But the group, formed after Second World War between European and North American business and political leaders, has a website. As such, they can take time to listen, reflect and gather insights. Or not. Full Menu Search Menu. Close Local your local region. In other words, giant lizards. There is obviously no right-wing monopoly on conspiracy theories. During the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Hilary Clinton blamed a "vast right-wing conspiracy" for her husband's predicament.
These groups allow protesters to project their own fears onto them. In the US, the most extreme fear over Bilderberg is of a hidden cabal run by the European Union and threatening American freedoms. In Europe, the view is often of a free market elite trying to push through a right-wing agenda. Meanwhile, global capitalism on the right may be doing the same thing by different means. For Aaronovitch what often triggers widespread cabal theories are moments of great upheaval. Whether, oddly, they are changing for better as well as for the worse.
Why did McCarthyism happen at the time when US economy was growing faster than at any time in history? Society was in flux, the economy expanding rapidly and millions of servicemen were coming back from the war.
It's not just the about social context. Some people are more susceptible than others to believing in wacky cabals, says Prof Chris French, of Goldsmith College's psychology department. They have a need to have a sense of control. Not only do they not trust the government, they tend not to trust their neighbours either. And in the need for control, there may be links to the roots of religious belief, he says. The conspiracy theorists may get overexcited but they have a point, says Prof Andrew Kakabadse, co-author of new book Bilderberg People.
They became one of the most wealthy and powerful forces in Europe after setting up a bank that allowed pilgrims to deposit money in their home countries and withdraw it in the Holy Land. Their influence swelled to a new high in , when Pope Innocent II issued a Papal Bull exempting them from paying taxes… and decreeing that the only authority they had to answer to was the Pope.
At the apex of their power, the Knights Templar owned the island of Cyprus, a fleet of ships and lent money to kings. But not all kings were happy customers. When the Crusades came to an end after the fall of Acre , the Knights Templar withdrew to Paris, where they focused on their banking endeavors.
On October 13, , King Philip IV of France, whom the Knights Templar had denied additional loans, had a group of knights arrested and tortured until they made false confessions of depravity. In , as the city of Paris watched, dozens of Knights Templar were burned at the stake for their alleged crimes. Under pressure from the French crown, Pope Clement V formally dissolved the order in and redistributed their wealth. Rumors that the Knights Templar guarded artifacts like the Holy Grail and Shroud of Turin began bubbling up among conspiracy theorists.
A soldier of the Knights Templar, with the Cross of Lorraine pictured below. The Cross of Lorraine Croix de Lorraine in French is a double-barred cross that is featured prominently in the coat of arms of the Dukes of Lorraine.
Some eagle-eyed observers have claimed to spot the Cross of Lorraine in the Exxon and Nabisco logos and even stamped on Oreo cookies. Read more: Who Were the Knights Templar? The freemasons loom large in American history—after all, 13 of the 39 men who signed the U.
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