Life Without Oprah

            This shows a picture of a rehab center which includes welcoming people who were obsessed with watching Oprah because her show went off the air as of Tuesday.

Foreclosures for sale: Big supply, low prices

           Las Vegas has so many foreclosures that 53% of all the homes sold in Nevada are in some stage of foreclosure.  Foreclosures represent 45% of sales in California and Arizona, and 28% of all existing home sales during the first three months of 2011.  With the slowed sales pace, it will take three years to burn through the inventory of 1.9 million distressed properties, according to Sharga.


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Foreclosures-for-sale-Big-cnnm-2801454840.html

Bank Robbery

The Fate of Huguette Clark's Fortune

          The intensely reclusive copper heiress Huguette Clark died on Tuesday, she was 104. Now, the fate of her estimated $500,000,000 fortune she inherited from her copper mining magnate father, W.A. Clark will have to be determined.  She divorced in 1930 and never remarried. After her mother Anna died in 1963, she cut herself off from the world, shutting herself into the family's massive apartments at 907 Fifth Avenue, in New York.  The family owns the entire eighth floor and half of the twelfth--42 rooms in all. There's also a beach house in Santa Barbara that she hasn't visited since the 1950s and a country house in New Canaan, Conn., currently for sale for $23 million.
         Also, her only apparent family seems to be nieces, nephews, and cousins.  In my opinion, I believe either the fortunes should be kept in the family, or let someone buy most of the realist ate and use some of the money to pay off any fees, debts, and commissions for the employees and lawyers.  Honestly, if she wasn't so reclusive from the public; she would probably have made some type of will where closely related relatives and friends could receive some inheritence.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20110524/ts_atlantic/fatehuguetteclarksfortune38100

How Domino’s Delivered a Tasty Turnaround

          Recently, some purveyors of chow are thriving, including Domino's Pizza. The chain's stock is near a 52-week high.  In its most recent quarter, Domino's reported the same-store sales in the U.S. fell 1.4 percent compared to the year-before quarter. But, international same store sales grew 8.3% in the first quarter, marking the 69th consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth for this division.  While total U.S. sales slumped one percent in the quarter, total international stores rose 15.3 percent — and that's not including the impact of a lower dollar. In the first quarter of 2011, Domino's shut a net 20 stores in the U.S. and opened a net 48 stores overseas. The upshot: today, 4,470 of the company's 9,379 stores are outside the U.S. (nearly 48 percent).

Greek Debt

        This cartoon shows a man trying to push a boulder as the rocks below him are falling.  This represents Greece's debt, as they try to lower it, it's continually going to enlarge and sink.

The Great Recession's Lost Generatio

        Last year, the unemployment rate for college graduates age 24 and younger rose to 9.4%, the highest since the Labor Department began keeping records in 1985.  Hires with limited experience have the toughest time competing in a job market flooded with experienced candidates.  Adecco found that 18% of recent grads have been forced to turn to full-time jobs outside their field of study, often jobs for which a college degree is not required.  
       With hiring on the rise, this year's college grads will find a somewhat better job market awaiting them after graduation, but those already hurt by the recession might not bounce back so quickly.  According to a study by Till von Wachter, an economics professor at Columbia University, the drag on income lasts for 10 years, on average.  In addition, the outlook could be worse for the class of '09 or '10, von Wachter said, since the worse the recession, the longer it takes to get earnings and a career back on track.  "In the bad recessions in the past, the graduates recovered in 10 to 15 years. But we've never had such a strong recession," he said.


     Brittney Winters graduated from Princeton in 2009, she has a double major in French and Spanish. But aside from some freelance tutoring, the jobs she's been able to find: waitress, public relations and video store clerk-- all aren't in her field.

     Afshin Shirazian had trouble finding an internship in the summer of 2009, so he changed careers and went to UCLA business school despite bad timing.  He graduated in 2010, and has been trying to find a marketing job in the health care field ever since. But so far, he has only been able to find freelance consulting jobs.

