Cold and cunning: Van Rompuy's true face Author: David Cronin 14 March 2011 - Issue : 926 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/Cold-and-cunning-Van-Rompuys-true-face/105267.php
Conspiracy theorists make me laugh. So when I’m in need of comic relief, I occasionally check out the website of Jim Corr, knowing that its contents are a lot more entertaining than the music of his banal pop group The Corrs. For a number of years, Corr has been spouting pseudo-scientific gobbledegook in an attempt to persuade the gullible that man-made global warming is a hoax and that the collapse of the World Trade Centre wasn’t actually caused by the planes flown into it. Just because conspiracy theorists are nearly always wrong doesn’t mean everything they say should be dismissed. A dedicated bunch of researchers and bloggers have made it their task to follow the activities of the Bilderberg Group, that bunch of businessmen and politicians which meets in top secrecy on an annual basis. Some of these researchers – like the Italian MEP Mario Borghezio – belong to the extreme-right and should be denounced as racist opportunists. Yet while warnings about the Bilberbergers wanting to create a new world government might be far-fetched, there are solid reasons to be wary of what they are up to. Any club of the wealthy and powerful which seeks to avoid scrutiny is by definition a threat to democracy. And so it is correct that questions were asked about why Herman Van Rompuy dined at a Bilderberg event near Brussels shortly before he was appointed the first full-time president of the European Council in November 2009. If nothing else, his attendance at the exclusive gathering indicates he is more eager to please Goldman Sachs and Shell than the 500 million mere mortals who live in the EU. Van Rompuy’s behaviour since taking up office further signals that equality is not high on his list of concerns. Even though he trousers €25,000 per month – more than Barack Obama’s salary – he has the insolence to argue that the wages paid to ordinary workers should be kept under control. In a paper he prepared recently in tandem with José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission chief, Van Rompuy advocates that a system should be put in place whereby wage levels can be reduced if they are viewed as inimical to “competitiveness”. The two overpaid men also hope their system will lead to a higher retirement age. Reading their plan, I was half expecting it to be titled “A Modest Proposal”. For it bears similarities to the thinking behind Jonathan Swift’s 1729 tract of that name, which recommended that the poor should eat their own children. The key difference, of course, is that Swift was being satirical, whereas the pair of unelected presidents are deadly serious. It is instructive that their “modest proposal” focuses on the cost of labour. This illustrates that they are only interested in cutting the pay of the average worker, not the exorbitant salaries and bonuses offered to their Bilderberg buddies. And isn’t there something sadistic about how mainstream politicians are so fixated on raising the retirement age? The fact that people are living longer than ever before is one of Europe’s most awesome achievements. But instead of celebrating it, our rulers talk about people who manage to avoid kicking the bucket as a “pensions time-bomb”? Why shouldn’t we be able to draw down our pensions at 65 (or even earlier) and look forward to a lengthy and healthy retirement? Visiting Budapest in December last, Van Rompuy paid a clumsy tribute to the Hungarian writer Sándor Márai. It was fitting, he said, that Márai had spent time in 1920s Frankfurt meditating on whether there were some intellectuals who identified more with Europe than with their own home countries, given that the German city now hosts the European Central Bank. According to Van Rompuy, the ECB is “the institution at the heart of Europe’s new political identity”. Is that what Europe amounts to: a vast landmass controlled by a bank? If that’s true, then European citizens need to pay attention to the battle for labour rights in Wisconsin and start demanding back the powers we have ceded to a pin-striped cult. Jean-Claude Trichet – the ECB head and another Bilderberger, as it happens - has been echoing Van Rompuy. Earlier this month, Trichet told EU governments that the “priority must be to enhance wage flexibility”. In layperson’s terms, that means the working poor should be made poorer. Economics derives from the Greek term “oikonomia”, which means management of a household. No head of household would be satisfied if the price of keeping costs low was that everyone in the family was miserable. Van Rompuy should be ashamed of himself, then, for using a trip to Bucharest last month to say he is “delighted that Romania has turned the corner economically”. Under