If he wasn't then a Marxist, I'd like to know where he is now on the political spectrum. If one is going to thoroughly condemn this system, where else can one go?
@nycic Everything in the "visible political spectrum" has failed or is on the way to imminent failure. A glaringly obvious reason for this is because all the "isms" that exist in the political spectrum were created with a thought process that failed to consider resources to be finite. Resources are finite and until there is a system in place that is built first and foremost on this principle any answer to your question is "nowhere, we can just try to bide our time".
@MadCoins I identify as a social-democrat. My guess is that you understand what that is, so no need here to explain further. With respect, to "bide our time" is what is killing us. Politicians of both stripes are selling us short-term solutions to the deep and dangerous structural inefficiencies in this system. When what is called for are urgent reforms. In this society, it takes years and years to achieve baby-steps towards a desirable outcome. Something has got to give, and soon.
David is a brilliant guy, but even he doesn't know the difference between "Further" and "Farther." He incorrectly said..."They will move further and further away," when he should have said..."They will move farther and farther away."
@jarden69 also, 1:33 "transitive"? what? i know he means period of transition, or experiencing transition. 'transitory' is a word but 'transitive' is a linguistic term used to describe verbs or something
we can live without interest. we need to get the power to issue money back from the bankers. any president who stood their ground was either corrupted or murdered. we are hostage to their financial system. the people we elect are hostages or corrupted. its so obvious. how can we take back our right to print money without the economic meltdown and the panic/mass hysteria that it would create?
America is more of an Empire than ever. I just got done reading George Friedmans book "The Next Decade." George Friedman is the Founder of Stratfor. He is the intellect that American Presidents, CEO's, and Generals call into their office and talk too about world geopolitics. He is "the man" when a person of power wants to get a "read" on the geopolitics of the world. Mr. Friedman feels American is a "reluctant" Empire but an Empire nonetheless. He doesn't see this changing for a long, long, time
Sounds like this guy had grandiose visions of what human beings should be like. And then he watched humanity for a while and realized we're just a bunch of smart gorillas, and then he got depressed because he didn't have the historical knowledge to realize that we've ALWAYS just been a bunch of smart gorillas, but we do better now (eat better, live longer, kill less of each other, etc) than ever before.
He's rich, he's famous, and he's totally miserable. I feel sorry for him. Kind of pathetic.
@afterapplepicking No, what's pathetic is the fact that you feel we're only smart gorillas. We have souls and a conscience unlike gorillas. We can create beautiful symphonies and write poetry that stirs the HUMAN soul, unlike gorillas. Everything this man says is TRUE. We are a society doomed. England and France once shared a historical dominance of the world and the USA's dominance is finished! We'll be remembered in history books 500 yrs from now as the greedy bullies on the block
@jaydog7575 Yeah, this race full of conscience and soulfulness and symphonic beauty that also happens to be doomed. Makes a lot of sense, partner.
Greed, selfishness, ambition, fear...these are universal human qualities. The reason capitalism works is because it appeals to them instead of rejecting them. We can make as much civilization as we want, but our ape-like emotions and behaviors aren't going to change. Read history for verification.
@jaydog7575 Why does the fact that humans can produce and create beautiful things preclude the possibility we may be just intelligent apes? You're not exactly saying anything, other than providing arbitrary restrictions on what 'intelligent gorillas' can do.
agreed completely brother. he should have the words "personal responsibility" stamped on his forehead so he never forgets what this country is about. our futures start in the 4 walls of the american home. you either live right, work hard, and reap the benefits, or you do the opposite and face the consequences.
min 1:10 "Every moment, from here on end, humans are worth less"
I wouldnt doubt that the Elites certainly think this way, but all it takes is a revolution to reset this mutherfu$#a and all bets are off. The Elites got their
fu%$in money and technology, we got the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Got nuthin to do with free market economies, it's government man. The bigger the gov, the smaller the freedom. So fu$# off!
There is no panacea. Just because America isn't perfect. Just because the "American dream" didn't turn out to be peachy, peachy, doesn't mean we can't continue to be the most powerful, the wealthiest, and the most influential nation on earth. Apples and oranges. So there is poverty. So there are inequities. So there is superficiality. So there is racism. So the rich are getting richer. So what? That has nothing to do with whether American hegemony is alive. It is. Grow up everyone.
@kentucy9999@kentucy9999 u nailed it. This guy simon is a jerk, making is $ selling his whining about the USA & then crying because, in HIS words: "
"anything I've ever done in life, down to, like, cleaning up my room, has been accomplished because I was going to show people that they were fucked up, wrong, and that I was the fucking center of the universe and the sooner they got hip to that, the happier they would all be."
@jpeditor The fact that Simon recognises his flaws is not a mark against him. Quite the contrary, in fact. It shows he has a greater capacity to see things the way they are.
@jpeditor Have you ever spent a year at the corner of W. Fayette and Monroe in West Baltimore??? Well, David Simon and Ed Burns did, and they wrote one of the BEST documentaries on the American nightmare. You call him whining?? Spend a week in West Baltimore or East St. Louis or Compton etc. and call what this man reported and is explaining to us "whining." And don't give me that shit, "They should go get a job," because in case you haven't noticed THERE AREN"T MANY JOBS! That's his point
@jaydog7575 Actually I spent 90 seconds @ the corner of W. Fayette & Monroe in W Baltimore a few years ago when I got lost & I got the hell out of there w/ my life as some of Simon's "finest" screamed "kill that MF honky!"
"they wrote one of the BEST documentaries on the American nightmare." & made a pile of $ off it.
" in case you haven't noticed THERE AREN"T MANY JOBS! That's his point" & his crapping on America & whining about GLOBULL WHINING are going to create more jobs exactly HOW????
@jpeditor Sir, you just proved David Simon's point in the video perfectly. That there is two Americas that are growing increasingly distant from each other, the have-its trying to marginalize the have-nots more and more, and the have-nots coming to resent the have-its more and more. You are part of the problem, and all you can harp about is the guy's stance on global warming, which has nothing to do with anything he said in the video (though just as important a message no doubt).
Wait, dope smoking jackass is like saying fruit eating jackass or car driving jackass or toilet using jackass or beer drinking jackass or tv show producing jackass or voting jackass or sex having jackass or speech giving jackass or degree having jackass or cake baking jackass or hand shake giving jackass or mother jones interview giving jackass or HBO employed jackass. Jackass is still an insult but "dope smoking" is harmless and hasn't been an insult since the Cold War. Get modern brother!
@brothamouzoune Denial of what? Who is going to take the "mantel" of world hegemony? Certainly not China. China has more problems than the USA will ever have. I believe America's quality of life may diminish in the future but I don't think its influence will because I think for every 10% our quality of life diminishes the other countries such as China, Japan, and the Euro zone will diminish 15%. We'll still be the "big fish" but in a "smaller pond." I'm negative on all of it....not just America.
@kentucy9999 your lack of global knowledge is astounding. "I think for every 10% our quality of life diminishes the other countries such as China, Japan, and the Euro zone will diminish 15%." Have you been alive these past 10 years?? The economies of China, Brazil, India. They industrialized far later than we did but give them time and they'll surpass us within the decade. China within 5 years, and this is fact not crackpot opinion. Open your eyes, the age of american exceptionalism is gone
@brothamouzoune Your kidding, right? Our per capita income is $46,000 per year. China's is $4,300 per year. Brazil's is less than $8,000 per year. You're funny and a complete idiot.