    By the time Michael Brody graduated from Hunter College with degrees in English and film in 2009, he knew he was going to be facing a tough job market.  Two years later he still doesn't have a permanent, full-time job.  Since graduation, Brody's done some freelance writing, worked in construction and even tried his hand at stand-up comedy.


http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/112754/recession-lost-generation-cnnmoney

With Time Slipping Away, N.B.A. and Players Plan to Meet

            Seeing that the NFL is already in a lockout, the N.B.A. and the players union are meeting with greater frequency as time dwindles for reaching a new labor agreement and avoiding the league’s first lockout since 1998. The labor agreement expires June 30, after a season in which the N.B.A. has recorded substantially higher television ratings. The union rejected a counterproposal recently authored by the league. In a memo to players, the league’s proposal for a $45 million salary cap ($13 million less than the current one). The real sticking point is the league’s wish to install a hard salary cap and decrease the amount of guaranteed money owed to players. The N.B.A.’s proposal also called for eliminating the luxury tax and guaranteeing only half of a player’s first $8 million in salary and 25 percent for deals above $8 million, according to the Sports Business Journal.

http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/with-time-slipping-away-n-b-a-and-players-plan-to-meet/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Stocks start week with losses after earnings miss

        Stocks started the new week with losses Monday following an earnings miss by a big retailer and new concerns about Europe's debt crisis.  The Dow Jones industrial average lost 50 points, or 0.4 %, S&P 500 fell 4, or 0.3 %, and Nasdaq composite lost 13, or 0.5%.  The U.S. stock market has lost some of its momentum lately after finishing its best first quarter since 1998. Stocks in Europe fell broadly after the arrest of the head of the IMF.  The Euro Stoxx 50, an index of large companies in countries that use the euro, lost 1.1 percent. Greece's stock market fell nearly 2 percent.  The parent company of the New York Stock Exchange dropped nearly 11 percent after competitors Nasdaq OMX Group and ICE announced that they had withdrawn their hostile bid for the company.  However, J.C. Penny Co. Inc. rose nearly 4 percent.

School receives record fine, playoff ban for ineligible players

           A Florida high school has been fined $57,000, following a lengthy investigation into widespread improprieties related to its wrestling and girls volleyball programs.  According to the Orlando Sentinel, the $57,000 fine that the Florida High School Athletic Association issued against Oviedo (Fla.) High is the largest single fine ever handed down to a Seminole County School District institution. The Oviedo wrestling program was banned from all district, regional and state competitions for three years while the school's volleyball team was put on probation.
           Some of those wrestlers also reportedly lived with assistant wrestling coaches to illicitly work around the state's residential restrictions. The entire Oviedo wrestling coaching staff was fired and head volleyball coach Chad Long was also dismissed from his position.  The school will not re-appoint athletic director Wes Allen or assistant athletic director John Howell, neither of whom were reportedly aware of any indiscretions on the part of either program before the investigation. According to the Sentinel, because of that lack of awareness, Allen is being allowed to continue in his position as Oviedo's head football coach.
           The violations on the part of the Oviedo wrestling coaches taint a powerful program which had built a stirring state legacy under head wrestling coach J.D. Robbins. Oviedo has won five team state titles since 2004, when Robbins took control of the program. Those titles include a four-peat from 2004-2007 and, more recently, another state title in 2010. The team also notably won an incredible 84 consecutive dual meets between 2004 and 2008.

Osama Hiding in Pakistan

     This cartoon shows Osama's house hiding spot in Pakistan and how Pakistan couldn't possibly know he was hiding in a house with a 18 foot wall surrounding it with barbed-wire on top.

After bin Laden’s death, what’s next for the U.S. and al-Qaida?

          Bin Laden's death could trigger a backlash against Americans and other Westerners by those who had strong feelings of affinity for the al-Qaida leader. He remained hugely popular in much of the Middle East.  al-Qaida as an institution is unlikely to be in a position to organize a sophisticated counter-response to bin Laden's death, at least for the time being. Al Qaida's style is to run well-organized operations that involve complex moving parts which simultaneously converge on a high profile target.  Osama bin Laden and his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, had become symbolic rather than command and control leaders over al-Qaida assets in recent years. Killing bin Laden removes the symbol, but he could become a rallying martyr in the eyes of some extremists.
           Al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian cleric who remains at large, was an operational and strategic force in building and animating al Qaeda alongside bin Laden. He now becomes the most wanted terrorist in the world.  Bin Laden's death will affect the war in Afghanistan in the sense that the hunt for him was one of the primary rationales for the invasion.  This is the prize George W. Bush wanted and couldn't achieve before the end of his term.  The killing of bin Laden shores up Barack Obama's hard power credentials and will force political opponents like Donald Trump and Sarah Palin to change their talking points.  President Obama approached the bin Laden challenge seriously, cautiously, and showed a focused earnestness in bringing him to justice.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_exclusive/20110502/pl_yblog_exclusive/after-bin-ladens-death-whats-next-for-the-u-s-and-al-qaida

NFL Players and Owners

       This cartoon shows the NFL Owners and the players fighting over money, and it looks like the players are trying to take the money from the owners.

