Beck runs with debunked Phoenix kidnapping claim
Glenn Beck falsely claimed that Phoenix experiences more kidnappings "than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City." In fact, PolitiFact.com has reported that this claim is "false", saying that "experts advise that such rankings can't be made based on available information."
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Beck claims Phoenix has more kidnappings "than any other city in the world" except Mexico City
Beck: Phoenix "has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City." On the June 30 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck, Beck suggested that illegal immigration in Arizona has gotten so bad that, "according to ABC News ... Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City." Beck then commented, "do you think we've got a problem in our country?"
PolitiFact: Claim that Phoenix has second-most kidnappings worldwide is false
PolitiFact: "Experts advise that such rankings can't be made based on available information," "no evidence" claim is accurate. PolitiFact.com assessed the claim that "Phoenix is the second kidnapping capital in the world" and determined it is "false." In a June 27 analysis of the claim, PolitiFact concluded:
Phoenix has experienced hundreds of kidnappings over the past few years. However, we couldn't find reliable around-the-planet evidence to confirm that only Mexico City experiences more of them. In fact, experts advise that such rankings can't be made based on available information. If they could, they speculate, other cities would prove to have more kidnappings than Arizona's capital.
We found nothing confirming Phoenix as No. 2 in kidnappings worldwide.
Neither FBI nor Interpol "could confirm that Phoenix has the second-highest frequency of kidnapping cases worldwide." PolitiFact reported that "Neither the FBI nor the U.S. National Central Bureau of Interpol... could confirm that Phoenix has the second-highest frequency of kidnapping cases worldwide." In fact, a spokeswoman for Interpol stated that the "agency doesn't track local kidnapping rates."
Kidnapping expert: "No reliably empirical data" exists on worldwide kidnappings. PolitiFact reported that Daniel Johnson, "an overseas kidnapping operations consultant at ASI Global," a company that counsels companies whose employees are kidnapped, said that kidnappings are "inherently under-reported" and that "no reliable empirical data" exists on them. Johnson also stated that "the definition of 'kidnap' varies" making totals difficult to quantify. Politifact further reported:
Johnson said: "From our internal experience in the last year, Mexico by far has been the biggest location for kidnappings" followed by Honduras, Venezuela, Nigeria and the Philippines. The company has handled domestic cases but Thompson said they don't compare in volume to overseas incidents. Thompson said the company annually dispatches a consultant to handle about 50 to 100 cases a year. Mexico City, Caracas, Venezuela, and Tegucigalpa, Honduras are the three cities where they work on the most kidnapping cases, he said.
Intelligence expert: "[T]here is no way that Phoenix is the No. 2 city in the world for kidnapping." From the June 27 PolitiFact report:
Scott Stewart, vice president of tactical intelligence for Stratfor, an Austin-based global intelligence company, separately chimed in: "According to our analysts, there is no way that Phoenix is the No. 2 city in the world for kidnapping and there are significantly more kidnappings in many other cities throughout Latin America," he said. "San Salvador, Guatemala City, Bogota as well as several cities in Mexico certainly have higher kidnapping rates than Phoenix."
That said, Stewart said Stratfor doesn't track such kidnapping statistics, noting that it's "extremely difficult to measure given the fact that so many cases go unreported and that the record keeping in many of the most effected countries is inaccurate." The company bases its information on "intelligence that we gather through our network of human and open sources, as well as the experience of our analysts," he said.
Phoenix Police Dept.: "almost everyone who is kidnapped in Phoenix is involved in criminal activities." PolitiFact further reported that Sgt. Tommy Thompson, the Phoenix Police Department's public information officer, "said almost everyone who is kidnapped in Phoenix is involved in criminal activities such as illegal border crossings and the drug trade. 'Unless you're involved in the dope trade, there's a very very slim chance' that you'll be kidnapped, he said."
Beck falsely claimed Arizona closed "an area that stretched 80 miles along the border"
Beck: Arizona "closed off an area that stretches 80 miles along the border," which is "giving up sovereignty." Also on the June 30 broadcast of his television show, Beck followed up his false claim about Phoenix by claiming that "it is so dangerous that in Arizona they have closed off an area that stretches 80 miles along the border." He added, "Some might say that's called giving up sovereignty."
