that in appeal, it says, mistakes were made? >> well, that's basically what appeals are for to begin with in any country. but i do believe that the international attention that this case brought up made all the judges more attentive and careful on the appellate level. and i think that, also, the press had a doing in trying to help amanda clear up her personality, because it was really -- they really made her look very bad -- >> here's curt knox here. that's deanna knox in front of the microphones. i'm not sure if we're going to be able to hear them. >> yeah -- >> we are now watching amanda knox's family. they've come to the stairs of the court and are about to address the gathered media, media from around the world. >> i'm deanna knox, amanda knox's sister and i have a few words on behalf of our family.

we're thankful that amanda's nightmare is over. she suffered for four years for a crime that she did not commit. we are thankful for our lawyers. carlo, and maria del grosso and their assistants. not only did they defend her brilliantly, but they also loved her. we are thankful for the support we have received from all over the world. people who took the time to research the case and could see that amanda and raffaele were innocent. and last, we are thankful to the court for having the courage to looked for truth and to overturn this conviction. we now respectfully ask you to give amanda and the rest of our family our privacy, that we need to recover from this horrible ordeal. thank you. >> that was amanda knox's sister, saying that she's

thankful for the lawyers, that anybody who searched the case would have known that both raffaele sollecito and her sister, amanda, were innocent and -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> and this is an individual speaking and addressing in italian. we have a translator, so we'll see if we get that. but savannah, surprised? >> i guess not in terms of the evidence. and you and i were talking off-camera, what do with we think would happen here? i think i felt, if they look at the evidence, then i think there's clearly reasonable doubt all over this case. so it's not a surprise. on the other hand, you're talking about a different legal system, different kinds of evidence came into this courtroom. and so i felt like in this courtroom, and in any courtroom, anything can happen. my two questions right now are, number one, when she'll be let go. when she can actually get on a plane and come back here. and number two, will the

prosecutors appeal? that's one of the key distinctions between our system and the italian system. the prosecutors also have a right to appeal. the prosecutors could appeal this to the italian supreme court, but it's questionable whether the italian supreme court would even take the case. >> in all likelihood, the italian criminal justice system would like this matter close today. >> i think they would like to see this matter get on a plane and head back to the united states, for sure. >> savannah guthrie, thanks so much for joining me this afternoon. as i was saying earlier, amanda knox has been acquitted of murder of meredith kercher, though her conviction for slander was upheld. we'll have more details in the next hour. but now it's time to hand you to the man of the moment, dylan ratigan. it's all yours, dylan. >> thank you, mr. bashir, and good afternoon, everyone. very nice to see you. a huge news day as we greet the new week. the amanda knox verdict overturned. she will be free. and a wave of resistance

swelling across america, seeking to confront what protesters describe as a bought government, including my own reporting from the occupy wall street protests where i spent friday, saturday, and sunday of this week. i am dylan ratigan and it's very nice to see you. in this city, new york, right now, there are demonstrations about 70 blocks south of us on wall street and they, like you and me, are mad as hell, whether you believe it or not. in fact, those demonstrations spontaneously swept dozens of cities this weekend and resulted in 700 arrests here in new york on saturday. when i saw all this going on friday, i went to their website to see what these people were all about. their mission statement simply said, the only thing we all have in common is that we are the 99% who will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. that's how they presented themselves. i read it, i thought, yeah, i

agree with that. so since i live about five blocks away from zucati park, i went down there friday, saturday, and sunday to talk debate and hopefully find common ground with folks who i thought shared my frustration. i love what you're doing. i believe that this can be turned into an action item for next year. right now what's being communicated is, we're not going to take it anymore. because this is very pink floyd, right? no mas. so now you've got these energy balls in new york, in boston, in philadelphia, et cetera. they feel the same way, which is that this country has become a bought government, an auction-based government that is unfair. even if it's unfair and you're winning, you're like, this is the most screwed up thing i've ever seen in my entire life. and you know for a fact that even if you're winning in a rigged system, you will be losing soon. but what i'm trying to start as a debate around the unholy

alliance between business and state, and i'm trying to make a point, which is that we must harness this energy to affect positive change in 2012. and so my argument to you guys is that we have an opportunity to convert the energy that you have already harnessed into a chann channel, a flow of energy into next year, where we can push collectively for a constitutional amendment to get the money out. and the reason that wall street gets the appropriate villainy that it does, because wall street is the best vehicle to approach the government. so i'm offering this as a solution i found myself and offering it to you as a -- as something -- as a concept for you to consider and debate, as the action item coming off of this energy. and the action item is a single principle, separate business and state. we have a chance. and if we have a chance, we have something to do for the next year. and i found people from all walks of life, who agreed

