Mary Bottari's News Articles

News

Who Knew Cairo Was This Chilly?

by Mary Bottari — February 22, 2011 - 2:04pm
  • Topics: Corporations, Democracy, Labor, Wisconsin Protests

    • Madison, Wisconsin -- It's midnight Monday. A quiet snow is falling outside the Wisconsin State Capitol, and clean-cut fire fighters are rolling out their sleeping bags and getting ready to sleep on hard marble floors with students who looked a bit shaggy after five nights of the same. Since Tuesday, February 15, tens of thousands of Wisconsin residents have been flooding the State Capitol in Madison in protest of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's proposed budget "repair" bill that would savage Wisconsin's 50-year history of collective bargaining for state, county and municipal workers. Tuesday, February 22 will be a critical day in the fight. The Wisconsin Assembly will take up the bill, introducing over 100 amendments, starting at 11:00 a.m. and the Republicans in the Senate will attempt to lure their Democratic colleagues back into the state from their undisclosed location by scheduling votes on the bill the Democrats deplore. (Watch floor action on the www.wisconsineye.org Wisconsin Eye website).

    News

    The Day Egypt Disappeared

    by Mary Bottari — February 14, 2011 - 10:00am
  • Topics: Internet, Defend the Press, Democracy, International, Media, Propaganda, Secrecy

    • On February 11, 2011, after 30 years of dictatorship, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak announced he was stepping down. As ancient pharaohs slumbered inside, a crowd of over a million surrounded the rose-colored Cairo Museum setting off fireworks and jumping for joy as they peacefully forced a modern pharaoh to flee. This hopeful moment will be studied for years, and no topic will be more hotly debated than the role of social media in the uprising.

    Op-Ed

    AIG: Corporate Welfare King Mouths Off

    by Mary Bottari — February 9, 2011 - 6:28pm
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA, Economy, Real Economy Project

    • Most Americans know American International Group (AIG) as the global insurance behemoth that was so recklessly managed it had an outsized role in tanking the global economy.

    Rather than feeling a bit humble for wreaking havoc on the lives of millions, AIG's new management is feeling rather cocky. Apparently AIG CEO Robert Benmosche has figured out the magic formula for selling insurance. Benmosche told Bloomberg News that he likes to do business in "red states" where the firm signs up more reliable customers than those in "more liberal" areas.

    Banksters Back in the Black: JPMorgan Chase

    by Mary Bottari — February 7, 2011 - 11:55am
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA

    • Earnings and bonus reports are rolling in and the big, bailed-out banks are back in the black. In 2010, total compensation and benefits at publicly traded Wall Street banks and securities firms hit a record of $135 billion -- up almost six percent from 2009 according to the Wall Street Journal. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon may take home the biggest bonus check, an eye-popping $17 million.

    Elizabeth Warren 2.0

    by Mary Bottari — February 3, 2011 - 2:01pm
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA, Economy, Real Economy Project

    • In a savvy move, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched its first website today.

    Fraudclosure: Will State AGs Step Up to Their Moment in History?

    by Mary Bottari — February 2, 2011 - 11:06am
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA

    • Rumor has it that the 50-state attorneys general investigation into the Fraudclosure scandal is wrapping up. It's time for a backbone check. Will the state attorneys general just ask the big banks and service providers to turn over a chunk of change from seemingly bottomless pockets? (This strategy was pursued by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) with little impact). Or will Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller take the lead in wrestling a real settlement out of the banks, so that families hammered by unemployment and underemployment can stay in their homes?

    Crack Down On Fraudclosure!

    by Mary Bottari — February 1, 2011 - 1:47pm
  • Topics: Banking, Real Economy Project

    • In 2010, banks initiated 3 million foreclosure filings. Total foreclosure filings could reach 9 million in 2011. In any civilized nation, the forcible migration of a city the size of New York would be treated for what it is -- an economic and humanitarian catastrophe. Attorneys General in every state are now actively investigating this FRAUDCLOSURE. Write to the lead investigator, Attorney General Tom Miller of Iowa, today.

    Send an Email Today!

    Only People Can Vote -- Only People Should Finance Campaigns

    by Mary Bottari — January 31, 2011 - 3:42pm
  • Topics: Corporations

    • Guest piece by Greg Colvin, Campaign for America's Future

    Introducing the Citizens Election Amendment, Version 1.0.

    Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Citizens United case exactly one year ago tomorrow, saying that the Constitution gives , people have been asking "how can we amend the Constitution to put this right?"

    In this country, each person has one vote, no matter whether you are rich or poor. And it is illegal to buy or sell a person's vote. So why do we allow electoral influence to be bought and sold? Why has politics in America become a commodity in an economic marketplace, where the richest corporations, business associations, unions, and individuals can buy enormous leverage on the outcome of our elections?

    U.S. Chamber Attacks FCIC as "Job-Killing" Wikileakers

    by Mary Bottari — January 27, 2011 - 11:59am
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA, Economy, Real Economy Project

    • In a response to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission releasing its final report on the financial crisis today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce pitched a classic hissy fit calling the report an "abuse of the process" that would create "more job-killing lawsuits." (So much for the new tone in Washington.)

    Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Report Due

    by Mary Bottari — January 26, 2011 - 2:27pm
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA, Economy, Real Economy Project

    • Word is beginning to leak out about the contents of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission's (FCIC) final report, a 576-page official analysis of the causes of the crisis. The Commission, which got off to a slow and rocky start, managed to hold 19 days of hearings and interviewed 700 witnesses. According to the New York Times, the report puts blame where blame is due, on reckless Wall Street gambling, but also on the colossal failure of government.

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