List of Attendees for 2005 meeting

Daniel Estulin went undercover to the Bilderberg meeting in March 5 to 8, 2005: here are some of his predictions:

Bilderbergers are planning to use what they denominated as a UN Peacebuilding Commission apparently to help win the peace in post-conflict countries as one of the tools in secretly imposing the UN tax on an unsuspecting world population.

3 months later:

Estulin writes further

Additionally, the Bilderbergers discussed how to dust off a "boring" image of Angela Merkel, Germany's future leader. A short, over-sized male Bilderberger offered an opinion that in order for the widest cross-section of the German public to accept Merkel, the leader of the opposition Christian Democratic Union, as chancellor, it would be important to give a new definition to the term "family values." German Bilderbergers well-versed in conservative Bavarian collective psyche believe that Merkel´s image, a divorcee with a doctorate degree in physics, isn't considered "reliable" to attract sufficient votes in this staunchly conservative area of the country. The idea, according to people within ear shot of the discussion "in the up-coming campaign would be to stress the importance of families rather than marriage as an institution."

Bilderbergers pushing Schroeder aside in favour of a new candidate could very well signify that after three years of strife between American and European Bilderbergers over the war in Iraq, the secret society is ready to move forward with a much revised and cohesive policy. It must be remembered that Schroeder, along with French President Chirac, was one of the most vociferous European critics of the US-led Iraq intervention. Both Schroeder, representing the left and Merkel, representing the right, are owned by the Bilderbergers. It has been the group's policy since its inception in 1954 to own both horses in the race. For the record, every US president belongs to the Bilderberg Group or its interlocked sister organization, The Council on Foreign Relations. Although Bush junior didn't personally attend the secret meeting in Rottach-Egern, the US government was well-represented by William Luti, Richard Perle and Dennis Ross of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. - part 1 & 2 of Estulins 2005 work

sure enough: Schroeder deliberately loses the vote of confidence.

Schroeder loses confidence vote Friday, July 1, 2005 BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder lost a confidence vote in parliament Friday, opening the door for possible new elections. The confidence motion garnered 151 votes, short of the 301 votes needed as members of Schroeder's own Social Democrat party obeyed his request to abstain. President Horst Koehler now has 21 days to decide whether to accept the result and call an election, which would probably be held September 18. "Without a new mandate my political program cannot be carried forward," Schroeder told a parliamentary debate on Friday. He is trailing badly in the polls and has suffered a series of defeats in local elections. A chancellor, Schroeder said, "needs a constant and reliable basis for his policies." He told the parliamentary debate he would seek a mandate "to continue what has been begun."

Angela Merkel, head of the conservative Christian Democrats, took the podium and said Schroeder's coalition could "no longer govern." She said her party welcomed the chance for new elections. If Merkel's party wins and can form a government, she would become Germany's first female chancellor. - cnn How is Merkel presented to us? 'Maggie' Merkel, Germany's Mrs. Thatcher? Angela Merkel is virtually unknown outside Germany, but within a few months this former East German chemist will probably be leading the third largest economy in the world. - ameinfo.com Opposition Figure Could Lead Germany Obvious wouldn't you say?

Wim Duisenberg - Bilderberger found dead Wim Duisenberg was married to the controversial political activist Gretta Duisenberg. She became infamous when she declared she was aiming to collect 6 million signatures against Israeli policies; this figure was associated by some with the number of Jewish victims of World War II. During Wim's presidency over the European Bank, Gretta hung a huge Palestinian flag from their house in Amsterdam, which Wim later removed. Wim Duisenberg, former chief of the European Central Bank who oversaw the introduction of the Euro in 2002, was found dead in the swimming pool at his villa in the south of France on Sunday 31st July EU observer Wim Duisenberg, the former European Central Bank chief who helped create the euro currency, was found dead Sunday in his swimming pool in southeastern France, officials said. He was 70. An autopsy showed Mr. Duisenberg had drowned after an unspecified cardiac problem, a regional prosecutor said. He was found unconscious in the swimming pool at his home in the town of Faucon and could not be resuscitated, police said. Mr. Duisenberg ''died a natural death, due to drowning, after a cardiac problem,'' said Jean-Francois Sanpieri, a state prosecutor in the nearby town of Carpentras. He did not give further details. Mr. Duisenberg was the first head of the ECB, serving from 1998 to 2003. Having shepherded the euro through its introduction in 1999, he became known as the father of the 12-nation European common currency. Wim Duisenberg, known as father of the euro Wim Duisenberg's legacy Bilderberg group information

