Paul Vigay looks into the shady world of global conspiracies and
manipulations.His findings are at least eye-opening, at worst downright frightening.
Have you ever wondered if there really is a 'global elite'? Some secret group
of people who control world events and hide their agenda from public
knowledge?
Could there be a group of people; politicians, heads of multinational
companies, directors of world banking organisations and even royalty, who
decide what policies will determine the way ordinary people live - and die?
It is relatively easy for a small group of people to
control the masses when everyday we give our power and freedom away, fearing
to step out from the comfort of our 'hassle free zone'. Who perpetrate the
'Problem, Reaction, Solution' events which shape and manipulate our perceived
'democracy and freedom'?
If you control governments and the media you control the world, or do you?
What if a problem so terrible, so grotesque, so 'unbelievable' begins to
occur with startling regularity? Do you demand answers? Do you demand what
'the government' is going to do about it? Do you pass the problem to someone
else do deal with? What happens if that person you hand the solution to, is
the person who created the problem in the first place? So forms the basis for
the problem, reaction, solution method of controlling the people with the
minimum of effort.
Imagine a scenario where a lone-gunman walks into a crowded shopping centre
and guns down a number of innocent people. Terrible enough, but what if at a
later time, some innocent school children in a quiet, peaceful school are the
targets? The more outrageous and disgusting an event, the more people will
demand something must be done; "Guns must be banned",
"Something must be done now!".
Supposing someone, somewhere wanted the end 'solution' to be "to ban
guns". Obviously, gun clubs, enthusiasts and legitimate people are going
to complain, perhaps with the backing or at least, indifference, of the
general public. After all "it doesn't affect us does it". You need
to somehow manipulate the public to demand that you offer the solution. You
need a public 'reaction', for which you need to stage a perceived 'problem'.
The more horrific and unbelievable you can make it, the more the public will
demand what you wanted to do in the first place.
Rising Crime? or Big Brother?
What if you want to install video cameras and monitoring equipment into towns
and villages. Of course, this costs huge amounts of money, which could be
spent on hospitals, research into illnesses or saving the environment, so you
need the public to demand you do it, or at the minimum, not offer resistance
when you propose it. You need the 'problem' of rising crime, which needs to
be perpetuated throughout the media and on TV. People will then fear being
mugged in the streets and approve the 'safety' offered by cameras and
surveillance equipment - even though the need was not high enough in the
first place.
Does such a group of people exist? There is ample evidence to say that there
does, and what's more, once you become aware of the facts, you can see their
influence in world events - even though seemingly forged by 'opposing
factions'.
Democracy or Denial?
Why are the public losing interest in government and their right to vote? Is
it because people think "it doesn't matter who you vote for, they both
end up doing the same old things". How precise this turns out to be,
once you dig deep enough.
No wonder The Sun newspaper decided to back Tony Blair of New Labour (what a
joke) in the May 1997 UK general election. The chief executive of News
International (the parent of The Sun) is Mr Andrew Knight, a member of the
Bilderberg Group.
Opposite sides, same views:-
Opposames!
Mr Tony Blair was a guest of the annual Bilderberg meeting in 1993, together with his colleague Kenneth Clarke. Hang on a minute though..... Aren't thosetwo on opposite sides? What about Bilderberg attendees Margaret Thatcher andDenis Healey - and you thought we lived in a democracy where your voteactually counted.Incidentally, this could account for why Margaret Thatcher was one of TonyBlair's first guests at Number Ten, something the independent media werequick to pick up on after New Labour won power.
The same goes for US presidents.
Every one since Jimmy Carter has been aBilderberg representative. Democrat, Republican - it doesn't matter. They allhave the same policies, decided upon at top secret meetings held annually inhidden locations.What exactly are 'The Bilderbergers' then? What are their aims? This article,mainly extracts from "The Bilderberg Group... the TrilateralCommission... covert power groups of the West", by Robert Eringer,(Pentacle Books, 1980) tries to expose some of their secret agenda.As the concepts and plans behind the global elite could pose such a threat toour freedom, I will periodically return to this subject in order to keepEnigma readers aware of the world around them. If anything in this article,or any keywords on the cover of this issue, strike a chord with you, or ifyou have further information, please do not hesitate to contact me at theeditorial address.
The Global Manipulators: In Search of Answers
It is indeed intriguing when a prestigious collection of internationallypowerful men lock
themselves away for a weekend in some remote town far awayfrom the Press to talk about world problems.Since the late 1950s, the Bilderberg Group has been the subject of a varietyof conspiracy theories. For the most part, conspiracy theories emanate frompolitical extremist organisations, Right and Left. The 'Radical Right' viewBilderberg as an integral part of the 'international Zionist-communistconspiracy'.