completely with that. and the more i spoke to them, i found that a single sentence, from tea partyers, old ladies, young radicals got lawyers from around the corner. every conversation, there was a shared belief. a singular belief that wealth should only be a by-product of working together to solve problems with aligned interests for all and that a bought government is the barrier to doing that. now, bear in mind, it is very natural for the mainstream media and the finance industry to bet against these people, to write them off as crazies, to suggest to them that they are on a one-way ticket to nowhere. history in many ways is on their side. but i have never personally seen such universal agreement around such a singular set of principles, among such a

different set of people as the single understanding that the banks and other special interests have turned our democracy into an auction, and action must be taken in 2012 to stop it. in fact, i took to the soap box at their general assembly, hours after 700 of them had been arrested. my name is dylan! >> my name is dylan! >> i live five blocks from here! >> i live five blocks from here! >> i think you people are crazy! >> i think you people are crazy! >> i love the way you communicate! >> i love the way you communicate! >> i'm here because i agree with you! >> i'm here because i agree with you! >> i made many friends, as you can see down there. on the left, no pun intended, goldie, and on my right, calvin, a tea partier who flew in from

texas. >> the tea party believes it's the government. and haas not true. it's the banks. standing behind me is wall street. and that's the people who have stolen our country away. who bought it up and they're selling it off to the highest bid pe bidder. >> my point is simple. this movement can be marginalized, it can be misconstrued, it can be written off. but as a reporter, i'm here to tell you that i agree with the people in that square and that the people in that square have very little in common with each other, other than their agreement with me on the single principle and the rising wave that a bought government is something that we will confront in the next year. we are witnessing those waves, whether it's our own campaign that began last tuesday, which now has 82,000 petitioners after less than a week. we'll be in washington later this week, i imagine, whether it's occupy wall street, whether it's the tea party, whether it's the root strikers, i don't care how you identify yourself.

and there is another ally. not only at the wall street process, but in washington. and there's more than one. congresswoman donna edwards is one of the first to sign on tuesday our petition to get money out. you also, congresswoman, were active and engaged immediately tuesday night on twitter. i want to read what you said when we did this. you tweeted on tuesday night, cheers, millions must demand before congress has courage to act against moneyed interests. there are many things we can advocate for in 2012, congresswoman. why is it so important that we consolidate on this single issue? >> well, i think it's really important, dylan, and thank you and thank you the 82,000 people around this country, and i believe millions more who believe that unless you get the money out of politics, the pharmaceuticals, the ba the oil and gas companies, all of them out of our political process, we won't own it. and i think people all across the country, whether they're demonstrating on wall street or they're on main street, are

crying out for our democracy to be returned to us, getting the money out of politics, so that we can restore democracy and so we can have fair elections, and so we can have people in washington who with really do represent the interests of ordinary people. >> many would like to see this group forget those who would just like to the see things blow up, because it's easy to sit back and watch the kids fail. that's kind of silly. but there are many who would like to see this emerge as a vehicle for a political agenda, a policy agenda. what are your thoughts on whether movements like this benefit from having a specific policy agenda or whether they benefit from aligning around a singular message and delivering it very loudly. >> i think the problem that you've identified, and i've done that too. i have a constitutional amendment that i actually introduce into the congress that has 15 co-sponsors. it's h-res 78, your constitutional amendment. until we can change the process by which we conduct our elections, get the money out of politics, it's actually hard to have any kind of real policy

agenda for the american people. and that's why i believe that it's really central to what we do to get the money of politics, to clean out our elections. i believe that we should have public financing of elections. because if we don't own the elections, wall street owns it. the banks own it. the credit card companies own it. the pharmaceutical industry owns it. and so i want to restore sanity by getting the money out. and then we can have a fair fight on what the policies are. >> the danger, of course, is that people have a lot of ideas. i've got a lot of ideas. all the things that i feel like we should do, and i'm sure you have a lot of ideas, and all the consultants. if you just did this with tax policy, just did this with health care. for me, i feel like i get lost in that and it actually becomes a west of energy, because i run into that green wall of money. do you share that observation? >> i do. i mean, we ran into it with health care, where you want to try to do the most progressive thing that you can to improve our health care system. and i think that we did plenty, but we could have done so much