@kentucy9999 per capita income is not the be all end all definer of economic power. gross gdp and investment per capita is more like it. and within 10-20 years china will overtake us in both categories. yes their citizens are poor as fuck but their government will be richer and thus more powerful than ours. you have the symptom that most neocons have, you're shortsighted.
@brothamouzoune Well. We've gone from 5-6 years to 10-20 years. That is progress. What about the pollution in China? By far the worst in the world. There GDP is still 1/3 ours and they have 4X's as many citizens. They may have some social problems in the future as they grow. Who says everything will go as planned for them?..............I'm a registered Democrat. Voted for Obama and Clinton before that. Very pro American though.
@kentucy9999 Comparing GDP? Really? There are so many things wrong with that kind of outlook that I will not speak too much on that. But fun fact: Our #1 contributor to our GDP for most of the past decade has been CONSUMER DEBT. Does consumer debt compare to real products being put forth to be used in the world?
@pharry4life 80% of the workers in China make less than 9 dollars a day. At least 60% of Chinese live below the poverty line. As we speak the American economy is 3.2 times as large as China. Unless there is a war it will take China a long time at an extraordinaryly high growth rate to catch up {and as their economy matures growth will diminish.} In 2009 22.5% of the direct investment in the world was directed to the United States. 4.4% to China. The challenges China faces are monstrous.
@kentucy9999 You can pull statistics to support either side of the debate. China is the creditor nation while the U.S. is a debtor nation. Take a look at the currency reserves on the Chinese government and the USA national debt. '"China should overtake the US to become the largest economy in the world by 2020"-Chief Economist at Citgroup, so you need to look beyond 10 years. I agree quality of life in USA is obviously far far better than China, but I was talking macro economics.
@kentucy9999 No it probably wouldn't be, I'm not sure how many people are anxious (although you will always get the type of people who resent the most powerful country, company etc), its more an observation. I would certainly rather have US as a world leader instead of China.
@kentucy9999 I saw George Friedman {Stratfor} being interviewed on C-Span Booknotes a couple Sundays ago talking about the "world" and how he sees things going forward. He seemed to me to be an extremely "learned" man though I'm sure he doesn't have all the answers. He felt that though America has many challenges ahead that it is inevitable that the U.S. will be preeminant for a long time. He felt Japan would be stronger than China. He thinks China's population is a yoke for them going forward
Profound & interesting, but if the power division outlined in the Constitution has remained wholly unchanged throughout its history, his observations are in no way new, the lines of disparity are simply growing more extreme as we live in a society that is too large and each-man-is-an-island-unto-themselves to possibly regulate. (run on sentence coming from E Baltimore)
@Newbobdole the US Constitution, rather like the democratic settlement in the UK, was not established with political parties in mind. The presumption was that representatives would present themselves to the (rich, landed, informed, engaged) voters, would be picked on the basis of their credentials and character, and would vote freely on the issues according to their judgement. For better or worse that doesn't happen and the voting system used, FPTP, leads naturally to a 2 party state (Duverger)
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Wouldn't any show on HBO be considered cultural filth that only contributes to the fall of the empire? I've never seen his show, but HBO is no cultural mecca or anything.
Are you fucking kidding me? HBO is the only good thing to come out of American TV in the last 15 years. It should be America's main cultural export as far as I'm concerned.
i agree about family ties. best show of its time for sure. i was taking the piss about prison break...it's kinda fluff, especially when compared to the wire, a show that will be iconic in american television if we're still here in 100 years. peace out
It's the best thing but it's far than the only good thing. Television is in a golden age right now and that's just as true on the networks and basic cable as on the premium channels.
@hschan4 I think that age is over. Sopranos, Rome, Deadwood, The Wire... Since the new president of HBO took office, what's been added to the lineup that's competed with any of these? I'd argue that with Breaking Bad, Mad Men... networks have caught up.
Indeed HBO is what America should be. Intelligent, daring, stylish and forward thinking. A world away from the mindless propaganda that is created by FOX
ill bet 2000 years ago there were 2 roman soldiers sitting around talking about how rome will last forever ''the pendulem will swing back were just in a slump at the moment'' don't put too much faith in that everything comes too an end
I loved the Wire and the more David Simonish episodes of Homicide. But I'm not sure he knows what he's talking about here... He should read Adam Smith. The institutions aren't supposed to "serve" the public selflessly. That's asking too much of humans. Allow free trade and leave people with self-determination and you'll be surprised how much they take care of themselves and others.
he is right things like education, health care, government, they should serve the people selflessly. Even corporations should have have limits and morals , and when they dont we end up fucked, and if what you said is true then we wouldnt be in the mess were in now.
"Should" is a tricky word. No one "should" steal cars, but I still want a lock on mine. Regardless of what should happen, what DOES happen is socialized systems serve their own interests not the people; David Simon knows this better than anyone. That includes public schools, public health care, and government of course.
Corporations do have limits. They cannot alienate their customers. No such limit exists on government programs. And the people who run it, know it.
That is also not true. It's the people who are still stuck on the capitalist mind set that destroys social institutions, which are under the disguise of socialism . France . sweeden, denmark, england, canada, the emirates have all gotten things right and havent fucked the people over. And schools are not even funded legally, they still rely on property taxes and levies. I mean the U.S cant even get single payer on the table. the real socialist solution. so what does that tell you.
Socialist solution is a contradiction in terms. Capitalism is better than socialism. If we can't agree on that we won't be able to agree on anything.
Western Europe is having financial problems, but they are still comparatively capitalist. Europe has very high taxes which is bad, but on the other hand they have very little trouble controlling their trial lawyers and they have little regulation. The US keeps our taxes lower, but we regulate businesses to death.
No it isnt, why is creating a system where everyone is unequal a good idea, Your missing the point, Europe takes care of it's people, we dont, even the military has a poor record. Yes they have high taxes but they get shit for it, we dont, we got a bail out that i wont see money for. The gov already takes about half ur income so whats this stuff about we have low taxes? We can have democratic socialism and capitalism they both work, why cant you see that. $ problems are cuz of US too.
we can fix them mate, standards are slipping and being rigged, the only good schools are in middle class areas or at least people think so. still, WE can solve those problems, they were the result of policy to the extent they can be forensically analysed for the cause. our problems arent systemic nor endemic. and the politicians who caused them would admit to their policies failing, our media for all its faults makkes sure the narcisists have nothing to gain from lying to themselves.
Really? they are great in Scotland. I attended what was statistically the second most violent school in the country and barely got in a single fight, saw very little bullying and know many people, myself included, who left with very good qualifications.
I am 20 so nearly three years ago. I really enjoyed my time at school, I agree for some people it must be different and schools do seem to give up on underachieving kids. For example the teacher in the lowest English class used to get the kids to play Bingo instead of teaching them literature, as a way of mediation. Also, I don't think 15,16 and 17 year olds should be forced into staying in school as it is literally impossible to teach an adult who does not want to learn.
