In his first appearance in person at Davos since Slamming Trump as a “conman, narcissist” and claiming Mark Zuckerberg was conspiring to get him re-elected in March 2020 (and warned that “the overheated US economy can’t be kept boiling for too long”), billionaire George Soros unveiled his traditionally anticipated annual address, taking aim squarely at China (nothing new there) but adding Russia to his hit list.
The 90-year-old puppet-master is certainly not getting any younger (looking older than 98-year-old Henry Kissinger who made headlines earlier in the day), warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has rattled Europe and could be the start of another world war.
“Other issues that concern all of humanity — fighting pandemics and climate change, avoiding nuclear war, maintaining global institutions — have had to take a back seat to that struggle,” Soros said,
“That’s why I say our civilization may not survive.”
Taking aim at the leaders of both Russia and China, Soros said:
The two leaders have made “mind-boggling mistakes,” adding that,
“Putin expected to be welcomed in Ukraine as a liberator; Xi Jinping is sticking to a Zero Covid policy that can’t possibly be sustained.”
Attacking China is nothing new, as in 2019, the former hedge fund manager warned of the “mortal danger” of China’s use of artificial intelligence to repress its citizens, a theme he hit again in his speech today.
“AI is particularly good at producing instruments of control that help repressive regimes and endanger open societies,” Soros said.
“Covid-19 also helped legitimize instruments of control because they are really useful in dealing with the virus.”
But his concluding thoughts were ominous to say the least as he added Russia to his shit-list, warning that, loosely translated: defeat Putin or we’re all going to die…
“Therefore, we must mobilize all our resources to bring the war to an early end. The best and perhaps only way to preserve our civilization is to defeat Putin as soon as possible. That’s the bottom line”
* * *
Full Address below: (emphasis ours)
Since the last Davos meeting the course of history has changed dramatically.
Russia invaded Ukraine. This has shaken Europe to its core. The European Union was established to prevent such a thing from happening. Even when the fighting stops as it eventually must, the situation will never revert to what it was before.
The invasion may have been the beginning of the Third World War and our civilization may not survive it. That is the subject I will address this evening.
The invasion of Ukraine didn’t come out of the blue. The world has been increasingly engaged in a struggle between two systems of governance that are diametrically opposed to each other: open society and closed society. Let me define the difference as simply as I can.
In an open society, the role of the state is to protect the freedom of the individual; in a closed society the role of the individual is to serve the rulers of the state.
Other issues that concern all of humanity – fighting pandemics and climate change, avoiding nuclear war, maintaining global institutions – have had to take a back seat to that struggle. That’s why I say our civilization may not survive.
I became engaged in what I call political philanthropy in the 1980s. That was a time when a large part of the world was under Communist rule, and I wanted to help people who were outraged and fought against oppression.
As the Soviet Union disintegrated, I established one foundation after another in rapid succession in what was then the Soviet empire. The effort turned out to be more successful than I expected.
Those were exciting days. They also coincided with a period of personal financial success that allowed me to increase my annual giving from $3 million in 1984 to more than $300 million three years later.
After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the tide began to turn against open societies. Repressive regimes are now in the ascendant and open societies are under siege. Today China and Russia present the greatest threat to open society.
I have pondered long and hard why that should have happened. I found part of the answer in the rapid development of digital technology, especially artificial intelligence.
In theory, AI ought to be politically neutral: it can be used for good or bad. But in practice the effect is asymmetric. AI is particularly good at producing instruments of control that help repressive regimes and endanger open societies. Covid-19 also helped legitimize instruments of control because they are really useful in dealing with the virus.
The rapid development of AI has gone hand in hand with the rise of social media and tech platforms. These conglomerates have come to dominate the global economy. They are multinational and their reach extends around the world.
These developments have had far-reaching consequences. They have sharpened the conflict between China and the United States. China has turned its tech platforms into national champions. The United States has been more hesitant because it has worried about their effect on the freedom of the individual.