15 Athletes Gone Bankrupt

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42766400/?slide=1

Summer Job

        This cartoon displays a student and a laid-off worker applying for a summer job to cut grass.  However, this represents the struggle of workers to find jobs and how they now have to compete with teenagers and young adults for low-end jobs.

NCAA formally charges Jim Tressel with lies, coverup of OSU violations

         Initially, before coach Jim Tressel was outed for essentially lying to his bosses and the NCAA, it looked like Ohio State was getting off kind of easy.  That, of course, was before Tressel's long-running, deliberate coverup of the violations saw the light of day, and before it became clear that the NCAA — and possibly the higher-ups at Ohio State themselves — had been misled by one of the most respected men in the profession.   Between November 2008 and May 2010, multiple student-athletes received preferential treatment and "sold institutionally issued athletics awards, apparel and equipment to Edward Rife, owner of a local tattoo parlor," adding up to more than $13,000 in cash, free tattoos, a loan and a discount on a used car one of the players bought from Rife.
       Per standard procedure, Ohio State has 90 days to reply to the allegations by substantially agreeing or disagreeing with the findings (with copious documentation either way), after which it will appear in front of the NCAA's Committee on Infractions, which will hand down a verdict and sentencing, which will then be appealed, etc.  As punishment after the 2011 season Ohio State could face the following: vacated wins, a postseason ban and possible scholarship restrictions are very much on the table, as is Tressel's job, arguably the safest seat in college football at the start of the year.

NFL Draft

       This week the NFL will still be have it's annual NFL Draft despite the lockout.  In the NFL, players being drafted are like huge investments.  Over the years, rookie salaries have increased at an alarming rate, so for a horrible team finding a franchise player can be a bit costly with it's risks and rewards.  However, teams who are looking for late round steals and sleeper picks trade down into the draft in order to acquire more picks around the same area on the board to find guys.  With the NFL being in a lockout, it's crucial for teams with high picks to find the right guy so they won't have a "bust" on their hands who wasted millions of dollars. 

To see some of the biggest busts of all-time you can go to  http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-worst-No-7-pick-ever-Choosing-biggest-bust?urn=nfl-wp1194

‘The Avengers’ looking for extras

        There have been many movies where scenes have been shot in Ohio, preferribly Cleveland.  However, Marvel Studios will hire more than 2,000 people to have bit parts in the new movie "The Avengers" when filmmakers begin shooting in August.  The production will be the largest feature film ever made in Ohio.  The Avengers film is about a popular group of Marvel Comics superheroes and stars Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson.  But if you miss out at being an extra in this film, you will have other chances because 10 other movies are to be filmed here soon.  The Greater Cleveland Film Commission said the city is becoming a prime location for Hollywood film producers.

Debt Ceiling

        This cartoon shows the democrat and Republican mascot in the Congress building as a spaceship.  As you can see, they avoided a Government Shutdown; however, they are going to hit the debit ceiling which is represented by the moon.

American Ghost Towns of the 21st Century

         There are several counties in America, each with more than 10,000 homes, which have vacancy rates above 55%.  Most people who follow unemployment and the housing crisis would expect high vacancy rates in hard-hit states including Nevada, Florida and Arizona. They were among the fastest growing areas from 2000 to 2010.  Many large counties which have 20% or higher occupancy rates are in these same regions. Lee County, Fla., Yuma County, Ariz., Mohave County, Ariz., and Osceola, Fla., each had a precipitous drop in home prices and increases in vacancy rates as home buyers disappeared when the economy went south. Lake County, Mich. was #1 as far as vacancy rate among counties in the United States.

http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/112463/american-ghost-towns-21st-century-247wallst

Paul Ryan Cuts

       This picture shows Republican Paul Ryan as Paul Bunyan and instead of cutting trees, he's cutting the trees that are government programs because of the massive cuts he has suggested as far as for the federal spending.

White House says shutdown will delay pay to troops

          The Obama administration warned that a federal shutdown would undermine the economic recovery, delay pay to U.S. troops fighting in three wars, slow the processing of tax returns and limit small business loans and government-backed mortgages during peak home buying season.  According to the shutdown scenario described by the administration, the government would have to significantly cut staffing across the executive branch, including workers at the White House and civilian employees at the Defense Department; close to 800,000 workers would be affected. Congress and the federal court system will also be subject to a shutdown.
       Other than that, most government tax funded programs will still operate under certain circumstances.

