KTFA Members "News and Veiws" Sunday 7-26-2020

KTFA:

Samson:  Parliamentary Integrity: Half of the political class will be extinct by applying the penal code

19:07 - 07/25/2020

Parliamentary Integrity Committee confirmed, on Saturday, that more than half of the political class in Iraq will disappear if the Iraqi Penal Code is applied and deactivated bills are done in the Council.

Member of the Integrity Committee, MP Jawad Hamdan, told / "Information" that "there are bills that were blocked by the political blocs in the parliament regarding amendments to the penal laws that do not serve their interests."

He added that "the next stage requires the application of the penal code, the adoption of discontinued amendments in the House of Representatives, and the work of the judiciary away from political interference."

He explained that "by ensuring the implementation of the Iraqi Penal Code, more than half of the current political class who have indicators of corruption and accused of stealing public money and protecting the corrupt will disappear."   LINK

Samson:  Al-Rafidayn begins distributing the salaries of employees for the month of July

26th July, 2020

On Sunday, the Rafidain Bank announced that it would begin distributing the salaries of the ministries and institutions of the endemic country their salaries to the bank for the month of July through electronic payment tools

The media office of the bank said in a statement, "Economy News" received a copy of it, that "the direct salaries of employees of ministries and state institutions from those who have received sukuk, financing their salaries and financial allocation with the bank have been started
 
He added, "Employees can receive their salaries from anywhere they are   LINK

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Dave:  IMO I trust that Frank was just weeks ahead of the news when he said after Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi arrived in Washington then Secretary of State Pompeo would be in Iraq and it would be on a Tuesday that would be the signing ceremony for international trade status including a new rate and most likely a new pay scale schedule for the salaries supposedly at the end of this month. 

Could it be this coming week hence the silence of Frank26 for the time being until we see something?  Only looking back in retrospect but Frank's silence speaks volumes in my opinion. 

I imagine waking up in the early morning hours with Frank's big smile I'm going to take a screen shot to save forever to see a UB 2B video announcement with  Frank wearing his Golden suit.  Next week? That would be awesome but you know how Iraq is, what's been the hold up?

Well last week we saw trade deals with Iran using IQD and now more trade deals opening shipping lines through the Mediterranean.  I like what I'm seeing

Ross:  IMOO  we learned the highest intel known to man from the last CC…F26 said that people already know the date and rate…IMO he implied that among those “in the know” are probably bankers like WS, and therefore he proffered the motto “loose lips sink ships” in holding that intel confidential. 

Old timers would have noticed a dramatic change in the CC  in that F26 actually talked about rate and date as if it was about to be revealed and stated how it would be announced on the Forum. He stated that the monetary reform was actually crossing the finish line and that the value has already been lifted.

Don’t know how much more direct Mr. Frank could be.  Time to put some trust in what has been presented based if nothing else upon an unblemished track record of “knowing/dreaming” about  things in advance. 

Samson:  British report marks the Iraqi economy receiving a "devastating" strike

26th July, 2020
British Financial Times newspaper warned of the high rates of poverty in Iraq, while it saw that the drop in oil prices leaves the Iraqi government with only a small "space" for maneuvering.

"The financial situation in Iraq, the second largest oil producer in OPEC, has been dealt a devastating blow as crude oil prices have fallen by more than half compared to last year, " said Chloe Cornish, Middle East correspondent for the Financial Times.

The author is based on the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies in Britain, when referring to the decline in Iraqi revenues from oil exports, from 6.1 billion dollars in January to the lowest levels at 1.4 billion dollars in April.

And the report on Iraq points out that the poverty rate in the country is expected to rise to 31.7 percent this year, from 20 percent in 2018, as the Corona pandemic is pushing 4.5 million Iraqis to fall below the poverty line, according to a new joint calendar for the government and the United Nations. The World Bank and Oxford University.

The writer says that low oil prices leave the government with little room to maneuver.

The author relies on the words of analysts who said that the government can take advantage of $ 68 billion in foreign reserves to cover dollar bills, such as imports and debt service, and is expected to borrow $ 18 billion from home and abroad to cover government wages for the next few months.

The writer quotes from an interview with the Iraqi Minister of Finance Ali Allawi, who said that "the issues that were buried because of the high and growing oil revenues are taking shape now", referring to the inflated spending and a monthly bill of $ 5 billion. This includes payments to an estimated 300,000 "ghosts" or fanciful employees, according to the author, quoting Allawi as saying that Baghdad was no longer able to rely on current oil prices.

