Fun video by Polidoc featuring the Yes Men's Halliburton Survivaballs Escorted down Market Street by "Chevron Minions" during this San Francisco action on November 1, 2009.
Serving up the message of corporate responsibility to San Ramon, CA based Chevron Oil, the YES Men marched down San Francisco streets after the premiere of their activist movie "The Yes Men Fix the World" on November 1, 2009. In conjunction with Global Exchange and other Bay Area environmental and human rights groups, the Yes Men hope to link Chevron's plan to expand its refinery in the East Bay to human and environmental rights abuses in other countries and part of the United States.
In "The Yes Men Fix the World," the infamous pranksters, amongst them Andy Bichlbaum, heaps doses of irony to shine a light on the negligence of companies that place profit over people. Clever vignettes, something that crosses between "Ocean's Eleven" "Pink Panther" and "Get Smart" weave the documentary pieces of their actions together into a great piece of entertainment. This movie now showing across the nation serves up a hopeful and eviscerating commentary on the corporate players of our world.
Showing posts with label Yes Men. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yes Men. Show all posts
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Yes Men Act UP Against the Chamber
"This event is about the only sane thing for the US Chamber of Commerce to do." defended the bold and theatrical Hingo Sembra, one of the celebrated or notorious Yes Men, depending upon your position, at a Press Club event in Washington, D.C. this morning. The Chamber of Commerce has been criticized recently for holding out against Climate Bill efforts, though a growing number of business have pulled away.
Sembra, a master of political hoaxes started his style of activism pretending to be a DOW chemical company executive and apologizing for the Bhopal disaster on the BBC. Based upon how nervous he appeared in this action, he might be suspecting his poser days are numbered. His new activist movie "The Yes Men Fix the World" premiered in NYC last week, introduced by the Reverend Billy, a political performance activist and Green Party candidate for Mayor of the city. And this last weekend, it had it's West Coast Premiere at the Bioneers 2009 convention where the audience responded with uproarious laughter and applause.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Yes Men and Reverend Billy Levitate an Immigrant Detention Center
"The Yes Men Save the World" premiered in NYC last weekend, introduced by Green Party candidate for Mayor of the Great Apple, Reverend Billy Talen. The Reverend has been preaching his philosophy of local community building and anti-credit cards for more than 10 years. In a city where shopping and high finance is a major passtime, he draws a loyal niche crowd.
After the screening and a march with the audience through city streets to the immigration detention center, Rev. Billy shared these words: "Once you understand that we're controlled by clowns, you can be a clown yourself. Once it's clown versus clown, maybe the best idea can win. And the best idea is compassion."
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Yes Men Sprung From Clink After SurvivaBall Action
"Balls Across America" direct-action campaign launched
NYPD abuse of authority big factor in arrest
Andy Bichlbaum, co-founder of activist group the Yes Men, emerged after 26 hours in New York City's central lockup with all charges against him dismissed.[1]
"The judge just laughed," said Bichlbaum. "The police had a less well-developed sense of humor - and, it turned out, much less regard for the law. But all in all, I'm ecstatic that they arrested me."
At 10am Tuesday, Bichlbaum was arrested and charged with trespassing, after he and 21 "Survivaballs" [2] gathered on New York City's East River and announced they were to going to "take the UN by storm" from the water, since all the land approaches were sealed. Once at the UN, they would supposedly use the Survivaballs to blockade the negotiations and refuse to let world leaders leave the room until they'd agreed on sweeping cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, as Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has demanded.[3]
The event was a "scenic and mediagenic way to call attention to what our leaders need to do in the run-up to Copenhagen," said Bichlbaum. [4] It was also the official inauguration of the Yes Men's "Balls Across America" series of civil disobedience actions, inspired by the call for direct action on climate change by website http://BeyondTalk.net.
Minutes after the balls began wading into the water, law enforcement swooped in on the protesters by land, sea, and air. In order not to harm their attackers, the balls admitted defeat and waddled out of the water and off the beach. Seven participants were given tickets for trespassing, and one - ringleader Bichlbaum - was whisked away to "the Tombs," New York's central processing facility at 100 Centre Street, due to an unpaid ticket for bicycle riding through Washington Square Park.
Bichlbaum's arrest led to hilarious prime-time coverage on CNN.[5]
"Sleeping on concrete was a challenge, but I met a lot of interesting people, and my arrest meant major prime-time news coverage we wouldn't have otherwise had," said Bichlbaum. "That's the whole point of civil disobedience. Thanks to my momentary discomfort, our symbol of the stupidity of not taking action on climate change was seen by tens of millions of people. It all worked out great, and I remain grateful to the NYPD for having accidentally made our event successful beyond our wildest dreams."
Despite Bichlbaum's gratitude, one thing stuck out for his attorney, Wylie Stecklow: in filing his report, the arresting officer had lied through his teeth.
"The officer said he'd seen Bichlbaum jump over the fence, which was obviously impossible, since the police arrived after the Survivaballs had all entered the beach," said Stecklow, who defended Bichlbaum at his arraignment yesterday morning. "And the officer said there were prominent signs posted to the effect that entering was forbidden - also untrue." [6]
"Perhaps the NYPD thought that if an officer did not swear that he saw Andy climb a fence, AND that there were signs providing notice that this area was off-limits, a judge might have dismissed the case," said Stecklow.
