This is something I've been on about for a couple of years or more as some of you would have read as to why our government has little say in our financial happenings externally....and I might add many other world wide Govt's too. I ment to post this a wee while ago but lost the bugger....It's
long but well worth the read as it may enlighten some of you....make you think.

""WHY THE WORLD FINANCIAL MARKETS IMPLODED – AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO REMAKE THEM

On November 10th, John Perkins’ latest book, “Hoodwinked”(Broadway Business, 2009) – Amazon Pre-Order Link – will be released.

John Perkins has seen the signs of today’s economic meltdown before. The subprime mortgage fiascos, the banking industry collapse, the rising tide of unemployment, the shuttering of small businesses across the landscape are all too familiar symptoms of a far greater disease. In his former life as an economic hit man, he was on the front lines both as an observer and a perpetrator of events, once confined only to the third world, that have now sent the United States—and in fact the entire planet—spiraling toward disaster.

Here, Perkins pulls back the curtain on the real cause of the current global financial meltdown. He shows how we’ve been hoodwinked by the CEOs who run the corporatocracy—those few corporations that control the vast amounts of capital, land, and resources around the globe—and the politicians they manipulate. These corporate fat cats, Perkins explains, have sold us all on what he calls predatory capitalism, a misguided form of geopolitics and capitalism that encourages a widespread exploitation of the many to benefit a small number of the already very wealthy. Their arrogance, gluttony, and mismanagement have brought us to this perilous edge. The solution is not a “return to normal.”

But there is a way out. As Perkins makes clear, we can create a healthy economy that will encourage businesses to act responsibly, not only in the interests of their shareholders and corporate partners (and the lobbyists they have in their pockets), but in the interests of their employees, their customers, the environment, and society at large.

INTERVIEW BY NETTIE HARTSOCK

We had a chance to catch up with John Perkins back from his trip to Panama with Jane Goodall and Lynn Roberts of Dreamchange.org and he answered our questions about his latest book, economic hitmen and his own mission for his grandson.

John Perkins has lived four lives: as an economic hit man (EHM); as the CEO of a successful alternative energy company, who was rewarded for not disclosing his EHM past; as an expert on indigenous cultures and shamanism, a teacher and writer who used this expertise to promote ecology and sustainability while continuing to honor his vow of silence about his life as an EHM; and as a writer who, in telling the real-life story about his extraordinary dealings as an EHM, has exposed the world of international intrigue and corruption that is turning the American republic into a global empire despised by increasing numbers of people around the planet. His website is www.johnperkins.org and he’s also co-founder of www.dreamchange.org . His TWITTER ID @economic_hitman .

Nettie: Could you please describe the term economic hitmen?

John: It is a tongue-in-cheek term, like “spook” or “spy’ for a CIA agent. My real title was Chief Economist at MAIN, a firm of over 2000 professional “consultants.”

Nettie: Can you talk about how economic hitmen work in third world countries and how establishing high debt is one of the things that contributes to the power of the global empire?

John: The most common approach for EHMs is to identify a third world country with resources our corporations covet, like oil. Then arrange a huge loan to that country from the World Bank or a sister organization. But the money does not go to the country. Rather it hires US corporations to build power plants, industrial parks, and other infrastructure projects in that country. These benefit a few wealthy local families, as well as the US corporations, but do not help the majority of the people who are too poor to use electricity, not skilled enough to work in industrial parks, and basically live outside the economic system. The country ends up owing a huge debt that it can not repay. So we EHM go back to the country and say “since you can’t pay your debts, give us a pound of flesh: sell your oil real cheap to our oil companies, or vote with us on the next UN vote, or send troops to support ours in someplace like Iraq.”

On the few occasions when we fail, the jackals are sent in to overthrow the government or assassinate the leaders we EHM were unable to corrupt. This happened with me in Panama and Ecuador where Omar Torrijos and Jaime Roldos were assassinated as a result. If the jackals fail too, then the US military goes in — like in Iraq.

In this way we EHMs have created a global empire, the first in history to be developed primarily without the military.

Nettie: What are the political implications of this recession and the economics behind it? Are there things happening that the general public is unaware of in terms of the shifting of global power?

John: The geopolitics of the world has changed radically. No longer is it so much a question of countries as of corporations. We used to think of the planet as a big globe with 180 or so countries; a few of these — especially the US and USSR — influenced many others. Today, we still have 180 or so countries but we now see the power base as looking something like a group of large clouds that circle the planet. These are the corporations. They know no national boundaries, adhere to no particular laws. The strike deals with the Chinese and Taiwanese, the Israelis and Arab countries. . . We are at a time that is similar to when city states merged into nation states, except now the nations are becoming less and less important. A radical change in world politics and business is occurring.

We are at a time in history when everyone on this planet is faced with the same crises — global warming, resource shortages, rising prices. We are also — for the first time ever — highly interdependent. We communicate through the internet and cell phones with the most remote areas. We recognize that we are a fragil species living on a small planet. Now is the time for us to come together and devote ourselves to solving these problems in ways that will establish better lives for all of us, on every continent.

Nettie: Can you define corporatocracy and how it is operating in the world today and why it is dangerous?

John: It is the modern equivalent of the emperor — a leader who is not elected, does not serve a limited term, and essentially reports to no one. Today, rather than one person, we have a group, the people who run our largest and most powerful corporations; we call them the corporatocracy. As the major financiers of most political campaigns (directly and through their stockholders) and employers of powerful lobbyists, they control governments. They also control the mainstream press –through direct ownership and also advertising budgets. And because of the “revolving” policy they are constantly moving back and forth between the highest corporate and government positions. They control most of the world’s resources and institutions.

