Bilderberg 2012: The Official List of Participants

Chantilly, Virginia, USA, 31 May-3 June 2012

Final List of Participants

Chairman

FRA	Castries, Henri de	Chairman and CEO, AXA Group
DEU	Ackermann, Josef	Chairman of the Management Board and the Group Executive Committee, Deutsche Bank AG
GBR	Agius, Marcus	Chairman, Barclays plc
USA	Ajami, Fouad	Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University
USA	Alexander, Keith B.	Commander, US Cyber Command; Director, National Security Agency
INT	Almunia, Joaquín	Vice-President – Commissioner for Competition, European Commission
USA	Altman, Roger C.	Chairman, Evercore Partners
PRT	Amado, Luís	Chairman, Banco Internacional do Funchal (BANIF)
NOR	Andresen, Johan H.	Owner and CEO, FERD
FIN	Apunen, Matti	Director, Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA
TUR	Babacan, Ali	Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs
PRT	Balsemão, Francisco Pinto	President and CEO, Impresa; Former Prime Minister
FRA	Baverez, Nicolas	Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
FRA	Béchu, Christophe	Senator, and Chairman, General Council of Maine-et-Loire
BEL	Belgium, H.R.H. Prince Philippe of
TUR	Berberoğlu, Enis	Editor-in-Chief, Hürriyet Newspaper
ITA	Bernabè, Franco	Chairman and CEO, Telecom Italia
GBR	Boles, Nick	Member of Parliament
SWE	Bonnier, Jonas	President and CEO, Bonnier AB
NOR	Brandtzæg, Svein Richard	President and CEO, Norsk Hydro ASA
AUT	Bronner, Oscar	Publisher, Der Standard Medienwelt
SWE	Carlsson, Gunilla	Minister for International Development Cooperation
CAN	Carney, Mark J.	Governor, Bank of Canada
ESP	Cebrián, Juan Luis	CEO, PRISA; Chairman, El País
AUT	Cernko, Willibald	CEO, UniCredit Bank Austria AG
FRA	Chalendar, Pierre André de	Chairman and CEO, Saint-Gobain
DNK	Christiansen, Jeppe	CEO, Maj Invest
RUS	Chubais, Anatoly B.	CEO, OJSC RUSNANO
CAN	Clark, W. Edmund	Group President and CEO, TD Bank Group
GBR	Clarke, Kenneth	Member of Parliament, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of Justice
USA	Collins, Timothy C.	CEO and Senior Managing Director, Ripplewood Holdings, LLC
ITA	Conti, Fulvio	CEO and General Manager, Enel S.p.A.
USA	Daniels, Jr., Mitchell E.	Governor of Indiana
USA	DeMuth, Christopher	Distinguished Fellow, Hudson Institute
USA	Donilon, Thomas E.	National Security Advisor, The White House
GBR	Dudley, Robert	Group Chief Executive, BP plc
ITA	Elkann, John	Chairman, Fiat S.p.A.
DEU	Enders, Thomas	CEO, Airbus
USA	Evans, J. Michael	Vice Chairman, Global Head of Growth Markets, Goldman Sachs & Co.
AUT	Faymann, Werner	Federal Chancellor
DNK	Federspiel, Ulrik	Executive Vice President, Haldor Topsøe A/S
USA	Ferguson, Niall	Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History, Harvard University
GBR	Flint, Douglas J.	Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc
CHN	Fu, Ying	Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
IRL	Gallagher, Paul	Former Attorney General; Senior Counsel
USA	Gephardt, Richard A.	President and CEO, Gephardt Group
GRC	Giannitsis, Anastasios	Former Minister of Interior; Professor of Development and International Economics, University of Athens
USA	Goolsbee, Austan D.	Professor of Economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
USA	Graham, Donald E.	Chairman and CEO, The Washington Post Company
ITA	Gruber, Lilli	Journalist – Anchorwoman, La 7 TV
INT	Gucht, Karel de	Commissioner for Trade, European Commission
NLD	Halberstadt, Victor	Professor of Economics, Leiden University; Former Honorary Secretary  General of Bilderberg Meetings
USA	Harris, Britt	CIO, Teacher Retirement System of Texas
USA	Hoffman, Reid	Co-founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedIn
CHN	Huang, Yiping	Professor of Economics, China Center for Economic Research, Peking University
USA	Huntsman, Jr., Jon M.	Chairman, Huntsman Cancer Foundation
DEU	Ischinger, Wolfgang	Chairman, Munich Security Conference; Global Head Government Relations, Allianz SE
RUS	Ivanov, Igor S.	Associate member, Russian Academy of Science; President, Russian International Affairs Council
FRA	Izraelewicz, Erik	CEO, Le Monde
USA	Jacobs, Kenneth M.	Chairman and CEO, Lazard
USA	Johnson, James A.	Vice Chairman, Perseus, LLC
USA	Jordan, Jr., Vernon E.	Senior Managing Director, Lazard
USA	Karp, Alexander	CEO, Palantir Technologies
USA	Karsner, Alexander	Executive Chairman, Manifest Energy, Inc
FRA	Karvar, Anousheh	Inspector, Inter-ministerial Audit and Evaluation Office for Social, Health, Employment and Labor Policies
RUS	Kasparov, Garry	Chairman, United Civil Front (of Russia)
GBR	Kerr, John	Independent Member, House of Lords
USA	Kerry, John	Senator for Massachusetts
TUR	Keyman, E. Fuat	Director, Istanbul Policy Center and Professor of International Relations, Sabanci University
USA	Kissinger, Henry A.	Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.
USA	Kleinfeld, Klaus	Chairman and CEO, Alcoa
TUR	Koç, Mustafa	Chairman, Koç Holding A.Ş.
DEU	Koch, Roland	CEO, Bilfinger Berger SE
INT	Kodmani, Bassma	Member of the Executive Bureau and Head of Foreign Affairs, Syrian National Council
USA	Kravis, Henry R.	Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
USA	Kravis, Marie-Josée	Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
INT	Kroes, Neelie	Vice President, European Commission; Commissioner for Digital Agenda
USA	Krupp, Fred	President, Environmental Defense Fund
INT	Lamy, Pascal	Director-General, World Trade Organization
ITA	Letta, Enrico	Deputy Leader, Democratic Party (PD)
ISR	Levite, Ariel E.	Nonresident Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
USA	Li, Cheng	Director of Research and Senior Fellow, John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution
USA	Lipsky, John	Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Johns Hopkins University
USA	Liveris, Andrew N.	President, Chairman and CEO, The Dow Chemical Company
DEU	Löscher, Peter	President and CEO, Siemens AG
USA	Lynn, William J.	Chairman and CEO, DRS Technologies, Inc.
GBR	Mandelson, Peter	Member, House of Lords; Chairman, Global Counsel
USA	Mathews, Jessica T.	President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
DEN	Mchangama, Jacob	Director of Legal Affairs, Center for Political Studies (CEPOS)
CAN	McKenna, Frank	Deputy Chair, TD Bank Group
USA	Mehlman, Kenneth B.	Partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
GBR	Micklethwait, John	Editor-in-Chief, The Economist
FRA	Montbrial, Thierry de	President, French Institute for International Relations
PRT	Moreira da Silva, Jorge	First Vice-President, Partido Social Democrata (PSD)
USA	Mundie, Craig J.	Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Microsoft Corporation
DEU	Nass, Matthias	Chief International Correspondent, Die Zeit
NLD	Netherlands, H.M. the Queen of the
ESP	Nin Génova, Juan María	Deputy Chairman and CEO, Caixabank
IRL	Noonan, Michael	Minister for Finance
USA	Noonan, Peggy	Author, Columnist, The Wall Street Journal
FIN	Ollila, Jorma	Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell, plc
USA	Orszag, Peter R.	Vice Chairman, Citigroup
GRC	Papalexopoulos, Dimitri	Managing Director, Titan Cement Co.
NLD	Pechtold, Alexander	Parliamentary Leader, Democrats ’66 (D66)
USA	Perle, Richard N.	Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
NLD	Polman, Paul	CEO, Unilever PLC
CAN	Prichard, J. Robert S.	Chair, Torys LLP
ISR	Rabinovich, Itamar	Global Distinguished Professor, New York University
GBR	Rachman, Gideon	Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, The Financial Times
USA	Rattner, Steven	Chairman, Willett Advisors LLC
CAN	Redford, Alison M.	Premier of Alberta
CAN	Reisman, Heather M.	CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc.
DEU	Reitzle, Wolfgang	CEO & President, Linde AG
USA	Rogoff, Kenneth S.	Professor of Economics, Harvard University
USA	Rose, Charlie	Executive Editor and Anchor, Charlie Rose
USA	Ross, Dennis B.	Counselor, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
POL	Rostowski, Jacek	Minister of Finance
USA	Rubin, Robert E.	Co-Chair, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary of the Treasury
NLD	Rutte, Mark	Prime Minister
ESP	Sáenz de Santamaría Antón, Soraya	Vice President and Minister for the Presidency
NLD	Scheffer, Paul	Professor of European Studies, Tilburg University
USA	Schmidt, Eric E.	Executive Chairman, Google Inc.
AUT	Scholten, Rudolf	Member of the Board of Executive Directors, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG
FRA	Senard, Jean-Dominique	CEO, Michelin Group
USA	Shambaugh, David	Director, China Policy Program, George Washington University
INT	Sheeran, Josette	Vice Chairman, World Economic Forum
FIN	Siilasmaa, Risto	Chairman of the Board of Directors, Nokia Corporation
USA	Speyer, Jerry I.	Chairman and Co-CEO, Tishman Speyer
CHE	Supino, Pietro	Chairman and Publisher, Tamedia AG
IRL	Sutherland, Peter D.	Chairman, Goldman Sachs International
USA

