Scare is Over & Scam Capital

Scare is Over & Scam Capital plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

From the Swine Flu to the H1N1 virus it appears this little media darling is beginning to recede into the rearview mirror. The nation’s largest hog producer is getting back to business according to Larry Pope, Smithfield Foods President and CEO.

POPE: This issue has been a three week event and it’s basically behind us. Pork demand has already started to recover, the packaged meats business never really suffered. Bacon, hams and hot dogs never really suffered. Hog prices went from 46 cents a pound to 37 cents a pound. As of last night they closed back up to 46 cents a pound.

Spokane, Washington has a new title and this one is not going to make the city happy. Forbes magazine claims that Spokane should be called the Scam Capital of America. Why? They claim things like the Riverpark Square parking garage, the old Spokane Stock Exchange and various others have made the area a haven for scammers. Only last month Forbes listed Spokane as one of the best places for businesses and careers.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

There’s always been and will continue to be those people who are drawn to the scene of any disaster, like moths to a flame.  They can’t seem to help themselves; they have to see, no matter how disturbing or horrific the details may be. Rather like the ACLU pushing to release photos which show U.S. troops allegedly abusing prisoners of war. For the record, I am not in favor of the mistreatment of prisoners or detainees in order to extract information. Investigations into mistreatment of detainees have already been carried out      and the offending servicemen and women have been prosecuted. What further good can be obtained from the release of photos depicting such abuse? Rather the opposite effect might very well be the case in regard to the safety of our nation’s troops around the globe. Insinuations that the Obama administration is not living up to their promise of “transparency” by releasing these photos is bogus since details of the alleged abuse investigations are on the Pentagon’s web site. Perhaps the question should be just how much “transparency” are we as a nation really ready to handle; do we have to see it, to believe it?

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.