Nettie: What are some of the positive changes you see in terms of the world and how the awareness is growing in terms of these issues?

Since the publication of “Confessions” in late 2004, I have seen major changes in attitudes. One example: students. In 2005 when I dined with MBA students before my speeches at their schools and asked them to describe their goals, nearly all of them talked about making money and attaining power. In the fall
of 2008 and the ?rst half of 2009, I did not hear one student speak like this. Not one MBA student from Stanford, Columbia, Wharton, the University of Michigan, Ohio State, Boston University, Harvard, Antioch, or the China Europe International Business School. Nor did I hear it from undergraduate students at Olivet College, Regis University, St. John’s University, William Patterson University, or Wilmington College. Attitudes had changed in just three years. Not a single student who attended those dinners and other meetings with me listed as his or her primary goal the accumulation of either wealth or power. What they said instead was that they wanted to help create a better world.

Nettie: Can you talk about your personal mission and your books and why it’s important for people to take action now?

John” My mission is to create a sustainable, just, and peaceful world for my 2 year old grandson, Grant. I know that in this highly integrated world, that is only possible if every child in every country enjoys that same opportunity. This is totally new. Never before has everyone on this planet been so closely related to everyone else. We are truly interdependent. We are all impacted by the same crises: climate change, diminishing resources, over population, increasing prices for the essentials of life, and violence due to deprivation and desperation.

And, for the first time, we all know it. We are all communicating with each other, over the Internet and cell phones. We the people have always been the ones to foment change. Whether it was about getting rid of slavery, women’s rights, cleaning up polluted rivers, or ending wars (like Vietnam), we have had to force the
politicians and CEOs to do it.

Nettie: Can you talk about your transformation in terms of your mission and how you liberated yourself from being an economic hitman?

John: A very long story which is discussed in my new book, HOODWINKED (Random House/Broadway Books, November 10, 2009). Short version: I came to understand that the world we have created is no longer viable and that it is in our self-interests to alter our path.

Nettie: What can companies do to make the world a better place?

John” They must change their primary goal from “maximizing profits, regardless of the environmental and social costs” to “making profits only within the context of creating a sustainable, just, and peaceful world.” We — you and I — must commit to buying only from companies that make that commitment — and we must let them know, by sending them emails and letters.

Nettie: You also work with DreamChange – Dream Change and Pachamama Alliance – can you talk about those groups and what inspires you most in terms of your work with them?

John: I helped to found both Dream Change and The Pachamama Alliance back in the early 1990s and continue to serve on their boards. They are non-profits dedicated to creating a sustainable, just, and peaceful world. Both of them honor indigenous wisdom and ways of relating to the earth as part of their teaching tools and also help indigenous communities protect their lands and cultures from those who would exploit them, including oil, agribusiness, cattle, and timber companies. You can learn a great deal more at www.dreamchange.org and www.pachamama.org.

Nettie: How and why should corporations redefine themselves? What does it mean for a corporation to be a good citizen?

John: Ultimately, our survival on a planet any of us will recognize depends on it. So does the survival of these corporations. Once we all understand this, we will change.

Nettie: Can you talk about your new book Hoodwinked and what your mission was in terms of writing it?

John: In summary, HOODWINKED discusses the following.

As and economic hit man, I experienced today’s economic collapse before. The banking industry and sub-prime mortgage fiascos, the rising tide of unemployment, and the shuttering of businesses are all too familiar in the Third World countries where I worked. I have to say that I was both an observer and a perpetrator of events that have now sent the US – in fact the entire planet – spiraling toward disaster.

The real cause of our global financial meltdown is predatory capitalism – the mutant form of an economic system that encourages widespread exploitation of the few to benefit a small number of already very wealthy people. A new geo-politics has emerged; today the CEOs of big corporations, rather than governments, control human and natural resources around the globe, as well as politicians and the media. Their arrogance, gluttony, and mismanagement have brought us to the perilous edge. The solutions will not be “return to normal ones”.

HOODWINKED offers a way out. As I say in the book, “Unlike other empires,this one is not built primarily on the back of the military. It is subtle, market-based, and it depends on our voluntary choices. We hold the power – if we only recognize it.” HOODWINKED provides a blueprint for creating an economy that fosters a sustainable, just, and peaceful world for us and our children. It offers concrete actions each and every one of us can take..

Nettie: What do you hope to achieve with this book in terms of effecting change in the world?

John: A sustainable, just, and peaceful world — in my life-time.

END

About the Author
Nettie Reynolds is a digital strategist and teacher. Nettie works with wonderful individuals and companies from all over the world, helping them create and convey their messages to the online world. She prides herself on her diverse base of clients and her customized and unique approach to each client’s needs. Nettie provides training to kick-start e-outreach for companies and individuals and fine tuning of social media initiatives and presence. Nettie’s clients have seen millions in YouTube views, features on DailyKos, Daily Candy, NYTimes, MSNBC.com, Entreprenuer.com, Pink Magazine, Inc.com, Allbusiness.com, Wall St. Journal, BlogCritics and other leading online sites. Her clients have also been featured in notable business, fiction and non-fiction podcast shows including Total Picture Radio, Mark Amtower Direct, Blog Business World Success, Cranky Middle Manager and others.
.Featured John Perkins, Leadership, Nettie Hartosck

Does the Bilderberg mob that I posted a couple of weeks ago ring a bell !!!! then we have their bosses.

Cheers.

Yes.
Exactly.
Asset Sales.
Privatisation.
TPPA.
Corporatisation.
Big business, big agriculture, big pharmacy...

Everything we have been discussing on these threads for the last three years is supported and reinforced by the article above.

As i recall the first of the Zeitgeist movies actually interviews a EHM;

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/