Van Causes Scare Day Before Times Square Revelry
1010WINS
30 December 2009

New York (1010 WINS/AP) — A white van without license plates parked in the heart of Times Square caused a security scare Wednesday that rattled New Yorkers and thousands of holiday tourists milling about amid preparations for the city’s massive New Year’s Eve celebration.

Just weeks after a police-involved shooting in the area, the NYPD blocked off part of Times Square for about two hours starting at 11 a.m., calling in counterterrorism and bomb squads after officers noticed the 1992 Dodge van, which had a bogus law enforcement placard in the windshield, parked on Broadway between 41st and 42nd streets. (more…)

Hackers Briefly Bring Down Twitter
by Jessica E. Vascellaro
Wall Street Journal
December 18, 2009

Internet-messaging service Twitter Inc. was hit by a cyber attack Thursday night that temporarily steered visitors to a Web site with an anti-American message from a group calling itself the “Iranian Cyber Army.”

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said in a blog post Friday that the San Francisco company’s site was “hijacked” and 80% of traffic to Twitter.com was redirected between 9:46 p.m. PST and 11 p.m. PST Thursday. Twitter was operating normally Friday.

During the attack, Twitter’s home page was replaced with a Web site with a black background and a green flag, according to two people who saw it. The site’s headline read, “This site has been hacked by Iranian Cyber Army.”

There was no evidence that the hackers are actually linked to Iran. Read the rest of this article here.

Related links:

The Monkey-Wrench Prank: An Interview With Tim DeChristopher
by Bryan Farrell
Mother Jones
November 13, 2009

How the Yes Men inspired a climate activist to impersonate an oil speculator—and derail a multimillion-dollar federal land giveaway.

During the final days of the Bush administration, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) scheduled a controversial auction of oil and gas leases on federal lands, including areas bordering national parks and monuments in Utah. While environmental organizations launched a round of protests and lawsuits, Tim DeChristopher, a 27-year-old econ major at the University of Utah, decided he had to try to stop the sale by himself. Not knowing exactly how he’d do it, DeChristopher walked into the auction in Salt Lake City on December 19, 2008, and had a sneaky idea handed to him in the form of a bidder’s paddle. Simply by raising it again and again and pretending to bid on the leases, he proceeded to drive up their prices and outbid the real speculators on 13 parcels covering more than 22,000 acres and worth $1.7 million dollars.

When it became clear that bidder No. 70 was an impostor with no intention of paying for his purchases, federal agents removed him from the auction. But the damage was done. DeChristopher’s monkey-wrenching tainted the sale, forcing BLM to offer the other buyers the option of withdrawing their bids. That effectively postponed any final decision on the leases until February 2009, when the Obama administration would be in office. Soon after taking office, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar canceled the results of the chaotic auction and criticized the previous administration for allowing it in the first place. (more…)

From Agit-Pop Communications:

On friday, Agit-Pop and the Billionaires for Wealthcare carried the rising tide of support for the Public Option into the very heart of the insurance industry – in song!

In the latest Agit-Pop – Billionaires collaboration, we infiltrated the closing keynote of the AHIP insurance industry conference and serenaded their leading pollster.

The guerrilla musical, set to ‘Tomorrow’ from the musical Annie, immediately went viral, appearing on the front page of Huffington Post, CBS.com and Rachel Maddow called it “the single most unexpected turn of events yet in the fight over health reform.”

Watch the 2 min video with lyrics here:

Yesterday it hit #2 on YouTube’s most Most Popular Videos, was shown on CNN’s Situation Room last night, and even Ashton Kutcher tweeted us.  :-)

Stay tuned for more from the Billionaires and Agit-Pop!

–John, Andrew, Andy, Avery, Duncan and the whole Agit-Pop! team.

ps. a huge shoutout is owed to all (singers, lyricists, name tag hackers, grass-roots advocates, video editors, secret camerapeople, crash-pad hosters, and the lady who waived our restocking fee at the Best Buy, as well as Pollster Bill McInturf himself) who made this action possible.

Submitted by Alex Case:

US Chamber Files Suit Against ‘Yes Men’ For Fake Briefing
By Ian Talley
Wall Street Journal
October 26, 2009

Washington (Dow Jones)–The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Monday filed a civil suit in a federal court against the group called the “Yes Men” for a fake press briefing the group held last week at the National Press Club.