World Education Rankings

     This cartoon shows imagery of education as boxing.  The child from the U.S. can't compete with the fighters from Korea, China, and Japan.  However, instead of helping The States guy and Fed guy, decides to cut budgets so he can compete with third world countries (Zimbabwe).

Fans mixed on Charlie Sheen’s Cleveland stop

          Charlie Sheen was greeted by a standing ovation inside Playhouse Square's State Theater Tuesday night.  Wearing an Indian's jersey, the man who played Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn in the movie "Major League."  The show was scaled back after its debut to boos in Detroit on Saturday, a show that Sheen referred to as a "gift".


         "I thought it was horrible, there was a lot of people that were kind of cheering and egging him on so it just kind of went everywhere there was really no order to it, no structure or anything like that.  It was kind of a waste of 50 bucks." said James Estrada from Bowling Green.
        "I didn't know what to expect that's why I bought the tickets," said Sara Mann of Akron. "First half was better than the second half there were some really good one liners kind of all over the place but he had his moderator there to keep him steady."
       The tour will head to the Palace Theatre in Columbus on Wednesday before heading to New York City's Radio City Music Hall this weekend.  It's amazing how the people of America are putting everything thats happening in the world and with the economy behind them to waste their time.  Honestly, Charlie Sheen is making a smart move by using his downfall to make some type of money, but in the end he really needs help and we as people need to move on from his madness.

GOP 2012 budget to make $4 trillion-plus in cuts

        A Republican plan for the 2012 budget would cut more than $4 trillion over the next decade, more than even the president's debt commission proposed, with spending caps as well as changes in the Medicare and Medicaid health programs.


More at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110403/ap_on_re_us/us_gop2012_budget

Spanish scientists search for fuel of the future

         Spain scientists hope they have found the fuel of tomorrow: bio-oil produced with algae mixed with carbon dioxide from a factory.  The project, which is still experimental, has been developed over the past five years by Spanish and French researchers at the small Bio Fuel Systems (BFS) company.  US oil giant ExxonMobil plans to invest up to $600 million in research on oil produced from algae.  The other great advantage of the system is that it is a depollutant -- it absorbs the C02 which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.

Jay-Z’s $450 million Business Empire

       Amid the carnage of the music industry in the past decade, Jay-Z has managed to parlay artistic success into financial fortune valued at up to $450 million, according to Forbes.  In 2010 alone, he earned $63 million.  While the money came primarily from touring, Jay-Z has a business interests ranging from music to nightclubs, from restaurants to apparel, from sneakers to a chunk of the New Jersey Nets.  
            In 1994, unable to find a company to produce his debut records, Jay-Z, Damon Dash and a silent partner founded their own label, Roc-A-Fella Records. And when a distributor agreed to take on the album, he negotiated a deal to retain ownership of the master recordings.  In the late 1990s, he discovered that sales of Iceberg apparel rose after he began including references to them in his songs. But when he went to Iceberg and asked for an endorsement deal, the company demurred. Instead, he started his own apparel company, Rocawear. In 2006, Rocawwear was sold to a brand licensing company for $204 million.  There's been much more: a line of sneakers for Reebok, the 40/40 nightclub chain, an ad for Hewlett-Packard, and an interest in the hot New York City gastro pub, The Spotted Pig.
           


http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/jay-z-450-million-business-empire-20110325-143859-182.html

Swiper the Big Bank Fox

    In the cartoon, this shows Dora The Explorer as a small business owner.  Then, it shows her nemesis Swiper The Fox; however, Swiper represents high debit card fees in which the small business owners have to pay to large banks because of people's over usage of debit cards.

Fan uses NFL business practices against them

       Already dealing with lawsuits from the Collective Bargaining agreement, the NFL faces another lawsiut from a fan. The NFL found a way to charge fans a one-time licensing fee so that they could have exclusive rights to certain seats for their favorite team. Of course they had to pay for those seats on a per-game basis even with an up-front financial commitment.  Now, one Cleveland fan is turning this business practice against the NFL with the looming threat that there will be no games this season.  Cleveland Browns fan (and attempted politician) Ken Lanci is seeking $75,000 in damages. Ultimately those damages aren't the real story here.  The story is that one of the league's most egregious money-grabbing techniques is now being used against it.
       As it has turned out through the 1990s and 2000s, they have created a game that is so in demand that they have been able to get away with many tactics that have fans shaking their head every year.  Personal seating licenses did that.

