BANKRUPTING

THE THIRD WORLD:

How the Global Elite Drown

Poor Nations in a Sea of Debt

THE UNDERGROUND KNOWLEDGE SERIES

James & Lance

MORCAN

BANKRUPTING THE THIRD WORLD: How the Global Elite Drown Poor Nations in a Sea of Debt

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Sterling Gate Books

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Although the authors and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the authors and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Should you the reader identify any content within this book that is harmful, hurtful, sensitive or insensitive, the authors and publisher ask that you contact them so they may rectify any problem.

Special Note: This title is an extended version of Chapters 16 and 22 of The Orphan Conspiracies: 29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy (Sterling Gate Books, 2014) by James Morcan & Lance Morcan. This title therefore contains a combination of new material as well as recycled material (in many cases verbatim excerpts) from The Orphan Conspiracies .

National Library of New Zealand publication data:

Morcan, James 1978-

Morcan, Lance 1948-

Title: BANKRUPTING THE THIRD WORLD: How the Global Elite Drown Poor Nations in a Sea of Debt

Edition: First ed.

Format: Ebook

Publisher: Sterling Gate Books

ISBN: 978-0-473-31273-2

This book is dedicated to the impoverished in forgotten places of the world.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part One: The Macro of Looting the World’s Poor

1 The First World versus the Third World

2 Corruption within “corruption-busting” institutions

3 Overshadowing individual nations

4 End poverty now…or later…or much later

5 Profiting from war

6 Polling the underground

7 Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Part Two: The Micro of Looting the World’s Poor

8 The (spoils of) the War on Terror

9 Blood minerals

10 Banksters swindling the DRC

11 An unnecessary war

12 No mercy for the Third World?

13 Profiteers a’plenty

Connecting the dots

Introduction

This book is primarily about international aid organizations and whether they help or hinder the world’s poorest people. The outfits examined include the likes of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Officially, these financial relief organizations aim to reduce corruption in the Third World and Developing nations as part of their detailed and complex poverty alleviation mission. Their main strategy is providing loans to such nations for extensive development programs.

However, according to our research and that of many others – economists, human rights activists and independent investigators included – there’s a nefarious hidden agenda at play. An agenda that even many of those working within these organizations, especially low-medium level employees, are not remotely aware of.

This book is divided into two sections.

Part One, titled The Macro of Looting the World’s Poor , exposes the culture of corruption within international financial aid organizations and the arrogance/disdain/contempt with which the Management of these agencies treat their Third World ‘clients.’

In Part Two, titled The Micro of Looting the World’s Poor , we put two Third World nations under the magnifying glass to reveal the long-term impact of being the recipient of substantial financial aid from the West. The resulting debt accrued by these nations may surprise even the most skeptical reader.

Above: IMF Headquarters in Washington, D.C., USA.

"Headquarters of the International Monetary Fund (Washington, DC)"

by International Monetary Fund

Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Terms like “looting the world’s poor” and “bankrupting the Third World” might sound oxymoronic to those not familiar with geopolitics and distribution of wealth. Especially as society’s less moral operators normally look to loot the rich, not the poor – not to mention the fact that bankrupting the Third World , as such, would seem to be a fruitless endeavor if the perception there’s no real wealth in the Third World was actually true.

However, as this book’s subtitle suggests, it’s about “How the Global Elite Drown Poor Nations in a Sea of Debt,” and how those same global elitists don’t go to all that trouble and (initial) expense for no reason or for no financial gain.

We trust by the time you get to the end of this book you’ll agree there’s as much wealth to be found and fortunes to be made in the Third World as there is in the First World. In fact, terms like ‘Third World’ and ‘impoverished nations’ are essentially misnomers as they imply limited wealth and resources exist in these forgotten places. This book sets to dispel that myth once and for all.

Lastly, we hope BANKRUPTING THE THIRD WORLD will contribute in some small way to the masses pressuring world leaders to eradicate the extreme poverty that sees millions of our fellow Human Beings – men, women and children – dying unnecessarily every year.

James Morcan & Lance Morcan

Part One:

The Macro of

Looting the World’s Poor

Above: Nations (highlighted) commonly classed as Third World.

"Third world countries map world 2".

Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The First World versus the Third World

“This book is also about the purposeful bankrupting of nations around the world, the inherently corrupt monetary system and the scam of modern banking – all of which have obviously become major vices of our era. I believe that financial domination is one of the main methods used to enslave the people of this world.” –Dr. Takaaki Musha, from the foreword to The Orphan Conspiracies

The media regularly reminds us of the billions of dollars First World governments and international aid organizations grant annually to impoverished Third World nations.

The official story goes that Western nations are extremely generous in assisting the development of the Third World. And few would argue with this summary as even when countries like the United Kingdom, Germany or the United States are in an economic slump, they are never shy of giving vast sums to poorer nations in times of need.

This is especially true when it comes to organizing relief efforts for natural disasters. Major catastrophes like the Pakistan floods, the Haiti earthquake and the Indian Ocean tsunami are fairly recent examples of massive amounts of aid being raised almost overnight.

What if much of this aid is not charitable, but selfish? What if it isn’t actually giving, but taking? What if most of the generosity has serious strings attached – strings designed to fleece vulnerable nations?

And what if the IMF, USAID, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank’s sub-institution the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other such international financial aid organizations are all gigantic scams designed to subjugate Third World countries?

We address this very question in book two of our international thriller series of novels in which the all-powerful founding members of a fictitious super-secretive agency with serious New World order plans consider how best to create enormous wealth in the quickest possible time. In their view, the easiest way to do that is to siphon as many mineral riches as they can out of Third World countries – an age-old practice tried and tested.

Above: A World Bank protester in Jakarta Indonesia.

"Worldbank protest jakarta" by Jonathan McIntosh, Own work.

Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Few would argue that Third World countries get a raw deal. To highlight just one industry on one continent, blockbuster movies like the Leonardo DiCaprio-headlined Blood Diamond have spotlighted the corruption that flourishes in Africa’s multi-trillion dollar diamond industry.

However, we are aware that to suggest the likes of the IMF and the World Bank are scams designed to subjugate Third World countries may sound ridiculous. Right? Well, do the research and you’ll find, as we did, that many globalization commentators concur the suggestion is not remotely ridiculous.

Before we expand on this alternative version of international aid, we’d like to separate the aforementioned financial aid organizations and their ilk from genuine charity organizations. There are too many legitimate organizations to list here, but they include the likes of Save the Children, Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, CARE, Oxfam and Refugees International. Whilst some of these organizations have their critics, most people would agree their intentions are noble, the services they deliver invaluable – often lifesaving – and the people delivering those services extremely conscientious and passionate about what they do.

We also need to stress that none of our criticism of international financial aid agencies disregards the fact that 99% of those who work in such organizations are good, honest people. As is usually the case, it’s often those at the very top (the 1%) who are corrupt. These senior executives often undermine, or even completely override, the otherwise decent and charitable work carried out by others in their organization.

Our alternative version of international aid suggests that money given or loaned by international organizations like the IMF and the World Bank is no different to banks dolling out credit cards to individual customers. And just as banks offer credit to customers so that they (the banks) can make money, this theory also suggests these big, so-called aid organizations are purely profit-motivated and not remotely charitable.

Let’s explore this comparison a little deeper…

Banks know that some customers will pay off their credit cards quickly without incurring much interest. They also know a small percentage will have to be written off as bad debts, and they allow for this in their profit forecasts.

However, the vast majority of customers who take on new credit cards will be indebted to the bank for months, years or even for the rest of their lives. Some of these customers will manage, barely, while some will be completely snowed under and one step away from bankruptcy.

Banks make the bulk of their profits by keeping most of their customers in this perpetual cycle of paying off interest, and that’s why they regularly offer customers more credit – even, or especially , customers who are already having trouble getting themselves out of the debt cycle and who can least afford it.

Following this analogy, on the international stage the World Bank, the IMF and First World governments are the equivalent of smaller, personal banks, and impoverished Third World nations are the equivalent of customers accepting and using credit cards.

Overall, the rules are virtually identical: foster a reliance on credit amongst those you lend to then ensure the interest rates are so extreme the debt can never be paid off.

Once impoverished Third World nations are beholden to lenders, First World governments and their allied corporations regularly demand favors in return. Those favors include relinquishing political control or simply turning a blind eye to the plunder of natural resources, or both.

Manipulating the power structure of countries is done in a multitude of ways, including rigging elections, making under-the-table payments and organizing political assassinations.

When these nations are crushed, enslaved even, beneath mountains of debt, this creates enormous ongoing revenues for the lenders through high interest rates. It also allows for untold injustices to be perpetrated by major multinational corporations – injustices such as oil companies pumping toxins into rivers, logging companies destroying entire forests, pharmaceutical giants performing illegal human experimentation, manufacturers hiring people to work in inhumane conditions in sweat shops, and in some cases employing child labor.

Above: % of population (by nation) living on less than $1 per day .

"800px-Percentage population living on less than 1 dollar day".

Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Corruption within “corruption-busting” institutions

“They got money for wars...But can't feed the poor.” –Tupac Shakur

Considering the vast sums of money that go through the coffers of the international aid agencies, the corruption aspect is another part of the equation that cannot be ignored. After all, human greed is normally found wherever large financial transactions occur.

The hierarchy of these agencies claim to be aware of the problem and on top of it. For example, in a press release from the World Bank itself, dated December 19, 2013, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim states that corruption is “Public Enemy Number One” in Developing countries.

“We will never tolerate corruption,” Kim goes on to say, “and I pledge to do all in our power to build upon our strong fight against it.”

That’s all well and good, but what happens if the corruption is closer to home? In other words, if there are, as we suggest, corrupt elements operating within the highest echelons of the World Bank and other such aid organizations? What then? Which organization would have the nous, or wherewithal, or, for that matter, the will to root out corruption within such charitable “corruption-busting” institutions?

Above: A starving child – Does the World Bank really care?

"A malnourished child in an MSF treatment tent in Dolo Ado"

by DFID UK Department for International Development

Flickr: A malnourished child in an MSF

treatment tent in Dolo Ado.

Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons –

A 2012 Forbes article headlined ‘World Bank Spins Out Of Control’ calls that organization “one of the world’s most powerful institutions – charged with saving the world’s poor – but also one of its most dysfunctional”.

The enlightening article also refers to the World Bank as “an endlessly expanding virtual nation-state with supranational powers,” and states there is “little oversight by the governments that fund it”.

