[aha] Fwd: Help us launch the Yes Lab! Support our Kickstarter campaign

[dedalus a autistici.org]

 -------- Original Message --------
 Subject: Help us launch the Yes Lab! Support our Kickstarter campaign
 Date: Wed,  7 Sep 2011 16:14:10 +0200 (CEST)
 From: "The Yes Men" <donotreply at yeslab.org>
 To: dedalus-autistici.org <dedalus at autistici.org>
 Reply-To: mailing at yeslab.org

 

 Dear Friends,

 The Yes Men need your help [47].

 For years, we've been tossing our little buckets of water on the blazes
 of social injustice. Last year, we decided to form a bucket brigade: a
 system (we're calling it the Yes Lab [48]) to help others do the kind 
 of
 funny, headline-grabbing actions we're known for.

 It worked. In its embryonic first year, the Yes Lab helped launch 
 nearly
 a dozen activist media campaigns (see below), garnering a total of _4.5
 metric tons_ of media hype. It even attracted threatening legal letters
 (frames not included) from five coal companies, one oil transport
 company, one utility, France, and GE! (Seriously, GE, no one meant to
 knock $3.5 billion off your share price. But no one's sorry, either.)

 Given this proof of concept, the Yes Lab is now (almost) ready for 
 prime
 time.

 It's got a brand-new home at New York University, complete with plenty
 of space, a big supportive crew, lots of eager collaborators, and a
 structure that will let it tackle five or so projects at once. (If
 you're in New York, come to our launch Sept. 14 [49] and see how you 
 can
 get involved!) It's also got a lovely new website [50] that will soon
 have a number of fancy tools to help hundreds more carry out or join up
 with Yes Lab projects.

 There's only one hitch. We've got the venue, the participants, and
 (soon) the tools. But we're short on cash for the projects
 themselves--which, of course, are the entire point of the Yes Lab.
 That's why today, , to hire project managers and cover expenses for
 projects that don't have other funding. It's all the Yes Lab needs to
 become a fully-functioning mischief machine.

 OK, you got the point of this email: the Yes Lab needs money. So here,
 without further ado, is a summary of last year's mischief, accomplished
 by just a few dozen folks. Imagine what hundreds will be able to do!

