Wednesday, The United States launches unmanned drone attacks against terrorist encampments inside of Pakistan, at least six people have died.

Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan, has become a growing haven for terrorists that are fleeing US troops policing efforts in Afghanistan. Over the last several weeks the generally good relationship enjoyed between Pakistan and the United States has become strained by US troops launching raids against terrorists camps on the other side of the Pakistan boarder.

Emergency diplomatic sessions had to be held when two days ago the prime minister of Pakistan released a general order to troops to fire on any American soldiers that violated the sovereign boarders of Pakistan.

American generals and ambassadors assured Pakistan that we would continue to consider them a partner in our War on Terror, and that we would respect their sovereignty, while simultaneously conducting bombings inside of their boarders.

Pakistan has yet to make a public statement on the bombing.

Okay, this is another of those “New Terms” that have been around forever, but are just coming to the fore front of our national consciousness. We at Wetwired have decided to make a concerted effort to shed some light on these terms as we are basically a news gathering organization and the current monetary crisis is quite possibly the biggest news story of the last 50 years.

(This one is a little more complicated, so try to follow along)

It all starts with Naked Short Selling, or Naked Selling. This is when a someone sells a share of stock, and fails to deliver it.

A Naked Short Sale is a manipulative trading technique. It takes advantage of a loophole in the system. This loophole allows a transaction to occur, and all monies to be paid before delivery of the stock share is made.

It should be noted that a Naked Short Sale is very different than a legitimate short sale. Short selling is an accepted means of selling a share at a price, and re buying it from the person when the price drops. This is a method of making money on a stock whose shares fall. It differs from Naked Short Selling in that it does not attempt to manipulate the market by taking advantage of deficiencies in the existing system.

The SHO List is a daily list required by the Securities Commission to show what stocks and futures have been most influenced by Naked Short Selling. When a stock appears on the list, it is usually considered to be “depressed” and therefore an unwise investment in most cases. The longer something stays on the list, the less chance it has of recovery.

When a stock is removes from the SHO List, it has a better chance of recovery than those on the list, but many stocks never recover from their time on the list.

With all the things going on in the financials market, and international monetary crises (what is the plural of apocalypse again?) there are a lot of terms being introduced to the average American that was not in their vocabulary yesterday.

One of these “New Terms” is The TED Spread.

First off, TED Spread is not an actual person named Ted. It is a comparison between the three month T-Bill interest rate and the three month LIBOR.  That is a lot of fancy jargon for simply stating that the TED Spread is a measurement of the willingness of banks to lend money to one another. As the spread increases, the more unstable the lending process becomes, and the more the spread decreases the less likely banks are to default on those loans.

That maybe a bit of an over simplification, but it is accurate none the less.

Of course due to current conditions the TED Spread is at just about an all time high.

T-Bills are short for Treasury Bills, and they are loans to the Treasury department that mature in one year or less. They are considered a very low risk investment.

The LIBOR is the London Interbank Offered Rate, which is the daily rate of leanding between banks.

Today is Constitution Day (also known as Citizenship Day) in the United States. This is one of my favorite days of our year. This is a federal observance that recognises the ratification of The Constitution of The United States on September 17th, 1787.

This is the day we became a nation; one people united under a common law that was meant to govern us all equally.

I think a lot of us either over look this day, or in many cases didn’t even know it existed in the first place. Grant it, it is a fairly new observance, this only being the 4th year it has been celebrated as federal law. But still I feel it is an important day.

Remembrance of where we come from, and who we were, shows us where we are going and reminds us of who we are.

A car bomb blast and up to five additional explosions at the front gate of the U.S. Embassy in Yemen’s capital killed six Yemeni guards and four civilians Wednesday, officials said. No American personnel were reported injured.

The heavily fortified compound was hit by two car bombs, several other explosions that are being classified as “Secondary Explosions” and were followed by open gunfire from the streets that lasted approximately 10 minutes.

