2 012.3.7
THOUSANDS MARCH ON CAPITOL
Thousands of students and activists marched through Sacramento's streets and rallied outside the state Capitol on Monday to protest cuts to California's colleges and universities. "They say cut back, we say fight back!" the students chanted while waving signs saying "fund education, not war" and "cuts in education never heal." The plaza on the west side of the Capitol was teeming with protesters during the rally, which was billed as a chance to "occupy the Capitol." Outside the building, student leaders and top Democrats who voted to slash higher education budgets last year addressed the crowd. "We've cut billions of dollars and I've hated every minute of it," said Senate President Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). The article is in the L.A. Times.
Anti-Wall Street Protesters Prep For "Massive" March
As effort spreads outside of NYC, Big Apple organizers look to double down.
"佔領華爾街” 的示威（10月1日）截止到10月3日，紐約警方逮捕了近700名參加“佔領華爾街”示威遊行活動的示威者。這一活動已經持續了兩週，抗議已蔓延至波士頓、洛杉磯、芝加哥及舊金山等城市。
截止到10月3日，紐約警方逮捕了近700名參加"佔領華爾街"示威遊行活動的示威者。這一活動已經持續了兩週，示威者抗議失業問題嚴重，反對銀行獲得上億救市資金。抗議已蔓延至波士頓、洛杉磯、芝加哥及舊金山等城市。警察要求示威者只能在人行道上抗議。但部分示威者佔領了通往布魯克林區方向的行車道。警方以阻礙交通為由進行了逮捕。
An elderly group leads a march up Broadway towards Police Headquarters, Friday, Sept. 30, 2011, in New York. The 示威者
"我們完蛋了，資本主義就和有組織的犯罪一樣！我的黃金制經理降落傘在哪裡？"示威者10月4日在波士頓的金融區高呼。 "佔領華爾街"的示威遊行活動在不斷的升級，抗議已經從紐約擴大至美國其它的城市。
"你們這些美國記者都特別有同情心的報導阿拉伯國家發生的暴動。"華盛頓智庫"美國進步中心"的瓊斯（Van Jones）在接受美國HBO電視台採訪時說道，他認為就是"阿拉伯之春"激發了反華爾街的運動："阿拉伯的春天之後可能就是美國的秋天。"
"民主就是這個樣子的。"示威者在波士頓、洛杉磯、芝加哥、丹佛遊行時高呼。他們嘲笑美國兩黨制就是一場鬧劇，斥責他們不以人民的利益為先，反而"青睞"權貴階層。尤其是共和黨已成為右翼保守的"茶黨"的人質。
"我們必須重新奪回我們的國家。"一名示威遊行者高呼，"我們的政治制度服務於經濟，首先是那些越來越富的，但只佔人口的1%群體，而忽略普通老百姓的呼聲。"
抗議者呼籲，美國不能再僅由那些公司主管、華爾街銀行和他們的利益代言人治理。反華爾街運動的支持者瓊斯說，近兩年來，極右翼勢力鼓譟一時，並聚集在"茶黨"的旗幟下頻頻走上街頭，是一場醜聞。
"他們毀掉我們國家的時候，那些沉默的大多數人都哪去了？"
"佔領華爾街"示威遊行活動的倡議者說，把所有的希望都寄託在總統身上是缺乏政治意識的表現。奧巴馬的口號不是"是的，他能做到"，而是"是的，我們能做到"。
A large group of protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement march across the Brooklyn Bridge, effectively shutting parts of it down, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011 in New York. Police arrested dozens while trying to clear the road and reopen for traffic. (Foto:Will Stevens/AP/dapd)示威景象
"我們代表的是在過去的幾十年裡一直被打敗的99%美國民眾。"反華爾街運動的支持者在電視辯論節目和報紙的採訪中指責道。對於美國的總統，民眾十分失望，雖然他拯救了銀行和保險公司，但是他又創造了一個又一個失業率、貧窮、房地產貶值的記錄。
就連美國中央情報局(CIA)也必須在其"世界實況錄"裡承認，美國已經躋身於世界上社會不平等國家的前列，與烏干達、喀麥隆、科特迪瓦國家為伍。而就在首都華盛頓，每三個孩子就有一個吃不飽飯。
不滿的怒火在黑人、拉美族裔和中產階級白人中不斷高漲。美國的秋天將會是一個炎熱的秋天。
2011/11
資本主義的威力
Andrew Hinderaker
80 Arrested in Financial District Protest
By COLIN MOYNIHAN
The police in New York City made scores of arrests as hundreds of people, many of whom had been encamped in a lengthy protest, marched north to Union Square.
昨晚在HBO 看到半部的 應該是這片 Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)聲討美國政府將大筆納稅人的錢拿去救製造出金融危機的各家華爾街公司或銀行
Moore, Michael, 1954-, American documentary filmmaker, author, and sociopolitical activist, b. Flint, Mich. After working as an alternative print and radio journalist, he embarked on a career as a highly personal, populist, frequently polarizing, and increasingly controversial documentary filmmaker. Appalled by his native city's economic decline as a result of downsizing and closings by General Motors, he made Roger & Me (1989), a satirical journey in which he unsuccessfully tries to meet with GM's chairman. His next major work, Bowling for Columbine (2002; Academy Award), is a scathing look at America's gun culture. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), his most controversial and financially successful film to date, is an angry critique of the Bush administration's handling of post-9/11 events and Iraq. His next documentary, Sicko (2007), an indictment of the American healthcare industry, focuses on the ways private insurance companies, primarily HMOs, deny appropriate care to subscribers. His film Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) is a scorching attack on the contemporary free-market system that explores and deplores corporate dominance of American society and its disastrous effects on the lives of ordinary citizens. Moore also has produced television programs combining news and satire and written several provocative books, e.g., Downsize This! (1996), Stupid White Men (2001), and Dude, Where's My Country? (2003).
