Danny Schechter - ColdType

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offs have taken a heavy toll on Americans.
• In response, a range of extreme acts including suicide, selfinflicted
injury, record levels of child abuse, murder, and
arson have hit the news. The National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline logged a record 568,437 calls in 2008, compared to
412,768 the previous year.
• Not surprisingly, the economic meltdown has also strained
marriages and, according to experts, is contributing to a
rise in domestic violence. A spokeswoman for the National
Domestic Violence Hotline notes that calls increased
18 percent between October 2007 and October 2008 and
attributed the spike to the poor economy.
• As social and civil unrest seethes, it is no surprise that
the Department of Homeland Security now considers the
main threat to the country as economic, even as the CIA
rushes to employ financial analysts who can make sense of
the continuing economic storm.
• Millions of people are impacted by various financial frauds.
One out of five credit card holders have been victims of
credit card and debit card fraud in the last five years worldwide.
In one survey, 22 percent of the respondents said they
would change financial institutions, and a further 27 percent
would consider changing financial institutions.
• In some countries, victims of financial frauds are organizing
to fight back. CTV reported in Canada: “A rally for victims
of white-collar crime is scheduled for the same day
that Earl Jones, the financial advisor who disappeared leaving
questions about $30-to-$50 million of investors’ money,
is scheduled to appear in bankruptcy court.
“Organizers say they want to send a message to politicians
that they want changes to the laws that deal with this kind
of crime.
“We can no longer passively sit back and watch as these
financial hustlers receive a mere slap on the wrist after hav-