CONSPIRACY THEORIES have mesmerised us since time immemorial. They appeal because they offer an interpretation in which events and people are connected by plan rather than by the apparently random arrangement that strikes the layman.

We all search for meaning in our lives, some of us in the powers above. A new documentary by Alex Jones, The Obama Deception: The Mask Comes Off, takes the idea of conspiracy to new heights — or new depths, depending on whether you believe it or not.

It all centres around the existence of something called the Bilderberg Group, started by the Nazi Prince Bernard of Holland, and to this day made up of 125 of the richest and most powerful individuals in the world.

Since its inception, it has supported hard men like Hitler, Lenin and Stalin, and is slowly and surely making its way towards world government by international banking and finance interests.

Webster Tarpley, American author and historian, proclaims: “There is no right or left — there is only Wall Street.” Wall Street has replaced Main Street.

Not that this is new: Andrew Jackson was lambasted for refusing to allow a private bank, and the revered Abraham Lincoln spoke prophetically (before he was assassinated) of the evil power of money, of “corporations enthroned.”

This is how the story goes: Eight years of Bush had brought the American people to the point of revolution — Democrats and Republicans were equally despised. So a way had to be found to defuse this popular anger without diluting the power of Wall Street…

The film’s makers have enlisted popular black spokespersons and human-rights activists like hip-hop artist KRS One and Professor Griff to add balance to the argument just in case it was in danger of appearing racist.

KRS One graphically makes a parallel with a burger you’re dissatisfied with in Burger King: “You might be able to complain to the manager but you can’t see the franchise.”

The point being that like all good conspiracies, this one is secret. The real power remains invisible at all times.

The theory goes that Obama was carefully groomed by the elite — which also comprises the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations —  to carry on their work; the fury created by the Bush years had left the people ready for change. The world military-financial axis was in danger: it had to find a “puppet” to see that its work continued, and who better than a charming, handsome, black man like Barack Obama? (The East African, 5.11.2009, Betty Caplan) http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/-/434746/595694/-/15ovk8g/-/