Some of you may have already heard of this group. If so,...why the hell didn't you tell ME about it?
The McDonalds one (at the end) is a bit over the top but, overall, they provide a vualuable look at the absurdities of many large corporations.
More after the jump.
Video from YouTube, commentary from SpikeTV
The Yes Men bring attention to the 20-year anniversary of the night of death Union Carbide wrought in Bhopal, India, by tricking BBC News into interviewing one of them under the guise of a Dow spokesman.
The Yes Men are a group of "culture jamming" artists/activists. They undermine traditional media reporting through various hoaxes in which they practice "identity correction." by pretending to be powerful people and spokespersons for prominent organizations and corporations.
The Yes Men tricked the BBC into thinking that a genuine Dow representative was apologizing for Union Carbide's disaster at Bhopal and promising victims a just compensation.
These people crack me up.
They have turned a couple of their antics into a full-length movie (ordered my copy from Amazon on Friday, just waiting for it to get here) called, of course, "The Yes Men".
Donning thrift store suits, and gaining credibility and influence from such parody websites as GWBush.com (no longer active) and a cheap copy of the WTO website (also no longer active), The Yes Men (theyesmen.org)
agree their way into the fortified compounds of commerce, ask questions, and then smuggle out the stories of their hijinks to provide a public glimpse at the behind-the-scenes world of business. In other words, the Yes Men are team players... but they play for the opposing team.
The Exxon Hoax: Vivoleum
(warning, almost 10 minutes)
Global Warming; a good thing (for those of us who survive), because the 4 billion who will die, can be processed for fuel for the use of the remaining souls.
From blog.wired.com
"Without oil, at least four billion people would starve. This spiral of trouble would make the oil infrastructure utterly useless" -- unless their bodies could be turned into fuel.
That was the satirical message delivered by two corporate ethics activists to the Gas and Oil Exposition 2007 in Calgary, Alberta. The activists, part of political trickster collective the Yes Men, used the Exposition to stage their latest theatre of corporate absurdity, with Exxon/Mobil and the Natural Petroleum Council playing the fools.
The prank, intended as a critique of the fossil fuel industry's influence on energy policy, caused confusion and consternation on the final day of the Exposition, one of the industry's largest gatherings.
After noting that current energy policies will likely lead to "huge global calamities" and disrupt oil supplies, Wolff told the audience "that in the worst case scenario, the oil industry could "keep fuel flowing" by transforming the billions of people who die into oil," said a Yes Men press release.
I've got some new heroes.
Did you know that global warming was going to lead to a new ice age?
Sign a petition in support of Bush's stand on global warming? "No thanks".
"Global warming is a weapon. We have the capacity to induce global warming."
From CNN.com
"Ooops: Imposter scams Louisiana officals".
"We basically go around impersonating bad institutes or institutes doing very bad things," said the man, who identified himself as Andy Bichlbaum, a 42-year-old former college teacher of video and media arts who lives in New York and Paris.
"That would be HUD. At this moment, they're doing some really bad things."
William Loiry, sponsor of Equity International leading the meeting, said;
"We were contacted about a week ago or so by someone who we believed to be [public relations firm] Hill & Knowlton [saying] that they were representing the HUD secretary and that he wanted to make a major announcement at this summit."
Loiry said he was told a few minutes before he had planned to introduce Jackson that the secretary would be replaced by Oswin.
"WE HAVE FAILED"
"This year, in New Orleans, I'm ashamed to say we have failed," (the yes men said).
To change that, HUD would reverse its plans to demolish 5,000 units "of perfectly good public housing," with housing in the city in tight supply, he said.
"The only not-true part is, unfortunately, the part about them changing their minds. They are still going to tear down 5,000 units of affordable housing," he said.
The New Orleans projects are sturdily constructed brick buildings that, nevertheless, are slated for demolition, he said.
"Basically, the real reason, of course, is they want to develop New Orleans into something pleasing to tourists -- even more pleasing."
Bichlbaum said Monday's prank was the latest in a series pulled off by The Yes Men, whose members have recently masqueraded as representatives of McDonald's, Halliburton and Dow Chemical.
How about pre-emptive gay divorce? Gotta support that!
"Sign a petition to preemptively divorce all gay marriages in order to save our democratic process?"
These guys really have entertained me for the last couple of days. I hope you get as much enjoyment out of their antics as I do.
And, to finish, I will add the Mc Donalds bit;
Ah yes, recycling your food (kind of disgusting, by the way).
Enjoy, as you can.