Russia Bans Soros Foundation As A "Threat To National Security And Constitution

[Ocean]

Russia Bans Soros Foundation As A "Threat To National Security And Constitutional Order"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-30/russia-bans-soros-foundation-threat-national-security-and-constitutional-order

Following Russia's official retaliation to the Turkish downing of its jet a week ago, in which Putin issued an executive order limiting employment for Turkish workers, restricting Turkish organizations, and reducing the amount of bilateral trade with Ankara, perhaps a far more notable development took place earlier today when the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office issued a statement in which it recognized George Soros’s Open Society Institute and another affiliated organization as "undesirable groups", banning Russian citizens and organizations from participation in any of their projects.

In a statement released on Monday, prosecutors said the activities of the Open Society Institute and the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation were a threat to the foundations of Russia’s Constitutional order and national security. They added that the Justice Ministry would be duly informed about these conclusions and would add the two groups to Russia’s list of undesirable foreign organizations.

Are the "globalization gloves" finally coming off?

According to RT, prosecutors launched a probe into the activities of the two organizations - both sponsored by the well-known US financier George Soros - in July this year, after Russian senators approved the so-called “patriotic stop-list” of 12 groups that required immediate attention over their supposed anti-Russian activities. Other groups on the list included the National Endowment for Democracy; the International Republican Institute; the National Democratic Institute; the MacArthur Foundation and Freedom House.

Open Society is not the first: in late July, the Russian Justice Ministry recognized the US National Endowment for Democracy as an undesirable group after prosecutors discovered the US NGO had spent millions on attempts to question the legitimacy of Russian elections and tarnish the prestige of national military service.

The Law on Undesirable Foreign Organizations came into force in early June this year. It requires the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Foreign Ministry to draw up an official list of undesirable foreign organizations and outlaw their activities. Once a group is recognized as undesirable, its assets in Russia must be frozen, its offices closed and the distribution of any of its materials must be banned. That said, it is doubtful that Soros still has any active assets in Russia - his foundation, which emerged in Russia in its early post-USSR years in the mid-1990s, wrapped up active operations in 2003 when Putin cemented his control on power.

If the ban is violated, the personnel of the outlawed group and any Russian citizens who cooperate with them could face heavy fines, or even prison terms in the case of repeated or aggravated offences.

And while it is doubtful that Soros will be making landfall in Moscow any time soon and thus be subject to an arrest warrant, it is notable that the first financial spillover effect from the year's most dramatic geopolitical event involves note other than the famed "globalizer" and the person who as recent hacked emails divulged was the puppet-master behind the Ukraine presidential coup.

Will the US retaliate in kind and expand its year-long sanctions against Russia as a result as the world continues to careen into fragmented, multi-polar chaos? Or will there be another provocation between NATO-member Turkey and Russia as a result, perhaps one involving Russian ship transit through the Boshporus? With events now moving fast, we should have an answer in the very near future.

 

[Oxajil]

perhaps a far more notable development took place earlier today when the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office issued a statement in which it recognized George Soros’s Open Society Institute and another affiliated organization as "undesirable groups", banning Russian citizens and organizations from participation in any of their projects. [...]

The Law on Undesirable Foreign Organizations came into force in early June this year. It requires the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Foreign Ministry to draw up an official list of undesirable foreign organizations and outlaw their activities. Once a group is recognized as undesirable, its assets in Russia must be frozen, its offices closed and the distribution of any of its materials must be banned. [...]

If the ban is violated, the personnel of the outlawed group and any Russian citizens who cooperate with them could face heavy fines, or even prison terms in the case of repeated or aggravated offences.

I think this is a great move by Russia! A similar article on this was also on Sott some days ago: http://www.sott.net/article/307456-Soros-foundations-banned-as-threat-to-Russian-national-security As the comment says: 'Couldn't have happened to a nicer person', and I fully agree. One of the anti-Russian media channels Soros' organization financed was the Ukrainian television outlet Hromadske TV which openly broadcast a call for genocide...

 

[Ca.]

Chaos Monster ups the anti. Heads up everyone!

The Financial Times
George Soros transfers $18bn to his Open Society non-profit group
_https://www.ft.com/content/fe6a164e-7cd5-3cd2-9e69-0c9ca81c35d3?mhq5j=e5

George Soros has given away $18bn, the bulk of his personal wealth, to the Open Society Foundations, bringing his charitable giving over his lifetime to around $32bn.

