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BILDERBERG - SECRET WORLDGOVERNMENT?
Group conference is the most important meeting in the world. It is attended annually by more world leaders, more top politicians, more royalty, and business leaders, than any other gathering of any kind. The G8 summit is a mere side-show in comparison. No other meeting is attended by the leaders of all the major international institutions, such as the World Bank, the IMF, the UN, and the EU.
Collectively, these are the men who control the world, and their decisions therefore affect every human being on earth, now and in the future. Yet Bilderberg Group meetings receive no publicity and are not reported in the news.
Their first recorded meeting was at the Bilderberg Hotel in Oosterbeek, Holland, from 29th May to 31st May, 1954. The chairman was H.R.H. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. Since then this elite global group, which may be much older, has been called the Bilderberg Group.
The people who are invited to the Bilderberg Group, and the topics discussed, are official secrets which the media is forbidden from reporting. Bilderberg is effectively an elite secret society ruling the world from behind closed doors and outside the democratic framework.
In a recent Radio documentary the BBC disclosed that the decision to create a European Union was taken at the first official Bilderberg Group meeting in 1953, but the rest of the programme was devoted to portraying Bilderberg as a superficial extension of Western democracy.Who organizes the Bilderberg Group? Who pays for it? What are they discussing? What are they deciding?Who organizes the Bilderberg Group? Who pays for it? What are they discussing? What are they deciding? "My main problem is the secrecy. When so many people with so much power get together in one place I think we are owed an explanation of what is going on.
Mr Gosling seizes on a quote from Will Hutton, the British economist and a former Bilderberg delegate, who likened it to the annual WEF gathering where "the consensus established is the backdrop against which policy is made worldwide".
"One of the first places I heard about the determination of US forces to attack Iraq was from leaks that came out of the 2002 Bilderberg meeting," says Mr Gosling.
But "privacy, rather than secrecy", is key to such a meeting says Financial Times journalist Martin Wolf, who has been invited several times in a non-reporting role.
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As an up-and-coming statesmen in the 1950s, Denis Healey, who went on to become a Labour chancellor, was one of the four founding members of Bilderberg (which was named after the hotel in Holland where the first meeting was held in 1954).
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"There's absolutely nothing in it. We never sought to reach a consensus on the big issues at Bilderberg. It's simply a place for discussion," says Lord Healey.
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That activists have seized on Bilderberg is no suprise to Alasdair Spark, an expert in conspiracy theories.
"The idea that a shadowy clique is running the world is nothing new. For hundreds of years people have believed the world is governed by a cabal of Jews.
"Shouldn't we expect that the rich and powerful organise things in their own interests. It's called capitalism."The Bilderberg Group has been called the most exclusive, and secretive club in the world. To be admitted, you have to run a multinational bank, a giant corporation or a country. Since its first meeting in 1953, it has been attended by every British Prime Minister. But until now its very existence has been shrouded in secrecy.
Simon Cox investigates the hidden world of the Bilderberg Group. Is it the anti-democratic conspiracy that its critics allege or just a private meeting to help foster global understanding?
But behind this ultra-modest faade lies one of the most controversial and hotly-debated alliances of our times.
On Thursday the Bilderberg group marks its 50th anniversary with the start of its yearly meeting.
For four days some of the West's chief political movers, business leaders, bankers, industrialists and strategic thinkers will hunker down in a five-star hotel in northern Italy to talk about global issues.
What sets Bilderberg apart from other high-powered get-togethers, such as the annual World Economic Forum (WEF), is its mystique.
Not a word of what is said at Bilderberg meetings can be breathed outside. No reporters are invited in and while confidential minutes of meetings are taken, names are not noted.
The shadowy aura extends further - the anonymous answerphone message, for example; the fact that conference venues are kept secret. The group, which includes luminaries such as Henry Kissinger and former UK chancellor Kenneth Clarke, does not even have a website
DISCREET AND ELITE
This year Bilderberg has announced a list of attendees
They include BP chief John Browne, US Senator John Edwards, World Bank president James Wolfensohn and Mrs Bill Gates
In the void created by such aloofness, an extraordinary conspiracy theory has grown up around the group that alleges the fate of the world is decided by Bilderberg.