more if we get the moneyed interests out of all this. i mean, the insurance companies. every single industry that really owns our tax policy to the point where we can't even raise revenues from the top 1% or so that they contribute to the common good. and i think it's imperative for us to get money out of politics, to clean up our elections, for us to own our elections once again. i mean, we just passed another fund-raising quarter where we've already exceeded $300 million, which is more than we've ever spent at any one time on elections. and we're getting ready to add millions more on to that in a process that's completely owned by the moneyed interests. it's not fair to the american people. >> and the problem is, it feels so much better emotionally to advocate for something, one specific policy idea. how do you curb your desire to do what you want to do and redirect your attention to the problem? >> well, you can't ignore the day-to-day problems and what we have to do, but the fundamental problem with our system is that the moneyed interests own it. and we've got to clean that out

so we can start fresh. so the american people actually feel they have a voice in the process. so i want a constitutional amendment so corporations can't just reach into their pocket and spend what they want on elections, so that the american people actually own our elections and own our process. >> exactly. listen, congresswoman, i couldn't be more appreciative of your rapid support for our efforts. i hope that you'll find myself and our group very supportive of yours. i suspect from the tea party to occupy wall street, the single principle that you speak to resonates to all stripes in this country. thank you, congresswoman. >> thank you. >> all right. our monday megapanel, speaking of all stripes, we have a stripy one today. imogen lloyd webber, fresh back from europe, she's catching up on recent events, the majorities reports sam seder. >> i went away for five days and came bok together and there's been a revolution. >> it's the internet.

things happen faster now. >> you're turning into europeans, suddenly. >> there's an interesting thing around this. and i wrote this for the petition -- the people that signed the petition today. when the tea party emerged, i was a tea partier. and i was, like, the government is screwing this whole thing up and we have to reject the ability to buy the government. when barack obama ran for president, i was a barack obama supporter. i was like, this guy's going to get some things done. and i figured, between barack obama's brilliance and inspiration and the tea party's rage and rebelliousness, that they would get together and reject the bought government. it didn't happen. that's the reason why i have decided to launch myself into this park, to try to offer as much as help as i can, because i believe we're watching a blackjack game of waves of energy, that one of them will be caught and one of them will be caught to the right end, which is, ending the bought government, so we can resume the debate america deserves. do you, sam, believe i have lost my mind? >> no. actually, i totally agree with

you. the reason why i think this card that's being dealt may have a better shot than the tea party is because this really is genuinely organic. >> see, i take -- >> there is no -- >> i take issue with that. the tea party, when it started, was organic, and after it developed, it was bought. >> listen, the tea party started with ron paul -- >> that's an important distinction. >> -- ron paul was the tea party before the 2008 election -- >> i get it, but let me ask you my point. which is this. how do you prevent the same thing that coopted the tea party on the right from basically trying to the -- >> because you go down that park and you can see yourself. the one thing that has come out of this is they are talking about process. and they are doing this in a very different way. >> wonderful to watch. >> there is no top-down -- >> nothing. >> there's no messenger, there is no media center that conforms with the way the corporate media wants it. so what they're doing is fundamentally different. >> and you think that's their best defense? >> i think that's their best defense. and i'll tell you something >> they're refusal.

they told me to take my amendment and stick it. and i love it. we said, we're here to have a real debate about bought government. we're not here to accept anybody's policy agenda, including mine. and the fact of the matter is -- let me get ari in real quick. the fact of the matter is they were in principled agreement with me, and many of them may even sign the amendment, but the fact of the matter is, it seems their best asset is their principled points, as opposed to getting lost in mechanics and ideas that everybody else -- well, what do you want, what's your list? show me your thing? no, no, no, i'll tell you what my principle is. stop buying the government. i think that's the core message down there. i wonder how far this can go. >> i think you have to distinguish between advocating based on policy and advocating based on a sentiment. >> or a principle. >> there's been a critique in a lot of establishment and media circles who say, i don't know exactly what you're for. if you walk through the early parts of the civil rights movement, you might find people who say, i feel something's

wrong. and if you said, do you support the mlk strategy of this bill or that bill, they may not know, but they'll have a sentiment. >> and that's what i found interesting, they would basically come up to me and say, i would ask these questions and get the same answer from every personal. we believe that wealth should be a by-product of working together to solve problems together. and that's the one thing that everybody shares in common, and i get the sense that anybody that goes beyond that is going to be a problem. we're going to be right back with thomas friedman right after this. with new extra-strength bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles, enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief to the site of pain. it's clinically proven to relieve pain twice as fast. new bayer advanced aspirin.