The 87-year-old legendary hedge fund investor has been working to transfer the billions he has made in finance over the past several years to the foundation he founded as he made arrangements for its long-term future.

Mr Soros hs retained an active role in guiding OSF as chairman of its global board, which includes among its members his sons Alexander and Jonathan. But staff said Mr Soros had decided several years earlier to clarify the organisation’s structure and leadership before making another large endowment.

As part of the wider strategic shake-up, OSF president Chris Stone – a criminal justice and non-profit expert – announced his departure in September and will be replaced by Patrick Gaspard, a Congolese-born former US diplomat who is currently OSF vice-president.

Mr Stone spent six years as president streamlining OSF’s sprawling operations in 39 countries, including Mr Soros’ birthplace of Hungary, where it has come under heavy government attack.

Mr Soros had given away $14bn since 1979, starting when he gave scholarships to black South Africans living under apartheid.

He founded Open Society in 1984, which provides funding to support democratic practice and human rights, economic governance and advancement, justice reform, equality, health, education and journalism issues around the world.

Aug 16, 2016

https://youtu.be/qVeZYetsRCU?rel=0

LA Times
_http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-george-soros-foundation-20171017-story.html

Billionaire George Soros has pumped nearly $18 billion into the Open Society Foundations the last several years, turning it into one of the world’s largest philanthropic organizations.

The money comes from the personal wealth of the 87-year-old Soros, Laura Silber, a spokeswoman for the foundation, said Tuesday.

The shift of some of Soros’ wealth from his investment firm was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Forbes listed Soros’ personal net worth as of Tuesday at $23 billion.

Soros, who lived through the Nazi occupation in his native Hungary, later fled communist rule in the country and eventually immigrated to the United States. He has become a leading backer of liberal causes and candidates, including Hillary Clinton.

Soros established his first foundation in 1984 in Hungary, and he founded the Open Society Foundations in the U.S. in 1993. Soros has spent nearly $14 billion funding a host of programs around the world, including refugee relief and public health efforts.

The foundation said it is the second-largest in the world after the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Open Society’s 2017 budget is $941 million, with giving organized around seven global regions and 10 themes, including early childhood and education, human rights movements and institutions, and justice reform and the rule of law.

But the foundation has been the subject of controversy for its work in the United States, such as supporting Planned Parenthood and criminal justice issues also advocated by the Black Lives Matter movement.

In 2014, the foundation contributed $1.4 million to help pass California’s Proposition 47, which reduced drug possession and minor theft charges to misdemeanors. Soros provided other funding less directly.

Added:

American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp on whether it’s ethical for George Soros to give $18 billion to his open foundation.
(Vid 06:30) Oct. 17, 2017
_http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5615246361001/?playlist_id=933116636001#sp=show-clips

 

[angelburst29]

OSF officials told the Wall Street Journal that Soros transferred much of his considerable wealth to the organization over a period several years, although the exact sum remained a secret until Tuesday. The revelation makes Soros' OSF the second-largest 'philanthropic' organization in the US, behind the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the third largest in the world.

Billions for Subversion, Sabotage & Strife: George Soros' 'Greatest Hits' 18.10.2017
https://sputniknews.com/world/201710181058347137-george-soros-empire-exposed/

The revelation of the immense sums involved plays to fears voiced by Soros' political and ideological opponents. Inside the US and around the world, Soros and his civil society grant-making network have been at the heart of numerous controversies related to attempts to interfere with or manipulate democratic elections and other political processes through funding for 'democracy development', the media, youth initiatives, good governance, and minority rights.

United States - In the US, criticism against Soros has included accusations that the billionaire has been attempting to "destabilize" the country in the wake of Donald Trump's election. Last month, over 150,000 Americans signed a White House petition to have Soros declared a domestic terrorist and to strip him of his assets. The petition, which claims that Soros is using his wealth to try to "facilitate the collapse of the systems and constitutional government" in the US, has earned an official response from the White House, collecting over 50,000 signatures more than needed.