> GENERAL ELECTRIC SHORT-CIRCUITED [1]
> Activists US Uncut [2], with a little help from the Yes Lab, sent out
> a press release [3] announcing that General Electric would repay the
> .2 billion tax credit they received last year despite massive
> profits. The announcement was momentarily picked up as true by the 
> AP,
> and the market, unable to leave a good deed unpunished, responded by
> knocking .5 billion off GE's share price. The result was massive,
> enlightening coverage of GE's tax-cheating ways on everything from
> local TV to CNN.
>
> WHAT THE HECK IS AN ASTHMAZE? [4]
> A small group of activists wondered how a big coal company might
> address the fact that coal causes childhood asthma [5]. The result:
> "Coal Cares," a faux greenwashing campaign [6] in which Peabody Coal
> tried to "make asthma cool" with free themed inhalers to kids living
> within 200 miles of a coal plant. The site, taken as real by many,
> quickly went massively viral, which didn't amuse Peabody one bit [7]
> but did help publicize coal as a major public health issue. And as it
> happened, in the week following the launch of Coal Cares, a real-life
> attempt by the coal industry to mislead children [8] was defeated by
> the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood [9]. Hooray!
>
> BEAT UP ON CHEVRON? WE AGREE. [10]
> Chevron decided to launch a million greenwashing campaign with a
> street-art aesthetic, and was stupid enough to approach street 
> artists
> for help. One of them, Cesar Maxit, promptly leaked Chevron's plans 
> to
> Amazon Watch. The Yes Lab helped Amazon Watch and Rainforest Action
> Network (RAN) release a much more honest version [11] of Chevron's
> campaign just hours ahead of the "real" McCoy, generating a deluge of
> media coverage. Hundreds of user submissions [12] and some amazing
> [13] videos [14] from FunnyOrDie further derailed Chevron's
> million lie, infuriating Chevron even more--though not quite as much
> as the billion judgment against them [15] in Ecuador, which
> Chevron has vowed never to pay. The fight goes on.
>
> COAL BURNS WEALTHY NEIGHBORHOOD. NEIGHBORS NONPLUSSED. [16]
> Students from Columbia College in Chicago came together with
> Greenpeace and the Yes Lab to create the illusion that a new coal
> plant was planned in their city--but that instead of going in a poor
> neighborhood (like the two coal plants that already exist in 
> Chicago),
> this one would be built in a rich one. The plans got a rise out of
> residents and the media [17], and helped focus attention on Chicago's
> much-needed Clean Power Ordinance [18].
>
> Canada was the victim of two Yes-Lab-assisted actions, both targeting
> the Alberta Tar Sands, the England-sized mess that has made Canada 
> the
> worst per-capita carbon emitter on earth.
>
> HAIR CLOGS PIPELINE [19]
> In the first Canadian action, a group of activists had Enbridge--who
> are aiming to build a massive pipeline from the Alberta Tar Sands
> through pristine wilderness to the British Columbia coast--announce
> "My Hair Cares [20]," a crackpot plan to sop up inevitable spills
> along the pipeline route with the hair of volunteers. The resulting
> press [21] publicized Enbridge's botched spill cleanup in Michigan
> [22], and let Canadians know how stupid it can be to let oil flow
> through your watershed.
>
> MORE AND MORE MORDOR [23]
> In the second Canada-centered action, a group of students, working
> with Greenpeace, launched a surreal campaign [24], complete with
> infomercials, cell phone videos, a tweeting campaign, a Facebook page
> [25], etc. to make folks in Canada think that the new Hobbit film was
> saving money on Mordor scenes by shooting them in the Tar Sands. The
> "news" went quickly viral and helped to cement the Canadian
> Government's reputation as top-shelf planet-killing bastards.
>
> CANADIAN WAR ROOM DEFEATED [26]
> Another Canadian action on the same subject took place way back in
> December 2009, before the Yes Lab really existed--but it happened
> according to the same model, so the Yes Lab is claiming it. Read 
> about
> it here [27]!
>
> FRANCE REMAINS OFFENSIVE [28]
> An ad-hoc group called CRIME (Committee for the Reimbursement of
> Indemnity Money Extorted from Haiti) announced [29], on France's
> behalf, the repayment of EUR17 billion to Haiti in relief aid--a
> payment equal to that which France extorted from Haiti in 1804 as a
> condition for their independence. Because of France's ham-fisted
> reaction [30], the story received global attention, alerting many to
> the deep colonial roots of Haiti's problems. The media attention was
> also used to launch a campaign [31] that further built pressure on
> France to do the right thing.
>
> PEOPLE BITE APPLE [32]
> It's a bummer that our shiny tech toys are made using the blood of
> people--or, more precisely, the "conflict minerals" that play a big
> role in the violence and instability of Central Africa. So a group of
> students, together with Friends of the Congo [33], produced a fake
> Apple ad campaign touting a "Conflict-Free iPhone [34]," and calling
> for the citizen's arrest of John Paulson [35], whose company finances
> some of the worst extraction practices. The project received hundreds
> of media hits [36] worldwide.
>
> UNNATURAL GAS [37]
> Students and local activists launched a campaign to cover Manhattan
> with stickers warning residents that if a ban on hydraulic fracturing
> is not extended in New York State, they'll soon need to test for 
> their
> water's safety by trying to light it on fire. The project 
> communicated
> viscerally [38] just what's at stake if gas companies are allowed to
> drill in New York's aquifer, as the companies are demanding.
>
> SHELL GAME UNCOVERS OIL SLICK
> In the Hague, activists impersonated oil giant Shell and publicly
> apologized for devastating the Niger Delta each year with oil spills
> larger than that of the Exxon Valdez. The action generated hundreds 
> of
> stories [39]--all highlighting Shell's atrocious record.

 Phew. Not bad for something that still hasn't launched!

 Meanwhile, as long as we're writing a long breezy email, we have other
 news too:

> TIM DECHRISTOPHER
> Tim DeChristopher's amazing story [40] continues to inspire a
> movement. He's currently living in a federal prison [41], in a tiny
> room he was offered in exchange for single-handedly saving hundreds 
> of
> thousands of acres of gorgeous Utah wilderness from destruction at 
> the
> hands of Big Oil and Gas. Listen to Tim speak [42] about why he did
> what he did, and what he's asking of you--and then make up your mind.
>
> COINTELCOC
> Speaking of small rooms, we are still, almost two years later,
> waiting for the judge to rule whether to throw out the US Chamber of
> Commerce's lawsuit against us [43]. Meanwhile, the Chamber's
> lawyers--the same ones who are apparently suing us--recently made big
> news for dirty tricks not seen since the days of CointelPro [44]. We
> almost hope we have a chance to address these creeps in court.
> Meanwhile, we'll have to be content trying to express our anger in
> other ways [45].
>
> YES MEN REVOLTING
> Our latest film, The Yes Men Fix the World [46], didn't. It won the
> Berlin Audience Award and the UK's most prestigious prize in
> documentary film, was released theatrically in the U.S. and 40 other
> countries, and was shown on HBO and all kinds of other TV. But it
> simply did _not_ fix the world--which is why our new film will be
> called _The Yes Men Are Revolting_. It'll feature many of the
> Yes-Lab-assisted actions above, as well as conversations with funny
> people who have overthrown tyrannies worldwide. It'll be funny and
> watchable, and will use the word "revolution" quite a bit. Isn't it
> time? The rich (except for Warren Buffett) are not getting nicer, and
> our leaders seem less and less able to think about us. So let's say
> it: "re-vo-lu-tion." Goooood.

