BBC News on Ultrasecret Gathering of Global Elite - The Bilderberg Group (links provided)
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The Bilderberg group, an elite coterie of Western thinkers and power-brokers, has been accused of fixing the fate of the world behind closed doors. Not a word of what is said at Bilderberg meetings can be breathed outside. Meetings often feature future political leaders shortly before they become household names. Bill Clinton went in 1991 while still governor of Arkansas, Tony Blair was there two years later while still an opposition MP. Private networks like Bilderberg have helped to oil the wheels of global politics and globalisation for the past half a century."
-- BBC News (from two articles on BBC website dated 9/29/05 and 6/3/04 - links provided below)
November 15 , 2005
Dear friends,
As one who has served as a language interpreter for Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and leaders of several other nations, I once scoffed at the notion that global politics was largely shaped by secret societies of the global elite. I had participated in a number of secret meetings myself and had seen no signs of influence by any secret societies. This all changed in July 2001 when a close friend sent me an eye-opening video which in two hours managed to convince me that the world was not what I had once thought. Since that fateful day four years ago, I have devoted myself full time to learning about the hidden forces that shape our world and to inspiring others to join in working for a brighter future.
The below excerpts from two BBC News articles reveal that there are secret societies of a global elite of which very few are aware. I invite you to inform yourself by reading these articles about the Bilderberg group, and then to explore the resources listed below the articles both to learn more about secret societies and for ideas on what you can do about it. This information may at first be disturbing, yet I invite you to see this as a powerful opportunity for all of us to bring these secret societies into public awareness and to work together for the good of all who share our world.
With best wishes,
Fred Burks for the WantToKnow.info Team
Former language interpreter for Presidents Bush and Clinton
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4290944.stm - BBC News, September 29, 2005
Inside the secretive Bilderberg Group
How much influence do private networks of the rich and powerful have on government policies and international relations? One group, the Bilderberg, has often attracted speculation that it forms a shadowy global government.
The chairman of the secretive - he prefers the word private - Bilderberg Group is 73-year-old Viscount Etienne Davignon, corporate director and former European Commissioner. In his office, on a private floor above the Brussels office of the Suez conglomerate lined with political cartoons of himself, he told me what he thought of allegations that Bilderberg is a global conspiracy secretly ruling the world. "It is unavoidable and it doesn't matter," he says. "There will always be people who believe in conspiracies but things happen in a much more incoherent fashion."
Lack of publicity
In an extremely rare interview, he played down the importance of Bilderberg in setting the international agenda. "What can come out of our meetings is that it is wrong not to try to deal with a problem. But a real consensus, an action plan containing points 1, 2 and 3? The answer is no. People are much too sensible to believe they can do that."
Every year since 1954, a small network of rich and powerful people have held a discussion meeting about the state of the trans-Atlantic alliance and the problems facing Europe and the US. Organised by a steering committee of two people from each of about 18 countries, the Bilderberg Group (named after the Dutch hotel in which it held its first meeting) brings together about 120 leading business people and politicians.
At this year's meeting in Germany, the audience included the heads of the World Bank and European Central Bank, Chairmen or Chief Executives from Nokia, BP, Unilever, DaimlerChrysler and Pepsi - among other multi-national corporations, editors from five major newspapers, members of parliament, ministers, European commissioners, the crown prince of Belgium and the queen of the Netherlands.
"I don't think (we are) a global ruling class because I don't think a global ruling class exists. I simply think it's people who have influence interested to speak to other people who have influence," Viscount Davignon says. "Bilderberg does not try to reach conclusions - it does not try to say 'what we should do'. Everyone goes away with their own feeling and that allows the debate to be completely open, quite frank - and to see what the differences are. "Business influences society and politics influences society - that's purely common sense. It's not that business contests the right of democratically-elected leaders to lead".
For Bilderberg's critics the fact that there is almost no publicity about the annual meetings is proof that they are up to no good. Jim Tucker, editor of a right-wing newspaper, the American Free Press for example, alleges they organise wars and elect and depose political leaders. He describes the group as simply 'evil'. So where does the truth lie?
Professor Kees van der Pijl of Sussex University in Britain says such private networks of corporate and political leaders play an informal but crucial role in the modern world. "There need to be places where these people can think about the main challenges ahead, co-ordinate where policies should be going, and find out where there could be a consensus."
