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NewsMax: Is George Soros Good or Evil?

05/12/2011 Leave a comment

Thursday, 15 Sep 2011 04:47 PM
By Christopher Ruddy

 

I recently received a chain email with the subject line “George Soros — This Is an Evil Man.”

Once printed, the electronic epistle goes on for no less than nine pages, detailing the claim that the billionaire investor is one of the most sinister men on the planet who “controls President Obama’s every move” as well as the moves of the entire Democratic Party, not to mention the U.S. stock market and perhaps the global economy.

“He’s anti-God, anti-family, anti-American and anti-good,” the anonymous writer claims, rattling off a litany of claims against Soros, some true, some false, some bizarre.

I seriously doubt, for instance, that President Obama takes orders from Soros. Sometimes I wonder if the president listens to anyone these days.

For many conservatives, Soros is viewed as a major political opponent. But in dealing with such an opponent it’s necessary to fully grasp who this opponent is and what he is really about.

After observing Soros for some years now, I have concluded he’s neither evil nor completely liberal. He is, in my mind, a liberal partisan whose own political views don’t fit neatly into any box.

Rightfully, he has raised the ire of conservatives here in the U.S., not so much for his ideas but for his die-hard support of Democratic candidates and liberal causes.

Soros emerged as a star in the political firmament during the 2004 election when he spent an estimated $24 million in an effort to defeat President George W. Bush, saying removing him from office was the “central focus of my life” and a “matter of life and death.”

Soros was also an early supporter of Barack Obama, though he held back significant financial support for Obama’s presidential bid in 2008. In the 2010 congressional elections, Soros, wisely, largely sat out the race, saying the Republican “avalanche” couldn’t be stopped.
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US Embassy Cables: Response to El Baradei Return to Cairo in 2010

09/09/2011 Leave a comment

El Baradei Returns to Cairo

Ref ID: 10CAIRO237
Date: 2010-02-23 13:42
Origin: Embassy Cairo
Classification: CONFIDENTIAL

VZCZCXRO0921
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #0237/01 0541343
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 231342Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0363
INFO ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CAIRO 000237

SIPDIS
FOR D (L), NEA AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2035/02/23
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM EG
SUBJECT: El Baradei Returns to Cairo

REF: 10 CAIRO 215

CLASSIFIED BY: Margaret Scobey, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B), (D)

1. (C) Key Points:

– Thousands of supporters greeted former IAEA Chairman Mohammed El Baradei upon his return to Cairo. Beleaguered leaders of the opposition seem relieved at their ability to muster a show of support for El Baradei and enthusiastic about his potential impact.

– El Baradei is seen as an “independent” and viable alternative to a corrupt regime and an ineffectual opposition.  However, the mainstream opposition appears reluctant to claim him as their own “consensus candidate.”

– In a television interview February 21, El Baradei criticized GOE corruption, election fraud, lack of political reform and failure to successfully address poverty and illiteracy.

– El Baradei met with Arab League Secretary Amre Moussa on February 22 and will begin to meet with political activists on February 23.”

– NDP reaction and government media reaction focused on El Baradei’s lack of political experience and doubts over his level of commitment.  Opinion makers in the independent media also see El Baradei as an outsider and appear wary to offer unqualified support.

Read more…

Soros backs Egypt ANHRI’s “Wasla” to give Arab bloggers exposure

07/09/2011 1 comment

AFP, Saturday, 3 April 2010

A weekly magazine aiming to link Arab bloggers with politicians and the elderly was launched in Egypt on Thursday at the initiative of a women’s group backed by US billionaire George Soros.

The weekly Wasla – or “The Link” – is being touted as a first for the Arab world, with plans for articles by bloggers as a way of giving them a wider readership.

It is published by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and financially supported by the Open Society Institute created by Soros, said ANHRI director Gamal Eid.

“We want to challenge our audience, and open its eyes to the changes society is experiencing, particularly through youths and blogs in which they appear,” he said.