The article goes on to say that “FORBES has also discovered a whole layer of bank officials who have learned how to game the system or expand their influence through its constantly revolving doors. It’s not unlike the way that U.S. officials retire and then go to work for the contractors they associated with while in government service”.

A 2013 article by Alex Newman, foreign correspondent for The New American, was even more critical of the World Bank and its lack of ability to stamp out corruption. It reads, in part, as follows:

“A former insider at the World Bank, ex-Senior Counsel Karen Hudes, says the global financial system is dominated by a small group of corrupt, power-hungry figures centered around the privately owned U.S. Federal Reserve.

“The network has seized control of the media to cover up its crimes, too, she explained. In an interview with The New American , Hudes said that when she tried to blow the whistle on multiple problems at the World Bank, she was fired for her efforts”.

The article continues, “Hudes pointed out that a small group of entities — mostly financial institutions and especially central banks — exert a massive amount of influence over the international economy from behind the scenes. ‘What is really going on is that the world’s resources are being dominated by this group…At the heart of the network are 147 financial institutions and central banks — especially the Federal Reserve, which was created by Congress but is owned by essentially a cartel of private banks…This is a story about how the international financial system was secretly gamed, mostly by central banks — they’re the ones we are talking about…The central bankers have been gaming the system. I would say that this is a power grab’.”

Hudes is also quoted as saying the cartel of elite international banksters use the Fed and major private banks, in collaboration with other financial institutions such as The World Bank and the BIS (Bank for International Settlements), to complete shady financial deals, manipulate gold prices and conduct various other monetary deceptions.

Unfortunately, such articles represent just a tiny fraction of the reported and/or confirmed corruption cases occurring year after year within the international aid organizations.

And yet, there has been no serious investigation or detailed audit of them just as there has never been a proper audit of the privately-owned US Federal Reserve.

Could that be because the same leaders charged with keeping such financial institutions honest are the very people who are making trillions of dollars off concealing the ongoing corruptions?

Overshadowing individual nations

“Western governments tax their citizens to fund the World Bank, lend this money to corrupt Third World dictators who abscond with the funds, and then demand repayment which is extracted through taxation from poor Third World citizens, rather than from the government officials responsible for the embezzlement. It is in essence a global transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich. Taxpayers around the world are forced to subsidize the lavish lifestyles of Third World dictators and highly-paid World Bank bureaucrats who don’t even pay income tax.” –Ron Paul’s statement at the World Bank Hearing, May 22, 2007

Some of the dirty economic tactics used against vulnerable nations are examples of modern imperialism in action.

This is especially true with the US, which is in many ways the world’s last remaining superpower. With hundreds of military bases worldwide and untold intelligence agents strategically placed in almost every country on Earth, the American empire is unlike any other.

Unfortunately, America’s foreign activities all too often result in large amounts of collateral damage.

If we are ruffling any patriotic feathers in this chapter then you’re viewing it all wrong because the reality is no powerful country – be it the US or the UK, Russia or France – is immune to financial domination from the likes of the World Bank and the IMF.

The recent financial austerity measures placed upon EU nations like Portugal, Greece and Spain are prime examples of this.

Above: Globalization cartoon.

"Globalisierung" by Pascal Kirchmair - Own work.

Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

America not immune

There’s no reason to suggest if a country like the US slipped into a deep enough economic recession that corrupt international financial organizations would not swoop to enslave Americans in a web of debt. In fact, many conspiracy theorists, and more than a few economists, believe this is already happening to America.

The key point is nearly all the decisions to commit these destructive acts against Third World countries, and other vulnerable nations, are made above governmental level. And above countries, too. For it’s not about governments or countries and, in truth, it never really was. It’s simply about the powerful global elite who secretly rule the media, the politicians, the political parties, the governments and ipso facto, the countries.

The privileged individuals and families who comprise the global elite will happily bankrupt their own countrymen, decimate their own communities and evict their neighbors from houses in their desperate bid to increase their wealth.

Call us cynics, but it’s hard not to be cynical when assessing a world managed mostly by sociopathic, greedy political leaders who are almost solely focused on increasing their own money and power.

End poverty now…or later…or much later

“About 21,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. This is one person every four seconds ... Sadly, it is children who die most often. Yet there is plenty of food in the world for everyone. The problem is that hungry people are trapped in severe poverty. They lack the money to buy enough food to nourish themselves. Being constantly malnourished, they become weaker and often sick. This makes them increasingly less able to work, which then makes them even poorer and hungrier. This downward spiral often continues until death for them and their families.” –Official statement on the poverty.com website as at February 2014

If you haven’t picked up on it already, we believe world poverty can be fixed – and fixed quickly.

Some of you may be doubting our sanity about now. At the very least, you’ll be thinking we are underestimating the task at hand, and that poverty’s far too big a challenge to solve any time soon.

But consider this for a moment: the United Nations Development Program estimated in 1998 that it would only cost an additional US$40 billion above current aid payments at the time to completely eradicate poverty as we know it. This figure was broken down as per the following necessary (US dollar) payments: $13 billion extra for every person on Earth to have enough food as well as access to basic health care; an additional $12 billion to cover reproductive health for all women worldwide; $6 billion extra to provide basic education for all; and an additional $9 billion to provide clean water and sanitation for every man, woman and child on the planet.

Now that $40 billion figure was in 1998 dollars, of course, and the world’s biggest problems have arguably gotten worse since then. So let’s allow for inflation and let’s also assume the UN underestimated the amount required.

Let’s say $200 billion dollars, or five times what the UN estimated, is needed over and above current aid payments. To our eyes, that seems a small price to pay for what would undoubtedly be the greatest moment in human history.

Two hundred billion is also a fraction of the cost governments of major nations like China, the US, Russia and the UK each spend on their annual military budgets. By some estimates, the Afghanistan conflict alone has cost America more than a trillion dollars, with all wars since 9/11 said to have cost America several trillion dollars.

Unfortunately, waging wars is clearly a far bigger priority than ending poverty.

Above: Siblings living in extreme poverty in El Salvador.

"PoorES" by LaNicoya; Amy Lopez - Own work.

Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons

“It’s an amazing thing to think that ours is the first generation in history that really can end extreme poverty, the kind that means a child dies for lack of food in its belly. That should be seen as the most incredible, historic opportunity but instead it’s become a millstone around our necks. We let our own pathetic excuses about how it’s difficult justify our own inaction. Be honest. We have the science, the technology, and the wealth. What we don’t have is the will, and that’s not a reason that history will accept.” –Bono, interview to the World Association of Newspapers for World Press Freedom Day. May 3, 2004.

Profiting from war

“Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.” –George Carlin

Ever wonder why peace in certain countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo is never achieved no matter how many thousands of international peacekeepers are sent?

The answer may be that, despite appearances, the world’s powers-that-be don’t actually want peace in those countries to be achieved any time soon.

Engaging in diplomatic talks and sending in UN peacekeepers is just a farce, apparently. According to our research, it’s far more lucrative for the global elite to keep wars going so the invaders can plunder resources for as long as they can. If we are correct in this analysis, then maybe wars like Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam were not about winning, but something else. Something much more sinister.

More than any other region on the planet, Africa is probably the best example of these vicious, imperialistic strategies. Unfortunately for Africa, it has many, many resources the outside world wants, needs and will kill to get its hands on. Resources like its vast water reserves, unlimited land, oil and precious metals such as gold, diamonds, cobalt and uranium to name a few. Not to mention the continent’s wildlife and cheap human labor.

U2’s lead singer Bono possibly summarized it best in a 2004 speech he gave at the University of Pennsylvania when he said, “Africa needs justice as much as it needs charity.”

Above: A United Nations peacekeeper in Mali.

"Dutch MINUSMA troops, UN mission Mali 01"

by Ministry of Defence, Netherlands

Licensed under CC0 via Wikimedia Commons

More fact than fiction perhaps?

In book one of our international thriller series, we wrote the following pertinent paragraphs about the African continent:

As the seemingly well-intentioned French journalist spoke about Africa’s scarcity and its limited resources , Nine smiled to himself almost condescendingly. He considered such statements an absolute joke. Africa did not, nor did it ever have, limited resources .

Nine knew something the journalist obviously didn’t: Africa was the most abundantly resourced continent on the planet bar none. Like the despots who ruled much of the region, and the foreign governments who propped them up, he knew there was more than enough wealth in Africa’s mineral resources such as gold, diamonds and oil – not to mention the land that nurtured these resources – for every man, woman and child.

He thought it unfortunate Africa had never been able to compete on a level playing field. The continent’s almost unlimited resources were the very reason foreigners had meddled in African affairs for the past century or more. Nine knew it was Omega’s plan, and that of other greedy organizations, to siphon as much wealth as they could out of vulnerable Third World countries, especially in Africa.

The same organizations had the formula down pat: they indirectly started civil wars in mineral-rich regions by providing arms to opposing local factions, and sometimes even helped to create famines, in order to destabilize African countries. This made the targeted countries highly vulnerable to international control. Once the outside organizations had divided and conquered, they were then able to plunder the country’s resources.

The defeated eyes of the starving children on screen reminded Nine of his fellow orphans growing up in the Pedemont Orphanage. Although he had never experienced malnutrition, he knew what it was like to be born into a living hell.

Above: Malnourished children.

"Malnourished children, weakened by hunger" by DFID

UK Department for International Development

Flickr: Malnourished children, weakened by hunger.

Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Little change

Sadly, since our novel was published in 2011, not much has changed in Africa; international governments, multinational corporations and the likes of the World Bank and the IMF continue to profit from Africa’s vulnerability.

Wars in numerous African countries continue to go unchallenged and untold millions are raped, killed, maimed and starved while the rest of the world just looks on. It has become such a repetitious story in Africa that wars in the region rarely make international headlines anymore.

Divide and conquer. That’s the global elite’s proven strategy when it comes to its treatment of Third World countries in Africa and indeed throughout the world. Or, to put it another way, order out of chaos is the global elite’s favored tactic. They engineer chaos by financing both sides of revolutions, movements and civil wars then create order by providing solutions to governments and citizens in these war-torn countries.

And one of the main solutions offered to nations enduring such wars are “generous” loans. These enormously tempting sums of money seem like charity, but contain the aforementioned catch of crippling interest rates as well as national policy compromises built into the loan agreements.

To quote the British group James from their 2008 song Ha Ma : “War is just about business.”

