Americas Archives - Page 125 of 160

Martial Law on the Horizon? US Troops Hit the US Streets

Toward Freedom, Various Media October 9, 2008 Toward Freedom, Various Media

On October 26, 2006, in an article for Toward Freedom, journalist Frank Morales broke the story about George W. Bush’s move toward implementing martial law in the US. According to Morales, Bush was doing so "by revising the Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President’s ability to deploy troops within the United States." The law "allows the President to declare a ‘public emergency’ and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to ‘suppress public disorder.’" This article went on to win a #2 Project Censored Award in 2007. read more

Old Days of the Radical Jews: How American Yiddish Theater Survived Through Satire

Paul Buhle October 8, 2008 Paul Buhle

The world of Yiddish theater in its glory days on Second Avenue in Manhattan of the 1910s-1940s seems like one more leftwing Jewish tale of another faraway universe. However, the productions have not ceased entirely and various forms of translations bring the theater to new audiences. What we've lost more than anything is the vernacular qualities, the ways in which this theater drew upon various forms of entertainment and edification from the shtetl to the immigrant ghetto, and how fully it engaged an excited and sometimes infuriated Jewish public.

Videos: Analyzing and Protesting The Wall St. Bailout

Various Media October 2, 2008 Various Media

Tax wealthy to pay for bailout:

Sen. Bernie Sanders proposes amendment to make the wealthiest in US shoulder the costs of the bailout

Economist Dean Baker shares his thoughts on the bailout panic during a public panel held at the Institute for Policy Studies on Sept 30, 2008. Dr. Baker is the Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC and a columnist for The Washington Post and Atlantic Monthly. [Americans News Project]

On September 25, 2008, filmmaker Laura Hanna took her camera to Wall Street and captured protesters gathered to express their opposition to the proposed Wall Street bailout. The $700 billion bailout Bush endorses has been widely unpopular with the public, the lack of support reaching beyond party affiliation or ideological sympathies. No more "privatizing profits and socializing losses," declared one protester. "They live by the free market, let them die by the free market." -Erica Landau [Video Nation] read more

Cooperation as Rebellion: Creating Sustainable Agriculture in Paraguay

April Howard September 25, 2008 April Howard

Campesino Removes Soy Crops

In Paraguay, where 1 percent of the population owns 77 percent of all arable land, corrupt agrarian reform and the booming soybean industry is leading the country towards an industrial agricultural export model that leaves no room for small food producers. While many Paraguayancampesino families have moved into urban peripheries, tenacious farmers have fought not only for their right to land, but also to redefine and recreate the agricultural model based on cooperative, organic and people-friendly alternatives.

The Final Failure of Reaganomics

Greg Guma September 25, 2008 Greg Guma

The government is currently debating a $700 billion bailout of distressed banks under a plan that initially proposed to give Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the Bush administration unprecedented power. How did all this happen? The root of the problem can be traced back to the deregulation era that began during the Reagan administration.

Why Washington Should Stop Bailing Out Corporate America

Jeff Nall September 23, 2008 Jeff Nall

The time has come to revolt against free market fundamentalism and the way it is destroying our society. The illusion of the capitalists' "free" market has long been revealed for what it really is: a mystification of class interest. When everyday people suffer from poverty, the ruling elite say, 'there's nothing we can do. There has always been poverty, we can't prevent it.' But when an edifice of greed, corruption, and illusory wealth begins to crumble, it's a crisis of the greatest degree. Hundreds of billions of dollars later, it's clear that our government will spare no expense to prevent the wealthy from losing their yachts, luxury cars and mansions.