“The goal is to show the older generation that certain things exist,” he said, adding as an example: “Whether we agree or not, gay communities are a reality in Egyptian and Arab societies.”

The 16-page weekly will include two pages in English and will have an initial print run of 1,000 copies for distribution to political, academic, and literary circles. An electronic version will also be available.

Source: Independent.UK

View the complete SOROS FILES

George Soros gives $100 million to Human Rights Watch

07/09/2011 1 comment

Billionaire’s biggest single grant to an American organisation will allow HRW to expand its reach into developing nations.

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 7 September 2010 

The billionaire financier George Soros is giving $100 million (£65 million) to America’s leading human rights organisation in a move that will enable the group to massively expand its operations around the world.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) will increase its staff of 300 by about a third on the back of the five-year Soros grant, using the new firepower to increase its advocacy in key emerging regions in the developing world. The donation, the largest in HRW’s history and bigger than any previous single grant from Soros to a US organisation, aims to help the group fulfil its ambition to boast a truly global reach.

The New York-based organisation, formed in 1978 as Helsinki Watch, has built its reputation as a leading watchdog on governmental abuses around the world. But it has tended to focus its energies on western capitals, believing the best way to improve human rights was to persuade developed countries to use their muscle to effect change.

Increasingly, though, the group has become aware of the strength of developing nations such as Brazil, South Africa and India, who may now hold more sway in their regions than Washington, London or Berlin. The Soros grant will be used to beef up operations in those countries.

“Think of Zimbabwe,” Kenneth Roth, HRW’s director, said. “The US and European Union all have great policies on Zimbabwe, but it’s not enough: the key to changing Mugabe is South Africa.”

Roth also gave the example of Sri Lanka, where both the United States and the European Union have strong human rights policies but have failed to prevent president Mahinda Rajapaksa “thumbing his nose at the West”. A HRW focus on India and other Asian countries, including China, could have more impact.

Announcing the grant, Soros said he was drawn to the idea of helping the group extend its global influence as part of his philanthropic mission to use his huge wealth, obtained through interventions in the money markets, to forward the cause of open societies.

“Human rights underpin our greatest aspirations: they’re at the heart of open societies,” he said. “Human Rights Watch must be present in capitals around the globe, addressing local issues, allied with local rights groups and engaging with local government officials.”

The grant, Soros said, would inspire a sea-change in the organisation that would result in its largely New York-based management having up to half its board members outside the US.

So far this year Soros has handed out about $800m through his Open Society Foundations. Despite the economic downturn, which has caused a dip in philanthropic giving, Soros has been increasing his largesse recently, partly, he has said, out of recognition of his age – he turned 80 last month – and a desire to distribute much of his wealth during his lifetime.

Soros was born in Hungary. He is a consummate player of international currencies, and is famous for having made about $1 billion during the Black Wednesday crisis in the UK in 1992.

His donation comes at an opportune moment for HRW. The group has had a turbulent year, sustaining criticism for its reporting on Gaza war crimes, which it said amounted to a disinformation campaign by the Israeli government. Its own co-founder, Robert Bernstein, has accused the group of bias against Israel in its handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Source:  Guardian.UK

US Embassy Cables: 2009 El Baradei Presidential Candidacy Remain Unclear

03/09/2011 Leave a comment

EL BARADEI’S “CONDITIONED” PRESIDENTIAL RUN

Ref ID: 09CAIRO2279

Date: 2009-12-10 13:35

Origin: Embassy Cairo

Classification: CONFIDENTIAL

VZCZCXRO2572
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #2279/01 3441335
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 101335Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4421
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 002279

SIPDIS

NSC FOR AGUIRRE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT: EL BARADEI’S “CONDITIONED” PRESIDENTIAL RUN

REF: CAIRO 2209

Classified By: Minister-Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs Donald A. Blome, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1.Key Points: — (C) Mohammed El Baradei’s December 4 statement stops short of a commitment to run in Egypt’s 2011 presidential elections. Now no longer at the IAEA, El Baradei expanded on earlier criticism of the state of democracy in Egypt and set a high bar for his candidacy. — (C) Reaction from members of the government and state-run media has been harsh and personal but not uniform; with some suggesting competition has its benefits. — (C) Opposition political and human rights activists have praised the “conditions” outlined by El Baradei but have not uniformly endorsed his candidacy.

