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Dubai: Currency reforms are the key to fighting food prices in the UAE and other Gulf states where inflation is in double-digit territory and the rising cost of food imports is adding to imported inflation, according to economists. "The rise in food prices is part of a global trend which has seen food price inflation over the last few years. The UAE is a net importer of food given its arid climate. It is a case of imported inflation; a problem that could be remedied through foreign exchange reform," said Marios Maratheftis, regional head of research, and Mary Nicola, an...

The World of Politics is in upheaval The time has come for the Gnu Party  Before the Gnu Party there was no order or direction  The Gnu Party brought order and directionOnly Together Will We Be herd!  Before the Gnu Party, some did not know how to express their views  The Gnu Party took these to the polls  Stay Informed on Breaking Gnus  And Fast Breaking Gnus  Plus ... Plain Braking Gnus  Never confuse a Gnu (wildebeest) member with a Hildebeast!  Do Not confuse the Gnu Party with the Newt Party that is only after your money  The Gnu Party...

Have there been any studies done that estimate the number of jobs created in the USA for each person added to the population? Odd question I know, but since every person requires food, clothing, and other goods/services, every person in the USA contributes to jobs. Still, without facts, there's no way of knowing if each additional person creates a number of jobs equal to themself, or if there is a slight gain/loss. Example: One additional person might create 1.1 jobs, or .08. I know there has to be an answer. Could be it hasn't been researched as yet. I'd really...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq - In a clear sign the drawdown of U.S. forces from Iraq will be suspended, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday he favors taking time this summer to assess security gains before more troops leave the country, an idea President Bush is expected to support. It was Gates' first public endorsement of a possible suspension, and it would seem to mark an end to the Pentagon chief's previously stated hope that conditions in Iraq would permit American troops to withdraw in the second half of this year as rapidly as they are leaving now. "A...

I attentively listened to Senator John McCain (R-AZ) address CPAC today. It was during his speech that a memory from the 1970 California Gubernatorial race resurfaced. That particular race pitted “Bid Daddy” Jess Unruh, then Speaker of the California Assembly , and arguably the most powerful person in state office, against then Governor Ronald Reagan, seeking reelection. While working on the Reagan campaign, I made a statement that became a tenet of the Reagan campaign. I had asked the simple question that hounded the Unruh campaign. That question asked why California voters should trust Unruh to make changes as Governor...

Listen Up! Senator John McCain may be the Republican nominee for President, and will most likely face either Clinton or Obama in the General Election. One of the great concerns Republicans voice with McCain is his pro-amnesty stance, which coincidently is shared by the presumed Democratic rivals. They believe McCain as President, or either of the Democrats, would grant amnesty to illegal aliens. Well, our current President wasn't able to accomplish that, and this fact had better make conservatives pay closer attention to all the elections taking place this year. Class II of the Senate has 33 seats up for...

Politically, we're in for one heck of a ride, one which everyone has no choice but to be on, with no safety features built for our own protection, and half the time we are in the dark. No telling what's coming next. Since last Summer, I had an extraordinarily strong sense our economy was going to be a major factor in the elections this year. Now the question isn't if the economy will be a factor, but how much so. If McCain wins the Republican nomination, he loses in the General Election. While he would travel the nation talking up...

Authorities in economically stressed cities see an increase in torched houses. Is the nation's mortgage mess transforming more Americans into criminals? Arson is nothing new in Detroit. It's a time-honored weapon of the angry, vengeful, distressed and dispossessed in a city that gets hurt harder and sooner than others, making it a perfect place to spot early evidence of stress from the real-estate meltdown. The Detroit Fire Department can't draw a definitive link between its rising arson rate (151 arrest warrants in 2007), rising foreclosures (up more than 65% last year) and falling housing prices (the region's median house price...

Let’s set aside the individual candidates running for president, and instead look upon, and compare the party primaries. Both the Democratic Party and Republican Party are going through a purification process. Until this past weekend, I’d have ventured a guess that the eventual Democratic candidate had a slight edge in the General Election. My guess would have been predicated, not upon any inherent strength the Democratic candidate might have, but the deep divisions within the Republican ranks. This is the purification process. Republicans are bickering over which of the candidates best represent conservative ideals, and toes the party line, which...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street ended a tumultuous week with a sharp decline Friday, backtracking following two days of stunning gains as investors turned cautious and cashed in some of their winnings. The Dow Jones industrial average still managed to record its first weekly advance of 2008, even as it fell more than 170 points on the day. The week, which started with a 465-point drop in the Dow soon after the market opened Tuesday, showed that the stock market is still fractious but may be going through healthy process of trying to establish a bottom following weeks of...