Inside the secretive Bilderberg Group Sunday, October 02, 2005 - bbc.co.uk - September 29, 2005 How much influence do private networks of the rich and powerful have on government policies and international relations? One group, the Bilderberg, has often attracted speculation that it forms a shadowy global government. As part of the BBC's Who Runs Your World? series, Bill Hayton tries to find out more. The chairman of the secretive - he prefers the word private - Bilderberg Group is 73-year-old Viscount Etienne Davignon, corporate director and former European Commissioner. In his office, on a private floor above the Brussels office of the Suez conglomerate lined with political cartoons of himself, he told me what he thought of allegations that Bilderberg is a global conspiracy secretly ruling the world. "It is unavoidable and it doesn't matter," he says. "There will always be people who believe in conspiracies but things happen in a much more incoherent fashion." Lack of publicity In an extremely rare interview, he played down the importance of Bilderberg in setting the international agenda. "What can come out of our meetings is that it is wrong not to try to deal with a problem. But a real consensus, an action plan containing points 1, 2 and 3? The answer is no. People are much too sensible to believe they can do that." Every year since 1954, a small network of rich and powerful people have held a discussion meeting about the state of the trans-Atlantic alliance and the problems facing Europe and the US. Organised by a steering committee of two people from each of about 18 countries, the Bilderberg Group (named after the Dutch hotel in which it held its first meeting) brings together about 120 leading business people and politicians. At this year's meeting in Germany, the audience included the heads of the World Bank and European Central Bank, Chairmen or Chief Executives from Nokia, BP, Unilever, DaimlerChrysler and Pepsi - among other multi-national corporations, editors from five major newspapers, members of parliament, ministers, European commissioners, the crown prince of Belgium and the queen of the Netherlands. "I don't think (we are) a global ruling class because I don't think a global ruling class exists. I simply think it's people who have influence interested to speak to other people who have influence," Viscount Davignon says. "Bilderberg does not try to reach conclusions - it does not try to say 'what we should do'. Everyone goes away with their own feeling and that allows the debate to be completely open, quite frank - and to see what the differences are. "Business influences society and politics influences society - that's purely common sense. It's not that business contests the right of democratically-elected leaders to lead". For Bilderberg's critics the fact that there is almost no publicity about the annual meetings is proof that they are up to no good. Jim Tucker, editor of a right-wing newspaper, the American Free Press for example, alleges they organise wars and elect and depose political leaders. He describes the group as simply 'evil'. So where does the truth lie?... Professor Kees van der Pijl of Sussex University in Britain says such private networks of corporate and political leaders play an informal but crucial role in the modern world. "There need to be places where these people can think about the main challenges ahead, co-ordinate where policies should be going, and find out where there could be a consensus." 'Common sense' Will Hutton, an economic analyst and former newspaper editor who attended a Bilderberg meeting in 1997, says people take part in these networks in order to influence the way the world works, to create what he calls "the international common sense" about policy. "On every issue that might influence your business you will hear at first-hand the people who are actually making those decisions and you will play a part in helping them to make those decisions and formulating the common sense," he says. And that "common sense" is one which supports the interests of Bilderberg's main participants - in particular free trade. Viscount Davignon says that at the annual meetings, "automatically around the table you have internationalists" - people who support the work of the World Trade Organisation, trans-Atlantic co-operation and European integration. Bilderberg meetings often feature future political leaders shortly before they become household names. Bill Clinton went in 1991 while still governor of Arkansas, Tony Blair was there two years later while still an opposition MP. All the recent presidents of the European Commission attended Bilderberg meetings before they were appointed. 'Secret Government' This has led to accusations that the group pushes its favoured politicians into high office. But Viscount Davignon says his steering committee are simply excellent talent spotters. The steering committee "does its best assessment of who are the bright new boys or girls in the beginning phase of their career who would like to get known." "It's not a total accident, but it's not a forecast and if they go places it's not because of Bilderberg, it's because of themselves," Viscount Davignon says. But its critics say Bilderberg's selection process gives an extra boost to aspiring politicians whose views are friendly to big business. None of this, however, is easy to prove -- or disprove. Observers like Will Hutton argue that such private networks have both good and bad sides. They are unaccountable to voters but, at the same time, they do keep the international system functioning. And there are limits to their power - a point which Bilderberg chairman was keen to stress, "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." Informal and private networks like Bilderberg have helped to oil the wheels of global politics and globalisation for the past half a century. In the eyes of critics they have undermined democracy, but their supporters believe they are crucial to modern democracy's success. And so long as business and politics remain mutually dependent, they will continue to thrive. - BBC

Suprise suprise!

