re: Bilderberg
"these people can get together and talk freely and informally about the state of business and the economy".

I for one can't believe that all they do is talk about what *is*. Can you imagine the politicians / businesspeople / heads of state all going "Oh yes, the situation with regards to peak oil / Libya / Iran is xxx" and stroking their chins thoughtfully *and that's all they do* ?

The attendee list is not made up of people who sit on the sidelines. If their discussion aren't along the lines of "here's where we're at - what are we going to do next" then I'd be amazed. That many powerful people in one place are not going to not be making plans - what actions to take, who to put in charge (ref my earlier points about Blair / Thatcher / Clinton attending several years before they got into power) and so forth.

Sorry, but that sort of stuff should not be happening outside the public eye - not when it affects the lives of all of us.
(TheImmortalJenkins, Fri 2 Dec 2011, 12:18, 1 reply)

But, but, but......
Except that when politicians actually want to do something, they can't just go ahead and do it - there is due political process to follow. If, for example, Mr. Cameron decided to do something at one of these meetings, he couldn't just go ahead and do it off his own bat. It would still have to go through the Cabinet, be presented to Parliament, be debated and voted on.

The Prime Minister has very little executive power in the UK - any significant decision made must be agreed upon by the executive body (i.e. the cabinet) and then the government as a whole. Realistically we have no control over how politicians come to their decisions anyway, and discussing it with as many people knowledgeable on the matter as possible, even if some of those have their own agenda, is likely to have the best outcome.
( Hunter Stockton was murdered by a bicycle wielding axolotl,.,.,.,., Fri 2 Dec 2011, 12:35, closed)

Yeah, right
I remember really well the democratic process that took us to war in Afghanistan. And what about the voting that took place to support us bombing Libya recently.

Sorry, recent events give the lie to that one. Half of the cabinet weren't behind Blair and his desire to go into Iraq - but it happened anyway, at a time when millions of us were marching in (pointless, sadly) demos opposing it.

I wish the process worked the way you described it - but it doesn't.
(TheImmortalJenkins, Fri 2 Dec 2011, 13:48, closed)