Day: May 22, 2009

One In Seven

A new report issued out of the Pentagon has said that one in seven released detainees has returned to their terrorist ways.  A total of 74 of the 500+ detainees that has been released.  That is about 14%.

This comes out when there is a massive debate going on in Washington about the detainees and where they will be housed if Gitmo is closed.  Of course, the Repubs are saying if they come to the US they will be on your street waiting to attack.  Or if they are put in a prison in your area, AQ will be targeting your community to win their release.  All so much noise and fear being thrown around.

This tactic is silly, it implies that the Fed Prison system is full of incompetent employees and there will be massive escapes from these institution.  That is GARBAGE!  Second, I heard of a newly built yet unused maximum prison in Montana that is willing to take 100 of the inmates from Gitmo.  You did read that it was NEW and yet UNUSED?  The town that is close to the prison has an unemployment rate of about 15+% and would be a boom for the town to put people back to work.  And the fear that these inmates would radicalize others would be moot, since everyone in the prison would be already radicalized.  So all the arguments by conservs is BS.  They just want to keep playing that damn FEAR CARD as long as they can.

Using the above mentioned prison would be a win-win—win for the town and win for closing Gitmo  and probably a win for getting other countries to take these people.

First of all, the media , especially the broadcast media, is focusing on the one in seven part of the report.  They focus on the guys will be walking on your street.  They seem to forget that there are many terrorist in the Super Max already.  Or that NO one has ever escaped from a Super Max.

The GOP is just reverting back to the Bush Admin and the days of fear.  Nothing the Repubs have said is accurate….but that never stopped them in the past, so why would it now?

Economically–What Is What?

Before I start–Am I the only one that listening to the BS being spread about the economy?  Just wondering.

Geithner testified that the financial system was “starting to heal,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday that major banks had raised $56 billion since stress tests showed several in need of more capital — a sign of emerging investor confidence.

Sounds good right?  But how good can it be when this was offered about the world economies?

AS reported by Bob Davis of the Wall Street Journal:

Steep declines in the economies of three of the U.S.’s biggest trading partners — Mexico, Japan and Germany — underscored the severity of the global recession and put pressure on major industrialized nations to revive moribund global trade talks

All three countries depend on exports to the U.S. But they have nose-dived as U.S. consumers cut back purchases of autos, electronics and other goods mass produced abroad. For the first three months of 2009, U.S. merchandise imports declined about 30% to $352.5 billion compared with the same period a year earlier. Mexico’s ties to the U.S. are particularly strong because of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and Mexican auto production in the first quarter fell 41% from the year before.

Okay, everything well and good…but if you believe in globalization, how can the US economy be in a rebound?  Who is Geithner bullshitting?  The investors, Congress, the American people, just who?

I realize that economics is about as interesting to most as watching flies mate, but ignoring the facts can only make one more vulnerable.

As of the closing of the markets on 21 May 09, in the 2 days after Geithner made is confidence statement the markets have lost 350+ points…..that does not sound like the investor is too sure of the markets to me.