The Bilderberg Group - The hidden global elite?

Taking its name from the Dutch hotel where the organisation was first formed in 1954, the Bilderberg Group includes over 100 notables from across the world.
Started by the Polish founder of the European Union, it has welcomed everyone from President Bill Clinton to Prime Minister Tony Blair and US statesman Henry Kissinger.
The organisation is built around a "steering committee", with members from the leading nations of the world and a chairman elected by the attendees.
No resolutions are passed and no notes published. The issues discussed are not made public and no names or quotes are given in the official logs of proceedings, which remain under lock and key.
Members of the organisation have spoken out to clarify the role of the group as a discussion forum, and refute claims that they are a secret organisation running the world from behind a veil.
In 2004 the Bilderbergers began printing a list of attendees, which included former Presidential candidate John Edwards and the wife of Bill Gates.
Dismissing the conspiracy theorists in an interview with the BBC, Bilderberg grandee Etienne Davignon said: "When people say this is a secret government of the world I say that if we were a secret government of the world we should be bloody ashamed of ourselves."

Like moths to a flame, New World Order theorists have been drawn to this elite group of powerful world leaders.
Accusations of links to the Nazis, domination by the military industrial complex, and even some of David Icke's own brand of Reptilian Humanoid paranoia have dogged the Bilderbergers.
The central conspiracy theory, however, is that this is a secret one world government, aimed at preserving privilege and perpetuating the global strife and conflict that keeps lining the pockets of the rich and influential.
Journalists, investigators and conspiracy theorists who have tried to gain access to the plush hotels where the annual meeting takes place have been met with tough security treatment from a huge protection detail.
This has led theorists to the conclusion that the world's political agenda, everything from war in the Middle East to the banking crisis and the hike in global oil prices, is controlled by Bilderbergers.
Many believe that The Bilderberg Group is THE secret society of secret societies, the controlling force behind Skull and Bones, The Illuminati, The Freemasons and any other shadowy organisation you care to mention.
Tracing its roots back to the end of World War II, and with links to the equally notorious Council on Foreign Relations, the role of The Bilderberg Group is said to be that of a global one party state, a nightmarishly powerful cabal able to wage war and oppress people in the blink of an eye.
Its members say it is a force for good, helping to provide an informal atmosphere for the great and the good to share ideas for reducing nuclear arsenals, fighting terrorism and averting a global warming disaster, all away from the gaze of the world's media.
Whatever is happening behind those closed doors, one thing is for sure, the conspiracy theorists are going to keep on pressing until they find the truth.

- There is no doubt that the Bilderberg Group exists, and that its membership list reads like a who's who of the world's most powerful people.

- With no press access, and very little information about what is actually discussed, no-one has yet been able to penetrate the motives of its members or the consequences of their decisions.

- Conspiracists claim that everything from the opening up of US diplomatic relations with China to the spike in world oil prices were discussed at Bilderberg just months before they came to pass.

- No evidence has ever been provided that the Bilderberg Group is anything more than a talking shop, where billionaires compare the size of their yachts and discuss ways of making even more money.

- The notable attendees are not entirely uncommon in their aversion to the press. A closely guarded luxury hotel is not out of the ordinary for these people, and it is only natural they wouldn't want to announce their deals and agreements to the world.

- The organisation was set up to help avert conflict, not create it. The idea was to foster a dialogue between world leaders and influential business bosses to avoid a repeat of the backstairs intrigues which have incubated previous wars.

That the Bilderberg Group exists is a proven fact - that it operates as a secret world government is almost certainly fiction. There is nothing to suggest these men have evil intent, on the contrary, one could make a strong argument to say that these leaders talking to each other is no bad thing. If they can work together outside of the glare of the media spotlight and resolve some of their differences in private, then the world will surely become a safer place. While this conspiracy theory has a large grain of truth to sustain it, its believers are looking for evil where none exists.