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What a complete pussy... Do not take this douchebag seriously.. this type of "end of the American way of life" has been spewed since the 1920s, 1960s, 1970s, and now.. we are in a recessionary period, and nothing more.. the pendulum will swing back to prosperity.. I guarantee it.. but listening to this negative low-life, who obviously has a self-esteem problem (although is not starving by the looks of his fatness) will not help you. We are a resilient people, unlike no other.. don't worry.
How come when everyone starts talking about "these People" no one wants to state the fact: THESE BLACK PEOPLE. Yeah, I said it. Thats the majority of the casualities of this so-called drug war and NOONE (particular u left/right wingers) never wants to talk about this on going issue thats been affecting our urban area for over 35yrs now.
What is really scary to me is how David draws the correlation between a lessening need for an increasing population. China, it would seem, had it right after all. Population control with a hybrid political economic system of Capitalist Socialism, has indeed proven itself to be superior to our straight Laissez Fair Capitalism. They are they only ones with enough money and resources to meet all their needs. What an indictment of our greed and stupidity.
I don't think he is saying that at all. If you really listen to what he is saying I think there is an optimism in there that even he is missing. We have the power to change these things, it sure as shit won't be easy; do you really want to use China as a role model? Their economy only grows and functions as it does because they don't give a f#$@ about their environment and they have cheap labor and their political system can be draconian to say the least.
I heard David say on Bill Moyers' that he definately is not optimistic for this reason; "as long as everyone is getting enough table scraps to get by, there will be no change. Something disasterous is going to have to truly threaten peoples very existance in order for them to change things." I agree with him. Second, why not use China's example? They have a $500 billion surplus. Draconian? We have more people locked up than anyone in the world, and don't forget GITMO. Americans are delusional.
I know I know, we do lock up too many people, I agree. China has its own problems ie giant disparities in wealth between city dwellers and people in the countryside. You really want to go to a capitalist economy/communist government? You won't be on any "real" internet, this conversation would not be happening, that video you watched would not be allowed and the kind of journalism that David is talking about is strictly forbidden. China has 500 bill because they don't do shit 4 their peeps.
We have plenty of people locked up, and if you have ever been to prison in another country you'd be begging on your knees to be taken to even the worst American prison.
China has acted with utter disregard for human rights in such a way that cannot be rightly compared to the USA. No country is perfect, but what you say makes you sound delusional. I do agree with what David said on Bill Moyers' and I agree. What could cause that great social catalyst, war? I hope we don't find out.
The USA was listed by Amnesty International as one of the worst human rights violators in the world, SURPASSING CHINA! The reason they gave was for its utter disregard for citizen welfare, the very reason we have so many un-rehabilitated repeat offenders. WE THROW PEOPLE AWAY. Delusion for you would be a step up from blind stupidity. Thats OK though, you are about to find out just how cold our society really is. Experts say this is only the beginning of our financial crisis. Third world status.
Good point, the u.s economy has yet to actually see a bottom, nothing but the same old political spin and blind media spewing the same america is number 1 crap. I'm not sure where the bottom is but I wouldn't want to be in america when it hits...
As to your point about them polluting their environment, we do the same too. Since the previous administration gutted most federal agencies and de facto eliminated regulations, companies polute more than ever. Why not go clean nuclear like the rest of the world (France) instead of dirty coal?? Our labor forces were decimated by the loss of manufacturing and the killing of unions, look at us now with %15 unemployment. We have'nt treated our workforce very good either. Who's better than who?
Those gutted agencies are beginning to be rebuilt. The EPA, after declaring greenhouse gases harmful to people, has the power to enact its own restrictions if congress does not get on it. The nuclear waste question has not been properly addressed, it's got to go somewhere and nobody wants it in their backyard. While manufacturing does provide jobs it is also responsible for massive amounts of
pollution. This is the one point I somewhat disagree with him on.
I do believe this lecture is worth taking into consideration NOW.there is alot of vision and realities in this lecture.well worth listening to and processing.
I respect David Simon for what he is doing. The War on Drugs is insane and needs to be stopped, but he is confusing "unencumbered Capitalism" or free-market capitalism with Corportism. Social Corportism is what is bringing us down. Free market capitalism is in fact the best economic system for the most vulnerable of people.
Social corporatism is a result of unregulated free markets. Its when you allow corporations to become complete private tyrannies that are therefore unaccountable to the people they employ. The best system for the most vulnerable understands their rights as humans and is attentive to them. A free market can provide this, but only under certian conditions. By itself, in a completely unregulated fashion, its not in the cards.
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Do you know who fuc** the Lehman Brothers?
Don't expect this kinda news from CNN or FoxTV.
Jew bankers bankrupted Lehman Brothers and 400 billions of Lehman Brothers money was transfered to israel banks which are Hapoalim Grup, Bank Leumi Grup ,Discount Bank Grup..
US government can't investigate this because israel laws doesn't give permission.
I do not think the goverment represent minorities groups we are all victims of the goverment this present goverment works only for the corporation elite corporation run the USA in order to make this country again we will need to fire every single politician in the white house congress anywhere u can find one and start allover vote new officials into office so that ones again (of the people,for the people,by the people)not for the rich ,corporation,wallstreet
In the words of a CIA agent I knew, "'Patriotism' is having the integrity to sacrifice your own welfare for something that represents the noblest aspirations and ideals for which your people and their political system stands." What we are doing in Iraq is far from representing our noblest ideals.We r only there to try to take over the world's major supplies of oil and to do Israel's bidding. Israeli Zionists have taken over our economy,military,media and our government.Our gov.has been hijacked!
And for you guys that think that going to war is something like playing a computer game-No matter how powerful your country is, or how numerous your armies, or how advanced your weapons-when a bullet whizzes by your head on the left and then one on the right and you don't know whether to move or stay still,knowing that the next one may end up making your eyes bulge out of your head-the knowledge that you are a member of the most powerful country on earth won't comfort you one damn bit!
Americans don't want to face it but it's time for another American Revolution. The American government no longer represents the best interests of the people, it preferentially represents minorities, special interest groups, big business, and the super rich. The quality of life in this country has deteriorated, crime has become the standard, drug financed political campaigns are accepted, morons are acceptable as Presidential candidates-IT IS TIME TO SHOW GOVERNMENT WHO REALLY RUNS THIS COUNTRY!
You younger guys that are reading these comments had better think very seriously about what is being said here. I am an old man and I have lived through a lot of crises in this country and others-WE ARE APPROACHING, JUST LIKE THE DAY OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS SHOWDOWN,THE TIME WHEN WORLD WAR III IS PROBABLY GOING TO START-THIS IS NO JOKE N YOU GUYS WILL B THE ONES THIS CRIMINAL GOVERNMENT SENDS OUT TO DIE-SO DON'T TAKE THIS SHIT LIGHTLY!WE R TURNING THE WHOLE WORLD AGAINST US,NOT JUST MUSLIMS!
What's he's saying about the gated communities is right. You'll know we are getting closer to that the smaller the middle-class becomes. However, we won't reach that stage. When it really starts to touch people, that's when everyone will wake up. I know it.
from traitors from within, they will lay flat the American dream and freedom.This to lay the foundations of a new world Govt.,Where People are used up as tools.
America will be reduced to rubble
All this is from the traitors of freedom and the founding fathers .
