Untitled Document
Small group of protesters watches as annual meeting comes to an end
Four days after they arrived quietly at a Kanata hotel, the world's
rich and powerful left just as mysteriously, in limos and SUVs with blacked-out
windows.
The Bilderberg Group, a secretive organization of politicians and business
leaders from around the world, gave no public statements.
With private security guards and metal barriers keeping outsiders on the street,
the Bilderbergers met privately and then whisked themselves away in ones and
twos, mostly to the airport.
What they talked about at the Brookstreet Hotel is still a secret. The group
meets annually, and is usually rumoured to discuss international politics and
business, from Middle East crises to oil prices.
They emerged singly yesterday -- Bilderberg president Etienne Davignon of Belgium,
American David Rockefeller, Italian economist Mario Monti, European competition
commissioner Neelie Kroes from the Netherlands, and, watchers thought, Iraqi
politician Ahmed Chalabi.
Protesters on the sidewalk have their own version of the agenda: world domination,
a merger of Canada with the United States and Mexico, hiding the cure for cancer,
suppression of cars that get 200 miles per gallon of fuel, an invasion of Iran,
and slavery for the common people of all countries.
About a dozen protesters stood outside yesterday, slightly fewer than on Saturday.
Two police officers watched from across the street while others were inside
the hotel.
They carried signs protesting the "NWO" (new world order) and denouncing
the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as "an inside job."
"When you've got this many high rollers in one place, then there's a story,"
said Geoff Matthews, editor and publisher of a small newspaper called the Kingston
Eye Opener.
"In my opinion, what they started to plan about 10 years ago is the unification
of North America without the consent of the people. It's now in fast-forward."
The meetings always draw intensely curious outsiders who believe the Bilderbergers
need to be exposed. One of these is Daniel Estulin, a Canadian who moved to
Spain about 15 years ago -- because, he says, the Central Intelligence Agency
tried to kill him. He feels safer in Spain. "I'm much further out of the
reach of the secret service -- both Canadian and American."
"I write the stories everyone else is afraid to write," he said.
He and others staked out positions on the sidewalk where they could get a clear
view of the hotel's front door.
For hours, they watched through binoculars and telephoto lenses, waiting as
men and women got into limos. Cameras clicked, and the Bilderberg-watchers scrolled
through digital images afterwards, trying to identify which member of the group
they had just recorded.
Alex Jones, a documentary filmmaker from Texas, showed up with two of his crew.
"Man, this is just evil," he muttered as he paced up and down, watching
more limos drive past. He was detained on his arrival in Canada, but says he
was released after other media asked questions about him.
"It's a group of very powerful individuals whose objective is to create
one world government, based on an economic model from the Middle Ages,"
he said. This would be "a post-industrial model where you have slaves and
slave owners."
He claimed to have Bilderberg insiders feeding him information.
Protester J. P. Arial of Ottawa was there for the fourth straight day.
"They're ruining our planet. They're suppressing free energy, controlling
the food industry. They're forcing farmers to switch to genetically modified
seeds," he said. "They want to control everyone. No freedom, no democracy."
But most of Kanata took no notice of the black cars running in and out between
the computer companies, past the lineup at Tim Hortons on March Road, and off
to the airport.
- - -
Andrzej Olechowski
is a former minister of foreign affairs and finance in his native Poland, where
he has frequently been involved in politics since the 1990s. He ran unsuccessfully
in the 2000 presidential election and Warsaw's 2002 mayoral race. Mr. Olechowski
was a founding member of the centrist Civic Platform party, and is currently
a member of the supervisory boards of Vivendi Universal, Citibank Handlowy and
PKN Orlen.
Egil Myklebust
served as president and CEO of Norsk Hydro, a Norwegian oil and gas group that
is one of that countries biggest companies, between 1991 and 2001. He then served
as Norsk's chairman until 2004 and was also a member of the World Business Council
for Sustainable Development. While he is a well-known face in the world's oil
and gas industry, Mr. Myklebust is currently chairman of Scandinavian Airlines.
Robert Zoellick
now reports to Condoleeza Rice as the U.S. deputy secretary of state, after
serving as the U.S. trade representative from 2001 to 2005. A lawyer, Mr. Zoellick
has worked in economic and diplomatic policy development in different Republican
administrations for more than two decades. He has a strong reputation for hammering
out international trade deals; he played a key role in sealing NAFTA and has
been an important player in World Trade Organization talks.
James B. Steinberg
is best known for his work as deputy national security adviser to U.S. president
Bill Clinton from 1996 to 2000. After working in government, Mr. Steinberg went
on to direct foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington
and is now the dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the
University of Texas at Austin. He is a frequent media commentator on U.S. foreign
policy and has written several books on national security topics.
Juan Luis Cebrian
is the CEO of the Spanish media conglomerate Grupa Prisa, which owns El Pais,
a centre-left daily that is the country's leading newspaper. Mr. Cebrian is
a former editor at El Pais and has also served as chairman of the International
Press Institute. He is also an acclaimed author of books such as Red Doll and
the essay collection, The Press and Main Street.
Mario Monti
dubbed "Super Mario" by the press, is an Italian economist, president
of Bocconi University in Milan and chairman of the European think-tank Bruegel.
He has most notably served on the European Commission, where he was sometimes
called an antitrust czar. Mr. Monti fought against a proposed merger between
General Electric and Honeywell in 2001. The European Union eventually blocked
that merger, earning criticism from U.S. regulators.
Jean-Pierre Hansen
is CEO of energy giants Electrabel, Belgium's top power producer, and Suez-Tractebel,
Belgium's top utility holding company and one of the world's biggest independent
power producers. Mr. Hansen holds advanced degrees in engineering and economics
and has worked in the electricity and gas sectors since the 1970s.
