Award-winning journalist, John Pilger, investigates the realities of globalization…
The Yes Men Fix The World
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- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD is a screwball true story that follows two daring and imaginative political activists - Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno - as they infiltrate the world of big business and pull off outrageous pranks that highlight how corporate greed is destroying the planet.
One day Andy, purporting to be a Dow Chemical spokesperson, gets on the biggest TV news program in the world (BBC World News) and announces that Dow will finally clean up the site of the largest industrial accident in history, the Bhopal catastrophe. The result: as people worldwide celebrate, Dow's stock value loses two billion dollars. People want Dow to do the right thing, but the market decides that it can't. The reality hits Andy and Mike like a ton of bricks: we have created a market system that makes doing the right thing impossible, and the people who appear to be leading are actually following its pathological dictates.
At conference after conference, the Yes Men try to wake up their corporate audiences to this frightening prospect, in the process taking on some of the world's biggest corporations. On their journey, the Yes Men delve deep into the question of why we have given the market more power than any other institution to determine our direction as a society.
As they appear on the BBC before 300 million viewers, or before 1000 New Orleans contractors alongside Mayor Ray Nagin, the layers of lies are peeled back to reveal the raw heart of truth - a truth that brings with it hope.
'This brilliant piece of guerilla humor, rich with political satire, is sure to stimulate discussion and reflection. Through a series of incredibly imaginative hoaxes the Yes Men raise profound questions about the sustainability of capitalism and the ethical responsibility of political humor.' Peter M. Haas, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Author, Global Environmental Governance
'With wit, creativity, and unfailing good cheer, these merry pranksters of the corporate world deliver an upbeat anti-market, anti-corporate message. The 'greed is good' message of Wall Street has met its match in these zealous yet zany activists. They show that humor and ridicule is a powerful weapon again corporate hypocrisy and venality. Seldom has such an edifying lesson in doing the right thing been so much fun to watch.' John Boatright, Professor of Business Ethics, Loyola University Chicago, Author, Ethics and the Conduct of Business
'This is a movie that will get people talking. The plot is madcap comedy about a couple of guys staging hoaxes in order to shake-up prevailing worldviews that have stifled positive social change. Though the vehicle is comedy, the subject matter is very serious: the social responsibility of businesses in unfettered global capitalism. Venues range from Bhopal and Union Carbide to Exxon and the environment to Katrina and New Orleans to Halliburton and catastrophes. The movie challenges the audience to re-examine current assumptions and to do a little utopian dreaming. It is excellent also for initiating classroom discussion - particularly business ethics classes, social philosophy classes, and classes on public policy.' Michael Boylan, Professor of Philosophy, Marymount University
'Outrageous! Both the behavior of the Yes Men, and the even more egregious actions of the global corporations they mock. As worth seeing as it is over-the-top.' James O'Toole, Daniels Distinguished Professor of Business Ethics, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver
'This film can be used effectively in introductory sociology and social problems courses, as well as in upper level courses on deviance and social control, social inequalities, or any course that deals with contemporary social issues such as environmental sociology, urban of rural sociology, poverty/social class, race/ethnicity, gender, or sexuality...[The film] provides an unorthodox but effective method by which to engage students in a dialogue about the importance of using one's own agency to engage these issues in an attempt to build a better society, both domestically and globally.' Ryan Kelty, Washington College, Teaching Sociology
'Timely...inspiring in its creativity...For those who would point out their shortcomings, there's an implicit challenge of 'what are you doing to fix the world?'.' Brian Werner, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Heterodox Economics Newsletter
'There is a lot of important material and food for thought here...[The film's] message is clear and well-crafted--whether viewers agree with its politics or not. It is an outstanding film and, thus, highly recommended for students of and collections interested in American studies, bioethics, business, and economics.' Dan DiLandro, SUNY at Buffalo, Educational Media Reviews Online
'The Yes Men's projects are consistently amusing--not just because of their patent absurdity, but also due to people's reactions (often shock, but sometimes offhanded agreement) and the obtuseness of news organizations for not recognizing them as put-ons...Both funny and thought-provoking, this is highly recommended.' Video Librarian
'Extraordinary...As the 'Yes Men' try to get through to their corporate audience as well as the general public, their ultimate message is an inquiry as to why we have given the market more power than any other institution to drive our society, and how can this incredible power be held in check, much as the three branches of the American Government hold one another in check and balance? Highly recommended.' The Midwest Book Review
'This wickedly funny documentary lambastes corporate greed...Hope wins out in the end...[and] the absurd economic system that currently rules our world is revealed for all to see; this is political satire at its very best.' Library Journal
'Hilarious, therapeutic, inspiring. The Yes Men are geniuses.' Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine and No Logo
'I've always appreciated the stunts of the Yes Men, the two tricksters who pose as corporate spokesmen and say things corporate spokesmen never say: things like 'We're sorry,' 'We'll clean up our mess,' and 'It's the right thing to do.' Fans of the duo--and anyone who values jesters who speak truth to power with smiles on their faces--will eat up this inside look at some of their biggest con jobs. The most striking revelation is that these jokesters sweat bullets as they pull off their grandest deceptions.' Keith Goetzman, Utne Reader
'This is the year's top documentary film.' New Scientist
'Educates and entertains; The Yes Men do both. Entertainment that tickles the justice-for-all glands.' Empire Magazine Online
'Persuasive...You have to admire their ability both to pull off these stunts and to extract such honest expressions of greed from such corporate victims as the businessman who agrees that companies can justify deaths on the path to commercial success. Comic and creepy.' Dave Calhoun, Time Out London
'A smart, thoughtful examination not only of the morality of capitalism, but of comedy - the Yes Men fret over the ethics of their prankery with a rigor that their corporate adversaries could learn something from.' Andrew Mueller, Uncut
'Part journalism, part mockumentary...it shines with a raw wit and originality.' Michael Levitin, Newsweek
'This movie is a hoot, and a pertinent one at that...While the subject of corporate greed and malfeasance is depressing, there's something tonic about the impudent laughter this engaging documentary provokes.' Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter
'More capitalist-critiquing chicanery and fat-cat-fooling fun.' Leslie Felperin, Variety
'While you might disagree with their politics, it's hard not to appreciate the intricate lengths to which the Yes Men go to deliver their message.' Michael Starr, New York Post
'Alternately funny, incisive, and ridiculous...Aims to expose corruption, selfishness, and irrationality in corporate behaviors.' Cynthia Fuchs, Pop Matters
'One of the funniest movies I've ever seen, and two of the ballsiest guys I've ever met. Thank God for the Yes Men.' Morgan Spurlock, director of Supersize Me
'It is exhilarating, sometimes hysterical - unless you are from Dow or Exxon, or indeed Bhopal, where victims were brutalized by a morning of false hope before newspaper exposures restored disenchantment. The film, though brave, gonzo and often funny, raises the bar on the debate provoked by Michael Moore and Sacha Baron Cohen. How cruel does satire have to be - to innocent and guilty alike - to accomplish its missions?' Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
'Yes Men [are] getting no laughs from Exxon, Dow...Exposing corruption and human rights violations among some of the world's most powerful corporations.' Andy Lauer, indieWIRE
'Compelling...You've got to be impressed by the creativity and gall of the Yes Men.' Dave Shiflett, Bloomberg.com
'Their critics, seemingly hooked by the system which decrees that an unregulated market is the root of all happiness, accuse them of arrogance and cruelty. It would be easier to call them starry-eyed. This is often a very funny film, made more relevant by a recession which began after the film was made.' Derek Malcolm, London Evening Standard
'Sacha Baron Cohen may be the current king of satire...His victims are stooges; peripheral, disposable, helpless. The Yes Men's targets are anything but. Dynamic American duo Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno pick on people several million times their size, at least in terms of legal, financial and state-sanctioned might...Some of the responses and attitudes the Yes Men encounter throughout their quest have to be seen to be believed. But it's comforting to know that the little guy can cause such a big nuisance. Optimistic and constantly amusing, the Yes Men are a force for the good. That, plus the knowledge that many of those free marketeering goons will have been crushed in the credit crunch, makes this a guilt-edged pleasure.' Elliott Noble, Skymovies
'The film forgoes the unsubtle voice-overs common among films with clear political agendas, mostly allowing the footage and interviews to speak for themselves...the Yes Men leave it to the audience to draw their own conclusions. Mine are that the Yes Men present visions of the world as it might be if ideas and minds weren't chained by 'should' and 'can't' - what real change might look like. The film culminates in this way, with the distribution of 80,000 copies of a fake edition of The New York Times. The cover date is six months into the future, and the spoof paper reports the end of the Iraq war and the switch to a 'sane' economic regime, as well as advertisements from companies promising to dedicate themselves to good causes. Impossible? Perhaps, but you could say the same about two ordinary men walking into the BBC and passing themselves off as representatives of one of the world's biggest companies. 'Can't' is an over-used word.' Kat Austen, New Scientist
'The Yes Men afflict the powerful by exposing the inhumanity at the core of unfettered capitalism so skillfully and hilariously that they--and we--come away inspired to fight another day.' Change.org
'Offers its audience an opportunity to engage in (rather than merely accept or decline) its ideas...The Yes Men encourages discovery and interpretation from its audience...Inspiring.' Malcom Wyer, The Brooklyn Rail
'Their fake capitalists proclaim, 'To hell with what's profitable, let's do what's right!' and watch the markets react with horror...This movie is a glorious testimony to the moral power of satire.' David Edelstein, New York Magazine
'The Yes Men are dissidents of such fearless ingenuity that you want to believe them at face value, but they have already fostered and celebrated a pension for critical thought; the damage is done. The result is a question of selectivity dovetailing with an inspired call to action, but above all, The Yes Men Fix the World is a riotous reminder that patriotism is often misconstrued as troublemaking.' Chris Cabin, Filmcritic
'It takes some nerve, not to mention diabolical intelligence and financial recourses, to pull off the elaborate pranks devised by Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno...They are sowing the seeds of a populist revolt somewhere down the line. If they can do it, why not us?' Stephen Holden, The New York Times
'Targeting some corporate Goliath, their performance pieces offer a taste of what utopia might feel like if authority told the truth...Delighting sympathetic audiences with the possibility of change.' J. Hoberman, Village Voice
'Biting critiques that call out many a greedy corporate hand.' Bruce Diones, The New Yorker
'Given that art only rarely effects social change on such an immediate and grand scale, what better artists to choose as the recipients of the Leonore Annenberg Prize for Art and Social Change? Maybe, given to the right people, that's all it will finally take to truly fix the world.' Mimi Luse, The L Magazine
'Watch the movie, feel indignant, then find catharsis. There will be righteous comeuppance. There will be corporate covers blown. There will be justice.' Rebecca Katherine Hirsch, Time Out New York
'The Yes Men's new documentary consists of sophisticated hoaxes and ridiculous props that will impress anyone regardless of the politics involved.' Joe Sabet, Examiner
'Bichlbaum and Bonanno have returned with a passionate display of rascally intrepidness, working towards an impossible goal with their sneaky sense of humor and infinite imagination for farcical public displays...The new found energy behind the Yes Men concept makes for persuasive cinema.' Brian Orndorf, DVD Talk
'This is the rare satire that is entertaining without forgetting to be informative.' Thomas Sullivan, Washington Square News
'Their absurdist, outraged take on Orwellian corporate dogma comes through loud and clear...Genuine satire is a rare and wonderful thing these days, and the Yes Men are genuine satirists. It's great fun to watch them at work.' Norman Wilner, Now Magazine
'A foxy-smart takedown of corporate hypocrites.' Colin Covert, Star Tribune
'Both hilarious and inspirational, the film demonstrates just how much two individuals, armed with imagination and courage, can do to change the world.' Greenmuze.com
'Bichlbaum and Bonanno engage in entertaining corporate sabotage by weaseling onto the world stage with fake websites, creative hairstyles, and a deep faith in the First Amendment...With this film, they manage to amuse us, and perhaps even motivate us along the way.' Yes! Magazine
Citation
Main credits
Bonanno, Mike (Screenwriter)
Bonanno, Mike (Producer)
Bonanno, Mike (Director)
Bichlbaum, Andy (Screenwriter)
Bichlbaum, Andy (Producer)
Bichlbaum, Andy (Director)
Bachrach, Doro (Producer)
Charny, Ruth (Producer)
Nix, Laura (Producer)
Other credits
Co-director Kurt Engfehr; editor, April Merl; music, Neel Murgai Noisola; animation, Patrick Lichty.
Distributor subjects
Activism; American Studies; Anthropology; Business Practices; Citizenship and Civics; Climate Change/Global Warming; Critical Thinking; Economics; Film Studies; Global Issues; Globalization; Health; Humanities; Humor; India; International Studies; International Trade; Marketing and Advertising; Political Science; Psychology; Social Justice; Social Psychology; Sociology; Toxic Chemicals; Urban and Regional PlanningKeywords
political activists, pranks, better business practices, Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, big business, corporate greed, Dow Chemical, BBC, Bhopal, Union Carbide, Milton Friedman, free market, Myron Ebell, Sambhavna Trust Clinic, Lee Raymond, Halliburton, HUD, Mayor Ray Nagin, Katrina, Louisiana wetlands, Wade Rathke, Gulf Coast Reconstruction Conference, survivaball, ExxonMobil, vivoleum, Reggie, fake New York Times, Laura Flanders, Grit TV; "The Yes Men Fix The World"; Bullfrog Films
WEBVTT
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[traffic rumbling]
00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:08.200
- Are you ready?
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- [inhales sharply]
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[whimpers]
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I\'m extremely happy to be here,
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because today is a very historic
occasion for all of us at Dow,
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and I am grateful -
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let\'s walk that way.
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I am grateful.
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- You\'re extremely pleased to be here.
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- I\'m extremely pleased to be here, yes.
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Extremely pleased to be here, Steve.
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- This is my friend Andy.
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- Hi.
- Bonjour, monsieur.
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- And my name is Mike.
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Today I\'m holding the camera.
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- Is it okay if?
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- Yes, sure.
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It\'s a good thing to announce.
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- Exactly.
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- Andy is about to go
on live television
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in front of 300 million people.
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They\'re going to think that he represents
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one of the largest companies
in the world,
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which he doesn\'t.
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And that\'s why he looks so nervous.
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- Should I typically just look
right into the camera?
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Okay.
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[sighs]
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- Andy\'s about to tell a really big lie,
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which, unfortunately,
is going to wipe $2 billion
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off one company\'s stock price.
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- [sighs nervously]
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- But before I tell you this story...
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- One minute.
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- I guess I should tell you how
we got ourselves into this situation.
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[Judy Garland\'s Get Happy]
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- Forget your troubles
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Come on, get happy
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You better chase all your cares away
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Shout hallelujah
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Come on, get happy
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Get ready for the judgment day
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The sun is shining
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Come on, get happy
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The Lord is waiting
to take your hand
00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:04.500
Shout hallelujah
00:02:04.533 --> 00:02:06.167
Come on, get happy
00:02:06.200 --> 00:02:08.900
We\'re going to the promised land
00:02:08.933 --> 00:02:11.633
We\'re heading across the river
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Wash our sins away in the tide
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- Hi.
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My name\'s Mike.
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- And I\'m Andy.
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And this is a movie
in which the two of us...
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together: Fix the world.
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[screams]
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splash!
00:02:30.133 --> 00:02:31.633
- Forget your troubles
00:02:31.667 --> 00:02:33.900
Come on, get happy
00:02:33.933 --> 00:02:35.167
- Aren\'t we fixing the world?
00:02:35.200 --> 00:02:36.933
- Yes.
00:02:36.967 --> 00:02:38.600
- Well, come on.
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I\'m scared.
00:02:39.867 --> 00:02:42.000
- Get ready
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Get ready
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For the judgment day
00:02:46.133 --> 00:02:47.233
- Hallelujah, hallelujah
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Hallelujah
00:02:51.100 --> 00:02:53.600
[applause]
00:02:53.633 --> 00:02:55.800
[laughter]
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- Now what?
00:03:00.467 --> 00:03:02.933
What we do is pass ourselves off
00:03:02.967 --> 00:03:08.100
as representatives
of big corporations we don\'t like.
00:03:08.133 --> 00:03:09.833
We make fake websites,
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then wait for people to accidentally
invite us to conferences.
00:03:14.433 --> 00:03:16.400
- My name is Fred.
I\'m from Halliburton.
00:03:16.433 --> 00:03:18.467
My name is Hanniford Schmidt.
00:03:18.500 --> 00:03:20.867
I\'m with the World Trade Organization.
I\'m from Arizona.
00:03:20.900 --> 00:03:22.867
- My name is Francisco Guerrero.
00:03:22.900 --> 00:03:24.667
Oborloo Hochmanks.
00:03:24.700 --> 00:03:27.733
- Hundreds of oil and gas executives
were duped today.
00:03:27.767 --> 00:03:31.233
- Louisiana officials were taken
for a ride by the Yes Men.
00:03:31.267 --> 00:03:32.267
- Les Yes Men.
00:03:32.300 --> 00:03:34.900
- The Yes Men,
anti-globalization activists
00:03:34.933 --> 00:03:37.467
that travel the world pulling pranks
at corporate events.
00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:39.233
- A bunch of lefty protesters.
00:03:39.267 --> 00:03:41.467
- World-renowned troublemakers.
00:03:41.500 --> 00:03:43.800
- Sick, twisted, cruel.
00:03:43.833 --> 00:03:46.567
- And what they do is really
to take absurd ideas,
00:03:46.600 --> 00:03:48.700
and they present these ideas
in all seriousness.
00:03:48.733 --> 00:03:50.533
[laughter]
00:03:50.567 --> 00:03:52.300
- The group has done this
many times before.
00:03:52.333 --> 00:03:54.233
They have a track record
of getting away with it.
00:03:54.267 --> 00:03:55.600
So how did this happen?
00:03:55.633 --> 00:03:58.433
Equity International says the imposters -
00:03:58.467 --> 00:04:00.800
- At home in our underground headquarters,
00:04:00.833 --> 00:04:02.933
it was time to start planning
our next mission.