Yet their are Americans that salute the flag ,bow down to take it all up the rear ,all the while wearing a silly grin.
these are the products of an educational system that has been gutted and looted.
I have been glued to this show since NPR introduced me to it. I spend a faire amount of time on the streets of Baltimore, but God, the show painted such a different Baltimore. The show is pretty pessimistic, and if you ask me, that is where all the hope lies. Young people on the street should understand that the world is big...If you are born in the projects, nothing says that you HAVE to die inthe project. Just drive 50 miles out and try something else. She show says, there are options....
I love your sunny disposition, for the kids from the street how do they afford a ticket out, unless they are dealing drugs. If you live in the ghetto you have no money and have no way of earning a decent living honestly. With the expectation of youth growing the only way of reaching the american dream is drugs. I wish you well though from a kid whom got out:D
The games is a dead end for most players. I am probably naive, because I just cannot understand why in a world this big, people can't dream as big? I was very interested in the story of the only two who wanted out. Bubbles and the other young kid who was killed . Bubble got out because he did not have any blood on his hands really. But D'Angelo could have done more to help the young guy who wanted out. You cannot leave the game and stay on the field. You might be able to enlight me more!
Give it another 100 years Dave.
kentucy9999 3 months ago
If he wasn't then a Marxist, I'd like to know where he is now on the political spectrum. If one is going to thoroughly condemn this system, where else can one go?
Socialism or barbarism-- Rosa Luxemburg.
nycic 4 months ago
@nycic Everything in the "visible political spectrum" has failed or is on the way to imminent failure. A glaringly obvious reason for this is because all the "isms" that exist in the political spectrum were created with a thought process that failed to consider resources to be finite. Resources are finite and until there is a system in place that is built first and foremost on this principle any answer to your question is "nowhere, we can just try to bide our time".
MadCoins 4 months ago
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nycic 4 months ago
@MadCoins I identify as a social-democrat. My guess is that you understand what that is, so no need here to explain further. With respect, to "bide our time" is what is killing us. Politicians of both stripes are selling us short-term solutions to the deep and dangerous structural inefficiencies in this system. When what is called for are urgent reforms. In this society, it takes years and years to achieve baby-steps towards a desirable outcome. Something has got to give, and soon.
nycic 4 months ago
David is a brilliant guy, but even he doesn't know the difference between "Further" and "Farther." He incorrectly said..."They will move further and further away," when he should have said..."They will move farther and farther away."
jarden69 4 months ago
@jarden69 also, 1:33 "transitive"? what? i know he means period of transition, or experiencing transition. 'transitory' is a word but 'transitive' is a linguistic term used to describe verbs or something
blasko88 4 months ago
@BestOfTheBestNumber9 pile on the nostalgia...
mobileaarmy 4 months ago
hard to believe but it is over. greed destroyed america.
tony232cool 5 months ago
I came to the same thesis. Either everything gets turned over to the machines that replace us Terminator-style, or there's a revolt and a collapse.
FrogmortonHotchkiss 5 months ago
Very good analysis, greed has destroyed America.
blackbolt75 8 months ago
this is exactly what ive been writing about how humans are losing value in the economy at danster82 com
Danster82 9 months ago
we can live without interest. we need to get the power to issue money back from the bankers. any president who stood their ground was either corrupted or murdered. we are hostage to their financial system. the people we elect are hostages or corrupted. its so obvious. how can we take back our right to print money without the economic meltdown and the panic/mass hysteria that it would create?
jbprassas 9 months ago
America is more of an Empire than ever. I just got done reading George Friedmans book "The Next Decade." George Friedman is the Founder of Stratfor. He is the intellect that American Presidents, CEO's, and Generals call into their office and talk too about world geopolitics. He is "the man" when a person of power wants to get a "read" on the geopolitics of the world. Mr. Friedman feels American is a "reluctant" Empire but an Empire nonetheless. He doesn't see this changing for a long, long, time
kentucy9999 11 months ago
"We used to make shit in this country"
nakabar 11 months ago
Read Chalmers Johnson: Blowback, The Sorrows of Empire, Nemesis- he just about sums it all up- the "fat Lady" is about to sing!
glagadec 1 year ago
Is it just me, or do I hear children laughing at 0:19 when he mentions "our kids are gonna live that event"?
paradigmse7en 1 year ago 2
David Simon for Congress!
OJK86 1 year ago
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dempsey981 1 year ago
@dempsey981 Todays empires tomorrow's ashes.... and it's a great album too :)
Donjjo 1 year ago
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dempsey981 1 year ago
@dempsey981 Good point
Donjjo 10 months ago
@dempsey981 The roman empire declined that way too. No empire lasts forever.
MrStrawhatlegend 1 year ago
every empire in history fell so y do ppl think the mighty United States is and different
Strataglass800 1 year ago
@Strataglass800 not china. not china
ervin920 1 year ago
I think you are expendable! America sucks and you are all going to hell. That's all one can say on this matter.
paulkellyjeffrey 1 year ago
Sounds like this guy had grandiose visions of what human beings should be like. And then he watched humanity for a while and realized we're just a bunch of smart gorillas, and then he got depressed because he didn't have the historical knowledge to realize that we've ALWAYS just been a bunch of smart gorillas, but we do better now (eat better, live longer, kill less of each other, etc) than ever before.
He's rich, he's famous, and he's totally miserable. I feel sorry for him. Kind of pathetic.
afterapplepicking 1 year ago
@afterapplepicking No, what's pathetic is the fact that you feel we're only smart gorillas. We have souls and a conscience unlike gorillas. We can create beautiful symphonies and write poetry that stirs the HUMAN soul, unlike gorillas. Everything this man says is TRUE. We are a society doomed. England and France once shared a historical dominance of the world and the USA's dominance is finished! We'll be remembered in history books 500 yrs from now as the greedy bullies on the block
jaydog7575 1 year ago
@jaydog7575 Yeah, this race full of conscience and soulfulness and symphonic beauty that also happens to be doomed. Makes a lot of sense, partner.
Greed, selfishness, ambition, fear...these are universal human qualities. The reason capitalism works is because it appeals to them instead of rejecting them. We can make as much civilization as we want, but our ape-like emotions and behaviors aren't going to change. Read history for verification.
afterapplepicking 1 year ago
@jaydog7575 Why does the fact that humans can produce and create beautiful things preclude the possibility we may be just intelligent apes? You're not exactly saying anything, other than providing arbitrary restrictions on what 'intelligent gorillas' can do.
Strand0410 1 year ago
@afterapplepicking and you know thins because?
emmaluvszum 1 year ago
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...and you know this because?
emmaluvszum 1 year ago
@afterapplepicking I believe you completely missed the point good sir.
jaredowty 1 year ago
@afterapplepicking
agreed completely brother. he should have the words "personal responsibility" stamped on his forehead so he never forgets what this country is about. our futures start in the 4 walls of the american home. you either live right, work hard, and reap the benefits, or you do the opposite and face the consequences.
Braylon18 11 months ago
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PaulaJAkers 1 year ago
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PaulaJAkers 1 year ago
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PaulaJAkers 1 year ago
Smart guy. Good writer.
