We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Citigroup’s Dark Pools: Here’s Why the Public Doesn’t Trust Wall Street

Click here to access article by Pam Martens and Russ Martens from Wall Street on Parade.

These two financial investigative journalists make a valiant effort to explain to educated Americans all the tricks that global banks, other such financial institutions, and their collaborators in regulatory agencies play to keep their global casino functioning to serve the interests of a tiny Western-based capitalist class. In this piece they focus on Citigroup.
Most Americans, and, sadly, members of Congress, believe that Citigroup is the parent of all those branch banks holding FDIC-insured deposits across America and bearing that angelic red halo over the word “Citi.” But Citigroup is far more than that.