VITAL SIGNSrnBUSINESSrnWall StreetrnImperialismrnby Bob DjurdjevicrnParallels between the British Empirernand the New World Order are striking.rnThe principal difference is that thernBritish crown relied on brute force tornachieve its objectives, while the NWOrnelite mostly use financial terrorism (exceptrnfor occasional raw power demonstrations,rnsuch as in the Gulf War or inrnBosnia). The Great Asian Banking Crisisrnhas accentuated both the similaritiesrnand the differences between the two empires.rnThe British Empire was built by colonizingrnother countries, seizing their naturalrnresources, and shipping them tornEngland to feed the British industrialists’rnfactories. In the wake of the “red coat”rninvasions, local cultures were often trampledrnand replaced by a “more progressive”rnBritish way of life.rnThe Wall Street-dominated NWOrnEmpire is being built by colonizing otherrncountries with foreign loans or investments.rnOnce those countries are firmlyrnin their debt, the NWO financial terroristsrnthen leave them high and dry, beggingrnto be rescued, hi comes the hiternationalrnMonetary Fund (IMF). Itsrnbailout recipes—privatization, trade liberalization,rnand other austerity reformsrn— amount to seizing the targetrncountries’ natural and other resourcesrnand turning them over to the NWOrnelites —just as surely as the British Empirerndid by cruder methods.rn”We cannot help but question thernIMF’s attitude. The IMF is acting as ifrnit is an economic conqueror,” the governingrnGrand National Party of Korearndeclared on December 4. Korean newspaperrnheadlines also lamented the country’srnhumiliation over the $57 billionrnIMF rescue package. “South Korea hasrnvirtually lost its economic sovereignt}’ forrnthe next three years,” said the ]oongangrnllbo.rnIn the wake of the IMF invasions, localrncultures are under assault the worldrnover and threatened with replacementrnby a more progressive. Western (read:rnmaterialistic) way of life. Unfortunately,rnAmerican culture is represented by McDonald’s,rnCoca-Cola, Nike, and thernHollywood film studios. This culture isrnno more American than are the multinationalrncompanies that happen to haverntheir headquarters in the United States.rnThese “Princes of the 20th Century”rnhonor only one flag—the Almight)’ Dollar.rnAs a result, Main Street Americansrnare among the NWO’s exploited victims,rnjust like their brethren in East Asia orrnRussia.rnThere is no question that McDonald’s,rnCoke, Nike, and Hollywood representrnthe visible symbols of Americanrnneocolonialism. They are the innocentlookingrnfacades which mask the destructivernwork of Wall Street’s financial terrorists,rnwho operate deep in the bowels ofrnnational economies. “The financial turmoilrnin East Asia is a case in point,”rnMalaysia’s prime minister. Dr. MahatirrnMohamad, said on November 24 at thernAPEC (Asia Pacific Economic Communit’)rnconference in Vancouver, Canada.rn”Two decades of growth was wiped outrnin two weeks. . . . Vibrant economiesrnhave been reduced to begging for aidrnfrom the IMF.” Dr. Mahatir added thatrnthe free markets were “a recipe forrnslaven,-.”rnTrue. But during the post-Cold Warrnmarket globalization and expansionrn(1990-1996), the Asia/Pacific region attractedrnabout $375 billion in foreign investments,rnaccording to UNCTAD, arnUnited Nations agency. That’s about 74rncents of every dollar the multinationalrncompanies had invested in the developingrnworld ($505 billion), and almost arnquarter of all foreign investments madernin the world during the same periodrn($1.6 trillion —including the developedrncountries). The rate of growth of theserninvestments has been among the highestrnin the world —29 percent annually duringrnthe 1990’s, almost double that for thernworld as a whole (16 percent annually).rnThen the bubble burst last fall, and thernrecriminations followed.rn”Power corrupts,” Dr. Mahatirrnlamented. “As much as government canrnbecome corrupt when invested with absoluternpower, markets can also becomerncorrupt when equally absolutely powerful.rnWe are seeing the effect of that absoluternpower today—the impoverishmentrnand misery of millions of peoplernand their eventual slaver)’.”rnAlso true. But this recognition comesrntoo late for East Asia and for Dr. Mahatir,rnwhose country is supposed to host thernnext APEC conference. Greed and thernquest for power have enslaved them. Dr.rnMahatir and his fellow East Asian leadersrnshould have thought about this beforerntaking the NWO bait (money). Nowrnthat they are a penny short and a day late,rnremorse won’t save them from the IMF’srnbrutal collection methods. Witness thernquick buckling under of Indonesia,rnThailand, South Korea, and even ofrnJapan. The once powerful and petulantrn”Asian Tigers” are all turning into obedientrnpets, wagging their tails fast and furiouslyrnto please their NWO masters.rnBut “one man’s loss is another man’srngain.” The enormous flight of capitalrnfrom East Asia, about $1.3 trillion betweenrnmid-August and late-November,rnhas landed mostly on American and Europeanrnshores. This positive cash flowrn(from the Euro-American perspective)rntemporarily helped stabilize the Westernrnstock markets after the October 27 crash.rnBill Clinton, that unabashed championrnof the causes of the Wall Street elite,rnwas all smiles at the Vancouver summit.rnHe reveled in APEC’s endorsement ofrnthe IMF. Clinton even confidentiy predictedrnthat he would eventually overcomernhis recent failure to cajole, bribe,rnor muscle the majorit)’ of the House ofrnRepresentatives into approving the “fastrntrack” trade bill.rnBut the victory which Clinton deliveredrnto his Wall Street and big businessrnbackers at the APEC summit was a lossrnfor America’s Main Street, especiallyrnsmall American entrepreneurs —by farrnthe most vibrant and productive elementrnof the American economy. They createdrn21 million American jobs in the 1980’s,rnwhile the Fortune 500 companies downsizedrnto the tune of three million people,rnaccording to a Wall Street journal report.rnFor their efforts, these Main Street “ea-rn38/CHRONICLESrnrnrn