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BAGHDAD (Reuters) ? Iraq's oil police have stepped up patrols to protect installations against a possible surge in al Qaeda attacks as U.S. troops withdraw, the head of the force said on Tuesday.
Multibillion-dollar deals Baghdad signed with energy majors could quadruple oil output capacity to Saudi levels within six years but that depends on the OPEC member securing oilfields, refineries and other vital infrastructure.
Major General Hamid Ibrahim, head of Iraq's energy protection force, said half of all attacks planned by al Qaeda targeted the country's oil sector. His force has so far managed to foil most attempts, he said.
"There is direct targeting of the oil sector ... By the start of the withdrawal there will be attacks not just on oil, but they (insurgents) will try to rattle the situation in the country," he told Reuters in an interview. "We are ready and on alert."
But a bombing attack late on Tuesday on an oil pipeline in the oil hub of Basra raised questions over the ability of the oil police to halt attacks. Three bombs hit a pipeline that transports crude from southern oilfields to storage tanks, setting the pipeline on fire.
Although Iraq took responsibility for the security of its oil sector in 2005, the United States has still been providing aerial surveillance and other support to battle Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militia, who have plagued the country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
But by the end of December - nearly nine years after the U.S.-led invasion - only a small contingent of civilian trainers and fewer than 200 U.S. military personnel will remain.
HUMMER DELIVERY
The Iraq-Turkey pipeline in the north, which carries around a quarter of Iraq's oil exports, is regularly hit by sabotage, usually blamed on al Qaeda and former members of Saddam Hussein's banned Baath party.
And in early June, militants blew up a storage tank at the Zubair 1 storage facility near Basra, despite tight security.
Ibrahim said Iraqi security forces had foiled more than four plots against the nearby southern Doura refinery and were now coordinating with the Iraqi air force to monitor oil sites and pipelines.
The poorly equipped force has also received Hummer military vehicles and other supplies from U.S. forces as they pack up, he said.
"We used to dream of having a few cars to reinforce our forces, now we have thousands," he said. "Now we have good equipment, guns and bullets. It is a positive thing."
The government has built blast walls and watch towers and installed cameras and is talking to foreign investors such as British major BP to train the force, he said.
But Ibrahim added that his 40,000-strong force was still stretched, especially in the vast west of the country.
"We have shortages and we can't say we are self-sufficient... The worry that we have now is that some oilfields in the western parts are vast fields," he said.
U.S. officials say that Iraq's oil security forces are up to the task but coincide they need to improve further.
(Editing by Patrick Markey and Ben Harding)
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Don't look now, but Lindsay Lohan actually did something a judge liked! (And no, we're not talking about her Playboy photos.) The actress attended a court hearing Wednesday morning with Judge Stephanie Sautner, who sent Lohan to jail last month for neglecting her community service requirements. But this time around, the judge seemed pleasantly surprised to learn that Lindsay was taking her community service seriously.
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The brains of children from violent homes function like those of soldiers when it comes to detecting threats.
Eamon McCrory at University College London used fMRI to scan the brains of 20 outwardly healthy children who had been maltreated and 23 "controls" from safe environments.
During the scans, the children, aged 12 on average, viewed a mixture of sad, neutral and angry faces. When they saw angry faces, the maltreated children showed extra activity in the amygdala and the anterior insula, known to be involved in threat detection and anticipation of pain. Combat soldiers show similar heightened activity (Current Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2011.10.015).
"Our belief is that these changes could reflect neural adaption," says McCrory. "Maltreated kids and active soldiers are adapting to survive in a threatening or dangerous environment." Although this could help children survive their early years, it may predispose them to mental health problems in adulthood, such as depression or anxiety, says McCrory.
A related study, published this week by Hilary Blumberg of Yale University School of Medicine and colleagues, demonstrates that areas of the brain important for emotional processing are deficient in grey matter in adolescents who suffered from maltreatment as children (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.565).
"The studies suggest that childhood maltreatment ?gets into the brain', and becomes biologically embedded," says Avshalom Caspi, who studies mental health at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
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You simply cannot get through life, without purchasing insurance at some point. However painful this truth is, when you should purchase insurance, you do yourself a disservice if you do it without understanding the ropes first. A limited small tips can save you a lot of cash and get you greater coverage.
When buying insurance, whether it be for your home, your automobile, or on a pet, try to see if the company provides any type of bundling discount. A lot of times if you have several different policies, state renter?s insurance and car insurance, you will get discounted on both. For apartment dwellers usually renter?s insurance is mandatory, so asking this question is tantamount to guaranteed savings. By way of conclusion, bundle and cut costs!
Before bouncing to a new insurance company, weigh the possible benefits carefully and remember that insurance companies do appreciate customer loyalty. If you have a long-standing relationship with your insurer you will find them easier to deal with and more inclined to treat you favorably. These are not benefits to be tossed aside lightly for marginal savings on your own premiums.
Insurance is an investment you make in case of an emergency or disaster. From car accidents to health problems, if you have insurance it can help you rest assured that you are able to afford the damages incurred. Having that peace of mind can help you rest greater knowing that whatever happens, it is covered.
Take your time when purchasing any type of insurance. You can definitely start a policy today, especially with the internet providing e-policies, yet you want to take some time to compare, research, and even find out more about the different services and policies they provide you are interested in.
Having a cell telephone, especially a high-tech contemporary cell phone, is more and more common. So is the risk of having that cell phone robbed, lost or broken. Buying the insurance for your cell telephone up front, is advised to halt the risk of headaches later, if anything happens to your cell phone.
Ensure to compare prices from several insurance companies before creating a choice of who to sign with. Premiums can differ up to 40% between different companies for the same levels of insurance. With insurance shopping around is an absolute should if you want to get the many bang for your buck.
Rental insurance can help you recover you losses in case of damage done to your landlord?s property that results in loss of the own. Items you want covered is listed with your insurance business and you can choose the amount to be covered. This can really help to substitute your belongings if they are all lost due to an event.
Work toward having good commercial credit. The lower your credit score, the ?riskier? you appear to be to insurance companies. You?ll get a much better rate on commercial insurance if your credit score is good. Pay attention to the total amount of debt you have and always pay your bills as soon as they come in.
Ask questions you feel ought to be answered. If you aren?t asking the questions you think ought to be answered, you aren?t really getting the help you need. You can end up getting into a policy that isn?t appropriate to meet your needs, or one that has coverage that isn?t required by your or your family.
In cases of regional disasters, some insurance companies will send unique adjusters into the area to help expedite claims for policyholders, arrange temporary housing, and begin the rebuilding process. When looking for a new homeowner?s policy, you might want to go with a carrier that has a history of helping out like this.
Insurance coverage can be a minefield of unfamiliar terms, fine print, discounts, coverage levels etc. There?s no way we can cover everything you want to understand here but hopefully this has been a good starter to get you on your method. Research your certain needs and ensure that you stay covered!
If for any reason you want extra points about iselect home insurance there?s plenty of points not covered in this post, take a look at Author?s site to uncover added details.
Source: http://www.articlezio.com/2011/12/05/stay-safe-with-these-powerful-insurance-tips/
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I just literally got done watching HP5 and 6 right in a row, so I'm on a bit of a Harry Potter kick. Do you and Forget~Me~Not have any ideas on themes you want to touch on, or favorite characters that you'd want to us?
If you have any sort of idea the direction you would want this potential roleplay to go in, then you may find yourself getting a bit more interest. Let's start kicking around concepts, though!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/HMxZp8cQFMU/viewtopic.php
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UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) ? Argentina is quietly reaching out to Iran, worrying key Western powers and Israel as they try to tighten Tehran's international isolation over its nuclear program, U.N. diplomats told Reuters.
Argentina's ties with Iran have been virtually frozen since Argentine authorities secured Interpol arrest warrants for five Iranians and a Lebanese in 2007 in connection with a 1994 attack on a Buenos Aires Jewish center that killed 85 people.
Tehran denied links to the bombing but in July offered talks with Argentina to start "shedding light" on the case.
The 1994 attack came two years after a group called Islamic Jihad Organization, which was believed to be linked to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, claimed responsibility for bombing the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 29.
For more than a decade Argentina appeared to do little to investigate the attacks. But when Nestor Kirchner became president in 2003 he vowed to reopen the cases, calling the neglect "a national disgrace." Several years later former Iranian President Ali Rafsanjani was among those indicted by Argentine prosecutors and sought by Interpol.
But there have been signs of a thaw in the two nations' frosty ties.
Argentine exports to Iran, which dropped to a few tens of millions of dollars annually amid sour relations, have grown in recent years, soaring more than 70 percent last year to $1.5 billion. Iran is the biggest buyer of Argentine corn, a key crop for the Latin American country as it strives to bolster its trade surplus.
"As the rest of us work to pressure Iran to end its nuclear weapons program and stop supporting terrorism, Argentina's government has been considering moving in the opposite direction," a European envoy said on condition of anonymity.