At the other end of the political spectrum, the radical Left perceiveBilderberg to be a
branch of the 'Rockefeller-Rothschild grand design to rulethe world'. For many it is less frightening to believe in hostileconspirators than it is to face the fact that no one is in control. And afterall, isn't conspiracy the normal continuation of normal politics by normalmeans?Conspiracy or not, the Bilderberg Group is a fascinating example ofbehind-the-scenes 'invisible' influence-peddling in action.Bilderbergers represent the elite and wealthy establishment of every Westernnation.
They include bankers, industrialists, politicians and leaders ofgiant multinational
corporations. Their annual meetings, which take place ata different location each year, go unannounced, their debates unreported,their decisions unknown.The group certainly fits C.Wright Mills's definition of a Power Elite: 'Agroup of men, similar in interest and outlook, shaping events frominvulnerable positions behind the scenes.'
The New World Order
I began my investigation of Bilderberg while in Washington, D.C.
in the autumn of 1975. I had read bits and pieces on Bilderberg in right-wingliterature and so I went directly to its source, the Liberty Lobby, anultra-conservative political pressure group located a stone's throw fromCapitol Hill. There I interviewed one E.Stanley Rittenhouse, Liberty Lobby'slegislative aide. Rittenhouse solemnly explained the existence of aJewish-communist conspiracy to rule the world by way of a 'New World Order',whose eventual goal is one world government. To prove this point Rittenhouseincessantly recited passages from his handy pocket Bible and explained theevolution of this great conspiracy.
The Illuminati
It all goes back to the Illuminati, a secret society/fraternity formed
inBavaria in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt, based on the philosophical ideals ofPlato. John Ruskin, 'a secret disciple of the Illuminati' and a professor ofart and philosophy at Oxford University in the 1870s, revived these ideals inhis teachings.
A Privileged Ruling Class
The late Dr. Carroll Quigley, a distinguished professor at
Georgetown University for many years, wrote in "Tragedy and Hope" that 'Ruskinspoke to the Oxford undergraduates as members of the privileged ruling class... that they were possessors of a magnificent tradition of education,beauty, rule of law, freedom, decency, and self-discipline but that thistradition could not be saved, and indeed did not deserve to be saved, unlessit could be extended to the lower classes in England and to the non-Englishmasses throughout the world'.
Diamond Mining
Cecil Rhodes, a student and devoted fan of Ruskin, 'Feverishly
exploited the diamond and gold fields of South Africa. With financial support from LordRothschild he was able to monopolise the diamond mines of South Africa as DeBeers Consolidated Mines.'In the middle of the 1890s Rhodes had a personal income of a least a millionpounds a year which he spent so freely for his mysterious purposes that hewas usually overdrawn on his account. These purposes centred on his desire tofederate the English-speaking peoples and to bring all habitable portions ofthe world under their control.'
The founding of The Round Table
To this end, Rhodes, along with other disciples of
Ruskin, formed a secret society in association with a group of Cambridge men who shared the same ideals.This society, which was later to become the original Round Table Group(better known in the 1920s as the 'Cliveden Set') was formed on February 5th1881.According to Dr. Quigley, "This group was able to get access to Rhodes'smoney after his death in 1902. Under the trusteeship of Alfred (later Lord)Milner, They sought to extend and execute the ideals that Rhodes had obtainedfrom Ruskin.""As governor-general of South Africa in the period 1897-1905, Milnerrecruited a group of young men, chiefly from Oxford and from Toynbee Hall, toassist him in organising his administration.
Through this influence these menwere able to win influential posts in government and international financeand became the dominant influence in British imperial and foreign affairs upto 1939. Under Milner in South Africa, they were known as Milner'sKindergarten until 1910. In 1909-1903 they organised semi-secret groups,known as Round Table Groups, in the chief British dependencies and in theUnited States.
"The CFR and RIIA
It was at the Majestic Hotel in Paris in 1919 that the Round Table
Groups ofthe United States and Britain emerged out from under a cloak of secrecy andofficially became the (American) Council on Foreign Relations and the(British) Royal Institute for International Affairs.To Mr Rittenhouse and his breed of religious isolationists at Liberty Lobby,Bilderberg evolved directly from the 'satanic-communist' Illuminati, and theCouncil on Foreign Relations - Royal Institute of International Affairsrelationship.I phoned Dr. Quigley at his office in Georgetown University's elite School ofForeign Service.
A man of impeccable credentials, Quigley used "Tragedyand Hope" as a text for his
courses on Western Civilisation.Published in 1966, "Tragedy and Hope" has become a rare book tolocate. Quigley apparently had trouble with his publisher over the book'sdistribution. The publisher claimed demand was poor. When Quigley sought andacquired the necessary demand, the publisher responded by saying that theplates had been destroyed.In his book, 1310 pages in all, Quigley detailed how the intricate financialand commercial patterns of the West prior to 1914 influenced the developmentof today's world.
