WTFE

NYSE to sell to Deutsche Boerse?

2011-02-10T21:56:00.003-05:00

NYSE's parent company, Euronext, announced yesterday it may sell out to Deutsche Boerse, the owner of the German stock exchange, based in Frankfurt.

The combined megamarket would be the stock-trading home to companies worldwide worth about $15 trillion.

Only real details announced yet are that Deutsche Boerse would own 59 to 60 percent of the company, and that they would keep both offices, in NY and Frankfurt open and allow NYSE's current CEO, Duncan Niederauer to remain CEO of Deutsche Boerse, while their current chief executive, Reto Francioni would become the chairman.

Kind of makes me wonder what affect this could have on the US Dollar as the current World Reserve Currency...

Arizona plans to coutersue the US Government

2011-02-10T20:11:00.004-05:00

Jan Brewer announced today that she will file a countersuit against the federal government, claiming Washington has failed to enforce immigration law along the southern border.

Arizona plans to sue on five different counts, including a claim that the federal government has failed to enforce immigration laws enacted by Congress and a claim it has failed to reimburse the state for costs associated with jailing criminal immigrants.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/02/10/brewer-countersue-federal-government-immigration-enforcement/#ixzz1DbnuYW9h

In reading some of the comments posted about this article, it shocks me to see how many people are calling the AZ. Gov. a racist and a Nazi for her actions. How is it that these people, as well as part of our government, doesn't seem to know the difference between legal and illegal?

I can't understand how any American citizen can say that Jan Brewer is wrong for trying to get our government to uphold Federal law.

If your reading this, and feel what Jan Brewer is doing is wrong, then please take a minute and explain to me your reasons, because I can't honestly see what the 49 other states don't stand up and follow suit with Arizona...

If you'd prefer not to post here, feel free to post your comments on my forum at: http://freedomofspeach.lefora.com/

Thanks!

Mubarak finally makes his speach, anti-government protesters up in arms!

2011-02-10T16:23:00.001-05:00

Most of the day, the Egyptian government and military have been saying Mubarak intends to step down and either turn his Presidency over to V.P. Suliman or turn his power over to the military.

Announcements were also made that Mubarak will speak to the public at 2000GMT. Nearly 40 minutes late, Mubarak finally makes a speach that stated he has no intentions to step down as President until September.

This was a huge letdown to the anti-government protesters and who knows what they will resort to next...

Standing at the Super Bowl??

2011-02-07T17:03:00.001-05:00

So, I hear that 400 people who bought tickets for the Super Bowl had no place to actually sit during the game. Some crap about the seats weren’t installed or something, I’m sure you have probably already heard by now. None the less, these people were told that it would be okay if they wanted to just stand there and watch the game on the jumbotron TV...

2 - Super Bowl Tickets: $1,589.00
Travel & Airfare costs to get to the Stupid Bowl: $885.00
Parking for rental car at game: $121.00
4 Beers: $10.00 each
2 Pork Sandwiches: $25.00 each
2 Nachos w/cheese: $9.00 each

Knowing you just shelled out $2703.00 only to find out you have NO seat to sit in but can stand and watch game on jumbotron screen... PRICELESS!!!!!!

FYI: I guess those 400 people can also get 3 times their money back for the trouble, that’s still $1,103.00 you spent to stand there. For that you could have bought a new TV and had one hell of a Super Bowl party at home!

Isn’t this a good time to get out of the United Nations?

2011-01-27T19:56:00.000-05:00

The UN budget is around $2 billion dollars a year. The USA pays 22% of that budget, or approximately $440,000,000.00 per year.

How much money did the United Nations Development Program spend to create 5,280 "green" jobs around the world?

The United Nations Development Program, the U.N.'s flagship anti-poverty agency, has created 5,280 “green” jobs at the cost of $53.9 million. That’s an average of $10,208 per job spent in 2010 on 135 environmental projects world-wide.

But it now seems that Fox News has uncovered a document that the UNDP actually spent about $1.68 billion to create those 5,280 jobs, which would work out to a much more staggering average figure of about $288,700 per job.

