Bilderberg.org

[marektysis]

http://www.mindfulmoney.co.uk/9845/economic-impact/davos--what-is-it-good-for.html

[marektysis]

http://www.demotix.com/hub/peter-sutherland

[marektysis]

The War of the Flea (1). Everyone against the 1%.

Thousands bites of a flea are worse than one bite of a tiger. We are small but we are the 99% that is our strength. Our target is the 1%.
A demonstration is a legal protest, it brings the discomfort, the anger and the disgust of the masses in the open, it makes the 99% enthusiast and gives them energy. But it does not put much pressure on the 1%. Mass actions will not change the world.
The War of the Flea is a continuous stream of small actions. You decide how, when and where to be active. All actions should be directed at the 1%. Damage to the 99% must be minimised while pressure on the 1% must be maximised. Then the reign of the 1% comes to an end.
Why are the 1% greedy? Because their dominating goal is to have much more money than anyone else. And to spend lots of it. Money is their weak point. When we take this reason away, we change the world.
The 1% live in a different world, they go to places where the 99% are only allowed to enter as servants. They buy goods and services that never can be bought by 99%-ers. We can creatively disturb the secluded and privileged world of the 1% and make it uninhabitable. We can force the 1% to leave their eliteworld and descend to the world of the 99%. Then we can talk with each other on the same level.
Follow the money to find out where actions can been carried out. Many small actions of many small groups of 99%-ers disturb their world. Some will use sound that penetrates the house of the rich, others will use a rock, enter an expensive restaurant and taste the food, disturb quiet recreation places, spread rumours or use flyers in 1%-neighbourhoods to explain how the neighbours behave. The 99% will become creative and will have fun. Some actions will be carried out by leftists, others by rightists, some will be peaceful, others will be more violent. Everything is directed at the common goal, the 1%. When the world of the 1% is creatively disturbed the dominating role of money will be replaced by the idea that all humans have the same status. Then we get a Human World without greed, corruption or crime.

Friendly greetings, Joost van Steenis

Download free my latest book “From Chaos to Change, entering a New Era”: “Down with any elite”, http://members.chello.nl/jsteenis

New Facebook group Occupy the 1% only concerned about solving the contradiction between the 99% and the 1%.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/238569759557393/

[marektysis]

http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=56353&t=1&c=129&cg=4&mset=1011

[marektysis]

Daniel Vasella MD
Chairman, Novartis


Daniel Vasella, M.D., is Chairman of the Board of Directors for Novartis AG. He served as CEO and executive member of the Board of Directors for 14 years following the merger that created Novartis in 1996. Dr Vasella was appointed Chairman in April 1999.

Before the Novartis merger, Dr Vasella was CEO of Sandoz Pharma Ltd. and a member of the Sandoz Group Executive Committee. From 1988 to 1992, he was with Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation in the US, prior to which he held a number of medical positions in Switzerland. He graduated with an M.D. from the University of Bern and completed executive training at the HarvardBusiness School. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Basel.

Dr Vasella is Chairman of Alcon and a member of the Board of Directors of PepsiCo, Inc. He is also a member of the International Board of Governors of the Peres Center for Peace in Israel, the International Business Leaders Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai, the Global Health Program Advisory Panel of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition, he serves as a member of several industry associations and educational institutions.

http://www.ftconferences.com/trends/speakerdetails/2975/?PHPSESSID=d9b86f26b7569442cc586fa5293a6091

[marektysis]

Trichet Nominated To Board Of EADS

By NICOLA CLARK
Published: January 26, 2012

PARIS — Jean-Claude Trichet, the former president of the European Central Bank, was nominated Thursday to the board of European Aeronautic Defense and Space, the parent company of Airbus, as part of a long-anticipated reshuffling of the group’s senior management. The move carefully preserves the balance of French and German representation in the executive suite.

Patrick B. Kraemer/Keystone, via Associated Press
Jean-Claude Trichet's probable assignment is expected to appease the French.

Mr. Trichet, 69, will assume the board seat of his compatriot Arnaud Lagardère, 50, who will be promoted to chairman in June, a post now held by Bodo Uebber, a German.

Thomas O. Enders, the 53-year-old chief executive of Airbus, who is German, will succeed Louis Gallois as chief executive of EADS. Mr. Gallois, who is French, turned 68 on Thursday and is set to retire later this year.

Mr. Enders will be succeeded at Airbus by Fabrice Brégier, 50, the chief operating officer. Mr. Brégier, who is French, will be succeeded by Günter Butschek, 50, of Germany.

