Friday, March 7, 2008

'Confessions of an Economic Hitman?' - where is the proof?

Have you read 'Confessions of an Economic Hitman?

After reading it, heck, during reading it, I kept asking myself - sounds plausible but where is the actual proof? This is just one guy telling us his life experiences in the shady world of global corporations.

If you are unfamiliar with this book, see it on Amazon.com:

Perkins, a former chief economist at Boston strategic-consulting firm Chas. T. Main, says he was an "economic hit man" for 10 years, helping U.S. intelligence agencies and multinationals cajole and blackmail foreign leaders into serving U.S. foreign policy and awarding lucrative contracts to American business. "Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars," Perkins writes. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is an extraordinary and gripping tale of intrigue and dark machinations. Think John Le Carré, except it's a true story.

Perkins writes that his economic projections cooked the books Enron-style to convince foreign governments to accept billions of dollars of loans from the World Bank and other institutions to build dams, airports, electric grids, and other infrastructure he knew they couldn't afford. The loans were given on condition that construction and engineering contracts went to U.S. companies. Often, the money would simply be transferred from one bank account in Washington, D.C., to another one in New York or San Francisco. The deals were smoothed over with bribes for foreign officials, but it was the taxpayers in the foreign countries who had to pay back the loans. When their governments couldn't do so, as was often the case, the U.S. or its henchmen at the World Bank or International Monetary Fund would step in and essentially place the country in trusteeship, dictating everything from its spending budget to security agreements and even its United Nations votes. It was, Perkins writes, a clever way for the U.S. to expand its "empire" at the expense of Third World citizens.

I was curious enough to research US corporations actions around the world. Especially after reading naysayers on the Amazon review lists, smugly stating that the author does not provide any proof of his story and therefore it is all a lie.

Well....
Here is the proof on my blog:
Neocon Utopia

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2 comments:

arevolutionofone said...

Not so hard to believe. I'm sure the facts about all these loans are a matter of public record and well document. All one has to do is look at the results of each case. Whether it's intentional or de facto, it's still bad for the people of the countries involved.

h0ly said...

Heh, this is just common knowledge around here in Brazil. We spent years upon years under this FMI bullshit, to the point that "democracy" has become just a label... in practice, we were being governed by someone else.

I'm sorry to say, but really, this shouldn't be news for you guys. If so, you should take a closer look on the deeds of your own government ASAP.