September 30, 2008

It's Tuesday, September 30th.

US President Bush says he's disapointed by the US House vote against the 700-billion dollar bailout package. But he also says he'll continue to, quote "address this economic situation head-on."

Currently, And -- as we all know -- head on collisions are the worst kind.

The is The Current.

No Bailout - Consumer Confidence

We heard reactions from people on Toronto's Bay Street on Monday, shortly after the news hit that U.S. Congress voted down a 700-billion dollar bail-out package.

Panic swept through North American stock markets.

The proposed bailout was seen as a ray of hope for investers. And when that hope was extinguished Monday afternoon, the Dow industrial average plunged 777 points, while Toronto's T-S-X dropped 840 points, their biggest single-day drops in history.

The Immediate Discussion

For the latest on the market turmoil, Anna Maria was joined by Jacquie McNish. She's a senior writer with the Globe and Mail. She was in Toronto. David Laidler joined us as well. He is a fellow-in-residence at the C.D. Howe Institute and Professor Emeritus at the University of Western Ontario, where he taught Economics from 1975 until 2004. He was in London, Ontario.

We also heard clips from Kyle Murray who is associate professor and Director of the school of retailing at the University of Alberta and Eric Helleiner. Mr. Helleiner holds the Chair for the Center for International Governance Innovation at the University of Waterloo. He says the current financial crisis reminds him of another crisis past

Forever War

Just yesterday, shopkeepers in Baghdad found themselves washing blood off the sidewalks from latest bomb attacks. Thirty-two people were killed and at least 69 injured in four separate attacks. Over the past 6 years, it's become part of the devastingly predictable storyline in Iraqi cities.

Over in Afghanistan during the first seven months of this year, at least 540 civilians were killed in fighting related to the conflict. And just this past weekend two Canadian soldiers were injured in a Taliban attack.

All of these incidents weave into what New York Times foreign correspondent Dexter Filkins dubs "The Forever War" which is the name of his new book. He has covered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq since they began. Dexter Filkins joined Anna Maria from New York City.

The Rosenberg Case

The Story

The Rosenberg case was reported 56 years ago. It was the start of the 1950s and East and West were in the coldest part of the Cold War. The United States was still in the grip of McCarthyism where enemies of the state were to be swiftly rooted out. And the Soviet Union had somehow obtained the nuclear secrets it needed to build its own atomic weapons.

This was the backdrop for the trial of Juilius and Ethel Rosenberg. The couple had been accused of passing nuclear secrets to the Soviets. And in what became one of the iconic events of the era, the two were executed in the electric chair for passing atomic bomb secrets to the Soviets.

Morton Sobell, another alleged member of the spy ring, received 30 years for his role, and was released after 18 years in prison.

To many left-leaning sympathisers, the Rosenberg case was an incredible miscarriage of justice. Two innocent people framed and killed by a state in the grip of anti-communist hysteria.But it seems the truth about the case is not so 'Red' and White.

The Discussion

New York Times Reporter Sam Roberts has been working on the Rosenberg story for years. He is the author of the book The Brother, which is about the case. He published an article in the New York Times that ripped open an old wound. Sam Roberts joined us from New York.

For a generation of Americans one of the most powerful images of the McCarthy era was the film footage of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg's two sons, running across the prison grounds grabbing hold of their parents' lawyers hands.

Robert Meeropol was six years old at the time of the execution. Over the years and his brother Michael have been leading voices in proclaiming that their parents had been framed. And in 2003, he wrote his memoir called An Execution in the Family.
Robert Meeropol joined us from East Hampton, Massachusetts.

Last Word

Earlier on our program I spoke with New York Times war correspondent Dexter Filkins about his new book The Forever War and the years he has spent covering the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. So we'll leave you with Mr. Filkins reading from his book about what it was like entering Fallujah in November 2004 with 40 marines from Bravo Company.