These different attitudes shed new light on the conflict between the two different systems of governance that the US and China represent.
Xi Jinping’s China, which collects personal data for the surveillance and control of its citizens more aggressively than any other country in history, ought to benefit from these developments. But, as I shall explain later tonight, that is not the case.
Let me now turn to recent developments, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met on February 4th at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. They issued a long statement announcing that the cooperation between them has “no limits”. Putin informed Xi of a “special military operation” in Ukraine, but it is unclear whether he told Xi that he had a full-scale attack on Ukraine in mind. US and UK military experts certainly told their Chinese counterparts what was in store. Xi approved, but asked Putin to wait until the conclusion of the winter Olympics.
For his part, Xi resolved to hold the Olympics in spite of the Omicron variant that was just beginning to spread in China. The organizers went to great lengths to create an airtight bubble for the competitors and the Olympics concluded without a hitch.
But Omicron established itself in the community, first in Shanghai, China’s largest city and commercial hub. Now it is spreading to the rest of the country. Yet Xi persists with his Zero Covid policy. That has inflicted great hardships on Shanghai’s population, by forcing them into makeshift quarantine centers instead of allowing them to quarantine themselves at home. This has driven Shanghai to the verge of open rebellion.
Many people are puzzled by this seemingly irrational approach, but I can give you the explanation: Xi harbors a guilty secret. He never told the Chinese people that they had been inoculated with a vaccine that was designed for the original Wuhan variant and offers very little protection against new variants.
Xi can’t afford to come clean because he is at a very delicate moment in his career. His second term in office expires in the fall of 2022 and he wants to be appointed to an unprecedented third term, eventually making him ruler for life.
He has carefully choreographed a process that would allow him to fulfill his life’s ambition, and everything must be subordinated to this goal.
In the meantime, Putin’s so-called “special military operation” didn’t unfold according to plan. He expected his army to be welcomed by the Russian speaking population of Ukraine as liberators. His soldiers carried with them their dress uniforms for a victory parade. But that is not what happened.
Ukraine put up unexpectedly strong resistance and inflicted severe damage on the invading Russian army. The army was badly equipped and badly led and the soldiers became demoralized. The United States and the European Union rallied to Ukraine’s support and supplied it with armaments. With their help, Ukraine was able to defeat the much larger Russian army in the battle for Kyiv.
Putin could not afford to accept defeat and changed his plans accordingly. He put General Vladimir Shamanov, well known for his cruelty in the siege of Grozny, in charge and ordered him to produce some success by May 9th when Victory Day was to be celebrated.
But Putin had very little to celebrate. Shamanov concentrated his efforts on the port city of Mariupol which used to have 400,000 inhabitants. He reduced it to rubble, as he had done to Grozny but the Ukrainian defenders held out for 82 days and the siege cost the lives of thousands of civilians.
Moreover, the hasty withdrawal from Kyiv revealed the heinous atrocities that Putin’s army had committed on the civilian population in a suburb of Kyiv, Bucha. They are well-documented, and they have outraged those who saw the pictures on television. That did not include the people of Russia who had been kept in the dark about Putin’s “special military operation”.
The invasion of Ukraine has now entered a new phase which is much more challenging for the Ukrainian army. They must fight on open terrain where the numerical superiority of the Russian army is more difficult to overcome.
The Ukrainians are doing their best, counterattacking and penetrating Russian territory. This has had the added benefit of bringing home to the Russian population what is really going on.
The US has also done its best to reduce the financial gap between Russia and Ukraine by getting Congress to allocate an unprecedented $40 billion in military and financial aid to Ukraine. I can’t predict the outcome, but Ukraine certainly has a fighting chance.
Recently, European leaders went even further. They wanted to use the invasion of Ukraine to promote greater European integration, so that what Putin is doing can never happen again.
Enrico Letta, leader of Partito Democratico, proposed a plan for a partially federated Europe. The federal portion would cover key policy areas.