i hope this will motivate china to stop devalving the yuan

on its own. i also know it will send a strong message to the chinese that americans will no longer ignore their blatant unfair trade practices. >> if only those trade practices weren't advocated and paid for by domestic american ceos who benefit from their investment in china. that will be the ultimate reconciliation. and another emphasis, i might add, to get the money out. that's senate majority leader harry reid, by the way, he's speaking this afternoon ahead of a pivotal vote on the china currency. the aim on that particular bill, whether it passes or not, so to engage whether, in fact, we can cease china's ability going back to 1994 to sell everything that we would sell, in theory, for 50 cents less. the bill ultimately wouldn't make it harder for the treasury, to avoid, which it has been doing, labeling china what it is, a currency manipulator. confronting china, just one of the steps that our next guest

says america must take if we want to reclaim our seat at the head of the world's table, if there is a head of the world's new table, continuing the open source environments. joining us now, three-time pulitzer prize winner and world-renowned writer for "the new york times," thomas friedman. his new book, "that used to be us: how america fell behind in the world it invented and how we can come back" has just hit book shelves and it's a pleasure to have you here. >> a pleasure to be here. >> what can we understand? >> the basic premise of this book, our essential argument is we have in our history all the resources to be great again. we actually had a formula for success in this country, it was built on education, educating people up and whatever the level of technology was. immigration, attracting the world's most energetic and talented immigrants. having the world's best infrastructure. the right rules -- >> for capital requirements. >> for capital investing and

preventing recklessness. >> and government-funded research. if you go back to hamilton/lincoln, it's all in our history. all five of the last 20 years are on a straight trajectory down -- >> how much of that is correlated with the money's ability to control the policy debate? >> i don't think it's -- there's no single, you know, answer to this. you know, money is certainly around the rules issue. how'd you like that subprime crisis. i think the fact that banks today have been fighting the idea of increasing capital requirements. when we're just asking banks to come up 2%, i know it's going to affect their profit line, but we've just been through a really scary period. why would you fight that? or why would you fight, more information from consumers on credit cards. so that they don't get in worse trouble. >> all the things we can't talk about. >> there's stuff that gratuitous that triggers what you're seeing on wall street. >> i'm a great believer in america. that's why i spent two hours trying to get into this country yesterday and i'm one of the lucky ones at immigration. it's quite extraordinary.

when you look at number of patents awarded to inventors worldwide, the vast majority went to americans. american base inventors got more patents than any other inventors in the world, or combined. how do you harness that brilliance that is obviously in america moving forward? >> it's a very good question. it's one of the challenges we have. we still invent a lot of stuff. whether it's -- and again, the things -- certain things are going to get manufactured other places. that's inevitable, all right? we're not going to manufacture everything here and assemble things. what you do want is to restore this country to being a start-up nation. that was a book that was written about israel, where everyone's starting something. and that's, i think, a little bit what we've gotten away from here in the current environment. >> sam? >> i just, to carry dylan's point a little further, isn't the problem -- i mean, your policy suggestions are, i would agree, but isn't the problem that we can't get those passed because we have such income disparity, and we now have a power disparity, that is so

tilted to the wealthy in this country, to the moneyed interests, they are saying, essentially, and you know, we're not out of that scary period yet. we still have millions upon millions of people who are unemployed. don't we have a situation -- >> poverty. >> don't we have a situation where, essentially, the wealthy elite are basically telling the 99% of us, you know, suck on this. this is the way it's going to be? >> you know, i think that, you know, we've tried to get money out of politics through the whole mccain/feingold thing. to me, the big question is, how do you revive that? ultimately, the supreme court is the one that knocked that down, okay? and so, there's a comment that a judge made during the height of the subprime crisis that i really liked, he was talking about what happened to our financial industry. he said, we went from an industry that was really designed to finance creative destruction. new industries replacing old industries and it's ended up, basically, doing destructive creation. and that's really, i think, the change that people feel over the

