BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: Bill D
Date: 27 Feb 08 - 11:46 AM

pdq.. *I* am not in the business of investigating....nor do I have any 'friends' who are.

IF anyone has conducted business in an improper way, I hope they WILL be investigated....but it seems to me that you are just trying to whitewash Republican sins by suggesting that you can find some Democrats that 'might' also be implicated.

Greed is not restricted to Republicans....but I am NOT going to debate individual cases with you. *I* cannot do that much research...did you? Or did you just hear it somewhere?

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: pdq
Date: 27 Feb 08 - 11:37 AM

Bill D,

Perhaps you and your friends, the reformers, will investigate Diane Feinstein. Her husband bought two companies who had defence contracts with the US government. This was done with insider information of coming military actions.

As head of military appropriations, she sent these companies 12 billion dollars in business. One company's stock went through the roof due to the huge contracts she (mis)directed. Her hubby sold that company for a cool 1/2 billion profit.

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: Bill D
Date: 27 Feb 08 - 11:26 AM

*sigh* ...Obviously, exploiting disaster for corporate gain is nothing new. It's practically an automated response in some circles, and under this administration, it has been given far greater latitude by Bush, Cheney & crowd.

Like "Future Shock" many years ago, "Shock Doctrine" is a concept that deserved a book to lay out the trend and suggest remedies...and I am glad to see it getting attention.....but....(You suspected there was a 'but' coming, didn't you?)....the name is misleading. It is not like "The Monroe Doctrine", which was a policy within the government; it is only a description of a set of business attitudes which need to be closely monitored and restricted.

   But, as Little Hawk notes, it is one thing to try to manipulate commerce, laws, military policy and media through cronyism after the fact of a disaster..(the Republicans should be required to put that in their platform!)...it is quite another to suggest, as Carol is again doing, that disasters were **arranged** in order to facilitate business interests!
   Once you buy into that notion, which is FAR from proven, you will be seeing conspiracies behind every door and under every rock, and spend time turning over rocks to look for more....very much like 'seeing' images of the Virgin Mary in tree bark and rust patterns on old water towers! "It's all there if you just look hard enough."

Let's just finish the election...hopefully with a larger Democratic majority...then press Congress to start clamping down on corporate practices.

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: CarolC
Date: 27 Feb 08 - 10:38 AM

Here's a good video of Naomi Klien talking about this subject...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki227rUFf_k


For those who say the government had no motive for wanting to engineer the events on 9/11, I think this is more than ample motive.

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: Little Hawk
Date: 19 Oct 07 - 07:04 AM

Crimes, period. The Shock Doctrine has indeed been used by many autocratic systems, probably since time immemorial, but it's really getting use bigtime lately by the New World Order. Every new crisis provides another opportunity to tighten the screws on the ordinary public. The only question is, do you wait for a crisis to conveniently come along...or do you arrange one? Doing the latter is riskier, because you might get caught, but the temptation to do it probably outweighs the fear of being exposed most of the time...and if you control the mainstream media, well, who's to worry?

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: CarolC
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 11:43 PM

Sounds like war crimes to me.

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 12:47 PM

I heard Naomi Klein being interviewed on this a couple months ago..
- this idea of pushing for change when people are disoriented by a crisis-- its not necessarily radical capitalism, it can be any ideology
although certainly the crew in washington has been doing it..

they brought Yegor Gaidar to Iraq, shortly after the invasion.
(hes the architect of the major economic changes in Yeltsins Russia, when they gave away the state industry for a pittance - that PUtin has been working on recovering lately)
Gaidars suggestion was that it be done even faster in Iraq, ie. sell off the oil industry, eliminate oil & food subsidies for the people - before they realize whats going on..

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: CarolC
Date: 17 Oct 07 - 10:21 PM

Thinking is good...

;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: Riginslinger
Date: 17 Oct 07 - 09:59 PM

Okay, I listened to the tape. I even listened to part of the 2nd one. I agree with the principle, and I agree that corporate structures are at the root of a lot of misery.

                  I believe Kennedy and Johnson started the Vietnam war, and I believe Kennedy was murdered because he didn't want to continue it.

                  But I'm not ready to buy-off on everything this guy says.

                  I'm thinking...

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: Riginslinger
Date: 17 Oct 07 - 01:59 PM

Carol - I'm at work now; will have to view the items later. I think I've heard this guy before, though.

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: CarolC
Date: 17 Oct 07 - 11:30 AM

Somebody is pulling the strings, Riginslinger. Watch the videos in this thread...


http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=105261

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: Riginslinger
Date: 17 Oct 07 - 08:26 AM

Disaster capitalism seems to work in theory, but it also assumes somebody is pulling the strings. It's a pretty big step to make that assumption, though not totally improbable.

                The video is really interesting.

Subject: RE: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: Amos
Date: 17 Oct 07 - 01:02 AM

The Shock Doctrine is a really interesting notion. Thanks for pointing it out.

A

Subject: BS: Disaster Capitalism & The Shock Doctrine
From: CarolC
Date: 16 Oct 07 - 10:44 PM

I think this article and video are worth checking out for some perspective on the state of the world and the direction in which it's headed...

http://www.democruptcy.com/disaster-capitalism/

http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine/short-film