Sayin It Like It Is
I love the BLF. This is the sort of stuff I would love to do if I was organised and clever enough. I tend to restrict my billboard liberation to the occasional scrawling on tram shelter ads. And then only when I get really incensed by offensive condescending advertising. Especially the stuff that tells me how much of a better mother I’d be if I bought more stuff*.
So yeah, love this one. Here’s their press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2008
San Francisco, CAThe Billboard Liberation Front today announced a major new advertising improvement campaign executed on behalf of clients AT&T and the National Security Agency. Focusing on billboards in the San Francisco area, this improvement action is designed to promote and celebrate the innovative collaboration of these two global communications giants.
“This campaign is an extraordinary rendition of a public-private partnership,” observed BLF spokesperson Blank DeCoverly. “These two titans of telecom have a long and intimate relationship, dating back to the age of the telegraph. In these dark days of Terrorism, that should be a comfort to every law-abiding citizen with nothing to hide.”
AT&T initially downplayed its heroic efforts in the War on Terror, preferring to serve in silence behind the scenes. “But then we realized we had a PR win on our hands,” noted AT&T V.P. of Homeland Security James Croppy. “Not only were we helping NSA cut through the cumbersome red tape of the FISA system, we were also helping our customers by handing over their e-mails and phone records to the government. Modern life is so hectic – who has time to cc the feds on every message? It’s a great example of how we anticipate our customers’ needs and act on them. And, it should be pointed out, we offered this service free of charge.”
Commenting on the action, and responding to questions about pending privacy litigation and the stalled Congressional effort to shield the telecoms from these lawsuits, NSA spokesperson [REDACTED] remarked: “[REDACTED] we [REDACTED] condone [REDACTED] warrantless [REDACTED], [REDACTED] SIGINT intercepts, [REDACTED] torture [REDACTED] information retrieval by [REDACTED] means necessary.”
“It’s a win-win-win situation,” noted the BLF’s DeCoverly. “NSA gets the data it needs to keep America safe, telecom customers get free services, and AT&T makes a fortune. That kind of cooperation between the public and private sectors should serve as a model to all of us, and a harbinger of things to come.”
Come see the improvement at 14th St. and Valencia St. in San Francisco
The BLF (www.billboardliberation.com) has been improving outdoor advertising since 1977. Prior campaigns have included work for Exxon, R.J. Reynolds, and Apple Computers.
AT&T (www.att.com) is America’s favorite telecommunications trust. Based in San Antonio, Texas, it has over 300,000 employees and annual revenues of $117 Billion.
NSA (www.nsa.gov) is the largest intelligence organization in the world. Headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland, its budget, personnel, products, and services are all classified.
Blank DeCoverly
BLF Minister of Propaganda
More including video here. Props: Just Seeds.
* And to the wanna-be cop at Parliament who thought he had the right to give me a parenting lesson, stop being a tool and start being a spanner. Prick.
Product Placement: The Best Ever
I know she’s ‘claiming’ not to have anything to do with it. But a big well done to Julie from Subversive Cross Stitch for getting Anne Coulter to promote your work. That’s fucking ace!!!
Boycott Warner Bros
Warner Bros president of production Jeff Robinov has made a new decree that “We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead”.
Women respond:
We are no longer watching movies made by Warner Bros
Despite strong evidence pointing to the fact that it is indeed 2007, various Warner Bros producers think that having strong female roles in their films is bad business. Well, news for you ‘brothers’, maybe it’s got something to do with you making CRAP MOVIES.
Independent film 4eva!
Props DHD
Fox TV: Fighting the War on Smarts
I’m sure you all saw Sally Field and her super fab acceptance speech at the Emmys yesterday.
Well not if you watched it on Fox. Check this out for an amazingly shithouse piece of editing. And when I saw shit house I am referring to both the content and the style.
“If mothers ruled the world, there wouldn’t be god-damned wars in the first place.”
I think I’m gonna have to cross stitch that.