In Yugoslavia, leading Serbs have blamed Bilderberg for triggering the war which led to the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic. The Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, the London nail-bomber David Copeland and Osama Bin Laden are all said to have bought into the theory that Bilderberg pulls the strings with which national governments dance.
And while hardline right-wingers and libertarians accuse Bilderberg of being a liberal Zionist plot, leftists such as activist Tony Gosling are equally critical.
A former journalist, Mr Gosling runs a campaign against the group from his home in Bristol, UK.
"My main problem is the secrecy. When so many people with so much power get together in one place I think we are owed an explanation of what is going on...
Official 2008 Bilderberg Participant List
Honorary Chairman
BEL "Davignon, Etienne" "Vice Chairman, Suez-Tractebel"
DEU "Ackermann, Josef" "Chairman of the Management Board and the Group Executive Committee, Deutsche Bank AG"
CAN "Adams, John" Associate Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of the Communications Security Establishment Canada
USA "Ajami, Fouad" "Director, Middle East Studies Program, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University"
USA "Alexander, Keith B." "Director, National Security Agency"
INT "Almunia, Joaquín " "Commissioner, European Commission"
GRC "Alogoskoufis, George" Minister of Economy and Finance
USA "Altman, Roger C." "Chairman, Evercore Partners Inc."
TUR "Babacan, Ali " Minister of Foreign Affairs
NLD "Balkenende, Jan Peter" Prime Minister
PRT "Balsemão, Francisco Pinto" "Chairman and CEO, IMPRESA, S.G.P.S.; Former Prime Minister"
FRA "Baverez, Nicolas" "Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP"
ITA "Bernabè, Franco" "CEO, Telecom Italia Spa"
USA "Bernanke, Ben S." "Chairman, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System"
SWE "Bildt, Carl" Minister of Foreign Affairs
FIN "Blåfield, Antti " "Senior Editorial Writer, Helsingin Sanomat"
DNK "Bosse, Stine" "CEO, TrygVesta"
CAN "Brodie, Ian " "Chief of Staff, Prime Minister's Office"
AUT "Bronner, Oscar" "Publisher and Editor, Der Standard"
FRA "Castries, Henri de " "Chairman of the Management Board and CEO, AXA"
ESP "Cebrián, Juan Luis" "CEO, PRISA"
CAN "Clark, Edmund" "President and CEO, TD Bank Financial Group"
GBR "Clarke, Kenneth" Member of Parliament
NOR "Clemet, Kristin" "Managing Director, Civita"
USA "Collins, Timothy C." "Senior Managing Director and CEO, Ripplewood Holdings, LLC"
FRA "Collomb, Bertrand" "Honorary Chairman, Lafarge"
PRT "Costa, António" Mayor of Lisbon
USA "Crocker, Chester A." James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies
USA "Daschle, Thomas A." Former US Senator and Senate Majority Leader
CAN "Desmarais, Jr., Paul " "Chairman and co-CEO, Power Corporation of Canada"
GRC "Diamantopoulou, Anna" Member of Parliament
USA "Donilon, Thomas E." "Partner, O'Melveny & Myers"
ITA "Draghi, Mario" "Governor, Banca d'Italia"
AUT "Ederer, Brigitte" "CEO, Siemens AG Österreich"
CAN "Edwards, N. Murray " "Vice Chairman, Candian Natural Resources Limited"
DNK "Eldrup, Anders " "President, DONG A/S"
ITA "Elkann, John" "Vice Chairman, Fiat S.p.A."
USA "Farah, Martha J." "Director, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience; Walter H. Annenberg Professor in the Natural Sciences, University of Pennsylvania"
USA "Feldstein, Martin S." "President and CEO, National Bureau of Economic Research"
DEU "Fischer, Joschka" Former Minister of Foreign Affairs
USA "Ford, Jr., Harold E." "Vice Chairman, Merill Lynch & Co., Inc."
