Word: blocs
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Since last week, Jalal Talabani - both the president of Iraq and a key Kurdish nationalist leader - has been maneuvering to force the Shi'ite bloc that won the most seats in December's parliamentary election to withdraw its nomination of incumbent Ibrahim al-Jaafari as prime minister. The main Kurdish grievance with Jaafari appears to be his resistance to their attempts to incorporate the northern oil city of Kirkuk into their de facto autonomous mini-state; the last straw was a recent visit by Jaafari to Ankara to discuss Iraqi affairs with Turkey, which has made clear that it regards...
...small number of energy companies that play a Europe-wide role," suggested E.ON chief executive Wulf Bernotat - a view echoed by some independent experts. Graham Weale, in a white paper published last month by consultants Global Insight, argues that from three to seven firms could help lift the bloc's competitiveness, "provided that [the energy companies] are clearly seen to compete and do not lapse into a cozy oligopoly." Because Brussels lacks the power to veto every merger outright, Weale recommends capping large firms' share of domestic or regional markets, encouraging them to recover that lost market share...
Damning Iraq's political process comes easy to a man who more than once has pushed it to the edge of the precipice. But these days al-Sadr is part of the process: in December's general elections, his candidates won 32 seats, giving him a decisive voting bloc in the 128-member Shi'ite alliance that dominates the new parliament. But unlike most other Iraqi leaders, al-Sadr commands a genuine popular following, which is why the surge of violence is likely to give him even more influence over the country's future...
...bring anything especially new to the crowded garage-band potluck, but they’ve done a good job of sampling from the genre’s different tastes. Their guitars rattle and scream like those of the Hives, Turner occasionally shout-sings à la Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke, and many of the pseudo-poppy melodies sound like a super-charged version of the Kaiser Chiefs...
...once in a while, no?) Americans who don't love music can sniff at the band's impossible youth--two of the Arctic Monkeys are 19, two are 20--and refrigerator-poetry name. Music lovers need only glance at dusty albums by Oasis, Super Furry Animals, the Prodigy and Bloc Party to remind themselves that the Brits routinely mistake mediocrity for greatness. Here's the thing, though: this time there's no mistake. Whatever People Say I Am, due out in the U.S. on Feb. 21, isn't perfect, but it's a great rock album that spotlights...