Tortured & Enslaved: Enter the World’s Biggest Prison

Posted on November 12, 2015 by abby

The prison system has become the established response to societal woes—from crime to mental health—and the private corporations that litter the globe have monopolized correctional facilities, amassing deep political influence in the process in order to further prison expansion and increase profits.

In the United States, where the human rights abuses of other countries are always on the agenda, the prison population is staggering. Though the U.S. has only 5% of the world’s population, it has a shocking 25% of its prisoners. Crime has dropped dramatically over the last 25 years, yet the number in prison has continued to increase at a dramatic pace.

Over 50% serving time in prison are non-violent, drug-related offenders, with about 30% locked up for marijuana only. The dehumanization of inmates, as well as those not yet convicted of any crimes, has led to extreme violence perpetuated by prisons guards and prison administration to go almost entirely unchecked, thereby leaving those most vulnerable to face normalized brutality with little to no recourse. In the windowless prison cells of the U.S. we also find racism and sexual violence existing in an almost customary fashion, pushing men and women of color deeper into the void of the criminal justice system.

Follow Abby Martin as she exposes the unsettling realities behind the prison industrial complex on The Empire Files.

Tortured & Enslaved: Enter the World’s Biggest Prison

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WATCH // YouTube.com/EmpireFiles

Photo by flickr user les haines

9/11 And The Belligerent Empire

Posted on November 12, 2015 by abby

The so-called “Global War on Terror,” which has wreaked the globe in ceaseless warfare, has long been draped in the language of humanitarian imperialism. The United States has worked tirelessly in order to paint military invasions as liberatory efforts, using the 9/11 attacks as both a shield and a catalyst.

While men and women die fighting wars on behalf of US politicians, who admit that they cannot win the very conflicts they wage, patriotism is used to turn aimless combat into fundamental battles of legitimacy and self-security.

All the while, a US policy of aggression that spans democratic and republican administrations has ripped any sense of security out of the lives of Afghan and Iraqi civilians, among others. Afghanistan’s future was said to be democratic post-US invasion, but reality has been quite different. At the start, in order to combat Soviet influence in the region, not only did the US hand out millions of dollars and weapons in order to fund extremist groups, the mujahideen were warmly welcomed by White House officials. In Iraq the US employed sanctions in order to better decimate the country should politicians choose to divide it. That time came with the first salvo of the war on Iraq which turned the cradle of civilization into a bloody epicenter of cancer and orphans.

ISIS rose out of the ashes of the very death and chaos in the region that the US has created. US foreign policy, which is based on military and economic alliances, has given extremist forces the arms and the reason to continue in their brutalization of minority sects. But ISIS isn’t the only group arrogantly taunting civilians with death; Obama’s administration has turned the calm skies of places like Pakistan into nightmarish killing fields with his drone policy, and his drone program is only getting bigger.

Watch as Abby Martin delves into the lies of the US Empire and uncovers how the establishment media has distorted historic realities, and used 9/11 in order to fuel America’s two longest running wars.

9/11 and The Belligerent Empire

FOLLOW // @EmpireFiles and @AbbyMartin

WATCH // YouTube.com/EmpireFiles

Photo by US Army

The Rise of History’s Biggest Empire

Posted on October 4, 2015 by abby

COFuoEoXAAENyt- American exceptionalism is the bedrock of US expansion—casting a shadow across much of the world in the form of hyper-militarism and political interventionism. The US, as a global superpower, has drenched the globe in military bases and worked tirelessly to undermine native resistance by way of massacres, occupation, coups, and sanctions.

The United States has long been able to disguise occupation of foreign territories, and the pillaging of their resources, under the pretense of humanitarianism, all while at the same time bolstering horrifically abusive and repressive regimes in the regions it occupies. The establishment media has been able to camouflage colonial rhetoric by creating a more subdued, less threatening narrative so as to hide the true nature of warfare and to in turn fabricate a history that erases the Empire’s victims.

As much of the world moves forward in providing social benefits, including health care benefits and expanding education programs, while in turn making cuts to military budgets, the United States spends nearly $600 billion annually on its defense budget. Uncovering the hidden costs, military expenditures make up over 50% of American tax dollars. By institutionalizing the collusion between government and big business a permanent war economy in indisputably maintained, and lobbying for war becomes a necessity for those wishing to turn a quick profit.

Watch Abby Martin’s inaugural Empire Files episode, where she goes deep inside the rise of history’s largest, ever expanding Empire.

The Rise of History’s Biggest Empire

FOLLOW // @EmpireFiles and @AbbyMartin

WATCH // YouTube.com/EmpireFiles

Good News with acTVism Munich

Posted on April 26, 2015 by abby

AcTVism Last month I had the awesome chance to go to Berlin and present at the annual Zeitgeist festival. I spoke about our dying planet and why I believe TZM is a powerful force for consciousness and sustainability.

There I met a huge contingent of change agents taking it upon themselves to create new mediums of sharing and access.

One of the battle fronts is new media. acTVism Munich is a group that’s building a network of information ignored by the corporate media. I sat down with them to discuss the global renaissance of citizen journalism and what it means to be an activist journalist.

Good News with Abby Martin

Watch the interview dubbed in German here. acTVism Munich has already interviewed the likes of Glenn Greenwald, Annie Machon and Noam Chomsky and has great future events in the works.

Here’s Chomsky’s insights on NATO, ISIS and free trade:

Noam Chomsky on the Media and Humanity

Follow and support acTVism Munich and other grassroots independent media groups.

Abby Martin | @AbbyMartin

Abby Martin on The Joe Rogan Experience

Posted on April 24, 2015 by abby

JOE ROGAN AND I Comedian Joe Rogan’s unfiltered podcast The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) features a variety of awesome guests whose topics range from ancient civilizations to the police state.

I always love joining Joe while in LA, and recently got to discuss with him everything from Islam to the need for a new economic model.

Many fucks are said, so if you’re offended by swearing please skip the broadcast.

The Joe Rogan Experience with Abby Martin

To download this podcast go here. Check out the last podcast I did with Joe focusing on Israel’s war on Gaza and the Drug War.

Some of my favorite topics to hear Joe and his guests wax philosophy about are space and consciousness, so I invited him on Breaking the Set to talk string theory, invisible aliens and collective DMT dreams.

Joe Rogan on Breaking the Set

While in Cali I also stopped by Bonoboville to speak to Dr. Susan Block, a sex therapist specializing in the philosophy of ethical hedonism. On her weekly radio show, we discussed everything from US hegemony to ecosexuality.

For a sweet write-up about the interview and an audio file to download it, go here.

Abby Martin | @AbbyMartin