In the 16 months since Bernanke assured us that QE1 would not jeopardize price stability, oats prices are up 40%, concentrated orange juice up 45%, gold and rice up 50%, corn up 55%, coffee up 60%, copper up 70%, sugar up 90%, and cotton and silver up 100%!

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Within days of our arrival, a turbaned craftsman had laid out a piece of local fabric with cotton shirts, wooden souvenirs and Tuareg silver knives.

BBC: Digging up the buried beer at Hotel Timbuktu

Kneeling on the stone floor as the 12 youngsters sat above him, the 76-year-old Francis poured water from a silver chalice over each foot, dried it with a simple cotton towel and then bent over to kiss each one.

NPR: Pope Washes Feet Of Young Detainees In Ritual

Best buys are babouches (traditional leather slippers), silver Berber jewellery, the famous blue-glazed Fassi ceramics, hand-sewn linen and cotton embroidery, Berber hendiras (traditional woven cloaks that make great wall hangings), argan oil (for cooking or in soap), saffron and other spices, brassware, and carpets of every type, style and quality.

BBC: Get lost in a Moroccan souq