In the federal core, no member state would have veto power. In the wider confederation member states could join “coalitions of the willing” or simply retain their veto power. Mario Draghi endorsed Letta’s plan.
Emmanuel Macron, in a significant broadening of his pro-European approach, advocated geographic expansion, and the need for the EU to prepare for it. Not only Ukraine but also Moldova and the Western Balkans should qualify for membership in the European Union. It will take a long time to work out the details, but Europe seems to be moving in the right direction. It has responded to the invasion of Ukraine with greater speed, unity and vigor than ever before in its history. After a hesitant start, Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, also has found a strong pro-European voice.
But Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels remains excessive, due largely to the mercantilist policies pursued by former Chancellor Angela Merkel. She had made special deals with Russia for the supply of gas and made China Germany’s largest export market. That made Germany the best performing economy in Europe but now there is a heavy price to pay. Germany’s economy needs to be reoriented. And that will take a long time.
Olaf Scholz was elected Chancellor because he promised to continue Merkel’s policies. But events forced him to abandon this promise. That didn’t come easy, because he had to break with the hallowed traditions of the Social Democrats.
But when it comes to maintaining European unity, Scholz always seems to do the right thing in the end. He abandoned Nordstream 2, committed a 100 billion euros to defense and provided arms to Ukraine, breaking with a long-standing taboo. That is how the Western democracies responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
What do the two dictators Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have to show for themselves? They are tied together in an alliance that has no limits. They also have a lot in common. They rule by intimidation, and as a consequence they make mind-boggling mistakes. Putin expected to be welcomed in Ukraine as a liberator; Xi Jinping is sticking to a Zero Covid policy that can’t possibly be sustained.
Putin seems to have recognized that he made a terrible mistake when he invaded Ukraine and he is now preparing the ground for negotiating a cease fire. But the cease fire is unattainable because he cannot be trusted. Putin would have to start peace negotiations which he will never do because it would be equivalent to resigning.
The situation is confusing. A military expert who had been opposed to the invasion was allowed to go on Russian television to inform the public how bad the situation is. Later he swore allegiance to Putin. Interestingly, Xi Jinping continues to support Putin, but no longer without limits.
This begins to explain why Xi Jinping is bound to fail. Giving Putin permission to launch an unsuccessful attack against Ukraine didn’t serve China’s best interests. China ought to be the senior partner in the alliance with Russia but Xi Jinping’s lack of assertiveness allowed Putin to usurp that position. But Xi’s worst mistake was to double down on his Zero Covid policy.
The lockdowns had disastrous consequences. They pushed the Chinese economy into a free fall. It started in March, and it will continue to gather momentum until Xi reverses course – which he will never do because he can’t admit a mistake. Coming on top of the real estate crisis the damage will be so great that it will affect the global economy. With the disruption of supply chains, global inflation is liable to turn into global depression.
Yet, the weaker Putin gets the more unpredictable he becomes. The member states of the EU feel the pressure. They realize that Putin may not wait until they develop alternative sources of energy but turn off the taps on gas while it really hurts.
The RePowerEu program announced last week reflects these fears. Olaf Scholz is particularly anxious because of the special deals that his predecessor Angela Merkel made with Russia. Mario Draghi is more courageous, although Italy’s gas dependency is almost as high as Germany’s. Europe’s cohesion will face a severe test but if it continues to maintain its unity, it could strengthen both Europe’s energy security and leadership on climate.
What about China? Xi Jinping has many enemies. Nobody dares to attack him directly because he has centralized all the instruments of surveillance and repression in his own hands, but it is well known that there is dissention within the Communist Party. It has become so sharp that it has found expression in articles that ordinary people can read.
Contrary to general expectations Xi Jinping may not get his coveted third term because of the mistakes he has made. But even if he does, the Politburo may not give him a free hand to select the members of the next Politburo. That would greatly reduce his power and influence and make it less likely that he will become ruler for life.
