BBC - Inside the Secretive Bilderberg Group

[Dover]

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. As part of the BBC's Who Runs Your World? series, Bill Hayton tries to find out more.

Bilderberg's head Viscount Davignon plays down the group's role in setting the international agenda
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."

..snip..

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. ...cont'd

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4290944.stm

[Angry Girl]

1. The Carlyle Group, the Bilderberg Bunch, whatever....

"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.

Oh, puhleeze, what bull shit. The rich control the wealth. Period.

They are unaccountable to voters

Yeah, I'll buy THAT!

[mattclearing]

2. Excellent article.

Just the fact that Bilderberg is being written up by the BBC is a huge deal.

[Dover]

3. The BBC has actually written about them before...

and if I remember correctly, it was pretty similar to this one in regards to the information given.

[mattclearing]

6. Can't really expect that they'd tell much more than this.

But it's still nice to see Bilderberg written up. The more people know, the more they can ask questions without being held up as a loony paranoid.

[Dover]

4. *

[bluedawg12]

5. yea, how silly to think that super rich, ultra secretive men rule

the world.

D'oh! what was I thinking?

hey did you notice that wolfowitz who brought us Iraq is now head of the world bank?

another silly coincidence.

[OneBlueSky]

7. The World In The Palm Of Their Hands: Bilderberg 2005

Part One . . . including links to list of participants and to Part Two . . .

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/052405Estulin/052405estulin.html

btw . . . isn't it illegal for US government officials to participate in groups like this? . . .

[Dover]

8. From your own article ..>>

A US law, called the Logan Act, states explicitly that it is against the law for federal officials to attend secret meetings with private citizens to develop public policies

[Donna Zen]

9. But then again..

We'll never know what develop will we? I mean that's the whole reason it's secret.