Food Prices in the Depression

Food prices have been rising in the past couple of years.

Americans spend around 5% of their money on food so it is hard for us to recognize how much food prices have gone up in value. But for other nations who spend upwards of 40% on food, the affects are much more extreme.

Exchange Rates

In this graph, blue is the Euro and Red is the Yen compared to the U.S. dollar.

A market based exchange rate will change whenever the values of either of the two component currencies change. A currency will tend to become more valuable whenever demand for it is greater than the available supply. It will become less valuable whenever demand is less than available supply (this does not mean people no longer want money, it just means they prefer holding their wealth in some other form, possibly another currency).

Increased demand for a currency is due to either an increased transaction demand for money, or an increased speculative demand for money. The transaction demand for money is highly correlated to the country's level of business activity, gross domestic product (GDP), and employment levels. The more people there are unemployed, the less the public as a whole will spend on goods and services. Central banks typically have little difficulty adjusting the available money supply to accommodate changes in the demand for money due to business transactions.

The speculative demand for money is much harder for a central bank to accommodate but they try to do this by adjusting interest rates. An investor may choose to buy a currency if the return (that is the interest rate) is high enough. The higher a country's interest rates, the greater the demand for that currency. It has been argued that currency speculation can undermine real economic growth, in particular since large currency speculators may deliberately create downward pressure on a currency in order to force that central bank to sell their currency to keep it stable (once this happens, the speculator can buy the currency back from the bank at a lower price, close out their position, and thereby take a profit).

Politics In Ghana

Yes i am voting.Because i am more than 18 years so i can vote.Yes Ghanaian`s vote every 4 years to elect a new president for the nation.And if u are elected into power u have to rule for 8 years after that u will live for a new president.

We have 8 political parties who are standing as president`s this year in Ghana.They are (NPP),(NDC),(CPP),(PNC),(DFP),(DPP),(RDP) AND (INDEPENDENT).The names of the the flagberrer`s are Nana Akufu Ado,Prof.John Evans Atta Mills,Dr.Paa Kwesi Ndoum,Dr.John Mahama,Ansah-Antwi,Ward Brew and Amoah-Yeaboah as Independent candidate.

I am voting for Prof.John Evans Atta Mills of the (NDC) because he is the right man for Ghanaians who can change the economy and bring better hope and change for Ghanaians.The two main political parties that are populary known in Ghana here are NPP and the NDC and the NPP is the Goverment in power now and the economy here in Ghana is very hard.People do not have jobs to do,people are really surffering.NDC is like BARACK OBAMA`S PARTY they are also looking for change.That is the motto for NDC (CHANGE).

Ghanaian`s voted last week sunday 7th december to elect a new president,Which by God grace everything went on peacfuly.But the electoral commision of Ghana need 50% for the winning.But there is no candidate who got that percentage so Ghanaian`s are going for a round off on the 28 of the month to vote again to elect a new president.On the 28th of this month Ghanaians will be voting for only two parties that is the NPP and the NDC,the other parties will not be contesting because they are not even closer to the percentage needed.The NPP got 48.13% and the NDC got 47.93% at the 7th december polls.That is why they are going for a round off.And i pray to God that Prof.John Evans Atta Mills emerg the winner.

I am very delighted alot when the news came out that Barack Obama won the elections at the United States.The First Black man to rule AMERICA and the first black to go to the white house as president of the united states.I hope with Barack Obama the will be a real Change in the economy in the united states.Big Up`s BARACK OBAMA.

(From: Richard Dake)

History of the Middle East

Abortion in Nicaragua

Headed in the right direction

AIDS

AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized on 12/1/1981, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in recorded history. In 2005 alone, AIDS claimed an estimated 2.4–3.3 million lives, of which more than 570,000 were children. It is estimated that about 0.6% of the world's living population is infected with HIV] A third of these deaths are occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, retarding economic growth and increasing poverty. According to current estimates, HIV is set to infect 90 million people Africa.

AIDS is part of the culture. It is spread by sexual behavior and correlated with other STDs such as herpes. It is also correlated with poverty in places like Arica. Without a long life expectancy otherwise and no hope of a prosperous life, AIDS is likely to spread much more quickly. Thus mitigating poverty is part of the cure for AIDS.
Unstable and unpredictable lifestyles are significant factors in determining access to health care among low-income HIV-positive people, a new UCLA study has found.

So far, we are still not headed in the right direction: Bush's plan spells disaster for our nation's health, in particular our effort to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic. After accounting for inflation, the budget proposal amounts to a cut in funding for HIV/AIDS research, prevention, care, and treatment. Adding insult to injury, the budget proposal increases funding for abstinence education programs that have no basis in scientific evidence.

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The Permanent War Economy

Eisenhower, one of the more conservative U.S. presidents of the 20th century, who led us to victory in WWII, warned of the military industrial complex as he was leaving office:
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.
The concept of permanent war economy' actually originated in 1944 with an article by Walter J. Oakes who predicted a post-war arms race. He argued at the time that the USA would retain the character of a war economy; even in peacetime, American military expenditure would remain large, reducing the percentage of unemployed compared to the 1930s. This analysis was extended by T. N. Vance in 1950 and 1951. The concept was also used by Charles E. Wilson to refer to an institutionalized war economy —ie. a semi-command-type economy which is directed by corporation executives, based on military industry, and funded by state social spending. The term refers to the economic component within the Military-industrial complex (MIC) (aka. "the Iron Triangle") whereby the collusion between militarism and profiteering are manifest as a permanently subsidised industry.
People don’t realize how profitable a war is. How much money can be made off of war and defense. A review of the largest private companies in the defense industry and the Iraq war, the single most expensive (and profitable) military venture in the history of mankind, paints a clearer picture of this issue.

How can work be removed from being a necessary part of a nation’s success. How do nations that don’t have a war economy exist?

Steven Chu as Secretary of Energy