While the war rages, the fight against climate change has to take second place. Yet the experts tell us that we have already fallen far behind, and climate change is on the verge of becoming irreversible. That could be the end of our civilization.
I find this prospect particularly frightening. Most of us accept the idea that we must eventually die but we take it for granted that our civilization will survive.
Therefore, we must mobilize all our resources to bring the war to an early end. The best and perhaps only way to preserve our civilization is to defeat Putin as soon as possible. That’s the bottom line.
Thank you.
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I think what is really needed is a hit squad to take out all these one worlders.
They have stolen all of our tax monies to purchase their own hit squad.
One of those hypersonic missiles Putin demonstrated with a small tactical nuke would do the world a favor.
Heck, I’d settle for a few well-placed hand grenades.
That is the only possible solution now !
Include PEDOPHILE bill gates too !
I’ve wondered for a long time why apparently no state or non-state ‘actor’ has terminated Soros. Could he really have that deep of a security apparatus protecting him and/or his family?
he’s a figurehead
Yes. He works for the real people behind all this. The descendants of the NAZIS who squirreled away hundreds of billions of dollars in overseas investments during the 1930s and 40s and who are using their now trillions of dollars to undermine the western democracies that defeated them in WWII.
It’s no coincidence that Soros made up last name is an Anagram for SS Gold in Spanish.
He has the CIA and other government agencies bought and paid for.
He probably doesn’t exist or has died, another fake whipping boy
Poor, poor Georgie Porgie. Still reliving WWII. What a vampire!
“In an open society, the role of the state is to protect the freedom of the individual”
hahah, that is too funny!
“He never told the Chinese people that they had been inoculated with a vaccine that was designed for the original Wuhan variant and offers very little protection against new variants”
hahaha again, so go out and get another booster like the CDC says! jab harder, it will eventually work
In an open society an individual is defined as a Talmudist Supremacist. It makes perfect sense, when you have the full picture.
There is a wood chipper with his name on it. Come on Vlad…you know the GPS coordinates.
You call THIS civilization???
“THIS” is for you. he has his own that’s not for you.
The weird thing about Soros is, as in this speech, he seems to make complete sense. I could not believe I was agreeing with him on so much while at the same time wondering why he works so hard to collapse America as we know it. He doesn’t speak in this speech as if he has disdain for America, he actually mentions America very little.
Then the reveal came…”climate change”. Either he is an idiot, like most democrat voters, or he knows full well that climate change-centric policy is the demise of the middle class, impoverishment of all but the select elite…all over something that doesn’t exist…anthropocentric climate change.
THATS how he says we all die? From climate change? Not WW3? I say its neither, it is the intention of megalomaniacs like Soros to depopulate the earth…this is how most of us die, with the exception of the chosen class.
Sociopaths are very good at convincing people that they are normal. His logic is completely psychotic in my eyes.
“I could not believe I was agreeing with him on so much while at the same time wondering why he works so hard to collapse America as we know it.”
you confusion is easily resolved. in the parts where you agree with him, he’s not talking about you. when he says “we” he means him and his, not you or yours. you play no role in any consideration of theirs, except to receive the plans they have for you – to benefit themselves at your expense.
He makes sense only if you ignore what is actually being proposed and where it actually leads, and that he and the other attendees will completely avoid all of the consequences of what they seek to impose on others –
States that are united in trade are much less likely to engage in war. Soros also requires a functional gambling bourse, wrongly designated ‘markets’ to sustain the paper value of his assets. If paper/electronic assets tank, his global aspirations go with them. Soros – along with EVERY other attendee at WEF should be put on a passport restricted ”no-fly” list – as was done to so many Americans under GWB, most of whom had done nothing wrong, and who were denied any legal process to challenge it. You know.. for “safety” (of all of us who mind our own business and are NOT seeking to reduce others to serfdom).
