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Oh I'm sure she will.
You will just have to be carefull
Sweet Fox on the Run
manfred mann
I could handle one of them!
There are no Hooters here.
They have them in Alberta though.
Don't know why I moved. :( LOL
Donna Summer - She Works Hard For The Money
Thats good. Gotta have play time!
Hooters girls going to be serving the beer?
BBQ Chicken sounds great!!!!
Lots of beer ????
I'm alive an' kickin' LOL.
Been way too busy.
And you?
She's defintaly dreaming. LOL
Elvis Presley - The Yellow Rose Of Texas
Elvis Presley - Guitar Man (1981 version)
Elvis Presley - Don't Be Cruel
Elvis Presley - In The Ghetto...
Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel 56
elvis presley
Suspicious Minds [1973]
Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock (1957)
ROCK IN THE USA
CCR - Proud Mary (The original and the best version!! )
C.C.R-Down On The Corner (1969)
Nope. nothin' but clouds here.
LAURA BRANIGAN (GLORIA)
Kenny Rogers - The Gambler
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising - Proud Mary
John Fogerty-The Old Man Down the Road Live
Johnny Cash & Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt: Silver Threads & Golden Needles
Linda Ronstadt - Poor Pitiful Me
03 March 2007
U.S. Envoy to Iraq Applauds Passage of National Hydrocarbon Law
Op-ed by Ambassador Khalilzad links management of Iraqi oil, unification
The following op-ed by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad appeared March 3 in the Washington Post and is in the public domain. There are no reproduction restrictions.
(begin byliner)
A Shared Stake in Iraq's Future
How the Oil Agreement Points the Way Forward
By Zalmay Khalilzad
March 3, 2007
Under the national hydrocarbon law approved this week by Iraq's Council of Ministers, oil will serve as a vehicle to unify Iraq and will give all Iraqis a shared stake in their country's future. This is a significant achievement for Iraqis' national reconciliation. It demonstrates that the leaders of Iraq's principal communities can pull together to peacefully resolve difficult issues of national importance.
Resolving concerns about control of oil is central to overcoming internal divisions in Iraq. The country has the third-largest oil reserves in the world, and more than 90 percent of federal income comes from oil revenue. The effective and equitable management of these resources is critical to economic growth as well as to developing a greater sense of shared purpose among Iraqi communities.
The goal of Iraq's leaders was to draft a law that ensured that all Iraqis could be confident they would receive their fair share of the benefits of developing the country's resources, that the revenue from oil and gas would enable a decentralization of power while maintaining national unity, and that Iraq would adopt the best international practices for the development and management of its mineral wealth. By these standards, the hydrocarbon law is a great success. It:
• Reaffirms that oil and gas resources are owned by all the people of Iraq and contains a firm commitment to revenue-sharing among regions and provinces on the basis of population.
• Establishes a predictable framework and processes for federal-regional cooperation that demonstrate the government's commitment to democracy and federalism.
• Creates a principal policymaking body for energy -- the Federal Council on Oil and Gas -- that will have representatives from all of Iraq's regions and oil-producing provinces.
• Ensures that all revenue from oil sales will go into a single national account and that provinces will receive direct shares of revenue, thereby significantly increasing local control of financial resources.
• Establishes international standards for transparency and mandates public disclosure of contracts and associated revenue and payments. This is essential to build confidence in the new political order and to counter corruption.
The law defines a role for the Oil Ministry that is primarily regulatory, which is the modern standard and which will also harness the market to achieve the optimal development of Iraq's resources. It provides the legal framework to enable international investment in Iraq's oil and gas sectors, a break from the statist and overcentralized practices of the past. It also requires best practices in environmental protection and field management and development, ensuring that the environment is not damaged and that hydrocarbon assets are not wasted by poor practices of the past.
While the draft law will need to be enacted by the Iraqi Council of Representatives when it returns from recess, the prospects for passage are excellent because all the major parliamentary blocs are represented in the cabinet. Companion legislation will be required in several areas, and Iraqi leaders hope to complete the entire package of hydrocarbon legislation by the end of May.
