Laura Flanders

Remembering Bob Edgar [VIDEO]

Laura Flanders on April 29, 2013 - 2:31 PM ET

Bob Edgar died suddenly from a heart attack last week at age 69. In Congress from 1975–87, as general secretary of the National Council of Churches and as the CEO of Common Cause, Edgar worked to hold those in power accountable to the public.

Whether it’.s for requesting that the Justice Department investigate Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas for a conflict of interest in the Citizens United ruling, or for bringing aid to the Palestinian town of Jenin after the 2002 Israeli bombardment, Edgar is remembered for his lifelong commitment to social justice and his opposition to the insidious influence of money in politics. As New Yorkers, among others, push forward on bills to change campaign financing across the country, it’s worth remembering his words: “We the people have to stand up, take ownership of our government, reduce the impact of money, reduce the impact of corporate interests. People have to recognize that they are the leaders we’ve been waiting for.”

I had the luck to talk with Edgar for the Free Speech for People project in the spring of 2011. What follows is a part of that conversation. Watch a longer interview with Edgar about democracy, myths and realities, here.

This Earth Day, Stop the Appalachian Health Crisis Caused by Mountain Top Removal

Laura Flanders on April 22, 2013 - 10:13 AM ET

A year ago this week, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) hosted four leading scientists for Senate and House briefings on the environmental and health impacts of mountain top removal (MTR) mining in Appalachia.

The scientists’ peer reviewed research was damning: mountain top removal, the practice of clearing mountaintops of trees and topsoil and then blasting them with explosives to reveal the coal seams underneath, is polluting the Appalachian watershed decreasing organism diversity, increasing flooding and contaminating ground water. The air’s in trouble too, leading to high rates of cancer, heart and respiratory disease:

Preliminary laboratory tests, using air samples from areas where people are living in Appalachia, show mountain top removal mining dust kills heart cells and impairs vascular function.

Tax Loopholes for All!

Laura Flanders on April 15, 2013 - 10:34 AM ET

Tax day is here, and activist-artist Paolo Cirio invites you to a protest tax evasion by availing yourself of an "offshore tax haven"—just as the biggest businesses do. Eighty percent of hedge funds have their companies registered anonymously in the Cayman Islands, he says. That's how they avoid the taxes they'd pay at home. Cirio has not only hacked the Cayman's registry site but created certificates of authentication for the rest of us—using the information he has uncovered.

Cirio, who is a fellow at Eyebeam Art & Technology Center, calls Loophole for All

A service to democratize offshore business for people who don't want to pay for their riches. It empowers everyone to evade taxes, hide money and debt, and get away with anything by stealing the identities of real offshore companies.

Ad Policy

At Thatcher's Funeral, Bury TINA, Too

Laura Flanders on April 12, 2013 - 10:25 AM ET

Margaret Thatcher at a Conservative Party Conference on October 13, 1989. (Reuters/Stringer)

Margaret Thatcher’s fancy funeral will be held this coming Wednesday. Along with the deceased prime minister, can we bury TINA, too?

Margaret Thatcher: Deeds Matter

Laura Flanders on April 8, 2013 - 1:53 PM ET

This article was first published at TheNation.com on January 4, 2012.

The Iron Lady just opened in London where, let’s hope, it generates some serious critique. The critical silence in the United States has been astounding, only made worse by the praise, not just for the film but for its subject, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, played in the movie by Meryl Streep.

Newsweek’s holiday double issue slapped Streep as Thatcher on its cover, hailing “The New Thatcher Era.” The feature story in summary reads: “Margaret Thatcher was the infamous Iron Lady the Brits love to hate. This month’s bio starring Meryl Streep proves she was right all along.”

Take the Oath: A Critic of Marriage Gets Teary

Laura Flanders on March 28, 2013 - 10:48 AM ET

A family celebrates as the Iowa Supreme Court rules in favor of legalizing gay marriage, April 3, 2009. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Christopher Gannon)

It’s inevitable. I’m thinking about marriage.

American Employment Winter: Beware Reports of Spring

Laura Flanders on March 18, 2013 - 10:30 AM ET

A scene from American Winter. (Credit: americanwinterfilm.com)

“Unemployment at 4-Year Low as U.S. Hiring Gains Steam,” headlined The New York Times last Friday as I sat down with the makers of American Winter, a documentary that premieres tonight on HBO. The statistics suggest employment is up and joblessness is down. Watch American Winter, though, and you get a mountain of reasons to take a skeptical look at those numbers.

Occupy Hungary? [VIDEO]

Laura Flanders on March 14, 2013 - 5:49 PM ET

This Monday, the Hungarian Parliament passed a constitutional amendment that is raising serious concerns among defenders of civil liberties in Europe. After several years of defeats at the hands of Hungary’s highest Constitutional Court, the conservative right–dominated Parliament voted 265-11 to (in effect) take control over the country’s judicial system and throw into question decades of decisions protecting human rights.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and members of his party Fidesz insist the constitutional changes are only “technical” or cosmetic. The president of the European Commission disagrees, warning that the new amendment could violate the rule of law, and the US State Department has told Orban that the changes “could threaten the principles of institutional independence and checks and balances that are the hallmark of democratic governance.”

Greek Workers Take Over a Factory [Video Interview]

Laura Flanders on February 15, 2013 - 7:45 PM ET

Tuesday February 12, was the first day of production under worker control at Viomichaniki Metalleutiki (Vio.Me), a building materials factory in Thessaloniki, Greece, which was abandoned by its bankrupt owners two years ago. Facing thirty percent unemployment and a dismal future for their community, workers in a series of mass assemblies decided to occupy the factory and operate it under direct democratic workers’ control.

As part of a letter being circulated by the Thessaloniki Solidarity Initiative explains: