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Davos
Jan 23, 2013 17:19:12 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on Jan 23, 2013 17:19:12 GMT -5
So Davos 2013 has started, where the economic and political elites come to think Big Thoughts and try to get in front of the waves of change. The theme for this year? "Dynamic Resilience", whatever THAT means. Sounds like an oxymoron, like "Business Ethics".
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Davos
Jan 25, 2013 0:32:21 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on Jan 25, 2013 0:32:21 GMT -5
Oh gosh, didn't have time today to follow the buffoonery at Davos. Maybe next year I'll get my invitation.
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Davos
Dec 10, 2013 15:54:40 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on Dec 10, 2013 15:54:40 GMT -5
dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/how-mandela-shifted-views-on-freedom-of-markets/?ref=business&_r=0"Two years later, however, Mr. Mandela changed his mind, embracing capitalism, and charted a new economic course for his country. The story of Mr. Mandela’s evolving economic view is eye-opening: It happened in January 1992 during a trip to Davos, Switzerland, for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. Mr. Mandela was persuaded to support an economic framework for South Africa based on capitalism and globalization after a series of conversations with other world leaders." "But as the five-day conference of high-level speed-dating wore on, Mr. Mandela soon decided he needed to reconsider his long-held views: “Madiba then had some very interesting meetings with the leaders of the Communist Parties of China and Vietnam,” Mr. Mboweni wrote, using Mr. Mandela’s clan name. “They told him frankly as follows: ‘ We are currently striving to privatize state enterprises and invite private enterprise into our economies. We are Communist Party governments, and you are a leader of a national liberation movement. Why are you talking about nationalization?’ ” So Mandela was converted to free market capitalism (aka loan sharking) by commies?
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Davos
Jan 22, 2014 14:49:21 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on Jan 22, 2014 14:49:21 GMT -5
america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/1/davos-inequalityeconomicsinstability.html"There’s trouble coming as the chasm between the richest of the rich and everyone else continues to widen. So says a report prepared by the World Economic Forum, the nonprofit foundation that hosts its annual conference of business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, popular with the world’s billionaires. The forum’s 14th annual assessment of risks, issued just ahead of the Davos gathering, makes clear that social instability, whether measured in mere riots or in bloody revolutions, is the likely outcome of increasing inequality. The report speaks of a lost generation of young people worldwide who are finishing school only to find a paucity of jobs, which in turn creates pressure to lower wages. “Widening gaps between the richest and poorest citizens threaten social and political stability as well as economic development,” the report said." "The four-day Davos conference, which begins today, will draw six dozen or so billionaires this year as well as several hundred other people rich enough to have their own jets. Davos will also draw a far larger crowd of government officials, vendors of financial services and journalists." "Oxfam, the British relief charity, keyed off the Davos report with one of its own that made two powerful points: The 85 richest humans hold more wealth than the 3.5 billion people who constitute the bottom half. These disparities in wealth and income result from “political capture,” in which the wealthy use their economic power to make sure “the rules bend to favor the rich, often to the detriment of everyone else. The consequences include the erosion of democratic governance, the pulling apart of social cohesion, and the vanishing of equal opportunities for all.” If I was a billionaire, I wouldn't worry too much about the consequences of inequality. That's what millions of police and thousands of prisons are for. Also, the wealthy have the media under their thumb to keep people docile. Hey, if you are suffering it's YOUR fault, or so I hear almost every day on the radio, TV, and newspaper. So all you young people should just keep quiet, play your video games, get drunk and party on, and do what you are told.
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Davos
Jan 24, 2014 0:31:44 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on Jan 24, 2014 0:31:44 GMT -5
www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/21/at-davos-2014-the-gods-of-mischief-rule.html"Even the high and mighty assembling at the Swiss resort recognize, now, that grotesque inequality is the greatest threat to world peace. Their answer: Party on!Not so long ago and not so very far away, there were people who thought they were masters of the universe. They were very powerful and very rich (and very often both), and each year they got together on a mountaintop in Switzerland to congratulate themselves, network with each other and confer about how best to bring order and prosperity to humankind. From afar, the confab known as the World Economic Forum in Davos looked a little like Asgard, the mythical home of the Norse gods. Up close, slipping along the icy sidewalks with people partying all night in a hodgepodge of hotels, it looked like Loki, the god of mischief, was running the show." The party never ends for the wealthy...
