The Yes Men Fix the World (2009) Movie Script
Are you ready?
I'm extremely happy to be here
because today is a very historic occasion
for all of us at DOW.
And I am grateful.
Let's walk that way.
I am grateful.
You're extremely pleased at the -
I'm extremely pleased
to be here.
Yes, extremely pleased
to be here, Steve.
This is my friend Andy...
- Hi. Bonjour.
- Bonjour, Monsieur.
...and my name is Mike.
Today I'm holding
the camera.
- And is it okay if--
- Yes. Sure.
- It's a good thing
to know.
- Exactly.
Andy is about to go
on live television
in front
of 300 million people.
They're gonna think
that he represents
one of the largest companies
in the world...
which he doesn't.
And that's why
he looks so nervous.
Should I typically
just look...
- Yeah.
- ...Right into
the camera? Okay.
Let's see here.
Andy's about to tell
a really big lie
which, unfortunately,
is gonna wipe
$2 billion
off one company's
stock price.
But before
I tell you this story...
- One minute.
- ...I guess
I should tell you
how we got ourselves
into this situation.
- Hi, my name's Mike.
- And I'm Andy.
And this is a movie
in which the two of us...
fix the world.
Aren't we fixing
the world?
- Yes.
- Well, come on.
- I'm scared.
Now what?
What we do is
pass ourselves off
as representatives
of big corporations
we don't like.
We make fake websites
then wait for people
to accidentally invite us
to conferences.
My name is Fred.
I'm from Halliburton.
My name is
Hanniford Schmidt.
I'm with the World Trade Organization.
I'm from Arizona.
My name is
Francisco Guerrero.
Orboloo Hochmanks.
Hundreds of oil
and gas executives
were duped today.
Louisiana officials
are taken for a ride
by the Yes Men.
- The Yes Men.
- The Yes Men,
antiglobalization activists
that travel the world
pulling pranks
at corporate events.
...a bunch of lefty
protestors...
...world-renowned
troublemakers...
Sick, twisted, cruel--
And what
they do is they like
to take absurd ideas,
and they present these ideas
in all seriousness.
The group has done this
many times before.
They have a track record
of getting away with it.
So how did this happen?
Equity International says
the imposters showed up...
At home in our
underground headquarters,
it was time
to start planning
our next mission.
Tom Foreman:
Tens of thousands
of Iraqis have died.
Worries are growing
among top government
and business leaders
about the surge
of food riots--
Foreman:
Markets continue to shake.
Unemployment is up.
Oil companies reported
the highest profits in
the history of the world.
But with so many things
going wrong,
who should
we go after next?
We got our answer when
a text message arrived.
DOW CHEMICAL had
just bought Union Carbide,
a company that became
infamous in the 1980s.
You remember
the 1980s--
Challenger,
Chernobyl...
Bhopal.
Bhopal?
In 1984
when Union Carbide's
pesticide plant
at Bhopal exploded,
at least 5,000 people
died within weeks
and 100,000 more remain
sick for life.
It was the biggest industrial
disaster in history,
but Union Carbide settled
with the Indian government
for $470 million,
meaning most
of the victims got
less than $1,000 each.
Warren Anderson:
Now I just want to say to
Shareholders of Union Carbide
that I am confident
that the victims
can be fairly
and equitably compensated
without a material
adverse affect
on the financial condition
of Union Carbide corporation.
There was
little adverse affect
on the shareholders
but in Bhopal,
people continued to suffer.
When DOW announced
it would buy Union Carbide,
there was
finally hope for justice.
DOW said it would
compensate victims
of Carbide's past negligence
and promptly paid
over $2 billion...
...to 14 asbestos
plaintiffs in Texas.
DOW could do for Bhopal
what they'd done for Texas,
but we knew
they wouldn't.
So we decided
to do it for them.
We set up a fake
DOW Chemical website,
DowEthics.com,
and we waited...
- and waited...
...and waited.
- Then one day
we got our chance.
You have mail.
We'd just been invited
to a conference
on international finance.
Some of the biggest banks
in the world would be there.
These were the kind
of banks who helped companies
like Union Carbide
and DOW do what they do.
A company might say
"We're going to build
a shoddy plant
in an underdeveloped country
with a corrupt
legal system.
The plant might explode
and people might die,
but we'll make
a lot of money."
And the bank
comes back and says,
"Great!
Sounds like a plan."
What could
we possibly do
to show bankers
what was wrong
with this logic?
So right now
I'm painting
Gilda
the gilded skeleton--
Actually,
the golden skeleton--
That we're going to use
in the DOW Chemical lecture
in London at
Financial Services Conference
in just
a few short days.
The only good skeleton
is a gold skeleton.
In case Gilda
didn't scare them enough
we had a backup plan.
we rented a theatrical
pyrotechnics unit here
- so that we can...
- oh yeah, thank you.
...make a big puff of smoke...
- AH!
- Oh my God.
We are on our way
to a conference
and Erastus Hamm is
going to be speaking
at the conference
as DOW Chemical Company.
Our plan was to have
DOW demonstrate
for the first time ever
exactly how they calculate
the cash value of human life.
Would this make
the bankers think twice?
It was time
to find out.
Thank you very much.
On May 1st we are releasing the beta version
of "Acceptable Risk",
the world's first
market-smart risk calculator,
to help you
find out instantly
what risks are
or are not acceptable
from a bottem-line
business perspective.
will Project X be
just another skeleton
in the closet,
something your company
comes to regret?
or will it be
a golden skeleton?
Complex case
is I.B.M.'s sale
of technology
to World War II Germany
for use in identifying
certain populations.
This was very bad,
of course,
but no one can deny
they were profitable.
And although the issue
remains a skeleton
in the closet,
in retrospect, it is
quite clearly golden.
Now you may have heard
the joke "How many Americans
does it take to screw
in a light bulb?
12--
One to climb the ladder
and 11 to file the lawsuit."
"What about Indians?
Oh, just one."
We would, of course,
never wish to imply
that an Indian life
is worth more or less
than another.
I myself believe
in the sanctity
of all life.
But the market has
its own logic,
and if we're willing
to live with it,
we must make the most
of the choices it makes.
Because if there's
one thing
that we at DOW want you
to remember today,
it's that
the only good skeleton
is a gold skeleton.
- Ooh!
Surprise.
This is Gilda.
She's the mascot
for the DOW
"Acceptable Risk" program.
Gilda is here
to basically tell you
that if you have
a skeleton in the closet,
it may not be
just a skeleton.
It could very well be a
golden skeleton as well.
And as you move
into a future
of ever-increasing
complexity
and ever-increasing
opportunities,
DOW Acceptable Risk
can assure you
that your touch
will be the Midas one.
And I'd like to finish
with a little poem.
"I'd rather be
handsome than homely,
I'd rather
be youthful than old,
If I can't have
a bushel of silver,
I'll do
with a barrel of gold."
So thank you very much.
We hope you come up
- and get a closer look.
- THANK YOU.
- Thanks a lot.
- Thank you. Thanks.
Thank you very much.
Here is a keychain.
Thank you very much.
Absolutely.
- Thank you.
- Unfortunately, I don't
have a card anymore,
- I ran out of them.
- Oh wonderful.
Yes, you were one
of the earlier speakers.
- Thanks.
- Yes. It's a pleasure.
- Thank you.
- It was very interesting.
Is it applicable--
Is your model applicable
to anything?
I mean, can we use it
in risk management?
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
I'll have our
risk-management guys
take a look at it,
'cause we do a lot
of interesting things.
Wonderful.
This is interesting.
- Thanks a lot.
- Thank you.
- Okay, take care.
- Yes, hello.
Hello, sorry...
- Mhm. Yeah.
- And you--
That's right.
Yeah, well -- Yeah.
- Is that right?
Well, that's pretty much--
Yeah, that's exactly
what I said.
It's--
Did you find that not--
Okay.
Refreshing?
We meant to be shocking,
not refreshingly honest.
To us, this was
about refreshing as
the Kool-Aid in Jonestown.
The mass suicide and murder
of more than 900 Americans
who took
cyanide-laced fruit punch
from their
spiritual father
and then
laid down to die.
THAT'S THE THING
ABOUT CULTS--
WHAT'S SHOCKING
TO OUTSIDERS
SEEMS NORMAL
TO INSIDERS.
IS THIS
WHY UNFETTERED GREED
SEEMED NORMAL
TO BANKERS?
AND IF SO, WHO WAS
THE CULT LEADER HERE?
THIS IS
MILTON FRIEDMAN.
WE WERE TOLD THA HE WAS THE WORLD'S
MOST INFLUENTIAL
ECONOMIST.
DID GOVERNMENT PLAY
A ROLE IN THIS?
VERY LITTLE.
ONLY BY KEEPING
THE ROAD CLEAR
FOR HUMAN GREED
AND SELF-INTERES TO PROMOTE THE WELFARE
OF THE CONSUMER.
IN THIS BOOK, FRIEDMAN USED
THE WORD FREEDOM
374 TIMES.
BUT BY FREEDOM,
HE DIDN'T MEAN THIS.
HE MEANT THIS--
THE FREEDOM
OF CORPORATIONS
TO PROFIT,
NO MATTER
THE RISK TO PEOPLE
AND WITHOUT INTERFERENCE
FROM GOVERNMENT.
DR. MILTON FRIEDMAN--
A SCIENTIST,
A CAREFUL THINKER
AND A GREAT TEACHER--
George W. Bush:
A HERO OF FREEDOM--
MILTON FRIEDMAN.
I SOUGHT OUT DR. FRIEDMAN
AND HAD THE GREAT PLEASURE
AND PRIVILEGE
OF MEETING HIM
AND HIS ECONOMIST WIFE ROSE.
WE'VE ALL
BECOME FRIENDS,
AND NOW
I CALL HIM MILTON.
IF WE WANTED TO UNDERSTAND
THE BANKERS' MINDSET,
WE NEEDED TO FIND
THE GURU OF GREED.
THERE WAS
ONLY ONE PROBLEM.
BUT THOUGH FRIEDMAN
HAD NOW ASCENDED,
HIS FOLLOWERS CARRIED
THE FLAME.
OKAY, SO WE SHOULD
GO IN THERE?
- YEAH.
- GREAT. THANK YOU.
UNCLE MILTY I CALL HIM.
THESE GUYS BELONG
TO FREE-MARKET THINK TANKS
WHICH HAVE SPENT BILLIONS
OF CORPORATE DOLLARS
TRYING TO MAKE
US ALL BELIEVE
THAT IF WE JUS LET CORPORATIONS
DO WHAT THEY WANT,
EVERYTHING WILL
WORK OUT GREAT.
WE'RE KIND OF
ON A QUEST.
WE WAN TO FIX THE WORLD
AND WE WANT TO KNOW
HOW TO DO IT.
PRIVATE PROPERTY,
RULE OF LAW
AND A MARKET UNRESTRICTED
BY GOVERNMEN REGULATION AND CONTROL.
WHEN WE SEE
COMPANIES DEMONIZED,
WE SHOULD WORK
AGAINST THAT.
WHEN WE SEE
THE FREE-MARKE SYSTEM CASTIGATED
WE MUST WORK
AGAINST THAT.
MORE WEALTH LEADS
TO GREATER EFFICIENCY,
GREATER INNOVATION
AND, BASICALLY,
ALL GOOD THINGS.
- WEALTH.
- MONEY.
- PRIVATIZATION.
- WEALTH.
- MONEY.
- INDIVIDUALIST FREEDOM.
- PRIVATIZATION.
- FREE MARKETS.
- OWNERSHIP.
- AND A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY.
CAPITALISM AND FREEDOM.
WEALTH AND PROSPERITY.
WE WERE GETTING
THE MESSAGE,
AND SO WERE
MILLIONS OF OTHERS.
THESE GUYS
SPREAD FRIEDMAN'S
FREE-MARKET GOSPEL
BY ANY MEANS
THAT THEY CAN,
LIKE SPEAKING
TO CONGRESS,
VIRAL VIDEOS
AND GUEST SPOTS
ON SUNDAY MORNING
TALK SHOWS.
THEY CLAIM TO HAVE DERAILED
THE KYOTO PROTOCOL
AND TO HAVE HELPED
DESTROY REGULATION
AROUND HOUSING,
BANKING, ENERGY
AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
THEY AGREED TO MEE PRETTY MUCH ANYONE
WITH A CAMERA...
- EVEN US.
YOU SEE THERE'S
A BLUE SCREEN
BEHIND YOU.
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE
TO BE PUT IN FRONT OF?
A PLANET EARTH.
OH COOL,
A BLUE SCREEN.
I'D SAY
THE JEFFERSON MONUMENT.
- HOW ABOU JEFFERSON MEMORIAL?
- IT'S ALREADY TAKEN.
- OH, IT IS TAKEN. SHIT.
- SOMEBODY ELSE...
I'M SURE YOU HAVE
A GOOD BACKDROP
- OF WASHINGTON.
DON'T PUT ME
IN FRONT OF ANYTHING
IN WASHINGTON.
I HATE WASHINGTON.
PUT UP A SCENE
IN OUTER SPACE
OR SOMETHING.
I WOULD SAY
A WORLD IN WHICH
MAN IS TREATED
AS AN END IN HIMSELF
RATHER THAN A TOOL
TO BE MANIPULATED
BY THOSE
WITH POLITICAL POWER.
HOW CAN
WE REPRESENT THAT?
IS THERE
A SINGLE IMAGE OR...
A SERIES
OF IMAGES?
I THINK THA THE IMAGES ARE
OF MEN--
JUST THE PROSPERITY
OF FREE MEN
FOLLOWING WHA THEIR HEARTS AND DESIRES
LEAD THEM TOO.
- I THINK
WE CAN FIND THAT.
- SOUNDS GOOD.
NOW THAT WE HAD
OUR NEW FRIENDS AT EASE
IT WAS TIME TO ASK THEM
THE REALLY TOUGH QUESTIONS.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY
TO PEOPLE WHO HARP ON
THE BHOPAL CATASTROPHE
OR OTHER TRAGEDIES?
BHOPAL IS
AN INTERESTING EXAMPLE.
THAT FACILITY HAD CREATED
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
FOR AN INDIAN EMERGING
TECHNOCRATIC CLASS.
IT HAD CREATED
VALUE ADDED
AND TAX BASE
FOR THE COMMUNITY,
AND SOMETHING LIKE
3,000 PEOPLE DIED.
THAT'S A TRAGEDY,
BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS RISKS
OF GOING
INTO THE FUTURE.
"THERE ARE ALWAYS RISKS
OF GOING INTO THE FUTURE"?
FOR THOUSANDS
OF PEOPLE IN BHOPAL,
THERE WAS NO FUTURE.
AT LEAS THE JONESTOWN SUICIDE CUL KILLED ONLY THEMSELVES.
THE FREE MARKETEERS
SEEMED WILLING
TO PU EVERYONE ELSE AT RISK.
- BACK AT HOME...
- You have new mail.
...WE HAD MAIL.
IT TURNED OU OUR DOW SITE WAS THE GIF THAT KEPT ON GIVING.
THIS TIME IT WASN' A MERE CONFERENCE--
WE'D HIT THE JACKPOT.
THE B.B.C.,
PERHAPS THE WORLD'S
MOST-RESPECTED
NEWS ORGANIZATION,
WAS DOING
A BIG BROADCAS ABOUT BHOPAL
AND THEY WANTED
TO KNOW
WHETHER DOW MIGH FINALLY CLEAN UP
THEIR MESS.
THE INTERVIEW, THEY SAID,
WOULD BE BROADCAS TO 300 MILLION PEOPLE.
THIS WAS WHA WE'D BEEN WAITING FOR.
TO THE B.B.C.'S
GREAT SURPRISE,
DOW EMAILED BACK TO SAY
THEY WOULD BE DELIGHTED
TO SPEAK PUBLICLY
ABOUT THE CATASTROPHE.
AS FOR US,
300 MILLION PEOPLE
WAS ABOU A MILLION TIMES BIGGER
THAN ANY OTHER AUDIENCE
WE'D EVER HAD.
WE WERE SCARED.
SO WE ASKED
THE B.B.C. IF,
INSTEAD OF COMING
TO THEIR HEADQUARTERS
IN LONDON,
WE COULD MEET THEM
IN NEUTRAL TERRITORY--
THE ORIGINAL LAND
OF REVOLUTION.
- ARE YOU
A LITTLE NERVOUS?
- I'M SO NERVOUS.
OH GOD, IT'S LIKE GOING
TO THE GUILLOTINE.
I THINK IT'S RIGHT NEAR
WHERE THEY USED TO HAVE
THE GUILLOTINE, TOO,
IN PARIS--
THE OFFICE.
MMM. YEAH, I THINK
IT'S THE BIGGEST THING
WE'VE EVER DONE--
THIS.
I HAVEN'T COMBED
MY HAIR IN LIKE...
- 100 YEARS?
- ...20 YEARS.
YEAH, REALLY.
I THINK I USED TO
DO IT THIS WAY.
ALL RIGHT.
WE'RE OFF.
OH GOD.
OH GOD.
WHEN WE ACQUIRED
UNION CARBIDE THREE YEARS AGO,
WE KNEW WHA WE WERE GETTING INTO.
TODAY WE ARE PREPARED
TO DO THE OBVIOUS.
LET'S SEE.
DON'T SHOW TOO MUCH
WHEN WE GET THERE, I THINK.
- HI. BONJOUR.
- BONJOUR, MONSIEUR.
You're watching BBC World,
our main headlines.
The world's worst
industrial accident
is being remembered
in India today.
It's 20 years
since deadly gas leaked
from the Union Carbide
chemical plant
in the city
of Bhopal.
At least 18,000 deaths
are attributed to the leak,
and many
local people say
that the contamination
has never been properly
cleared up.
YEAH, SHOULD I TYPICALLY
JUST LOOK...
- YEAH.
- ...RIGHT INTO
THE CAMERA? OKAY.
The factory
still exists here
and that's been
a real problem
for the people
living here locally.
The site--
I've been to it,
and it's full
of toxic waste.
People who are living
in these houses,
they've all got
a story to tell
about that day
20 years ago.
Many of them lost members
of their family,
and they say they are
continuing to suffer
because of the tragedy.
And they're saying
somebody needs
to answer for this.
Legally, what they're saying
is they want to pursue
the company to try
and clean up the site.
But whether the company
will accept liability
seems doubtful.
Well, joining us live
from Paris now is
Jude Finisterra.
He's a spokesman
for Dow Chemicals,
which took over
Union Carbide.
Good morning to you.
A day of commemoration
in Bhopal.
Do you now accept
responsibility
for what happened?
Steve, yes,
today is a great day
for all of us at Dow
and, I think,
for millions of people
around the world
as well.
It's 20 years
since the disaster
and today I'm very
very happy to announce
that for the first time
Dow is accepting
full responsibility
for the Bhopal catastrophe.
We have
a $12 billion plan
to finally,
at long last,
fully compensate
the victims,
including the 120,000
who may need medical care
for their entire lives,
AND TO FULLY AND SWIFTLY
REMEDIATE
THE BHOPAL PLANT SITE.
Now when we acquired
Union Carbide three years ago
we knew what
we were getting,
and it's worth
$12 billion.
$12 billion.
We have resolved
to liquidate Union Carbide--
this nightmare for the world
and this headache for Dow--
and use the $12 billion
TO ADEQUATELY COMPENSATE
THE VICTIMS.
Jude, that's good news
that you have finally
accepted responsibility--
some people
would say too late.
It's three years,
almost four years on.
When we acquired
Union Carbide
we did settle
their liabilities
in the United States
immediately.
And we are now--
three years later--
prepared to do
the same in India.
We should have
done it three years ago.
We are doing it now.
I WOULD ALSO
LIKE TO SAY THAT THIS
IS NO SMALL MATTER.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME
IN HISTORY
that a publicly-owned company
of anything
near the size of Dow
has performed
an action
which is significantly
against its bottom line,
simply because
it's the right thing to do.
Our shareholders may
take a bit of a hit, Steve,
but I think that
if they're anything like me,
they will be ecstatic
to be part
of such
a historic occasion
of doing right
by those that we've wronged.
Just to reiterate
what Jude Finisterra,
the spokesman
for Dow Chemicals,
has just said:
he says Dow Chemicals
now fully accept
responsibility
for the events in Bhopal.
- GREAT. THAT'S IT?
- WELL DONE.
GREAT.
NOW THEY WANTED...
- NOW YOU DO--
- ...RADIO.
I CAN TELL YOU
ONE THING:
WE'RE NOT GOING
OUT OF BUSINESS.
WE WILL CONTINUE
TO MAKE PROFIT;
WE WILL SIMPLY MAKE
SLIGHTLY LESS PROFI THAN NORMAL.
BUT WE ARE DOING
THE RIGHT THING.
WE'RE COMPARING HERE
THE VALUE OF MONEY
TO THE VALUE
OF HUMAN LIFE,
AND THERE IS
NO COMPARISON.
EXACTLY. I MEAN,
HOW OFTEN DOES DOW
GET TO-- YOU KNOW.
I WOULDN'T WANT TO BE
A DOW SPOKESPERSON
OTHERWISE.
GOOD.
OH MY GOD.
OH MY GOD.
I'M GONNA HAVE A SERIOUS
NERVOUS BREAKDOWN NOW.
"DOW ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY
FOR BHOPAL-- SPOKESMAN."
- WHERE'S THAT?
- IN REUTERS.
"CONGRATULATIONS.
YOUR APPEARANCE--
EVERYONE HERE
AT B.B.C. CHEERED."
IT'S OVER AN HOUR
AND IT'S STILL HEADLINE NEWS.
HELLO, THIS IS JUDE.
WHO HAS SAID THAT?
PERHAPS THEY'RE NO IN COMMUNICATION
WITH THE DOW--
WITH THE DOW LEADERSHIP.
HELLO?
YES, THIS IS
JUDE FINISTERRA.
SURE.
RIGHT.
SURE.
RIGHT.
LET ME JUST--
YES, COULD I ASK YOU
TO EITHER--
TO HOLD FOR A MOMENT?
OKAY, THANK YOU.
WELL, I WOULDN'T SAY
IT'S A HOAX.
IT'S AN HONES REPRESENTATION
OF WHAT DOW
SHOULD BE DOING.
Maria Ashanin:
This morning a false statement
was carried by BBC World
regarding responsibility
for the Bhopal tragedy.
The individual who made
this statement
identified himself
as a Dow spokesperson
named Jude Finisterra.
Dow confirms
that there was
no basis whatsoever
for this report.
Well, earlier today
we carried an interview
with someone purporting
to be from Dow Chemical,
a company which
subsequently bought
the plant from Union Carbide.
This interview
was inaccurate
and part
of an elaborate deception.
TAKE A LOOK
AT THIS NOW--
LOOK AT THIS.
THIS IS THE TOP
OF GOOGLE NEWS.
"DOW SAID ON FRIDAY
THERE WAS NO BASIS WHATSOEVER
IN A B.B.C. WORLD REPORT SAYING
THEY HAD ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY
FOR INDIA'S
BHOPAL DISASTER."
