Sunday, July 06, 2003

PERHAPS COL TUCKER MISSED THIS ONE.

Seems there are some folks in Baghdad with some initiative after all.
Some Baghdad entrepreneurs are buying the larger generators and going door-to-door, selling amps of electricity directly to homeowners. After parking the truck-sized generator on a block, they run lines to each customer and charge by usage - a mini power station.

By all accounts, Iraq is suffering. But name the shortage, and there is someone making a profit from it. Hotels that used to charge less than $10 for a room, mostly to Iraqi honeymooners who couldn't afford to go abroad, are making as much as $90 a room from the foreign journalists who have flocked to town.

Need to make an international phone call? Impossible through Iraq's phone company, but independent businesses will rent you a Thuraya satellite phone for about $1 a minute.

Actually - it's up to $1.50 according to CPT Patti who called me via this method last week.

Good story, read it here.

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