Mitt Romney and The Defeat Obama Team...It's The Right Thing To Do!

For the good of the nation and the world, Obama must be sent back to Chicago in January. And, for all of Romney's many faults, no sane conservative disputes that he would be a far better President than "the One." Romney understands the free enterprise system that drives our economy and believes in American exceptionalism. That he has been dead wrong on some issues and has flip-flopped on others is small beer compared to what Obama will be up to during the next four years if reelected.

Conservatives can't afford the luxury of insisting on ideological purity in 2012.  Reporters of the 

New York Times, Washington Postand the other "news" media will be blazing away at Romney for the next six months. There is no need for conservatives to hand them more ammunition.

Everyone needs to get on and support the Defeat Obama Team, (DOT)!  It's the right thing to do at this point-in-time in our Republic!!!!

Posted via email from Global Politics

A Simply Story About Money, Bankers, and People!!!

1. Shipwreck survivors

An explosion had blown their ship apart. Each one grasped the first bit of wreckage that came to hand. And when it was over, there were five left, five huddled on a raft which the waves carried along at their will. As for the other victims of the disaster, there was no sign of them.

Hour after long hour their eyes searched the horizon. Would some passing ship sight them? Would their make-shift raft finds its way to some friendly shore?

Suddenly a cry rang out:  “Land! Look! Over there, in the direction the waves are carrying us!”

And as the vague silhouette proved itself to be, in fact, the outline of a shore, the figures on the raft danced with joy.

They were five. There was Frank, the carpenter, big and energetic. It was he who had first cried, “Land!”.

Then Paul, a farmer. You can see him, front and left in the picture, on his knees, one hand against the floor, the other gripping the mast of the raft.

Next is Jim, an animal breeder; he's the one in the striped pants, kneeling and gazing in the direction of land.

Then there is Harry, an agriculturist, a little on the stout side, seated on a trunk salvaged from the wreck.

And finally Tom, a prospector and a mineralogist; he is the merry fellow standing in the rear of the picture with his hand on the carpenter's shoulder.

2. A providential island

To our five men, setting foot on land was like returning to life from the grave.

When they had dried and warmed themselves their first impulse was to explore this little island on to which they had been cast, far from civilization.

A quick survey was sufficient to raise their spirit. The island was not a barren rock. True enough, they were the only men on it at the moment. But judging from the herds of semi-domesticated animals they encountered, there must have been men here at some time before them. Jim, the animal breeder, was sure he could completely domesticate them and put them to good service.

Paul found the island's soil, for the most part, to be quite suitable for cultivation.

Harry discovered some fruit trees which, if properly tended, would give good harvests.

Most important were the large stands of timber embracing many types of wood. Frank, without too much difficulty, would be able to build houses for the little community.

As for Tom, the prospector, well, the rock formations of the island showed signs of rich mineral deposits. Lacking the tools, Tom still felt his ingenuity and initiative could produce metals from the ores.

So each could serve the common good with his special talent. All agreed to call the place Salvation Island. All gave thanks to Providence for the reasonably happy ending to what could have been stark tragedy.

3. True wealth

Here are the men at work.

The carpenter builds houses and makes furniture. At first they find their food where they can. But soon the fields are tilled and seeded, and the farmer has his crops.

As season followed season this island, this heritage of the five men, Salvation Island, became richer and richer.

Its wealth was not that of gold or of paper bank notes, but one of true value; a wealth of food and clothing and shelter, of all the things to meet human needs.

Each man worked at his own trade. Whatever surpluses he might have of his own produce, he exchanged for the surplus products of the others.

Life wasn't always as smooth and complete as they could have wished it to be. They lacked many of the things to which they had been accustomed in civilization. But their lot could have been a great deal worse.

Besides, all had experienced the depression in Canada. They still remembered the empty bellies side by side with stores crammed with food.

At least, on Salvation Island, they weren't forced to see the things they needed rot before their eyes. Taxes were unknown here. Nor did they go in constant fear of seizure by the bailiff. They worked hard but at least they could enjoy the fruits of their toil.

So they developed the island, thanking God and hoping for the day of reunion with their families, still in possession of life and health, those two greatest of blessings.

4. A serious inconvenience

Our men often got together to talk over their affairs.

Under the simple economic system which had developed, one thing was beginning to bother then more and more; they had no form of money. Barter, the direct exchange of goods for goods, had its drawbacks. The products to be exchanged were not always at hand when a trade was discussed. For example, wood delivered to the farmer in winter could not be paid for in potatoes until six months later.

Sometimes one man might have an article of considerable size which he wished to exchange for a number of smaller articles produced by different men at different times.

All this complicated business and laid a heavy burden on the memory. With a monetary system, however, each one could sell his products to the others for money. With this money he could buy from the others the things he wanted, when he wished and when they were available.

It was agreed that a system of money would indeed be very convenient. But none of them knew how to set up such a system. They knew how to produce true wealth - goods. But how to produce money, the symbol of this wealth, was something quite beyond them. They were ignorant of the origin of money, and needing it they didn't know how to produce it. Certainly, many men of education would have been in the same boat; all our governments were in that predicament during the ten years prior to the war. The only thing the country lacked at that time was money, and the governments apparently didn't know what to do to get it.

5. Arrival of a refugee

One evening, when our boys were sitting on the beach going over their problem for the hundredth time, they suddenly saw approaching a small boat with a solitary man at the oars.

They learned that he was the only survivor of a wreck. His name: Oliver.

Delighted to have a new companion, they provided him with the best that they had, and they took him on an inspection tour of the colony.

“Even though we're lost and cut off from the rest of the world,” they told him, “we haven't too much to complain about. The earth and the forest are good to us. We lack only one thing — money. That would make it easier for us to exchange our products.”

“Well, you can thank Providence,” replied Oliver, “because I am a banker, and in no time at all, I'll set up a system of money guaranteed to satisfy you. Then you'll have everything that people in civilization have.”

A banker!... A BANKER!... An angel coming down out of the clouds couldn't have inspired more reverence and respect in our men. For, after all, are we not accustomed, we people in civilization, to genuflect before bankers, those men who control the lifeblood of finance?

6. Civilization's god

“Mr. Oliver, as our banker, your only occupation on this island will be to look after our money; no manual labour.”

“I shall, like every other banker, carry out to complete satisfaction my task of forging the community's prosperity.”

“Mr. Oliver, we're going to build you a house that will be in keeping with your dignity as a banker. But in the meantime, do you mind if we lodge you in the building that we use for our get-togethers?”

