Michael Moore’s new film Capitalism: A Love Story is playing in many countries now, including the Netherlands.
The film starts off by comparing the USA, as they had become by 2008, the last year of George W. Bush’s presidency, to the Roman empire. Seemingly strong, but still heading for decline.
The film discusses the 2008, last year of the Bush presidency, bailout by taxpayers’ money of banks and other big businesses. A Democratic member of the House of Representatives being interviewed tells how Congress voted for the Iraq war based on government lies. The Bush bailout proposals, he says, were again based on lies, and he did not want to vote for them. Still, after an initial rejection, they passed, with enough Democrats for Bush voting for them.
This is a video from the USA about “dead peasant” insurance.
The part in the film about US big businesses like Wal-Mart having “dead peasant” insurance on their workers, giving them financial interests in their workers’ deaths, reminds one of the shipowner in Herman Heijermans’ play “Op Hoop van Zegen”, and the slave trade practices depicted by William Turner.
The film mentions that there are no pro capitalist statements in either the United States constitution (contrary to the draft European Union constitution, and its successor, the Lisbon treaty, by the way) or the Christian New Testament. Both often mentioned by today’s US propagandists of capitalism.
The last part of the film is the singing of first the Internationale (see here; with Henriette Roland Holst‘s lyrics in the Dutch language subtitles, made in Belgium), then Woody Guthrie‘s “Jesus Christ“.
Guthrie‘s music is accompanied by quotations by eighteenth century founding fathers of the American revolution like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, critical of capitalism.
Exposing the Insurance Industry’s Vast Conspiracy to Smear Michael Moore: here.
A conversation with Austin Chu, co-director of The Recess Ends. A film about the impact of the economic crisis in the US: here.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
Teen charged in NJ Walmart racial comment case
By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI
Associated Press Writer
updated 1:30 p.m. ET March 20, 2010
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. – A 16-year-old boy was responsible for an intercom announcement ordering black people to leave from a Wal-Mart store in southern New Jersey, angering customers and prompting company leaders to apologize, police said Saturday.
The boy, whose name is not being released because he is a juvenile, was arrested Friday on charges of harassment and bias intimidation in the incident at Walmart’s Washington Township store. Authorities said he was released to the custody of his parents; they did not know whether he had a lawyer.
“This was an extremely disturbing event on many levels,” Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said at a news conference. “Any statements like these that can cause harm or grave concern must be addressed as quickly we possibly can.”
A male voice came over the Walmart public-address system Sunday evening and calmly announced: “Attention, Walmart customers: All black people, leave the store now.”
Authorities would not say whether the announcement was planned or made impulsively. Police said they were also investigating a teenage boy who accompanied the suspect to the store, but had not charged the other boy.
Although a manager quickly apologized for the remark over the intercom, many customers expressed their anger to store management.
Officials for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said the announcement was “unacceptable.” Spokesman David Tovar said the company planned to release a statement later Saturday, after the news conference.
The company said it has already updated the store’s intercom system to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
It was the latest in a series of problems the retailer has had in its dealings with minorities and women.
There have been several past instances of black customers claiming they were treated unfairly at Walmart stores, and the company faced lawsuits alleging that women were passed over in favor of men for pay raises and promotions.
In February 2009, the retailer paid $17.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in its hiring of truck drivers.
And the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the company in May 2009, claiming some Hispanic employees at a Sam’s Club subsidiary in California were subjected to a hostile work environment. That suit alleges managers failed to stop repeated verbal harassment, including the use of derogatory words, against employees of Mexican descent.
However, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has said the company has worked hard in recent years to show it cares about diversity.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Tue Feb 16, 2016 12:58 pm (PST) . Posted by:
“raccoon” redwoodsaurus
Michael Moore On Death Threats, His New Doc & America’s Future
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/features/michael-moore-on-death-threats-his-new-doc-and-americas-future-20160210?page=3
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