Polling the underground

“Religions and, yes, even certain 'economic systems' have preached poverty as the way to salvation, or at least a 'more honest' life. Poverty is promoted as a kind of test of faith. But the promoters always had cash in the bank. The catch is this: in order to reap the spiritual rewards, a poor person has to remain poor. Otherwise, how can he continue to know true glory? The modern version of this is: a victim is a victim forever. Otherwise, he might eliminate the need for 'social justice' and the con artists who peddle it. Don't spend a few dollars cleaning up the contaminated water systems in Third World countries. Don't give back good growing land that was stolen. Poverty and starvation are glamorous. They give rise to humanitarian ideologies that front for theft and destruction on a grand scale.” – Jon Rappoport, The Underground

In 2014, we founded a discussion group on Goodreads.com , the popular literary site for readers and authors. Called Underground Knowledge , the group was established to encourage dialogue about underreported issues of our time.

We recently ran a poll on the subject of international aid banks, asking fellow ‘Undergrounders’ (group members) to vote on this question: Do you believe global financial aid institutions such as the World Bank, the IMF and USAID primarily help or hinder Third World nations?

During the voting period, a lively discussion unfolded in the comments below the poll’s results. Some of these comments are included here. Before you read them, we must point out that the worldwide membership of the Underground Knowledge group is comprised of a diverse bunch of intelligent and revolutionary thinkers, and spans the political spectrum from the Left to the Right, or from Liberal to Conservative and virtually every political persuasion in between.

Fellow Undergrounders include bestselling authors, internationally-renowned scientists, investigative journalists, economists, social activists and whistleblowers, doctors, former intelligence agents, ex-military officers and even a former NASA engineer.

Anyway, on the subject of Third World financial aid, here’s their comments:

Member 1: “It’s a case of too many (greedy) cooks in the kitchen.”

Member 2: “They are almost entirely funded by the U.S. taxpayers, and I want my money back! The design and build of their headquarters also cost a darn fortune! They couldn't have had much left for poor nations.”

Member 3: “World Bank, IMF, USAID are basically tools of the US Government and weapons used to blackmail third world countries. Greece although not third world is a prime example!!”

Member 4: “If the leaders of the developed countries wanted to help the people from the third world countries, they should have done it years ago without hesitation.”

Member 5: “Their primary interest is themselves. Third world nations are there to be exploited by them for resources. Obviously, they would like all to be third world nations!”

Member 6: “It is simple they help by bailing out nation but these nations typically have no way of repaying these loans and default on them. Which is the hindrance.”

Member 7: “Dirty water, barren land, land stolen for rubber plantations and GMO crops, keep the Africans and others hungry. When the missionaries arrived they had the bibles, the Africans had the land, 20 years later the Africans had the bibles and the missionaries had the land!!”

Member 8: “Usury set arbitrarily by the lender... dangerous.”

Member 9: “I have never trusted our Government (of either persuasion) with the people’s money especially the billions that go to overseas aide (presumably). However, I guess it will take a lot to convince our Governments to take up my suggestion that we use the money to send our own doctors, scientists & engineers, teachers, machinery, farmers etc who want and are able to do this work to countries like Africa to help the poor with infrastructure like digging wells and teaching methods of farming, natural methods of generating energy etc, etc. So much could be done with all those billions if it could just help the people to help themselves.”

The final result of our Underground Knowledge group poll was as follows:

-65.6% of members voted that global financial aid institutions Hinder the Third World

-22.2% of members voted global financial aid institutions Equally Help and Hinder the Third World

-7.8% of members voted Unsure

-4.4% of members voted global financial aid institutions Help the Third World

Above: A “Make Poverty History’ protest banner

"Make Poverty History banner 2005 Jersey" by Man vyi

Self-published work by Man vyi.

Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

That’s a pretty resounding poll result from an intelligent group of people. Only 4.4% of our global think-tank believes global financial aid institutions such as the World Bank, the IMF and USAID primarily help Third World nations!

Many would also say that’s a curious poll result considering these outfits are officially charity or goodwill organizations, and mainstream media rarely if ever report international aid organizations as being anything but squeaky clean.

We acknowledge that’s hard to get your head around – especially if you’re not armed with ‘underground knowledge’ and if you rely solely on mainstream news to know what’s happening in the world.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

“We are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence – on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations. Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed.” –President John F. Kennedy, speech to the American Newspaper Publishers Association. April 27, 1961, New York City.

One of the best testimonies toward this conspiracy against Third World nations is John Perkins’ 2004 bestselling book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. The book mentions how it’s no longer necessary to invade other countries to plunder their resources. Now there are other easier ways to achieve this.

Much of the old invade-and-occupy strategy has been replaced by economics. As JFK once said, it’s now about “infiltration instead of invasion,” and there are many ways to successfully infiltrate a nation. It can be done by owning politicians and thereby subtly implementing policies, or it can be done by buying a nation’s media and feeding that nation’s citizens propaganda.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man describes how mysterious independent contractors known as economic hit men cheat poor countries all over the world out of trillions of dollars. They’re paid large sums to creatively influence and/or bribe leading politicians in developing nations to make policy changes that suit multinational corporations.

These policy changes usually revolve around either giving up the developing nation’s resources to offshore interests or accepting large Halliburton-esque building contracts.

Perkins describes how the main job of an economic hit man is to persuade the leaders of Third World nations to accept multi-billion dollar development loans from (guess who?) the IMF and World Bank. That’s right, the usual suspects!

Once economic hit men have carried out a hit on a nation, the US doesn’t need to invade that nation or, indeed, do anything more. The profits automatically flow into the US while all the hard work is done by the impoverished citizens of the targeted nation.

Above: John Perkins, the (former) Economic Hit Man.

"JohnPerkinsNov2009" by Justin Hoch.

Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Targeting the vulnerable

Perkins claims he was formerly one of these economic hit men and was hired by America’s National Security Agency (NSA) to carry out hits against vulnerable and mineral-rich Third World countries.

As Perkins writes in the book’s preface: “Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly-paid professionals, who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign aid organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet’s natural resources. Their tools included fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization. I should know; I was an EHM .”

As a result of his tenure of many years as an EHM, of which he expresses much guilt, Perkins claims in the book that the developing nations he worked in were in the end crippled economically and virtually remote-controlled politically.

Interestingly, in the epilogue to the 2006 edition of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, Perkins writes that the supposedly generous offer by G8 nations to wipe all Third World debt was a trick. He states the catch was that to erase all their debts these countries would be forced to privatize almost all their assets, including electricity, water, education and health. Perkins argues this would potentially leave these countries worse off in the long run.

In 2009, a documentary film titled Apologies of an Economic Hit Man was released. It includes poignant interviews with Perkins. The film, which was directed by Stelios Kouloglou, was shown at film festivals around the world.

Perkins’ confessions serve as an important reminder that the winner takes all mindset at the root of capitalism is a poison if left unchecked.

That’s not to say capitalism is bad per sē , or that a more refined version of it cannot work effectively. Nor does it mean the world should move toward socialism or communism, which have both proven throughout history to be just as disastrous. But surely the world’s recent financial catastrophes and the bankrupting of individuals, families, small businesses, communities and entire nations, must make even the most ardent capitalist examine his or her beliefs.

“EHMs provide favors. These take the form of loans to develop infrastructure—electric generating plants, highways, ports, airports, or industrial parks. A condition of such loans is that engineering and construction companies from our own country must build all these projects. In essence, most of the money never leaves the United States; it is simply transferred from banking offices in Washington to engineering offices in New York, Houston, or San Francisco. Despite the fact that the money is returned almost immediately to corporations that are members of the corporatocracy (the creditor), the recipient country is required to pay it all back, principal plus interest.” –John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Part Two:

The Micro of

Looting the World’s Poor

Above: An African woman working in a gold mine.

"Guinea Siguiri miner woman" by Laura Lartigue,

Technical Writing Specialist for USAID/Guinea - USAID.

Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The (spoils of) the War on Terror

“Since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, the Golden Crescent opium trade has soared.” –Dr. Michael Chossudovsky, from article published in RonPaulForums.com on June 25, 2013

In Chapter 5 we mentioned the strategy of engineering or extending armed conflicts in certain mineral-rich regions of the world in order to profit handsomely from such dirty wars.

Well, let’s take one war-torn country and explore that idea a little deeper.

Afghanistan.

What could be gained financially from extending the conflict in Afghanistan? Very little, according to the New York Times .

A 2010 article in that newspaper advised readers the annual economy of Afghanistan was only worth around $12 billion dollars per year. Essentially that’s a tiny economy. Especially considering the country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) is partially funded by the World Bank, USAID and the IMF.

However, the real truth behind the headlines is that the reported tiny economy is just the official spin. Beneath the surface, both figuratively and literally, lies enormous wealth – and shady dealings (also unreported) to match.

Divide and conquer

It has been claimed by many researchers that the likes of the World Bank and the IMF often work in tandem with major intelligence agencies like the CIA and MI6. Our own research, which includes detailed correspondence and discussions with former senior (Western) intelligence agents on both sides of the Atlantic, supports this claim.

This clandestine collusion between supposedly charitable organizations and intelligence agencies is, by all accounts, most suited to long-term projects like the much heralded War on Drugs and the War on Terror , and so are most frequently associated with such projects.

It’s very apparent the days of Oliver North-style nefarious CIA activities are not some distant bad memory. They were simply a precursor to the far bigger crimes being committed on the world stage right now .

Admittedly, war-torn nations like Afghanistan are often too dangerous for Western governments and companies to officially set up shop and relieve them of their oil, precious minerals or drugs. However, this doesn’t prevent Western intelligence agencies reaping the spoils of war.

These agencies now have this down to a fine art, employing various proven strategies – such as hiring third-party ‘deniable’ private contractors.

In fact, once a region has been categorized as ‘war-torn’ and ‘splintered’ and ‘volatile,’ that’s when the likes of the CIA really come into their own: they decimate the economy of targeted countries as they try to suck out every single precious resource available.

We spoke to one Afghan who told us in no uncertain terms, “If America could steal the air from Afghanistan to make a buck, they would!”

Remember, it is infinitely easier to control a nation’s resources once it has been divided and conquered – not to mention when US-installed puppet leaders like Afghanistan’s President Karzai are ‘in power.’

It’s no secret that Afghanistan has, in the last few years, received billions of dollars in financial aid. This got us thinking. Could there be an ulterior motive here? And could that motive have anything to do with the extremely lucrative heroin trade in this, the world’s (traditionally) number one heroin-producing country?

“The Afghan narcotics economy was a carefully designed project of the CIA, supported by US foreign policy.” –Dr. Chossudovsky, The Spoils of War: Afghanistan’s Multibillion Dollar Heroin Trade , Global Research article first published in 2005.

