rolo731,
I'm loading up at there prices and anything under 1.35

Gas Shortage In N.C.

I live in East Tennessee and the local news reported that the Ashville N.C. schools may shut down due to the shortage. N.C. Senator Heath Shuler who played QB at Tennesse has a good relationship with the owners of Pilot oil in Knoxville and has worked on a plan with Pilot to deliver 8000 gallons of fuel today and possibly more in the future.

FWIW- I live 45 minutes from the TGC office in Knoxvegas.

Ike has hit East Tennessee at the pump.
4.49- 4.99 per gallon

You have a good and safe holiday also Bob. It will run some and if weather systems hit the Gulf, watch out. I had an OTC oil and gas stock when a couple of hurricanes came into Gulf and it ran pretty good for several days.

P.S. Your right , God bless America.( We certainly need it)

Cosmo, OT
He doesnt know what he will do. Looks like he is backtracking already. (another flip flopper)

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
Thu Jul 3, 6:36 PM Est

FARGO, North Dakota (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama waded into controversy on Thursday over his plans to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq, first saying he might "refine" his views but later declaring his stance had remained unchanged for more than a year.


Obama was forced to call reporters back for a second news conference in Fargo, North Dakota, after he initially left open the possibility of revising his 16-month timetable for pulling U.S. combat forces from Iraq.

"Let me be as clear as I can be. I intend to end this war. My first day in office I will bring the joint chiefs of staff in and I will give them a new mission and that is to end this war," Obama told reporters in his second news conference.

But he added: "I would be a poor commander in chief if I didn't take facts on the ground into account."

At an earlier news conference, the Illinois senator had said he could "refine" his stance after he visits Iraq.

Obama, an early opponent of the war who made his stance a centerpiece of his Democratic presidential campaign, said he would not support a long-term U.S. presence in Iraq but wanted to ensure any troop withdrawal was orderly and safe.

"I've always said I would listen to commanders on the ground. I've always said the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability," he told reporters on arrival in North Dakota.

"That assessment has not changed, and when I have a chance to meet with some of the commanders on the ground I'm sure I'll have more information and will continue to refine my policies."

After heavy criticism from his Republican presidential opponent John McCain, Obama said he would visit Iraq and Afghanistan later this summer. It will be his second visit to Iraq.

McCain, an Arizona senator, is a staunch advocate of the current U.S. strategy in Iraq and the issue is certain to be central to their November election battle for the White House.

REPUBLICANS POUNCE

Obama said McCain's campaign had "primed the pump" to convince reporters he was going to change his position. McCain's campaign has inundated reporters with e-mails suggesting Obama was prepared to shift his stance.

Republicans quickly pounced on his initial comments.

"There appears to be no issue that Barack Obama is not willing to reverse himself on for the sake of political expedience," said Alex Conant, a Republican National Committee spokesman.

Obama said his plan for withdrawing one or two combat brigades a month from Iraq after he takes office always depended on conditions on the ground.

"I'm going to continue to gather information to find out whether those conditions still hold," he said. "My guiding approach continues to be that we've got to make sure our troops are safe and Iraq is stable."

As Obama spoke, two of his foreign policy advisors told reporters in a conference call the current U.S. strategy in Iraq was allowing the security situation in Afghanistan to worsen and must be changed.

The advisors, Susan Rice and Sarah Seward, said they believed the 16-month time frame for a U.S. troop withdrawal in Iraq was still achievable.

Rice said Obama remained committed to a "responsible, careful redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq" and to starting it "from the early days of his administration."

"And the best advice, military advice, that he's received has been that a responsible pace is one to two combat brigades a month," she said.

For security reasons, Obama has not announced the date of his Iraq trip. He will be part of a congressional delegation and will not take reporters with him.

"My job is to make sure that the strategic issues that we face ... are all taken into account and dealt with in a way that enhances America's national security interests over the long term," Obama said.

(Editing by John O'Callaghan)

Pulling the trigger today. To much potential with this small cap.
May visit their office in Knoxville. Im about 45 minutes from there. GL

Heavy- go to www.portfolio.com, type in Kurdistan in search and the Aricle comes up Boomtown,Iraq.

Great article in Porfolio magazine this month concerning the Kurds and thier prosperity. One of my favorite lines in the article is " The Kurdistan region is Paul Wolfowitz's wet dream: peaceful, secular, wildly capiltalist, and pro American, afloat on an ocean of oil." I highly recomend anyone to read the article.