2.(C) Comment: Thus far El Baradei’s true political aspirations remain unclear. He is surely aware of his ability to influence the debate at home and may only seek, as he told CNN December 6, to do what he can “to make sure that Egypt…moves in the right direction.” As a favored son of Egypt, El Baradei’s remarks are harder to reject as purely “international interference.” As a result, even if he is not a “serious candidate” El Baradei’s endorsement of “home grown” demands keeps political reform in the public spotlight, particularly in the wake of attempts by the ruling party and President Mubarak to downplay it in favor of social and economic issues. (Reftel). End Comment. Read more…

US embassy cables: April 6 activists discussed preparations for El Baradei’s Arrival with US embassy in 2010

01/09/2011 Leave a comment

ACTIVISTS PREPARE FOR EL-BARADEI’S ARRIVAL; DETAINEES RELEASED

Reference ID 10CAIRO215
Created 2010-02-18 16:04
Released 2011-01-28
Classification CONFIDENTIAL
Origin Embassy Cairo

VZCZCXYZ0006
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #0215/01 0491604
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 181603Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0300
INFO ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 000215

SIPDIS
FOR NEA/ELA AND DRL/NESCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2035/02/18
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM EG
SUBJECT: ACTIVISTS PREPARE FOR EL-BARADEI’S ARRIVAL; DETAINEES
RELEASED

REF: 09 CAIRO 2279

CLASSIFIED BY: Donald A. Blome, Minister-Counselor, State, ECPO;
REASON: 1.4(B), (D)

1. KEY POINTS

– (SBU) Activists affiliated with the political opposition are planning to greet former IAEA Chairman Mohammed El-Baradei upon his scheduled February 19 arrival in Cairo from Vienna. In recent months, El-Baradei has spoken about a possible 2011 presidential run if the GOE (Government of Egypt) enacts political reforms to ensure free and fair elections (reftel).

– (U) El-Baradei’s scheduled arrival has generated interest among political activists and the independent press.

– (C) Early on February 17, the GOE detained two “April 6″activists and filed charges against them February 18 before releasing them later in the day.

2. (C) Comment: Discussion of El-Baradei’s potential candidacy and his planned February 19 arrival seems to have energized opposition political activists and the independent press, but El-Baradei’s broader public support remains unclear. Public reaction to El-Baradei’s actions once he arrives could be an indication of his potential political staying power. El-Baradei has recently said he does not intend to run for president, but wants to advance democracy in Egypt. End comment.  Read more…

Is El-Baradei for the Egyptian people?

01/09/2011 Leave a comment

PressTV interviews Ralf Shoenman, author of the Hidden History of Zionism.
Mohamed el-Baradei, recognized by both the US and other foreign powers, who was absent from Egypt in the past 30 years, wants the top spot in the country.

But, do the Egyptian people want him and would he bring about change, which would go against the US agenda?

In this regard, Press TV interviews Ralph Shoenman, author of the Hidden History of Zionism and expert on Zionist impact on the Middle East.

Press TV: Referring to the statements made by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, where she said it is important to support the transition process headed by new vice president Suleiman. In your opinion is the US finally showing their support for Suleiman by raising his profile?

Ralf Schoenman: Let’s be clear about this. What you are describing is a cruel deception and a complete hoax; a deception and a betrayal of the Egyptian people.