The Chamber alleges in the complaint the Yes Men used its copyrighted emblem for a fraudulent press release, conference and Web site, in violation of trademark law.

Acting as representatives of the Chamber, the group falsely said the Chamber had switched its position on climate change policy. The group has claimed responsibility for a raft of public hoaxes on other companies in recent years. Following the stunt, the Yes Men launched for theatrical release in the U.S. a movie about their exploits.

The chamber said the lawsuit was filed after lawyers representing the “Yes Men” refused to decommission the fraudulent Web site, “another bold attempt to increase sales of merchandise and tickets to their new movie.” (more…)

Submitted by Peter Markus:

Germany: Fake candidate polls well
by Isabelle de Pommereau
September 10, 2009

Frankfurt, Germany – Life these days isn’t easy for Angela Merkel and her social democratic challenger in the Sept. 27 elections for chancellorship, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

As the parliamentary elections near, polls reveal people feel this is one of the most boring election campaigns in memory. The Germans just don’t care about their politicians.

Except, perhaps, for one. His name is Horst Schlämmer and he’s hugely popular these days. Like Mr. Steinmeier and Ms. Merkel, he wants the chancellor’s job – but with his own party, which stands for “Left, Liberal, Conservative, and a bit ecological,” and a platform that includes free plastic surgery for all, voting age at 12, and a monthly wage of 2,500 euros from cradle to grave.

According to a recent poll by Stern Magazine, 18 percent of those surveyed could see themselves voting for Mr. Schlämmer. If only they could. But Schlämmer cannot be elected. He is a fictitious candidate played by one of Germany’s best-known comedians, Hape Kerkeling, in a new film that mocks this year’s campaign. (more…)

Hong Kong Broker Pulling A “Borat” On Sarah Palin
Vincent Fernando
Business Insider
September 1, 2009

Hopefully Sarah Palin realizes she’s been invited to Hong Kong as a practical joke.

CLSA, the Asia-focused broker who invited Mrs. Palin as keynote speaker for an Asian investment conference, is well known for their cheeky takes on investment research.

In the past, they’ve polled Asian fortune tellers for index targets, hired anime cartoonists to draw Japanese research, and generally love to push the boundaries between entertainment and analysis. They are a real research firm, it’s just that they love to sprinkle in some hilarity every now and then as a smart marketing gimmick.

Sarah Palin is this year’s big laugh for them. (more…)

Update August 4, 2009: Not a prank after all…

LaGuardia Terminal Evacuated for Hours over Fake Bomb Scare; Man Arrested
1010WINS
01 August 2009

New York (AP) — The central terminal at LaGuardia Airport was evacuated Saturday morning after a man entered the building with a fake bomb in a bag, police said.

The scare was over in a few hours, but it disrupted travel plans for thousands of people as flights were postponed and vehicle traffic to the airport was briefly halted. Delays also rippled across the country as airlines adjusted their schedules. (more…)

Editor’s note: It’s hard to compete with Louis Abolafia who, in 1968, ran for president. In his campaign poster, he was buck naked with his hands clasped over his private parts. His slogan was “What Have I Got to Hide?”



Naked Cowboy runs for NYC mayor – in his underwear
by Verena Dobnik
July 22, 2009

New York (AP) — The Naked Cowboy wants to be the city’s mayor, promising transparency in politics – while running almost buck naked.

“I know how to do more with less,” said entertainer Robert Burck, clad as usual in a pair of white briefs, boots and a cowboy hat, as he announced his bid Wednesday in Times Square.

On most days, the 38-year-old ordained minister collects tourists’ tips while posing for photos with “Naked Cowboy” emblazoned across his underwear, cracking jokes and making up funny songs on the guitar strapped across his bare chest. Read the rest of the article here.

Abolafia photo: Havels House of History

Ron English announces:

Abraham Obama is a humorous and provocative look at an unprecedented political art movement. Street artist Ron English gathers a crew of professional pranksters and hits the road on a grassroots campaign to make public art and promote Obama’s campaign for the Presidency. Abraham Obama takes us on an unforgettable ride as the stories of Ron English unfold alongside musicians and artists such as Shepard Fairey, Jack Medicine, David Choe, Sam Flores, Will.I.Am, Morgan Spurlock and many others.

Director: Kevin Chapados. 54 min. 2008.
Date & Time: Thu, May 14, 2009, 8:00pm
Location: 92YTribeca Screening Room, 200 Hudson Street – Directions
Code: T-MM5FM33-01
Price: $12.00

Submitted by W.J. and David Elvin:

From Huffingtonpost.com, May 6, 2009:

The inimitable Andy Cobb is at it again, taking libertarians to task for their hatred of all things government. You know what has no government? Somalia. So Cobb and the Public Service Administration have made this video encouraging libertarians to vacation in the broken country maintained by “rational self interest and libertarian magic dust.”

Regulation Vacation Celebration!

Written and Directed by: Andy Cobb
Produced by: Mark Kienlen and Andy Cobb
Narrator: Marc Evan Jackson
Gal: Nyima Funk
Fellah: Andy Cobb

Rap for Spanish Steps Balls Man
ANSA.it
April 27, 2009

‘Futur- rista’ gets 8 mths for multi- coloured cascade

Rome, April 27 – A man who made world headlines by sending about half a million coloured balls thundering down Rome’s Spanish Steps last year received an eight-month jail term Monday.

Self-styled ‘Futur-rista’ Graziano Cecchini, 54, criticised the penalty imposed for causing disruption to bus services in January 2008 – even though the term was automatically suspended.

”What sort of interruption of service could there possibly have been? The Piazza di Spagna is a pedestrian area. There wasn’t any crime, only a pop-art event”.

Cecchini’s prank was a protest against the ”balle” (balls, or lies) allegedly fed to a gullible public by politicians of all stripes. Cecchini first won notoriety three months before the Spanish Steps jape when he turned the waters of the Trevi Fountain red.

The waters of Rome’s most famous fountain turned blood red when Cecchini on October 18 threw his dye into the basin in an act apparently inspired by the Futurists of the early 20th century. (more…)

Submitted by Johannes Grenzfurthner of monochrom, an art-technology-philosophy group having its seat in Vienna and Zeta Draconis. monochrom is an unpeculiar mixture of proto-aesthetic fringe work, pop attitude, subcultural science, context hacking and political activism. Our mission is conducted everywhere, but first and foremost in culture-archeological digs into the seats (and pockets) of ideology and entertainment. monochrom has existed in this (and almost every other) form since 1993.

The Nazi Petting Zoo:

Also, here’s a link to a talk Johannes gave about guerrilla communication as a versatile practice of cultural resistance last year at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

Joan Fontcuberta and the Sputnik
by Jorge Luis Marzo

For this Project (1997), Fontcuberta fabricated a story about an evidence for a “Soyuz 2″ mission involving cosmonaut Ivan Istochnikov. Soyuz 1, an actual Soviet space mission in 1967, had ended with the death of cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov when the spacecraft crashed on landing. In 1968, according to the fabricated story, “Istochnikov and his canine companion Kloka mysteriously vanished after leaving the [Soyuz 2] capsule for a routine space walk. When the Soyuz 3 arrived for a docking maneuver, it found only a vodka bottle containing a note, floating in orbit outside the empty, meteorite damaged ship.” To avoid embarrassment, Soviet officials deleted Istochnikov from official Soviet history; however, the “Sputnik Foundation” discovered Istochnikov’s “voice transcriptions, videos, original annotations, some of his personal effects, and photographs taken throughout his lifetime.” The exhibition of artifacts (e.g., photographs) related to “Soyuz 2″ was shown in many countries, including Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Japan, and the United States. Among other reactions to the exhibition, a Russian ambassador “got extremely angry because [Fontcuberta] was insulting the glorious Russian past and threatened to present a diplomatic complaint.”

Several lines of evidence available since the first exhibition of “Sputnik” in 1997 in Madrid suggest that the story and artifacts form an elaborate hoax. Read more at Wikipedia.

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Cuando algo parece natural, como el suelo, se tiende a no interpretarlo, a no prestarle atención. Pero, un detalle extraño, una mirada más atenta de lo normal, una leve dislocación pueden hacer que el suelo devenga una realidad central, no una simple sombra por debajo de las cosas. (more…)

Here are several amusing links about Googlebombing, which, according to Matt Cutts of Gadgets, Google and SEO is: “…a prank where a group of people on the web try to push someone else’s site to rank for a query that it didn’t intend to (and normally wouldn’t want to) rank for.