WWW.portfolio.com

Fighting and people hooking(?)up for love. Just what I
wanted. I see this everyday at work.

Yep... me to

San Francisco?

Maybe QBID's old boss is involved.

You have a great young team. They are going to be tough in the next few years. They may even push some teams around in the SEC tournament this year.

Your old football coach(S.S) grew up about half an hour from my house.

Oh yeah. They resemble the old UNLV run and gun teams. I believe Tarkanian called it 40 minutes of hell.

OT: Strongtower


No way Im a Gator fan. I was just impressed with there play. I've been going to the games since the Ernie and Bernie years. Your right, talk about a hard foul. We heard him hit the floor from our seats which was 30 rows up.

OT: Strongtower

I went to the Florida game this week and all I can say is a man can get whiplash real quick watching the boys run the court. I do believe the Vols have a good chance in the tournament this year. Hate to say it but the Gators are going to be tough in the future.

Just like the clown he is.

Buying oppurtunity on the pullback.

Follow the Money
New York Sun Editorial
September 13, 2007



While the Democrats in the Congress were calling General Petraeus a liar for arguing that things were getting better in Iraq, one of our favorite publications — Grant's Interest Rate Observer — was circulating around town with a cover story called "Strongest currency, best bourse." It turns out that is in neither Switzerland nor Britain nor Japan nor America but Iraq, which, Grant's reports, "has turned into a capital magnet." Says it: "The only thing stronger than the Iraqi currency is the Baghdad stock market." And it adds this classic Grantian formulation: "Money is sometimes misinformed, but it is never insincere. Something is afoot in Iraq.
Grant's says it hasn't gotten to the bottom of what is afoot. "One could mention," it quotes its correspondant Ian McCulley as enumerating, "the country's healthy petrodollar harvest, the central bank's decision to use the exchange rate as a policy tool against inflation, the central bank's 20% overnight interest rate, the declining Iraqi inflation rate (to 30%, year over year, from last year's triple digits) or the simple fact that Iraq has one of the few floating currencies in the Gulf." But it notes that whatever the reason, the dinar has climbed to 1,235 to the dollar from 1,480 at the start of 2004. It says that on the Baghdad bourse, local investors anticipated the opening of the market to foreign capital in August by bidding the market up 58% in July.

Well, neither Grant's nor we would want to make too much of the Iraqi economic indicators. The whole stock market, Grant's notes, is capitalized at but $2 billion. It's a war situation and there can be a lot of distortions. But neither would we want to make too little of it. The key point is which way the arrow is pointing. As well as the potential, which is enormous. One of our favorite moments in the whole Iraq debate is when a broadcaster asked Ahmad Chalabi whether he thought Iraq needed another Karzai, a reference to the Afghanistan strongman. Replied Mr. Chalabi: "No, Iraq needs another Erhard," a reference to the Free German economist Ludwig Erhard, who, in 1948, moved to sound currency and set the stage for the West German economic miracle. Grants noted that the Guardian reported the other day, "There are some tentative signs of political reconciliation in Iraq." Concluded Grant's: "Maybe the smart money saw it coming."

http://www.nysun.com/article/62561

Nice....


Good DD.

ETF (part three)

The price of uranium can only benefit as more nuclear power plants come online. The 435 nuclear power plants already online worldwide provide 16% of the globe's electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association. Van Eck says 30 power reactors are currently being constructed in 11 countries and that 70 more are planned.

The 104 commercial reactors in the U.S. produce 20% of the nation's electricity, leaving plenty of room to catch up with Europe and Japan, which get 30% of their electricity from nuclear power. France alone relies on it for 75% of its electricity.

While the price of uranium has fallen to $105 since its June high, Miller, of Strathmore Minerals, predicts higher prices as uranium demand grows 1% to 3% a year. However, after the huge run-up, he thinks a large number of companies in the ETF are fully valued, and few, if any are undervalued.

There are other potential drawbacks, such as safety and waste disposal. Last month, after an earthquake hit Japan, a nuclear-power complex spilled radioactive water from a pool storing spent nuclear-fuel rods. And in 2002, an Ohio plant owned by Davis-Besse nearly suffered a meltdown that could have been much worse that Three Mile Island. This was after it had been warned two years earlier to fix the problem.

Meanwhile, the problem of disposing hazardous nuclear waste hasn't been solved. And let's not even talk about the possibility of a terrorist attack.

