to the. am. if the video that's gone viral the protesters seen here well we're going to talk to her about getting coupler sprayed in the face by police plus we'll have the latest on the movement picking up speed against wall street. the governments don't rule the world goldman sachs rules the sea and it's the statement that took the world by surprise but not for the reasons you might think so wall mainstream media focuses on shooting the messenger we focus on the message one we've heard many times before. see the world you can get in trouble get in trouble for speaking your mind one up was about

a little thing we call freedom of speech we'll explore why politicians and musicians and journalists alike are humming under fire for speaking their mind. is wednesday september twenty eighth at four pm in washington d.c. i'm christine for watching our city. well it is now day twelve of the occupy wall street protests while they continue to garner minimal attention right in mainstream media it's clear the protests are growing in strength and number not only in new york where hundreds of people are turning into thousands of people with even celebrities starting to pepper the rallies but now los angeles denver and chicago have these protests as well and these are people who say they are angry at the power of wall street and also at the system that gives it so much power they say

they're also angry that no one responsible for the financial crisis in the mortgage meltdown has been arrested yet more than one hundred protesters how been arrested many more have also had their eyes by pepper spray by police officers now one of those people is chelsea earlier you may have seen or in this video that is now making its way around. oh and the picture behind those nets there and we do have chills the eliot live in our new york studio to talk more about this hey there is healthy tell me a little bit about what happened to you in the moments leading up to you getting pepper sprayed by those police officers. well i was just walking down the sidewalk we just finished marching up to union square and we were on the street i think the cops came and they placed in that around us and so we were asking if we

could continue walking on the sidewalk and the cops didn't listen and i tried to reason with them explaining you know their pensions have suffered and we're here for them too and there was a fight going off to the side and the girl behind the screen and she was pulled down onto the pavement. very brutally and then the girl next to me started screaming and that's when the cop came up so you want us you weren't hurting anyone you words blocking traffic and yet i mean we saw on the video you being sort of surrounded and just sprayed in the face i mean what was the first thing the crusher mind when that happened. honestly it took about three seconds for it for it to register what had happened and at that moment my mind kind of just went blank i was just so confused as to why i just fell to the ground tell me a little bit about the what the reason is that you've been coming out how many days

you've been there and why you're taking time out to show up every day. i live in brooklyn and the first time i came was on a sunday night the first sunday and. i've been there because it's just such an important issue as i as a middle class is disappearing i mean so is the health and the peace of our country it's terrible that's happened people haven't been held accountable in our government is incredibly corrupt they're being paid by the very people they're supposed to be regulating and and everyone is suffering it's really interesting you being in new york city i'm in washington of course but i read something recently from forbes magazine that you know out of the most the four hundred most wealthy people in this country that fifty of them live in new york and that their combined wealth is something like two hundred seventy billion dollars and yet the poverty the number of people living under the rate of poverty has risen to almost twenty

percent so certainly you are in the city where you're feeling perhaps much heavier than people from around the other parts of the country what is happening here in terms of what you say the gap i'm wondering though you know a lot of people including some write ups in the new york times and other mainstream media outlets they've described the occupy wall street protests essentially of the bunch of you know disorganized hippies with a lack of coherence and cohesive message you know i'm reading things like this and hearing comments like this on the cable networks who are also showing the video that we showed in the arrest video which of course makes for good t.v. but i'm hearing very little about the point of the protests corruption on wall street what do you think about this fact that so much of the coverage of what you guys are doing has been to be a little you know your fellow protesters for flaws in organization. honestly i don't understand i think one of the important things about the protest is that we're all autonomous individuals i mean this is it's supposed to affect the

entire middle class we're all different people and i mean a very important part of the protest itself is that we all have a dialogue about it and understand what happened and how it effects each group differently there's not this isn't for one group of people so of course they're going to make it seem like we're disorganized and chaotic but you know i've been kind of we've had a camera there just about every day since september seventeenth when they first started it seems to me that it's grown and so now we're starting to see that have as i mentioned earlier in los angeles and denver and chicago i wondering what you think i know mayor bloomberg came out early on and said you know perhaps there would be a tipping point with more and more people living in poverty more and more people unemployed i'm wondering if you see that tipping points ahead in terms of a real movement a larger movement even and what you think the outcome might be. i mean i feel like i feel like things are going to get worse before they get better and

