AlterNet: Why Are We Lying to Ourselves About Our Catastrophic Economic Meltdown?

[marmar]

Why Are We Lying to Ourselves About Our Catastrophic Economic Meltdown?

Posted by Arun Gupta, AlterNet at 2:00 PM on September 29, 2009.

Sorry, it's not over yet. This downturn will be severe and long-lasting, and profoundly re-shape our lives, culture, society and the world.




Over the last year, the world has received a crash course in real-world capitalism as the follies of Wall Street nearly torpedoed the global economy, which had to be rescued by a trillion-dollar government handout.

Economics, the study of systems of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services, touches virtually facet of our lives from work, recreation and home life to entertainment, culture and social relations.

While there is a wealth of information and some excellent reporters in the business press, the mainstream media has botched virtually every major economic story over the last decade. It helped inflate the Internet bubble. It worshiped at the shrine of the free market and Alan Greenspan. It ignored the evidence of the housing bubble. It was missing in action on the commodities bubble. It celebrated billionaires and speculators even as they manufactured financial weapons of mass destruction. It only sporadically reports on the myriad ways Wall Street games the financial system.

Even now, the corporate media downplay the scope of the disastrous U.S. economy. The current economic downturn, the longest since the Great Depression more than 70 years ago, has been dubbed by many the “Great Recession.” ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/142975/why_are_we_lying_to_ourselves_about_our_catastrophic_economic_meltdown

[SpiralHawk]

1. "Shock & Awe, Baby. Smirk." - XCommander AWOL (R)

"This is all Bill Clinton's fault. Smirk."

- XCommander AWOL (R)

[Demeter]

2. A Few Good Men Could Help Here:

Kaffee: I want the truth!
Col. Jessep: You can’t handle the truth!

In this dramatic courtroom thriller, Lt. Daniel Kaffee, a Navy lawyer who has never seen the inside of the courtroom, defends two stubborn Marines who have been accused of murdering a colleague.

Kaffee is known as being lazy and had arranged for a plea bargain. Downey's Aunt Ginny appoints Cmdr. Galloway to represent him. Also on the legal staff is Lt. Sam Weinberg. The team rounds up many facts and Kaffee is discovering that he is really cut out for trial work. The defense is originally based upon the fact that PFC Santiago, the victim, was given a "CODE RED". Santiago was basically a screw-up. At Gitmo, screw-ups aren't tolerated. Especially by Col. Nathan Jessup. In Cuba, Jessup and two senior officers try to give all the help they can, but Kaffee knows something's fishy. In the conclusion of the film, the fireworks are set off by a confrontation between Jessup and Kaffee. Written by Matt Curtolo {[e-mail]}

The facts: Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - Gitmo as it is known - based marines Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private Louden Downey assaulted Private William Santiago in the middle of the night, which included stuffing a rag into his mouth, Santiago who died shortly thereafter of respiratory complications.

Special Judge Advocate Counsel Lieutenant Joanne Galloway believes Dawson and Downey were just following orders, as part of the marine's unofficial "code red" where there is self policing within the ranks, and that there was no intent of murder. Galloway, a naive lawyer who seeks fairness and justice at all cost, wants to be assigned the case but she has no trial experience.

Instead, the military assigns Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee to be Dawson and Downey's counsel. Kaffee is a lightweight lawyer who also has no trial experience and has a history of taking, as Galloway refers, the path of least resistance by plea bargaining regardless of his clients' guilt/innocence and their wants. Galloway becomes co-counsel in the case. The two, with their assistant Lieutenant Sam Weinberg, have to decide what to do, not an easy task considering their differing views on law and what is best for all including themselves. They do believe Dawson and Downey's story that they were following unofficial/official code red orders, but are uncertain if their case is winnable, especially against the marine machine run by Gitmo's Colonel Nathan Jessep.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104257/plotsummary