00:04:02.967 --> 00:04:04.100
- The battle raged on.
00:04:04.133 --> 00:04:06.833
Tens of thousands of Iraqis have died.
00:04:06.867 --> 00:04:09.800
- Worries are growing among top government
and business leaders
00:04:09.833 --> 00:04:11.400
about the surge of food riots.
00:04:11.433 --> 00:04:12.533
- Markets continue to shake.
00:04:12.567 --> 00:04:14.600
Unemployment is up.
00:04:14.633 --> 00:04:16.267
-The oil companies reported
00:04:16.300 --> 00:04:19.033
the highest profits
in the history of the world.
00:04:19.067 --> 00:04:24.900
- But with so many things going wrong,
who should we go after next?
00:04:24.933 --> 00:04:27.367
We got our answer
when a text message arrived.
00:04:27.400 --> 00:04:28.400
[glass shattering]
00:04:37.700 --> 00:04:40.867
Dow Chemical had just bought
Union Carbide,
00:04:40.900 --> 00:04:44.033
a company that became infamous
in the 1980s.
00:04:44.067 --> 00:04:45.567
You remember the 1980s:
00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:47.533
Challenger,
00:04:47.567 --> 00:04:49.433
Chernobyl,
00:04:49.467 --> 00:04:50.933
Bhopal.
00:04:50.967 --> 00:04:52.533
Bhopal?
00:04:52.567 --> 00:04:58.100
In 1984, when Union Carbide\'s
pesticide plant at Bhopal exploded,
00:04:58.133 --> 00:05:01.267
at least 5,000 people died within weeks,
00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:05.433
and 100,000 thousand more
remained sick for life.
00:05:05.467 --> 00:05:08.467
It was the biggest industrial disaster
in history.
00:05:08.500 --> 00:05:10.967
But Union Carbide settled
with the Indian government
00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:13.533
for $470 million,
00:05:13.567 --> 00:05:18.533
meaning most of the victims
got less than $1,000 each.
00:05:18.567 --> 00:05:21.533
- Now, I just want to say to shareholders
of Union Carbide
00:05:21.567 --> 00:05:24.033
that I am confident that the victims
00:05:24.067 --> 00:05:28.433
can be fairly and equitably compensated
without a material adverse effect
00:05:28.467 --> 00:05:30.967
on the financial condition
of Union Carbide Corporation.
00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:34.367
- There was little adverse effect
on the shareholders,
00:05:34.400 --> 00:05:38.900
but in Bhopal,
people continued to suffer.
00:05:40.667 --> 00:05:43.567
When Dow announced
it would buy Union Carbide,
00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:45.933
there was finally hope for justice.
00:05:45.967 --> 00:05:49.367
Dow said it would compensate victims
of Carbide\'s past negligence
00:05:49.400 --> 00:05:54.633
and promptly paid over $2 billion...
00:05:54.667 --> 00:05:58.300
to 14 asbestos plaintiffs in Texas.
00:06:00.733 --> 00:06:04.200
Dow could do for Bhopal
what they\'d done for Texas.
00:06:04.233 --> 00:06:06.667
But we knew they wouldn\'t.
00:06:06.700 --> 00:06:10.900
So we decided to do it for them.
00:06:10.933 --> 00:06:15.167
We set up a fake Dow Chemical website,
dowethics.com,
00:06:15.200 --> 00:06:18.767
and we waited and waited...
00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:21.433
and waited.
00:06:21.467 --> 00:06:23.733
Then one day, we got our chance.
00:06:23.767 --> 00:06:25.167
- You have mail.
00:06:25.200 --> 00:06:29.700
- We\'d just been invited to a conference
on international finance.
00:06:29.733 --> 00:06:33.567
Some of the biggest banks
in the world would be there.
00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:35.700
These were the kind of banks
who help companies
00:06:35.733 --> 00:06:38.367
like Union Carbide and Dow
do what they do.
00:06:38.400 --> 00:06:40.433
A company might say,
00:06:40.467 --> 00:06:43.700
\"We\'re gonna build a shoddy plant
in an underdeveloped country
00:06:43.733 --> 00:06:45.667
\"with a corrupt legal system.
00:06:45.700 --> 00:06:48.100
\"The plant might explode,
and people might die,
00:06:48.133 --> 00:06:50.867
but we\'ll make a lot of money.\"
00:06:50.900 --> 00:06:53.133
And the bank comes back
and says, \"Great!
00:06:53.167 --> 00:06:55.267
Sounds like a plan.\"
00:06:55.300 --> 00:06:58.667
What could we possibly do
to show bankers
00:06:58.700 --> 00:07:01.067
what was wrong with this logic?
00:07:05.967 --> 00:07:10.433
So right now, I\'m painting Gilda,
the Gilded Skeleton,
00:07:10.467 --> 00:07:13.667
actually the golden skeleton
that we\'re going to use
00:07:13.700 --> 00:07:16.333
in the Dow Chemical Lecture in London
00:07:16.367 --> 00:07:20.500
at a financial services conference
in just a few short days.
00:07:20.533 --> 00:07:25.200
The only good skeleton
is a gold skeleton.
00:07:25.233 --> 00:07:30.733
In case Gilda didn\'t scare them enough,
we had a backup plan.
00:07:30.767 --> 00:07:33.400
We rented a theatrical
pyrotechnics unit here
00:07:33.433 --> 00:07:37.767
so that we can make
a big puff of smoke.
00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:38.867
Bang!
00:07:38.900 --> 00:07:40.233
Oh, my God.
00:07:41.233 --> 00:07:44.667
We\'re on our way to a conference,
00:07:44.700 --> 00:07:48.433
and Erastus Hamm
is going to be speaking
00:07:48.467 --> 00:07:51.900
at the conference
as Dow Chemical Company.
00:07:51.933 --> 00:07:56.433
Our plan was to have Dow demonstrate
for the first time ever
00:07:56.467 --> 00:08:01.333
exactly how they calculate
the cash value of human life.
00:08:01.367 --> 00:08:04.300
Would this make the bankers think twice?
00:08:04.333 --> 00:08:06.533
It was time to find out.
00:08:07.867 --> 00:08:10.300
- Thank you very much.
00:08:10.333 --> 00:08:11.800
On May 1st,
00:08:11.833 --> 00:08:14.867
we are releasing the beta version
of Acceptable Risk,
00:08:14.900 --> 00:08:18.067
the world\'s first market-smart
risk calculator,
00:08:18.100 --> 00:08:20.467
to help you find out instantly
00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:22.600
what risks are
or are not acceptable
00:08:22.633 --> 00:08:25.300
from a bottom-line
business perspective.
00:08:25.333 --> 00:08:29.700
Will Project X be just another
skeleton in the closet,
00:08:29.733 --> 00:08:31.533
something your company
comes to regret?
00:08:31.567 --> 00:08:34.600
Or will it be a golden skeleton?
00:08:34.633 --> 00:08:37.433
A complex case is IBM\'s sale
00:08:37.467 --> 00:08:39.767
of technology
to World War II Germany
00:08:39.800 --> 00:08:44.267
for use in identifying
certain populations.
00:08:44.300 --> 00:08:46.267
This was very bad, of course.
00:08:46.300 --> 00:08:48.900
But no one can deny they were profitable,
00:08:48.933 --> 00:08:51.767
and although the issue remains
a skeleton in the closet,
00:08:51.800 --> 00:08:54.267
in retrospect,
it is quite clearly golden.
00:08:54.300 --> 00:08:56.833
You may have heard the joke.
00:08:56.867 --> 00:08:59.633
How many Americans does it take
00:08:59.667 --> 00:09:02.200
to screw in a lightbulb?
00:09:02.233 --> 00:09:06.300
12, 1 to climb the ladder
and 11 to file the lawsuit.
00:09:06.333 --> 00:09:07.600
[laughter]
00:09:07.633 --> 00:09:10.300
What about Indians?
00:09:10.333 --> 00:09:11.767
Oh, just one.
00:09:13.467 --> 00:09:15.000
We would, of course,
00:09:15.033 --> 00:09:19.133
never wish to imply that an Indian life
is worth more or less than another.
00:09:19.167 --> 00:09:21.200
I myself believe
in the sanctity of all life.
00:09:21.233 --> 00:09:23.100
But the market has its own logic,
00:09:23.133 --> 00:09:25.267
and if we\'re willing to live with it,
00:09:25.300 --> 00:09:28.667
we must make the most
of the choices it makes.
00:09:28.700 --> 00:09:30.267
Because if there\'s one thing
00:09:30.300 --> 00:09:33.033
that we at Dow
want you to remember today,
00:09:33.067 --> 00:09:38.967
it\'s that the only good skeleton
is a gold skeleton.
00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:40.233
[small explosion]
00:09:40.267 --> 00:09:41.267
Ooh!
00:09:41.300 --> 00:09:44.800
[applause]
00:09:44.833 --> 00:09:46.200
Surprise.
00:09:46.233 --> 00:09:47.500
[laughs]
00:09:47.533 --> 00:09:48.667
This is Gilda.
00:09:48.700 --> 00:09:52.433
She\'s the mascot
for the Dow Acceptable Risk program.
00:09:52.467 --> 00:09:56.500
Gilda is here to basically tell you
that if you have a skeleton in the closet,
00:09:56.533 --> 00:09:59.367
it may not be just a skeleton.
00:09:59.400 --> 00:10:03.900
It could very well be
a golden skeleton as well.
00:10:03.933 --> 00:10:05.267
And as you move into a future
00:10:05.300 --> 00:10:09.600
of ever increasing complexity
and ever increasing opportunities,
00:10:09.633 --> 00:10:10.833
Dow Acceptable Risk
00:10:10.867 --> 00:10:14.300
can assure you that your touch
will be the Midas one.
00:10:14.333 --> 00:10:15.333
- Achoo!
00:10:15.367 --> 00:10:17.967
- And I\'d like to finish
with a little poem.
00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:20.600
I\'d rather be handsome than homely.
00:10:20.633 --> 00:10:22.567
I\'d rather be youthful than old.
00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:27.100
If I can\'t have a bushel of silver,
I\'ll do with a barrel of gold.
00:10:27.133 --> 00:10:28.200
So thank you very much.
00:10:28.233 --> 00:10:31.133
We hope you come up
and get a closer look.
00:10:31.167 --> 00:10:35.367
[applause]
00:10:35.400 --> 00:10:36.633
Thank you.
- Thanks a lot.
00:10:36.667 --> 00:10:38.900
- Oh, thank you for having us.
00:10:38.933 --> 00:10:40.167
- Thank you very much.
00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:43.133
Here\'s a keychain.
00:10:43.167 --> 00:10:45.167
Thank you very much.
Absolutely.
00:10:47.333 --> 00:10:49.033
Unfortunately I don\'t have
a card anymore.
00:10:49.067 --> 00:10:50.067
I\'ve ran out of them, so -
00:10:50.100 --> 00:10:53.267
- Oh, wonderful, yes, you were one
of the earlier speakers, thanks.
00:10:53.300 --> 00:10:55.233
- Yes, so it\'s a pleasure.
- Thank you very much.
00:10:55.267 --> 00:10:56.733
- It was definitely very interesting.
00:10:56.767 --> 00:10:59.267
- Is it applicable -
is your model applicable to anything?
00:10:59.300 --> 00:11:01.633
I mean, Is it applicable -
can we use it in risk management?
00:11:01.667 --> 00:11:03.633
- Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:11:03.667 --> 00:11:06.133
- I\'ll have our risk management
guys take a look at it,
00:11:06.167 --> 00:11:07.833
because we do a lot
of interesting things.
00:11:07.867 --> 00:11:10.400
- Wonderful.
Well, this is interesting.
00:11:10.433 --> 00:11:12.367
- Thanks a lot.
- Thank you.
00:11:12.400 --> 00:11:13.400
Okay, take care.
00:11:13.433 --> 00:11:15.633
- Yes, hello.
- Hello, sorry.
00:11:21.400 --> 00:11:24.400
- Mm-hmm, yeah.
00:11:32.533 --> 00:11:35.533
- That\'s right.
00:11:42.533 --> 00:11:43.533
- [laughs]
00:11:43.567 --> 00:11:46.567
Yeah, yeah, well, yeah.
00:11:48.633 --> 00:11:49.633
[laughter]
00:11:49.667 --> 00:11:50.867
- Is that right?
00:11:50.900 --> 00:11:53.633
- Well, that\'s pretty much -
yeah, that\'s exactly what I said.
00:11:53.667 --> 00:11:57.700
I mean - it\'s -
did you find that not -
00:12:00.067 --> 00:12:02.600
- Okay.
00:12:02.633 --> 00:12:04.467
- Refreshing?
00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:08.400
We\'d meant to be shocking,
not refreshingly honest.
00:12:08.433 --> 00:12:10.500
To us,
this was about as refreshing
00:12:10.533 --> 00:12:13.633
as the Kool-Aid in Jonestown.
00:12:13.667 --> 00:12:17.267
- The mass suicide and murder
of more than 900 Americans
00:12:17.300 --> 00:12:20.667
took cyanide-laced fruit punch
from their spiritual father
00:12:20.700 --> 00:12:22.867
and then lay down to die.
00:12:22.900 --> 00:12:25.567
- That\'s the thing about cults.
00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:31.733
What\'s shocking to outsiders
seems normal to insiders.
00:12:31.767 --> 00:12:36.467
Is this why unfettered greed
seemed normal to bankers?
00:12:36.500 --> 00:12:40.700
And if so,
who was the cult leader here?
00:12:40.733 --> 00:12:42.900
This is Milton Friedman.
00:12:42.933 --> 00:12:46.967
We were told that he was the world\'s
most influential economist.
00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:49.100
- Did government play a role in this?
00:12:49.133 --> 00:12:50.133
Very little.
00:12:50.167 --> 00:12:55.033
Only by keeping the road clear
for human greed and self-interest
00:12:55.067 --> 00:12:57.267
to promote the welfare
of the consumer.
00:12:57.300 --> 00:13:03.267
- In this book, Friedman used
the word \"freedom\" 374 times.
00:13:03.300 --> 00:13:06.400
But by \"freedom,\" he didn\'t mean this.
00:13:06.433 --> 00:13:07.533
He meant this:
00:13:07.567 --> 00:13:11.967
the freedom of corporations to profit
no matter the risk to people
00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:14.533
and without interference from government.
00:13:14.567 --> 00:13:16.067
- Dr. Milton Friedman,
00:13:16.100 --> 00:13:18.967
a scientist, a careful thinker,
and a great teacher...
00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:21.733
- A hero of freedom, Milton Friedman.
00:13:21.767 --> 00:13:25.067
- I sought out Dr. Friedman
and had the great pleasure and privilege
00:13:25.100 --> 00:13:28.100
of meeting him
and his economist wife, Rose.
00:13:28.133 --> 00:13:32.367
And we\'ve all become friends,
and now I call him Milton.
00:13:32.400 --> 00:13:36.633
- If we wanted to understand
the bankers\' mind-set,
00:13:36.667 --> 00:13:40.233
we needed to find the guru of greed.
00:13:40.267 --> 00:13:41.700
There was only one problem.
00:13:41.733 --> 00:13:45.533
[bell tolls]
00:13:45.567 --> 00:13:48.100
But though Friedman
had now ascended,
00:13:48.133 --> 00:13:49.867
his followers carried the flame.
00:13:52.700 --> 00:13:53.900
- Okay, so we should go in there.
00:13:53.933 --> 00:13:55.900
Oh, great.
Thank you.
00:13:55.933 --> 00:13:57.967
- Uncle Milty, I call him.
00:13:59.933 --> 00:14:03.367
- These guys belong
to free-market think tanks,
00:14:03.400 --> 00:14:05.833
which have spent billions
of corporate dollars
00:14:05.867 --> 00:14:07.333
trying to make us all believe
00:14:07.367 --> 00:14:10.333
that if we just let corporations
do what they want,
00:14:10.367 --> 00:14:12.867
everything will work out great.
00:14:12.900 --> 00:14:15.400
- We\'re kind of on a quest.
00:14:15.433 --> 00:14:18.500
We want to fix the world.
00:14:18.533 --> 00:14:21.167
And we want to know how to do it.
00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:24.333
- Private property, rule of law,
00:14:24.367 --> 00:14:27.467
and a market unrestricted
by government regulation and control.
00:14:27.500 --> 00:14:31.767
- When we see companies demonized,
we should work against that.
00:14:31.800 --> 00:14:34.733
When we see
the free-market system castigated,
00:14:34.767 --> 00:14:35.807
we must work against that.
00:14:35.833 --> 00:14:38.100
- More wealth leads to greater efficiency
00:14:38.133 --> 00:14:42.167
and greater innovation
and basically all good things.
00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:43.200
- Wealth.
- Money.
00:14:43.233 --> 00:14:44.333
- Privatization.
- Wealth.
00:14:44.367 --> 00:14:45.767
- Money.
- Individualist freedom.
00:14:45.800 --> 00:14:47.133
- Privatization.
- Free markets.
00:14:47.167 --> 00:14:48.733
- Ownership.
- And a great deal of money.
00:14:48.767 --> 00:14:50.167
- Capitalism and freedom.
00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:51.600
- Wealth and prosperity.
00:14:51.633 --> 00:14:53.900
- Alleluia!
00:14:53.933 --> 00:14:56.700
- We were getting the message.
00:14:56.733 --> 00:14:59.000
And so were millions of others.
00:14:59.033 --> 00:15:01.833
These guys spread Friedman\'s
free-market gospel
00:15:01.867 --> 00:15:03.333
by any means that they can,
00:15:03.367 --> 00:15:06.067
like speaking to Congress,
00:15:06.100 --> 00:15:07.667
viral videos,
00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:10.667
and guest spots
on Sunday morning talk shows.
00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:13.700
They claim to have derailed
the Kyoto Protocol
00:15:13.733 --> 00:15:16.867
and to have helped destroy regulation
around housing,
00:15:16.900 --> 00:15:20.567
banking, energy,
and the environment.