Props Brownfemipower
Monkeys Against APEC
For too long now us sock monkeys have been an ignored entity in the struggle against global capitalism. We have decided to stand up this APEC and demand an end to a world based on neo-conservative, neo-colonial domination of our people, planet and resources.
We do not believe in the farce that is democracy. We know that it is no longer one person one vote, rather one dollar one vote. And this blatant lobbyocracy is what drives us to the streets.
We know that the police and the military exist primarily to serve and protect the interests of the powerful and the rich. We are pleased and amused to see that at this APEC meeting the police have finally dropped the facade of upholding democracy. This has obviously been a farce for so long. We saw this at S11, we saw this at G20 and do doubt we will see it again this time around.
The police are violent at these demonstrations because they understand that this is the front line in the war against capitalism. This is the true site of conclict between the government and the people. Why else do they get free reign to violently oppress any citizen who gets in their way.
It’s clear that the police and security forces — in complicity with the state and corporate proponents of APEC, as well as sensationalist mainstream media — utilize a strategy of divide and rule. They distinguish between “good” and “bad” protesters to weaken social movements. You’re “good”, in the eyes of the police, if you comply with their protest pens and zones, and “bad” if you do not; you’re “good” if you limit opposition to electoral politics and lobbying, but “bad” if you reject parliamentary politics and parties, and privilege direct action; you’re “good” if you get permission from the police to protest, and “bad” if you refuse to talk to police on principle.
Our basis of unity, and our ongoing organizing, is rooted in both local and global social justice struggles. Thru many different groups, are actively involved with immigrant justice, anti-poverty, indigenous sovereignty, international solidarity, anti-oppression, worker’s rights, anti-war, prison justice, environmental and other movements and organisations, for many years. It is our day-to-day organizing work that brings us to mobilizing against APEC in Sydney.
We stand for a world based on peace, freedom and justice. We stand for communities that create a peaceful, vibrant sustainable world. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters around the world who resist state and corporate capitalism. And we stand in solidarity with all the other non-human animals and plants in demanding a clean planet for us all to share.
Black Bloc Monkeys in solidarity with Melbourne ACDC
Renegade Economics on 3CR
Check the new radio show that goes live on 3CR today, called the Renegade Economist. Real economic news that cuts through the lingo and lets you know what’s really going on.
A must listen for any activist, advocate, journalist or politician.
And 3CR streams live so no excuse if you’re not in Melbourne.
For more info check out the earthsharing website.
Yay!
As safe as safe can be
This one going out to the satire laws
Racist LA cops go nuts on May Day
I want to send out my full solidarity to the families in LA who were brutaly set upon by the LAPD during the May Day demos in support of immigrant workers.
The Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at families and children who couldn’t get out of the way quick enough. One elderly woman was quickly pulled over a fence by a friendly local to help her avoid being trampled. One woman was beaten because she was trying to go back to retrieve her young, and very distressed young child.
Reuters reported it like this:
Later at the city’s MacArthur Park, Los Angeles police cut a rally short after about 80 people began throwing rocks and bottles at police, according to Sgt. R. Kanzaki. Police fired rubber cartridges to disperse the crowd of 3,000 and no arrests were made, he said.
When in reality those people were trying to defend the families, women, young children and the elderly who were trying to escape fully armoured police.
Land of the free my ass.
G20 maddness
Well it was brilliant fun and totally crazy at the same time. I really want to write a lot about last weekend but I’m so feckin busy trying to move to another country that I don’t really have time. So instead, you can look at some photos here and read this great op-ed written for the Age, which they apparently nearly published but the editor vetoed. Pity.
Continue Reading →
Coincidence! Yeah, whatever..
So Eric Schlosser of Fast Food Nation fame is here promoting the new film (opens Oct 26, I hear it’s very good). Coincidentally McDonalds are running a ‘don’t worry our food is nice and healthy and the animals we slaughter to make it are killed really nicely and there’s no evil bits added into our food and if you don’t believe us you must be STUPID’ campaign.