John Perkins, author of Hoodwinked and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, blames Iceland’s economic collapse on the tactics of economic hit men from multi-national corporations .
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Economic hit man John Perkins has confessed the sins of predatory politicians and analyzed the reasons for the current meltdown. A reformed economist, he warns that returning to our “normal” blueprints for the global economy would prove disastrous. Perkins details the steps to transform “the mutant form of capitalism” into a system based on sustainability and justice. – Commonwealth Club
John Perkins spent three decades as an Economic Hit Man, business executive, author, and lecturer. He lived and worked in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and North America. Then he made a decision: he would use these experiences to make the planet a better place for his daughter’s generation. Today he teaches about the importance of rising to higher levels of consciousness, to waking up – in both spiritual and physical realms – and is a champion for environmental and social causes. He has lectured at universities on four continents, including Harvard, Wharton, and Princeton.
via FORA.tv
Correa-Rafael
Neoliberalism and the Dynamics of Capitalist Development in Latin America By James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer
By James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer
Axisoflogic.com
Thursday, Nov 19, 2009
Editor’s Note: All those interested in the political, economic and social directions being taken by the people and governments of Latin American states will do well to invest time in reading this treatise by James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer. Those who think they understand the future of the left on the continent may be surprised by what is happening in countries ranging from right wing governments such as Colombia to leftist states like Venezuela after reading this document. Time and energy given to building socialism and combatting the Global Corporate Empire everywhere in the world will be informed by neo-capitalist movements across Latin America. This analysis deserves careful study.
– Les Blough, Editor
(Editing and emphases added by Axis of Logic)
An analysis of the dynamics of capitalist development over the last two decades has been overshadowed by an all too prevalent “globalization” discourse. It appears that much of the Left has bought into this discourse, tacitly accepting globalization as an irresistible fact and that in many ways it is progressive, needing only for the corporate agenda to be derailed and an abandonment of neoliberalism. This is certainly the case in Latin America where the Left has focused its concern almost exclusively on the bankruptcy of “neoliberalism”, with reference to the agenda pursued and a package of policy reforms implemented by virtually every government in the region by the dint of ideology if not the demands of the global capital or political opportunism. In this concern, imperialism and capitalism per se, as opposed to neoliberalism, have been pushed off the agenda, and as a result, excepting Chavéz’s Bolivarian Revolution, the project of building socialism has virtually disappeared as an object of theory and practice.
Ecuador: The Tribes vs. Chevron-Texaco + Ecuador wants money not to drill in Amazon
linktv
October 27, 2009
More at http://www.linktv.org/latinpulse
(Latin Pulse: October 27, 2009) Thousands of people representing Ecuador’s indigenous tribes are suing Chevron-Texaco over the pools of toxic wastewater the company left behind. Following Chevron-Texaco’s 30 years of profit from indigenous lands and resources, the tribes are seeking 27.3 billion dollars from the California-based corporation for the clean-up. We talk with Joe Berlinger about his new film on the case, Crude, and with Amazon Watch about the worst environmental disaster since Chernobyl. But Chevron-Texaco is not the only problem for the indigenous communities of Ecuador; the native population is taking to the streets, demanding a seat at the negotiating table with the government in order to contest other proposed developments on their territories.
Venezuela, Honduras, Peru, Ecuador: Media Lies and “Oversights” by Eric Toussaint
by Eric Toussaint
www.globalresearch.ca, October 23, 2009
CADTM
It may be useful to assess the dangers of the systematically hostile attitude of the overwhelming majority of major European and North American media companies in relation to the current events taking place in Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela. This hostility is only matched by an embarrassed, complicit silence with regard to those involved in the putsch in Honduras or the repression enacted by the Peruvian army against the indigenous populations of the Amazon.