“That will suit me, my friends. But first of all, unload the boat. There's paper and a printing press, complete with ink and type, and there's a little barrel which I exhort you to treat with the greatest care.”

They unloaded everything. The small barrel aroused intense curiosity in our good fellows.

“This barrel,” Oliver announced, “contains a treasure beyond dreams. It is full of... gold!”

Full of gold! The five all but swooned. The god of civilization here on Salvation Island! The yellow god, always hidden, yet terrible in its power, whose presence or absence or slightest caprice could decide the very fate of all the civilized nations!

“Gold! Mr. Oliver, you are indeed a great banker!”

“Oh august majesty! Oh honorable Oliver! Great high priest of the god, gold! Accept our humble homage, and receive our oaths of fidelity!”

“Yes, my friends, gold enough for a continent. But gold is not for circulation. Gold must be hidden. Gold is the soul of healthy money, and the soul is always invisible. But I'll explain all that when you receive your first supply of money.”

7. The secret burial

Before they went their separate ways for the night, Oliver asked them one last question.

“How much money will you need to begin with in order to facilitate trading?”

They looked at one another, then deferentially towards the banker. After a bit of calculation, and with the advice of the kindly financier, they decided that $200 each would do.

The men parted, exchanging enthusiastic comments. And in spite of the late hour, they spent most of the night lying awake, their imaginations excited by the picture of gold. It was morning before they slept.

As for Oliver, he wasted not a moment. Fatigue was forgotten in the interests of his future as a banker. By dawn's first light, he dug a pit into which he rolled the barrel. He then filled it in, transplanting a small shrub to the spot about which he carefully arranged sod. It was well hidden.

Then he went to work with his little press to turn out a thousand $1 bills. Watching the clean new banknotes come from his press, the refugee turned banker thought to himself:

“My! How simple it is to make money. All its value comes from the products it will buy. Without produce, these bills are worthless. My five naive customers don't realize that. They actually think that this new money derives its value from gold! Their very ignorance makes me their master.”

And as evening drew on, the five came to Oliver — on the run.

8. Who owns the new money?

Five bundles of new banknotes were sitting on the table.

“Before distributing the money,” said the banker, “I would like your attention.

“Now, the basis of all money is gold. And the gold stored away in the vault of my bank is my gold. Consequently, the money is my money. Oh! Don't look so discouraged. I'm going to lend you this money, and you're going to use it as you see fit. However, you'll have to pay interest. Considering that money is scarce here, I don't think 8% is unreasonable.”

“Oh, that's quite reasonable, Mr. Oliver.”

“One last point, my friends. Business is business, even between pals. Before you get the money, each of you is going to sign a paper. By it you will bind yourselves to pay both interest and capital under penalty of confiscation of property by me. Oh! This is a mere formality. Your property is of no interest to me. I'm satisfied with money. And I feel sure that I'll get my money, and that you'll keep your property.”

“That makes sense, Mr. Oliver. We're going to work harder than ever in order to pay you back.”

“That's the spirit. And any time you have a problem, you come and see me. Your banker is your best friend. Now here's two hundred dollars for each one of you.”

And our five brave fellows went away, their hands full of dollar bills, their heads swimming with the ecstasy of having money.

9. A problem in arithmetic

And so Oliver's money went into circulation on the island. Trade, simplified by money, doubled. Everybody was happy.

And the banker was always greeted with unfailing respect and gratitude.

But now, let's see... Why does Tom, the prospector, look so grave as he sits busily figuring with a pencil and paper? It is because Tom, like the others, has signed an agreement to repay Oliver, in one year's time, the $200 plus $16 interest. But Tom has only a few dollars in his pocket, and the date of payment is near.

For a long time he had wrestled with this problem from his own personal point of view, without success. Finally, he looked at it from the angle of the little community as a whole.

“Taking into consideration everyone on the island as a whole,” he mused, “are we capable of meeting our obligations? Oliver turned out a total of $1000. He's asking in return $1080. But even if we bring him every dollar bill on the island, we'll still be $80 short. Nobody made the extra $80. We turn out produce, not dollar bills. So Oliver can take over the entire island, since all the inhabitants together can't pay him back the total amount of the capital and the interest.

“Even if a few, without any thought for the others, were able to do so, those others would fall. And the turn of the first spared would come eventually. The banker will have everything. We'd better hold a meeting right away and decide what to do about it.”

Tom, with his figures in his hand, had no difficulty in proving the situation. All agreed that they had been duped by the kindly banker. They decided upon a meeting at Oliver's.

10. The benevolent banker

Oliver guessed what was on their minds, but he put on his best front. While he listened, the impetuous Frank stated the case for the group.

“How can we pay you $1080 when there is only $1000 on the entire island?”

“That's the interest, my friends. Has not your rate of production increased?”

“Sure, but the money hasn't. And it's money you're asking for, not our products. You are the only one who can make money. You've made only $1000, and yet you ask $1080. That's an impossibility!”

“Now listen, fellows. Bankers, for the greater good of the community, always adapt themselves to the conditions of the times. I'm going to require only the interest. Only $80. You will go on holding the capital.”

“Bless you, Mr. Oliver! Are you going to cancel the $200 each of us owes you?”

“Oh no! I'm sorry, but a banker never cancels a debt. You still owe me all the money you borrowed. But you'll pay me, each year, only the interest. If you meet the interest payments faithfully each year, I won't push you for the capital. Maybe some won't be able to repay even the interest because of the money changing hands among you. Well, organize yourselves like a nation. Set up a system of money contributions, what we call taxes. Those who have more money will be taxed more; the poor will pay less. See to it that you bring me, in one lump sum, the total of the amount of interest, and I'll be satisfied. And your little nation will thrive.”