Alongside OSF, Soros' initiatives in the US include financial support for Media Matters for America, a self-described media watchdog fighting conservative media. During the 2016 presidential race, Soros actively supported Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party, officially contributing over $10.5 million to her campaign. Playing the field, the billionaire has also provided support for neoconservative Republican groups like the McCain Institute.

Central & Eastern Europe - Anger over Soros' efforts to manipulate local politics is even stronger in his native Hungary. Earlier this month, the European Commission issued Budapest an ultimatum over its non-governmental organization and education laws, which deliberately restrict civil society groups funded by Soros from operating in Hungary. Brussels has said that it could refer the case to the EU's Court of Justice.

Earlier, Hungarian lawmakers approved a law stipulating that NGOs which receive over 24,000 euros a year must publicize their foreign sponsors and register as foreign-financed organizations. Budapest's Central European University, another Soros-funded initiative aimed at training regional political elites, has been left in legal limbo after the government deferred its accreditation. Budapest earlier dubbed the school "Soros University," and accused the billionaire himself of deliberately encouraging Europe's refugee crisis as a means to destabilizing the continent.

Soros' affiliated groups have also played an instrumental role in the turmoil in Ukraine, which saw the overthrow of the democratically-elected government of Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014. In August 2016, DC Leaks exposed Soros' involvement in the coup, and his organizations' work in the aftermath to influence reluctant Western actors to fall in line with EU efforts to 'democratize' and 'Westernize' the former Soviet republic.

Russia ran out of patience for Soros and the OSF two years ago. In July 2015, the Russian Senate added the OSF to a list of organizations whose activities were deemed to pose a threat to Russia's national security. The Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation, another of Soros organization, was also included in the list. In November 2015, the Russian General Prosecutor's Office included OSF into a 'stop list' of foreign NGOs, deeming its activities to pose "a threat to the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation and the security of the state. Before the ban, the OSF had operated in Russia for over two decades, spending over $100 million on education, internet development, NGOs and support for media. (Comment - Soros is probably behind the RT News ban?)

Finger in Every Pie - Soros and his various organizations have been implicated for involvement in a host of political conflicts around the globe, from his alleged financing of Catalan secessionists, to working closely with the US's so-called Burma Task Force to influence the ongoing conflict around the Rohingya in Myanmar.

Soros' affiliated activists have also been accused of involvement in fomenting political unrest in Poland, promoting the interests of the transnational EU elites against Poland's conservative government. Israel has accused him of undermining democracy there, he has been blamed for attempts to oust the government in Equatorial Guinea, and suspected of manipulating local politics in Malaysia ahead of the 2018 elections. The OSF has been implicated for its political involvement in Montenegro and Macedonia in their drive for EU and NATO membership. Soros and his allies are also believed to be heavily involved in the campaign encouraging Washington to introduce ever-tightening sanctions against Moscow.

Soros' Vision: A New World Order (Built on Currency Speculation) - Observers believe that the reason Soros-affiliated groups are so heavily involved in politics around the world stems from the billionaire's globalist ideology – which envisions a liberal, post-family, post-border 'New World Order', as outlined in his book, 'The Age of Fallibility'. Critics have warned that in the interest of achieving his goal, Soros is willing to buy governments, pay international organizations to spread anti-conservative values, manipulate national currencies, foment political unrest, and perhaps most importantly – spend considerable time and resources to spread these values among young people, particularly in developing countries.

The 'philanthropic' nature of his various initiatives notwithstanding, among the biggest controversies behind Soros and his organizations is the source of his fabulous wealth. The investor's shady 1992 currency speculation deal, which forced the Bank of England to devalue the pound, netted him a cool billion dollars in profit. Since then, he performed a similar trick several more times, including during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when he bet against Thailand's currency, resulting in its collapse. In other words, Soros' 'philanthropic empire' is not only shady in and of itself, but also rooted in dirty money which has brought suffering to millions of people around the world.

Over 16,000 people have signed a petition asking President Trump to deprive George Soros of citizenship and expel him from the US. Igor Pshenichnikov, an advisor to the director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, an influential Moscow-based think tank, explains what's at stake in the ideological and metaphysical battle shaping up.

