Briefing

2 minute read
TIME

‘This is not who we are.’

1. JOHN ALLEN, commander of international forces in Afghanistan, apologizing after a number of Korans were inadvertently thrown in the trash at Bagram airfield and subsequently burned

‘I’m against very wealthy people attempting to or influencing elections. But as long as it’s doable, I’m going to do it.’

2. SHELDON ADELSON, casino magnate who has donated $11 million to Newt Gingrich’s super PAC Winning Our Future, suggesting that he might give as much as $100 million to support the GOP presidential candidate

‘We have eliminated the possibility that Greece blows up Europe.’

3. JASON MANOLOPOULOS, a hedge-fund manager in Athens, after Greece reached a $172 billion bailout deal

‘Back in my days, they used Bayer aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn’t that costly.’

4. FOSTER FRIESS, billionaire backer of Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, saying the controversy over Santorum’s stance on contraception is overblown and distracts from more important issues

‘I challenge you to distinguish a naked prostitute from any other naked woman.’

5. HENRI LECLERC, lawyer for former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, after Strauss-Kahn was questioned by French police for allegedly being linked to an international prostitution ring that organized sex parties

$20 MILLION

Amount of a five-year grant from USAID that helped bring Sim Sim Hamara, a version of Sesame Street, to Pakistan

15,000

Number of Americans who died from hepatitis C from 1999 to 2007–more than were killed by HIV over the same time period

$330,000

Cost to date of a project in which Dutch scientists are attempting to grow hamburger meat using bovine stem cells

$3.59

Average gas price per gallon (3.8 L) in the U.S. on Feb. 21; prices neared $5 in California as analysts predicted a $4 national average in the near future

Sources: ABC; Forbes; New York Times; MSNBC; Europe 1

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com