Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 08:30:31 -0500 From: Nurev Ind Research <•••@••.•••> Organization: Nurev Independent Research To: Activist List Mail to <•••@••.•••> Subject: [Fwd: Book: Grip of Death (debt)] -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Book: Grip of Death (debt) Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 23:33:20 -0600 (CST) From: "Emilie F. Nichols" <•••@••.•••> From: Connie Fogal <•••@••.•••> Date: Sunday, November 21, 1999 6:16 PM Subject: Update Rowbotham Venues etc re Grip of Death Check out : The Claire Foss Journal.......http://cfoss.com Update on venues of Rowbotham presentations and other information re his book called: THE GRIP OF DEATH* “A study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery, and Destructive Economics” Jon Carpenter Publishing, Charlbury Oxfordshire, 1998 ISBN: 1897766408 TO ORDER, post your cheque for 15.00 sterling to Jon Carpenter Publishing, 2 The Spendlove Centre, Charlbury OX7 3PQ, England; or phone or fax your credit card details to +44 (0)1689 870437. Or e-mail •••@••.••• * Mort-gage(O.F.) “A pledge unto death” Oxford Dictionary ************************************************************* Thanks to Steven Rowat for finding the url set out below with excellent review and good comments on Rowbotham'sbook, The Grip of Death: <http://www.ainfos.ca/98/jun/ainfos00012.html> Steven Rowat says the review is easy reading and that probably the two key points of the book are : 1) fractional reserve banking debt-money (that must pay back interest) drives the world's corporate growth model indefinitely, and 2) the creation of this money is in the hands of private profit-seekers, instead of the government, which is wrong. P.S. To save you the trouble of going to the site, here's the text as Steven Rowan copied it along with notable comments: ________________________________________________ A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E http://www.ainfos.ca/ ________________________________________________ The Grip of Death A study of modern money, debt slavery and destructive economics by Michael Rowbotham This lucid and original account of where our money comes from explains why most people and businesses are so heavily in debt. Exploding more myths than any other book this century, it's all about subjects very close to home: mortgages, building societies and banks, food and farming, transport, worldwide poverty, and what's on the supermarket shelf. It explains why virtually all the money in the world economy has been created as a debt; why only 3% of UK money exists as 'legal tender'; and why in a world reliant upon money created as debt, we are kept perpetually short of money. how and why mortgages are responsible for almost two-thirds of the total money stock in the UK, and 80% in the US. why business and corporate debt is at its highest level ever. why debts mean that a small farm can be productively very efficient, but financially not 'viable'. why national debts can never be paid off without monetary reform. how debt fuels the 'need to grow', revolutionising national and global transport strategies, destroying local markets and producers and increasing waste, pollution and resource consumption. how 'Third World debt' is a mechanism used by the developed nations to inject ever-increasing amounts of money into their own economies, and why debtor nations can never repay the debts. why politicians who rely on the banks for money can't fund public services. why 'debt-money' is undemocratic and a threat to human rights. The author proposes a new mechanism for the supply of money, creating a supportive financial environment and a decreasing reliance on debt. Michael Rowbotham is a teacher and writer. 15 pbk 352pp 1 897766 40 8 COMMENTS "Forget everything you thought you knew about money. In terms the lay person can understand, myth buster Rowbotham fearlessly reveals deeply disturbing truths about our debt-based money system that befuddle bankers, economists, and politicians. An essential self-education tool for anyone interested in creating a world that works, pushing the issues further and posing the implications more bluntly than I have seen anywhere else." David C. Korten, author, When Corporations Rule the World, and board chair, The Positive Futures Network "A trenchant analysis of the current arrangements for credit creation, a powerful indictment of their baleful consequences, and a persuasive case for reform." Prof. Bryan Gould, Vice-Chancellor, University of Waikato "As a result of fractional reserve banking over 90% of our money supply is loaned into existence by commercial banks and thus must grow by enough to at least pay the interest on the loan by which it was created. This gives a basic growth bias to the economy. Fractional reserve banking also transfers to private hands the state's traditional right to issue money, and does so in a way that increases the cyclical instability of the economy. The corrective call for 100% reserve requirements has been made periodically not only by so-called 'monetary cranks', but also by economists of impeccable reputation such as Frank Knight and Irving Fisher. Michael Rowbotham's forceful discussion is a welcome revival of an issue that has been too long dormant." Prof. Herman E. Daly "An incisive and readable book: it opens up in a very fresh way what money is and how it works (and doesn't work)." Rt Rev Peter Selby, Bishop of Worcester THE GRIP OF DEATH offers unique insights into some of the world's most pressing problems: the financial