All language subtitles for The.Yes.Men.2003.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.BZ]

Downloaded from
YTS.BZ

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.BZ

MIKE BONANNO: Jeez,
this is terrible.

It's the stupidest...
I can't...

There's...
It's an hour's difference.

The time zone
is different here.

Fuck.
It's unbelievable.

How the fuck
can that happen?

Okay. Here.

Okay, there.
That's done.
Now what?

Okay. Got it.
Okay, next?

BONANNO: Pull it up.
Okay.

A few years ago,
we wanted to

try to help out with some
activist anti-corporate
activities.

And we heard
about this website
called rtmark.com.

And, um,
we went there,
and they, they...

They handed us
a domain name,
GWBush.com,

and asked us
if we might like
to make a website

that was critical
of George Bush.

Um, because George
Bush's real domain name
was georgewbush.com.

And this was 1999,
so it was just
during the campaign

when he was beginning
to run for president.

And we didn't really know
quite what to do,

so we went
to Bush's website
and looked at it.

And it turned out
to be full of
strange hypocrisies, like,

for example,
he called himself

"The environmental
governor of Texas,"

but we looked
a little closer
at his record

and found out that
he had actually created

the most polluted
state in the country

because he dismantled
the Clean Air laws
while he was there.

And, actually, that's,
I guess, what he's
doing now nationally.

So we thought, "Well,
this kind of hypocrisy

"we can easily poke fun at

"by making
a satire website."

And we made
this satire website

that looked
exactly like Bush's

except for a few
key differences.

Like there was a photo
on the banner,

instead of him and his wife
in front of the Capitol
building in Texas,

we showed him
pointing the finger
at black people.

And this seemed to get
him a little bit angry.

So the Bush campaign
tried to shut us down

by sending us
a cease and desist letter

and by complaining
to the Federal
Election Commission.

But we were able
to just take those threats

and send them
to the media.

And immediately
The New York Times
wrote an article,

and there were
a whole bunch
of other articles.

BICHLBAUM: And in fact,
one reporter
read these articles,

and at a press conference,
asked Bush,

"So, what about
this website, GWBush.com,

"what do you think of that?"

(JOURNALIST SPEAKING)

(BUSH SPEAKING)

(JOURNALIST SPEAKING)

(BUSH SPEAKING)

So it was
all over the place.
Yeah.

A lot of people
read about it,
including a guy

who had another domain
name called gatt.org.

And, of course,
GATT is the

Global Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade,

and it's the predecessor
agreement to the World
Trade Organization.

And he said,
"If you could
do this for Bush,

"then maybe you can
also do this for the WTO."

MICHAEL MOORE: The WTO
is supposed to be

sort of a United
Nations of commerce,

a conglomeration
of all these countries
in the world

uh, that get together
every now and then

to discuss trade policies,

and how exactly
goods will be bought

and sold
throughout the world.

Well, I'm sure,
originally,

the stated purpose
of the WTO, uh,

was to help these countries
who are developing

so that, you know,
the world community

can help raise them
out of poverty.

In fact,
what it's done is,

it's allowed
large corporations, uh,

to go in and exploit
these people even further

uh, so that Americans
become even wealthier

and the people
in these countries

continue to struggle
to get by.

And I think that's...

At this point it's upset
quite a few people.

Okay, so I gotta
try and remember
where Sal lives.

Um, it's a
little bit complicated.

There's, like,
this snaking road
up over the hills.

BONANNO: And who is Sal?

Sal is a friend
who I met in San Diego,

and, um,
he moved to L.A.

to work in the
movie industry,

and that's why...
Now he does,

actually, costuming
professionally.

He builds, like,
weird suits

out of, you know,
pretty much any material
you can imagine.

And so, when we
needed a costume,
I knew who to call.

Yeah, this is it. Yeah.

I'll maybe bring him
his mail, actually,

as long as
we're at it here.

Yeah, I don't like it.
Okay.

It looks too much
like sex stuff

instead of... It's not
very modern-looking.

Okay.
It's gotta look...

Remember,
this is the future.

This isn't about, like,
straps and stuff.

That's like dungeons
and torture in the past.

The costume is
a manager's leisure suit.

And the idea is that
Hank Hardy Unruh,

the representative from the
World Trade Organization,

is going to go and wear
this breakaway business suit

that's gonna be
pulled off of him

during the middle
of the keynote address
at the conference.

And then, a big
inflatable phallus

is going to emerge
from this golden suit,

and on the end of it
is a TV screen

that he uses to
manage sweatshops remotely.

The reason we got invited
to these things

is we have a website
called gatt.org.

The gatt.org website
looks a lot like
the WTO website,

but it is critical
of the WTO.

Most people, though,
who find gatt.org

by searching for the
World Trade Organization,

will go without reading it
and will send us
e-mail directly.

So a lot of people
ask us weird questions
about tariffs and trade,

and we try to answer
as accurately as we can.

And occasionally
invitations come in

from official or, you know,
quasi-official organizations

asking for opinions
or asking us to
attend a conference.

And so, when they ask,
they really think
they're talking to the WTO,

and we respond
by giving them
what we think they want,

which is the
opinions of the WTO

as accurately
as we can represent them.

You know what
I'm thinking, actually,
looking at this,

is that maybe
this is a zipper.

Yeah! Yeah,
yeah, yeah.

Then he just unzips it
and pulls the thing
at the same time.

Oh, that could be
really good.
Because...

To have it
burst out of the Velcro,

it might not be
strong enough to...
BOTH: Burst out.

And then he'd
have to pull it.

Part of the thing
that gives us the courage
to go to Tampere

with this really absurd suit

is that we already went
to Salzburg, Austria,

to represent the
World Trade Organization

at a conference
on tariffs and trade.

And so, there,
our representative,

the same guy who is
Hank Hardy Unruh here

was Dr. Andreas
Bichlbauer there.

And he gave a lecture,
uh, that focused

on, basically,
doing away with all customs
in the name of free trade,

like getting rid of
the siesta in
Spain and Italy,

um, so that business hours
could be the same.

In Italy, on the other hand,
you have a totally
different situation,

in which sleep is

done during the day
as much as
at night, almost.

And allowing people
to sell their votes
over the Internet

to the highest bidder
so that the barriers
to, sort of, free trade

and things like votes
were out of the way.

BICHLBAUER:
One possible solution

is being tested
in the field of
American politics

to streamline the
grotesquely inefficient
system of elections.

And Vote-auction.com,
in turn, employs
only four people

to transmit
not merely information,

but actual money directly
to the consuming voter.

It's a forum
for people voluntarily

to offer their vote
to the highest bidder.

And despite giving
what we thought

was a lecture
that would immediately
get us booed off stage

or, you know,
get Bichlbauer maybe
even thrown in jail

because people
would figure out
he was an impostor,

the exact opposite happened.

Everybody was
super polite. Nobody...

It didn't seem like
everybody even noticed

that what he said
was so absurd.

Well, so far...

We thought Bichlbauer
would be very extreme

and people would react to it
and we'd get shut down,

and nothing
of the sort happened.

So...

This time,
we just have to
really push it

and make it totally extreme.

I mean, we keep trying
to push things further

to try to really
clarify the positions
of the WTO

to make them very legible.

It's one back,
but this is good.

MAN: Yeah.
So...

Andy.

Andy.

It has a terrible siren.

(SIREN WAILING)

BICHLBAUM: I have to
check the web
when we get upstairs.

Oh, my God.
What are we gonna do
about this...

We gotta watch
the Patrick video.

