The Open Trade Network

Money Versus Wealth by David C. Korten

Thur, 04 Jan 2007 17:18:24 +0100

This article draws a clear distinction between money and wealth and shows how that confusion is leading to the impoverishment of most of us and the destruction of the planet.

Money Masters and other videos

Thur, 04 Jan 2007 17:23:24 +0100

These videos focus again on the nature of money, debt and banks in our time. Note that the Money Masters video comes from the perspective that sees the invention of fiat money as a good thing provided it is in the hands of the state and not private banks. Nevertheless, a valuable historical account of US banking in particular.

Where the Buck Stops

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 15:49:24 +0100

This talk by Abdalhamid Evans from the 1987 Norwich Seminar "Usury: The Root Cause of The Injustices of Our Times" locates the issue of usury squarely in our contemporary situation. It is one of the best general purpose introductions to the matter.

The History of Usury

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 15:49:44 +0100

Abdalhaqq Bewley's talk from the 1987 Norwich Seminar "Usury: The Root Cause of The Injustices of Our Times" gives the historical background to how usury, which had been regarded as a mortal sin, became centre-stage, a history long forgotten.

The False Growth Cycle Inherent in the Credit-based Economy Together with some Historical Illustrations

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:30:14 BST

Aisha Bewley's talk - "The False Growth Cycle Inherent in the Credit-based Economy Together with some Historical Illustrations" - from the 1987 Norwich Seminar "Usury: The Root Cause of The Injustices of Our Times" Among other things, provides history of societies that were dynamic and thriving commercial societies without usurious finance: the Venetians and the Ottomans.

The Setting

Wed, 29 Jul 2006 18:03:14 BST

Ibrahim Lawson's talk - from the 1987 Norwich Seminar "Usury: The Root Cause of The Injustices of Our Times". sks the key question as to what kind of society is it that allows usury to happen?

Usury and Its Effect on the Environment: a Local View

Wed, 29 Jul 2006 18:04:14 BST

Dr. Yasin Dutton's talk - - from the 1987 Norwich Seminar "Usury: The Root Cause of The Injustices of Our Times" looks at 1980's agricultural policies to show the destruction that usury causes to the ecology.

Interview with Aaron Russo

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 20:30:14 BST

This interview with Aaron Russo the director of "America: from freedom to fascism" is dynamite. He talks about money, gold, banks and the alarming totalitarianism of our governments.

The History of Oil

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 20:27:38 BST

Robert Newman's take on the History of Oil. This unusual comedy routine is remarkably well-informed about the workings of money, oil and war in our recent history. Highly recommended.

Open Trade Network and the Black History Month

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 20:27:29 BST

This year, as usual, the Open Trade Network will be organising markets for the Black History Month in Norwich, Great Yarmouth and some other towns. The markets will be organised according to the principles of Open Trade. Stallholders will not be charged ﾔrentﾕ for their plot, neither will there be a levy on their earnings. Open Trade Network will make a small charge for the organisation, publicity and running costs. However, the aim of OTN ﾐ a non-profit making organisation ﾐ is to provide open access to the market-place, so as much as possible we will be keeping those charges to a minimum. We want it to be a large, exciting, vibrant event. This is our way of encouraging and fostering change.

The Bell Tolls for the Dollar

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 15:48:00 +0100

"The bell tolls for the US Dollar because it is doomed. Like the Dodo bird, the US Dollar will, within the foreseeable future, disappear into the history books in the chapter on "Extinct Species". This will be an event of profound importance that will impact every being on the planet. It will impact all corporations and businesses around the world. It is not too far fetched to say that it will be the most important investment variable in the years ahead. It will transcend fundamental and technical analysis. Such analyses require a firm measuring device, but that measuring device will be destroyed. It is vital for our mental, physical and financial health that we all understand what is happening and why. I am only the messenger, so please be kind to me. I just call the shots as I see them, so let me explain my reasons in more detail." Alf Field

War and Poverty - the facts

Sat, 20 Aug 2005 13:09:56 BST

The G8 proposals will mean around $2bn debt relief a year. US arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin made $17bn profit last year alone.