Reality: Five miles square portion of wildlife refuge has been closed since 2006. As Media Matters has repeatedly noted, Fox News' reporting on the closure of a portion of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge along the border has been wildly inaccurate. In a press release debunking this "inaccurate reporting," the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said, "nearly 5-years ago, a very small portion of the Refuge closed to public access due to public safety concerns." The release further stated:
Recent news items further falsely stated that the closure extends from the border 80-miles to the north. This distance is far from accurate. On October 6, 2006 roughly 3500 acres, or 3% of the Refuge, was closed to public access due to human safety concerns. At that time there was a marked increase in violence along the border due to human and drug trafficking. The closed area extends north from the international border roughly ¾ of a mile. A notice of the closure, including a map has been on the Refuge website since 2006.
At this time there are no plans to reopen this southernmost 3/4-mile wide portion of the Refuge. However, since 2006 the Refuge has experienced a significant decline in violent activity in the area thanks to ongoing cooperation between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and US Customs and Border Protection. The Refuge will reopen the area at such time that it is determined to be safe for visitors.
Mmfa says the kidnapping claim by Beck has been "debunked", yet they brought to proof to their claim. Isn't someone supposed to bring proof as they claim someone else is wrong? Where is the proof that Phoenix is NOT the #2 kidnapping city in the world? Where is the data (factual-not presumed) that proves Phoenix isn't #2 as mmfa claims as FACT?
You believe him after the facts Beck - the t.v presenter, has failed to mention, not one piece of evidence.
The FBI, and vice president of tactical intelligence for Stratfor, an Austin-based global intelligence company, says no Phoenix isn't, as theres no data to confirm that, and as the vice president of tactical intelligence for Stratfor, an Austin-based global said, according to just their analysis, Phoenix would'nt be the second highest, theres San Salvador and many other places above Phoenix.
And FLOYD, you go with Beck on this, please tell me why you'd believe a t.v and radio presenter over agencies who have more expertise and resources to find out about this sort of stuff?
I called Beck a liar in my first sentence. How does that equate to me believing him??
I swear, you fools need to realize that we can READ your previous posts, and we can read ALL of the content of your previous posts.
Like the place where you deny that Beck has been debunked? And if he hasn't been debunked, then one can't say that he LIED?
You did NOT call Beck a liar in your first sentence either. You mocked the previous poster by asserting that they weighed and judged potential lies from Beck differently than they treated potential lies from MMFA.
Get a clue, doofus. We can SEE your previous posts.
Like I told opo, I called Beck a liar in my first sentence. Do you have a reading comprehension problem too? No wonder I keep using the phrase; typical liberal.
I'd like you to prove you've never molested a puppy. See how easy that is?
BTW, you can't prove that you've never molested a puppy, either.
MMFA has debunked the CLAIM that one can say that Phoenix is the kidnapping capital.
But you did prove one thing - you are one of the most unintelligent posters on this site (along with ProudConstipated and Seahag123).
They distort, they deceive, or they omit relevant info. When they do one of those three things, or a combo, they further the conservative agenda with that misinformation.
The claim that one can assert that Phoenix is the #2 kidnapping capital has been debunked. One can't make that claim. Yet Beck did. Beck failed to tell his audience that there's no real evidence whatsoever that Phoenix has more kidnappings than most other cities, since there's no real statistics to back up that allegation.
Now, it's undeniable that Phoenix is currently having a big problem with kidnappings related to the drug trade. He could have said THAT without citing a statistic for which there's no support, but he's a demagogue, and so he chose to omit that relevant info in favor of going with a scarier-sounding statistic.
Do you get it now?
distort: mmfa says; Glenn Beck falsely claimed that Phoenix experiences more kidnappings "than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City." In fact, PolitiFact.com has reported that this claim is "false", saying that "experts advise that such rankings can't be made based on available information."
Without any facts to support their claim, they run with what another media outlet tells them is fact. Isn't that what mmfa is whining that Beck is doing?
deceive: mmfa says; We found nothing confirming Phoenix as No. 2 in kidnappings worldwide.
Without any facts to support their claims, they continue stating opinion as fact. Isn't that what they whine about Beck doing?
omit relevant info: mmfa provided NO FACTS to back up their claim that Phoenix is NOT #2 in the world. They only brought opinion presented as fact.
Thanks dell, for providing that description of what fearmongers do and how they do it. You hit the nail right on the head. I guess when a liberal does that, you don't mind? You only get your panties all wrapped up when a conservative does it? What a hypocrite you are. But, that is typical of a liberal.
He stated something as fact. There's no evidence to support what he said, and so he CANNOT state it as fact.
That's debunking, doofus.
I guess in the mind of the liberal, lies can be used to debunk reality. But, that doesn't work for real thinkers.