Um...

It's weird stuff,
isn't it?

(BOTH CHUCKLING)

That's one way
of putting it.

It's really a problem.

BICHLBAUM: It seems
about the weirdest

I've seen from
him ever, I think.

It looks
pretty good on this.

Yeah, it's all right.

PATRICK LICHTY: What we have
here is that we have
our cyber Andy here

who's going to be
wearing the suit.

And I'm going to be showing
all the different ways

in which the
Management Leisure Suit

can be useful
in industry today

and maximize
leisure potential.

(LAUGHS)

Sometimes I don't think
they know what the hell
to expect out of me.

What I'll come up with

is frequently not exactly
what they had in mind,

but it's, you know,

it fits in perfectly
with what they're,

what they're going to do.

Well, I mean,
I came out of
a corporate environment

and a company that
I really gave, you know,

a good bit of my soul to

over a long period
of time progressively.

And there were
a lot of downsizings
and, of course,

you know, the
company I was with

I thought was gonna
take care of me, you know.

And I realized that
the bottom line
is the bottom line,

and there really
isn't any humanity
in corporate structures,

so therefore I hope
that maybe being part
of the Yes Men

might, in some way,
help raise issues
about global work issues

and social issues
that are being
brought about

by globalization, etcetera.

I grew up
in the suburbs here,

and then I moved
to Troy, uh,

six years ago
for a job at the
university there, so...

A place there
called Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute,

and I teach there.

I was moving
back home, really,
because I'd been away,

I'd been on the West Coast
for about 12 years.

WOMAN: Wait,
what is this?

BONANNO: This is, um,
it's this...

SimCopter hack.
Here it is.

I wanted to
watch this tape
'cause I...

This is the tape...
I've been cleaning
out the archives,

you know, and I found
this tape in there.

I met Andy through
a friend, actually.
A mutual friend.

Actually, two people,
that we both knew,

suggested that
me and Andy

get in contact
with one another

because we'd both
done similar projects.

One of the jobs
that I had

was at this games
company called Maxis

that makes SimCity.

One of the games
they were making
at the time

was SimCopter.

I was in charge
of the little people

that run around
in the game.

And I made them
wearing nothing
but swim trunks.

They'd all be boys,
and they'd be
running around

kissing each other.

So all the people
who ordered this
very popular video game

suddenly were treated
to a completely
different spectacle.

And so he got a lot
of press attention for it,

and it was seen
as a kind of,

an activist, you know,
kind of statement

about video games

and the sort of
macho nature of them.

It all involves
the unexpected appearance

of some gay,
kissing muscle men
every Friday the 13th.

He's becoming
a celebrity of sorts
in the computer world.

Especially the
gay computer world.

And then I had done
a project using
Barbie dolls,

where we switched
the voice boxes of
Barbie dolls and G.I. Joes.

(RECORDED MALE VOICE)
Troops, attack
that Cobra jet

with heavy firepower!

(GUNFIRE)

And that ended up
in G.I. Joes

that said things like,
"I love to shop with you,"

and Barbie dolls
that said things like, um,
"Dead men tell no lies."

And we got them back
on store shelves,

um, all over the country
in what we called our
"Shop Giving Program."

We're like Santa Claus,
only less radical,

because Santa Claus
breaks into people's houses.
We don't do that.

BONANNO: So that
when kids got them
at Christmas,

they were surprised
to find their doll

saying something other
than what they expected.

And the kids thought
it was hilarious.

You know,
they loved having
these crazy dolls.

Uh, we sent out
press releases,

so it was in the news
on Christmas Day

and for the week following.

It just went
through every kind of
media channel imaginable.

The BLO.

The mission of the BLO.

The Barbie Liberation
Organization, the BLO.

It was real funny 'cause
(MAN TRANSLATING
IN FRENCH)

it was like "Come on,
fight me. Fight me!"

Except it says.
(RECORDED FEMALE VOICE)
I love school. Don't you?

Let's sing
with the band tonight!

Now we're,
with the Yes Men,

we're calling that
sort of basic idea
"Identity Correction,"

like saying, okay,
these things...

These things that are
not really presenting
themselves honestly

or that hide something
about their nature
that's really scary,

we want to, we want to
bring that out.

We want to show that.
We want to demonstrate that.

And so, like
for the WTO,

you know, we think
that the WTO

is doing all these
terrible things
that are hurting people

and they're saying
the exact opposite.

And so we're interested
in correcting their identity,

in the same way
that an identity thief

steals somebody's
identity to...

In order to,
basically, just engage
in criminal practices,

we target people
we see as criminals,

and we steal their identity
to try to make them honest

or to try to present
a more honest face.

And so, you know,
I guess this whole thing

has its roots
for both me and Andy

in stuff that
we've been doing
for a long time,

which is trying to
create public spectacles

that, in some kind of
poetic way,

reveal something
about our culture that's
profoundly a problem.

That must be Sal.

Oh, dude.

Are you okay?

SAL: I got fuckin'
lost on that...

Oh, no.

(LAUGHING)

It's been a long day.

Holy shit!

Oh!

Well, I probably
started it in June or July.

So, on and off
for a good
two to three months.

Just a couple
more pieces of Velcro,
and that'll really be it.

And, yeah, we're...

We're at the
end of the line.

(BLOWING RASPBERRY)

Oh.

Okay, look.
So here we're
making a list here.

Wednesday we leave
for Finland early,

so, Sunday...

Make lecture.

BICHLBAUM: Bigger?
Oh, no. That's a big one.

PowerPoint.

And then speech.

Finish.

(KEYS CLACKING)

It's 4:03 a.m.,

and I guess
I'll just keep working
until morning.

I feel somewhat awake.

And then Andy
can take over again.

We can do
around-the-clock shift,
I guess.

I'm just trying
to add a few slides
into the PowerPoint here.

Because, actually,
a lot of the things

that, sort of,
business leaders
of the world

say in relation
to these issues

are actually sort of
very similar

to what Unruh
Hank Hardy says,

even though, maybe,
Unruh Hank Hardy

is a little bit
more frank about it.

And, in fact,
when he talked
to CNBC,

when he was debating,
an activist, Barry Coates,

just sort of agreed
with what he said

when he said that
this is what the WTO does,

and this is our position.

And Barry Coates said,

"Well, that's funny.
That's exactly right."

After Salzburg,
we got an e-mail

asking a representative
of the WTO

to appear on CNBC
MarketWrap Europe.

And the producer
apparently didn't notice

that gatt.org
was not the WTO site.

And Granwyth Hulatberi,

which is another name
that Andy just came up with,

responded and,
of course, said,

"Well, I'd be happy to go
on CNBC MarketWrap."

And that producer
wanted him to debate

an anti-globalization
protester.

If the WTO is serious
about addressing

the issues
of world poverty,

it would do things
completely differently
than it is now.

Let me bring in
Granwyth on that.

Is that a fair point?

Well, of course it is,

but, you know,
I think Barry,

as well as all
the other protesters,

are simply,
in a word,

focused too much
on reality and
on facts and figures.

And I think
I would have to say

that this is
a long-term problem

that comes down
to a problem of education.

We have to find a way

to convince perhaps
not the protesters,

but the
protesters' children

to follow thinkers like

Milton Friedman
and Darwin and,
uh, and so on,

rather than
what the protesters
have been reared on...

Trotsky and Robespierre
and Abbie Hoffman.

And I think that putting
the direction of education,

being put into
private hands...