The ghost at Gleneagles

Sat, 09 Jul 2005 13:56:56 BST

In the orgy of summit coverage something has been overlooked: the two men at the heart of it, telling us how the world should be run, are the men responsible for Fallujah and Abu Ghraib. By John Pilger. This eloquent piece sums up a great deal of the sham that was Live8 and the Make Poverty History events.

THE MULTIBILLION ROBBERY THE US CALLS RECONSTRUCTION

Fri, 06 May 2005 19:33:56 BST

THE MULTIBILLION ROBBERY THE US CALLS RECONSTRUCTION

The shameless corporate feeding frenzy in Iraq is fuelling the resistance

Naomi Klein

Saturday June 26, 2004

The Guardian (London)

Good news out of Baghdad: the Program Management Office, which oversees the $18.4bn in US reconstruction funds, has finally set a goal it can meet. Sure, electricity is below pre-war levels, the streets are rivers of sewage and more Iraqis have been fired than hired. But now the PMO has contracted the British mercenary firm Aegis to protect its employees from "assassination, kidnapping, injury and" - get this - "embarrassment". I don't know if Aegis will succeed in protecting PMO employees from violent attack, but embarrassment? I'd say mission already accomplished. The people in charge of rebuilding Iraq can't be embarrassed, because, clearly, they have no shame.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Fri, 06 May 2005 19:00:10 BST

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man:
HOW THE U.S. USES GLOBALIZATION TO CHEAT POOR COUNTRIES OUT OF TRILLIONS Friday, December 31st, 2004

We spend the hour with John Perkins, a former respected member of the international banking community. In his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man he describes how as a highly paid professional, he helped the U. S. cheat poor countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by lending them more money than they could possibly repay and then taking over their economies.

John Perkins describes himself as a former economic hit man - a highly paid professional who cheated countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars.

CORPORATE ASSASSIN

Fri, 06 May 2005 18:59:18 BST

CORPORATE ASSASSIN By David Podvin 04/02/05

George W. Bush is a murderer, and a prolific one at that. He has deployed surrogates to kill more than one hundred thousand Iraqi civilians in a ruthless slaughter that is ongoing. The fact that he murders via remote control from the Oval Office does not confer legitimacy to his crimes. If anything, it makes them all the more despicable.

サhe corpses of husbands and wives and their children decorate the Iraqi countryside courtesy of the family values president, an evil man whose malevolence provokes nary a discouraging word from the American political/journalistic establishment that avoids the truth as though it had leprosy.

THE RISE OF DISASTER CAPITALISM

Fri, 06 May 2005 18:57:22 BST

THE RISE OF DISASTER CAPITALISM by Naomi Klein Published on Friday, April 15, 2005 from the May 2, 2005 issue of The Nation.

Last summer, in the lull of the August media doze, the Bush Administration's doctrine of preventive war took a major leap forward. On August 5, 2004, the White House created the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, headed by former US Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual. Its mandate is to draw up elaborate "post- conflict" plans for up to twenty-five countries that are not, as of yet, in conflict. According to Pascual, it will also be able to coordinate three full-scale reconstruction operations in different countries "at the same time," each lasting "five to seven years."

Fittingly, a government devoted to perpetual pre-emptive deconstruction now has a standing office of perpetual pre-emptive reconstruction.

Naomi Klein is the author of No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies (Picador) and, most recently, Fences and Windows: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the Globalization Debate (Picador).

G8

Wed, 29 Jun 2005 17:36:59:18 BST

See the second Open Trade Network banner and our flyers used at the alternative G8 events in Edinburgh, in the Meadows on Saturday the 2nd July and at the Usher Hall on Sunday the 3rd July, 2005.