The ETF closed at $36.89 Monday, down 7.8% from its launch at $40 a share. Of course, with the stock market's recent volatility, it wasn't the best time to launch a new security.

ETF (part two)


More than half the ETF's assets are in uranium-related stocks, with uranium mining comprising about 47%, uranium enrichment is around 5% and uranium storage 1%. The remainder are in companies involved in nuclear power plant infrastructure, 37%, equipment, 10% and fuel transport and generation, at less than 1%.

With the U.S. comprising just 3.4% of its benchmark index, NLR is really an international ETF. Japanese companies account for 41% of the index, with Canada comprising 29% and Australia another 14%. In fact, USEC (USU - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) is the only U.S. company in the ETF, and only a few others, such Canada's Denison Mines (DNN - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), Cameco (CCJ - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) and Frontier Development Group (FRG - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), trade here. Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is the fund's largest holding at 9.7%.

Uranium is one of the word's hottest commodities -- over the past decade, its price has risen three times faster than that of oil. From a low of around $7 a pound in 2000, yellowcake soared more than 1800% to its recent high of $135 in June.

"The world consumes 180 million pounds of uranium a year," says David Miller, president and chief operating officer of Strathmore Minerals, a uranium mine developer. "But the world only produces 105 million pounds a year. The rest comes out of the inventory built up in the 1980s after the industry stopped growing. But, now that inventory is (down to) around 500 million pounds. If mining seized right now, we would run out in three years."

Mining, enrichment and storage stocks are just about the only way to play the mineral. Uranium futures only started trading on the Nymex in May, and activity is still somewhat anemic, while transactions on the spot market are private and infrequent.





xt page)

Nuclear ETF from Van Eck Global began trading last week. Fairly long article so it will take three post to cover the good stuff.

Nuclear energy is making a comeback, and a new exchange-traded fund from Van Eck Global, the Market Vectors Nuclear Energy ETF (NLR - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), provides one of the purest plays on this sector available to U.S. investors.

Americans have long been suspicious about the safety of nuclear power plants. In the three decades since the 1979 meltdown at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island, not one new nuclear power plant has been built in the U.S.

But concerns about global warming produced by fossil fuels are fueling demand for cleaner sources of energy. Nuclear power plants emit no greenhouse gases, while coal, the largest source of electric power generation, is a primary offender.

Nuclear energy also appeals to those who decry the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil, since all of our uranium needs are mined here in the U.S. or in Canada, providing a secure supply and a form of energy independence.

Soaring demand for electricity and rising natural-gas prices aren't hurting the nuclear industry, either. According to the International Energy Agency, renewable energy sources -- including wind, sun, biomass and geothermal -- will only provide 6% of the world's electricity by 2030.

Giving an additional push to the industry is the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which gives generous subsidies, such as tax credits and loan guarantees, to fossil fuel alternatives, including nuclear power.

Market Vectors Nuclear Energy debuted on the American Stock Exchange last week. It tracks the DAXglobal Nuclear Energy Index. The ETF fund has an expense ratio of 0.65%.


Go to NEXT PAGE

I believe so to.

Looks like we are heating up. This could hit the mid 20's

This is a gift at these prices (IMO)

Buying more Monday if it keeps dropping. This is a great co.

cosmoworld:

Kind of scary looking down that barrel from my perspective!

Update on oil law

Iraq Cabinet approves draft oil law
Debate to begin on measure on Wednesday, official says
Interactive

Updated: 42 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Cabinet approved a draft oil law and the Iraqi parliament was to begin debate on the measure Wednesday, a major sign of progress in a long-delayed political benchmark sought by the U.S. to boost reconciliation between Iraq's Sunnis and Shiites.

For months, Washington has pressed its ally al-Maliki to quickly pass the oil law and other pieces of legislation, considered a vital part of President Bush's attempts to end Iraq's turmoil — alongside a security crackdown by an increased U.S. military force.

But the law, which is to define the distribution of Iraq's oil wealth, has been tied up in bickering between Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties in al-Maliki's deeply divided ruling coalition, frustrating U.S. officials as American support for the war has waned

The prime minister announced Tuesday that his Cabinet had unanimously approved the oil draft and that the parliament would begin discussing it the following day. He called the bill "the most important law in Iraq."

Twenty-four of the Cabinet's 37 members were present for the vote, amid a boycott by ministers from the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front and the Shiite Sadrist movement over separate political disputes with al-Maliki.

