The slowing U.S. economy is leading to higher budget deficits for this year and next year as President George W. Bush will acknowledge when he presents his 2009 fiscal spending plan which amounts to $3 Trillion. The fiscal spending plan aims to boost military funding while freezing many of his domestic programs.

President Bush is expected to project approximately $400 Billion in budget deficit for the years 2008 and 2009. This amount is twice the $163 Billion shortfall which was recorded in 2007. The budget deficit will be inherited by the incoming U.S. president who will assume office in 2009.

Globalization has played an important role in world politics with the growing interconnection of human societies brought about by the establishment of closer contacts through developed technology. These advances have made the world interdependent now more than it has ever been with world leaders and policy makers able to keep watch and maintain relationships with their counterparts around the world with the touch of a button.

Various political, economic and social movements are circulating at an international level, which is seen as an inevitable trend welcomed overall but also seen as a threat by sectors that are more conservative. One thing is for certain though; globalization provides an alternative road to make world politics more responsive to the needs of the public.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been appointed the EU’s envoy to the Middle East where he is entasked to fix the problems facing the Muslim world in conjunction with efforts of other governments. From brokering peace to promoting friendship between the West and the many Middle East countries who see them as enemies, he indeed has a tough job ahead of him. There are no easy fixes for the hate that is instilled in the hearts of many have been there for thousands of years. May it be because of occupation or other reasons, they simply hate outsiders who meddle in their affairs.
One of his toughest jobs would be to fix the Middle East Peace process such as the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians who have battled since time immemorial. Peace is something they long for and the people are the ones who suffer the most. Victims of a war they are in the middle of or have little to do with, with power held by the barrel of the gun.

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Would it not be so nice just to have one election of any kind to get to the finish line without having to hear the competitors slinging trash at one another? Is it not much more important for us to hear what things they are planning to do to help this country and the poor pitiful state that it is in?

It is really sad when the American people are being fed tabloid type stories as the material to base their votes on. The presidential election in America is one of the most important elections in the world. It also makes you wonder whether there should be some law passed prohibiting candidates to say anything about the other. Maybe they should be made to just stick to talking about themselves and not be able to trash the other opponent since this seems to be what they do the best.

It is true that we have freedom of speech and should be allowed to say pretty much what ever we want to, but when it comes to politics it seems to have gotten out of control. As an American voters you don’t want to hear half truths and exaggerated stories that do not turn out to be exactly what they are implied to be. The truth is where the voting choice is to be based on. The truth and nothing but.

Unfortunately, some people aren’t thinking. With the US recession, international shortage of food, plummeting real estate values and the hiking oil prices (predicted to reach $5.00 per gallon), US President George W. Bush set aside these priorities and decided to add additional funding for the Iraq war. It seems like this is in fact the President’s priority since he disbursed a whopping total of $162.5 billion for the Iraq war alone. The money is good until the mid of 2009 since this is the due date of the troops’ comeback to Uncle Sam.

Some people just won’t give up, eh?

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The United States has long been deprived of getting their chickens on the tables of the Europeans. Ten years ago, a ban was imposed on the importation of US chickens in all of EU since it does not comply with some of the rules and regulations EU has set on poultry importation. US poultry exporters use a low concentrated wash on their chickens, something that the EU does not allow.

But to those Europeans who wish to taste American chickens, do not despair. There will be a meeting in June between US and EU officials and just hope that it’ll turn out the way you wanted it to be. If the EU will lift its ban, American economy will surely have a smile on its face as it has penetrated the EU chicken industry.

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Dollar depreciation is a reality right now. The phenomenon poses two sides of a coin. Positives are for countries who import products into their own country. With their currencies strengthening against the dollar, they will be able to buy more for the same amount. However, exporters are at a loss since income generate in dollar decreases in value. The depreciation of the dollar affects all countries as it is the most powerful currency and most standardized. Almost all that the US is now, it has the dollar to thank for. A decline in the currency will spell trouble for the US and its superpower hold over the world.

Oil and politics have always gone hand in hand. Be it in a scandalous manner or a blessing to the people, economy is always greatly affected by this black gold. As oil continues to close on the so-called $100 a barrel mark, there are worries rising about supplies, not helped by the quickly declining purchasing power of the US dollar. The main reason is demand. A higher demand is quickly pushing oil-producing companies to raise the prices in order to make ends meet. With China growing to be a world superpower pretty soon and tons of oil being required in the process, there is no telling when the rise will stop or when they will take a breather. A more dreadful question would be what countries’ economy would be tipped into recession when oil prices overwhelm them.