The appointments are expected to take effect after a ratification by shareholders at their annual general meeting on May 31.

“The management is grateful that the board has taken these wide-ranging decisions, in a dispassionate climate, and in time to facilitate a professional transition,” Mr. Gallois said.

The senior executive appointments had been telegraphed by company managers for months, but a final decision was delayed in part by French concerns that too many of the group’s key posts would be held by Germans, according to one person close to the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of the issue.

One key post that will remain occupied by a German in the wake of the reshuffle, for example, is that of chief financial officer. Hans Peter Ring, 61, who steered the group through a wrenching program of cost cuts that followed the A380 production crisis in 2006, will retire and be succeeded by Harald Wilhelm, 45, the finance chief at Airbus.

The naming of Mr. Trichet, who is also a former governor of the Bank of France, is likely to have assuaged some of the French concerns, analysts said.

One last thorny issue remains unresolved, however. The board put off making any proposals for a new structure that would enable greater flexibility in the group’s share ownership while preserving the delicate balance of French and German interests in the group.

A shareholder pact that dates from the group’s creation in 2000 stipulates that the French and German stakes in EADS must be equal. But Mr. Gallois and other top group managers have been pressing for a new arrangement that would allow any investor to buy or sell shares freely in the company while still giving Paris and Berlin influence over important decisions.

Moreover, because of the strategic importance of EADS, both Paris and Berlin have been eager to retain the power to block any potential hostile takeover by a foreign entity.

Currently, Mr. Lagardère’s media-to-missiles conglomerate owns a 7.5 percent stake in EADS, while the French government holds 15 percent. Daimler, the German automaker, owns 15 percent and an alliance of German private and public sector banks holds 7.5 percent.

Both Daimler and Lagardère have made clear in recent years that they do not view their EADS holdings as core to their operations, and the French and German governments have struggled to broker a sale of the shares in a way that would preserve the ownership balance.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/business/global/trichet-likely-to-join-board-of-airbus-parent.html?_r=1

FOR EDUCATION PURPOSES FOR LIMITED GROUPS

[marektysis]

Jered Stuffco, CTVNews.ca

A brewing controversy over pensions has forced the federal government to blunt criticism that it plans to cutback on federally-funded plans like Old Age Security.

On Friday, talking points coming from the Prime Minister's Office stated that any proposed cuts were still several years away, and wouldn't affect any Canadians currently approaching retirement age.

The PMO memo, sent to Conservatives across the country, came a day after the prime minister delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland that focused on the need to reduce deficits in developed countries.

In his speech at Davos to world financial leaders, Stephen Harper said that demographic pressures from an aging population could force Canada to "limit" spending on pension programs.

"Our demographics also constitute a threat to the social programs and services that Canadians cherish," Harper said Thursday.

Part of that plan to cut back could include raising the eligibility age on OAS from 65 to 67, CTV News reported Thursday.

But a day later, Harper's office was clear to state that there would be substantial notice given before any cuts are approved.

"We will ensure any changes are done with substantial notice and adjustment period and in a way that does not affect current retirees or those close to retirement, and gives others plenty of time to adjust and plan for their retirement," said Andrew MacDougall, a spokesperson from the Prime Minister's Office, in an email to CTVNews.ca.

"OAS is funded primarily through taxes on working people and is unsustainable on its current course. If we do nothing, OAS will eventually become too expensive and unsustainable."

Despite Friday's developments, the Liberal party called Harper's speech in Davos an "attack" on public pensions.

"Instead of bringing in the changes our pension system needs to ensure sustainable prosperity, this government is stripping benefits from seniors that they rely on and have earned. This is completely unacceptable," said MP Bob Rae, who is the interim Liberal leader, in a news release.

Rae added that Harper hasn't been clear with Canadians on his approach to the pension issue, and he criticized Harper for not bringing his intentions about pensions to the public during the last federal election.

"He didn't have to go to his alpine perch to let us in on the news," said Rae. "He should have told Canadians before the election."

It's expected that by 2035, the ratio of working Canadians to those over the age of 65 will be two-to-one. Currently, that ratio is four-to-one.

Meanwhile, the finance department in Ottawa reported Friday that the government is ahead of schedule for debt reduction.

In November 2011, the deficit was $1.9 billion. In the same month a year earlier, that number was $4.5 billion.

