Latin America Strikes Back

John Perkins’s new book HOODWINKED now available to pre-order at any on-line bookseller (order through links at http://www.dreamchange.org and a share of the price will support the nonprofit organization founded by John). Join me on Twitter - @economic_hitman .

Dear Friends,

We may feel hoodwinked by the big US banks, but the Latin Americans are striking back!

On Sept. 26, seven presidents signed the document officially starting the Bank of the South. Opening with $7 billion in capital that is expected to grow to $20 billion in coming months, the bank’s objective is to finance development projects in agriculture, energy, and health care for member nations and to boost trade throughout the hemisphere.

To a large degree this bank will replace the World Bank, IMF, USAID, and other “development” organizations that have been used by economic hit men to enrich the corporatocracy and gain control over Third World resources.

The presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela signed the document during the historic Africa-South America Summit held in Venezuela following the 2009 meetings opening the United Nations in New York.

“This is historic for the true independence of Latin America,” Ecuador’s president Correa said. “We’re done depending on the North for, on the one hand, kneeling down to ask for some dollars and, on the other, sending billions of dollars to them. We’ve had enough of that contradiction.”

As detailed in HOODWINKED, a wave is sweeping Latin America. People who have been exploited for centuries are rising up and demanding that their resources be used to lift them out of poverty. During the Africa-South America Summit, the wave spread across the Atlantic.

Now it is time for us in the US to also surf that wave!

The Film "Crude"

Subject: The film “Crude”

From: John Perkins

Dear Friends,

“Crude” is an amazing and beautifully filmed documentary about the critical lawsuit filed on behalf of 30,000 Ecuadorian people in the Amazon against Texaco/Chevron. A MUST SEE! It is now playing in NYC and LA, then soon in San Francisco and Chicago.

I urge you to see it.

Below is an email I just received from its producer, Mike Bonfiglio.

John


Hi John,

How are you? We wanted to ask you a favor -- would it be possible to send another e-mail to your list about "Crude"? The film is now playing in New York and Los Angeles, and it expands into San Francisco tomorrow and Chicago next weekend. These cities are absolutely critical to the extended life of the film and its message reaching far and wide. A full list of upcoming cities where the film will be playing can be found here: http://www.crudethemovie.com/now-playing/

Interestingly, the expansion of "Crude" is coinciding with a new development in the case -- Chevron is now suing the nation of Ecuador, in a desperate attempt to avoid what they anticipate will be a ruling against them and further delay justice:

http://tinyurl.com/y9hfrl6

John, we would so greatly appreciate it if you could get the word out again to your list -- New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago will be the keys to "Crude" having an extended life. Your support means so much.

best,
Mike

China: A Lesson in Transformation

Several times during my EHM tenure in the 1970s I stood on a hill in the New Territories outside Hong Kong and peered into China, a mysterious country I was not allowed to enter. China was locked behind a wall of secrecy. About all most of us knew was that the country was in shambles due to Mao’s Cultural Revolution.

I finally had the opportunity to visit China in June 2009.

No one back in the ‘70s believed that any country could sustain double digit economic growth for more than a couple of years and under no circumstances for a decade.

China accomplished the impossible. And then it did it again. And again. China’s economy mushroomed by an estimated ten-fold. In three decades, the most populous nation on the planet rose from the depths of poverty to become the symbol of what human determination – and capitalism – can accomplish.

We in the US seem to want to focus on China’s problems. People constantly point out the negatives, like its greenhouse gas levels recently surpassed ours (although on a per capita basis our emissions are five times greater than theirs). Driving toward my hotel in the modern Pudang district, I was certainly aware of the low-lying mist that I assumed was smog, but I have to say that I was most struck by something quite different: the profusion of trees. There were dozens of varieties of them, everywhere. Tall, short, deciduous, coniferous, some bursting with colors – red, pink, white, and yellow flowers – they covered a broad center strip that divided outgoing from incoming traffic, lined the sides of the highway, and stretched back as far as the eye could see. Many were tall; all seemed healthy – either naturally suited to the local conditions or pampered. Obviously planted, they were clustered in formations that brought to mind the formal gardens of Versailles. In addition to creating a most pleasant environment for mile upon mile, they performed another function, that of removing carbon dioxide from the air. It was my first inkling of China’s commitment to cleaning up its environment.