War Budget

        The cartoon shows Obama at a War show and he has bought two soliders that say Afghanistan and Iraq.  Also, he gets a Libya plane.  All those have prices on them which have eaten into the spending for the government.  As you notice, Obama isn't to excited about that.

Libya Gameplan

    This picture shows Obama as a football coach showing his plan for Libya. As you can see, there is no board because honestly there is no true motive for war on Libya, and Obama tries to clear it up by saying there is a plan.

Low, low prices: Target beats Wal-Mart

       Two recent price comparisons of grocery and household goods revealed that Target's prices are lower than at No. 1 retailer Wal-Mart.  35 brand-name items sold at Wal-Mart and Target stores in New York, Indiana and North Carolina were compared. They consisted of 22 common grocery goods such as milk, cereal and rice; 10 general merchandise products such as clothing and home furnishings; and three health and beauty items. Target's shopping cart rang in at $269.13 (pre-tax), a hair lower than the $271.07 charged at Wal-Mart.  Wal-Mart typically maintains a 2% to 4% price advantage over Target.

Warrensville resident turns 119

       http://news.yahoo.com/video/cleveland-wews-20910953/cleveland-woman-turns-119-24619593
Rebecca Lanier has just turned 119, however the Guiness book of World Records refuses to acknowledge that until they receive her birth certificate which she does not possess.

Investors flock to Japanese stocks after quake

     Exchange-traded funds that hold Japanese stocks brought in a record $1.2 billion the week after a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan and caused the worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl disaster, according to TrimTabs Investment Research.  The rash of buying of Japanese stocks came after the country's benchmark Nikkei 225 index, the equivalent to the Dow Jones industrial average, fell 16 percent over two days in panic-driven selling, reaching its lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis. The index bounced back nearly as quickly, jumping 5.6 percent on March 16 and 4.3 percent on March 22. The index is now down 7.8 percent since the earthquake. 
     Cleanup and rebuilding costs in the country will be considerable. The Japanese government said Tuesday that expenses could reach more than $300 billion, more than double the $125 billion in damage caused to New Orleans and the surrounding region by Hurricane Katrina.  Companies that are expected to take part in Japan's rebuilding efforts have benefitted the most from the surge of investor dollars. Taiheiyo Cement Corp. has jumped 32 percent over the last week, while Japan Steel Works Ltd. has gained 25 percent over the same time. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., an industrials company that makes products from airplanes to air-conditioning systems, has gained 19 percent.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Investors-flock-to-Japanese-apf-3565252443.html?x=0

Tight leash on Goodell strangles NFL owners

    On Thursday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell cobbled together a 24-hour extension to the end of the collective bargaining agreement, giving the union and the league another day to work.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-goodellsmithcba030311

NFL Lockout

           This cartoon shows people on a Sunday who are pretty bummed out because theres no football, but there is a realistate agent who is very excited because instead of watching football people are actually going to a open house for a house that is on sale.

Glanville signs with UFL, Schottenheimer may soon follow

       As the United Football League waits for its chance to capitalize on the NFL lockout, it's stocking up on coaching star power.  Jerry Glanville has been officially tabbed to be the head coach and general manager of the Hartford Colonials, and according to Chris Mortensen, Marty Schottenheimer is on the verge of being named the head coach of the Virginia Destroyers.  For this new upstart league this might be the first of many crossovers including probably some former players and guys coming out of college.
     Honestly, I don't think this league will last because according to past history upstarts leagues similar to this one have not proceeded in their sucess as soon as the NFL was able to step up their marketing.  In this instance, the NFL is locked out, and if they continue to be locked out this might mean slightly more money and tv ratings for the UFL.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Jerry-Glanville-and-Marty-Schottenheimer-find-wo?urn=nfl-wp420