THAT'S A FUNNY SENTENCE.
The hoax was
an elaborate one
involving
a fake website.
Down Chemical
was quick to issue
a series of statements
denying all knowledge
of Jude Finisterra.
Also tonight, backtracking
because of this man...
WE'RE GOING BACK
TO THE B.B.C. TELEVISION
STUDIO RIGHT NOW
THAT WE WERE
AT THIS MORNING
BECAUSE THEY WAN TO TALK TO US.
OKAY, WHAT DO
THEY WANT TO KNOW?
WELL, LET'S GO SEE.
- YEAH.
- HI.
- HI. SORRY.
IT DIDN'T OCCUR
TO US AT ALL.
WE GOT CONTACTED
BY YOU GUYS.
- YEAH, I DID HEAR THAT.
HAS IT GONE BACK UP?
- I'M SURE IT HAS.
Well, the prank
which briefly
knocked 3% off
Dow shares comes
20 years to the day
after the chemical leak
from the Union Carbide
plant in Bhopal.
Today's unlikely
corporate humiliation
of a US chemical giant
was all about
reminding the world
that Bhopal remains
an unhealed sore.
Well, earlier I spoke
to Andy Bichlbaum
and I asked him what he did
when he got an email
from the BBC asking him
for an interview.
Essentially, Dow has been
promulgating a hoax
by which they've
convinced people
that they can't do
anything about Bhopal,
that they cannot accept
responsibility.
And we wanted to prove that
that was not accurate.
Nevertheless,
a pretty cruel
trick to play
on the people
of Bhopal.
- Well, we--
- Did you think about
the people of Bhopal
when you decided
to peddle this stunt?
Yes. Yes, we did.
Well, that surely is
the tragedy of today.
You spring upon them
the hoax that they--
they actually
suddenly believe
that they have got
a payout from Dow,
then an hour or two later
they find it's untrue.
Let's put this
in contrast:
We may have given people
two hours of false hope,
Dow has given them
20 years of suffering.
I mean this is
what we're faced with.
Are you expecting
the next knock at the door
to be Dow's lawyer?
No idea
what Dow will do.
DOW'S LAWYERS DIDN'T CALL.
AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
LEARNED FOR THE FIRST TIME
THAT 20 YEARS ON,
BHOPAL WAS NEVER CLEED UP.
BUT THE MEDIA ALSO REPORTED
THAT MANY
OF THE VICTIMS IN BHOPAL
CRIED TEARS OF JOY
UPON HEARING THE NEWS.
AND WERE THEN
BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED.
HAD WE ACTUALLY UPSE THE PEOPLE WE'D MEANT TO HELP?
THERE WAS ONLY
ONE WAY TO FIND OUT.
HERE WE ARE.
WE'RE IN INDIA.
- HEY.
AND THIS IS BHOPAL.
BHOPAL IS A BIG CITY.
THERE'S OVER
A MILLION PEOPLE HERE.
UNFORTUNATELY WE HEARD
FROM A LOT OF NEWS REPORTS
THAT THE VICTIMS
HERE IN BHOPAL
WERE EXTREMELY UPSE BECAUSE WE HAD
RAISED FALSE HOPES
ABOUT THEM ACTUALLY
GETTING SOME COMPENSATION
AFTER 21 YEARS.
WHAT DO YOU THINK
THEY'LL DO?
WELL, I DON'T KNOW.
WHAT'S THE LOCAL CUSTOM HERE?
WE'RE HERE
AT THE SAMBHAVNA CLINIC
AND THIS PLACE WAS SET UP
BY A BUNCH OF PEOPLE
TO HELP TREA THE GAS VICTIMS
OF THE WORST INDUSTRIAL
ACCIDENT IN HISTORY.
Rachna Dhingra:
SO PATIENTS COME IN
FROM HERE.
THIS IS A FORM, BASICALLY,
WHERE WE DETERMINE THEIR
HISTORY OF GAS EXPOSURE--
HOW FAR
THEY WERE LIVING
OR WERE THEY SLEEPING
IN A TENT THAT NIGHT?
AND THEN THEIR
SEVERITY GRADE IS DETERMINED.
THESE ARE SOME
OF THE DISABLED CHILDREN.
EVERY SYSTEM OF THE BODY
HAS BEEN AFFECTED--
THE MUSCULOSKELETAL,
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.
40% OF THE WOMEN COMING HERE
UNDER 40 HAVE MENOPAUSE.
YEAH.
- THIS IS SATHYU.
- HEY.
HEY. OH MY GOD.
- I AM GLAD
TO SEE YOU.
- HEY.
HEY.
WE GOT THE NEWS
THAT DOW WAS WILLING
TO PAY $12 BILLION.
AT FIRST WE JUST--
WE FELT THE NEWS WAS
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE...
- UH-HUH.
- ...AND DOW WAS TOO BAD
FOR THE NEWS TO BE TRUE.
- YEAH.
- STILL, WE THOUGH MAYBE IT IS TRUE,
MAYBE THEY'RE JUS SEEING SENSE IN THIS.
FOR ABOUT AN HOUR WE WERE
UNDER THAT IMPRESSION.
YEAH.
DID PEOPLE CRY...
- WITH JOY?
- I CRIED.
- OH NO.
- LOTS OF PEOPLE CRIED.
WERE YOU KIND OF ANGRY
AT FIRST, THOUGH,
- WHEN YOU HEARD
IT WAS A HOAX?
- NO, I WASN'T ANGRY. NO.
WOW.
- DO YOU THINK
IT WAS WORTH IT?
- TOTALLY WORTH IT.
WE ARE SAYING
NO MORE BHOPAL.
WHAT PEOPLE HAVE
GONE THROUGH HERE,
NO ONE ELSE IN THE WORLD
SHOULD GO THROUGH THIS.
I THINK WE'RE
IN SHIVAJI NAGAR
AND IT'S BEEN
A LITTLE BIT OF A--
A BIT OF A--
WELL, A BIT OF A--
A MAZE GETTING HERE.
A LITTLE--
WHAT DO YOU CALL THAT?
WE GOT LOST.
THAT'S WHAT IT'S CALLED.
WE'RE TRYING TO MEET UP
WITH A JOURNALIS TO INTERVIEW
AND WE GOT LOST.
HERE HE IS.
HERE HE IS.
OH MY GOD.
RAJKUMAR KESWANI BROKE
THE DISASTER STORY.
IN FACT,
HE BROKE IT YEARS BEFORE
IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
SO YOU HAD ALREADY
PREDICTED HOW MANY TIMES
THAT THE DISASTER WOULD
HAPPEN BEFORE IT HAPPENED?
WHEN YOU HEARD
IT WAS A HOAX,
THE THING THAT WE DID,
WERE YOU, LIKE--
WHAT DID YOU THINK
OF IT... AT FIRST?
I THOUGHT THAT WAS
A WONDERFUL THING TO DO.
WE WERE PU INTO A SITUATION
WHICH WE NEVER
THOUGHT OF,
THAT WOULD
ACTUALLY HAPPEN.
SO IT IS JUST LIKE
BEING IN THE HEAVEN.
BECAUSE I'M SURE I'M NO GOING TO BE IN THE HEAVEN,
SO IF ONE--
IF I'M EXPECTING HELL
AND SOMEONE PUTS ME,
FOR A WHILE, IN THE HEAVEN--
SO I SAID,
"OKAY, THANKS."
- HI.
- HI.
20 YEARS SINCE
THE DISASTER,
THE POISONS LEFT BEHIND
AT THE PLAN WERE STILL LEACHING
INTO THE GROUNDWATER.
COMMUNITIES THAT YOU SEE
IN RED HAVE NOT GOTTEN
A SINGLE DROP
OF CLEAN WATER.
- Sathyu: OH, REALLY?
- YEAH.
- Sathyu: UNTIL NOW?
- UNTIL NOW.
EIGHT COMMUNITIES, REALLY?
ARE GETTING.
ABOUT 12%
OF THE REQUIREMENT.
BUT THIS IS
CONTAMINATED WATER.
SOME OF THEM
USE IT TO DRINK,
COOK, WASH CLOTHES.
DOW COULD CLEAN UP THEIR MESS,
BUT THEY DIDN'T.
INSTEAD THEY SPEN TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
ON AN AD CAMPAIGN
TO CLEAN UP THEIR IMAGE.
FOR EACH OF US,
THERE'S A MOMENT OF DISCOVERY.
AND JUST THEN,
IN THE FLASH OF A SYNAPSE,
WE LEARN THAT LIFE
IS ELEMENTAL.
AND IN THE DAZZLING BRILLIANCE
OF THIS KNOWLEDGE
WE MAY OVERLOOK THE ELEMEN NOT LISTED ON THE CHART.
ITS IMPORTANCE
SO OBVIOUS,
ITS PRESENCE IS
SIMPLY UNDERSTOOD.
THE MISSING ELEMENT IS
THE HUMAN ELEMENT.
AND WHEN WE ADD I TO THE EQUATION,
THE CHEMISTRY CHANGES.
THE HUMAN ELEMENT IS
THE ELEMENT OF CHANGE.
THE HUMAN ELEMENT:
NOTHING IS MORE FUNDAMENTAL;
NOTHING MORE ELEMENTAL.
THIS IS KEVIN FINN.
HE TRADES BONDS.
THIS IS WHAT I DO:
SIT HERE
AND JUST LOOK
AT THIS SCREEN
FOR 12, 14 HOURS A DAY.
IT'S VERY ROMANTIC,
ACTUALLY.
MORE THAN
ANYONE ELSE WE KNEW,
WE THOUGH KEVIN COULD EXPLAIN
WHY DOW WOULDN'T DO
ANYTHING TO FIX BHOPAL.
HE TOLD US WHAT HAPPENED
WHEN ANDY WENT ON THE BBC.
Kevin:
I GOT A CALL FROM MY CLERK
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT--
DOW CHEMICAL MADE
SOME ANNOUNCEMEN THAT THE STOCKHOLDERS
OF DOW CHEMICAL DIDN'T LIKE,
BECAUSE DOW STOCK
WENT DOWN,
THE S&P 500 FUTURES
WENT DOWN.
I HAD TO GO ROLL OUT OF BED.
MY CLERK'S FREAKING OU BECAUSE MY POSITION'S
GOING AGAINST ME.
MY FRIEND TELLS ME
HE THINKS IT'S SOME
GLOBAL CONSPIRACY
OF TRADERS
TO TRY TO SCREW US,
AND HE FINDS OU IT'S TWO JOKERS.
THE EFFECT OF OUR
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE B.B.C.
WAS THAT DOW STOCK
LOST OVER $2 BILLION
IN 23 MINUTES.
THIS TELLS ME
ALL THE NEWS THAT'S
HAPPENING IN THE WORLD.
SO ON DECEMBER 3rd
IF I WAS SITTING HERE
WATCHING THIS,
IT WOULD SAY,
"DOW CHEMICAL
DECIDES TO SETTLE
WITH THE BHOPAL PEOPLE."
AND PEOPLE THA OWNED DOW CHEMICAL
WOULD BE LIKE...
"SOLD!"
EVERYBODY WE TALKED TO
ABOUT THAT WAS REALLY HAPPY
THAT DOW WAS DOING
THE RIGHT THING.
SURE. SURE, OKAY.
I'M NOT SAYING
THAT THEY SHOULDN'T BE.
I'M JUST SAYING THAT,
SURE, IT SEEMS LIKE
A GOOD THING
UNLESS YOU'RE
A DOW CHEMICAL STOCKHOLDER
AND YOU'RE EXPECTING
THE $20 BILLION
TO GO TOWARDS A DIVIDEND
TO COME BACK TO YOU
OR TO COME BUY
SOME NEW CHEMICAL PLANT.
AND IT'S GOING
TO THESE PEOPLE THAT,
AT LEAST AT THIS POINT,
AREN'T ABLE TO GET ANY MONEY.
YOU COULD SEE
HOW THEY WOULD BE UPSE ABOUT THAT, RIGHT?
WE WERE CONFUSED.
AS KIDS, WE LEARNED THA IT WAS BAD
TO DO SOMETHING BAD,
AND IF YOU DID
SOMETHING GOOD
YOU GOT A REWARD.
YET WHEN WE ANNOUNCED
DOW WOULD DO SOMETHING GREAT,
THE MARKET GAVE
DOW A SPANKING.
SO HOW COULD
WE GET COMPANIES
TO DO THE RIGHT THING?
- WE NEEDED TO CHANGE
THE RULES OF THE MARKET,
BUT THAT MEANT REGULATION,
AND REGULATION
MEANT GOVERNMENT.
THE ONLY PROBLEM WAS
GOVERNMENT WAS
DRINKING FRIEDMAN'S
FREE-MARKET KOOL-AID.
Reagan:
FREE MARKETS ARE WORKING
MIRACLE AFTER MIRACLE
OF ECONOMIC GROWTH.
Clinton:
OPEN MARKETS
AND RULE-BASED TRADE
ARE THE BEST ENGINES
WE KNOW OF.
THEN THE GOVERNMEN STEPPED BACK
AND LET THE FREE ENTERPRISE
SYSTEM DO ITS WORK.
THEN THE BETTER WE DID,
THE MORE ROBUS OUR ECONOMY GREW,
THE BETTER
I DID AND THE BETTER
MY BUSINESS GREW.
FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS,
THE LEADERS OF MOS POWERFUL COUNTRIES
DID WHATEVER
THE FREE-MARKETEERS
RECOMMENDED.
AND WHAT THEY RECOMMENDED
WAS SIMPLE.
THE SOLUTION IS NO TO HAVE GOVERNMENT INTERVENE
OR REGULATE IN SOME WAY.
IN FACT, MOST PROBLEMS WILL
SOLVE THEMSELVES IF IGNORED.
LET FREE PEOPLE WORKING
IN FREE MARKETS ADDRESS THEM.
FOLLOWING ADVICE LIKE THIS,
GOVERNMENTS AROUND
THE WORLD GOT RID
OF A WHOLE BUNCH
OF REGULATIONS MEAN TO PROTECT PEOPLE,
LIKE IN BANKING.
I'M CONFIDENT THA THE DEGREE OF HARM
OR SPILLOVER EFFECT,
WHATEVER SUBPRIME
MORTGAGES GO BAD,
THAT THE MARKET WILL
DEVISE WAYS
TO MINIMIZE AND DIFFUSE
THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS.
THEIFAITH IN THE MARKE WAS UNSHAKEABLE,
BUT WE ALL KNOW
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.
Now with the world's
largest insurance company,
AIG, on the brink
of collapse,
it could mean devastation
way beyond Wall Street.
WHAT OTHER DISASTERS
WEREN'T COMING?
Global warming is silly.
It's not a serious issue.
Warmer is healthier,
warmer is
more pleasant
and that's why states
like Arizona keep gaining
population rapidly.
THERE ARE BENEFITS
TO GLOBAL WARMING.
COLD-RELATED DEATHS
WILL ACTUALLY DECREASE
CONSIDERABLY.
JUST LIKE WITH
THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGES,
OUR FREE-MARKET FRIENDS
WERE DOING ALL THEY COULD
TO STOP GOVERNMEN FROM INTERVENING.
EXCEPT HERE
THE STAKES WERE HIGHER.
I THINK
IT'S QUITE POSSIBLE
THAT IF IT WEREN' FOR GROUPS LIKE OURS,
THAT THE UNITED STATES
MIGHT VERY WELL BE
IN THE KYOTO
PROTOCOL BY NOW.
IF YOU'VE SEEN
THE ADS THAT WE RAN
ABOUT A YEAR AGO,
WHICH WE PRODUCED IN-HOUSE
ON THIS GLOBAL WARMING,
WHERE OUR CENTRAL CONTENTION
IS "CARBON DIOXIDE--
THEY CALL IT POLLUTION,
WE CALL IT LIFE."
THERE'S SOMETHING
IN THESE PICTURES
YOU CAN'T SEE.
IT'S WHAT WE BREATHE OU AND PLANTS BREATHE IN.
CARBON DIOXIDE--
THEY CALL IT POLLUTION,
WE CALL IT LIFE.
WE GOT LOTS OF HATE MAIL.
TWO SENATORS
THIS PAST FALL SEN THE LETTER
TO EXXON MOBIL,
CALLING ON I TO STOP FUNDING C.E.I..
SO EXXON WAS SECRETLY
PAYING THINK TANKS
TO TELL US
WE SHOULDN' REGULATE EXXON.
PUBLIC OUTRAGE FORCED
EXXON TO STOP.
IN FACT, EXXON MOBIL DIDN' FUND US AT ALL THIS PAST YEAR.
THAT WAS GREA BUT EXXON HAD
OTHER WAYS
TO INFLUENCE POLICY--
LIKE THIS GUY,
LEE RAYMOND.
HE'S A TRUSTEE
OF ONE OF THE KEY
FREE-MARKET THINK TANKS.
HE ALSO USE TO BE
EXXON'S C.E.O.
AND THE YEAR
HE LEFT THAT JOB,
HE BECAME
AN OFFICIAL ADVISOR
TO THE U.S. GOVERNMEN ON ENERGY MATTERS.
THIS WAS SCARY.
IF WE LE THE FREE-MARKET CUL KEEP RUNNING THE WORLD,
THERE WOULDN'T BE
A WORLD LEFT TO FIX.
WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING,
SO WHEN WE HEARD ABOU A HUGE OIL CONFERENCE
UP IN CANADA
WE DECIDED TO GO.
POSING AS
A BIG P.R. AGENCY,
WE OFFERED THEM
LEE RAYMOND,
EXXON'S EX-C.E.O.,
AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER.
THEY JUMPED
AT THE CHANCE.
BUT WHA THEY DIDN'T KNOW
IS THAT ON THE DAY
OF THE TALK
RAYMOND WOULD BE
SUDDENLY UNAVAILABLE
AND AN ASSISTANT WOULD
STEP IN TO REPLACE HIM.
- WHEW! YUP.
- OKAY.
THIS KEYNOTE SPEECH
WILL ATTRACT SUBSTANTIAL
MEDIA COVERAGE
AND WILL BE ONE
OF THE MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS
OF GO EXPO.
WHAT WOULD WE DO
TO SHAKE THIS AUDIENCE UP?
IT WOULD HAVE
TO BE MORE SHOCKING
THAN ANYTHING
WE'D DONE BEFORE.
IF THERE'S ONE THING
THAT'S GONNA BE ABUNDAN IN THE WORLD TO COME,
WHAT WITH CLIMATE CHANGE
AND ALL THAT,
IT'S PEOPLE--
DEAD PEOPLE.
THIS IS A PILOT PROGRAM
TO USE THAT FUEL.
IT'S CALLED VIVOLEUM,
AND HERE WE ARE,
MAKING VIVOLEUM.
AS LEE RAYMOND'S
ASSISTANT,
ANDY WOULD
ANNOUNCE VIVOLEUM--
EXXON'S NEW BIOFUEL
TO BE MADE
FROM THE VICTIMS
OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND HE'D EVEN
HAND OUT A SAMPLE.
SO IT STARTED OUT,
WE MADE ONE REGGIE,
AND THEN WE CAS A BUNCH OF REGGIES IN WAX.
THAT'S HUMAN HAIR
RIGHT THERE.
THIS IS A LO OF EXPERIMENTING
TO FIGURE OUT HOW
TO MAKE A CANDLE SMELL
LIKE HUMAN FLESH.
OW! I LOS A REGGIE.
- QUICK!
- OW!
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE
THAT THE OIL MEN KNEW
WHAT THE CANDLES
THEY'D BE HOLDING
WERE MADE OF.
SO WE'D SHOW THEM
A TRIBUTE VIDEO
TO REGGIE WATTS,
A TERMINALLY ILL
EXXON JANITOR
WHO HAD VOLUNTEERED
TO BE TURNED INTO FUEL.
I THINK I'D LIKE TO BE--
I THINK I'D LIKE
TO BE A CANDLE.
I THINK A CANDLE
WOULD BE FUN,
BECAUSE THERE'S JUS SO MANY USES FOR A CANDLE.
THERE ARE SIX BILLION PEOPLE
ON THIS EARTH TODAY.
WE'RE PROBABLY USING
THE ENERGIES, MAYBE,
OF A BILLION
OF THOSE AT BEST.
THEY HAD ME TES A HELLFIRE MISSILE ONCE.
THAT WAS PRETTY COOL.
WE SIMPLY HAVEN'T FOUND
THE MIRACLE FUEL YE TO REPLACE PETROLEUM,
BUT WE'LL
EVENTUALLY GET THERE
IF GOVERNMENT GETS
OUT OF THE WAY.
- THIS IS HOW IT WORKS.
- WE HAD HIS
MIRACLE FUEL,
AND OUR GRANDFATHERS
WERE TURNING OVER IN
THEIR MASS GRAVES.
CTV news with Barb Higgins
and Darrel Janz.
Good evening.
A bizarre situation today
at the GO EXPO
energy conference
at Stampede Park.
Organizers and hundreds
of Alberta oil and gas
executives got duped.
They had been promised
a major announcement
from a major player
in the energy industry.
Attendees paid $50 a head
to hear this speech
from the National
Petroleum Council,
a group that advises
the White House on oil
and gas matters.
WELCOME TO GO EXPO'S
KEYNOTE LUNCHEON.
PLEASE WELCOME
S.K. WOLFF.
FIRST I NEED TO SAY
HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO SEE,
ON ALL THE FACES
HERE TODAY,
THE CHILDLIKE EXUBERANCE
OF A GREAT INDUSTRY
IN FULL FLOWER.
AND WHY NOT?
WITHOUT OIL,
AT LEAST FOUR BILLION PEOPLE
WOULD STARVE.
AND STARVING WOULD BECOME
THE NEW BLACK.
BUT I'M NOT HERE TODAY
TO PAT US ALL ON THE BACK.
I'M HERE
TO SPEAK OF PLAN Bs.
AS ANDY BEGAN OUTLINING
EXXON'S TOUGH SOLUTION
TO CLIMATE CHANGE,
10 VOLUNTEERS PASSED OU 300 HUMAN FLESH CANDLES.
THIS VIGIL WOULD BE
LIKE NO OTHER.
WHO FIRST HAD THE IDEA
TO USE THE OIL
OF A RECENTLY-LIVING ANIMAL
TO LIGH HIS OR HER HOUSE?
EVEN TODAY,
SHETLAND ISLANDERS
CUT THE HEADS
OFF THEIR PUFFINS
AND PUT WICKS
IN THE STUMPS
TO MAKE CANDLES.
WE AT EXXON FIRMLY BELIEVE
THAT A FREE MARKET WILL,
IF LEFT TO ITS OWN DEVICES,
ALWAYS FINDS SOLUTIONS
TO THE DILEMMAS
THAT HUMANITY FACES.
WE'RE CALLING OUR
NEW TECHNOLOGY VIVOLEUM.
AS ANDY BEGAN TO DESCRIBE
EXXON'S NEW BIOFUEL,
THE CANDLES WERE LIT.
