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HALLIBURTON UNVEILS THE SURVIVABALL
Scott Harris / scott@vueweekly.com
Attendees of the Catastrophic Loss Conference, held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Amelia Island, Florida May 8 - 9, were given the first look at a new technology aimed at protecting corporate executives from the impacts of climate change.The Halliburton SurvivaBall, an orb-shaped inflatable protective suit with integrated communication systems, the capacity to gather nutrients, onboard medical facilities and defence capabilities, was touted by presenters as “the only rational response to abrupt climate change.”
Fred Wolf, a Halliburton representative who presented the new technology, told the conference, which included leaders from the insurance industry in the United States, “The SurvivaBall is designed to protect the corporate manager no matter what Mother Nature throws his or her way.
“It’s essentially a gated community for one,” said Wolf. “The SurvivaBall builds on Halliburton’s reputation as a disaster and conflict industry innovator.”
Members of the audience reportedly asked about the effectiveness of the SurvivaBall against terrorism and the cost feasibility of the unit.
The prank was carried out by the Yes Men, a pair of culture-jamming activists who say the point of their “identity corrections” is to bring attention to issues which corporations try to ignore.
The group was invited to speak at the conference by organizers after setting up the fake company website www.halliburtoncontracts.com.
Previous Yes Men actions have included posing as Dow Chemical representatives taking responsibility for the Bhopal chemical spill and posting a corrected World Trade Organization website at www.gatt.org, which also garnered the duo invitations to address various groups on behalf of the organization. V