A concentration of resources
in the private sector

will naturally lead
to this result,

and we'll see
the protesters' children
being reared

with an entirely different
set of concerns.

Let me bring you
in on that, Barry.

I mean, can I just say

that these kind of
simplistic arguments

are really, I mean,
too insulting

to most people
to believe.

You know, the fact that
we have a choice between

Milton Friedman
or Abbie Hoffman

for where we get
our source of economic
history and philosophy.

There are many,
many thinkers
from around the world...

Just not those one's
employed by the WTO.

...that think
the World Trade
Organization policies

are deeply damaging
for the development prospects
of the poorest countries.

Let me go out,
uh, to Granwyth.

Yes, um, well,
I wanted to speak
to Granwyth...

Sorry, to Barry's point that
there are other thinkers.

Well, who...
Who actually has
the power in the world

and so who is correct
in this kind of world view?

I mean, I think the
answer is easy

and if you look
at the views held
by myself, my oganization

and many, many of
the decision makers
in the world,

the powerful people
they happen to coincide
with what I'm explaining

and I think,
this is enough in
this sort of view.

So... I mean,
what we have here
is a picture of

the rich and powerful
people believe
a certain philosophy

which they then
propound through
the institutions

in which they have
a powerful voice.

And I think this is
exactly the model

that is being questioned
and increasingly
what there is,

is a very large body
of people who are concerned
about these rules.

The people on the streets
of Janeiro or in Seattle

are not representative
of the overall movement.

They are at the tip
of the iceberg.
We did the study last year

that looked across
developing countries

and found that in
the space of one year
in 50 protests

more than a million people
from developing countries

were out trying
to change the rules

that were being
imposed on them
by the World Bank

and the IMF
and locked down through
the World Trade Organization.

All right. Thank you.
We must finish unfortunately.

Barry Coates thank you
actually for joining us.
Thank you.

And also Granwyth Hulatberi.

And also Vern
and Alice on the line
from New York.

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

Um, section three.

Well...

This isn't exactly
a garbage bag
but it's, uh...

It'll work.

Yeah?
You think, this is
very business-like?

It's like,
it's very official...

(WOMAN TALKING INDISTINCTLY)
Very big money.

Okay, good.
That's what I need.

I need a big
money watch.

SALMONE: So, are you
as nervous as you were
for, uh, Salzburg?

The thing is like,
even with the Salzburg thing
we went into it like...

Sort of, I mean we
went there really nervous
but the whole time kind of...

It doesn't...
It doesn't really sink in
till you're actually there.

Right.

SALMONE: Well, I think
it's good you guys, like,

from what I've seen
of the speech

it kind of starts out
the most normal that is.
BONANNO: Yeah.

So it'll help...
He can get comfortable
when people...

He can sort of like slowly
work his way up into it.

You son
of a fucking bitch.

(CLICKS TONGUE) Shit.

Do you have a rag?

BONANNO: Uh...
Fuck.

Fuck, uh, shit, um...

I have one with that has
shoe polish on it
but that's not right, right?

The screen get
a little paint on it?

Yeah.

Hmm.

(WHIRRING)

It sounds like
a lawn mower.

It's a little loud, yeah.

Mmm. That's not good.
Forget it.

(WHIRRING CONTINUES)

Uh-oh.
Look, it made
a new noise.

Good, good,
good. Great.

Is that great?
Try it.

And it doesn't work now.

Oh, listen. Yes.

Okay. (LAUGHS)

(LAUGHS)

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

Okay, 10 minutes.
They're both here.

Phew.

Hey, Sal.

Thanks.

(LAUGHS)

We'll see how it goes.
Thanks for everything.

Yeah. Sleep good
and have a good time here.

Yeah.
Enjoy.

See you soon.

Move into my room.
Have enjoyment.

Okay.
(LAUGHS)

Is this everything?

Wow. Look how efficient.

Okay.

(GRUNTS)

Efficient.
A model of efficiency
right here.

You have some crap
on your face right here.

No, no, over here.

Looks better.

(TALKING INDISTINCTLY)

(MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO)

BONANNO:
We arrived last night,

you had to take a nap.
You had to get some sleep.

BICHLBAUM: Oh,
I just crashed, yeah.

And, uh, I went

and basically scoped out
the lecture site.

There was a sign
on the door that said,

"Textiles of the future,

"Unruh Hank Hardy
was the first speaker.
Hank Hardy Unruh."

And, um, you know, it all
looked sort of official.

The coffee cups were out
for the morning.

So, I thought,
this is great.
I'm all ready,

I know exactly
where it is.

We can go there.
I had a time...

Like set up
a little time table
and I got them, you know,

maps of the thing,
and all the updated
conference information.

Um, came back here,

then we went to sleep early,

but Hank was
snoring immediately.

But I wasn't able
to sleep at all, really.

I just like stayed there
awake in bed

and occasionally going
to bathroom and turn on
the light and read brochures,

because I was like,
just unable to sleep.

And eventually,
I think I fell asleep
just before waking up.

Great.

So, I'm leaving
my wallet here.

Okay, let's go.

It's 8:00.

I think I really will
leave it here.

Aren't you coming?

Hank, it was
a little early to get up.

It's all right.

I mean, I thought
this was vacation.

(SNIFFS) Like, what?

Vacation.
I know.

They take me to Finland...

Let me take care
of this egg for you.
I'll just peel it.

That would be nice,
thank you.

Mmm-hmm.

Well, you know,
we're a bit behind schedule.

Are we?
Well, little bit.
It's after 8:00.

And I really wanted to be
at the venue at 8:00.

Okay.
But we're doing fine anyway.

Is it after 8:00?

It is after 8:00.
Yeah.

You know,
pretend like...

Huh.
Great.

We're early.
Ah. Good.

Hello.

I'm Hank Hardy Unruh.
I'm from the...

Oh, great.

Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.

We were expecting you.

Oh, good. (LAUGHS)

It's not 9:30, no?
It's 8:30, right?

Um. Uh,
but you will have a...

It's 8:30 now.
8:30.

Is it?
It...

It is... It's 9:30.

Now?
Yes.

No. Yeah.

The time is 9:30?

Yes.
Yeah. Almost.

I'm on at...
Well, it's 9:27
at the moment.

Oh, my God.
We're an hour off.

Oh, my God.
Thank you.

Okay.

Well, we have to...
Anyhow.

We're starting...

Do they know that
he's going on now?

Uh, yeah.
Well, perhaps he knows that
and was expecting.

Oh, geez. Okay.

Okay, we...

Are you coming too?
Have you registered?

Um, I'm his...
I'm his assistant.

And this also.
We're both
working with him.

We have to go take care
of a few things now.

BOTH: Okay.

Would you like
to join the dinner?

Uh, yes, please.

Uh, or is there a fee or...

Uh, no, it's included.

Okay, yes. We'll...
We'll join the dinner.
That looks great.

Um...
Uh...

Wow.
Well,
we must hurry, I guess.

So, please yes.

Um, actually no,
you can't go in right now,

'cause you have
to first take care
of that business.

See we're an hour...

We did...
We'll be five...

We had an hour off so...

I have to
do something, um...
Yes.

He has to make
a very important
phone call right now.

It'll take five minutes.

Five minutes?
Yes.

But, uh... But you will
have your presentation

starting off
in two minutes.

Yes, please tell him that
I'll be three minutes late.

There is a detail.

Jesus. Fuck.

How come we
didn't know that?

That's really incredible.

Come on.

Okay. Now.

UNRUH: Jesus.
This is terrible.

This is the stupidest.
I can't...