So our boys left, somewhat pacified, but still dubious.

11. Oliver exults

Oliver is alone. He is deep in reflection. His thoughts run thus:

“Business is good. These boys are good workers, but stupid. Their ignorance and naivety is my strength. They ask for money, and I give them the chains of bondage. They give me flowers, and I pick their pockets.

“True enough, they could mutiny and throw me into the sea. But pshaw! I have their signatures. They're honest. They'll honor their pledges. Honest, hardworking people were put into this world to serve the Financiers.

“Oh great Mammon! I feel your banking genius coursing through my entire being! Oh, illustrious master! How right you were when you said: `Give me control of a nation's money, and I won't mind who makes its laws.' I am the master of Salvation Island because I control its money.

“My soul is drunk with enthusiasm and ambition. I feel I could rule the universe. What I, Oliver, have done here, I can do throughout the entire world. Oh! If only I could get off this island! I know how I could govern the world without wearing a crown.

“My supreme delight would be to instill my philosophy in the minds of those who lead society: bankers, industrialists, politicians, reformers, teachers, journalists — all would be my servants. The masses are content to live in slavery when the elite from among them are constituted to be their overseers.”

12. The cost of living unbearable

Meanwhile, things went from bad to worse on Salvation Island. Production was up, and bartering had dropped to a minimum. Oliver collected his interest regularly. The others had to think of setting money aside for him. Thus, money tended to clot instead of circulating freely.

Those who paid the most in taxes complained against those who paid less. They raised the prices of their goods to compensate for this loss. The unfortunate poor who paid no taxes lamented the high cost of living, and bought less.

If one took a salaried job with another, he was continually demanding increases in salary in order to meet the mounting cost of living.

Morale was low. The joy went out of living. No one took an interest in his work. Why should he? Produce sold poorly. When they would make a sale, they had to pay taxes to Oliver. They went without things. It was a real crisis. And they accused one another of wanting in charity, and of being the cause of the high cost of living.

One day, Harry, sitting in his orchard, pondered over the situation. He finally arrived at the conclusion that this “progress”, born of a refugee's monetary system, had spoiled everything on the island. Unquestionably, all five had their faults, but Oliver's system seemed to have been specifically designed to bring out the worst in human nature.

Harry decided to demonstrate this to his friends and to unite them for action. He started with Jim, who was not hard to convince. “I'm no genius,” he said, “but for a long time now there's been a bad smell about this banker's system.”

One by one they came to the same conclusion, and they ended up by deciding to have another conference with Oliver.

13. Enslaved by Oliver

A veritable tempest burst about the ears of the banker.

“Money's scarce on the island, fellow, because you take it away from us! We pay you and pay you, and still we owe you as much as at the beginning. We work our heads off! We've the finest land possible, and yet we're worse off than before the day of your arrival. Debts! Debts! Up to our necks in debts!”

“Oh! Now boys, be reasonable! Your affairs are booming, and it's thanks to me. A good banking system is a country's best asset. But if it is to work beneficially, you must have faith in the banker. Come to me as you would to a father... Is it more money that you want? Very well. My barrel of gold is good for many thousands of dollars more. See, I'm going to mortgage your latest acquisitions, and lend you another thousand dollars right now.”

“So! Now our debt goes up to $2000! We are going to have twice as much interest to pay for the rest of our lives!”

“Well, yes — but I'll lend you more whenever the value of your property increases. And you'll never pay anything but the interest. You'll lump all your debts into one — what we call a consolidated debt. And you can add to the debt, year after year.”

“And raise the taxes, year after year?”

“Obviously. But your revenues also increase every year.”

“So then, the more the country develops each year because of our labor, the more the public debt increases!”

“Why, of course! Just as in your country – or in any other part of the civilized world for that matter. The degree of a country's civilization is always gauged by the size of its debt to the bankers.”

14. The wolf devours the lambs

“And that's a healthy monetary system, Mr. Oliver?”

“Gentlemen, all sound money is based on gold, and it comes from the banks in the form of debts. The national debt is a good thing. It keeps men from becoming too satisfied. It subjugates governments to the supreme and ultimate wisdom, that which is incarnate in bankers. As a banker, I am the torch of civilization here on your little island. I will dictate your politics and regulate your standard of living.”

“Mr. Oliver, we're simply uneducated folks, but we don't want that kind of civilization here. We'll not borrow another cent off of you. Sound money or not, we don't want any further transactions with you.”

“Gentlemen, I deeply regret this very ill-advised decision of yours. But if you break with me, remember, I have your signatures. Repay me everything at once — capital and interest.”

“But that's impossible, sir. Even if we give you all the money on the island, we still won't be square with you.”

“I can't help that. Did you or did you not sign? Yes? Very well.

“By virtue of the sanctity of contracts, I hereby seize your mortgaged property which was what you agreed to at the time you were so happy to have my help. If you don't want to serve willingly the supreme authority of money, then you'll obey by force. You'll continue to exploit the island, but in my interests and under my conditions. Now, get out!  You'll get your orders from me tomorrow.”

15. Control of the press

Oliver knew that whoever controlled the nation's money, controlled the nation. But he knew also that to maintain that control, it was necessary to keep the people in a state of ignorance, and to distract them by a variety of means.