It has been suggested that these revelations, especially incoming from a respected
historian, did not amuse the higher echelons of bigbanking; hence a form of censorship resulted.It is for this reason that "Tragedy and Hope", much to Quigley'sannoyance, has become the Bible of conspiracy theorists and may be found forsale only through mail order book clubs which specialise in conspiracyliterature.Quigley, in his best Boston accent, dismissed the Radical-Rightinter-pretation as 'garbage'. But he was quick to add, "To be perfectlyblunt, you could find yourself in trouble dealing with this subject." Heexplained that his career as a lecturer in the government institution circuitwas all but ruined because of the twenty or so pages he had written about theexistence of Round Table Groups. I recently studied the late Dr. Quigley'sprivate files on the Round Table Groups at the Georgetown University library.
There I discovered great substance to his findings in the form of personalcorrespondence
and notes of interviews and conversations.Exhausted with right-wing cries of communist conspiracy, I wrote to theembassies in Washington of each one of the countries whose citizens areinvolved with Bilderberg. I received only three replies. A letter from theRoyal Swedish Embassy states: 'Prominent Swedish businessmen in their privatecapacities are and have been members of the group. Swedish politicians havealso - mostly as invited guests as I understand it - participated in meetingswith the group. I may add that I am not aware of any official Swedish view onthe Bilderberg Group.' The Canadian Embassy wrote: 'To our knowledge, theCanadian Government has no position with regard to this group.
'Official Denials
I telephoned all of the embassies. Out of twenty, the only one which
had anyinformation of Bilderberg was that of the Netherlands. The official I spokewith knew very little about the group but he speculated that its purpose wasto make this 'a more liveable world'. A diplomat at the Embassy of WestGermany exclaimed, 'Bilder What?', and he refuse to believe the existence ofsuch a group.
This was a familiar response, even from many universityprofessors of politics whom I
questioned.Mark Felt, the former Assistant Director of the FBI, had never heard ofBilderberg. Neither had Michael Moffitt of the Institute for Policy Studiesand co-author of Global Reach.After spotting his Name on a poster advertising a seminar on the power elite,I phoned Dr. Peter David Beter, a former Counsel to the Import-Export Bank.Beter contends that Bilderberg Conferences are nothing more than socialoccasions where prostitutes and large amounts of alcohol are enjoyed. Butthese days, Dr. Beter's full-time profession consists of peddling a monthly'Audio Letter' to a very gullible public. Beter was last heard by this authorproclaiming that the Russians have secretly implanted nuclear missiles in theMississippi River.
White House Enquiries
I wrote to President Gerald Ford at the White House to enquire
aboutBilderberg when I heard of his one-time involvement. His 'Director ofCorrespondence' replied and stated: 'The Conference does not intend that itsprogram be secret, although in the interest of a free and open discussion, norecords are kept of the meetings.' (I later learned that records are indeedkept of the meetings, although they are marked 'Strictly Confidential'.)I wrote to David Rockefeller, Chairman of the Chase Manhattan Bank, toenquire about Bilderberg. An assistant wrote back and he suggested
I write to'Mr. Charles Muller, a Vice President at Muden and Company, the
organisationwhich assists with the administration of American Friend of Bilderberg,Incorporated'I wrote to Mr. Muller and was sent the following printed message: "In the early 1950s a number of people in both sides of the Atlantic sought ameans of bringing together leading citizens both in and out of government,for informal discussions of problems facing the Western world. Such meetings,they felt, would create a better understanding of the forces and trendsaffecting Western nations."The first meeting that brought Americans and Europeans together took placeunder the chairmanship of H.R.H. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands at theBilderberg Hotel in Oosterbeck, Holland, from 29th May to 31st May, 1954.Ever since, the meetings have been called Bilderberg Meetings.
The first Bilderberg Meeting, in Oosterbeck, Holland, May 1954
Each year since its inception, Prince Bernhard has been theBilderberg chairman. There are no members' of Bilderberg. Each year aninvitation list is compiled by Prince Bernhard in consultation with aninformal international steering committee; individuals are chosen in thelight of their knowledge and standing. To ensure full discussion an attemptis made to include participants representing many political and economicpoints of view. Of the 80 to 100 participant, approximately one-third arefrom government and politics, the other are from many fields - finance,industry, labour, education and journalism.
They attend in a personal and notin an official capacity. from the beginning participants
have come from NorthAmerica and Western Europe, and from various international organisations. Theofficial languages are English and French.'The meetings take place in a different county each year. Since 1957, theyhave been held in many Western European countries and in North America aswell.The discussion at each meeting is centred upon topics of current concern inthe broad fields of foreign policy, world economy, and other contemporaryissues.