i'm just really hoping that as if a foreign nation can join together and stand up for ourselves and the thing that really bothers me about the financial crisis is that most people really have no idea understand why or what happened they think that it's an accident when in reality it was very wealthy and powerful corporations through greed and stupidity destroyed lives for millions and millions of people and. it's kind of hard for me to. it's to know what the future holds for us i just i just hope that as this group as we build momentum so will an understanding and awareness of the situation of our government but what do you think you know in terms of the movement itself it does seem to be growing and certainly we've seen celebrities susan sarandon was down there roseanne barr you know what do you think about what it's going to take for people to start paying attention i mean what how does this

movement you know how do the streets of new york city turn into greece turn into tahrir square. i mean unfortunately it's going to take a lot more. it's just so odd to me because i feel like our movement finally started to pick up momentum once you know there there was a video of. police brutality and unauthorized violence and it is true in our country i mean we're more celebrity focused so any sort of attention that that brings a little help but i feel like what's really. going to get people involved in this movement is unfortunately as our economic situation to clients and they really start to feel it. well we really do hope you keep us posted on what's going on on the ground there and appreciate you coming into our studios to talk to us about your experience so see elliott wall street protester from greenpoint brooklyn in our new york studio well it may come as no surprise but well known author scholar

and political activist noam chomsky is speaking out in support of those who have come out to protest and occupy wall street he said recently that the courageous and honorable protest underway on wall street should serve to bring calamity to public attention and to lead to dedicated efforts to overcome it and set the society on a more healthy course well as you correspondent kareen important just sat down with noam chomsky for an in-depth interview and she asked him for more on his take on all of this and here's a portion of that interview. so the first group or some sort of purpose that we should. cover. them up in motion a vicious circle which were in the works in the book on the streets. of wars serious problems he would have known the world right sort of person with a much like your sort of world country where some of the good of something or

another from the infrastructure of corruption. corruption. all of that increases that your. circle going well as a group that's been put in for some purpose but these people are somewhat well according to the institutions and find them again thanks sort of some of the beholder i corps for a promise that we're going to have it was for much of the unemployment rate if you will for the great depression real important and that was known chance the author scholar and political activist. and you know it's not just new york i think people come out and protest against financial systems and it's not just the united states facing serious poverty and unemployment the world economy is struggling and there may be no country that understands this better integrate this as people continue to protest the unpopular property taxes passed by government as

a way to try to alleviate some of that pain that the country is feeling when it comes to the economy are to correspondents there a further is on the ground in athens and has the latest on the public outcry against austerity measures there. all eyes against be on balance to see the outcome of that is very uncertain the moment exactly what's going to happen as he said the contributions from germany as well as other usa members would increase whether they be a preview we know that there has been some problems especially amongst the german public is extremely unpopular and we've seen the greek prime minister. on a visit just the other day met with the german chancellor merkel that was seen as a move to try maybe gonna get more support for greece and we had some very positive rhetoric coming from the face of them greece is part promising to deliver saying they think they can find their way out of the crisis but it really is crucial that you know it's a need to still have made it clear whether or not they're going to be providing

that next tranche of money the eight billion year race is still that's i think will go ahead because as we speak can some of the other statements that have come out recently very much the opinion and the truth is this week is to stay within the year i lived in the usa where it's live we've heard that anyone can leave really and i can see the end of the entire union all together that's a little disappointment from the people here about the way the situation is played out i mentioned how the german public was feeling about having the possibility of providing more contributions towards bailout well here in greece to be honest the surge the feelings very similar they take particularly like the idea of the euro is saying leaders coming to the rescue what they see is news that is simply untenable that of course they won't always to buy about this quite suspend the austerity measures that have been put in place the very very strict indeed the property tax

you mentioned that was stated three last night by the parliament and we saw the situation here on sometimes the square where the protesters clashed with but later they get very unhappy with a snatch is our property tax is going to be even. more to the tax bills of these people having stay in the public has said that it's not even a case anymore of whether they want to pay they simply don't have that money the situation here really is extremely crucial points and leaving full know people are going to be looking at two decisions i like to voice in the lead to see exactly what the usa need is a great leader whether they're going to be taking decisive action that are going to help people out the situation so moving forward all eyes will certainly be on balance but on the outcome of that. and i was already correspondent therof earth. well still ahead here on our t.v. it's truth or trade or the mainstream media is up in arms after one person got the boot for speaking his mind so are they crying or crying wolf. plus.

you're in america coming up here why the picture of freedom of speech is now getting a stall just sheen that story that. we just put a picture of me when i was like nine years old on the show with fruit. i confess and i am a total get a friend that i love driving because he is like and pretty. but he was kind of the jester. i'm very proud of the actions you just played.