00:15:20.600 --> 00:15:25.800
They agree to meet pretty much anyone
with a camera, even us.
00:15:25.833 --> 00:15:29.367
- Alleluia, alleluia!
00:15:29.400 --> 00:15:32.733
- You see there\'s
a blue screen behind you.
00:15:32.767 --> 00:15:34.600
What would you like
to be put in front of?
00:15:34.633 --> 00:15:36.433
- A planet Earth.
00:15:36.467 --> 00:15:38.400
- Oh cool, a blue screen.
00:15:38.433 --> 00:15:40.333
- I\'d say the Jefferson monument.
00:15:40.367 --> 00:15:41.700
- How about Jefferson Memorial?
00:15:41.733 --> 00:15:43.333
That\'s - it\'s more -
- It\'s already taken.
00:15:43.367 --> 00:15:45.400
- Oh, it is taken?
- Somebody asked for that already.
00:15:45.433 --> 00:15:49.267
- I\'m sure you have
a good backdrop of Washington.
00:15:49.300 --> 00:15:51.233
- Don\'t put me in front
of anything in Washington.
00:15:51.267 --> 00:15:52.733
- I hate Washington.
00:15:52.767 --> 00:15:55.867
- Put up a scene in outer space
or something, you know.
00:15:55.900 --> 00:15:59.967
- I would say a world
in which man is treated
00:16:00.067 --> 00:16:02.300
as an end in himself rather than a tool
00:16:02.333 --> 00:16:04.733
to be manipulated
by those with political power.
00:16:04.767 --> 00:16:06.900
- How can we represent that?
00:16:08.033 --> 00:16:10.633
Is there a single image
00:16:10.667 --> 00:16:13.100
or a series of images?
00:16:13.133 --> 00:16:19.933
- I think that the images are of men...
00:16:19.967 --> 00:16:21.733
just the prosperity of free men
00:16:21.767 --> 00:16:26.200
following what their hearts
and desires lead them to.
00:16:26.233 --> 00:16:29.867
- I think we can find that.
- Okay, sounds good.
00:16:33.800 --> 00:16:36.333
- Now that we had
our new friends at ease,
00:16:36.367 --> 00:16:39.767
it was time to ask them
the really tough questions.
00:16:39.800 --> 00:16:41.400
- What would you say to people
who harp on
00:16:41.433 --> 00:16:45.333
the Bhopal catastrophe
or other tragedies?
00:16:45.367 --> 00:16:47.933
- Bhopal is an interesting example.
00:16:47.967 --> 00:16:50.867
But that facility had created
educational opportunities
00:16:50.900 --> 00:16:53.800
for an Indian emerging
technocratic class.
00:16:53.833 --> 00:16:56.967
It had created value-added
and tax base for the community,
00:16:57.000 --> 00:16:59.667
and something like 3,000 people died.
00:16:59.700 --> 00:17:01.333
That\'s a tragedy,
00:17:01.367 --> 00:17:04.900
but there are always risks
of going into the future.
00:17:04.933 --> 00:17:09.267
- \"There are always risks
of going into the future\"?
00:17:09.300 --> 00:17:13.067
For thousands of people in Bhopal,
there was no future.
00:17:13.100 --> 00:17:17.433
At least the Jonestown suicide cult
killed only themselves.
00:17:17.467 --> 00:17:21.733
The free marketeers seemed willing
to put everyone else at risk.
00:17:26.900 --> 00:17:28.067
Back at home...
00:17:28.100 --> 00:17:29.133
- You have new mail.
00:17:29.167 --> 00:17:30.667
- We had mail.
00:17:30.700 --> 00:17:35.167
Turned out our Dow site
was the gift that kept on giving.
00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:38.000
This time,
it wasn\'t a mere conference.
00:17:38.033 --> 00:17:40.800
We\'d hit the jackpot.
00:17:40.833 --> 00:17:45.033
The BBC, perhaps the world\'s
most respected news organization,
00:17:45.067 --> 00:17:47.767
was doing a big broadcast
about Bhopal,
00:17:47.800 --> 00:17:51.667
and they wanted to know whether Dow
might finally clean up their mess.
00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:56.833
The interview, they said,
would be broadcast to 300 million people.
00:17:56.867 --> 00:17:59.200
This was what we\'d been waiting for.
00:17:59.233 --> 00:18:02.067
To the BBC\'s great surprise,
00:18:02.100 --> 00:18:04.267
Dow emailed back to say
they would be delighted
00:18:04.300 --> 00:18:07.133
to speak publicly
about the catastrophe.
00:18:07.167 --> 00:18:11.367
As for us, 300 million people
was about a million times bigger
00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:13.433
than any other audience we\'d ever had.
00:18:13.467 --> 00:18:15.333
We were scared.
00:18:15.367 --> 00:18:19.367
So we asked the BBC if instead
of coming to their headquarters in London,
00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:24.133
we could meet them in neutral territory,
the original land of revolution.
00:18:24.167 --> 00:18:27.000
[La Marseillaise plays]
00:18:27.033 --> 00:18:28.133
[cheers and applause]
00:18:28.167 --> 00:18:29.433
- [laughing]
00:18:29.467 --> 00:18:30.767
- Are you a little nervous?
00:18:30.800 --> 00:18:32.233
- I\'m so nervous!
00:18:32.267 --> 00:18:37.567
Oh, God, it\'s like going to the guillotine.
00:18:37.600 --> 00:18:39.000
I think it\'s right near
00:18:39.033 --> 00:18:43.833
where they used to have the guillotine,
too, in Paris, the office.
00:18:46.433 --> 00:18:48.633
Mm.
00:18:48.667 --> 00:18:50.200
Yeah.
00:18:50.233 --> 00:18:54.333
I think it\'s the biggest thing
we\'ve ever done, this.
00:18:59.800 --> 00:19:04.800
I haven\'t combed my hair
in, like, 20 years, yeah.
00:19:04.833 --> 00:19:06.033
Really.
00:19:06.067 --> 00:19:08.733
Like, I think I used to do it
this way.
00:19:08.767 --> 00:19:10.933
All right!
00:19:10.967 --> 00:19:11.967
We\'re off.
00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:13.500
Oh, God.
00:19:17.533 --> 00:19:20.067
Oh, God.
00:19:20.100 --> 00:19:22.633
When we acquired Union Carbide
three years ago,
00:19:22.667 --> 00:19:23.867
we knew what we were getting,
00:19:23.900 --> 00:19:27.367
and today we are prepared
to do the obvious.
00:19:29.133 --> 00:19:30.367
Let\'s see.
00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:32.900
Don\'t film too much
when we get there, I think.
00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:37.033
Hi.
- Bonjour, monsieur.
00:19:37.067 --> 00:19:38.067
- Bonjour.
00:19:41.167 --> 00:19:42.400
- And you\'re watching BBC World.
00:19:42.433 --> 00:19:43.567
Our main headlines.
00:19:43.600 --> 00:19:47.667
The world\'s worst industrial accident
is being remembered in India today.
00:19:47.700 --> 00:19:49.833
It\'s 20 years since deadly gas
00:19:49.867 --> 00:19:53.133
leaked from the Union Carbide
chemical plant in the city of Bhopal.
00:19:53.167 --> 00:19:56.533
At least 18,000 deaths
are attributed to the leak,
00:19:56.567 --> 00:19:59.000
and many local people say
that contamination
00:19:59.033 --> 00:20:00.433
has never been properly cleared up.
00:20:00.467 --> 00:20:01.467
- Yeah.
00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:04.333
Should I typically just look
right into the camera?
00:20:04.367 --> 00:20:05.667
Okay.
00:20:05.700 --> 00:20:06.967
- The factory still exists here,
00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:10.100
and that\'s been a real problem
for the people living here locally.
00:20:10.133 --> 00:20:12.767
I mean, the site, I\'ve been to it,
00:20:12.800 --> 00:20:14.733
and it\'s full of toxic waste.
00:20:14.767 --> 00:20:18.000
People who are living in these houses,
they\'ve all got a story to tell...
00:20:18.033 --> 00:20:19.033
- One minute.
00:20:19.067 --> 00:20:20.500
- About that day 20 years ago.
00:20:20.533 --> 00:20:22.733
Many of them lost members
of their family,
00:20:22.767 --> 00:20:25.033
and they say that they\'re
continuing to suffer
00:20:25.067 --> 00:20:26.300
because of the tragedy.
00:20:26.333 --> 00:20:28.867
And they\'re saying somebody
needs to answer for this.
00:20:28.900 --> 00:20:30.233
Legally what they\'re saying
00:20:30.267 --> 00:20:32.100
is that they want
to pursue the company
00:20:32.133 --> 00:20:34.633
to try and clean up the site.
00:20:34.667 --> 00:20:38.067
But whether the company
will accept liability seems doubtful.
00:20:38.100 --> 00:20:41.067
- Well, joining us live from Paris
now is Jude Finisterra.
00:20:41.100 --> 00:20:45.667
He\'s a spokesman for Dow Chemicals,
which took over Union Carbide.
00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:46.733
Good morning to you.
00:20:46.767 --> 00:20:50.067
A day of commemoration in Bhopal.
00:20:50.100 --> 00:20:52.333
Do you now accept
00:20:52.367 --> 00:20:55.333
responsibility
for what happened?
00:20:55.367 --> 00:20:57.167
- Steve, yes.
00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:00.333
Today is a great day
for all of us at Dow
00:21:00.367 --> 00:21:04.467
and I think for millions of people
around the world as well.
00:21:04.500 --> 00:21:06.633
It\'s 20 years since the disaster.
00:21:06.667 --> 00:21:12.667
And today I am very, very happy
to announce that for the first time,
00:21:12.700 --> 00:21:18.000
Dow is accepting full responsibility
for the Bhopal catastrophe.
00:21:18.033 --> 00:21:20.633
We have a $12 billion plan
00:21:20.667 --> 00:21:25.100
to finally at long last
fully compensate the victims,
00:21:25.133 --> 00:21:28.400
including the 120,000
who may need medical care
00:21:28.433 --> 00:21:30.700
for their entire lives,
00:21:30.733 --> 00:21:36.300
and to fully and swiftly remediate
the Bhopal plant site.
00:21:36.333 --> 00:21:40.100
Now, when we acquired
Union Carbide three years ago,
00:21:40.133 --> 00:21:41.800
we knew what we were getting.
00:21:41.833 --> 00:21:46.533
And it\'s worth $12 billion,
$12 billion.
00:21:46.567 --> 00:21:50.100
We have resolved to liquidate
Union Carbide,
00:21:50.133 --> 00:21:53.500
this nightmare for the world
and this headache for Dow,
00:21:53.533 --> 00:21:55.667
and use the $12 billion
00:21:55.700 --> 00:21:58.700
to adequately compensate the victims.
00:21:58.733 --> 00:22:00.067
- Jude, that\'s good news
00:22:00.100 --> 00:22:03.933
that you have finally
accepted responsibility.
00:22:03.967 --> 00:22:05.533
Some people would say too late.
00:22:05.567 --> 00:22:07.667
It\'s three years,
almost four years on.
00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:09.433
- When we acquired Union Carbide,
00:22:09.467 --> 00:22:13.600
we did settle their liabilities
in the United States immediately.
00:22:13.633 --> 00:22:18.933
And we are now, three years later,
prepared to do the same in India.
00:22:18.967 --> 00:22:20.700
We should have done it three years ago.
00:22:20.733 --> 00:22:21.867
We are doing it now.
00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:25.333
And I would also like to say
that this is no small matter, Steve.
00:22:25.367 --> 00:22:27.433
This is the first time in history
00:22:27.467 --> 00:22:31.700
that a publicly owned company
of anything near the size of Dow
00:22:31.733 --> 00:22:34.167
has performed an action
00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:36.500
which is significantly against
its bottom line
00:22:36.533 --> 00:22:39.367
simply because it\'s the right thing to do.
00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:42.133
And our shareholders may take
a bit of a hit, Steve.
00:22:42.167 --> 00:22:44.100
But I think that
if they\'re anything like me,
00:22:44.133 --> 00:22:49.000
they will be ecstatic to be part
of such a historic occasion
00:22:49.033 --> 00:22:52.233
of doing right
by those that we\'ve wronged.
00:22:52.267 --> 00:22:55.667
- Just to reiterate what Jude Finisterra,
00:22:55.700 --> 00:22:59.300
the spokesman for Dow Chemicals,
has just said,
00:22:59.333 --> 00:23:01.167
he says Dow Chemicals
00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:07.033
now fully accept responsibility
for the events in Bhopal.
00:23:10.367 --> 00:23:11.367
- Great.
00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:12.400
- That\'s it?
- Well done.
00:23:12.433 --> 00:23:13.767
- Great!
Now they wanted -
00:23:13.800 --> 00:23:14.800
- Now you do...
00:23:14.833 --> 00:23:15.833
together: Radio.
00:23:15.867 --> 00:23:17.233
- I can tell you one thing.
00:23:17.267 --> 00:23:19.167
We\'re not going out of business.
00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:20.700
We will continue to make profit.
00:23:20.733 --> 00:23:24.367
We will simply make
slightly less profit than normal.
00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:26.333
But we are doing the right thing.
00:23:26.367 --> 00:23:29.133
We\'re comparing here, though,
the value of money
00:23:29.167 --> 00:23:33.633
to the value of human life,
and there is no comparison.
00:23:35.833 --> 00:23:36.833
- Exactly.
00:23:36.867 --> 00:23:39.500
I mean, how often
does Dow get to - you know?
00:23:39.533 --> 00:23:43.900
I wouldn\'t want to be
a Dow spokesperson otherwise.
00:23:43.933 --> 00:23:46.933
Good.
00:23:52.433 --> 00:23:54.233
Oh, my God.
00:23:54.267 --> 00:23:56.667
Oh, my God.
00:23:56.700 --> 00:24:01.200
I\'m going to have a serious
nervous breakdown now.
00:24:01.233 --> 00:24:03.233
\"Dow accepts responsibility for Bhopal,\"
00:24:03.267 --> 00:24:05.200
dash, dash, \"Spokesman.\"
00:24:05.233 --> 00:24:06.233
- Where is that?
00:24:06.267 --> 00:24:07.800
- In Reuters.
00:24:07.833 --> 00:24:11.033
\"Congratulations, your appearance...
00:24:11.067 --> 00:24:12.900
Everyone here at BBC cheered.\"
00:24:12.933 --> 00:24:15.467
It\'s over an hour,
and it\'s still headline news.
00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:18.333
Hello, this is Jude.
00:24:20.300 --> 00:24:23.533
Who has said that?
00:24:23.567 --> 00:24:27.500
Perhaps they\'re not in communication
with the Dow -
00:24:27.533 --> 00:24:29.167
with the Dow leadership.
00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:31.033
[phone ringing]
00:24:31.067 --> 00:24:32.200
Hello?
00:24:32.233 --> 00:24:36.100
Yes, this is Jude Finisterra.
00:24:36.133 --> 00:24:37.533
Sure.
00:24:37.567 --> 00:24:40.100
Right.
00:24:40.133 --> 00:24:42.333
Sure.
00:24:42.367 --> 00:24:44.667
Right.
00:24:44.700 --> 00:24:46.467
Let me just -
00:24:46.500 --> 00:24:50.033
yes, could I ask you to either -
to hold for a moment?
00:24:50.067 --> 00:24:52.500
Okay, thank you.
00:24:58.233 --> 00:25:00.633
Well, I wouldn\'t say it\'s a hoax.
00:25:00.667 --> 00:25:06.433
It\'s an honest representation
of what Dow should be doing.
00:25:06.467 --> 00:25:10.067
- This morning a false statement
was carried by BBC World
00:25:10.100 --> 00:25:12.900
regarding responsibility
for the Bhopal tragedy.
00:25:12.933 --> 00:25:15.900
The individual who made this statement
identified himself
00:25:15.933 --> 00:25:19.000
as a Dow spokesperson
named Jude Finisterra.
00:25:19.033 --> 00:25:23.467
Dow confirms that there was no basis
whatsoever for this report.
00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:25.300
- Well, earlier today we carried
an interview
00:25:25.333 --> 00:25:27.433
with someone purporting to be
from Dow Chemical,
00:25:27.467 --> 00:25:31.133
a company which subsequently bought
the plant from Union Carbide.
00:25:31.167 --> 00:25:32.567
This interview was inaccurate
00:25:32.600 --> 00:25:35.100
and part of an elaborate deception.
00:25:35.133 --> 00:25:36.700
- Take a look at this.
Like, look at this.
00:25:36.733 --> 00:25:39.300
This is the top of Google News.
00:25:39.333 --> 00:25:41.300
\"Dow said on Friday
there was no basis whatsoever
00:25:41.333 --> 00:25:43.067
\"in the BBC World Report
00:25:43.100 --> 00:25:46.767
saying that it had accepted responsibility
for India\'s Bhopal disaster.\"
00:25:46.800 --> 00:25:48.067
That\'s a funny sentence.
00:25:48.100 --> 00:25:52.167
- The hoax was an elaborate one
involving a fake website.
00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:54.000
- Dow Chemicals was quick to issue
00:25:54.033 --> 00:25:58.367
a series of statements denying
all knowledge of a Jude Finisterra.
00:25:58.400 --> 00:26:01.200
- Also, tonight,
backtracking because of this man.
00:26:04.267 --> 00:26:07.633
- We\'re going back
to the BBC television studio right now
00:26:07.667 --> 00:26:13.333
that we were at this morning,
because they want to talk to us.
00:26:13.367 --> 00:26:14.667
We thought, \"Well, okay.
00:26:14.700 --> 00:26:15.700
What do they want to know?\"
00:26:15.733 --> 00:26:17.000
Well, let\'s go see.
00:26:19.300 --> 00:26:20.300
- Yeah.
00:26:20.333 --> 00:26:22.900
Hi.
00:26:22.933 --> 00:26:24.833
Sorry.
00:26:24.867 --> 00:26:26.033
[laughing]
00:26:29.567 --> 00:26:30.933
- It didn\'t occur to us at all.
00:26:30.967 --> 00:26:33.233
We got contacted by you guys.
