Posted on 06/03/2006 4:45:44 PM PDT by fanfan
OTTAWA
- The meetings of a secretive global think-tank would bring 100 of the world's most powerful and influential figures to Ottawa next month and make an Ottawa hotel the host of deliberations on such weighty issues as the direction of global oil markets and potential military action against Iran.
Reports circulating on the Internet say this year's Bilderberg Conference will be held June 8-11 at the Brookstreet Hotel a rumour the hotel would not confirm.
But, if a gathering in Ottawa is anything like past Bilderbergs, invitees will be drawn from the pages of International Who's Who, with a emphasis on political and corporate leadership and strong representation of the oil and banking industries. Guest lists typically include names like Kissinger, Rockefeller and Soros.
The obsessive secrecy that accompanies Bilderberg conferences could also draw Ottawa into the insane conspiracy theories that surround the group. The Bilderberg has been accused of being everything from a Zionist cabal building a single global government to a secret star-chamber that seeks to fix the price of oil and presidential elections.
Even some rational critics suspect the Bilderberg's meetings set the economic and political agenda for much of the industrialized world without any public oversight or accountability. They denounce the Bilderberg as elitist and overly secretive, calling it an anti-democratic gathering of ''the high priests of globalization.''
The conference takes its name from the Hotel de Bilderberg in the Netherlands, site of the first meeting in 1954. The group's intent was to link governments and economies in Europe and North America amid the Cold War. But its mandate has evolved, and it now exerts a global influence with interests in foreign policy in general and energy in particular.
Several Canadian political figures have spoken at Bilderbergs, including prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien, New Brunswick premiers Bernard Lord and Frank McKenna, and former Ontario premier Mike Harris.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office would not say Tuesday if he's been invited to attend the rumoured Ottawa meetings. Harper attended the 2003 conference in Versailles, France.
Patrice Basille, general manager of the Brookstreet Hotel, said no event associated with the Bilderberg group has been formally booked at the hotel. He said two conferences, one out of Montreal and another out of Toronto, are booked for the weekend of June 8.
''What is the Bilderberg?'' he asked. ''This is the first I've heard about it.''
Journalists aren't allowed to attend the sessions, and staff at the host hotels are told not to confirm or deny any event is scheduled.
Not all of the attendees are comfortable with the pervasive secrecy, says U.K.-based journalist Tony Goslin, who runs a website devoted to uncovering the Bilderberg secrets (www.bilderberg.org). There is enough leakage from past conferences to determine generally what is discussed, he said.
''There is pretty much a preoccupation with the Middle East and oil at most of the meetings,'' he said. ''The whole idea is to meet a consensus, but it is a fairly narrow consensus. Most of the banking power in the Western world is behind Bilderberg policy, and particularly their energy policies.''
Goslin said two issues will likely concern the Ottawa meeting: How to deal with Iran's alleged nuclear threat, and the direction of Venezuela's oil industry under the leadership of leftist President Hugo Chavez.
The website americanfreepress.net reported Tuesday that Bilderberg was coming to Ottawa. Goslin said several of his sources have also confirmed the date and location.
Canada last hosted the conference in 1996, when participants invited by newspaper publisher Conrad Black gathered at a resort north of Toronto.
Just try to rent any room at this hotel. That will tell you...
Since he has taken over BIG OIL's fields down there, hopefully the Berger Boys will agree that his time 'is over', Chavez is sleeping with the fishes...
Now we know what those terrorists were up to.
Canada ping!
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this ping list.
I've heard they are fully booked.
;-)
Time for the tinfoil hats! ;)
How much explosive would it take to drop this building?
The Brookstreet Hotel.
LOL
The Marshes I'll let you know if I'm allowed to use that road those 4 days.
;-)
I seen your ping about that - I've been lurking mostly today!
I know, remember the thread I showed you about an AQ plot to bomb a plane from my local airport!
Anyway, I'll seeya tomorrow, goodnight fan!
My tickets still haven't arrived. Yours?
Now that I'm marrying a vegetarian, I'll be building a lot fewer burgers. I don't think I qualify anymore.
Goodnight Irish.
Have a good sleep.
:-)
If you are 'one of them' why don't you make life easier for FReepers?
How about we all get a really nice BBQ?
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