CHE "Forstmoser, Peter" "Professor for Civil, Corporation and Capital Markets Law, University of Zürich"
IRL "Gallagher, Paul " Attorney General
USA "Geithner, Timothy F. " "President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York"
USA "Gigot, Paul " "Editorial Page Editor, The Wall Street Journal"
IRL "Gleeson, Dermot " "Chairman, AIB Group"
NLD "Goddijn, Harold" "CEO, TomTom"
TUR "Gögüs, Zeynep " "Journalist; Founder, EurActiv.com.tr"
USA "Graham, Donald E." "Chairman and CEO, The Washington Post Company"
NLD "Halberstadt, Victor" "Professor of Economics, Leiden University; Former Honorary Secretary General of Bilderberg Meetings"
USA "Holbrooke, Richard C. " "Vice Chairman, Perseus, LLC"
FIN "Honkapohja, Seppo" "Member of the Board, Bank of Finland"
INT "Hoop Scheffer, Jaap G. de" "Secretary General, NATO"
USA "Hubbard, Allan B." "Chairman, E & A Industries, Inc."
BEL "Huyghebaert, Jan" "Chairman of the Board of Directors, KBC Group"
DEU "Ischinger, Wolfgang" Former Ambassador to the UK and US
USA "Jacobs, Kenneth" "Deputy Chairman, Head of Lazard U.S., Lazard Frères & Co. LLC"
USA "Johnson, James A." "Vice Chairman, PerseusLLC" (Obama's man tasked with selecting his running mate)
SWE "Johnstone, Tom " "President and CEO, AB SKF"
USA "Jordan, Jr., Vernon E." "Senior Managing Director, Lazard Frères & Co. LLC"
FRA "Jouyet, Jean-Pierre " Minister of European Affairs
GBR "Kerr, John " "Member, House of Lords; Deputy Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc."
USA "Kissinger, Henry A." "Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc."
DEU "Klaeden, Eckart von" "Foreign Policy Spokesman, CDU/CSU"
USA "Kleinfeld, Klaus" "President and COO, Alcoa"
TUR "Koç, Mustafa " "Chairman, Koç Holding A.S."
FRA "Kodmani, Bassma" "Director, Arab Reform Initiative"
USA "Kravis, Henry R." "Founding Partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co."
USA "Kravis, Marie-Josée" "Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute, Inc."
INT "Kroes, Neelie " "Commissioner, European Commission"
POL "Kwasniewski, Aleksander " Former President
AUT "Leitner, Wolfgang" "CEO, Andritz AG"
ESP "León Gross, Bernardino" "Secretary General, Office of the Prime Minister"
INT "Mandelson, Peter" "Commissioner, European Commission"
FRA "Margerie, Christophe de" "CEO, Total"
CAN "Martin, Roger" "Dean, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto"
HUN "Martonyi, János" "Professor of International Trade Law; Partner, Baker & McKenzie; Former Minister of Foreign Affairs"
USA "Mathews, Jessica T. " "President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace".INT "McCreevy, Charlie " "Commissioner, European Commission"
USA "McDonough, William J." "Vice Chairman and Special Advisor to the Chairman, Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc."
CAN "McKenna, Frank" "Deputy Chair, TD Bank Financial Group"
GBR "McKillop, Tom " "Chairman, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group"
FRA "Montbrial, Thierry de" "President, French Institute for International Relations"
ITA "Monti, Mario" "President, Universita Commerciale Luigi Bocconi"
USA "Mundie, Craig J. " "Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Microsoft Corporation"
NOR "Myklebust, Egil" "Former Chairman of the Board of Directors SAS, Norsk Hydro ASA"
DEU "Nass, Matthias" "Deputy Editor, Die Zeit"
NLD "Netherlands, H.M. the Queen of the"
FRA "Ockrent, Christine" "CEO, French television and radio world service"
FIN "Ollila, Jorma" "Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc"
SWE "Olofsson, Maud " Minister of Enterprise and Energy; Deputy Prime Minister
NLD "Orange, H.R.H. the Prince of"
GBR "Osborne, George" Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
TUR "Öztrak, Faik" Member of Parliament
ITA "Padoa-Schioppa, Tommaso " Former Minister of Finance; President of Notre Europe
GRC "Papahelas, Alexis" "Journalist, Kathimerini"
GRC "Papalexopoulos, Dimitris" "CEO, Titan Cement Co. S.A."
