|
Texas Gov.
Rick Perry To Attend Bilderberg
The Dallas Morning News | May 31, 2007
By
CHRISTY HOPPE
AUSTIN - Gov. Rick Perry is flying
to Istanbul, Turkey, today to speak at the super-secret Bilderberg
Conference, a meeting of about 130 international leaders in
business, media and politics.
The invitation-only conference was
started in 1954 and named for the Dutch hotel where the conference
was first held. Those who attend promise not to reveal what was
discussed, security is tight, and the press and public are barred.
The conference has been the
subject of conspiracy theorists and even Christian groups who wonder
about its influence.
Robert Black, the governor's press
secretary, said the governor was invited to attend and speak about
state-federal relations. Mr. Black dismissed the conspiracy
theories.
"He's looking forward to learning
the secret handshake," Mr. Black joked.
He said that Mr. Perry is paying
for the trip and host hotel, usually among the top in the world, out
of campaign contributions from his Texans for Rick Perry committee.
Previous speakers at the
conference have included such GOP stalwarts as outgoing World Bank
chief Paul Wolfowitz and former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld.
Last year, the conference was held
in Ottawa, and the Toronto Star reported that it had received an
unsigned press release saying that the 2006 group included David
Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger, Queen Beatrix of Holland, New York
Gov. George Pataki, media moguls, high-level officials from Spain
and Greece, and the heads of Coca-Cola, Credit Suisse and the Royal
Bank of Canada.
Bilderberg chairman Etienne
Davignon, a former Belgian diplomat, granted the British
Broadcasting Corp. a rare interview two years ago in which he
brushed aside myths surrounding the organization.
"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," Mr.
Davignon said.
Mr. Black said that the governor
was going because he was invited. "He looks forward to talking to
them about the system of federalism here in the United States," he
said.
Regarding the secrecy surrounding
the event, Mr. Black said: "It's their conference, and I suppose
they can run it anyway they want. The governor was honored that they
would ask him to come speak on the American experience, and he's
happy to do it."
Mr. Perry returns to Texas on
Monday.
|