Still, despite al-Maliki's weakened coalition, the approval means parliament is likely to pass the measure. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Cabinet approval came after amendments prompted by the Accordance Front. He did not give details on the changes or the bill's final version.

Big concern for Sunnis
The issue of oil distribution is a top concern of Iraq's Sunni Arab minority, which is centered in regions of the country with little oil resources and which fears Shiites and Kurds — who now dominate the government — would monopolize profits from the industry.

U.S. officials are hoping that passage of an oil bill will help rally Sunni support for the government and the political process and reduce backing for insurgents.

But Kurds, centered in an autonomous zone in the oil-rich north, rejected previous drafts, believing they did not guarantee them a fair share of revenues in northern oil fields they control or hope to control. Shiites, who control major oil resources in the south, have been reluctant to share revenues with Sunnis, who dominated the regime of Saddam Hussein, which oppressed Shiites and Kurds.

Bush has pressed al-Maliki to take a series of other political steps — opening jobs to Sunnis who supported Saddam, amending the constitution to satisfy Sunni aspirations and holding local elections — aimed at bringing Sunni Arabs into the political process. With support for the war dropping among Americans, the steps would also help convince the U.S. public and Congress that Iraqi leaders are doing what is needed to halt the violence.

Margin of stability
The security crackdown, backed by 28,000 extra U.S. troops deployed in Iraq this year, has aimed to give a margin of stability to allow Iraqi politicians to pass the measures. The offensive in Baghdad and areas to the north and south has fueled a surge in American casualties — though bombings and other attacks appear to have fallen in the capital in recent days.

A U.S. military Kiowa attack helicopter was shot down by insurgents south of Baghdad on Monday, the U.S. military said in a statement. An Apache helicopter rescued the craft's two pilots, who were lightly hurt, it said.

The military also said Tuesday that U.S. forces waged a large battle with gunmen near the western Sunni city of Ramadi over the weekend, in fighting that left 23 insurgents dead. The insurgents had massed on Donkey Island, a patch of land in a canal outside the city, and opened fire on U.S. troops, prompting the gunbattle Saturday. Troops found caches of weapons, explosives and suicide vests, the military said.

In Baghdad, an Iraqi army lieutenant colonel and an Interior Ministry intelligence officer were killed in separate drive-by shootings Tuesday, police said. A car bomb hit the convoy of an Iraqi police colonel in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing two passers-by and wounding 17, though the colonel survived, police in the city said.

Negotiations over the oil bill have been plagued by squabbling between Iraqi leaders. Al-Maliki's Cabinet endorsed one version of the oil law on Feb. 26 in what was hailed as a breakthrough, but parliament never took up the measure — and further negotiations brought new changes.

Iraq approves amended oil, gas law, refers it to parliament

Power & Materials 7/3/2007 12:32:00 PM



BAGHDAD, July 3 (KUNA) -- The Iraqi Government on Tuesday approved an amended oil and gas law and referred it to the parliament and the discussion is slated on the parliament agenda for Wednesday.
Iraqi government spokesman Dr. Ali Al-Dabbagh told KUNA the council of ministers approved the amended basic broad lines of the law in an extraordinary session last February 26. The bill then went to the state Shura council which thought a second endorsement was due, he said.
Al-Dabbagh said the bill is hoped to be finally approved in the parliament session tomorrow to enter effect.
As to whether the Iraqi Accord Front attended the session, the spokesman said the accord ministers were absent, but the bill was passed within due majority support.
The official thought it likely the bill would be passed by parliament and pointed out all observations regarding the previous draft by all political bodies were taken into consideration. The current formula and text were thoroughly assessed to best serve the interests of the Iraqi people, he stressed.
The cabinet approved the law last February only to face fierce opposition from the Kurds, which required much amendment.
The oil and gas law is one of four major challenges requiring new legislation by the Iraqi government. The other issues are the debaathification process, local elections, and reconsideration and review of the Iraqi constitution.
Success on these issues would push the political process ahead considerably. The US administration has been putting much pressure on the Maliki cabinet to work on these issues and issue the required legislation.
The oil law is one of the most controversial issues for Iraq at present. Sunni parties object to the current text while the Kurds object to the mode of relation between the regional government and the federal government in Baghdad.
Should the law get the parliament's approval and enter effect, it would enable Iraqi and foreign investors to construct and invest in oil and gas establishments and facilities for up to 50 years before all property ends up in Iraqi government ownership

Berryback:




What are the qualifications for this elite brotherhood?

