What are the MOST IMPORTANT facts, issues, arguments, realizations????

[Land Shark]

People sometimes refer to the media FIREHOSE -- referring to the volume of media available today and its speed. We are all trying to drink from this firehose of information while it also blows us away 24/7.

Consequently, we may get the important fact, issue, or realization because of the volume of media. But we will not have time to PROCESS it or DIGEST it, or realize its significance as we are blown away by the next information and its probable importance as well.

DEPRIVED OF REFLECTIVE TIME, perhaps nothing achieves its proper status.

Rather than debate my premises, I'd like to take nominations of what is the most important fact, realization, issue, frame, or other observation that just doesn't sink in with others, perhaps because of this media firehose phenomenon?

[Son of California]

1. The Absolute Hugeness of the CIA leak

Does anyone comprehend that when this happened, it was a victory for our terrorist enemies? That they were aided?

[wli]

2. Peak Oil

Everything that's happening now is because of Peak Oil.

[moodforaday]

3. Abuse, torture of detainees

and the military tribunals. Reports are everywhere, plenty of statements from those who've been released. It's not just Abu Ghraib and not just a few photos. Here's one I've just read, and it chills:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1540549,00.html

This is the issue I'd concentrate on if I had to pick only one, because it underscores the immorality of this war and the inhumanity of those who authorize and perpetrate these atrocities. And it won't get you labeled a 'conspiracy theorist'. It's important also because it can easily be shown that it hurts America's interest - for those who don't care about real people being hurt.

We should be making a huge, huge fuss about Pentagon not releasing all the images and footage we now know they have.

Then there's the tie-in issue of extra-legal detention, the underclass of people they created for their own convenience. Red Cross says children are being held at those camps, too. And Bush threatening to veto the defense spending bill if McCain et al don't remove the provsions that spell out how detainees must be trated. There are so many angles to this.

And the whistleblowers. Please read this if you haven't already:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1426797.htm
Excerpt:

Maj Preston writes that the process is perpetrating a fraud on the American people, and that the cases being pursued are marginal.

"I consider the insistence on pressing ahead with cases that would be marginal even if properly prepared to be a severe threat to the reputation of the military justice system and even a fraud on the American people," Maj Preston wrote.

"Surely they don't expect that this fairly half-arsed effort is all that we have been able to put together after all this time."

Maj Preston says he cannot continue to work on a process he considers morally, ethically and professionally intolerable.

"I lie awake worrying about this every night," he wrote.

"I find it almost impossible to focus on my part of mission.

"After all, writing a motion saying that the process will be full and fair when you don't really believe it is kind of hard, particularly when you want to call yourself an officer and lawyer."

Maj Preston was transferred out of the Office of Military Commissions less than a month later.

[Land Shark]

4. How would the situation or world change if this was fully absorbed?

[moodforaday]

5. Don't know, but I still hope people would rise against it

I don't know. I thought the original Abu Ghraib pictures would inflame people, but wingnuts spun this into fraternity house hazing. Still, the written reports reveal much worse abuse than those images did. I still hope that people wouldn't stand for this - but I may be wrong. 59 million people voted to keep Bush in office, after much of the abuse and most of the lies were already known.

We tend to have this idea that if only enough people knew the truth, they would rise against it. Maybe it's a fallacy. Maybe a sufficiently large proportion of Americans are willing to sacrifice their troops and to witness torture done in their name for some sort of vague, false sense of "security". It sure seems that way so far.

(edited for spelling)