In order to demonstrate this statement, here are a few recent facts: Continue reading
Latin America’s Twenty-First Century Socialism in Historical Perspective By James Petras
By James Petras
Axisoflogic.com
Sunday, Oct 11, 2009
Introduction
The electoral victory of center left regimes in at least three Latin American countries, and the search for a new ideological identity to justify their rule, led ideologues and the incumbent presidents to embrace the notion that they represent a new 21st century version of socialism (21cs). Prominent writers, academics and regime spokespeople celebrated a totally new variant of socialism, as completely at odds with what they dubbed as the failed 20th century, Soviet-style socialism. The advocates and publicists of 21cs claims of a novel political-economic model rested on what they ascribed as a radical break with both the free market neo-liberal regimes which preceded, and the past “statist” version of socialism embodied by the former Soviet Union as well as China and Cuba.
In this paper we will proceed by examining the variety of critiques put forth by 21cs of both neo-liberalism and 20 century socialism (20cs), the authenticity of their claims of a novelty and originality, and a critical analysis of their actual performance.
Viva la Evolucion with Noam Chomsky
AlJazeeraEnglish
July 30, 2009
A new Latin America is emerging on the global political stage.
Marwan Bishara and guests analyse how the Obama administration may deal with Latin America and what the relations will mean on a global level. Featuring an exclusive interview with Noam Chomsky.
Chavez: US plans to invade Venezuela through Colombia
compiled by Cem Ertür
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
30 June 2009
US military presence in the Americas (2009) by David Vine
1) Venezuela Prepares Defense Against Potential U.S. Aggression from Colombia (24 July 2009)
2) Venezuela Reviews Relations with Colombia as More US Bases Established (21 July 2009)
3) U.S.: Honduras Coup a “Lesson” for Zelaya Not to Follow Venezuela’s Path (23 July 2009)
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http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4657
excerpts from: Venezuela Prepares Defense Against Potential U.S. Aggression from Colombia
by James Suggett, Venezuela Analysis, 24 July 2009
In response to Colombia’s “unfriendly” decision to expand the U.S. military presence on Colombian bases, Venezuela will strengthen its fleet of armored vehicles and increase its military presence along its border with Colombia, President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday.
“You are opening your house to an enemy of your neighbor… and the neighbor has the right to say that it is an unfriendly act,” Chavez said to the Colombian government. […]
[…] Chavez warned a group of Venezuelan military officers during a ceremony at Fort Tiuna in Caracas that the U.S. military buildup in Colombia would likely bring more “mercenaries, spy planes, the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency], and paramilitaries” to South America. […] He asserted that the U.S. “has plans to invade Venezuela,” and “wants to convert Colombia into the Israel of Latin America.”
The president also raised questions about why Venezuelan opposition leaders, including the mayor of Metropolitan Caracas and the governors of two states on the border with Colombia, Zulia and Tachira, had met with White House officials in Washington D.C. earlier in the week, shortly after the Honduran elite had carried out a military coup and the U.S. was increasing its military presence in Colombia.
“The extreme right sectors continue to conspire,” said Chávez. “They were there in the White House and the OAS [Organization of American States] practically asking for Venezuela to be intervened in, that’s what they want.”
Rafael Correa on Global Capitalism
Democracy Now!
June 29, 2009
Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa on Global Capitalism, Why He Won’t Renew the US Base in Manta, Chevron in the Amazon, Obama’s War in Afghanistan, and More
In a national broadcast exclusive, we speak with the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa. He was in New York attending the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development. In a wide-ranging interview, we speak with President Correa about global capitalism, his decision not to renew the license for the US military base in Manta, the $12 billion lawsuit against Chevron brought by thousands of Amazon residents for toxic oil pollution, Ecuador’s relationship with Colombia, and his advice to President Obama: “To learn more and come to better understand the region, and that [Obama] not let himself be taken along by the power of certain media outlets that are comprised with certain ideological fundaments, that the heroes are not necessarily heroes and the villains are not necessarily villains.” [includes rush transcript–partial]
The Presidential Interview: Ecuador’s Correa by Greg Palast (video)
http://www.GregPalast.com
Greg Palast get’s the exclusive English interview with this controversial new Latin American president.
Ecuador: Rumble in the Jungle (videos; Palast)
GregPalastOffice
February 14, 2008
Investigative Journalist Greg Palast files this report from the rainforests of Ecuador, where an indigenous tribe is suing Chevron for $12 billion for contaminating the Amazon. We also play part of Palast’s interview with Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa.
