Mercury

Jihad Watch: Pentagon: 61 ex-Gitmo inmates have returned to jihad
Keith Locke should take careful note of this report from Reuters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon said on Tuesday that 61 former detainees from its military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, appear to have returned to terrorism since their release from custody.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said 18 former detainees are confirmed as “returning to the fight” and 43 are suspected of having done in a report issued late in December by the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Morrell declined to provide details such as the identity of the former detainees, why and where they were released or what actions they have taken since leaving U.S. custody.

“This is acts of terrorism. It could be Iraq, Afghanistan, it could be acts of terrorism around the world,” he told reporters.

Morrell said the latest figures, current through December 24, showed an 11 percent recidivism rate, up from 7 percent in a March 2008 report that counted 37 former detainees as suspected or confirmed active militants….

The Pentagon said it considers a former detainee’s return to terrorism “confirmed” when evidence shows direct involvement in terrorist activities. U.S. officials see a “suspected” terrorism links when intelligence shows a plausible link with terrorist activities.

“Propaganda does not qualify as a terrorist activity,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

It is simply madness that Keith Locke thinks we can even contemplate taking in this bunch of terrorist scum.

Joe the Plumber has gone to Israel to look into reporting on the Israeli’s war on terror group Hamas. he is less than impressed; perhaps he should look up Mark Crysell, the TVNZ coward sitting in Sderot, Israel all doled up in a flak jacket while Israeli citizens wander around him without protection.

Samuel Wurzelbacher of Ohio, aka Joe the Plumber, arrived in Sderot at noon Sunday to show local and foreign reporters how to do it right.

“You should be ashamed of yourself,” he told foreign reporters.

“You should be patriotic, protect your family and children, not report like you have been doing for the past two weeks since this war has started,” he said.

Wurzelbacher, the man who stole the limelight from Republican presidential candidate John McCain during the American election campaign, has found a new job – as a correspondent for the Internet Web sites PJTV and Pajamas Media.

Armed with a camera and a temporary Government Press Office card, he got a taste of reality in Sderot, visiting a house hit by a Kassam rocket two weeks ago and experiencing a “Code Red” alert first-hand. He also observed and reported from the house where a Kassam landed on Sunday afternoon.

The people of Sderot “can’t do normal things day to day,” like get soap in their eyes in the shower, for fear a rocket might come in, Wurzelbacher said. “I’m sure they’re taking quick showers. I know I would.”

He also wondered why Israel waited so long to act. “I know if I were a citizen here, I’d be damned upset.” He described himself as a “peaceloving man,” but added, “when someone hits me, I’m going to unload on the boy. And if the rest of the world doesn’t understand that, then I’m sorry.”

Wurzelbacher had already announced that he would arrive in the area for 10 days to cover Operation Cast Lead and to assist in getting out the Israeli side of the story.

“I want the average American Joes to understand the story here from the point of view of someone like them,” he told WNWO, a TV channel in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio, before heading here.

During the election campaign, Wurzelbacher (who supported McCain) warned Jewish voters in America that voting for President-elect Barack Obama would be a death blow to Israel, saying, “Obama has offered to sit down with the enemies of Israel.”

But in Sderot, he seemed just as intent on teaching a thing or two to the media. “Do you think this is normal, the way you cover this conflict and give away information to your enemy?” he asked the journalists that gathered around him.

“It makes me sick to see the way you behave – you guys need to be protective of your homes, your children, your family.”

“I am angry,” he said, “and this is why I came here.”

I saw some pictures of Joe the Plumber in Sderot and he wasn’t wearing a flak jacket. He is right though, the mainstream media should be ashamed of themselves.

from the IDF

Amir Mansi, the commander of the Hamas rocket launching program in the Gaza City area, was killed today by IDF fire with assistance of the ISA. Mansi was also the leading Hamas authority with regard to the long range Grad missile launching program.

Amongst other activities Mansi directed and actively fired dozens of rockets at Israel, killing and wounding Israeli civilians. Mansi was spotted firing a rocket in the Jabel Rise area during a ground force operation today. The forces opened fire, killing Mansi and injuring two additional terror operatives.

from Power Line

The UN has suspended aid shipments to Gaza after one of its trucks was attacked and the driver and occupant were killed. The UN immediately blamed the attack on the IDF and in particular on an IDF tank.

Shortly before the pause took effect, the U.N. said one of its aid trucks came under fire from a gunner on an Israeli tank, killing the driver.

U.N. spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna said the U.N. coordinated the delivery in northern Gaza with Israel, and the vehicle was marked with a U.N. flag and insignia. The Israeli army said it was investigating.

The IDF has released a statement denying its involvement in the attack and it appears now that the truck was hit by sniper fire rather than a tank shell.

It appears that Hamas is now directly attacking aid convoys and trying to get the blame attributed to the Israelis. This time it worked and failed at the same time.

IDF Spokesperson Capt. Benjamin Rutland reports on the second day of ground operations in Operation Cast Lead, including the capture of a number of Hamas terrorists by Israeli forces.

This exact question has been posed by Ramesh Ponnuru at Right Matters hosted by the WaPo.

It is a good question but let’s adapt it for New Zealand, thus I re-write his original to put it in a New Zealand context. When I say social welfare I mean all forms of welfare including National Super-annuation and Kiwisaver. So is Welfare a giant Ponzi scheme?

A number of conservatives have used the Madoff scandal to suggest that Social Welfare is a Ponzi scheme. Washington Post writer Michael Rosenwald enlists Henry Aaron, one of the grand old men of liberalism, to argue that the program has nothing in common with such a scheme, for two reasons: It is still building up reserves; and participation in it is mandatory rather than voluntary.

