Tidbits from TNT Wednesday AM 12-4-19

TNT:

Cutebwoy:   GM room ..IMO...Iraq should have a merry xmas this year by the way things are going with the process CBI is ready after this week near the end of next week we should all be MERRY ....just follow the news coming out its all looking good iran is under control now .

Alf:  cutebwoy this is an awful strong statement. let's hope you're spot on.

Cutebwoy:  HCL money getting ready to be paid out to the people it was always said it would be paid out at the new rate even if its 1-1 so waiting for that article to hit the media now….IM just following the process as it unfolds coming out of Iraq

Cutebwoy:  3rd Time in a Month: Iraqi Protesters Torch Iranian Consulate in Najaf....IRAN JUST DONT GET IT

December 4, 2019

ERBIL — Iraqi protesters in Shia’s holy city of Najaf set fire to Iranian consulate for the third time in one month amid widespread unrest in the country.

Eyewitnesses said protesters burned tires and hurled them toward the main gate of the Iranian consulate, burning it for the third time to protest Tehran’s interference in Iraq’s internal affairs.

Earlier on 3rd November, angry protesters stormed the Iranian consulate for the first time, and set fire to the building. A similar attack took place later on 27th November.

There were no casualties but material damages to the consulate building, as media reports said.

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Tishwash:  Hakim to the French ambassador: the next government will be temporary prepare for early elections

Chairman of the National Wisdom Movement Ammar al-Hakim, said on Wednesday, that the next government will be an interim preparation for early elections according to a fair law.

Hakim said in a statement received "Eye of Iraq News," that "the recent developments in the country and the file of the demonstrations were the focus of the talk during our meeting with the French Ambassador Bruno Hubert, where we stressed that the political forces are seeking to speed up the nomination of a prime minister acceptable popular in addition to the availability of standards of capacity and efficiency In running the country. "
 
"We also pointed out that the next government will be an interim government working to prepare for early elections in the light of the fair electoral law, which is being legislated in the House of Representatives and the new commission away from political influence."
 
During the meeting, according to the statement, "review of the latest UN report on the demonstrations in Iraq, bilateral relations between Iraq and France and the need to strengthen them in the service of common interests."
 
For his part, Ambassador Obert confirmed his country's support for Iraq "in restoring the prestige of the state and maintaining the peaceful demonstrations demanding rights and face the challenges in the next stage."   link

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Tishwash:  Al-Hadithi reveals the fate of Abdul Mahdi's economic agreement with China

The spokesman of the Information Office of the outgoing Prime Minister, Saad Al-Hadithi, on .Tuesday, revealed the fate of the economic agreement signed by Adel Abdul-Mahdi, with China Al-Hadithi said in a statement to the official Iraqi News Agency,

"The assessment is up to the next government according to its directions," noting that "agreements and joint commitments between countries usually continue even with the change of governments, unless the new government has ." another opinion in this regard

He added that "the agreement signed between Iraq and China have great benefits for the Iraqi economy at the level of revitalization of various sectors, especially industrial, agricultural, commercial ".and transport, as well as creating jobs through the revitalization of the local market Al-Hadithi said:

"I rule out that ignore any future government, the agreement concluded with the Chinese side is beneficial to the Iraqi economy and is not linked to this government or that as much ".as it benefits the citizen   link

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Tishwash:   Targeting an American base in Iraq

Announced cell security media on Tuesday evening 3/12/2019,

Ain al - Assad base suffered in Anbar to attack missile.

"Five rockets landed today inside the al-Assad base in Anbar province," the cell said in a statement.

According to the statement, there were no significant casualties.

It is worth mentioning that the base of al-Assad, which is located in the Baghdadi district of Anbar province, where hundreds of US military and advisers are training Iraqi forces.  link

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Tishwash:  Mike Pence speaks in a letter about the importance of his visit to the capital of the Kurdistan region

Mike Pence, US Vice President Donald Trump, has sent a message to the participants in the International Forum for Investment and Reconstruction in Nineveh held in the city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, in which he talked about the importance of his recent visit to the region.

US Ambassador Matthew Toller read out the message as the forum began.

"You are playing a key role in expanding US-Iraq trade," Pence said.

On his visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, Pence said that "the recent visit to Iraq, Erbil is the result of the importance and full commitment of America in the development of bilateral relations, and support the achievements of Iraq as a country of prosperity, sovereignty and independence."