crisis in south-east Asia is due, not to poor economic management, but to the reliance of the world's economies on banking, which is an inherently unstable mechanism. most people in developed countries are up to their necks in debt, chiefly due to the system of buying homes with mortgages. But this system is itself entirely illegitimate: governments use the mortgage system as a privatised means of creating money, highly profitable for the banks and lending corporations but crippling for the borrower. the refusal to fund adequate public services governments say "We haven't got the money" is down to a refusal by governments to create and supply money themselves according to need. Instead, they entrust the supply of money to banks, who only create money as a debt where interest can be charged on it. Virtually all money is thus created as a debt, purely as a profit-making exercise. But this is a choice made by government. all Third World debt should be repudiated. As this book shows, most such debts were and are created by the institutions of the developed countries as a mechanism for injecting more money into their own economies. They were never intended to finance the underdeveloped world or relieve poverty, and they don't. the UK government is cutting expenditure in order to reduce the national debt. Yet national debts can never be repaid. In any case the UK debt and annual deficit is far lower than in many economically successful European countries. So why will the government not stop this charade and pay better welfare and health benefits and fund education properly? All in all, a crippling attack on the popular assumptions surrounding economics, money and borrowing, and the relationship between the rich Northern world and the poor South. ******************************************************** A PRESENTATION BY MICHAEL ROWBOTHAM , a British Scholar and author Sponsored by C.O.M.E.R.(Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform), The Defence of Canadian Liberty Committee (DCLC), the Canadian Action Party (CAP), Citizens Concerned About Free Trade, Canada's National Interest Council, C.C.P.A,and other possible sponsors including C.H.O.I.C.E.S., and The Human Rights Institute Updated venue information: In Vancouver, B.C. Wednesday, November 24 ,1999 at the Empire Landmark Hotel, 1400 Robson St. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Admission: by donation Contact Jim Jordan 604 277 4139 e mail c/o •••@••.••• (Also airing either on the John Pifer radio show at 9:00 AM Wed. Nov 24 on AM1040 Vancouver BC or on David Ingram Rogers TV Vancouver to air at 9:00 AM, 1:00 PM and 11:00 pm on Wednesday Nov 24) In Vernon, B.C. Thursday November 25 , 1999 at the Vernon Lodge 7:30 p.m. Admission: suggested donation of $5.00 Contact Clair Foss 250 547 9798 In Winnipeg Sunday November 28 The Imperial Veterans Branch of the Canadian Legion 7:30 PM 280 St MarySt. (corner of Smith and St Mary) Contact: Lisa Shaw CCPA-MB Communications Research •••@••.••• Phone: 204 - 925 - 8781 In Toronto November 29, 1999 OISE, 252 Bloor St. W. (St. George subway) 7:30 p.m. Admission free (Donation encouraged) Phone: (416) 654 - 3499) •••@••.••• In Peterborough, Ontario November 30 St Andrews Church 441 Rubridge St., Peterborough Ont. 7:00 PM Contact Herb Wiseman Phone: (705) 741 - 4452 •••@••.••• In Montreal December 2 Potential venues McGill or Concordia University. Contact Peter McCrindle Phone: (514) 428 - 0921 •••@••.••• In Ottawa Friday December 3 (Note it is not the 1st as previously broadcast) Unitarian Church Hall 30 Cleary Ave. 7:30 PM Free admission, donations to defray costs accepted. David Creighton Phone: wk. (613) 763 - 6402 •••@••.••• home: (613) 728 - 5716 I EDMONTON : THIS VENUE AND SPONSORSHIP IS SEPARATE AND DIFFERENT FROM THE PUBLIC MEETINGS ABOVE. IT IS POSSIBLY A CONFERENCE THAT MAY REQUIRE APPLICATION IN ADVANCE. IT IS SPONSORED BY THE PARKLAND ASSOCIATION WHO INITIATED THE BRINGING IN OF ROWBOTHAM TO CANADA. In Edmonton November 26-27 UNIVERSTIY OF ALBERTA. Contact Mark Anielski for details Website: http://www.bus.ualberta.ca/cpmm/ Email: •••@••.••• Phone: 780 - 492 - 1371 TO ORDER, post your cheque for 15.00 sterling to Jon Carpenter Publishing, 2 The Spendlove Centre, Charlbury OX7 3PQ, England; or phone or fax your credit card details to +44 (0)1689 870437. Or e-mail •••@••.••• Tony Gosling •••@••.••• Personal/research web pages http://www.tlio.demon.co.uk/index.htm 31 Exmoor Street, Bedminster, BRISTOL, BS3 1HD, England. Home: Tel. +44 (0)117 908 0047 Work: EVNUK Tel. +44 (0)117 922 4391 "Politics is the shadow cast over society by big business" John Dewey ***A-INFOS DISCLAIMER - IMPORTANT PLEASE NOTE*** A-Infos disclaims responsibility for the information in this message. ******** The A-Infos News Service ******** COMMANDS: •••@••.••• REPLIES: •••@••.••• HELP: •••@••.••• WWW: http://www.ainfos.ca/ INFO: http://www.ainfos.ca/org ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DEFENCE of CANADIAN LIBERTY COMMITTEE/LE COMITÉ de la LIBERTÉ CANADIENNE C/0 CONSTANCE FOGAL LAW OFFICE, #401 -207 West Hastings St., Vancouver, B.C. V6B1H7 Tel: (604)687-0588; fax: (604) 872 -1504 or (604) 688-0550;cellular(604) 202 7334; E-MAIL •••@••.•••; www.canadianliberty.bc.ca “The constitution of Canada does not belong either to Parliament, or to the Legislatures; it belongs to the country and it is there that the citizens of the country will find the protection of the rights to which they are entitled” Supreme Court of Canada A.G. of Nova Scotia and A.G. of Canada, S.C.R. 1951 pp 32