The Islamic Jihad of Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they did it as result of U.S.-Yemen ties and cooperation. The Islamic Jihad of Yemen is directly linked to Al Quaeda.
“We offer our sincere condolences to the loved ones of the Yemenis lost in today’s violence,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndrow said in a statement. “This attack is a reminder of the continuing threat we face from violent extremists both at home and abroad.”
“The embassy in Yemen, the ancestral homeland of Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden, has been targeted by militants at least four times since 2003, most recently in March when mortar rounds crashed into a girls’ school next door, killing a Yemeni security guard and wounding more than a dozen girls.”
The most infamous attack against the United States in Yemen was the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole on October 12^th, 2000. In this bombing, 17 sailors were killed and many others injured. Many critics of the Cole Bombing have stated that it was our lack of retaliation after the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole that lead to the attack on the World Trade Centers, and Pentagon on September 11^th, 2001.
Al Quaeda has an active, and deeply embedded presence in Yemen, which is bound my Islamic Muslim law.
Other attacks by Al Quaeda in Yemen include:

The shooting of civilians in March of 2003, in which tens of thousands of demonstrators tried to storm the U.S. Embassy. Two civilians were killed, and dozens of others wounded.

In 2006 a sniper opened fire on U.S. personnel at the embassy, and was shot and killed by Yemeni police.

The FED made a shocking announcement today when they publicly stated that they were offering the largest insurance company in the world AIG an $85 billion bailout package.

American International Group, AIG, will be receiving a federal loan from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the amount of $85 billion, in exchange for 79.9% stake in the company. AIG’s assets exceed $1.1 trillion dollars and planned to declare bankruptcy today. If they had, their collapse would have sent world stock markets and financial concerns into chaos.

“[A] disorderly failure of AIG could add to already significant levels of financial market fragility and lead to substantially higher borrowing costs, reduced household wealth and materially weaker economic performance,” the Fed said in a statement.

The Federal Reserve Board will be replacing the company executives, possibly with FED employees, and maintain controlling interest in the company as well as a position on the board of directors. They claim that customers will not notice a difference in this exchange of power.

“Taxpayers will be protected”, the Fed said, “because the loan is backed by the assets of AIG and its subsidiaries. The loan is expected to be repaid from the proceeds of the asset sales.”
“We are working closely with the Federal Reserve, the SEC and other regulators to enhance the stability and orderliness of our financial markets and minimize the disruption to our economy,” said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. “I support the steps taken by the Federal Reserve tonight to assist AIG in continuing to meet its obligations, mitigate broader disruptions and at the same time protect the taxpayers.”
AIG’s official company statement is: “AIG is a solid company with over $1 trillion in assets and substantial equity, but it has been recently experiencing serious liquidity issues. We believe the loan, which is backed by profitable, well-capitalized operating subsidiaries with substantial value, will protect all AIG policyholders, address rating agency concerns and give AIG the time necessary to conduct asset sales on an orderly basis.”
“The failure of AIG could have caused unprecedented global ripple effects”, said Robert Bolton, managing director at Mendon Capital Advisors Corp. “If AIG fails and can’t make good on its obligations, forget it. It’s as big a wave as you’re going to see.”

AIG had a massive fluctuation in prices today amid rumors that they would follow Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in filing for bankruptcy.

The stocks closing price today was 3.95, with a high of 5.24 and a low of 1.84.

Since after hours trading began the stock has dropped to 47% to 2.08.

Editors Note: Update - AIG has been bailed out by the FED.

In the face of one of the most dramatic money crises that the United States has ever faced, the Dow Industrial still closed 141.51 points above yesterday.

All weekend we have heard rumors that AIG will join Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the long line of moneylenders and investment firms that are both filing for bankruptcy and begging for federal bailout.

“All of the financials are in complete disarray. There is a tremendous amount of nervousness, which is breeding volatility,” said Anthony Conroy, head trader at BNY ConvergEx.