last few years. >> but isn't that indicative of a larger trend that's going on? we have corporations where ceos essentially have a cottage industry, where their interests are not necessarily aligned with the long-term health of the corporations. >> or the country. >> down to the workers and the rest -- isn't this problem broader than just the financial industry? isn't that simply sort of the canary -- >> i think one of the things that happened with sort of hyperglobalization is a lot of multinationals. now, they're not really in america, they hover over america, okay? and in this world, in this world, they can basically go anywhere now, all right? and the question is, you know, how do we create an environment here where they're going to want to go here, all right? because now they can go anywhere. >> don't we need to create an environment where they can't finance america's policy to their detriment? >> it seems like we are going backwards on immigration. why, exactly, do you think that is? and is it only about bigotry? >> you know, ari, what happens when you have a shrinking pie, it really pulls everybody in. everybody becomes afraid.

it's certainly about bigotry, but it's also, i think, about opportunity and people feeling a lack of it. i think it's one of the worst things we can be doing now, at a time where you do need to be this start-up country, where we attracted people. again, energetic, talented people. we educate all these foreigners now in this country and say, thank you very much. now that we've gotten you this disagree, please get out of here. and that's just nuts. >> that's a way -- that's how the brain works. >> the politics is so stuck. where republicans simply -- george bush even tried to do it, his own party rejected him. >> yeah, yeah. our theory is, my theory, that i started here was -- with this audience, i mean, is that if we can make digital waves about the singular issue of bought government and a debate for an amendment, that we can make that a central issue in next year's presidential election. >> i think it's a very interesting question. ultimately, you've got to take on the supreme court. they're the ones -- >> you've got to take on the constitution. >> you've got to -- you have a constitutional change -- >> and to that end, as promised, how you can join the wave to get

a constitutional change. i just set you up there, tom. i appreciate that. go to the website, if you're interested in this debate, whether it's through the supreme court or through the amendment, getmoneyout.com. educate yourself. check out the amendment that is up there for debate. we'll be debating it every thursday night for the rest of the year. and then on dylanratigan.com, you can help drive the conversation with your own voice. we are all making waves, all over the place in our own way and we want you to get swept up in it, if it is what you are feeling. read our latest blog post about my time with the occupy wall street crowd, and then make your own youtube video explaining why you want to get money out. don't forget to send it to dylan@dylanratigan.com so we can use your faces, your stories, your rationale in the weeks ahead. we thank mr. friedman. thank you, sir. next, as we wait for that vote on the senate floor on china, digging deeper into our complex relationship with a country that

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we were just talking about our china problem with thomas friedman. the senate expected to vote on the currency issue in about an hour, but bear in mind, many american multinationals are reaping tremendous profits at our own expense and lobbying our own government to fight these laws. that vote, however, that the unions are hailing as a watershed moment for jobs in america, i would hope that more than the unions would do that. but will it actually fix china's extraction of millions of jobs and billions of dollars from our economy in the trade deficit? joining us now is gordon challenchang, who in his new column for "forbes" magazine calls it the

"let's get serious aboutll. and peter navar is author of "death by china," a fantastic book title, if nothing else, peter. and surely it's more than that. you call this the let's get serious about china bill, professor. why? >> the important thing is that china really has been sucking the united states dry of jobs. when i was practicing law in china, my u.s. manufacturing clients would take days and argue over pennies on unit prices. and now china has a currency that is maybe 35% undervalued. that means the loss of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of american jobs. some people say 2.8 million jobs. >> the fact of the matter, though, peter, is that there's been a great economic benefit to a small group of american-based special interests, who have invested in china and are benefiting from this. it's not china in washington, d.c., lobbying our government, it's american ceos and american interests lobbying our government to maintain this apparatus.

isn't that correct? >> that's absolutely correct, dylan. apple, ge, gm, caterpillar. these companies have a vested interest in china's unfair trade practices. but dylan, here's what i would like to see somebody get up on the floor of the senate and say today. the best job program is not more government spending or tax cutts. it's trade reform with china. and the most important reform has to be ending this currency manipulation china engages in. and it's not just the united states that gets hurt by currency by china, that's 40 to 50% undervalued. it's the rest of the world. europe would not be flat on its back right now if it hasn't endured two years of a falling dollar, a falling yuan and a rising euro. canada gets hurt, other countries around the world, and the rest of asia has to manipulate their currency just to keep up with the chinese. this is the time, dylan, and i hope that people step up in the senate and in the house.