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico (Reuters) - At a Catholic-run shelter just across the border from Laredo, Texas, dozens of Latin American migrants say grace and tuck into a hearty meal of sausages, beans and rice, before trying to swim across the Rio Grande into the United States. Weary migrants on their journey north often recharge their batteries at a network of similar shelters run by the Roman Catholic Church -- a lifeline sanctioned by the Vatican, despite increased U.S. efforts to keep out illegal immigrants. "Migration is a human right and migrants are some of the world's most vulnerable people. It...

I could be way off the mark, but I think there is a bond between organized labor in the USA and illegal immigration that has gone unnoticed. I am among the number of US citizens that recognize the Mexican government is corrupt, but I am also very aware that large public protests in Mexico are organized by labor unions within Mexico. Was their a correlation between labor union activities in Mexico and the large pro-amnesty marches in the USA this last May? I think there was, but except for mimicking such protests realized in Mexico, I have absolutely no proof...

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in North Texas will no longer detain most illegal immigrants arrested for Class C misdemeanors, citing a dramatic increase in referrals and limited resources. The agency began notifying area cities this week that it wants to target for deportation suspected illegal immigrants charged with more serious crimes. Dallas ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said Tuesday that increased awareness of the Criminal Alien Program has led to a recent spike in referrals the agency receives from local law enforcement. "These additional referrals required additional resources not immediately available," said Mr. Rusnok, whose office covers 128 Texas counties...

In response to an email plea to scores of organizations strongly opposed to illegal immigration, and the presence of illegal immigrants in our nation, asking these organizations to pool their resources and take our grievances to Congress, many responded. The suggested strategy was simple. Have a single nationwide petition campaign, with all petitions written exactly the same. Have a nationwide day when Citizens will assemble peaceably at district offices of all members of the House of Representatives. Present the petitions of grievances to the Representative, or duly appointed staff member for a redress of grievances. All response were positive. Most...

A couple weeks ago I had a dream so funny it made me laugh, and actually awakened me from my sleep. The dream seemed the setup to a good humorous punch line only a few years back. It went something like this: What do you have when there is an Italian-American, a woman, and an African-American running for President? Somewhere in my dream world, the reality of my conscious world sunk in, and the laugh the dream provided me awoke me. Well, it seems pollsters have seen something of this social phenomena also and taken it further, adding a Hispanic...

This is an invitation for people to tell me why I should be thankful for the Fourteenth Amendment. It is likewise an invitations to others like me to discuss the pitfalls of this amendment. I would just as well like to see the amendment repealed, but maybe someone with an unbiased, rational, balanced perspective can articulate how the benefits of this amendment (if they exist) outweigh the liabilities. Personally, I feel the Fourteenth Amendment rewrote the Constitution the Founders of our nation gave us.The Fourteenth Amendment has a troubled history. From the beginning, when states withheld ratification, attempted to withdraw...

I've snipped some Articles from three different sources for this posting. MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) is classified as a gang by our government, but MS-13 was, and for all practical purposes, still is a paramilitary organization. With 200,000 members nationwide, and most illegal immigrants, it is an army, an invasion, and should be treated as such.Anyone can search Yahoo or Google news for MS-13 any day of the week, and they will find murder after murder, and often the victims are US citizens. It is madness.In remarks Wednesday, DHS Secretary Chertoff said ICE was deporting criminal MS-13 members. Nothing different then...

A Conservative Dilemma I’m looking for answers! I had an interesting discussion with a middle-aged woman today. She had immigrated to the USA a couple decades back, is now a US citizen, and thinks herself a conservative. She wants to restore the USA to what it was a couple decades ago. I’ve got my agenda aimed at a much earlier era. The discussion led me to make a presumption. That presumption is that there are generational conservatives, and they are not so much looking to conserve, but to restore a past way of life. I’m wondering if anyone else sees...

Billy Ray Hamilton, who killed three people with a sawed-off shotgun inside Fran's Market in Fresno more than a quarter-century ago, has died in prison. We have to ask the same question asked by the parents of one of his victims: Why did Hamilton spend 27 years on death row? His prison stay lasted more than one and a half times as long as his youngest victim's entire life. His victims were Douglas White, 18, Josephine Rocha, 17, and Bryon Schletewitz, 27. We support the death penalty. At the same time, we believe those sentenced to death must have every...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - An epic drought in Georgia threatens the water supply for millions. Florida doesn't have nearly enough water for its expected population boom. The Great Lakes are shrinking. Upstate New York's reservoirs have dropped to record lows. And in the West, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year. Across America, the picture is critically clear — the nation's freshwater supplies can no longer quench its thirst. The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste...