occupation

"I think that we're in a society where art still is threatening, but at some point I think that we can look at when art is still being questioned or being sanctioned or being funded, then we need to look at that work that is being deliberated over because it's speaking to something that is happening in culture," says performance artist Karen Finley, whose lawsuit against the National Endowment for the Arts made her into a national icon against her will after her grant was denied on the basis of the subject matter of her art. In her new book, The Reality Shows, and in her performances, Finley takes on different personae to explore traumas, and teaches people to get in touch with their own experiences. Finley joins Laura in studio for a conversation about art, trauma, our culture's perception of women, and much, much more. In the past days and weeks we've seen some very young people protesting in the streets, squares and statehouses around the world. But what becomes of children who live through that reformation or regime change? Our documentary of the week is My Perestroika, and it tells the story of the last days of the USSR through the eyes of a group of former schoolmates who came of age as the world around them changed. The filmmaker is Robin Hessman, and the film is currently playing at festivals around the country. Comedian Lee Camp visited Scotland and was shocked by what he saw: college students protesting? What's that all about? But he's realized something more important as well--maybe the key to ending police brutality of protesters is putting them in new outfits. It seems to work all right for the Scots... Distributed by Tubemogul.

"This has transitioned into a struggle for Wisconsin, and maybe even a struggle for America," says John Nichols. It's been more than two weeks since protesters in Madison, Wisconsin have occupied the capitol building, and John Nichols notes that what's going on there is uniquely Wisconsin -- from the politeness to the support and solidarity for union workers. He spoke to Laura outside the capitol this weekend, as protesters lined up in the freezing cold to get back into the building. Distributed by Tubemogul.

It's no secret to GRITtv viewers that profound inequality is one of the biggest problems our schools face. For over three weeks, a group of mostly single Latina moms have been occupying a building at John Greenleaf Whittier Dual Language Elementary School in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, demanding the school system account for misspent funds--and build their kids a library. Anne Elizabeth Moore has been covering the story from the beginning, and she brings us this report.

This Monday, suicide bombings rocked two stations in the Moscow Metro, killing 39 people. This is only the latest in a series of attacks on Russian civilians, stemming from the conflict over the Russian occupation of Chechnya. Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation, joins us to talk about the attacks, "Black Widow" suicide bombers, the tension between Prime Minister Putin and President Medvedev, and how all of this affects U.S.-Russia relations. GRITtv with Laura Flanders brings participatory democracy onto your computer screen and into your living room, bridging the gap between audience and advocates. Watch any show, at any time: http://grittv.org Distributed by Tubemogul.