'Common sense'
Will Hutton, an economic analyst and former newspaper editor who attended a Bilderberg meeting in 1997, says people take part in these networks in order to influence the way the world works, to create what he calls "the international common sense" about policy. "On every issue that might influence your business you will hear at first-hand the people who are actually making those decisions and you will play a part in helping them to make those decisions and formulating the common sense," he says.
And that "common sense" is one which supports the interests of Bilderberg's main participants - in particular free trade. Viscount Davignon says that at the annual meetings, "automatically around the table you have internationalists" - people who support the work of the World Trade Organisation, trans-Atlantic co-operation and European integration.
Bilderberg meetings often feature future political leaders shortly before they become household names. Bill Clinton went in 1991 while still governor of Arkansas, Tony Blair was there two years later while still an opposition MP. All the recent presidents of the European Commission attended Bilderberg meetings before they were appointed.
'Secret Government'
This has led to accusations that the group pushes its favoured politicians into high office. But Viscount Davignon says his steering committee are simply excellent talent spotters. The steering committee "does its best assessment of who are the bright new boys or girls in the beginning phase of their career who would like to get known. It's not a total accident, but it's not a forecast and if they go places it's not because of Bilderberg, it's because of themselves," Viscount Davignon says.
But its critics say Bilderberg's selection process gives an extra boost to aspiring politicians whose views are friendly to big business. None of this, however, is easy to prove - or disprove. Observers like Will Hutton argue that such private networks have both good and bad sides. They are unaccountable to voters but, at the same time, they do keep the international system functioning. And there are limits to their power - a point which Bilderberg chairman was keen to stress, "When people say this is a secret government of the world, I say that if we were a secret government of the world we should be bloody ashamed of ourselves."
Informal and private networks like Bilderberg have helped to oil the wheels of global politics and globalisation for the past half a century. In the eyes of critics they have undermined democracy, but their supporters believe they are crucial to modern democracy's success. And so long as business and politics remain mutually dependent, they will continue to thrive.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3773019.stm - BBC News, June 3, 2004
Bilderberg: The ultimate conspiracy theory
The Bilderberg group, an elite coterie of Western thinkers and power-brokers, has been accused of fixing the fate of the world behind closed doors. As the organisation marks its 50th anniversary, rumours are more rife than ever.
Given its reputation as perhaps the most powerful organisation in the world, the Bilderberg group doesn't go a bundle on its switchboard operations. Telephone inquiries are met with an impersonal female voice...reciting back the number and inviting callers to "leave a message after the tone". Anyone who accidentally dialled the number would probably think they had stumbled on just another residential answer machine. But behind this ultra-modest façade 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. 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 largely 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. 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.
Comments and Resources for More Information
Why is this meeting of top leaders of our world kept so secret? Why is there no website? Why, other than the two articles above, is there virtually no reporting on the influential Bilderberg Group at all in the major media? (Note that the alternative media has had some good articles) If the Bilderbergers truly are supporting the interests of all of us, why the need for so much secrecy? I invite you to ask the hard questions and decide for yourself if you are interested in helping to build a better world.
Reliable information on secret societies such as the Bilderberg group is often most difficult to find. I am most thankful to BBC News for publishing the two revealing articles above. CBS News thankfully also has a great article on the powerful Skull and Bones secret society, of which George W. Bush, his father, and John Kerry were all members. And the History Channel has made two excellent documentaries exposing secret societies at www.WantToKnow.info/resources#secret
In my four years of research, I have been privileged to become part of a wonderful network of courageous people from around the globe who are working to provide reliable, verifiable information on what is happening behind the scenes for all who want to know. I invite you to explore our highly informative website http://www.WantToKnow.info which specializes in fact-filled news articles and summaries of little-known, yet major cover-ups which impact our lives and our world. All information is taken from the most reliable sources available and can be verified with a little research.
Remember that this information can be quite overwhelming if you are new to this. Take your time, and consider interspersing your reading with some of the inspirational pieces on our website which help to inspire and empower us to build a brighter future for us all.
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Take care and have a great day,
Fred Burks for the WantToKnow.info Team
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