-Eric Chicago
ekolke 1 year ago
min 1:10 "Every moment, from here on end, humans are worth less"
I wouldnt doubt that the Elites certainly think this way, but all it takes is a revolution to reset this mutherfu$#a and all bets are off. The Elites got their
fu%$in money and technology, we got the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Got nuthin to do with free market economies, it's government man. The bigger the gov, the smaller the freedom. So fu$# off!
RideMyBMW 1 year ago
the senate is supposed to be geographically balanced.
bi0dude42O 1 year ago
There is no panacea. Just because America isn't perfect. Just because the "American dream" didn't turn out to be peachy, peachy, doesn't mean we can't continue to be the most powerful, the wealthiest, and the most influential nation on earth. Apples and oranges. So there is poverty. So there are inequities. So there is superficiality. So there is racism. So the rich are getting richer. So what? That has nothing to do with whether American hegemony is alive. It is. Grow up everyone.
kentucy9999 1 year ago
@kentucy9999 @kentucy9999 u nailed it. This guy simon is a jerk, making is $ selling his whining about the USA & then crying because, in HIS words: "
"anything I've ever done in life, down to, like, cleaning up my room, has been accomplished because I was going to show people that they were fucked up, wrong, and that I was the fucking center of the universe and the sooner they got hip to that, the happier they would all be."
jpeditor 1 year ago
@jpeditor ..........His next book is going to be, "David Simon on David Simon. A Portrait."
kentucy9999 1 year ago
@jpeditor Please don't reproduce.
globalforce 1 year ago
@jpeditor The fact that Simon recognises his flaws is not a mark against him. Quite the contrary, in fact. It shows he has a greater capacity to see things the way they are.
Gmmof 1 year ago
@jpeditor Have you ever spent a year at the corner of W. Fayette and Monroe in West Baltimore??? Well, David Simon and Ed Burns did, and they wrote one of the BEST documentaries on the American nightmare. You call him whining?? Spend a week in West Baltimore or East St. Louis or Compton etc. and call what this man reported and is explaining to us "whining." And don't give me that shit, "They should go get a job," because in case you haven't noticed THERE AREN"T MANY JOBS! That's his point
jaydog7575 6 months ago
@jaydog7575 Actually I spent 90 seconds @ the corner of W. Fayette & Monroe in W Baltimore a few years ago when I got lost & I got the hell out of there w/ my life as some of Simon's "finest" screamed "kill that MF honky!"
"they wrote one of the BEST documentaries on the American nightmare." & made a pile of $ off it.
" in case you haven't noticed THERE AREN"T MANY JOBS! That's his point" & his crapping on America & whining about GLOBULL WHINING are going to create more jobs exactly HOW????
jpeditor 6 months ago
@jaydog7575 Mother Jones, September/October 2008 Issue
"Mother Jones: What remainder of the Bush administration will be the hardest to fix?
David Simon: I would say the answer is global warming. "
CONCLUSION - dope smoking JACKASS...
jpeditor 6 months ago
@jpeditor Sir, you just proved David Simon's point in the video perfectly. That there is two Americas that are growing increasingly distant from each other, the have-its trying to marginalize the have-nots more and more, and the have-nots coming to resent the have-its more and more. You are part of the problem, and all you can harp about is the guy's stance on global warming, which has nothing to do with anything he said in the video (though just as important a message no doubt).
bingyuzh 6 months ago
Comment removed
MadCoins 4 months ago
Wait, dope smoking jackass is like saying fruit eating jackass or car driving jackass or toilet using jackass or beer drinking jackass or tv show producing jackass or voting jackass or sex having jackass or speech giving jackass or degree having jackass or cake baking jackass or hand shake giving jackass or mother jones interview giving jackass or HBO employed jackass. Jackass is still an insult but "dope smoking" is harmless and hasn't been an insult since the Cold War. Get modern brother!
MadCoins 4 months ago
@kentucy9999 So everything's all right then? Things can be all fucked to hell, but as long as the US have their hegemony, it's a-okay?
Gmmof 1 year ago
@kentucy9999 sounds like someone is in denial
brothamouzoune 1 year ago
@brothamouzoune Denial of what? Who is going to take the "mantel" of world hegemony? Certainly not China. China has more problems than the USA will ever have. I believe America's quality of life may diminish in the future but I don't think its influence will because I think for every 10% our quality of life diminishes the other countries such as China, Japan, and the Euro zone will diminish 15%. We'll still be the "big fish" but in a "smaller pond." I'm negative on all of it....not just America.
kentucy9999 1 year ago
@kentucy9999 your lack of global knowledge is astounding. "I think for every 10% our quality of life diminishes the other countries such as China, Japan, and the Euro zone will diminish 15%." Have you been alive these past 10 years?? The economies of China, Brazil, India. They industrialized far later than we did but give them time and they'll surpass us within the decade. China within 5 years, and this is fact not crackpot opinion. Open your eyes, the age of american exceptionalism is gone
brothamouzoune 1 year ago
@brothamouzoune Your kidding, right? Our per capita income is $46,000 per year. China's is $4,300 per year. Brazil's is less than $8,000 per year. You're funny and a complete idiot.
kentucy9999 1 year ago
@kentucy9999 per capita income is not the be all end all definer of economic power. gross gdp and investment per capita is more like it. and within 10-20 years china will overtake us in both categories. yes their citizens are poor as fuck but their government will be richer and thus more powerful than ours. you have the symptom that most neocons have, you're shortsighted.
brothamouzoune 1 year ago
@brothamouzoune Well. We've gone from 5-6 years to 10-20 years. That is progress. What about the pollution in China? By far the worst in the world. There GDP is still 1/3 ours and they have 4X's as many citizens. They may have some social problems in the future as they grow. Who says everything will go as planned for them?..............I'm a registered Democrat. Voted for Obama and Clinton before that. Very pro American though.
kentucy9999 1 year ago
@kentucy9999 Comparing GDP? Really? There are so many things wrong with that kind of outlook that I will not speak too much on that. But fun fact: Our #1 contributor to our GDP for most of the past decade has been CONSUMER DEBT. Does consumer debt compare to real products being put forth to be used in the world?
617wax 1 year ago
@kentucy9999
nice job brother
Braylon18 11 months ago
@kentucy9999 You need to do some research on China my friend.
pharry4life 1 year ago
@pharry4life 80% of the workers in China make less than 9 dollars a day. At least 60% of Chinese live below the poverty line. As we speak the American economy is 3.2 times as large as China. Unless there is a war it will take China a long time at an extraordinaryly high growth rate to catch up {and as their economy matures growth will diminish.} In 2009 22.5% of the direct investment in the world was directed to the United States. 4.4% to China. The challenges China faces are monstrous.
kentucy9999 11 months ago
@kentucy9999 You can pull statistics to support either side of the debate. China is the creditor nation while the U.S. is a debtor nation. Take a look at the currency reserves on the Chinese government and the USA national debt. '"China should overtake the US to become the largest economy in the world by 2020"-Chief Economist at Citgroup, so you need to look beyond 10 years. I agree quality of life in USA is obviously far far better than China, but I was talking macro economics.
pharry4life 11 months ago
@pharry4life Why are so many people anxious for someone to displace America as the preeminant power? Are you sure that would be such a good thing?
kentucy9999 11 months ago
@kentucy9999 No it probably wouldn't be, I'm not sure how many people are anxious (although you will always get the type of people who resent the most powerful country, company etc), its more an observation. I would certainly rather have US as a world leader instead of China.