On the importance of the forum, the US vice president said, "There is no doubt that this forum will be a factor to find a steady work for Iraqis, especially for males and females of young people, as well as it will be a factor in order to maintain Iraq's ancient civilization."

At the end of the letter, Pence thanked the Kurdistan Regional Government, which helped to convene the forum, saying, "There is no doubt that America with a free democratic and prosperous Iraq."

Pence last month made a surprise visit to Iraq, during which he inspected his country's forces at the Ayn al-Asad airbase (western Iraq), met with senior officials of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and only telephoned Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.   link

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Tishwash:   Still in streets, Iraqis say problem is poverty

Chants demanding complete regime change have echoed across Iraq for weeks, but what first brought demonstrators onto the street was the profound poverty of one of the world's most oil-rich countries.

And that is what has kept them there, with protesters brushing off the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi as failing to root out the rampant corruption that denies them jobs and public services.

In the southern protest hotspot of Diwaniyah, one of the poorest agricultural areas in the country, Umm Salah has joined rallies every day outside the provincial council.

"I've suffered in my country, even though it's a rich country," she told AFP, carrying an Iraqi tricolour.

The 57-year-old widow has been protesting every day since October with her seven children, none of whom are employed.

They walk four kilometres (nearly three miles) to reach the protest camp as they cannot afford a taxi from the worn-down informal shelter where they live.

"My husband died four years ago because we are poor and couldn't afford medical treatment in private clinics or hospitals abroad," Umm Salah says.

Iraq suffers from an extremely dilapidated health care system, with hospitals severely under-equipped and doctors often threatened on the basis of political or tribal disputes.

- A bleak future -

Despite Iraq being OPEC's second-largest crude producer, one in five of its people live in poverty and youth unemployment stands at one quarter, the World Bank says.

The government has been the largest employer by far for decades but has recently struggled to provide jobs for a growing number of graduates.

Already, youths make up 60 percent of the 40 million-strong population, which is set to grow by 10 million more before 2030.

The future looks even bleaker given predictions that heavy crude exports -- which fund more than 90 percent of Iraq's state budget -- will become less profitable as the world shifts to other energy sources.

For now, protesters blame the staggering joblessness rates on a patronage system that hands out work based on bribes, family connections or party affiliation instead of merit.

Muhannad Fadel, 30, dreamt of a government post when he graduated years ago with a degree in physical education, but his diploma opened few doors for him.

After a brief stint as a university lecturer, Fadel sought other work but his monthly income didn't rise above $100.

"I started to drive a taxi but I was afraid some of my students would recognise me," he told AFP.

"Then I opened a little confectionary store on the ground floor of our home and I make around 5,000 dinars a day," or just $3, he added.

Scraping together some savings, Fadel could marry but not buy a house, so his new wife moved in with his family.

"Our whole family together earns $150 per month. How is that possible in one of the countries with the most oil in the world?" he said.

For him and many protesters, the root of the problem is a political class more interested in earning money and paying homage to regional backers than in improving Iraqi infrastructure, or people's lives.

"They're corrupt and steal the people's money to give to Iran and other parties," Fadel said bitterly.

Iraq is ranked the 12th most corrupt country in the world by watchdog group Transparency International.

A recent government probe found over $450 billion in public funds were lost to embezzlement, fake contracts or salaries for so-called ghost employees since 2003.

- 'They stole our oil' -

"The deterioration of the economic conditions of Iraqis is the main reason for protests, as eight million Iraqis live under the poverty line," said Moussa Khalaf, an economic history professor in Diwaniyah.

A series of flare-ups before the major wave of protests erupted in October had hinted at the conflagration that was to come.

In September, local authorities began demolishing unauthorised houses in the shrine city of Karbala, in Basra in the south and in the central city of Kut.

The settlements are home to three million Iraqis, many of them the poorest of the poor.

That same month, a young man in Kut died after desperately setting himself alight when authorities seized his mobile kiosk.

"You need an economic policy that makes use of resources based on scientific and economic facts, not on privileges or political gains," says Khalaf.

Protesters have clung on in the streets and public squares even days after Abdel Mahdi stepped down.

"Of course that's not enough," one young demonstrator in Baghdad's Tahrir Square told AFP about bringing down the head of government.

"We won't leave our barricades until the regime falls, until we get jobs, water, electricity," he said.

Another protester, 45-year-old Hussein Maneh, slammed the government for its years of failure.

"Since 2003, they've done nothing but increased poverty, destroyed agriculture and industry, impoverished schools and hospitals, created confessionalism, and stole our oil," he fumed.  link