Soros' Ideology Exposed: A Post-Modern, Post-Family, Post-Border New World Order 20.02.2017
https://sputniknews.com/politics/201702201050878788-soros-ideology-explained/

Thousands have signed a petition at verified petition site Change.org asking Donald Trump to ban the US-Hungarian billionaire and his Open Society Foundations from operating on US territory, accusing him, his family, and his businesses of working to manipulate US politicians and spread post-modern, anti-conservative values in the country and throughout the world.

We ask for a warrant to be issued for [Soros's] willful actions to destabilize and bankrupt our economy by pushing his anti-America open borders globalist New World Order society agenda with the intent of destroying our country," the petition, authored by Ohio-based activist and songwriter Vanessa Feltner, reads.

The billionaire, according to the petition, is trying to destroy the US by "buying our governments, manipulating our currency, buying politicians and negatively buying influence over our Western values." Listing the issues of particular concern to conservatives, the petition protests that "Soros has provided funding for abortion rights, atheism, drug legalization, sex education, euthanasia, feminism, gun control, globalization, mass immigration and other radical experiments in social engineering."

"We want America to remain sovereign, a Republic nation," the petition stresses. "We want to remain a Christian nation. This man and his son will continue to attempt to destroy our Western values and we agree he must be removed or arrested immediately to guard the safety of our values and our country."

Taking a look at what is known about Soros' global efforts, and offering a distinctly Russian perspective on the billionaire's initiatives, RIA Novosti contributor and Russian Institute for Strategic Studies expert Igor Pshenichnikov pointed out that virtually everything laid out in the Change.org petition applies not only to the United States, but far beyond its borders as well.

"Soros," the analyst recalled, first "outlined his view of the world in his book 'The Age of Fallibility'. His main aim is to create a world without borders, where everyone is equal and free, where the interests of all minorities, especially sexual ones, are not only secured through legislation, but prevail over the interests of the majority."

The billionaire, Pshenichnikov added, is the proponent of a gender ideology "borne in the depths of the feminist movement, and which today has become a socio-political foundation of Western society. This ideology implies 'freedom from gender identity': however one imagines him or herself in the gender sense is how they should present themselves to the world. In the West today, this is de facto the 'dominant religion', and Soros is a fanatical follower of this religion."

Last year, hacktivist-run website DC Leaks published dozens of secret documents related to Open Society Foundations operations, demonstrating, among other things, how Soros' fingerprints were all over efforts to affect Western societies in ways disturbing to conservatives and others opposed to a post-family world. This, Pshenichnikov noted, includes the depatholization of sexual and gender identities, along with strategies to decriminalize prostitution and legally recognize transsexualism as a psychiatric norm.

"Soros has also actively intervened in the work of the World Health Organization," the journalist noted, "and has tried to change existing international classifications of sexual disorders so that the postulates of 'gender ideology' could be scientifically justified." The strategies include support for advocacy groups working to change the WHO's International Classification of Diseases to remove transsexualism as a psychiatric diagnosis.

The WHO's European bureau, where Soros' supported 'advocacy groups' are also in place, have also been highly active in supporting the billionaire's agenda, specifically with the 'Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe'.

This document, Pshenichnikov noted, includes instructions "on how European children are to be reformatted from a young age, their traditional innate matrix destroyed. Here's just one excerpt from these standards: 'Sex education is firmly based on gender equality, self-determination [of sexual identity] and the acceptance of diversity.'"

Furthermore, the commentator added, DC Leaks has confirmed in its 2016-2019 strategy for 'women's rights' an aggressive campaign to promote abortion, aiming not only to remove anti-abortion restrictions, but to stimulate their growth in countries where restrictions do not exist. "The implementation of this strategy involves a national representative presence by Amnesty International, various associations and family planning centers, and organizations defending women's right to abortion. In the first stage, Soros' plan calls for an attack against Catholic countries, especially Ireland and Poland, which have strong anti-abortion legislation in place."

Billions for Regime Change Worldwide - The financing of NGOs meant to destabilize countries which don't meet Soros' value system is no secret to anyone, Pshenichnikov noted. "On its own website, Soros' fund does not hide that it has spent $1.6 billion on the goal of 'democratic development' in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union over the past 33 years."

"Furthermore, $2.9 billion has been spent on 'human rights', including 'often marginalized groups such as drug users, sex workers, and LGBTQ communities.'" $2.1 billion more has been spent on 'education projects' from pre-K to higher education, including the aforementioned sex education projects.