A STRANGE ODOR ROSE
INTO THE AIR.
WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS
AN ARTIST'S RENDITION
OF AN ADVANCED
LARGE-SCALE PLANT,
THE VIVOLEUM FEED STOCK
IS RENEWABLE, UNPRECIOUS
AND RESPONDS TO THE NEED
OF A SHRINKING MARKE WITH GREATER SUPPLY.
THE DANCE OF CAPITAL
APPEARS IN FULL FLOWER.
FINALLY IT WAS TIME
TO INTRODUCE REGGIE WATTS,
THE DYING EXXON JANITOR
WHO HAD VOLUNTEERED
TO BE TURNED INTO FUEL.
AND NOW WE BEGIN
THE TRIBUTE VIDEO
TO REGGIE WATTS.
I WORKED IN MAINTENANCE
FOR A WHILE.
I MOVED UP TO MAINTENANCE 2.
I STARTED DOING CLEAN-UP--
toxic spill clean-up.
AFTER I HEARD
FROM THE DOCTOR
THAT I WAS GONNA DIE,
I felt like I had
something to live for.
I THINK I'D LIKE
TO BE A CANDLE.
There's just so many
uses for a candle.
I MEAN, LIKE IF YOU WAN SOMETHING ROMANTIC,
LIKE THAT'D BE NICE TO KNOW
I WAS A CANDLE ON A TABLE.
YOU KNOW, WHEN PEOPLE--
WHEN THEY FIRST MET EACH OTHER
ON A DATE.
I THINK THAT'D BE GREAT.
THIS IS A FUNERARY OBSERVANCE.
I MEAN, THIS GUY DIED.
- SWITCH THIS OFF BEFORE I DO.
- THIS MAN DIED!
"IT'S PEOPLE."
IT REALLY IS.
HOW IS IT?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH,
GENTLEMEN.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I'M VERY SORRY,
BUT WE'VE BEEN CUT OFF.
APPARENTLY WE'RE NOT ALLOWED
TO HAVE A FUNERARY OBSERVANCE
FOR A MAN WHO'S DIED
TO MAKE A PRODUCT POSSIBLE.
AND I'M-- I'M BEING--
WHY-- ARE YOU ALLOWED
TO DO THAT TO ME?
I-- WHAT--
- GOOD JOB.
THE REMAINING 20 IS JUST,
YOU KNOW, BINDERS--
BONDERS TO KEEP
IT TOGETHER.
WE HAVE TO THINK--
- COME WITH US, PLEASE.
- SURE.
- WOW.
- BOY, OH BOY.
NOW!
THANK YOU.
- HEY.
- SHUT IT DOWN.
- DON'T TOUCH MY CAMERA.
- SHUT IT DOWN.
NOW.
HAD WE ACTUALLY MADE
THE OIL PEOPLE
THINK ABOUT WHA THEY WERE DOING?
IT WAS HARD TO TELL.
AND THERE WASN'T MUCH
TIME LEFT TO FIGURE IT OUT.
BIG OIL WAS ALREADY
DESTROYING THE PLANET,
AND NOT JUST BY
SPEEDING UP CLIMATE CHANGE.
THIS HOUSE RIGHT HERE,
IT USED TO BE ON THIS SIDE.
- YEAH, BUT WHERE?
- IT WAS OVER HERE.
IT MOVED OVER THERE.
I COULD ONLY TAKE I TWO OR THREE DAYS
A WEEK COMING
DOWN HERE TO WORK
AND THIS YEAR
FOR HUNTING SEASON,
I DIDN'T KILL NOTHING.
I JUST WASN' IN THE MOOD TO KILL.
AND I'VE SEEN EVERYTHING
ELSE THAT WAS DEAD.
JUST WASN'T IN THE MOOD.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW.
NOT THAT I'M A BIG KILLER,
BUT I LIKE KILLING STUFF.
- YEAH.
IT'S REALLY JUST AMAZING.
WHEN YOU GO DOWNRIVER,
SOME OF THE PONDS WE USED
TO FISH IN ARE NOW ALMOS LIKE A BAY.
FOR DECADES, THE GOVERNMENT HAD
IGNORED SCIENTISTS' WARNINGS
AND LET INDUSTRY CARVE UP
THE WETLANDS
THAT PROTECTED
NEW ORLEANS FROM STORMS.
Mark Davis:
ABOUT A MILLION
ACRES OF LAND
HAS DISAPPEARED
SINCE 1930.
IT WAS DONE CANAL BY CANAL,
OIL FIELD BY OIL FIELD,
PORT BY PORT,
PARCEL BY PARCEL.
IT WAS, IF YOU WILL,
DEATH BY 1,000 CUTS.
THE GOVERNING MINDSET,
CULTURALLY AND LEGALLY,
WAS IF THERE'S AN IMPACT,
WE'LL DEAL WITH IT LATER.
AND IN SOME WAYS
THIS IS A PREVIEW
OF WHAT THE REST OF THIS COUNTRY
AND THE REST OF THE WORLD
HAVE IN STORE FOR THEM.
WHEN KATRINA HIT,
THE WETLANDS WEREN'T THERE
TO DIMINISH ITS FORCE
AND THE LEVEES DIDN' STAND A CHANCE.
SO THE REAL CULPRI FOR THE DESTRUCTION
OF NEW ORLEANS
WASN'T JUS A BIG HURRICANE,
BUT GREED DRESSED UP
AS PROGRESS.
WHAT PRODUCED THIS TREMENDOUS
IMPROVEMENT IN TECHNOLOGY?
IT WAS SELF-INTERES OR, IF YOU PREFER, GREED--
THE GREED OF PRODUCERS
WHO WANTED TO PRODUCE SOMETHING
THAT THEY COULD
MAKE A DOLLAR ON.
GREED HAD CAUSED
THE BIGGEST CATASTROPHE
EVER TO HIT THE U.S.
AND NOW THE GOVERNMEN WAS HANDING OU BILLIONS OF DOLLARS
IN REBUILDING CONTRACTS.
IN OTHER WORDS,
LETTING GREED SOLVE
THE PROBLEM.
THERE HAS BEEN
THIS IDEA THAT IT IS
GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY
TO REPLAN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF NEW ORLEANS.
IT'S BETTER TO LEAVE I TO THE MARKET.
WE WANTED TO TAKE A CLOSER
LOOK AT HOW THE MARKE WAS FIXING
THE U.S. GULF COAST.
WE'RE ON OUR WAY
TO THE GULF COAS RECONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE
AT THE WASHINGTON
CONVENTION CENTER.
WE'RE GOING TO TALK TO
A NUMBER OF PEOPLE
WHO ARE BUSY
RECONSTRUCTING NEW ORLEANS.
- YEAH, WATCH OUT.
THERE ARE MANY SILVER-LININGS
TO THIS HORRENDOUS DISASTER,
AND WITH IT HAS COME
AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY.
I'M OPTIMISTIC WHEN I SEE
A ROOMFUL OF FOLKS
WHO WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF THE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THAT'S A GOOD THING
FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE.
IT'S A GREAT THING.
WELL, YOU KNOW,
IT'S LIKE THE ISRAELIS SAY:
ONCE IN A WHILE
A GOOD CRISIS IS NOT BAD;
YOU COME UP
WITH NEW THINGS.
WE WERE SEEING A LO OF NEW THINGS.
BUT WASN'T THIS SUPPOSED
TO BE ABOUT GULF COAS RECONSTRUCTION?
WE'RE ESPECIALLY INTERESTED
IN GULF COAST RECONSTRUCTION.
AND, UH, IS THIS--
DOES THIS HAVE ANYTHING
TO DO WITH THAT?
THIS IS FOR BOMB DETONATION
AND AMMUNITION STORAGE.
PERIMETER
AND PHYSICAL SECURITY,
MAINLY ANTI-RAM
ROADBLOCKERS.
THIS PARTICULAR UNIT CAN BE
USED IN MILITARY APPLICATIONS.
WOW. SO IT'S A REAL
CATASTROPHE TOILET,
BASICALLY.
ALL THIS STUFF WOULD BE GREA FOR THE PEOPLE OF NEW ORLEANS
IF THEY WERE GONNA
FIGHT A WAR.
WHERE WAS THE STUFF
ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE?
- AH, HERE IT WAS.
THE PAVILION
FROM CENTRAL ASIA.
KYRGYZ'S PEOPLE ARE
READY TO HELP
THE PEOPLE OF LOUISIANA,
MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA.
BY ERECTING YURTS
THERE FOR THEM AS
A TEMPORARY SHELTER.
AND HERE'S THE YURT.
- OH MY GOSH.
- THIS IS IT.
YOU CAN COVER IT UP.
YOU CAN BUILD A FIRE--
YOU CAN OPEN IT UP.
AND IF THERE'S A FLOOD,
YOU CAN JUST TAKE IT UP
IN LESS THAN AN HOUR.
- THEY'RE INTERESTED IN SENDING
ONE FREE OF CHARGE...
- GREAT.
- ...TO LOUISIANA AS A TES IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.
- THANK YOU.
- YEP.
- NO!
THE YURT WAS THE ONLY SOLUTION
HERE ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE.
BUT THE GOVERNMENT REPS
DIDN'T SEEM VERY INTERESTED.
THERE'S NO MONEY
IN YURTS.
WE DECIDED WE COULD OUTDO
EVERYONE AT THIS CONFERENCE
AND BEAT THE FREE MARKE AT ITS OWN GAME.
WE WOULD INVENT THE ULTIMATE
DISASTER TECHNOLOGY:
A DEVICE SO SOPHISTICATED
IT COULD PROTECT ANYONE
FROM PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING.
BUT IT WOULD COST SO MUCH
THAT ONLY THE RICHES BUSINESSMEN COULD AFFORD IT.
- THEY KIND OF
JUST FLATTEN OUT.
- YEAH.
THE ONLY QUESTION WAS,
WHAT COMPANY WOULD MAKE
SUCH A THING?
You've got to think
Halliburton.
For they are the ones
who do the research
to make the mud
to build the tool
to run in the well
to make the test
to log the zone
to set the packers,
cement the pipe
and fire the gun,
to perforate,
to pump the gel
that carries the sand
that props the frac,
completes the well to
produce the crude
that runs the world
for all the people
all over the earth
who live in the house
that oil built.
HALLIBURTON HAS BEEN
THE WORLD LEADER
IN EXTRACTING PROFI FROM EVERY KIND OF DISASTER.
THEY MADE BILLIONS OFF
THE FIRST GULF WAR
AND ITS SEQUEL,
AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS
OFF KATRINA--
ALL PAID FOR
BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT,
WHOSE VICE PRESIDENT WAS
ONCE THEIR OWN C.E.O..
IF ANYONE COULD
MAKE A KILLING
FROM TOTAL DISASTER,
HALLIBURTON WOULD
BE THE ONE.
THIS MORNING WE GOT UP
REALLY EARLY,
DROVE UP
TO THE VERY FANCY HOTEL
WHICH SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS
BECAUSE THEY THREATENED US
IF WE USE THE MATERIAL...
WITH THEIR NAME.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT--
WHAT'S IT CALLED,
BASICALLY, THE HOTEL?
- RITZ-CARLTON.
- RITZ-CARLTON, THAT ONE.
- HOW ARE YOU DOING?
- I'M NORTHROP GOODY.
I'M HERE WITH HALLIBURTON,
WITH FRED WOLF.
I'M JUST HELPING
DEMO A PRODUCT.
WOULD EITHER
ONE OF YOU MIND
HELPING US
DEMO THE SUITS?
WE HAVE THREE OF THEM.
SO YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY
STEP INTO IT, PULL IT ON.
- IT'S KIND OF LIKE A COVERALL.
- I'LL WEAR IT.
- YOU'LL WEAR IT?
ALL RIGHT, GREAT.
- I'LL WEAR IT.
- NO PROBLEM.
- YOU'RE A GOOD SPORT.
- YOU'RE A REALLY GOOD SPORT.
- NO PROBLEM.
THE CATASTROPHIC LOSS
CONFERENCE
WAS FOR INSURANCE PEOPLE.
THEY KNEW NUMBER
AND WE WERE ABOU TO SHOW THEM SOME
PRETTY SIMPLE MATH.
WITH GILDA,
WE'D TRIED SCARY.
WITH REGGIE,
WE TRIED GROSS.
NOW WE WOULD GO
FOR RIDICULOUS.
UH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE
BEING INVITED TO SPEAK
ON THIS PANEL.
UM, A LOT OF YOU WORK
WITH THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY,
OF COURSE.
INSURANCE HAS BECOME
EXTREMELY WORRIED
ABOUT SOME GRAVE
NEW DANGERS TO PEOPLE
THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE WORLD
AROUND US TODAY.
AND I'M OF COURSE TALKING
ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE
AND THE DISASTERS
THAT IT BRINGS.
BUT I CAN PERSONALLY
GUARANTEE YOU
THAT LEVEL HEADS WILL ALWAYS
BE ABLE TO TURN LEMONS
INTO LEMONADE.
CONSIDER THE BLACK PLAGUE.
THIS WAS AN UNSPEAKABLY
ROTTEN EVENT, OF COURSE,
IN WHICH ONE-THIRD
OF EUROPE'S POPULATION
DIED IN GREAT AGONY.
NO ONE, OF COURSE,
WOULD WISH SUCH A THING
ON ANY CIVILIZATION.
YET WITHOUT IT--
WITHOUT THE BLACK PLAGUE--
THE OLD BUSINESS MODELS
OF EUROPE WOULD NEVER HAVE
BEEN OVERTURNED
BY THE ENTREPRENEURS
OF THE RENAISSANCE.
AND WHAT WOULD THE WORLD BE
WITHOUT THE MONA LISA?
OR CLOSER TO HOME,
HOW ABOU THE GREAT DELUGE?
THIS WORLD-ENDING DISASTER--
LITERALLY--
WAS SURELY SEEN AS
A TERRIBLE CATASTROPHE
BY NOAH'S CONTEMPORARIES,
AND PERHAPS
BY NOAH HIMSELF.
YET NOAH WAS READY
TO SEIZE THE DAY.
AND AT THE END OF THAT DAY,
NOT ONLY WAS THERE
A WHOLE NEW WORLD,
BUT NOAH FOUND HIMSELF
WITH A MONOPOLY OF THE ANIMALS.
FOR THOSE OF US IN POSITIONS
OF RESPONSIBILITY, HOWEVER,
WHO MIGHT HAVE TO TAKE
CHARGE IN A CRISIS,
EVEN MORE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
ARE NECESSARY.
I'D LIKE NOW
TO INTRODUCE MY COLLEAGUE,
DR. NORTHROP GOODY,
WHO'S THE HEAD OF OUR
EMERGENCY PRODUCTS
DEVELOPMENT UNI AT HALLIBURTON.
AND DR. GOODY WILL BE
SHOWING SOME MOCK-UPS
- OF SOME ITEMS THA HIS UNIT HAS DEVELOPED.
WE WANT SOMETHING THAT'S GOING
TO BE ABLE TO SAVE A HUMAN BEING
NO MATTER WHAT MOTHER NATURE
THROWS AT HIM.
AND SO THIS IS THE ANSWER.
THIS IS THE HALLIBURTON
SURVIVABALL.
IT'S THREE EASY STEPS
FOR DEPLOYMENT: SUITING UP,
INFLATING
AND OF COURSE LAUNCHING--
LAUNCHING OU OF A BUILDING. AND WE HAVE
AN ARTIST'S RENDITION
OF WHAT IT MIGHT BE LIKE
IN HOUSTON WHEN WE LAUNCH
OUR SURVIVABALLS.
IN THE EVEN OF EXTREME CATASTROPHE,
THERE MIGHT BE
A SCARCITY OF RESOURCES.
IN THIS CASE, WE'VE GO A SURVIVABALL HERE...
- ( moos )
- ...THAT'S GOING UP
AND EXTRACTING RESOURCES,
IN THIS CASE,
FROM AN ANIMAL.
YOU DON'T WANT TO BE
EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS,
BUT YOU STILL WANT TO BE ABLE
TO EXTRACT RESOURCES
FROM, FOR EXAMPLE,
A COW.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE
TO GO UNDERWATER,
RATED AT 50'.
THEY CAN BE USED
IN ANY CONDITION.
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER
YOU'RE IN A LANDSLIDE
IN CALIFORNIA
OR EVEN IN THE ARCTIC.
OF COURSE ANY OTHER CONDITIONS,
WHETHER IT'S TSUNAMIS
OR TORNADOES,
THE SURVIVABALL IS
DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND.
BUT THE BEST PAR OF THE SURVIVABALL
IS THAT PEOPLE
NEED PEOPLE.
AND SO OUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION
FOR THE WAY THAT A COMMUNITY
SHOULD WORK
WITH SURVIVABALLS
COMES FROM BIOLOGY.
UM, AS SOME OF YOU
PROBABLY KNOW
AMOEBAS GATHER TOGETHER
AND ACTUALLY FORM ANOTHER BODY.
THEY AGGREGATE.
AND SO THESE ONE-CELLED
ORGANISMS
COME TOGETHER
AS A SINGLE BODY.
FOR EXAMPLE,
HERE'S A RAFT FORMATION
OF SURVIVABALLS
IN THE OCEAN-- FLOATING,
COMMUNICATING,
EXCHANGING NUTRIENTS,
DIFFERENTIATING FUNCTION.
LAST OF ALL,
THIS IS LITERALLY THOUSANDS
OF SURVIVABALLS
DANCING THROUGH
THE STREETS.
AND WE'LL BE HAPPY
TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS
SO IF THERE ARE
ANY MORE TECHNICAL ONES
FOR NORTHROP HERE
OR GENERAL ONES.
YEP.
IF YOU COULD DEMONSTRATE
THE TURTLE POSITION, PLEASE,
THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
BASICALLY
IF YOU DUCK DOWN--
YEAH, A VISOR,
HEADS-UP DISPLAY,
THE WHOLE THING.
- YEAH.
- WELL, YEAH.
HI.
- NORTHROP.
- CAREY. HOW ARE YOU?
IT DOES.
THAT'S IT.
MUCH MORE SO
THAN KATRINA.
YEAH.
YEAH, WELL, I MEAN...
WE'D DONE ALL WE COULD
TO SHOW THESE PEOPLE
WHAT SUCKED
ABOUT LETTING GREED
RUN OUR FUTURE...
- OH DEAR.
- ...BUT INSTEAD
OF FREAKING OUT,
THEY JUST TOOK
OUR BUSINESS CARDS.
HELLO. WONDERFUL.
AND IF YOU WANT TO TAKE
ONE OF MINE HERE?
OUR EFFORT HAD BEEN
A FAILURE.
IT'S NOT VERY
WELL ARTICULATED, REALLY.
AND COME TO THINK OF IT,
ALL OF OUR EFFORTS
HAD BEEN FAILURES.
BUT YOU KNOW,
A YES MAN NEVER GIVES UP.
WE KNEW WE COULD DO IT.
ALL WE NEEDED WAS
A WHOLE NEW APPROACH.
MAYBE MAKING FUN OF STUPID
IDEAS WAS A STUPID IDEA.
WE HAD TO GET SMART,
BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WITH
THE REALLY STUPID IDEAS
WERE VERY VERY SMART.
FOR FRIEDMAN
AND HIS FOLLOWERS,
DISASTER WAS NOT JUS A CHANCE TO GET RICH,
BUT AN OPPORTUNITY
TO PUSH THROUGH
ALL KINDS
OF UNPOPULAR POLICIES,
LIKE PRIVATIZING
PUBLIC SCHOOLS,
SHUTTING DOWN
PUBLIC HOSPITALS,
AND KICKING PEOPLE
OUT OF THEIR HOMES.
THIS IS THE LAFITTE
HOUSING PROJECT.
IT SURVIVED KATRINA INTACT.
THAT WAS LUCKY FOR
THE THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS
WHO WANTED TO COME HOME
AND REBUILD.
SO WHAT DID
THE GOVERNMENT DO?
THEY DECIDED
TO TEAR IT DOWN.
THE DISASTER FOR US
STARTED AFTER THE STORM...
- UH-HUH.
- ...WHEN PEOPLE FOUND OUT THA YOU WERE GONNA BE MAROONED
IN A STRANGE FOREIGN CITY,
WANTING TO COME HOME,
AND THE GOVERNMENT WAS GOING
TO TAKE YOUR HOME AWAY.
THIS WAS OURS BEFORE THE STORM.
AND WHEN STORMS HAPPEN
EVERYWHERE ELSE,
PEOPLE GET A CHANCE TO GO
BACK HOME-- THIS IS HOME TO US.
WHY DO THEY TAKE AWAY OUR PRIDE
AND JOY? THEY DON'T KNOW WHA PEOPLE ARE GOING THROUGH.
Wade Rathke:
THERE'S A WHOLE CITY
THAT'S WASHED AWAY.
NOW YOU'VE GOTTA REBUILD
THE WHOLE THING.
PART OF WHAT THIS WAS
WAS IF YOU EVER HAD AN IDEA
THAT YOU COULDN'T GET THROUGH
BEFORE THE STORM,
WELL, THE STORM MEANT THA EVERYTHING WAS TOSSED SALAD.
SO IF THIS IDEA HAD BEEN
ROUNDLY REJECTED BY THE CITY
AND BY VOTERS
AND WHATEVER,
BUT NOW'S YOUR CHANCE
TO SNEAK ON IN.
WHEN RESIDENTS TRIED
TO COME HOME AFTER KATRINA,
THEY FOUND THEMSELVES
LOCKED OUT BY HUD,
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING
AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.
Pres Kabacoff:
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMEN CAME UP WITH A PROGRAM
TO DISMANTLE
PUBLIC HOUSING
AND PRIVATIZE IT.
AND THAT'S
WHAT WE'RE DOING.
AND SO YOU'VE GO TO DEVELOP A NICE COMMUNITY
SO THAT THE POOR HAVE
AN OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE
IN AN ENVIRONMEN WHERE PEOPLE WORK,
THAT THEY'RE PART OF
THE AMERICAN DREAM.
AND YOU'LL GE A NUMBER OF FOLKS
THAT ARE NOT USED TO
THE TYPE OF LIFESTYLE
THAT WE ALL LIVE,
WHERE TRASH IS THROWN
ON THE GROUND
OR CURSING OFF
OF THE BALCONY.
THE IDEA REALLY IS
TO PROVIDE ROLE MODELS,
ESSENTIALLY,
- FOR POOR FOLKS, RIGHT?
- ABSOLUTELY.
ON THE B.B.C.,
WE TRIED TO SHOW
THAT COMPANIES COULD
BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY.
AND WE'D LEARNED THAT THEY
COULDN' UNTIL GOVERNMENT MADE RULES
TO CONTROL THEM.
YET EVEN HERE
IN NEW ORLEANS,
WHERE HELP WAS MOST NEEDED,
GOVERNMENT WAS ALSO DRINKING
THE FREE-MARKET KOOL-AID.
