I had three Austrian policemen in m

I had three Austrian policemen in my hotel room last night. They stood there all grim faced with their fluorescent bibs, torches and sidearms. It was like the worst ever fancy dress party. I offered them a pilsner. They declined. They were too busy checking my ID that had been carefully checked 10 minutes prior at a police checkpoint. And carefully checked two minutes prior to that, at another police checkpoint.

This third check took so long, it was so late, and my patience was so thin, that eventually I took my shirt and trousers off in front of the officers. “I’m having a shower,” I explained, and went and had one. When I’d finished, I came out in my towel, thinking they might be gone. They weren’t. “Put your clothes on please and come to your car.” This party wasn’t getting any better.

Out at my car I couldn’t be bothered to get into the whole ‘probable cause’ thing so I flung open the doors and with as much good cheer as I could muster, said: “Help yourself”. They did. While one set of police searched my car with their torches, another lot clustered round me and asked me questions: “Where do you live? What are you doing here?” I’m a journalist and I live in a police state. What about you?

In my trouser pocket I found a “Medienhandbuch” from the G7, which I was given in my goodie bag when I was accredited there. By the light of a police searchlight, which was trained on me like I was trying to escape Stalag 17, I read out passages to my guards to pass the time. “Experienced staff from the Federal Government will be happy to help you with your work …” An officer interrupted. “Your address please.” It was on my driving licence in his hand. This was getting silly.

A little while later, bored and a bit cold, I decided to point out to the officers that while they were treating a journalist like a criminal, there were actual criminals about to arrive at the hotel they were guarding. Convicted criminals. Such as disgraced former CIA boss, David Petraeus, who’s just been handed a $100,000 (£64,000) fine and two years’ probation for leaking classified information.

While they were treating a journalist like a criminal, there were actual criminals about to arrive at the hotel

Petraeus now works for the vulturous private equity firm KKR, run by Henry Kravis, who does arguably Bilderberg’s best impression of Gordon Gecko out of Wall Street. Which he cleverly combines with a pretty good impression of an actual gecko.

“What is a gecko?” asked one of my captors. “I’ll tell you what a gecko is if you tell me where the press accreditation centre is. What, there isn’t one? That’s a shame, because it would be really useful. You wouldn’t have to harass me in the middle of the night like this. I could just show you my press pass.” The policeman scribbled on his notebook. “Great, are you getting this down?” No. He was writing down the number on my driving licence. Again.

“Can I go now?” Another no. So I continued my list of criminals. I moved on to someone closer to home: René Benko, the Austrian real estate baron, who had a conviction for bribery upheld recently by the supreme court. Which didn’t stop him making the cut for this year’s conference. “You know Benko?” The cop nodded. It wasn’t easy to see in the glare of the searchlight, but he looked a little ashamed.

I reassured him that Benko’s crimes were in the very best traditions of Bilderberg. Don’t forget, the first chairman of the group, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, was the biggest fraudster of the lot; he was caught back in the 70s organising bribes from Lockheed and Northrop for the same arms contract. It was such a scandal that in 1976, Bilderberg had to skip a year out of sheer embarrassment.

Maybe they should think about giving this year a miss as well. I wouldn’t mind. I’m not having any fun here. “Do you mind turning off that searchlight? I won’t run away, I promise.” A stern head shook. The policemen were careful to keep officers on all sides of me. Like they’ve been trained to when faced with a slightly damp journalist wielding a G7 media handbook.

I decided to reward their vigilance with a chat about HSBC. The chairman of the troubled banking giant, Douglas Flint, is a regular attendee at Bilderberg, and he’s heading here again this year, along with a member of the bank’s board of directors, Rona Fairhead. Perhaps most tellingly, Flint is finding room in his Mercedes for the bank’s busiest employee: its chief legal officer, Stuart Levey.
The Guardian view on HSBC: a bank beyond shame
Editorial: It has multiple specific failings within a sector whose failure has cost the economy dear. And yet HSBC effectively used the eve of the Mansion House speech to threaten the chancellor
Read more

A Guardian editorial this week branded HSBC “a bank beyond shame” after it announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs in the UK, while at the same time threatening to shift its headquarters to Hong Kong. And having just been forced to pay £28m in fines to Swiss regulators investigating money-laundering claims. The big question, of course, is how will the chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, respond to all this? Easy – he’ll go along to a luxury Austrian hotel and hole up with three senior members of HSBC in private. For three days.