Above: Soliders patrolling poppy fields in Afghanistan.

"Australian-Afgan Army patrol April 2010"

by ISAF Headquarters Public Affairs Office from Kabul, Afghanistan

Partnering with Afghan Forces Pays Dividends in Southern Afghanistan.

Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Opium = Heroin = Big Bucks

You’ll recall the Taliban had completely decimated Afghanistan’s poppy fields under their version of Sharia Law when they ruled the country – before 9/11 and up until the US-led invasion in late 2001. The heroin trade almost completely dried up.

Today, miracle of miracles , the heroin trade in Afghanistan is at an all-time high, and has been ever since the US, with its Western allies, began its War on Terror invasion.

“Sheer coincidence,” according to the likes of Fox News and other mainstream media!

Oh, really?

Before you accept the theory that America and its allies have no commercial interest in Afghanistan’s poppy fields, let’s consider first how extensive those poppy fields are and how much money they yield those who harvest them.

An NBC News report dated July 7, 2015, claims opium production in Afghanistan “is growing like a weed”.

The report continues, “According to the United Nations, the war-torn nation provides 90 percent of the world's supply of opium poppy, the bright, flowery crop that transforms into one of the most addictive drugs in existence.

“And as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sounds the alarm about a worsening heroin epidemic here in the U.S., opium production in Afghanistan shows no signs of slowing down”.

The NBC News report quotes John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, as saying in a speech in May, “Afghanistan has roughly 500,000 acres, or about 780 square miles, devoted to growing opium poppy. That's equivalent to more than 400,000 U.S. football fields — including the end zones”.

And it quotes Nasir Shansab, author of Silent Trees: Power and Passion in War-Torn Afghanistan , as saying opium production has “become part of the economy (bringing) money and imported material and consumer goods into Afghanistan…Afghanistan is poverty-stricken and farmers have difficulty getting proper returns for their normal products. They're almost forced to do that to survive”.

Much has been made of the pledge to end America’s military involvement in Afghanistan by the end of 2016, keeping in mind at the time of writing there are currently close to 10,000 US troops still there. However, we – and quite a few others, too, it seems – remain skeptical.

A more recent NBC News report, dated October 1, 2015, states, “There are rumblings in Washington that the plan (to withdraw US troops) should be revised and the fall of Kunduz has added impetus to that argument, according to analysts”.

Kunduz, incidentally, is a troubled city in northern Afghanistan.

The same report quotes one Ted Callahan, a Western adviser based in northeast Afghanistan, as saying, “It's certainly given fodder to people who want the levels to stay where they are, if not increase.”

We can’t help wondering if the Kunduz situation is no more than a convenient excuse for the US to reconsider its decision to pull out of Afghanistan. A red herring if you like.

Slightly more dated but nonetheless-still- relevant reports shed additional light on the scale and profitability of Afghanistan’s poppy fields.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s 2014 Afghan Opium Survey , the Afghan opium cultivation has once again hit a record high.

And a 2005 news article on the site Global Research , by acknowledged drugs wars expert Professor Michel Chossudovsky, makes for telling reading.

Beneath the headlines, “The Spoils of War: Afghanistan’s Multibillion Dollar Heroin Trade” and “Washington's Hidden Agenda: Restore the Drug Trade,” Professor Chossudovsky writes, “The profits are largely reaped at the level of the international wholesale and retail markets of heroin, as well as in the process of money laundering in Western banking institutions”.

Those institutions likely include the World Bank and other such aid organizations to some extent at least – even if it’s just providing loans to the Afghan Government. Loans that encourage corrupt local politicians to turn a blind eye to the thriving heroin trade.

Professor Chossudovsky continues, “Heroin is a multibillion dollar business supported by powerful interests, which requires a steady and secure commodity flow. One of the ‘hidden’ objectives of the war was precisely to restore the CIA sponsored drug trade to its historical levels and exert direct control over the drug routes.

“Immediately following the October 2001 invasion, opium markets were restored. Opium prices spiraled. By early 2002, the opium price (in dollars/kg) was almost 10 times higher than in 2000.

“In 2001, under the Taliban, opiate production stood at 185 tons, increasing to 3400 tons in 2002 under the US sponsored puppet regime of President Hamid Karzai”.

Not sure how the White House or Pentagon spin doctors would explain those stats!

But wait, there's more when it comes Afghanistan! Oh yes, we are talking about one of the biggest money grabs in history…

Afghanistan’s mineral riches

Afghanistan also has a multi-trillion dollar mining industry thanks to their deposits of rare, precious and superconducting minerals.

The country’s Ministry of Mines lists numerous large-scale mining operations in Afghanistan right now. Virtually all these operations are being managed by Western companies and their inevitable contractors – and, of course, the World Bank and other ‘international aid’ (we use that term advisedly) organizations, which are either actively involved or otherwise providing ‘support services.’

For example, on the eve of publishing this book there are numerous planned pipelines thru the region, including the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline whose official financiers include the World Bank and USAID – and no doubt the CIA are involved on some level also, although that’s unconfirmed and mere speculation on our part. That pipeline, if construction proceeds as expected, will transport enormous amounts of gas and oil from the Caspian Sea through Afghanistan and into India before being shipped worldwide.

Regarding specific mining operations in Afghanistan, Wikipedia mentions, “It is believed that among other things the country holds $3 trillion in untapped mineral deposits. In December 2013, President Karzai claimed the mineral deposits are actually worth $30 trillion”.

Hmmm…

30 trillion US dollars .

Quite a substantial amount for a ‘Third World’ country, wouldn’t you agree?

Wikipedia also states that in Afghanistan there are “1400 mineral fields, containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, talc, zinc among many other minerals. Gemstones include high-quality emerald, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby”.

A 2010 NY Times article headlined “U.S. Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan” provides an excellent summary of the abundance of rare, and often superconducting, minerals in the country.

The article states, “The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe”.

Remember, all the aforementioned is simply an indication of how much recent invaders – we refer to the Americans (and their allies) and before them the Russians, of course – stood to gain by invading Afghanistan.

Above: Cobalt – one of Afghanistan’s many precious resources.

"Cobalt Blue" by FK1954 - Own work
Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

We digress for a moment, but this is worth noting: similar rewards, in the tens of trillions of dollars, were on offer for those who invaded Iraq in recent times – in this instance oil and minerals whose profits flowed, and still flow, into the West.

To quote CNN News again, this time from an April 15, 2013 item on its website: “Yes, the Iraq War was a war for oil, and it was a war with winners: Big Oil”.

Excerpts from this revealing article follow:

“It has been 10 years since Operation Iraqi Freedom's bombs first landed in Baghdad. And while most of the U.S.-led coalition forces have long since gone, Western oil companies are only getting started.

“Before the 2003 invasion, Iraq's domestic oil industry was fully nationalized and closed to Western oil companies. A decade of war later, it is largely privatized and utterly dominated by foreign firms.

“From ExxonMobil and Chevron to BP and Shell, the West's largest oil companies have set up shop in Iraq. So have a slew of American oil service companies, including Halliburton, the Texas-based firm Dick Cheney ran before becoming George W. Bush's running mate in 2000.

“The war is the one and only reason for this long sought and newly acquired access.

“Oil was not the only goal of the Iraq War, but it was certainly the central one, as top U.S. military and political figures have attested to in the years following the invasion”.

The CNN News report quotes General John Abizaid, former head of US Central Command and Military Operations in Iraq, as saying, “Of course it's about oil; we can't really deny that”.

It also quotes former Senator and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel as confirming, “People say we're not fighting for oil. Of course we are”. Chagel, by the way, is a Vietnam vet and winner of two Purple Hearts, so it’s little wonder he tells it as he sees it.

The report concludes, “For the first time in about 30 years, Western oil companies are exploring for and producing oil in Iraq from some of the world's largest oil fields and reaping enormous profit. And while the U.S. has also maintained a fairly consistent level of Iraq oil imports since the invasion, the benefits are not finding their way through Iraq's economy or society”.

So, let's make no mistake, the spoils of the War on Terror are most likely the biggest spoils of any war in history.

And, in such times, the big Western corporations and their contractors – and of course the aforementioned international aid organizations – are inevitably to the fore. Their representatives have uncharitably been referred to by others as EHMs, or economic hit men. Uncharitable perhaps, but, we suspect, very apt.

Essentially, these EHMs orchestrate events by corrupting local politicians, softening the ground for the foot soldiers and multinational companies to carry out the actual hit .

A bit melodramatic? Perhaps. But reserve your opinion until you’ve read our second case study – the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Blood minerals

“To Nine’s way of thinking, the problems surrounding the exploitation of coltan in the DRC epitomized the problems the entire African continent faced in capitalizing on the huge untapped wealth that lay beneath its surface. Corruption, political unrest and outside interference from non-African countries ensured the continent that should be the world’s wealthiest remained the poorest.” – The Orphan Uprising

In book three of our international thriller series, our leading man (Nine) has reason to cross Zambia’s northern border into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – previously and variously known as the Belgian Congo, Congo Free State, Congo-Leopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa and Zaire – in central Africa.

Nine’s target is a coltan refinery owned and operated by multinational conglomerate Carmel Corporation. The corporation is a fictitious entity, but the rare metallic ore known as coltan – official name columbite-tantalite – is very real.

This precious ore is found in large quantities in the DRC’s disputed eastern regions. When refined, the result is metallic tantalum, a heat-resistant powder capable of holding a high electrical charge – properties that are essential for the creation of electronic elements known as capacitors.

These capacitors are included in the manufacture of mobile phones, digital cameras, laptop computers and in communications technology generally, making coltan an indispensable part of the burgeoning and extraordinarily profitable communications and technology sectors. Hence its value.

Above: A coltan mine in Rubaya, Congo.

"SRSG visits coltan mine in Rubaya (13406579753)"

by MONUSCO Photos - SRSG visits coltan mine in Rubaya.

Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

DRC’s estimated mineral wealth US$24 trillion

As chance would have it, the DRC is believed to have 70% to 80% of known coltan reserves worldwide. It also has around one third of the world’s known diamond reserves and is rich in other precious metals, too. With reserves of untapped mineral deposits estimated at US$24 trillion, it’s little wonder the DRC is considered by some to be one of the wealthiest countries in the world, if not the wealthiest, in terms of natural resources.

Now here’s the rub: the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been beset by war and is one of the most violent, unstable and poverty stricken nations on the planet.

