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"we decided to live with workers in their village and
restrict ourselves to their wages – 1.25 a day. in one month leslie lost 15
pounds and jim lost 25 pounds. we lived in a 9x9 cement box with no furniture and
no air conditioning in the sweltering tropical climate. we slept on thin mats.
the floor has a constant layer of ash and grit from burning garbage, factory
pollution and car exhaust. the toilets drained into open sewers on both sides
of every street. the village was infested with fist-sized cockroaches and the
biggest rats i have ever seen. if we want soap or toothpaste we had to eat
less. you work “[things] are no better for workers now than they were in
2000, despite Nike’s attempt to make the public think otherwise. workers are
still forced to make decisions like ‘eat or let my child eat.’ the last
time we were in indonesia, a nike factory worker whom we had interviewed since
2000 and who had worked in a Nike factory for eight years came to greet
us. she gave us a solemn hug, a strained half-smile and said forcefully, ‘nothing’s
changed.’ the women and men working 6-7 days a week for multi-billion dollar
corporations are sometimes forced to eat rice and salt for their two
meals a day. in the 1990s Nike responded to criticism by saying critics
didn’t know what they were talking about, and factories were subcontracted,
therefore [it was out of their hands.] by 2002 Nike executives were
following us around the US at the colleges and high schools where we gave
lectures. meanwhile, the same problems, starvation wages, bathroom
breaks limited twice a day, verbal, physical, and sexual
abuse, threats and threats to union organizers continue in Nike
factories around the world." from an email from
leslie and jim filmmakers who tried living like Nike workers
all above from
a secret history of the american empire by john perkins |
|
A.
tedious and
dangerous – interlocking
board memberships
linked
below is a highly selective collection of paragraphs and diagrams from a deadly
tedious government report that was motivated by single a congressman and
that in its entirety, largely consisting of lists of names arranged under
various categories, came to almost a thousand pages. we should receive a medal
for wading through this junk out of the goodness of our little hearts.
SUBPOENAS WHERE NECESSARY,
which resulted in CONTRACTED LEGAL BATTLES.
IMPOSSIBLE.
“maybe
far more concentrated than it has been presumed to be,”
and may “influence government policies.”
|
|
B.
CORPORATOCRACY O.K. FOLKS - IT'S "READ MY LIPS" TIME - TURN OFF THE TV. it is shown below and on page # 8 - "military" - that war is always about economics. many examples were given of the so called "free world" plundering the rest of the planet. this is only purpose, as described on page # 6, of the "world trade organization", the "international monitary fund," and the "world bank." THERE IS A NEW GAME IN TOWN. as the above section indicates, corporate conglomerates have become MUCH LARGER THAN THE PUBLIC IS AWARE OF.
before, governments and corporation worked hand in glove.
the little people had no idea of the massive influence of companies. or how their lives are literally endangered. the new truth is that NATIONS ARE OBSOLETE.
corporations span the world.
this is the only
real thing - everything else is a smoke screen. they don’t
look like governments, but there’s always an economic
“policy,” a term used to confer RESPECTIBILITY, as if they were a government with public concerns, behind which is an UNENDING DESIRE for more and more profit.the corporatocracy – is composed of combined business, government, and media.
the credo is: SECRECY ABOVE ALL ELSE.
while they teach you to scoff at “conspiracies.”THE NEW ORDER • there is a revolving door between business and government. • there are no ELECTIONS and no TERMS OF SERVICE.