“Yes,” Mandy Zhang, an MBA student at the China Europe International Business School replied. CEIBS had brought me to Shanghai to speak at their Being Globally Responsible Conference and she was my host on my first evening at a restaurant near my hotel. “We are all very aware of the pollution our economic development has caused. We young people are especially determined to turn it around. Trees are one small part of the plan.”

Although the majority of the MBA students at CEIBS are Chinese, roughly 40 percent come from the United States, Europe, Latin America, and other parts of Asia. Their school was ranked among the top ten MBA programs in the world by the Financial Times in 2009 – along with Wharton, Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford.

Every time I asked them about the environment, the Chinese students agreed that cleaning it up was a priority. I was told again and again that it will happen. Economic growth had been the first goal; now the time had arrived to take care of the problems that rapid development had created. During the six days I was in Shanghai, the government announced that it would levy taxes against polluters, support a company that was developing electric cars by making plug-in stations available around much of the country, and offer rebates of approximately $4,000 (US) to customers who purchased those cars. “When the government says it will happen,” I was told time and again, “it will.”

The fact that roughly one sixth of the world’s population has turned itself so totally around in three decades signals hope for all of us. China is a land of many diverse cultures – ones that throughout history frequently fought each other; it has demonstrated the capacity we humans possess for uniting in order to realize a common cause.

Rather than fearing China or criticizing its pollution levels, we can draw on its remarkable example, encourage it to do better, and set our own goals of becoming greener than China at an even more rapid pace.

As my plane lifted off from Shanghai airport, I realized that my visit to China had inspired me with a new sense of hope. What a wonderful thing for all of us – and our children and grandchildren – if the new China motivates us in the US, and every other country, to compete to see who can become the most socially and environmentally responsible society on the planet.

May 24, 2009

“PIRACY”

Dear Friends,

We’ve been hearing a lot about terrorists and pirates for many years now; but reports about why they do what they do are just starting to filter through.

A pirate who goes by the name Abshir Abdullahi Abdi explained his reasons on NPR’s Morning Edition, on May 6, 2006. "We understand what we're doing is wrong. But hunger is more important than any other thing," he said.

NPR’s Gwen Thompkins followed up with this: “Fishing villages in the area have been devastated by illegal trawlers and waste dumping from industrialized nations. Coral reefs are reportedly dead. Lobster and tuna have vanished. Malnutrition is high.”

Amy Goodman introduced Mohamed Abshir Waldo on the April 14, 2009 edition of DemocracyNow! The autor of “The Two Piracies in Somalia: Why the World Ignores the Other?” he said:

Well, the two piracies are the original one, which was foreign fishing piracy by foreign trawlers and vessels, who at the same time were dumping industrial waste, toxic waste and, it also has been reported, nuclear waste (author’s note: from US navel vessels patrolling the oil lanes off the Somali coast). . .

And the other piracy is the shipping piracy. When the marine resource of Somalia was pillaged, when the waters were poisoned, when the fish was stolen, and in a poverty situation in the whole country, the fishermen felt that they had no other possibilities or other recourse but to fight with, you know, the properties and the shipping of the same countries that have been doing and carrying on the fishing piracy and toxic dumping. (4)

Hearing these reports about the Somali situation took me back to a morning in Nicaragua about a year ago. “Terrorism is not really an ‘ism’,” Miguel d’Escoto, the former Sandanista priest and current president of the UN General Assembly told me. “There’s no connection between the guerrillas who fought the Contras and Al Qaeda, or Colombia’s FARC and Somali pirates. That’s just a convenient way for your government to convince the world that there is another enemy ‘ism’ out there, like communism used to be.”

He and I talked about fanatics. We agreed that there would always be a lunatic fringe in the world – just as there would always be clinically insane people. “Perhaps Bin Laden is one of them,” I said. “But fanatics don’t get people to follow them unless those people are miserable, desperate.” Then I added, “I’ve often wondered about Robin Hood. He may have been a fanatic for all we know. But the Saxons had been invaded by the Normans and were abused horribly. They couldn’t even hunt deer in their own forests to feed their starving children. They would have flocked to anyone who defied the Normans and offered them hope.”

Father Miguel smiled. “And when the Normans sent the Sheriff of Nottingham to ferret Robin Hood out and destroy his band, all it did was rally the opposition. Hatred escalated.”