It's an hour's difference.
The time zone
is different here.

(AUDIENCE APPLAUDS)

Unbelievable.

How the fuck
can that happen?

BONANNO: Okay. Here.
That's done. Now,
you tape them in.

Okay. Now quick.
The shirt.
The underwear.

Gold underwear.

Okay.

BONANNO: Does that...
Do I have to put
something through this?

No.
Okay, uh...

Mmm-hmm.

Your testicles
hanging out?

Uh, yeah.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay, great.

Oh, God.

Okay. Great.

Let's go.
Now air in it.

Okay, now the pants.

Oh, hi.
Nice to meet you.
I'm so sorry.

(SPEAKING ENGLISH)

Thank you. (LAUGHS)

I'm terribly...
What?

Yes. I have a presentation.

I'm terribly sorry.

Uh, I think the World Trade
Organization is supposed to
know about time zones but...

Somebody said,
"Isn't there
a time difference?"

And I said,
"No. All of Europe,
same time zone."

(LAUGHS)
So, that convinced us all.

And we were convinced,
that it was
Me too.

the right time when we
woke up this morning.

And we were running...
We were running five
or 10 minutes late.

And then
figured out that, you know,
the laptop wasn't working.

UNRUH: No, maybe we could
switch the order.

Can we have
somebody else go
and then I go later?

And they said, "Okay,
I think we can do that."

And then they called
the coffee people

and they talked to
the coffee people to see
if the coffee was possible.

BICHLBAUM: That was it.

Thank you very much.

It's this one.

Um, it's quite an honor
to be here in Tampere
addressing this audience

of the most outstanding
textile workers
in the world today.

I see on all
the faces here today,

a touching
childlike eagerness

to tackle the biggest
textiles questions
in the world.

How do we at the WTO fit in?

What we want to do
at the WTO

is help you achieve
your dollar results.

And in just
20 minutes from now,

I'm going to show you,
the WTO's very own solution

to two of the very
biggest problems
in management.

One, maintaining rapport
with distant workforce

and two, maintaining
helpful amounts of leisure.

This solution
appropriately enough
is based in textiles.

Uh, but how did workers
ever get to be a problem?

Before unveiling our solution,
I'd like to talk about
a bit of history

of the worker
management problem.

Uh, we all know about
the American Civil War
at least in the US.

Uh, it was the bloodiest,
least profitable war in the
history of our country.

A war in which unbelievably
huge amounts of money
went right down the drain

and all for textiles.

By the 1860s
the South was
utterly flush with cash.

It'd recently benefited
from the cotton gin.

An invention that took
the seeds out of cotton

and the South out
of its preindustrial past.

Hundreds of thousands
of workers

previously unemployed
in their countries of origin

were given
useful jobs in textiles.

Into this rosy picture of
freedom and boon stepped,
you guessed it,

"The North."

Now some Civil War apologists
have said that the Civil War
for all its faults

at least had
the effect of outlawing

an involuntarily
imported workforce
model of work.

Now, this model is,
of course a terrible thing.

I myself am an abolitionist.

But, uh, in fact,
there is no doubt, that left
to their own devices,

markets would have
eventually replaced slavery
with cleaner sources of labor.

To prove my point,

please join me on what
Albert Einstein used to call
a thought experiment.

Suppose, involuntarily
imported labor
had never been outlawed.

That slaves still existed,
and that it were easy
to own one.

What do you think,
it would cost today to
profitably maintain a slave

say here in Tampere?

Let's see,
a finished clothing set costs
$50 at the very least.

Uh, two meals
from McDonalds,
uh, costs about $10.

The cheapest small room
probably runs for
about $250 a month.

To function well,
you have to pay
for your slaves health care.

If its country of origin
was polluted for example

that might run
very expensively.

And of course,
with child labor laws
here in Finland,

uh, much of the youth market
is simply not available.

Now leave the, uh,
same slave back at home,
let's say, Gabon.

In Gabon $10 pays
for two weeks of food.

Two hundred and fifty dollars
pays for two years of housing
not a month at best.

Uh, $50 pays for a lifetime
of budget clothing

and health care
is, of course, cheaper
and on top of it all

youth can
be gainfully employed
without restriction.

The biggest benefit
of the remote
labor system though

is to the slave
him or herself.

Because in Gabon,
there is no need for
the slave not to be free.

This is primarily because
there are no one-time slave
transport costs to recoup

and so the potential
losses from fleeing

are limited to the slave's
rudimentary training.

So, since the slave
can be free,

he or she suddenly
becomes a worker
rather than a slave.

Also terrific for morale
is that slaves, workers

have the luxury
of remaining in
their native habitat

and don't have to
relocate to places where
they would be subject to

such unpleasantries
as home sickness and racism.

I think it's clear
from our little
thought experiment

that if the North
and South had let
the market sort it out

without protectionist tariffs

they would have
quickly given up slavery

for something
more efficient anyhow.

By forcing the issue,

the North not only committed
a terrible injustice against
the freedom of the South

but also deprived slavery
of its natural development
into remote labor.

Had the leaders of the 1860s
United States understood

what our leaders
understand today,

the Civil War would
have never happened.

In a world where the
headquarters of a company

might be in New York,
Honk Kong,
or Espoo Finland

and the workers are
in Gabon, Rangoon,
or Estonia.

How does the manager
maintain proper rapport
with the workers

and how does he or she
ensure from a distance that
workers perform their work

in an ethical fashion?

I'm about to show you
an actual prototype

of the WTO's solution
to two major management
problems of today.

Now, we all know that,
not even the best
workplace design can help

even the most astute manager
keep track of workers.

What you need is a solution
that enables complete
rapport with workers

especially when they
are located far away.

Mike, would you
help me a moment?

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Thank you.

This is much better.
Much more comfortable.

This is the WTO's answer
to two of the major
management problems

and we're calling it
"The Management Leisure Suit."

It's a...
The two problems again,

how to maintain
close rapport
with distant workers

and how to remain
comfortable and increase
leisure activities.

How does the, uh,
Management Leisure Suit work?

Besides being
extremely comfortable,
as I can guarantee you.

Well, allow me to describe
the Suit's core features.

(AIR HISSING)

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

(AIR HISSING)

This... This...

Is the EVA.

The Employee
Visualization Appendage.

It's an instantly deployable
hip-mounted device with
totally handsfree operation

that allows the manager
to see his employees
directly right here.

Signals communicating
the exact amount and
quality of physical work

are transmitted
not only visually right here

but directly through
electric channels

implanted directly
into the manager.

Uh, the workers,
for their part,
are fitted with

corresponding
transmitting chips

that are implanted humanely
directly into the shoulder.

But the other equally
important achievement
of the MLS

has to do with leisure.

In the United States

leisure, another word
for freedom really,

has, uh, been decreasing
steadily since the 1970s.

The "Management Leisure Suit"

permits the manager
to reverse this trend

by letting him
do his work anywhere

while remaining
in complete touch
with the workers.

Physically sensing
what's going on in the
workforce on the floor

through channels implanted
directly into the manager.

Again the manager
sees the employees

but also feels
what they're feeling
and can select

where to focus
in the workplace environment.

So, in conclusion

I'd like to ask
"Is this a science
fiction scenario?"

(CHUCKLING)

The answer is "no."

Everything we've seen here,

everything we've been
talking about is entirely
possible today.

We can always look forward
on the highways of progress,

towards ever new horizons
with cooperation

and mutual delight
in the fruits of prosperity.

I'm very excited to be here.