 Finally, huge, huge thanks to all of you who helped make the long list
 of Yes Lab-supported hijinks happen. We believe humor can have a role 
 in
 shaking off tyranny, whether of one crazy dictator [51] or of a whole
 bad idea [52]. Please keep active in whatever way you can, and if you
 can, please pledge to our campaign [53]. THANKS!!

 Gratefully yours,
  The Yes Men

 (You're receiving this email because you're on the Yes Men mailing 
 list.
 Change your info or unsubscribe here [54].)

 Links:
 ------
 [1] http://yeslab.org/project/ge-returns-billions
 [2] http://www.usuncut.org/
 [3] http://yeslab.org/fake-ge-press-release
 [4] http://yeslab.org/project/coal-cares
 [5] 
 http://www.lungusa.org/healthy-air/outdoor/resources/toxic-air-report/
 [6] http://www.coalcares.org/
 [7] http://yeslab.org/article/response-peabody
 [8] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/12/education/12coal.html
 [9] 
 http://commercialfreechildhood.blogspot.com/2011/05/scholastic-severs-ties-with-coal.html
 [10] http://yeslab.org/project/chevron
 [11] http://www.chevron-weagree.com/
 [12] http://chevronthinkswerestupid.org/gallery
 [13] 
 http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/b306db1443/chevron-thinks-we-re-stupid
 [14] http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/da1db3a886/anatomy-of-a-greenwash
 [15] http://www.eenews.net/special_reports/ecuador
 [16] http://yeslab.org/project/loop-coal
 [17] http://www.wbez.org/story/loop-coal-just-kidding-85747#
 [18] http://cleanpowerchicago.org/
 [19] http://yeslab.org/project/my-hair-cares
 [20] http://www.myhaircares.com/
 [21] http://myhaircares.com/media.html
 [22] http://vimeo.com/22067803
 [23] http://yeslab.org/project/hobbit
 [24] http://theyesmen.org/hobbit
 [25] https://www.facebook.com/stopmordor
 [26] http://yeslab.org/project/cop15
 [27] http://yeslab.org/project/cop15
 [28] http://yeslab.org/project/france-haiti
 [29] 
 http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/france-will-not-repay-haiti-reparations/
 [30] 
 http://politics.gaeatimes.com/2010/07/15/france-considering-legal-action-on-21-billion-haiti-hoax-48829/
 [31] http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/c-r-i-m-e/
 [32] http://yeslab.org/project/iphonecf
 [33] http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/
 [34] http://www.macnotes.net/2010/11/18/iphone-cf-apple-vs-the-yes-men/
 [35] 
 http://www.absolutereturn-alpha.com/Article/2717294/Blogs/Yes-Men-pranksters-call-for-citizens-arrest-of-John-Paulson.html?ArticleId=2717294
 [36] http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/11/yes-men-iphone-congo
 [37] http://yeslab.org/project/safe-to-drink
 [38] 
 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704330404576291503778196750.html
 [39] 
 http://uk.reuters.com/article/2010/05/17/uk-shell-hoax-idUKTRE64G5CI20100517?rpc=401
 [40] 
 http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/tim_dechristopher_speaks_about_his_impending_prison_sentence
 [41] 
 http://www.grist.org/politics/2011-08-29-letter-from-prison-tim-dechristopher-speaks
 [42] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81EZUkYzrxU
 [43] http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/11/11
 [44] 
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/16/anonymous-internet?INTCMP=SRCH
 [45] http://chamber.350.org/
 [46] http://theyesmenfixtheworld.com
 [47] 
 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yeslab/the-yes-men-present-the-yes-lab-for-creative-activ
 [48] http://www.yeslab.org/
 [49] http://yeslab.org/article/nyu-launch
 [50] http://www.yeslab.org/
 [51] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc1CcxHwypE
 [52] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism
 [53] 
 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yeslab/the-yes-men-present-the-yes-lab-for-creative-activ
 [54] 
 http://theyesmen.org/dblist/prof.php?e=dedalus@autistici.org&x=808047951