With a report from The Canadian Press
http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120127/pension-cuts-wont-hurt-retirement-120127/20120127/?hub=CalgaryHome

[marektysis]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204661604577186881398631546.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[marektysis]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renee-parsons/us-plans-for-perpetual-wa_b_1237365.html

[marektysis]

http://truthdive.com/2012/01/28/Carl-Bildt-faces-flak-for-Davos-dinner-to-discuss-global-hunger-tweet.html

[marektysis]

Cloud computing in Europe:

Picking up an article over at computer weekly we take a look at the European level policy on cloud computing and wonder what is being done to push this technology into wider use.

Speaking at the Davos Economic Forum meeting over in Switzerland, Neelie Kroes, the woman in charge of Europe’s digital agenda has been discussing the option of having everyone involved in cloud computing to join in a harmonious partnership to bring the benefit of this technology to more people, businesses and governments throughout Europe and quicker.

The calls were for European local authorities, industry in general, cloud buyers and suppliers to create the partnership to effectively orchestrate the mass migration from hardware based processing, backup and file storage to the cloud based option on the grounds of scale, security and efficiency.

Kroes said:


“Cloud Computing will change our economy. It can bring significant productivity benefits to all, right through to the smallest companies, and also to individuals. It promises scalable, secure services for greater efficiency, greater flexibility, and lower cost,” she said.

But with issues such as standards, agreed certification, data protection, wide ranging legal issues between member states, and data kept in the cloud and interoperability, the currently slow progress is seemingly hampered by these issues, but why the need to push this technology so quickly.

Is the cloud really all that beneficial?

Let us face it the cloud is potentially very dangerous to any business, as it leaves more and more control of your data and communication in the hands of other corporations and governments and will be a significant cost positive to implement, with negligible gains in the short term.

So what will Kroes do to overcome these shared feelings towards the cloud?

With the barriers in question a rather vague answer was offered:

“Where these barriers exist, I am determined to overcome them,”

With the EC’s new rules regarding data protection on the regulatory side making some small progress, she did stress that these moves forward would include provision for cloud based storage legal issues.


“In the first phase, the Partnership will come up with common requirements for Cloud procurement. For this it will look at standards; it will look at security; it will look at ensuring competition, not lock-in. In the second phase, the Partnership will deliver proof of concept solutions for the common requirements, and in the third phase, reference implementations will be built,”

€10 million initial investment from the European Cloud Partnership:

Exactly what the suggested €10 million investment from the European Cloud Partnership aims to achieve I am unsure but it sounds like a pathetic amount of money to achieve such widespread aims as she has suggested.

Looking at the plan it appears that aiming small is the agenda to start with a plan which appears to be one of bringing the initial idea of procuring cloud computing technology to local government level throughout the EU who are all open ears to anything that can save money, yes it would appear that the Bilderberg group sure now how to steer policy from the outside in in very intriguing ways.

Talking of the strategies for the next year and beyond, Kroes states:


“We are already talking to potential partners and working on setting up this European Cloud Partnership. No doubt the concept will evolve as more details are fixed. These will be set out, together with other elements, in the European Cloud Computing Strategy later this year. A strategy as a whole to ensure Europe becomes not just Cloud-friendly, but Cloud-active,”

Questions still remain:

Speaking around the business community I sense that many business owners are very skeptical on cloud computing for the simple fear that it removes some control (albeit in the disguise of safety) from the owners of software, applications and data into a managed and paid for service where you are in less control of that very supply line that you need to run an effective business.

As a business owner what do you think to adopting cloud computing?

There are obvious benefits in some areas, but there seem to be some questions still remaining on the full extent adoption that should be considered.

So if standards and other areas of legal greyness were ironed out and more transparent would this help you in your decision to go fully cloud or partially cloud based as a business?

Discussing the article on computer weekly one commentator going by the name of Hogspace states that:


What rubbish is this, I wonder who set the guy up to say this. No company of mine will be using storage that isn’t 100% owned and controlled by me, Internet/Intranet connected or not.
http://www.mobileinquirer.com/2012/neelie-kroes-cloud-computing-in-europe-needs-to-be-embraced-sooner/[followed ]

[marektysis]

Wednesday, February 1, 2012, 09:15
ACTA will impose stronger content control - AD

Alternattiva Demokratika has rebutted a statement by the Finance Minister that ACTA will not censor websites and appealed for a private

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was created with the aim of establishing international standards on intellectual property rights enforcement, yet will deal with tools targeting internet distribution and information technology, meaning people could be prosecuted for merely sharing a link to a newspaper article or posting a video on YouTube.

