Central Public Health Laboratory. One can imagine the anguished cries from the Left if we had bombed what the Iraqis claimed was a public-health facility. Saddam even had a huge bio-warfare production facility masquerading as the Samarra Drug Company. This facility would have been capable of producing up to 10,000 liters of deadly pathogens a year. It was less than a month from going into production when the invasion of Iraq began. If this plant had turned its attention to botulinum toxin, it could have produced enough in a few months to wipe out the world. Again, how would bombing a plant that Saddam would claim was producing life-saving drugs have played in the media? Investigators also found two labs that appeared to be producing animal vaccines. However, according to investigators, all of the equipment was “dual use . . . and easily diverted to produce smallpox or other pathogenic viruses.” Another nearby lab was busily working on cowpox vaccines, with the exact same equipment necessary to create smallpox. One should note that even a thimbleful of smallpox germs would be enough to kill tens of millions. Smallpox, placed in the hands of a terrorist group and released at a sporting event, would devastate a large swath of the United States. It should be noted that each of these facilities was staffed or often visited by persons previously identified by the U.N. as being associated with Saddam’s pre–Desert Storm WMD programs. One facility, often visited by Dr. Rihab Rashid Taha al-Azawi, better known to Western intelligence as Dr. Germ, maintained, according to investigators, a “small” capacity for production of organic agents. When it comes to smallpox, a “small” capacity is all one needs to create global havoc. Biological weapons were an important and dangerous thrust of Saddam’s WMD program, but far from all that his regime was working on. In 1991, Saddam moved all of his WMD specialists out of government labs and into universities, once again making them off-limits to inspectors and coalition bombers. According to documents discovered after the war, by 1997 the number of university “instructors” doing solely WMD work numbered 3,300, with another 700 to 800 dispatched to WMD-related facilities to help with technical problems. Between 1996 and 2002 — the eve of the invasion — spending on WMD projects increased 40-fold, and the number of specific projects increased from 40 to 3,200. Top officials captured after the collapse of the regime repeatedly told investigators that Saddam’s WMD projects were in overdrive and ready to go into production the moment sanctions were lifted. Saddam’s minister of military industrialization, Abdullah Mullah al-Huwaysh, stated that Saddam was working to reconstruct all of his WMD programs within five years. In his words, this would have included “a sizable nuclear inventory on hand for immediate use.” Huwaysh also stated that in response to a Saddam inquiry regarding how long it would take to start mass production of chemical weapons, he told the tyrant that mustard-gas production could start within six months, but Sarin and VX would take a bit longer. Other WMD scientists told investigators that they had the materials and equipment to start mustard-gas production in days. Inevitably, a relaxation of some of the sanctions led Saddam to start thinking again about nuclear weapons. In 1999 he met with his senior nuclear scientists and offered to provide them with whatever they needed, and immediately thereafter new funds began to flow to the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC). In 2001, Saddam directed a large budget increase for the IAEC and increased the salaries of nuclear scientists ten-fold. He also directed the head of the IAEC to keep nuclear scientists together, and instituted new laws and privileges for IAEC scientists, while also investing in numerous new projects. From 2001 on, Saddam convened frequent meetings with the IAEC to highlight new achievements. Although Saddam did not possess huge stocks of WMD material when we invaded, he was well on his way to creating an arsenal potent enough to decimate any attacking force. If we had delayed even a couple of months, until Saddam actually had his deadly pathogens and gas weapons, it would have meant the deaths of tens of thousands of American soldiers. And if those weapons had found their way into terrorist hands, it would have doomed millions. But did Saddam have these kinds of connections? Was he a global terror threat akin to al-Qaeda? The common wisdom says no. The common wisdom is wrong. SADDAM AND TERROR In 1999, the top ten graduates of Saddam’s Fedayeen Academy (terrorist training center) were specifically chosen for assignment to London. Once there they were held in readiness for operations anywhere in Europe. A memorandum addressed to Saddam’s son Uday specifically states that these trainees were designated for martyrdom operations. In the same memorandum, outlining “Operation Blessed July,” Uday is briefed on plans for terrorists to be sent to Great Britain and other countries, to begin a campaign of assassinations and bombings. Interestingly, the report states that any Fedayeen terrorists operating in Europe will be provided with “death capsules” for their personal use in case of capture. Besides selecting and training these potential terrorists, the Saddam regime also undertook substantial logistical preparations. A glimpse of these preparations can be seen in the response Saddam received from his intelligence services when he inquired about what weapons were available to arm terrorists in Iraqi embassies. Here is part of the tally: Romania: Missile launcher and missile Athens [Greece]: Explosive charges Vienna [Austria]: Explosive charges, rifles with silencers, hand grenades, and Kalashnikov rifles Pakistan: Explosive materials (TNT) India: Plastic-explosive charges and booby-trapped suitcases Thailand: Plastic-explosive charges and booby-trapped suitcases Prague [Czech Republic]: Missile launcher and missile Turkey: Missile launcher, missile, and pistols with silencers Sana’a [Yemen]: Missile launcher, missile, plastic explosives, and explosive charges Baku [Azerbaijan]: American missile launcher, plastic explosives, and booby-trapped suitcases Beirut [Lebanon]: American missile launcher, plastic explosives, and booby-trapped suitcases Gulf nations: Explosive material outside the embassies The memo further states that between 2000 and 2002, explosive materials were transported to many embassies outside of Iraq for “special work.” Realizing the value of suicide bombers, the regime’s intelligence services, a week after 9/11, sent a letter to Saddam outlining the steps they had taken to recruit bombers: “Division Commands have launched a campaign among their members, supporters, and backers of the Party encouraging them to volunteer in suicide operations, and have them write volunteer statements, preferably in their own blood.” The rest of the memo is a list of the 42 persons who had already signed on to blow themselves up whenever and wherever Saddam wished. The selection and training of suicide bombers became so routine that the regime started scheduling training sessions around the volunteers’ vacation periods from university. An example of a successful suicide operation is documented in a letter that Fedayeen Saddam headquarters forwarded to Uday Hussein. A woman called Nazah asks for his help in processing her husband’s pension documents. She claims the request is justified because her husband died when “he carried out a suicide mission on 19 July 2000, and exploded himself at the Ibn Sina Hotel during the presence of U.S. and U.K. citizens and officials from Iraqi opposition parties.” She goes on to list some of his other activities that would justify a pension for his family: Booby-trapped a car in front of the Kurdish Communist Party Headquarters Detonated a car bomb during the motorcade of Danielle Mitterrand (wife of French president François Mitterrand) in Halsabajah City, which killed 40 enemies Poisoned opposition-party members on the orders of the intelligence services Saddam was also a sponsor of state terrorism on a truly impressive scale. One document sent to Saddam lists all the major terrorist groups that his intelligence services are in contact with, how long they have been in the Iraqi fold, and approximately how much support they have received. Most of these organizations also appear on the list of al-Qaeda–linked terrorist groups. Saddam and bin Laden may have loathed each other, but they found common cause in financially supporting, arming, and helping to train groups that are part of the same global terrorist network. One note sent to Saddam presented an account of how many foreign terrorists were currently training in Iraqi centers. Palestine 38 Egypt 4 Lebanon 10 Libya 1 Tunisia 8 Sudan 18 Syria 10 Eritrea 7 Morocco 3 Unknown 1 In fact, after his 1991 defeat in Operation Desert Storm, Saddam ordered his intelligence services to maintain contact with all terrorist movements in the Arab countries. Captured documents reveal that intelligence-service activities went beyond just maintaining contact. One set of details appears in a report written six weeks after 9/11. It states that Iraq was sending an administrative officer to establish and oversee a terrorist training camp, and lists the equipment being dispatched in the first set of supplies: 15,000 Kalashnikov 7.62-mm rifles 15,000 [sKS] rifles 5,000 Browning pistols 5,000 Markarov pistols 1 high-quality photocopier The memorandum ends with the names of 52 fighters waiting for training in the camp. Evidence of Saddam’s continuing interest in and support for global terrorist activities is found in a 2002 annual report of one of the directorates within his intelligence service. It states that, in the year after 9/11, it held 13 meetings for a number of Palestinian and other organizations, including delegations from the Islamic Jihad Movement and the director general of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of al-Ahwaz (al-Ahwaz is a portion of Iran inhabited largely by Arabs). The list then details the messages various terrorist groups sent to Saddam during the year. The titles of the messages range from simple best wishes on Saddam’s birthday to the following: Information on the number of Palestinian martyrs killed vs. Zionists killed Requests for military equipment and for help for the families of suicide bombers Information on the financial status of various terrorist organizations, volunteers for suicide operations, and rumors of a plan to assassinate Saddam Hussein The report also notes that among the 699 passports that the intelligence services issued, many were issued to known members of terrorist organizations. Moreover, it states that the intelligence services took four million dinars from their own budgets to finance Palestinian terrorist groups. The report also provides a list of activities the intelligence services considered “exemplary events,” for example: Re-equipping and training Palestinian fighters in al-Quds training camps [in Iraq] Establishing and activating a course to train Arab Liberation Front fighters on martyrdom operations Establishing fighter schools for Arab volunteers and later for Iraqi volunteers Re-establishing and re-equipping the military base of the Arab Liberation Front Training groups from the occupied territories [Palestine] on light weapons in secret 30-day courses All of this is just the tip of the iceberg of available evidence demonstrating that Saddam posed a dangerous threat to America. There are other reports providing specific information on dozens of terrorist attacks, as well as details of how Iraq helped plan and execute many of them. Moreover, there is also proof of Saddam’s support of Islamic