High up on this year’s conference agenda is “current economic issues”, and without a doubt, one of the biggest economic issues for Osborne at the moment is the future and finances of Europe’s largest bank. Luckily, the chancellor will have plenty of time at Bilderberg to chat all this through through with Flint, Levey and Fairhead. And the senior Swiss financial affairs official, Pierre Maudet, a member of the Geneva state council in charge of the department of security and the economy. It’s all so incredibly convenient.

Yet it doesn’t sit easily with Osborne’s intention, which he trumpeted five years ago, shortly after taking office, “to implement the most radical transparency agenda the country has ever seen”. What he’s doing this week in Bavaria is about as transparent as an alp.

I’d got about as far as the 8,000 job cuts when I was finally allowed to go free. An utterly ridiculous 35-minute ID check. I would have been more furious but I was starting to get into the swing of my lecture. The searchlight was lowered and they waved me off into the night. “But wait, I haven’t even got as far as Henry Kissinger being questioned for war crimes …”

“Goodnight, sir.”

Resultados (Português) 1:

Tive três policiais austríacos no meu quarto ontem à noite. Ficavam ali tudo sinistro perante suas bibs fluorescentes, tochas e armas. Era como o pior alguma vez fantasia vestido de festa. Ofereci-lhes uma pilsner. Eles recusaram. Eles estavam muito ocupados verificando meu ID que tinha sido cuidadosamente verificado prévios 10 minutos em um posto de polícia. E cuidadosamente verificado dois minutos antes, em outro posto de controle policial.Este terceiro cheque demorou tanto, que era tão tarde e minha paciência estava tão magra, que eventualmente eu tirei minha camisa e calças em frente os oficiais. "Estou tendo um chuveiro," explicou e fui e tinha um. Quando terminou, eu saí na minha toalha, pensando que estariam fora. Eles não eram. "Coloque suas roupas por favor e venha para o seu carro". Esta festa não está melhorando.No meu carro, eu não podia ser incomodado para entrar a coisa toda 'causa provável' Então escancarou as portas e com tanto bom humor que eu poderia reunir, disse: "Sirva-se". Eles fizeram. Enquanto um conjunto de polícia procurou meu carro com suas tochas, outro monte agrupado em volta de mim e me perguntou: "onde você mora? O que fazes aqui?" Sou jornalista e moro em um estado policial. E quanto a você?In my trouser pocket I found a “Medienhandbuch” from the G7, which I was given in my goodie bag when I was accredited there. By the light of a police searchlight, which was trained on me like I was trying to escape Stalag 17, I read out passages to my guards to pass the time. “Experienced staff from the Federal Government will be happy to help you with your work …” An officer interrupted. “Your address please.” It was on my driving licence in his hand. This was getting silly.A little while later, bored and a bit cold, I decided to point out to the officers that while they were treating a journalist like a criminal, there were actual criminals about to arrive at the hotel they were guarding. Convicted criminals. Such as disgraced former CIA boss, David Petraeus, who’s just been handed a $100,000 (£64,000) fine and two years’ probation for leaking classified information. While they were treating a journalist like a criminal, there were actual criminals about to arrive at the hotelPetraeus now works for the vulturous private equity firm KKR, run by Henry Kravis, who does arguably Bilderberg’s best impression of Gordon Gecko out of Wall Street. Which he cleverly combines with a pretty good impression of an actual gecko.“What is a gecko?” asked one of my captors. “I’ll tell you what a gecko is if you tell me where the press accreditation centre is. What, there isn’t one? That’s a shame, because it would be really useful. You wouldn’t have to harass me in the middle of the night like this. I could just show you my press pass.” The policeman scribbled on his notebook. “Great, are you getting this down?” No. He was writing down the number on my driving licence. Again.“Can I go now?” Another no. So I continued my list of criminals. I moved on to someone closer to home: René Benko, the Austrian real estate baron, who had a conviction for bribery upheld recently by the supreme court. Which didn’t stop him making the cut for this year’s conference. “You know Benko?” The cop nodded. It wasn’t easy to see in the glare of the searchlight, but he looked a little ashamed.I reassured him that Benko’s crimes were in the very best traditions of Bilderberg. Don’t forget, the first chairman of the group, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, was the biggest fraudster of the lot; he was caught back in the 70s organising bribes from Lockheed and Northrop for the same arms contract. It was such a scandal that in 1976, Bilderberg had to skip a year out of sheer embarrassment.Maybe they should think about giving this year a miss as well. I wouldn’t mind. I’m not having any fun here. “Do you mind turning off that searchlight? I won’t run away, I promise.” A stern head shook. The policemen were careful to keep officers on all sides of me. Like they’ve been trained to when faced with a slightly damp journalist wielding a G7 media handbook.I decided to reward their vigilance with a chat about HSBC. The chairman of the troubled banking giant, Douglas Flint, is a regular attendee at Bilderberg, and he’s heading here again this year, along with a member of the bank’s board of directors, Rona Fairhead. Perhaps most tellingly, Flint is finding room in his Mercedes for the bank’s busiest employee: its chief legal officer, Stuart Levey.The Guardian view on HSBC: a bank beyond shameEditorial: It has multiple specific failings within a sector whose failure has cost the economy dear. And yet HSBC effectively used the eve of the Mansion House speech to threaten the chancellorRead moreA Guardian editorial this week branded HSBC “a bank beyond shame” after it announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs in the UK, while at the same time threatening to shift its headquarters to Hong Kong. And having just been forced to pay £28m in fines to Swiss regulators investigating money-laundering claims. The big question, of course, is how will the chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, respond to all this? Easy – he’ll go along to a luxury Austrian hotel and hole up with three senior members of HSBC in private. For three days.High up on this year’s conference agenda is “current economic issues”, and without a doubt, one of the biggest economic issues for Osborne at the moment is the future and finances of Europe’s largest bank. Luckily, the chancellor will have plenty of time at Bilderberg to chat all this through through with Flint, Levey and Fairhead. And the senior Swiss financial affairs official, Pierre Maudet, a member of the Geneva state council in charge of the department of security and the economy. It’s all so incredibly convenient.Yet it doesn’t sit easily with Osborne’s intention, which he trumpeted five years ago, shortly after taking office, “to implement the most radical transparency agenda the country has ever seen”. What he’s doing this week in Bavaria is about as transparent as an alp.I’d got about as far as the 8,000 job cuts when I was finally allowed to go free. An utterly ridiculous 35-minute ID check. I would have been more furious but I was starting to get into the swing of my lecture. The searchlight was lowered and they waved me off into the night. “But wait, I haven’t even got as far as Henry Kissinger being questioned for war crimes …”“Goodnight, sir.”