Japan braces for potential radiation catastrophe

           Japan is facing a potential catastrophe after a quake-crippled nuclear power plant exploded and sent low levels of radiation floating in the air towards Tokyo.  Operators of the facility said one of two blasts had blown a hole in the building housing a reactor, which meant spent nuclear fuel was exposed to the atmosphere.  Prime Minister Naoto Kan urged people within 30 km (18 miles) of the facility -- a population of 140,000 -- to remain indoors.  Lam Ching-wan, a chemical pathologist at the University of Hong Kong, said the blasts could expose the population to longer-term exposure to radiation, which can raise the risk of thyroid, bone cancers, and leukemia. Children and fetuses are especially vulnerable, he said.  "Very acute radiation, like that which happened in Chernobyl and to the Japanese workers at the nuclear power station, is unlikely for the population," he said.
            As concern about the crippling economic impact of the nuclear and earthquake disasters mounted, Japan's Nikkei index fell as much as 14 percent before ending down 10.6 percent, compounding a slide of 6.2 percent the day before. The two-day fall has wiped some $620 billion off the market.  Hiromichi Shirakawa, chief economist for Japan at Credit Suisse, said in a note to clients that the economic loss will likely be around 14-15 trillion yen ($171-183 billion) just to the region hit by the quake and tsunami.

World's Billionaires 2011

         The 2011 Billionaires List breaks two records: total number of listees (1,210) and combined wealth ($4.5 trillion).  Atop the heap is Mexico's Carlos Slim Helú, who added $20.5 billion to his fortune, more than any other billionaire.  Now worth $74 billion, he has pulled far ahead of his two closest rivals. Bill Gates, No. 2, and Warren Buffett, No. 3, both added a more modest $3 billion to their piles and are now worth $56 billion and $50 billion, respectively.  America's wealthiest still dominate the global ranks, but the U.S. is losing its grip.
        Facebook is an inspiring way for newcomers who figured out clever ways to get rich.  The company is worth $50 billion and has spawned six billionaires. Leading the group is Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose fortune jumped 238% to $13.5 billion in the past year. Also joining him in the world ranks are his cofounders Eduardo Saverin and Dustin Moskovitz, its first president Sean Parker (played by Justin Timberlake in "The Social Network") and the Russian Internet investor Yuri Milner. Moskovitz, 26, is eight days younger than his former college roommate Zuckerberg, making him the world's youngest billionaire.
         You may ask, why do we spend so much time counting other people's money? Because these moguls have the power to shape our world. Telecom billionaire turned prime minister Najib Mikati is keeping Lebanon's government together. Ernesto Bertarelli, who lost the America's Cup to Larry Ellison last year, is now focusing on saving the oceans from mass extinction. Gates and Buffett have already traveled to three continents working to change giving practices among the ultra-rich.

Entitlement Can

   This cartoon shows a can on the street with "Entitlement Reform" on it.  Then, the Democrats and Republicans are insisting that one of them kick the can because each of them don't want to deal with the problems involving Medicare and Social Security-which are also on the can.

Big Business

        This cartoon shows the Democrats displaying a government owned factory.  They suggest it's a good idea for government owned business; and also no one but themselves can regulate it.

2012, Unions

        This cartoon shows the elephant representing Republicans reading the Mayan calendar. As we all know, the Mayan calendar says the world will end in 2012, but the Republican says "unless public unions give up more benefits".

Carmelo Anthony Trade is finalized

      NBA Superstar Carmelo Anthony is finally being traded to the New York Knicks after Tuesday in a 3 team trade.   The trade also involved the Denver Nuggets along with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Denver is receiving-- Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton(notes), Wilson Chandler(notes), the Knicks’ 2014 first-round pick, two second-round picks (New York acquired from the Golden State Warriors in the David Lee sign-and-trade) and $3 million.


The Timberwolves received-- Anthony Randolph(notes) and Eddy Curry’s(notes) expiring contract  


Knicks receive-- Corey Brewer(notes)(from Minnesota), Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups(notes), Shelden Williams(notes), Renaldo Balkman(notes) and Anthony Carter.


       The biggest detail in the deal is Carmelo signing a 3-year $65 million contract extension, which if he doesn't sign, it may not be available to him after the current NBA collective bargaining agreement expires after the season.  Also, Billups can have the final year of his contract bought out after the season for about $3.7 million, but a league source said the Knicks plan to keep him.  The New Jersey Nets were willing to trade Derrick Favors (rookie drafted #3 overall this year) and four future first round picks for Carmelo Anthony but he was unwilling to sign an extension with New Jersey.
       This trade is starting to broaden a trending pattern where big money market teams are starting to stock pile superstars together such as Boston, Miami, and The Lakers have already done.  While small market teams are stuck with future draft picks and decent and good young talent to build their franchise upon.  However, to do this many role players on these big market teams have cut their salaries for cap room.  Before a team evens lands multiple superstars, the team trades away players in order to create cap space to land big name players.  Teams are trying to do this now because after the NBA's current collective bargaining agreement expires; the max salary for NBA superstars will decrease, in part with the economy also.

