News, Rumors and Opinions Friday Morning 10-4-19
TNT:
Tishwash: Special security force secures the transfer of funds from the Green Zone ..
A specialized security force escorted trucks transporting money from the Green Zone to an unknown location, a security source said Wednesday.
The source told "Kilkamsh Press" that "12 money trucks exited just before the Green Zone to protect a large security force."
He continued: “It is not known the nature of the money transferred and its return and where it is destined.”
The source believed that "the unstable security situation was the reason for the transfer of funds from the Green Zone," This came after mass demonstrations in the capital Baghdad and some of the southern provinces. link
LLL: What are they doing???
PamD: Earlier today, a friend text my hubby that Frank26 said 12 huge armored trucks left the Green Zone. He says the lower denoms are in those trucks. Headed for the banks, I guess!
LounDebNC: I was thinking the lower denoms too
***********************
Tishwash: Presidency of the Parliament: Saturday's session will be devoted to discuss the demands of the demonstrators link
GreatlyBlessed: Iraq under curfew and Internet blackout as government wrestles to halt protests
Oct. 3, 2019 at 6:18 a.m. EDT
BAGHDAD — Much of Iraq woke up to a curfew and an Internet blackout Thursday, as the government tried to quell widening protests as the death toll among demonstrators rose.
Hundreds have been wounded and at least 18 killed, medical officials say, since security forces used tear gas and live ammunition Tuesday on crowds of protesters in Baghdad and many cities in the south. The violent security response spurred a second day of protests, which grew angrier as the crackdown continued.
Clashes in Baghdad stretched well into the night Wednesday, hours after Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi declared an indefinite curfew in the capital. Hours later, the U.S.-led coalition reported a series of explosions inside or near the city’s so-called Green Zone, a heavily fortified pocket of land hosting government institutions, embassies and military bases.
Hundreds wounded in Iraq as police fire tear gas, bullets at protesters
“No Coalition facility was struck. Coalition troops always reserve the right to defend ourselves, attacks on our personnel will not be tolerated,” said Col. Myles B. Caggins III, a spokesman for the coalition.
There are roughly 5,000 American troops stationed in Iraq to assist government forces fight the remnants of the Islamic State group there.
The widening protests have centered on issues that plague everyday life in the oil-rich country, among them corruption, poor services, and unemployment. There have been few improvements in the two years since Iraqi forces pushed the militants from major cities, and for many civilians, life is getting worse.
Iraqi security forces opened fire and threw tear gas at anti-government protesters in Baghdad on Oct. 3, in clashes which left one child dead. (Reuters)
Abdul Mahdi’s fragile, year-old government has struggled to appoint ministers to key positions, or to tackle the graft that economists now describe as endemic, drawing money away from public services and into the pockets of people with political connections.
“Enough,” read one of the signs held aloft in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, as clouds of white tear gas engulfed the ragged crowd.
As the day worn on, sporadic reports of more live fire and deaths trickled out from Iraq’s southern provinces: five in the city of Amara, five more in Nasiriyah. Although smaller, the protests showed no signs of abating.
There were also suggestions that political scores may have been settled under cover of the violence. Security officials reported Thursday that masked gunmen had burst into the house of high profile activist and cartoonist Hussein Adel Madani, killing him and his wife, Sara Madani. Their 2-year-old daughter survived.
Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency reported Thursday that the unrest had forced the closure of two border crossings popular with Iranian pilgrims.
General Qasem Rezai, a commander of the country’s border guards, said that the Khosravi and Chazbeh crossings had been closed since the night before.
Cutebwoy: Sistani calls on three authorities to reform “real” and holds parliament “a greater responsibility”
Sistani demonstrations Iraq
2019/10/04 04:42:48
A- A A +
The office of Iraq’s top cleric, Ali al-Sistani, called on the three authorities in Iraq to take steps leading to “real” reform, four days after bloody protests in Iraq.
The representative of the Marjaiya Ahmad Al-Safi read the statement of Sistani’s office in the Friday sermon in Karbala, stressing that “there have been unacceptable and condemned attacks on demonstrators, associates and property in Baghdad and a number of provinces.” The government institutions are in painful and unfortunate scenes similar to what happened in some previous years. ”
He added, “The religious authority has always demanded that the authorities and parties that hold the reins of power to change their approach to the problems of the country and to take serious steps towards reform and combating corruption and bypassing quotas and patronage of the state administration and warned those who are reluctant to reform and are betting that the claims will be relaxed. Claims that eased will return much stronger and wider. ”
He added, “The reference calls on the three authorities to clear practical steps for real reform, and stresses that the House of Representatives, with its legislative powers bear the greatest responsibility in this area.”
“Unless the large parliamentary blocs from which the government emerged from its approach and did not respond to the reform requirements and requirements in a real way, nothing will be achieved on the ground.”
“The judiciary and the oversight bodies have a major responsibility in fighting corruption, prosecuting corrupt people and recovering the people’s money from them, but they have not done what was necessary in this regard,” he said.
Al-Safi added, “ The government should fulfill its duties and do its utmost to alleviate the suffering of citizens by improving public services, providing job opportunities for the unemployed and staying away from favoritism in government appointments.It should complement the files of defendants to manipulate public funds and acquire them in preparation for bringing them to justice. ”
***********************
Ccourtesy of Dinar Chronicles
Frank26 I think Alaq is going to say a lot tomorrow...They moved 12 trucks, gigantic armored trucks out of the green zone. They were escorted by Blackwater and whoever else...they escorted these 12 armored trucks and Alaq went on television and he told the citizens, 'we are moving these 12 armored vehicles to undisclosed destination.'
He told the people the trucks were loaded with funds. There's no doubt these are the lower denoms because the day before he told them, 'I'm going to give you the lower denoms.'