Thank you very much.

(AUDIENCE CLAPPING)

Something we're trying
to do more and more as...
Yeah.

I wasn't depressed
by people not reacting.

I wasn't depressed by
people just swallowing it
and not asking questions.

Because I thought,
"Well, that shows

"that you need some
sort of control."

Because here you can,
you know,

the WTO, me,

can come in
and say these
amazingly hideous things

to this group of
the most educated people,

like the top .1%,
education-wise, people
in the entire world

in a developed country
like Finland...

These people all have
PhDs or advanced degrees

and you can say
the most atrocious things

and nobody
will really react

and nobody
will really care.

It's like, you know,
what can...

What can't corporations
get away with?

(BELL DINGING)

(WOMAN ANNOUNCING IN SWEDISH)

Mmm.

MAN: So, where are we?

Well, we're arriving
in Helsinki right now.

Um, we left
the conference
this morning.

It was just, um...

It had just driven
us completely mad.

(CHUCKLING) After
dinner last night we...

I think we had
had our fill at dinner.

I had to actually
leave a little bit early.

I went over to the
table where Unruh...

Where Hanky Hardy
had to sit with
the big man and eat.

And I told them that
we needed to leave

because we had
a telephone meeting

with Mobutu Oblongatu
immediately.

(ALL LAUGHING)

Great.
Hi!

Sorry,
but in a minute

we're supposed
to meet Manduka Javango.

Oh, God!
At 10:00.

And then we both
started laughing

which is really
not convenient
for the context.

So, we left
and then we just decided
that basically like...

We couldn't figure out
what else we could possibly
do at this conference.

So, we just thought,
"Well, let's go
to Helsinki instead."

So, this is the paper.
On the front page, uh...

Just discovered it.

It says
"There's a seminar
at the university

"and, um,
that somebody talked about
controlling remote workers

"with electrical impulsions."

Impulse, yeah.

And then you
turn to the page.

And that's what you get.

BONANNO: And this,
right here represents

the World Trade
Organization.

This...

This is
This is

the World Trade Organization.
the World Trade Organization.

MOORE: I went down
to this Mexican border
towns in the mid '80s.

They were called maquiladoras.

And when they first had,
you know, this sort of

the first trade agreements
between Mexico and
the United States.

And everyone was saying
"Oh, this is gonna raise
Mexico out of poverty

"and things are
gonna be so great

"and within 10 years
they'd all be driving
shiny new cars in Mexico."

And I went
down there and saw this...
The incredible poverty

in these Mexican
border towns.

15 years later
I went back.

Not a damn thing
had changed.

Here's all these workers
working for all these
American corporations.

And you just go
across the street

and you found people
living in the same
horrid conditions.

The same poverty existing.

And you have to ask
"Well, who is benefiting
from this?"

Well, who benefited
were these American
corporations.

During the 1990s they
became even more wealthy.

They posted a record profit,
larger record profits.

And the people of Mexico
just continue to suffer.

It's all a big scam.

(RADIO PLAYING)

BONANNO: This is the one?

No.
(EXHALING)

You got the wrong one.

Shit!

Will WTO stand up?
BICHLBAUM: Oh, yeah.

Oh, my God!
It's got pictures.
They're nice.

You see...
Yeah, they actually
look okay.

at that size.
Bichlbaum isn't an employee...

Wow, but he plays
one on TV.

BONANNO: Yeah,
this is basically
the core of what we do.

All of these newspapers
and magazines have articles

on the Yes Men.

And this is why
we are doing these things.

This is why we go
and do these conferences.

This is not
for the 200 people
or the 100 people

that might see us
give the lecture.

Although we like them

to come away with
an interesting experience
from the lecture.

The reason we do it

is so that people
who read Bizzarre magazine

or the New York Times
or Fortune or Harper's
can read about it

in the mainstream press.

I mean this is how
millions of people

can read about it
and potentially

get turned on to
some of the ideas
of anti-globalization.

One of the problems
with the Fortune
thing is that

it's in this, this, uh...

Well, Fortune, it's like
read by business people

and accountants
and that kind of thing.

And that's exactly
who we're um,

supposed to be talking to
in Australia in May.

It's an accounting
conference.

It's a little,
little worrisome.

You need a new shirt.

And one that's
not wrinkled.
Yeah.

Will that be good
with your, um, thing?
Oh, yeah.

Do you think it'll
work with your suit?
Yeah.

This one's extra-large.
Yeah, they'll all
work with my suit.

It's terrible.

It's striped though.
Is that okay?
Yeah.

I'm sure it's okay.
I mean, why don't you
go get a shirt then?

I'll just get this. Wait.
Yeah.

It's co... Oh, it's not
very much cotton.

How much is that?
I hate that.

35.
It's 35%. It's like...

No, it's fine...
It doesn't wrinkle
much then.

That's nice about that.

I'll just wear it. Okay.
You can pack it...

All right.

BONANNO: I mean,
the thing is like...

There's a question
of whether he is...

Like at what point
he recognizes you
doesn't really matter.

What we want is that...
(CLEARING THROAT)

That moment.
That moment when
he does recognize you.

So, if he recognizes
you here

and sees that
you're in the room,

then he'll be, he'll be
looking back and forth
at you, at the screen...

At that point
if he recognizes you,
we better say something.

BONANNO: Guess, no.
I think it's down here
but I don't know.

Thank you.

Barry, hi.
How are you doing?
Hi! Nice to meet you.

Good to meet you.
Good. Great. Yeah.

We're in London
and we were just at the

offices of the World
Development Movement

where we talked
to Barry Coates

who's the director of the
World Development Movement.

And who showed up
on CNBC MarketWrap Europe

debating, um,
our friend here
Granwyth Hulatberi

about, uh, the prospects
of WTO and globalization.

Um, we kind
of expected him

maybe to have a glimmer
of recognition immediately.

And he didn't. Okay.
Then we put on the tape.

And he laughed
at how horribly
stupid it was.

But he never realized
that this wasn't

really a representative
of WTO.

Even when he
saw me like this
right next to him.

And then we switched seats
and he still didn't notice.

And then I had to put
my face next to the thing
and like...

BONANNO: Yeah.
Let's just pause it here.

Okay. Hit stop.
Um, is there a pause?

Stop button.
There's no pause.

I don't know
what I could have
said after that.

After that clip.

I mean, really...

(BOTH LAUGHING)

Where did they
get this guy from?

Afterwards.
Might have been
my first comment.

So, did you ever
figure out where
they got the guy from?

I understood
that he was

part of the external
relations department
of the WTO.

Right. That's what
they thought.

That's what
they thought as well too.

BOTH: But, as it happens...

BONANNO: He wasn't.

BICHLBAUM: Yeah.
In fact...

BICHLBAUM: Just take
one more close look.

Oh, wait! Can we...
Is this reverse?

No!
(BOTH LAUGHING)

I wasn't going
to mention that.
The likeness.

Are you serious?
BONANNO: You were being
very polite, weren't you?

Yeah.
You did it as a spoof.

Yeah.
Yeah, basically.

Good. We weren't sure
how you'd...

We were really hoping
you wouldn't be too
offended, really. Oh no!

Oh, hell no!
That's great!

(LAUGHING) That's really...

I was wondering.

Cause I hadn't seen
that guy before

and I did know some of
the WTO external relations

people and I was thinking,

"My God!
They really put up
a ripe one this time."

We wanted to talk
to Barry Coates as well

because he has a lot
of statistics and
information about

globalization
that we thought
would be useful

for the lecture
in Australia.