In 2017, Soros' fund plans to spend a total $940.7 million dollars, "from which initiatives in the US will get $98.7 million, those in Europe $65 million, and those in Eurasia (meaning Russia) $42.8 million."

Three years ago, Pshenichnikov wrote, Soros' tens of millions of dollars' worth of investment into 'pro-democracy' NGOs in Ukraine paid off, and the country was subjected to the unrest leading up to the Euromaidan coup d'état, a cataclysm from which the country continues to reel from today. Other Eastern European countries, from Bulgaria to Hungary, have also been affected.

Nationally oriented leaders in Eastern Europe have made clear where they stand on Soros and his foundations. Last year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had the following to say of the billionaire's activities: "There are some who envisage a world without borders: this is exactly the concept which George Soros and his civil society organizations seek to popularize. This notion is at best well-intentioned and naïve, and at worst is based on a calculated assessment of processes leading to the end of traditional civilizations, ways of life, cultures and nations."

Now, Pshenichnikov noted, following Trump's election, mass demonstrations of the kind long seen in developing countries around the world have begun popping up in the US as well, including via Pussyhat Project, which US alternative media have warned sounds quite similar to Soros-linked projects, complete with its own color and brand identity.

Ultimately, the journalist stressed that as far as the US is concerned, Trump is now the main figure "expressing the will of traditional America. For this reason, he appears to be the main headache for Soros." Who will emerge victorious in the ideological, political and metaphysical battle between conservative nationalism and liberal globalism? Only time will tell.

 

[Ca.]

Max Keiser DESTROYS Soros funded think tank that published list of RT guests calling them Kremlin “Useful Idiots” (Video)
by Alex Christoforou Alex Christoforou October 23, 2017, 18:23 Links within:
http://theduran.com/max-keiser-destroys-soros-funded-think-tank-that-published-list-of-rt-guests-calling-them-kremlin-useful-idiots/

The real “Useful Idiot” is the person being used by George Soros and the CIA.

The NGO ‘European Values Think-Tank‘ is funded by the American Embassy in the Czech Republic (i.e. the CIA) and by the Open Society Foundation (i.e. George Soros)…so the ridiculous nature of the list should come as no surprise.

The propaganda think tank published a report on RT featuring an extensive list of US and European public figures who have been accused of ‘undermining western democracy’ just by appearing in RT shows.

The true useful idiot, used by Soros and the CIA to put the list together, Monika Richter was absolutely destroyed by Max Keiser (Video below).

Here is Richter’s profile as part of the

“Kremlin Watch Program.”

Monika joined the Kremlin Watch Program in March 2017. She became interested in the Kremlin’s disinformation campaign with the onset of the Ukraine crisis in 2013, and subsequently devoted her graduate research to the effectiveness of this campaign with target audiences in the West. Her Masters thesis involved an online survey experiment with 1,200 U.S. participants that tested the attitudinal effects of exposure to Russian coverage of the Ukraine war. The study received national media coverage in the U.K. as the first controlled experiment on the impact of Kremlin-sponsored broadcasting aimed at Western citizens.

At Kremlin Watch, Monika focuses on the disinformation scene in the U.S. and the broader challenges of fighting information pollution in the age of unchecked digital media. She holds degrees in Politics and International Relations from the University of Oxford, St Antony’s College (MPhil) and the University of St Andrews (MA). Born to Czech emigrant parents and raised in the U.S., she speaks native Czech and English, as well as German (B2). Her full profile is available on LinkedIn.

An NGO called the European Values Think-Tank has published a report on RT featuring an extensive list of US and European public figures who have been accused of “undermining western democracy” just by appearing in RT shows.

The report, claiming to be an “overview of RT’s editorial strategy and evidence of impact,” comes with an Excel list of 2,327 people who have appeared on RT over the last four years. The names are carefully arranged in seven categories, including US politicians, UK politicians, European politicians and so on, and are arranged in alphabetical order. The list mentions the shows the guests appeared on, the total number of their appearances, and gives hyperlinks to all the relevant episodes.

The report states that appearing on the network is counterproductive and makes the guest a “useful idiot” to a “hostile foreign power.” Expressing one’s opinion on RT is considered by the NGO as equivalent to “complicity with the Russian propaganda machine.”