With the economic situation we have today can we really afford to be shelling out that kind of money for nothing in return? I think that with $1.68 billion dollars our current government could have at least produced more than 5,280 “green” jobs. Really, the $440 million we give to the UN each year could be used in better ways than to help finance crap like that!

Fiscal crisis in the US?? Seriously, here?

2011-01-27T19:25:00.002-05:00

In a FOX Entertainment story this evening, CBO Director: Trillion-Dollar Deficits Risk 'Fiscal Crisis' in U.S., the top numbers cruncher for Congress warned Thursday that the federal government increasingly risks sending the country into a "fiscal crisis," projecting that unless cuts are made, within a decade the national debt could reach nearly 100 percent of all annual economic activity. That's like having $50,000 in debt on a $50,000-a-year salary.

It strikes me as odd to make a statement like this, don't these people realize that a lot of us already realize that our country is going to hell in a hand basket, and fast?

How much money do you suppose they spent to figure all this out?

How does the US Government spend our tax dollars? You might be surprised!

2011-01-26T15:49:00.007-05:00

These are just some of the examples in a report on government waste from Senator Tom Coburn entitled "Wastebook 2010"

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

- $3 million has been granted to researchers at the University of California at Irvine for video game research. This is a study to determine how "emerging forms of communication, including multiplayer computer games and online virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft and Second Life can help organizations collaborate and compete more effectively in the global marketplace."

-$700,000 to the University of New Hampshire to study methane gas emissions from dairy cows.

- $615,000 to the University of California at Santa Cruz so they could digitize photos, T-shirts and concert tickets belonging to the Grateful Dead.

-$239,100 to a professor at Stanford University in order to study how Americans use Internet Dating.

-$216,000 to The National Science Foundation for a study as to whether or not politicians "gain or lose support by taking ambiguous positions."

-$442,340(approx.) to the National Institutes of Health for a study of the behavior of male prostitutes in Vietnam.

-$1 million(approx.) to the Little Rock, New Orleans, Milwaukee and Chicago zoos to create poetry to help raise awareness of environmental issues.

-$175 million to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in order to maintain hundreds of buildings that are no longer in use.

- $1.8 million to a "Museum of Neon Signs" in Las Vegas, Nevada.

- $35 million to Medicare for 118 medical clinics that have never even existed.

-$150,000 to the Conservation Commission of Monkton, Vermont for construction of a "critter crossing" that may save the lives of "thousands" of migrating salamanders.

-$440,000 to perform "green energy upgrades" on a building in a California park that has not been used for over 10 years.

- $440,955 to former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, for and office he rarely even visits.

-$5,000 to a Tennessee library to host a series of video game parties.

-$2.5 million to the U.S. Census Bureau for a television commercial during the Super Bowl that was so poorly produced that virtually nobody understood what is was trying to say.

-$137,530 to a professor at Dartmouth University to create a "recession-themed" video game named "Layoff".

-$600,000 to the Minnesota Zoo for development of an online video game called "Wolfquest".

-$60,000 to a pizzeria in Iowa for them to give the pizzeria's facade a more "inviting feel".

-$30,000 to group of farmers to develop a tourist-friendly database of farms that host guests for overnight "haycations".

-$800,000 to the National Institutes of Health for a study on the impact of a "genital-washing program" on men in South Africa.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

That’s a total of $223,175,925.00 of US taxpayers money that our government has spent in 2010. It makes me wonder what we can do to help cut Government waste....

Do you know SPOT?

2011-01-25T13:34:00.001-05:00

I’m sure most of remember Spot. “See Spot run!”, Dick said to Sally and Jane. Ahhh, the good old days! Well, this isn’t about that Spot, although we do see this SPOT run! See SPOT run off with our tax dollars!

The TSA has a program called SPOT. It was created in 2006 by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Currently SPOT has more than 3,000 "Behavior Detection" officers in 161 airports throughout the USA.

This program cost US taxpayers nearly $200 million in 2009, and in 2010 the TSA has asked Congress for an additional $20 million to expand the program.

