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Oil contracts are settled in dollars so we are not effected by the flucuation.

Unfortunately, the weak dollar does affect oil prices.

Since many oil importing countries are non-dollar, they are better able to afford nominally expensive oil, meaning it takes longer for high prices to impact demand. The mechanism by which higher prices should reduce demand is broken.

It is estimated that one third of the oil price increase is due to the weak dollar.

Great job from the Iraqi team. Nice way to start the Olympics.

Latest news from Paris, it looks like a hoax.

No witnesses, nothing on surveillance cameras, the woman had filed already 6 police complaints for various muggings and attacks.
Her mother has been interrogated by the police and has questioned her daughter's mental health.

France has announced since Tuesday that it will be represented by ex-President Valery Giscard d'Estaing and foreign minister Barnier.

It was around 2.500 in 2003, compared to approximately 1,000 annually in the 90's.

They will find out very quickly how "peaceful" their Islamic brothers and sisters are, particularly if they wish to practice any other religion!

I would just like to give my point of view on this. I am a Jew living in a Muslim country (Morocco). I have lived in Europe and studied 6 years in the States and I have chosen to come back to Morocco.

I go without any problem to the synagogue twice a week and for all religious holidays. My three daughters have Jewish, Christian and Muslim friends, like myself. We have social Jewish clubs, a Jewish museum and at least 12 synagogues that I know of in Casablanca. All this just to tell you that being surrounded by a Muslim and Arab culture, I think I can give you an educated point of view. Morocco, like most of other Muslim countries is in the middle of a battle against a minority of barbaric, uneducated terrorists hiding behind their religiousness to promote their hatred of all.

A year ago, 5 suicide bomb attacks took place in Casablanca. The first victims were Muslims. The country was the victim. Every time a Moroccan terrorist is taking part in an attack around the world, the whole country suffers, like it did after the Madrid bombings. The Muslims who are my friends, who I work with certainly don't agree with me about what is happening in Israel or in Iraq for example, but we are able to have constructive discussions and not try to kill each other.

I can genuinely say that I feel a lot of tolerance here. There certainly are extremists here, but like everywhere.

To conclude: A Jewish school near Montreal Canada where some little cousins of mine go to was firebombed during Passover. It was the first time that such a terrible thing had happened there. The perps were arrested last week. They were from Lebanese origin. But Christians...

It's up to 42 officially now.
But officials here in Morocco say it could go up to 300.

No, but if you insulted Jews in Paris, I bet you'd get big laughs from the French.

I don't think so. They have stringent anti-semitic laws.

France does have very tough anti-racist legislation. As a matter of fact, as the Israeli Ambassador to France Nissim Zvili Katsav said today during Moshe Katsav's visit to Paris, France is the only country in Europe where jailtime has been given for antisemitic words or acts.

A french comedian Dieudonné has been ordered to appear in court for a racial sketch on live TV. Many of his stand up shows have been canceled all around France.

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=58&story_id=4010

I think it's that you know a french twit who thinks she can break the law because "millions" do it.

Do you really think it is breaking the law for an 18-year old to babysit while on vacations or aupair?

Do you really think it is worth having your diary searched, being photographed, fingerprinted and kicked back on a plane? Please tell me so.

As far a being a "little tale", the link to a swiss newspaper: http://www.24heures.ch/home/journal/index.php?Page_ID=12437&id=148573&rubrique_news=all

On the 10th of January, a 18-year old french girl (Diane Rousseau-Vellones) landed in San Fransisco for the second time in two months.
That was enough to make her suspicious to the Immigration officer.
They searched her and found in her diary that on her first trip she earned 190$ while baby sitting for some friends.
Picture, Fingerprints. If she didn't want to spend the night in jail, she had to go back on the first available flight.
They used her credit card to charge the 1,600$ for the return flight.
Weanwhile, on the border with Mexico....

"Stay home"!

