Confessions of an Economic Hitman

[Brian4Liberty]

EHM - Economic Hitman

http://www.bookdepository.com/book/9...onomic-Hit-Man

For them, this is a war about the survival of their children and cultures, while for us it is about power, money, and natural resources. It is one part of the struggle for world domination and the dream of a few greedy men, global empire.

That is what we EHMs do best: we build a global empire. We are an elite group of men and women who utilize international financial organizations to foment conditions that make other nations subservient to the corporatocracy running our biggest corporations, our government, and our banks. Like our counterparts in the Mafia, EHMs provide favors. These take the form of loans to develop infrastructure —electric generating plants, highways, ports, airports, or industrial parks. A condition of such loans is that engineering and construction companies from our own country must build all these projects. In essence, most of the money never leaves the United States; it is simply transferred from banking offices in Washington to engineering offices in New York, Houston, or San Francisco.

Despite the fact that the money is returned almost immediately to corporations that are members of the corporatocracy (the creditor), the recipient country is required to pay it all back, principal plus interest. If an EHM is completely successful, the loans are so large that the debtor is forced to default on its payments after a few years. When this happens, then like the Mafia we demand our pound of flesh. This often includes one or more of the following: control over United Nations votes, the installation of military bases, or access to precious resources such as oil or the Panama Canal. Of course, the debtor still owes us the money—and another country is added to our global empire.
...
The subtlety of this modern empire building puts the Roman centurions, the Spanish conquistadors, and the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European colonial powers to shame. We EHMs are crafty; we learned from history. Today we do not carry swords. We do not wear armor or clothes that set us apart. In countries like Ecuador, Nigeria, and Indonesia, we dress like local schoolteachers and shop owners. In Washington and Paris, we look like government bureaucrats and bankers. We appear humble, normal. We visit project sites and stroll through impoverished villages. We profess altruism, talk with local papers about the wonderful humanitarian things we are doing. We cover the conference tables of government committees with our spreadsheets and financial projections, and we lecture at the Harvard Business School about the miracles of macroeconomics. We are on the record, in the open. Or so we portray ourselves and so are we accepted. It is how the system works. We seldom resort to anything illegal because the system itself is built on subterfuge, and the system is by definition legitimate.

However—and this is a very large caveat—if we fail, an even more sinister breed steps in, ones we EHMs refer to as the jackals, men who trace their heritage directly to those earlier empires. The jackals are always there, lurking in the shadows. When they emerge, heads of state are overthrown or die in violent “accidents.” And if by chance the jackals fail, as they failed in Afghanistan and Iraq, then the old models resurface. When the jackals fail, young Americans are sent in to kill and to die.

http://www.economichitman.com/pages/...s/excerpt.html

Interview with Lew Rockwell:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwe...nomic-hit-man/

Radio interview, talking about blowback:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTbdnNgqfs8

Speaking at the Veterans for Peace Convention:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oARBdBtGenM

[Napoleon's Shadow]

http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwe...nomic-hit-man/

[Brian4Liberty]

http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwe...nomic-hit-man/

Thanks. Good interview.

Here's another on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTbdnNgqfs8

[raiha]

One of my favourite books. Max keiser interviewed him according to the very blessed Max archive thread. I am waiting for some spare time to watch it.

[Brian4Liberty]

Another video with the author of the book, speaking at the Veterans for Peace Convention:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oARBdBtGenM

[Vessol]

Awesome book. I used it to show a few liberals how evil foreign "aid" really is.

[Brian4Liberty]

Another video with the author of the book, speaking at the Veterans for Peace Convention:

Part II of the presentation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAqG51uwzMI

[Brian4Liberty]

However—and this is a very large caveat—if we fail, an even more sinister breed steps in, ones we EHMs refer to as the jackals, men who trace their heritage directly to those earlier empires. The jackals are always there, lurking in the shadows. When they emerge, heads of state are overthrown or die in violent “accidents.” And if by chance the jackals fail, as they failed in Afghanistan and Iraq, then the old models resurface. When the jackals fail, young Americans are sent in to kill and to die.