Parliament extends session

June 23 2007 at 03:58PM

Iraq's parliament voted on Saturday to extend its present legislative session to the end of July to try to pass crucial bills aimed at national reconciliation, lawmakers said.

The session was previously scheduled to end on June 30.

MPs have come under increasing pressure to pass laws to equitably distribute the country's oil revenues, to allow members of the former regime to come back to work, and to amend the constitution.

"We hope that these bills will be brought quickly to parliament so that we can pass them in July," said Mahmud Othman, a Kurdish MP. "We may have time to pass the oil law but the other bills may not be ready in time." - AFP

Thanks Rick


If the news reports a man dragging his computer down the highway its me.

Followup to post below:

Problems are on my end. Website is www.Krg.org

KRG publishes draft Law of Revenue Sharing
21 June 2007

There is a PDF file for the entire draft but I had problems bringing the link over. Its very long but full of info. I will keep trying but in case I cant provide the link I will post the website where it can be accessed.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Spokesman today published the Arabic and English versions of the draft law for revenue sharing which was agreed last night between the KRG and Baghdad. The draft can be downloaded at the links below.

This is a result of several months of discussions and negotiations both in Baghdad and in Erbil between KRG officials and the Federal Government. Mr Nechirvan Barzani, the KRG Prime Minister who played a crucial role in the process to finalise the agreement, said “this is a milestone in the political process from which all of the people of Iraq would benefit.”

According to the agreed text of the draft law, a single Fund will be established to capture all Iraq’s oil revenue as well as all other federally collected revenues. The net revenue, after deducting expenses of the Federal Government to deliver its federal duties and fund any agreed strategic projects, will go to the Kurdistan Region and the Governorates not organised in a region. The Kurdistan Region will get 17% of the net revenue and the balance will be used according to the population distribution to meet the needs of the Governorates not organised in a region. The distribution of the revenue shall be monthly and automatic, which will acheive a just and fair allocation to every part of the country whether it has oil or not, as demanded by Federal Constitution.

The KRG Minister of Natural Resources, Dr Ashti Hawrami who has been invovled in the negotiation from the begining, said that “This is an excellent framework for revenue sharing which will help to keep the country together since everyone will have a stake in protecting the country’s urgently needed financial resources.” He also added that ”this agreement paves the way for resuming negotiations on the pending matters related to the annexes of the draft of the oil law.”

Yep Rasica, made my day.

Iraqi politicians agree deal on sharing oil, says Kurd minister


Michael Howard in Sulaymaniya
Thursday June 21, 2007
The Guardian


Iraq's Kurdish leaders said last night they had struck an important deal with the central government in Baghdad over a law to divide up Iraq's oil revenues, which is seen by the Bush administration as one of the benchmarks in attempts to foster national reconciliation.
Ashti Hawrami, the minister for natural resources in the Kurdistan regional government, told the Guardian the text had been finalised late last night after 48 hours of "tough bargaining" with Baghdad. The deal represented "a genuine revenue sharing agreement" that was transparent and would benefit all the people of Iraq and help pull the country together, he said.

Iraq's oil revenue accounted for 93% of the federal budget last year. Iraq sells about 1.6m barrels a day.

Mr Hawrami said the law provided for the setting up of two "regulated and monitored" accounts into which external and internal revenues would be deposited. The external account would include items such as oil export earnings and foreign donor money, while the internal fund would consist largely of customs and taxes. The federal government in Baghdad would take what it needed, and the rest would be automatically distributed to the Kurdistan regional government, which would get 17%, and to Iraq's governorates "according to their entitlement". Revenues would be distributed monthly, he said.

Mr Hawrami said the system would better enable Iraqis to track how and where the oil funds were being spent. The Kurds, for example, have complained that remittances to their self-rule region have been being held back by up to six months in Baghdad. Iraq's Sunni Arabs had also expressed concerns that they might miss out on their share.

Iraq's finance minister, Bayan Jabr, and the oil minister, Hussein Sharistani, were accompanying the president, Jalal Talabani, on a state a visit to China and could not be contacted for comment.

The new deal came days after a visit to Iraq by the US defence secretary, Robert Gates, during which he rebuked politicians for failing to reach consensus on sharing oil revenues. The US sees the deal as a benchmark of progress toward reconciliation.

A western diplomat in Baghdad said last night: "Fair-sharing of Iraq's oil revenue is important to finding a sustainable political solution in Iraq. But on its own it will not halt the sectarianism."