>> the big bogeyman on this, as always, hold on, there, mr. yippie-ki-yay. if you do that, the chinese finance america and they're going to come over here and we're all going to be speaking chinese, if you mess with them. hang on, peter, i'm going to the professor here. how do you reconcile that? >> our problem is not that there's too few people, it's that there are too many people. we are a flood in world liquidity. and that permits the congress to do things that perhaps it shouldn't be doing. >> true. >> we would be a lot better off if the chinese were not financing our debt. >> why? >> because, then we wouldn't be in so much debt. and clearly, debt is a problem that constrains us, because we can't have a stimulus bill because we don't have the money to do it. >> get it. >> peter, how do you reconcile the bogeyman factor, that if you do this currency bill, china's going to screw you by jacking interest rates that are going to stop lending you money, you're going to be screwed? >> there's a couple things to

say. first of all, the way i like to argue, and i think is the correct way, it's actually in china's own interest in this point in time to allow their currency to strengthen. >> why? >> the biggest thing that's facing them now is an inflation crisis, particularly in food. and the best way for them to fight inflation is not raise the interests like they're doing, but rather let the currency strengthen, which would lower the cost from everything like oil and food to anything else they would import into the country. that's number one. number two, this whole idea that we should be afraid of china because they're going to nuke our financial system, i mean, that's a serious concern, but the only thing i can say here is that the longer we wait, the bigger the bomb they have to drop on us is, and this is crunch time. we really need to act. >> and not only that, the issue with dropping their financial bomb on us, professor, would seem to be that america is china's largest market. so to bomb the people financially who are the biggest buyer of your exports would seem to be in china against china's self-interest to engage in an

escalation as well. >> last year, 149.2% of china's overall trade surplus related to sales from the united states. that's up from an already-stupendous 90.1% in 2008. >> so they're not there to torpedo us? >> clearly not. they would just kill their economy, which means they would kill their political system, the communist party, be out of power. >> everybody would lose their power. is it fair to say, peter, the communist party, and the reason they're so fearful and aggressive in pushing for these riggings and extraction is to ensure full employment for the young people in that country, because they don't want people on the streets? >> that's right, dylan, but here's the thing. it's like, no question that over the last ten years, currency manipulation, illegal export subsidies, counterfeiting and pirs, all of the unfair trade practices that china engages in has worked for them, even as it's killed the american manufacturing base, but china has to realize that in order to move forward, from this point in time, they can't keep sucking

our blood and europe's blood, because we're the people that propel their economy, ultimately. so there's got to be balance. >> how do you create aligned interests? this is the conversation that i was having with the folks -- i'm going back to the professor, peter. i'm sorry. whether it's with the kids that occupy wall street or the old people or whatever it might be, whether it's the tea partyers, everybody talks about the misaligned interests. and this is a classic example. china has one interest, we have another interest, right now, the misaligned interest is exploiting america. but, ironically, it is also putting china in box, because now they're the greatest lender to a country that has really high unemployment. they're like, hang on, how come those guys owe us all the money? how do you move from this type of misaligned interest and resolve it in a way that is respectful of china's issues and china's concerns and america's concerns in a way that we can align interesting to actually create value as opposed to just trying to screw each other over? >> for a decade, we've been talking to the leaders in beijing, and they've been

resistant. they are not going to make the changes that are necessary for them, that peter talking about. the only thing that we can really do is go to the world trade organization, file our cases, and also, these countervailing duties that this new bill would make much easier for people to use. so we have to do what's in our interest, and the chinese, eventually, when they get the message, they'll come along and do the right thing. >> and they'll realize, ultimately, you're saying, if we push forward that our interests are actually aligned? >> yes, because they need us much more than we need them. >> at the end of the day, peter, if i'm your biggest lender and i'm dependent on you having a job to pay me back, it would seem that your productivity and your prosperity is in my interest. is that not china's relationship with america? >> yes, dylan, and i think there's a good way to argue this alignment question with china. if you think about the $2 trillion we owe them and you then add to the fact that the dollar has gone down by over 20% over the last couple of years, china's lost $400 billion in the

value of the foreign reserves because of this fixed peg relationship. so, again, it's in their interest at this point in time, both to fight inflation and to hang on to the value of their foreign reserves in order to do that, so that's the way, you know, if i'm timothy geithner, that's the way i quietly argue this, even as congress publicly argues this, and say, hey, we need to change, this is the time to let us do this and let's get this going, because co-prosperity is what it's all about. >> you've got two things. the barrier of fear here, which is, oh, my goodness, if we throw down the gauntlet, they're going to get us, you've got the barrier of fear there. how do you get through those fear thresholds? because i suspect both of them, depending on how this develops, are not as true as they might be in people's heads? >> right now the communist part is not in a mood to compromise with anybody else. >> you've got to play your own