And now he's telling them, 'look I'm moving them.' But he's not telling them what funds they are...it's possible they are either going to show them tomorrow the pictures of the lower denoms or Saturday...I really think this week they are going to show it to them...
***************************
KTFA:
Don961: Internet service in Iraq was restored Friday.
And stopped Internet service across the country except the Kurdistan region on Thursday, amid protests in the country demanding better services. is over/6 LINK
******************
Don961: Iraqi Prime Minister to the demonstrators: your demands for reform and our link
October 3, 2019
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said early on Friday that Iraqis are "facing the choices of the state and the state."
"We have had great experiences until we have reached a democratic march ... We want to serve and work sincerely," Abdul Mahdi said in a televised address to the Iraqi people.
The Iraqi Prime Minister called on the demonstrators not to pay attention to "the advocates of despair and calls to return back," pointing out that "some slogans raised revealed attempts to ride the demonstrations and waste," and that the escalation of the demonstration "is now leading to losses and injuries."
Abdul-Mahdi vowed that his government will not promise "empty promises or offer solutions," stressing the need to restore life to the provinces and respect for the rule of law, and pointed out that "security options such as curfews are indispensable as bitter medicine."
Abdul-Mahdi called on the House of Representatives to "make ministerial amendments away from political quotas," and said "we agreed with the Council of the judiciary to release detainees who did not commit criminal acts," and expressed regret for the success of some in "derailing the demonstrations on the peaceful path."
INCLUSION SHARING
INCLUSION SHARING
0:000:17:11
"Your demands for reform and the fight against corruption are our link," he told the demonstrators. "Hold us accountable for everything we can do in the immediate term and there are no magic solutions."
He added that unemployment "did not make it and the destroyed infrastructure we inherited," and that the interests of the government began to distribute land to the deserving segments of the people.
"Those who think that they are far from being held accountable are wrong and we are sticking to the constitution," he said.
Today the bloodiest
Thursday was the deadliest since the start of Tuesday's protests, which killed at least 30 people during unprecedented violent clashes between protesters and security forces.
From Baghdad, demonstrations demanding the departure of "corrupt" and job opportunities for young people extended to most southern cities.
Special forces armored vehicles in Baghdad intervened to repel the crowds, while security forces on the ground fired live bullets that bounced back at demonstrators.
"We are continuing until the overthrow of the regime," said protester Ali, a 22-year-old unemployed graduate.
"I am out of work. I want to get married. I have only 250 dinars (less than a quarter of a dollar) in my pocket, and state officials have millions," he said, in a country that ranks 12 on the world's most corrupt list, according to Transparency International.
Abu Jaafar, a retired al-Shaib, whose head was conquered, said: "I support young people. Why are the police shooting Iraqis like them? They are like us oppressed. They have to help us and protect us."
To date, this movement seems to be spontaneous. No political or religious party or leader has declared its support, in what is considered a precedent in Iraq.
With 30 people killed, including two policemen, 18 of them in the southern province of Dhi Qar alone, the movement turned Thursday into a battle in Baghdad on several axes leading to Tahrir Square, the symbolic central gathering point of the demonstrators.
The demonstrators arrived in Baghdad on trucks, carrying the flags of Iraq and religious ones with the names of the infallible Shiite imams, and the demonstrators chanted several slogans, including "in the spirit of blood we redeem you, Iraq."
In the face of them, riot police and the army formed human rings around the ministries, especially the Ministry of Oil.
In al-Tayaran Square in central Baghdad, demonstrators pounded two military vehicles and set them on fire, according to AFP.
On Thursday, security forces again fired live ammunition to disperse demonstrators despite a curfew that came into effect at dawn.
Friday will be an important political test for the prime minister, with the sermon expected to be delivered by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, whose opinion is crucial on a wide range of Iraqi political issues.
As the movement seems to be spontaneous, Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr decided to put his weight on the balance of the protests, calling on his supporters, who paralyzed the country's joints in 2016 with protests in the capital, to organize "peaceful sit-ins" and "general strike", raising fears of increased mobilization in the street .
Elsewhere in the capital and in several cities, protesters continue to block roads or light tires in front of official buildings in Najaf or Nasiriyah in the south.
“Excessive force”
The government, which accused “aggressors” and “mendes” of “deliberately causing casualties among demonstrators”, appears to have made a firm choice.
In a statement, Amnesty International called on Baghdad to "immediately order the security forces to cease the use of force, including lethal excessive force," and restore contacts.
There was a massive Internet outage in Iraq, which reached about 75 percent on Thursday, according to a specialized organization.
Protesters in Baghdad sought to head to Tahrir Square, which is separated from the Green Zone by Jumhuriya Bridge, where security forces have been tightened since Tuesday.
The protests hit several provinces in the south of the country, such as the oil city of Basra, which witnessed last year bloody protests.
However, the movements did not extend to the western and northern provinces, especially the Sunni areas devastated by the war against ISIS and the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq.
War-weary Iraq has suffered chronic power cuts and drinking water for years.
Official reports indicate that since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, about $ 450 billion of public funds have disappeared, four times the state budget, and more than double Iraq's GDP.
Keiser Report: Make Recessions Great Again (E1444)
Oct 3, 2019
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max and Stacy continue their discussion of the repo chaos and ask if there is a squeeze on the dollar, as Rick Ackerman suggests. If house flippers are still easily to get credit, what exactly is going on with the big banks that they’ve suddenly created a liquidity crisis? In the second half, Max talks to Mark Yusko of Morgan Creek Capital about the repo market situation and QE4Ever, the Killer Ds and how we can make recessions great again by allowing the business cycle to happen. They also discuss stock buybacks as stealth QE.