That explains the Libya "situation".

[1836]

Because I have not read the book, I will refrain from passing judgment on any of its particular contents. I am broadly familiar, however, with Perkins' claims, and it would seem that while he has a good base of information to make some very plausible and surprising claims, some of his claims might be a little far-fetched.

Didn't he claim that we had assassinated tiny third-world nations' leaders for not repaying their debts? I totally believe that we have done plenty of secret assassinations. However, that seems a little out there.

Would love to hear thoughts on that, always open to be proven wrong.

[bkreigh]

I didnt read the article but man what a great freakin book. I have liberal fans that read this book and loved it. Its a good book to use to break the ice with other liberals. Im not a big reader at all but this book was fascinating. I really should pick it up and read it again.

[bkreigh]

That explains the Libya "situation".

When i first heard of the Libya situations this book is the first thing i thought of.

[Brian4Liberty]

Because I have not read the book, I will refrain from passing judgment on any of its particular contents. I am broadly familiar, however, with Perkins' claims, and it would seem that while he has a good base of information to make some very plausible and surprising claims, some of his claims might be a little far-fetched.

Didn't he claim that we had assassinated tiny third-world nations' leaders for not repaying their debts? I totally believe that we have done plenty of secret assassinations. However, that seems a little out there.

Would love to hear thoughts on that, always open to be proven wrong.

Kind of the opposite of that. When leaders refuse to take the loans, they end up dying in accidents. The next leader usually takes the loan.

[HOLLYWOOD]

When i first heard of the Libya situations this book is the first thing i thought of.

People are catching on: http://www.blackstarnews.com/news/13...011-03-21.html

Today, France, Britain and the United States began a process which will culminate in the overthrow of Moamar Gadaffi, the dictator and tyrant who has dominated Libya’s political stage for far too long.

In attacking Libya, western nations led by France, have argued that Gadaffi already has or is at the verge of massacring “his-own-people” as he repelled or took counter measures against legitimate uprising, rebellion and revolution against his more than 40 years dictatorships, tyranny and repression against the people of Libya.

The truth is, the world is witnessing the onset of the invasion and occupation of Libya for her sweet crude oil. This is Iraq all over again, in which Weapons of Mass Destruction or WMD was used as smokescreen or camouflage and cotton-wool over the eyes of the gullible, in the lead up to the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Libya is being attacked, Libya will be invaded and occupied with a regime change, under the guise of protecting Libyan people. It is false pretense. A dangerous and terrible precedent is being set, a slippery slope will ensue.

Libya is at cusp of experiencing a regime change, engineered by western nations under some banal pretexts. Western nations have hated and loathed Gaddaffi forever, as a real and phantom or imagined enemy. Gaddaffi’s preachment and stance, anti-colonialist, anti-imperialist and anti-apartheid, endeared him to me in my youth and college days.

Gaddaffi’s contradictions and inconsistencies were revealed to me, through an anti-African migrant agreement which he entered into with Italy and other European nations, in which Libya would be paid, to act as the gatekeeper for Europe against African citizens desperate to migrate to Europe through Libya, and other nations of North Africa.

Secondly, Gaddaffi’s virulent anti-African stance was proven to me beyond doubt, when he publicly suggested that Nigeria should be split into several component parts as separate nations, and along regional, ethnic or cultural and linguistic lines. All believers in the unity in diversity and indivisible plural one Nigeria -- as I am -- were irked by Gaddaffi’s petulance and impertinence.

Yet there is staggering hypocrisy and screeching-loud double standards in the actions of these western nations, particularly in the face of the massacre of more than 40 peaceful protesters in Yemen yesterday by the government of Yemen and it’s paramilitary or militia.

Hypocrisies by western nations is legendary and even brazen now, in view of the fact that there were scores of deaths in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, to name a few, all of which have witnessed protests and demonstrations and violence to varying degrees in these North African, Arabian and Middle Eastern nations since onset of these political upheaval in January.

On the African continent, we witnessed and are still witnessing instances of rebellions and reprisals against rebels. Somalia is the worst example. Somalia is an anarchic nation state, a disintegrated and failed nation state which have not had a steady government since 1991. And yet, western nations have not intervened to save the lives of innocent civilians. If only Somalia had crude oil.

Somalia has since 1991 garnered the attention of western nations intermittently. It's only when pirates on Somali waters, the Somali flank of the India Ocean, interferes briefly, with western commerce and merchandizing with ocean going vessels, do we notice ad hoc reactions or seeming recognition of the existence of human life in Somalia. Western nations have had this episodic reactions to the humanitarian crises in Somalia which is the root cause of the Somali pirate phenomenon.

In 1994, there were massacres in Rwanda of almost a million persons, a monumental disaster which was later adjudged to have been motivated by hatred and ethnic cleansing, and therefore, genocidal horrors, which arose in schism and chasm between Hutu and Tutsi. Western nations folded their hands, despite the presence of the United Nations troops there.

Since then, there have other genocidal horrors in Darfur Sudan, in which millions of Darfurians Sudanese met their untimely death, based primarily on their religion, race and southern origins in the Sudan. President Bashir’s government in Khartoum received criticisms, but there were not interventions, and Sudanese oil flowed even while the International Criminal Court indicted Bashir and Khartoum government. Libya is being attacked and invaded and Gaddaffi slated for overthrow and regime change, but Bashir is not.

There have been frequent reports from the Congo, reports which suggests that civilians noncombatants have been massacred, raped and abused, with resultant dislocations and no interventions has been suggested.

Liberia and Sierra Leone had their own shares of conflicts, gratuitous violence and dislocations visited upon innocent civilians, but for ECOWAS led by Nigeria, during which Nigeria spent billions of dollars on peace keeping and stability, there were not murmur or hints of intervention on humanitarian grounds, to secure, protect and preserve innocent civilians in Liberia and Sierra Leone, perhaps because Liberia, and Sierra Leone, quite unlike Iraq and Libya, do not have hydrocarbon or fossil fuel oils?

In recent times, France has corralled efforts and world opinion against Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent President of Ivory Coast; Ivory Coast suffered an election impasse or deadlock. President Gbago petitioned the highest court of that nation, which resolved the petition upon adjudication in his favor.

But the candidate preferred by France and other Western nations, Alassane Quatarra is being promoted as the winner of the November 28, 2010 elections. There are plans hatched outside Africa to invade the Ivory Coast in order to install Qutarra as stooge; this invasion would use Africans as tools, Nigeria being the arrow head or the apex of such military intervention in Ivory Coast.

As opposed to the extreme measure which is what military intervention-invasion is, how about a recount of the ballots? Alternatively, why wasn't a repeat and a redo of the elections in Ivory Coast considered? Why the haste and what are the reasons for foreclosing these options in favor of the extreme measure of military invasion over election stalemate?

How about the humanitarian crises and refugees and destabilization of the entire West African sub-region which will probably result from the planned military invasion? A repeat election is more cost effective and better for all parties concerned. Military invasion comes with unintended consequences, even when such invasion had any justification--there are the known and unknowable of wars. What if there are elections deadlock in Nigeria in April 2011? What if there are elections stalemate or impasse in Kenya or South Africa in those nations' next elections. Will there be outside military interventions? How does this promote democracy, due process and the rule of law, and other much vaunted democratic ideals?

Libya, Iraq before it --and perhaps Ivory Coast is next-- are supposed to be politically independent, sovereign nations with territorial integrity, inviolate and sacrosanct. And only extraordinary circumstances ought to trigger external intervention and interference in the internal affairs of a particular nation by another or by several other nations. This affront and breach of international law, conventions and protocols are particularly offensive in view of the fact that it is deployed and used selectively.

The glaring contradictions and inconsistencies by Western governments in these matters are legendary. Yemen’s political leadership have through it’s militia and paramilitary massacred peaceful protesters and their “own-people” even as recent as yesterday, when over 40 Yemeni citizens were murdered by agents of the government of Yemen. But no planned intervention, invasion, and occupation of Yemen by western nations.

