saradise

I always love what you have to say. I hope it happens soon!!

As one of my favorite quotes says "In order to be successful, you have to be willing to give up sleep".....they need to move a little faster and do this RV if they want to go home!

Great article! Thanks Yota!!

I like that! Good thinking!!! I hope you are right!!

LOL. Thanks!

2 articles about the meeting between Maliki and Barzani today (this covers some of what was said in the press conference).... Leader of Kurdistan Regional Government visits Baghdad Sun Jul 7, 2013 12:26PM GMT Leader of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government Massoud Barzani has visited the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, for the first time in two years. Barzani’s visit is aimed at resolving long-term disputes and tensions over land and oil between Iraq’s central government and the Kurdish region. The Sunday visit comes a month after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made a trip to Kurdistan. "We discussed disputes and agreed to work on passing frozen laws in the parliament, especially the oil and gas law," Maliki said during a joint press conference. "We agreed to cooperate and work together and to face everything that threatens Iraq and the region, and we consider this a national duty," said Barzani. A senior Kurd official also stated that the two leaders have discussed Iraq's worsening security situation, the administration of territories both sides claim power over, and a national hydrocarbons law that has been in limbo for years. Last week, the Kurdish parliament approved delaying presidential election due in September, keeping Barzani in office for another two years. Kurdistan has been an autonomous part of Iraq since 1991. Baghdad and the Kurdistan region have been at odds over a number of issues, including oil production and land. The Kurds are determined to maintain their autonomy and develop their own oil resources. They have signed contracts on their own terms over the past years, causing resentment in Iraq’s central government. Baghdad and the Kurdistan region also lay claim to a tract of land that stretches from Iraq's eastern border with Iran to its western frontier with Syria. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Iraqi Kurdistan chief in Baghdad for talks on disputes Agence France-PresseJuly 7, 2013 14:01 The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, Massud Barzani, held landmark talks in Baghdad on Sunday with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on an array of disputes plaguing relations between the two sides. Barzani met Maliki, after which the two held a joint news conference in the capital's heavily-fortified Green Zone -- a major change from last year, when the Kurdish leader was advocating the premier's removal from office. The improvement in relations between the Kurds and the federal government is a rare bright spot for Iraq, which has been hit by a wave of violence that has killed more than 2,400 people this year, and long-running protests by Sunni Arabs who accuse the Shiite-led government of marginalising their community. "We discussed disputes and we agreed to work on passing frozen laws in the parliament, especially the oil and gas law," Maliki said, referring to long-stalled legislation governing the exploitation of Iraq's rich energy resources. Barzani said his aim was to send a message that "we are brothers and we are keen to communicate and collaborate." "We agreed to cooperate and work together and to face everything that threatens Iraq and the (Kurdish) region, and we consider this a national duty," he added. Barzani admitted that there are "problems and different opinions between the (Kurdish) region and the federal government" in Baghdad. But "today there is real political willingness to solve the problems," he said. Kurdish leaders want to incorporate a swathe of land stretching from Iraq's eastern border with Iran to its western frontier with Syria into their autonomous region over the objections of Maliki's government. The federal and regional governments also disagree over the apportioning of oil revenues. Baghdad has also been displeased with the Kurdish region for signing contracts with foreign energy firms without its approval. Diplomats and officials say the dispute over territory is one of the main long-term threats to Iraq's stability. The at-times lighthearted atmosphere of the news conference contrasted sharply with tensions that have marked the relationship between Barzani and Maliki. Last year, Barzani was a leading critic of the premier, advocated his removal from office and said that Maliki could not be trusted with F-16 warplanes that are on order from the United States. Later in 2012, the establishment of the Tigris Operations Command, a federal military command covering disputed territory in the north, drew an angry response from Kurdish leaders. And a deadly firefight during an attempt by Iraqi forces to arrest a Kurdish man in a disputed town pushed tensions higher, with both sides deploying military reinforcements. But more recently, the two sides have moved to patch up their differences. Kurdish ministers and MPs ended a boycott of the cabinet and the parliament in May, which was begun in March over objections that the new federal budget did not allocate enough money to pay foreign oil companies working in the region. And in June, Maliki chaired a cabinet session in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, and the two sides agreed to form joint committees to deal with disputes. Kurdistan's deputy prime minister Emad Ahmed said in a statement on the region's official website that Barzani's visit was a follow-up to Maliki's trip to Arbil. The US embassy in Baghdad hailed the latest developments in a statement that urged "all of Iraq's leaders to maintain a spirit of national reconciliation and unity" -- something often in short supply in the country's factious politics. The United States led the 2003 invasion of Iraq and played a major role in shaping the country after dictator Saddam Hussein's fall, but has seen its influence wane since its troops departed at the end of 2011. UN envoy Martin Kobler also praised the Barzani-Maliki meeting, saying it "confirms that there is political will to address outstanding issues between the centre and the region through direct dialogue and in accordance with the constitution."

Funny because I just figured out how to translate youtube videos this morning, but unfortunately only ones that offer closed captioning can be translated. I am determined to figure this out!!

I'm not positive, but I think you have to be VIP...? I don't know what the criteria is... I just know some members can't receive pms and some can.

LOL! Zigmeister - I tried to pm you earlier, but it said you couldn't receive pms, so I'll just tell you here that I really like your posts!

JPMorgan Deepens Iraq Business After Citi, Standard Chartered By Khalid Al-Ansary & Nayla Razzouk - Jul 7, 2013 8:21 AM ET JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) is the latest international bank after Citigroup Inc. © and Standard Chartered Plc (STAN) to expand business in Iraq as OPEC’s second-largest producer boosts crude oil output and rebuilds its economy. JPMorgan signed a one-year agreement yesterday to help the Trade Bank of Iraq finance imports of goods and services, John Gibbons, managing director and EMEA regional executive for the New York-based bank, said in an interview in Baghdad. “Our focus is to open more letters of credit through the Trade Bank of Iraq on behalf of the government and its ministries,” he said. Iraq, with the world’s fifth-largest proven oil reserves, is modernizing its infrastructure and energy industry after decades of sanctions, war and neglect. It produced 3.2 million barrels a day of crude in June, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and targets output of 3.5 million barrels by the end of the year. The government is boosting spending by 18 percent in 2013 to $118 billion, and the International Monetary Fund forecasts an annual economic growth rate of 9 percent, the fastest after Libya among 18 countries in the region. Iraqi officials are in talks with international banks about the opening of offices and branches in the country, Abdul-Basit Turki, acting governor of Iraq’s central bank, said today in an interview in Baghdad. “It is a rich market and the investment opportunities are huge,” Turki said. Banking Growth Foreign banks were barred from the country until after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion ousted the government of Saddam Hussein. Today, 15 international banks operate in Iraq, competing with seven state banks, 23 private lenders and nine banks operating under Islamic rules, according to the central bank’s website. Citigroup plans to open representative offices and branches in Baghdad and the cities of Basra and Erbil to benefit from an estimated $1 trillion of infrastructure spending, Mayank Malik, the U.S. bank’s chief executive officer for Jordan, Iraq, Syria and the Palestinian territories, said in a June 27 interview. The lender is among international banks seeking to finance a pipeline to export Iraqi oil and natural gas through Jordan, Nateq Balasem Khalaf, deputy director general of Iraq’s State Company for Oil Projects, said July 4. Standard Chartered has said it will open branches this year in Baghdad and Erbil, followed by a third office next year in Basra, a southern oil hub. Import Payments The agreement with JPMorgan will help the Trade Bank of Iraq “open more letters of credit that we’re in need of,” TBI chairman and president Hamdiyah Al Jaff said in an interview in Baghdad yesterday. JPMorgan helped set up TBI, the country’s largest bank for trade finance, to facilitate imports needed for Iraq’s postwar reconstruction. Banks in the country are set for growth in earnings and assets as a surge in lending in Iraq outpaces much of the Middle East, according to Singapore-based Sansar Capital Management LLC, which runs a fund with $30 million invested in Iraqi equities. Iraq’s rising oil exports and a drop in the prime lending rate to 6 percent from 17 percent in 2008 are feeding the expansion. The five largest privately owned banks boosted their combined net income by 207 percent from 2010 to 2012 and more than doubled earnings per share. Iraq’s stock exchange drew investors in February when mobile operator Asiacell Communications PJSC listed after a $1.3 billion share sale, in the Middle East’s biggest initial public offering since 2008. The country’s two other mobile operators, Zain Iraq and Korek Telecom, plan to sell shares in IPOs to comply with their license requirements. Iraq is the biggest oil producer, after Saudi Arabia, in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Also, if they don't go at least 1:1, the Iraqis will continue to use dollars and not the dinar. If they want them to use the dinar, then they have to at least match it to the same value of the dollar.

Maximizing the wealth....I like that!!! Let's do it!

I know, but my patience is running a little thin, lol.

Exactly!! LOL.

I almost wonder if they need more pressure put on them....they are not moving fast enough for me! LOL.

Do they understand the meaning of "urgent"? lol. They keep saying how urgent it is, so what is their hold up? Time is ticking. Go RV!!

Well, today would be a good day for a surprise!!!! They need to stop the teasing and just do it!

WOWZA!! What an article! Now, a little less talking and a lot more "doing". Get it done!!!!! Also, one of the articles recently said that the majority of Iraqis get their news from television, so I would assume that the online news articles might be lagging when the RV is officially announced. It would be on television first. JMO.

They are slowly, but surely moving forward...keep the good news coming!!

Great news!!

@ LadyGrace'sDaddy - I've been meaning to tell you for a long time that I enjoy reading your posts...I like your thinking!!! Thank you so much for sharing! Does anyone know where we can go to watch the price of their oil?

Positive attracts positive!

Keep the good articles coming!! Do you remember which article this was? I would like to read it again.

Wow...that debt clock is crazy looking!! So, why do you think it will RV at 17 trillon??? Please explain.

Well, that does give us a little more time....I hope that is correct.