Amy Goodman confronts Nicholas Platt at the WEF

Subject: DN: Amy Goodman confronts Nicholas Platt at the WEF

On Thursday's Democracy Now! featured an infiltration of the World Economic Forum's soiree at the NY Stock Exchange. Among the revealiing interviews is an extensive on with Amb. Nicholas Platt, now head of the Asia Society. Platt is a former Pentagon official and was U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines. We'll transcribe and post the relevant portions shortly, in the meantime listen in.

Excerpt:

Amy Goodman: Do think it was worth the price, the U.S. support of Indonesia, given the number of lives lost?

Nicholas Platt: Who do you represent?

AG: My name is Amy Goodman.

NP: What axe are you grinding right here.

AG: I survived a massacre in East Timor in 1991.

http://www.webactive.com/pacifica/demnow/dn20020207.html

Story: CRASHING THE STOCK MARKET DEMOCRACY NOW! STYLE: THROUGH THE POLICE BARRICADES, THE METAL DETECTORS AND THE SECURITY CHECKS TO THE GALA SOIREE OF THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM IN THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE

The World Economic Forum has wrapped up its meetings here in New York. The CEOs and heads of state have returned to their countries and their country clubs. Last weekend thousands of people descended on New York for massive street protests demonstrating against corporate driven globalization. The streets were full of people and puppets, drummers and dancers, activists and union leaders. Behind the police barricades, there were dozens of exclusive parties and soirées where the captains of industry rubbed elbows with celebrities, government officials and world leaders. Some of these parties were so exclusive that even people like billionaire-currency speculator George Soros were not invited. Well, Democracy Now! wasn't invited to any of these galas either. But with a little help from some brave people on the inside of the WEF, we managed to crash one of these exclusive parties-in fact it was THE party the hottest ticket in town; held on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. In order to get in you had to have a special ID badge with a computer chip verifying your identity. The brazen bash invited the guests to experience sounds and flavors from around the globe on the trading floor. A celebration of the Americas, a taste of Asia, an evening in Casablanca and the rhythms of Africa as you sample the exotic fare of Africa. Well, despite the heavy security, last Saturday, we headed to Wall Street and made it onto the floor of the Stock Exchange for the exclusive gala soirée.

Featuring interviews inside the gala with: Stanley Fisher, the new vice-chair of Citigroup; Dean Ornish, health guru and golf partner of former President Clinton; the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Christie Todd Whitman; Ambassador Nicholas Platt, president of the Asia Society; and Swiss auctioneer David Feldman.

Interwoven throughout this special report are the sounds of the streets of New York during the protests against the World Economic Forum, including the Rainforest Action Network and the Billionaires for Bush.

Tape:

"Crashing the stock market Democracy Now! style", Produced by Jeremy Scahill and Jacquie Soohen.

Also:

Story: INDONESIAN LABOR ACTIVIST REJECTS THE REEBOK HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD

Tonight in Salt Lake City, on the eve of the Olympic Winter Games, the Reebok Human Rights Award ceremony will also take place in Salt Lake City. Reebok annually recognizes four activists age 30 or under who they say have made significant contributions to the field of human rights. But this year one of the winners has refused to accept the $50,000 award from Reebok. She has done so in protest against the low salaries the company pays its workers in her homeland. So she won't attend the award ceremony tomorrow in Salt Lake City, which is scheduled to coincide with the opening celebrations of the Winter Olympics.

Indonesian contractors for the sporting goods giant Reebok and other U.S. shoe and apparel makers employ at least 300,000 workers. There are five Reebok companies in Indonesia and 80% of the workers are women. Workers at factories around Jakarta are paid a little over a dollar a day, the current minimum wage. Working conditions at overseas factories have been a consistent public relations irritant for Reebok and other U.S. sneaker manufactures.

Dita Sari has been fighting for the rights of Indonesian workers for her entire life. At the age of 21, she defied the laws of then-dictator Suharto, and formed the first independent labor union in Indonesia.

Guest:

Dita Sari, labor activist, National Front For Indonesian Workers Struggle.