Oliver had observed that of the five islanders, two were conservatives and three were liberals. That much had evolved from their evening conversations, especially after they had fallen into slavery. And between the conservatives and those who were liberals, there was a constant friction.

On occasions, Harry, the most neutral of the five, considering that all had the same needs and aspirations, had suggested the union of the people to put pressure on the authorities. Such a union, Oliver could not tolerate; it would mean the end of his rule. No dictator, financial or otherwise, could stand before a people united and educated.

Consequently, Oliver set himself to foment, as much as possible, political strife between them.

The refugee put his press to work, turning out two weekly newspapers, “The Sun”, for the Liberals, and “The Star”, for the Conservatives.

The general tenor of “The Sun” was: “If you are no longer master, it is because of those traitorous Conservatives who have sold out to big business.”

That of “The Star”: “The ruinous state of business and the national debt can be traced directly to the political responsibility of those unmentionable Liberals.”

16. A priceless bit of floatsam

One day, Tom, the prospector, found on a small beach, hidden by tall grass at one end of the island, a lifeboat, empty except for a trunk in good condition lying in the bottom of it.

He opened the trunk. Among the articles within, a sort of album caught his eye: “The First Year of Social Credit”. Between the covers he found the first of a Social Credit publication.

Curious, Tom sat down and began to read the volume. His interest grew; his face lit up.

“Well, just look at this!” he cried out loud. “This is something we should have known a long time ago.”

“Money gets its value, not from gold, but from the products which that money buys.

“Simply put, money should be a sort of accountancy, credits passing from one account to another according to purchases and sales. The sum total of money will depend upon the sum total of production.

“Each time production increases, there is a corresponding increase in the amount of money. Never at any time should interest be paid on new money. Progress is marked, not by an increase in the public debt, but by the issuance of an equal dividend to each individual... Prices are adjusted to the general purchasing power by a coefficient of prices. Social Credit...”

But Tom could no longer contain himself. He got up and set off at a run, the book in his hands, to share this glorious discovery with his four comrades.

17. Money — elementary accounting

So Tom became the teacher. He taught the others what he had learned from that God-sent Social Credit publication.

“This,” he said, “is what we can do without waiting for a banker and his keg of gold, nor without underwriting a debt.

“I open an account in the name of each one of you. In the right hand column are the

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A Blogger's View of Facebook....It's Simply A Waste of Time!

I’ve also recently stopped checking Facebook.  I’ve had a Facebook account since 2009, and I was in the habit of checking it several times a day.  I don’t play any games or use any of the apps, and we don’t have a smart phone, so I wasn’t on Facebook unless I was at my computer.  But it was still taking up too much of my time.  I probably spent somewhere between two and five minutes each time I checked Facebook, but when you do that several times a day, it adds up.  

So ten days ago, I decided to start checking Facebook once a week.  I thought it would be a lot harder than it was.  The first day, I had to stop myself several times, but after that I sort of forgot about it.  It was much easier than I thought it would be to break the habit.  When I logged in for my weekly visit on Saturday, I realized that I hadn’t really missed anything.  

I also spent a few minutes unsubscribing from updates from a whole bunch of people.  I have about 120 “friends” on Facebook, but the reality is that only about 20 of them are people I’m actually close to.  Another 20 or so are people who were in the Peace Corps at the same time I was – we have very similar values and I enjoy a lot of the links they post, so I’m still subscribed to their updates.  But all the people I went to high school with and haven’t seen since 1993?  Not so much.  

Distant relatives with whom I have almost nothing in common?  Do I really need to spend even five seconds reading about what they did today?  I don’t think so.  My feed now only has updates from close friends, close family members, and informational sites that I enjoy (like Amanda Russell, for example, and a local organic farm).  That should make it easier and faster to skim through everything once a week.  And I’ve “found” at least a half an hour per day that I can use to do other stuff.  Yesterday I realized that I was finished with everything on my to-do list and still had an hour before I had to make dinner.  So I sat on the floor and played with my boys, which was far more productive than Facebook could ever be.  

I’ve seen other bloggers write about deleting their Facebook accounts or weaning themselves off of it, and I always found it inspiring.  So I’m sharing my story too.  The biggest take-away for me was how it was so much easier than I thought it would be.  After about two days, I honestly didn’t miss it at all.

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A history of the New World Order — Part II

(Part 1 covered the years 1776-1928)

1928 – “The Open Conspiracy: Blue Prints for a World Revolution” by H. G. Wells is published. A former Fabian socialist, Wells writes: “The political world of the Open Conspiracy must weaken, efface, incorporate, and supersede existing governments. The Open Conspiracy is the natural inheritor of socialist and communist enthusiasms; it may be in control of Moscow before it is in control of New York. The character of the Open Conspiracy will now be plainly displayed. It will be a world religion.”

1933 – “The Shape of Things to Come” by H. G. Wells is published. Wells predicts a second world war around 1940, originating from a German-Polish dispute. After 1945, there would be an increasing lack of public safety in "criminally infected" areas. The plan for the “Modern World State” would succeed on its third attempt, and come out of something that occurred in Basra, Iraq. The book also states: “Although world government had been plainly coming for some years, although it had been endlessly feared and murmured against, it found no opposition anywhere.”

Nov. 21, 1933 – In a letter to Col. Edward M. House, President Franklin Roosevelt writes: “The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has owned the Government since the days of Andrew Jackson.”

