So Junior Theme is still going and its never ending. However, I've finished one part of the research criteria which is ann interview. Over e-mail, I had the opportunity to ask John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, a few questions about the U.S. government's foreign aid policy. Some of his answers to my questions were really surprising. You could tell how passionate he was and how much he cares about our country and future generations. Here are a couple of the questions I asked: (bold is Mr. Perkins)



The United States claims that one of the reasons for giving foreign aid is to combat terrorism. Do you think that giving money to countries like Colombia, Pakistan, and Iraq really achieves this goal? Why?

No, it encourages terrorism which only exists on a significant scale because people are impoverished, exploited and desperate. Violence begets violence. The money ought to go toward helping the poor get better lives. That's the way to combat terrorism.

Why is there such a difference between foreign spending in the Middle East while underdeveloped countries in Africa desperately need money? Isn't one of the goals of foreign aid to reduce poverty?

Unfortunately foreign aid is about exploiting and helping the multinationals, not reducing poverty. People like you and the rest of your generation will suffer terribly from this, as it creates an unstable, unbalanced and desperate world. You and I must work to change this terrible situation.


I'm really excited to incoorperated these and the other questions into my junior theme.

Coincidence..I think not

I was watching 60 minutes today and one of the top headlines was a story about the US and world economy. Basically it was talking about how countries are pouring money into our economy to help major corporations because of our current recession. Countries like China, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi are investing billions of dollars in shares of companies such as Citigroup and other "mega banks".

This, as 60 minutes put it, "has raised troubling questions: are these mostly undemocratic regimes saving Wall Street … or invading it?"

Now doesn't this sound familiar??

If you read my last post you would have noticed that US corporations have been throwing money into underdeveloped countries and getting oil, UN votes, etc from that.

It seems as though the US is afraid they are going to be in the same cruddy boat they built for other countries.

One of the biggest worries for the US is China. China has trillions of dollars to spend and lately have been focusing their attention on the United States. Economist Peter Navarro explained "China’s pattern of behavior: its unfair trade practices, currency manipulation, technology espionage, and a refusal to crack down on counterfeiting." This seems really scary but it's hard to dismiss the fact that this is what the United States has been doing for years.

Coincidence..I think not