Sweethearts

      This is a picture of an elephant representing the Reuplican party and his wife which is the Tea Party, and teh Tea Party is concerned on how much the Republicans are spending because the Tea Party basically operates through the Republican Party.  So, the Tea Party is the one enforcing less spending.
       

Budget-Cutting Tools

      This cartoon has chainsaw with the GOP under it, and a potato peeler with Obama under it.  This represents how the GOP wants to cut the deficit and how Obama is trying to cut the deficit.  From the picture you can tell this is a Republican biased.

Obama sends Congress $3.73 trillion budget

     President Barack Obama has sent Congress a $3.73 trillion budget that holds out the prospect of eventually bringing deficits under control through spending cuts and tax increases, but the blueprint largely ignores his own deficit commission's recommendations to slash huge programs like Social Security and Medicare.  Overall, Obama proposed trimming the deficits by $1.1 trillion over a decade although his changes would actually add to the deficits this year and next. Obama is projecting the deficit will hit an all-time high of $1.65 trillion this year and then drop sharply to $1.1 trillion in 2012.
    I think lowering the deficit is going to take time; however, that is one thing Obama doesn't have. If he doesn't get re-elected I bet the next president will take his (Obama's) ideas into action then take all the credit.  In this economic situation, everyone's patience has been tested.

Republican Caterpillar

    This picture shows a Caterpillar representing the Republicans spending cuts, and it is eating a apple that represents the deficit.  The caterpillar is eating much of the deficit.  This shows that the Republicans aren't really trying to decrease the deficit.

Business Outsourcing

   This cartoon shows business being married to State Government but is having an affair with Job Outsourcing.  Business thinks there is nothing wrong with outsourcing jobs but the state government disagrees.

Super Bowl Ads

        Many people watch the Super Bowl not only for the game but for the advertising.  A two-minute ad for Chrysler starring Eminem and a Volkswagen ad featuring a mini-Darth Vader that went viral before it even aired were two of the most talked-about spots during advertising's big night.  Chrysler was one of nine automakers that took advantage of advertising's biggest and most expensive showcase, at $3 million for 30 seconds.  According to the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter, the best-scoring ads featured dogs.  Volkswagen released their ad early on Youtube.com and it had than 13 million views before the game even started.
       I believe the commercials weren't as good as past ones.  The worst one, in my opinion, was the Lipton tea one with Eminem in it, and he's saying why he doesn't do advertisements.  However, they did a poor job of marketing and displaying the product.  Doritos had the better commercials.  Especially the one where the Doritos brought things back to life.  


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Super-Bowl-ads-Eminem-Darth-apf-3611594490.html?x=0

Financial crisis report

        This cartoon shows a couple men wanting to solve the financial crisis.  In the cartoon, the commission is the republicans, democrats, and another man; they are blaming everybody.  However, they still didn't solve the blame and refuse to blame themselves.

Unrest in Egypt Unsettles Global Markets

The situation in Egypt has the potential to cause more widespread uncertainty, especially if oil and other commodities keep surging or the unrest spreads to more countries in the Middle East. Egypt closed its banks and stock market Monday because of the chaos there, and the uncertainty weighed on markets elsewhere. On Monday, shares were mixed across Europe. The FTSE 100 in Britain was down 0.25 points while in Frankfurt, the DAX lost 5.88 points, or 0.08 percent, while the CAC 40 in Paris was up 8.72 points, or 0.22 percent. The Nasdaq composite index fell, or 0.23 percent in the US.
Egypt is not an oil exporter, nor is its stock market a regional heavyweight. As the home of the Suez Canal and the nearby Sumed pipeline. In 2009, roughly 2.9 millions barrels of oil a day, 2.6 percent of global production, passed through the canal and the pipeline. However, a major player in the global grain market, importing more wheat than any other country. Still, a few investors are looking for opportunities in the Middle East and Egypt itself despite the declines there and the expected instability. Egyptian stocks are inexpensive compared with shares in other markets, according to David Marcus.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/business/01markets.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Our Sputnik Movement

This cartoon shows NASA going to a planet; however there is a Chinese restaraunt on it. It represets, China being more technological advanced than we are as Americans.