Neelie Kroes
is a veteran Dutch politician and businesswoman who has served as European
Commissioner for Competition since 2004. Ms. Kroes' appointment to the position
was met with some controversy, due to her extensive business contacts. Since
assuming her post, Ms. Kroes has been in the middle of Microsoft's on-going
dispute with the EU over a 2004 antitrust ruling against the company. Ms. Kroes
has also been a staunch ally of controversial Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Franco Bernabe
is vice-chairman of the European investment bank Rothschild Europe, former
CEO of the Italian energy giant ENI and a board member of Petro-China. Mr. Bernabe
headed ENI's privatization process in the early 90s and was recently quoted
as saying the world oil industry remains "uneasy" with the feverish
development of Alberta's oilsands near Fort McMurray. Mr. Bernabe also worked
as a chief economist at Fiat, and started his career as an academic at Turin
University.
David Rockefeller
is founder of the Trilateral Commission, formed in 1973 by citizens of Japan,
European Union countries, the U.S. and Canada with the goal of fostering closer
co-operation among those regions. Mr. Rockefeller, who has a PhD from the University
of Chicago, spent 35 years as an officer of the Chase Manhattan Bank and was
chairman and CEO from 1969 to 1980. He serves as honorary chairman of the Americas
Society, the Council on Foreign Relations and Rockefeller University.
Frank McKenna
served as Canada's ambassador to the U.S. under prime minister Paul Martin.
When Mr. Martin lost the election, Mr. McKenna returned to private life, quickly
quelling rumours he would run for the Liberal party leadership. Before his U.S.
stint, Mr. McKenna practised law and served on numerous corporate boards. He
became New Brunswick's premier in 1987, winning every seat. He served for a
decade and created a call centre industry in the resource-based province.
Jorma Ollila
served as chairman and CEO of Nokia Corporation for 14 years, from 1992 until
this month when he became non-executive chairman of Royal Dutch Shell while
hanging on to his Nokia association, also as non-executive chairman. He is the
first non-Dutch, non-Briton to head Shell. He took Nokia from a cellphone company
on the brink of takeover to the world's most successful. The Finn is a member
of the board of directors of Ford Motor Company, and UPM-Kymmene.
Queen Beatrix
of the Netherlands became queen in 1980 when her mother, Juliana, abdicated.
Ottawa is not new to the queen, who moved to the capital in the 1940s, and lived
in Stornoway. She went to Rockcliffe Park Public School and her sister, Princess
Margriet, was born in Canada. Queen Beatrix, who has a degree in law, married
Claus von Amsberg, a German diplomat, in 1966.
Richard Perle
was assistant secretary of defence to U.S. president Ronald Reagan and is still
considered influential in the U.S., having advised President George W. Bush.
Mr. Perle served as chairman of the Defence Policy Board from 2001-2003 and
was assistant secretary of defence for international security policy from 1981
to 1987. His opinions appear regularly in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal
and London's Daily Telegraph.
JAMES WOLFENSOHN
as president of the World Bank, walks the fine line between being a banker
and an advocate for the world's poor. Born in Australia, he ended up on Wall
Street via London, eventually founding a banking firm with former head of the
U.S. Federal Reserve, Paul Volker. Today, he is credited with working to return
the World Bank to its original mandate of relieving poverty.
Etienne Davignon
is a former Belgian politician and president of the annual Bilderberg conference.
Mr. Davignon was born in Hungary and quickly established a name for himself
in business and politics. He was the first president of the International Energy
Agency from 1974-77 and at the age of 32, he became head of cabinet. Between
1977 and 1985, he was an influential member of the European Commission. In 1989,
he joined the board of the Societe Generale de Belgique.
John Vinocur
is a senior correspondent for the International Herald Tribune and reports
on everything from politics to sports. He went to the Tribune from the New York
Times, where he was metropolitan editor. He served as the Times bureau chief
in France and Germany. He went to the Tribune as executive editor and served
as the newspaper's vice- president from 1986-96. He writes for Foreign Affairs
and the New York Times Magazine.
Adrian Wooldridge
is the Economist's Washington bureau chief. Prior to this, he was the magazine's
west coast correspondent, and also held positions as its management correspondent
and its correspondent in Britain. He co-wrote The Company: A Short History of
a Revolutionary Idea, and A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise
of Globalisation, Witch Doctors, and The Right Nation, a look at American conservatism.
Vernon Jordan
A Washington insider, Mr. Jordan chaired the Clinton transition team in 1992.
He started his public life through the civil rights movement in the 1960s, working
for the NAACP, and served as executive director of the United Negro College
Fund and National Urban League in the 1970s. The lawyer is a managing director
with the investment banking firm Lazard Freres & Co. LLC and is on several
boards, including American Express and Dow Jones & Company.
Tony Comper
has been chief executive officer of BMO Financial Group since 1999. In his
three decades with BMO, he served as chairman from 1999 to 2004, when the company
moved to a non-executive chairman model. He first signed on with the bank in
1967, after completing a BA in English. Mr. Comper is a member of the board
of directors of the International Monetary Conference and vice-chairman of the
C.D. Howe Institute.
Dermot Gleeson
chairman of Allied Irish Banks, is a lawyer. He is a member of the Royal Irish
Academy and chairman of the Irish Council for Bioethics and is the former attorney
general of Ireland. He also served as a member of the Council of State for Ireland
and as then-Irish prime minister John Bruton's chief legal adviser from 1994-97.
He joined the board of Allied Irish Banks in 2000 and was appointed chairman
in 2003.
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