ACTA encourages its signatory states to step up cooperation with private actors, like internet providers, for intellectual property enforcement in the absence of any minimum standards for legal procedures. This opens the door to undermining the basic rights of individuals with no protection for those affected, AD said.

AD's IT spokesman Henrik Piski said: "ACTA does not differentiate between individuals or large scale infringements as wrongly stated in the media. It will indeed impose on ISPs stronger content control and eventually lead to prosecution of individuals. This is already happening in France with the introduction of Hadopi law last year.

"It is absolutely surprising that the government had never engaged any public discussion and consultation about its intention of the signing of the agreement. It clearly indicates that the government is detached of the Internet reality and freedom of expression of its constituents."

In the meantime, AD announced its participation in the anti-ACTA protest which will be held in the coming days. AD invited members of parliament to stand up and be counted on the issue by presenting a private member's bill against ACTA, and appealed to MEPs to reject ACTA in the upcoming vote in June. AD confirmed its support of the Malta Anti-ACTA Group.

AD chairman Michael Briguglio said ACTA threatens to have perverse impacts such as infringement of the privacy of individuals and making generic drugs less accessible, all in the name of corporate greed.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120201/local/acta-will-impose-stronger-content-control-ad.404805

[marektysis]

Today In LOL: Ron Paul's Biggest Donor A Bilderberger!
By: Noah Rothman

Ron Paul and Peter Thiel (Getty Images)

Oh the irony of it all. On Wednesday, it was disclosed that well known technology investor Peter Thiel is the biggest donor to Texas Rep. Ron Paul’s Super PAC. Theil, a wealthy international financier is also a gay libertarian and, wait for it, a member of the steering committee of the Bilderberg Group! ... (Here is a tissue so you can get that Ron Paul supporter brains that just exploded all over you out of your shirt. I should have warned you first. Sorry.)

Thiel contributed a significant $900,000 to a pro-Paul Super PAC “Endorse Liberty.” On Tuesday, the PAC disclosed that it has raised $3.9 million to date.

The Bilderberg Group is a perennial favorite of the conspiratorially minded, new world order, trilateral commission types. Ron Paul, while not a vocal advocate of such conspiracy theories, certainly does little to dispel such notions among his supporters.

Indeed, as a regular guest of Alex Jones’ conspiracy-focused radio program, some of his supporters can be forgiven for thinking he held these views himself. Today’s news should dispel his supporters of such notions.

Paul himself said that he has no idea what the Bilderberger Group gathers annual to discuss but it may include “how they're going to control the banking systems of the world and natural resources."

Thiel is a major tech investor with an estimated worth of $1.7 billion and a famous libertarian – he has aided foundations that encourage students to drop out of college in order to promote entrepreneurial ventures among young people and “seasteading,” an organization which promotes learning on the high seas in modified floating colleges governed only by maritime custom law.

The Bilderberger Group, named for the famous Dutch hotel where the group meets annually, is a secretive organization of wealthy and influential business leaders that conspiracy theorists believe exercises major influence over the world's leaders from behind the scenes.


Follow Noah Rothman @Noah_C_Rothman
http://www.ology.com/politics/today-lol-ron-pauls-biggest-donor-bilderberger/02012012

[marektysis]

(This article was originally published in The Morningside Post)

By Ethan Wagner

St. Julian's, MALTA—Nobody likes getting dumped on an anniversary. This month marks the ten-year anniversary of the euro, whose introduction was supposed to herald an era of not just economic prosperity, but closer integration across the continent. But as the financial crisis grips Europe, enthusiasm for the euro is waning quickly among the public in many member states, and nations that had once pledged to adopt the currency are getting cold feet.

In Malta, the euro replaced the lira as official currency in 2008 amid celebrations marked by fireworks, a symphony orchestra performance, and a gala flush with high-profile guests. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi heralded the change as a triumph, saying, "We are proud that Malta is now part of the eurozone. We are looking forward to welcoming local and foreign investors and tourists from Europe and beyond."

But four years later, disillusionment with the euro is widespread. "On the whole, it has not been good," lamented Charles Demech, a longtime hotel operator in Valletta, Malta's capital. "After the euro came, prices went up but salaries did not. Everything became more expensive for the average Maltese."

Others share the sentiment that the case for adopting the euro has too often been assumed rather than actively demonstrated. Maltese MP Alfred Sant said that under eurozone rules, Malta "had adopted a system of policy-taker, as it had to adhere to policies taken by the most influential countries in the EU--it was evident that Germany and France set the direction. Meanwhile, little was mentioned with regard to the Maltese interests."

