NATIONWIDE PROTESTS TODAY SATURDAY TO SUPPORT WISCONSIN PROTEST AND UNIONS

February 25th, 2011 - by: danny

Wisconsin Solidarity Rallies Nationwide at State capitols tomorrow at noon.
MoveOn provides this link.

Join the Nation-Wide Rally This Saturday to Save the American Dream

“We see Wisconsin as just the beginning…Republicans are using the bad economy as an excuse to enact any kind of cuts to vital programs while giving tax breaks to billionaires.”

Alternet: Rupert Murdoch Joins David Koch In Effort to Crush Wisconsin Workers

http://www.alternet.org/story/150047/rupert_murdoch_and_david_koch_collude_against_wisconsin_workers?akid=6577.8467.zruDAl&rd=1&t=2

NEWS DISSECTOR RADIO SHOW

Listen: Friday’s News Dissector Radio Program. Libyan Activist and Ed Rampell, author of Progressive Hollywood discussing the Academy Awards’ This podcast is also available on iTunes and Progressive Radio Network.com

http://thenewsdissector.podbean.com/mf/web/zv9j9/NewsDissector022511.mp3

Saturday: Libya Update: President Obama Imposes Unilateral Sanctions, Freeze of Gadaffi assets, close of US Embassy, threats to take him to International Criminal Court By Other Nations (The US is not a member); protests and killing continues; Regional uprising spreads to Iraq: Wall Street Journal Reports: “Hundreds of Thousands of Arabs In The Streets.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY, John Pilger, writer and filmmaker:

“The revolt in the Arab world is not merely against a resident dictator but a worldwide economic tyranny designed by the US Treasury and imposed by the US Agency for International Development, the IMF and World Bank, which have ensured that rich countries like Egypt are reduced to vast sweatshops, with half the population earning less than $2 a day. “

Press TV: Foreign military intervention in Libya?

The following is a rush transcription of Press TV’s interview with editor of Mediachannel.org Danny Schechter from New York. Schechter shares his views on possible foreign military intervention in the Libyan uprising with Press TV. …

Letter from Josh Fox, Oscar nominated Director of “Gasland,” The powerful documentary exposing “fracking,” a dangerous procedure for extracting natural gas.

WALL STREET JOURNAL CAVES TO INDUSTRY PRESSURE ON GASLAND

Something bizarre just happened at the Wall St. Journal. At 6pm I was reading a home page story on WSJ.com called Oscar’s Attention Irks Gas Industry” by Ben Casselman which contained perhaps the most honest and revealing quote from the gas industry that I have read to date about their obsession with attacking my film GASLAND. The quote reads “We have to stop blaming documentaries and take a look in the mirror,” said Matt Pitzarella, a spokesman for gas producer Range Resources Corp. …

Just thirty minutes later the quote mysteriously disappears, edited out and in its place is a far more typical spin controlled statement from Tom Price of Chesapeake energy saying, “We need to be able to respond objectively and accurately.” Sounds like a robot at a PR agency, more than a person.

What the hell happened? Why did this key quote disappear from the article? Why did the WSJ censor its own piece? Does the Gas industry get to edit the Wall St. Journal?

Was this comment too honest? Is it a crack in their facade? Who pulled the quote? Who made that call saying that this moment of honesty was simply too embarrassing or too true for the industry to admit?

For the first time a Gas Industry spokesman told the truth, that they should look in the mirror instead of attacking our film. You can find the original quote by Googling “mirror”, “Wall St. Journal” and “Range Resources” but if you read the article now, the quote has vanished.

What is going on here?

Why would the quote be published, go on line, and then something happens and they censor it and suppress it? Not only is the quote deleted, but then in its place Tom Price, a Vice President from Chesapeake gets to defend the industry?

Does the Wall St. Journal care to comment? Does WSJ have any independence or integrity? Or does the Gas Industry get to just write it for them.

Is this evidence of what we have long suspected, considerable industry pressure on the mainstream media?

Anyone?

Josh Fox
Director, GASLAND

NY Times, Three Large Banks Told Investors….

New state and federal inquiries into their involvement in abusive mortgage practices can lead to sizable financial penalties.

Back To Friday’s News Dissector Blog

Blaming Outside Agitators Again

Gadaffi, a man who many believe has been high for much of his presidency, has now reached into Ronald Reagan’s playbook to blame all the unrest in his country on young people high on psychedelic drugs. He also threw Al Qaeda into the pot.

