On March 1, 2008, the Colombian state, under the leadership of Uribe, Vice-President Francisco Santos Calderón, and his cousin Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos, illegally deployed a military campaign within Ecuador, which resulted in the deaths of Raúl Reyes, Julian Conrado, and fifteen other combatants associated with the FARC-EP. Such actions are a clear display of the US-backed-Colombian state’s open negation of international codes of conduct, law and social justice.

Now in analyzing a situation like this, one must be careful, because there are so many different forces at work here (aren’t there always). The key is understanding the dynamics of the United States and Colombian relationship. The United States government, in all its wisdom, has decided countless times since its inception to back a country whose political system is much less than a democracy, in order to further its own goals. In this case, the War on Drugs has resulted in the United States pouring military aid into Colombia’s government, in the hopes it will use the money to help capture some of the top drug dealers in the region. This is what led to the capture of Pablo Escobar, as documented in the book,Killing Pablo . Last year, the United States government gave Colombia $615.9 Billion in military aid and $756.5 Billion economic and social aid (Source). Now it appears that the American support includes maintaining the Colombian dictatorial regime through the elimination of any rebel groups, the biggest of which is the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, in response to the March 1 attacks, actually went ahead and labeled Colombia the “Israel of Latin America” during his weekly Sunday talk show Aló Presidente. In response, Chavez has moved thousands of troops to the Venezuelan and Colombian border. While this could be saber-rattling, Chavez is certainly not taking this lightly. In economic terms, the two countries do around $6 billion in trade every year. Chavez is unlikely to risk that over something which did not take place on his soil, but who knows. Tracking some of the Latin American ETFs, such as ILF and GML, clearly shows a downward trend this week (Although ILF remains on a tear, up a remarkable 48.75% so far this year). For investors in Latin America, this issue cannot have demonstrated any more clearly the axiom, no risk, no reward. The market volatility is high and so are diplomatic tensions. Neither are good for the people of Latin America – I’ll keep a close eye on this one from here on out.

… encourage world leaders to become part of a vast network that promotes U.S. commercial interests. In the end, those leaders become ensnared in a web of debt that ensures their loyalty. We can draw on them whenever we desire – to satisfy our political, economic or military needs. In turn, they bolster their political positions by bringing industrial parks, power plants, and airports to their people. The owners of U.S. engineering/construction companies become fabulously wealthy.

Wow, does that blow my mind. I mean, we all knew the United States was leveraging its position as a global power player to force smaller countries to do its bidding, but this is on a scale never before imagined.

The very first question out of my (and it seems everyone else’s) mind is, is this guy for real? A quick look on Amazon brings up the fact that Perkins is also the author of books such as “Psychonavigation: Techniques for Travel Beyond Time” and “Shapeshifting: Techniques for Global and Personal Transformation”. They are spirituality related books, and while I certainly don’t think that should have any relevance, many do. I suppose everything you read these days should be taken with a grain of salt!

Moving along, the book is divided into four parts, with each part representing a different period of time. Part I includes the years 1963 to 1971, and covers the story of how Perkins ended up joining the Peace Corps and going to Ecuador, being trained to become an EHM (economic hit man, get with it) by a beautiful and mysterious woman named Claudine, and his first major assignment, Indonesia. Perkins worked for an engineering company called Chas T Main Inc., which similar to Halliburton and Kellog, Brown, and Root, represented some of the major engineering companies who benefited from the work of the EHMs.

Part II deals with the Panama Canal and Saudi Arabia. Again Perkins tells of his exploits in the region, how the America companies exploited the poor indigenous cultures, and especially about his fascination with Omar Torrijos, president of Panama. I am very much interested in global politics and finance, so this book was very interesting just because it let me peer into a world that most Americans would normally have no idea about. Perkins points out how the indigenous people, while poor, may be happier than us, because “.. the wealthiest cultures in human history are plagued with the highest rates of suicide, drug abuse, and violence”. The author makes many salient points throughout the book, but the switching between historically/culturally relevant stories, global macroeconomic lessons, and personal revelations does not always go smoothly. Several times I found myself wishing the story would be over or the personal awakening would pass – I suppose I was hoping for more of a financial/economic focus in the book.