Resultados (Português) 2:

Eu tinha três policiais austríacos no meu quarto de hotel na noite passada. Ficaram ali todos faced desagradável com seus coletes fluorescentes, tochas e armas brancas. Era como se o pior partido do vestido extravagante sempre. Eu ofereci-lhes um pilsner. Eles se recusaram. Eles estavam muito ocupados checando meu ID que tinha sido cuidadosamente verificado até 10 minutos antes em um posto da polícia. E cuidadosamente verificados dois minutos antes disso, em outro posto de controle da polícia. Esta terceira verificação levou tanto tempo, que era tão tarde, e minha paciência foi tão fina, que, eventualmente, eu tirei minha camisa e as calças na frente dos policiais. "Eu estou tendo um chuveiro", expliquei, e fui e tinha um. Quando eu terminei, eu saí em minha toalha, pensando que poderia ter ido embora. Eles não eram. "Coloque suas roupas por favor e venha para o seu carro." Esta festa não estava ficando melhor. Fora o meu carro eu não podia ser incomodado para entrar em toda essa coisa de "causa provável" para que eu abriu as portas e com tanto bom humor como eu poderia reunir, disse: "Sirva-se". Eles fizeram. Enquanto um conjunto de polícia revistou meu carro com suas tochas, outro lote agrupado em volta de mim e me fizeram perguntas: "Onde você mora? O que você está fazendo aqui? "Eu sou um jornalista e eu vivo em um estado policial. E você? Na minha bolso da calça, encontrei um "Medienhandbuch" do G7, que me foi dada no meu saco de guloseimas quando eu estava acreditado lá. À luz de um holofote polícia, que foi treinado em mim como se eu estivesse tentando escapar Stalag 17 anos, li as passagens para os meus guardas para passar o tempo. "Uma equipa experiente do Governo Federal terá o prazer de ajudá-lo com seu trabalho ..." Um oficial interrompida. "O seu endereço por favor." Foi na minha carta de condução em sua mão. Isso estava ficando ridículo. Um pouco mais tarde, entediado e um pouco frio, eu decidi chamar a atenção para os oficiais que, enquanto eles estavam tratando um jornalista como um criminoso, não eram criminosos reais sobre a chegar ao hotel que eles estavam guardando. Criminosos condenados. Tal como desonrado ex-chefe da CIA, David Petraeus, que acaba de ser entregue liberdade condicional a $ 100.000 (£ 64,000) finas e dois anos por vazar informações classificadas. Enquanto eles estavam tratando um jornalista como um criminoso, não eram criminosos reais sobre a chegar ao Hotel Petraeus agora trabalha para a empresa de private equity KKR Vulturous, dirigido por Henry Kravis, que faz indiscutivelmente melhor impressão de Gordon Gecko de Bilderberg de Wall Street. Que habilmente combina com uma boa impressão de um gecko real. "O que é uma lagartixa?", perguntou um dos meus captores. "Eu vou te dizer o que uma lagartixa é se você me dizer onde centro de acreditação da imprensa é. O que, não há um? Isso é uma vergonha, porque seria realmente útil. Você não teria que me assediar no meio da noite como esta. Eu poderia apenas mostrar o meu passe de imprensa. "O policial rabiscou em seu caderno. "Ótimo, você está recebendo isto?" Não. Ele estava escrevendo o número em minha carta de condução. Novamente. "Posso ir agora?" Um outro não. Então eu continuei a minha lista de criminosos. Eu me mudei para outra mais perto de casa: René Benko, o austríaco barão imobiliário, que tinha uma condenação por suborno confirmou recentemente pelo Supremo Tribunal. O que não o impediu de fazer o corte para a