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World’s business and political elite, World Economic Forum

Turning the light off at Davos



Ever notice the fascination global elitists seem to have for the dark? Barely mentioned in the mainstream media was the workshop from their annual gathering in Davos last year called “Dialogue in the Dark”. “Dialogue in the Dark,” challenged high-performing business wags with the opportunity to explore how they interacted as a group when they were asked to assemble a Russian doll in pitch-black darkness.

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A silly assignment for people with too much time on their hands. Playing in the dark is a far cry from having to live in the dark, as many poor have to do in some third-world countries. It was the Davos attending Al Gore who went on a campaign to rid the world of Mr. Edison’s incandescent light bulb, which has been banned for sale in many North American cities, and which will be replaced on a deadline of 2012 with Compact Florescent Bulbs. Never mind that it has since been discovered that “environmentally friendly light bulbs, can give you skin cancer.” Global elitists know what’s best for mankind. Not just playing silly games in the dark, but plunging the world in the dark is what power-tripping Pooh-Bahs do when they’re in Davos. Back for their annual gathering which started yesterday, God, or should we say Gaia only knows what they’re up to. In the icy Swiss mountains, which serve as the backdrop for the world’s business and political elite, you’d think they’d notice between dry martinis that one of the coldest winters on record is breaking budgets for the working class. “Started in 1971 and known as the World Economic Forum, the gathering provides a unique opportunity to gauge the mood and preoccupations of some of the world’s most powerful people.” ([url=http://www.brietbart.com]http://www.brietbart.com[/url], Jan. 20, 2008). “This year’s invitation list includes 27 heads of state or government, 113 cabinet ministers and a smattering of stars from the world of entertainment, notably British actress Emma Thompson and singer and campaigner Bono.” Make that a Bono, fresh from a trip to the Pentagon where he discussed Africa and the fight against global poverty with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates. A rock star at the Pentagon? A spokeswoman for DATA, the group co-founded by Bono to fight poverty and AIDS in Africa, said the singer had been in Washington to meet members of budget committees in Congress. “He also met with Secretary Gates to discuss global poverty and the connection between fighting poverty and peace and stability,” Kathy McKiernan said. Bono hobnobs with world leaders to push for spending on foreign aid and debt relief. With the U.S. headed into a recession, the health of the world economy is all the buzz at Davos this week. The representatives of Asian and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, the state-backed investment funds that have recently helped recapitalize a host of struggling Western banks are there. “We have to understand how such funds operate and Davos will be a platform to do so,” explains the founder of the event, Klaus Schwab. He adds, “It is a good sign that the developing world plays a major role in the global concert.” Increasingly high oil prices, the falling U.S. dollar, rocketing food prices, trade imbalances are just some of the realities people of the world face outside of the Alpine ski resort where big wigs brainstorm amid luxury. Does the average working stiff feel any more confident about the future knowing that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and Bono are sorting out global problems? Last one out of Davos is bound to turn the lights off.


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Judi McLeod -- Bio and Archives -- Judi McLeod, Founder, Owner and Editor of Canada Free Press, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years’ experience in the print and online media. A former Toronto Sun columnist, she also worked for the Kingston Whig Standard. Her work has appeared throughout the ‘Net, including on Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.

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