Voice of Iraq) - 16-06-2007

Maliki submit to the parliament and provincial laws abolishing the Baath Party and the distribution of oil soon ... Adib told «life» : American administration wishing to conduct constitutional amendments during a specific timeframe

Baghdad-Salhi leadership life-16/06/07 / /

Under pressure and the threat of American withdrawal continued political support and security, the Iraqi government has announced the completion of the preparation of the Law on the Election of the provincial assemblies in preparation for presentation to the House next week for a vote, to be followed by Law «accountability and reconciliation», the alternative to abolishing the Baath Party in the next week. followed by the oil and gas mutatis mutandis it.

With continued parliamentary blocs moves to contain the repercussions of the bombing of Samarra, discussed the presidency of the republic «need to make collective leadership and management of the country by involving all the components of the Iraqi people» in the resolution.

The MP said the writer, one of the leaders of the Shiite coalition l «life» that «hint American administration to withdraw support from the government is not new», pointing out that the American administration «urging the government to take specific actions within a specific timeframe». He explained that «reconciliation and Accountability Act, which calls the American administration to endorse it needs to be further amendments to be acceptable, particularly as it is in its original version allow the return of the repressive elements that were active during the previous regime to the location, and this is not possible», noting that the government considers that «could open doors for the return of the Baathists who have not committed crimes against the Iraqi people to their previous condition that pledge not to return to the party again», and stressed that the law «will be presented to the House of Representatives within the next two weeks».

Law and the provincial assemblies and district-associated territory, he went on : «it will be completed next week to the House for a vote», and added that «this law proved powers will be divided equally between the government and the local government for the rehabilitation of these governorates, and prepared for the federal system of hand, and avoid overlapping of powers on the other hand». He concluded the leadership of the Party «invitation» that «specialists are working on studying the oil and gas», and stressed that the law «will be subject to amendment and address the objections made by blocs which briefed him earlier to be accepted by all the parties».

For his part, MP Wael Abdel Latif member list «Iraqi» of «life» that «contacts Palmerjayat and other foreign dignitaries Iraqi resident abroad and have an impact on the trends and forces active in the home resulted in the rapid containment of the crisis that followed the Samarra explosions last», adding that «move now register success for the Iraqi political forces». And on the move within the parliament to change the centers of power, Latif said that «contacts between all parties is essential to exploit the incident Samarra to entrench the concept of national unity and Islamic».

So, President Jalal Talabani, a meeting of the presidency attended by Vice Adel Abdel Mahdi and Tariq Al-Hashmi to discuss «need to make collective leadership and management of the country by involving all the components of the Iraqi people», The meeting underlined «that activate and energize the public affairs of the state and its institutions, such as the Supreme Council presidency and the prime minister and parliament commensurate with the seriousness of this sensitive stage».

RJ,


Maliki has been somewhat assertive in the last few days. Pressure is building. (IMO) I just hope its not all talk to keep the dogs off his back.

PS Nice pic. I believe I just became a race fan. I do however enjoy the southern ladies from your neck of the woods.

Maliki comments on oil law.

Last paragraph. Me thinks his butt is in a sling. The U.S. has got to be really pushing hard for positive moves. (IMO)

Published: 14/06/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)

Al Maliki likens country's battle for order to American Civil War
AP

New York: Iraq's embattled prime minister yesterday compared the fight for order in Iraq with the US Civil War almost 150 years ago, saying the current struggle "is perhaps even more complicated."

Nouri Al Maliki described the two countries as fighting for the principles of freedom, in battles that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

"Our struggle in Iraq is similar to the great American quest, and is perhaps even more complicated," he said in an opinion piece in yesterday's edition of The Wall Street Journal.

"A fundamental struggle is being fought on Iraqi soil between those who believe that Iraqis, after a long nightmare, can retrieve their dignity and freedom, and others who think that oppression is the order of things and that Iraqis are doomed to a political culture of terror, prisons and mass graves," Al Maliki said.

"Some of our neighbours have made this struggle more lethal still, they have placed their bets on the forces of terror in pursuit of their own interests," he added, without naming any of the countries.

Al Maliki said one key reform, the much-delayed oil law, is "well on its way" to being approved. The law would divide revenues among provinces based on their share of the total population. He added that the national budget this year is the largest in Iraq's history.

Rick

Couldnt agree more. To much division right now in parliment. I think the pressure is mounting from the US in a hurry. The Republicans want and need postive results for 2008.