Now there are of course obvious differences between Social Welfare and a Ponzi scheme, notably the absence in the former case of an intent to defraud. But there are uncomfortable similarities as well. Ponzi schemes require fresh participants to pay off the old ones, for example, and this is clearly true of Social Security as well. Moreover, what Aaron is saying is basically that a Ponzi scheme isn’t one so long as it is successful.

Social Welfare won’t be building up reserves for much longer, and in any case its “reserves” consist of IOUs from the government. Participation may be mandatory, meanwhile, but having children isn’t–and Social Welfare is actually worse than the typical Ponzi scheme in that its structure discourages the generation of new participants; studies suggest that the crushing tax burden it puts on workers suppresses the number of children they have. The comparison of Social Welfare as presently structured and Ponzi schemes is, in short, unfair to Ponzi.

What do you think? To help you here is some useful information from Willisms.

Olly Newland is usually much better than the inanity that he is quoted as uttering in todays HoS.

Veteran investor Olly Newland says he is scandalised by the fees banks charge struggling homeowners seeking to move from fixed to lower floating rates. He says it’s an outrage that banks making multi-million dollar profits prefer to drive people to the wall than give them a break.

“They’re just merciless – and they’re supposed to share the pain.”

Olly would know bettter than most the law surrounding contracts and that is what a mortgage is, a contract. A fixed rate mortgage is a contract to supply you with money at a fixed interest rate for a fixed amount of time.

This is now where we get to numpty-nomics. The Numpties out there fix their loan rates generally when interest rates are on the rise as teh reserve Bank increases rates to counter inflation. Then when rates start to drop these numpties want to all jump ship to lower interest rates. In legal terms what they want to do is break their contract with the bank.

That is when we get these stupid stories about numpties hurting and crying as they struggle with their high interst rates. Interst rates, mind you, that they were perfectly happy with until everyone elses started dropping.

You also didn’t hear them clamouring to break their contracts and get higher rates when they were on lower ones did you? Not bloody likely….then the bank had to suck it up.

Olly Newland seems to want the bank to suck it up on this one too. Well fuck them and all the other numpty borrowers…..as Cactus would say RTFC. Read The Fucking Contract.

It is ironic that it is Kiwibank’s Bruce Thompson that has to explain numpty-nomics to the paper and to the masses.

break costs are a transfer of actual costs from the bank to the customer who is seeking to break the contract. Not passing on the costs is a direct loss to the bank.

“The bank takes out its own contract to finance the loan and if you break your contract, then the bank contract must also be paid out.”

Exactly.

This story is why unions fuck me off.

Maritime Union workers are considering walking off the job over the police spy scandal.

The union is one of several organisations named in emails about union actions sent by a police spy to a specialist investigation unit.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the union wants an apology and is considering seeking damages from police. He says workers will not allow their unions to be treated as criminal organisations by the State.

Mr Hanson calling for its branches to prepare for industrial action, unless they get a full apology and explanation.

Okay, let’s examine this action for its sheer stupidity.

Firstly they are going to take industrial action against their employer for something he/she had absolutely nothing to do with. If I was the employer and suffered industrial action over something unrelated to employment I would sue the union for malfeasance and loss of profits.

Secondly it will be the Union members that pay for this action by lost wages and all for want of an apology from someone completely unconnected with their employment.

Thirdly, the union bosses won’t take a hit will they, oh know, not bloody likely.

Fourthly, WTF!\

Fifthly, Just what is this goingt o achieve but the impoverishment of union members.

I think it is high time for a Unions Commission to register and monitor unions to ensure that they are fairly representing the needs and ideals of their members in a financially prudent and democtratic way.

Bill Ralston: Shock news as Government promises kept – Dear Lord! Something has gone horribly wrong. It’s utterly discombobulating. The Government is keeping its word. We’re not used to this, you know. Last week there was a bad attack of the vapours from Labour, the Greens, the unions… [NZ Herald Politics]

Bill Ralston is the first commentator to honestly discuss the past weeks legislation blitz;

Last week there was a bad attack of the vapours from Labour, the Greens, the unions and some commentators about the Government going into urgency, ramming bills through Parliament and, horror of horrors, sitting on a Saturday to get its 100-day action plan underway.

Where is the debate, the argument and the painfully slow progress of legislation through select committees? Thankfully missing.

These issues were argued long and hard through the election campaign. In many cases Parliament has already debated them in the form of Private Members’ Bills that were defeated under the last Government.

What the critics must realise is the public cast the deciding vote at the polls and National’s wasting no time in getting the job done.

National is doing exactly what it pledged to do – a 90-day probationary trial for new employees of small businesses, tax cuts, changes to KiwiSaver, amending bail laws, toughening sentences for violent offenders, new numeracy and literacy standards for schools, and reinstating the wrongly sacked Hawke’s Bay District Health Board.

Exactly. Delivered as promised.

hat tip Boing Boing

The EDAR (Everyone Deserves a Roof) is like a miniature pop-up camper designed as a portable shelter for homeless people. Hollywood movie producer Peter Samuelson (Revenge of the Nerds) came up with the idea and sponsored a prototype contest at the Art Center College of Design. Eric Lindeman and Jason Zasa won with a shopping cart-inspired version. Now, the non-profit EDAR Foundation is starting to distribute the shelters in the Los Angeles area and looking for donations to manufacture more of them.

Perhaps Auckland City could help out with the donations and get whole stack of them in the process, then the lefty twats who don’t care about the homeless and the conservatives who do but don’t want to see them can all get a win on the board.