A map of Turkey was published in the New York Times as a model of what is intended for Egypt. You have to keep in mind that Egypt now under Mubarak and in the past 30 years has become a semi-colonial country – One hundred families own more than 90% of all property and wealth. And the map of Turkey that was published laid out what was intended in Egypt – an alliance between the senior military and the oligarchy to preserve the status quo, to deepen the privatization of the property and the wealth of the country and to intensify the exploitation of its workers. Read more…

Obama’s War in Libya and Soros’ R2P Doctrine

24/08/2011 Leave a comment

by Rick Moran on Mar 28th, 2011

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which authorizes a no-fly zone over Libya and the protection of civilians by all means necessary, is the culmination of a decade-long effort to radically strengthen the ability of the UN to intervene in sovereign nations through the “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) doctrine. Behind the initiative are, unsurprisingly, some of the usual suspects: National Security Council adviser Samantha Power and her patron George Soros. Their call to prevent human rights abuses through military intervention masks an agenda to alter drastically the concept of state sovereignty and to allow the United Nations to essentially co-opt the US military.

A 2008 backgrounder produced by The Heritage Foundation on the Responsibility to Protect articulates one of the most dangerous aspects of the doctrine: “R2P would effectively cede U.S. national sovereignty and decision-making power over key components of national security and foreign policy and subject them to the whims of the international community.” What we are seeing unfold in Libya today may very well be a test case for this doctrine: the United Nations has “borrowed” the US military to enforce its idea of Gaddafi’s “responsibilities.” And one question of grave concern is: Might the UN also “borrow” the U.S. and other Western militaries in future to impose its will on member states it feels are not living up to the UN’s nebulous idea of state responsibilities?

Watch The Great Deception Addendum

Before we examine the ingredients of this potentially catastrophic scenario, a bit of historical background is necessary. The Responsibility to Protect doctrine, which is deliberately nebulous and ill-defined, is not new. In fact, Hitler’s intervention in the Sudetenland was justified by “humanitarian reasons.” Hitler’s propaganda machine created mass hysteria in Germany by falsely accusing Czechoslovakia of carrying out atrocities against ethnic Germans. Hitler negotiated with Neville Chamberlain on the basis that he was only going to intervene to save lives. Chamberlain may not have bought Hitler’s lies, but Munich occurred nonetheless.

The doctrine was applied sporadically for the next 50 years because military intervention of any kind during the Cold War risked nuclear confrontation. Although the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was justified by Moscow as a “humanitarian” endeavor, there were few other cases. Read more…

Soros fingerprints on Libya bombing

10/05/2011 Leave a comment

By Aaron Klein, March 23, 2011
© 2011 WorldNetDaily

Philanthropist billionaire George Soros is a primary funder and key proponent of ICG, the global organization that promotes the military doctrine used by the Obama administration to justify the recent airstrikes targeting the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya.

The activist who founded and coined the name of the doctrine, “Responsibility to Protect,” sits on several key organizations alongside Soros.

Also, the Soros-funded global group that promotes Responsibility to Protect is closely tied to Samantha Power, the National Security Council special adviser to Obama on human rights.

Power has been a champion of the doctrine and is, herself, deeply tied to the doctrine’s founder.

According to reports, Power, who is married to Obama regulatory czar Cass Sunstein, was instrumental in convincing Obama to act against Libya.

The Responsibility to Protect doctrine has been described by its founders and proponents, including Soros, as promoting global governance while allowing the international community to penetrate a nation state’s borders under certain conditions.

Libya regarded as test of global doctrine

The joint U.S. and international air strikes targeting Libya are widely regarded as a test of Responsibility to Protect – which is a set of principles, now backed by the United Nations, based on the idea that sovereignty is not a privilege, but a responsibility.

According to the principle, any state’s sovereignty can be overrun, including with the use of military force, if the international community decides it must act to halt what it determines to be genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or ethnic cleansing.

The term “war crimes” has at times been indiscriminately used by various U.N.-backed international bodies, including the International Criminal Court, or ICC, which applied it to Israeli anti-terror operations in the Gaza Strip. There has been fear the ICC could be used to prosecute U.S. troops.

Read more…

Soros: Philanthropist? Spook? or Philanthropist spook?