According to Stecklow, officers swearing to facts they couldn't possibly know is an all-too-common occurrence. "Often, during mass arrests, we see a Supervising Officer assigning junior officers to write up the paperwork. But these junior officers end up becoming the 'arresting officer,' requiring them to swear to facts that are not within their knowledge. This leads to constitutional violations and wrongful arrests, and undermines the confidence that citizens should have in the criminal justice system," said Stecklow.
The NYPD has, in recent years, been found guilty of making numerous unconstitutional arrests in cases of political protest, and then falsifying their statements to fit the arrests. There have in particular been several well-known cases involving the tackling and arrest of bicyclists, with false excuses then written into police reports. [7]
"My case doesn't matter in itself," said Bichlbaum. In fact, I'm really happy it turned out as it did. But I hope we can help expose the systemic and nefarious culture of lying within the NYPD, that has had the effect of criminalizing protest in New York City."
"The police have to be told very clearly that they can't lie and expect to get away with it," Bichlbaum added. "The stakes are far too high."
"We need to strengthen oversight of the police by those who empower them in the first place - you and I, the citizens of New York City," said Stecklow. "Right now, at a bare minimum, that means giving teeth to the formerly well-intentioned, now powerless body of the Civilian Complaint Review Board."
"Unfortunately, even when we have video proving police statements to be false, no one seems interested in investigating," added Stecklow. "That's got to change."
After reading the arresting officer's complaint against him, Bichlbaum decided to file a complaint with the CCRB in order to hold this officer accountable for his false statements.
"It's not much, but at least this guy will have to explain his story under oath. And then next time, maybe he'll think twice before filing a false statement to make the crime stick."
The Yes Men hope their next actions won't depend on police misconduct to make them a success. "With 'Balls Across America,' our goal is to get arrested fair and square, all across this fair land of ours," said Yes Men co-founder Mike Bonanno. "It's a great way to get attention for a crucial issue."
For more information, contact:The Yes Men
[1] Bichlbaum actually received an Adjournment with Contemplation of Dismissal,
which normally results in full dismissal in New York State
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
[2] The Survivaball (http://survivaball.com) made its first appearance in 2006,
when "Halliburton representatives" attended a conference on catastrophic climate
change and demonstrated the functionality of the large inflatable suits which keep
corporate managers safe from global warming
(http://theyesmen.org/hijinks/
documented in the new award-winning documentary film, The Yes Men Fix the World
(http://www.
October 7, before opening nationally October 23.
[3] http://nypost-se.com/news/un-
[4] http://www.democracynow.org/
http://nypost-se.com/news/us_
http://nypost-se.com/news/us_
[5] http://www.cnn.com/video/#/
[6] http://theyesmen.org/
[7] http://blip.tv/file/771625, http://glassbeadcollective.
Monday, September 21, 2009
In a Parallel Universe, Climate Change Matters
"SPECIAL EDITION" NEW YORK POST from The Yes Men on Vimeo.
"WE'RE SCREWED": MEDIA HEIST BLANKETS CITY WITH "SPECIAL EDITION" NEW YORK POST
Tabloid Tells Truth About Climate Change and How It Will Affect City, World
Early this morning, nearly a million New Yorkers were stunned by the appearance of a "special edition" New York Post blaring headlines that their city could face deadly heat waves, extreme flooding, and other lethal effects of global warming within the next few decades. The most alarming thing about it: the news came from an official City report.
Distributed by over 2000 volunteers throughout New York City, the paper has been created by The Yes Men and a coalition of activists as a wake-up call to action on climate change. It appears one day before a UN summit where Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will push 100 world leaders to make serious commitments to reduce carbon emissions in the lead-up to the Copenhagen climate conference in December. Ban has said that the world has "less than 10 years to halt (the) global rise in greenhouse gas emissions if we are to avoid catastrophic consequences for people and the planet," adding that Copenhagen is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity."
Although the 32-page New York Post is a fake, everything in it is 100% true, with all facts carefully checked by a team of editors and climate change experts.
"This could be, and should be, a real New York Post," said Andy Bichlbaum of the Yes Men. "Climate change is the biggest threat civilization has ever faced, and it should be in the headlines of every paper, every day until we solve the problem."
The fake Post's cover story ("We're Screwed") reports the frightening conclusions of a blue-ribbon panel of scientists commissioned by the mayor's office to determine the potential effects of climate change on the City. That report was released in February of this year, but received very little press at the time. Other lead articles describe the Pentagon's alarmed response to global warming
("Clear & Present Disaster"), the U.S. government's sadly minuscule response to the crisis ("Congress Cops Out on Climate"), China's alternative energy program ("ChinaÕs Green Leap Forward Overtakes U.S."), and how if the US doesn't quickly pass a strong climate bill, the crucial Copenhagen climate talks this December could be a "Flopenhagen."
Another ad promotes civil disobedience, encouraging readers to visit http://BeyondTalk.net and pledge to risk arrest in a planned global action November 30, just before the conference in Copenhagen.
"We need strong action on climate change," said David Solnit of Mobilization for Climate Justice West, one of the partners in BeyondTalk.net. "But history shows that leaders act only when people take to the streets to demand it. That's what needs to happen now."
This paper is one of 2500 initiatives taking place in more than 130 countries as a response to the "Global Wake-up Call" on climate change. For more information, visit www.tcktcktck.org/wakeup
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