Day: May 20, 2025

The Return Of Devil’s Island

That time again….my little history lesson and beyond.

Did you see the movie Papillon?

If so then that was about the penal colony for France in South America.

Devil’s Island, its true name Cayenne, is a penal colony of French Guiana with a haunted history. Here lie the crumbled remains of a prison opened in 1852. Infamous for housing French political prisoners cast out of France by Emperor Napoleon III, it eventually became home to tens of thousands of hardened criminals. It even served as the backdrop for the 1973 action-thriller film Papillon. Nestled among the palm trees and tropical setting hides a turbulent past truth.

Prisoners were subjected to strict and inhumane treatment, making Devil’s Island aptly named. Kept in dark cells and forbidden to talk, read or even sit down throughout the day, the prison guards made the criminals’ lives a nightmare. Talking to a guard could end in severe punishment.

When details of the inhumane conditions of the prison were leaked, a public outcry led to the system’s end in 1938. But the penal colony did not close until after World War II, finally shutting down in 1946. Since its abhorrent history as a terrible prison, others have tried using the island for other means. From a police station to a shark fishing factory to a summer camp to a plant oil factory, none succeeded. Eventually, the island was abandoned, and nature took over the buildings.

I brought up this bit of history because news has broken that France will open a prison near the original location.

Deep in the Amazon jungle, France plans to open a $450 million high-security prison to isolate drug lords and radical Islamists—turning a notorious former penal colony into a fortress for modern criminals. French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin on Sunday announced the plan to build the high-security prison in the overseas territory of French Guiana, to open as early as 2028, per the BBC. The facility will sit deep in the Amazon near Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, the site of the infamous Devil’s Island penal colony, where 70,000 convicts from mainland France were sent between 1852 and 1954. The site inspired 1973’s Papillon, starring Steve McQueen, per CNN.

Designed for about 500 inmates, the prison will include a wing reserved for the most dangerous prisoners. Darmanin said the prison will enforce a strict protocol intended to disrupt contact between powerful criminal figures and their networks, especially drug lords “at the beginning of the drug trail.” The remote location was chosen in part to prevent inmates from communicating with outside networks. The announcement follows a wave of violence targeting prisons and staff in France, incidents the government links to its crackdown on organized crime.

French Guiana serves as a “strategic crossroads” for drug trafficking, particularly from Brazil and Suriname, and the new prison is part of broader efforts to control organized crime. Gangs have pushed the territory’s homicide rate to 18.4 per 100,000 people, compared to 1.2 per 100,000 in mainland France, per CNN. Recent government action also includes tough new laws, a dedicated prosecutors’ branch for organized crime, expanded investigative powers, and special protected status for informers. As French authorities face ongoing challenges such as widespread smuggling of mobile phones into prisons, stricter control over visitation and communication for high-risk prisoners is planned.

Fascinating…..will it become as infamous as the original?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Trump’s Maximalist Style

I have made many observations on Donny and his style of governing….it is a maximalist style….huh?

For those that are not too savvy on these types of terms let me clarify for you…..

A maximalist is someone who thinks things should be done in the biggest and boldest way possible. In politics, maximalists demand major changes, usually with the goal of ending capitalism.

That definition is from vocabulary.com

If you keep up with current events then you will see that Donny’s plan for government is maximalist in nature.

President Donald Trump charged into his second term with vows to quickly negotiate an end to multiple wars, pursue an “America First” strategy to restore dominance in manufacturing and abandon its postwar role as global policeman.

But the president’s maximalist domestic and foreign policy agenda has run headlong into immovable obstacles — recalcitrant autocrats, stubborn allies and an entrenched global trade network — triggering market reactions and harsh responses that have forced him to recalibrate.

It underscores the challenges Trump faces in following through on key campaign promises and bending other countries and an entrenched global economic system to his will.  The latest example came over the weekend, when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Chinese trade negotiators in Geneva to broker a detente in the countries’ month-plus trade war that brought West Coast ports to a standstill. The agreement between the U.S. and China to lower levies against one another by triple digits came as a rejection of Trump’s “no negotiations” strategy articulated by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, which threatened to plunge the nation into recession.

Trump allies, Wall Street leaders and lawmakers say the agreement with China, like other recent policy decisions, demonstrates the limits of the economic and political pain Trump is willing to tolerate.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/14/trumps-maximalist-agenda-finds-its-limits-00346389

This maximalist attitude towards policy is a mistake. The straightforward truth is that there are times when more government action in the economy is appropriate, and there are times when it isn’t. There are times when the government should step forward, and times when it should step back. The world is complex, and complexity defies simple or universal solutions. And it’s not just bad policy, but dangerous politics as well.

For decades conservatives have accused Dems of a maximalist agenda…..but that was before the hard Right entered into the picture….and now the conservs have no problem with the implementation of the Trump agenda.

I do hate to admit it but Donny and his cronies have done an excellent job at selling his agenda to the peasants (that would be you).

Dems need to step away from the center and start their own campaign of selling much needed programs to the people.