game. >> when they see that we're resolute, they'll start to become reasonable. only when they see the will in congress will they do anything. >> do you feel what you're seeing in the legislature today qualifies as resolute? >> senator harry reid said it best. this schumer bill is going to be the jobs bill. it's more importantly, actually, than the president's jobs bill, because if you get china right, everything falls into place. >> you get trillions of dollars in money in capital flows that are flowing away from our country, that start to flow back into our country. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> professor, it's a pleasure. peter, always nice to see you. we'll talk to you guys soon. next up, let's get the money coming back. this is not a hard thing. it's crazy. next, live pictures out of italy, however. we head to perugia. never been there, but it sounds nice, for the breaking news this hour on amanda knox and her appeals ruling. she will, ladies and gentlemen, be coming home free. in america, we believe in a future

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and the other big story this afternoon, the breaking news surrounding the amanda knox verdict. it was overturned! an italian appeals court threw her murder conviction out and ordered she be set free. we just saw knox arrive back at the prison to sign procedural papers before she will be officially a free woman. we've got nbc news keith miller live in perugia, italy, with the latest. keith, break it down for us. >> reporter: well, an extraordinary evening after an extraordinary four years run, which basically amanda knox, today, before the judge and jury, saying it was a nightmare. well, it's over. as the judge read out the verdicts, you could see that amanda knox physically collapsed. she had to be held up. crying, hiccupping with emotion. the entire knox family, also embracing, weeping. this has been a long, torturous ordeal for them. one that they've stuck by through thick and thin. they said all along that they were going to defend their

daughter to the last breath, and that's exactly what they did, it's interesting that amanda knox was, she was up for six charges here, dylan. one of them she was convicted of. that was the slander of a guy who she fingered at the beginning under a relentless interrogation. she claimed that the police were forcing her into saying things that she didn't believe. but nonetheless, he won a slander conviction against her. the judge sentenced her to three years in prison, already served. and a $21,000 euro fine, which could be moved up or down at a later procedure. but, basically, free to go home. and she is going to get out of the country fairly quick, i would suspect. meanwhile, outside the courtroom, there is quite a scene at the main police station, with hundreds of italians shouting out shameo, shameo, shame on you, the police and prosecution, not just for what they thought was a sloppy procedural investigation, but also for ending this trial in this way. and there's going to be

repercussions here for a few more days, certainly, within the italian judicial system, and as one of the courtroom wags said, dylan, the crime scene investigators who established the facts of this crime, which were discredited, could very well end up on traffic watch by the end of the week. >> if you were to look at the reverberations through not only the italian justice system, but i know the italy governmentally, obviously, has a wide variety of issues, is there any diplomatic, is there any feedback loop that exists between italy and the united states on any level as a result of any of this? >> not really. at the beginning -- i shouldn't say the beginning, but at the end of the first trial, there was a bit of repercussions. secretary of state clinton was asked about it. she said, we're not going to get involved in pinpoiit. the u.s. embassy sent up some observers to sit in the courtroom, take notes, make sure that amanda knox was not being

railroaded, but basically they stayed out of it on that level. but on a personal level, everybody in italy's been following this, a sensational murder trial, involving this american with the all-american good looks, who's basically called by the prosecution evil and diabolical. well, that's been erased and the prosecution probably has something to talk about, certainly some amends to make in terms of their public performance in this trial and in the judicial process in general with knox. this case always confused me, keith, and i get lost as to who did what to who and who didn't do what and what was accused of what, but wasn't her boyfriend involved with this somehow, at least in the accusations? >> reporter: absolutely. well, he was convicted along with amanda knox, raffaele sollecito. i mean, talk about a hard luck case. they met a week before this murder occurred, so he had this very beautiful, very engaging american girlfriend, and he's been locked up ever since. he still professes his love for

