Number of Americans living in poverty 'increases by 4m'

One in seven Americans was living in poverty in 2009 with the level of working-age poor the highest since the 1960s, the US Census Bureau says.
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The bureau defines poverty as any family of four living on less than $21,954 a year.
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The official US poverty rate in 2009 rose to 14.3% from 13.2% in 2008. In 2009, 43.6 million Americans lived in poverty, up from 39.8 million the year before, the third consecutive increase, the bureau said.

Where's The Money In America?

A neat infographic.

Henry Giroux on Neoliberalism, Democracy, and Education

Giroux's talk, "Shattered Bonds: Youth in a Suspect Society and the Politics of Disposability," railed unambiguously against neoliberalism, against the "mindless, stupid" practice of teaching to the test, against the contempt with which society often treats youth (and more so those cut across class and color lines), against casino capitalism and against a culture of cruelty that insists "any form of dependency whatsoever is somehow a weakness."

In recent years, "democracy has taken a major hit." And for great study on how precarious matters are, Giroux urged attendants to look to the plights of youth. With zero-tolerance policies taking greater precedence - and financial resources - over the welfare of students, "punishing young people seems to be far more important than educating them."

Zeitgeist: Addendum

Zeitgeist: Addendum is a 2008 documentary criticizing present financial institutions and detailing the societal ills that result from them.

Running time: 123 minutes.

Also see: Zeitgeist: Addendum, Debunked, a thorough critique of the documentary from Conspiracy Science.

Orwell Rolls in His Grave

Description from Wikipedia:

Orwell Rolls in His Grave is a 2003 documentary film written and directed by Robert Kane Pappas. It examines the current and past relationships between the media, the US government and corporations, analyzing the possible consequences of the concentration of media ownership. Making references to George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the film argues that reality has met and in some ways exceeded Orwell's expectations about a society dominated by thought control, which is made possible by the media. According to the film, the mass media no longer report news, but manage it, deciding what makes the headlines and what is conveniently ignored, thus ultimately defining the framework upon which most other issues are discussed by the society.

Running time: 84 minutes.