07-13-2008, 12:03 AM
Annual encampment to start Friday, sans protests
BY MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 3:16 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 5:21 p.m.
KENT PORTER / Press Democrat file The last mass protest against the gathering of political and business power brokers at Bohemian Grove happened in 2006. Legions of summer camp-goers spreading out around Sonoma County will be joined this weekend by some of the nationââ¬â¢s most powerful campers as the annual two-week encampment at the Bohemian Grove opens Friday night.
The super-secret Bohemian Club and its guests meet each summer in the 2,700-acre Monte Rio grove for what they say is fellowship and good-natured high-jinx ââ¬â a break from the grueling grind of leadership.
But critics, who until recent years mounted protests outside its gates, say the gatherings serve as strategy sessions for a New World Order operating outside democratic institutions.
While the groveââ¬â¢s motto ââ¬â ââ¬ÅWeaving Spiders Come Not Hereââ¬Â ââ¬â specifically targets arachnids, the club excludes all but the nationââ¬â¢s most powerful and well-connected individuals, according to critics.
Founded in 1872 by five San Francisco men seeking to connect ââ¬Ågentlemenââ¬Â with art, literature, music and drama, the all-male club is said to have included a variety of political, financial, military and industrial leaders.
Among them: Presidents Ronald Reagan, Richard M. Nixon and both Bushes; former cabinet members Colin Powell, George Schultz and Henry Kissinger; and industrialists Stephen David Bechtel, Leonard Firestone and David Rockefeller.
The clandestine nature of the summer retreat promotes broad speculation and endless theorizing about what goes on there.
Most critics raise the specter of national policy with global implications coming from behind the gates of an exclusive, closed-door gathering of largely conservative, wealthy white men.
This yearââ¬â¢s encampment begins Friday night and runs through July 27. The traditional Cremation of Care ritual, in which a human effigy representing ââ¬Ådull careââ¬Â is burned beneath a massive form said to represent the clubââ¬â¢s owl mascot, will be Saturday night.
Traffic already had picked up at the Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport on Thursday, though just how much was uncertain, said Glenn Barrett, general manager of KaiserAir Santa Rosa Jet Center, one of two such agencies at the airport.
Thursdays are typically busy, especially in the summer, but with about 45 arrivals scheduled or completed by mid-day, the volume of incoming flights was above normal, which ranges anywhere from 10 to 40 aircraft, Barrett said.
Barrett, who is new at the company, which provides a range of concierge services, said, ââ¬ÅMy understanding is that basically these three weeks are pretty much the busiest three weeks of the year generally speaking.ââ¬Â
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080710/NEWS/283060042/1033&title=Elite_meet_at_Boho_Grove
BY MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 3:16 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 5:21 p.m.
KENT PORTER / Press Democrat file The last mass protest against the gathering of political and business power brokers at Bohemian Grove happened in 2006. Legions of summer camp-goers spreading out around Sonoma County will be joined this weekend by some of the nationââ¬â¢s most powerful campers as the annual two-week encampment at the Bohemian Grove opens Friday night.
The super-secret Bohemian Club and its guests meet each summer in the 2,700-acre Monte Rio grove for what they say is fellowship and good-natured high-jinx ââ¬â a break from the grueling grind of leadership.
But critics, who until recent years mounted protests outside its gates, say the gatherings serve as strategy sessions for a New World Order operating outside democratic institutions.
While the groveââ¬â¢s motto ââ¬â ââ¬ÅWeaving Spiders Come Not Hereââ¬Â ââ¬â specifically targets arachnids, the club excludes all but the nationââ¬â¢s most powerful and well-connected individuals, according to critics.
Founded in 1872 by five San Francisco men seeking to connect ââ¬Ågentlemenââ¬Â with art, literature, music and drama, the all-male club is said to have included a variety of political, financial, military and industrial leaders.
Among them: Presidents Ronald Reagan, Richard M. Nixon and both Bushes; former cabinet members Colin Powell, George Schultz and Henry Kissinger; and industrialists Stephen David Bechtel, Leonard Firestone and David Rockefeller.
The clandestine nature of the summer retreat promotes broad speculation and endless theorizing about what goes on there.
Most critics raise the specter of national policy with global implications coming from behind the gates of an exclusive, closed-door gathering of largely conservative, wealthy white men.
This yearââ¬â¢s encampment begins Friday night and runs through July 27. The traditional Cremation of Care ritual, in which a human effigy representing ââ¬Ådull careââ¬Â is burned beneath a massive form said to represent the clubââ¬â¢s owl mascot, will be Saturday night.
Traffic already had picked up at the Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport on Thursday, though just how much was uncertain, said Glenn Barrett, general manager of KaiserAir Santa Rosa Jet Center, one of two such agencies at the airport.
Thursdays are typically busy, especially in the summer, but with about 45 arrivals scheduled or completed by mid-day, the volume of incoming flights was above normal, which ranges anywhere from 10 to 40 aircraft, Barrett said.
Barrett, who is new at the company, which provides a range of concierge services, said, ââ¬ÅMy understanding is that basically these three weeks are pretty much the busiest three weeks of the year generally speaking.ââ¬Â
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080710/NEWS/283060042/1033&title=Elite_meet_at_Boho_Grove