Unfortunately, this is exactly what I have been doing. I hold 3 passports and I have an arabic sounding last name. I love the US (studied in NY State 6 years) and used to travel to the East Coast twice a year.

But this is getting a little too much. I can understand the whole security thing without a problem, but I will take my vacation dollars somewhere else until things settle down a little. As in 2007 probably. I don't feel like spending a few days in a cell because I made a mistake in an answer to the Customs Officer.

Jacques Chirac became Prime Minister in 1995.

Pfff, didn't go any further, he was elected President May 7th 1995.

Gives an idea of the rest of the article.

you are the first and the only muslim country sending Rescuers to Bam

Morocco and Algeria have also sent rescue teams. However, I do not know for the other muslim contries.

First of all it is not my beloved France.
Second of all they sent agents on the 21st, 2 day BEFORE the cancellations.

The site you refered to is an unofficial site.
As a matter of fact , the GIGN is made up of 350 elite men and women.
They are really an elite team. it is the GIGN that launched the attack on the hijacked Airbus in Marseille in December 1994.

For an accurate history of that Special Operations team, the excellent site:

http://www.specialoperations.com/Counterterrorism/gign.html

I am sorry but I have only french sources for now. As I said, I haven't seen this on american media

Depuis mardi, des équipes du Groupe d'intervention de la gendarmerie nationale (GIGN), de deux à six membres opérant en civil, prennent régulièrement place à bord des vols sensibles reliant la France aux États-Unis. Ils viennent en renfort du service de sécurité propre à Air France.

Translation: (trough Google): Since Tuesday, teams of the Group of intervention of the national gendarmerie (GIGN), from two to six members operating into civil, regularly take place on board significant flights connecting France to the United States. They come in reinforcement from the service of safety specific to Air France.

http://www.ouest-france.fr/ofetranger.asp? idDOC=112998&idCLA=3637

http://fr.news.yahoo.com/031226/202/3kh6z.html

http://news.tf1.fr/news/monde/0,,1538040,00.html

Did you know that since the 21st of December, when the french authorities learned about the potential threats from the CIA, armed members of the GIGN (elite french anti terrorist teams) boarded the Paris-LA flights? I haven't seen this in the american media.
As a matter of fact, I am sure they are present on every transatlantic flights until at least the end of the year.

There is so much going on that we do not know about, and I really trust all intelligence services , american or french, to do their best to avoid another catastrophe. To believe that France would do anything that could help another tragedy is, for me, foolish.

It is based on the results.

Although France has virtually no borders since it entered the Schengen space, that it has a 5 or 6 million muslim population, that it has been the target of a number of attacks (US embassy in 2001 for example), it has been able to avoid major attacks and arrests are made frequently.

As far as your first hand experience on uncleanliness, punctuality and arrogance, if it is factual, I am sure it applies to the whole 60 million people of France.

I am very far from being naïve.

And I am lucky enough to hear things from both sides.
If you really believe that France (and what is France? the government? the people?) would be ready to allow and close their eyes on a plane taking off from Paris to commit a terrorist act, then I don't know who is naive.

Come on, diplomacy is diplomacy. But do you really think that french intelligence would be ready to help AQ?

I am amazed by the amount of stupidities one can find in a post a soon as the word 'FRANCE' is in the title.
French bashing has become such an easy sport that the article could be about any subject, the same arguments will come back: worms, islamists, Vichy, blah blah blah....

Let's consider the facts and only the facts. The US asked, on their own intelligence reports, the french government to cancel some flights. Chirac and Raffarin did so. Impossible to know if the allegations were legitimate or not, it doesn't even really matter, the partnership worked very well. Do you think the french are that stupid as to release potential terrorists?

France has some of the best intelligence and secret services in the world. They have infiltrated all the sensitive communities. And it is only through collaboration that future international terrorist plots can be avoided.

Relying exclusively on national american intelligence can lead to the catastrophes we have seen in the past. 9/11 happened with american planes, taking off from american airports, with terrorists cleared by american agents. Let's not forget it and make sure it never happens again.