It seems that, in the long-run, no one benefits from attacking people who have been treated in ways they consider unjust. Violence, in such cases, begets violence. With one exception.

Those Eisenhower identified as the military-industrial complex, today’s corporatocracy, reap huge benefits. Those who build ships, missiles, and armored vehicles; make guns, uniforms and bulletproof vests; distribute food, soft drinks, and ammunition; provide insurance, medicines, and toilet paper; construct ports, airstrips, and housing; and reconstruct devastated villages, factories, schools, and hospitals – they, and only they, are the big winners.

John Perkins
New York Times Bestselling Author:
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
The Secret History of the American Empire
Shapeshifting
The World Is As You Dream It
www.JohnPerkins.org
www.DreamChange.org


(1) NPR’s Morning Edition. “In Somalia, Piracy Is An Attractive Career Option” by Gwen Thompkins, May 6, 2009. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103815312

(2) http://www.democracynow.org/2009/4/14/analysis_somalia_piracy_began_in_response

March 2009

Hi friends,

These are amazing times. We have arrived at a pivotal moment in history; we are challenged to move out of an adolescent stage of human economic development (characterized by colonialist and exploitative policies) into a mature recognition that we are a fragile species living on a small, highly interdependent planet.
In order for my grandson to hope to inherit a sustainable, just, and peaceful world every baby born in every country must have that same expectation -- and it must be realized for all. Homeland security will come only when we understand that the entire planet is our homeland.
I hope you will join me at one of the events listed below, in Seattle, San Jose, Denver, and Boulder -- so we can explore these issues together in greater depth.
Looking forward to seeing you.
John Perkins
Sun. March 29
GREEN FESTIVAL----SEATTLE, WA
1 pm talk main stage
co-produced by Global Exchange and Green America
2 pm booksigning
LOCATION: WA State Convention & Trade Center 800 Convention Place (7th and Pike)
For more information: www.greenfestivals.org
Mon. March 30
TALK & SIGNING, BRANHAM HIGH SCHOOL, SAN JOSE, CA at 7 pm
1570 Branham Lane, San Jose, CA 95118
Sponsored by Branham High School
TOPIC: "The Secret History of the American EmpireWhat Next? How to Change It"
Open to the Public: Adults $20, Students $10; seating limited to first 200 attendees
Tickets may be purchased online at Branham website;
For more information, go to www.branham.cuhsd.org or
email John Salberg at jsalberg23@yahoo.com or call 408-246-3191
Tues. March 31
TALK & BOOKSIGNING, Regis University, Denver, CO at 8 pm
LOCATION: Student Center Dining Room, Regis University
3333 Regis Blvd Denver, CO
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Sponsors: John J. Sullivan Endowed Chair for Free Enterprise at Regis University, Regis College Leadership Development Program, RegisUniversity Student Government Association.
TOPIC: Transforming Turmoil into a New Economy (1 hr.)
For more information: www.regis.edu/sullivan
Wed. April 1
LUNCHEON TALK/SIGNING- Denver, CO at 11:30 am- 1:30 pm MT
Room 333 of Main Hall at Regis University.
TOPIC: Transforming Turmoil into a New Economy.
There is a $35 fee to attend the lunch
To register for the lunch please go to www.regonline.com/john_perkins
Wed. Apr. 1
TALK and BOOKSIGNING, Boulder, CO at 7 pm MT
Sponsored by KGNU Community Radio
KGNU, 4700 Walnut Street, Boulder, CO
Open to the public; Donation requested
Contact: Joanne Cole 303-449-4885 joanne@kgnu.org

March 2009

Holiday Newsletter

Dear Friends

The new year will be a truly momentous one. Economic crises. New US president. Radically changing world. You are an essential agent of change.

Let's keep in mind the following:

For the first time in history

- every sentient being is experiencing the same crises of global warming, economic trauma, diminishing resources, vanishing species, violence due to desperation.

- we are all communicating with each other through the internet and cell phones - less than 5% of the world's population lives in the US and consumes more than 25% of the planet's resources

- geopolitics is controlled by those who run the biggest corporations (the corporatocracy); governments serve as their vehicles, not the other way around- corporations are totally dependent on us to buy their goods and services

- we the people, the consumers, hold the power to determine which corporations will succeed and which will fail; the marketplace is democratic if we choose to see it as such.

After Obama's election, I received emails from around the world congratulating the US for having the ability to change so rapidly: from a conservative White Republican 4 years ago to a liberal Black Democrat. Many reminded me that Obama keeps emphasizing that there are great challenges ahead and we all must work for change.

We All Must Work for Change!

As you do your holiday shopping realize that every time you buy something (or decide not to) you are casting a vote. It you do not purchase goods made in sweat shops, there will be no more sweat shops (or the current ones will be turned into legitimate factories where workers receive fair wages, health care, and retirement pensions). When you refuse to buy from companies like Nike because they use sweat shops, send them an email telling them so. Check out www.sweatfree.org/shoppingguide and let those companies know why you patronize them. Little steps like that will change the world. Seem simple? It is – in principle. But you MUST participate.

Every indigenous culture tells us that we are entering a period with the potential for changing human consciousness, for creating a sustainable, just, and peaceful world. But it will not be automatic. We must make it happen.

You must commit yourself to change!

Season's Greetings. Happy New Year!

With love,

John

August Newsletter

Dear Friends
I often urge you to vote every time you shop, to purchase only from companies dedicated to creating a sustainable, just, and peaceful world.
I want now to remind you of the importance of your vote in the upcoming presidential elections. We in the U.S. have a recent history of apathy. Only about half of eligible voters exercise this precious right – even during presidential election years. The 2000 election was determined by a mere 500 contested votes in Florida!
This election is extremely important. In fact, it is the most important one in my life-time. Our country is weighed down by crises that appear to threaten our very existence. Our economy is failing. We are embroiled in a senseless war. The atmosphere, water, and land suffer from terrible pollution. Global poverty is rampant. Desperation and its shadow, terrorism, have reached epidemic proportions around the world.
We must change.
We and our progeny deserve better. It is up to us to go to the polls and vote for change. We must demand leaders who will help us soar to new heights of understanding, reason, and compassion, leaders who recognize that our children and grandchildren can not inherit a sustainable, peaceful, and just world unless every child born in Watts, Calcutta, Nairobi, and La Paz also inherits such a world.
So, I ask you to take this election seriously. I ask you to vote and also to do more than that. I urge you to make a commitment to spreading the word, to making sure that at least 5 people you know who might not vote do so.
More urgent - get in touch and encourage 5 people in the Swing States to vote for the Values we believe so important - in New Hampshire, Ohio, Colorado, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Indiana.
Feel the wave of hope that is swelling up across this nation and ride that wave. Send emails to everyone in your address book. Insist that they take responsibility for the world they live in; urge them to vote. Offer to drive people to the polls, buy them lunch – do whatever it takes to get them to vote.
No apathy this year.
No excuses. No complaints. This is not a time to whine about the way your candidate voted on some issue last year or the year before.
This is such an important election. And you are faced essentially with voting for one of two choices. Each one is a human being.
Human beings are not perfect; you will find flaws in your candidate and in the system. But it is up to you to vote for the candidate you believe will devote himself to changing the system.
It is up to you to get excited.
Choose the candidate who most inspires you and make sure he will be the president who has the opportunity to inspire a nation and a world.
And one more thing. Once the election is over and your candidate has won, continue to work. Keep supporting him. And pushing him to do the right thing.
Yes. Vote every time you shop. Refuse to buy from companies that use sweat shops or degrade the environment – and let them know why. Buy from companies that are committed to producing and distributing in socially and environmentally responsible ways – and let them know why.
And go to the polls on November 4, 2008!
Vote for real change.
Your life may depend on it.
My best wishes,
John

June 2, 2008

Dear Friends,
I'm in the middle of a cross-country speaking tour. I always talk about my grandson, Grant, and the need to create a sustainable, just, and peaceful world for him -- which means doing that for EVERY child on this planet!
Imagine the pride I felt to see him and my daughter, Jessica, and son-in-law Dan featured on the front page of the Palm Beach Post.
I'd like to share that moment with you:
Palm Beach Post Article
And the full article (including a great quote from Dan, a professional gourmet chef, about preparing baby food)
Palm Beach Post - local news 
Best wishes,
John

July 7, 2008

What's Up with Free Trade in Colombia?
On radio interviews I am frequently asked about the "free trade agreement" the Bush administration is trying to hammer out with Colombia and about John McCain's recent trip to Colombia. Here's my answer in a nutshell:
Nine countries in Latin America have recently voted in presidents who are saying "no" to staying the course with international policies that allow foreign corporations to exploit human and/or natural resources. These democratically elected presidents have gone on the record of not seeking US aid but instead asking for reversals in policies, including "free trade agreements," that have been very destructive to their economies -- and resulted in a huge influx of immigrants to the US.
Colombia is a major exception. Washington's push for a new trade agreement with Colombia is an attempt to bolster the Uribe administration -- a president who is held in very low esteem throughout most of Latin America and is seen (along with Mexico's Calderón) as one of the last of the old "Washington puppets."
Uribe infuriated many Latin Americans when he illegally sent troops into Ecuador to assassinate FARC representatives who reportedly were there to try to negotiate hostage exchanges and a peace deal. I was traveling in Central America at the time and heard first-had the anger directed at the Colombian president for the way he ignored Ecuador's sovereign rights and escalated hostilities.
This "free trade agreement" is Washington's desperate attempt to shore up one of its few remaining Latin puppets and at the same time tilt the playing field even further in favor of the big corporations.
What you can do: Speak out against "free trade agreements" that are written to help multinational corporations exploit other countries. Email your representatives and the corporations whose goods and services you buy. Tell them you know that what is best for the US are strong Latin American economies where local resources are channeled to the poor through health, education and other social services.
John

July 22, 2008

Hi Friends,
I'd like to urge you to sign the petition below. It will take about 10 seconds.
A huge wave is sweeping the country -- following Al Gore's courageous call for a totally revitalized energy sector.
Please join this wave. Now is the time to serve ourselves, future generations, and Pachamama.
Thanks,
John
_______________________________________________________________________
Click below to ask Obama, McCain, and Congress to accept Al Gore's challenge: "America must commit to producing 100% of our electricity from cheap, clean renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, within 10 years."
Sign the petition
Dear MoveOn member, Al Gore took a big risk when he called on us to get 100% of our electricity from cheap, clean sources within 10 years.
It's an achievable goal, but it's already under attack from the oil and coal companies. They're calling his plan unrealistic, impossible, and crazy.1
We're in a crisis. If this is the fate of any new idea to get us out of this crisis alive, we're toast. Gore's challenge will live or die on the reaction of people like us.
We can turn back Big Oil's attack if hundreds of thousands of us personally endorse Gore's challenge to power our country with 100% cheap, clean energy within 10 years—and then we urge Obama, McCain, and Congress to get on board.
Clicking here will add your support to Gore's challenge:
MoveOn.Org
The petition says: "America must commit to producing 100% of our electricity from cheap, clean renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, within 10 years."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says "it is absolutely possible" that Congress will accept Gore's challenge. 2 But to make it happen, we'll need to show Congress just how many people want bold action.
Al Gore laid out a far-reaching yet simple plan to deal with the most pressing issues of the day. Switching to clean energy will help us survive the climate crisis. And save our souring economy. And help end the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and possibly Iran. And offer relief from high gas prices.
In Gore's words:
          "We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that's got to change."
          "But if we grab hold of that common thread and pull it hard, all of these complex problems begin to unravel and we will find that we're holding the answer to all of them right in our hand."3
That answer is a massive program to switch America to clean energy.
Crisis brings opportunity.
Solar, wind, and other clean energy sources are ready to replace oil and coal. And these abundant energy sources promise lower costs at a time when getting to work is getting too expensive for too many.
Such a simple, elegant solution. Can you make sure our country embraces change—100% renewable power in 10 years? Sign the petition to Obama, McCain, and Congress by clicking here:
MoveOn.Org
Thanks for all you do.
–Noah, Joan, Eli, Patrick S. and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Statement Regarding Former Vice President Al Gore's Speech on Climate Change," American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, July 17, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3951&id=13304-6830408-uF7aWBx&t=5
"Voinovich Finds Gore's Energy Speech 'Ridiculous,'" The Hill, July 17, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3952&id=13304-6830408-uF7aWBx&t=6
"Thinking green," Baltimore Sun, July 21, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3953&id=13304-6830408-uF7aWBx&t=7
2. "Appealing to Bloggers' Influence, Gore Asks for Help in Promoting Energy Challenge," New York Times, July 20, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/us/politics/20netroot.html
3. "Al Gore's Challenge to Repower America," July 17, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3945&id=13304-6830408-uF7aWBx&t=8
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