Arriving at this agreement was not easy. It has taken other countries years to complete such legislation. While negotiating this law presented special challenges for the federal government, the Kurdistan regional government and the leaders of key political blocs, the approval of the draft by the Council of Ministers sets a precedent for problem-solving and cooperation that is critical to the stabilization and development of Iraq.
This is the first time since 2003 that all major Iraqi communities have come together on a defining piece of legislation. A national reconciliation that stabilizes Iraq can be achieved if similar compromises are made on the future of de-Baathification and on amending the constitution. The agreement on the oil law should give us confidence that Iraqis are willing and able to take the steps needed for Iraq's success.
(The writer is the U.S. ambassador to Iraq.)
(end byliner)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
I guess I can't complain about our highways anymore. LOL
Ghost Soldiers discover secret room, find hidden cache
By Sgt. Paula Taylor, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
Mar 3, 2007 - 6:15:45 PM
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Garryowen troopers Pfc. Ryan Kennedy and Pfc. Raul Alderete, infantrymen, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, kneel above the hole leading to one of the largest weapons caches discovered in Mosul, Iraq, since the arrival of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division in November 2006. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Shen O, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment)
Blackanthem Military News, MOSUL, Iraq - Two Garryowen troops assigned to Ghost Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, each received a brigade coin March 1 for a raid conducted Feb. 9 that netted one of the largest weapons caches in the Ninewa Province.
The cache, which was located in a walled-off compound, was discovered by Pfc. Ryan Kennedy and Spc. Isaiah Johnson, both infantrymen assigned to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment.
"Our battalion got [information] that there was a weapons cache in one of the lots [in the city]," said Kennedy, a Pequannock Township, N.J. native. "They called us up. We actually didn't think we were rolling out until later that day."
Kennedy's platoon arrived in the suspected area and began taking small arms fire from a mosque across the street, he said. After they secured the area, they, with the help of Iraqi Army troops, were able to find and detain 10 suspects before moving into the actual compound where the cache was believed to be located.
"We pushed forward to continue searching another lot after another platoon moved up to secure the detainees," he said. "There were four garages and a small building with two rooms in it; one was like a tool room and the other was like a living area. We cleared the building and the garages."
After a brief search by 1st Squad, 1st Platoon Soldiers of the immediate area, their supervisor, Sgt. Shen O, split his team up for a more comprehensive search.
"Me and Specialist Johnson went back to the room that was like a living area and started busting all the floor tiles," Kennedy said.
"We saw a sink and tried turning it on," Johnson, a Chicago native, explained. "It didn't turn on. There was a stove next to it. At the time, we didn't think anything of it."
The two continued busting floor tiles to see if the ground would give way.
"Once we busted all the tiles, we started getting frustrated that we weren't finding anything," Kennedy said. "We went and got Lieutenant Miller, our executive officer, and asked him if he had any ideas. I busted the sink that was in there and Lieutenant Miller kicked over the sink base."
After the sink was knocked out of the way, the three began taking a closer look at the possibilities.
"Once we broke the sink, we saw there weren't any pipes under it," Johnson explained. "The XO noticed there was no grout between the tiles."
"We could tell something was wrong with it because the tiles under it were real loose," Kennedy added. "I hit it with a sledgehammer and it fell through. You could clearly see some [rocket-propelled grenades], some bags and different types of munitions. The opening was only about one foot by one foot. You had to squeeze in, and then there was a narrow crawl space that you could barely kneel in. That led to an open room that was about seven foot, by seven foot, by seven foot. We were overjoyed (to find the cache). All these months we weren't finding anything. We were going on raids, searching vehicles. We were all so excited. When we saw it, we just started yelling out, 'Hey, we found it, we found the cache!'"
After discovering the secret room beneath the sink, a member of the explosive ordnance disposal team, who was waiting nearby, was called into the compound to check the hole and cache room for dangers. Once he deemed it was safe to enter, other troops began arriving to assist in the removal of the items.
