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Jun 15, 2007 8:02:00 PM MST
| Yes Men charged with trespassing after hoax at energy conference in Calgary (Yes-Men-Hoax)
| CALGARY
(CP) _ A pair of anti-corporate activists who pulled off a bizarre
prank at a major energy conference in Calgary have been charged with
trespassing.
CTV Calgary broadcast footage Thursday from an
online site called theenergynews.com showing members of a group called
The Yes Men posing as key players from the U.S. oil industry.
Oil
and gas industry executives had paid $50 each to hear a speech from
what they thought was a member of the National Petroleum Council, a
group that advises the White House on oil and gas matters, at Go Expo
Energy Conference on Thursday.
“Since it is the largest oil
conference in Canada this year, it seemed like a perfect target for our
actions,‘‘ said Mike Bonanno, one of The Yes Men.
“Right now
it‘s the most egregious issue facing humanity _ the idea of whether we
should continue to exploit oil resources when scientists are telling us
that it‘s going to kill us.‘‘
Andy Bichlbaum, the other member
of The Yes Men, told the crowd the energy source of the future will be
vivoleum, which he said was made from dead humans.
They passed out candles to the audience they said was made from vivoleum.
“When
we started playing the video of Reggie the janitor who had been turned
into fuel, people were either laughing or holding the candle at arms
length and just having an awful expression on their face,‘‘ Bonanno
said.
The pair were quickly ushered off the stage and out of the building by security guards.
Wes
Scott of Go Expo apologized and said they made attempts to verify the
legitimacy of speakers. He said they were approached by what they
thought was a reputable company offering them speakers from the
petroleum council.
Council officials confirmed they have nothing to do with the men who appeared in Calgary.
The
Yes Men have been travelling the world for years, pulling similar
pranks at corporate events in an effort to demonstrate how corporations
and government act in dehumanizing ways toward the public.
Bonanno and Bichlbaum are both charged with trespassing and face a fine of $300.
Conference
organizers say they have yet to decide whether to give the audience
refunds or try to recoup the money from The Yes Men.
“We‘re not
doing anything wrong,‘‘ Bonanno said. “We think we have the moral and
ethical upper hand in the things that we do. If we didn‘t we wouldn‘t
do them.‘‘
INDEX: BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL OIL&GAS CP
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