SPOT training consists of four, that’s right, FOUR days of classroom instruction of behavior detection. Over this four day training you are taught how to “SPOT” certain unusual behaviors in people.

Once you have completed this four days of training, you have roughly 30 seconds to look at a person and determine if they are acting in an unusual way. In that 30 seconds you need to look for unique facial expressions and the body language that may identify that person as a potential threat, all inside of 30 seconds. If find it pretty amazing that our government is able to train anyone to do much more than steal your money or freedoms in four days. But that’s just me. According to the TSA, this program is a “vital layer” of security, “based on science”. As a matter of fact, they claim that to date, SPOT has resulted in over 1,700 arrests for “illegal activities”, although none of the arrests were of terrorists or suspected terrorists. The TSA makes it sound like this SPOT program is a really good use of our tax dollars, but they don’t have much to say about a report released in May 2010 in which the GAO found that at least 17 known terrorists have traveled through at least 23 U.S. airports that utilize the SPOT program, without being detected.

According to an ABC article, see link below, states "The scientific research shows that it's very hard to detect whether somebody's up to no good just by looking at their behavior," said Dr. Maria Hartwig, an assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and an expert in the psychology of deception and its detection. Now the TSA claims that SPOT program is based "in science" used by law enforcement and the military "for decades”. Dr. Hartwig said there is no such credible, peer-reviewed science and "There is no scientific support for this system as of now”.

The TSA added that the only problems with this program are due to lack of funding, which limits the number of officers and the length of training.

So is the TSA saying that no arrests of terrorists and the reason 17 know terrorists were able to travel through 23 airports is because they need more money? Sounds like a huge crock of shit to me!

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/moscow-domodedovo-airport-bombing-tsa-detect-moscow-style/story?id=12752581&page=3

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/19/eveningnews/main6500349.shtml

The past 24 hours...

2011-01-24T15:36:00.006-05:00

In the past 24 hours in the USA there have been 10 cops shot, 2 of those have died.

Today two officers died in a morning shootout in St. Petersburg, Florida

Yesterday, four officers were shot in a Detroit police station by a man who walked in, firing randomly.

Two deputies were shot outside a Wal-mart in Port Orchard, Washington.

A police officer is in a coma and in critical condition after being shot during a traffic stop in Indianapolis.

Lincoln City, Oregon, a police officer was shot and in critical condition during a traffic stop.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the government increasing the amount of fluoride added to our drinking water...

Wal-Mart Shooting & DHS

2011-01-24T12:57:00.007-05:00

Two dead and two deputies injured at a Port Orchard, Washington Wal-Mart .

On December 6, 2010 The Department of Homeland Security announced that it has teamed up with 588 Wal-Mart stores in 27 states in a new program called "If You See Something, Say Something" which encourages the American public to take an active role in ensuring the safety and security of the nation.

Now, I really doubt that there was any way this DHS program could have prevented this seemingly senseless shooting from happening, but it seemed like a good time to bring attention to this program.

Janet Napolitano says, "This partnership will help millions of shoppers across the nation identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to law enforcement authorities." While that may be true, it was a little too late in this case, and goes to show that just because the DHS has their noses shoved into yet another part of our lives, it doesn't always help.

One would think that our government would be happy or content in the way they already track our purchases when using credit cards, debit cards, scanning our drivers licenses, or even through the use of store bought gift cards and points cards (like Krogers uses). But now they have to start giving the public a sense of authority when it comes to our shopping habits or actions in public? I mean, any person in their right mind would certainly call 911 if they saw someone breaking into a car, or assaulting another person, or possibly even seeing them shoplifting. I know I would, so why spend, no waste, our tax dollars on yet another program like this?

Maybe it's their way to slowly break people into the mindset of living in a police state.

In May of 2009 the New York Times ran an article about how the Border Patrol and DHS had teamed up with and were training Boy Scouts, yes Boy Scouts, to deal with various situations from how to breach a building that was taken over by terrorists to chasing down illegal border crossers as well as more dangerous situations that include facing down terrorists and taking out “active shooters,” like those who bring gunfire and death to college campuses.