• wholly artificial, lying, “negotiated” economic forecasts are THE MAJOR tool of EMPIRE. “economic forecasts are stronger than the swords of crusaders.” • “economic hit men” pave the way for corporations. if they are unsuccessful, “jackals” arrange assassinations or coups - to the cry of “drugs, communists, and subversive foreign aid.” • greedy rulers are subverted with personal wealth, who give the people no say, and let companies have their way. • under the guise of “help”, debts are incurred which are impossible to repay. THE UGLY SIDE • in “small” wars, war is spurred on and prolonged – so that arms sales and unregulated businesses in war zones have free reign – mining, oil and gas. • in “official” wars, the WAR MACHINE is a SUCCESS WHETHER OR NOT a war is won, which is why failed policies are not changed. • NATURAL DISASTER are like wars – PROFITABLE – with nothing for the poor. • corporations back up central control by the “official, rightful” governments – even when rebels are fighting a desperate battle against BRUTAL OPPRESSION. • national militaries the world over are owned by multinationals. THE DETAILS • it looks so beneficent when debts are “forgiven,” but there is NEVER ANY getting out from under. • “restructuring” is required of the recipient nation in order to “stabilize the economy,” but this really only ensures a permanently poor workforce. as is described on page # 6 - "w.t.o./i.m.f./world bank," the main requirements for loans are cutting funds for education and social services - including HEALTH, and raising rates for basic needs. • aid is ALWAYS designed after western economic structures, where large corporations, • on the SUCCESSFUL WESTERN practice
• no matter what the local conditions and culture, the emphasis is on “infra-structure”:• make the decisions FOR governments and reap ALL the profits. • roads
• these are all things that turn a profit for the “helping” companies. • power • mass agriculture • mass transportation – harbors, shipping, trucking, railroads • industries that produce for an international market • when policies fail, the roads and power are there for the next step in exploiting the country. • ROADS are central to exploiting natural resources. they allow the movement of HEAVY MACHINERY and RAW MATERIALS, whether going in OR out, and are of NO USE to the poor residents. THE LONG TERM EFFECTS • there is a clear, long HISTORICAL RECORD of RAPING THE LAND. • the natural landscape is DEVASTED: land is turned BARE, FORESTS are DESTROYED, WATERSHEDS POISONED, ecologies and animal habitats millions of years old are PERMANENTLY disrupted.
• people are TORN FROM THEIR ROOTS, utterly destroying ENTIRE CULTURES – but this is called “relocating for their own benefit.” • CRISES policies have a failure rate of at least FITY PERCENT – while always MAKING PROFITS. in the 1997 an imf crises was caused by its own policies. south korea, thailand, indonesia, laos, and the philippines were devastated and left in massive debt. cruelly, the poor of these countries were left even poorer. the analysis of their micro-economies is not difficult. having begun on a subsistence level, basic needs – food, fuel, and water - are now more expensive. the “rescue plan” of “structural aid adjustment” deliberately let local businesses fail. this caused a recession in europe, south america, and the usa. those countries who rejected the plan did best – china, india, taiwan, singapore, and malaysia switched course and regained ground. MADNESS IS SUPPORTED BY INDIFFERENCE corporations are dependant on: • public subsidies
while executives receive, for managing this MAGIC SHOW:• exemptions • massive advertising • massive lobbying • complex transportation • complex communication • inflated salaries
• perks • golden retirement parachutes • tax deductions all underwritten by taxpayers, or in other words, suckers. underneath it all is the indifference of the common people, who have not yet learned to look beyond their three square meals a day to the brutal source of their prosperity. • NGOs - WELL MEANING FOOLS - “teaching farmers to farm.” NGOs, “non-governmental agencies,” are a rising force in world affairs, but are part of the scheme, consciously or otherwise. they create publicity that forestalls real peace, are arrogant, waste money, and spread an illusion of concern when little is accomplished. they have less knowledge than local people about what is needed or practical, the majority of programs are not requested, initiated or managed by locals, but are run by highly paid foreigners that live apart from the local population. they do not recognize or attempt to remedy the MOST MAJOR FACTORS in people's economic lives: • EXPOITIVE UPPER CLASSES and RULERS • UNFAIR TRADE POLICIES. farmers are persuaded to change from traditional to cash crops, then they become dependant on foreign fertilizers, pesticides and seeds. collective farm organizations are often owned by foreigners. an example: aid groups even worked with the world wide giant monsanto to change mali’s constitution to allow GMOs, then subsidies to american farmers destroyed mali’s market. EXAMPLES • the atmosphere of latin america • paraguay shelters nazis.
• bolivia is worse than ecuador for native peoples. like suharto, its leaders both invest and bank a fortune in the usa and europe, while letting the multinationals plunder the country. • columbia is a centerpiece of corporatocracy success, with an entirely mercenary army. • in december 1989 panama, a country without an army, is attacked, and two thousand people die, and whole neighborhoods are destroyed yet never receive aid to rebuild. noriega’s files were deliberately bombed. he had refused to let the usa reinstate the “school of the americas” – an institution that trains central and south american agents in propaganda, insurgency and torture. “that’s a good one,” he chortled, “we’ll have to get the
word out that we can arrange slow deaths.” • all of these presidents were assassinated or overthrown by the CIA: • guatemala – arbenez
in the 1950s jacob arbenez instituted land reforms, where before 3 percent of the population had owned 70 percent of the land. the major interest in the area was United Fruit, which drove a massive publicity campaign to both the people and congress of the usa, claiming communism was immanent. in 1953 the CIA orchestrated a coup, american planes bombed the capitol, and the right wing colonel carlos castilla was installed. he began a brutal crack down, jailing thousands, and reversed all land policies. in the 1980s 100,000 people died in an attempted revolution.• brazil – goulart • bolivia – estensorro • chili - allende • equador – roldos • panama - torrijos • guatamala “if bechtel wants a job, don’t even bother to bid.”
