Friday, July 04, 2003

In the Land of Guantanamo by Ted Conover 29 Jun 03 In the Land of Guantanamo: A surreal society has emerged at the tip of Cuba in which rules are the only common language and prisoners and guards alike feel marooned. [The New York Times Magazine] 12:26:52 AM  Google It!

There Was a Reason They Called It... The Casino Economy by Thomas Croft 02 Jul 03 In the last three years, a 'perfect storm' of rising energy costs, record consumer and corporate debt and massive trade and current account deficits joined with unsustainable investment practices, and resulted in an economic collapse. The first recession since 1929 to be primarily caused by over-investment, these 'collateral damage' investing schemes-in overseas boondoggles and sweatshops, extreme mergers, absurd dot-coms and derivative scams-all came home to roost. Enron used all of these investment tricks and more. The corruption scandals of 2001-2 completed the melt-down. Now, the world is probably in a double-dip recession, thanks partly to the scandal and continuing international disruptions. The problem with casino bets and Russian Roulette is that somebody always loses. [CounterPunch] 12:02:12 AM  Google It!