Fox News Reports:

“With the clock ticking on AIG, reports swirled of a possible government rescue of the world’s largest insurer. Bloomberg reported late Tuesday the Federal Reserve is considering a “loan package.” AIG was also boosted after new SEC filings showed its former CEO, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, is considering a proxy fight for his old company. ”

“No bailout plan was announced before the end of trading and the Treasury Department has not officially changed its plans, leaving AIG in the same predicament it started the day in. Late Monday AIG suffered a major setback when major ratings agencies downgraded the insurer’s credit ratings, making it increasingly difficult to raise cash.”

AIG has officially filed for federal loans and support in this time, and have so far been denied. They claim to have a better case for bailout than either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, as their troubles stem not from over extending loans, but from the massive down turn in the economy.

Yesterday, former head of the FED Alan Greenspan referred to this as a “Once a century monetary crisis” further fueling the comparisons to the great depression that began in 1929.

“The enormous swings in the stock market reflect the level of concern and confusion on Wall Street about AIG. Various reports indicated if AIG didn’t raise new capital — it is reportedly seeking $70 billion to $75 billion — it would be forced to follow in the footsteps of Lehman Brothers by filing for bankruptcy.”

In it’s first unamyous decision in over a year, the Federal reserve has voted to freeze interest rates. As well as mandate that the Federal Funds Rate not change from it’s current 2%.

In one ray of bright light for the fininacials in trouble, the British bank Barclay’s has entered into an agreement with embattled Lehman Brothers to purchase control of their U.S. capitals market business, giving the giant some much needed capital. There is debate as to whether it will be enough.

I’ve told you before that I have more bosses than I know what to do with, but the big boss is really the only one that matters. As long as he is happy, everything goes pretty much smoothly.

When I have a meeting with him, I always take really careful notes, make sure I have every detail covered and I understand his instructions, etc.

This is all pretty standard.

The one time the plan falls through the floor is when he and I accidentally end up in the men’s room at the same time. (I swear, I do my level best to know when he goes to the bathroom, and more importantly when he does NOT go to the bathroom)

See, he’s the type of guy that likes to talk while he urinates. Sure, I really have no problem with that. I don’t exactly have what you call a “bashful bladder” and if some one wants to make small talk while we pee, fine. “nice weather we’re having, how are the kids, had to have the car fixed the other day, etc…”

But not my boss, nooooooooo. He can’t confine himself to small talk. The way he sees it is if he’s peeing, he’s wasting time. So there we are at the urinal, and I get “I need you to change the wording in next weeks ad to (fill in the blank), and while you’re at it change the shipping charges on the following manufactures to the following percentages…”

Okay. Still not really a problem right? I mean I keep a pad of paper in my back pocket at all times, and a pen in my shirt pocket at all times. Under normal circumstances it would be easy for me to simply take notes, ask a few questions, and implement the changes when I’m done. Right?

Right?

Well as it turns out, in those circumstances, my hands are a little “otherwise occupied”. So the problem becomes do I just stand there, nodding, asking questions and take the chance of forgetting something. Or do I just let go, take notes and its just god’s best guess what I pee on at that point.

Have you ever turned on a garden hose and forgotten the nozzle was on, and seen it whip around all over the place?

Well it’s the same basic principle.

Anyway, I’m not shy, but I think I would feel pretty bad standing there with a pad and pen in my hand going “And do you want those results prioritize by proximity or household income” while john thomas flaps around soaking everything and everyone on a three foot radius.

I’ve never viewed urinating on the boss as a good way to get ahead in a company. (Unless of course he likes that sort of thing, in which case its time to change careers.)

So, I have spies. No, really. I explained the problem to a couple of the ladies in the accounting department. (The ladies in the accounting department love me. I bring them doughnuts and let them pick out my ties for me.)The nice thing is that the accounting department is located directly across from the upstairs bathroom, and has a massive window that looks across into the hall.

The lady that handles past due accounts wanted to have nothing to do with this.(prude) However the Accounts Payable lady thought it was funny. So she keeps an eye out for me. Now every time he goes to the bathroom, my desk phone beeps twice.

