Day 278 - 11 Jul 96 - Page 43


     
     1
     2             Just on the point about, I mean, I think I have
     3        probably covered this this morning, why I want to see a
     4        world without multinationals, that I do not start from the
     5        point of 'I want to get rid of multinationals so what can I
     6        say about them to get rid of them', I start with the point,
     7        'What is wrong with the way the world is being run?  What
     8        is wrong with what these multinational companies are doing
     9        to the environment to the workers that are employed by
    10        them, to society at large through influence on diet'.
    11
    12             For example, we have seen in "Behind The Arches" about
    13        how McDonald's are proud of how they have influenced
    14        people's diets and changed them, and I look at all those
    15        things and I think that that is what is wrong with these
    16        multinationals, and the way that society is run now by
    17        companies which have a lot of influence over our lives and
    18        it is for that reason that I want to create a society, a
    19        world, without multinationals.  It starts from that way
    20        round.  It does not start with 'Let's get rid of them, what
    21        can we invent?'.
    22
    23             Yes.  Mr. Rampton asked me about, he supposed I would
    24        say that the cow and the person in the burger represented
    25        the beef industry, or whatever, crushing people and animals
    26        and the environment, and I said, "Yes, that is what it
    27        represents to me".  And I just wanted to point out another
    28        example of a similar thing, which is the IMF leaflet which
    29        Mr. Rampton handed up yesterday.  I cannot remember which
    30        tab it is in, we did look at it.  Mr. Rampton said about
    31        the fact that -- I don't know whether you know where it
    32        is.  I have not got a reference for where it is.
    33
    34   MR. MORRIS:  I don't think you got a reference.  It was just
    35        handed out yesterday.
    36
    37   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, I have that.
    38
    39   MS. STEEL:  There is one in the bundles but I can't specifically
    40        remember where it is.  But if you look at the front cover
    41        of it it does have a picture of a hand, as Mr. Rampton
    42        described, putting out a hand and saying "IMF" and this is
    43        the hand of the IMF to somebody and then the IMF grabs hold
    44        of the person and crushes them.  And it is exactly the same
    45        type of graphic.  It is obviously not meant to literally
    46        mean that the IMF is scooping people up in its hands and,
    47        you know, crushing them, throttling them, to death, it is
    48        --  whatever the word is, I am sorry I am really tired.  It
    49        is metaphorical, that these big organisations are crushing
    50        people.  You know, in the case of the IMF obviously loans
    51        were made to the rulers of the Third World countries and it
    52        ends up being the people who are living in those countries
    53        who are virtually bled dry because the food that they are
    54        growing is exported in order to repay the debt.  And that
    55        is the depiction of the IMF crushing people.
    56
    57             Can I just add another thing about the
    58        interrogatories?  I just wanted to make the point that
    59        before this case and before those interrogatories were
    60        served on us I had never seen an interrogatory.  I did not

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