00:26:35.100 --> 00:26:36.100
- Yeah, I did hear that.
00:26:36.133 --> 00:26:37.233
Has it gone back up?
00:26:37.267 --> 00:26:38.600
- I\'m sure it has.
00:26:38.633 --> 00:26:40.267
- Well, the prank,
which briefly knocked
00:26:40.300 --> 00:26:44.167
3% percent off Dow\'s shares
comes 20 years to the day
00:26:44.200 --> 00:26:47.467
after the chemical leak
from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal.
00:26:47.500 --> 00:26:51.300
Today\'s unlikely corporate humiliation
of a U.S. chemical giant
00:26:51.333 --> 00:26:54.600
was all about reminding
the world that Bhopal remains
00:26:54.633 --> 00:26:58.067
an unhealed sore.
00:26:58.100 --> 00:27:00.333
Well, earlier I spoke
to Andy Bichlbaum,
00:27:00.367 --> 00:27:04.567
and I asked him what he did
when he got an email from the BBC
00:27:04.600 --> 00:27:06.900
asking him for an interview.
00:27:06.933 --> 00:27:12.733
- Essentially, Dow has been
promulgating a hoax
00:27:12.767 --> 00:27:17.300
by which they\'ve convinced people
that they can\'t do anything about Bhopal,
00:27:17.333 --> 00:27:19.633
that they cannot accept responsibility.
00:27:19.667 --> 00:27:23.033
And we wanted to prove
that that was not accurate.
00:27:23.067 --> 00:27:26.533
- I mean, it is nevertheless
a pretty cruel trick to play
00:27:26.567 --> 00:27:28.733
on the people of Bhopal.
00:27:28.767 --> 00:27:30.567
- Well, we -
00:27:30.600 --> 00:27:34.933
- Did you think about the people of Bhopal
when you decided to peddle this stunt?
00:27:34.967 --> 00:27:37.033
- Yes, yes, we did, and -
00:27:37.067 --> 00:27:38.867
- Well, that surely
is the tragedy of today.
00:27:38.900 --> 00:27:43.533
You spring upon them the actual hoax
that they actually suddenly believe
00:27:43.567 --> 00:27:45.333
that they have got
a payout from Dow,
00:27:45.367 --> 00:27:48.433
and then, you know,
an hour or two later,
00:27:48.467 --> 00:27:49.500
they find it\'s untrue.
00:27:49.533 --> 00:27:50.900
- Let\'s put this in contrast.
00:27:50.933 --> 00:27:55.433
I mean, we may have given people
two hours of false hope.
00:27:55.467 --> 00:27:57.933
Dow has given them
20 years of suffering.
00:27:57.967 --> 00:28:00.500
I mean, this is -
this is what we\'re faced with.
00:28:00.533 --> 00:28:03.300
- Are you expecting the next knock
at the door to be Dow\'s lawyer?
00:28:03.333 --> 00:28:05.200
- No idea what Dow will do.
00:28:07.767 --> 00:28:09.533
- Dow\'s lawyers didn\'t call,
00:28:09.567 --> 00:28:11.800
and millions of people learned
for the first time
00:28:11.833 --> 00:28:16.133
that 20 years on,
Bhopal was never cleaned up.
00:28:16.167 --> 00:28:17.967
But the media also reported
00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:21.267
that many of the victims
in Bhopal cried tears of joy
00:28:21.300 --> 00:28:25.000
upon hearing the news
and were then bitterly disappointed.
00:28:27.100 --> 00:28:30.500
Had we actually upset the people
we\'d meant to help?
00:28:30.533 --> 00:28:33.467
There was only one way to find out.
00:28:33.500 --> 00:28:35.033
Here we are.
00:28:35.067 --> 00:28:37.300
We\'re in India.
00:28:37.333 --> 00:28:38.833
Hey.
00:28:38.867 --> 00:28:39.867
And this is Bhopal.
00:28:39.900 --> 00:28:41.400
Bhopal is a big city.
00:28:41.433 --> 00:28:43.267
There\'s over a million people here.
00:28:43.300 --> 00:28:44.400
Unfortunately,
00:28:44.433 --> 00:28:49.133
we heard from a lot of news reports
that the victims here in Bhopal
00:28:49.167 --> 00:28:51.700
were extremely upset
00:28:51.733 --> 00:28:53.867
because we had raised false hopes
00:28:53.900 --> 00:28:57.700
about them actually getting
some compensation after 21 years.
00:28:57.733 --> 00:28:58.833
What do you think they\'ll do?
00:28:58.867 --> 00:28:59.867
- Well, I don\'t know.
00:28:59.900 --> 00:29:02.133
I mean, what\'s the local custom here?
I mean -
00:29:02.167 --> 00:29:04.867
[people shouting]
00:29:15.633 --> 00:29:19.167
[shouting, gagging noises]
00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:22.200
[excited chatter]
00:29:31.167 --> 00:29:33.633
- We\'re here at the Sambhavna Clinic.
00:29:33.667 --> 00:29:37.067
And this place was set up
by a bunch of people
00:29:37.100 --> 00:29:38.800
to help treat the gas victims
00:29:38.833 --> 00:29:44.333
of the worst industrial accident
in history.
00:29:44.367 --> 00:29:47.400
- So patients come in from here.
00:29:47.433 --> 00:29:49.033
This is a form basically
00:29:49.067 --> 00:29:53.133
where we determine their history
of gas exposure
00:29:53.167 --> 00:29:55.067
by how far they were living,
00:29:55.100 --> 00:29:57.733
or were they sleeping
in a tent that night?
00:29:57.767 --> 00:29:59.600
And then their severity grade
is determined.
00:29:59.633 --> 00:30:02.133
These are some
of the disabled children.
00:30:02.167 --> 00:30:06.900
And every system of the body
has been affected,
00:30:06.933 --> 00:30:12.200
you know, the muscular,
skeleton, the nervous system.
00:30:12.233 --> 00:30:15.600
40% of the women coming here
under 40 have menopause.
00:30:15.633 --> 00:30:18.200
Yeah.
00:30:18.233 --> 00:30:19.233
This is Sathyu.
00:30:19.267 --> 00:30:20.367
- Hello.
00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:21.600
Hey.
00:30:21.633 --> 00:30:24.000
Oh, my God.
00:30:24.033 --> 00:30:26.367
[laughter]
00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:27.967
Hey.
00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:31.067
We got the news that Dow
was willing to pay $12 billion.
00:30:31.100 --> 00:30:37.100
And at first, we just felt the news
was too good to be true...
00:30:37.133 --> 00:30:38.133
- Uh-huh.
00:30:38.167 --> 00:30:40.400
- And Dow was too bad
for the news to be true.
00:30:40.433 --> 00:30:41.433
- Yeah.
00:30:41.467 --> 00:30:43.033
But still we thought,
\"Maybe it is true.
00:30:43.067 --> 00:30:45.700
Maybe they have just seen sense in this.\"
00:30:45.733 --> 00:30:47.433
- Yeah.
00:30:47.467 --> 00:30:50.733
- I mean, for about an hour
we were under that impression.
00:30:50.767 --> 00:30:54.100
- Yeah.
Did people cry with joy?
00:30:54.133 --> 00:30:56.100
- Yeah, I cried.
- Oh, no.
00:30:56.133 --> 00:30:57.567
- Lots of people cried.
00:30:57.600 --> 00:31:01.600
- Were you kind of angry at first, though,
when you heard it was a hoax?
00:31:01.633 --> 00:31:02.767
- No, I wasn\'t angry.
00:31:02.800 --> 00:31:06.367
- Wow.
00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:07.600
Do you think it was worth it?
00:31:07.633 --> 00:31:08.767
- Totally worth it.
- Okay.
00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:13.467
- We are saying,
\"No more Bhopals.\"
00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:15.767
What people have gone through here,
00:31:15.800 --> 00:31:21.333
no one else in the world
should go through this.
00:31:21.367 --> 00:31:26.033
- I think we\'re in Shivajinagar.
00:31:26.067 --> 00:31:30.333
And it\'s been a little bit of a -
a bit of a -
00:31:30.367 --> 00:31:32.267
well, a bit of a -
00:31:32.300 --> 00:31:33.300
[laughs]
00:31:33.333 --> 00:31:35.333
a maze getting here.
00:31:35.367 --> 00:31:37.533
What would you call it?
00:31:37.567 --> 00:31:39.733
- We got lost.
00:31:39.767 --> 00:31:41.033
That\'s what it\'s called.
00:31:41.067 --> 00:31:43.767
We were trying to meet up
with a journalist to interview,
00:31:43.800 --> 00:31:44.800
and we got lost.
00:31:44.833 --> 00:31:46.800
Oh, here he is.
- Here he is.
00:31:46.833 --> 00:31:48.233
- Oh, my God.
00:31:48.267 --> 00:31:51.433
- Rajkumar Keswani
broke the disaster story.
00:31:51.467 --> 00:31:55.300
In fact, he broke it years
before it actually happened.
00:31:55.333 --> 00:31:57.800
So you had already predicted
how many times
00:31:57.833 --> 00:32:01.167
that the disaster would happen
before it happened?
00:32:31.367 --> 00:32:34.167
- When you heard it was a hoax,
the thing that we did,
00:32:34.200 --> 00:32:38.467
were you, like -
what did you think of it at first?
00:32:38.500 --> 00:32:40.867
- I thought it was a wonderful thing to do.
00:32:40.900 --> 00:32:43.800
We were put into a situation
00:32:43.833 --> 00:32:48.633
which we never thought of
that would actually happen.
00:32:48.667 --> 00:32:53.233
So it is just like being in the heaven,
00:32:53.267 --> 00:32:56.900
because I\'m sure I\'m not going
to be in the heaven.
00:32:56.933 --> 00:32:59.567
So if one -
00:32:59.600 --> 00:33:00.900
I\'m expecting hell.
00:33:00.933 --> 00:33:03.900
And suddenly, someone puts me
for a while in the heaven.
00:33:03.933 --> 00:33:05.700
So I said, \"Okay, thanks.\"
00:33:05.733 --> 00:33:06.733
[laughter]
00:33:06.767 --> 00:33:09.767
[kids chattering]
00:33:11.833 --> 00:33:12.833
- Hi.
00:33:12.867 --> 00:33:14.767
- 20 years since the disaster,
00:33:14.800 --> 00:33:19.267
the poisons left behind at the plant
were still leaching into the groundwater.
00:33:19.300 --> 00:33:20.567
- Communities that you see in red
00:33:20.600 --> 00:33:22.367
have not gotten a single drop
of clean water.
00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:23.400
- Oh, really?
- Yeah.
00:33:23.433 --> 00:33:25.333
- Until now?
- Until now.
00:33:25.367 --> 00:33:30.500
Eight communities are getting
about 12% of the requirement.
00:33:30.533 --> 00:33:33.167
But this is contaminated water.
00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:34.567
Some of them use to drink,
00:33:34.600 --> 00:33:37.633
cook, wash clothes.
00:33:37.667 --> 00:33:40.667
[kids chattering]
00:33:45.667 --> 00:33:48.767
- Dow could clean up their mess,
but they didn\'t.
00:33:48.800 --> 00:33:51.533
Instead, they spent
tens of millions of dollars
00:33:51.567 --> 00:33:55.533
on an ad campaign
to clean up their image.
00:33:55.567 --> 00:33:59.233
- For each of us,
there is a moment of discovery.
00:33:59.267 --> 00:34:02.467
And just then,
in the flash of a synapse,
00:34:02.500 --> 00:34:05.367
we learn that life is elemental.
00:34:05.400 --> 00:34:08.033
And in the dazzling brilliance
of this knowledge,
00:34:08.067 --> 00:34:11.133
we may overlook the element
not listed on the chart,
00:34:11.167 --> 00:34:15.933
its importance so obvious,
its presence is simply understood.
00:34:15.967 --> 00:34:18.767
The missing element
is the human element.
00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:22.967
And when we add it to the equation,
the chemistry changes.
00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:27.133
The human element
is the element of change.
00:34:27.167 --> 00:34:28.700
The human element.
00:34:28.733 --> 00:34:33.700
Nothing is more fundamental,
nothing more elemental.
00:34:45.100 --> 00:34:47.300
- This is Kevin Finn.
00:34:47.333 --> 00:34:49.100
He trades bonds.
00:34:49.133 --> 00:34:50.400
- This is what I do.
00:34:50.433 --> 00:34:53.167
Sit here and just
look at this screen for, you know,
00:34:53.200 --> 00:34:56.867
12 and 14 hours a day.
00:34:56.900 --> 00:34:59.667
It\'s very romantic, actually.
00:34:59.700 --> 00:35:01.500
- More than anyone else we knew,
00:35:01.533 --> 00:35:06.433
we thought Kevin could explain why Dow
wouldn\'t do anything to fix Bhopal.
00:35:06.467 --> 00:35:10.000
He told us what happened
when Andy went on the BBC.
00:35:10.033 --> 00:35:13.100
- I got a call from my clerk
in the middle of the night.
00:35:13.133 --> 00:35:15.233
Dow Chemical
made some announcement
00:35:15.267 --> 00:35:17.867
that the stockholders
of Dow Chemical didn\'t like
00:35:17.900 --> 00:35:19.100
because Dow\'s stock went down.
00:35:19.133 --> 00:35:22.700
The S&P 500 futures went down.
00:35:22.733 --> 00:35:24.800
You know, I had to go roll out of bed.
00:35:24.833 --> 00:35:28.033
My clerk\'s, like, freaking out,
because my position\'s going against me.
00:35:28.067 --> 00:35:31.167
My friend tells me
he thinks it\'s, you know,
00:35:31.200 --> 00:35:35.300
some global conspiracy of traders
to try to screw us,
00:35:35.333 --> 00:35:38.667
and, you know,
finds out it\'s two jokers.
00:35:40.167 --> 00:35:42.633
- The effect of our big announcement
on the BBC
00:35:42.667 --> 00:35:47.467
was that Dow\'s stock lost
over $2 billion in 23 minutes.
00:35:47.500 --> 00:35:50.000
- This tells me all the news
that\'s happening in the world.
00:35:50.033 --> 00:35:52.567
So on December 3rd,
00:35:52.600 --> 00:35:55.300
if I was sitting here watching this,
it would say, you know,
00:35:55.333 --> 00:35:58.900
\"Dow Chemical decides to settle
with the Bhopal people.\"
00:35:58.933 --> 00:36:02.200
And people that own Dow Chemical
would be like, \"Ahh!
00:36:02.233 --> 00:36:03.233
Sold!\"
00:36:03.267 --> 00:36:06.733
- Everybody we talked to about that
was really happy that Dow
00:36:06.767 --> 00:36:07.900
was doing the right thing.
00:36:07.933 --> 00:36:09.500
- Sure, sure, okay.
00:36:09.533 --> 00:36:13.233
I mean, I\'m not saying
that they shouldn\'t be.
00:36:13.267 --> 00:36:14.333
I\'m just saying that,
00:36:14.367 --> 00:36:16.600
sure it seems like a good thing,
unless, I guess,
00:36:16.633 --> 00:36:20.233
you\'re a Dow Chemical stockholder,
and you\'re expecting the $20 billion
00:36:20.267 --> 00:36:22.367
to go towards a dividend
to come back to you
00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:25.033
or to come to buy
some new chemical plant,
00:36:25.067 --> 00:36:29.167
and it\'s going to these people
that, at least at this point,
00:36:29.200 --> 00:36:30.600
aren\'t able to get any money.
00:36:30.633 --> 00:36:34.600
I mean, you could see how that would -
how they could be upset about that, right?
00:36:38.100 --> 00:36:39.667
- We were confused.
00:36:39.700 --> 00:36:44.467
As kids, we learned that it was bad
to do something bad,
00:36:44.500 --> 00:36:48.100
and if you did something good,
you got a reward.
00:36:48.133 --> 00:36:51.200
Yet when we announced
Dow would do something great,
00:36:51.233 --> 00:36:56.167
the market gave Dow a spanking.
00:36:56.200 --> 00:36:58.800
So how could we get companies
to do the right thing?
00:37:01.367 --> 00:37:04.667
We needed to change
the rules of the market.
00:37:04.700 --> 00:37:08.633
But that meant regulation,
and regulation meant government.
00:37:08.667 --> 00:37:10.833
The only problem was,
00:37:10.867 --> 00:37:14.200
government was drinking
Friedman\'s free-market Kool-Aid.
00:37:14.233 --> 00:37:18.067
- Free markets are working
miracle after miracle of economic growth.
00:37:18.100 --> 00:37:22.767
- Open markets and rule-based trade
are the best engines we know of.
00:37:22.800 --> 00:37:24.367
- But when the governments step back
00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:27.167
and let the free enterprise system
do its work,
00:37:27.200 --> 00:37:31.300
then the better we did,
the more robust our economy grew,
00:37:31.333 --> 00:37:34.333
the better I did,
and the better my business grew.
00:37:34.367 --> 00:37:38.133
- For the last 30 years,
the leaders of most powerful countries
00:37:38.167 --> 00:37:41.200
did whatever
the free marketeers recommended.
00:37:41.233 --> 00:37:44.200
And what they recommended was simple.
00:37:44.233 --> 00:37:48.133
- The solution is not to have government
intervene or regulate in some way.
00:37:48.167 --> 00:37:52.667
- In fact, most problems
will solve themselves if ignored
00:37:52.700 --> 00:37:57.000
and let free people working
in free markets address them.
00:37:58.167 --> 00:38:00.100
- Following advice like this,
00:38:00.133 --> 00:38:01.533
governments around the world
00:38:01.567 --> 00:38:04.933
got rid of a whole bunch of regulations
meant to protect people,
00:38:04.967 --> 00:38:06.633
like in banking.
00:38:06.667 --> 00:38:12.233
- I\'m confident that the degree of harm
or spillover effect,
00:38:12.267 --> 00:38:19.367
whatever subprime mortgages go bad,
that the market will devise ways
00:38:19.400 --> 00:38:21.333
to minimize and diffuse
the negative effects.