The problem with centralization is that it rewards power seekers, and it can only expand, and will always claim more power and authority. The so-called Federalist system in the USA was proposed in almost the exact same structure as Soros is advocating for Europe, and 1) we can see how that has turned out. “If you dont like your guest worker hordes, you will keep your guest worker hordes.”
Security of rights can only come with the exact OPPOSITE of what Soros/WEF is attempting to force into existence -compartmentalization. A confederated authority must seek absolute consent from all members, which is the nightmare of Soros/WEF, who are proposing a now all-too familiar strong Federal entity (encompassing completely different populations that are not suitable for a common government), and weak regional governments that can do little but protest.
Watch-list and restrict the passport of ALL WEF attendees from International travel into/out of the USA – this not only protects Americans from this globalist scheme, but it allows these carbon-concerned advocates to demonstrate in person how this will all work in actual practice. No need for those Gulfstreams.. you wont be able to deplane in other states without a passport allowing international travel, and if allowed, you wont be able to return here, which also solves the problem.
I want to see Squab and Soros’s wide loads attempting to navigate their way through Brussels traffic on a rental bike, before I take their opinions about carbon reduction.
Isn’t Russia one of the countries he’s wanted Dead or Alive in? I thinks he means, he won’t survive.
Soros is uglier than a mud fence. He makes 98 year old Kissinger look like Humphrey Bogart. Sure didn’t get rich off his looks. For as much damage as Soros caused to human civilization, Beelzebub has a reservation waiting for him in the next life. Don’t even think he’ll get due process at the Pearly Gates.
“Civilization May Not Survive”
what he means is his civilization won’t survive. in his mind only his civilization exists and he has no intention of letting any other survive to disprove him.
rant- Soros actually said “our (((civilization))) may not survive”. It never pays to be too sure and cocky that (((they))) have the plan in the bag. You are on the right track.
Klaus Schwab and George Soros are pure distilled evil. Both are part and parcel of the massive problems the world faces and both need immediate extermination…..along with about a thousand other criminals chiefly involved in the willful attacks on freedom.
It’s no coincidence that these scum were all in the geographical and temporal orbit of the National Socialists, and that the evil was buried deep, but a dog always returns to it’s vomit, and here we are. They should have all had their necks stretched back in ’46. Let’s do it right this time.
Oh good. It’s not worth saving anyways.
Civilization might survive if all at Davos don’t.
May Soros rot in Hell!
As long as this evil f*ck and the rest of his blue in the face friend don’t survive I think we’ll be just fine.
Soros does not struggle.
I am a simple working class gal. In a couple of weeks, I will be working 16 hour shifts seven days a week (for at least 3 months) with a catering company that serves firefighters. In October, I will be working with a group of professionals who have (the real deal) CEO credentials, but earn the equivalent of one luncheon a CEO can write off.
There are more than 100 Soros types, who do not struggle.
Where are all the small businesses stories?
Those who are familiar with TBP can write about the self-absorbed actions of TPTB. With empircal wrath and/or with rare sarcasm, some can write about injustice and what accounts as a life full of productivity.
There is censorship taking place regarding the hardships of small businesses. Where are their stories and evaluations of their contributions?
There is potential in the Hardworking Class that the TPTB has targeted for demolition over the past few years. Who represents small businesses and the Hardworking Class? Where is the interest?
I do loose sleep thinking those I respect have not any idea what Selco experienced in the Balkan Wars. Not bc I think they are sheep. They deal with incorrigible behaviors from employees: narcs stolen, fraud, neglect…On top of their professional and personal responsibilities requiring their time. They are illerate of world-wide processes of corruption and the foundation of liberty–of which the Articles of Federation appears as a Foundation.
Soros and the more than 100 types like him do not struggle. TPTB Are Not Ethical. That alternative journalists are not focusing on ethical individuals and their contributions is Not Acceptable! Everyone knows TPTB limelight before hand. Creating a meme afterwards is par with …
Oh. I did make an error. I meant the Articles of Confederation.