pressure from the EU and the International Monetary Fund, Romania has introduced some of the cruellest cuts in Europe recently. Public sector wages have been slashed by 25% and – contrary to the rosy picture painted by Van Rompuy – Romania remains in severe difficulty. Nigel Farage, the idiotic MEP with the UK Independence Party, provoked an uproar in 2010 when he alleged Van Rompuy had “the appearance of a low-grade bank clerk”. Hurling insults based on how somebody looks is unbecoming of a politician. And besides, Van Rompuy is no low-grade bank clerk. He is a right-leaning ideologue with a lot of influence. And he is using that influence to cause huge pain in the real world. Cold and cunning: Van Rompuy's true face On Feb 12, 9:26 pm, roundtable <tomjefferson1...@aim.com> wrote: > In December 2004, Council on Foreign Relations member Robert L. > Hutchings, Chairman of the National Intelligence Council of the CIA, > presented the US president, members of Congress, cabinet members and > key officials involved in policymaking a 123-page report titled > “Mapping the Global Future” (http://www.foia.cia.gov/2020/2020.pdf). > In the preface Hutchings gives special recognition to Council on > Foreign Relations member Matthew Burrows, Director of the NIC’s > Analysis and Production Staff. The project took about a year and > involved more than 1000 people. > The report foresees pervasive insecurity > > “We foresee a more pervasive sense of insecurity—which may be as much > based on > psychological perceptions as physical threats—by 2020. Even as most of > the world > gets richer, globalization will profoundly shake up the status quo— > generating > enormous economic, cultural, and consequently political convulsions. > With the > gradual integration of China, India, and other emerging countries into > the global > economy, hundreds of millions of working-age adults will become > available for > employment in what is evolving into a more integrated world labor > market. > > This enormous work force—a growing portion of which will be well > educated—will be > an attractive, competitive source of low-cost labor at the same time > that > technological innovation is expanding the range of globally mobile > occupations. > > The transition will not be painless and will hit the middle classes of > the > developed world in particular, bringing more rapid job turnover and > requiring > professional retooling. Outsourcing on a large scale would strengthen > the antiglobalization movement. Where these pressures lead will depend > on how political > leaders respond, how flexible labor markets become, and whether > overall economic > growth is sufficiently robust to absorb a growing number of displaced > workers.” > > The report foresees International Terrorism : > > “The key factors that spawned international terrorism show no signs of > abating > over the next 15 years. Facilitated by global communications, the > revival of Muslim > identity will create a framework for the spread of radical Islamic > ideology inside and > outside the Middle East, including Southeast Asia, Central Asia and > Western Europe, > where religious identity has traditionally not been as strong. This > revival has been > accompanied by a deepening solidarity among Muslims caught up in > national or > regional separatist struggles, such as Palestine, Chechnya, Iraq, > Kashmir, Mindanao, > and southern Thailand, and has emerged in response to government > repression, > corruption, and ineffectiveness. Informal networks of charitable > foundations, > madrassas, hawalas1, and other mechanisms will continue to proliferate > and be > exploited by radical elements; alienation among unemployed youths will > swell the ranks > of those vulnerable to terrorist recruitment. > > We expect that by 2020 al-Qa’ida will be superceded by similarly > inspired Islamic > extremist groups, and there is a substantial risk that broad Islamic > movements akin to > al-Qa’ida will merge with local separatist movements. Information > technology, allowing > for instant connectivity, communication, and learning, will enable the > terrorist threat to > become increasingly decentralized, evolving into an eclectic array of > groups, cells, and > individuals that do not need a stationary headquarters to plan and > carry out operations. > Training materials, targeting guidance, weapons know-how, and fund- > raising will > become virtual (i.e., online).” > > The report lays out four possible scenarios for the future : > “Davos World provides an illustration of how robust economic growth, > led by China > and India, over the next 15 years could reshape the globalization > process—giving it > a more non-Western face and transforming the political playing field > as well. > > Pax Americana takes a look at how US predominance may survive the > radical > changes to the global