00:38:21.367 --> 00:38:24.467
- Their faith in the market
was unshakeable.
00:38:24.500 --> 00:38:27.967
But we all know
what happened next.
00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:30.400
- Now with the world\'s
largest insurance company, AIG,
00:38:30.433 --> 00:38:31.533
on the brink of collapse,
00:38:31.567 --> 00:38:35.667
it could mean devastation
way beyond Wall Street.
00:38:35.700 --> 00:38:38.067
- What other disasters weren\'t coming?
00:38:38.100 --> 00:38:39.700
- Global warming is silly.
00:38:39.733 --> 00:38:41.800
It\'s not a serious issue.
00:38:41.833 --> 00:38:45.700
Warmer is healthier,
and warmer is more pleasant,
00:38:45.733 --> 00:38:49.600
and that\'s why states like Arizona
keep gaining population rapidly.
00:38:49.633 --> 00:38:51.467
- Well, there are benefits
to global warming.
00:38:51.500 --> 00:38:55.300
Cold-related deaths
will actually decrease considerably.
00:38:56.833 --> 00:38:58.733
- Just like with the subprime mortgages,
00:38:58.767 --> 00:39:01.333
our free-market friends
were doing all they could
00:39:01.367 --> 00:39:04.200
to stop government
from intervening.
00:39:04.233 --> 00:39:07.300
Except here, the stakes were higher.
00:39:07.333 --> 00:39:10.667
- I think it\'s quite possible
that if it weren\'t for groups like ours,
00:39:10.700 --> 00:39:15.467
that the United States might very well be
in the Kyoto Protocol by now.
00:39:15.500 --> 00:39:19.467
- And if you\'ve seen the ads
that we ran about a year ago,
00:39:19.500 --> 00:39:22.367
which we produced in-house
on this global warming
00:39:22.400 --> 00:39:24.033
where our central contention is,
00:39:24.067 --> 00:39:25.933
\"Carbon dioxide:
They call it pollution.
00:39:25.967 --> 00:39:28.300
We call it life.\"
00:39:28.333 --> 00:39:32.100
- There\'s something
in these pictures you can\'t see.
00:39:32.133 --> 00:39:36.533
It\'s what we breathe out
and plants breathe in.
00:39:36.567 --> 00:39:38.933
Carbon dioxide:
They call it pollution.
00:39:38.967 --> 00:39:41.900
We call it life.
00:39:41.933 --> 00:39:43.167
- We got lots of hate mail.
00:39:43.200 --> 00:39:47.533
Two senators this past fall
sent a letter to ExxonMobil,
00:39:47.567 --> 00:39:51.067
calling on it to stop funding CEI.
00:39:51.100 --> 00:39:58.700
- So Exxon was secretly paying think tanks
to tell us we shouldn\'t regulate Exxon.
00:39:58.733 --> 00:40:00.400
[glass shatters]
00:40:00.433 --> 00:40:03.333
Public outrage forced Exxon to stop.
00:40:03.367 --> 00:40:07.933
- In fact, ExxonMobil
didn\'t fund us at all this past year.
00:40:07.967 --> 00:40:09.133
- That was great.
00:40:09.167 --> 00:40:12.333
But Exxon had other ways
to influence policy,
00:40:12.367 --> 00:40:16.367
like this guy, Lee Raymond.
00:40:16.400 --> 00:40:20.133
He\'s a trustee of one of the key
free-market think tanks.
00:40:20.167 --> 00:40:22.733
He also used to be Exxon\'s CEO.
00:40:22.767 --> 00:40:24.267
And the year he left that job,
00:40:24.300 --> 00:40:30.533
he became an official adviser
to the U.S. government on energy matters.
00:40:30.567 --> 00:40:32.567
This was scary.
00:40:32.600 --> 00:40:35.733
If we let the free-market cult
keep running the world,
00:40:35.767 --> 00:40:40.600
there wouldn\'t be a world left to fix.
00:40:40.633 --> 00:40:42.500
We had to do something.
00:40:42.533 --> 00:40:45.667
So when we heard about a huge
oil conference up in Canada,
00:40:45.700 --> 00:40:47.633
we decided to go.
00:40:47.667 --> 00:40:50.233
Posing as a big PR agency,
00:40:50.267 --> 00:40:54.733
we offered them Lee Raymond,
Exxon\'s ex-CEO, as keynote speaker.
00:40:54.767 --> 00:40:57.833
They jumped at the chance.
00:40:57.867 --> 00:41:01.567
But what they didn\'t know
is that on the day of the talk,
00:41:01.600 --> 00:41:03.500
Raymond would be suddenly unavailable,
00:41:03.533 --> 00:41:06.600
and an assistant would step in
to replace him.
00:41:06.633 --> 00:41:08.600
- Okay.
- Yeah.
00:41:08.633 --> 00:41:13.033
- \"This keynote speech
will attract substantial media coverage
00:41:13.067 --> 00:41:14.667
\"and will be one
of the major highlights
00:41:14.700 --> 00:41:16.400
of GO-EXPO.\"
00:41:16.433 --> 00:41:19.867
- What would we do
to shake this audience up?
00:41:19.900 --> 00:41:23.633
It would have to be more shocking
than anything we\'d done before.
00:41:26.567 --> 00:41:31.367
[building clarinet music]
00:41:31.400 --> 00:41:35.900
- If there\'s one thing that\'s
gonna be abundant in the world to come,
00:41:35.933 --> 00:41:40.633
what with climate change
and all that, it\'s people, dead people.
00:41:40.667 --> 00:41:45.367
This is a pilot program to use that fuel.
00:41:45.400 --> 00:41:50.567
It\'s called \"Vivoleum,\"
and here we are making Vivoleum.
00:41:50.600 --> 00:41:54.300
- As Lee Raymond\'s assistant,
Andy would announce Vivoleum,
00:41:54.333 --> 00:42:00.833
Exxon\'s new biofuel to be made
from the victims of climate change.
00:42:00.867 --> 00:42:03.233
And he\'d even hand out a sample.
00:42:03.267 --> 00:42:06.333
- So it started out,
we made one Reggie.
00:42:06.367 --> 00:42:09.933
And then we cast
a bunch of Reggies in wax.
00:42:11.467 --> 00:42:13.900
That\'s human hair right there.
00:42:15.533 --> 00:42:18.067
- This is a lot of experimenting
to figure out
00:42:18.100 --> 00:42:20.200
how to make a candle smell
like human flesh.
00:42:20.233 --> 00:42:21.367
Ow!
00:42:21.400 --> 00:42:22.467
I lost a Reggie.
00:42:22.500 --> 00:42:24.467
- Quick.
- Ow!
00:42:24.500 --> 00:42:26.667
- We wanted to make sure
that the oilmen knew
00:42:26.700 --> 00:42:28.600
what the candles
they\'d be holding were made of.
00:42:28.633 --> 00:42:32.333
So we\'d show them a tribute video
to Reggie Watts,
00:42:32.367 --> 00:42:38.700
a terminally ill Exxon janitor
who had volunteered to be turned into fuel.
00:42:38.733 --> 00:42:44.267
- I think I\'d like to be a candle.
00:42:44.300 --> 00:42:47.133
I think a candle would be fun,
because you can -
00:42:47.167 --> 00:42:48.900
there\'s just so many uses for a candle.
00:42:48.933 --> 00:42:51.600
- There are 6 billion people
on this Earth today.
00:42:51.633 --> 00:42:55.800
We\'re probably using the energies,
maybe, of a billion of those at best.
00:42:55.833 --> 00:42:58.967
- They had me test
a Hellfire missile once.
00:42:59.000 --> 00:43:00.867
That was pretty cool.
00:43:00.900 --> 00:43:03.400
- We simply haven\'t found
the miracle fuel yet
00:43:03.433 --> 00:43:04.800
to replace petroleum,
00:43:04.833 --> 00:43:10.267
but we\'ll eventually get there
if government gets out of the way.
00:43:10.300 --> 00:43:13.067
- We had his miracle fuel.
00:43:13.100 --> 00:43:18.500
And our grandfathers were turning over
in their mass graves.
00:43:18.533 --> 00:43:22.100
[dramatic music]
00:43:22.133 --> 00:43:24.967
- CTV News with Barb Higgins
and Darrel Janz.
00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:26.433
- Good evening.
00:43:26.467 --> 00:43:30.300
A bizarre situation today
at the GO-EXPO Energy Conference
00:43:30.333 --> 00:43:31.600
at Stampede Park.
00:43:31.633 --> 00:43:33.233
- Organizers and hundreds
00:43:33.267 --> 00:43:36.100
of Alberta Oil and Gas executives
got duped.
00:43:36.133 --> 00:43:39.933
- They\'d been promised a major
announcement from a major player
00:43:39.967 --> 00:43:41.167
in the energy industry.
00:43:41.200 --> 00:43:44.100
Attendees paid 50 bucks a head
to hear this speech
00:43:44.133 --> 00:43:45.833
from the National Petroleum Council,
00:43:45.867 --> 00:43:50.467
a group that advises the White House
on oil and gas matters.
00:43:50.500 --> 00:43:52.500
- Welcome to GO-EXPO\'s
keynote luncheon.
00:43:52.533 --> 00:43:54.400
- Please welcome S.K. Wolf.
00:43:54.433 --> 00:43:56.333
[applause]
00:43:56.367 --> 00:43:58.167
- First, I need to say
00:43:58.200 --> 00:43:59.933
how wonderful it is to see
00:43:59.967 --> 00:44:03.400
on all the faces here today
the childlike exuberance
00:44:03.433 --> 00:44:05.467
of a great industry in full flower.
00:44:05.500 --> 00:44:07.733
And why not?
00:44:07.767 --> 00:44:10.767
Without oil, at least
4 billion people would starve,
00:44:10.800 --> 00:44:15.500
and starving would become
the new black.
00:44:15.533 --> 00:44:18.033
But I\'m not here today
to pat us all on the back.
00:44:18.067 --> 00:44:20.900
I\'m here to speak of Plan Bs.
00:44:20.933 --> 00:44:25.200
- As Andy began outlining Exxon\'s
tough solution to climate change,
00:44:25.233 --> 00:44:30.567
ten volunteers passed out
300 human flesh candles.
00:44:30.600 --> 00:44:32.933
This vigil would be like no other.
00:44:32.967 --> 00:44:37.933
- Who first had the idea to use
the oil of a recently living animal
00:44:37.967 --> 00:44:39.867
to light his or her house?
00:44:39.900 --> 00:44:43.300
Even today, Shetland islanders
cut the heads off their puffins
00:44:43.333 --> 00:44:47.267
and put wicks in the stumps
to make candles.
00:44:47.300 --> 00:44:50.767
We at Exxon firmly believe
that a free market will,
00:44:50.800 --> 00:44:52.833
if left to its own devices,
00:44:52.867 --> 00:44:57.200
always find solutions to the dilemmas
that humanity faces.
00:44:57.233 --> 00:45:01.300
We\'re calling
our new technology Vivoleum.
00:45:01.333 --> 00:45:05.000
- As Andy began to describe
Exxon\'s new biofuel,
00:45:05.033 --> 00:45:07.467
the candles were lit.
00:45:07.500 --> 00:45:09.900
A strange odor rose into the air.
00:45:09.933 --> 00:45:11.667
- What you see here
is an artist\'s rendition
00:45:11.700 --> 00:45:14.967
of an advanced, large-scale plant.
00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:18.267
The Vivoleum feedstock
is renewable and unprecious
00:45:18.300 --> 00:45:22.300
and responds to the need
of a shrinking market with greater supply.
00:45:22.333 --> 00:45:27.067
The dance of capital appears
in full flower.
00:45:29.900 --> 00:45:33.733
- Finally, it was time
to introduce Reggie Watts,
00:45:33.767 --> 00:45:38.867
the dying Exxon janitor who had
volunteered to be turned into fuel.
00:45:38.900 --> 00:45:44.367
- And now we begin the tribute video
to Reggie Watts.
00:45:51.800 --> 00:45:56.733
- Worked in Maintenance for a while,
moved up to Maintenance II,
00:45:56.767 --> 00:45:59.833
started doing cleanup,
toxic spill cleanup.
00:45:59.867 --> 00:46:01.833
[bell tolls]
00:46:01.867 --> 00:46:04.767
After I heard from the doctor
that I was going to die,
00:46:04.800 --> 00:46:08.667
I felt like I had something to live for.
00:46:12.800 --> 00:46:14.200
- I think I\'d like to be a candle.
00:46:14.233 --> 00:46:16.633
There\'s just so many uses for a candle.
00:46:16.667 --> 00:46:18.167
I mean, you know,
00:46:18.200 --> 00:46:19.967
like, if you want something romantic.
00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:22.133
And that\'d be nice to know
I was a candle on a table
00:46:22.167 --> 00:46:26.833
you know, when people,
they first met each other on a date.
00:46:26.867 --> 00:46:28.900
I think that would be great.
I\'d love that.
00:46:28.933 --> 00:46:30.600
That\'d be a hoot.
00:46:30.633 --> 00:46:31.933
- This is a funerary observance.
00:46:31.967 --> 00:46:33.033
I mean, this guy died.
00:46:33.067 --> 00:46:35.533
- Switch this off before I do.
- This man died!
00:46:35.567 --> 00:46:38.233
- It\'s people.
00:46:38.267 --> 00:46:39.267
It really is.
00:46:39.300 --> 00:46:42.300
[people chattering]
00:46:48.700 --> 00:46:50.600
- Thank you very much, gentlemen.
00:46:50.633 --> 00:46:51.667
Thank you very much.
00:46:51.700 --> 00:46:54.200
- I\'m very sorry,
but we\'ve been cut off.
00:46:54.233 --> 00:46:57.833
Apparently, we\'re not allowed
to have a funerary observance
00:46:57.867 --> 00:47:01.267
for a man who\'s died
to make a product possible.
00:47:01.300 --> 00:47:03.500
And I\'m being -
00:47:03.533 --> 00:47:06.833
Are you allowed to do that to me?
00:47:06.867 --> 00:47:09.267
[scattered applause]
00:47:24.233 --> 00:47:27.267
- The remaining 20 is just,
you know, binders, bonders,
00:47:27.300 --> 00:47:28.300
to keep it together.
00:47:28.333 --> 00:47:30.000
We have to think -
00:47:30.033 --> 00:47:31.900
- Excuse me, sir.
00:47:42.467 --> 00:47:45.433
- Wow.
- Boy, oh, boy.
00:47:45.467 --> 00:47:47.033
[indistinct chatter]
00:47:47.067 --> 00:47:48.800
- Now.
Thank you.
00:47:48.833 --> 00:47:49.833
- Hey.
- Shut it down.
00:47:49.867 --> 00:47:52.867
- Don\'t touch my camera.
- Shut it down, now.
00:47:55.867 --> 00:47:57.633
- Had we actually made
the oil people
00:47:57.667 --> 00:47:59.800
think about what they were doing?
00:47:59.833 --> 00:48:00.900
It was hard to tell.
00:48:00.933 --> 00:48:04.500
And there wasn\'t much time left
to figure it out.
00:48:04.533 --> 00:48:07.133
Big oil was already
destroying the planet
00:48:07.167 --> 00:48:10.167
and not just by speeding up
climate change.
00:48:18.333 --> 00:48:20.500
- This house right here,
it used to be on this side.
00:48:20.533 --> 00:48:21.533
- No way.
00:48:21.567 --> 00:48:22.900
- Yeah, it was over here,
00:48:22.933 --> 00:48:23.933
but it moved over there.
00:48:23.967 --> 00:48:26.300
You know, I could only take it,
like, two or three days a week
00:48:26.333 --> 00:48:27.500
coming down here to work.
00:48:27.533 --> 00:48:30.033
And this year for hunting season,
I mean, I didn\'t kill nothing.
00:48:30.067 --> 00:48:31.533
I just wasn\'t in the mood to kill.
00:48:31.567 --> 00:48:33.733
I mean, after seeing everything else
that was dead,
00:48:33.767 --> 00:48:34.767
I just wasn\'t in the mood.
00:48:34.800 --> 00:48:37.200
I mean, you know,
not that I\'m a big killer,
00:48:37.233 --> 00:48:38.567
but I like killing stuff.
00:48:38.600 --> 00:48:39.700
- Yeah.
00:48:39.733 --> 00:48:41.333
[laughter]
00:48:41.367 --> 00:48:44.767
- It\'s really just amazing
when you go downriver.
00:48:44.800 --> 00:48:48.200
Some of the ponds that we used to fish in
are now almost like a bay.
00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:53.133
- For decades, the government
had ignored scientists\' warnings
00:48:53.167 --> 00:48:59.400
and let industry carve up the wetlands
that protected New Orleans from storms.
00:48:59.433 --> 00:49:03.700
- About a million acres of land
has disappeared since 1930.
00:49:03.733 --> 00:49:06.533
It was done canal by canal,
oil field by oil field,
00:49:06.567 --> 00:49:09.133
port by port, parcel by parcel.
00:49:09.167 --> 00:49:12.367
It was, if you will,
death by a thousand cuts.
00:49:12.400 --> 00:49:15.233
The governing mind-set,
culturally and legally, was,
00:49:15.267 --> 00:49:18.500
if there\'s an impact,
we\'ll deal with it later.
00:49:18.533 --> 00:49:20.967
And in some ways, you know,
this is a preview
00:49:21.000 --> 00:49:23.500
of what the rest of this country
and the rest of the world
00:49:23.533 --> 00:49:26.533
have in store for them.
00:49:26.567 --> 00:49:31.633
[wind howling]
00:49:31.667 --> 00:49:35.733
- When Katrina hit, the wetlands
weren\'t there to diminish its force,
00:49:35.767 --> 00:49:39.300
and the levees didn\'t stand a chance.
00:49:39.333 --> 00:49:44.100
So the real culprit for the destruction
of New Orleans wasn\'t just a big hurricane
00:49:44.133 --> 00:49:48.000
but greed dressed up as progress.
00:49:48.033 --> 00:49:51.467
- What produced this tremendous
improvement in technology?