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Davos
Jan 24, 2014 15:31:41 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on Jan 24, 2014 15:31:41 GMT -5
www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/01/24/davos-texas-governor-rick-perry/4822637/"One newcomer to Davos this year was Texas Governor Rick Perry. Like every Davos rookie, the governor said he was stunned by the incredible access to world leaders, the snowy beauty of the Swiss mountains, and the unbelievable ability of the Swiss police to actually move 2,500 entitled people around a tiny ski resort, and still provide security. Perry said he had more important meetings with international counterparts in the last 48 hours then in months, and that he was looking forward to seeing Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu and Shimon Peres later." The Texas hick does Davos. Maybe he can find Switzerland on a map now. Or not.
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Davos
Jan 24, 2014 21:10:21 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on Jan 24, 2014 21:10:21 GMT -5
Come to think of it, it would be amusing if Perry became big pals with Netanyahu and Peres. Texas and Israel could then become the Axis of Religious Fanaticism!
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Davos
Jan 26, 2014 1:07:47 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on Jan 26, 2014 1:07:47 GMT -5
www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-kerry-mideast-20140125,0,7513517.story#axzz2rTw2jWLQ "Senior officials in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel all have complained about what they view as an American retrenchment after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with some leaders already beginning to chart policies more independent of Washington than in the past. Secretary of State John F. Kerry sought to ease those concerns Friday, insisting in a foreign policy address during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that "it is a myth that we are pulling back or giving up or standing down.... Nothing could be further from the truth." I don't think Kerry is lying to them. I wish he was.
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Davos
Jan 27, 2014 13:21:11 GMT -5
Post by Tired in CV on Jan 27, 2014 13:21:11 GMT -5
The Texas hick does Davos. Maybe he can find Switzerland on a map now. Or not. [/font][/quote] Well, Obama (57 states) hasn't found or explained the other 7 states yet! And that is just LOCAL news!
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Davos
Jan 27, 2014 13:25:39 GMT -5
Post by Tired in CV on Jan 27, 2014 13:25:39 GMT -5
www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-kerry-mideast-20140125,0,7513517.story#axzz2rTw2jWLQ "Senior officials in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel all have complained about what they view as an American retrenchment after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with some leaders already beginning to chart policies more independent of Washington than in the past. Secretary of State John F. Kerry sought to ease those concerns Friday, insisting in a foreign policy address during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that "it is a myth that we are pulling back or giving up or standing down.... Nothing could be further from the truth." I don't think Kerry is lying to them. I wish he was. I think he is lying! Obama doesn't want any troops in the Middle East unless he can PROFIT personally. He delayed the pull-out of Afghanistan to help with election results and he is going to use them again to help the Democrats 2016. Does that mean that Kerry might run also?? He is as much of an idiot as "HIPS" is, and just as corrupt!
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Davos
May 27, 2014 12:38:23 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on May 27, 2014 12:38:23 GMT -5
www.dw.de/inclusive-capitalism-the-big-new-thing/a-17665826 "The global financial crisis that began in 2007-2008 has led to wide-ranging criticism of the world's current finance-driven capitalism. A conference in London aimed at addressing some of capitalism's shortfalls has been organised by the "Inclusive Capitalism Initiative" (ICI), convened by a senior member of one of the world’s leading financial-capitalist dynasties, Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild. ICI’s aim is to adjust the workings of the capitalist system so that it works well for more people. Not incidentally, this is seen as necessary in order to restore trust in capitalism, and so head off possible threats to its continuing dominance as a social and economic model." Sound like a mini-Davos to me. What I've heard is already amazing to me. Lady Rothschild claims "The business of business is not to solve society's problems." Really? Then what IS the justification of it? But I am happy Capitalism is being put on the defensive, not that I think it is in any danger. As I've said before, Capitalism is a scam but it's the only game in town. But trust Capitalism? Never.