her. he said she was a very sweet and wonderful young woman. he was also convicted in the first trial, sentenced to 24 years in prison. he has also been overturned and set free. he was not involved in the slander case, so not quite as complect complicated, but he also has been vindicated in this. so all around, the defense, cheers for everybody. the prosecution licking their wounds and probably trying to figure out where they went wrong and how they can make it right. >> and last question for you, keith, is there a known date of arrival for amanda knox in the united states? >> reporter: well, according to her family, not soon enough. she's gone back to the prison and basically to sign out, pick up her personal belongings. we were told that she was already packed in anticipation of this verdict. the family has said they're keeping the travel plans confidential, but the speculation, and i think it's true, is that there is a private jet standing by. they're going to get on that plane as soon as they can,

perhaps to a continental europe airport for the return flight to seattle. she also needs to get out of the country, because the prosecutor could file another appeal with the supreme court in italy. it will take weeks for that paperwork to go through, but once that's set, they could actually say, you cannot leave italy. but she's free to go tonight, and i wouldn't doubt that she's going to be airborne maybe by the end of your program. >> that seems like reasonable speculation on your part, sir. thanks for the reporting, keith. keith miller in italy. coming up on "hardball," chris matthews asking how president obama should run his campaign for 2012. veer left or aim for the center? i'd said, end bought government, but who's asking? next up, keli goff explains a serious message behind these scantily clad protesters. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia,

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well, it's another busy monday, and it is a monday, that means the loop21.com's keli goff, as you can see, is here. hello, keli. >> hello, dylan. i thought a broadway play was going to be the most memorable performance my mom would see during her recent trip to the big apple, but then she and i ran into a bunch of people walking around union square in their underwear as part of a political protest. they were part of the new york version of slut walk. yes, you heard me correctly. for those of you who don't know, slut walk originated in toronto when a group of students organized a protest in response to a police constable's comments that women should stop dressing

like sluts in order to stop being victimized. two stupids don't make a smart, something i was reminded of during the slut walk protest this weekend. the original slut walk event's website stated, "toronto police have perpetuated the myth and the stereotype of the slut and in doing so have failed us." the organizer of the event wants to use the walk to re-claim the word "slut." that's certainly a worthy goal, but here's a news flash for the organizers of all the slut walks throughout the world. you can't reclaim a word claimed by a predominant group in power unless you're a part of that group. as long as heterosexual white males in power or anyone else can use a particular world as a pejorative to denigrate a particular group and you acknowledge that them doing so will offend you as a member of that group, then using it is not reclaiming it, but simply

perpetuating it. i have no problem with sexually libertied women defining feminism on their own terms, but i do have a problem with slut walks. not because they play into the stereotype of women being "sluts," but they play into the stereotype of women being intellectually inferior. it sends the message that when push comes to shove, young women will always fall back on taking off their clothes to get attention, even when making a serious political statement. the same women who ridiculed the kardashian sisters employed the same tactics, a little tna to get a little camera time. and the sad part is in doing so didn't really make any difference except to members of the media who got a few nice sound bites and some sexy images to broadcast. if you're interested in making a real difference in the lives of sexual assault survivors, please visit www.rainn.org and

www.victimrights.org. they can suggest ways in which you can help and keep your clothes on while doing so. >> this is interesting. i spent the week at the occupy wall street protest, because what they said i agree with. and it's a similar situation -- not entirely, but you say you agree with these women -- >> that's right, the message. >> but the question is, how do these women harness their rightful fury to actually achieve their goal, which is to create more political protection, i presume, and more cultural awareness of how much women are abused, how prevalent victimization of women is. and so the criticism is perhaps well placed. my question to you is, as a consultant, as an adviser, how would you help them? because there are a lot of people that care about the same thing that you do -- >> that's right. >> but have to find a way to harness it in a way that gets to the actual desired outcome, as opposed to simply gratifies your desire to express yourself. >> they want the criminal justice system to take survivors

and victims more seriously. taking off your clothes is not the way to -- >> we get that part. >> so work with some of the organizations that legislators and the criminal justice system does take seriously, rainn is one of them, the victims right organization, which we mentioned, which focuses on legal remedies for helping survivors. work with these organizations, because they are actually doing the real work on the ground with legislators and policymakers to effect change. >> that way, you don't diminish the fire, you harness the fire. >> right? really well presented. thanks a lot, kelly. what are the groups one more time, before we go. >> rainn.org and victims right law center. and you can find it at loop21.com. i have a column up and it has those -- >> rain like it's raining? >> with two ns. rape assault incest national network. >> rainn.org? >> yep. >> thank you. >> thanks a lot, dylan. i'm dylan. "hardball's" up right now. >> un