But will they?

I think no….they are too comfortable with the do-nothing middle and their own re-election than to propose an agenda for the all the people of this nation.

Time to get involved!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

More Tariff Stuff

I know I spend a lot of time writing about the tariffs and their effects on this country that is because there is a wealth of misconceptions about these lame economic moves….for one no country pays these tariffs….YOU pay for them every time you go shopping.

With that said…..

Remember when Amazon stated that they would be labeling their products with the cost to the consumer and Donny went batcrap crazy and called Bezos to have the idea squashed and it was?

Personally I thought it was a good idea but Donny does not want you to know how badly you will be getting screwed….but guess what a majority thinks the Amazon idea is a great one….

YouGov released a new poll this week on Americans’ views of President Donald Trump, his handling of the economy, and their optimism for the future. The poll found a whopping 75% of Americans believe that Trump’s tariffs will increase prices, and a strong majority wants those additional costs explained to them on the packaging.

The poll of 1,850 adult U.S. citizens, conducted between May 2nd and 5th, also found that “Majorities of Democrats and Republicans think Trump’s tariffs will lead to price increases. Among Republicans, the share who think tariffs will raise prices ‘a lot’ has increased 8 percentage points in the past two weeks, to 22% from 14%.”

Additionally, 46% of respondents said they believe that Trump’s tariffs “are harmful to the economy and consumers, with no real long-term benefits” – as opposed to 38% who said the tariffs “may cause short-term economic pain, but lead to long-term economic growth.”

But yet there are those that want to idolize Donny and his ignorance and defend these ‘taxes’ on the rest of us.

Donny has waffled on several of his tariffs and what did that achieve?

While the various tariff rollbacks and pauses have been welcomed by businesses, the respite has not removed uncertainty entirely. Brief pauses in tariffs are not sufficient for many companies to make longer-term investment or supply chain decisions.

There are fears that the uncertainty is taking a toll on the US economy. A Bloomberg poll of economists put the chances of a recession next year at almost 50-50, the news agency reported on Monday.

The farmer will most likely get hit hard…..plus could endanger our food supply…..

Specifically, while Trump publicly proclaims that he stands with farmers, his tariff war with China stands to rob producers of their markets.  Since Trump’s last term, China has already been looking to countries like Brazil for soybeans as the US has proven an unreliable partner.  Adding insult to injury, unexpectedly cancelling government contracts with thousands around the country early in his term placed undue stress on farmers who already have to contend with what extreme weather events throw their way.

Now, with the details of the UK-US trade deal becoming known, the signal – that is, the truth – of the Trump administration’s vision for agriculture is coming into view. To the point, not unlike how US agriculture has been directed for the past few decades, it is becoming clear that this administration will prioritize exports. The problem with this vision is that, even if it generates short-term profits, it endangers our long-term national food security by dangerously further internationalizing our agricultural system.

…

Trump’s efforts to undo the previous administration’s policies set up our food system for disruption and crisis, subjecting farmers to the uncertainties of international markets and developments elsewhere. If there is a signal with the noise that Trump is making with our food system, then this is it – farmers better get ready for a volatile next few years and more bailouts, as operations will continue to go under. Overall, Trump’s nationalist rhetoric amounts to little, as our food system becomes more global, increasingly made vulnerable to dynamics outside our control.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/05/15/trumps-trade-deals-endanger-farmers-and-our-food-system/

Prices will head up….Walmart has made a statement and the prez has leveled his ire on the company….

President Trump’s tariffs are just “too high,” according to Walmart, which says it will raise prices, including on some food items, in response. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said Thursday that tariffs on China are pushing up the costs of electronics and toys, while tariffs on Costa Rica, Peru, and Colombia are increasing the costs of some foods, reports CNBC. “The higher tariffs will result in higher prices,” McMillon said on an earnings call, per CNN. “We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins.”

Customers should expect price hikes beginning later this month, per CNN. “You’ll begin to see that, likely towards the tail end of this month, and then certainly much more in June,” Walmart CFO John David Rainey tells CNBC. He admits this is “not good for consumers,” per Reuters, but stresses the US is dependent on certain imports, whose prices have climbed dramatically under Trump’s tariffs. “The magnitude and speed at which these prices are coming to us is somewhat unprecedented in history,” he tells the Wall Street Journal. Though Walmart welcomed the recent deal to lower tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, it said the remaining level is still “too high,” per CNBC.

Such statements risk Trump’s ire. The White House attacked Amazon’s reported plan to show the added cost of tariffs on some items as a “hostile and political act,” while Trump threatened a 100% tariff on Mattel’s toys after the company announced it would raise prices in response to tariffs last week. Walmart appears confident in its position, however. Of the trade war, Rainey told analysts, “We are equipped to manage this as well or better than other retailers,” per Investing.com. Walmart continues to expect annual sales to climb between 3% and 4% for the fiscal year ending in January, per Reuters.

He be pissed!

Will he threaten Walmart and make them change their tone as he did with Amazon?

You decide.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”