She highlighted his saying that Iraq "has been holding regular and very intense discussions with the International Monetary Fund for some time now," explaining that Baghdad "may apply for some budget support."

"There is now a growing recognition that we are moving to an environment with relatively low oil prices. We really have to find an alternative to restructure our public finances, to take account of this new normal," Allawi added.   LINK

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Don961:  In the forefront of which are Russia, China and Iran ... US intelligence warns of the opponents of the United States seeking to influence the elections

- 15 Hours Past

Within 100 days of the US presidential election, the director of the National Intelligence Center to counter spy William Ivanina issued a statement warning Americans that there are many parties seeking to influence the course of the US elections, and he called them to be vigilant.

The statement focused on the dangers posed by China, Russia and Iran in particular, and Ivanina said that the opponents of the United States seek to penetrate the contacts of the American electoral campaigns, and those related to the candidates, in addition to their attempts to penetrate "cyber networks", including those related to the management of the elections.

The statement warned that foreign countries are taking advantage of social media to try to influence the choices of the American voter, which threatens to undermine confidence in the electoral process, and thus the entire American democracy.

The report said that China has been expanding its efforts to shape the political environment in the United States and negatively influence political figures who see it as incompatible with its interests.

He stated that Russia's goal is to weaken the United States and influence its global role, stressing that it continues to spread misleading information in America; With the goal of undermining confidence in American democracy.

As for Iran, the statement said that it publishes misleading information on social media, and re-publishes everything that is anti-American.

The statement urged Americans to verify the source of the published information before republishing or sharing it, and to promptly inform the authorities of any suspicious election-related activity.

Al Jazeera     LINK

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Don961:  American Intelligence defines "goal number one"

 The world  ,   7/22/2020 10:39   Baghdad - Iraq today:

The director of the US National Security Agency, Paul Nakasone, announced that the United States will respond to the attempts of foreign countries to interfere in the presidential elections through cyber attacks, considering that goal number one.

"We will act when we see that our opponents are trying to interfere in our elections," Nakasone, who also heads the Pentagon's cyber leadership, told a military meeting on Monday.

He added, "Our number one goal and our number one mission ... is to ensure the security and safety of the 2020 elections."

Nakasone noted that the NSA's efforts to protect the presidential election include expanding partnerships with other intelligence agencies and examining the techniques and methods of "adversaries" of the United States.

He stressed: "We seek to know our opponents better than they know themselves."

Speaking of 5G communication technologies, Nakasone said: "We are in the era of competition between the major countries and we see this every day in the cyber domain."

The United States has more than once accused other countries of malicious activity in the cyber domain. Before the last presidential elections in the United States, Washington had accused Moscow of trying to influence the election results through cyber attacks, but Russia has denied any connection to the attacks that the United States has spoken of.   LINK

Don961:  After coming close to collapse, a rescue fund is pulling the European Union out of the Corona financial crisis

- 10 Hours Ago

The beginning of the third millennium was the culmination of the efforts of European countries for nearly 50 years, as the transition from the stage of the European market to the European Union, and the issuance of its single currency, the euro, the experiment remained praised and invited to the rest of the regional entities to benefit from the experience.

But crises come to test the experience of the European Union, and it was the first experience at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, when the global financial crisis afflicted European countries and accumulated debts on some of them, especially in Greece, which experienced a severe financial crisis that lasted for more than 5 years.

At that time, the expectations for the possibility of the European Union abandoning the economically weak countries that suffer from a debt crisis and a deficit in public budgets have gone away, but the European Union has violated these expectations and established a so-called “rescue fund”, whose capital amounted to nearly half a billion euros, to provide loans at Low interest, to help countries with high public debt.

In fact, many European countries benefited from the rescue fund, so that Greece, which was threatened with bankruptcy, was unable to pay its foreign debt obligations and called its financial crisis in 2018.

Corona threat

With the beginning of the spread of the Corona virus during the first quarter of 2020, European countries experienced a state of panic, as infection rates in European countries were the largest among the countries of the world, in Italy, Spain and France, yet the European Union was not treated as an entity Regional with the event at the desired or desired level.