"There was everything you could name in there," Johnson excitedly recalled. "Missiles you shoot helicopters with, grenades, mines, wiring, cell phones, tons of AK-47s and ammo. It took us several hours to get it all out. It made us feel happy finding that stuff, knowing they can't use the weapons against us. It was sneaky how they had it set up, with the sink and the stove. They tried to make it look like it was a kitchen. We put the clues together and we figured it out. It made us really happy. We were proud to have found all this stuff and help get it all out," Johnson bragged.
Some of the items included in the day's find were 30 blasting caps, about 250,000 rounds of small arms ammunition, 25 grenade fuses, 37 high-explosive anti-tank weapons, 100 unfused grenades, one Iranian PG-7 grenade rocket, six Chinese 75mm APERS rocket fuses, 13 French 68mm SPAMV rockets, 72 rocket motors, 10 Iraqi 40mm rockets, 221 mortars, 300 various fuses, 40 pounds of propellant, 50 pounds of detonation cord, 13 PG-7 launchers, 17 AK-47 assault rifles, one Russian machine gun, two sniper rifles, one PKC machine gun, 40 million Iraqi Dinar, more than 400 fake identification cards, and various Motorola radios, including one Iraqi police radio believed to have belonged to an IP who had been previously kidnapped and subsequently killed.
"People can say I found it, but everyone was searching that day," Kennedy modestly admitted. "We were all working really hard. Everyone was covered in sweat even though it wasn't that hot. It was back-breaking labor. There were other finds, too. They found Iraqi Dinar and fake IDs in another area. Everyone worked hard that day, it wasn't just me and Johnson."
In recognition for their part in the discovery, Johnson and Kennedy were given a 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Coin of Excellence, which was presented to them by their first sergeant.
"It was a large cache," Said 1st Sgt. Eric Volk. "They knew it had to be right under their feet. These guys are very determined to have a positive impact in this area. You could see it in their faces afterward. They knew they finally made a difference. These troops had just recently lost their platoon sergeant (Sgt. 1st Class Russell Borea). This is one big thing they have done since then. They've got a lot of pride, they're very strong guys and I think they feel like they've finally achieved that big step against the insurgency. I couldn't ask for any better troops than what I've got."
http://www.blackanthem.com/News/U_S_Military_19/Ghost_Soldiers_discover_secret_room_find_hidden_cach...
Iraq's Talabani out of hospital soon: envoy Sat Mar 3, 5:48 AM ET
AMMAN (AFP) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, in hospital in Jordan suffering from exhaustion and dehydration, will be discharged in two or three days, Baghdad's ambassador in Amman said on Saturday.
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"The Iraqi president's health is good... he is convalescing in hospital and will leave in two or three days at the most," Saad Jassem al-Hayyani told AFP.
On Thursday, Talabani's personal physician Ayar Jar Hishmat said the 74-year-old president's health was "almost back to a normal state," and that he could be discharged "within days, not weeks" after treatment involving "IV (intravenous) fluids and antibiotics."
Talabani himself on Thursday promised in an address broadcast on Iraqi television from the King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman that he will soon return to work.
"I pledge to my people that I will be active for a new Iraq and thank God for his grace. I think I am in good health, contrary to rumours," said the Kurdish former freedom fighter.
"I will come back healthy to return to my mission of peace, liberty and national unity," he added.
Talabani was flown to Jordan on Sunday in a US military aircraft equipped with medical facilities from his home town of Suleimaniyah in northern Iraq, suffering from extreme fatigue and dehydration.
The first non-Arab to lead a modern Arab majority state, Talabani became president in April 2005 after Iraq's first election since the US-led invasion overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Iraqi leader: Cabinet shakeup in 2 weeks By ROBERT H. REID and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers
1 hour, 29 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister said Saturday he will reshuffle his Cabinet within two weeks and pursue criminal charges against political figures linked to extremists as a sign of his government's resolve to restore stability during the U.S.-led security crackdown in Baghdad.
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Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also told The Associated Press during an interview at his Green Zone office that Iraq will work hard to ensure the success of a regional security conference.