Beep Beep. = Big Boss is in the restroom.

Beep = Big Boss has tied it off and is out of the restroom.

Now this is FANTASTIC! I mean I hear the third beep, decide if I need to go too, and then use the bathroom before he decides to go again.

Flawless plan, right?

So one would think!

However there is a problem associated with this. Now I know every time the man goes to the bathroom. I know how long he is in there because of the third beep.

Some days the phone doesn’t beep at all, and I think “maybe he’s just really busy”. But some days it beeps way to much, and I think “Maybe he has a bladder infection”

I have never been this “in tune” with another person’s bathroom cycle before. I’m not really sure how to handle this much responsibility.

I feel DRUNK WITH POWER!!!!

Then alternately I feel overwhelmed with the responsibility of it all. I mean how many days without the phone beeping do I wait before I pull him to the side and say “Hey man, I noticed you haven’t been peeing lately. How’s the ol’ prostate?”

Then what if one day I hear the two beeps, and no third beep. That third beep just never comes. The minutes tick by, and then the hours… When do I go check on him? How do I walk in there and say “Hey boss man, I’ve been monitoring you pretty closely lately, and I became concerned about how long you have been on the can. Have you become trapped in some way? Is something caught in the seat hinge?”

Oh sure, it all started innocently enough. “Just let me know when the man goes to the bathroom so that I can avoid him in there. I don’t like getting a performance review while I’m holding my willy wonka”.

And now it’s blossomed into this whole thing! Now I’m committed!

I can’t get out!

I bought him a bottle of cranberry juice and left it on his desk anomalously the other day.

The cold dark hands of fate have gripped me, and I am now destined to know all the details of my bosses movement moments.

I remember, with a certain degree of nostalgia, the days in high school when you would turn on MTV and be rewarded with over produced, under lit videos that revolved around good music. It was in a fit of this nostalgia that I turned on MTV the other day in order to see if, maybe by chance, I might catch one of the videos that meant so much to me way-back-when.

Instead, I was assaulted by a bisexual woman with bad skin, named after a hangover, and telling me my hair was too short.

This rubbed me the wrong way, and I was reminded of an article I wrote a number of years ago that listed some simple pleasures that have fallen by the way side that I miss.

I was compelled to compile another. So here goes:

1) I miss MTV. Since this is the thing that spawned my interest in writing this article, it deserves to be first on the list. Once upon a time, MTV played music videos. See, that’s how they got their name: Music Television. Now they play Top Stories, celebrity news and reality TV shows. (That’s directly from their website, by the way) Where did the music go? I assure you, Tia Tequila has nothing to do with the MTV that I remember.

2) I miss the fucking Commies. Communism was fantastic, if for no other reason than the country was united in our hatred for them, and there was a clearly defined menace to our way of life. John Wayne HATED pinkos. We may have had our differences, but we were together on this issue. Now, we have the terrorists. And grant it, they are probably a far more dangerous enemy than the Reds, but they are nebulous and ill defined. Our country is left a simpering, whimpering pile of marys, and we really can’t agree on anything.

3) I miss Ronald Reagan. I think Reagan’s corpse could do a better job of running the country than anyone we have currently running for office.

4) I miss elections where the candidates stood for something. I can’t stand “Madison Avenue” candidates. You should believe in SOMETHING, if you are running for office. Your opinions should not be defined by market research.

5) I long for a time when debate was important. I’m not naive enough to think that your appearance and your connections didn’t matter, but so did your opinions. Lincoln stood on a stage and debated with Stephen Douglass until they could no longer stand. Hundreds of people saw it, and told their friends. Back then an audience was limited by how many people you could fit in a field. Now the audience is the whole world. Don’t we owe it to ourselves to put at least as much effort into it when we are reaching tens of millions as when we could only reach a few hundred at a time?

6) I miss the days when I could work a whole day without my feet hurting.