well we spend a lot of our show today talking about the occupy wall street movement and the just dain people are speaking openly about having for the big banks and some of the other most powerful entities in this country but again that many of the protesters were called dirty hippies they were pushed to so-called free speech zones and in many cases not even allowed to use microphones to make sure their message was heard so what happens when a professional independent trader was given a microphone and a large audience to say something very similar take a look. that governments don't rule the world goldman sachs rules the world it was the comment heard around the world when they generated widespread reaction from papers and pundits alike we appreciate your candor however it doesn't help the rest of us does it but instead of talking about the comments itself most outlets really at least start to shoot the messenger alessio resigning forbes called him a psychopath c n b c suggests it might be

a hoax new york magazine wonders if it is a hoax or perhaps our worst nightmare well regardless the rest tiny intensions the bigger question has been largely ignored was he wrong about the power of goldman sachs and why was everyone so shocked after all right here at r t in our studios we've had several guests bonafide traders even former goldman sachs employees who have the very same thing washington is not the biggest player in the us the global bankers are the biggest players the global hedge fund managers that's where the action that is determining the outcome of this not not the players in washington they have already ceded control to the global banking industry wall street has been pulling the strings in washington from the get go it is the largest sector of campaign contributions and that's to both parties but for the mainstream media who don't interviews like these are studies honesty was unexpected of ones that survive

and thrive t.v.'s george kennan story when they asked him these questions on b.b.c. he just let it all hang out and the actual truth came across. the sun he also sent shock waves around the world when he told the b.b.c. that most traders don't really care if and when the economy is fixed personally i've been dreaming of this one for three years i have a confession which is i go to bed every night i dream of another recession the b.b.c. interview has now gone viral but you can see the people around me jules have collectively dropped that what you just say perhaps there. that would mean i have dropped the only red not july two thousand and nine willing stone article the great american bubble machine in it he famously describes goldman sachs as a quote great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money t.v. discuss with us recently how although people are unaware of it the big bank has profound power in society how much you're paying for gas how much you're paying for

electricity i want you paying for your credit cards. your mortgages how much you're paying in taxes and how much of your tax dollars are going to debt service. unlike the mainstream media few here would be shocked by responds comments like that was for nearly two weeks these protesters have been out every day hoping to bring an end. or at least awareness to what many call a corrupt system we. we. and still others have argued for years that the government's actions are dictated by the big banks and very special interest in on last three the insurance industry i mean he's got these are the people who are writing the laws that obama is and i think they are keeping him in power they're the ones that are financed this campaign and the laws are being written for their benefit. as anger builds here perhaps that are questions need to

be asked here so that a different message is sent to decision makers here that the system that has been sustained and protected for decades might need to change in washington christine for our team. i think this varies a closer look at what people say and why sometimes it's considered free speech and other times it's called radical despite this being the land of the free it appears there are some topics in this country that seem to be untouchable and least that's been the case for some people who found a voicing their views would get them into trouble again it is a con reports even some celebrities have been forced to eat humble pie simply because of something they said. an american icon legendary singer world war two veteran and pacifist tony bennett has come under fire for speaking his mind on a radio talk show he said america's actions would ride it provokes terror with the

terrorists or with the terrorists are they the terrorists well rooms don't make a right so the ones who started with the plane flying into the world trade center i don't know about tony bennett was attacked afterwards with stinging criticism from some quarters then he went to great lengths to apologize to those his remarks may have offended i'd like to say that i am sorry my state certainly suggested anything other than an expression of my love for my country america calls itself the land of the free but some are asking why our living legend like tony bennett has to apologize for his thoughts there's no tolerance really for any deviation from the official line even though here in america we're very proud of our freedom of speech and the right to speak his considered holy except if you say the wrong things you can get in trouble and artists have musicians have now tony bennett as the question freedom of speech proved no defense in protecting the jobs of

a number of probably figures in america after a promise that appears through and challenge conventional us establishment news journalist helen thomas and being a white house reporter for over half a century was forced to resign after she said he's really should leave land they taken from palestinians everybody's been fired for what they say they can but that if you say anything about the president the united states can call him anything in the book but he can't say anything about israel. medically makes you any systematic see it is former senior editor of middle east affairs of guardian not sir was sacked a year ago because of a tweet she wrote about her respect for a lebanese cleary who at one time had been seen as the spiritual leader of the hezbollah but had leader broken ties with nasser all sorts all of it was promptly pushed out of the us mainstream media it's all about consequences social and economic interests pressure rather than real censorship politicians expressing