By Kate Connolly in Berlin (Filed: 28/01/2006)

Chancellor Angela Merkel has pushed Germany's low birth rate to the top of the political agenda for the first time since the Nazi era as an expert said the nation could die out if the trend continued.

A third of German women are not having children, a remarkable figure even compared with low birth rates in the rest of Europe. Among graduates the figure is as high as 40 per cent. Every year 100,000 more Germans die than are born and each generation is shrinking by about a third. Even in the poverty and despair after the Second World War, more babies were born than now. The figure has slumped to 1.3 children per woman, far short of the replacement rate of 2.1.

Some observers attribute the trend to young people's reluctance to sacrifice their comfortable way of life and leisure time to bring up the next generation. Others argue that German society expects women to stay at home to look after the family and that child care is inadequate and expensive.

Mrs Merkel, 51, is not the best role model: she has no children. Asked why, she said: "It just did not fit in with my career path." But she is fully aware that the onus is on her, the country's first female leader, to improve the lot of women, raise the birth rate and put Germany back at the top as an economic power within a decade.

"If the birth rate continues to fall, Germans are at risk of dying out," said Harald Michel, the head of the Institute for Applied Demography. He foresees a future in which the workforce will be unable to support the elderly, nor indeed the country.

Past reluctance to tackle the problem is largely explained by the sensitivity of child-bearing in a country which, under the Nazis, did all it could to raise the birth rate for the state. "The Nazi ideal of kinder, küche, kirche (children, kitchen, church) still prevails," said Jutta Schmidt, 33, a sociologist and mother of two children from Hamburg. "The pressure on women to fulfil the maternal role, coupled with the lack of support to carry it out, such as part-time jobs and child care provision, is so great that many would rather forgo the opportunity than risk failure."

In Nazi times women were awarded motherhood medals for bearing children. Child bearing was strictly under the control of the state, not the individual. Had Ursula von der Leyen, 47, been a mother in the Third Reich, she would have won the silver medal. She is a gynaecologist, a mother of seven and, as the family minister, is Mrs Merkel's greatest hope. She says that Germany is "extremely backward" in its attitude towards the family. Unless the birth rate rises, "we will have to turn out the light".

Mrs von der Leyen, a member of the Christian Democratic Union, has offered women one-year wage replacement subsidies and to raise the amount of child care that can be offset against tax. But some of her proposals, such as encouraging fathers to stay at home for two months after the birth of a child, have provoked stiff opposition even from male party colleagues. They accuse her of wanting to "tie men to the nappies".

For many, child care and not money is at the root of the problem. The country that invented the kindergarten 170 years ago is pitifully lacking in child care places. Only 10 per cent of children under three have access to pre-school care and most of those are sent home at noon, a 2001 study showed. In Denmark the figure is 64 per cent and in Britain 34 per cent. The problem is exacerbated by employers who are unwilling to help workers with young children - and schools, most of which also close at noon.

"People have to give up their careers because there are no child care places," said Renate Köcher, the director of the Allensbach polling institute. "And because they have given up their jobs, we have neglected to create more child care places."

Germany is also a country in which everything happens comparatively late. The average starting school age is almost seven. University takes the best part of a decade to complete, so the average student is in her late twenties when she graduates. Therefore, finding a job, particularly in these days of high unemployment, stands much higher on the list of priorities than having babies. - telegraph.co.uk

London: U2 lead singer Bono has found a new ally in German chancellor Angela Merkel for fighting poverty in Africa.

Bono is thrilled that Merkel is pledging to donate 0.7 percent of Germany's GDP to help the world's poor until 2015 and also has high hopes for his relationship with the politician, contactmusic.com reported.

He says: "Her words are music to my ears. As a woman, she doesn't act macho or has to show off her skills. She is no day dreamer, she's a go-getter. Merkel is incredibly pragmatic. She has the power to change something. Me and many other people pin our hopes on her." - newkerala

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels 27 January 2006

Speaking at the opening of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos this week, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel called for "international rules to frame global competition".

