Nobody goes to jail,” "writes Matt Taibbi in his the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine. “This is the mantra of the financial-crisis era, one that saw virtually every major bank and financial company on Wall Street embroiled in obscene criminal scandals that impoverished millions and collectively destroyed hundreds of billions, in fact, trillions of dollars of the world’s wealth." Here is the complete interview from which we played an excerpt on our Feb. 22 show. Taibbi explains how the American people have been defrauded by Wall Street investors and how the financial crisis is connected to the situations in states such as Wisconsin and Ohio. (read the full transcript @ Democracy Now)
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"People understand this is a national struggle," says Mary Bottari of the situation in Wisconsin right now, and Mark Pocan, Wisconsin State Assemblyman from the 78th District, says "This has to be the spot where we stop it nationally." ; If Scott Walker manages to take away the workers' right to collective bargaining, they point out, other states will do the same--Ohio and Indiana are already trying.While the Assembly continues to hold nonstop hearings, letting the people of the state express their anger, the Democrats in the State Senate are meeting outside of Wisconsin to hold off a vote in that chamber, and Mary and others are investigating the connections to Karl Rove, the Club for Growth, and other groups pushing for union-busting laws. Mary and Mark take some time to tell Laura why Wisconsin matters for the entire country. The Buffalo Beast, an online mag set up by Rolling Stone contributor Matt Taibbi, scored a fairly remarkable phone prank that resulted in a 20-minute conversation between Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and BB editor Ian Murphy — and yes, I almost mistyped that as “Scott Murphy” — posing as billionaire conservative David Koch From Madison, WI - Matt Wisniewski brings us this amazing footage from the first five days of protest. As I have said before, Wisconsin’s recently elected Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s threat to call in the national guard if Union Members respond to his proposed bill that would strip collective bargaining rights away from Union Members is not only an attack against Union members in his state, it is right now the main front on the war being waged against the middle class. This battle will be coming to a town near you. Are you ready? This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
From New Video Digital Global poverty did not just happen. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor. Today, the problem persists because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies — in other words, wealthy countries taking advantage of poor, developing countries. Renowned actor and activist, Martin Sheen, narrates THE END OF POVERTY?, a feature-length documentary directed by award-winning director, Philippe Diaz, which explains how today's financial crisis is a direct consequence of these unchallenged policies that have lasted centuries. Consider that 20% of the planet's population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate. At this rate, to maintain our lifestyle means more and more people will sink below the poverty line. Filmed in the slums of Africa and the barrios of Latin America, THE END OF POVERTY? features expert insights from: Nobel prize winners in Economics, Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz; acclaimed authors Susan George, Eric Toussaint, John Perkins, Chalmers Johnson; university professors William Easterly and Michael Watts; government ministers such as Bolivia's Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and the leaders of social movements in Brazil, Venezuela, Kenya and Tanzania. It is produced by Cinema Libre Studio in collaboration with the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation. Can we really end poverty within our current economic system? Think again. via David Swanson As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday about the failures of foreign leaders to respect people's freedoms, a 71-year-old U.S. veteran Army officer, a man who spent 27 years in the CIA and delivered presidential daily briefs, a peace activist and proponent of nonviolence, the man who famously confronted Donald Rumsfeld for his war lies, the man who drafted our letter to Spain and delivered it to the Spanish Embassy on Monday, our friend Ray McGovern turned his back in silence. As Clinton continued to speak about respecting the rights of protesters, her guards -- including a uniformed policeman and an unidentified plain-clothed official -- grabbed Ray, dragged him off violently, brutalized him, double-cuffed him with metal handcuffs, and left him bleeding in jail. As he was hauled away (see video below) Ray shouted "So this is America?" Clinton went right on mouthing her hypocrisies without a pause. Tell Hillary Clinton what you think of this behavior at 202-647-4000. via Video Nation |
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