conferência deste ano. "Você sabe Benko?" O policial assentiu. Não foi fácil para ver no brilho do holofote, mas ele parecia um pouco envergonhado. Eu garanti a ele que os crimes de Benko estavam nas melhores tradições de Bilderberg. Não se esqueça, o primeiro presidente do grupo, o príncipe Bernhard dos Países Baixos, foi o maior fraudador do lote; ele foi pego de volta na década de 70 organizar subornos de Lockheed e Northrop para o mesmo contrato braços. Foi um escândalo que, em 1976, Bilderberg tinha a ignorar um ano por pura vergonha. Talvez eles deveriam pensar em dar este ano uma miss também. Eu não me importaria. Eu não estou tendo nenhuma diversão aqui. "Você se importa de desligar que holofote? Eu não vou fugir, eu prometo. "A cabeça popa balançou. Os policiais tiveram o cuidado de manter agentes em todos os lados de mim. Como eles já foram treinados para, quando confrontado com um jornalista ligeiramente úmido empunhando um manual media G7. Eu decidi recompensar sua vigilância com um bate-papo sobre HSBC. O presidente do gigante bancário conturbado, Douglas Flint, é um participante regular no Bilderberg, e ele está indo aqui novamente este ano, juntamente com um membro do conselho do banco de Administração, Rona Fairhead. Talvez o mais revelador, Flint é o quarto encontrando em seu Mercedes para mais movimentado empregado do banco: seu diretor jurídico, Stuart Levey. A vista Guardião em HSBC: um banco além vergonha Editorial: Ele tem várias falhas específicas dentro de um setor cujo fracasso custou a querida economia. E ainda HSBC efetivamente utilizado na véspera do discurso Mansion House para ameaçar o chanceler Leia mais Um editorial Guardião esta semana com a marca HSBC "um banco além vergonha" depois que ele anunciou planos para cortar 8.000 empregos no Reino Unido, enquanto, ao mesmo tempo ameaçando mudar sua sede para Hong Kong. E, tendo apenas sido forçados a pagar R $ 28 milhões em multas aos reguladores suíços que investigam alegações de lavagem de dinheiro. A grande questão, claro, é como é que o ministro das Finanças, George Osborne, responder a tudo isso? Fácil - ele vai ir junto a um hotel de luxo austríaca e buraco com três membros sênior do HSBC em particular. Durante três dias. No alto da agenda da conferência deste ano é "questões econômicas atuais", e, sem dúvida, um dos maiores problemas económicos para Osborne no momento é o futuro e finanças do maior banco da Europa. Felizmente, o chanceler vai ter muito tempo para conversar no Bilderberg tudo isso através de através de Flint, Levey e Fairhead. E o idoso Swiss oficial assuntos financeiros, Pierre Maudet, um membro do Conselho de Estado de Genebra encarregada do departamento da segurança e da economia. É tudo tão incrivelmente conveniente. No entanto, não se senta facilmente com a intenção de Osborne, que ele alardeou há cinco anos, pouco depois de assumir o cargo, "para implementar a agenda de transparência mais radical do país já viu". O que ele está fazendo esta semana na Baviera é tão transparente como um cume. Eu tenho quase tão longe quanto os cortes de empregos 8000, quando eu estava finalmente livre para voltar. Uma verificação de ID 35 minutos absolutamente ridículo. Eu teria sido mais furioso, mas eu estava começando a entrar no balanço da minha palestra. O holofote foi reduzido e eles me acenou fora para a noite. "Mas espere, eu nem sequer tenho tanto quanto Henry Kissinger sendo questionada por crimes de guerra ..." "Boa noite, senhor."