Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Booms, Busts, and Recoveries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (50677)	6/1/2004 3:01:10 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Jay what is your take on Gasprom buying the assets of Yukos? Seems that even in democracies dictators prevail

To: TobagoJack who wrote (50677)	6/1/2004 11:28:16 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

These are not America's puppets." Well, no one told that, but he suspect that is exactly what we think. Here is the script: The new government will hire civil servants like crazy. Anyone hired has to signup as member of a given party so that he will vote accordingly in what they call an election. No news here. Just vote buying by another name. Interim Leaders Named In Iraq Appointees Are Diverse; U.N. Envoy Is Rebuffed On Choice for President By Rajiv Chandrasekaran Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, June 2, 2004; Page A01 BAGHDAD, June 1 -- A diverse group of secular figures, political independents and technical specialists was appointed Tuesday to serve as Iraq's caretaker administration after the U.S. occupation relinquishes authority at the end of this month. But the U.N. envoy entrusted by the White House to form Iraq's interim government failed to seat his choice for president because of stiff opposition from Iraqi leaders, forcing him to select Ghazi Yawar, a 45-year-old Sunni Muslim tribal sheik who has no government experience beyond a 10-month stint on the U.S.-appointed Governing Council. The envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, had offered the largely ceremonial presidency to Adnan Pachachi, 81, a former foreign minister and also a Sunni. But Pachachi turned down the job on Tuesday morning after determining that the government should not begin under a cloud of dissension. The newly appointed interim administration assumed responsibilities from the Governing Council, which dissolved itself on Tuesday morning so the new government could start work immediately. Iraq's interim leadership will face the daunting challenges of stabilizing this violence-wracked nation, winning over a skeptical population, working out a security agreement with the United States and preparing for general elections early next year. Reminders of those hurdles were evident on Tuesday, as numerous Iraqis voiced doubts about Brahimi's selections and a car bomb exploded near the headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, killing at least five people and injuring 20. A roadside bomb detonated near a U.S. base in the northern city of Baiji, killing 11 Iraqis, including seven members of the Civil Defense Corps, and wounding more than 22 people, including two U.S. soldiers. Mindful of the difficulties confronting the new government, Brahimi beseeched Iraqis to support their interim leaders. "Give them a chance," he said at a ceremony announcing his appointments. "Help them. Judge them after looking at their progress and the actions they take. The country needs real national unity." Brahimi also formally appointed Ayad Allawi as prime minister. He was nominated by the Governing Council on Friday. Allawi, a Shiite politician whose party had been supported in exile by the CIA, also was not Brahimi's first choice, but U.N. officials said Brahimi was compelled to support him after intense pressure from the council. In addition to the prime minister and the president, the new government includes two vice presidents and a 32-member cabinet. A 100-member assembly that will have veto power over the cabinet's decisions is to be chosen by delegates to a national conference in July. At the announcement ceremony before 400 Iraqi and foreign guests, including the U.S. civilian administrator of Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, Yawar pledged to rise "above sectarianism and divisions" to build a "pluralistic, federal and democratic Iraq" free of "totalitarianism and discrimination." Dressed in a flowing white Arab robe with gold fringe and a traditional tribal headdress, Yawar said he would focus the government's energies on restoring security and preparing for national elections early next year. Allawi, the prime minister, said there was still a need for international military forces "to help in defeating the enemies of Iraq," taking a position favored by the United States but opposed by many Iraqis. He said his government would enter into security agreements with "our allies." At the White House, President Bush praised the new government, saying its selection "brings us one step closer to realizing the dream of millions of Iraqis: a fully sovereign nation with a representative government that protects their rights and serves their needs." Bush and other senior U.S. officials expressed satisfaction with Allawi's comments about security cooperation with the United States. The officials also said they were optimistic that Yawar, who served on the Governing Council's security committee, would support the continued presence of U.S. forces in Iraq despite saying in a recent television interview that he blamed "the United States 100 percent for the security in Iraq." "I can tell you firmly and without any contradiction, this is a terrific list, a really good government, and we are very pleased with the names that have emerged," said Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice. "These are not America's puppets. These are independent-minded Iraqis who are determined to take their country to security and democracy."