March 1942 – An article in “TIME” magazine chronicles the Federal Council of Churches [which later becomes the National Council of Churches, a part of the World Council of Churches] lending its weight to efforts to establish a global authority. A meeting of the top officials of the council comes out in favor of: 1) a world government of delegated powers; 2) strong immediate limitations on national sovereignty; 3) international control of all armies and navies. Representatives (375 of them) of 30-some denominations assert that “a new order of economic life is both imminent and imperative” – a new order that is sure to come either “through voluntary cooperation within the framework of democracy or through explosive revolution.”

June 28, 1945 – U.S. President Harry Truman endorses world government in a speech: “It will be just as easy for nations to get along in a republic of the world as it is for us to get along in a republic of the United States.”

October 24, 1945 – The United Nations Charter becomes effective. Also on October 24, Senator Glen Taylor (D-Idaho) introduces Senate Resolution 183, calling upon the U.S. Senate to go on record as favoring creation of a world republic, including an international police force.

Feb. 7, 1950 – International financier and CFR member James Warburg tells a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee: “We shall have world government whether or not you like it - by conquest or consent.”

Feb. 9, 1950 – The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee introduces Senate Concurrent Resolution #66 which begins: “Whereas, in order to achieve universal peace and justice, the present Charter of the United Nations should be changed to provide a true world government constitution.”

1952 – The World Association of Parliamentarians for World Government draws up a map designed to illustrate how foreign troops would occupy and police the six regions into which the United States and Canada will be divided as part of their world-government plan.

1954 – Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands establishes the Bilderbergers: international politicians and bankers who meet secretly on an annual basis.

1961 – The U.S. State Department issues Document 7277, entitled “Freedom From War: The U.S. Program for General and Complete Disarmament in a Peaceful World.” It details a three-stage plan to disarm all nations and arm the U.N. with the final stage in which “no state would have the military power to challenge the progressively strengthened U.N. Peace Force.”

1966 – Professor Carroll Quigley, Bill Clinton's mentor at Georgetown University, authors a massive volume entitled “Tragedy and Hope” in which he states: “There does exist and has existed for a generation, an international network which operates, to some extent, in the way the radical right believes the Communists act. In fact, this network, which we may identify as the Round Table Groups, has no aversion to cooperating with the Communists, or any other groups, and frequently does so. I know of the operations of this network because I have studied it for twenty years and was permitted for two years, in the early 1960s, to examine its papers and secret records. I have no aversion to it or to most of its aims, and have, for much of my life, been close to it and to many of its instruments. I have objected, both in the past and recently, to a few of its policies, but in general my chief difference of opinion is that it wishes to remain unknown, and I believe its role in history is significant enough to be known.”

April 1972 – In his keynote address to the Association for Childhood Education International, Chester M. Pierce, Professor of Education and Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard University, proclaims:“Every child in America entering school at the age of five is insane because he comes to school with certain allegiances toward our founding fathers, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being. It's up to you, teachers, to make all of these sick children well by creating the international child of the future.”

July 1973 – International banker and staunch member of the subversive Council on Foreign Relations, David Rockefeller, founds a new organization called the Trilateral Commission, of which the official aim is “to harmonize the political, economic, social, and cultural relations between the three major economic regions in the world” (hence the name “Trilateral”). He invites future President Jimmy Carter to become one of the founding members. Zbigniew Brzezinski is the organization's first director.

There are three major economic areas in the world: Europe, North America, and the Far East (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc.). If, under the pretext of having to join forces to be able to face economic competition with the two other economic regions, the member countries of each of these three regions decide to merge into one single country, forming three super-States, then the one-world government will be almost achieved. Like Fabian socialists, they achieve their ultimate goal (a world government) step by step.

This aim is almost achieved in Europe with the Single European Act (Maastricht Treaty) that was implemented in 1993, requiring all the member countries of the European Community to abolish their trade barriers, and to hand over their monetary and fiscal policies to the technocrats of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium.

In January, 2002, all these European countries abandoned their national currencies to share only one common currency, the “Euro”. Moreover, the Nice Treaty removed more powers from countries to give them over to the European Commission. What begun innocently in 1952 as the EEC (European Economic Community, a common authority to regulate the coal and steel industry among European nations), finally turned into a European super-state. Jean Monnet, a French socialist economist and founder of the EEC, had this in mind when he said: “Political union inevitably follows economic union.” He also said in 1948: “The creation of a United Europe must be regarded as an essential step towards the creation of a United World.”

As regards the North American area, the merger of its member countries is well under way with the passage of free trade between Canada and the U.S.A., and then Mexico. In the next few years, this free-trade agreement is supposed to include also all of South and Central America, with a single currency for them all. Mexico's President Vucente Fox said on May 6, 2002, in Madrid: “Eventually, our long-range objective is to establish with the United States, but also with Canada, our other regional partner, an ensemble of connections and institutions similar to those created by the European Union.”

1973 – The Club of Rome, a U.N. operative, issues a report entitled “Regionalized and Adaptive Model of the Global World System.” This report divides the entire world into ten kingdoms.

1979 – FEMA, which stands for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is given huge powers. It has the power, in case of “national emergency”, to suspend laws, move entire populations, arrest and detain citizens without a warrant, and hold them without trial. It can seize property, food supplies, transportation systems, and can suspend the Constitution.

Not only is it the most powerful entity in the United States, but it was not even created under Constitutional law by the Congress. It was a product of a Presidential Executive Order. An Executive Order becomes law simply by a signature of the U.S. President; it does not even have to be approved by the Representatives or Senators in the Congress.

