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The Yes Men strike again! (This really appeals to my twisted sense of humour)

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GliderGuider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 08:06 AM
Original message
The Yes Men strike again! (This really appeals to my twisted sense of humour)
June 14, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EXXON PROPOSES BURNING HUMANITY FOR FUEL IF CLIMATE CALAMITY HITS
Conference organizer fails to have Yes Men arrested

Text of speech, photos, video: http://www.vivoleum.com/event/
GO-EXPO statement: http://newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2007/14/c5086.html
Press conference before this event, Friday, Calgary: http://arusha.org/event/7214
Contact: mailto:fuel@theyesmen.org

Imposters posing as ExxonMobil and National Petroleum Council (NPC)
representatives delivered an outrageous keynote speech to 300 oilmen
at GO-EXPO, Canada's largest oil conference, held at Stampede Park in
Calgary, Alberta, today.

The speech was billed beforehand by the GO-EXPO organizers as the
major highlight of this year's conference, which had 20,000
attendees. In it, the "NPC rep" was expected to deliver the long-awaited
conclusions of a study commissioned by US Energy Secretary
Samuel Bodman. The NPC is headed by former ExxonMobil CEO Lee
Raymond, who is also the chair of the study. (See link at end.)

In the actual speech, the "NPC rep" announced that current U.S. and
Canadian energy policies (notably the massive, carbon-intensive
exploitation of Alberta's oil sands, and the development of liquid
coal) are increasing the chances of huge global calamities. But he
reassured 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.

"We need something like whales, but infinitely more abundant," said
"NPC rep" "Shepard Wolff" (actually Andy Bichlbaum of the Yes Men),
before describing the technology used to render human flesh into a
new Exxon oil product called Vivoleum. 3-D animations of the process
brought it to life.

"Vivoleum works in perfect synergy with the continued expansion of
fossil fuel production," noted "Exxon rep" "Florian Osenberg" (Yes
Man Mike Bonanno). "With more fossil fuels comes a greater chance of
disaster, but that means more feedstock for Vivoleum. Fuel will
continue to flow for those of us left."

The oilmen listened to the lecture with attention, and then lit
"commemorative candles" supposedly made of Vivoleum obtained from the
flesh of an "Exxon janitor" who died as a result of cleaning up a
toxic spill. The audience only reacted when the janitor, in a video
tribute, announced that he wished to be transformed into candles
after his death, and all became crystal-clear.

At that point, Simon Mellor, Commercial & Business Development
Director for the company putting on the event, strode up and
physically forced the Yes Men from the stage. As Mellor escorted
Bonanno out the door, a dozen journalists surrounded Bichlbaum, who,
still in character as "Shepard Wolff," explained to them the
rationale for Vivoleum.

"We've got to get ready. After all, fossil fuel development like that
of my company is increasing the chances of catastrophic climate
change, which could lead to massive calamities, causing migration and
conflicts that would likely disable the pipelines and oil wells.
Without oil we could no longer produce or transport food, and most of
humanity would starve. That would be a tragedy, but at least all
those bodies could be turned into fuel for the rest of us."

"We're not talking about killing anyone," added the "NPC rep." "We're
talking about using them after nature has done the hard work. After
all, 150,000 people already die from climate-change related effects
every year. That's only going to go up - maybe way, way up. Will it
all go to waste? That would be cruel."

Security guards then dragged Bichlbaum away from the reporters, and
he and Bonanno were detained until Calgary Police Service officers
could arrive. The policemen, determining that no major infractions
had been committed, permitted the Yes Men to leave.

Canada's oil sands, along with "liquid coal," are keystones of Bush's
Energy Security plan. Mining the oil sands is one of the dirtiest
forms of oil production and has turned Canada into one of the world's
worst carbon emitters. The production of "liquid coal" has twice the
carbon footprint as that of ordinary gasoline. Such technologies
increase the likelihood of massive climate catastrophes that will
condemn to death untold millions of people, mainly poor.

"If our idea of energy security is to increase the chances of climate
calamity, we have a very funny sense of what security really is,"
Bonanno said. "While ExxonMobil continues to post record profits,
they use their money to persuade governments to do nothing about
climate change. This is a crime against humanity."