Suggesting that increased cooperation between countries, with the oversight of international bodies such as the World Trade Organisation and the International Monetary Fund would help to foster innovation, Ms Merkel stated that such a drive could - paradoxically - go hand-in-hand with a reduction in bureaucracy, particularly in the European Union.

Stating that:

"We must get away from the idea that a directive is in place for all time and can never be reconsidered," the German Chancellor announced that during Germany's term at the head of the EU next year, there will be a clamp-down on red tape, with obsolete legislation removed and expiry dates included in new legislation.

"Between 4 and 6 percent of all costs for small and mid-size companies in Germany goes into red tape," she went on to reveal, adding that: "We must learn to measure the cost of bureaucracy." - tax-news.com .

30/01/2006 - Iran will be a threat to the Middle East and wider world if it gets it hands on nuclear weapons, German chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday. Germany's first female chancellor was speaking to journalists after talks in Jerusalem with interim Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert at the start of her Middle East tour.

Both Mrs Merkel and Mr Olmert agreed to decline talks with Hamas, the winner of last week's parliamentary election, unless the Palestinian militant group recognises the state of Israel. Mrs Merkel said Europe would end its aid to the Palestinian Authority if Hamas resisted.

The EU gives the Palestinian Authority £341 million a year.

"Such a Palestinian Authority cannot be directly supported by money from the EU," she said.

The US says Iran is intent on acquiring nuclear weaponry.

Tehran rejects the accusation.

Mrs Merkel also condemned Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for saying Israel should be "wiped off the map" and suggesting the Holocaust may never have happened. Britain, Germany and France - the so-called EU-3 - have led diplomatic efforts over the past two years to rein in Iran's nuclear brinkmanship.

In London today, EU-3 officials meet with foreign ministers from US, Russia, and China - permanent members of the UN security council - to discuss Iran.

The meeting comes ahead of the make-or-break IAEA meeting on February 2nd. The IAEA may conclude that the UN security council has no choice but to impose sanctions. At a news conference in Tehran yesterday, Hamid Reza Asefi, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, called for more dialogue to overcome the latest impasse. Hamas leader, Mr Khaled Mashaal, has urged all political groups in Palestine to collaborate in forming a new government. - dehavilland.co.uk .

06.02.2006 - 09:34 CET | By Lisbeth Kirk

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has said NATO should be a permanent forum for analysis of world security threats in the future.

Speaking at an annual high-profile security conference in Munich, she pledged her allegiance to the body, stating that all political and military measures of NATO members should be discussed and planned at NATO first.

Only if NATO member states cannot jointly follow the same path should alternatives be sought.

"To my opinion it [NATO] should be the permanent forum, where common analysis of threats are carried out and discussed," Ms Merkel said. "It should be the pace for political consultation over new conflicts, which flame up around the world, and should to my opinion be the place for political and military co-ordination of activities," she told the biggest annual gathering of western defence ministers, military commanders and defence industry leaders held over the weekend.

Ms Merkel also called for a fresh debate of NATO's central strategic concept by 2008 or 2009 to define new tasks for the alliance.

Meanwhile US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged more European spending on military and NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer pleaded for closer ties between NATO and like-minded states elsewhere on the globe.

Mr de Hoop Scheffer said "NATO is not a global policeman" and called for enhanced relations with democratic states in Asia such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, UK defence secretary John Reid warned NATO members that they must change for the alliance to survive. Speaking to Associated Press, he said NATO is not guaranteed to "survive and prosper as the cornerstone of the collective security we need" but must change in order to meet new challenges, according to the BBC. "NATO has been probably the most effective defence organisation in world history, but no institution has the divine right to exist," he said.

The discussion of a new role for NATO was launched at last year's Munich conference, when the then German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder caused surprise among his NATO colleagues by saying NATO risked becoming outdated and was "no longer the primary venue where transatlantic partners discuss and co-ordinate strategies." He proposed setting up a "high-ranking panel of independent figures," which would suggest improvements and called for a greater role for the EU.

Spanish ex-prime minister Jose Maria Aznar also recently suggested that NATO should not only resolve its lack of military capabilities, but also undergo a complex institutional reform and re-think its priorities.

Whether a sign of diminished influence or not - the traditional protests accompanying the Munich Conference on Security Policy were significantly weaker this year. Instead of the 5,000 demonstrators expected to march against armament and war, only 1,700 eventually found their way to Munich, according to police. - euobserver.com