A state of “national emergency” could be a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, or a stock market crash, for example. Here are just a few Executive Orders associated with FEMA that would suspend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These Executive Orders have been on record for nearly 30 years, and could be enacted by the stroke of a Presidential pen:

# 10995: Right to seize all communications media in the United States.

# 10997: Right to seize all electric power, fuels and minerals, both public and private.

# 10999: Right to seize all means of transportation, including personal vehicles of any kind, and total control of highways, seaports, and waterways.

# 11000: Right to seize any and all American people and divide up families in order to create work forces to be transferred to any place the Government sees fit.

# 11001: Right to seize all health, education and welfare facilities, both public and private.

# 11002: Right to force registration of all men, women, and children in the United States.

# 11003: Right to seize all air space, airports, and aircraft.

# 11004: Right to seize all housing and finance authorities in order to establish “Relocation Designated Areas”, and to force abandonment of areas classified as “unsafe”.

#             11005: Right to seize all railroads, inland waterways, and storage facilities, both public and private.

#             11921: Authorizes plans to establish Government control of wages and salaries, credit and the flow of money in U.S. financial institutions.

1991 – President George Bush Sr. (father of the current U.S. president) praises the New World Order in a State of the Union Message: “What is at stake is more than one small country; it is a big idea - a new world order... to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind... based on shared principles and the rule of law... The illumination of a thousand points of light... The winds of change are with us now.” (Theosophist Alice Bailey used that very same expression – “points of light” – in describing the process of occult enlightenment.)

June, 1991 – World leaders are gathered for another closed door meeting of the Bilderberg Society in Baden Baden, Germany. While at that meeting, David Rockefeller said in a speech: “We are grateful to the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries.”

Oct. 29, 1991 – David Funderburk, former U.S. Ambassador to Romania, tells a North Carolina audience:“George Bush has been surrounding himself with people who believe in one-world government. They believe that the Soviet system and the American system are converging.”

May 21, 1992 – In an address to the Bilderberger organization meeting in Evian, France, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger declares: “Today Americans would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order; tomorrow they will be grateful! This is especially true if they were told there was an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead with world leaders to deliver them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well being granted to them by their world government.”

July 20, 1992 – “TIME” magazine publishes “The Birth of the Global Nation,” by Strobe Talbott, Rhodes Scholar, roommate of Bill Clinton at Oxford University, CFR Director and Trilateralist (and appointed Deputy Secretary of State by President Clinton), in which he writes: “Nationhood as we know it will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single global authority... All countries are basically social arrangements... No matter how permanent or even sacred they may seem at any one time, in fact they are all artificial and temporary... Perhaps national sovereignty wasn't such a great idea after all... But it has taken the events in our own wondrous and terrible century to clinch the case for world government.”

1993 – A second Parliament of World Religions is held in Chicago on the 100th anniversary of the first. Like the first convention, this one seeks to join all the religions of the world into “one harmonious whole,” but it wants to make them “merge back into their original element.” Traditional beliefs of monotheistic religions such as Christianity are considered incompatible with individual “en- lightenment”, and must be drastically altered.

July 18, 1993 – CFR member and Trilateralist Henry Kissinger writes in the “Los Angeles Times” concerning NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement): “What Congress will have before it is not a conventional trade agreement but the architecture of a new international system...a first step toward a new world order.”

1994 – In the Human Development Report, published by the UN Development Program, there was a section called “Global Governance for the 21st Century.” The administrator for this program was appointed by Bill Clinton. His name is James Gustave Speth. The opening sentence of the report said: “Mankind's problems can no longer be solved by national government. What is needed is a world government. This can best be achieved by strengthening the United Nations system.”

May 3, 1994 – President Bill Clinton signs Presidential Decision Directive 25, and then declares it classified so the American people can't see what it says. (The summary of PDD-25 issued to members of Congress tells us that it authorizes the President to turn over control of U.S. military units to U.N. command.)

Sept. 23, 1994 – The globalists realize that as more and more people begin to wake up to what's going on, they have only a limited amount of time in which to implement their policies. Speaking at the United Nations Ambassadors' dinner, David Rockefeller remarks: “This present window of opportunity, during which a truly peaceful and interdependent world order might be built, will not be open for too long... We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis, and the nations will accept the New World Order.”

March 1995 – U.N. delegates meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss various methods for imposing global taxes on the people of the world.

Sept. 1995 – “Popular Science” magazine describes a top secret U.S. Navy installation called HAARP (High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) in the state of Alaska. This project beams powerful radio energy into the earth's upper atmosphere. One of the goals of the program is to develop the capability of “manipulating local weather” using the techniques developed by Bernard Eastlund. (The program has been underway since 1990.)

September 27, 1995 – The State of the World Forum took place in the fall of this year, sponsored by the Gorbachev Foundation located at the Presidio in San Francisco. Foundation President Jim Garrison chairs the meeting of who's-who from around the world, including Margaret Thatcher, Maurice Strong, George Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, and others. Conversation centers around the oneness of mankind and the coming global government. However, the term “global gov- ernance” is now used in place of “new world order” since the latter has become a political liability, being a lightning rod for opponents of global government.

1996 – The United Nations' 420-page report “Our Global Neighborhood” is published. It outlines a plan for “global governance,” calling for an international “Conference on Global Governance” in 1998 for the purpose of submitting to the world the necessary treaties and agreements for ratification by the year 2000.

2003... The world is on the verge of another global war, the “state of emergency” looked for by the one-worlders to impose martial law and the universal microchip under the skin... But with God's help, they will not have the last word!