Here's another one, September 8, 2009 The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Girl Scouts of the USA CEO Kathy Cloninger unveiled a Girl Scout preparedness patch designed to engage Girl Scouts and their families in personal preparedness for all emergencies including war, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters.

I know, it all sounds INSANE! But no matter how insane or sad it all sounds, it's true! This is what we are allowing our country to become.

What parent would want their 14 year-old Boy Scout to come home from a Jamboree to announce, proudly, that they got to live fire rifles so they can help take out terrorists and got to assist the Border Patrol in a foot chase of illegal aliens?

As we sit her this very minute, the US Government is working on a way to make it mandatory that ALL people 18 to 25 years-old will have to go through 3 months of Basis Training as part of creating a civilian national security force, as stated by Rahm Emanuel Obamas former Chief of Staff in a CSPAN interview as well as in his book, The Plan: Big Ideas for America.

Although it may sound like something from a George Orwell novel, I have provided legitimate links below for you to check these things out on your own.

http://walmartstores.com/pressroom/news/10493.aspx
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/us/14explorers.html?_r=1
http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1252431401608.shtm

Various headlines and some breaking news in Detroit

2011-01-23T19:37:00.001-05:00

4 Detroit police officers shot at precinct

Detroit's police chief says four officers including a commander have been wounded in a shooting at a precinct.

Chief Ralph Godbee says the four do not have life threatening injuries, and it appears all of the officers will be OK.

A gunman opened fire in the Detroit precinct on Sunday. Officers returned fire, killing the man.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-23-detroit-police-officers-shot_N.htm

Winner of 10th Billionth App Download Sweepstakes Hangs Up On Apple

The British woman who won $10,000 for downloading the 10,000,000,000th app from the iTunes store hung up on Apple when the company called to break the news to her, Cult of Mac is reporting exclusively.

“I thought it was a prank call,” says Gail Davis of Orpington, Kent, UK told Cult of Mac editor Leander Kahney. “I said, ‘Thank you very much, I’m not interested’ and I hung up.” http://www.cultofmac.com/10k-itunes-winner-hung-up-phone-on-apple-exclusive/78231

China’s Chengdu J-20 Stealth Fighter Jet

Does the US really think China may have stolen some ideas for their newly released stealth fighter, known as the Chengdu J-20, from an American F-117 Nighthawk that was shot down over Serbia in 1999? Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01/23/chinas-new-stealth-fighter-use-technology/#ixzz1BuLU7PM3

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was transferred to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Texas

Docs say she has surprised them with the progress she has already made.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/23/arizona.shooting/index.html?hpt=T2

World Leaders to Discuss Junk Food Ad Ban

2011-01-22T18:58:00.003-05:00

So, the UN now wants to take control of how and where ads for "junk" food are shown. Don't these idiots have better things to do? Aren't there millions of starving people somewhere else in the world they should be helping? The UN is a fucking joke. By being a member we are throwing money away that could be used to help out those in need in OUR country!

The UN budget is a little over $2 billion dollars a year. The USA pays 22% of that budget, or $440,000,000.00 per year. With that money alone we could put a HUGE dent in homelessness and starvation right here in OUR country. I say we quit wasting this money, pull out of the UN and let them try and push all this International Law BS on someone else! We have our own problems and I think an extra $440 million a year could help the US in more ways than the UN could ever do!

Gabrielle Giffords

2011-01-09T11:07:00.001-05:00

I know we've all heard about Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords getting shot yeaterday. Latest reports say 5 or 6 people were killed, including a 9-year old child, and 10 to 12 others injured, these number vary depending one where you look for the information, go figure.

Although the gunman has been captured, reports are now saying that there is another person of interest the authorities are currently looking for.

I am very interested in what kind, or seemingly lack of, security there was at this event yesterday. It just seems hard to believe that a lone gunman with a Glock 9mm was able to kill and injure so many people before he was taken down. Either this guy was an excellent shot, had an extended round magazine, or security was just so laxed that he was able to fire off an entire magazine and load another one and get off a few more shots before anyone was able to do anything about it. It will be very interesting to hear the final story on this.

The entire deal is a tragedy no matter how you look at it.