I BELIEVE IN
A MARKET-DRIVEN PROCESS.
ECONOMICS, CAPITALISM--
IT'S GONNA TAKE OVER.
AND THE MARKETPLACE
IS POISED TO RESPOND.
SO THE GOVERNMENT DIDN' BELIEVE IN GOVERNMENT.
WE KNEW WHAT WE HAD TO DO:
WE WOULD BECOME
THE GOVERNMENT.
AND WE WOULD FIND OU WHAT WOULD HAPPEN
IF GOVERNMENT DID
THE RIGHT THING.
WE ARE PREPARING
TO GO TO THE GULF COAS RECONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE
- AT THE PONTCHARTRAIN CENTER
IN KENNER NEAR THE AIRPORT.
- LET'S GO.
- YOU SHOULDN'T DRIVE.
SOMEBODY ELSE SHOULD DRIVE.
- OKAY.
SO IT'S ALMOST LIKE WE SHOULD
BE SAYING WE ARE FACING
A STATE OF EMERGENCY.
I'M GOING TO SPEAK AS HUD,
AS THE DEPUTY ASSISTAN OF SECRETARY OF HUD
WHO COULDN'T MAKE IT,
AND C.N.N. IS GOING
TO BE COVERING IT VE.
THIS CONFERENCE
WAS TAKING PLA
ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY
OF KATRINA.
A THOUSAND CONTRACTORS WHO
WERE REBUILDING NEW ORLEANS
WOULD BE THERE.
WHAT'S THAT?
OH MY GOD.
MAYOR RAY NAGIN COMING
IS A BIT MORE
THAN WE EXPECTED
WOULD HAPPEN.
WHEN WE HATCHED OUR SCHEME
WE TOLD THIS GUY--
THE CONFERENCE ORGANIZER--
THAT WE REPRESENTED
ALPHONSO JACKSON,
THE HEAD OF HUD.
WHEN THE MAYOR AND GOVERNOR
FOUND OUT THAT JACKSON
WOULD BE THERE,
THEY HAD TO BE THERE TOO.
ONCE AGAIN,
THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER
WOULDN'T SHOW UP,
BUT HIS ASSISTANT WOULD.
WOULD THE MAYOR NOTICE
THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG?
AND WHAT WOULD
THE CONTRACTORS THINK
OF HUD'S RADICAL
NEW APPROACH TO PUBLIC HOUSING,
AN APPROACH THAT COULD
COST THEM MONEY
AND EVEN PUT SOME
OF THEM OUT OF A JOB?
...OF THE U.S. DEPARTMEN OF HOUSING AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT.
SO IT'S AN HONOR
TO SHARE THE STAGE
WITH OUR TWO PARTNERS
IN RECOVERY,
WITH RENE OSWIN,
REPRESENTING HUD,
WHO'S DEFINITELY ONE
OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT PARTNERS
IN THIS REBUILDING EFFORT,
AND MAYOR NAGIN OF NEW ORLEANS,
WHOSE CHALLENGES ARE ENORMOUS.
AND I ALSO WANT TO STOP
AND THANK RENE,
WHO'S HERE FROM HUD.
HUD HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE
INCREDIBLE PARTNER WITH US.
WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF DOING
SOME REALLY UNIQUE THINGS,
SOMETHING THA WE COULD HAVE NEVER TACKLED
IN THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS,
AND NOW WE ARE POISED
AND POSITIONED TO ENHANCE
PUBLIC HOUSING
IN THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S LOTS
OF INFORMATION OUT THERE,
THERE'S LOTS
OF MISINFORMATION OUT THERE.
BUT I HAVE
A FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF
THAT TRUTH AND LIE CANNO STAY IN THE SAME PLACE
AT THE SAME TIME.
REMINDS ME OF A STORY
I ONCE HEARD.
TRUTH AND LIE WENT SWIMMING
ONE DAY IN LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN.
THEY WENT SKINNY-DIPPING,
SO THEY LAID THEIR CLOTHES
ON THE BANKS.
AND THEY WERE OUT THERE
HAVING A REALLY GOOD TIME.
BUT THEN LIE ALL OF A SUDDEN
JUMPED OUT THE WATER
PUT TRUTH'S CLOTHES ON
AND STARTED RUNNING DOWN
ESPLANADE--
ELYSIAN FIELDS AVENUE.
TRUTH GOT OUT THE WATER
AND STARTED RUNNING AFTER LIE.
SO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
WHAT YOU HAD WAS
A WELL-DRESSED LIE BEING
CHASED BY NAKED TRUTH.
THAT'S QUITE
A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW.
NOTHING LIKE THAT TO MAKE YOU
FEEL A BIT NAKED, EH?
UH... DEAR FRIENDS,
IT IS WITH THE GREATEST JOY
THAT I ANNOUNCE TO YOU TODAY
A BRAND-NEW DEPARTMENT OF
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.
EVERYTHING IS
GOING TO CHANGE
ABOUT THE WAY WE WORK
AND THE CHANGE IS
GOING TO START RIGHT HERE
TODAY IN NEW ORLEANS.
UNTIL LAST WEEK,
OUR M.O. HERE AT HUD
WAS TO TEAR DOWN PUBLIC
HOUSING WHENEVER WE COULD.
LIKE MANY FOLKS
IN WASHINGTON,
WE THOUGH THE PROJECTS CAUSED
CRIME AND UNEMPLOYMENT.
WE WERE WRONG.
WHEN WE TORE DOWN
ST. THOMAS AND REPLACED I WITH MIXED-INCOME FLATS,
ONLY ONE
OF 27 FORMER RESIDENTS
EVER MADE IT BACK.
AND THE REST HAVE FACED
MANY PROBLEMS,
IN SOME CASES
EVEN HOMELESSNESS.
IT JUST DIDN'T WORK.
WE WON'T MAKE
THAT ERROR AGAIN.
THIS AFTERNOON
WE WILL BEGIN TO REOPEN
ALL PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECTS
IN NEW ORLEANS
AND ALLOW
THESE AMERICANS TO BE PAR OF THEIR CITY ONCE AGAIN.
BUT OPENING DOORS--
THANK YOU.
BUT OPENING DOORS
WON'T BE ENOUGH.
AS YOU KNOW,
THE MAIN REASON NEW ORLEANS
WAS SO VULNERABLE TO KATRINA
WAS THE DESTRUCTION
OF THE WETLANDS.
I AM VERY VERY
VERY PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE
THAT EXXON AND SHELL
HAVE AGREED TO FINANCE
WETLANDS REBUILDING
FROM PART OF THE $60 BILLION
IN PROFITS THIS YEAR.
AS J. STEPHEN SIMON,
EXN VICE PRESIDENT, WRITES,
"EXXON MOBIL IS
EARMARKING $8.6 BILLION
FROM REVENUES OUR COMPANY
HAS MADE IN THIS REGION,
SO AS TO ASSURE THA EXXON MOBIL NEVER AGAIN
HAS A HAND IN DESTROYING
A LARGE AMERICAN CITY."
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
WE WILL REBUILD NO JUST NEW ORLEANS,
WE WILL REBUILD
THE AMERICAN DREAM.
PLEASE COME JOIN US
AT THE LAFITTE HOUSING COMPLEX
FOR A RIBBON-CUTTING
CEREMONY IMMEDIATELY
AFTER THE PLENARY SESSION.
THIS IS WHA WE'RE ALL HERE FOR,
SO LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN.
LET'S BRING
NEW ORLEANS BACK.
I THOUGHT IT WAS
VERY UPLIFTING.
THIS HAS BEEN A BIG PROBLEM.
A LOT OF PEOPLE WAN TO COME HOME
AND THEY HAVE BEEN
UNABLE TO DO SO,
SO I THOUGHT IT WAS
A VERY POSITIVE MESSAGE.
OH, VERY ENCOURAGING.
AND WHAT'S REALLY ENCOURAGING
IN PARTICULAR IS NOT ONLY
GETTING PEOPLE BACK HOME
AND HELPING THEM REBUILD,
BUT THE RECOGNITION
THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL
WITH MOTHER NATURE.
AND THAT EXXON IS GOING
TO MAKE SOME SIGNIFICAN CONTRIBUTION
TO RESTORE WETLANDS IS--
IT'S VERY ENCOURAGING.
THIS WAS ENCOURAGING.
WHEN THE CONTRACTORS HEARD
THAT THE GOVERNMEN WAS GOING
TO DO THE RIGHT THING,
EVEN THOUGH IT MIGH COST THEM SOME BUSINESS,
THEY CHEERED.
FRIEDMAN WAS WRONG.
GREED ALONE DIDN'T RULE
THE WORLD.
- HI.
- HI. MY NAME'S STEVE STRADER,
WITH W.W.L.
- MIND IF I TALK
TO YOU OVER HERE?
- ABSOLUTELY.
- DO YOU HAVE A CARD?
- NO, NOT TODAY.
AND THIS TIME WE'D
GOTTEN AWAY TH IT...
- ALL RIGHT, THANKS. BYE-BYE.
- ...OR SO WE THOUGHT.
THE CITY AND THE STATE
BOTH SAY THEY'VE NOT HEARD
ANYTHING ABOUT THIS,
THAT THIS ANNOUNCEMEN COMES AS A SURPRISE TO
THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
WHY WOULD HUD DO THIS
WITHOUT CONSULTING
THE CITY AND THE STATE?
WELL, IT'S SUCH A--
WE HAVEN'T DONE THIS
WITHOUT CONSULTING WITH THEM.
YOU HAVE NO CARDS.
YOU SAY YOU'RE NEW
TO THE AGENCY?
I HAVE A CARD, BUT IT'S
BACK AT THE OFFICE.
- I'LL GET IT TO YOU.
- WHERE IS YOUR P.R. TEAM?
- I'M RIGHT HERE, HI.
- UM... THERE.
- HI, YOU'RE WITH HUD?
- YES, I AM.
- DO YOU HAVE A CARD?
- THERE'S AN ENTIRE HUD
HOUSING PROJECT THERE
- LEFT UNFINISHED.
- YEAH.
THERE ARE SOME SAYING
THAT THIS IS A FARCE,
THAT YOU'RE NOT TRULY
WITH HUD AND THAT THIS IS
NOT AN ACTUAL ANNOUNCEMENT.
WELL, THEY CAN SAY
WHATEVER THEY WANT.
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
- WHERE IS YOUR OFFICE?
- IN WASHINGTON.
WHERE IN WASHINGTON.
HE DID JUST-- HE JUS JOINED THE AGENCY
FROM FRANCE.
- HE'S A--
- FROM FRANCE?
YEAH, HE'S BEEN
A SPECIAL ATTACHE
TO THE DEPARTMEN OF THE INTERIOR IN FRANCE.
WHY ARE YOU
SO SKEPTICAL?
WE JUST HEARD THE SPEECH
AND I HAVE A NEWSCAS VERY SHORTLY.
I NEED TO CONFIRM
IF IT WAS
A REAL SPEECH
FROM HUD OR NOT.
THE GOVERNOR AND THE MAYOR
KNEW NOTHING OF IT.
THEY WERE SHOCKED.
WE DESPERATELY NEED TO KNOW
IF THIS IS REAL OR NOT.
HE'S STANDING RIGHT HERE,
THE MAN WHO JUST APPARENTLY
COMMITTED THIS HOAX
ON YOUR DEPARTMENT.
I'M ON THE PHONE
WITH HUD RIGHT NOW
AND THEY SAY YOU'RE A LIAR.
OKAY, WELL, THEY CAN SAY
WHATEVER THEY WANT.
- I'M SORRY.
- THEY CAN SAY
WHATEVER THEY LIKE.
"THEY CAN SAY
WHATEVER THEY LIKE."
BUT YOU WORK FOR THEM
- DON'T YOU,
AS A DEPUTY SECRETARY?
- THAT'S RIGHT.
NOW THAT YOU'VE BEEN
DISCOVERED, DO YOU WANT TO
EXPLAIN TO ME WHY YOU DID IT?
IF YOU'RE TRYING
TO MAKE A POINT,
WHY DON'T YOU
COME OVER HERE
AND TELL ME WHY
YOU DID THIS?
ALL RIGHT, MAN.
I'LL CALL YOU
IN A FEW MINUTES.
BUT IT IS A HOAX--
A MASSIVE HOAX
PERPETRATED TODAY.
- YOU JUST PULLED OFF
A HECK OF A HOAX.
- THANK YOU.
IT-- I MEAN, I WOULD
SAY THAT, YOU KNOW,
HUD IS PULLING OFF
A HOAX BY PRETENDING THA TEARING DOWN AFFORDABLE HOUSING
IS WHAT'S GONNA SOLVE IT.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHA THEY'VE BEEN DOING UNTIL NOW.
THIS IS A TIME WHEN
ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ARE
CLAMORING TO GET BACK IN.
THEY WANT TO GET BACK
INTO THEIR HOUSING AND
THEY DESERVE TO BE THERE.
IT'S CRAZY.
- AND WORTH LYING
TO ALL THESE PEOPLE?
- OH, ABSOLUTELY.
ABSOLUTELY.
ACTUALLY TELLING THE TRUTH.
THIS IS ACTUALLY TRUTH-TELLING
WHERE NORMALLY THERE
WOULD ONLY BE LIES.
HOW DIFFICULT WOULD IT BE
TO REMEDIATE WHAT YOU
SEE HERE TODAY
AND MAKE IT INHABITABLE,
SAY, NEXT WEEK?
JUST TAKE OFF THE--
TAKE OFF THE COVERS HERE.
OH YEAH, THAT'S
A GOOD START, YEAH?
- ABSOLUTELY.
- THAT'S IT.
FINALLY
WE WILL BE REOPENING
PUBLIC HOUSING
FOR THE RESIDENTS--
FOR THE WORKFORCE
THAT'S GOING TO MOVE BACK IN
AND AGAIN REBUILD
NEW ORLEANS.
Sick, twisted, cruel--
those are all words used
to describe the prank
on Louisiana officials
and about 1,000 contractors
in New Orleans today.
I'm deputy
assistant secretary,
to-- of the assistant,
essentially, of Secretary
Alphonso Jackson.
Rene Oswin can't get his title
right or his relationship
to HUD secretary
Alphonso Jackson.
After taking
the mayor for a ride,
these contractors followed him
to a makeshift ribbon cutting
at the Lafitte
Housing Project.
Mr. Oswin, you're not even
on the directory of HUD.
You're not even listed--
don't have a phone number.
It's come to that,
has it?
It's come to that.
Thanks for being the one
to break the news.
HANO, the Housing
Authority of New Orleans
says this is simply
a cruel cruel joke,
trying to give people
some kind of fake hope
that they were going to be
able to move back.
...THIS WHOLE
PRESS CONFERENCE.
I GUESS IT'S JUS TO CALL THEIR HAND.
I RESPECT THIS HOAX,
BECAUSE MAYBE IT'LL TAKE
A HOAX LIKE THIS
TO BRING THEM OUT HERE
TO SEE WHAT WE'RE
GOING THROUGH.
SO IF THE HOAX WHAT IT BE,
A HOAX IS WHAT WE GOT.
AND I AIN'T MAD.
I'M GRABBING ME
SOME BARBECUE.
Juakali:
I THINK WHA YOU GUYS EXPOSED
IS THE FACT THAT HUD
COULD DO THESE GREAT THINGS
IF THEY WANTED TO.
SECONDLY, YOU GO THE ATTENTION OF THE RESIDENTS
SO NOW THEY'RE GONNA
BEGIN TO ASK,
"WELL, WHY AREN'T YOU
DOING THESE THINGS?"
AND NUMBER THREE,
YOU'RE CREATING A CONTROVERSY
TO FEED OFF, TO ORGANIZE
AND TO BUILD A STRUGGLE
TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
SO IN MY OPINION,
EVERYTHING Y'ALL DID
WAS EXCELLENT.
IT HAD ALL BEEN WORTHWHILE.
WE WERE
ON TOP OF THE WORLD.
BUT THEN REALITY BEGAN
TO SINK IN.
WE'D MADE A SPLASH,
BUT WE HADN' FIXED THE WORLD.
THE FREE MARKET WAS STILL
DESTROYING NEW ORLEANS.
ALL OVER THE WORLD,
PEOPLE WERE LOSING THEIR HOMES.
CLIMATE CHANGE KEP GETTING WORSE.
AND IN BHOPAL,
PEOPLE CONTINUED TO SUFFER.
WE REALLY DID NEED
TO FIX THE WORLD.
BUT IT WAS GONNA TAKE
MORE THAN TWO GUYS
WITH CHEAP SUITS
AND FAKE WEBSITES.
IT WOULD TAKE
MILLIONS OF US.
BUT EVEN AS OLD REGIMES
WERE SWEPT AWAY,
WE KNEW THAT REAL CHANGE
WOULDN'T COME EASY.
AFTER ALL,
THE FREE-MARKET CUL WAS STILL HERE.
- WEALTH.
- MONEY.
- PRIVATIZATION.
- WEALTH.
- MONEY.
- FREE MARKETS.
- PRIVATIZATION.
- OWNERSHIP.
A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY.
NOW WE CAN AFFORD THAT.
REMEMBER THESE GUYS?
THEY'RE NOT GOING AWAY.
AND NEITHER WOULD WE.
WE NEEDED A REALLY
AMBITIOUS PLAN,
BECAUSE ALL WE EVER READ
IN THE NEWSPAPERS
WAS HOW WE NEEDED TO PU EVERYTHING BACK ON TRACK,
BACK TO HOW IT WAS
BEFORE IT FELL APART.
BUT HOW IT WAS
WAS THE PROBLEM.
WE NEEDED TO SHOW WHA REAL CHANGE COULD LOOK LIKE.
SO TOGETHER WITH A WHOLE
LOT OF FRIENDS,
WE WOULD BLANKET MANHATTAN
WITH 100,000 COPIES
OF OUR VERY OWN NEWSPAPER.
WE'D CALL I "THE NEW YORK TIMES."
EXCEPT OUR "NEW YORK TIMES"
WOULD BE A LITTLE BI DIFFERENT.
OURS WOULD BE SET SIX MONTHS
IN THE FUTURE.
IT WOULD SHOW WHA COULD HAPPEN
IF WE SE OUR IMAGINATION FREE.
THINGS HAVE
GOTTEN PRETTY BAD
AND I THINK IT'S HARD
FOR PEOPLE TO IMAGINE
THE WORLD WORKING
ANOTHER WAY.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO,
AS REALISTICALLY
AS POSSIBLE,
PRESENT THIS WORLD
AS IT COULD BE.
THEY JUST BROUGHT UP
THE PROOF
OF "THE NEW YORK TIMES" AND I LOOKS UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE.
REALLY GOOD.
The obvious question:
how the heck did you do it?
Andy, do you want to start?
How long were you working
on this thing
- and how many of you?
- There were a lot of us.
It wasn't just the Yes Men.
It was a large group of people.
We were just one of many groups.
It was an idea that sparked
a lot of people's imaginations.
They wanted
to see this happen.
And that's sort of the message
of the paper as well--
is "Great.
We elected Obama
and that's fantastic,
but now the real work
begins."
The idea was to put out
something that was optimistic,
that says we can do
all these things.
Why not?
We created the system that we
have now, so why not create
a good one instead?
- WOW, VERY GOOD.
- LET ME TIE YOU UP.
- THIS IS THE BIG DAY.
- "NEW YORK TIMES."
7:00 A.M. RUSH HOUR,
THIS IS THE TIME
TO GET THE PAPERS
OUT THERE.
- MORNING. FREE "TIMES."
- FREE "NEW YORK TIMES."
SPECIAL ISSUE.
SPECIAL ISSUE.
"NEW YORK TIMES,"
FREE "NEW YORK TIMES."
SPECIAL EDITION
OF "THE NEW YORK TIMES."
FREE "NEW YORK TIMES."
IS THIS REAL?
- IT'S FAKE, RIGHT?
- WHO PUBLISHES THIS?
CAN I GRAB
ANOTHER ONE OF THESE?
- WHAT?
- WHAT?
"NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE
ACT PASSES."
SO THE PATRIOT--
THE PATRIOT ACT REPEALED.
"MAXIMUM WAGE LAW SUCCEEDS."
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ONE.
THIS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.
BUT... IT'S NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
IT'S A DREAM NEWSPAPER.
RIGHT?
IT'S LIKE YOU WAKE UP AND ALL
THE THINGS THAT YOU WANTED
BECAME THE NEWS.
THE WAR'S OVER!
OUR FAKE NEWS WAS A HIT.
NEWSPAPER!
NEWS FROM THE FUTURE.
BUT WOULD THE REAL NEWS
PICK IT UP?
YOU DON'T WORK
FOR "THE NEW YORK TIMES."
WHO IS IT THAT YOU WORK FOR
- HANDING THIS OUT?
- A GUY NAMED JOHN-- JOHN SMITH.
- YEAH, JOHN SMITH.
- JOHN SMITH?
IT'S "THE NEW YORK TIMES,"
SPECIAL EDITION. IS THERE
ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT?
YEAH, IT'S NO "THE NEW YORK TIMES."
Read all about it.
"The New York Times" declares
the war in Iraq is over.
Some commuters got
their hands on what
looks like a special edition
of "The New York Times."
As you might have
guessed though,
- it's a fake.
We printed a paper
with the headlines
that we'd like to see.
So if these were
the headlines
that people were so excited
to read this morning,
let's make them happen.
Lili Taylor:
WE'RE GONNA HAVE
TO EXERCISE SOME MUSCLES
THAT WE EITHER DON'T HAVE
OR THAT HAVE ATROPHIED.
OR SOMETHING--
A CIVIC MUSCLE,
A THRIFTY MUSCLE,
A GENEROUS MUSCLE.
Medea Benjamin:
WE'VE GOT TO TAKE BACK
OUR GOVERNMENT.
MARCH INTO CITY HALL AND SAY,
"HERE, WE'VE GOT T SOLUTIONS."
Frances Fox Piven:
WE CAN THINK OF THE
DIFFERENT WAYS
THAT WE CAN CONTRIBUTE
TO A MOVEMENT THAT SAYS
BUSINESS AS USUAL
IS UNACCEPTABLE,
BECAUSE PEOPLE
ARE BEING HUR AND WE'RE NOT GOING
TO PLAY THE ROLE--
THE SUBSERVIENT,
ROUTINE ROLE
THAT WE USUALLY PLAY.
- LET'S GO!
- WE'RE GOING, WE'RE GOING.
MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN.
PUT YOUR EFFORT ON THE LINE
TO MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN.
AND THAT'S WHAT,
KINDA, WE DID HERE.
AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE--
IT'S WHAT...
YEAH, IT'S KIND OF, YEAH.
- OH BOY!
- NO, I KNOW, YEAH!
AND IF A FEW PEOPLE
AT THE TOP CAN MAKE
THE BAD NEWS HAPPEN,
THEN WHY CAN'T ALL
OF US AT THE BOTTOM
GET TOGETHER
AND MAKE THE GOOD NEWS
HAPPEN FOR A CHANGE?