AlJazeera: Gaddafi blames unrest on al-Qaeda

Libyan leader says protesters are young people being manipulated by al-Qaeda, as violence continues across the country.

Foreign Policy Magazine reports: Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi appeared to be refortifying his control over the capital of Tripoli, with residents reporting that thousands of his mercenaries and military units loyal to him were gathering on the roads outside the city. However, rebel gains and further defections from the military cast doubt on how long the Libyan leader could hold out.

Residents reported clashes in a number of towns surrounding Tripoli, suggesting that Qaddafi’s forces were beginning to strike back. In the town of Zawiya, the minaret of a mosque, which protesters had been using as a safe haven, was destroyed by heavy weapons. Anti-Qaddafi demonstrators had previously declared that they had seized the town from government control.

But there were also signs that Qaddafi’s grip on power was slipping further. The town of Misurata, 130 miles east of Tripoli, reportedly fell to the rebels on Wednesday. At least half of the Libyan coast to the east of Tripoli is apparently in the hands of anti-Qaddafi forces.

Council on Foreign Relations Promoting Intervention: What’s the Next Middle East Shock?

Daily Beast: “As despotic regimes across the Arab world crumble or battle for survival, what lies ahead? That depends on whether revolutionary citizens stay the course, how much of the tired leadership can be swept away, and how protected dictators are, five experts tell The Daily Beast’s Rob Verger. “Given Libya’s geo-strategic importance to global energy markets, particularly in Europe, one cannot rule out the need for outside intervention, be it a pan-Arab force or even some form of U.N.-sponsored force, to intervene and stabilize the situation,” says Robert Danin, a senior fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.”

China Is Also Hopping Mad

BEIJING Feb 24 (Reuters) – China has suffered severe economic losses as a result of the political turmoil in Libya, it said on Thursday.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its website (www.mofcom.gov.cn) that as of Wednesday, 27 Chinese construction sites and camps in Libya had been “attacked and looted” amid unrest in the country after Muammar al-Qaddafi used the military to crack down on public revolt against his 41-year rule.

“China has suffered large-scale direct economic losses in Libya, including looted worksites, burned and destroyed vehicles and tools, smashed office equipment and stolen cash,” the statement said.

Channel 4 UK via Real News Network had this report on Libya

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More at The Real News

Another Country Heard From

From Afghanistan: We Support the People of Wisconsin and the World

We Afghans Are All Bouazizi By Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers

Afghan youth are quietly encouraged by the Egyptian uprising because the people of Afghanistan want what the people of Egypt want.

We are all Bouazizi.

We want dignified livelihoods.

Dare any scientist prove to us that 30 years of wars and more to come will successfully bring us decent livelihoods? Dare any human being prove to us that mutual killings somehow bring men and women some measure of murderous dignity?

Aren’t any of you curious about whether there are any ‘stirrings of Middle East change’ in Afghanistan?”

Are we Afghans so ‘animal-like’ that we are not capable of protesting for our bread and butter? Or is the world poised, in propagandic or silent complicity, to shoot any Afghan protester even before they take to the streets?

Why isn’t there even an Afghan ‘blip’ in the mainstream news?

The publicity-hungry Al Jazeera is also not picking up any ‘blip’ from Afghanistan, perhaps not even asking the needed questions, not even pursuing leaks.

No one notices us, not even when 103 of us burn ourselves, far less when we are dead.

Such sad and inhumane ‘oversight’ from the general public and mainstream media of the world, and from all Nobel Peace Prize Winners who refuse to comment about the War in Afghanistan, perhaps because their 2009 ‘fellow-winner-friend’ Obama is the War Commander-in-Chief who is prosecuting War as the way to Peace, and all the Nobel Peace Prize Winners approve of the approximately 2400 Afghan civilians killed in 2010 as just….

Suit Charges Abuse Against Muslim Americans

LOS ANGELES (CN) – In a federal class action, Muslims claim the FBI hired an “agent provocateur” to infiltrate mosques and “indiscriminately collect personal information on hundreds and perhaps thousands of innocent Muslim Americans in Southern California.” The class claims the agents had their snitch provide illegal drugs to Muslims and snoop on their sex lives, and that the fruitless “dragnet investigation” did not end until “members of the Muslim communities of Southern California reported the informant to the police because of his violent rhetoric, and ultimately obtained a restraining order against him.”

