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Major Protests in Middle East/North Africa/Southeastern Europe

Map of Current Major Protests

Countries currently looking to oust or reform their regimes:

(from left to right)
-Morocco
-Algeria
-Libya
-Albania
-Lebanon
-Jordan
-Syria
-Yemen
-Bahrain (small island country)
-Iran
(with more minor protests [which could turn major quite soon] occurring in [left to right] Mauritania, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Somalia, Kuwait, & Oman)

Since protests started in Tunisia (resulting in ousting of President Ben Ali on Jan. 14, 2011), and later Egypt (resulting in ousting of President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, 2011) there have been protests rippling through the Middle East and North Africa, but since the ousting of regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, protests have truly erupted throughout the region with sustained campaigns involving strikes, demonstrations, marches and rallies
This eruption has been especially pushed on through:
-The uniting power of social media (which both protesters and government supporters now utilize) [CBS: The Role of Social Media]
-The aggressive coverage of the Quatar-based satellite news channel, Al Jazeera [NY Times: The Role of Al Jazeera]
-With both contributing to the overall climate of widespread protests which has emboldened protesters
[Slideshow - Scenes From The Middle East Protests 2011]
[U.S. Closely Monitoring Middle East]
It's tough to keep the information straight so we will do a quick breakdown of the major protests in the region...

Back With News on Wednesday

Away for the Weekend...

Be back with news breakdowns on Wednesday

(Part 2 of 2 - The Merger) New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Could Become German-Owned?

This post will deal with the merger side of the NYSE, and its upcoming Deutsche Boerse Merger

(Refer to Part 1 - Basics of the Stock Exchange)

Duncan Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext, listens to
Reto Francioni, CEO of Deutsche Boerse, via video conference
the day both corporations announced their plans to merge

Introduction

-In the past decade, the NYSE, the last major floor-trader, has been under heavy competitive pressure from the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc., and other electronic trading platforms, due to their faster transaction speeds and lower transaction costs 

-This coupled with the fact that the expansion of trading technology and weaker regulatory rules has made it easier to launch competitive trading platforms (there are now as many as 50 trading venues, compared with fewer than 20 ten years ago) has driven down costs, and drawn fewer private companies into the rigorous process (described in Part 1) of getting their companies listed on the NYSE

-Both NYSE and NASDAQ make their money from listing stocks, executing trades and distributing market data and are fighting to be the place where investors trade.  As the cost of trading stocks has fallen, however, exchanges have become more dependent on volume and have looked more aggressively to consolidate and get bigger

(Part 1 of 2 - The Basics) New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Could Become German-Owned?

There is a lot of information to digest in order to fully breakdown the importance of a possible merger with news to come this week - So this current news breakdown - will be in 2 parts
This first half will deal with the foundational aspects - the important basics of the stock market and the NYSE 
If you already know or are uninterested in the basics- Skip This Post- Current News Breakdown on Wednesday

The NYSE: Then and Now

More extensive readings to refer to for further information:
[Basics of How the Stock Market Works]
[Basic Explanation of the NYSE]
Quick Definitions:
Stock Market: Used here as a general term for any means by which stocks are bought and sold
Stock Exchange: The most important component of a stock market; a centralized organization that provides the market place or facility for the buying and selling of stocks and shares.

Beginnings of NYSE: May 17, 1792- 24 New York City Stock Brokers get together on Wall Street under a Buttonwood Tree and sign the Buttonwood Agreement- setting an official commission rate and agree to only deal with each other
1817: The New York brokers draw up a constitution and establish the formal NYS&EB (later changing its name to NYSE in 1863)
[Full Timeline If Interested]
Since then, it has gradually evolved and become a world center of trade and finance and an enduring symbol of American Capitalism

Obama's Health Care Law

  "O...b...a....."

Healthcare reform was one of Barack Obama's main focuses coming into office
March 23, 2010 - Obama signs the 'Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act' into Law (A second Act was passed to enhance it soon after, but this was the main Health Care Bill)
[Detailed Explanation: How a Bill Becomes a Law]
[Simple Flowchart: How a Bill Becomes a Law]
At this time, Democrats held the majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives
No Republicans supported the Bill in the Senate or House of Representatives, but as the initial minority their support was not needed to ultimately pass the bill (There was minor Democrat opposition as well, but again, not enough)
[Full Breakdown of House Vote]
Cost: $940 Billion over 10 years, savings and revenue would reduce Federal deficit by $132 billion (according to Congressional Budget Office at time of creation)
Aimed at: extending coverage to 32 million American (expanding covered Americans from 83% to about 95%), control healthcare costs, improve healthcare delivery system
Funded by: New taxes (higher taxes primarily for affluent people defined as making +$200K, married couple making +$250K), new fees on industries involved in health care, cuts in projected spending growth for Medicare.

People's Revolt in Egypt

(left to right) Angry Protester, Hosni Mubarak

Egypt
Population: 80 million people, 90% Muslim/10% Christian
One of Middle East's more developed economies with a rich culture reaching back thousands of years.

Current Leader
For last 30 years, ruled by Hosni Mubarak (on the sign there) - a dictator who claims he was democratically elected, but in reality, most elections were shams- and he outlaws and jails those who oppose him.

Protests
There have been numerous uprisings against him during his rule without success- but currently the people of Egypt are in their most successful revolt yet...

Welcome to Political Blog #2798

Reading about the world is...vvkhvbh, for lack of a better word.  Scanning through the stories of your international news provider; images storm through your brain of crises in far away lands, triumphs in noble causes, absolute atrocities that hurt to think about; all while eating Lucky Charms in your boxers.  You felt something- disbelief, anger, joy, call to action, call to apathy, confusion.  You're still sitting on your right foot, drinking the remains of your sugar milk.

You feel something, but you've taken on so many points of view at this point it can be difficult to organize the information and actually come to an understanding.  I'm looking for an understanding, so I started this blog to have a place to take the bare bones of big issues and organize them in a straight-forward form.