Here’s a conspiracy theory for all you New World Order conspiracy nuts. Type the word “Bilderberg” into Google search and see what you get.
Although the Bilderberg Group is one of the world’s most reviled organisations, when I did the search, all the results on page one were supportive, informative. Or, at the most, mildly questioning.
You really have to dig deep to unearth any real vitriol. But what has this to do with the attendance at 2013’s meeting of businessman, Eric Schmidt? Herr Schmidt is Google’s executive chairman.
Who’s in the New World Order?
The weekend conference is strictly by invite-only. A diverse bunch of 145 businessmen and politicians joined Eric this year. These include Amazon founder and chief executive, Jeff Bezos. President of the European Commission, José M. Durão Barroso. Former prime ministers François Fillon (France) and Mario Monti (Italy). And the current leaders of the UK (David Cameron) and the Netherlands (Mark Rutte). In addition, David Cameron brought along his pal George Osborne. Or, maybe it was the other way round? Who knows?
Nevertheless, there was a surprising number of Polish, Scandinavian, and Turkish delegates. Are these areas going to be the rising stars of the New World Order?
People you might not expect to see on the list include:
- António José Seguro, leader of the Portuguese Socialist Party.
- Lib-Dem peer Dame Shirley Williams.
- Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls.
- Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
- Peter Mandelson, billed as “Chairman, Global Counsel, Chairman, Lazard International”.
Please note, David Icke: that is not “Lizard International”.
The Boys Club
They invite only a handful of women. Like Conspiracy Theories in general, it’s mostly for men. Indeed, the four founders of Bilderberg are male to a man.
Surprisingly perhaps, one of these founding fathers was the then fast-rising Labour politician, Denis Healey. You’ll remember that he went on to become one of Britain’s most memorable Chancellors. That’s despite his annoying habit of doing whatever the International Monetary Fund demanded of him, no matter how damaging it was for the country.
On the other hand, Healey has always supported his co-creation and denied that it harbours any sinister motives. The recently-ennobled Lord Healey told BBC News in 2005 that such allegations were “total crap”. He continued: “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.” Yeah, right. So, 150 of the richest, most powerful people in the world give up a weekend for a friendly discussion. Absolutely no possibility of gain. And no one mentions the new world order, I suppose? Totally believable.
At the time of writing, Healey’s Wikipedia entry covers his involvement with Bilderberg in just ten words: “Denis Healey is a founder member of the Bilderberg Group”.
Most Famous Dutch Hotel
Bilderberg is the name of the Dutch hotel that hosted the first meeting in 1954. At first, the mainstream media ignored the Group. Its very existence was denied by those who may (or may not) have been attending.
arriving at Bilderbeg 2013
This year, for whatever reason, things are less secretive. The Group has engaged a PR company for the first time and published a list of attendees. Very few people are expecting this to be a 100% complete list. But from little acorns. On the first day, several official VIP cars arrived with the occupants’ identity obscured by copies of British right-wing tabloid “newspaper”, The Daily Mail (see photograph, right).
Jon Ronson and Bilderberg
Jon Ronson is an investigative journalist who plays it for laughs. Our paths crossed several times and he is currently one of my higher profile Facebook “friends”.
We first met when he was a student putting on bands at Central London Polytechnic and I was a booking agent. I’m not sure we got on very well. He certainly never booked any bands from me.
After that, he became the keyboard player in the Frank Sidebottom O’Blimey Big Band. I used to put them on at The Cricketers at Kennington Oval and book them out from time to time. We still didn’t get on very well. Eventually, I lost the job of booking the band out. He took over.
Then, in 1990 I got a freelance job at Time Out magazine in London. Jon took over from Victor Lewis Smith, writing the regular weekly ‘humour’ columnist and married the assistant TV Editor, Elaine Paterson. We still weren’t the best of friends.
The Rising Ronson
But Jon’s star was already in ascent. He went off to make documentaries for Channel 4 TV and BBC Radio. He wrote columns for The Guardian newspaper and recently moved to New York, where I believe he’s working on movie projects.
Back in 1999, an ultra-right-wing conspiracy investigator and sports journalist called Big Jim Tucker took Ronson to a Bilderberg Group meeting in Portugal. After being chased by scary-looking security staff in shades, Ronson panics. He ends up trying to get the British Embassy to save him from the Lizard Men. “I am essentially a humorous journalist,” he tells them. “I am a humorous journalist out of my depth.”
To be honest, I know Jon well enough to know that this was almost certainly deliberately set up. He likes to make sure of his humorous copy. That’s how he rolls.
Conspiracy Theory #97
According to the official website, “Bilderberg Meetings” are “an annual conference designed to foster dialogue between Europe and North America”. In 2013 the event takes place at the unlikely location of Watford, in the north London suburbs. In addition, there is absolutely no mention of the phrase New World Order anywhere on their website. The official take on proceedings is this:
Every year, between 120-150 political leaders and experts from industry, finance, academia and the media are invited to take part in the conference. About two-thirds of the participants come from Europe and the rest from North America. One third from politics and government and the rest from other fields.
The conference is a forum for informal, off-the-record discussions about megatrends and the major issues facing the world.
Thanks to the private nature of the conference, the participants are not bound by the conventions of office or by pre-agreed positions. As such, they can take time to listen, reflect and gather insights.
There is no detailed agenda, no resolutions are proposed, no votes are taken, and no policy statements are issued.