Part III covers the time period between 1975-1981. During this time, Perkins was dealing with the Shah of Iran, Columbia, and Ecuador. Columbia has had a very storied history, and those wishing to investigate Columbian history (and the drug wars specifically) should read a book called Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World’s Greatest Outlawby Mark Bowden.

Part IV is 1981 to the present. The two biggest events that took place were the deaths of the Panamanian president, Omar Torrijos, and the death of the Ecuadorian president, Jaime Roldos. Both were populist presidents loved by the lower and middle class, but shared in their refusal to bow down to the “corporatocracy” (The combination of corporations, banks, and governments all looking to further global empire, as Perkins describes it) interests of American empire. For this, says Perkins, the CIA assassinated them.

This book is a fast and easy read. Clocking in around 220 pages, you could finish this in a few days if you really put your mind to it. The question, though, would be is this book really worth your time? Maybe if you really had no clue about the America empire this book would help open your eyes, or if you were fascinated by world politics and economics (like me), but for the well read historically informed citizen this book merely repeats what you already know. However, many people have not peered into this historical period and may benefit from the lessons that Perkins hands down. This book is full of fascinating history, interesting stories of political figures, and even with the duplicative nature of Perkins’ remorseful stories, I would still recommend it to friends (And isn’t that the true test of any book). Stay tuned for my next book review, Global Financial Warriors, by John B. Taylor.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Yes I make a little bit of money if you buy the book, thanks for asking.

To me, the answer to both questions revolves around the consumption driven society we live in and the need for corporations to continue to push products and services to us, so that they can increase their bottom line and keep profits rising. If the American people collectively decided they were not going to rush out and buy the latest US Weekly to find out about what Paris is doing, or to spend $12 at the movies to be entertained for a few hours, or even to buy $200 tickets to a football game so they can see their favorite players in person, what would it do to our economy? Well the way things are setup now the economy would certainly suffer. Therefore, corporations have setup vast noise machines to ensure that what they feel should be relevant to Americans is relevant – and these noise machines are working.

Furthermore, human beings being inherently social animals, we feel a certain comfort in social interaction with our peers. The easiest way to establish ourselves as relevant members of the community is to show that we have just as much knowledge as other people in regards to what society considers important enough for everyone to have to pay attention to – in this case, celebrities, sports, and movies. (Obviously there could be many more, but those get the point across). Therefore we can sit and have a wonderful discussion about the latest big movie with just about anyone in America. This is also possible because we are all fed the same movies, celebrity news, and sports – someone in LA and someone in New York can watch the same movie, the same news about Paris Hilton, and the same NCAA championship game and converse about it.

Image by: Lee Prouten

However, that doesn’t go all the way to explaining the second question – because it seems as if the discussion (as it does in many other countries) would shift to something that has an impact on our everyday lives such as healthcare, taxes, or the next election. In America we are so afraid to contemplate real social issues with our neighbors for fear that we would offend one another and lose that social bond that we love so much. We sit complacent about war, money wasted, lack of healthcare, and a myriad of other problems currently affecting our great nation; and while these might not seem to have a direct affect on our lives, say that to the people who died on September the 11th. Those deaths were the result of American policies perpetuated by the Government designed to increase America’s status as a superpower and relegate lesser countries to mere pawns (This is further proved by the book I’m currently reading called Confessions of an Economic Hit Man – good so far!).

So what can we do? The only solution is to bring back coherent discussions on what truly affects and shapes our lives. We cannot afford to be fixated upon drunken celebrities stumbling around hopelessly trying to find a purpose for their own meager lives; instead we should focus on those politicians and people who have the true power to use America’s great wealth for the betterment of her people and not for the betterment of the “corporatocracy” (As John Perkins puts it). So go out, say hi to your neighbor, and ask them if they favor universal health care, something that every other developed country in the world has for its citizens. Or ask them if they favor billions in non-compete contracts for Halliburton and Kellogg, Brown, and Root – I bet I know the answer!

Of course, the credit for the original concept is largely given to Neal Stephenson, whose book Snow Crashpresented the first virtual world (Stephenson called it a “Metaverse”) where people simply logged in from home and through a headset visually interacted with other people in a 3D environment.