The conference in Baghdad, tentatively set for next weekend, is expected to bring together all of Iraq's neighbors, including Iran and Syria, as well as the United States and Britain to find ways to ease this country's security crisis.
Iran has not announced whether it will attend, but Iraqi officials believe that Tehran will send a representative.
Al-Maliki has been under pressure from the U.S. to bring order into his factious government of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds since it took office last May. Rumors of Cabinet changes have surfaced before, only to disappear because of pressure from coalition members seeking to keep power.
Nevertheless, al-Maliki said there would be a Cabinet reshuffle "either this week or next."
After the changes are announced, al-Maliki said he would undertake a "change in the ministerial structure," presumably consolidating and streamlining the 39-member Cabinet.
The prime minister did not say how many Cabinet members would be replaced. But some officials said about nine would lose their jobs, including all six Cabinet members loyal to radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, an al-Maliki ally.
Al-Sadr also controls 30 of the 275 parliament seats, and his support for al-Maliki has been responsible for the government's reluctance to crack down on the cleric's Mahdi Army militia, blamed for much of the Shiite-Sunni slaughter of the past year.
U.S. officials had been urging al-Maliki to cut his ties to al-Sadr and form a new alliance of mainstream Shiites, moderate Sunnis and Kurds. Al-Maliki had been stalling, presumably at the urging of the powerful Shiite clerical hierarchy that wants to maintain Shiite unity.
But pressure for change has mounted since President Bush ordered 21,500 U.S. troops to Iraq last January despite widespread opposition in Congress and among the U.S. public — weary of the nearly five-year-long war.
Last month, U.S. and Iraqi troops arrested Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili, an al-Sadr ally, for allegedly diverting millions of dollars in government funds to the Mahdi Army and allowing death squads to use ambulances and government hospitals to carry out kidnappings and killings.
During the interview, al-Maliki said other top officials would face prosecution for ties to insurgents, sectarian militias and death squads — including members of parliament.
"There has been coordination between us and the Multinational Forces ... starting at the beginning of this year ... to determine who should arrested and the reasons behind arresting them," he said.
Al-Maliki did not elaborate on the U.S.-Iraqi coordination but said Iraqi judicial authorities were reviewing case files to decide which to refer to an Iraqi investigative judge, who must decide whether there is enough evidence to order a trial.
Al-Maliki said he was encouraged by Iraqi public response to the new Baghdad security operation — which has led to a sharp drop in violence in the capital.
He also defended his government, saying it managed to "achieve a lot of harmony and stability" despite attacks by al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein loyalists.
The prime minister did not say how many politicians and officials might be targeted for formal investigation, an Iraqi legal step that corresponds to a grand jury probe.
But five senior Iraqis — two of them generals and three from Shiite and Sunni parties — have told the AP that up to 100 prominent figures could face legal proceedings.
The five spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the subject to the media. All five had direct knowledge of the case review.
U.S. officials have said privately that a number of prominent Iraqis were believed to have ties to armed groups.
One Shiite parliament member, Jamal Jaafar Mohammed, is believed to have fled to Iran after U.S. authorities learned that he was convicted by a Kuwaiti court in absentia and sentenced to death in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. and French embassies in Kuwait.
Mohammed fled Kuwait for Iran before he could be arrested and returned after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. U.S. officials have alleged he was a conduit for Iranian weapons and supplies smuggled to Shiite militias.
U.S. military officials have expressed concern over alleged Iranian weapons shipments and financial support to Shiite parties allied with al-Maliki. The Shiite-led government hopes the upcoming regional conference will ease tensions between the U.S. and Shiite-dominated Iran — and allay Washington's fears of Tehran's influence here.
The U.S. also hopes the conference will encourage Syria and other Arab countries — most of them Sunni-led — to increase their support for Iraqi's leadership, despite regional unease over the Shiite-led government's ties to Iran.
"In fact the importance of the upcoming conference lies in the fact that the Iraqi government has the ability to serve as a proper venue for solving conflicts," al-Maliki said.