political landscape and serve to fashion a new > and inclusive > global order. > > A New Caliphate provides an example of how a global movement fueled by > radical > religious identity politics could constitute a challenge to Western > norms and values > as the foundation of the global system. > > Cycle of Fear provides an example of how concerns about proliferation > might > increase to the point that large-scale intrusive security measures are > taken to > prevent outbreaks of deadly attacks, possibly introducing an Orwellian > world.” > > On December 12, 2005 Elizabetth Bumiller published an Article in the > NY Times titled 21st-Century Warnings of a Threat Rooted in the 7th. > The article is about the word “Caliphate”. The article is a limited > hangout mentioning six members of the Council on Foreign Relations but > links only one of them to the CFR. "Just as we had the opportunity to > learn what the Nazis were going to do, from Hitler's world in 'Mein > Kampf,' " [Council on Foreign Relations member ] General Abizaid said, > "we need to learn what these people intend to do from their own > words." Two Council on Foreign Relations members, George Shuster and > William Langer edited the English version of “Mein Kampf” in 1939. > Instead of warning the American The Council on Foreign Relations > brought Hitler and the National Socialists to power to cause World War > II. (http://www.bilderberg.org/roundtable/emhitler.html). > > The Council on Foreign Relations is now bringing Islamic Radicals to > power to escalate the War on Terror and bring about World War III. The > unrest in the Middle East is part of the Council on Foreign Relations > plan. Sceanario three, A New Caliphate, is unfolding. The Tunisian > and Egyption revolutions in the middle east are a giant step forward > in the plan. > > Meanwhile the Council on Foreign Relations War on Terror is advancing > scenario four, the Cycle of Fear, as western nations like the USA and > Britain infringe on the liberties of their citizens, strip away their > privacy, dignity and freedom and by turn into police states. > > The article follows. The article has been modified to identify the > Council on Foreign Relations members. > > Defense Secretary [Trilateral Commission member] Donald H. Rumsfeld > said it in a speech last Monday in Washington and again on Thursday on > PBS. Eric S. Edelman, the under secretary of defense for policy, said > it the week before in a round table at the Council on Foreign > Relations. Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser, said it > in October in speeches in New York and Los Angeles. [Council on > Foreign Relations member] Gen. John P. Abizaid, the top American > commander in the Middle East, said it in September in hearings on > Capitol Hill. > > Vice President[Council on Foreign Relations member ] Dick Cheney was > one of the first members of the Bush administration to say it, at a > campaign stop in Lake Elmo, Minn., in September 2004. > > The word getting the workout from the nation's top guns these days is > "caliphate" - the term for the seventh-century Islamic empire that > spanned the Middle East, spread to Southwest Asia, North Africa and > Spain, then ended with the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258. The term > can also refer to other caliphates, including the one declared by the > Ottoman Turks that ended in 1924. > > Specialists on Islam say the word is a mysterious and ominous one for > many Americans, and that the administration knows it. "They recognize > that there's a lot of resonance when they use the term 'caliphate,' " > said [Council on Foreign Relations member ] Kenneth M. Pollack, a > former Central Intelligence Agency analyst and now a scholar at the > Saban Center at the Brookings Institution. [Council on Foreign > Relations member ] Zbigniew Brzezinski, [Council on Foreign Relations > member ] President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, said that > the word had an "almost instinctive fearful impact." > > So now, [Council on Foreign Relations member ] Mr. Cheney and others > warn, Al Qaeda's ultimate goal is the re-establishment of the > caliphate, with calamitous consequences for the United States. As Mr. > Cheney put it in Lake Elmo, referring to Osama bin Laden and his > followers: "They talk about wanting to re-establish what you could > refer to as the seventh-century caliphate" to be "governed by Sharia > law, the most rigid interpretation of the Koran." > > Or as Mr. Rumsfeld put it on Monday: "Iraq would serve as the base of > a new Islamic caliphate to extend throughout the Middle East, and > which would threaten legitimate governments in Europe, Africa and > Asia." > > [Council on Foreign Relations member ] General Abizaid was dire, too. > "They will try to re-establish a caliphate throughout the entire > Muslim world," he