Represented by the ACLU and Council on American-Islam Relations, the three named plaintiffs say the FBI’s agent provocateur’s “violent rhetoric” about “jihad and armed conflict” disrupted their lives

More On Julian Assange

One Click: Judge Riddle approved the Swedish request to extradite Julian Assange. The ruling will be appealed in the High Court within seven days. Assange’s Swedish lawyer, Bjorn Hurtig, came out as the weakest link. Julian Assange’s bail conditions remain extant. The Appeal is likely to take many months. The European Arrest Warrant is 9/11 knee jerk reaction flawed law. This legal circus is set to run and run. The bills being run up by the Swedish taxpayer and Britain’s legal infrastructure are substantial.

The Economy

Cash Bonuses Down on Wall Street Cash bonuses on Wall Street dropped in 2010 while overall compensation rose 6 percent, according to the New York State comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli.

His report found that Wall Street doled out (ONLY?) an estimated $20.8 billion in cash last year, an 8 percent decline from 2009 and a fraction of what was paid out before the financial crisis. Lower cash bonuses may please regulators and lawmakers, but the shift may result in short-term pain for New York. “The industry’s greater emphasis on deferred compensation will hold down tax collections this year, but the state and the city will benefit in future years when taxes are paid on this deferred compensation,” Mr. DiNapoli said.

Frank Responds to GOP Plans to Eliminate Housing Programs

WASHINGTON — Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement yesterday:

“I am very disappointed that the Republican House members who during the debate on government spending last week refused to limit agricultural subsidies to $250,000 per individual have announced that they will attempt to eliminate programs which help the victims of the financial crisis.”

“The Emergency Homeowner Relief Fund provides assistance to people who are unable to pay their mortgages not because they were imprudent or irresponsible but because they are unemployed. The program is modeled after a successful one in Pennsylvania and it is the single most effective anti-foreclosure program that has been put forward. It is substantially similar to a program that had been successfully implemented in seventeen states and the District of Columbia and that was successfully hailed by the Republican governor of Alabama. I find it therefore particularly troubling that Chairman Bachus is proposing to strike the additional $1 billion to allow other states to participate in the same program from which Alabama benefits.”

“The attack on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program is an attack on cities. This program provides important funding to cities that have already been hit by the foreclosure crisis and allows them to cope with the blight, expense and destabilization that come with the presence of large numbers of empty properties. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program allows cities to deal with this problem in a way that reduces municipal costs.”

“As we continue to respond to the victims of the foreclosure crisis in a responsible way, we will make the case that there are better ways for the federal government to cut spending than by attacking these programs.”

Your Letters and comments Continue to Pour In:

Baccar Mohamed writes on FB:

“He says he wants to become a martyr (not sure to what?) so maybe he has become a suicide bomber of his own country.” He makes appearances inside a building that had been bombed in the 80s. The martyr comment is probably telling Libyans foreigners are the enemies he is fighting against. His issue though is with Libyans, they are sick and tired of him, so he cannot come out of this as a martyr of any kind.. Martyr to whom? the devil, because that’s what he is…”

Marco Del Guerra writes from Brazil.

Hello Mr. Schechter, I am writing to you from Brazil. The reason is to ask for your help to dissimulate information about the amount of problems being created by the United Estates in a world level . The damages being created in the world by its form of government is destroying regional cultures and costumes. If you could send me material that could help with this purpose it would be very helpful. The world financial crises, the turmoil in the middle east, the license to kill given to the Israelis by the Us government has to be expose. I found about you on lLink TV. Hope we can talk on further contact. I`ll be waiting impatiently for your reply.

Pat McGinnis asks: “Where do I see your film near Malibu, Ca. ?

Great article about the US Economy. (A: Plunderthecrimeofourtime.com)

Mike Brown writes from Australia:

Having just read your article I concur with your thoughts and wonder aloud the following:

Were the trillions ‘lost’?
No, the trillions were in fact ‘redistributed’.
The term ‘lost’ is just bullsh*t, the quickest and easiest way to head off the majority of the population from insisting on forensic investigation and legal accountability.

Do records of transactions of this ‘redistribution exist?
Yes, and are available to legal authorities.

Could the major beneficiaries of this ‘redistribution’ be identified and investigated for illegality/culpability?
Yes.

Was the majority of the ‘redistribution’ legal?
I presume Yes.

If the majority of what happened was legal, are we happy for this sort of ‘redistribution’ to remain legal?
No, BUT, Most of those in power (and their rich ‘friends’) are happy not to rock the ‘gravy’ boat…… it is just one of many wonderful ways that the shepherds/wolves use to shear/slaughter the sheep.