An article on the All Africa online news site dated November 21, 2013, advises readers the Congolese war, which incorporates the back-to-back First and Second Congo Wars, is said to have “killed over six million people since 1996,” and “is the deadliest conflict in the world since WW2…If you add the number of deaths in Darfur, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Rwanda over the same period, it would still not equal the millions who have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo”.

Fatalities are just one side of the conflict, however, with rape also being used as a “weapon of war”, according to this article and numerous other reports. Women and young girls raped during the conflict are estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands.

It’s a sad truth that conflict over control of the DRC’s mineral wealth accounts for much of the violence. Hence the term conflict minerals used to describe coltan, diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt and other precious minerals in the DRC and, indeed, throughout much of Africa.

Banksters swindling the DRC

“This country will never gain emerging market status without electricity.” –Eustache Ouayoro, World Bank Country Director for the Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo

By now, you may not be surprised to learn that as one of those Third World nations that can, in the same breath, be described as “impoverished” and “mineral rich,” the DRC has received many World Bank/IMF/USAID loans over the years. And if you’ve taken on board the plight of other recipients of such aid , nor will you be surprised to learn the DRC remains as poor as ever.

In fact, by some estimates, the nation is getting poorer every year!

A 2012 article on the website Brentwoods Project , a watchdog site on corruption within the World Bank and the IMF, states, “As World Bank projects fail to reduce corruption in the mining sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), International Finance Corporation (IFC) investments in extractive industries are provoking complaints and protests around the world”.

Meanwhile, a 2013 article on the Global Witness site, states, “The World Bank Board of Directors has blocked a call by independent evaluators to review the outcomes of the Bank’s support for industrial-scale logging in tropical rainforests”.

The writer advises that includes the DRC big-time.

The article continues, “Recent reports from a government-appointed independent observer in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, found that many international logging companies are carrying out illegal activities.

“After 10 years of World Bank-led reforms in the DRC, roughly 150,000 km 2 of rainforest remain in the hands of poorly regulated international logging companies, while communities are once again being left behind,” said Susanne Breitkopf of Greenpeace International. “The reform process in the DRC has been marred with irregularities and widely criticized; meanwhile, a law that would support community management of forests has been stalled for years, and the Bank is financing a forest zoning process that is likely to earmark huge areas of rainforest for industrial logging”.

The wealth potential of the DRC was confirmed in a 2014 press release by the World Bank itself.

Headlined “DRC: A Giant in the Making,” the article quotes Eustache Ouayoro, World Bank Country Director for the DRC, as saying, “The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has the potential to be one of Africa’s richest countries and a major driver of growth…The future of the DR Congo will be the future of Africa”.

And yet, World Bank representatives have been making such positive statements about the DRC and, indeed most of Africa, for decades.

“Poverty is the worst form of violence.” –Mahatma Gandhi

Above: A Congolese child in DRC refugee camp with medical supplies.

"Distributing food in Congo refugee camp" by Julien Harneis

Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A February 2015 article in Bloomberg Business headlined “IMF Ready to Lend $1 Billion to Democratic Republic of Congo,” reveals the IMF is investing equally as heavily into the country. An excerpt from that article follows:

“Congo is preparing for provincial elections by December and a presidential vote in November 2016, which together will cost $1.1 billion, or more than 10 percent of its annual budget, according to electoral authorities. Holding the vote will be a logistical challenge in a country of 68 million people about the size of Western Europe, which has less than 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) of paved roads and is considered by the United Nations as the least-developed nation in the world”.

Our question to the World Bank and IMF would be: Given the billions of dollars being pumped into the DRC annually, why does it remain the least developed nation on Earth?

Of course, those organizations could cite all the infrastructure challenges the Bloomberg article alludes to. However, what the article fails to mention is that the DRC is teeming with mineral riches. The sort of mineral deposits that nearly every First World nation on Earth can only dream about…

So, again, factoring in the immense natural resources in the DRC, as well as the billions of dollars being loaned to the country every year, why does it remain in a constant state of war? And why do its citizens remain among the most destitute on Earth?

Is it a case that it’s just too difficult a region to create peace and prosperity in?

Or, is it a case that certain interests, both within the DRC and outside, are doing very well financially out of the current diabolical situation in this war-torn nation?

An unnecessary war

“The continent that contains the most poverty also contains the most wealth.” –Bono, from a speech given at the G8 summit held in Chicago, IL, in May 2012.

It has been widely acknowledged that the brutal war in the DRC is primarily and directly related to the massive demand in the Developed world for the minerals required for its military and electronic industries.

Unlike many other precious metals, coltan reserves are not abundant around the world. For instance, no coltan mining is undertaken in the US, which is totally reliant on imports of the precious material. The DRC is by far the easiest and cheapest place for the US to import coltan from.

Coltan mining is declining in Canada. And although China has some coltan, it has nowhere near enough to provide for its own high demand for the commodity. Both these countries are in a very similar position to the US in this regard.

If the likes of North America and China dealt with alternative coltan suppliers – such as Australia – that would prove far less profitable than dealing with the DRC whose Third World conditions and lack of protections guarantee coltan can be sourced at rock bottom prices.

As mentioned throughout this book, fleecing the Third World has been a reality for decades if not centuries. Mineral-abundant Third World nations, which should be some of the richest on Earth, are all too often among the poorest. Many argue that the poverty of these nations can usually be blamed on wars strategically engineered by Developed nations and superpowers – wars that are also armed and funded by the Developed world.

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.” –Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States

DRC labelled poorest

There is no greater example of this ugly phenomenon than in Africa, and the DRC has regularly been referred to as the poorest country in the world by international aid agencies. In addition to engineered wars that have lasted many years, the DRC has also been raped financially over and over again.

As previously mentioned, the likes of the World Bank and the IMF loan the DRC billions annually. However, what we haven’t mentioned is that special clauses in these loan agreements allow for multinational companies to take virtually all the DRC’s enormous mineral resources for a pittance.

Meanwhile, the DRC is left indentured to its benefactors, forever attempting to pay off the loans. Keep in mind these aren’t just any loans. These are loans that come with crippling interest rates.

What all this means is that almost none of the nation’s mineral wealth flows back to its people.

Above: Aftermath of rebel fighting in Kitshanga, Congo.

"KitshangaWar-11 (8539323200)" by © MONUSCO/Sylvain Liechti

Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A plethora of rebel militias

In the DRC, the link between its vast mineral resources and financing the various militia groups running riot is impossible to ignore. And coltan plays a key role in this never-ending conundrum.

Ongoing conflicts have made exploitation of the DRC’s coltan ore problematic to put it mildly. As a result, Congolese coltan represents only about a tenth of the world’s total production even though it has the lion’s share of the precious metal within its borders.

A UN Security Council report leaves no doubt much of the country’s coltan is mined illegally and smuggled out by rebel militias from neighboring Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. Monies earned by these forces finance the ongoing conflict.

So who are these militia groups who are holding the DRC to ransom?

According to South African investigative site Daily Maverick there’s a plethora of rebel militias “all of whom are capable of causing varying degrees of chaos” in the eastern DRC.

In a report on the main rebel factions operating there, Daily Maverick states: “The M23 rebel movement has been the strongest in recent years, closely followed by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a motley but dangerous band of Rwandan refugees (some on the run from their role in the Rwandan genocide) and ethnic Hutus, dedicated to their own survival and the eventual overthrow of the Rwandan government”.

The report continues: “Their existence is thought to be a major factor in Rwanda’s involvement in the conflict in the eastern DRC (that and the region’s vast, lucrative mineral supplies, of course) and the group has a horrendous record when it comes to respect for human rights”.

As for the amount of money at stake, the Rwandan Army was rumored to have raised around US$250,000,000 from illegal coltan sales in just 18 months. The Rwandans have denied this of course.

No mercy for the Third World?

“For more than a century, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been plagued by regional conflict and a deadly scramble for its vast natural resources. In fact, greed for Congo’s natural resources has been a principal driver of atrocities and conflict throughout Congo’s tortured history. In eastern Congo today, these mineral resources are financing multiple armed groups, many of whom use mass rape as a deliberate strategy to intimidate and control local populations, thereby securing control of mines, trading routes, and other strategic areas.” –RAISE Hope For Congo organization

On the eve of this book being published, the world is up in arms over the apparent crimes the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, is committing against his own countrymen. It also seems likely there will be more intensive military action from the US and its allies, in collaboration with the UN, to remove Assad from power.

But the fact is Syria is literally one of dozens of countries on Earth right now with leaders or regimes committing heinous crimes against civilian populations. This is especially true in forgotten Third World nations around the world.

And the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the aforementioned six million-plus people killed since 1996 as well as hundreds of thousands raped, probably has the worst human rights violations of all.

Yet how many news headlines have you seen lately relating to the DRC? And how many people do you think even know about this devastating war, which is quite possibly the worst humanitarian crisis since WW2? For that matter, how many even know this country exists?

Obviously, events in Syria and the Middle East conflict can’t be compared to the DRC in that what’s happening in the African nation isn’t related to Islamic terrorism. However, as we’ve already pointed out ad nauseam, the conflicts in the DRC include human rights violations of the worst kind – such violations are almost always the main reason, or the official reason at least, the West cites for invading certain countries.

Consider Afghanistan, for example, where the Taliban's crimes against the Afghan population provided the reason for America and its allies to invade; and Iraq where genocide under Saddam Hussein made invasion of that country an easier ‘sell’; and of course Syria, where Bashar al-Assad’s atrocities against the civilian population have prompted the West’s intervention – and Russia’s intervention as well in this case.

So the question remains, just how many crimes have to occur in the DRC before the international community say enough is enough?

There are numerous other examples of this ‘oversight.’ Anyone remember Rwanda? Where was the West when that went down? And where was the United Nations?

The Human Rights Watch website has an article on the DRC that makes for a sobering summary of the current state of affairs there.

It reads in part, “Political tensions have risen throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo, as political and religious leaders, activists, students, and others have spoken out against proposed changes to Congo’s constitution and other proposals that would allow President Joseph Kabila to stay in power for longer than the two consecutive terms currently permitted. Government authorities have sought to silence dissent with threats, violence, and arbitrary arrests. In eastern Congo, dozens of armed groups remain active. Many of their commanders lead forces that have been responsible for numerous war crimes for which few have been held accountable. Congolese army soldiers have also been responsible for abuses against the civilian population they are meant to protect”.

Above: DRC President Kabila with the heads of the UN and World Bank

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,

President Joseph Kabila of the DR Congo,

and the President of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim.