What could the advent of Home and A Second Life do to our civilization? Perhaps it could make it a more bearable, enjoyable world to live in, if people could work regular jobs during the day (Stephenson’s main character, Hero Protagonist, starts off the novel as a pizza delivery guy) and jack-in to these virtual worlds at night to relieve the stress and anxiety they carry with them in the real world. Virtual worlds would be an excellent environment for psychologists to test out new ideas about how people interact with one another and a plethora of other ideas.

This new technology is amazing, and the virtual environment within Second Life looks very realistic – predictably, the two biggest industries are sex and gambling (from a cursory look at the most popular locations) but since the users themselves generate the content, the possibilities are limitless. Reuters has even setup a journalist to monitor events within Second Life and started a Second Life News Bureau. While Home requires a Playstation 3 which may be out of reach for a great many people, Second Life has a free basic account that simply requires a computer and a broadband internet connection, something which many people worldwide already have. Indeed, according to Second Life’s website, the service already has over 4.5 million residents, 1.6 million of which have logged in during the past 60 days. The biggest question to me is, is our society ready for something like this? It would be all too easy to build up a virtual life that is a great deal better and more fulfilling than our regular lives, and simply stay jacked in as long as possible. Reports of gamers becoming addicted to various online multiplayer games such as World of Warcraft (called MMORPGs, or Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games – say that 5 times fast!) are already becoming widespread, and this element of a virtual life would take the possibility of total immersion and addiction to your computer one step further.

However, in the end, this is an extremely viable business model, which at the same time would enable millions, even billions, of people worldwide to interact in a never before possible manner. New monetary systems, political frameworks, and educational endeavors would all be possible. Business meetings between people on opposite ends of the Earth would be easy and even fun. I’m cautiously optimistic about the future of online virtual environments and the upsides/downsides of interacting within one, but in the end, this just has too much potential. In Part 2 of this post, I will examine the financial/business side of Second Life specifically (since Home has not yet been released) and how it has the potential to revolutionize world commerce!

PS. For more information, check out the Wikipedia entry on Second Life or the Wikipedia entry on Playstation’s Home.

Well I’ll tell you! If you’re not making more money each year, you’re going to be able to purchase fewer and fewer goods and services due to inflation. Inflation eats away at money’s purchasing power, and while inflation has hovered at figures between 2 and 3 % over the past few years, it certainly is having an affect. So if you need more money to purchase needed items, but you’re not earning more money, what are you going to turn to? If you said credit cards, then you’re just like most of America.

Credit card debt has been rising astronomically, with Wolff quoting figures that say 1 in every 7 dollars goes towards paying debt. In the same show during a later interview with Naomi Prins, Naomi mentioned that consumer debt has tripled in the last 10 years. Even worse, in 2005 Congress passed a bill designed to make it harder for consumers to file for bankruptcy, called the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. You can see how all of this wage stagnation and inflation can start a snowball effect that just gets worse and worse. This is a big reason why our lives are filled with so much stress and anxiety. America currently has the dubious distinction of having an extremely high divorce rate, between 40 and 50% of all marriages. One big reason could be the lack of purchasing power coupled with ever increasing debt placing undue hardship on relationships.

So what is there to do about all this rising debt, rising inflation, and not rising income. In my view, there is one solution that would dramatically help the American people: a solid financial education being made a required part of a high school curriculum. Too often, we are forced to sit through classes in high school that have absolutely no bearing on our future lives. I believe a simple one semester financial education on the basics of saving, taxes, loans, and other basic financial concepts would enormously help our children become familiar with important concepts in regards to money and not make the same mistakes we have. Simple lessons, such as don’t spend more with credit cards than you can afford to pay off each month, or it’s better to save up and buy your car outright instead of leasing it, could have a dramatic impact on the financial future of our younger generation.

Now this would obviously be hard to get approved by politicians, simply because it would be against the interests of the major credit card companies and banks, who all spend millions of dollars lobbying Congress to have their views known. Nobody said change was easy. However, in the long run, it could make a big different for a lot of people. Even if schools refused to setup this sort of class, perhaps a course could be initiated online that would be designed by the workers of America and whose children could participate for free. Maybe the next big website will be a collaborative learning center for children designed to make finance fun. What do you think?