John H. Ogwyn (1949–2005)

Do you realize that there is a growing tension in Europe regarding the Muslim population that exists there? Earlier this year the nation of France has expelled eight different men—Muslim men—on the grounds that they're preachers who foment anti-western sentiment and violence in their sermons. Earlier this year, France also passed a law that bars Muslim girls from wearing headscarves at public schools. This sort of thing has stirred up quite a bit of controversy among what is really a growing Muslim population in France and other European nations.

The Financial Times of London, in an article datelined October 1, 2004, ran a special report on the world economy, focusing on threats to global economic growth. One of the main portions of this article was something that focused on the U.S. trade deficit—"the big balancing act" as it was called. It was pointed out that a record $55.8 billion U.S. trade deficit in June was a reminder that one of the world's great economic imbalances has yet to be rectified.