Woman Power lands a Knockout Punch!
World Economic Forum (WEF) Guards toting Tear-gas, Cuffs & Riot-gear; no match for Brave Bare Breasted FEMEN Protestors.
The media Censorship and Blackout regarding the 2012 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos is Now Completely Exposed for what the (WEF) annual meeting really stands for:
The "World Exploitation Forum" (WEF)
The official WEF - Global Risks Report 2012! is one of the background documents being used as reference regarding the Forum by world leaders and multinational corporate representatives in Davos Switzerland January: 25-29 2012.
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit corporation that brings together some 2,500 “Top” global business and political leaders every January in a remote Swiss mountain resort. Along with the G-7, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund, the World Economic Forum has a strong pro-corporate agenda and is a regular target for anti-globalization protests. The anti-globalization movement is a loosely knit network of anti-corporate groups that started in Asia and Europe in the 1990s, in response to the international treaty that created the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Its American counterpart was born in November 1999, when 50,000 people marched in the streets of Seattle and thousands committed civil disobedience to derail the WTO Third Ministerial meeting. Currently the WTO and so-called “Free Trade” treaties, such as NAFTA, receive scant coverage in the mainstream media. Nevertheless labor and environmental activists remain deeply concerned about the power these international treaties give corporations to overturn democratically enacted labor and environmental protections.
Since 2001, grassroots activists from all over the world have been holding a World Social Forum in a developing country (usually Brazil) at the same time as the World Economic Forum. The philosophy behind the World Social Forum is that ordinary people have an even greater need for international conferences than corporate elites. It’s only by coming together and organizing that they can resist the efforts by the global elites that strip them of the limited democratic and economic rights they still enjoy.
Emphasis on Global Social Unrest
When the Guardian article that accompanied the report http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jan/11/world-economic-forum-meeting-davos stated that Global Risks 2012 focuses mainly on economic turmoil and social unrest (as opposed to globalization and free trade), I was extremely keen to read it. Would it mention Occupy Wall Street?
It sure does, right there on page 16 under “Case 1: Seeds of Dystopia”:
“Two dominant issues of concern emerged from the Arab Spring, the ‘Occupy’ movements worldwide and recent similar incidents of civil discontent: the growing frustration among citizens with the political and economic establishment, and the rapid public mobilization enabled by greater technological connectivity.”
The document is full of other surprises. Unlike the mainstream media, Global Risks 2012 is surprisingly sympathetic towards the Occupy movement. The authors are deeply concerned about “dystopia,” the opposite of utopia, which they define as “a place where life is full of hardship and devoid of hope.” They go on to talk about the danger of declining economic conditions in Western Europe, North America and Japan jeopardizing “social contracts” between states and their citizens.
These they define as has historic understandings that workers will be guaranteed access to health care (by North America they must mean Canada – this has never been true in the US) and decent pensions in old age.
They express concern (implying that corporate CEOs should also be concerned) about the link between global recession and increasing rates of poverty, mental illness, substance abuse, suicide, divorce, domestic violence and the abandonment, neglect and abuse of children (page 18).
They talk about the large numbers of unemployed young people around the world being a “lost generation” (Page 22).
Even more surprisingly, they identify huge income disparity as being one of the most serious global risks. They caution that when “social mobility” (i.e. individual ability to advance socially and economically) is attainable, income disparity can spur people to work harder. When it’s clearly not, as in the current global recession, feelings of powerlessness, disconnectedness and disengagement can “take root.” (Page 19).
They conclude the dystopia section with the following warning:
“The social unrest that occurred in 2011, from the United States to the Middle East, demonstrated how governments everywhere need to address the causes of discontent before it becomes a violent, destabilizing force.” (Page 19).
Destructive Corporate Lobbying
Global Risks 2012 also talks about destructive corporate lobbying (my translation – they use more obscure, intellectually lofty language) in trying to enact environmental and health regulations: “By their very nature, the costs involved in implementing safeguards, such as quality standards and risk mitigation practices, may give some individuals, firms or organizations reasons to lobby to minimize them and look for ways around them.” (Page 22)
They are equally critical of the “too big to fail” banks: “When losses can be passed on to others – as when banks are defined as “too big to fail” – excessive risk-taking is likely to occur.” (Page 22)
They conclude with the argument (making the 2008 banking crisis a case in point) that dangerously lax regulations “in just one jurisdiction could trigger global catastrophe.” (Page 22)
How Will CEOs Answer the Discussion Questions?
I have to admit my favorite part of Global Risks 2012 are the “Questions for Stakeholders,” inserted at the end at the end of each section to make sure the corporate elites and the politicians who accompany them to these meetings are paying attention. I would give anything to listen in to the answers JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon, give to some of these:
- What steps can be taken to reduce income disparity? (They need to get Dimon to answer this one.)
- How can appropriate regulations be developed so that firms will undertake effective safeguards?
- How can business, government and civil society work together to improve resilience against unforeseen risks? (the report uses the word resilience, which they borrow from the sustainability movement, a lot).
- How can fostering entrepreneurship prevent the seeds of dystopia from taking root? (this wouldn’t be my approach, but at least they admit urgent action is needed.
The agenda's at the (WEC) forum include:
- Ways of increasing corporate control.
- Increasing government and multinational co-operation.
- Selling off and dividing resources.
- Privatizing essential resources that belong to the people, such as Oil & Water.
- Prime-ministers Privately signing new trade deals between Canada and the European Union without the consent of the citizens they represent. (CETA)
- Removing the trade barriers and democratic processes to increase profits for Multinational Corporations. (CETA)
- Privatization removing red tape to build new pipelines & increase oil production.
- How to deal with the financial and banking crisis.
- How to control growing discontent.
- Controlling the internet.
- Plans to increase private control of the worlds food supply.
The Trio, from the Ukrainian group FEMEN, carried banners that read “Gangsters Party in Davos” & “Crisis Made in Davos” while shouting “Poor because of You.”
I go into more detail regarding why the Prime-Minister of Canada; Stephan Harper was at the "World Economic Forum" in this article WEF + Davos + CETA = Unsustainable Government.
"The threat of fresh economic turmoil and social upheaval could put at risk the gains produced by globalization." - the World Economic Forum said on Wednesday.
In its annual assessment of the outlook for the global economy, the (WEF) set the scene for its meeting in Davos by warning that the "Seeds of Dystopia" were being sown.
Yes indeed, the Seeds of Dystopia are being Sown ... By them!
Take a good look at their membership list and you will see that many of these members are the main creators of these problems, and they seem to be doing it intentionally in the name of Globalization.
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