00:49:51.500 --> 00:49:54.500
It was self-interest
or, if your prefer, greed,
00:49:54.533 --> 00:49:57.967
the greed of producers
who wanted to produce something
00:49:58.000 --> 00:49:59.800
that they can make a dollar on.
00:50:02.200 --> 00:50:06.433
- Greed had caused the biggest
catastrophe ever to hit the U.S.
00:50:06.467 --> 00:50:09.900
And now the government
was handing out billions of dollars
00:50:09.933 --> 00:50:12.133
in rebuilding contracts;
00:50:12.167 --> 00:50:15.067
in other words,
letting greed solve the problem.
00:50:15.100 --> 00:50:16.333
- There has been this idea
00:50:16.367 --> 00:50:21.533
that it is government\'s responsibility
to replan the construction of New Orleans.
00:50:21.567 --> 00:50:24.033
It\'s better to leave it to the market.
00:50:24.067 --> 00:50:25.900
- We wanted to take a closer look
00:50:25.933 --> 00:50:29.367
at how the market was fixing
the U.S. Gulf Coast.
00:50:31.633 --> 00:50:35.300
- We\'re on our way to
the Gulf Coast Reconstruction Conference
00:50:35.333 --> 00:50:37.867
at the Washington Convention Center.
00:50:37.900 --> 00:50:42.500
We\'re going to talk to a number of people
who are busy reconstructing New Orleans.
00:50:42.533 --> 00:50:43.533
[horn honks]
00:50:43.567 --> 00:50:45.100
Ahh, watch out.
00:50:45.133 --> 00:50:46.167
- We\'re on the move
00:50:46.200 --> 00:50:50.233
- There are many silver linings
to this horrendous disaster,
00:50:50.267 --> 00:50:53.533
and with it has come
an incredible opportunity.
00:50:53.567 --> 00:50:56.767
- I\'m optimistic when I see
a room full of folks
00:50:56.800 --> 00:50:58.733
who want to take advantage
of the opportunities,
00:50:58.767 --> 00:51:00.967
and that\'s a good thing
from our perspective.
00:51:01.000 --> 00:51:02.167
It\'s a great thing.
00:51:02.200 --> 00:51:05.033
- Well, you know,
it\'s like the Israelis say, you know.
00:51:05.067 --> 00:51:07.300
Once in a while,
a good crisis is not bad.
00:51:07.333 --> 00:51:10.033
You come up with new things.
00:51:10.067 --> 00:51:12.833
- We were seeing a lot of new things.
00:51:12.867 --> 00:51:17.133
But wasn\'t this supposed to be
about Gulf Coast reconstruction?
00:51:17.167 --> 00:51:19.633
- We\'re especially interested
in Gulf Coast reconstruction,
00:51:19.667 --> 00:51:23.233
and is this - does this
have anything to do with that?
00:51:23.267 --> 00:51:27.400
- This is for bomb detonation
and ammunition storage.
00:51:27.433 --> 00:51:34.000
- Perimeter and physical security,
mainly anti-ram road blockers.
00:51:34.033 --> 00:51:38.100
- This particular unit can be used
in military applications.
00:51:38.133 --> 00:51:42.833
- Wow, so it\'s a real, like,
catastrophe toilet, basically.
00:51:42.867 --> 00:51:45.933
- All this stuff would be great
for the people of New Orleans
00:51:45.967 --> 00:51:48.033
if they were gonna fight a war.
00:51:48.067 --> 00:51:51.167
Where was the stuff
about helping people?
00:51:51.200 --> 00:51:52.900
Ah, here it was.
00:51:52.933 --> 00:51:56.367
The pavilion from Central Asia.
00:51:56.400 --> 00:52:00.433
- Kyrgyz people are ready
to help the people
00:52:00.467 --> 00:52:03.067
of Louisiana, Mississippi,
and Alabama
00:52:03.100 --> 00:52:07.733
by erecting yurts there for them
as a temporary shelter.
00:52:07.767 --> 00:52:13.767
[men singing in Kyrgyz]
00:52:21.833 --> 00:52:24.767
- And here is the yurt.
00:52:24.800 --> 00:52:26.800
- Oh, my God.
- This is it.
00:52:26.833 --> 00:52:28.700
You can cover it up.
You can build a fire.
00:52:28.733 --> 00:52:29.767
You can open it up.
00:52:29.800 --> 00:52:31.333
And if there\'s a flood,
00:52:31.367 --> 00:52:33.100
you can take it up
in less than an hour.
00:52:33.133 --> 00:52:35.267
They\'re interested
in sending one free of charge
00:52:35.300 --> 00:52:39.400
to Louisiana as a test
if you\'re interested, so - yep.
00:52:44.700 --> 00:52:47.833
- The yurt was the only solution
here about helping people,
00:52:47.867 --> 00:52:51.000
but the government reps
didn\'t seem very interested.
00:52:51.033 --> 00:52:53.933
There\'s no money in yurts.
00:52:53.967 --> 00:52:56.733
We decided we could outdo everyone
at this conference
00:52:56.767 --> 00:52:59.233
and beat the free market
at its own game.
00:52:59.267 --> 00:53:00.700
- We\'re on the move
00:53:02.133 --> 00:53:05.000
- We would invent the ultimate
disaster technology,
00:53:05.033 --> 00:53:07.333
a device so sophisticated
00:53:07.367 --> 00:53:10.767
it could protect anyone
from pretty much anything.
00:53:10.800 --> 00:53:12.833
But it would cost so much
00:53:12.867 --> 00:53:16.000
that only the richest businessmen
could afford it.
00:53:16.033 --> 00:53:18.200
- They kind of just flatten out.
- Yeah.
00:53:18.233 --> 00:53:22.667
- The only question was:
what company would make such a thing?
00:53:22.700 --> 00:53:25.600
- You\'ve got to think Halliburton.
00:53:25.633 --> 00:53:28.467
- For they are the ones who do
the research to make the mud
00:53:28.500 --> 00:53:29.500
To build the tool
00:53:29.533 --> 00:53:30.533
To run in the well
00:53:30.567 --> 00:53:31.567
To make the test
00:53:31.600 --> 00:53:32.600
To log the zone
00:53:32.633 --> 00:53:33.633
To set the packer
00:53:33.667 --> 00:53:35.267
Cement the pipe and fire the gun
00:53:35.300 --> 00:53:36.300
To perforate
00:53:36.333 --> 00:53:38.300
To pump the gel that carries the sand
00:53:38.333 --> 00:53:39.400
That props the frac
00:53:39.433 --> 00:53:40.433
Completes the well
00:53:40.467 --> 00:53:42.200
To produce the crude
that runs the world
00:53:42.233 --> 00:53:44.200
For all the people all over the Earth
00:53:44.233 --> 00:53:48.000
Who live in the house that oil built
00:53:49.000 --> 00:53:50.533
- Halliburton has been the world leader
00:53:50.567 --> 00:53:53.833
in extracting profit
from every kind of disaster.
00:53:53.867 --> 00:53:57.533
They made billions
off the first Gulf War and its sequel
00:53:57.567 --> 00:54:02.133
and hundreds of millions off Katrina,
all paid for by the U.S. government,
00:54:02.167 --> 00:54:04.667
whose vice president
was once their own CEO.
00:54:04.700 --> 00:54:06.933
[men singing cheerfully]
00:54:11.367 --> 00:54:14.933
- If anyone could make a killing
from total disaster,
00:54:14.967 --> 00:54:16.700
Halliburton would be the one.
00:54:18.833 --> 00:54:22.300
This morning,
we got up really early,
00:54:22.333 --> 00:54:26.533
drove up to the very fancy hotel
which shall remain nameless
00:54:26.567 --> 00:54:32.133
because they threatened us
if we use the material with their name.
00:54:32.167 --> 00:54:34.333
But you know, what\'s it called,
basically, the hotel?
00:54:34.367 --> 00:54:36.333
- Ritz-Carlton.
- Ritz-Carlton.
00:54:36.367 --> 00:54:38.200
That one.
00:54:41.633 --> 00:54:42.633
- How are you doing?
00:54:42.667 --> 00:54:43.767
- I\'m Northrop Goody.
00:54:43.800 --> 00:54:46.267
I\'m here with Halliburton,
with Fred Wolf.
00:54:46.300 --> 00:54:48.233
I\'m just helping demo a product, so...
00:54:48.267 --> 00:54:50.833
Would either one of you mind
helping us demo the suits?
00:54:50.867 --> 00:54:51.867
We have three of them.
00:54:51.900 --> 00:54:53.733
So you have to actually
step into it, pull it on.
00:54:53.767 --> 00:54:55.900
It\'s kind of like a coverall.
- All right, I\'ll wear it.
00:54:55.933 --> 00:54:57.167
- You\'ll wear it?
- I\'ll wear it.
00:54:57.200 --> 00:54:58.500
- All right, great!
- No problem.
00:54:58.533 --> 00:54:59.533
- You\'re a good sport.
00:54:59.567 --> 00:55:01.233
You\'re a really good sport.
- No problem.
00:55:01.267 --> 00:55:02.733
- The Catastrophic Loss Conference
00:55:02.767 --> 00:55:04.733
was for insurance people.
00:55:04.767 --> 00:55:06.100
They knew numbers.
00:55:06.133 --> 00:55:08.933
And we were about to show them
some pretty simple math.
00:55:08.967 --> 00:55:11.967
[typewriter clacking]
00:55:15.733 --> 00:55:18.033
With Gilda, we\'d tried scary.
00:55:18.067 --> 00:55:21.133
With Reggie, we\'d tried gross.
00:55:21.167 --> 00:55:23.833
Now we would go for ridiculous.
00:55:28.333 --> 00:55:32.300
- We really appreciate being invited
to speak on this panel.
00:55:32.333 --> 00:55:36.400
A lot of you work
with the insurance industry, of course.
00:55:36.433 --> 00:55:38.467
Insurance has become
extremely worried
00:55:38.500 --> 00:55:41.100
about some grave new dangers
to people
00:55:41.133 --> 00:55:43.833
that we\'re seeing
in the world around us today.
00:55:43.867 --> 00:55:45.767
I\'m of course talking
about climate change
00:55:45.800 --> 00:55:48.833
and the disasters that it brings.
00:55:48.867 --> 00:55:52.633
But I can personally guarantee you
that level heads
00:55:52.667 --> 00:55:56.167
will always be able
to turn lemons into lemonade.
00:55:56.200 --> 00:55:58.267
Consider the Black Plague.
00:55:58.300 --> 00:56:01.533
This was an unspeakably rotten event,
of course,
00:56:01.567 --> 00:56:06.233
in which 1/3 of Europe\'s population
died in great agony.
00:56:06.267 --> 00:56:09.167
No one of course would wish
such a thing on any civilization.
00:56:09.200 --> 00:56:10.700
Yet without it,
00:56:10.733 --> 00:56:12.267
without the Black Plague,
00:56:12.300 --> 00:56:15.767
the old business models of Europe
would never have been overturned
00:56:15.800 --> 00:56:18.967
by the entrepreneurs
of the Renaissance.
00:56:19.000 --> 00:56:22.633
And what would the world be
without The Mona Lisa?
00:56:22.667 --> 00:56:27.533
Or closer to home,
how about The Great Deluge?
00:56:27.567 --> 00:56:32.500
This world-ending disaster, literally,
was surely seen as a terrible catastrophe
00:56:32.533 --> 00:56:36.533
by Noah\'s contemporaries
and perhaps by Noah himself.
00:56:36.567 --> 00:56:40.800
Yet Noah was ready to seize the day,
and at the end of that day,
00:56:40.833 --> 00:56:42.800
not only was there a whole new world,
00:56:42.833 --> 00:56:45.167
but Noah found himself
with a monopoly of the animals.
00:56:49.233 --> 00:56:51.867
For those of us in positions
of responsibility, however,
00:56:51.900 --> 00:56:54.633
who might have to
take charge in a crisis,
00:56:54.667 --> 00:56:57.833
even more innovative solutions
are necessary.
00:56:57.867 --> 00:56:59.667
I\'d like now to introduce
my colleague here,
00:56:59.700 --> 00:57:00.900
Dr. Northrop Goody,
00:57:00.933 --> 00:57:04.933
who\'s the head of our Emergency
Products Development unit at Halliburton.
00:57:04.967 --> 00:57:08.800
And Dr. Goody will be showing
some mock-ups
00:57:08.833 --> 00:57:11.133
of some items
that his unit has developed.
00:57:11.167 --> 00:57:14.933
[applause]
00:57:14.967 --> 00:57:17.433
- We want something that\'s going
to be able to save a human being
00:57:17.467 --> 00:57:20.933
no matter what Mother Nature
throws at him.
00:57:20.967 --> 00:57:23.800
And so this is the answer.
00:57:23.833 --> 00:57:27.900
This is the Halliburton Survivaball.
00:57:27.933 --> 00:57:29.400
Its three easy steps for deployment:
00:57:29.433 --> 00:57:33.433
suiting up, inflating,
and of course, launching -
00:57:33.467 --> 00:57:35.400
launching out of a building.
00:57:35.433 --> 00:57:37.000
And we have an artist\'s rendition
00:57:37.033 --> 00:57:40.833
of what it might be like in Houston
when we launch our Survivaballs.
00:57:40.867 --> 00:57:46.500
In the event of extreme catastrophe,
there might be a scarcity of resources.
00:57:48.267 --> 00:57:50.967
In this case,
we\'ve got a Survivaball here
00:57:51.000 --> 00:57:55.933
that\'s going up and extracting resources,
in this case, from an animal.
00:57:55.967 --> 00:57:57.900
And you don\'t want to be exposed
to the elements,
00:57:57.933 --> 00:58:00.300
but you still want to be able
to extract resources from,
00:58:00.333 --> 00:58:02.800
for example, a cow.
00:58:02.833 --> 00:58:05.000
They\'re going to be able
to go underwater,
00:58:05.033 --> 00:58:06.967
rated at 50 feet.
00:58:07.000 --> 00:58:08.767
They can be used in any condition.
00:58:08.800 --> 00:58:09.933
It doesn\'t matter whether
00:58:09.967 --> 00:58:11.933
you\'re in a landslide
in California
00:58:11.967 --> 00:58:13.567
or even in the Arctic.
00:58:13.600 --> 00:58:18.867
Of course, any other conditions,
whether it\'s tsunamis or tornadoes,
00:58:18.900 --> 00:58:24.033
the Survivaball is designed
to withstand.
00:58:24.067 --> 00:58:28.000
But the best part of the Survivaball
is that people need people.
00:58:28.033 --> 00:58:29.700
And so our biggest inspiration
00:58:29.733 --> 00:58:33.967
for the way that a community
should work with Survivaballs
00:58:34.000 --> 00:58:35.867
comes from biology.
00:58:35.900 --> 00:58:38.800
As some of you probably know,
00:58:38.833 --> 00:58:41.167
amoebas gather together
and actually form another body.
00:58:41.200 --> 00:58:42.767
They aggregate.
00:58:42.800 --> 00:58:48.367
And so these one-celled organisms
come together as a single body.
00:58:48.400 --> 00:58:50.933
For example, here\'s a raft formation
of Survivaballs
00:58:50.967 --> 00:58:54.633
in the ocean floating,
communicating, exchanging nutrients,
00:58:54.667 --> 00:58:56.200
differentiating function.
00:58:56.233 --> 00:58:57.333
Last of all,
00:58:57.367 --> 00:59:02.567
this is, literally,
thousands of Survivaballs
00:59:02.600 --> 00:59:03.833
dancing through the streets.
00:59:03.867 --> 00:59:06.867
[applause]
00:59:10.533 --> 00:59:13.500
- And we\'ll be happy
to take any questions.
00:59:13.533 --> 00:59:20.767
So if there are any more technical ones
for Northrop here, or general ones.
00:59:27.267 --> 00:59:28.267
- Yeah.
00:59:41.533 --> 00:59:44.533
- If you could demonstrate
the turtle position, please,
00:59:44.567 --> 00:59:45.567
that would be great.
00:59:45.600 --> 00:59:46.900
Basically, if you duck down -
00:59:49.400 --> 00:59:53.433
- Yeah, visor, heads-up display,
the whole thing.
01:00:03.867 --> 01:00:05.133
- Yeah.
01:00:11.967 --> 01:00:14.933
- Well, that\'s right.
01:00:14.967 --> 01:00:17.800
- Hi.
01:00:17.833 --> 01:00:18.833
Northrop.
01:00:18.867 --> 01:00:20.867
- Gary. How are you?
01:00:33.033 --> 01:00:35.033
- Well, it does.
That\'s it.
01:00:35.067 --> 01:00:37.367
- Much more so than, you know, Katrina.
01:00:37.400 --> 01:00:40.333
- Yeah, yeah, well, I mean -
01:00:42.033 --> 01:00:44.167
We\'d done all we could
to show these people
01:00:44.200 --> 01:00:47.000
what sucked about letting greed
run our future.
01:00:47.033 --> 01:00:48.400
- Oh, dear.
01:00:48.433 --> 01:00:50.400
- But instead of freaking out,
01:00:50.433 --> 01:00:53.367
they just took our business cards.
01:00:53.400 --> 01:00:54.433
- Wonderful.
01:00:54.467 --> 01:00:56.000
And if you want take
one of mine here.
01:00:56.033 --> 01:00:57.267
- Our effort had been a failure.
01:00:57.300 --> 01:00:58.900
- It\'s not very well articulated, really.
01:00:58.933 --> 01:01:01.033
- And come to think of it,
01:01:01.067 --> 01:01:03.233
all of our efforts
had been failures.
01:01:03.267 --> 01:01:09.267
[bright orchestral music]
01:01:37.700 --> 01:01:42.333
But, you know,
a Yes Man never gives up.
01:01:42.367 --> 01:01:46.000
We knew we could do it.
01:01:46.033 --> 01:01:49.967
All we needed
was a whole new approach.
01:01:52.267 --> 01:01:56.300
Maybe making fun of stupid ideas
was a stupid idea.