In late December, the Maltese government pledged to contribute €260m to an IMF package that will be used to bail out some of Malta's larger, debt-laden neighbors. Oliver Briffa, a taxi driver from Msida, a suburb outside the Maltese capital, expressed deep frustration with the arrangement. "Big countries need to help us, not have us help them. Everything was better under the lira."

Lino Briguglio, director of the Islands and Small States Institute at the University of Malta, is more optimistic about the currency's future. "The eurozone will continue to exist, mainly because Germany and France have too much to lose if it doesn't," he assessed. However, Briguglio concedes that Maltese public opinion has shifted against the euro, saying "I think we are in a trough at present, but when the situation improves, there will be a recovery in the euro economies and in the attitudes towards the euro." Briffa is not so certain: "The government keeps saying things will get better. We wish to know how."

Gaps have begun to open elsewhere between eurozone governments, most of which state their commitment to preserving the single currency, and the public. Debtor nations like Greece and Spain have witnessed grave social unrest and protests against austerity measures imposed from outside, while citizens in stronger economies like Germany and the Netherlands bristle at the thought of their tax dollars going to bail out neighbors they view as profligate and irresponsible.

Meanwhile, other European states that have undergone a long courtship to join the eurozone have begun to express reservations.

"The euro has lost some of its attractiveness and Poland is in no rush to enter the eurozone", said Merk Belka, the governor of the National Bank of Poland. The Czech Prime Minister, Petr Necas, recently disparaged the eurozone as a "debt union" and has pointedly refused to set a target date for his nation to join the common currency.

The possibility of a eurozone breakup, once deemed unthinkable, suddenly seems far less remote. A Bloomberg poll of international investors conducted last month found that nearly half of respondents thought one or more countries would exit the currency union by the end of 2012; nearly a third more expected a member state to withdraw by the end of 2016. Around the same time, analysts at Nomura, a Japanese banking conglomerate, wrote "The euro zone financial crisis has entered a far more dangerous phase...a euro breakup now appears probable rather than possible."

Many predict dire consequences should the eurozone disintegrate. Christina Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, has warned of a global depression. A UBS analysis predicts, "Consequences include sovereign default, corporate default, collapse of the banking system and collapse of international trade. We estimate that a weak Euro country leaving the Euro would incur a cost of...40% to 50% of GDP in the first year. It is also worth observing that almost no modern fiat currency monetary unions have broken up without some form of authoritarian or military government, or civil war."

So what might the end of the euro zone look like? An apocalyptic nightmare, according to one camp, where the ghosts of Jean Monnet roam the streets like zombies and Europeans would do well to stock up on canned goods and precious metals. Faced with such a disastrous scenario, why then might a nation consider withdrawing? One or more member states may seek to leave the eurozone in order to regain control over monetary policy, devalue its currency, and improve export competitiveness, say advocates of a withdrawal. A country such as Greece, already suffering from high unemployment, inability to raise money through the bond market, and forced austerity could--spurred on public pressure--come to believe that it is better off by opting out. Predictions of bank runs, sovereign default, and increased social tension serve as little deterrent to a nation already vulnerable to such painful economic conditions. Some believe that an orderly breakup is precisely what Europe needs to emerge from the crisis. The Centre for Economic and Business Research, a British think tank and consultancy, contends that "If it [the eurozone] breaks up the immediate pain is much more intense, but then there is a more stable basis and we would expect that within about 30 months growth will actually be faster than if the eurozone survives in its current form."

Martin Feldstein, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and currently a professor economics at Harvard University, predicts that Greece and Portugal will eventually default on their sovereign debt--something that he believes is very much in their national interest. "In an economy with a floating exchange rate, with an ability to adjust their exchange rate or to allow it to respond to the market, the Greek exchange rate would gradually fall over time and that would make their goods more competitive. But with a fixed euro exchange rate there's nothing that can be done along those lines...We have seen defaults around the world in many countries and it helps them to clear their books."

If the eurozone were to split apart, what would become of small member states such as Malta? Says Demech, the hotel operator, "I don't know if we can survive on our own."

Ethan Wagner is a student at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs focusing on economic development.
http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2012/02/02/eus-bitter-breakup

POSTED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES FOR LIMITED GROUPS

[marektysis]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-03/goldman-s-blankfein-awarded-7m-in-stock-for-11.html