After much-publicized satires that infuriated the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Canada's federal government, pranksters of "The Yes Men" have found a new target -- the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
An official-looking World Economic Forum press release carried video links to world leaders - e.g., Queen Elizabeth II, Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper and a very convincing Bill Clinton - delivering "pre-interview policy statements" on how to end "injustices that perpetuate poverty and create conditions that threaten the survival of our species."
The satire carried solemn but ersatz quotes from a bevy of political and economic plutocrats, including:
# World Economic Forum chair Klaus Schwab, saying: "In light of the recent tragedy in Haiti, which was already on the brink due to free-market policies, it is clear that taking a new tack to end poverty is morally necessary."
# Lloyd Blankfein, chair of the New York Financial Caucus and CEO at Goldman Sachs: "It is by now universally understood that many of our institutions were directly responsible for the collapse of housing value, not to mention massive unemployment and misery, in the United States and much of the rich world."
(The Yes Men made an error in the spelling of Blankfein's name.)
The video presentations featured dubbed voices.
The CEO of agribusiness conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland, Patricia Woertz, appeared to be saying: "As a co-chair of the annual meeting, part of my focus will be on agriculture's role in today's economic savagery, and the broader long-term issue of robbing whole groups for the greed of the food industry."
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