The difficulty is, as always, for the millions of people effected individuals to organize their divided power into a collective force for change.

What do you think?
Any effective templates exist for the quick consolidation of a collective voice from the millions of individuals?

Keep up the good work Mr Schechter

As one of the sheep I will say ‘baaa baaa’ for now

Bill Robinson comments:

“I’ve been saying it’s all just one big Ponzi game for quite sometime now and I know you knew it before I did. And I know you are right about most just wanting to bury their heads and to focus their woes on the irrational (although the corporate media points them in that direction).

I have your book and movie on Plunder.

Bruce Johnstone writes:

I just read a synopsis of your film and I thought you might be interested in the following points.

First, the whole of western finance is based on a Ponzi scheme first engendered by the move away from a barter system and then enhanced by John Law in the eighteenth century. . Leveraged and securitized lending as espoused by Law requires a degree of faith that has frequently been eroded by the criminal actions of a few, – starting with Law’s own bankrupting of France with the Louisiana Company. Derivatives are a Ponzi scheme layered on a Ponzi scheme and are therefore even more dangerous. In October I was in London when The Times finally reported on the number of derivatives written on the defaults in California. What had started as less than a hundred million in defaults ( which should have been discounted by the likely residual value of the homes in question)ultimately had over four hundred billion in derivatives written on it. This is what caused the crisis, certainly not the level of the level of defaults.All of North America was built on a wing and a prayer, with much higher levels of default, yet somehow we muddled through. What has really changed?

The bring me to the secondary cause of the crisis which is an increasingly immature population that has been trained to rely on “experts” rather than on common sense. I used to refer to my job as “baby sitting” rather than broking and insisted that my clients learn something of the psychology of markets if they wished to remain my clients. If you recall the case of Michael Milken he was actually quite above board in his representations of his products. It was not he who failed the public in offering these products, it was rather the greed of the public that failed him in absorbing these products and then seeking a scapegoat for their own immaturities.

This last financial crisis will be dwarfed by the next if the do-gooders of the world get their way. Persons such a Soros must be slathering at the opportunities presented by a global market in carbon credits. Any trader worth their salt would be able to take billions from the market due to the inherent unreliability of both statistics and proposed versus actual actions of participant countries. Easy money, but certainly not something of interest to myself.

The global financial markets are a mess, and will remain so until the average person realizes their own worth in the financial equation. The ridiculous prices for both oil and gold and the continued manipulation of global currencies should be more than enough to illustrate the perverse reluctance of people to exercise their own free will even when openly having the information to do so. If one wishes to play in the ocean then it is highly advisable to learn how to swim!

In closing I will present you with an interesting case. – I sometimes participate in financial discussions using the name Arbadacarba. If you search this name on the comments section of “Heard on the Street” during the nadir of the markets you will find that I suggested that participants in the markets take a deep breath, look outside and ask themselves if ninety percent of the United States had ceased to be. I further suggested that if it hadn’t then perhaps the markets were oversold and that there was extremely good money to be made in stocks which “represented America” – suggesting three stocks. Within five minutes the predictable hoo-ahs started and all three of these stocks (some of the largest on the board) inflected upwards. This can all be checked out by reading the comments sections, and illustrates my point that the biggest failing right now is not crookedness from within, but immaturity from without.

D4peace writes

thoroughly enjoyed your brilliant article:

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/02/2011218151257526294.html

and would very much like to see your film.

thanks, dianne

Atlee Howard: “Keep up the good work man! We need all the info we can get.”

Gladys Schmitz, SSND writes from Minnesota:

Revolution. May it be so.

I am half way through my 80s and only within the last couple years have I been trying to read about the banks and financial sector since my areas of studies did not include economics. I am unable to avoid the idea of how important money is in distorting politics and policy — domestic and foreign – in causing the terrible human rights abuses, injustices, suffering, poverty and disparity in wealth. Wars,and more. Everything is related, it seems. Then after joining a community of women religious over 50 years ago, I did not really have to deal much with money and put my time and effort on other things. So, that may not be a good excuse for ignorance, but it is sort of an explanation. I have read several books and many articles and I’m beginning to get something of an insight into what looks mostly like a criminal enterprise, especially since the last of the meaningful regulations were removed. (Last book I just read was The Monster by Michael Hudson. Very helpful.)