Bibliography
See K. Lawrence, ed., The World according to Michael Moore (2004).
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Wikipedia
- Employment, with a living wage,
- Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies,
- Housing,
- Medical care,
- Education, and,
- Social security
Contents |
“The Economic Bill of Rights”
Excerpt from President Roosevelt's January 11, 1944 message to the Congress of the United States on the State of the Union[1]:| “ | It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure. This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty. As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness. We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.”[2] People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made. In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed. Among these are: The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation; The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation; The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living; The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad; The right of every family to a decent home; The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health; The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment; The right to a good education. All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being. America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens. For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world. | ” |
Lost footage
Roosevelt's January 11 address was delivered via radio, as the President was suffering from the flu at the time. During the last portion dealing with the Second Bill of Rights, he asked news cameras to come in and begin filming for later broadcast. This footage was believed lost until it was uncovered in 2008 in South Carolina by Michael Moore while researching for the film Capitalism: A Love Story.[3] The footage shows Roosevelt's Second Bill of Rights address in its entirety, as well as a shot of the Five Rights printed on a sheet of paper.[4]Significance
This bill of rights held a number of parallels with the programme of the New Deal. It also reflected some elements of the 1936 Soviet Constitution, which guaranteed to the Soviet citizens the right to work, rest and leisure, health protection, care in old age and sickness, housing, education, and cultural benefits.See also
References
- ^"State of the Union Message to Congress".
- ^ This phrase is found in the old English property law case, Vernon v Bethell (1762) 28 ER 838, according to Lord Henley LC
- ^http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-09-22/the-best-scenes-from-michael-moores-new-movie/ [accessed 12 October 2010]
- ^http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232207/ starting approximately at time code 1:55:00
External links
----不堪回首的華爾街鉅變
9.11十年回首：華爾街巨變
這
一幕令人難以忘懷：自9.11恐怖襲擊開始的四個工作日內﹐紐約證券交易所（New York Stock Exchange﹐簡稱：紐交所）暫停了交易﹐當時就在不遠處﹐世界貿易中心（World Trade Center）的廢墟上的烈火還在燃燒。當時的紐交所是一家非盈利企業﹐從某個方面講﹐紐交所自1792年以來幾乎沒有改變：數千名交易員扯著嗓門喊出買入或賣出的訂單。由於曼哈頓下城被塵埃所覆蓋﹐政府官員又禁止一切非必要人員進入該區域﹐直到之後的週一（9月17日）紐交所才重新開市。
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
8月12日開盤之前﹐紐約證交所交易大廳內十分安靜。
紐交所對其交易大廳的依賴程度已經大大降低﹐其2006年收購電子交 易商Archipelago及其同德意志交易所（Deutsche Borse AG）合併的待決交易增加了其全球知名度。紐約大學斯特恩商學院（New York University's Stern School of Business）教授史密斯（Roy Smith）說﹐如今﹐華爾街與其說是一個地理概念﹐不如說是一個心理概念。
9.11 恐怖襲擊發生之後﹐觀察人士預測﹐紐約金融業精英會因安全風險逃離曼哈頓南端﹐紐約的金融業也可能萎縮。10年後﹐紐約金融業的規模確實縮小了﹐金融機構 的分佈也更加廣泛。紐約州數據顯示﹐紐約市證券業從業人員的數量從超過19萬人下降到16.8萬人。世貿雙塔的倒塌加快了大公司撤出曼哈頓下城的步伐。曾 是世界貿易中心最大租戶的摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley）已將其總部搬至中城﹐並將其它一些業務遷出紐約﹐以避免業務中斷的影響。
但 華爾街卻遠未荒蕪。紐交所、德意志銀行（Deutsche Bank AG）和紐約梅隆銀行（Bank of New York Mellon Corp.）是那些主要業務還留在“街”上的金融機構的代表。在曼哈頓下城六個街區之遙﹐高盛集團（Goldman Sachs Group Inc.）新總部大樓已經啟用﹐大樓就位於從未離開紐約的金融業巨頭美國運通公司（American Express Co.）的北面。
電子化交易的興起減少了利潤豐厚的傭金收入﹐主要金融機構因此轉向了固定收益證券等其它業務﹐這包括在2005年前後的經濟繁榮期時各類住房貸款支持證券的銷售。
雖然這一業務在2005至2007年期間推高了華爾街的利潤﹐並令無數交易員發財﹐但它同時也為2008年金融危機的爆發做了舖墊。
由 於投資者規避風險﹐貝爾斯登（Bear Stearns）和雷曼兄弟（Lehman Brothers）這樣一度受人尊敬的公司因沒有能夠得到救援資金而紛紛倒下。在9.11恐怖襲擊之前﹐雷曼兄弟曾租用世界貿易中心和毗鄰的世界金融中心 （World Financial Center）的辦公室﹐9.11之後才搬到中城。三年前的9月雷曼兄弟的破產迫使政府提供價值數萬億美元的擔保以支持銀行系統和金融市場﹐這也為如今緊 張的市場和脆弱的經濟復蘇埋下了隱患。
有的人說對金融業的擔憂已經過了頭。但銀行業的前景何時能夠變得清晰尚不清楚。史密斯說﹐對於金融行業來說﹐現在的情形像9.11恐怖襲擊時一樣糟糕﹐但卻不敵9.11後從繁榮到蕭條的那個過程。
Suzanne Kapner / Randall Smith / Aaron Lucchetti