Although the list looks like a really thorough effort at cataloguing all of the RT guests, it’s got a number of strikingly weird blunders. For example, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is there, but only the link attached leads to a satirical show featuring someone impersonating him. Meanwhile, US Senator John McCain’s daughter is mistaken for the senator himself and “Politicking with Larry King” is unexpectedly referred to as “Politicking with Larry David.”

The report generally claims that RT is

“an instrument of hostile foreign influence,” which has the sole purpose of “undermining public confidence in the viability of liberal democracy.”

It repeatedly discourages any public figures from potentially appearing on any of RT’s shows in the future, as those on the list are accused of boosting RT’s “credibility as a legitimate news network.”

The report asserts the opposite in no uncertain terms. It constantly describes RT as the “Kremlin’s mouthpiece” tasked with no less than destroying the western civilization and society from within.

It does not mince words calling RT “a second-rate news network with an abysmal reputation and dubious audience numbers” as well as “the Russian propaganda machine” and a “disinformation tool.”

However, it eventually gets so much enmeshed in its own allegations that it starts to contradict itself. The paper claims that RT’s influence on its western audiences ranges from “minimal to modest,” yet almost immediately says that the news network’s “specific effects” on its viewers “should be a research priority for all organizations and governments interested in countering the Kremlin’s disinformation campaign.”

It further says that Russia’s “disinformation campaign,” which includes RT’s activities, poses a “security hazard” that “should not be taken lightly,” and adds at the same time that it is “imperative” not to “overinflate” the threat of RT.

The report was prepared by Monika Richter, who is described as an analyst at the European Values Think-Tank who works specifically for the “Kremlin Watch Program” – a project aimed at “exposing and confronting instruments of Russian influence and disinformation operations focused against Western democracies.” Richter also cooperates with the Atlantic Council – a US-based think tank, which is known for its staunch anti-Russian stance.

The European Values Think-Tank was founded as an NGO in 2005 and is located in the Czech Republic. It claims to be a neutral, not-for-profit organization aimed at defending democracy and not linked to any political force.

However, its annual report reveals that one-quarter of its funding comes from various governmental actors, including the US and the UK embassies, the Czech government and several EU structures, such as the European Parliament and the European Commission as well as their subordinate bodies. According to the same report, the NGO receives most of its funding from a large number of private donors. Its biggest single donor is George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, which covers almost 10 percent of its funding.

George Barda, an environmental activist and social justice campaigner, called the report

“disappointing” and “a piece of propaganda.”

“The reality is that dissident voices in the UK only rarely get into the mainstream media … and RT has been the only news network providing a regular platform for them. Much of this report is incredibly disappointing and it is clearly not even pretending to give any kind of serious consideration to the other side of the argument. It is a fairly standard piece of propaganda,”

he said.

Do the author of this report and the politicians in the UK and the US really think that [such people] as Robert Kennedy Jr., Yanis Varoufakis, the former Foreign Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, or the former mayor of London are just ‘idiots’?” Afshin Rattansi, the host of RT’s “Going Underground” show said. “Of course, they are not and this is incredibly insulting,” he said, calling the report a “McCarthy atavism.”

He went on to say that the supporters of the anti-Russian campaign first criticize Moscow for allegedly censoring journalists and then suggest doing exactly the same in the West, thus revealing the inconsistency in their own views.

George SorosVerified account
@georgesoros
_https://twitter.com/georgesoros?lang=en
The Official Twitter Page of George Soros, Chairman of Soros Fund Management LLC and founder of the Open Society Foundations.

Legal aid can combat lengthy pretrial detention. A duty solicitor program in Nigeria now has police backing.
_https://twitter.com/georgesoros/status/922403636545839106

Replying to @williamlegate @georgesoros

Helping...

https://youtu.be/6IovWPu2w44?rel=0

 

[Benjamin]

Old thread but seems the most relevant.

Sputniknews:

Shady Soros-Funded Group Influenced Biden Reforms in Nearly Two Dozen Policy Areas, Memos Show​

Apr. 26, 2022

The Hungarian-born hedge fund boss got his start funding “civil society initiatives” aimed at toppling Communist governments in Eastern Europe in the 1980s, but has since spread his activities to over 60 countries around the world, including the United States. Several countries have now banned his organisations’ activities.