I MEAN, FOR REAL?
I'm extremely happy to be here
because today is a very historic occasion
for all of us at DOW.
And I am grateful.
Let's walk that way.
I am grateful.
You're extremely pleased at the -
I'm extremely pleased
to be here.
Yes, extremely pleased
to be here, Steve.
This is my friend Andy...
- Hi. Bonjour.
- Bonjour, Monsieur.
...and my name is Mike.
Today I'm holding
the camera.
- And is it okay if--
- Yes. Sure.
- It's a good thing
to know.
- Exactly.
Andy is about to go
on live television
in front
of 300 million people.
They're gonna think
that he represents
one of the largest companies
in the world...
which he doesn't.
And that's why
he looks so nervous.
Should I typically
just look...
- Yeah.
- ...Right into
the camera? Okay.
Let's see here.
Andy's about to tell
a really big lie
which, unfortunately,
is gonna wipe
$2 billion
off one company's
stock price.
But before
I tell you this story...
- One minute.
- ...I guess
I should tell you
how we got ourselves
into this situation.
- Hi, my name's Mike.
- And I'm Andy.
And this is a movie
in which the two of us...
fix the world.
Aren't we fixing
the world?
- Yes.
- Well, come on.
- I'm scared.
Now what?
What we do is
pass ourselves off
as representatives
of big corporations
we don't like.
We make fake websites
then wait for people
to accidentally invite us
to conferences.
My name is Fred.
I'm from Halliburton.
My name is
Hanniford Schmidt.
I'm with the World Trade Organization.
I'm from Arizona.
My name is
Francisco Guerrero.
Orboloo Hochmanks.
Hundreds of oil
and gas executives
were duped today.
Louisiana officials
are taken for a ride
by the Yes Men.
- The Yes Men.
- The Yes Men,
antiglobalization activists
that travel the world
pulling pranks
at corporate events.
...a bunch of lefty
protestors...
...world-renowned
troublemakers...
Sick, twisted, cruel--
And what
they do is they like
to take absurd ideas,
and they present these ideas
in all seriousness.
The group has done this
many times before.
They have a track record
of getting away with it.
So how did this happen?
Equity International says
the imposters showed up...
At home in our
underground headquarters,
it was time
to start planning
our next mission.
Tom Foreman:
Tens of thousands
of Iraqis have died.
Worries are growing
among top government
and business leaders
about the surge
of food riots--
Foreman:
Markets continue to shake.
Unemployment is up.
Oil companies reported
the highest profits in
the history of the world.
But with so many things
going wrong,
who should
we go after next?
We got our answer when
a text message arrived.
DOW CHEMICAL had
just bought Union Carbide,
a company that became
infamous in the 1980s.
You remember
the 1980s--
Challenger,
Chernobyl...
Bhopal.
Bhopal?
In 1984
when Union Carbide's
pesticide plant
at Bhopal exploded,
at least 5,000 people
died within weeks
and 100,000 more remain
sick for life.
It was the biggest industrial
disaster in history,
but Union Carbide settled
with the Indian government
for $470 million,
meaning most
of the victims got
less than $1,000 each.
Warren Anderson:
Now I just want to say to
Shareholders of Union Carbide
that I am confident
that the victims
can be fairly
and equitably compensated
without a material
adverse affect
on the financial condition
of Union Carbide corporation.
There was
little adverse affect
on the shareholders
but in Bhopal,
people continued to suffer.
When DOW announced
it would buy Union Carbide,
there was
finally hope for justice.
DOW said it would
compensate victims
of Carbide's past negligence
and promptly paid
over $2 billion...
...to 14 asbestos
plaintiffs in Texas.
DOW could do for Bhopal
what they'd done for Texas,
but we knew
they wouldn't.
So we decided
to do it for them.
We set up a fake
DOW Chemical website,
DowEthics.com,
and we waited...
- and waited...
...and waited.
- Then one day
we got our chance.
You have mail.
We'd just been invited
to a conference
on international finance.
Some of the biggest banks
in the world would be there.
These were the kind
of banks who helped companies
like Union Carbide
and DOW do what they do.
A company might say
"We're going to build
a shoddy plant
in an underdeveloped country
with a corrupt
legal system.
The plant might explode
and people might die,
but we'll make
a lot of money."
And the bank
comes back and says,
"Great!
Sounds like a plan."
What could
we possibly do
to show bankers
what was wrong
with this logic?
So right now
I'm painting
Gilda
the gilded skeleton--
Actually,
the golden skeleton--
That we're going to use
in the DOW Chemical lecture
in London at
Financial Services Conference
in just
a few short days.
The only good skeleton
is a gold skeleton.
In case Gilda
didn't scare them enough
we had a backup plan.
we rented a theatrical
pyrotechnics unit here
- so that we can...
- oh yeah, thank you.
...make a big puff of smoke...
- AH!
- Oh my God.
We are on our way
to a conference
and Erastus Hamm is
going to be speaking
at the conference
as DOW Chemical Company.
Our plan was to have
DOW demonstrate
for the first time ever
exactly how they calculate
the cash value of human life.
Would this make
the bankers think twice?
It was time
to find out.
Thank you very much.
On May 1st we are releasing the beta version
of "Acceptable Risk",
the world's first
market-smart risk calculator,
to help you
find out instantly
what risks are
or are not acceptable
from a bottem-line
business perspective.
will Project X be
just another skeleton
in the closet,
something your company
comes to regret?
or will it be
a golden skeleton?
Complex case
is I.B.M.'s sale
of technology
to World War II Germany
for use in identifying
certain populations.
This was very bad,
of course,
but no one can deny
they were profitable.
And although the issue
remains a skeleton
in the closet,
in retrospect, it is
quite clearly golden.
Now you may have heard
the joke "How many Americans
does it take to screw
in a light bulb?
12--
One to climb the ladder
and 11 to file the lawsuit."
"What about Indians?
Oh, just one."
We would, of course,
never wish to imply
that an Indian life
is worth more or less
than another.
I myself believe
in the sanctity
of all life.
But the market has
its own logic,
and if we're willing
to live with it,
we must make the most
of the choices it makes.
Because if there's
one thing
that we at DOW want you
to remember today,
it's that
the only good skeleton
is a gold skeleton.
- Ooh!
Surprise.
This is Gilda.
She's the mascot
for the DOW
"Acceptable Risk" program.
Gilda is here
to basically tell you
that if you have
a skeleton in the closet,
it may not be
just a skeleton.
It could very well be a
golden skeleton as well.
And as you move
into a future
of ever-increasing
complexity
and ever-increasing
opportunities,
DOW Acceptable Risk
can assure you
that your touch
will be the Midas one.
And I'd like to finish
with a little poem.
"I'd rather be
handsome than homely,
I'd rather
be youthful than old,
If I can't have
a bushel of silver,
I'll do
with a barrel of gold."
So thank you very much.
We hope you come up
- and get a closer look.
- THANK YOU.
- Thanks a lot.
- Thank you. Thanks.
Thank you very much.
Here is a keychain.
Thank you very much.
Absolutely.
- Thank you.
- Unfortunately, I don't
have a card anymore,
- I ran out of them.
- Oh wonderful.
Yes, you were one
of the earlier speakers.
- Thanks.
- Yes. It's a pleasure.
- Thank you.
- It was very interesting.
Is it applicable--
Is your model applicable
to anything?
I mean, can we use it
in risk management?
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
I'll have our
risk-management guys
take a look at it,
'cause we do a lot
of interesting things.
Wonderful.
This is interesting.
- Thanks a lot.
- Thank you.
- Okay, take care.
- Yes, hello.
Hello, sorry...
- Mhm. Yeah.
- And you--
That's right.
Yeah, well -- Yeah.
- Is that right?
Well, that's pretty much--
Yeah, that's exactly
what I said.
It's--
Did you find that not--
Okay.
Refreshing?
We meant to be shocking,
not refreshingly honest.
To us, this was
about refreshing as
the Kool-Aid in Jonestown.
The mass suicide and murder
of more than 900 Americans
who took
cyanide-laced fruit punch
from their
spiritual father
and then
laid down to die.
THAT'S THE THING
ABOUT CULTS--
WHAT'S SHOCKING
TO OUTSIDERS
SEEMS NORMAL
TO INSIDERS.
IS THIS
WHY UNFETTERED GREED
SEEMED NORMAL
TO BANKERS?
AND IF SO, WHO WAS
THE CULT LEADER HERE?
THIS IS
MILTON FRIEDMAN.
WE WERE TOLD THA HE WAS THE WORLD'S
MOST INFLUENTIAL
ECONOMIST.
DID GOVERNMENT PLAY
A ROLE IN THIS?
VERY LITTLE.
ONLY BY KEEPING
THE ROAD CLEAR
FOR HUMAN GREED
AND SELF-INTERES TO PROMOTE THE WELFARE
OF THE CONSUMER.
IN THIS BOOK, FRIEDMAN USED
THE WORD FREEDOM
374 TIMES.
BUT BY FREEDOM,
HE DIDN'T MEAN THIS.
HE MEANT THIS--
THE FREEDOM
OF CORPORATIONS
TO PROFIT,
NO MATTER
THE RISK TO PEOPLE
AND WITHOUT INTERFERENCE
FROM GOVERNMENT.
DR. MILTON FRIEDMAN--
A SCIENTIST,
A CAREFUL THINKER
AND A GREAT TEACHER--
George W. Bush:
A HERO OF FREEDOM--
MILTON FRIEDMAN.
I SOUGHT OUT DR. FRIEDMAN
AND HAD THE GREAT PLEASURE
AND PRIVILEGE
OF MEETING HIM
AND HIS ECONOMIST WIFE ROSE.
WE'VE ALL
BECOME FRIENDS,
AND NOW
I CALL HIM MILTON.
IF WE WANTED TO UNDERSTAND
THE BANKERS' MINDSET,
WE NEEDED TO FIND
THE GURU OF GREED.
THERE WAS
ONLY ONE PROBLEM.
BUT THOUGH FRIEDMAN
HAD NOW ASCENDED,
HIS FOLLOWERS CARRIED
THE FLAME.
OKAY, SO WE SHOULD
GO IN THERE?
- YEAH.
- GREAT. THANK YOU.
UNCLE MILTY I CALL HIM.
THESE GUYS BELONG
TO FREE-MARKET THINK TANKS
WHICH HAVE SPENT BILLIONS
OF CORPORATE DOLLARS
TRYING TO MAKE
US ALL BELIEVE
THAT IF WE JUS LET CORPORATIONS
DO WHAT THEY WANT,
EVERYTHING WILL
WORK OUT GREAT.
WE'RE KIND OF
ON A QUEST.
WE WAN TO FIX THE WORLD
AND WE WANT TO KNOW
HOW TO DO IT.
PRIVATE PROPERTY,
RULE OF LAW
AND A MARKET UNRESTRICTED
BY GOVERNMEN REGULATION AND CONTROL.
WHEN WE SEE
COMPANIES DEMONIZED,
WE SHOULD WORK
AGAINST THAT.
WHEN WE SEE
THE FREE-MARKE SYSTEM CASTIGATED
WE MUST WORK
AGAINST THAT.
MORE WEALTH LEADS
TO GREATER EFFICIENCY,
GREATER INNOVATION
AND, BASICALLY,
ALL GOOD THINGS.
- WEALTH.
- MONEY.
- PRIVATIZATION.
- WEALTH.
- MONEY.
- INDIVIDUALIST FREEDOM.
- PRIVATIZATION.
- FREE MARKETS.
- OWNERSHIP.
- AND A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY.
CAPITALISM AND FREEDOM.
WEALTH AND PROSPERITY.
WE WERE GETTING
THE MESSAGE,
AND SO WERE
MILLIONS OF OTHERS.
THESE GUYS
SPREAD FRIEDMAN'S
FREE-MARKET GOSPEL
BY ANY MEANS
THAT THEY CAN,
LIKE SPEAKING
TO CONGRESS,
VIRAL VIDEOS
AND GUEST SPOTS
ON SUNDAY MORNING
TALK SHOWS.
THEY CLAIM TO HAVE DERAILED
THE KYOTO PROTOCOL
AND TO HAVE HELPED
DESTROY REGULATION
AROUND HOUSING,
BANKING, ENERGY
AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
THEY AGREED TO MEE PRETTY MUCH ANYONE
WITH A CAMERA...
- EVEN US.
YOU SEE THERE'S
A BLUE SCREEN
BEHIND YOU.
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE
TO BE PUT IN FRONT OF?
A PLANET EARTH.
OH COOL,
A BLUE SCREEN.
I'D SAY
THE JEFFERSON MONUMENT.
- HOW ABOU JEFFERSON MEMORIAL?
- IT'S ALREADY TAKEN.
- OH, IT IS TAKEN. SHIT.
- SOMEBODY ELSE...
I'M SURE YOU HAVE
A GOOD BACKDROP
- OF WASHINGTON.
DON'T PUT ME
IN FRONT OF ANYTHING
IN WASHINGTON.
I HATE WASHINGTON.
PUT UP A SCENE
IN OUTER SPACE
OR SOMETHING.
I WOULD SAY
A WORLD IN WHICH
MAN IS TREATED
AS AN END IN HIMSELF
RATHER THAN A TOOL
TO BE MANIPULATED
BY THOSE
WITH POLITICAL POWER.
HOW CAN
WE REPRESENT THAT?
IS THERE
A SINGLE IMAGE OR...
A SERIES
OF IMAGES?
I THINK THA THE IMAGES ARE
OF MEN--
JUST THE PROSPERITY
OF FREE MEN
FOLLOWING WHA THEIR HEARTS AND DESIRES
LEAD THEM TOO.
- I THINK
WE CAN FIND THAT.
- SOUNDS GOOD.
NOW THAT WE HAD
OUR NEW FRIENDS AT EASE
IT WAS TIME TO ASK THEM
THE REALLY TOUGH QUESTIONS.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY
TO PEOPLE WHO HARP ON
THE BHOPAL CATASTROPHE
OR OTHER TRAGEDIES?
BHOPAL IS
AN INTERESTING EXAMPLE.
THAT FACILITY HAD CREATED
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
FOR AN INDIAN EMERGING
TECHNOCRATIC CLASS.
IT HAD CREATED
VALUE ADDED
AND TAX BASE
FOR THE COMMUNITY,
AND SOMETHING LIKE
3,000 PEOPLE DIED.
THAT'S A TRAGEDY,
BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS RISKS
OF GOING
INTO THE FUTURE.
"THERE ARE ALWAYS RISKS
OF GOING INTO THE FUTURE"?
FOR THOUSANDS
OF PEOPLE IN BHOPAL,
THERE WAS NO FUTURE.
AT LEAS THE JONESTOWN SUICIDE CUL KILLED ONLY THEMSELVES.
THE FREE MARKETEERS
SEEMED WILLING
TO PU EVERYONE ELSE AT RISK.
- BACK AT HOME...
- You have new mail.
...WE HAD MAIL.
IT TURNED OU OUR DOW SITE WAS THE GIF THAT KEPT ON GIVING.
THIS TIME IT WASN' A MERE CONFERENCE--
WE'D HIT THE JACKPOT.
THE B.B.C.,
PERHAPS THE WORLD'S
MOST-RESPECTED
NEWS ORGANIZATION,
WAS DOING
A BIG BROADCAS ABOUT BHOPAL
AND THEY WANTED
TO KNOW
WHETHER DOW MIGH FINALLY CLEAN UP
THEIR MESS.
THE INTERVIEW, THEY SAID,
WOULD BE BROADCAS TO 300 MILLION PEOPLE.
THIS WAS WHA WE'D BEEN WAITING FOR.
TO THE B.B.C.'S
GREAT SURPRISE,
DOW EMAILED BACK TO SAY
THEY WOULD BE DELIGHTED
TO SPEAK PUBLICLY
ABOUT THE CATASTROPHE.
AS FOR US,
300 MILLION PEOPLE
WAS ABOU A MILLION TIMES BIGGER
THAN ANY OTHER AUDIENCE
WE'D EVER HAD.
WE WERE SCARED.
SO WE ASKED
THE B.B.C. IF,
INSTEAD OF COMING
TO THEIR HEADQUARTERS
IN LONDON,
WE COULD MEET THEM
IN NEUTRAL TERRITORY--
THE ORIGINAL LAND
OF REVOLUTION.
- ARE YOU
A LITTLE NERVOUS?
- I'M SO NERVOUS.
OH GOD, IT'S LIKE GOING
TO THE GUILLOTINE.
I THINK IT'S RIGHT NEAR
WHERE THEY USED TO HAVE
THE GUILLOTINE, TOO,
IN PARIS--
THE OFFICE.
MMM. YEAH, I THINK
IT'S THE BIGGEST THING
WE'VE EVER DONE--
THIS.
I HAVEN'T COMBED
MY HAIR IN LIKE...
- 100 YEARS?
- ...20 YEARS.
YEAH, REALLY.
I THINK I USED TO
DO IT THIS WAY.
ALL RIGHT.
WE'RE OFF.
OH GOD.
OH GOD.
WHEN WE ACQUIRED
UNION CARBIDE THREE YEARS AGO,
WE KNEW WHA WE WERE GETTING INTO.
TODAY WE ARE PREPARED
TO DO THE OBVIOUS.
LET'S SEE.
DON'T SHOW TOO MUCH
WHEN WE GET THERE, I THINK.
- HI. BONJOUR.
- BONJOUR, MONSIEUR.
You're watching BBC World,
our main headlines.
The world's worst
industrial accident
is being remembered
in India today.
It's 20 years
since deadly gas leaked
from the Union Carbide
chemical plant
in the city
of Bhopal.
At least 18,000 deaths
are attributed to the leak,
and many
local people say
that the contamination
has never been properly
cleared up.
YEAH, SHOULD I TYPICALLY
JUST LOOK...
- YEAH.
- ...RIGHT INTO
THE CAMERA? OKAY.
The factory
still exists here
and that's been
a real problem
for the people
living here locally.
The site--
I've been to it,
and it's full
of toxic waste.
People who are living
in these houses,
they've all got
a story to tell
about that day
20 years ago.
Many of them lost members
of their family,
and they say they are
continuing to suffer
because of the tragedy.
And they're saying
somebody needs
to answer for this.
Legally, what they're saying
is they want to pursue
the company to try
and clean up the site.
But whether the company
will accept liability
seems doubtful.
Well, joining us live
from Paris now is
Jude Finisterra.
He's a spokesman
for Dow Chemicals,
which took over
Union Carbide.
Good morning to you.
A day of commemoration
in Bhopal.
Do you now accept
responsibility
for what happened?
Steve, yes,
today is a great day
for all of us at Dow
and, I think,
for millions of people
around the world
as well.
It's 20 years
since the disaster
and today I'm very
very happy to announce
that for the first time
Dow is accepting
full responsibility
for the Bhopal catastrophe.
We have
a $12 billion plan
to finally,
at long last,
fully compensate
the victims,
including the 120,000
who may need medical care
for their entire lives,
AND TO FULLY AND SWIFTLY
REMEDIATE
THE BHOPAL PLANT SITE.
Now when we acquired
Union Carbide three years ago
we knew what
we were getting,
and it's worth
$12 billion.
$12 billion.
We have resolved
to liquidate Union Carbide--
this nightmare for the world
and this headache for Dow--
and use the $12 billion
TO ADEQUATELY COMPENSATE
THE VICTIMS.
Jude, that's good news
that you have finally
accepted responsibility--
some people
would say too late.
It's three years,
almost four years on.
When we acquired
Union Carbide
we did settle
their liabilities
in the United States
immediately.
And we are now--
three years later--
prepared to do
the same in India.
We should have
done it three years ago.
We are doing it now.
I WOULD ALSO
LIKE TO SAY THAT THIS
IS NO SMALL MATTER.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME
IN HISTORY
that a publicly-owned company
of anything
near the size of Dow
has performed
an action
which is significantly
against its bottom line,
simply because
it's the right thing to do.
Our shareholders may
take a bit of a hit, Steve,
but I think that
if they're anything like me,
they will be ecstatic
to be part
of such
a historic occasion
of doing right
by those that we've wronged.
Just to reiterate
what Jude Finisterra,
the spokesman
for Dow Chemicals,
has just said:
he says Dow Chemicals
now fully accept
responsibility
for the events in Bhopal.
- GREAT. THAT'S IT?
- WELL DONE.
GREAT.
NOW THEY WANTED...
- NOW YOU DO--
- ...RADIO.
I CAN TELL YOU
ONE THING:
WE'RE NOT GOING
OUT OF BUSINESS.
WE WILL CONTINUE
TO MAKE PROFIT;
WE WILL SIMPLY MAKE
SLIGHTLY LESS PROFI THAN NORMAL.
BUT WE ARE DOING
THE RIGHT THING.
WE'RE COMPARING HERE
THE VALUE OF MONEY
TO THE VALUE
OF HUMAN LIFE,
AND THERE IS
NO COMPARISON.
EXACTLY. I MEAN,
HOW OFTEN DOES DOW
GET TO-- YOU KNOW.
I WOULDN'T WANT TO BE
A DOW SPOKESPERSON
OTHERWISE.
GOOD.
OH MY GOD.
OH MY GOD.
I'M GONNA HAVE A SERIOUS
NERVOUS BREAKDOWN NOW.
"DOW ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY
FOR BHOPAL-- SPOKESMAN."
- WHERE'S THAT?
- IN REUTERS.
"CONGRATULATIONS.
YOUR APPEARANCE--
EVERYONE HERE
AT B.B.C. CHEERED."
IT'S OVER AN HOUR
AND IT'S STILL HEADLINE NEWS.
HELLO, THIS IS JUDE.
WHO HAS SAID THAT?
PERHAPS THEY'RE NO IN COMMUNICATION
WITH THE DOW--
WITH THE DOW LEADERSHIP.
HELLO?
YES, THIS IS
JUDE FINISTERRA.
SURE.
RIGHT.
SURE.
RIGHT.
LET ME JUST--
YES, COULD I ASK YOU
TO EITHER--
TO HOLD FOR A MOMENT?
OKAY, THANK YOU.
WELL, I WOULDN'T SAY
IT'S A HOAX.
IT'S AN HONES REPRESENTATION
OF WHAT DOW
SHOULD BE DOING.
Maria Ashanin:
This morning a false statement
was carried by BBC World
regarding responsibility
for the Bhopal tragedy.
The individual who made
this statement
identified himself
as a Dow spokesperson
named Jude Finisterra.
Dow confirms
that there was
no basis whatsoever
for this report.
Well, earlier today
we carried an interview
with someone purporting
to be from Dow Chemical,
a company which
subsequently bought
the plant from Union Carbide.
This interview
was inaccurate
and part
of an elaborate deception.
TAKE A LOOK
AT THIS NOW--
LOOK AT THIS.
THIS IS THE TOP
OF GOOGLE NEWS.
"DOW SAID ON FRIDAY
THERE WAS NO BASIS WHATSOEVER
IN A B.B.C. WORLD REPORT SAYING
THEY HAD ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY
FOR INDIA'S
BHOPAL DISASTER."