All of the WTO agreements,
bar one,

are all about
restricting what
governments can do.

And so essentially
the whole trading system
is built on the premise

that the companies
trading internationally,
investing internationally

are going to be preyed upon

by nasty governments.

And really,

I mean, what we have
is an international system

that is entirely
the reverse.

What's got squeezed
out of the system

is democracy,
is development,
is environment,

is the kind
of human values

which really ought
to be the center of
what we're trying to do.

We don't kind
of live to trade.
Yeah.

You know, we live
to have decent lives.

And that ought
to be the goal
of our trade policy,

not maximizing trade
or getting rid of any
impediments to it.

(ELEVATOR DINGING)

Oh!

Okay.

That's good.
Got that.

Need to get the video.

And we'll be off.

Let's see.

Uh, one of the big reasons
why I'm up here is

that we have
the Australia gig,

uh, for the Yes Men.

I did a animation

about, uh, you know
the recycling of
post-consumer waste

into, uh, hamburgers
and fast food.

So, um...

BICHLBAUM: Here we go.

LICHTY:
"The answer to the world's
sustainable food future

"is in recycling.

"And since over
half our nutrients
taken in are eliminated

"valuable resources
are at risk.

"By using post-consumer waste

"reBurger allows
essential nutrients

"to be offered
to developing countries

"for greatly
reduced cost."

Uh-huh. Oh! Okay.

(ALL LAUGHING)

Oh.
It gets, it gets better.

Oh!
Okay!

Wait!
What was that!

Is that in outer space?

Yeah, I'm sorry!

(STAMMERING)
I think it does the job.
I think it does the job.

BICHLBAUM: We're here
in New York because

Herb Alpert,

um, of Herb Alpert
& the Tijuana Brass,

um, is, gave us this award.

Um, bunch of money

to do what,
you know, the kind
of stuff that we do.

Um, so we had
to come here and
have dinner with him.

And, and, you know,
get the money

and, and thank everybody
and it was very nice.

And it's very surprising.

But we're very pleased.

I think we can say
that we're very pleased.

Yeah, it was a big
chunk of money.

It's gonna bank
roll a lot of
future activities

like going to Australia.

Oh, yeah.
Um...

Yeah, so we got
this chunk of money

but of course
now we're also using
this opportunity

and this hotel room
here in New York

to meet up with Matt,

who's been working
on the PowerPoint

presentation
for Australia.

And to meet up
with Patrick who's
been working on

animations for
Australia as well.

Fortunately we were
lucky too because, uh,

Snafu was in town.

And he's sort of, uh,
a European Yes Man.

Who's been sort of
circulating in the
European scene

doing Yes Man
type activities.

But, uh, it's a good
thing he's here,
here in the States

so he can go
to Plattsburg with us.

"Yes, trade liberalization

"is a religious undertaking.

"A project of faith,
a crusade of sorts

"and it has been
ever since its founders

"declared that financial
success comes from God
and that wealth is a sign

"of divine favor.

"Now, why is starvation
a problem?

"First, the facts.
As we all know,

"investment and exports
has been on the rise..."

There's some bad news.

There's some really
bad news that came down
in the last two days.

Um, the conference
in Australia...

The people from
the conference
in Australia

wrote an e-mail saying
that the conference
has been canceled

because of low enrollment.

In some ways
it's really kind of...

I guess, uh,
a nice thing

that there was
under-enrollment

because it was
really a hideous
conference.

And it seemed like
a really dire thing that

people would actually
want to go to that thing.

And so, it's really
encouraging for humanity

that the conference
actually has been canceled.

But at the same time
it's really, um,

made things
difficult for us.

And so I wrote back
to them as Hildegard West
and I asked them

if they would please
set up another venue

because Kinnithrung Sprat
is already on route
to Australia.

So, right now,
I'm waiting to see
if they come back to us

with a suggestion
that they'll actually
have a public presentation.

But since the conference
has been canceled

now the event
in Plattsburg
is kind of like...

It might be the only
venue we have
for this lecture.

And so, it's really
important now

that we get the lecture
done and sort of together.

So, it's no longer
a dress rehearsal.

It's actually like

the final,
you know, production.

It's about time.

What?
I was so worried
about your shoes.

About what...
This guy
brought shoes.

He brought real
shoes for you. Look.

Do we have the
hamburgers yet?

Uh, we have to pick them up.

But, you, you mentioned...
They're ordered.

They're ordered.
Yeah, Richard
ordered them.

BICHLBAUM: That's fantastic.

Basically there's this guy
named Richard Robbins

who I met at a conference
about a month ago.

And he has written
several books on sort of
global... Globalization.

BICHLBAUM: He was interested
in having the WTO

come speak
at the Economics department.

And only he really knows
that this isn't, um,
really the WTO.

Everybody else
will think that
it's the WTO.

But another good thing
is that it will be
a hungry audience.

So there's a good chance
they are going to eat
those hamburgers.

Which we weren't sure
was actually gonna happen

with the accountants
in Australia.

You know,
I think for a,

for look,
I should probably
carry these in.

Okay. Can you do it?

Yeah, I'm thinking
that, uh

that you probably
shouldn't be associated

with the hamburgers.
Okay.

BICHLBAUM: I'd like to thank
everybody for coming.

Um, you have many
education choices.

And, uh, we're all
grateful at the WTO

that you have chosen
to listen to us for an hour.

And to our messages
about things that will
impact everyone.

I'd like to, to say that

by joining us here
you're essentially embarking

with us on a mission.

I'd like to start
right at the beginning.

As I was saying

trade liberalization
is a project of faith.

It's a crusade.

And in any crusade
there are problems.

There are invading armies,
there are big blockades.

And one of the, the problems
that we run into

in this crusade is starvation
in the Third World.

You may recognize
that symbol from
those green bins you see.

You know, where cans,
bottles, blah-blah...

The kind of recycling
I'm talking about

that we have
developed at the WTO

is not, not really this,
this irrelevant kind
of recycling

where the target
individual consumers

like you and me or

of, uh, non-edible
industrial products

is such a tiny part
of the problem.

Rather we're talking about

really recycling
what counts where it counts.

To begin to understand
the theory behind this

you must first realize
that the human body is
not really very efficient.

When ingesting heavy foods

only about 20%

of the nutrients
are absorbed by the
elementary passageway,

while the other 80%
finds itself expelled in
post-consumer by-products.

Already 20 years ago,
NASA scientists

began to tap into
this nutritional goldmine

by developing filters

that could transform
their astronauts waste
into healthy,

hygienic and even
delicious food once again.

With the use
of this technology,

a single hamburger
for example

can be eaten more
than 10 times

providing a cumulative total

of three times
the nutritional value

of the original
fresh hamburger.

Now again,
a certain amount of cultural
openness is required,

um, as we
investigate solutions.

And I'd love
to take any, uh, questions.

Yes, you've been...

Coming from
a Third World country

I found most
of what you said
pretty offensive.

It's as if, uh...
Everyone is equal

but some are
more equal than others?

And, uh...

Who is to say
whether people in the
third world want a burger?

You know, I, in my heart
sometimes find it,
to agree that...

That cultures deserve
equal consideration

perhaps to develop
on their own terms

but, you know,
we're different.

We're culturally different.
We're rich, they're poor.

This is the
most humane solution
we can come up with

that stays within
the market logic.

BONANNO: If it's
all right, I could answer
a portion of that,

of that question as well.

And this answers the question
about desire for the product

because, the biggest
growth areas are
the developing world.