– an executive from a different company • in cochabamba, third largest city of bolivia, which has some of latin america’s poorest residents, the water contract was granted to just one company – bechtel. some water rates rose 300 PERCENT, while people were LEGALLY PROHITED FROM GATHERING RAINWATER. riots ensued, and bechtel demanded protection for facilities and personnel, but the president nullified the contract. for more examples, some pretty hideous, from a collection of essential passages from the book "the secret history of the american empire," |
C. try to keep in mind that these are not abstractions, that all these facts apply to just a single corporation.
sick and scary next time you hear someone say, “well, they’re cheap,” remind them of all these facts. there’s a really good reason why their products are cheap. this is not only not a joke, it is really SICK and SCARY. these people have NO CONSCIENCE whatsoever. is this the way THE WHOLE WORLD will go? two major points: 1. it is not just that wal-mart is a business behemoth of a size never seen before, but that in doing so IT SIMULTAINIOUSLY PROMULGATES THE TRASHIEST FORM OFCULTURE. food, clothing, entertainment, and home goods are in the poorest taste and horribly made. 2. wal-mart, like most mega-corporations, is not just competitive or cost cutting, but in their employees relations are TOTAL BASTARDS, employing practices that are both INSIDIOUS and TOALLY ILLEGAL. • by extension, this applies to THEIR SUPPLIERS, who employ people who are already the poorest in the nation.
• by extension overseas, this applies to SWEAT SHOPS. – or in other words –
SLAVERY. • this whole scheme could exist ONLY WITH GOVERNMENT COLLUSION.
• it uses TOTALLY ILLEGAL “OFF THE CLOCK” working hours, which is DEMANDED OF THE VERY POOR UNDER THE PRESSURE OF LOSING THEIR JOB.
• tactics include LOCKING THE DOORS SO EMPLYEES CANNOT LEAVE. • managers are told to FALSIFY WORK HOURS OR LOSE THEIR JOB, • by adjusting hours BY COMPUTER in the PAYROLL DEPARTMENT. • “off the clock” theft in TEXAS ALONE amounts to 300 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. • there are cases pending in TWENTY FIVE STATES. • wal-mart has already paid 500 MILLION DOLLARS in a class action suit in colorado. • wal-mart paid 400,000 DOLLARS involving a suit in JUST ONE STORE in new mexico. just general bastards • it pressures SUPPLIERS to “cut production costs,” which always means
• LOWER WAGES • LONGER HOURS • for FEWER EMPLOYEES • and FEWER BENEFITS • overseas, this means to
BEAT DOWN THE SWEAT SHOP WORKERS EVEN MORE
than they are to begin with.
this NOT A VAGUE GERERALITY.
wal-mart
REGULARLY SENDS EMMISARIES to overseas companies to pressure owners. • it DESTROYS WHOLE COMPANIES – throwing all their employees out of work – by:
• OVERNIGHT cutting all orders from companies that depend on sales to wal-mart. • employing PREDATORY pricing to ELIMINATE COMPETITION. this is the totally illegal practice of underpricing competition. • it has a STANDARD POLICY of AGGRESSIVELY trying to sway ZONING BOARDS and LOCAL ELECTIONS and REFERENDUMS with a MASSIVE INPUT of CASH, LAWYERS, and ADVERTISING. • it influenced state highway construction near its headquarters, in what was ONCE A RURAL AREA, to build MAJOR NEWHIGHWAYS without regard to THE ECOLOGY OR THE LOCAL RESIDENTS.
a real humdinger • it took out LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES on its employees WITHOUT THEIR CONSCIOUS CONSENT, the COMPANY BEING THE BENIFICIARY, and with a TAX DEDUCTION ON THE PREMIUMS.
• consent being in convoluted legalese in the fine print of their employment contracts. this made employees OF MORE VALUE DEAD THAN ALIVE.
after a great deal of adverse publicity, it SAYS it no longer does this.there were 350,000 SUCH POLICIES. |
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