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Iraq Has $79 Billion Surplus — What's the US Deficit Again?
Thanks to rising oil prices, Iraq will enjoy a $79 billion surplus by the end of the year, according to a report requested by a bipartisan group of senators. While the US has spent $48 billion in American taxpayer money on Iraq's reconstruction since 2005, Iraq has spent only a fraction of its oil revenue on reconstruction projects. And, Iraq spent only 1 percent of its 2005-2007 budget to maintain existing projects already funded by Americans or Iraqis.
More Money, Less Problems? Iraqi Officials Hand Out Cash
Money can't buy me love, but can it buy peace? Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wants to find out — he's passing out cash on the streets of Iraq. Iraqi officials can dole out up to $8,000, to each person only once, as a way to improve the national economy and morale.
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Democrats Want Iraqi Oil to Pay for Reconstruction
Congressional Democrats want the Iraqi government to spend its own surplus on the country's reconstruction. The US has spent $45 billion on rebuilding the country while Iraq has $30 billion in oil revenue sitting in US banks.
Iraq anticipates oil revenue as high as $100 billion this year.
Ground Zero Reconstruction Planners Ditch Timetable
The building schedule for skyscrapers and a memorial planned for New York City's Ground Zero have been tossed out by the World Trade Center owners, due to unrealistic goals and rising costs.
Planners will announce a new timetable this September, seven years after the Twin Towers fell, according to BBC. Officials previously promised that the Freedom Tower, set to replace the destroyed towers while taking the title of the nation's tallest building, would be complete in 2006, then 2011, and finally in 2013.
Muslims, Marriage, and Reconstructive Hymen Surgery
All it takes is about $3,000, a semicircular cut, and 10 dissolving stitches for European Muslim women to get their hymens restored and keep new husbands happy by appearing to be virgins as a result of wedding-night blood.
One doctor interviewed by the New York Times said: If you’re a Muslim woman growing up in more open societies in Europe, you can easily end up having sex before marriage. So if you’re looking to marry a Muslim and don’t want to have problems, you’ll try to recapture your virginity.
Say What? Brad Pitt For Mayor!
"I'm running on the gay marriage, no religion, legalization and taxation of marijuana platform. I don't have a chance."
— Brad Pitt joked on the Today show this morning about running for mayor of the Louisiana town where he has been leading on Hurricane Katrina reconstruction efforts.
First Recipient of US Face Transplant Speaks
Connie Culp, the recipient of the first US almost-total face transplant spoke to the media for the first time.
The 46-year-old mother of two had the middle section of her face shot off by her husband in 2004. Surgeons in Cleveland, OH, replaced 80 percent of her face with that of a dead female donor in a 22-hour operation, and it seemed that her appearance before the media was in large part to thank the donor's family.
Front Page: US Navy Heads to Rescue Captain From Pirates
- A US Navy warship has arrived off the Somali coast where pirates are holding the captain of a cargo ship hostage. — Telegraph
- President Obama has invited friends and aides to a private seder dinner at the White House tonight to mark Passover. — AP
- Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi predicts that earthquake reconstruction will cost several billion euros.
Front Page: Obama Gives Auto Industry Tough Love
- President Obama is considering bankruptcy as an option for US automakers. — Wall Street Journal
- Iran's representative at an international conference on Afghanistan said that Iran will help with reconstruction and antidrug-trafficking efforts. — Washington Post
- French President Nicolas Sarkozy has threatened to walk out of the G20 conference if his calls to create new rules of capitalism aren't met.
Front Page: Psychiatrists Ask — Is Shopaholism a Disease?
- While compulsive spending continues during tough times, the psychiatric world is trying to decide whether it should be considered a disease. — New York Times
- Iran says it would welcome a change in its relations with the US, if it involved a withdrawal of US troops from abroad and an apology for past crimes against Iran. — Reuters
- Concerns are growing that reconstruction in Gaza will be slowed down by politics.
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