pharry4life 11 months ago
@kentucy9999 I saw George Friedman {Stratfor} being interviewed on C-Span Booknotes a couple Sundays ago talking about the "world" and how he sees things going forward. He seemed to me to be an extremely "learned" man though I'm sure he doesn't have all the answers. He felt that though America has many challenges ahead that it is inevitable that the U.S. will be preeminant for a long time. He felt Japan would be stronger than China. He thinks China's population is a yoke for them going forward
kentucy9999 11 months ago
To blame "unencumbered capitalism" is the same thing as blaming unicorns. Theyre both fantasies.
ekeyra 1 year ago
a nation that allows unemcumbered capitalism can be many things, but it cannot be Christian
badbadkingjohn 1 year ago 2
read it (or listen, watch) and weep
badbadkingjohn 1 year ago
empires collapse ---rome didnt make 1000yrs ---egypt aka kemet lasted over 10000yrs it is no where
tamaduni 1 year ago
Profound & interesting, but if the power division outlined in the Constitution has remained wholly unchanged throughout its history, his observations are in no way new, the lines of disparity are simply growing more extreme as we live in a society that is too large and each-man-is-an-island-unto-themselves to possibly regulate. (run on sentence coming from E Baltimore)
Newbobdole 1 year ago
@Newbobdole the US Constitution, rather like the democratic settlement in the UK, was not established with political parties in mind. The presumption was that representatives would present themselves to the (rich, landed, informed, engaged) voters, would be picked on the basis of their credentials and character, and would vote freely on the issues according to their judgement. For better or worse that doesn't happen and the voting system used, FPTP, leads naturally to a 2 party state (Duverger)
Faboba 1 year ago
I have one thing to say about all this... S'all in the game yo.
Struckgold 1 year ago
This is the truth not only for America but for all the G-8 countries. Its spooky and like something out of a horror sci-fi.
Joekabuck 1 year ago
he really needs to write a book about this.
xmikeyx131 1 year ago
WOOOO treme in like a month lol
LTmattYT 1 year ago 2
@LTmattYT 4 days bitchesssssss
LTmattYT 1 year ago
@LTmattYT TOMORROW MOTHERFUCKERS
LTmattYT 1 year ago
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I luv this the wire show, thanks, I watch this and other popular shows in HQ and Hd at :
TVFLAP . COM
sneakyboy100 1 year ago
I'd like to see an institutional, 'wire-based' programme for the UK set in Leeds: A perfect little Baltimore-like city.
brwhizz 1 year ago
great video
CyberCelebrity 2 years ago
thank you for uploading this..
meanderingfrey 2 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Wouldn't any show on HBO be considered cultural filth that only contributes to the fall of the empire? I've never seen his show, but HBO is no cultural mecca or anything.
iloveterriers 2 years ago
are you kidding?
sweetness111983 2 years ago
Are you fucking kidding me? HBO is the only good thing to come out of American TV in the last 15 years. It should be America's main cultural export as far as I'm concerned.
hschan4 2 years ago 36
@hschan4 What about Prison Break?
GorterPoss 2 years ago
prison break? you're taking the piss right? what about kirk cameron?
johhny3rubs 2 years ago
Yeah growing pains ended in 1992 man, more than 15 years ago, which is precisely the guy's point.
Anyway, Family Ties was way better than growing pains! Way more intelligent of a show.
GorterPoss 2 years ago
i agree about family ties. best show of its time for sure. i was taking the piss about prison break...it's kinda fluff, especially when compared to the wire, a show that will be iconic in american television if we're still here in 100 years. peace out
johhny3rubs 2 years ago
It's the best thing but it's far than the only good thing. Television is in a golden age right now and that's just as true on the networks and basic cable as on the premium channels.
chowfun18 1 year ago
HBO has a gritty realism that network television can't compete with though.
hschan4 1 year ago
@hschan4 I think that age is over. Sopranos, Rome, Deadwood, The Wire... Since the new president of HBO took office, what's been added to the lineup that's competed with any of these? I'd argue that with Breaking Bad, Mad Men... networks have caught up.
jackhalfaprayer 1 year ago
@jackhalfaprayer True, but AMC is not what I would call a mainstream network and there is 'Treme' to look forward to.
hschan4 1 year ago
@hschan4
Indeed HBO is what America should be. Intelligent, daring, stylish and forward thinking. A world away from the mindless propaganda that is created by FOX
1ngjoxsh 1 year ago
@1ngjoxsh You mis-spelled it. It's faux.
SIMKINETICS 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
stop immigration. segregate those who wish to do so. problem solved
MrGnaes 2 years ago
As long Steven Seagal is alive there is always hope.
COYOTEJAW1980 2 years ago
It appears things are quite different than what we were taught in school and accepted as real.
nota2cdtime 2 years ago
ill bet 2000 years ago there were 2 roman soldiers sitting around talking about how rome will last forever ''the pendulem will swing back were just in a slump at the moment'' don't put too much faith in that everything comes too an end
reverendRL 2 years ago
I agree the point that is made in my opinion is that if Americans do not realize the financial conundrum we are in and continue it will end.
My belief is the commandment love your neighbor as yourself has been sadly ignored by our society.
If America is to get out of it's slump, I think this commandment needs to be the linchpin of our core values.
If we continue to see every aspect of our lives in dollar amounts only, the system will collapse.
serkit2006 2 years ago
I loved the Wire and the more David Simonish episodes of Homicide. But I'm not sure he knows what he's talking about here... He should read Adam Smith. The institutions aren't supposed to "serve" the public selflessly. That's asking too much of humans. Allow free trade and leave people with self-determination and you'll be surprised how much they take care of themselves and others.
darwinkilledgod 2 years ago
he is right things like education, health care, government, they should serve the people selflessly. Even corporations should have have limits and morals , and when they dont we end up fucked, and if what you said is true then we wouldnt be in the mess were in now.
killwhitey88d 2 years ago 2
"Should" is a tricky word. No one "should" steal cars, but I still want a lock on mine. Regardless of what should happen, what DOES happen is socialized systems serve their own interests not the people; David Simon knows this better than anyone. That includes public schools, public health care, and government of course.
Corporations do have limits. They cannot alienate their customers. No such limit exists on government programs. And the people who run it, know it.
darwinkilledgod 2 years ago
That is also not true. It's the people who are still stuck on the capitalist mind set that destroys social institutions, which are under the disguise of socialism . France . sweeden, denmark, england, canada, the emirates have all gotten things right and havent fucked the people over. And schools are not even funded legally, they still rely on property taxes and levies. I mean the U.S cant even get single payer on the table. the real socialist solution. so what does that tell you.
killwhitey88d 2 years ago
Socialist solution is a contradiction in terms. Capitalism is better than socialism. If we can't agree on that we won't be able to agree on anything.
Western Europe is having financial problems, but they are still comparatively capitalist. Europe has very high taxes which is bad, but on the other hand they have very little trouble controlling their trial lawyers and they have little regulation. The US keeps our taxes lower, but we regulate businesses to death.
darwinkilledgod 2 years ago
No it isnt, why is creating a system where everyone is unequal a good idea, Your missing the point, Europe takes care of it's people, we dont, even the military has a poor record. Yes they have high taxes but they get shit for it, we dont, we got a bail out that i wont see money for. The gov already takes about half ur income so whats this stuff about we have low taxes? We can have democratic socialism and capitalism they both work, why cant you see that. $ problems are cuz of US too.
killwhitey88d 2 years ago
The schools are slowly getting more and more fucked in England.
TheAnxiousMan 2 years ago 14
really ? not in the UK too?
killwhitey88d 2 years ago
Yes. But much more so in inner cities obviously. London etc.
TheAnxiousMan 2 years ago
we can fix them mate, standards are slipping and being rigged, the only good schools are in middle class areas or at least people think so. still, WE can solve those problems, they were the result of policy to the extent they can be forensically analysed for the cause. our problems arent systemic nor endemic. and the politicians who caused them would admit to their policies failing, our media for all its faults makkes sure the narcisists have nothing to gain from lying to themselves.
justnotcricket 2 years ago
Of course in the UK too, the same thing is happening here and it is the same people who are behind it...
antonjon1 2 years ago
@
Really? they are great in Scotland. I attended what was statistically the second most violent school in the country and barely got in a single fight, saw very little bullying and know many people, myself included, who left with very good qualifications.
1ngjoxsh 1 year ago
@1ngjoxsh when was this?
TheAnxiousMan 1 year ago
@TheAnxiousMan
I am 20 so nearly three years ago. I really enjoyed my time at school, I agree for some people it must be different and schools do seem to give up on underachieving kids. For example the teacher in the lowest English class used to get the kids to play Bingo instead of teaching them literature, as a way of mediation. Also, I don't think 15,16 and 17 year olds should be forced into staying in school as it is literally impossible to teach an adult who does not want to learn.
1ngjoxsh 1 year ago
@TheAnxiousMan What makes you say that?
ann03071874 1 year ago
@TheAnxiousMan foreal i had no idea i thought america was the only western developed country that was actually fucked education wise.
roeroe305 1 year ago
@roeroe305 though it is mainly the case with inner city London more than anything
TheAnxiousMan 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
What a complete pussy... Do not take this douchebag seriously.. this type of "end of the American way of life" has been spewed since the 1920s, 1960s, 1970s, and now.. we are in a recessionary period, and nothing more.. the pendulum will swing back to prosperity.. I guarantee it.. but listening to this negative low-life, who obviously has a self-esteem problem (although is not starving by the looks of his fatness) will not help you. We are a resilient people, unlike no other.. don't worry.
JMKRATOCHVIL 2 years ago
JMKRATOCHVIL wins today's "Toughest Guy on the Internet Award."
Congrats!
WadeBlazingame34 2 years ago
Comment removed
boo34bear 2 years ago
well, prove it.
pasifagresifadam 2 years ago
ahahaha yes dont worry just go back to your Zima and diet coke.
ToeInspector 2 years ago
watch the wire and shut the fuck up.
jabre12 1 year ago
@JMKRATOCHVIL "Do not take this douchebag ... this negative low-life, who obviously has a self-esteem problem ... seriously."
Negative low-life? Self-esteem problem? This man is one of the most successful television writers in America.
How 'bout you get off your shallow positivity kick and start looking at a bit of reality?
bapyou 1 year ago 2
@bapyou So that makes him a good man? He's more like a typical jew trying to make non-jewish people feel like they are worthless.
Guts01 1 year ago
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@Guts01
Oh my God. You are a complete idiot.
bapyou 1 year ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
retad ugly dirty japs
sunshineflag 2 years ago
the bottom line is we americans are not a really good people by and large and will do anything to each other for money
cs00024 2 years ago 2
How come when everyone starts talking about "these People" no one wants to state the fact: THESE BLACK PEOPLE. Yeah, I said it. Thats the majority of the casualities of this so-called drug war and NOONE (particular u left/right wingers) never wants to talk about this on going issue thats been affecting our urban area for over 35yrs now.
edupbeat 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
stick to making great tv shows. he's talking out of his ass. I love the wire but he's full of it.
stats79 2 years ago
Sound like you didn't quite get it.
dougzilla 2 years ago 5
I hate this limited character crap.
COMATT71 2 years ago
500 chars is not enough?
I think you should learn to put forward your arguments more concisely!
flangelet 2 years ago 2
What is really scary to me is how David draws the correlation between a lessening need for an increasing population. China, it would seem, had it right after all. Population control with a hybrid political economic system of Capitalist Socialism, has indeed proven itself to be superior to our straight Laissez Fair Capitalism. They are they only ones with enough money and resources to meet all their needs. What an indictment of our greed and stupidity.
der1lowen 2 years ago
I don't think he is saying that at all. If you really listen to what he is saying I think there is an optimism in there that even he is missing. We have the power to change these things, it sure as shit won't be easy; do you really want to use China as a role model? Their economy only grows and functions as it does because they don't give a f#$@ about their environment and they have cheap labor and their political system can be draconian to say the least.
COMATT71 2 years ago
I heard David say on Bill Moyers' that he definately is not optimistic for this reason; "as long as everyone is getting enough table scraps to get by, there will be no change. Something disasterous is going to have to truly threaten peoples very existance in order for them to change things." I agree with him. Second, why not use China's example? They have a $500 billion surplus. Draconian? We have more people locked up than anyone in the world, and don't forget GITMO. Americans are delusional.
der1lowen 2 years ago 2
I know I know, we do lock up too many people, I agree. China has its own problems ie giant disparities in wealth between city dwellers and people in the countryside. You really want to go to a capitalist economy/communist government? You won't be on any "real" internet, this conversation would not be happening, that video you watched would not be allowed and the kind of journalism that David is talking about is strictly forbidden. China has 500 bill because they don't do shit 4 their peeps.
COMATT71 2 years ago
We have plenty of people locked up, and if you have ever been to prison in another country you'd be begging on your knees to be taken to even the worst American prison.
China has acted with utter disregard for human rights in such a way that cannot be rightly compared to the USA. No country is perfect, but what you say makes you sound delusional. I do agree with what David said on Bill Moyers' and I agree. What could cause that great social catalyst, war? I hope we don't find out.
heartworm666 2 years ago
The USA was listed by Amnesty International as one of the worst human rights violators in the world, SURPASSING CHINA! The reason they gave was for its utter disregard for citizen welfare, the very reason we have so many un-rehabilitated repeat offenders. WE THROW PEOPLE AWAY. Delusion for you would be a step up from blind stupidity. Thats OK though, you are about to find out just how cold our society really is. Experts say this is only the beginning of our financial crisis. Third world status.
der2lowen 2 years ago 6
Good point, the u.s economy has yet to actually see a bottom, nothing but the same old political spin and blind media spewing the same america is number 1 crap. I'm not sure where the bottom is but I wouldn't want to be in america when it hits...
mookixox 2 years ago
US prisons are (rightly) routinely condemned by amnesty for their brutal treatment of prisoners
tooyjfwn 2 years ago
As to your point about them polluting their environment, we do the same too. Since the previous administration gutted most federal agencies and de facto eliminated regulations, companies polute more than ever. Why not go clean nuclear like the rest of the world (France) instead of dirty coal?? Our labor forces were decimated by the loss of manufacturing and the killing of unions, look at us now with %15 unemployment. We have'nt treated our workforce very good either. Who's better than who?
der1lowen 2 years ago
Those gutted agencies are beginning to be rebuilt. The EPA, after declaring greenhouse gases harmful to people, has the power to enact its own restrictions if congress does not get on it. The nuclear waste question has not been properly addressed, it's got to go somewhere and nobody wants it in their backyard. While manufacturing does provide jobs it is also responsible for massive amounts of
pollution. This is the one point I somewhat disagree with him on.
