Wall Street Bonuses
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There’s been widespread outrage over the $165 million in bonuses that AIG paid out after accepting $170 billion in government bail-outs. Other Wall Street firms that took government bail-outs are watching what happens to AIG and looking for ways to get around new rules that cap compensation. We speak to David Enrich of the Wall Street Journal.
Economy and Security
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The economic crisis is not just bad for business. Our guest, Michael Klare, warns in a recent edition of Tom-Dispatch.Com that civil unrest, ethnic conflicts, perhaps wars, may erupt as people lose confidence in the inability of markets and governments to solve the monetary meltdown. Klare is professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Sheriff Halts Foreclosure Evictions
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We check in with Sheriff Richard K. Jones, of Butler County, Ohio. He has ordered his deputies to halt foreclosure evictions for people who have no place else to go.
Children attend soccer practice in the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 25, 2009. (AP)
Life in Baghdad
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A new poll shows the number of Iraqis who feel positive about their lives today is rising. They are less concerned about security and more preoccupied with the economy in jobs. The BBC’s Hugh Sykes revisits a family he met last year in Baghdad and reports they feel it is safer now but they are still worried about what will happen when American forces withdraw.
The Future of Newspapers
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Today the 146-year old Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper is publishing its last print edition and shifting its entire operation to the web. Meanwhile, former staffers at the now-closed Rocky Mountain News in Denver are launching a subscription drive to start their own web paper, InDenverTimes.com. We speak about the future of print news, and the viability of online-only papers with Melissa Pomponio, a former editor of the Rocky Mountain News, and Mark Jurkowitz, associate director of the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.
The Return of Mystery Science Theatre 3000, Sort of
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Mystery Science Theatre 3000 was a cult favorite during its run on cable TV from 1988 to 1999. The show, which featured a human and his two robots buddies endlessly mocking some of the worst films ever made, won awards, critical praise and adoring fans called “Mysties.” MST3K was canceled a decade ago, but now some of its former members are back with new studio DVDs and a live stage version of their act called “Cinematic Titanic.” Here and Now’s Karen Pelland has our story.
Music from the Show
- Peter Dixon, “Nagog Woods”
- Ahmad Jamal, “Patterns”
- The Wee Trio, “Flint”
- Freddie Hubbard, “Little Sunflower”
- Nathan Milstein, “Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin”
- Joe Jackson, “Steppin’ Out”
- “Mighty Science Theatre” (Closing credit theme music from Mystery Science Theatre 3000)
Sheriff Jones’s courageous refusal to carry out evictions reminds me of Rosa Parks. There comes a point in a civilized society when enough is enough. Evicting people who have nowhere to go, and leaving their empty houses to fall into ruin, undermining neighborhoods, makes no sense at all. And evicting them into cold weather with no shelter available is inhuman. Bravo, Sheriff Jones! Perhaps your one-man refusal to perform this cruel and senseless act will precipitate a national movement to halt economy-related evictions while the country works to solve our economic problems.
Posted by Veronica Soell, on March 17th, 2009 at 12:56 pmOutstanding piece on Cinematic Titanic. MST3K was an astounding show, one that will never be repeated in our lifetime, but CT brings the concept back in a wonderful way. I believe Here and Now did it justice. Extra points for using the closing theme to end today’s show.
Posted by Brandon, on March 17th, 2009 at 5:00 pm