05/05/2011 2 comments

by Heather Cottin, December 9, 2003

The tactic of creating political hysteria was necessary for the United States to carry out its Balkan policy. It was repeated in 1999 when HRW functioned as the shock troops of indoctrination for the NATO attack on Yugoslavia. The institutions of George Soros stood behind it.

This is not a case of narcissistic personality disorder; this is how George Soros exercises the authority of United States hegemony in the world today. Soros foundations and financial machinations are partly responsible for the destruction of socialism in Eastern Europe and the former USSR. He has set his sights on China. He was part of the full court press that dismantled Yugoslavia. Calling himself a philanthropist, billionaire George Soros’ role is to tighten the ideological stranglehold of globalization and the New World Order while promoting his own financial gain. Soros’ commercial and “philanthropic” operations are clandestine, contradictory and coactive. And as far as his economic activities are concerned, by his own admission, he is without conscience; a capitalist who functions with absolute amorality.

Master-builder of the new bribe sector systematically bilking the world He thrusts himself upon world statesmen and they respond. He has been close to Henry Kissinger, Vaclav Havel and Poland’s General Wojciech Jaruzelski. 4

He supports the Dalai Lama, whose institute is housed in the Presidio in San Francisco, also home to the foundation run by Soros’ friend, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. 5

Soros is a leading figure on the Council of Foreign Relations, the World Economic Forum, and Human Rights Watch (HRW). In 1994, after a meeting with his philosophical guru, Sir Karl Popper, Soros ordered his companies to start investing in Central and Eastern European communications.

The Federal Radio Television Administration of the Czech Republic accepted his offer to take over and fund the archives of Radio Free Europe. Soros moved the archives to Prague and spent over $15 million on their maintenance. 2 A Soros foundation now runs CIA-created Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty jointly with the U.S. and RFE/RL, which has expanded into the Caucasus and Asia. 3

Soros is the founder and funder of the Open Society Institute. He created and maintains the International Crisis Group (ICG) which, among other things, has been active in the Balkans since the destruction of Yugoslavia. Soros works openly with the United States Institute of Peace-an overt arm of the CIA…

“Yes, I do have a foreign policy…my goal is to become the conscience of the world.”

George Soros

He thrusts himself upon world statesmen and they respond. He has been close to Henry Kissinger, Vaclav Havel and Poland’s General Wojciech Jaruzelski. 4 He supports the Dalai Lama, whose institute is housed in the Presidio in San Francisco, also home to the foundation run by Soros’ friend, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. 5

When anti-globalization forces were freezing in the streets outside New York’s Waldorf-Astoria hotel in February 2002, George Soros was inside addressing the World Economic Forum. As the police forced protesters into metal cages on Park Avenue, Soros was extolling the virtues of the “Open Society” and joined Zbigniew Brzezinski, Samuel Huntington, Francis ***uyama and others.

WHO IS THIS GUY?

George Soros was born in Hungary in 1930 to Jewish parents so removed from their roots that they once vacationed in Nazi Germany. 6

Soros lived under the Nazis, but with the triumph of the Communists moved to England in 1947. There, Soros came under the sway of the philosopher Karl Popper, at the London School of Economics. Popper was a lionized anti-communist ideologue and his teachings formed the basis for Soros’ political tendencies. There is hardly a speech, book or article that Soros writes that does not pay obeisance to Popper’s influence.

Knighted in 1965, Popper coined the slogan “Open Society,” which eventually manifested in Soros’ Open Society Fund and Institute. Followers of Popper repeat his words like true believers. Popperian philosophy epitomizes Western individual ism. Soros left England in 1956, and found work on Wall Street where, in the 1960s, he invented the “hedge fund.”

“…hedge funds catered to very wealthy individuals… The largely secretive funds, usually trading in offshore locations. . produced astronomically superior results. The size of the “bets” often became self fulfilling prophecies: ‘rumors of a position taken by the big hedge funds prompted other investors to follow suit,’ which would in turn force up the price the hedgers were betting on to begin with.” 7

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