"Governing for Impact", a little-known but apparently highly influential DC-based nonprofit which has received millions of dollars from George Soros, has boasted of success in reversing nearly two dozen Trump-era regulatory policies through quiet, behind-the-scenes lobbying of the Biden administration, memos and a slide presentation first reported on by Fox News show.

The group’s website, invisible to search engines, is home to nearly three dozen “proposed action memoranda” which began to be formulated in November 2020, immediately after the tension-filled election which unseated Donald Trump and installed Joe Biden as president.

The legal strategy memos, most of them written by anonymous authors, focus on five areas: education, the environment, health care, housing, and labour – all areas in which Democrats have sought to reverse four years of Trump policies via executive orders and legislation.

Screengrab of the Governing for Impact website landing page. The website is not accessible by search engine.
© Photo : Screenshot

The memos point to cooperation between Governing for Impact and organisations including the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at Berkley Law School, the National Student League Defense Network, a non-profit created in 2017 and focusing on issues like quality of education and student debt, and the Economic Policy Institute, a DC-based policy think tank co-founded by Robert Reich, the former secretary of labour in the Clinton administration.

Governing for Impact presents itself as a counterweight to “corporate and other entrenched interests”, and a protector of “everyday, working Americans”.

“Governing for Impact seeks to fill this gap and build progressive power at the state and federal level. Through collaboration with partners, we help make progressive policy priorities a reality by focusing on the nitty gritty details of policy development and implementation. Many of the proposals on this site focus on how the new administration could unwind the previous administration’s harmful regulatory legacy, but GFI continues to take on new policy projects at all levels of government”, the "About" section of the site says.

A Harvard Law School internship from late 2020 filled in the details on Governing for Impact’s goals, saying it was created to help prepare the Biden administration for office through “more than 60 in-depth, shovel-ready regulatory recommendations”.

In an internal slide show uploaded to Prezi but now inaccessible, the group boasted that “more than 20” of its policy proposals had been implemented by the Biden administration during its first months in office. The slides pointed to multiple Biden officials who had been given what the organisation called a “listening tour”, including now-former regulation review head Sharon Block, as well as senior figures from the Departments of Justice, Labour, Energy, the Office of Domestic Climate Policy, and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Some 10 offices and agencies were said to have received memos aimed at shifting federal policy on a raft of issues.

Governing for Impact receives cash from the New Venture Fund, a DC nonprofit incubator tied to Soros’ Open Society Foundations, which gets its money from Arabella Advisors, a massive liberal dark money hub. The convoluted funding scheme reportedly allows GFI itself to avoid filing with the Internal Revenue Service.

OSF accounting data shows that GFI and its associated "action" platform – the Sixteen Thirty Fund – were given nearly $13 million in grants in 2019 and 2020.

The OSF has not shied away from its support for Governing for Impact, with the organisation’s executive director Tom Perriello saying it was “proud to support” its “efforts to protect American workers, consumers, patients, students and the environment through policy reform”. Perriello insisted that the OSF has been “transparent” about its “enthusiasm” for GFI’s “victories for American workers and families”.

Lawmakers and principled opponents of dark money in politics have expressed concerns over George Soros’ activities in the US political space. The hedge fund manager, best known in the business world for plundering the British pound in 1992, “declared war” on Trump following the real estate mogul and reality show host’s surprise victory in the 2016 presidential race, pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into initiatives to undermine his presidency. Soros’ organisations have continued their operations under Biden.

Before becoming involved in US politics, Soros spent decades funding “civil society initiatives” in dozens of countries in the Third World and the post-Soviet space, seeking to transform countries into cookie cutter Western-style liberal democracies through extensive funding for political parties, media, education, and cultural initiatives. Some countries, including Russia and his native Hungary, have since deemed his activities a form of unwanted interference in their internal affairs. Russia banned the OSF’s operations in 2015. In 2018, Hungary kicked Soros-backed Central European University out of the country. In 2017, tens of thousands of people signed a petition on Change.org asking Trump to ban Soros and his Open Society Foundations from operating on US soil, accusing him, his family, and businesses of manipulating US politicians and spreading an “anti-America open borders globalist New World Order agenda”. The petition has since been taken down.