re: Soros is trying to destroy US

quote:

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not that I want to defend Soros or anything, but no link to actual interview?

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Here's the Australian article

quote:

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Peter Wilson: I am interested in how you keep track of so many issues and areas. Is your information structure different from other major investors? Do you place more emphasis on geopolitics than most?
George Soros: No. If anything I probably get less information than most people because I tend to focus on what I consider to be the salient features and neglect the less important so it is more by process of triage that I work.

So people bring things to your attention if they think a situation is developing in a region or a market?
I read the newspaper, I have some financial services that I also look at. I’m not on top of the financial markets. I just don’t have adequate information on detail so I can only use blunt instruments that are sort of macroeconomic instruments. On the other hand, I am tremendously involved in policy issues and that is where I am focusing.

What sort of policy?
The financial crisis, and how to solve it. It was not something that I was particularly concerned with prior to the rise of the crisis and I am also involved in the activities of the (Soros) Foundation.

But for the past 18 months you have been keeping an eye on the markets?
Yeah but I have also been writing a lot more than I was writing before because the crisis really stimulated me. I wrote a series of articles in the course of the year, I wrote a book, I published a book and I’m just about to publish a sequel to last year’s book, bringing it up to date, I am just working on it now.

So do you have a sense that things are coming together for you now?
It is in a way a culminating point of my life’s work, so to speak.

Everything is coming together.
Yeah, the American election, the financial crisis, the theory of reflexivity. So it is actually a very stimulating period.

Just as well you didn't retire ten years ago.
Right, right.

Will you be having any input with the Obama administration?
Well, at least I will get a hearing.

I have read conflicting accounts of whether you got a hearing with the Clinton administration. You complained that you were not listened to but (Treasury secretary) Larry Summers says he treated you like a head of state.
I did get a hearing; it is just that I didn’t prevail. I was advocating policy issues and I did get a hearing but my recommendations did not ever lead to implementation by the government.

That was mainly in relation to eastern Europe?
Mainly to eastern Europe and Russia. I was advocating, for instance, using the IMF’s $US15 billion to distribute to guarantee the pensions and the unemployment benefits of people in the Soviet Union and to demonstrate that it is possible I actually implemented a scheme with $US100 million for scientists. My scheme actually was implemented and had a big effect on science but the larger scheme was not implemented.

You have described your investments in Russia around that time as one of your biggest mistakes.
Right.

It is interesting that Rupert Murdoch has a similar view. He said he sold his only business in Russia before they could steal from him.
Right, right.

And that was your experience?
Well it was um… I lost money on the investment. But interestingly for the first time I actually had an effect on policy in connection with TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) because when Secretary Paulson proposed using it for the buying of toxic assets I wrote an oped piece pointing out that that is the wrong way to go and the Democratic majority in Congress inserted language which allowed the Treasury to use it for equity and actually Paulson then changed his mind and used it for equity although he didn’t do it the right way. But I would say that was the first experience in my life, maybe there were some others but that was the first when I really felt that I did actually succeed in influencing policy.

Hopefully there will be a few more?
I am working on it.

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Not defending Soros and his general shadiness/manipulation, but I do think the quote was taken out of context. Seems like he's talking about all of his writings culminating to his life's work.