groups that were part of the al-Qaeda network. A good analogy for the links between Saddam and bin Laden is the Cali and Medellín drug cartels. Both drug cartels (actually loose collections of families and criminal gangs) were serious national-security concerns to the United States. The two cartels competed for a share of the illegal drug market. However, neither cartel was reluctant to cooperate with the other when it came to the pursuit of a common objective — expanding and facilitating their illicit trade. The well-publicized and violent rise of the Medellín cartel temporarily obscured and overshadowed the rise of, and threat posed by, the Cali cartel, in the same way that 9/11 camouflaged the terror threat posed by Saddam. In reality Saddam and bin Laden were operating parallel terror networks aimed at the United States. Bin Laden just has the distinction of having made the first horrendous attack. Given the evidence, it appears that we removed Saddam’s regime not a moment too soon. http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/277115/saddam-what-we-now-know-jim-lacey?page=3

September 15, 2011 06:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time Research and Markets: Iraq Oil Markets, 2011 Report Contains Information for All the Major Oil Fields, Refineries, Pipelines and Storage Terminals in Iraq for Period 2000-2015 DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/48054a/iraq_oil_markets) has announced the addition of GlobalData's new report "Iraq Oil Markets, 2011" to their offering. This profile is the essential source for top-level energy industry data and information. The report provides an overview of each of the key sub-segments of the energy industry in Iraq. It details the market structure, regulatory environment, infrastructure and provides historical and forecasted statistics relating to the supply/demand balance for each of the key sub-segments. It also provides information relating to the crude oil assets (oil fields, refineries, pipelines and storage terminals) in Iraq. The report compares the investment environment in Iraq with other countries in the region. The profiles of the major companies operating in the crude oil sector in Iraq together with the latest news and deals are also included in the report. Scope Operator and equity details for major crude oil assets in Iraq. Key information relating to market regulations, key energy assets and the key companies operating in the Iraq's energy industry. Information on the top companies in the Iraq including business description, strategic analysis, and financial information. Product and brand updates, strategy changes, R&D projects, corporate expansions and contractions and regulatory changes. Key mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, private equity and venture capital investments, and IPOs. Reasons to buy Gain a strong understanding of the country's energy market. Facilitate market analysis and forecasting of future industry trends. Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast production, reserves and capacity data. Assess your competitor's major crude oil assets and their performance. Do deals with an understanding of how competitors are financed, and the mergers and partnerships that have shaped the market. Identify and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the leading companies in the country. Companies Mentioned: Korea National Oil Corporation OMV Aktiengesellschaft Talisman Energy Inc For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/48054a/iraq_oil_markets Contacts Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager, press@researchandmarkets.com U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

CAUTION All, I have been working on this translation for two days now. The original file was uploaded via a camera or scanner (image file). Under normal circumstances it would not be a problem. I used cutting edge ocular conversion software (OCR) and converted the file to PDF no problem. Once converted I attempted to covert this file to word.doc format. When I did this the file released three embedded virusus. Trojan, no problem spybot got it. MS TOOL REMOVAL a rather nasty one however Windows Security Essentials Live and the Windows firewall snagged it. The one that got away... a stinking slimmy little worm called HELL FIRE, went right on in and in a matter of an hour corrupted my hard drive causing a complete format and reload of the entire sys. Fortunately, I was off line as this little jewel has the ability to upload and the first sign of an internet connection and would have cause an outbreak if not pandemic. Windows Security has the file now for analalise and I expect my friend there to have it back tonight around 10pm Im sorry for the delay on this one but I should have it tonight. Please if you are not an experienced virus fighter do not play with this one. The embedding was deliberate and Microsoft says they have never seen anything like it. Will post the translation as soon as I receive the file. Queitlearner

How about this ..... ISO code: 368 was the applied code for the Iraq Dinar and used as a solid indicator that the currency was not traded in the world markets. ISO code: 4217 is the applied code today for the Iraq Dinar as it is now being traded in the world markets. 4217 is used by each country that is trading currency on the FOREX. Its off to the races folks, Ill be betting on the IQD RV horse by a furlong. Relax and watch the race, with the major banks now in on the trading we should be seeing some great action. Happy RV ing, Quietlearner

What is old news? As of 2 days ago the IQD was not being traded nor was it recognized as a trade-able currency on either forexpro or yahoo or google. It is now. Thats not old news that GREAT NEWS as since it is now a recognized currency I would speculate that we are waiting for the announcement of the RV and Rate at any time.