I ran off to explore and hike nearby Kamiak Butte this morning. The trail listing noted that it’s an April—November kind of hike, but I think that’s an error; on this New Year’s Eve, I found the trail completely denuded of snow but the peak wearing its fanciest crystals. 

Remember that Friday a few weeks ago that I took off and went hiking? I discovered a while back that I like to read when I hike—or more accurately I like to listen to books as I hike. And on this particular day, I took with me John Perkins’ Confessions of an Economic Hit Man loaded up on my iDevice and set off through the trails of Zion. A bit of background: Perkins […] says he was an “economic hit man” for 10 years, helping U.S. intelligence agencies and multinationals cajole and blackmail foreign leaders into serving U.S. foreign policy and awarding lucrative contracts to American business. “Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars,” Perkins writes. Perkins writes that his economic projections cooked the books Enron-style to convince foreign governments to accept billions of dollars of loans from the World Bank and other institutions to build dams, airports, electric grids, and other infrastructure he knew they couldn’t afford. […] It was, Perkins writes, a clever way for the U.S. to expand its “empire” at the expense of Third World citizens. While at times he seems a little overly focused on conspiracies, perhaps that’s not surprising considering the life he’s led. So, first things first: anyone ever read this? Anyone ever heard of it? Anyone have a compelling argument to counter this guy’s claims? Cause y’all, if this guy isn’t smoking crack, then this stuff is crazy scary. I hear Canada is nice, though.
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Remember that Friday a few weeks ago that I took off and went hiking? I discovered a while back that I like to read when I hike—or more accurately I like to listen to books as I hike. And on this particular day, I took with me John Perkins’ Confessions of an Economic Hit Man loaded up on my iDevice and set off through the trails of Zion.

A bit of background:

Perkins […] says he was an “economic hit man” for 10 years, helping U.S. intelligence agencies and multinationals cajole and blackmail foreign leaders into serving U.S. foreign policy and awarding lucrative contracts to American business. “Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars,” Perkins writes.
Perkins writes that his economic projections cooked the books Enron-style to convince foreign governments to accept billions of dollars of loans from the World Bank and other institutions to build dams, airports, electric grids, and other infrastructure he knew they couldn’t afford. […] It was, Perkins writes, a clever way for the U.S. to expand its “empire” at the expense of Third World citizens. While at times he seems a little overly focused on conspiracies, perhaps that’s not surprising considering the life he’s led.

So, first things first: anyone ever read this? Anyone ever heard of it? Anyone have a compelling argument to counter this guy’s claims? Cause y’all, if this guy isn’t smoking crack, then this stuff is crazy scary.

I hear Canada is nice, though.