Iraq's economy is growing strong

For those pessimists here is something you will probably not hear on big media.

Taken from a article I found on Newsweek International by Silvia Spring
Click on paragraph below for full article.

Civil war or not, Iraq has an economy, and—mother of all surprises—it's doing remarkably well. Real estate is booming. Construction, retail and wholesale trade sectors are healthy, too, according to a report by Global Insight in London. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports 34,000 registered companies in Iraq, up from 8,000 three years ago. Sales of secondhand cars, televisions and mobile phones have all risen sharply. Estimates vary, but one from Global Insight puts GDP growth at 17 percent last year and projects 13 percent for 2006. The World Bank has it lower: at 4 percent this year. But, given all the attention paid to deteriorating security, the startling fact is that Iraq is growing at all.

Adobe to release Intel-native Photoshop CS3 beta

Read it here at Macworld

New Tap Pours A Faster, Better Beer

(CBS) ST. PAUL, Minn. It's the kind of invention you'd expect a college student to come up with. A guy named Matthew Younkle was a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison when he thought there had to be a better way to pour beer.

He's come up with it, according to CBS affiliate WCCO-TV: Younkle's Turbo Tap invention has now been installed at every beer tap inside St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center.

"There's nothing bad about it," said Jim Domagall, general manager of Centerplate, the company that runs Xcel's concession operations. "It speeds up customer service and reduces the error for pouring a bad beer."

Cookie-Scented Ads Cause Stink

'Got Milk' Ads Removed From Bus Stops After One Day Due To Complaints

City officials ordered CBS Outdoor, the company that holds the advertising contract for its bus shelters, to remove the adhesive strips Tuesday, just one day after they were put up as part of a "Got Milk?" campaign.

The Municipal Transportation Agency canceled the plan after some residents raised objections. "We got complaints," said MTA spokeswoman Maggie Lynch. "It is controversial."

Some critics expressed concern over potential allergic reactions. Others complained the ads could be offensive to the poor and homeless who can't afford to buy sweet treats.

(Looks like city officials here have a lot of toime on their hands.)

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