Oligarchy

Outing the Oligarchy Naming Names in the New Global EconomyA conversation withVictor MenottiExecutive Director, International Forum on GlobalizationTuesday, August 2, 7:00 PM Community Media Center900 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto [ Map]FREE and open to all. Wheelchair accessible.[Text from IFG] Increasingly few, stupendously wealthy plutocrats have lately made enormous strides toward dominating global governance, finance and national democracies, while actively undermining traditional democratic expressions, such as collective bargaining rights, clean air protections, and services for social safety nets. The wealth of these individuals is so great that we begin to see a kind of global “neo-feudalism” evolving, where they themselves become the pivotal arbiters and factors shaping economies, politics, media, and many other elements of once democratic systems.The laws and regulations that have permitted such wealth concentration have themselves been shaped by the very special interests that benefit the most, while the public treasury is almost ignored. This situation must be reversed. Putting greater focus on this problem will prove essential to dealing with it.Progressive movements which ignore the critical roles of the oligarchy will be shadow boxing with the oligarch's hired hands – legislators, pundits, corporate spokespersons. Ignoring the oligarchs allows them to continue exerting their self interested influence with a free rein.Victor Menotti was the International Forum on Globalization's first employee upon its founding in 1994 and in 2009 became its Executive Director. Victor has written and spoken extensively about the impact of globalization on ecosystems, and he has helped build international networks among the traditional farming, forest, fishing, and indigenous communities whose survival depends on them. He is the author of the IFG report, “Free Trade, Free Logging: How the World Trade Organization Undermines Global Forest Conservation,” “The Other Oil War: The Halliburton Agenda on WTO Energy Services,” the chapter “WTO and Native Sovereignty" in Paradigm Wars: Indigenous Peoples' Resistance to Economic Globalization, and, ”The WTO and Sustainable Fisheries” for the Institute for Fisheries Resources. Victor learned to speak Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and some Slovak, after earning his degree in International Relations from UCLA.Be a part of the studio audience!I phoned in and ask what is his view with SRI and the Hoover In.You are always an important part of each program as we turn to our in-studio audience and viewers at home for questions and comments. Home viewers can call 650-856-1491 to participate.Other Voices TV can be seen live at 7:00 PM on the first Tuesday of each month on mid-Peninsula cable channel 27. The program is also streamed live on the internet (select channel 27).On demand video streaming is available on our website beginning two days after the initial broadcast.The current program is rebroadcast throughout the month on cable channel 27 (an internet webcast can also be seen at these times):Tuesdays 7:00 PMWednesdays 2:00 AM & 10:00 AMThursdays 11:00 PMFridays 6:00 AM & 2:00 PMSaturdays 4:00 PM
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