"Putting the former Exxon CEO in charge of the NPC, and soliciting
his advice on our energy future, is like putting the wolf in charge
of the flock," said "Shepard Wolff" (Bichlbaum). "Exxon has done more
damage to the environment and to our chances of survival than any
other company on earth. Why should we let them determine our future?"
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Buzz Clik Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 08:10 AM
Response to Original message
1. sounds familiar
Edited on Fri Jun-15-07 08:11 AM by Buzz Clik
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ben_thayer Donating Member (344 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 09:02 AM
Response to Original message
2. Me too!
It's getting harder to make me LOL nowadays, but this one did it!
Excellent!

:rofl:
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phantom power Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 09:39 AM
Response to Original message
3. It's only better than baby seal biodiesel if you hunt children to make it.
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Buzz Clik Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 09:47 AM
Response to Reply #3
5. Hm. Vivoleum. Baby oil. Whatever.
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lumberjack_jeff Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 10:22 AM
Response to Reply #3
10. The Exxon/Mobil CEO
Has a fair amount of Biodiesel in 'im.

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pscot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 02:21 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. I'd guess half a barrel
maybe a bit more. Enough to run a Prius hybrid for a month.
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femrap Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 09:46 AM
Response to Original message
4. Did you see The Yes Men
movie? Highly recommended. I love these guys....love love love.

This is my sense of humor as well.
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glitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 09:50 AM
Response to Reply #4
7. Second this. And I hope they keep doing it and they make more movies about it
Edited on Fri Jun-15-07 09:52 AM by glitch
A whole series even, well worth watching. K & R.

edit to add: OMG I just got "Vivoleum" hey it's early and I haven't had my tea yet.
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mikelgb Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 09:48 AM
Response to Original message
6. can't wait for the video
I loves me some yes men
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MNDemNY Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 10:08 AM
Response to Original message
8. Where can I get some of those candles?
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GliderGuider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 10:21 AM
Response to Reply #8
9. You can make your own!
Step 1: Catch a janitor...
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Greyskye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 10:43 AM
Response to Original message
11. "That would be cruel"


:kick: and R!
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Sequoia Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-15-07 05:16 PM
Response to Original message
13. Too funny. Here's another: Protestors Spring Big Hoax on Oil Expo Audience


CALGARY, Alberta - By the time candles supposedly made from remains of a deceased ExxonMobil janitor named Reggie Watts were handed out, an audience of oil and gas professionals attending a keynote luncheon at Calgary’s Gas and Oil Exposition realized they’d been had.

A man named “S.K. Wolff,” claiming to be an analyst for the Washington-based National Petroleum Council, and co-speaker “Florian Osenberg,” said to represent ExxonMobil, were getting ready to show a memorial video made by Watts when security officers forcibly ushered the two men from the stage. Wolff is really Andy Bichlbaum and Osenberg is Mike Bonanno — or so they say. As the Yes Men, the pair have travelled the world with an anti-globalization agenda perpetrating hoaxes on groups ranging from the World Trade Organization to the BBC.

In Calgary, ostensibly to promote their book and a documentary they filmed three years ago at the Plaza Theatre tonight, the activists said they couldn’t resist taking a shot at the oil and gas trade show, held over three days this week at Stampede Park.

“This was a great opportunity for us, like the holy grail, really,” said Bichlbaum. “We’ve never had an audience like this. These people are wrecking the Earth and they’re quite conscious of it.”

<snip>

“The organizers were furious,” said Bichlbaum. “They thought we should be charged with crimes against humanity or something. The police were great. They were just going to let us go, but the organizers insisted we be charged with criminal trespass.”

The Yes Men started their unique form of protesting when they created a fake WTO website to protest the Seattle summit in 1999. When conferences began inviting them to speak, thinking they were actual representatives of the WTO, they began accepting.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=20ee8637-9bd1-4ed3-b0d8-4e14ea4d035b&k=41943
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crikkett Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jun-16-07 11:12 AM
Response to Original message
14. I bet it can be done. I bet that's why the Yes Men could go on as long as they did.
I've heard on NPR a story about a plant in the midwest that sits next to a turkey processing plant and renders the inedible bits into biodiesel fuel.

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