(8781549173) by MONUSCO

Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

We’ve established that numerous rebel groups cause havoc in the DRC. Every year the body count rises; the bodies pile up – often literally; young Congolese boys ( the Boy Soldiers ) are given automatic weapons and told they are now soldiers; and lastly, the ‘weapon of war’ that is rape continues almost unabated.

A September 2015 article that appeared on the Al Jazeera news site correctly makes the connection between all these crimes in the DRC and the mineral riches on offer.

It reads in part: “ ‘We do see these armed groups are still present and they are most likely still benefiting from the mineral trade,’ said Evie Francq, a DRC researcher with Amnesty International in Nairobi. ‘What we see is there are still very big displacements of the population, people that are fleeing abuses by rebel groups,’ she said, adding that civilians have also become caught up in army operations against those groups, like the Democratic Force for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)”.

The Al Jazeera article states that in the last three weeks there has been “an influx of people at its (refugee) camps in North Kivu, where military operations against the FDLR and other armed groups are creating a humanitarian crisis”.

The Al Jazeera article goes on to confirm these immense human rights violations do indeed relate to the DRC’s vast mineral deposits.

“Four conflict minerals mined in Congo — tantalum, tin, tungsten (3TG) and gold — are used in all kinds of everyday items, from mobile phones to food containers. Tantalum is widely used in electronic equipment, such as cellphones and laptops, as well as camera lenses and medical implants … The Democratic Republic of Congo is believed to produce about 20 percent of the world’s tantalum … In the DRC, armed groups use revenue from the trade in these minerals to finance their operations, and it’s this link that U.S. lawmakers and advocates want to break.”

Above: Distribution of food in Kibati-camp, Goma, DRC .

"Humanitarian Aid in Congo november 2008" by Julien Harneis

Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Al Jazeera concludes there appears to be no end in sight for the people of the DRC. “The DRC has been mired in war and upheaval since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960, and violence escalated after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which spilled over into neighboring Congo, then called Zaire. Two wars followed, drawing in nine African nations … In eastern Congo, the conflict continues, a shifting power struggle involving foreign armies and more than 50 armed groups, each with their own motivations and ideologies. According to the UNHCR, the fighting displaced more than 3 million people in the country in 2014. Human rights groups continue to document abuses by armed groups and the Congolese army, including killings and mass rapes.”

And where is the UN in this matter? Missing in action , according to many critics.

In fact, the only Western interests – beyond the aforementioned financial aid organizations – that remain fully committed to the DRC year in, year out seem to be the international mineral brokers. These shady individuals who, incidentally, predominantly do their buying on behalf of Silicon Valley corporations, are regularly reported to be seen staying in the DRC’s hotels. This despite the country oftentimes being deemed too dangerous even for human rights campaigners and international charity workers. The mineral brokers hang in there no matter how much bloodshed is occurring.

Funny that, isn’t it?

The evil that is child labor

Among a whole host of sickening crimes the international community does little to prevent in the DRC is child labor; many tens of thousands of children are employed as miners in the nation’s mines – often in its coltan mines – and the work is primitive, dirty and dangerous.

Workers dig large craters in riverbeds to access the coltan. They then mix water and mud in big tubs to encourage the heavy coltan to settle on the bottom – much like gold miners did panning and sluicing for gold in years gone by. The mines management calls it child labor and officially employs children as young as 12 for this work; the outside world views it as slave labor, which is exactly what it is of course .

As most mobile phones contain coltan, it’s not too dramatic to say there’s blood on your cell phone – the blood of Congolese workers who are dying in their hundreds of thousands in a conflict that continues to claim many lives. There’s no doubt the demand for coltan is financing the conflict in the DRC, and helping to promote the evil that is child/slave labor.

In an October 31, 2010 article by the leading Pakistani media outlet The Express Tribune , columnist Fatima Najm asks “if Pakistan’s 100 million cell phone users know their devices may be soaked in Congolese blood”.

Najm says within each of those phones are small amounts of coltan that add up to a lucrative illegal trade. “The explosive growth in the wireless industry means that demand for these tin ores collectively results in the rape and torture of hundreds of thousands of innocent Congolese people a year”.

The columnist points out that Congo is resource-rich, and its mighty river system has the potential to power all of Africa’s electricity needs. “Experts say stability in Congo could translate into peace and progress for all of Africa, but at least five neighboring countries have proxy militias battling each other in Congo for control of valuable tin ores”.

Above: Is there blood on your phone? Probably.

"Asus zenfone 5 Front" by Nandhinikandhasamy - Own work.

Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

“Nine was aware the continued siphoning of coltan, as well as cobalt and diamonds, from the eastern Congo was part of a wider conspiracy to destabilize the country.” – The Orphan Uprising

Blood coltan not as catchy as blood diamonds?

Najm makes an interesting comparison between Congolese coltan and diamonds, advising it’s logical to assume that “given the widespread violence attributed to coltan…one would imagine it would be destined for the same sort of notoriety as blood diamonds”.

Alas, not so, it would seem. ‘Blood diamonds’ obviously sounds a whole lot sexier or catchier than ‘blood coltan’ to Western media, moviegoers and the general public.

Predictably, smart phone manufacturers and the like have been quick to distance themselves from the whole murky business. Some publish disclaimers, denying that they source coltan from militia’s operating in the DRC; many claim the supply chain for coltan mined in the DRC is so complex it’s impossible to ascertain whether it has been legally or illegally mined and supplied.

To be fair, several high profile manufacturers in the US and elsewhere are sourcing their coltan from outside the DRC and, indeed, outside central Africa until such time as the legitimacy of mining operations there can be more clearly established. However, they’re in the minority.

Cell phone consumers and others have long been questioning the legitimacy of products. For the most part, it appears their questions are falling on deaf ears. Perhaps it’s time to ask more questions – and ask them louder.

There has been a campaign in recent years to try to force the big multinational companies to disclose whether or not they use Congolese conflict minerals. However, it’s often impossible to prove where such minerals come from.

Profiteers a’plenty

“We require all of our suppliers to certify in writing that they use conflict few [sic] materials. But honestly there is no way for them to be sure. Until someone invents a way to chemically trace minerals from the source mine, it’s a very difficult problem.” –Steve Jobs, email sent from Jobs’ iPhone on Jun 27, 2010 in reply to a concerned Apple customer

Just as crafty banksters frequently transfer vast sums of money between various offshore tax havens to conceal their money trail, corporations that profit from ultra-cheap Congolese conflict minerals have middle men – usually warlords – who smuggle minerals from country to country, so it’s extremely difficult to trace their origins.

Of course, the problem of conflict minerals isn’t limited to the Democratic Republic of the Congo; it exists throughout much of the African continent. Equally, the problem isn’t limited to Africa.

Perhaps the last word on this vexing issue should go to The Guardian contributor Zobel Behalal, a peace and conflict advocacy officer, who reminds us that in Burma the mining industry was militarized for several decades, with the national army controlling mining sites, business operations and exportation, while in Colombia tantalum, wolframite and gold mines as well as their respective business concerns are controlled and taxed by armed groups.

Writing in The Guardian , Behalal says, “Products that have funded conflicts can only reach the international market with participation of the businesses that buy and use them. Bloomberg revealed that BMW’s, Ferraris, Porches and Volkswagens contain tungsten and wolframite that come from businesses under the control of the FARC Colombian rebels”.

Behalal insists these aren’t isolated cases.

“The trade of natural resources continues at the expense of violence and human rights violations. There is an urgent need to create a win-win contract between the economic factors and the local populations in order to create real and sustainable development in countries rich in natural resources.

“Due diligence must be enforced as a mandatory requirement throughout the supply chain of natural resources”.

And that brings us full circle, reinforcing our belief that corrupt elements within the World Bank, IMF, USAID and other global financial aid organizations are among the biggest profiteers in impoverished Third World nations, and are largely the reason they (those impoverished nations) remain that way.

Whether it is these organizations secretly and illegally collaborating with the CIA and the Military Industrial Complex in various wars, or whether it’s fraudulent senior executives working with multinational mining companies and the like, the bottom line is there needs to be formalized oversight of these institutions. Oversight to identify potential corruption and, more importantly, to stamp it out once it’s identified.

If that means establishing anti-corruption committees to operate at board level within such institutions, so be it. And, of course, these committees need to be independently appointed and run.

Clearly, just because an organization states it is charitable and working for the “greater good,” that doesn’t mean it’s above suspicion or beyond scrutiny.

“Once poverty is gone, we'll need to build museums to display its horrors to future generations. They'll wonder why poverty continued so long in human society - how a few people could live in luxury while billions dwelt in misery, deprivation and despair.” –Muhammad Yunus, Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism

Connecting the dots…

There is little doubt in our mind there’s a nefarious hidden agenda at play in the West’s stated aim to eliminate, or at least reduce, poverty in the Third World, and the international aid organizations are right behind this agenda. Quite possibly, these organizations are even setting the agenda.

To our way of thinking, drowning poor nations in a sea of debt ain’t the way to go to alleviate suffering. Nor is knowingly encouraging the dark and bloody trade in conflict minerals or turning a blind eye to the child labor and other human miseries that accompany such activities.

Hopefully, by now, you’ll agree there’s as much wealth to be found and fortunes to be made in the Third World as there is in the First World, and terms like ‘Third World’ and ‘impoverished nations’ are essentially misnomers.

If we’ve dispelled those myths, we have achieved something at least.

At the outset, we asked the question: What if much of the aid extended to impoverished nations is not charitable, but selfish, with serious strings attached – strings designed to fleece vulnerable nations?

We also asked: What if the international financial aid organizations are all gigantic scams designed to subjugate Third World countries?

We may not have answered those questions to your satisfaction, but hopefully we’ve given you much to think about. There can be little doubt that once a country has been crushed beneath mountains of debt, this creates enormous ongoing revenues for ‘generous’ lenders through high interest rates, and it opens the floodgates for untold injustices to be perpetrated by major multinational corporations.

If you consider we have been too critical of the financial aid organizations, keep in mind we are not alone in our criticism and we’ve quoted some impressive people – more impressive and certainly better known that us – who are as critical or, in some cases, even more critical. People like former World Bank insider Karen Hudes, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man author John Perkins, U2’s lead singer Bono, War on Drugs expert Professor Michel Chossudovsky, Amnesty International researcher Evie Francq and various other foreign correspondents.

As for the conflict minerals busines s in Third World countries like the DRC, it’s our contention governments, big corporations, industrialists and business moguls in the West, and elsewhere in the Developed world, are very aware of what’s going on. At best they pay lip service to the need to stamp out this ugly business; at worst they knowingly encourage the trade in conflict minerals.