After all, WikiLeaks and Julian Assange enlightened us as to how the American government compelled the government of Yemen to deceive it’s own people, by being the fall guy for American military operations inside Yemen, which have led to scores of deaths in Yemen. All this, not in pursuit of Yemen’s national or strategic interests. Yemen is a client nation state, eager to serve interests of western nations; so, no intervention in Yemen, no invasion and occupation or regime change for Yemen.

In Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Algeria and Tunisia and Egypt before that, there were peaceful public demonstrations, and protests. These nations have stereotyped populaces--allegedly a culture and region with blood-lusts, where folks are liable to and prone to engage in "mindless" violence without logic or reason.

Yet peacefulness have been the key word, and catchphrase in these protests which began in Tunisia, then Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain and Yemen. Peacefulness have been exemplified in the tidal wave of revolutions, political upheaval and demands for individual rights, freedoms and a further demand for democracy, the rule of law and an end to political repressions. "Mindless" murderers and Political Islam which is dreaded by Western nations never capitalized on these peaceful protest. The "mindless" murderers for pleasure in the Islamic-Arab World, and North Africa, were nowhere to be found.

Western nations’ military armada are now engaged in direct intervention, invasion and occupation of Libya, predicated on the propaganda, neatly packaged, which insists that Gaddaffi and his sons are engaging in massacres of “their-own-people” innocent civilians and all.

But, it must be pointed out, and these pretentious Western nations should be reminded that the innocent civilians in Libya, those engaged in uprising and revolution or rebellion in Libya are not different in the plights, predicaments and fates when compared to equally beleaguered peaceful protesters and demonstrators in other North African Arab and Middle Eastern nations already mentioned above. What exactly is the criteria for selecting Libya? And how can western nations sustain reasonable argument which would convince anyone as to the difference between Libya, and most of the North African and Middle Eastern nations with similar uprisings? Why cherry pick Libya, as opposed to Yemen?

Why is it that western nations are splendidly disinterested in economic and political reforms, or the establishment and promotion-advancement of democracy in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Dubai, Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria? These are nations where single individuals and or families have dominated and colonized political space for decades, with winks and nods and active encouragements by and from western nations which are only interested in free flow of oil and the protections and preservation of their parochial and myopic interests.

Western nations have historically and perennially mouthed so-called western ideals a la democracy, due process, the rule of law and human rights, and yet, when the chips are down, and when it is time for these same Western nations to put their monies where their mouths are, they have always preferred to undermine, subvert and rather truncate democracy and good governance in the hot pursuit of their national and strategic interests, based on expediencies and exigent and ad hoc worldview.

This repeated concave and shortsightedness have often backfired historically. Think Cuba, Chile, Iran, and Afghanistan.

The first salvo was fired today, led by the French, Britain and America, albeit, with tacit and arguably feeble support from the Arab League and the African Union. It is extremely shameful to see how often expedient Western interests trumps and trounces so-called ideals.

The question which should be on everyone’s lips, therefore, is, why Libya? If Libya, why not Somalia, Sudan, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, and Saudi Arabia? I hold all dictators and tyrants in equal contempt and disdain, and it is irrelevant whether such dictatorships or tyrannies are theocratic, monarchical or military.

Libya possesses the highly valued crude oil, a particularly less sulfuric version, known as the "sweet crude," a West Texas Intermediate sibling or equivalent.

Libya’s resources and strategic geographic location, makes Libya a launching pad for the new scramble for resource on the African continent and Middle East region by Western nations.


"Speaking Truth To Empower."

[Brian4Liberty]

Part III, Q&A:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l22O33KyWa4

[Brian4Liberty]

Part III, Q&A:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l22O33KyWa4

At 6:45 in that video, someone asks him about "peak oil", and if it is an Oil Company "conspiracy". Interesting answer, from someone who specialized in fudging statistics for the corporatocracy.

[Travlyr]

+ rep

Thanks. Good interview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTbdnNgqfs8

Part III, Q&A:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l22O33KyWa4

The guy's question at 12:50 -- paraphrasing... "Are there a 'chosen people'?" And what to do about it?

The answer goes all the way back to the times of Babylon ... put an end to the debasement of currency. It is the only way. America's forefathers tried to accomplish this goal, and they were successful for nearly 75 years before it was subverted. We can finish that job in 2011.

The government schooling system does not teach the origin of money because the rulers do not want you to know the truth. It is classism at its finest ... the Queen spending a $Billion on a wedding while 20k+ people die of starvation every day ... Classism by Theft.

Ron Paul is the Master, imo. Dr. Paul addresses the root cause in this article,

“In 1792, they said they should have the death penalty for counterfeiting money, I don’t think I’ll go on the record for that, but the founders thought it was serious, I think its serious, we think it is serious so what we should do is make it illegal for the government to counterfeit money.”

I know for certain that if a Five Star General came knocking on my door asking for more silver to war against another nation, I would ask, "What did they do?", and "Are we winning?" As it now stands, the inflation tax and central banking practices make it impossible for me to ask those questions. They just take it from me and hand me the bill.

Gold, Peace, and Prosperity is the answer. Take away their funding, and they'll have to play nice.
Honest Sound Money --- FTW!

[Brian4Liberty]

I know for certain that if a Five Star General came knocking on my door asking for more silver to war against another nation, I would ask, "What did they do?", and "Are we winning?"

As he mentioned in his response to that question, companies like Haliburton would answer "hell yes, we are winning!". The underlying question is, who is "we"? The "we" is always the tight-knit group of executives and government officials that are raking in the money. He says that the executives are not "evil", they are just working under the "false assumption" that everything that is good for them personally is good for the world in general. Lloyd Blankfein comes to mind. He (and his company) scam billions, commit fraud, screw their customers, encourage government and personal debt (really the focus of Confessions...), nearly destroy the global economy, and he still thinks that he is "doing God's work". Definitely immoral, and "evil" is just a debatable term at that point.

Gold, Peace, and Prosperity is the answer. Take away their funding, and they'll have to play nice.
Honest Sound Money --- FTW!

Absolutely.

[Brian4Liberty]

A question for anyone who has read the book: do you have any information on the claim that GHW Bush "owned" United Fruit? It seems that his connection to Zapata is clear, and that Zapata had tried to take majority control of United Fruit. If they tried to take full control of United Fruit, that would imply that they had minority ownership at some point. The only information on this seems to be on Wikipedia.

Zapata Corporation (NYSE: ZAP) is a holding company based in Rochester, New York, and originating from an oil company started by a group including the former United States president George H. W. Bush. Various writers have alleged links between the company and the United States Central Intelligence Agency.
...
In 1962, Bush was joined in Zapata Off-Shore by a fellow Yale Skull and Bones member, Robert Gow.
...
Zapata, under Robert Gow's direction, sought to acquire a controlling interest in the United Fruit Company in 1969, but was outbid by AMK Corp. Robert's father, Ralph Gow, was on United Fruit's board of directors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapata_Corporation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Fruit_Company

[Travlyr]

Yesterday, after watching the videos, I went to the public library to check-out "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins, it was not available, but his newer book, "The Secret History of the American Empire" is on my desk. It looks like a promising book packed with information. I'll keep Zapata Corp and the United Fruit Company in mind as I read it.

[Brian4Liberty]

Yesterday, after watching the videos, I went to the public library to check-out "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins, it was not available, but his newer book, "The Secret History of the American Empire" is on my desk. It looks like a promising book packed with information. I'll keep Zapata Corp and the United Fruit Company in mind as I read it.

That's on my reading list too. Should be interesting, and should include something about the Banana Republics created by United Fruit (and GHW Bush?). He is certainly spilling the beans on a lot of behind the scenes activities. He also has one about the Economic Crisis that looks good: Hoodwinked.

[Matt Collins]

[KEEF]

Good video