On the surface, Argentina's positions on Iran appear little changed. In May, Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who heads a special unit dedicated exclusively to investigating the 1994 bombing, had the Interpol arrest warrants renewed.
Last month, Argentina joined a majority of U.N. member states in the General Assembly's human rights committee to vote for a resolution condemning Iran for its human rights record.
SIGNS OF CHANGE
But there are signs that things are changing. In September, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez told the U.N. General Assembly that Buenos Aires was ready to engage in dialogue with Iran, though she also urged Tehran to make good on its offer to help investigate the bombing.
"This is an offer to dialogue that Argentina cannot and should not turn down," Fernandez said in her speech.
Western U.N. envoys said eyebrows were raised in the General Assembly when Argentina's U.N. Ambassador Jorge Arguello broke with tradition and remained seated as Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blasted Israel, Europe and the United States in his speech to U.N. member states.
In previous years, the Argentine seat was left empty when the Iranian president addressed the 193-nation assembly. As U.S. and European officials exited the hall to protest Ahmadinejad's typically fiery speech, Arguello stayed put.
"Iran and Argentina have recently been taking a number of overt steps - in some cases in response to pressure brought to bear by Iran - to open a clean slate in the countries' political relations," a Western diplomat told Reuters.
Iran has every reason to want to mend relations with Argentina. Under sanctions and increasingly isolated due to its nuclear program, Tehran has few allies and needs friends. Argentina is also on the 35-nation board of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, where Iran's nuclear program is a key issue.
Diplomats said Argentina's motives for warming up to Iran were unclear. In addition to boosting trade with Iran, some envoys said Argentina was pursuing a Brazilian-style foreign policy emphasizing ties with nonaligned developing nations.
"In general, we see a 'Third Worldism' in Argentina's foreign policy - asserting independence from the big powers, seeking out new relations with countries like Iran," an Israeli official in Jerusalem told Reuters.
Several European diplomats noted that Fernandez is a close ally of regional leftists like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales, who have warm ties with Iran.
Argentine Foreign Ministry officials did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment.
Iran's nuclear program was one of the topics U.S. President Barack Obama brought up during his meeting with Fernandez last month on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting in France.
"The president also underscored the importance of continued U.S.-Argentine cooperation related to Iran," a senior Obama administration official told Reuters.
The United States has had its own difficulties with Fernandez's government. There are concerns about unresolved payments to U.S. firms and bondholders. In February, Argentine officials seized guns, ammunition and communications equipment from a U.S. Air Force plane that had landed in Argentina. The items were later returned but the incident annoyed Washington.
Foreign Minister Hector Timerman has also criticized U.S. policies in Latin America.
JEWISH COMMUNITY, ISRAEL ALSO WORRIED
The Jewish community in Argentina, the largest in Latin America, has also grown increasingly worried since the Argentine newspaper Perfil reported in March that Timerman was holding secret negotiations with Iranian officials and had offered to drop the investigation into the 1994 attack.
"We've expressed our unease about attitudes toward Iran," Aldo Donzis, president of Argentina's DAIA Jewish community group, told Reuters about the apparent warming of relations.
That unease is shared by Israel. The Israeli official said Argentina was unlikely to push hard on the arrest warrants for the 1994 attack: "The sense here is that they're unlikely to pull out the stops in order to see the warrants enforced."
Suspicions about Iranian intentions in Argentina continue to this day. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia warned Argentina of a possible Iran-backed plan to attack Saudi and Israeli embassies in Buenos Aires that ran parallel to a plan to kill the Saudi U.S. envoy, an Argentine diplomatic source said.
Tehran denied allegations that it planned such attacks.
In a recent interview with Reuters, Mohammad Javad Larijani, a senior Iranian official and adviser to the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said Iran would like repair ties with Buenos Aires that were damaged by Israel.
"Relations between Iran and Argentina have been the subject of Israeli sabotage," he said. "I don't think there is any basic difficulty in redeveloping our relations."
He also dismissed the idea that the arrest warrants would lead to any action by Iran or Argentina, describing them as "obsolete." Larijani added that Iran was working to expand its presence in, and trade with, South America.
European diplomats, however, said that there were limits on how close Argentina can get to Iran.
Not only would the government want to avoid unduly angering Washington, dropping the investigation of the 1994 attack altogether, as Iran would like, would be very difficult.
"Argentina has always taken a strong public line on Iran," an envoy said. "Another line would be political suicide."
(Additional reporting by Helen Popper in Buenos Aires, Laura Macinnis in Washington and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Eric Walsh)
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