told the House Armed Services Committee in > September, adding that the caliphate's goals would include the > destruction of Israel. "Just as we had the opportunity to learn what > the Nazis were going to do, from Hitler's world in 'Mein Kampf,' > " [Council on Foreign Relations member ] General Abizaid said, "we > need to learn what these people intend to do from their own words." > > A number of scholars and former government officials take strong issue > with the administration's warning about a new caliphate, and compare > it to the fear of communism spread during the Cold War. They say that > although Al Qaeda's statements do indeed describe a caliphate as a > goal, the administration is exaggerating the magnitude of the threat > as it seeks to gain support for its policies in Iraq. > > In the view of John L. Esposito, an Islamic studies professor at > Georgetown University, there is a difference between the ability of > small bands of terrorists to commit attacks across the world and > achieving global conquest. > > "It is certainly correct to say that these people have a global > design, but the administration ought to frame it realistically," said > Mr. Esposito, the founding director of the Center for Muslim-Christian > Understanding at Georgetown. "Otherwise they can actually be playing > into the hands of the Osama bin Ladens of the world because they raise > this to a threat that is exponentially beyond anything that Osama bin > Laden can deliver." > > [Council on Foreign Relations member ] Shibley Telhami, the Anwar > Sadat professor for peace and development at the University of > Maryland, said Al Qaeda was not leading a movement that threatened to > mobilize the vast majority of Muslims. A recent poll [Council on > Foreign Relations member ] Mr. [Council on Foreign Relations member ] > Telhami conducted with Zogby International of 3,900 people in six > countries - Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, the United Arab > Emirates and Lebanon - found that only 6 percent sympathized with Al > Qaeda's goal of seeking an Islamic state. > > The notion that Al Qaeda could create a new caliphate, he said, is > simply wrong. "There's no chance in the world that they'll succeed," > he said. "It's a silly threat." (On the other hand, more than 30 > percent in [Council on Foreign Relations member ] Mr. Telhami's poll > said they sympathized with Al Qaeda, because the group stood up to > America.) > > The term "caliphate" has been used internally by policy hawks in the > Pentagon since the planning stages for the war in Iraq, but the > administration's public use of the word has increased this summer and > fall, around the time that American forces obtained a letter from > Ayman al-Zawahiri, the No. 2 leader in Al Qaeda, to Abu Musab al- > Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. The 6,000-word letter, > dated early in July, called for the establishment of a militant > Islamic caliphate across Iraq before Al Qaeda's moving on to Syria, > Lebanon and Egypt and then a battle against Israel. > > In recent weeks, the administration's use of "caliphate" has only > intensified, as Mr. Bush has begun a campaign of speeches to try to > regain support for the war. He himself has never publicly used the > term, although he has repeatedly described the caliphate, as he did in > a speech last week when he said that the terrorists want to try to > establish "a totalitarian Islamic empire that reaches from Indonesia > to Spain." > > Six days earlier, Mr. Edelman, the under secretary of defense, made it > clear. "Iraq's future will either embolden terrorists and expand their > reach and ability to re-establish a caliphate, or it will deal them a > crippling blow," he said. "For us, failure in Iraq is just not an > option." > > The events of the last few weeks in Tunisia and Egypt have emboldened > the terrorists and expanded their reach and ability to re-establish a > caliphate. Was this what the CFR had in store for the World when they > backed Bin Laden during the Soviet/Afghan War? (http://www.youtube.com/ > watch?v=8dMlcxDn2D0&NR=1&feature=fvwp#) -- Please consider seriously the reason why these elite institutions are not discussed in the mainstream press despite the immense financial and political power they wield? There are sick and evil occultists running the Western World. They are power mad lunatics like something from a kids cartoon with their fingers on the nuclear button! Armageddon is closer than you thought. Only God can save our souls from their clutches, at least that's my considered opinion - Tony You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PEPIS" group. Please feel free to forward it to anyone who might be interested particularly your political representatives, journalists and spiritual leaders/dudes. 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