Book and Website List for Political and Economic Information

Global Climate Change: http://www.yaleclimatemediaforum.org/index.htm

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Politics:

 my book list:

The strategy of technology  by Jerry Pornelle and Stefan T. Possony;
http://www.jerrypournelle.com/slowchange/Strat.html

Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky

Amazon.com
Noam Chomsky is considered the father of modern linguistics. In this richly detailed
criticism of American foreign policy, he seeks to redefine many of the terms commonly
used in the ongoing American war on terrorism. Surveying U.S. actions in Cuba,
Nicaragua, Turkey, the Far East and elsewhere over the past half a century along with
the modern American war in Iraq, Chomsky indicates that America is just as much a
terrorist state as any other government or rogue organization. George W. Bush's 2003
invasion of Iraq drew worldwide criticism, in part because it seemed to present a new
philosophy of pre-emptive war and an appearance of global empire building. But
according to Chomsky, such has been the operating philosophy of American foreign
policy for decades. Opponents of the Bush administration's tactics consistently point
out how the American government supported Saddam Hussein for many years prior to the
1990 invasion of Kuwait (pictures of Donald Rumsfeld shaking Saddam's hand are easy
to come by) as a means of pointing out how the United States is happy to fund despots
when it's in American interests. But Chomsky, armed with extensive historical
notation, takes this notion further, arguing how the repression of other nations'
citizenry is, in fact, the very reason Americans support certain foreign leaders. The
charges made throughout the book are severe, as are the dire consequences he posits
if current trends are not reversed, and Chomsky is no more likely to make friends or
gain supporters from the mainstream now than he's ever been. But Hegemony or Survival
is relatively dispassionate. Instead of relying on camp or shock value or personal
attacks as some of his contemporaries have done, Chomsky drives his well-supported
points steadily forward in an earnest and highly readable style. --John Moe

From Publishers Weekly
In this highly readable, heavily footnoted critique of American foreign policy from
the late 1950s to the present, Chomsky (whose 9-11 was a bestseller last year) argues
that current U.S. policies in Afghanistan and Iraq are not a specific response to
September 11, but simply the continuation of a consistent half-century of foreign
policy-an "imperial grand strategy"-in which the United States has attempted to
"maintain its hegemony through the threat or use of military force." Such an analysis
is bound to be met with skepticism or antagonism in post-September 11 America, but
Chomsky builds his arguments carefully, substantiates claims with appropriate
documentation and answers expected counterclaims. Chomsky is also deeply critical of
inconsistency in making the charge of "terrorism." Using the official U.S. legal code
definition of terrorism, he argues that it is an exact description of U.S. foreign
policy (especially regarding Cuba, Central America, Vietnam and much of the Middle
East), although the term is rarely used in this way in the U.S. media, he notes, even
when the World Court in 1986 condemned Washington for "unlawful use of force"
("international terrorism, in lay terms" Chomsky argues) in Nicaragua. Claiming that
the U.S. is a rogue nation in its foreign policies and its "contempt for
international law," Chomsky brings together many themes he has mined in the past,
making this cogent and provocative book an important addition to an ongoing public
discussion about U.S. policy.

Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins (a true story)

In this shocking memoir, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins tells of
his own inner journey from willing servant of empire to impassioned advocate for the
rights of oppressed people. Covertly recruited by the United States National Security
Agency and on the payroll of an international consulting firm, he traveled the
world—to Indonesia, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other
strategically important countries. His job was to implement policies that promoted
the interests of the U.S. corporatocracy (a coalition of government, banks, and
corporations) while professing to alleviate poverty—policies that alienated many
nations and ultimately led to September 11 and growing anti-Americanism. Within a few
weeks of its release , Confessions of an Economic Hit Man landed onThe New York Times
Bestseller List, then 19 other bestseller lists including the Los Angeles Times, San
Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. The author
has been interviewed repeatedly on national radio and television shows, including Amy
Goodman's Democracy Now, CSPAN's Book TV, and PBS' Now with David Brancaccio. And now
the book is being published in 9 languages around the world. According to John
Perkins, "It is accomplishing an important objective in inspiring people to think and
talk and to know that we can change the world."