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

[Carl G. Estabrook]

"A 72-acre Pentagon [sic] hotel in Hawaii" ... "the most secure place  
on earth"?

Apparently Obama is a Hawaiian by birth - is this to be his  
Fuehrerbunker?

On Nov 13, 2011, at 12:10 PM, Stuart Levy wrote:

>
> 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
> 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, 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. 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 when they refused to leave the Occupy  
> Honolulu encampment at Thomas Square Park. Occupy Honolulu has  
> joined other groups, including Moana Nui, to protest the APEC  
> meeting, and while Makana performed, hundreds        of people  
> protested outside.
>
> After facing large-scale 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 out of sight and millions of taxpayer dollars  
> were spent on security—including over $700,000 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 by a 27-year-old DC-based federal agent providing security  
> for dignitaries.
>
> Makana’s action was assisted by the Yes Lab and Occupy the  
> Boardroom. 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, 917-209-3282
>     John Sweeney: hawaii at yeslab.org, 808-230-0799
>
>
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