ideas against the establishment you come under fire true like congressman ron paul who is running for president i was common law and i don't hide i have been a christian. they have been explicit and they wrote and. there we are can act we attack america because you had bases on our holy land in saudi arabia you do not give palestinians after your treatment when you have been bombing. i didn't say that i'm kind to get through to understand what the motive was behind the bombing at the same time we have been bombing and killing hundreds of thousands of iraqis for clear near would you be annoyed if you're not annoyed by who going there some problem booed and labeled unpatriotic by some just like tony bennett was when he spoke his mind it's not so much about what these people said that led to them being

booed or even being fired from their jobs but rather about the fact that in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech that freedom often comes that i have to price i'm going to check out reporting from washington r.t. and there are countless examples of this and this country of free speech having some parameters or exceptions and some of those cases have gone all the way to the supreme court and others are often quietly brushed under the rug but the broader discussion is often ignored so we wanted to bring out shall. the light on the question of when free speech is and isn't free help me answer that question and many more i'm joined by medea benjamin co-founder of color pink not to mention someone who knows a thing or two about speaking out in public places she's exactly walk on hey there medea thanks for joining us today. on the show i wanted to ask you this how prevalent do you think this is this notion that there are exceptions to the first amendment of the constitution. i think your piece was travelers in the bed and

right up to areas where it's very difficult to speak out in this country when it's when you talk about israel and palestine and the other is if you talk about perhaps was there something that many people dislike or has it led to as being attacked or continues to lead to us being attacked those are the two areas where you're speaking out on carol and certainly we saw helen thomas in the piece she said that you know you can say anything in the book about the president of the united states but if you say something about israel you're anti sematic i mean do you agree that it goes that far it certainly does bear many cases unfortunately of academics like norman finkelstein a group who was fired from his position at university or would couldn't receive ten year because of his writings about israel palestine there's the case of the muslim eleven the students for bind who recently spoke out while he israeli ambassador was

giving a speech and they were taken all the way they were taken to a grand jury let me stop you real quick right every day just because for our viewers that are unfamiliar with that we actually have video of that this is when the an israeli ambassador all ambassador michael oren came to speak at the university of california irvine we'll play it and talk more about it. it was a source of frustration there was a person who spent much of his life. probably did was he really was. you know these students and being found guilty on the charge of conspiring to disrupt a meeting you were just mentioning them what do you think this president you know what kind of president i guess there's the fact when you know again clearly they weren't being violent they just spoke out in a meeting it's a terrible precedence for muslim americans and for students in general who i think

will have to think twice now about that kind of action at a university where they also want to save my organization code pink we have spoken many times when representatives of the israeli government are here and you also have to be concerned for your physical safety because we have been thrown yet members of the audience who refuse to believe that free speech is a rape in this country we get death threats for speaking out and i even when i go on fox news and say something we know there are bigots is that our problems will be full of death threats so many levels one is a political of what the police will tolerate what the audience will tolerate like a public will tolerate and what right wing. media like this will tolerate i think that's an important point you know wasn't once in a while things that are said are deemed to be not covered under free speech but

a lot of times it is the court of public opinion largely decided by the mainstream media in terms of what is and isn't appropriate even this piece we showed earlier just simply have somebody saying goldman sachs rules the world and people really thinking to discredit him as opposed to talking about whether or not that statement has some validity to it. i just it just. grew and it was great it's the people. literally any of them just walking down the street so little just to make sure we're free speech and what is in the. you know media i do have to point this out though i mean i've been to countless hearings on capitol hill but you've been a part of you know you and sometimes other members of code pink and you've stood up in the middle of those hearings you've held signs and you've stood up not along disruption but a disruption on the last in which you call out somebody that's there that's not

allowed in most other countries or in a lot of other countries i mean don't you feel like at least in the u.s. there's a lot more room for movement. there's a. state. where i would be in prison really looking. to free speech well it's pretty. cold right i'm so sorry it may be a we're having some audio issues with your audio there do apologize because you always have a lot of interesting things to say i want to thank you for being on the show today founder of code pink media attention. and that is going to do it for now but coming up in the next half hour we will have gerald celente with the trends research institute will be talking to him about the occupy wall street movement about the economy itself and his take on the statement about goldman sachs ruling the world i'm positive i have

a lot to say about that but we are out of time for now for more on the stories we cover and go to our t.v. dot com slash usa our second our web page at youtube dot com slash r c america you can also follow me on twitter frenzy thanks so much for watching i'm christine. but given that we had an apartheid regime right here. i think iraq either. we're never got them it says if they keep you safe get ready because you're freed up. from the moment.