THAT'S A FUNNY SENTENCE.
The hoax was
an elaborate one
involving
a fake website.
Down Chemical
was quick to issue
a series of statements
denying all knowledge
of Jude Finisterra.
Also tonight, backtracking
because of this man...
WE'RE GOING BACK
TO THE B.B.C. TELEVISION
STUDIO RIGHT NOW
THAT WE WERE
AT THIS MORNING
BECAUSE THEY WAN TO TALK TO US.
OKAY, WHAT DO
THEY WANT TO KNOW?
WELL, LET'S GO SEE.
- YEAH.
- HI.
- HI. SORRY.
IT DIDN'T OCCUR
TO US AT ALL.
WE GOT CONTACTED
BY YOU GUYS.
- YEAH, I DID HEAR THAT.
HAS IT GONE BACK UP?
- I'M SURE IT HAS.
Well, the prank
which briefly
knocked 3% off
Dow shares comes
20 years to the day
after the chemical leak
from the Union Carbide
plant in Bhopal.
Today's unlikely
corporate humiliation
of a US chemical giant
was all about
reminding the world
that Bhopal remains
an unhealed sore.
Well, earlier I spoke
to Andy Bichlbaum
and I asked him what he did
when he got an email
from the BBC asking him
for an interview.
Essentially, Dow has been
promulgating a hoax
by which they've
convinced people
that they can't do
anything about Bhopal,
that they cannot accept
responsibility.
And we wanted to prove that
that was not accurate.
Nevertheless,
a pretty cruel
trick to play
on the people
of Bhopal.
- Well, we--
- Did you think about
the people of Bhopal
when you decided
to peddle this stunt?
Yes. Yes, we did.
Well, that surely is
the tragedy of today.
You spring upon them
the hoax that they--
they actually
suddenly believe
that they have got
a payout from Dow,
then an hour or two later
they find it's untrue.
Let's put this
in contrast:
We may have given people
two hours of false hope,
Dow has given them
20 years of suffering.
I mean this is
what we're faced with.
Are you expecting
the next knock at the door
to be Dow's lawyer?
No idea
what Dow will do.
DOW'S LAWYERS DIDN'T CALL.
AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
LEARNED FOR THE FIRST TIME
THAT 20 YEARS ON,
BHOPAL WAS NEVER CLEED UP.
BUT THE MEDIA ALSO REPORTED
THAT MANY
OF THE VICTIMS IN BHOPAL
CRIED TEARS OF JOY
UPON HEARING THE NEWS.
AND WERE THEN
BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED.
HAD WE ACTUALLY UPSE THE PEOPLE WE'D MEANT TO HELP?
THERE WAS ONLY
ONE WAY TO FIND OUT.
HERE WE ARE.
WE'RE IN INDIA.
- HEY.
AND THIS IS BHOPAL.
BHOPAL IS A BIG CITY.
THERE'S OVER
A MILLION PEOPLE HERE.
UNFORTUNATELY WE HEARD
FROM A LOT OF NEWS REPORTS
THAT THE VICTIMS
HERE IN BHOPAL
WERE EXTREMELY UPSE BECAUSE WE HAD
RAISED FALSE HOPES
ABOUT THEM ACTUALLY
GETTING SOME COMPENSATION
AFTER 21 YEARS.
WHAT DO YOU THINK
THEY'LL DO?
WELL, I DON'T KNOW.
WHAT'S THE LOCAL CUSTOM HERE?
WE'RE HERE
AT THE SAMBHAVNA CLINIC
AND THIS PLACE WAS SET UP
BY A BUNCH OF PEOPLE
TO HELP TREA THE GAS VICTIMS
OF THE WORST INDUSTRIAL
ACCIDENT IN HISTORY.
Rachna Dhingra:
SO PATIENTS COME IN
FROM HERE.
THIS IS A FORM, BASICALLY,
WHERE WE DETERMINE THEIR
HISTORY OF GAS EXPOSURE--
HOW FAR
THEY WERE LIVING
OR WERE THEY SLEEPING
IN A TENT THAT NIGHT?
AND THEN THEIR
SEVERITY GRADE IS DETERMINED.
THESE ARE SOME
OF THE DISABLED CHILDREN.
EVERY SYSTEM OF THE BODY
HAS BEEN AFFECTED--
THE MUSCULOSKELETAL,
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.
40% OF THE WOMEN COMING HERE
UNDER 40 HAVE MENOPAUSE.
YEAH.
- THIS IS SATHYU.
- HEY.
HEY. OH MY GOD.
- I AM GLAD
TO SEE YOU.
- HEY.
HEY.
WE GOT THE NEWS
THAT DOW WAS WILLING
TO PAY $12 BILLION.
AT FIRST WE JUST--
WE FELT THE NEWS WAS
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE...
- UH-HUH.
- ...AND DOW WAS TOO BAD
FOR THE NEWS TO BE TRUE.
- YEAH.
- STILL, WE THOUGH MAYBE IT IS TRUE,
MAYBE THEY'RE JUS SEEING SENSE IN THIS.
FOR ABOUT AN HOUR WE WERE
UNDER THAT IMPRESSION.
YEAH.
DID PEOPLE CRY...
- WITH JOY?
- I CRIED.
- OH NO.
- LOTS OF PEOPLE CRIED.
WERE YOU KIND OF ANGRY
AT FIRST, THOUGH,
- WHEN YOU HEARD
IT WAS A HOAX?
- NO, I WASN'T ANGRY. NO.
WOW.
- DO YOU THINK
IT WAS WORTH IT?
- TOTALLY WORTH IT.
WE ARE SAYING
NO MORE BHOPAL.
WHAT PEOPLE HAVE
GONE THROUGH HERE,
NO ONE ELSE IN THE WORLD
SHOULD GO THROUGH THIS.
I THINK WE'RE
IN SHIVAJI NAGAR
AND IT'S BEEN
A LITTLE BIT OF A--
A BIT OF A--
WELL, A BIT OF A--
A MAZE GETTING HERE.
A LITTLE--
WHAT DO YOU CALL THAT?
WE GOT LOST.
THAT'S WHAT IT'S CALLED.
WE'RE TRYING TO MEET UP
WITH A JOURNALIS TO INTERVIEW
AND WE GOT LOST.
HERE HE IS.
HERE HE IS.
OH MY GOD.
RAJKUMAR KESWANI BROKE
THE DISASTER STORY.
IN FACT,
HE BROKE IT YEARS BEFORE
IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
SO YOU HAD ALREADY
PREDICTED HOW MANY TIMES
THAT THE DISASTER WOULD
HAPPEN BEFORE IT HAPPENED?
WHEN YOU HEARD
IT WAS A HOAX,
THE THING THAT WE DID,
WERE YOU, LIKE--
WHAT DID YOU THINK
OF IT... AT FIRST?
I THOUGHT THAT WAS
A WONDERFUL THING TO DO.
WE WERE PU INTO A SITUATION
WHICH WE NEVER
THOUGHT OF,
THAT WOULD
ACTUALLY HAPPEN.
SO IT IS JUST LIKE
BEING IN THE HEAVEN.
BECAUSE I'M SURE I'M NO GOING TO BE IN THE HEAVEN,
SO IF ONE--
IF I'M EXPECTING HELL
AND SOMEONE PUTS ME,
FOR A WHILE, IN THE HEAVEN--
SO I SAID,
"OKAY, THANKS."
- HI.
- HI.
20 YEARS SINCE
THE DISASTER,
THE POISONS LEFT BEHIND
AT THE PLAN WERE STILL LEACHING
INTO THE GROUNDWATER.
COMMUNITIES THAT YOU SEE
IN RED HAVE NOT GOTTEN
A SINGLE DROP
OF CLEAN WATER.
- Sathyu: OH, REALLY?
- YEAH.
- Sathyu: UNTIL NOW?
- UNTIL NOW.
EIGHT COMMUNITIES, REALLY?
ARE GETTING.
ABOUT 12%
OF THE REQUIREMENT.
BUT THIS IS
CONTAMINATED WATER.
SOME OF THEM
USE IT TO DRINK,
COOK, WASH CLOTHES.
DOW COULD CLEAN UP THEIR MESS,
BUT THEY DIDN'T.
INSTEAD THEY SPEN TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
ON AN AD CAMPAIGN
TO CLEAN UP THEIR IMAGE.
FOR EACH OF US,
THERE'S A MOMENT OF DISCOVERY.
AND JUST THEN,
IN THE FLASH OF A SYNAPSE,
WE LEARN THAT LIFE
IS ELEMENTAL.
AND IN THE DAZZLING BRILLIANCE
OF THIS KNOWLEDGE
WE MAY OVERLOOK THE ELEMEN NOT LISTED ON THE CHART.
ITS IMPORTANCE
SO OBVIOUS,
ITS PRESENCE IS
SIMPLY UNDERSTOOD.
THE MISSING ELEMENT IS
THE HUMAN ELEMENT.
AND WHEN WE ADD I TO THE EQUATION,
THE CHEMISTRY CHANGES.
THE HUMAN ELEMENT IS
THE ELEMENT OF CHANGE.
THE HUMAN ELEMENT:
NOTHING IS MORE FUNDAMENTAL;
NOTHING MORE ELEMENTAL.
THIS IS KEVIN FINN.
HE TRADES BONDS.
THIS IS WHAT I DO:
SIT HERE
AND JUST LOOK
AT THIS SCREEN
FOR 12, 14 HOURS A DAY.
IT'S VERY ROMANTIC,
ACTUALLY.
MORE THAN
ANYONE ELSE WE KNEW,
WE THOUGH KEVIN COULD EXPLAIN
WHY DOW WOULDN'T DO
ANYTHING TO FIX BHOPAL.
HE TOLD US WHAT HAPPENED
WHEN ANDY WENT ON THE BBC.
Kevin:
I GOT A CALL FROM MY CLERK
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT--
DOW CHEMICAL MADE
SOME ANNOUNCEMEN THAT THE STOCKHOLDERS
OF DOW CHEMICAL DIDN'T LIKE,
BECAUSE DOW STOCK
WENT DOWN,
THE S&P 500 FUTURES
WENT DOWN.
I HAD TO GO ROLL OUT OF BED.
MY CLERK'S FREAKING OU BECAUSE MY POSITION'S
GOING AGAINST ME.
MY FRIEND TELLS ME
HE THINKS IT'S SOME
GLOBAL CONSPIRACY
OF TRADERS
TO TRY TO SCREW US,
AND HE FINDS OU IT'S TWO JOKERS.
THE EFFECT OF OUR
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE B.B.C.
WAS THAT DOW STOCK
LOST OVER $2 BILLION
IN 23 MINUTES.
THIS TELLS ME
ALL THE NEWS THAT'S
HAPPENING IN THE WORLD.
SO ON DECEMBER 3rd
IF I WAS SITTING HERE
WATCHING THIS,
IT WOULD SAY,
"DOW CHEMICAL
DECIDES TO SETTLE
WITH THE BHOPAL PEOPLE."
AND PEOPLE THA OWNED DOW CHEMICAL
WOULD BE LIKE...
"SOLD!"
EVERYBODY WE TALKED TO
ABOUT THAT WAS REALLY HAPPY
THAT DOW WAS DOING
THE RIGHT THING.
SURE. SURE, OKAY.
I'M NOT SAYING
THAT THEY SHOULDN'T BE.
I'M JUST SAYING THAT,
SURE, IT SEEMS LIKE
A GOOD THING
UNLESS YOU'RE
A DOW CHEMICAL STOCKHOLDER
AND YOU'RE EXPECTING
THE $20 BILLION
TO GO TOWARDS A DIVIDEND
TO COME BACK TO YOU
OR TO COME BUY
SOME NEW CHEMICAL PLANT.
AND IT'S GOING
TO THESE PEOPLE THAT,
AT LEAST AT THIS POINT,
AREN'T ABLE TO GET ANY MONEY.
YOU COULD SEE
HOW THEY WOULD BE UPSE ABOUT THAT, RIGHT?
WE WERE CONFUSED.
AS KIDS, WE LEARNED THA IT WAS BAD
TO DO SOMETHING BAD,
AND IF YOU DID
SOMETHING GOOD
YOU GOT A REWARD.
YET WHEN WE ANNOUNCED
DOW WOULD DO SOMETHING GREAT,
THE MARKET GAVE
DOW A SPANKING.
SO HOW COULD
WE GET COMPANIES
TO DO THE RIGHT THING?
- WE NEEDED TO CHANGE
THE RULES OF THE MARKET,
BUT THAT MEANT REGULATION,
AND REGULATION
MEANT GOVERNMENT.
THE ONLY PROBLEM WAS
GOVERNMENT WAS
DRINKING FRIEDMAN'S
FREE-MARKET KOOL-AID.
Reagan:
FREE MARKETS ARE WORKING
MIRACLE AFTER MIRACLE
OF ECONOMIC GROWTH.
Clinton:
OPEN MARKETS
AND RULE-BASED TRADE
ARE THE BEST ENGINES
WE KNOW OF.
THEN THE GOVERNMEN STEPPED BACK
AND LET THE FREE ENTERPRISE
SYSTEM DO ITS WORK.
THEN THE BETTER WE DID,
THE MORE ROBUS OUR ECONOMY GREW,
THE BETTER
I DID AND THE BETTER
MY BUSINESS GREW.
FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS,
THE LEADERS OF MOS POWERFUL COUNTRIES
DID WHATEVER
THE FREE-MARKETEERS
RECOMMENDED.
AND WHAT THEY RECOMMENDED
WAS SIMPLE.
THE SOLUTION IS NO TO HAVE GOVERNMENT INTERVENE
OR REGULATE IN SOME WAY.
IN FACT, MOST PROBLEMS WILL
SOLVE THEMSELVES IF IGNORED.
LET FREE PEOPLE WORKING
IN FREE MARKETS ADDRESS THEM.
FOLLOWING ADVICE LIKE THIS,
GOVERNMENTS AROUND
THE WORLD GOT RID
OF A WHOLE BUNCH
OF REGULATIONS MEAN TO PROTECT PEOPLE,
LIKE IN BANKING.
I'M CONFIDENT THA THE DEGREE OF HARM
OR SPILLOVER EFFECT,
WHATEVER SUBPRIME
MORTGAGES GO BAD,
THAT THE MARKET WILL
DEVISE WAYS
TO MINIMIZE AND DIFFUSE
THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS.
THEIFAITH IN THE MARKE WAS UNSHAKEABLE,
BUT WE ALL KNOW
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.
Now with the world's
largest insurance company,
AIG, on the brink
of collapse,
it could mean devastation
way beyond Wall Street.
WHAT OTHER DISASTERS
WEREN'T COMING?
Global warming is silly.
It's not a serious issue.
Warmer is healthier,
warmer is
more pleasant
and that's why states
like Arizona keep gaining
population rapidly.
THERE ARE BENEFITS
TO GLOBAL WARMING.
COLD-RELATED DEATHS
WILL ACTUALLY DECREASE
CONSIDERABLY.
JUST LIKE WITH
THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGES,
OUR FREE-MARKET FRIENDS
WERE DOING ALL THEY COULD
TO STOP GOVERNMEN FROM INTERVENING.
EXCEPT HERE
THE STAKES WERE HIGHER.
I THINK
IT'S QUITE POSSIBLE
THAT IF IT WEREN' FOR GROUPS LIKE OURS,
THAT THE UNITED STATES
MIGHT VERY WELL BE
IN THE KYOTO
PROTOCOL BY NOW.
IF YOU'VE SEEN
THE ADS THAT WE RAN
ABOUT A YEAR AGO,
WHICH WE PRODUCED IN-HOUSE
ON THIS GLOBAL WARMING,
WHERE OUR CENTRAL CONTENTION
IS "CARBON DIOXIDE--
THEY CALL IT POLLUTION,
WE CALL IT LIFE."
THERE'S SOMETHING
IN THESE PICTURES
YOU CAN'T SEE.
IT'S WHAT WE BREATHE OU AND PLANTS BREATHE IN.
CARBON DIOXIDE--
THEY CALL IT POLLUTION,
WE CALL IT LIFE.
WE GOT LOTS OF HATE MAIL.
TWO SENATORS
THIS PAST FALL SEN THE LETTER
TO EXXON MOBIL,
CALLING ON I TO STOP FUNDING C.E.I..
SO EXXON WAS SECRETLY
PAYING THINK TANKS
TO TELL US
WE SHOULDN' REGULATE EXXON.
PUBLIC OUTRAGE FORCED
EXXON TO STOP.
IN FACT, EXXON MOBIL DIDN' FUND US AT ALL THIS PAST YEAR.
THAT WAS GREA BUT EXXON HAD
OTHER WAYS
TO INFLUENCE POLICY--
LIKE THIS GUY,
LEE RAYMOND.
HE'S A TRUSTEE
OF ONE OF THE KEY
FREE-MARKET THINK TANKS.
HE ALSO USE TO BE
EXXON'S C.E.O.
AND THE YEAR
HE LEFT THAT JOB,
HE BECAME
AN OFFICIAL ADVISOR
TO THE U.S. GOVERNMEN ON ENERGY MATTERS.
THIS WAS SCARY.
IF WE LE THE FREE-MARKET CUL KEEP RUNNING THE WORLD,
THERE WOULDN'T BE
A WORLD LEFT TO FIX.
WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING,
SO WHEN WE HEARD ABOU A HUGE OIL CONFERENCE
UP IN CANADA
WE DECIDED TO GO.
POSING AS
A BIG P.R. AGENCY,
WE OFFERED THEM
LEE RAYMOND,
EXXON'S EX-C.E.O.,
AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER.
THEY JUMPED
AT THE CHANCE.
BUT WHA THEY DIDN'T KNOW
IS THAT ON THE DAY
OF THE TALK
RAYMOND WOULD BE
SUDDENLY UNAVAILABLE
AND AN ASSISTANT WOULD
STEP IN TO REPLACE HIM.
- WHEW! YUP.
- OKAY.
THIS KEYNOTE SPEECH
WILL ATTRACT SUBSTANTIAL
MEDIA COVERAGE
AND WILL BE ONE
OF THE MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS
OF GO EXPO.
WHAT WOULD WE DO
TO SHAKE THIS AUDIENCE UP?
IT WOULD HAVE
TO BE MORE SHOCKING
THAN ANYTHING
WE'D DONE BEFORE.
IF THERE'S ONE THING
THAT'S GONNA BE ABUNDAN IN THE WORLD TO COME,
WHAT WITH CLIMATE CHANGE
AND ALL THAT,
IT'S PEOPLE--
DEAD PEOPLE.
THIS IS A PILOT PROGRAM
TO USE THAT FUEL.
IT'S CALLED VIVOLEUM,
AND HERE WE ARE,
MAKING VIVOLEUM.
AS LEE RAYMOND'S
ASSISTANT,
ANDY WOULD
ANNOUNCE VIVOLEUM--
EXXON'S NEW BIOFUEL
TO BE MADE
FROM THE VICTIMS
OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND HE'D EVEN
HAND OUT A SAMPLE.
SO IT STARTED OUT,
WE MADE ONE REGGIE,
AND THEN WE CAS A BUNCH OF REGGIES IN WAX.
THAT'S HUMAN HAIR
RIGHT THERE.
THIS IS A LO OF EXPERIMENTING
TO FIGURE OUT HOW
TO MAKE A CANDLE SMELL
LIKE HUMAN FLESH.
OW! I LOS A REGGIE.
- QUICK!
- OW!
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE
THAT THE OIL MEN KNEW
WHAT THE CANDLES
THEY'D BE HOLDING
WERE MADE OF.
SO WE'D SHOW THEM
A TRIBUTE VIDEO
TO REGGIE WATTS,
A TERMINALLY ILL
EXXON JANITOR
WHO HAD VOLUNTEERED
TO BE TURNED INTO FUEL.
I THINK I'D LIKE TO BE--
I THINK I'D LIKE
TO BE A CANDLE.
I THINK A CANDLE
WOULD BE FUN,
BECAUSE THERE'S JUS SO MANY USES FOR A CANDLE.
THERE ARE SIX BILLION PEOPLE
ON THIS EARTH TODAY.
WE'RE PROBABLY USING
THE ENERGIES, MAYBE,
OF A BILLION
OF THOSE AT BEST.
THEY HAD ME TES A HELLFIRE MISSILE ONCE.
THAT WAS PRETTY COOL.
WE SIMPLY HAVEN'T FOUND
THE MIRACLE FUEL YE TO REPLACE PETROLEUM,
BUT WE'LL
EVENTUALLY GET THERE
IF GOVERNMENT GETS
OUT OF THE WAY.
- THIS IS HOW IT WORKS.
- WE HAD HIS
MIRACLE FUEL,
AND OUR GRANDFATHERS
WERE TURNING OVER IN
THEIR MASS GRAVES.
CTV news with Barb Higgins
and Darrel Janz.
Good evening.
A bizarre situation today
at the GO EXPO
energy conference
at Stampede Park.
Organizers and hundreds
of Alberta oil and gas
executives got duped.
They had been promised
a major announcement
from a major player
in the energy industry.
Attendees paid $50 a head
to hear this speech
from the National
Petroleum Council,
a group that advises
the White House on oil
and gas matters.
WELCOME TO GO EXPO'S
KEYNOTE LUNCHEON.
PLEASE WELCOME
S.K. WOLFF.
FIRST I NEED TO SAY
HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO SEE,
ON ALL THE FACES
HERE TODAY,
THE CHILDLIKE EXUBERANCE
OF A GREAT INDUSTRY
IN FULL FLOWER.
AND WHY NOT?
WITHOUT OIL,
AT LEAST FOUR BILLION PEOPLE
WOULD STARVE.
AND STARVING WOULD BECOME
THE NEW BLACK.
BUT I'M NOT HERE TODAY
TO PAT US ALL ON THE BACK.
I'M HERE
TO SPEAK OF PLAN Bs.
AS ANDY BEGAN OUTLINING
EXXON'S TOUGH SOLUTION
TO CLIMATE CHANGE,
10 VOLUNTEERS PASSED OU 300 HUMAN FLESH CANDLES.
THIS VIGIL WOULD BE
LIKE NO OTHER.
WHO FIRST HAD THE IDEA
TO USE THE OIL
OF A RECENTLY-LIVING ANIMAL
TO LIGH HIS OR HER HOUSE?
EVEN TODAY,
SHETLAND ISLANDERS
CUT THE HEADS
OFF THEIR PUFFINS
AND PUT WICKS
IN THE STUMPS
TO MAKE CANDLES.
WE AT EXXON FIRMLY BELIEVE
THAT A FREE MARKET WILL,
IF LEFT TO ITS OWN DEVICES,
ALWAYS FINDS SOLUTIONS
TO THE DILEMMAS
THAT HUMANITY FACES.
WE'RE CALLING OUR
NEW TECHNOLOGY VIVOLEUM.
AS ANDY BEGAN TO DESCRIBE
EXXON'S NEW BIOFUEL,
THE CANDLES WERE LIT.