Regarding the DRC specifically, there does seem to be enough evidence – anecdotal and otherwise – surrounding the trade of coltan sourced in the Congo to suggest most Western governments and business interests are content to turn a blind eye to the exploitation of natural resources and the human cost involved. To our eyes at least, this evidence is overwhelming.

We accept that a lot of the ideas in this book seem very extreme. Many will no doubt find it hard, or perhaps impossible, to believe world leaders could view nations like the DRC, Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and Cambodia as being nothing other than money-spinners.

In attempting to understand how the global elite think, we would draw your attention to National Security Memorandum 200 , a recently declassified document dated December 10, 1974, and headed ‘Implications for Worldwide Population Growth for US Security & Overseas Interests.”

The document quotes National Security consultant Henry Kissinger, that favorite of old boy networks like the Bilderberg Group, the Council on Foreign Relations and Bohemian Grove, as saying, “Depopulation should be the highest priority of US foreign policy towards the Third World,” to secure mineral resources for the US.

Exactly how depopulation of the Third World was to be accomplished wasn’t specified in the document. Kissinger may have favored obvious methods like keeping certain countries in perpetual states of war, famine and scarcity. Or the depopulation he so enthusiastically encouraged could perhaps be achieved through something much more nefarious.

Either way, Kissinger’s statement is both scary and profound. If depopulation is on the table then fleecing the Third World of all its riches and keeping its citizens impoverished actually seems benign by comparison.

Above: A US soldier and a Somali child walk in opposite directions.

"Walking away from the Third World"

by John Martinez Pavliga

Originally posted to Flickr as IMG_0016.

Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons -

Of all the statistics we uncovered during our research, one in particular has stayed in our minds throughout the writing process:

21,000 people die every day (one person every four seconds) from starvation .

That’s a sickening figure considering our research has also shown there is more than enough wealth in the world for everyone to at least receive the basic necessities of life.

Even more sickening when you consider there is more than enough wealth in the Third World for it to organically sustain itself…

However, for that to happen, Western imperialism must come to an end and the Third World must be allowed to compete on a level playing field.

THE END

If you liked this book, the authors would greatly appreciate a review from you on Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0176UHWH0

And if you wish to discuss the material in this book, or other interrelated alternative topics, we invite you to join our Underground Knowledge discussion group on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/142309-underground-knowledge---a-discussion-group

Other books published by Sterling Gate Books…

THE UNDERGROUND KNOWLEDGE SERIES

All other books in The Underground Knowledge Series are published by Sterling Gate Books and available exclusively through Amazon Kindle. These short, but info-packed non-fiction books are on a vast array of controversial subjects. Each title contains hard-to-find knowledge. Discover what has been hidden from you ...

Garnering evidence from court cases, declassified government files and mainstream media reports, The Underground Knowledge Series discloses little-known facts on a wide range of topics. Controversial subjects such as mind control, eugenics, false flag operations, The Queen's hidden assets, secret prisons, The Catcher in the Rye enigma, political assassinations, medical cover-ups, genius intelligence, Yamashita's Gold, the Jonestown mystery, Americanized Nazis, the bankrupting of Third World nations, underground bases, the US Federal Reserve, the New World Order, forbidden science, the War on Drugs, subliminal messages and even extraterrestrials.

The first book in the series is GENIUS INTELLIGENCE: Secret Techniques and Technologies to Increase IQ . This title was written by James Morcan & Lance Morcan with a foreword by leading scientist Dr. Takaaki Musha.

GENIUS INTELLIGENCE on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/GENIUS-INTELLIGENCE-Techniques-Technologies-Underground-ebook/dp/B00QXQQWXO/

GENIUS INTELLIGENCE on Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/GENIUS-INTELLIGENCE-Techniques-Technologies-Underground-ebook/dp/B00QXQQWXO/

Other titles in The Underground Knowledge Series:

THE UNDERGROUND KNOWLEDGE SERIES I-V (Genius Intelligence / Antigravity Propulsion / Medical Industrial Complex / The Catcher in the Rye Enigma / International Banksters)

THE UNDERGROUND KNOWLEDGE SERIES I-V (kindle edition): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0175CSWGY

Discover what has been hidden from you...

Introducing the boxed set containing the first five books in The Underground Knowledge Series by James Morcan & Lance Morcan – in full and at a discounted price. THE UNDERGROUND KNOWLEDGE SERIES I-V comprises the following books:

GENIUS INTELLIGENCE
ANTIGRAVITY PROPULSION
MEDICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
THE CATCHER IN THE RYE ENIGMA
INTERNATIONAL BANKSTER$

Garnering evidence from court cases, declassified government files and media reports, The Underground Knowledge Series discloses little-known facts on a wide range of topics.

GENIUS INTELLIGENCE: Secret Techniques and Technologies to Increase IQ

This book (with foreword by leading scientist Dr. Takaaki Musha) shatters the myth that geniuses are born not developed. It reveals how most instances of above-the-ordinary intelligences are acquired thru superior cognitive techniques or brain enhancing technologies. Drawing on the latest findings in neuroscience, it lists dozens of practical methods to increase IQ and speed-learn any subject. Among the discoveries shared are brain waves common to geniuses and various ways to induce those brain waves.

ANTIGRAVITY PROPULSION: Human or Alien Technologies?

A far-reaching exploration into the UFO phenomenon (with foreword by advanced interstellar propulsion systems expert Grant Hayman and afterword by leading scientist Dr. Takaaki Musha) that covers all possible scenarios and discounts nothing. It includes never-before-mentioned accounts of popular UFO topics like Area 51, Roswell and alien abduction claims, and lesser known subjects such as Nazi and Japanese antigravity experiments.

MEDICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX: The $ickness Industry, Big Pharma and Suppressed Cures

An explosive book (with afterword by retired pharmacist Denis Toovey) that explores the contention Big Pharma and other participants in the healthcare sector put profits ahead of patients’ wellbeing and dollars ahead of lives. This no-holds barred critique of mainstream medicine urges readers to stop giving away complete responsibility to doctors and other healthcare providers, and to take more responsibility for their own health.

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE ENIGMA: J.D. Salinger's Mind Control Triggering Device or a Coincidental Literary Obsession of Criminals?

This book unearths the mysteries surrounding arguably the most controversial book of all time – J.D. Salinger’s 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye. It examines the theory that, in league with the CIA, coded messages were implanted in that novel, inspiring some of the most infamous crimes of the 20th Century…including the murder of John Lennon and the attempted assassination of President Reagan.

INTERNATIONAL BANKSTER$: The Global Banking Elite Exposed and the Case for Restructuring Capitalism

This book identifies who is responsible for the gigantic financial gulf that separates the top 1% of the population from the common people, or the 99%. The financial overlords named and shamed include the powerbrokers at Wall Street banks, European central banks, the US Federal Reserve and the Vatican Bank, as well as elite banking dynasties. The authors also propose ideas for creating a fairer economic system.

THE UNDERGROUND KNOWLEDGE SERIES I-V on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0175CSWGY

THE UNDERGROUND KNOWLEDGE SERIES I-V on Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0175CSWGY

The Orphan Conspiracies:

29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy

The Orphan Conspiracies (kindle edition): http://www.amazon.com/Orphan-Conspiracies-Conspiracy-Theories-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00J4MPFT6/

The Orphan Conspiracies: 29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy , written by novelists and filmmakers James Morcan & Lance Morcan with a foreword by leading Japanese scientist Dr. Takaaki Musha, contains hard-to-find knowledge. This non-fiction book is based on the political, scientific and financial insights in the Morcans' bestselling international thriller series The Orphan Trilogy (novels that merge fact with fiction by incorporating real-world theories on public figures and major organizations). Now the authors provide detailed analysis for each one of those controversial theories.

In many ways, this exhaustively-researched work is the secret history of the 20th and 21st Centuries. But more than a history, it reveals what is happening right now behind the scenes - in underground bunkers, in the corridors of power, in prime banks and meetings of the world's elite.

The Morcans connect the dots between many nefarious events in recent times and strip away the seemingly infinite classified layers of governments and intelligence agencies. Shockingly, they expose a splinter civilization operating in our midst that has at its disposal extraordinary suppressed technologies, unlimited resources and enormous black budgets - all inadvertently financed by everyday taxpayers.

Garnering evidence from court cases, declassified government files and mainstream media reports, the authors disclose little-known facts on a wide range of topics. Diverse subjects such as mind control, eugenics, false flag operations, The Queen's hidden assets, secret prisons, The Catcher in the Rye enigma, political assassinations, medical cover-ups, genius learning techniques, Yamashita's Gold, the Jonestown mystery, Americanized Nazis, the bankrupting of Third World nations, underground bases, the US Federal Reserve, the New World Order, forbidden science, the War on Drugs, subliminal messages and even extraterrestrials.

The criminals caught like deer in the headlights of these whistleblowing revelations include corrupt officials, racists, secret society members, warmongers, compromised journalists, economic hitmen, modern-day Doctor Frankensteins and mysterious individuals rumored to have wealth that would dwarf the net worth of Bill Gates and others on Forbes' so-called Rich Lists.

Written from multiple perspectives; at times giving voice to conspiracy theorists; on other occasions siding with sceptics; vacillating between serious investigative writing and tongue-in-cheek, self-deprecating humor - The Orphan Conspiracies delivers a balanced exposé of some of the most important issues of our time.

In their unflinching quest for truth and justice, the Morcans take no prisoners as they 'subpoena' the global elite - be they banksters, US Presidents, British Royals, Big Pharma, the Vatican, the FBI, the CIA, the Military Industrial Complex or the founders and CEO's of multinational corporations like Facebook, Google, BP, Microsoft, Shell and Amazon. No suspicious individual or organization is granted immunity in this no-holds-barred trial conducted on behalf of The People .

Go beyond rumors and conspiracy theories to documented facts and confirmed reality and find out just how deep the rabbit hole goes ...

The Orphan Conspiracies on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Orphan-Conspiracies-Conspiracy-Theories-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00J4MPFT6/

The Orphan Conspiracies on Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Orphan-Conspiracies-Conspiracy-Theories-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00J4MPFT6/

The Ninth Orphan (The Orphan Trilogy, #1)

An orphan grows up to become an assassin for a highly secretive organization. When he tries to break free and live a normal life, he is hunted by his mentor and father figure, and by a female orphan he spent his childhood with. On the run, the mysterious man's life becomes entwined with his beautiful French-African hostage and a shocking past riddled with the darkest of conspiracies is revealed.

The Ninth Orphan (kindle edition): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056I4FKC

The Ninth Orphan (paperback edition): http://www.amazon.com/dp/0473193132/

★★★★ ★ "What makes The Ninth Orphan stand out from other thrillers is its intelligent handling of its themes. Like Kazuo Ishiguro's haunting novel, Never Let Me Go, The Ninth Orphan taps into our fascination with the possibilities of genetic selection, and the consequences it may bring. Throw in a pinch of romance and the suggestion of political shadow organizations that may or may not operate in the real world, and you have an exhilarating read that will keep the little grey cells ticking over long after you've reached the final page."
-The Flaneur Book Reviews UK

★★★★ ★ "This psychological thriller really kept me on the edge of my seat!"
-Susan M. Heim, bestselling author of the 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' series

The Orphan Factory (The Orphan Trilogy, #2)

An epic, atmospheric story that begins with twenty three genetically superior orphans being groomed to become elite spies in Chicago's Pedemont Orphanage and concludes with a political assassination deep in the Amazon jungle.

The Orphan Factory (kindle edition): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008M9WWKW/

The Orphan Uprising (The Orphan Trilogy, #3)

In this explosive conclusion to The Orphan Trilogy, the ninth-born orphan's dramatic story resumes five years after book one, The Ninth Orphan, ends.

The Orphan Uprising (kindle edition): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BFC66DM/

The Orphan Trilogy

(The Ninth Orphan / The Orphan Factory / The Orphan Uprising)

The Orphan Trilogy (kindle edition): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGGM05U/

Twenty-three orphans with numbers for names from 1 to 23.
Number Nine wants to escape from 'the orphanage'.

Read the highly-rated international conspiracy thriller series in full and at a discounted price. Three novels spanning over 1,000 explosive pages...

Book One: THE NINTH ORPHAN
Book Two: THE ORPHAN FACTORY
Book Three: THE ORPHAN UPRISING

Meet Number Nine - an orphan, a spy, a lover...a master of disguise, an assassin, a shapeshifter...a freedom fighter, a human chameleon, a reformed contract killer.
He's all of the above. He's none of the above.

Nine is enslaved by the Omega Agency, a shadowy organization seeking to create a New World Order. When he tries to break free and live a normal life, Nine is hunted by his mentor and father figure, and by a female orphan he spent his childhood with. On the run, his life becomes entwined with his beautiful French-African hostage and a shocking past is revealed...A past that involves the mysterious Pedemont Orphanage in Chicago, Illinois.

Standing in the way of Nine's freedom are his fellow orphans - all elite operatives like himself - who are under orders to terminate him. Nine finds himself in a seemingly infinite maze of cloak and dagger deception. Time and again, he must call on all his advanced training to survive.

But can the ninth-born orphan ever get off the grid? To find out you'll need to go on a tumultuous journey around the world to such far-flung locations as the Arctic, Asia, Europe, the Amazon, Africa and South Pacific islands. The frenetic cat-and-mouse chase moves from airports to train stations and hidden torture prisons, taking the reader on a page turning, frightening non-stop action ride into the world of corrupted power that goes beyond conspiracy theories to painful reality .

Fast-paced, totally fresh and original, filled with deep and complex characters, The Orphan Trilogy is a controversial, high-octane thriller series with an edge. Merging fact with fiction, it illuminates shadow organizations rumored to actually exist in our world. The three novels explore a plethora of conspiracies involving real organizations like the CIA, MI6, and the UN, and public figures such as President Obama, Queen Elizabeth II as well as the Clinton, Marcos and Bush families.

The Orphan Trilogy exposes a global agenda designed to keep the power in the hands of a select few. Nine's oppressors are a shadow government acting above and beyond the likes of the White House, the FBI, the Pentagon and the NSA.

One of the Omega Agency's black ops employs MK-Ultra mind control technology on genetically engineered agents to facilitate the agendas of those in power. When Nine successfully deprograms himself from MK-Ultra, all hell breaks loose. But to gain his freedom he must bust out of the Pedemont Orphanage and break into Omega's other orphanages and underground medical laboratories around the world. In the process he uncovers chilling scientific experiments taking place on children. Could something like this ever take place? Or, is it already taking place somewhere in the world right now?

The trilogy also has a poignant, romantic sub-plot. It contains the kind of intimate character portraits usually associated with psychological thrillers.

Book/Film/TV references: The Manchurian Candidate, The Saint, The Da Vinci Code, Bond, Dark Angel, The Jackal, Mission Impossible, Salt, The Pretender, Bourne, The Island, Taken.

This unique, unpredictable and epic spy thriller series covers everything from political assassinations and suppressed science to young adult romance and accelerated learning techniques.

Buckle up for a nail-biter to the very end.

Written by father-and-son writing team Lance & James Morcan (authors of Fiji: A Novel), The Orphan Trilogy was first published in 2013 by Sterling Gate Books. A feature film adaptation of The Ninth Orphan is currently being developed.

The Orphan Trilogy on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGGM05U/

The Orphan Trilogy on Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BGGM05U/

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World Odyssey (The World Duology, #1)

Set in the nineteenth century, World Odyssey follows the fortunes of three young travelers as each embarks on an epic journey. Their dramatic adventures span sixteen years and see them engage with American Indians, Barbary Coast pirates, Aborigines, Maoris and Pacific Islanders as they travel around the world - from America to Africa, from England to the Canary Islands, to Australia, New Zealand and Samoa.

World Odyssey (kindle edition) : http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HHVOMO0/

Description: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519E4yr7qDL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

Fiji: A Novel (The World Duology, #2)

Fiji is a spellbinding novel of adventure, cultural misunderstandings, religious conflict and sexual tension set in one of the most exotic and isolated places on earth.

Fiji: A Novel (kindle edition): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057YCZM0/

Fiji: A Novel (paperback edition): http://www.amazon.com/dp/0473194716/

The World Duology (World Odyssey / Fiji: A Novel)

The World Duology (kindle edition): http://www.amazon.com/World-Duology-Odyssey-Fiji-Novel-ebook/dp/B00HMQRMFG/

Set in the nineteenth century, The World Duology (World Odyssey / Fiji: A Novel) follows the fortunes of three young travelers. Their dramatic adventures span sixteen years and see them engage with American Indians, Barbary Coast pirates, Aborigines, Maoris and Pacific Islanders as they travel around the world - from America to Africa, from England to the Canary Islands, to Australia, New Zealand, Samoa and Fiji.

In book one, World Odyssey , ambitious American adventurer Nathan Johnson, sheltered English missionary Susannah Drake and irrepressible Cockney Jack Halliday each follow very different paths.

Nathan's journey begins when runs away to sea and finds himself the slave of a Northwest American Indian tribe after his ship founders on the rocky coast; Susannah's journey begins after she agrees to accompany her clergyman father to Fiji to help him run a mission station there, and they must endure a nightmare voyage they're lucky to survive; Jack's journey begins when he's sentenced to seven years' hard labor in the British penal colony of New South Wales after stealing hemp from an unscrupulous employer.

After traveling thousands of miles and experiencing the best and worst that life can offer, these three disparate individuals eventually end up in the remote archipelago of Fiji, in the South Pacific, where their lives intersect.

In book two, Fiji: A Novel , Jack sets himself up to trade Fijian kauri to European traders while Nathan trades muskets to the same natives Susannah and her father are trying to convert to Christianity. Conflict's inevitable.

Susannah despises Nathan, but is also attracted to him. She soon finds she's torn between her spiritual and sexual selves.

When their lives are suddenly endangered by marauding cannibals, all three are forced to rely on each other for their very survival.

Written by father-and-son writing team Lance & James Morcan (authors of The Orphan Trilogy), The World Duology is an epic historical adventure series published by Sterling Gate Books. A feature film adaptation of Fiji is currently being developed.

★★★★ ★ "I was immediately drawn into the story, and the fast-paced action kept me turning the pages until the end. The historical and cultural details made it a highly interesting book offering an insight into the anthropological issues at a time when conflicts between different ethnic groups were solved by brutal violence. Between romance, action and historical accuracy, this story has all the elements of great entertainment. I would highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical fiction or epic adventures."
-Karine Brégeon (author of 'Francette and the Mystery of the Deaf Soldier')

★★★★ ★ "Great adventure" -Lynelle Clark (author of 'A Pirate's Wife')
★★★★ ★ "Historic fiction at its best" -J.B. DiNizo (author of 'Comings and Goings')
★★★★ ★ "A truly gripping epic James Michener style!" -Historical Novel Review

The World Duology (kindle edition): http://www.amazon.com/World-Duology-Odyssey-Fiji-Novel-ebook/dp/B00HMQRMFG/

Into the Americas (A novel based on a true story)

Into the Americas (kindle edition): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YJKM51E

INTO THE AMERICAS (A novel based on a true story) is a gritty, real-life adventure based on one of history’s greatest survival stories. It was inspired by the diary entries of young English blacksmith John Jewitt during his time aboard the brigantine The Boston and also during his sojourn at Nootka Sound, on North America's western seaboard, from 1802 to 1805.

Written by father-and-son writing team Lance & James Morcan (authors of The World Duology and The Orphan Trilogy), INTO THE AMERICAS is a tale of two vastly different cultures – Indigenous North American and European civilization – colliding head on. It is also a Romeo and Juliet story set in the wilderness.

Nineteen year-old blacksmith John Jewitt is one of only two survivors after his crewmates clash with the fierce Mowachaht tribe in the Pacific Northwest. A life of slavery awaits John and his fellow survivor, a belligerent American sailmaker, in a village ruled by the iron fist of Maquina, the all-powerful chief. Desperate to taste freedom again, they make several doomed escape attempts over mountains and sea. Only their value to the tribe and John’s relationship with Maquina prevents their captors from killing them.

As the seasons pass, John ‘goes Indian’ after falling in love with Eu-stochee, a beautiful maiden. This further alienates him from his fellow captive whose defiance leads to violent consequences. In the bloodshed that follows, John discovers another side to himself – a side he never knew existed and a side he detests. His desire to be reunited with the family and friends he left behind returns even stronger than before.

The stakes rise when John learns Eu-stochee is pregnant. When a final opportunity to escape arises, he must choose between returning to civilization or staying with Eu-stochee and their newborn son.

INTO THE AMERICAS has been adapted to a feature film screenplay and is in early development with Morcan Motion Pictures.

Into the Americas on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YJKM51E

Into the Americas Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00YJKM51E