7) I miss a time when women knew where to stand when you opened a door for them. To extrapolate that, I miss a time when women were ladies. They could partake or not partake of chivalry as they saw fit, but none the less they appreciated the effort.

I miss $1.25 a gallon gasoline. (But in my defense, who doesn’t)

9) I miss that feeling I used to have that the world contained endless possibilities, and that the future would be something that none of us could have dreamed of. (The last part was right, if not for the wrong reasons)

10) I miss sit-coms. Sure, there are one or two out there of note, but reality TV rules the roost.

11) I really miss not caring about the consequences of my actions. That was fun!

12) I miss old friends that are lost to us now. The great ones: the world was full of more vivid colors when they were in it.

13) Occasionally I miss my virginity, but not today.

14) I just missed a deadline for a project at work while I was typing this up.

So tell me, what do you miss?

It’s the 4^th of July again, and most of us will be spending time with friends and family, barbequing beasts and buying water beds.

In the midst of all the other things we have going on; we need to remember why we celebrate the 4^th of July. This is the anniversary of when we declared our independence from our oppressors, and we said, collectively as a nation, my favorite words in the English language: “This far, and no farther. I will take a stand”.

Freedom is not free. Americans have been throwing down their lives for the last 2 centuries to ensure our rights, freedoms and liberties.

So as you go about your other things today, remember why you get to do them in the first place.

Thank you.

In an historic decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, they have upheld our INDIVIDUAL rights to keep and bear arms, stating that the Washington D.C. ban on firearms is unconstitutional.

This is one of the most important decisions of our lifetime. If not because it protects only our rights to bear arms, but it says that the Bill Of Rights shall not be infringed. The problem is that if one right, guaranteed by the constitution can be taken away from us, then other rights can be taken away also.

More to the point, the second amendment is the one that ensured all the rest. You see, in history, there has never been a population armed with rifles, intent to resist, that has been able to be suppresses by an oppressive government. This means that as long as we have the right to bear arms, we also have the right to resist injustice and stand up for those that cannot stand up for themselves; in other words ensure our liberty.

Freedom is not freedom if it is controlled by someone else. Freedom is only freedom if you grasp it with both hands, and refuse to let it go up to and including at the cost of your life.

If you still have your doubts, think of the worst despots, fascistic, dictators, and tyrants of the 20^th century. Let me give you some examples: Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Fidel Castro, Slobodan Milosevic, Augusto Pinochet, Ibi Amin, Saddam Hussein, Muammar Qaddafi, Pol Pot, Fransisco Franco, Enver Hoxa, Nicolae Ceausescu, Che Guevara. What do all of these men have in common? Upon assuming power, they all took dramatic steps to limit the ownership of firearms by the body politic. Many of them armed revolutionaries, but never have they armed civilians.

It only makes sense though. If you are planning to strip a group of people of their rights, property and liberty, who wants them in any kind of condition to resist?

In the coming months, we will see hundreds of smaller cases contesting our right to own different types of firearms, attempts to limit particular firearms in certain areas, and expansion of rights in the forms of fully automatic weapons and silencers. Don’t let these suits scare you. Whether or not they are enacted or turned down should be a state’s issue. However the greater right is ensured.

Please watch these events carefully. They will have far reaching repercussions. I truly believe that great amounts of good will come from this ruling.

I’m sure that many of you still have questions. Many of you may disagree with my opinions on this matter. I want to state openly that I respect the opinions of those that do not agree. So I am making this offer: If any of you have questions that you would like answers to, if you agree or disagree with the supreme courts ruling, or if you would like more information about my personal standpoint on firearms, write in. Please let us know what you think of this issue. However, if you write in on this matter, please expect that I will comment on your opinion, but I promise I will do it with intellectual thought and an attempt at kindness.

God Bless America.

My sister is a master graphic designer, and gets a lot of free lance work fixing this sort of problem that was caused by others.

She turned me on the this website called Photoshop Disasters. They take a lot of time and effort to uncover problems like this one. That is where I located this picture.

Now this is subtle. So look really carefully…