A STRANGE ODOR ROSE
INTO THE AIR.
WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS
AN ARTIST'S RENDITION
OF AN ADVANCED
LARGE-SCALE PLANT,
THE VIVOLEUM FEED STOCK
IS RENEWABLE, UNPRECIOUS
AND RESPONDS TO THE NEED
OF A SHRINKING MARKE WITH GREATER SUPPLY.
THE DANCE OF CAPITAL
APPEARS IN FULL FLOWER.
FINALLY IT WAS TIME
TO INTRODUCE REGGIE WATTS,
THE DYING EXXON JANITOR
WHO HAD VOLUNTEERED
TO BE TURNED INTO FUEL.
AND NOW WE BEGIN
THE TRIBUTE VIDEO
TO REGGIE WATTS.
I WORKED IN MAINTENANCE
FOR A WHILE.
I MOVED UP TO MAINTENANCE 2.
I STARTED DOING CLEAN-UP--
toxic spill clean-up.
AFTER I HEARD
FROM THE DOCTOR
THAT I WAS GONNA DIE,
I felt like I had
something to live for.
I THINK I'D LIKE
TO BE A CANDLE.
There's just so many
uses for a candle.
I MEAN, LIKE IF YOU WAN SOMETHING ROMANTIC,
LIKE THAT'D BE NICE TO KNOW
I WAS A CANDLE ON A TABLE.
YOU KNOW, WHEN PEOPLE--
WHEN THEY FIRST MET EACH OTHER
ON A DATE.
I THINK THAT'D BE GREAT.
THIS IS A FUNERARY OBSERVANCE.
I MEAN, THIS GUY DIED.
- SWITCH THIS OFF BEFORE I DO.
- THIS MAN DIED!
"IT'S PEOPLE."
IT REALLY IS.
HOW IS IT?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH,
GENTLEMEN.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I'M VERY SORRY,
BUT WE'VE BEEN CUT OFF.
APPARENTLY WE'RE NOT ALLOWED
TO HAVE A FUNERARY OBSERVANCE
FOR A MAN WHO'S DIED
TO MAKE A PRODUCT POSSIBLE.
AND I'M-- I'M BEING--
WHY-- ARE YOU ALLOWED
TO DO THAT TO ME?
I-- WHAT--
- GOOD JOB.
THE REMAINING 20 IS JUST,
YOU KNOW, BINDERS--
BONDERS TO KEEP
IT TOGETHER.
WE HAVE TO THINK--
- COME WITH US, PLEASE.
- SURE.
- WOW.
- BOY, OH BOY.
NOW!
THANK YOU.
- HEY.
- SHUT IT DOWN.
- DON'T TOUCH MY CAMERA.
- SHUT IT DOWN.
NOW.
HAD WE ACTUALLY MADE
THE OIL PEOPLE
THINK ABOUT WHA THEY WERE DOING?
IT WAS HARD TO TELL.
AND THERE WASN'T MUCH
TIME LEFT TO FIGURE IT OUT.
BIG OIL WAS ALREADY
DESTROYING THE PLANET,
AND NOT JUST BY
SPEEDING UP CLIMATE CHANGE.
THIS HOUSE RIGHT HERE,
IT USED TO BE ON THIS SIDE.
- YEAH, BUT WHERE?
- IT WAS OVER HERE.
IT MOVED OVER THERE.
I COULD ONLY TAKE I TWO OR THREE DAYS
A WEEK COMING
DOWN HERE TO WORK
AND THIS YEAR
FOR HUNTING SEASON,
I DIDN'T KILL NOTHING.
I JUST WASN' IN THE MOOD TO KILL.
AND I'VE SEEN EVERYTHING
ELSE THAT WAS DEAD.
JUST WASN'T IN THE MOOD.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW.
NOT THAT I'M A BIG KILLER,
BUT I LIKE KILLING STUFF.
- YEAH.
IT'S REALLY JUST AMAZING.
WHEN YOU GO DOWNRIVER,
SOME OF THE PONDS WE USED
TO FISH IN ARE NOW ALMOS LIKE A BAY.
FOR DECADES, THE GOVERNMENT HAD
IGNORED SCIENTISTS' WARNINGS
AND LET INDUSTRY CARVE UP
THE WETLANDS
THAT PROTECTED
NEW ORLEANS FROM STORMS.
Mark Davis:
ABOUT A MILLION
ACRES OF LAND
HAS DISAPPEARED
SINCE 1930.
IT WAS DONE CANAL BY CANAL,
OIL FIELD BY OIL FIELD,
PORT BY PORT,
PARCEL BY PARCEL.
IT WAS, IF YOU WILL,
DEATH BY 1,000 CUTS.
THE GOVERNING MINDSET,
CULTURALLY AND LEGALLY,
WAS IF THERE'S AN IMPACT,
WE'LL DEAL WITH IT LATER.
AND IN SOME WAYS
THIS IS A PREVIEW
OF WHAT THE REST OF THIS COUNTRY
AND THE REST OF THE WORLD
HAVE IN STORE FOR THEM.
WHEN KATRINA HIT,
THE WETLANDS WEREN'T THERE
TO DIMINISH ITS FORCE
AND THE LEVEES DIDN' STAND A CHANCE.
SO THE REAL CULPRI FOR THE DESTRUCTION
OF NEW ORLEANS
WASN'T JUS A BIG HURRICANE,
BUT GREED DRESSED UP
AS PROGRESS.
WHAT PRODUCED THIS TREMENDOUS
IMPROVEMENT IN TECHNOLOGY?
IT WAS SELF-INTERES OR, IF YOU PREFER, GREED--
THE GREED OF PRODUCERS
WHO WANTED TO PRODUCE SOMETHING
THAT THEY COULD
MAKE A DOLLAR ON.
GREED HAD CAUSED
THE BIGGEST CATASTROPHE
EVER TO HIT THE U.S.
AND NOW THE GOVERNMEN WAS HANDING OU BILLIONS OF DOLLARS
IN REBUILDING CONTRACTS.
IN OTHER WORDS,
LETTING GREED SOLVE
THE PROBLEM.
THERE HAS BEEN
THIS IDEA THAT IT IS
GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY
TO REPLAN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF NEW ORLEANS.
IT'S BETTER TO LEAVE I TO THE MARKET.
WE WANTED TO TAKE A CLOSER
LOOK AT HOW THE MARKE WAS FIXING
THE U.S. GULF COAST.
WE'RE ON OUR WAY
TO THE GULF COAS RECONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE
AT THE WASHINGTON
CONVENTION CENTER.
WE'RE GOING TO TALK TO
A NUMBER OF PEOPLE
WHO ARE BUSY
RECONSTRUCTING NEW ORLEANS.
- YEAH, WATCH OUT.
THERE ARE MANY SILVER-LININGS
TO THIS HORRENDOUS DISASTER,
AND WITH IT HAS COME
AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY.
I'M OPTIMISTIC WHEN I SEE
A ROOMFUL OF FOLKS
WHO WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF THE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THAT'S A GOOD THING
FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE.
IT'S A GREAT THING.
WELL, YOU KNOW,
IT'S LIKE THE ISRAELIS SAY:
ONCE IN A WHILE
A GOOD CRISIS IS NOT BAD;
YOU COME UP
WITH NEW THINGS.
WE WERE SEEING A LO OF NEW THINGS.
BUT WASN'T THIS SUPPOSED
TO BE ABOUT GULF COAS RECONSTRUCTION?
WE'RE ESPECIALLY INTERESTED
IN GULF COAST RECONSTRUCTION.
AND, UH, IS THIS--
DOES THIS HAVE ANYTHING
TO DO WITH THAT?
THIS IS FOR BOMB DETONATION
AND AMMUNITION STORAGE.
PERIMETER
AND PHYSICAL SECURITY,
MAINLY ANTI-RAM
ROADBLOCKERS.
THIS PARTICULAR UNIT CAN BE
USED IN MILITARY APPLICATIONS.
WOW. SO IT'S A REAL
CATASTROPHE TOILET,
BASICALLY.
ALL THIS STUFF WOULD BE GREA FOR THE PEOPLE OF NEW ORLEANS
IF THEY WERE GONNA
FIGHT A WAR.
WHERE WAS THE STUFF
ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE?
- AH, HERE IT WAS.
THE PAVILION
FROM CENTRAL ASIA.
KYRGYZ'S PEOPLE ARE
READY TO HELP
THE PEOPLE OF LOUISIANA,
MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA.
BY ERECTING YURTS
THERE FOR THEM AS
A TEMPORARY SHELTER.
AND HERE'S THE YURT.
- OH MY GOSH.
- THIS IS IT.
YOU CAN COVER IT UP.
YOU CAN BUILD A FIRE--
YOU CAN OPEN IT UP.
AND IF THERE'S A FLOOD,
YOU CAN JUST TAKE IT UP
IN LESS THAN AN HOUR.
- THEY'RE INTERESTED IN SENDING
ONE FREE OF CHARGE...
- GREAT.
- ...TO LOUISIANA AS A TES IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.
- THANK YOU.
- YEP.
- NO!
THE YURT WAS THE ONLY SOLUTION
HERE ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE.
BUT THE GOVERNMENT REPS
DIDN'T SEEM VERY INTERESTED.
THERE'S NO MONEY
IN YURTS.
WE DECIDED WE COULD OUTDO
EVERYONE AT THIS CONFERENCE
AND BEAT THE FREE MARKE AT ITS OWN GAME.
WE WOULD INVENT THE ULTIMATE
DISASTER TECHNOLOGY:
A DEVICE SO SOPHISTICATED
IT COULD PROTECT ANYONE
FROM PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING.
BUT IT WOULD COST SO MUCH
THAT ONLY THE RICHES BUSINESSMEN COULD AFFORD IT.
- THEY KIND OF
JUST FLATTEN OUT.
- YEAH.
THE ONLY QUESTION WAS,
WHAT COMPANY WOULD MAKE
SUCH A THING?
You've got to think
Halliburton.
For they are the ones
who do the research
to make the mud
to build the tool
to run in the well
to make the test
to log the zone
to set the packers,
cement the pipe
and fire the gun,
to perforate,
to pump the gel
that carries the sand
that props the frac,
completes the well to
produce the crude
that runs the world
for all the people
all over the earth
who live in the house
that oil built.
HALLIBURTON HAS BEEN
THE WORLD LEADER
IN EXTRACTING PROFI FROM EVERY KIND OF DISASTER.
THEY MADE BILLIONS OFF
THE FIRST GULF WAR
AND ITS SEQUEL,
AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS
OFF KATRINA--
ALL PAID FOR
BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT,
WHOSE VICE PRESIDENT WAS
ONCE THEIR OWN C.E.O..
IF ANYONE COULD
MAKE A KILLING
FROM TOTAL DISASTER,
HALLIBURTON WOULD
BE THE ONE.
THIS MORNING WE GOT UP
REALLY EARLY,
DROVE UP
TO THE VERY FANCY HOTEL
WHICH SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS
BECAUSE THEY THREATENED US
IF WE USE THE MATERIAL...
WITH THEIR NAME.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT--
WHAT'S IT CALLED,
BASICALLY, THE HOTEL?
- RITZ-CARLTON.
- RITZ-CARLTON, THAT ONE.
- HOW ARE YOU DOING?
- I'M NORTHROP GOODY.
I'M HERE WITH HALLIBURTON,
WITH FRED WOLF.
I'M JUST HELPING
DEMO A PRODUCT.
WOULD EITHER
ONE OF YOU MIND
HELPING US
DEMO THE SUITS?
WE HAVE THREE OF THEM.
SO YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY
STEP INTO IT, PULL IT ON.
- IT'S KIND OF LIKE A COVERALL.
- I'LL WEAR IT.
- YOU'LL WEAR IT?
ALL RIGHT, GREAT.
- I'LL WEAR IT.
- NO PROBLEM.
- YOU'RE A GOOD SPORT.
- YOU'RE A REALLY GOOD SPORT.
- NO PROBLEM.
THE CATASTROPHIC LOSS
CONFERENCE
WAS FOR INSURANCE PEOPLE.
THEY KNEW NUMBER
AND WE WERE ABOU TO SHOW THEM SOME
PRETTY SIMPLE MATH.
WITH GILDA,
WE'D TRIED SCARY.
WITH REGGIE,
WE TRIED GROSS.
NOW WE WOULD GO
FOR RIDICULOUS.
UH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE
BEING INVITED TO SPEAK
ON THIS PANEL.
UM, A LOT OF YOU WORK
WITH THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY,
OF COURSE.
INSURANCE HAS BECOME
EXTREMELY WORRIED
ABOUT SOME GRAVE
NEW DANGERS TO PEOPLE
THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE WORLD
AROUND US TODAY.
AND I'M OF COURSE TALKING
ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE
AND THE DISASTERS
THAT IT BRINGS.
BUT I CAN PERSONALLY
GUARANTEE YOU
THAT LEVEL HEADS WILL ALWAYS
BE ABLE TO TURN LEMONS
INTO LEMONADE.
CONSIDER THE BLACK PLAGUE.
THIS WAS AN UNSPEAKABLY
ROTTEN EVENT, OF COURSE,
IN WHICH ONE-THIRD
OF EUROPE'S POPULATION
DIED IN GREAT AGONY.
NO ONE, OF COURSE,
WOULD WISH SUCH A THING
ON ANY CIVILIZATION.
YET WITHOUT IT--
WITHOUT THE BLACK PLAGUE--
THE OLD BUSINESS MODELS
OF EUROPE WOULD NEVER HAVE
BEEN OVERTURNED
BY THE ENTREPRENEURS
OF THE RENAISSANCE.
AND WHAT WOULD THE WORLD BE
WITHOUT THE MONA LISA?
OR CLOSER TO HOME,
HOW ABOU THE GREAT DELUGE?
THIS WORLD-ENDING DISASTER--
LITERALLY--
WAS SURELY SEEN AS
A TERRIBLE CATASTROPHE
BY NOAH'S CONTEMPORARIES,
AND PERHAPS
BY NOAH HIMSELF.
YET NOAH WAS READY
TO SEIZE THE DAY.
AND AT THE END OF THAT DAY,
NOT ONLY WAS THERE
A WHOLE NEW WORLD,
BUT NOAH FOUND HIMSELF
WITH A MONOPOLY OF THE ANIMALS.
FOR THOSE OF US IN POSITIONS
OF RESPONSIBILITY, HOWEVER,
WHO MIGHT HAVE TO TAKE
CHARGE IN A CRISIS,
EVEN MORE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
ARE NECESSARY.
I'D LIKE NOW
TO INTRODUCE MY COLLEAGUE,
DR. NORTHROP GOODY,
WHO'S THE HEAD OF OUR
EMERGENCY PRODUCTS
DEVELOPMENT UNI AT HALLIBURTON.
AND DR. GOODY WILL BE
SHOWING SOME MOCK-UPS
- OF SOME ITEMS THA HIS UNIT HAS DEVELOPED.
WE WANT SOMETHING THAT'S GOING
TO BE ABLE TO SAVE A HUMAN BEING
NO MATTER WHAT MOTHER NATURE
THROWS AT HIM.
AND SO THIS IS THE ANSWER.
THIS IS THE HALLIBURTON
SURVIVABALL.
IT'S THREE EASY STEPS
FOR DEPLOYMENT: SUITING UP,
INFLATING
AND OF COURSE LAUNCHING--
LAUNCHING OU OF A BUILDING. AND WE HAVE
AN ARTIST'S RENDITION
OF WHAT IT MIGHT BE LIKE
IN HOUSTON WHEN WE LAUNCH
OUR SURVIVABALLS.
IN THE EVEN OF EXTREME CATASTROPHE,
THERE MIGHT BE
A SCARCITY OF RESOURCES.
IN THIS CASE, WE'VE GO A SURVIVABALL HERE...
- ( moos )
- ...THAT'S GOING UP
AND EXTRACTING RESOURCES,
IN THIS CASE,
FROM AN ANIMAL.
YOU DON'T WANT TO BE
EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS,
BUT YOU STILL WANT TO BE ABLE
TO EXTRACT RESOURCES
FROM, FOR EXAMPLE,
A COW.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE
TO GO UNDERWATER,
RATED AT 50'.
THEY CAN BE USED
IN ANY CONDITION.
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER
YOU'RE IN A LANDSLIDE
IN CALIFORNIA
OR EVEN IN THE ARCTIC.
OF COURSE ANY OTHER CONDITIONS,
WHETHER IT'S TSUNAMIS
OR TORNADOES,
THE SURVIVABALL IS
DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND.
BUT THE BEST PAR OF THE SURVIVABALL
IS THAT PEOPLE
NEED PEOPLE.
AND SO OUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION
FOR THE WAY THAT A COMMUNITY
SHOULD WORK
WITH SURVIVABALLS
COMES FROM BIOLOGY.
UM, AS SOME OF YOU
PROBABLY KNOW
AMOEBAS GATHER TOGETHER
AND ACTUALLY FORM ANOTHER BODY.
THEY AGGREGATE.
AND SO THESE ONE-CELLED
ORGANISMS
COME TOGETHER
AS A SINGLE BODY.
FOR EXAMPLE,
HERE'S A RAFT FORMATION
OF SURVIVABALLS
IN THE OCEAN-- FLOATING,
COMMUNICATING,
EXCHANGING NUTRIENTS,
DIFFERENTIATING FUNCTION.
LAST OF ALL,
THIS IS LITERALLY THOUSANDS
OF SURVIVABALLS
DANCING THROUGH
THE STREETS.
AND WE'LL BE HAPPY
TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS
SO IF THERE ARE
ANY MORE TECHNICAL ONES
FOR NORTHROP HERE
OR GENERAL ONES.
YEP.
IF YOU COULD DEMONSTRATE
THE TURTLE POSITION, PLEASE,
THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
BASICALLY
IF YOU DUCK DOWN--
YEAH, A VISOR,
HEADS-UP DISPLAY,
THE WHOLE THING.
- YEAH.
- WELL, YEAH.
HI.
- NORTHROP.
- CAREY. HOW ARE YOU?
IT DOES.
THAT'S IT.
MUCH MORE SO
THAN KATRINA.
YEAH.
YEAH, WELL, I MEAN...
WE'D DONE ALL WE COULD
TO SHOW THESE PEOPLE
WHAT SUCKED
ABOUT LETTING GREED
RUN OUR FUTURE...
- OH DEAR.
- ...BUT INSTEAD
OF FREAKING OUT,
THEY JUST TOOK
OUR BUSINESS CARDS.
HELLO. WONDERFUL.
AND IF YOU WANT TO TAKE
ONE OF MINE HERE?
OUR EFFORT HAD BEEN
A FAILURE.
IT'S NOT VERY
WELL ARTICULATED, REALLY.
AND COME TO THINK OF IT,
ALL OF OUR EFFORTS
HAD BEEN FAILURES.
BUT YOU KNOW,
A YES MAN NEVER GIVES UP.
WE KNEW WE COULD DO IT.
ALL WE NEEDED WAS
A WHOLE NEW APPROACH.
MAYBE MAKING FUN OF STUPID
IDEAS WAS A STUPID IDEA.
WE HAD TO GET SMART,
BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WITH
THE REALLY STUPID IDEAS
WERE VERY VERY SMART.
FOR FRIEDMAN
AND HIS FOLLOWERS,
DISASTER WAS NOT JUS A CHANCE TO GET RICH,
BUT AN OPPORTUNITY
TO PUSH THROUGH
ALL KINDS
OF UNPOPULAR POLICIES,
LIKE PRIVATIZING
PUBLIC SCHOOLS,
SHUTTING DOWN
PUBLIC HOSPITALS,
AND KICKING PEOPLE
OUT OF THEIR HOMES.
THIS IS THE LAFITTE
HOUSING PROJECT.
IT SURVIVED KATRINA INTACT.
THAT WAS LUCKY FOR
THE THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS
WHO WANTED TO COME HOME
AND REBUILD.
SO WHAT DID
THE GOVERNMENT DO?
THEY DECIDED
TO TEAR IT DOWN.
THE DISASTER FOR US
STARTED AFTER THE STORM...
- UH-HUH.
- ...WHEN PEOPLE FOUND OUT THA YOU WERE GONNA BE MAROONED
IN A STRANGE FOREIGN CITY,
WANTING TO COME HOME,
AND THE GOVERNMENT WAS GOING
TO TAKE YOUR HOME AWAY.
THIS WAS OURS BEFORE THE STORM.
AND WHEN STORMS HAPPEN
EVERYWHERE ELSE,
PEOPLE GET A CHANCE TO GO
BACK HOME-- THIS IS HOME TO US.
WHY DO THEY TAKE AWAY OUR PRIDE
AND JOY? THEY DON'T KNOW WHA PEOPLE ARE GOING THROUGH.
Wade Rathke:
THERE'S A WHOLE CITY
THAT'S WASHED AWAY.
NOW YOU'VE GOTTA REBUILD
THE WHOLE THING.
PART OF WHAT THIS WAS
WAS IF YOU EVER HAD AN IDEA
THAT YOU COULDN'T GET THROUGH
BEFORE THE STORM,
WELL, THE STORM MEANT THA EVERYTHING WAS TOSSED SALAD.
SO IF THIS IDEA HAD BEEN
ROUNDLY REJECTED BY THE CITY
AND BY VOTERS
AND WHATEVER,
BUT NOW'S YOUR CHANCE
TO SNEAK ON IN.
WHEN RESIDENTS TRIED
TO COME HOME AFTER KATRINA,
THEY FOUND THEMSELVES
LOCKED OUT BY HUD,
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING
AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.
Pres Kabacoff:
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMEN CAME UP WITH A PROGRAM
TO DISMANTLE
PUBLIC HOUSING
AND PRIVATIZE IT.
AND THAT'S
WHAT WE'RE DOING.
AND SO YOU'VE GO TO DEVELOP A NICE COMMUNITY
SO THAT THE POOR HAVE
AN OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE
IN AN ENVIRONMEN WHERE PEOPLE WORK,
THAT THEY'RE PART OF
THE AMERICAN DREAM.
AND YOU'LL GE A NUMBER OF FOLKS
THAT ARE NOT USED TO
THE TYPE OF LIFESTYLE
THAT WE ALL LIVE,
WHERE TRASH IS THROWN
ON THE GROUND
OR CURSING OFF
OF THE BALCONY.
THE IDEA REALLY IS
TO PROVIDE ROLE MODELS,
ESSENTIALLY,
- FOR POOR FOLKS, RIGHT?
- ABSOLUTELY.
ON THE B.B.C.,
WE TRIED TO SHOW
THAT COMPANIES COULD
BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY.
AND WE'D LEARNED THAT THEY
COULDN' UNTIL GOVERNMENT MADE RULES
TO CONTROL THEM.
YET EVEN HERE
IN NEW ORLEANS,
WHERE HELP WAS MOST NEEDED,
GOVERNMENT WAS ALSO DRINKING
THE FREE-MARKET KOOL-AID.
I BELIEVE IN
A MARKET-DRIVEN PROCESS.