"So we will exert the utmost effort to find solutions to all pending questions, either among regional countries themselves or between them and Iraq, or between them and powers such as the U.S. and Britain and the international community."
In Baghdad, business is done almost exclusively in cash and with a careful eye on security.
Click-2-Listen
By Larry Kaplow
INTERNATIONAL STAFF
Sunday, March 04, 2007
BAGHDAD, Iraq — In Iraq these days, it sometimes seems as if you have to chase people down to give them your money.
As a Baghdad-based correspondent for the past four years, I have used a satellite television service that requires annual renewal. Paying the bill is difficult. The office of the satellite service moves frequently, and now, with a kidnapping threat hanging over him, the manager is running the business from Amman, Jordan.
He doesn't take checks or credit cards. So I either had to find a way to wire him money or get money to a Jordanian who would drop off the cash, which is what I did.
Financial transactions are a way of sizing up the state of a country, its adherence to things such as laws and contracts, and the overall security and value of the economy. Like the satellite company owner, hundreds of thousands of businesspeople and professionals have fled, draining Iraq of its expertise and its secular middle class.
For those remaining, business is done almost exclusively in cash, with a careful eye on security.
Typically, if someone buys a house or a car in Baghdad, it's a cash transaction. The buyer gathers his dinars in thick blocks and takes trusted friends or family members along to help protect him and to count out the cash with the seller's friends and relatives.
While big-business owners have checking accounts or bank guarantees, the banks are too antiquated and distrusted to be of much use to most Iraqis. A couple of banks recently started issuing debit cards. But few people have them, and few businesses accept them.
For most Iraqis and many foreigners, common transactions involve risk. Paying in cash means paying in person, a potentially dangerous task.
For example, paying my mobile phone bill has become tougher. The company is based in Baghdad's Mansour area, which has grown increasingly violent in the past year. Lately, I've thought it was too dangerous to visit or send my translator with the money. We still have a little credit built up. After that runs dry, we'll have to figure out some way to get the cash there.
If you're an Iraqi who owns a home, there are property taxes to be paid, also in cash. Iraqi government employees are paid in cash. Retirees collect pensions in cash from banks.
American military officials lament that the weak banking system requires that Iraqi troops get paid in cash, requiring them to get leaves once a month and take their money home, often a dangerous trip.
Only a few Iraqi banks are capable of accepting electronic transfers from out of the country. That complicates things for people like me. I receive money through a transfer from my American company, Cox Newspapers, to a Jordanian bank. From Jordan to Baghdad, the transfer is completed by a Jordanian contact who transfers the funds based on "hawaleh," an honor system of accounting that has been moving money around the Middle East for decades.
In the police state days of Saddam Hussein, money was sometimes stolen from the government-run Rasheed Hotel, but you could walk the streets with a wad of cash and never worry about crime. Now, it's the opposite. Recently in Baghdad, heavily armed gangs have robbed armored cars transporting bags of cash between local banks and the central bank.
Though the money trucks are usually part of a police convoy, the robbers can usually outgun them with their own convoys of masked men. Many Iraqis suspect that they must have some link with the security forces to be able to act so brazenly.
When foreign banks were issued licenses several years ago to do business in Iraq, U.S. officials hailed it as a sign of progress. But the omnipresent dangers have dissuaded foreign banks from opening, and security problems have forced many Iraqi banks to close.
There is a sectarian element to the bank closings. Many people think that Shiite militias try to close down banks in Sunni areas so the Sunnis will have to leave their neighborhoods to pick up monthly pensions or make other transactions. That forces them into Shiite neighborhoods, where they are vulnerable to attack.
An American general said recently how pleased he was that after months of security and logistical work, the Army was able to help reopen a bank in a particularly bad part of the city. I asked to embed with the unit responsible, but in the weeks before the embed came through, the bank closed again.
Complicating matters, Iraq's inflation rate last year was nearly 50 percent. Iraqis found the price increases frightening and infuriating.
While dollars are accepted in Baghdad, Iraqi dinars are preferred, especially for small transactions. And lately, the dinar has rallied.