Basic groundwork for the symposium is laid by means of working papersand general
discussion follows. In order to assure freedom of speech andopinion, the gatherings are closed and off the record. No resolutions areproposed, no votes taken, and no policy statements issued during or after themeetings.In short, Bilderberg is a high-ranking and flexibly international forum inwhich opposing viewpoints can be brought closer together and mutualunderstanding furthered.'I wrote to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and received a reply from theBureau of European Affairs at the State Department: 'In the early 1950s anumber of people on both sides of the Atlantic sought a means of bringingtogether leading citizens ' And so on.
Official Business or Not?
I went to see Charles Muller at his Murden and Company
office in New YorkCity. He appeared to know little about Bilderberg and merely repeatedinformation available on the printed message. It is claimed that"Government officials attend in a personal and not an officialcapacity". Mr. Muller was surprised to learn from me that the StateDepartment acknowledged in a letter to Liberty Lobby that departmentofficials Helmut Sonnenfeldt and Winston Lord attended a BilderbergConference at government expense in their official capacities. (as didKenneth Clarke and Tony Blair in 1993)I tried to obtain interviews with both Sonnenfeldt and Lord. Theirsecretaries channelled me through to many different offices. Finally, FrancisSeidner, a public affairs advisor, advised me to mind my own business.Back in London and armed with a list of Bilderberg participants (available onrequest - Ed.), I sought out and conducted an interview with Lord Roll,chairman of the S.G. Warburg Bank. Roll gave little away and he statedoutright that records of Bilderberg Conferences do not exist. (Little did herealise that I had one in my briefcase?)
I wrote to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and they replied: 'Thank youfor your
letter enquiring about the Bilderberg Group. Unfortunately, we canfind no trace of the Bilderberg Group in any of our reference works oninternational organisations.' (Much later, I learned that the Foreign Officehas on occasion paid the way for British members to attend BilderbergConferences.)A letter to one-time member Sir Paul Chambers brought this response: 'I amunder obligation not to disclose anything about the Bilderberg Group toanybody who is not a member of that Group, I am very sorry that I cannothelp, but I am clearly powerless to do so and it would be wrong in thecircumstances to say anything to you about Bilderberg.' Sir Paul suggested Iwrite to the Bilderberg secretariat at an address in the Hague.
I did so andwas again sent a copy of the standard printed message.I had eagerly looked
forward to the next Bilderberg Conference, which in 1976was to be held in Hot Springs, Virginia. For the first time since 1954, themeeting was cancelled. The international steering committee felt itinappropriate to conduct a conference that year because permanent chairmanPrince Bernhard was under such heavy public scrutiny after having beenpublicly disgraced for taking a bribe from the Lockheed Aircraft Company.
UK Meeting in 1977
So my first Bilderberg Conference took place a year later, in April
1977, atthe serene Devon resort of Torquay.It is the Bilderberg custom to book a whole hotel for the weekend conference.The five-star Imperial Hotel was no exception and it, too, was emptied toaccommodate over 100 Bilderberg participants. Even the Imperials permanentguests were told to find lodging elsewhere for the weekend.I managed a booking at the Imperial for three nights before the Bilderbergersmoved in. On Thursday, two days before the conference was due to begin, heavylorries and workmen unloaded large wooden file cabinets and sealed crates. Iwas not allowed access to the conference hall, despite assurances from aBilderberg secretary that 'We have nothing to hide'.
At 2 am Friday morning with the night club finally closed and the Imperialasleep, I tiptoed
down five flights of stairs from my room to the conferencehall. To my surprise, the doors were unlocked and unguarded. I slipped intothe darkened hall and inspected the locked file cabinets, glass translationbooth and electronic equipment for tape-recording and translation. Havingalready consumed a half-dozen whiskies, I could not repulse an urge topurloin a mahogany and brass-plated Bilderberg gavel. It now sits atop mydesk, a trophy of my research.Like all others, I was thrown out of the hotel on the Friday to make way forAmerican Secret Servicemen and Special Branch bodyguards. The Bilderbergersarrived later, mostly by way of a quiet entry through Exeter Airport 10 milesform Torquay. They held their hush-hush meetings and then, just as quietly,disappeared back to their respective banks, multinational corporations andgovernment jobs, perhaps a little more the wiser than when theyarrived.
As you can see from the article above, people 'in the know' seem intent onkeeping the purpose and attendees to each Bilderberg meeting top secret.The meetings still continue annually with the 1998 meeting having occurredonly a few weeks ago at the remote Turnberry Hotel in Ayreshire, Scotland.Not long afterwards, I managed to obtain a list of attendees to this, mostrecent, meeting. The full list appears on the following page, for the benefitof, and to aid the personal research of, Enigma readers.One noticeable omission from the list, is British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair. Does this mean that he is on the way out? It's interesting to note that William Hague (leader of the Opposition) and Tony Blair's own Secretary of State for Defence, Mr George Robertson were both present, as were (asusual) international media moguls.
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