USA "Paulson, Jr., Henry M." Secretary of the Treasury
USA "Pearl, Frank H." "Chairman and CEO, Perseus, LLC"
USA "Perle, Richard N." "Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research"
FRA "Pérol, François" Deputy General Secretary in charge of Economic Affairs
DEU "Perthes, Volker" "Director, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik"
BEL "Philippe, H.R.H. Prince"
CAN "Prichard, J. Robert S." "President and CEO, Torstar Corporation"
CAN "Reisman, Heather M." "Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music .USA "Rice, Condoleezza" Secretary of State
PRT "Rio, Rui " Mayor of Porto
USA "Rockefeller, David " "Former Chairman, Chase Manhattan Bank"
ESP "Rodriguez Inciarte, Matias" "Executive Vice Chairman, Grupo Santander"
USA "Rose, Charlie" "Producer, Rose Communications"
DNK "Rose, Flemming" "Editor, Jyllands Posten"
USA "Ross, Dennis B." "Counselor and Ziegler Distinguished Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy"
USA "Rubin, Barnett R." "Director of Studies and Senior Fellow, Center for International Cooperation, New York University"
TUR "Sahenk, Ferit " "Chairman, Dogus Holding A.S."
USA "Sanford, Mark" Governor of South Carolina
USA "Schmidt, Eric" "Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEO, Google"
AUT "Scholten, Rudolf " "Member of the Board of Executive Directors, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG"
DNK "Schur, Fritz H. " Fritz Schur Gruppen
CZE "Schwarzenberg, Karel " Minister of Foreign Affairs
USA "Sebelius, Kathleen" Governor of Kansas
USA "Shultz, George P." "Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University"
ESP "Spain, H.M. the Queen of"
CHE "Spillmann, Markus" "Editor-in-Chief and Head Managing Board, Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG"
USA "Summers, Lawrence H." "Charles W. Eliot Professor, Harvard University"
GBR "Taylor, J. Martin" "Chairman, Syngenta International AG"
USA "Thiel, Peter A." "President, Clarium Capital Management, LLC"
NLD "Timmermans, Frans " Minister of European Affairs
RUS "Trenin, Dmitri V." "Deputy Director and Senior Associate, Carnegie Moscow Center"
INT "Trichet, Jean-Claude" "President, European Central Bank"
USA "Vakil, Sanam" "Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins UniversityESP "Spain, H.M. the Queen of"
CHE "Spillmann, Markus" "Editor-in-Chief and Head Managing Board, Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG"
USA "Summers, Lawrence H." "Charles W. Eliot Professor, Harvard University"
GBR "Taylor, J. Martin" "Chairman, Syngenta International AG"
USA "Thiel, Peter A." "President, Clarium Capital Management, LLC"
NLD "Timmermans, Frans " Minister of European Affairs
RUS "Trenin, Dmitri V." "Deputy Director and Senior Associate, Carnegie Moscow Center"
INT "Trichet, Jean-Claude" "President, European Central Bank"
USA "Vakil, Sanam" "Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University"
FRA "Valls, Manuel " Member of Parliament
GRC "Varvitsiotis, Thomas" "Co-Founder and President, V + O Communication"
CHE "Vasella, Daniel L." "Chairman and CEO, Novartis AG"
FIN "Väyrynen, Raimo" "Director, The Finnish Institute of International Affairs"
FRA "Védrine, Hubert" Hubert Védrine Conseil
NOR "Vollebaek, Knut" "High Commissioner on National Minorities, OSCE"
SWE "Wallenberg, Jacob" "Chairman, Investor AB"
USA "Weber, J. Vin" "CEO, Clark & Weinstock"
USA "Wolfensohn, James D. " "Chairman, Wolfensohn & Company, LLC"
USA "Wolfowitz, Paul " "Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research"
INT "Zoellick, Robert B. " "President, The World Bank Group".Rapporteurs
GBR "Bredow, Vendeline von" "Business Correspondent, The Economist"
GBR "Wooldridge, Adrian D." "Foreign Correspondent, The Economist"
AUT Austria HUN Hungary
BEL Belgium INT International
CHE Switzerland IRL Ireland
CAN Canada ITA Italy
CZE Czech Republic NOR Norway
DEU Germany NLD Netherlands
DNK Denmark PRT Portugal
ESP Spain POL Poland
FRA France RUS Russia
FIN Finland SWE Sweden
GBR Great Britain TUR Turkey
GRC Greece USA United States of America
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