U.S. and International Monetary Fund officials worried that the value of the dinar would collapse and pressed the Iraqi Central Bank to bolster the currency and cheapen the dollar locally.
A few months ago, a dollar was worth about 1,450 dinars; now, it is worth about 1,300 dinars. It's probably smart policy, but it makes things tougher on my employees, who get paid in dollars.
Finally, while Iraqis in Baghdad want to be paid in cash, they don't want to be paid in just any cash. They want the bills to be crisp and new. Any that are worn or torn will be rejected.
lkaplow@coxnews.com. Larry Kaplow has been Cox Newspapers' Baghdad-based correspondent since early 2003
http://www.statesman.com/insight/content/editorial/stories/insight/03/04/4iraqcash.html
I agree with you there. If they ever sell some and actually deliver them.
A study of deprivation and the standard of living supported by the World Bank
Translated by IRAQdirectory.com - [03/03/2007]
Head of the Central Agency for Statistics and Technology Information in the Ministry of Planning, Mahdi Al-Allaq, said that the Agency "calculates the monthly inflation rates based on collecting data of the prices of 450 goods and services, representing most of the Iraqi family expenditure". He explained that the price data "are collected from selected markets in all governorates of Iraq and not limited to Baghdad alone, with contacts now to include Kurdistan". He pointed out that "inflation rates rose in Iraq, in an unprecedented manner, especially last year when it exceeded the rate of 75%".
Reports of the Iraqi Central Bank indicate very high figures of inflation coinciding with those of the Central Agency for Statistics; according to that, the Central Bank set up its strict monetary policy to face up the increasing inflation rates. The opponents of this policy considered it "as a mere facade adopted by the Central Bank to justify its strictness, which inspired the existence of external influences from the IMF".
Al-Allaq mentioned that "the Central Agency for Statistics had started a social and economic survey since last October and lasts for a year; the survey includes studying the aspects of expenditure, income, services, the educational, health and environmental conditions as well as the exploitation of time and the goods owned by the Iraqi family".
He pointed out that the most important data of this survey is to "calculate the poverty line in Iraq" and that it is "implemented with the support of the International Bank and the participation of 300 people from outside the cadre of the Ministry of Planning".
Al-Allaq revealed a study of the map of the level of deprivation and standard of living in Iraq prepared by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning in cooperation with the United Nations' Development Program; this study includes digital indications about the level of deprivation and want in each Iraqi province.
A plan to build a power station in every Iraqi province
Translated by IRAQdirectory.com - [03/03/2007]
Iraqi Minister of Electricity, Kareem Waheed, said that his ministry is determined to implement its short, medium and long-term plans despite the many problems it is currently experiencing, in order to access in the production of electric energy to the extent of self-sufficiency in 2009, and try to produce more than 28 thousand megawatts in 2015, which gives the country the ability to export excess capacity.
Waheed said in a press conference that there is a plan to build a power station in each Iraqi province, under a specific timetable in accordance with the regulations and technical standards calculated. He added that the ministry is currently intensifying its efforts to provide the electric current to the capital Baghdad as soon as possible, before the in coming of the summer, by installing diesel generators in several areas in the city. Waheed Also uncovered a project of electricity linkage with Iran (by partially linking the network through the city of Basrah), which is expected to be completed before the summer season, which contributes to increase the electricity network by 50 megawatts.
The Iraqi minister confirmed that electricity in Iraq can be improved in the presence of several key factors; the most important of which are security and protection of the conducting power lines, which extends thousands of kilometers in uninhabited areas. He pointed out that the recent sabotage operations contributed in isolating the city of Baghdad completely after targeting the eight lines conducting energy to it.
Waheed described electricity in Baghdad of being "miserable and semi hopeless of it in most administrative, technical and financial aspects". He added that there are suspended power stations because of the non-availability of natural gas required for its operation, like the stations of Nasiriyah, Samawah and Khawr al-Zubayr in the south of Iraq, as well as Al-Quds thermal station which has stopped completely for the same reason; he called on the Ministry of Oil to provide fuel for those stations in order to operate the power generation units.