21st January: Snow start21 January 2004
No leaves on this line
We arrived in Davos, Switzerland late last night in a heavy snow storm.
Despite the avalanches, the two trains we took from Zurich seemed to whisk us through the mountain passes and alpine forests far quicker than a British commuter train.
Safe from us
But even a brilliant public transport system is not good enough for the corporate fat cats and their political cronies coming here for the World Economic Forum (WEF). This morning we woke to the sound of helicopters and later saw countless black limos ferrying delegates through the heavily armed security cordons to the conference centre.
Heavy security at the conference
Two ways?
While the Great and the Good discuss "Building greater trust through transparency" and "Should grassroots organisations be fenced in?" safe from the nuisance of public scrutiny, an alternative conference was also getting started.
The Public Eye on Davos kicked off with the Executive Director for the Ethical Globalisation Initiative (former UN High Commissioner for Human rights) Mary Robinson addressing the standing room only crowd on her demand for corporate "accountability, accountability, accountability".
Public Eye on Davos counter conference
One's out
Late afternoon we came upon journalists and photographers following one of our corporate friends.
Passerbys were offered the chance to meet and greet the esteemed fellow as he strolled through the town surrounded by security agents. What his plans are for the rest of WEF remains a closely guarded secret, but we'll let you know if we see him again.
Don't let big business rule the world,
Craig and Eve
Craig Bennett and Eve Mitchell, our Corporates Campaigners are sending daily updates direct from the World Economic Forum.
© Friends of the Earth
