What is the Bilderberg Group?

Who attends the Bilderberg Group meetings? The list includes Bill Clinton, executives Craig Mundie of Microsoft, Eric Schmidt of Google, George Soros, Rupert Murdoch, William F. Buckley Jr., Peter Jennings, Bill Moyers, according to Wikipedia. How do you think the world works? Free markets? Free will? Democracy and international goodwill? How about a secret cabal, deciding the fate of the world behind closed doors? If you picked the last one you're not alone, and many of your fellow conspiracy theorists are pointing the finger at the Bilderberg Group, officially more of a social club for sharing ideas in a relaxed environment.

You'd be surprised who shows up at their annual meetings. The group, according to the BBC, seems to have an uncanny ability to invite future political leaders, such as Bill Clinton while he was Governor of Arkansas, and Tony Blair while still an opposition Member of Parliament. Some, such as the bilderberg.org website (not their official website, it is said there is none), claim that we see the making of world leaders through Bilderberg, and also the unmaking, as in the decline of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

"Tip" O'Neill, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, said that "all politics is local," but for this group of wealthy and influential leaders, all politics is global, and they meet annually to consider the world's future. Some say to plan it, but the BBC and an attendee of this year's conference in the Turkish Daily News claim otherwise, that it is just a sharing of ideas. However, the rise of "internationalism" might be attributed to attendees at Bilderberg, which gives many people pause as globalization, NAFTA, the World Trade Organization and other bodies make decisions beyond national borders.

You've probably encountered one of those people who thinks the world has a secret "shadow government," whether it's the Trilateral Commission or the Rosicrucians, the Masonic Order or the Bavarian Illuminati, or even the X-Men. Since the early days of the Internet, conspiracy theories have been the subject of heated discussion and inside jokes. While much about secret conspiracies remains rumor and mystery, the Bilderberg Group has many of the traits of the whispered rumors, though perhaps not the sinister motives. Some aren't sure about that, though, and while some point at globalization as a specific concern, others claim the Bilderbergers, as they are sometimes called, issue direct orders to world bodies, and make major decisions affecting the nations of the world in secret.

Some observers defend the Bilderberg meetings as similar to meetings such as the World Economic Forum, a place where people of influence meet to share ideas. In the case of Bilderberg, they note, the privacy allows them to express their thoughts and opinions openly without fear of creating major ripples in the world. When newsmakers speak privately to each other, however, only their small group has the advantage of inside knowledge of the thoughts of their influential colleagues.

Men and women of power at the highest levels tend to think differently than those of us in everyday life. They have seen their ideas form nations, large corporations, and change the course of history. They often seek out others of similar influence and ideas, both to socialize like a kind of "Mensa" of power and influence with others who can understand their lives, and to combine their efforts towards a common goal.

The group, named for the Bilderberg Hotel where they first met was founded to address anti-American sentiment perceived in Europe, and to bring leaders of the two continents together. They meet annually at top resorts, usually in Europe but also in the U.S. and Canada every fourth year. It has an office in Leiden, Holland, and most recently met in Istanbul, Turkey, in June, 2007.

"Inside the Secretive Bilderberg Group," Bill Hayton, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4290944.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Group

"What was discussed at Bilderberg?," Mehmet Ali Birand, http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=74966