COMATT71 2 years ago
real talk...love dave simon
cs00024 2 years ago
Watching this makes you smarter, period.
mfarrell21 2 years ago
Man, you got that right. This guy is a walking education, for me at least. Feel stupid that I never saw "The Wire".
jockdr650 2 years ago
Anyone interested in what this guy is saying, should look up noam chomsky. They both share the exact same opinions.
vidfreak56 2 years ago
Even better than Chomsky:
read Immanuel Wallerstein.
ElFrankus 2 years ago
I do believe this lecture is worth taking into consideration NOW.there is alot of vision and realities in this lecture.well worth listening to and processing.
cherylb2008 2 years ago
I respect David Simon for what he is doing. The War on Drugs is insane and needs to be stopped, but he is confusing "unencumbered Capitalism" or free-market capitalism with Corportism. Social Corportism is what is bringing us down. Free market capitalism is in fact the best economic system for the most vulnerable of people.
ebaum1saik 3 years ago
Social corporatism is a result of unregulated free markets. Its when you allow corporations to become complete private tyrannies that are therefore unaccountable to the people they employ. The best system for the most vulnerable understands their rights as humans and is attentive to them. A free market can provide this, but only under certian conditions. By itself, in a completely unregulated fashion, its not in the cards.
vidfreak56 2 years ago
Duuude...you still don´t get it, right?
ElFrankus 2 years ago
patriotism is in decline
at the end of the day we are all earthlings
trade blocs and globalisation is just the beginning
mercymalcolm 3 years ago 3
p.s. listen to what he says about the constitution at the end
mercymalcolm 3 years ago
to me patriotism is protecting your constitution something that hasnt been evident in america since lincoln
freedomfight2012 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Do you know who fuc** the Lehman Brothers?
Don't expect this kinda news from CNN or FoxTV.
Jew bankers bankrupted Lehman Brothers and 400 billions of Lehman Brothers money was transfered to israel banks which are Hapoalim Grup, Bank Leumi Grup ,Discount Bank Grup..
US government can't investigate this because israel laws doesn't give permission.
So, deal with it.
kizuna97 3 years ago
kizuna97,
You're an idiot.
jjfyke01 3 years ago
I do not think the goverment represent minorities groups we are all victims of the goverment this present goverment works only for the corporation elite corporation run the USA in order to make this country again we will need to fire every single politician in the white house congress anywhere u can find one and start allover vote new officials into office so that ones again (of the people,for the people,by the people)not for the rich ,corporation,wallstreet
cheronav 3 years ago 2
to cheronav: I agree with you 100%!!!
4merCIA 3 years ago
In the words of a CIA agent I knew, "'Patriotism' is having the integrity to sacrifice your own welfare for something that represents the noblest aspirations and ideals for which your people and their political system stands." What we are doing in Iraq is far from representing our noblest ideals.We r only there to try to take over the world's major supplies of oil and to do Israel's bidding. Israeli Zionists have taken over our economy,military,media and our government.Our gov.has been hijacked!
4merCIA 3 years ago
Many of you guys think that "Patriotism" is nothing but standing behind your country-NO MATTER WHAT KINDS OF ATROCITIES THE GOVERNMENT COMMITS
4merCIA 3 years ago 4
And for you guys that think that going to war is something like playing a computer game-No matter how powerful your country is, or how numerous your armies, or how advanced your weapons-when a bullet whizzes by your head on the left and then one on the right and you don't know whether to move or stay still,knowing that the next one may end up making your eyes bulge out of your head-the knowledge that you are a member of the most powerful country on earth won't comfort you one damn bit!
4merCIA 3 years ago
"War is Hell" Gen. Sherman
jsh78mang 3 years ago
I have one word for the younger generation, including myself at 26 years old...CHINA
"
lilsalem 3 years ago
Americans don't want to face it but it's time for another American Revolution. The American government no longer represents the best interests of the people, it preferentially represents minorities, special interest groups, big business, and the super rich. The quality of life in this country has deteriorated, crime has become the standard, drug financed political campaigns are accepted, morons are acceptable as Presidential candidates-IT IS TIME TO SHOW GOVERNMENT WHO REALLY RUNS THIS COUNTRY!
4merCIA 3 years ago 7
I agree with 4merCIA ..
what do you mean " CHINA" ?
arcticmunchy 3 years ago
You younger guys that are reading these comments had better think very seriously about what is being said here. I am an old man and I have lived through a lot of crises in this country and others-WE ARE APPROACHING, JUST LIKE THE DAY OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS SHOWDOWN,THE TIME WHEN WORLD WAR III IS PROBABLY GOING TO START-THIS IS NO JOKE N YOU GUYS WILL B THE ONES THIS CRIMINAL GOVERNMENT SENDS OUT TO DIE-SO DON'T TAKE THIS SHIT LIGHTLY!WE R TURNING THE WHOLE WORLD AGAINST US,NOT JUST MUSLIMS!
4merCIA 3 years ago
What's he's saying about the gated communities is right. You'll know we are getting closer to that the smaller the middle-class becomes. However, we won't reach that stage. When it really starts to touch people, that's when everyone will wake up. I know it.
theytd 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
what a revisionist. I guess everyone can't be marxists.
grantorgeir 3 years ago
from traitors from within, they will lay flat the American dream and freedom.This to lay the foundations of a new world Govt.,Where People are used up as tools.
America will be reduced to rubble
All this is from the traitors of freedom and the founding fathers .
Yet their are Americans that salute the flag ,bow down to take it all up the rear ,all the while wearing a silly grin.
these are the products of an educational system that has been gutted and looted.
Everything is Broken
dave777blaster 3 years ago
I have been glued to this show since NPR introduced me to it. I spend a faire amount of time on the streets of Baltimore, but God, the show painted such a different Baltimore. The show is pretty pessimistic, and if you ask me, that is where all the hope lies. Young people on the street should understand that the world is big...If you are born in the projects, nothing says that you HAVE to die inthe project. Just drive 50 miles out and try something else. She show says, there are options....
kamerunite 3 years ago
I love your sunny disposition, for the kids from the street how do they afford a ticket out, unless they are dealing drugs. If you live in the ghetto you have no money and have no way of earning a decent living honestly. With the expectation of youth growing the only way of reaching the american dream is drugs. I wish you well though from a kid whom got out:D
SMoldie 3 years ago
The games is a dead end for most players. I am probably naive, because I just cannot understand why in a world this big, people can't dream as big? I was very interested in the story of the only two who wanted out. Bubbles and the other young kid who was killed . Bubble got out because he did not have any blood on his hands really. But D'Angelo could have done more to help the young guy who wanted out. You cannot leave the game and stay on the field. You might be able to enlight me more!
kamerunite 3 years ago