Opposing Forces
The likes of journalist Daniel Estulin, author of The True Story of the Bilderberg Group, Britain’s own David Icke and Tony Gosling, and Texan Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones take a different view. They contend that the world is really organised and run by the Bilderberg Group. In other words, they say, the New World Order. The shadowy, evil power working behind the scenes of world politics.
What do Thatcher and Blair have in common?
Surprisingly perhaps, many future political leaders attend Bilderberg shortly before they suddenly rise to power. Their elevation can be totally unexpected. Four fairly recent examples of this were Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. The unexpected and rapid demise of Thatcher was a direct result of her declared intention not to take Britain into the Euro Zone. At least, that’s what detractors say. The Bilderberg Group are very pro-European Union, at least according to their largely anti-European opposition.
When confronted with the allegation that the Group are “kingmakers in secret”, former Bilderberg chairman Viscount Davignon said that his steering committee was just great at talent-spotting. Furthermore, it “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.” At least, that’s what he told the BBC News Website back in 2005. Let’s hope this isn’t the case with Messrs Osborne, Balls or, God forbid, Lord Peter Mandelson.
Furthermore, a current member of the steering committee is veteran UK Conservative grandee Kenneth Clarke. Aside from his work as an MP, he is a paid spokesman for several businesses, including tobacco, drinks, and munitions companies.
Jon Ronson and Bilderberg
Jon Ronson is an investigative journalist who largely plays it for laughs. Our paths crossed several times over the years and he is currently one of my higher profile Facebook “friends”.
We first met when he was a student putting on bands at Central London Polytechnic and I was a booking agent. I’m not sure we got on very well. He certainly never booked any bands from me.
After that, he became the keyboard player in the Frank Sidebottom O’Blimey Big Band. I used to put them on at The Cricketers at Kennington Oval and book them out from time to time. We still didn’t get on very well. Eventually, he relieved me of the task of booking the band out.
Then, in 1990 I got a freelance job at Time Out magazine in London. Jon took over from Victor Lewis Smith, writing the regular weekly ‘humour’ columnist and married the assistant TV Editor, Elaine Paterson. We still weren’t the best of friends.
The Rising Ronson
But Jon’s star was in the ascent. He went off to make documentaries for Channel 4 TV and BBC Radio. He wrote columns for The Guardian newspaper and recently moved to New York, where I believe he’s working on movie projects.
But back in 1999, an ultra-right-wing conspiracy investigator and sports journalist called Big Jim Tucker took Ronson to the Bilderberg Group meeting in Portugal. Scary-looking security staff in shades chased them around the grounds. Ronson panicked. After that, the TV footage shows him trying to get the British Embassy to save him from the Lizard Men. “I am essentially a humorous journalist,” he tells them. “I am a humorous journalist out of my depth.”
To be perfectly honest, I know Jon well enough to know that this was almost certainly deliberately set up in order to get humorous copy. That’s very much how he rolls.
War Cabinet for the New World Order?
Critics also claim that Bilderberg initiates wars and invasions. Or, at the very least, sanctions them. It’s part of Bilderberg’s role in the New World Order, presumably.
Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan have all been cited. It also took a sanction from Bilderberg to allow the former Yugoslavia to fall into war and division.
The attendance of key figures in these conflicts at conveniently-timed Bilderberg meetings is either another coincidence or else confirmation that they’re very good at “aggressor-spotting”. Good luck to the people of Syria…
Most conspiracy theorists and others who look at Bilderberg and don’t like what they see, agree that the make-up of the guest-list points to a largely financial agenda. Sanctions are never imposed when the banks over-extend, crash and have to be bailed out. They never have to replace the money they are given, does indicate that something very fishy is going on. That this happens on a global level simply adds to that suspicion.
It’s interesting that this year’s meeting is a little less secretive than in the past. We’ve gone from flat denial to a jokey piece on BBC-1’s early evening mainstream magazine, The One Show. No one’s telling us what they’re talking about or even given us a good reason why they’re even talking. But, from 2013 onwards, Bilderberg is bringing in spin-doctors. Should we be relieved? Or even more worried?
Telly Tubbies (Videos)
I end with three very interesting videos. The first is an interview with former BBC journalist Tony Gosling. He is one of the most vocal opponents of Bilderberg and puts the “case against” in a clear and non-sensational manner:
Secondly, here’s an attempted travelogue about the (very plush) Grove Hotel/golfing resort, which is hosting the 2013 Bilderberg Meeting. The Guardian‘s Charlie Skelton discovered that a high level security operation has been on-going for 18 months. It’s being funded by merchant bankers Goldman Sachs, via the Bilderberg Group’s own legally registered charity. More here. The local BBC website for “Beds, Herts & Bucks” takes a slightly different view.
Three-and-a-bit weeks before the delegates arrived, the following video was shot. Check out the interaction with the plainclothes policeman dressed in Rider Cup golfing fleece around a third of the way in. Despite this, “Sam” continues his walk, shadowed by a police helicopter. Then a police car arrives containing two armed officers. You really couldn’t make it up…
I used to close with a YouTube video of Alex Jones, mad/ manic (you take your pick) being interviewed on the BBC. But the video has been taken down and the account closed. (Alex also turns up in Idiot Watch.) Instead, here’s a Huff Post video of him speaking outside the 2013 Bilderberg meeting: