The Ultimate Cool Table

Are you Bilderberg material?

Renowned author C.S. Lewis claimed that within any group formulated for a specific purpose, an Inner Ring of better informed and well-regarded individuals would develop. In high school there was the inevitable clique of “cool” kids. In offices, the Inner Ring is generally comprised of workers that drink together after hours or enjoy a special position with their bosses. Lewis surmised that many of the decidedly “evil” acts committed by human beings were a result of an unspoken fear of being excluded from this circle or an intense desire to become a part of it.

In the world of international politics, this Inner Ring is called The Bilderberg group.

“When you have scaled the Bilderberg,” according to lauded business magazine, The Economist, “you have arrived.”

Originally formed in 1954, in order to strengthen relations between Western Europe and North America, the Bilderburg Group takes its name from its first official meeting place, the Bilderburg Hotel in Arnhem in the Netherlands. It still meets annually, (every four years in the United States) and, while its guest list is public knowledge, the debates and minutes of the group are kept entirely off the record.

The guest list of the Biderberg conference is a veritable who’s who of power and influence. It never exceeds 130 people and mixes “politics” and “business” almost as if there were no boundary between the two.

A list of the 2005’s attendees includes the President of the Federal Reserve, the President of the Council on Foreign Relations, the head of the European Commission, over 20 CEO’s of major international corporations, and countless advisors to heads of state across America and Western Europe.

Left-wing punching bags Henry Kissinger, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney have been present at past conferences, as well as John Kerry’s former running-mate John Edwards, who may have earned his vice-presidential nomination by impressing the Bilderberg group with a speech on foreign policy. According to the New York Times, the U.S. Senator’s speech was so well-received that members of the conference broke a long established rule and applauded at its finish

The BBC News calls Bilderberg the “the most controversial and hotly-debated alliance of our times.” (Full article here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3773019.stm A good introduction to the group, minus the, let’s call them mildly outlandish, claims of internet conspiracy websites a la Timothy McVeigh.)

Supporters of the group defend its off-the-record policy debates by characterizing it as a relaxed atmosphere where powerful, intelligent people can speak candidly to one another without worrying about how their remarks will be reported in the press. In fact, the only possible “illegal” thing about the Bilderberg conference is the armed police guard that stands outside the hotel where the conference is being held. Critics argue that these men are supported by public tax dollars and shouldn’t be utilized to protect a private gathering.

Last year’s conference took place in Germany, outside of Munich. To date, there is no word on where this year’s conference will be held or who will be in attendence.