Beck's an uneducated, dishonest, self-admitted con-man. He just throws crap out without ANY evidence AT ALL and knows that there will be a certain number of people who will believe him at face value simply because he presents himself as a "conservative". Beck's abilities at acting were noted by his high school teachers. He's a FRAUD. You are being duped by a greedy, dishonest CON-MAN. Get some respect for yourself.
Oh? How about providing the links to those agencies and the proof/facts they have that "debunks" the claim being made. Try to have FACTUAL proof, not OPINIONATED proof.
It's not possible to come to that conclusion though, GIVEN the FACTS.
And so his assertion that it's a known fact has been debunked!
This is NOT rocket science.
Heck, even I could find data on country wide kidnappings which showed FACTUALLY that Phoenix had more kidnappings than every COUNTRY except 2. I'm sure you brain heavy liberals can work a computer and find data that can prove your case. Well, maybe not, liberalism is a mental disorder, after all. I guess us conservatives need to cut you people some slack for having that condition and not having the ability to search out and produce FACTS to support your lies and miss-information.
All MMfA does is post supporting information for their stories.
Where is yours to prove MMfA is lying?
When Obama engages in hyperbole, and he has from time to time bent the absolute (he once said a man had died because the insurance company denied his claim, which was true, but his death wasn't from the claim denial, far anyone could determine), at least there is SOME semblance of fact behind it (his claim was denied by the insurance company). This claim of Beck's is wholly manufactured to back an opinion (nobody has kidnapping rankings by city).
Now if Beck simply said there are kidnappings in Phoenix, that is true, but it doesn't make his point that we should fear Mexicans, whereas Obama's claim DOES back up the fact that insurance companies really don't care if you live or die, it's all about $$$.
Randy
I realize it isn't possible to fully count the number of kidnappings that occur world-wide or even city-wide. However, mmfa seems to have been able to do that. THEY confidently claim Beck is absolutely wrong with the stats he believes. However, mmfa (like Beck) provided NO PROOF for their claims of the stats being "debunked". All they brought was 'probably'. I like how mmfa relies on bringing NO FACTS as proof, yet Beck is whined about for having NO FACTS. Hypocrisy is a word that comes to mind concerning mmfa's continued attacks on Beck without providing any proof of his being wrong in any way.
Oh, and MMFA simply posted the information from Politifact which claims that Beck's comments are false. If you have a beef, which if you actually READ the Politifact article in its entirety you shouldn't, it is with POLITIFACT. They wrote the article upon which MMFA based its opinion.
Really, Floyd. Beck thinks you're an idiot. Why do you continue to support his uneducated, dishonest crap?
Stats He believes? You mean stats he has knowledge of. You mean the proof that he obviously has to make such anb outrageous claim... Not that "he believes..."
I mean, you're not arguing that the Glenn Beck Show is a matter of faith, are you?
And BTW, MMFA 'confidently claims' Beck could not possibly know what he is claiming (and believing) is true.
And the reason they can 'confidently claim' Beck couldn't know what he is claiming is because mmfa doesn't know the answer either. So, we have two wrongs and you lefties claim it makes one right.
What I didn't see in any of your responses was the FACTS that I brought that show how many kidnappings countries have yearly. When compared to ONE CITY, there is a very close call on who is 1st, 2nd or 3rd. What if Phoenix ends up being 3rd in the world? Does that make this article worth the effort? Claiming a statement being "debunked" when the only difference is that the city is 3rd in the world, not 2nd, is quite whiny (but expected) of mmfa. Especially, when they brought no FACTS to back up their preposterous claims!
It's that we KNOW that BECK doesn't KNOW what city has the most kidnappings, but he asserted AS FACT that Phoenix holds that title.
This is NOT rocket science.
MMFA is NOT disputing that Phoenix MAY hold that title, although it's doubtful, given the evidence, and it's misleading, given that the average Joe Q Public isn't at risk due to the large number of kidnappings in Phoenix.
MMFA has debunked Beck's assertion that he can MAKE that assertion given the evidence available.
YES, they are. Now provide the proof it takes to make that statement. This isn't rocket science (as you so often illogically say). You admit that the statement may not be debunked, then claim it could be debunked, then claim proof it has been debunked all while admitting the statement COULD be true. You liberals must be a couple kookies short of a bakers-dozen.
But, that doesn't stop mmfa from trying to do as much deceiving as Beck does. At least I can tell the difference, while you sheeple believe everything you're told to.
Or why your story that Exxon paid taxes internationally while using Caribbean tax shelters to avoid paying any US taxes did not endear them to the American people the way it did to you? Now, that is sheeple at its finest simple minded ignorance. Can you tell the difference, Floyd?
Randy