01:01:57.933 --> 01:01:59.533
We had to get smart,
01:01:59.567 --> 01:02:01.933
because the people
with the really stupid ideas
01:02:01.967 --> 01:02:04.967
were very, very smart.
01:02:10.133 --> 01:02:12.200
For Friedman and his followers,
01:02:12.233 --> 01:02:15.100
disaster was not just
a chance to get rich
01:02:15.133 --> 01:02:19.567
but an opportunity to push through
all kinds of unpopular policies
01:02:19.600 --> 01:02:21.967
like privatizing public schools,
01:02:22.000 --> 01:02:23.800
shutting down public hospitals,
01:02:23.833 --> 01:02:26.600
and kicking people out of their homes.
01:02:30.400 --> 01:02:32.667
This is the Lafitte Housing Project.
01:02:32.700 --> 01:02:35.567
It survived Katrina intact.
01:02:35.600 --> 01:02:37.500
That was lucky
for the thousands of residents
01:02:37.533 --> 01:02:39.867
who wanted to come home and rebuild.
01:02:39.900 --> 01:02:41.800
So what did the government do?
01:02:41.833 --> 01:02:44.833
They decided to tear it down.
01:02:44.867 --> 01:02:47.533
- The disaster for us
started after the storm...
01:02:47.567 --> 01:02:48.567
- Uh-huh.
01:02:48.600 --> 01:02:51.933
- When people found out
that you were going to be marooned
01:02:51.967 --> 01:02:58.033
in a strange foreign city
wanting to come home,
01:02:58.067 --> 01:03:00.733
and the government
was going to take your home away.
01:03:00.767 --> 01:03:02.733
- This was ours before the storm.
01:03:02.767 --> 01:03:05.867
When storms happen everywhere else,
people get a chance to go back home.
01:03:05.900 --> 01:03:06.900
This is home to us.
01:03:06.933 --> 01:03:08.767
Why they gonna take away
our pride and joy?
01:03:08.800 --> 01:03:10.500
They don\'t know what people
going through.
01:03:10.533 --> 01:03:13.033
- It\'s a whole city
that sort of washed away.
01:03:13.067 --> 01:03:14.567
Now you got to rebuild the whole thing.
01:03:14.600 --> 01:03:16.567
So part of what this was is,
01:03:16.600 --> 01:03:19.567
if you ever had an idea that you
couldn\'t get through before the storm,
01:03:19.600 --> 01:03:22.433
well, the storm meant
that everything was,
01:03:22.467 --> 01:03:24.400
you know, tossed salad.
01:03:24.433 --> 01:03:29.567
So if this idea had been roundly rejected
by the city and by voters and whatever,
01:03:29.600 --> 01:03:32.833
now\'s your chance to sneak on in.
01:03:32.867 --> 01:03:36.300
- When residents tried
to come home after Katrina,
01:03:36.333 --> 01:03:38.633
they found themselves
locked out by HUD,
01:03:38.667 --> 01:03:42.500
the U.S. Government\'s Department
of Housing and Urban Development.
01:03:42.533 --> 01:03:45.333
- The federal government
came up with a program
01:03:45.367 --> 01:03:51.100
to dismantle public housing
and privatize it,
01:03:51.133 --> 01:03:54.733
and that\'s what we\'re doing.
01:03:54.767 --> 01:03:56.833
And so you\'ve got to develop
a nice community
01:03:56.867 --> 01:04:00.333
so that the poor
have an opportunity to live
01:04:00.367 --> 01:04:02.200
in an environment
where people work,
01:04:02.233 --> 01:04:04.400
that they\'re part
of the American Dream.
01:04:04.433 --> 01:04:10.333
And you\'ll get a number of folks
that are not used to the type of lifestyle
01:04:10.367 --> 01:04:13.033
that we all live where trash
is thrown on the ground
01:04:13.067 --> 01:04:16.400
or cursing off of the balcony.
01:04:16.433 --> 01:04:18.600
- The idea really
is to provide role models,
01:04:18.633 --> 01:04:20.500
essentially, for poor folks, right?
01:04:20.533 --> 01:04:21.533
- Absolutely.
- Mm-hmm.
01:04:25.167 --> 01:04:29.900
- On the BBC, we\'d tried to show
that companies could behave differently.
01:04:29.933 --> 01:04:31.633
And we\'d learned that they couldn\'t
01:04:31.667 --> 01:04:35.333
until government made rules
to control them.
01:04:35.367 --> 01:04:38.600
Yet even here in New Orleans,
where help was most needed,
01:04:38.633 --> 01:04:43.667
government was also drinking
the free-market Kool-Aid.
01:04:43.700 --> 01:04:47.567
- I believe in a market-driven process.
01:04:47.600 --> 01:04:51.967
Economics,
capitalism is gonna take over,
01:04:52.000 --> 01:04:56.200
and the marketplace
is poised to respond.
01:04:56.233 --> 01:05:00.233
- So the government
didn\'t believe in government.
01:05:01.433 --> 01:05:03.167
We knew what we had to do.
01:05:03.200 --> 01:05:05.900
We would become the government,
01:05:05.933 --> 01:05:10.200
and we would find out what would happen
if government did the right thing.
01:05:11.833 --> 01:05:14.233
- We are preparing to go
01:05:14.267 --> 01:05:17.000
to the Gulf Coast
Reconstruction Conference
01:05:17.033 --> 01:05:19.933
at the Pontchartrain Center
in Kenner near the airport.
01:05:19.967 --> 01:05:21.367
- You shouldn\'t drive.
01:05:21.400 --> 01:05:22.867
- Okay.
01:05:22.900 --> 01:05:27.133
So it\'s almost like we should be saying,
\"We are facing a state of emergency.\"
01:05:27.167 --> 01:05:30.433
I\'m going to speak as HUD,
01:05:30.467 --> 01:05:33.100
as the Deputy Assistant
of the Secretary of HUD,
01:05:33.133 --> 01:05:35.900
who couldn\'t make it,
and CNN is going to be covering it live.
01:05:35.933 --> 01:05:38.300
- This conference was taking place
01:05:38.333 --> 01:05:41.167
on the first anniversary
of Katrina.
01:05:41.200 --> 01:05:44.367
A thousand contractors who were
rebuilding New Orleans would be there.
01:05:44.400 --> 01:05:46.667
What\'s that?
01:05:46.700 --> 01:05:49.100
- Oh, my God.
01:05:49.133 --> 01:05:51.033
Mayor Ray Nagin coming
01:05:51.067 --> 01:05:54.700
is a bit more
than we expected would happen.
01:05:54.733 --> 01:05:56.600
When we\'d hatched our scheme,
01:05:56.633 --> 01:05:58.900
we\'d told this guy,
the conference organizer,
01:05:58.933 --> 01:06:04.267
that we represented Alphonso Jackson,
the head of HUD.
01:06:04.300 --> 01:06:07.567
When the mayor and governor
found out that Jackson would be there,
01:06:07.600 --> 01:06:11.433
they had to be there too.
01:06:11.467 --> 01:06:14.467
Once again, the keynote speaker
wouldn\'t show up,
01:06:14.500 --> 01:06:16.900
but his assistant would.
01:06:16.933 --> 01:06:19.767
Would the mayor notice
that something was wrong?
01:06:19.800 --> 01:06:21.467
And what would
the contractors think
01:06:21.500 --> 01:06:24.300
of HUD\'s radical new approach
to public housing,
01:06:24.333 --> 01:06:28.733
an approach that could cost them money
and even put some of them out of a job?
01:06:30.200 --> 01:06:33.200
- Please join me in welcoming
Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans.
01:06:33.233 --> 01:06:36.400
[applause]
01:06:36.433 --> 01:06:39.067
And please also join me
in welcoming Rene Oswin,
01:06:39.100 --> 01:06:41.300
the Assistant Deputy Secretary
of the U.S. Department
01:06:41.333 --> 01:06:44.200
of Housing and Urban Development.
01:06:44.233 --> 01:06:46.567
[applause]
01:06:48.267 --> 01:06:51.633
- So it\'s an honor to share the stage
01:06:51.667 --> 01:06:56.633
with our two partners in recovery,
with Rene Oswin, representing HUD,
01:06:56.667 --> 01:06:59.733
who\'s definitely one of
our most important partners
01:06:59.767 --> 01:07:02.700
in this rebuilding effort,
01:07:02.733 --> 01:07:06.767
and Mayor Nagin of New Orleans,
whose challenges are enormous.
01:07:06.800 --> 01:07:10.233
- And I also want to stop and thank Rene,
who\'s here from HUD.
01:07:10.267 --> 01:07:14.233
HUD has been an incredible,
incredible partner with us.
01:07:14.267 --> 01:07:17.933
We are on the verge of doing
some really unique things,
01:07:17.967 --> 01:07:20.300
some things that we
could have never tackled
01:07:20.333 --> 01:07:21.800
in the city of New Orleans,
01:07:21.833 --> 01:07:24.133
and now we are poised
and positioned
01:07:24.167 --> 01:07:29.300
to enhance public housing
in the city of New Orleans.
01:07:29.333 --> 01:07:31.267
You know, there\'s lots
of information out there.
01:07:31.300 --> 01:07:34.667
There\'s lots of misinformation
out there, you know, and -
01:07:34.700 --> 01:07:37.033
but I have a fundamental belief
01:07:37.067 --> 01:07:41.800
that truth and lie cannot stay
in the same place at the same time.
01:07:41.833 --> 01:07:44.100
It reminds me of a story I once heard.
01:07:44.133 --> 01:07:49.200
Truth and Lie went swimming one day
in Lake Pontchartrain.
01:07:49.233 --> 01:07:52.433
They went skinny-dipping,
so they laid their clothes on the banks,
01:07:52.467 --> 01:07:54.867
and they were out there
having a really good time.
01:07:54.900 --> 01:07:58.200
But then Lie all of a sudden
jumped out the water,
01:07:58.233 --> 01:08:00.200
put Truth\'s clothes on,
01:08:00.233 --> 01:08:04.100
and started running down Esplanade -
Elysian Fields Avenue.
01:08:04.133 --> 01:08:06.633
Truth got out the water,
01:08:06.667 --> 01:08:08.833
started running after Lie.
01:08:08.867 --> 01:08:11.333
So ladies and gentlemen,
what you had was
01:08:11.367 --> 01:08:15.200
a well-dressed Lie
being chased by naked Truth.
01:08:15.233 --> 01:08:16.567
[applause]
01:08:16.600 --> 01:08:18.000
- That\'s quite a tough act to follow.
01:08:18.033 --> 01:08:21.267
Nothing like that to make you
feel a bit naked, eh?
01:08:21.300 --> 01:08:23.767
[laughter]
01:08:23.800 --> 01:08:29.933
Dear friends, it is with the greatest joy
that I announce to you today
01:08:29.967 --> 01:08:33.367
a brand-new department
of Housing and Urban Development.
01:08:33.400 --> 01:08:36.567
Everything is going to change
about the way we work,
01:08:36.600 --> 01:08:40.800
and the change is gonna start
right here today in New Orleans.
01:08:40.833 --> 01:08:43.967
Until last week,
our M.O. here at HUD
01:08:44.000 --> 01:08:46.933
was to tear down public housing
whenever we could.
01:08:46.967 --> 01:08:48.567
Like many folks in Washington,
01:08:48.600 --> 01:08:51.733
we felt that the projects
caused crime and unemployment.
01:08:51.767 --> 01:08:53.700
We were wrong.
01:08:53.733 --> 01:08:55.400
When we tore down St. Thomas
01:08:55.433 --> 01:08:57.967
and replaced it
with mixed-income flats,
01:08:58.000 --> 01:09:02.033
only 1 of 27 former residents
ever made it back,
01:09:02.067 --> 01:09:06.233
and the rest have faced many problems,
in some cases, even homelessness.
01:09:06.267 --> 01:09:08.100
It just didn\'t work.
01:09:08.133 --> 01:09:10.300
We won\'t make that error again.
01:09:10.333 --> 01:09:12.467
This afternoon, we will begin
01:09:12.500 --> 01:09:16.267
to reopen all public housing projects
in New Orleans
01:09:16.300 --> 01:09:19.333
and allow these Americans
to be part of their city once again.
01:09:19.367 --> 01:09:20.367
[applause]
01:09:20.400 --> 01:09:22.333
But opening doors -
01:09:22.367 --> 01:09:25.367
[applause]
01:09:26.767 --> 01:09:28.967
But opening doors won\'t be enough.
01:09:29.000 --> 01:09:33.067
As you know, the main reason
New Orleans was so vulnerable to Katrina
01:09:33.100 --> 01:09:35.000
was the destruction of the wetlands.
01:09:35.033 --> 01:09:39.100
I am very, very, very pleased
to announce that Exxon and Shell
01:09:39.133 --> 01:09:41.500
have agreed to finance
wetlands rebuilding
01:09:41.533 --> 01:09:44.900
from part of the $60 billion
in profits this year.
01:09:44.933 --> 01:09:47.333
As J. Stephen Simon,
01:09:47.367 --> 01:09:49.567
Exxon Vice President, writes,
01:09:49.600 --> 01:09:52.100
\"ExxonMobil is earmarking $8.6 billion
01:09:52.133 --> 01:09:55.067
\"from revenues our company
has made in this region
01:09:55.100 --> 01:09:57.233
\"so as to assure
01:09:57.267 --> 01:09:59.533
\"that ExxonMobil
never again has a hand
01:09:59.567 --> 01:10:01.067
in destroying a large American city.\"
01:10:01.100 --> 01:10:04.533
[applause]
01:10:04.567 --> 01:10:05.633
Ladies and gentlemen,
01:10:05.667 --> 01:10:07.833
we will rebuild not just New Orleans.
01:10:07.867 --> 01:10:10.433
We will rebuild the American Dream.
01:10:10.467 --> 01:10:14.067
Please come join us
at the Lafitte Housing Complex
01:10:14.100 --> 01:10:17.867
for a ribbon-cutting ceremony
immediately after the plenary session.
01:10:17.900 --> 01:10:21.500
This is what we\'re all here for,
so let\'s make it happen.
01:10:21.533 --> 01:10:23.067
Let\'s bring New Orleans back.
01:10:23.100 --> 01:10:25.100
[applause]
01:10:25.133 --> 01:10:27.067
- I thought it was very uplifting.
01:10:27.100 --> 01:10:28.933
This has been a big problem.
01:10:28.967 --> 01:10:32.633
A lot of people want to come home,
and they have been unable to do so.
01:10:32.667 --> 01:10:36.233
So I thought it was
a very positive message.
01:10:36.267 --> 01:10:37.267
- Very encouraging.
01:10:37.300 --> 01:10:39.233
And what\'s really encouraging
in particular
01:10:39.267 --> 01:10:43.300
is not only getting people back home
and helping them rebuild,
01:10:43.333 --> 01:10:46.800
but the recognition that
we have to deal with Mother Nature,
01:10:46.833 --> 01:10:51.433
and that Exxon is going to make
some significant contribution
01:10:51.467 --> 01:10:54.333
to restore wetlands is -
it\'s very encouraging.
01:10:54.367 --> 01:10:57.567
[applause]
01:10:57.600 --> 01:10:59.667
- This was encouraging.
01:10:59.700 --> 01:11:01.667
When the contractors heard
that the government
01:11:01.700 --> 01:11:03.700
was gonna do the right thing,
01:11:03.733 --> 01:11:07.800
even though it might cost them
some business, they cheered.
01:11:07.833 --> 01:11:09.000
Friedman was wrong.
01:11:09.033 --> 01:11:11.133
Greed alone didn\'t rule the world.
01:11:11.167 --> 01:11:12.167
- Hi.
01:11:12.200 --> 01:11:14.733
- My name\'s Steve Strader, WWL.
You mind if I talk to you over here?
01:11:14.767 --> 01:11:16.100
- Absolutely.
- Do you have a card?
01:11:16.133 --> 01:11:17.133
- Oh, not today.
01:11:17.167 --> 01:11:19.800
- And this time,
we\'d gotten away with it.
01:11:19.833 --> 01:11:21.933
Or so we thought.
01:11:21.967 --> 01:11:24.900
- The city and the state both say
they\'ve not heard anything about this.
01:11:24.933 --> 01:11:26.467
This announcement
comes as a surprise
01:11:26.500 --> 01:11:28.433
to the governor\'s office
and the mayor\'s office.
01:11:28.467 --> 01:11:31.667
Why would HUD do this without
consulting the city and the state?
01:11:31.700 --> 01:11:33.267
- Well, it\'s such a -
01:11:33.300 --> 01:11:35.833
we haven\'t done this
without consulting with them.
01:11:35.867 --> 01:11:38.367
- You have no cards?
You say you\'re new to the agency?
01:11:38.400 --> 01:11:41.100
- I have a card,
but it\'s back at the office.
01:11:41.133 --> 01:11:42.133
I\'ll get it to you.
01:11:42.167 --> 01:11:43.200
- Where is your PR team?
01:11:43.233 --> 01:11:45.367
- I\'m right here. Hi.
- There.
01:11:45.400 --> 01:11:47.367
- Hi, you\'re with HUD?
Do you have a card?
01:11:47.400 --> 01:11:51.033
- There\'s an entire HUD
housing project there left unfinished.
01:11:51.067 --> 01:11:52.067
Yeah.
01:11:52.100 --> 01:11:54.000
- There are some saying
that this is a farce,
01:11:54.033 --> 01:11:55.433
that you\'re not truly with HUD,
01:11:55.467 --> 01:11:58.333
and that this is not
an actual announcement.
01:11:58.367 --> 01:11:59.900
- Well, they can say whatever they want.
01:11:59.933 --> 01:12:01.000
Who are these people?
01:12:01.033 --> 01:12:02.633
- Where is your office?
01:12:02.667 --> 01:12:06.833
- In Washington.
- Where in Washington?
01:12:06.867 --> 01:12:08.833
- He just joined the agency from France.
01:12:08.867 --> 01:12:09.933
- From France?
01:12:09.967 --> 01:12:12.767
- Yeah, he\'s been a special attaché
01:12:12.800 --> 01:12:14.967
to the Department of the Interior
in France.