Sputnik Movement

This cartoon shows how Obama wants this to be our Sputnik movement and on the spaceship it says Deficit. Also, he wants to get rid of the deficit in the process of revolutionizing America's economy. In a way, this movement is a way to shrink the deficit.

Hiring plans top layoffs by most in 12 years

Industry economists say the U.S. economic recovery is gaining strength, with more firms expressing positive hiring plans than in over a decade. Eighty-two percent of the economists expected the nation's economy to grow by two to four percent in 2011, up from 54 percent in October. The latest government data had the economy growing at a 2.6-percent annual rate in the July-September quarter. However, more layoffs were expected in the transportation, utility, information and communications sectors. Many results are expressed as Net Rising Index, or NRI (the percentage of panelists reporting better outlooks minus the percentage whose outlook is bleaker.) Economists who saw their companies' profits grow in the final quarter of 2010 outpaced those who saw margins shrink by an NRI of 21 percent.
The results of this survey show that our country is getting better. It would take time but we've made progress. Also, it's going to take a drastic event to completely turn our economy around.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Poll-Hiring-plans-top-layoffs-apf-2575460790.html?x=0

Next presidency thoughts

Today in class we touched on primaries for the presidency. That had me thinking a bit. Despite the fact that Obama has lived up to his expectations, who else can lead our country? I mean, there is no leader from the republican side and who else is going to run against Obama. I feel like he can be a great leader, but he needs time and cooperation. Because it's obvious no one else will step up to the plate. If our government doesn't play their cards right-after watching the news about the Arizona politicans- this country could be in for a rude awakening.

Kangaroo in Flood

This is a image of a kangaroo on a long representing the flood that occured in Austrailia this week. In the background i also shows the city drowning down too.

Tunisians drive leader from power in mass uprising

After 23 years of iron-fisted rule, the president of Tunisia was driven from power Friday by violent protests over soaring unemployment and corruption. Virtually unprecedented in modern Arab history, the populist uprising sent an ominous message to authoritarian governments that dominate the region. The country was under the caretaker leadership of the prime minister who took control, the role of the army in the transition was unknown, and it was uncertain whether Ben Ali's departure would be enough to restore peace. The government said at least 23 people have been killed in the riots, but opposition members put the death toll at more than three times that.
This u[rising might be one of many to come. In recent years we've seen problems in that area and I believe that they recognize that politically something isn't right.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110115/ap_on_bi_ge/af_tunisia_riots

Health Care System Fail

In the cartoon, the Congress is saying that the Healthcare reform failed, and that caused the violent acts in Arizona. Also, that the reform caused the man to be deranged. Then, they're going to use that as a way to try to repeal the bill.

New zodiac

In this photo, the message is about the new 13th zodiac sign. A couple is saying that a Gemini is acting like a Scorpio. So, mostly everyone's sign was pushed up one. Honestly, I'm not one that gets into astrology so this really doesn't concern someone as myself.

MLK Day

This cartoon shows a few elderly african-americans reminiscing about the importance of MLK day black history. Then, they show a white man who says he remembers when the Congress was all white. I believe this represents who actually believes in the importance of a black holiday.

Snow Reaction

            This is a cartoon of the U.S. map with tire tracks on it.  It represents the snowstorm that swept the entire country and the captions represent the reactions from people in those areas.  Also, it was the first time a lot of areas experienced snow.

     

Suspect in attack on congresswoman acted alone

       Federal prosecutors brought charges Sunday against the gunman accused of attempting to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killing six people at a political event in Arizona.  Investogators claimed to have a search warrent for Jared Loughner's home, and found messages in a safe such as: "I planned ahead," "My assassination" and the name "Giffords" next to what appears to be the man's signature.
      "Loughner fired at Giffords' district director and shot indiscriminately at staffers and others standing in line to talk to the congresswoman," said Mark Kimble, a staffer for Gilfords.
      Loughner is accused of killing six people.  I believe he acted alone because this was very unorganized.  Usually assassinations attempts are more well thought out to the point where the assassin is not trying to get caught. It's unforunate that this incident happened, but I think politicians should start to be more aware of their decisions and try to make some reform in our government.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110109/ap_on_re_us/us_congresswoman_shot

The Great Wall Of China

This is a cartoon of the Great Wall of China and North Korea.  On one side China's flag is on it and the other side has North Korea with Nuclear Weapons.  The statement is that North Korea is making all these weapons and China, their neighboring country isn't doing anything about it.  Also, the artist is saying that's bringing shame to China.