Creative Activism - The Art of the Prank

The latest incarnation of the “Billionaire” meme, “Billionaires for Wealthcare” struck again this weekend, as Healthcare Inc. CEOs in tuxedos and gowns “thanked” Tea-baggers for coming out for Glenn Beck’s March on Washington this past Saturday.

Tea-baggers eagerly joined in on Billionaire chants of “Bring Back Bush!” and “Fight Socialism! Abolish Medicare Now!”, but the greatest crowd pleaser (and provoker) of the day, was a stirring rendition of their original song “Let’s Save the Status Quo” sung to the tune of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and memorably captured in this piece by Rachel Maddow.

Watch as we thank our confused Tea-bagger friends for protecting ‘our’ right to deny their claims.

September 8, 2009December 15, 2023

Art as Resistance

From Truthout.org, a Truthout Original:

Art as Resistance
by Dahr Jamail
t r u t h o u t | Perspective
06 September 2009

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“Throughout history, culture and art have always been the celebration of freedom under oppression.” – Author unknown

Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have tough truths to tell, and it has been well demonstrated that the establishment media does not want to broadcast these. Given the lack of an outlet for anti-war voices in the corporate media, many contemporary veterans and active-duty soldiers have embraced the arts as a tool for resistance, communication and healing. They have made use of a wide range of visual and performing arts – through theater, poetry, painting, writing, and other creative expression – to affirm their own opposition to the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The first Warrior Writers Project workshop was led by veteran Lovella Calica. To help other veterans deal with their experiences in Iraq, she encouraged them to write. Those who were willing to do so were asked to share their writings with the group. An anthology of these compositions was produced as the book “Warrior Writers: Move, Shoot and Communicate.” Calica has since gone on to lead three writing workshops with veterans, and has published a second book, “Warrior Writers: Re-making Sense.”

The goal of the Warrior Writers Project is to provide “tools and space for community building, healing and redefinition … Continue reading “Art as Resistance”

August 5, 2009December 15, 2023

Exxon, Dow Slam New Yes Men Film

Press release from the Yes Men, August 5, 2009:

Dow, ExxonMobil Slam New Yes Men Film For “Innaccuracies”, “Misreprentations”; Concede Pic “Entertaining”

U.K. theatrical premiere of “The Yes Men Fix the World” August 7, opens in U.S. theaters in October

yesmenfixtheworld-200 ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical spokespersons have lashed out out at award-winning new documentary “The Yes Men Fix the World” in an interview with the Reuters press agency, shortly before the film’s U.K. theatrical opening.

“We think it is a serious matter when people willingly misrepresent themselves,” said a spokesperson for the world’s largest oil company, responding to the film’s airing on HBO last week. The film will be in theaters in the U.K. beginning this Friday, August 7, and in U.S. theaters in October.

Exxon stopped short of calling the Yes Men outright liars, despite a scene in the film where the Yes Men, impersonating Exxon at a big oil conference in Canada, present the company’s supposed solution to climate change: a new biofuel called Vivoleum, made from the human victims of climate change.

“Exxon can’t actually deny that their actions are threatening to kill off millions or billions,” said Andy Bichlbaum of the Yes Men. “What else would they do with the victims?” (Also featured in “The Yes Men Fix the World” are interviews with members of free-market think tanks, until recently funded by Exxon, who promote inaction on climate change before Congress and through multi-million dollar advertising campaigns.) Continue reading “Exxon, Dow Slam New Yes Men Film”

July 20, 2009December 15, 2023

Yes Men Go BeyondTalk.net

Political Pranksters Say Latest Climate Venture Is Not Hot Air
by Joshua Rhett Miller
FoxNews.com
July 16, 2009

An Internet-based group of activists who specialize in political pranks say they”re seriously determined to expel all the hot air surrounding the highly combustible issue of climate change.

0_61_climate_200 Igor Vamos, aka Mike Bonanno, says The Yes Men’s latest venture, beyondtalk.net, is the real deal. But can the Yes Men — a group that has previously lampooned former President George W. Bush and impersonated officials from Dow Chemical and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — be taken seriously?

Igor Vamos, one of the Yes Men’s founders, claims the Yes Men’s latest venture, beyondtalk.net, is completely authentic. The group is seeking “like-minded people” to participate in non-violent acts of civil disobedience to coincide with the U.N.-hosted Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. Continue reading “Yes Men Go BeyondTalk.net”

July 17, 2009December 15, 2023

DIY Bike Lanes

Submitted by Marcy LaViollette as seen on Bicycling.com:

Paint Your Lane
by By Dan Koeppel
Bicycling.com

Do-it-yourself bike lanes are illegal, perhaps dangerous, potentially damaging to the cause of legitimate bike advocates everywhere””and really, really effective.

0907_bike_lane_1 The bridge is calm as Sunday morning dawns. At either end of the span, the freeway ramps are idle. Below, a few shorebirds peck at the marshy floor of the river. This is an out-of-character moment: During the week, thousands of cars pass through here, coming from the north, south and east, pinching into four lanes as they make their way toward the commercial centers of downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood and the city beyond.

But at first light on this July 19th, the only vehicles here on Fletcher Drive are three bikes, and those have been stashed in the brush. The cyclists who left them there are setting out traffic cones on the road. When the right-hand lane has been blocked off, the cyclists walk back to the shoulder to retrieve the object that, over the past few weeks, they have come to refer to as The Machine.

The $99 Rust-Oleum 2395000 looks like a tiny, four-wheeled wagon with low ground clearance and a handle that angles backward and up from the bed. The cargo area, so low it sits between the wheels rather than above them, is equipped with a mount for spray-paint cans; in the unused space, you can store five or six extra cans upright, ready to swap in when one runs dry. The 2395000 is most commonly used to create parking-lot stripes. Continue reading “DIY Bike Lanes”