I just read your article US Economy: One Big Ponzi Scheme and found it very good. At the bottom we are told that your new film is “Plunder: The Crime of Our Time”, which ” tells the story of the financial crisis as a criminal tale.” What kind of film is this? Is it a video or DVD one can purchase for home use and/or sharing with whoever one might find to view it too? (If so, what is the cost? And how long is it?) Or is it a documentary meant for theatres, or what? Whatever it is, it sounds very good and important as a learning/teaching tool.

John Hannah writes:

It is interesting that you mention Jeff Sachs challenging the US intellectual and elite establishment asking them essentially, “Are you guys wanting an Egypt in the US?”

I’m an old guy, a combat veteran, upper middle class sort at almost 67 year old. Every year now my amazement increases at how our populace has become a bunch of cows or sheep when really bad things are going on that run counter to all that the US should stand for. Like continual war, ever increasing income disparity, corporate off shoring of jobs, one way trade deals, outright propagandizing of the populace by elected leaders, unlawful acts being committed by our elected officials and so on. The tea party hoohaw really has amounted to little but a bunch of folks just blowing off steam and hyperventilating. The first real protest movement we have seen for years is the scuffle going on in Wisconsin. Those folks are finally reacting and get it, but where the hell are all the rest of the folks that are getting their economic ass kicked and why did it take over two years for even these folks in Wisconsin to get up off their dead asses and protest. I don’t get it.

Ree van Oppenwrites from Canada:

I read with interest and mostly in agreement with your column on 2/22/2011. However, what is the basis for your statement?: “Obama has already supported a law allowing him to shut it (the internet) down here in a national emergency.”

It is important not to misrepresent facts. Please clarify your statement!

Norm writes from Boston:

It was wonderful to read your article on Al Jazeera on Bernie and the banks and I so remember all your years in Boston hearing you on the radio with your wonderfully incisive comments. ” This is Danny Schechter your news dissector”

I hope you’re well and continue to speak your mind !

Rex Smith: I don’t think we are as passive as you might think. Remember we have a well armed society here in the USA….Maybe it keeps us acting sane.

Polar writes: “i saw your blog on Al Jazeera. must be the first time they hosted a report with yiddish words ( gonif ). score one for the international Jewish cabal.”

Chris Prieto writes:

I just read your article on AJE about the US economy being one big ponzi scheme. The part in your article that struck me was when you wrote:

“Many activists say they want to emulate the Egyptians, but who will organize anything as effective – even in a land that used to be known for people’s movements – to raise hell? In Egypt, young people used the internet to organize and mobilize for change. In the US, the internet seems to function more as an escape valve, consuming hours of our time and giving us another way to talk to each other – and ventilate against the government. Social media here seems to be more for socializing.”

I agree with you that most here in the US are to lazy or not interested in real change etc but part of the problem is that I/we don’t know where to start? I like Chomsky and what he writes but I also like what the Libertarian/Rob Paul party is about. Both are about real change – drastic change. While both differ in the change, they both see that change is needed to buck the status quo. I am not a fan of either the liberal or conservative movements and despise the neocons. I think most people that are informed really want change but just do not know how to organize or start a movement. If I knew where to start and who to contact I would. I just don’t know where to go? This country needs a revolution; one that changes the system and gets us back on a path to leading the world by example! A system that is truly of the people for the people and not banks, corporations, and the wealthy. Where do I start? How can I get connected? Until then, I am stuck with posting articles on FB just to have people ask me why I am posting so many depressing article!

Media

Al Jazeera: Anti-nothing, and Pro Nothing

ISRAEL INVESTING $1.6 MILLION IN “NEW MEDIA WARRIORS”
By Jillian Kestler-D’Amours, The Electronic Intifada, 24 February 2011

In early February, Israeli military spokesperson Avi Benayahu announced that more than a hundred Israeli “media warriors” are to be trained to use social media tools to disseminate Israeli propaganda to audiences around the world.

Clark Wilson: I thought this infographic might be of interest to you. It highlights a small service such as Netflix, while thought of as ridiculous just a year or so ago, has taken over Blockbuster’s user base, and brought not only a new aspect to movie rental through mail, but also now with their streaming service is set to hold on to the movie rental arena for years to come. You can check it out here at: www.slashfilm.com/infographic-netflix-destroyed-blockbuster/

Resource: Interactive Map of Arab Protest Twitter Posts

There you go, another day, another newsy blog. but I like to give the folks commenting on my work some space when their ideas are coherent even if we disagree.

You can share your comments by writing to me at: dissector@mediachannel.org

The News Dissector