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Davos
Jan 22, 2015 1:56:43 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on Jan 22, 2015 1:56:43 GMT -5
www.wsj.com/articles/the-global-economy-damaged-but-not-sunk-1421775573"The perils of forecasting: 12 months ago, as World Economic Forum delegates gathered in Davos, nobody predicted Russia would, within months, annex part of a neighboring state, and anyone anticipating a halving of oil prices would have been guided to a darkened room and told to lie down. But other developments were more foreseeable: Low growth and low inflation in the eurozone were to hold back Europe’s ability to emerge from its debt crisis and reduce high unemployment. Partly as a result, the political mainstream in many European countries weakened, and nationalist parties grew in strength. Governments elsewhere struggled to cope with the powerful currents buffeting their nations. In one way or another, most of these developments—foreseen or not—now risk further erosion of the fabric of our internationalized, interconnected world economy." So the world's big cheeses are gathering together again in Davos to talk about the direction they will herd the world's sheeple this year. If only Russia and the Islamists would do what they were told it would make things a lot easier. But hey, who wants their fabric eroded? Sounds painful. And it's the "internationalized, interconnected world economy" that shipped my job overseas, so screw everyone.
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Davos
Jan 23, 2015 20:39:40 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on Jan 23, 2015 20:39:40 GMT -5
money.cnn.com/2015/01/23/news/economy/rich-poor-inequality-davos-world-economic-forum/"The World Economic Forum, attended by business and political leaders, has the ambitious goal of "improving the state of the world." Posters with the slogan hang all over the conference venue in Davos. And some of the rich gathered in the exclusive Swiss ski resort are convinced they are doing their bit already -- just by being wealthy. The audience at a celebrity-loaded debate Friday on jobs and income inequality were asked whether the rich take more from the world than they contribute. Perhaps not surprisingly, about 90% saw themselves as net contributors." I guess "bad guys" are in the eyes of the beholder. The ultra-rich may or may not be "bad", but I bet they are rabid supporters of the status quo that has made them obscenely rich.
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Davos
Jan 25, 2015 15:00:04 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on Jan 25, 2015 15:00:04 GMT -5
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/23/is-davos-excuse-for-1-percent-to-have-bonding-session"Davos is not a decision-making forum, it is a gab fest. A gab fest for some of the richest and cleverest people in the world, but still a gab fest. And the quality of the gab depends on those who show up. Piketty was not in attendance this year, which was like putting on Hamlet without the prince. Everybody would have liked to hear from Mario Draghi, but the president of the European Central Bank was busy in Frankfurt trying to save the eurozone from deflation. Vladimir Putin was another notable non-attender. Another problem, identified by Lord Turner, the former head of the UK’s Financial Services Authority, is that Davos has a settled world view that changes at a glacial pace, if at all. There was nobody at this year’s WEF, for example, arguing that Europe would be better off without the euro. Nobody gives it to the status quo with both barrels. Al Gore on climate change was as radical as it got. This groupthink is potentially dangerous but perhaps inevitable. For Davos man and woman, life is pretty sweet. Which is why there are some who say the true motto of the WEF should be: committed to improving the state of the world provided nothing much changes."
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Davos
Jan 18, 2016 2:11:50 GMT -5
Post by jdredd on Jan 18, 2016 2:11:50 GMT -5
www.bbc.com/news/business-35285852"It's that time of year when the rich, powerful and downright famous head to a Swiss mountain village to discuss the big issues of the day and attempt to put the world to rights. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has grown from a small huddle in the 1970s, when it was started by the academic Klaus Schwab, to hosting more than 2,500 participants, of which more than 1,000 are chief executives or company chairs and more than 40 are world leaders. This year, the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Will.i.am and Formula 1's Sebastian Vettel will be jostling for pole position against Bill Gates, Bono, Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and Canada's Justin Trudeau. The refugee crisis, climate change and rising interest rates are likely to be among the big themes." It's baaaccckkkk!!! Yes, Davos 2016 is upon us, and once again my invitation must have been lost in the mail, or gone to Bono by mistake. And gosh, the "big themes" are so interesting. I'm kidding, of course. What a bunch of crap.
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