[Peace-discuss] APEC World Leaders Dinner Gets Occupied (Yes Lab)

[Stuart Levy]

Subject: 	APEC World Leaders Dinner Gets Occupied
Date: 	Sun, 13 Nov 2011 16:19:21 +0100
From: 	The Yes Lab <donotreply at yeslab.org>
Reply-To: 	<press at yeslab.org>

	

November 13, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

*APEC World Leaders Dinner Gets Occupied*
Within secure zone, musician sings on behalf of the many

    Video and photos: www.yeslab.org/APEC <http://www.yeslab.org/APEC> 

Honolulu - A change in the programmed entertainment at last night's 
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gala left a few world leaders 
slack-jawed, though most seemed not to notice that anything was amiss.

During the gala dinner, renowned Hawaiian guitarist Makana 
<http://makanamusic.com/>, who performed at the White House in 2009, 
opened his suit jacket to reveal a home-made "Occupy with Aloha" 
T-shirt. Then, instead of playing the expected instrumental background 
music, he spent almost 45 minutes repeatedly singing his protest ballad 
released earlier that day <http://bit.ly/we-are-the-many>. The ballad, 
called "We Are the Many," includes lines such as "The lobbyists at 
Washington do gnaw.... And until they are purged, we won't withdraw," 
and ends with the refrain: "We'll occupy the streets, we'll occupy the 
courts, we'll occupy the offices of you, till you do the bidding of the 
many, not the few."

Those who could hear Makana's message included Presidents Barack Obama 
of the United States of America, Hu Jintao of China, Susilo Bambang 
Yudhoyono of Indonesia, Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, and 
over a dozen other heads of state.

"At first, I was worried about playing 'We Are The Many,'" said Makana. 
"But I found it odd that I was afraid to sing a song I'd written, 
especially since I'd written it with these people in mind."

The gala was the most secure event of the summit. It was held inside the 
Hale Koa hotel, a 72-acre facility owned and controlled by the US 
Defense Department; the site was fortified with an additional three 
miles of fencing constructed solely for the APEC summit.

Makana was surprised that no one objected to him playing the overtly 
critical song. "I just kept doing different versions," he said. "I 
must've repeated 'the bidding of the many, not the few' at least 50 
times, like a mantra. It was surreal and sobering."

Makana's new song is inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, which 
has taken root in cities worldwide. Last Saturday, eight protesters were 
arrested 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/police-make-arrests-among-occupy-honolulu-protesters-on-first-night-of-planned-demonstration/2011/11/06/gIQA7T6orM_story.html> 
when they refused to leave the Occupy Honolulu encampment at Thomas 
Square Park. Occupy Honolulu has joined other groups, including Moana 
Nui <http://moananui2011.org/>, to protest the APEC meeting, and while 
Makana performed, hundreds of people protested outside 
<http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/apec2011/apecstories/20111113_Protesters_have_their_say_with_noisy_peaceful_march.html?id=133765228>. 


After facing large-scale protests 
<http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2011/11/06/13583-a-look-back-at-past-anti-apec-protests/> 
in South Korea, Australia, Peru, and Japan, APEC moved this year's event 
to Hawaii, the most isolated piece of land on earth. In preparation for 
the meeting, homeless families were moved 
<http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Homeless-being-asked-to-move-out-of-Waikiki/a3AzA-hSqkeoXlS-rs5Okg.cspx> 
out of sight and millions of taxpayer dollars were spent on 
security---including over $700,000 
<http://www.civilbeat.com/posts/2011/09/26/12961-honolulu-police-load-up-on-taser-ammo-pepper-spray-bean-bags-for-apec/> 
on non-lethal weapons for crowd control. In a bitter twist, the 
multi-million dollar security plans backfired when a local Hawaiian man 
was shot and killed 
<http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/555247/Funeral-set-for-man-shot-in-Waikiki.html?nav=5031> 
by a 27-year-old DC-based federal agent providing security for dignitaries.

Makana's action was assisted by the Yes Lab <http://www.yeslab.org/> and 
Occupy the Boardroom <http://www.occupytheboardroom.org/>. In recent 
weeks, Occupy protesters have been showing up at corporate events, 
headquarters and even on the doorsteps of those in power. "Makana really 
raised the bar by delivering the Occupy message inside what is probably 
the most secure place on the planet right now," said Mike Bonanno of the 
Yes Lab.

"My uncle taught me to feel out the audience and play what my heart 
tells me to," said Makana. "That's what I did tonight."

Contact:
     Mike Bonanno: music at yeslab.org <mailto:music at yeslab.org>, 917-209-3282
     John Sweeney: hawaii at yeslab.org <mailto:hawaii at yeslab.org>, 
808-230-0799

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20111113/3eb323ce/attachment.html>