And so, uh, in fact
people do want the product.

We do have a kind of
video presentation
about this that I...

I came prepared
to show. It's not...

The program isn't actually
completely ready yet.

BONANNO: So, as you can
see here there's a consumer

uh, in the first world
entering McDonalds
and, uh...

Consuming a hamburger.

And afterward,
this is a process
we're all familiar with.

I don't need to
explain it to anyone.

(AUDIENCE CHUCKLES)
BONANNO: But...

You see, it's rendered out
in this style because, uh,

studies have shown that
consumers are most responsive

to 3D animation right now
particularly in
developing cultures.

(CLEARING THROAT)
So, as you can see
it goes through

a piping system,
a kind of...

And this isn't unusual,
we do this for oil.

We could do this
for food as well.

And as you can see
it goes back up through
the plumbing

and emerges in a McDonalds.

Now the part of this video
that isn't completed yet
is the filtering process.

There will be a...
A very well rendered

uh, filtering...
(AUDIENCE GROANS)

(AUDIENCE CHUCKLES)
(CLAPPING)

BONANNO: And, uh,
as you can see,

this might answer somebody's
question from before

but at the McDonalds
in a developing country,

and in fact
in this country as well,

you'd be able to choose...

The number one,
number two, number three,
number four, number five

would no longer refer to
combinations of food.

But rather, uh, just
the number of times
a product had been recycled.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

We were lucky
to partner with the
World Trade Organization

which, uh, you know,
has slightly different goals.

Of course, McDonalds' goals
are to profit and grow

and, uh, we hope
that we can provide

a nutritious and tasty
product in the process.

Our goals are to help
McDonalds profit and grow
and all other corporations.

I think you guys,
like the WTO

is kind of lacking
kind of like a human element.
You know, like...

If you saw...

Have you ever seen
starving people?

Uh, in pictures, yes.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

So tell me,
if you saw somebody
starving to death

you would probably think
a lot, you know, like...

That would kind of hit you
in a sensitive, you know,
place to say, like...

Oh, well, you know,
maybe markets and money

and this and that
don't really mean as much.

And actually, like,
feeding people means
a little bit more.

Yeah, well, it is true
that there is a personal
side of it that, um...

I have to say,
in the WTO there are
questions that we...

We have about this
as human beings.

But we're not as subject...
We have a kind of
firmer grasp on theory.

We are able, um,
fortunately,

to simply direct
world trade in a
much more theoretical way.

Um, in collaboration
with our colleagues
at the largest corporations.

So, uh, you know?

Yes, probably if I went
to these countries

I'd be... I'd feel, um...

I'd think about things
a little differently perhaps.

But, um, at the same time
I don't think I would
forget all my schooling.

I don't think
I would forget you know,
all these theories, and so on.

So, um, perhaps
one day I'll do that.

This is a money maker.
Correct?

Yes. Well,
it's a money maker,
starvation solver. Sure.

And how much does
McDonalds pay you

to come here
and speak this garbage?

Like this is a mouse
with an ear growing
out of its back.

How are you going to
get around cultural
and legal implications?

Cannibalism.
They're basically asking
us to recycle shit.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

The reality is
that we already

treat, um, people
in the third world
far worse than

we treat
our domestic animals.

That's, that's...
It's not saying
it's right.

It's just saying
that's the reality.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)

(CLEARING THROAT) Well,
after thinking about it
for a little while

it seems the Plattsburgh
lecture just went great!

And it went
exactly the way

we originally expected
these lectures to work.
Yeah.

Which was that, at
a certain point it's like
light bulbs going off

in the heads of
the different people
in the audience.

And they're
realizing that it was
just too crazy to be real

and yet sort of it was based
on reality and so...

BONANNO: You know,
they started throwing
globes at us.

They got angry,
they got frustrated.

It worked.
Exactly like we
thought it would.

They don't ask you
if you believe in it.

You don't get to vote
on the World Trade
Organization treaties.

They don't let you
vote on it.

They don't give you
a say in it.

They let you listen
to the one sided
propaganda.

Name me a single
columnist in America

who doesn't stand up
and cheer under the banner
of so called free trade.

There's no public discussion.

There's no dissent
in any of the parties.
Political parties.

There's no debate,
there's no discussion.
There's no vote.

In fact, the only nation

which has called
for a vote is Brazil.

And, already...
Which is saying

that it will not sign
any more trade treaties

without a plebiscite
of its people.

And the world trade barons
are losing their damn minds

trying to prevent
this type of democracy

from spreading
planet wide.

Because once
people know what
this stuff is about

and get to vote on it,

no-one's going to vote
themselves into poverty.

BONANNO: Here we go.
Australia country code.

Oops.

BONANNO: Oh, Australia. 61.
It's 61.
Sixty one.

(DIAL TONE)

Hi, this is
Kinnithrung Sprat
from the WTO.

WOMAN: Hello, how are you?

Good, thanks.
How are you?

Where are you now?
I'm in New York
at the moment.

New York, are you?
Yeah.

Kinninthrung Sprat,
just called a person

who's coordinating
Sprat's visit.

I'm due in Hong Kong
the week after, um, this.

And that date is firm

but my travel
to Australia
is as yet, um,

not, not firm.

Yeah.
She's actually,
it turns out

been e-mailing
all these people

and basically
calling journalists

and getting people
to attend his lecture.

And she fully
expects him to attend

because she had
spoken to Hildegard West,

uh, Sprat's assistant

and Hildegard West
had told her that
everything was on

and Sprat
was definitely going.

So now we just decided
we really have to go

to honor this arrangement
with, uh, Australia.

BONANNO: So, it's back on now.
After we totally thought
it was off.

And instead
of giving this lecture

that we've been planning
for like nine months,

we're gonna like,
you know,

disband the WTO.
(BOTH CHUCKLING)

BONANNO: Shouldn't we get you
a pair of shoes that
actually are reasonable?

I mean, they just don't
look like dress shoes.

They look like
wrestling shoes.

All right.
There are no shoes
here for you.

BONANNO: Never mind.
No. Shoes are out.

BONANNO: I like that tie.

Uh-huh.
Around...

Oh, wait.
Did you try this?

Yeah.

I did a set of these
with an ink-jet

and they just don't
look as real.

Ah!
Something about them.
They look, um...

Kind of hand made.
BICHLBAUM: These look perfect.

I printed off some
letterhead for you.

BICHLBAUM: Nice.
I guess you guys
already saw that.

Yeah.
And I just kept it
real simple.

That's perfect.
So that it would
show up well on the fax.

BONANNO: That is
the most ridiculous photo.

(CHUCKLING) It's like
something really weird
about this public...

Public relations guy.
Wow! I love that.

A little magnetic strip
on the back.

BONANNO: Wow!
BICHLBAUM: Really beautiful.

You know what I did?
I went to, uh,
I went to Google.

(CHUCKLING) Uh-huh.
And I went to Google
image search

and I typed in
ID card.

And you wouldn't believe
the numbers of ID...

Pictures of ID cards
that show up on the web.
Wow.

And I just went through
and took a little bit
from each one.

You know, it said...

This one's got like
a little bar code
at the bottom.

And this one uses
the logo over here.

BICHLBAUM: That is so nice.

(TALKING INDISTINCTLY)

No, I don't know.
I'm just really nervous
'cause, um...

I don't know, this feels
different from all the other
things that we've done.

It's not like the
same kind of play,
fun, crazy, weird,

impossible stuff.

This is like,
sincere, you know?