01:12:15.000 --> 01:12:17.300
Why are you so skeptical?
01:12:17.333 --> 01:12:20.667
- I just heard the speech,
and I have a newscast very shortly.
01:12:20.700 --> 01:12:24.233
I need to confirm if it was
a real speech from HUD or not.
01:12:24.267 --> 01:12:26.067
The governor and the mayor
knew nothing of it.
01:12:26.100 --> 01:12:27.100
They were shocked.
01:12:27.133 --> 01:12:30.500
We desperately need to know
if this is real or not.
01:12:30.533 --> 01:12:31.700
He\'s standing right here,
01:12:31.733 --> 01:12:34.533
the man who just apparently
committed this hoax on your department.
01:12:34.567 --> 01:12:37.267
Okay, I\'m on the phone with HUD right now,
and they say you\'re a liar.
01:12:37.300 --> 01:12:39.433
- Okay, well, they can say
whatever they want.
01:12:39.467 --> 01:12:40.467
I mean -
01:12:40.500 --> 01:12:41.500
- I\'m sorry?
01:12:41.533 --> 01:12:42.933
- They can say whatever they\'d like.
01:12:42.967 --> 01:12:44.433
- \"They can say whatever they\'d like.\"
01:12:44.467 --> 01:12:46.700
But you work for them,
don\'t you, as a deputy secretary?
01:12:46.733 --> 01:12:48.167
- That\'s right.
01:12:48.200 --> 01:12:49.500
Now that you\'ve been discovered,
01:12:49.533 --> 01:12:51.133
do you want to explain to me
why you did it?
01:12:51.167 --> 01:12:52.700
I mean, if you\'re trying to make a point,
01:12:52.733 --> 01:12:54.900
why don\'t you come over here
and tell me why you did this?
01:12:54.933 --> 01:12:57.867
All right, all right, man.
I\'ll call you in a few minutes.
01:12:57.900 --> 01:13:00.433
But it is a hoax,
a massive hoax perpetrated today.
01:13:00.467 --> 01:13:01.867
You just pulled off a heck of a hoax.
01:13:01.900 --> 01:13:03.433
- Thank you.
01:13:03.467 --> 01:13:05.400
I mean, I would say that, you know,
01:13:05.433 --> 01:13:07.533
HUD is pulling off a hoax by pretending
01:13:07.567 --> 01:13:10.067
that tearing down affordable housing
is what\'s gonna solve it.
01:13:10.100 --> 01:13:12.033
I mean, that\'s what they\'ve
been doing until now.
01:13:12.067 --> 01:13:16.033
This is a time when all of these people
are clamoring to get back in.
01:13:16.067 --> 01:13:17.767
They want to get back into their housing,
01:13:17.800 --> 01:13:19.133
and they deserve to be there.
01:13:19.167 --> 01:13:20.800
It\'s crazy.
01:13:20.833 --> 01:13:23.267
- And worth lying to all these people
to try to make your point.
01:13:23.300 --> 01:13:25.267
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
01:13:25.300 --> 01:13:26.400
Actually telling the truth.
01:13:26.433 --> 01:13:31.500
This is actually truth-telling where
normally there would only be lies.
01:13:35.867 --> 01:13:39.567
How difficult would it be to remediate
what you see here today
01:13:39.600 --> 01:13:44.367
and make it inhabitable,
say, next week?
01:13:44.400 --> 01:13:45.700
- Just take off the covers here.
01:13:45.733 --> 01:13:47.767
- Oh, yeah.
That\'s a good start, yeah?
01:13:47.800 --> 01:13:49.033
- Absolutely.
01:13:49.067 --> 01:13:53.400
- Finally, we will be reopening
public housing for the residents,
01:13:53.433 --> 01:13:56.567
for the workforce
that\'s going to move back in
01:13:56.600 --> 01:13:58.267
and again rebuild New Orleans.
01:13:59.300 --> 01:14:01.000
- Sick, twisted, cruel.
01:14:01.033 --> 01:14:03.533
Those are all words used
to describe the prank
01:14:03.567 --> 01:14:06.033
on Louisiana officials
and about a thousand contractors
01:14:06.067 --> 01:14:07.267
in New Orleans today.
01:14:07.300 --> 01:14:11.700
- I\'m Deputy Assistant Secretary to -
01:14:11.733 --> 01:14:15.467
of the assistant, essentially,
of Secretary Alphonso Jackson.
01:14:15.500 --> 01:14:17.833
- Rene Oswin can\'t get his title right
01:14:17.867 --> 01:14:21.000
or his relationship to HUD Secretary
Alphonso Jackson.
01:14:21.033 --> 01:14:24.667
- Yay!
01:14:24.700 --> 01:14:26.633
- After taking the mayor for a ride,
01:14:26.667 --> 01:14:27.900
these contractors followed him
01:14:27.933 --> 01:14:31.000
to a makeshift ribbon-cutting
at the Lafitte Housing Project.
01:14:31.033 --> 01:14:33.067
- Mr. Oswin, you\'re not even
on the directory of HUD.
01:14:33.100 --> 01:14:34.133
You\'re not even listed.
01:14:34.167 --> 01:14:35.500
You don\'t even have a phone number.
01:14:35.533 --> 01:14:38.567
- It\'s come to that, has it?
01:14:38.600 --> 01:14:40.333
It\'s come to that.
01:14:40.367 --> 01:14:42.267
Well, thanks for being the one
to break the news.
01:14:42.300 --> 01:14:44.700
- HANO, The Housing Authority
of New Orleans
01:14:44.733 --> 01:14:47.733
says this is simply a cruel, cruel joke,
01:14:47.767 --> 01:14:49.667
trying to give people
some kind of fake hope
01:14:49.700 --> 01:14:51.460
that they were going to be able
to move back.
01:15:10.433 --> 01:15:12.233
- But I guess it\'s just to call their hand.
01:15:12.267 --> 01:15:13.433
It\'s just to call their hand.
01:15:13.467 --> 01:15:14.767
I respect this hoax,
01:15:14.800 --> 01:15:18.000
because maybe it\'ll take a hoax
like this to bring \'em out here
01:15:18.033 --> 01:15:19.733
to see what we going through.
01:15:19.767 --> 01:15:22.133
So if the hoax what it be,
a hoax is what we got.
01:15:22.167 --> 01:15:23.333
And I ain\'t mad.
01:15:23.367 --> 01:15:24.700
I\'m going to have me some barbecue.
01:15:24.733 --> 01:15:26.967
[cheerful laughter]
01:15:27.000 --> 01:15:29.633
- I think what you guys exposed
01:15:29.667 --> 01:15:32.167
is the fact that HUD
could do these great things
01:15:32.200 --> 01:15:33.867
if they wanted to.
01:15:33.900 --> 01:15:36.733
Secondly, you got the attention
of the residents,
01:15:36.767 --> 01:15:39.000
so now they\'re gonna begin to ask,
01:15:39.033 --> 01:15:41.200
\"Well, why aren\'t you doing these things?\"
01:15:41.233 --> 01:15:45.833
And number three, you are creating
a controversy to feed off,
01:15:45.867 --> 01:15:49.533
to organize, and to build
the struggle to the next level.
01:15:49.567 --> 01:15:53.000
So in my opinion,
everything y\'all did was excellent.
01:16:03.600 --> 01:16:06.200
- It had all been worthwhile.
01:16:06.233 --> 01:16:09.133
We were on top of the world.
01:16:09.167 --> 01:16:13.333
But then reality began to sink in.
01:16:13.367 --> 01:16:18.200
[water bubbling]
01:16:18.233 --> 01:16:23.000
We\'d made a splash,
but we hadn\'t fixed the world.
01:16:23.033 --> 01:16:26.267
The free market
was still destroying New Orleans.
01:16:29.100 --> 01:16:33.700
All over the world,
people were losing their homes.
01:16:35.533 --> 01:16:40.033
Climate change kept getting worse.
01:16:41.733 --> 01:16:45.300
And in Bhopal,
people continued to suffer.
01:16:52.233 --> 01:16:54.767
We really did need to fix the world,
01:16:54.800 --> 01:16:56.633
but it was gonna take more
01:16:56.667 --> 01:17:00.533
than two guys with cheap suits
and fake websites.
01:17:02.233 --> 01:17:05.100
It would take millions of us.
01:17:05.133 --> 01:17:08.667
[people shouting]
01:17:18.700 --> 01:17:21.567
But even as old regimes
were swept away,
01:17:21.600 --> 01:17:25.400
we knew that real change
wouldn\'t come easy.
01:17:25.433 --> 01:17:29.367
After all, the free market cult
was still here.
01:17:29.400 --> 01:17:30.400
- Wealth.
- Money.
01:17:30.433 --> 01:17:31.533
- Privatization.
- Wealth.
01:17:31.567 --> 01:17:32.567
- Money.
- Free markets.
01:17:32.600 --> 01:17:33.900
- Privatization.
- Ownership.
01:17:33.933 --> 01:17:35.067
- A great deal of money.
01:17:35.100 --> 01:17:38.500
Now, we can afford that.
01:17:38.533 --> 01:17:40.367
- Remember these guys?
01:17:40.400 --> 01:17:42.567
They\'re not going away.
01:17:42.600 --> 01:17:46.033
And neither would we.
01:17:50.100 --> 01:17:52.633
We needed a really ambitious plan,
01:17:52.667 --> 01:17:56.400
because all we ever read
in the newspapers was how we needed
01:17:56.433 --> 01:18:02.967
to put everything back on track,
back to how it was before it fell apart.
01:18:03.000 --> 01:18:06.433
But how it was was the problem.
01:18:06.467 --> 01:18:12.167
We needed to show
what real change could look like.
01:18:12.200 --> 01:18:13.800
So together with a whole lot of friends,
01:18:13.833 --> 01:18:17.767
we would blanket Manhattan
with 100,000 copies
01:18:17.800 --> 01:18:20.733
of our very own newspaper.
01:18:20.767 --> 01:18:24.433
We\'d call it The New York Times,
01:18:24.467 --> 01:18:29.000
except our New York Times
would be a little bit different.
01:18:29.033 --> 01:18:33.433
Ours would be set
six months in the future.
01:18:33.467 --> 01:18:38.000
It would show what could happen
if we set our imagination free.
01:18:44.433 --> 01:18:45.667
- Things have gotten pretty bad,
01:18:45.700 --> 01:18:48.600
and I think it\'s hard for people to imagine
the world working another way.
01:18:48.633 --> 01:18:51.067
So we\'re trying to,
as realistically as possible,
01:18:51.100 --> 01:18:53.700
present this world as it could be.
01:18:55.600 --> 01:18:58.200
- They just brought in the proof
01:18:58.233 --> 01:19:02.967
of The New York Times,
and it looks un-[...]-believable.
01:19:03.000 --> 01:19:06.000
- Really good.
01:19:14.667 --> 01:19:17.167
- The obvious question,
how the heck did you do it?
01:19:17.200 --> 01:19:18.400
Andy, you want to start?
01:19:18.433 --> 01:19:20.767
How long were you working on this thing,
and how many of you?
01:19:20.800 --> 01:19:21.933
- Well, there were a lot of us.
01:19:21.967 --> 01:19:23.033
It wasn\'t just the Yes Men.
01:19:23.067 --> 01:19:24.333
It was a large group of people.
01:19:24.367 --> 01:19:26.067
We were just one of many groups.
01:19:26.100 --> 01:19:28.600
It was an idea that sparked
a lot of people\'s imaginations.
01:19:28.633 --> 01:19:29.873
They wanted to see this happen,
01:19:29.900 --> 01:19:33.133
and that\'s sort of the message
of the paper as well,
01:19:33.167 --> 01:19:35.767
is that, great, we elected Obama,
and that\'s fantastic.
01:19:35.800 --> 01:19:37.600
But now the real work begins.
01:19:37.633 --> 01:19:39.800
- The idea was to put out something
that was optimistic,
01:19:39.833 --> 01:19:41.467
that says we can do all these things.
01:19:41.500 --> 01:19:42.500
Why not?
01:19:42.533 --> 01:19:44.133
We created this system
that we have now,
01:19:44.167 --> 01:19:45.667
so why not create
a good one instead?
01:19:45.700 --> 01:19:47.667
- Wow.
- Very good.
01:19:47.700 --> 01:19:50.500
Here, let me tie you up.
This is the big day.
01:19:50.533 --> 01:19:52.900
7:00 a.m.
Rush hour.
01:19:52.933 --> 01:19:55.033
This is the time
to get the papers out there.
01:19:55.067 --> 01:19:56.067
- Morning.
01:19:56.100 --> 01:19:57.400
Free Times.
01:19:57.433 --> 01:19:58.500
Special issue.
01:19:58.533 --> 01:20:01.267
Special issue.
01:20:01.300 --> 01:20:02.433
- Free New York Times.
01:20:02.467 --> 01:20:05.500
- Special edition
of The New York Times.
01:20:07.367 --> 01:20:08.633
- Free New York Times.
01:20:08.667 --> 01:20:10.567
- Is this real?
01:20:10.600 --> 01:20:11.633
- It\'s fake, right?
01:20:11.667 --> 01:20:14.233
- Who publishes this?
01:20:14.267 --> 01:20:15.567
- Can I grab another one please?
01:20:15.600 --> 01:20:16.600
What?
01:20:16.633 --> 01:20:17.633
- What?
01:20:17.667 --> 01:20:19.300
- Free New York Times.
01:20:19.333 --> 01:20:21.000
- \"National Health Insurance Act passes.\"
01:20:21.033 --> 01:20:23.933
- \"The PATRIOT Act repealed.\"
01:20:23.967 --> 01:20:25.700
- \"Maximum wage law succeeds.\"
01:20:25.733 --> 01:20:27.267
Good luck with that one.
01:20:27.300 --> 01:20:29.633
- This is too good to be true.
01:20:29.667 --> 01:20:31.633
But it\'s not impossible.
01:20:31.667 --> 01:20:33.467
- It\'s a dream newspaper.
01:20:33.500 --> 01:20:35.833
Right?
01:20:35.867 --> 01:20:38.467
It\'s like you wake up
and all the things that you wanted
01:20:38.500 --> 01:20:40.467
became the news.
01:20:40.500 --> 01:20:43.033
- The war is over!
01:20:43.067 --> 01:20:46.500
- Our fake news was a hit.
01:20:46.533 --> 01:20:48.300
But would the real news pick it up?
01:20:49.800 --> 01:20:51.333
- You don\'t work
for The New York Times.
01:20:51.367 --> 01:20:53.600
Who is that you work for
handing this out?
01:20:53.633 --> 01:20:55.200
- A guy named John, John Smith.
01:20:55.233 --> 01:20:56.233
Yeah.
- John who?
01:20:56.267 --> 01:20:57.267
- John Smith?
01:20:57.300 --> 01:20:58.900
- It\'s The New York Times special edition.
01:20:58.933 --> 01:21:00.233
Is there anything wrong with it?
01:21:00.267 --> 01:21:01.667
- Yeah,
it\'s not The New York Times.
01:21:03.000 --> 01:21:04.000
- Read all about it.
01:21:04.033 --> 01:21:07.867
The New York Times
declares the war in Iraq is over.
01:21:07.900 --> 01:21:10.233
- Some commuters got their hands
on what looks like
01:21:10.267 --> 01:21:11.967
a special edition
of The New York Times.
01:21:12.000 --> 01:21:14.200
As you might have guessed,
though, it\'s a fake.
01:21:14.233 --> 01:21:18.800
- [speaking German]
01:21:18.833 --> 01:21:23.467
- [speaking French]
01:21:23.500 --> 01:21:28.267
- We printed a paper with the headlines
that we\'d like to see.
01:21:28.300 --> 01:21:31.533
So if these are the headlines
that people were so excited
01:21:31.567 --> 01:21:33.933
to read this morning,
let\'s make them happen.
01:21:33.967 --> 01:21:36.667
- I think we\'re going to have
to exercise some muscles
01:21:36.700 --> 01:21:39.867
we either don\'t have
or that have atrophied or something,
01:21:39.900 --> 01:21:44.800
a civic muscle, a thrifty muscle,
a generous muscle.
01:21:44.833 --> 01:21:47.667
- We\'ve got to take back our government,
01:21:47.700 --> 01:21:50.200
march into City Hall, and say,
\"Here, we\'ve got the solutions.\"
01:21:50.233 --> 01:21:54.133
- We can think of the different ways
01:21:54.167 --> 01:21:58.267
that we can contribute
to a movement that says
01:21:58.300 --> 01:22:01.000
business as usual is unacceptable,
01:22:01.033 --> 01:22:03.067
because people are being hurt,
01:22:03.100 --> 01:22:07.267
and we\'re not gonna play the role,
the subservient,
01:22:07.300 --> 01:22:11.000
routine role that we usually play.
01:22:11.033 --> 01:22:12.033
- Let\'s go.
01:22:12.067 --> 01:22:13.200
- We\'re going.
We\'re going.
01:22:13.233 --> 01:22:15.133
- Come on.
01:22:15.167 --> 01:22:17.433
[people cheering]
01:22:20.000 --> 01:22:21.267
- Make change happen.
01:22:21.300 --> 01:22:24.833
Put, you know, put your effort on the line
to make something happen.
01:22:24.867 --> 01:22:27.600
And that\'s what kind of we did here,
and, you know,
01:22:27.633 --> 01:22:32.967
it\'s what - yeah, it\'s kind of -
yeah, oh, boy.
01:22:33.000 --> 01:22:37.033
- And if a few people at the top
can make the bad news happen,
01:22:37.067 --> 01:22:39.300
then why can\'t all of us at the bottom
01:22:39.333 --> 01:22:42.267
get together and make
the good news happen for a change?
01:22:42.300 --> 01:22:43.867
I mean, for real.
01:22:46.500 --> 01:22:52.500
[thoughtful music]
01:23:05.233 --> 01:23:11.233
[joyful instrumental music]
Distributor: Bullfrog Films
Length: 87 minutes
Date: 2009
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Grade: 10-12, College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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