This prompted many writers to expect the Corona crisis to be one of the reasons for the collapse of the European Union experience, especially in light of the behavior of some citizens in Italy who burned the European Union flag and removed it from some buildings, with the start of the flow of Chinese medical aid to Italy.

One of the most prominent findings of the Corona pandemic was the weakness of the health insurance system in the European Union, where health institutions were unable to face the crisis in a manner that preserves human wealth, while other countries such as China were able to control the crisis and overcome it from a medical point of view, and were even able to provide their assistance Of medical supplies for European countries.

And it helped some people believe in his expectations of the collapse of the European Union, the British determination to leave the union, and start arranging Britain's economic and financial conditions in light of a new reality, to create individual economic and financial relations with many countries.

Likewise, the analyzes that the post-Corona world is different from before it went to increase the possibilities for the disintegration of the European Union, especially in light of raising many important issues at the global level, such as trade war, and the need for a new global economic and financial system.

European experience

Unlike many different regions of the world, the European case represents a distinct performance after the Second World War, as the efforts of European countries crystallized to reach solutions to problems, and they are not allowed to be a cause of division, so Europe was more coherent in the face of the challenges imposed by the economies of Globalization, from the beginning of the nineties until the beginning of the global financial crisis in 2008.

This experience was evident, as well, in dealing with and withstanding the negative repercussions of the Corona pandemic, and the media image that dealt with the reactions of some citizens, and statements by officials of European Union member states, suggests that the experience of the Union is just around the corner to reach the stage of disintegration and collapse.

But during the past few days, the European Union went out to announce the adoption of its new budget in addition to 750 billion euros to form a rescue fund to help the countries affected by the Corona crisis, so that the step represents a case of management based on common interests, so the weak is not left to collapse among the countries of the union, and does not take One of the parties, grant and aid without gratification, but loans at low interest rates, or conditional grant and aid.

As published from the details of allocating 750 billion euros to combat the negative effects of Corona, the bulk of it will be conditional grants, about 500 billion euros, while allocating 250 billion euros in loans, and the fund’s plan focuses on caring for health care projects and supporting economic recovery.

It was not an easy matter to reach this plan to create a rescue fund, as negotiations between the European Union countries on this plan have been going on since March 2020, and there has been strong opposition between France and Italy on the one hand, and Germany and Belgium on the other hand, on how to finance this box.

France and Italy’s proposals regarding the possibility of issuing joint bonds in the name of the European Union were rejected, and the idea of ​​crowdfunding for the fund’s needs was approved, with each country bearing the responsibility for the funds it received, and here the responsibility in crisis management appears.

Where passion was spared, as happened in the financial crisis in Europe in 2010, yes there is a crisis, but its treatment must not be for the account of one party in the interests of another party, so the money of every country that you pay as a share in the rescue fund is the taxpayer money, and every government is asked in front of its people How to dispose of tax funds, and therefore whoever receives financing in the form of grants or loans provides his plan for rescue and is responsible for achieving positive results, as well as payment of the money received.

The plan to create a rescue fund required many negotiations between the countries of the European Union (Reuters) It will not be the last.

The Corona crisis will not be the last crisis facing the European Union as a regional entity, but what is important is the way to deal with crises and provide solutions that help the entity remain and even lead to Strengthening its role, interests here are the forefront of emotions.

The financing package, in the European financial crisis in 2010, as well as in the Corona 2020 crisis, touched an urgent need to prevent the economies of countries struck by crises, and thus members feel that the European Union entity has already found common interests, not only for the benefit of adults, or for the depletion of the wealth of the young.

The most important thing about the survival of the European Union is the civilized dimension on the one hand, as Europe considers itself as a single civilized entity, and it faces real challenges that may affect the survival of its civilization, and therefore the presence of the European Union represents a civilized necessity.

In addition to the importance of an inclusive union that includes Europe in light of the two-decade-old conflict between America and China, which is expected to escalate during the coming period, and the aspirations of emerging countries in the global system will undoubtedly be an opponent of one of the major parties, and Europe cannot face this challenge And its countries are separate, but it is better to remain in one entity.

Europe has learned the lesson from its historical experiences prior to the Second World War, that the problems must be solved, and that the cost of solving them in a collective form is better than the individual confrontation of each country separately, and we can now imagine the reaction of the European street to the rescue plan compared to its reaction in the beginning of a crisis Sk.

Source: Al-Jazeera   LINK