ECONOMICS, CAPITALISM--
IT'S GONNA TAKE OVER.
AND THE MARKETPLACE
IS POISED TO RESPOND.
SO THE GOVERNMENT DIDN' BELIEVE IN GOVERNMENT.
WE KNEW WHAT WE HAD TO DO:
WE WOULD BECOME
THE GOVERNMENT.
AND WE WOULD FIND OU WHAT WOULD HAPPEN
IF GOVERNMENT DID
THE RIGHT THING.
WE ARE PREPARING
TO GO TO THE GULF COAS RECONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE
- AT THE PONTCHARTRAIN CENTER
IN KENNER NEAR THE AIRPORT.
- LET'S GO.
- YOU SHOULDN'T DRIVE.
SOMEBODY ELSE SHOULD DRIVE.
- OKAY.
SO IT'S ALMOST LIKE WE SHOULD
BE SAYING WE ARE FACING
A STATE OF EMERGENCY.
I'M GOING TO SPEAK AS HUD,
AS THE DEPUTY ASSISTAN OF SECRETARY OF HUD
WHO COULDN'T MAKE IT,
AND C.N.N. IS GOING
TO BE COVERING IT VE.
THIS CONFERENCE
WAS TAKING PLA
ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY
OF KATRINA.
A THOUSAND CONTRACTORS WHO
WERE REBUILDING NEW ORLEANS
WOULD BE THERE.
WHAT'S THAT?
OH MY GOD.
MAYOR RAY NAGIN COMING
IS A BIT MORE
THAN WE EXPECTED
WOULD HAPPEN.
WHEN WE HATCHED OUR SCHEME
WE TOLD THIS GUY--
THE CONFERENCE ORGANIZER--
THAT WE REPRESENTED
ALPHONSO JACKSON,
THE HEAD OF HUD.
WHEN THE MAYOR AND GOVERNOR
FOUND OUT THAT JACKSON
WOULD BE THERE,
THEY HAD TO BE THERE TOO.
ONCE AGAIN,
THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER
WOULDN'T SHOW UP,
BUT HIS ASSISTANT WOULD.
WOULD THE MAYOR NOTICE
THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG?
AND WHAT WOULD
THE CONTRACTORS THINK
OF HUD'S RADICAL
NEW APPROACH TO PUBLIC HOUSING,
AN APPROACH THAT COULD
COST THEM MONEY
AND EVEN PUT SOME
OF THEM OUT OF A JOB?
...OF THE U.S. DEPARTMEN OF HOUSING AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT.
SO IT'S AN HONOR
TO SHARE THE STAGE
WITH OUR TWO PARTNERS
IN RECOVERY,
WITH RENE OSWIN,
REPRESENTING HUD,
WHO'S DEFINITELY ONE
OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT PARTNERS
IN THIS REBUILDING EFFORT,
AND MAYOR NAGIN OF NEW ORLEANS,
WHOSE CHALLENGES ARE ENORMOUS.
AND I ALSO WANT TO STOP
AND THANK RENE,
WHO'S HERE FROM HUD.
HUD HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE
INCREDIBLE PARTNER WITH US.
WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF DOING
SOME REALLY UNIQUE THINGS,
SOMETHING THA WE COULD HAVE NEVER TACKLED
IN THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS,
AND NOW WE ARE POISED
AND POSITIONED TO ENHANCE
PUBLIC HOUSING
IN THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S LOTS
OF INFORMATION OUT THERE,
THERE'S LOTS
OF MISINFORMATION OUT THERE.
BUT I HAVE
A FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF
THAT TRUTH AND LIE CANNO STAY IN THE SAME PLACE
AT THE SAME TIME.
REMINDS ME OF A STORY
I ONCE HEARD.
TRUTH AND LIE WENT SWIMMING
ONE DAY IN LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN.
THEY WENT SKINNY-DIPPING,
SO THEY LAID THEIR CLOTHES
ON THE BANKS.
AND THEY WERE OUT THERE
HAVING A REALLY GOOD TIME.
BUT THEN LIE ALL OF A SUDDEN
JUMPED OUT THE WATER
PUT TRUTH'S CLOTHES ON
AND STARTED RUNNING DOWN
ESPLANADE--
ELYSIAN FIELDS AVENUE.
TRUTH GOT OUT THE WATER
AND STARTED RUNNING AFTER LIE.
SO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
WHAT YOU HAD WAS
A WELL-DRESSED LIE BEING
CHASED BY NAKED TRUTH.
THAT'S QUITE
A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW.
NOTHING LIKE THAT TO MAKE YOU
FEEL A BIT NAKED, EH?
UH... DEAR FRIENDS,
IT IS WITH THE GREATEST JOY
THAT I ANNOUNCE TO YOU TODAY
A BRAND-NEW DEPARTMENT OF
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.
EVERYTHING IS
GOING TO CHANGE
ABOUT THE WAY WE WORK
AND THE CHANGE IS
GOING TO START RIGHT HERE
TODAY IN NEW ORLEANS.
UNTIL LAST WEEK,
OUR M.O. HERE AT HUD
WAS TO TEAR DOWN PUBLIC
HOUSING WHENEVER WE COULD.
LIKE MANY FOLKS
IN WASHINGTON,
WE THOUGH THE PROJECTS CAUSED
CRIME AND UNEMPLOYMENT.
WE WERE WRONG.
WHEN WE TORE DOWN
ST. THOMAS AND REPLACED I WITH MIXED-INCOME FLATS,
ONLY ONE
OF 27 FORMER RESIDENTS
EVER MADE IT BACK.
AND THE REST HAVE FACED
MANY PROBLEMS,
IN SOME CASES
EVEN HOMELESSNESS.
IT JUST DIDN'T WORK.
WE WON'T MAKE
THAT ERROR AGAIN.
THIS AFTERNOON
WE WILL BEGIN TO REOPEN
ALL PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECTS
IN NEW ORLEANS
AND ALLOW
THESE AMERICANS TO BE PAR OF THEIR CITY ONCE AGAIN.
BUT OPENING DOORS--
THANK YOU.
BUT OPENING DOORS
WON'T BE ENOUGH.
AS YOU KNOW,
THE MAIN REASON NEW ORLEANS
WAS SO VULNERABLE TO KATRINA
WAS THE DESTRUCTION
OF THE WETLANDS.
I AM VERY VERY
VERY PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE
THAT EXXON AND SHELL
HAVE AGREED TO FINANCE
WETLANDS REBUILDING
FROM PART OF THE $60 BILLION
IN PROFITS THIS YEAR.
AS J. STEPHEN SIMON,
EXN VICE PRESIDENT, WRITES,
"EXXON MOBIL IS
EARMARKING $8.6 BILLION
FROM REVENUES OUR COMPANY
HAS MADE IN THIS REGION,
SO AS TO ASSURE THA EXXON MOBIL NEVER AGAIN
HAS A HAND IN DESTROYING
A LARGE AMERICAN CITY."
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
WE WILL REBUILD NO JUST NEW ORLEANS,
WE WILL REBUILD
THE AMERICAN DREAM.
PLEASE COME JOIN US
AT THE LAFITTE HOUSING COMPLEX
FOR A RIBBON-CUTTING
CEREMONY IMMEDIATELY
AFTER THE PLENARY SESSION.
THIS IS WHA WE'RE ALL HERE FOR,
SO LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN.
LET'S BRING
NEW ORLEANS BACK.
I THOUGHT IT WAS
VERY UPLIFTING.
THIS HAS BEEN A BIG PROBLEM.
A LOT OF PEOPLE WAN TO COME HOME
AND THEY HAVE BEEN
UNABLE TO DO SO,
SO I THOUGHT IT WAS
A VERY POSITIVE MESSAGE.
OH, VERY ENCOURAGING.
AND WHAT'S REALLY ENCOURAGING
IN PARTICULAR IS NOT ONLY
GETTING PEOPLE BACK HOME
AND HELPING THEM REBUILD,
BUT THE RECOGNITION
THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL
WITH MOTHER NATURE.
AND THAT EXXON IS GOING
TO MAKE SOME SIGNIFICAN CONTRIBUTION
TO RESTORE WETLANDS IS--
IT'S VERY ENCOURAGING.
THIS WAS ENCOURAGING.
WHEN THE CONTRACTORS HEARD
THAT THE GOVERNMEN WAS GOING
TO DO THE RIGHT THING,
EVEN THOUGH IT MIGH COST THEM SOME BUSINESS,
THEY CHEERED.
FRIEDMAN WAS WRONG.
GREED ALONE DIDN'T RULE
THE WORLD.
- HI.
- HI. MY NAME'S STEVE STRADER,
WITH W.W.L.
- MIND IF I TALK
TO YOU OVER HERE?
- ABSOLUTELY.
- DO YOU HAVE A CARD?
- NO, NOT TODAY.
AND THIS TIME WE'D
GOTTEN AWAY TH IT...
- ALL RIGHT, THANKS. BYE-BYE.
- ...OR SO WE THOUGHT.
THE CITY AND THE STATE
BOTH SAY THEY'VE NOT HEARD
ANYTHING ABOUT THIS,
THAT THIS ANNOUNCEMEN COMES AS A SURPRISE TO
THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
WHY WOULD HUD DO THIS
WITHOUT CONSULTING
THE CITY AND THE STATE?
WELL, IT'S SUCH A--
WE HAVEN'T DONE THIS
WITHOUT CONSULTING WITH THEM.
YOU HAVE NO CARDS.
YOU SAY YOU'RE NEW
TO THE AGENCY?
I HAVE A CARD, BUT IT'S
BACK AT THE OFFICE.
- I'LL GET IT TO YOU.
- WHERE IS YOUR P.R. TEAM?
- I'M RIGHT HERE, HI.
- UM... THERE.
- HI, YOU'RE WITH HUD?
- YES, I AM.
- DO YOU HAVE A CARD?
- THERE'S AN ENTIRE HUD
HOUSING PROJECT THERE
- LEFT UNFINISHED.
- YEAH.
THERE ARE SOME SAYING
THAT THIS IS A FARCE,
THAT YOU'RE NOT TRULY
WITH HUD AND THAT THIS IS
NOT AN ACTUAL ANNOUNCEMENT.
WELL, THEY CAN SAY
WHATEVER THEY WANT.
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
- WHERE IS YOUR OFFICE?
- IN WASHINGTON.
WHERE IN WASHINGTON.
HE DID JUST-- HE JUS JOINED THE AGENCY
FROM FRANCE.
- HE'S A--
- FROM FRANCE?
YEAH, HE'S BEEN
A SPECIAL ATTACHE
TO THE DEPARTMEN OF THE INTERIOR IN FRANCE.
WHY ARE YOU
SO SKEPTICAL?
WE JUST HEARD THE SPEECH
AND I HAVE A NEWSCAS VERY SHORTLY.
I NEED TO CONFIRM
IF IT WAS
A REAL SPEECH
FROM HUD OR NOT.
THE GOVERNOR AND THE MAYOR
KNEW NOTHING OF IT.
THEY WERE SHOCKED.
WE DESPERATELY NEED TO KNOW
IF THIS IS REAL OR NOT.
HE'S STANDING RIGHT HERE,
THE MAN WHO JUST APPARENTLY
COMMITTED THIS HOAX
ON YOUR DEPARTMENT.
I'M ON THE PHONE
WITH HUD RIGHT NOW
AND THEY SAY YOU'RE A LIAR.
OKAY, WELL, THEY CAN SAY
WHATEVER THEY WANT.
- I'M SORRY.
- THEY CAN SAY
WHATEVER THEY LIKE.
"THEY CAN SAY
WHATEVER THEY LIKE."
BUT YOU WORK FOR THEM
- DON'T YOU,
AS A DEPUTY SECRETARY?
- THAT'S RIGHT.
NOW THAT YOU'VE BEEN
DISCOVERED, DO YOU WANT TO
EXPLAIN TO ME WHY YOU DID IT?
IF YOU'RE TRYING
TO MAKE A POINT,
WHY DON'T YOU
COME OVER HERE
AND TELL ME WHY
YOU DID THIS?
ALL RIGHT, MAN.
I'LL CALL YOU
IN A FEW MINUTES.
BUT IT IS A HOAX--
A MASSIVE HOAX
PERPETRATED TODAY.
- YOU JUST PULLED OFF
A HECK OF A HOAX.
- THANK YOU.
IT-- I MEAN, I WOULD
SAY THAT, YOU KNOW,
HUD IS PULLING OFF
A HOAX BY PRETENDING THA TEARING DOWN AFFORDABLE HOUSING
IS WHAT'S GONNA SOLVE IT.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHA THEY'VE BEEN DOING UNTIL NOW.
THIS IS A TIME WHEN
ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ARE
CLAMORING TO GET BACK IN.
THEY WANT TO GET BACK
INTO THEIR HOUSING AND
THEY DESERVE TO BE THERE.
IT'S CRAZY.
- AND WORTH LYING
TO ALL THESE PEOPLE?
- OH, ABSOLUTELY.
ABSOLUTELY.
ACTUALLY TELLING THE TRUTH.
THIS IS ACTUALLY TRUTH-TELLING
WHERE NORMALLY THERE
WOULD ONLY BE LIES.
HOW DIFFICULT WOULD IT BE
TO REMEDIATE WHAT YOU
SEE HERE TODAY
AND MAKE IT INHABITABLE,
SAY, NEXT WEEK?
JUST TAKE OFF THE--
TAKE OFF THE COVERS HERE.
OH YEAH, THAT'S
A GOOD START, YEAH?
- ABSOLUTELY.
- THAT'S IT.
FINALLY
WE WILL BE REOPENING
PUBLIC HOUSING
FOR THE RESIDENTS--
FOR THE WORKFORCE
THAT'S GOING TO MOVE BACK IN
AND AGAIN REBUILD
NEW ORLEANS.
Sick, twisted, cruel--
those are all words used
to describe the prank
on Louisiana officials
and about 1,000 contractors
in New Orleans today.
I'm deputy
assistant secretary,
to-- of the assistant,
essentially, of Secretary
Alphonso Jackson.
Rene Oswin can't get his title
right or his relationship
to HUD secretary
Alphonso Jackson.
After taking
the mayor for a ride,
these contractors followed him
to a makeshift ribbon cutting
at the Lafitte
Housing Project.
Mr. Oswin, you're not even
on the directory of HUD.
You're not even listed--
don't have a phone number.
It's come to that,
has it?
It's come to that.
Thanks for being the one
to break the news.
HANO, the Housing
Authority of New Orleans
says this is simply
a cruel cruel joke,
trying to give people
some kind of fake hope
that they were going to be
able to move back.
...THIS WHOLE
PRESS CONFERENCE.
I GUESS IT'S JUS TO CALL THEIR HAND.
I RESPECT THIS HOAX,
BECAUSE MAYBE IT'LL TAKE
A HOAX LIKE THIS
TO BRING THEM OUT HERE
TO SEE WHAT WE'RE
GOING THROUGH.
SO IF THE HOAX WHAT IT BE,
A HOAX IS WHAT WE GOT.
AND I AIN'T MAD.
I'M GRABBING ME
SOME BARBECUE.
Juakali:
I THINK WHA YOU GUYS EXPOSED
IS THE FACT THAT HUD
COULD DO THESE GREAT THINGS
IF THEY WANTED TO.
SECONDLY, YOU GO THE ATTENTION OF THE RESIDENTS
SO NOW THEY'RE GONNA
BEGIN TO ASK,
"WELL, WHY AREN'T YOU
DOING THESE THINGS?"
AND NUMBER THREE,
YOU'RE CREATING A CONTROVERSY
TO FEED OFF, TO ORGANIZE
AND TO BUILD A STRUGGLE
TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
SO IN MY OPINION,
EVERYTHING Y'ALL DID
WAS EXCELLENT.
IT HAD ALL BEEN WORTHWHILE.
WE WERE
ON TOP OF THE WORLD.
BUT THEN REALITY BEGAN
TO SINK IN.
WE'D MADE A SPLASH,
BUT WE HADN' FIXED THE WORLD.
THE FREE MARKET WAS STILL
DESTROYING NEW ORLEANS.
ALL OVER THE WORLD,
PEOPLE WERE LOSING THEIR HOMES.
CLIMATE CHANGE KEP GETTING WORSE.
AND IN BHOPAL,
PEOPLE CONTINUED TO SUFFER.
WE REALLY DID NEED
TO FIX THE WORLD.
BUT IT WAS GONNA TAKE
MORE THAN TWO GUYS
WITH CHEAP SUITS
AND FAKE WEBSITES.
IT WOULD TAKE
MILLIONS OF US.
BUT EVEN AS OLD REGIMES
WERE SWEPT AWAY,
WE KNEW THAT REAL CHANGE
WOULDN'T COME EASY.
AFTER ALL,
THE FREE-MARKET CUL WAS STILL HERE.
- WEALTH.
- MONEY.
- PRIVATIZATION.
- WEALTH.
- MONEY.
- FREE MARKETS.
- PRIVATIZATION.
- OWNERSHIP.
A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY.
NOW WE CAN AFFORD THAT.
REMEMBER THESE GUYS?
THEY'RE NOT GOING AWAY.
AND NEITHER WOULD WE.
WE NEEDED A REALLY
AMBITIOUS PLAN,
BECAUSE ALL WE EVER READ
IN THE NEWSPAPERS
WAS HOW WE NEEDED TO PU EVERYTHING BACK ON TRACK,
BACK TO HOW IT WAS
BEFORE IT FELL APART.
BUT HOW IT WAS
WAS THE PROBLEM.
WE NEEDED TO SHOW WHA REAL CHANGE COULD LOOK LIKE.
SO TOGETHER WITH A WHOLE
LOT OF FRIENDS,
WE WOULD BLANKET MANHATTAN
WITH 100,000 COPIES
OF OUR VERY OWN NEWSPAPER.
WE'D CALL I "THE NEW YORK TIMES."
EXCEPT OUR "NEW YORK TIMES"
WOULD BE A LITTLE BI DIFFERENT.
OURS WOULD BE SET SIX MONTHS
IN THE FUTURE.
IT WOULD SHOW WHA COULD HAPPEN
IF WE SE OUR IMAGINATION FREE.
THINGS HAVE
GOTTEN PRETTY BAD
AND I THINK IT'S HARD
FOR PEOPLE TO IMAGINE
THE WORLD WORKING
ANOTHER WAY.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO,
AS REALISTICALLY
AS POSSIBLE,
PRESENT THIS WORLD
AS IT COULD BE.
THEY JUST BROUGHT UP
THE PROOF
OF "THE NEW YORK TIMES" AND I LOOKS UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE.
REALLY GOOD.
The obvious question:
how the heck did you do it?
Andy, do you want to start?
How long were you working
on this thing
- and how many of you?
- There were a lot of us.
It wasn't just the Yes Men.
It was a large group of people.
We were just one of many groups.
It was an idea that sparked
a lot of people's imaginations.
They wanted
to see this happen.
And that's sort of the message
of the paper as well--
is "Great.
We elected Obama
and that's fantastic,
but now the real work
begins."
The idea was to put out
something that was optimistic,
that says we can do
all these things.
Why not?
We created the system that we
have now, so why not create
a good one instead?
- WOW, VERY GOOD.
- LET ME TIE YOU UP.
- THIS IS THE BIG DAY.
- "NEW YORK TIMES."
7:00 A.M. RUSH HOUR,
THIS IS THE TIME
TO GET THE PAPERS
OUT THERE.
- MORNING. FREE "TIMES."
- FREE "NEW YORK TIMES."
SPECIAL ISSUE.
SPECIAL ISSUE.
"NEW YORK TIMES,"
FREE "NEW YORK TIMES."
SPECIAL EDITION
OF "THE NEW YORK TIMES."
FREE "NEW YORK TIMES."
IS THIS REAL?
- IT'S FAKE, RIGHT?
- WHO PUBLISHES THIS?
CAN I GRAB
ANOTHER ONE OF THESE?
- WHAT?
- WHAT?
"NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE
ACT PASSES."
SO THE PATRIOT--
THE PATRIOT ACT REPEALED.
"MAXIMUM WAGE LAW SUCCEEDS."
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ONE.
THIS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.
BUT... IT'S NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
IT'S A DREAM NEWSPAPER.
RIGHT?
IT'S LIKE YOU WAKE UP AND ALL
THE THINGS THAT YOU WANTED
BECAME THE NEWS.
THE WAR'S OVER!
OUR FAKE NEWS WAS A HIT.
NEWSPAPER!
NEWS FROM THE FUTURE.
BUT WOULD THE REAL NEWS
PICK IT UP?
YOU DON'T WORK
FOR "THE NEW YORK TIMES."
WHO IS IT THAT YOU WORK FOR
- HANDING THIS OUT?
- A GUY NAMED JOHN-- JOHN SMITH.
- YEAH, JOHN SMITH.
- JOHN SMITH?
IT'S "THE NEW YORK TIMES,"
SPECIAL EDITION. IS THERE
ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT?
YEAH, IT'S NO "THE NEW YORK TIMES."
Read all about it.
"The New York Times" declares
the war in Iraq is over.
Some commuters got
their hands on what
looks like a special edition
of "The New York Times."
As you might have
guessed though,
- it's a fake.
We printed a paper
with the headlines
that we'd like to see.
So if these were
the headlines
that people were so excited
to read this morning,
let's make them happen.
Lili Taylor:
WE'RE GONNA HAVE
TO EXERCISE SOME MUSCLES
THAT WE EITHER DON'T HAVE
OR THAT HAVE ATROPHIED.
OR SOMETHING--
A CIVIC MUSCLE,
A THRIFTY MUSCLE,
A GENEROUS MUSCLE.
Medea Benjamin:
WE'VE GOT TO TAKE BACK
OUR GOVERNMENT.
MARCH INTO CITY HALL AND SAY,
"HERE, WE'VE GOT T SOLUTIONS."
Frances Fox Piven:
WE CAN THINK OF THE
DIFFERENT WAYS
THAT WE CAN CONTRIBUTE
TO A MOVEMENT THAT SAYS
BUSINESS AS USUAL
IS UNACCEPTABLE,
BECAUSE PEOPLE
ARE BEING HUR AND WE'RE NOT GOING
TO PLAY THE ROLE--
THE SUBSERVIENT,
ROUTINE ROLE
THAT WE USUALLY PLAY.
- LET'S GO!
- WE'RE GOING, WE'RE GOING.
MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN.
PUT YOUR EFFORT ON THE LINE
TO MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN.
AND THAT'S WHAT,
KINDA, WE DID HERE.
AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE--
IT'S WHAT...
YEAH, IT'S KIND OF, YEAH.
- OH BOY!
- NO, I KNOW, YEAH!
AND IF A FEW PEOPLE
AT THE TOP CAN MAKE
THE BAD NEWS HAPPEN,
THEN WHY CAN'T ALL
OF US AT THE BOTTOM
GET TOGETHER
AND MAKE THE GOOD NEWS
HAPPEN FOR A CHANGE?
I MEAN, FOR REAL?