Why Eliot Spitzer Is Wall Street’s Worst Nightmare by Ellen Brown

by Ellen Brown
Writer, Dandelion Salad
webofdebt.com
August 19, 2013

Image by DonkeyHotey via Flickr

Before Eliot Spitzer’s infamous resignation as governor of New York in March 2008, he was one of our fiercest champions against Wall Street corruption, in a state that had some of the toughest legislation for controlling the banks. It may not be a coincidence that the revelation of his indiscretions with a high-priced call girl came less than a month after he published a bold editorial in the Washington Post titled “Predatory Lenders’ Partner in Crime: How the Bush Administration Stopped the States from Stepping in to Help Consumers.”  The editorial exposed the collusion between the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and Wall Street in deregulating the banks in the guise of regulating them, by taking regulatory power away from the states. It was an issue of the federal government versus the states, with the Feds representing the banks and the states representing consumers.

Government Should Not Define What a Reporter Is—or Isn’t by Walter Brasch

by Walter Brasch
Writer, Dandelion Salad
www.walterbrasch.com
August 19, 2013

Image by euthman via Flickr

Sen. Diane Feinstein and a horde of members of Congress of both parties want to decide who is and who isn’t a reporter. Sen. Feinstein says a “real” reporter is a “salaried agent of a media company.”

She mentions the usual suspects—New York Times, ABC News. She dismisses part-time staff. She dismisses freelancers. She dismisses those who write, often without pay, for the hundreds of alternative publications, and often break news and investigative stories well ahead of the mainstream media. She dismisses anyone who, she says, “have no professional qualifications.”

Eric Holt-Gimenez: Justice Begins With Seeds (#GMO #Monsanto)

Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

talkingsticktv on Aug 18, 2013

Talk by Eric Holt-Gimenez, Executive Director of Food First – Institute for Food and Development Policy given August 2, 2013 at the Justice Begins With Seeds 2013 International Conference at Seattle First Presbyterian Church in Seattle, WA.

36 Pro-Morsi Detainees Killed During Escape Attempt

Dandelion Salad

Image by Mohamed Azazy via Flickr

RussiaToday on Aug 19, 2013

Egypt’s government confirms its security forces have killed 36 Muslim Brotherhood supporters that attempted to escape during a prison transfer. Officials claimed the prisoners took an officer hostage, but suffocated when police used tear gas. The Muslim Brotherhood may end up listed as a terrorist organization under Egypt’s new constitution, according to reports. The draft is expected to be announced on Wednesday and may also include a ban on all religious political parties. And as RT’s Paula Slier now reports the violence in the country has left some families scarred for life.