The “world’s most powerful democracy” has a higher percentage of its population behind bars than any other country in the world: more than China, more than Russia, more than any backwater dictatorship. Two million plus people, roughly 1 out of every 142 US residents are behind bars in the USA. 

No one is bailing these prisoners out, as this gulag system is fantastically profitable for the companies that build and manage prisons; for the companies that supply them; for the prison guard unions; and for the state itself, which sells prison labour to private corporations for pennies on the dollar. For a unique perspective on inmates of American prisons check www.brasschecktv.com

 
As against that, $ 700 billion bail-out bill, like the Indo-US Nuclear deal, was passed in great hurry subverting all democratic norms. Crowds protesting in the streets asking the Bush regime to halt this madness, 69% Americans saying firm "No to Bail Out" in a nationwide survey, did not matter to the mad men at the helm of affairs in the US, as an army brigade was in readiness to control the crowd (see www.informationclearinghouse.info)

 
While inside, the politicians, whether Democrats or Republicans, placed their own self-interest as the highest priority rather than speaking out on this impropriety. Congressman Brad Sherman of California told the House on 5 October how several Congressional representatives were threatened with the prospect of all out martial law should they vote in opposition to the $ 700 billion bail-out of financial institutions. No American politician worth his salt, not even Barak Obama, the first Black presidential candidate, had the courage to say that just as the real cost of the $ 500-billion Iraq War is closer to $ 2 trillion, the real cost of the $ 700 billion bail-out will be about $ 3 trillion.  

 
This clearly shows how American society is sharply divided between the "haves," who enjoy a monopoly on power and influence, and the "have-nots," who are alienated from the political process. 24.5 percent of all Americans earn $ 9.60 or less; 10 percent of all Americans (15 million) earn $ 6.79 or less; 33.3 percent of African Americans and 39.3 of Hispanic workers earn poverty wages. 

 
"Any subsidies eventually given to the monster banks of Wall Street will be as American as apple pie and obesity. The sums demanded may be unprecedented, but there is nothing new about the principle: corporate welfare is a consistent feature of advanced capitalism. Only one thing has changed: Congress has been forced to confront its contradictions," says George Monbiot in an article entitled, "The Free Market Preachers Have Long Practised State Welfare For The Rich". 

 
How this arm twisting decision will affect the dollar, the future economics and business of not only the US, but also of the countries dependant on USA, only time will tell.
 
Let us see what we could do with $700 billion bail out:
? Give 1000 million poor families of the world Rs.25,000 each.
? World poverty can be wiped out with that huge bad loan.
? Buy 1000 million computers for those who cannot afford them.
? Provide schooling for all the poor children of the world.
 

Having said that, let us revert to the central theme of this article, namely, Prison America and recount a few more instances to prove how this great country (which it never was) has become totally decadent. 

 
a) In USA, chemotherapy (which itself is carcinogenic) is the official treatment. Doctors prescribing other safer and cheaper medicines or even Vitamin C (which two-times Nobel winner Linus Pauling recommended for cancer) are being jailed.  

 
b) Anti Retroviral Drugs for HIV/AIDS are being given even to children. Parents refusing to give these dangerous carcinogens to their children can be jailed, while their children can be shifted to government facility only to be informed that the child has died due to the disease, when the child in fact died due to separation from loved ones, incarceration and iatrogenesis. Prescribe proper diet and nutrition, vitamins and micronutrients, homeopathy and herbs and the chances are that the doctor’s license will be cancelled; s/he will be jailed along with the parents.  

 
c) Through its Special Virus programme, the CIA creates panic worldwide in the name of SARS, Anthrax, manipulates laws through WHO and Codex, destroys economies of the world by pressurising governments to buy ARTs and other lethal drugs from mercenary (p)harma companies, makes iodization of salt compulsory for everyone; instead of educating people on simple ORT, it concentrates on manufacturing and distributing ORT solutions sold by medicine mafia; through HDN net it continuously promotes the lie HIV=AIDS=Death, and gives a free run to Monsanto for GM food, Aspartame, etc.  

 
d) The decadent State which cannot stop drugs, guns in schools, small girls being made pregnant, does not mind making dubious vaccines mandatory in the name of protecting citizens’ health. Incidentally, there are now about 70 vaccines to protect your health. The writ of American mafia runs even in other countries. If you apply for Work Visa or Green Card, the American Consulates in India and other countries force the visa seekers to take vaccines or reject your application.

 
e) Try telling American CDC that “Right to Health” is akin to “Right to Life” and “Right to Choose the Medicine” is a right like the “Right to Food”.  Try reasoning out with the CDC or the American Supreme Court that like you cannot ask vegetarian Hindus to eat animal proteins, or Muslims to eat forbidden pig meat because they are “protein deficient” or ‘Health Care is Self Care’ and see what response you get in the world’s best democracy. 

 
f) J.F. Kennedy who said that he would like to disband CIA, like M.K. Gandhi who said Congress should be disbanded, were killed. Not only the CIA continues, but also the Centre for Disease Control has become the extension centre of the sinister Population Control Program, like Yale University (called Skull and Bones University) has the CIA monitor everything.
 
The author is a Mumbai-based human and health rights activist