Much of the media will dislike this kind of change because it would reduce their relative influence--with more resources, candidates could take their messages directly to the voters.

FORBES: Fact And Comment

So Mr Riordan, a Republican at the head of a largely Democratic city, reached for his considerable wallet to compensate for his relative lack of influence over the school system.

ECONOMIST: A lesson in how to count

Policy decisions will also influence the relative strength of the recoveries in the emerging economies versus the rich world.

ECONOMIST: The world economy

The global economic slowdown, however hard it is hitting Asia, may in relative terms serve to bolster Asian influence.

ECONOMIST: It��s time for a column about half the world��s people

Even if decline in relative power is inevitable, it has such economic influence and military might that it will look and feel strong for decades to come.

BBC: Is the US caught in the slow lane?

"We now need to know more about how early life conditions can influence the pattern of telomere loss and the relative importance of inherited and environmental factors, " she said.

BBC: Glasgow scientists say telomeres indicate life length

In gold bulls favor, the market has been under the influence of a positive turn in the 9-day relative strength index since early November.

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In the study, the relative handful of smoking scenes in G- or PG-rated movies didn't appear to influence a child's likelihood of trying cigarettes.

CNN: Should smoking trigger an R rating?

Those who had been breastfed had a 58% chance of moving up the social ladder compared to 50% of those who were bottle-fed - a relative difference of 41% when the statistics were adjusted to take into account other factors which might influence the outcome.

BBC: The study looked at the long-term effect of breastfeeding