It's about like
replacing the WTO
with something better.

Do you think
that satire is more fun?

BICHLBAUM: Yeah, definitely.

I got this feeling
that it's less...
For some reason, um...

Maybe it's less fun
to be sincere.

But it is less fun,
isn't it?

In a way, yeah.

Maybe it's more fun
to be satirical than...

Serious.

BICHLBAUM: Yeah.

BONANNO: It's about
9:00 in the morning.

And this is the big day
for Kinnithrung Sprat

to go talk to
CPA Australia

and close down the WTO.

It's kind of an
exciting day for us.

You know, we finally
get to shut it down.

(WHIRRING)

BONANNO: I'm writing
a local phone number
for this cell phone

on the business card
so...

We give these to journalists
or anybody else

who wants to contact
Mr. Sprat, they'll be
able to do it

in the next
couple of days.

We have to leave in about
10 minutes though.
I know.

BICHLBAUM: I'm just gonna do
as little as possible.

Okay, let's just
go by there.

We have
some time yet.
Yeah.

Let's just keep walking.
Just walk straight.

Don't look.
BONANNO: Don't look.

Don't turn left.

Don't...
Okay, no.
Oh...

Don't do that.
(BEEPING)

Uh-oh.

(CHUCKLING)
Answer it.

Hello.
Michael Bonanno here.

Hi, Jane. How are you?

All right then.
I guess we'll see you
in just a few minutes.

And we just come up
to level three then?

Great, thank you very much.

All right.
Bye bye.

(BOTH CHUCKLING)

BONANNO: Oh wait, shit!
This is the building.

MAN: Thank you
for coming.
Oh, thank you for having us.

MAN: Sorry for the
confusion and problems
and everything else.

Oh. It's to be
expected these days,
I think.

Um, no thanks for
going out of your way
to arrange this.

This is really terrific.

(CLAPPING)

Um, thank you all
for coming.

I'd like to, um...

BICHLBAUM: Like to thank
the organizers for

going out of their way
to create this panel,

this luncheon, um...
(CELL PHONE BEEPS)

In the face of some odds.

The conference having been
canceled of course.

(CLEARS THROAT) And I'd
especially like to begin

by apologizing for
a rather sudden
change in the program.

Uh, consequent upon
a rather dramatic

development in Geneva, yesterday.

I originally intended
to transmit today
an upbeat report on

some new technologies
that affect agro business
in a global sense.

Instead, I find myself
the messenger

of some rather
disturbing news.

Um, the WTO will be
issuing a public statement

in detail by the end
of the week.

But the die has been cast.

As of September 2002,

having seen the effects
of policies

whose only intent
was to bring greater
prosperity and peace,

the World Trade Organization
in its present form

will cease to exist.

Over the next two years
we at the WTO

will endeavor to refound
our organization
along different lines.

Based in a different
understanding of the
purposes of world trade.

The new organization will have
as its foundation and basis

the United Nations, uh,
universal declaration
of human rights.

Upon which we feel, uh,
we can make a good foundation

to ensuring that the
organization will have human

rather than business interests
as its bottom line.

My reaction was one
of total surprise.

We were expecting
a speech more based on

what the World Trade
Organization does

in its relation
to Australian trade.

It sort of blew me
out of the water

when the, uh,
the announcement
was made that

the World Trade Organization
is significantly
reinventing itself

to focus on issues
relating to

um, people
as opposed to economics.

Something that hopefully

could be
of significant benefit

to, uh, the poor and needy
throughout the world in all
the developing countries.

The UN estimates that
poor countries...

The poorest countries
in the world lose

approximately two billion
dollars a day

because of unjust trade rules

many of them instituted
by our own organization.

And this is 14 times
the amount

that they receive in aid
from developed countries.

I thought the speech itself
was, um, was compelling

in terms of its information.

It was... I was astounded
to find

that they're actually
going to dismantle
the WTO.

I was also amazed
to see that, um,

there was admission that
perhaps it had failed.

Um, it's going to have
a huge effect on
international business.

And particularly for us
as an organization, I feel.

Um, the hardest thing
I find will be

the, um, the balance that,
let's say the U.S.
EU and Japan

in terms of being
major components
of the world economy.

The effect, you know,
will they really change

in terms of this
new organization?

And will there actually be
genuine change?

And perhaps a benefit
you know, to the world's
poorest countries.

I must admit
I'm a cynic with regards
to that occurring.

Liberalization.
The process of liberalization,

often enables the knowledge
of the poor to be converted

into the property of
global corporations.

BICHLBAUM: Specific statistics
are rather shocking.

Out of 26,000 patents

um, applied for in Africa
in 2000 and 2001,

only 31 were from
residents of Africa.

The rest were from residents
of first world countries.

Thirty one out of 26,000
patent applications.

Uh, it wasn't what
I was expecting.

(CHUCKLING) I was
expecting something on
agro business

and what the
World Trade Organization does.

But I have to say I believe
it's fairly positive.

Um, because I think
that, uh, this,
as the gentleman said,

"The strong are getting
stronger and the weak
are getting weaker."

And you can't let that
keep on going.

And even we know
to sit here in Australia
where some of

the trade arrangements
that are made.

If you're powerful,
you can get whatever you like

and if you're not, you can't.
And it's just...

The world with
the population we've got
can't keep going that way.

So I think it was
fairly positive and I think
it's a very brave decision

by an organization to admit
that they've been going
down the wrong track

and dissolve themselves
and start to look
for something different.

I think it's,
it's fantastic. Yeah.

Disparity is growing
between the rich and poor.

The richest fifth have 80%
of the world's income

and the poorest fifth
have one percent.

Um, this gap...
We all know this figure

but we don't always remember
that this gap has actually
doubled since 1960.

More and more thinkers
are therefore noting

uh, that there
is no evidence that

liberalization favors growth
or benefits the poor.

I think we are all
generally aware
of increases in poverty

and low living standards
and issues faced by
developing countries.

And what Mr. Sprat
I think had to say today,

really gives out
a terrific sign of hope

for what I think we all
aspire to.

And as a global economy
that benefits all people.

JOHN DUNCAN:
Now, after protected,
protracted and detailed review

of current trade policy,
the World Trade Organization

has decided to effect
a cessation of all operations

to be accomplished
over the next four months

culminating by the end
of September. The World...

BICHLBAUM: Well, I think that
the Yes Men have kind of
played out their course

in relation to
the World Trade Organization
for the moment.

You never know when we
might get another invitation.

We're lucky to be able
to provide a sort of sense
of closure by ending the WTO.

We also hope that other people
will just start doing
the same things

in all kinds
of different contexts.

You know, impersonating
whoever holds power,
that needs to be criticized.

So if the opportunity arises,

we're just going to
keep doing it.
We're going to go

and be the Yes Men again.
Or I should say be the WTO
again in another event.

The future is bright
for the Yes Men.

The future of the world
is a different story.

BONANNO: You know,
this isn't, this isn't
the way he usually dresses.

He works for
the World Trade Organization.

You know, the WTO?
Yes.

He works see...
We're at a conference

and he's demonstrating
a new kind of technology.

Uh, this is um...
Well, it's a device to

measure employee working
in less developed countries.

There's a thing here, where...

(THUDS)

(CHUCKLING)
On this screen.
I can see the...

BONANNO: So, he watches...
He watches people
working there.

And they have
little devices that
give them shocks.

Uh, it's just regular fabric.

In the future, it'll be
sensitive, smart fabric.

It's a little hot.
(ALL LAUGHING)

That one looks better.