[artinfo] Yes Men 2.0: The Next Generation

[The Yes Men]

Dear Friend,

For years now, and especially since releasing 
<http://www.theyesmenfixtheworld.com/screenings.htm>our film, we've 
been been flooded with emails saying we should go after evil company 
A, or evil politician B, or military-industrial complex C.

Naturally, we can't. There are too many evildoers, and far too few of 
us. But the good news is, there are lots of groups and individuals 
who can surely do better than us, perhaps with a little coaching and 
guidance.

That's why we're launching <http://www.theyesmen.org/lab/>the Yes 
Lab, a series of brainstorms and trainings to help activist groups 
carry out Yes-Men-style activist projects on their own. We'll give 
advice and facilitate, but participants will carry out actions 
themselves, without us.

We've already started working with three different groups-stay tuned 
this fall-but to really ramp up, and be annoying to as many big-time 
criminals as possible, we'll need to hire someone to organize things, 
and someone else to rally our tens of thousands of subscribers into 
ongoing projects. (Then, soon, instead of emails like this, you'll be 
getting emails asking you to participate in actions near you!)

We're aiming to raise $50,000 for an initial 6 months while we build 
momentum and find other sources of funding. If you can 
<http://theyesmen.org/lab/donate>chip in something to help, we'll 
retaliate by sending you some 
<http://theyesmen.org/lab/goodies>priceless, wacky or idiotic stuff 
from the archive of weirdness we've collected over the past 12 years. 
(Trying to find cola-flavored condoms or a nice human-flesh candle? 
Yup, we got 'em, and more.)

Also, the first $10,000 in donations will be matched by a very 
generous donor who really wants to see the Yes Lab get going full 
steam. So if you decide you can spare some money to spread havoc 
among those who need it, not only will you receive a unique 
<http://theyesmen.org/lab/grab-bag>grab-bag of goodies, or a totally 
weird and unique <http://theyesmen.org/lab/grab-bag>service... but 
your donation will be worth twice as much!

If our outlandish wares don't tempt you enough to forego the June 
rent, you can still help us out by 
<http://www.theyesmen.org/lab/share>sharing this with everyone you 
think might help out.

And most importantly: if you're with an activist organization, and 
would like to work with the Yes Lab to develop some projects around 
an issue you're working on, please drop us a line at YesLab at 
theyesmen dot org, or via our <http://theyesmen.org/contact>contact 
form. We'd love to hear from you, even if it could be a while before 
we have the capacity to really move forward with projects!

Yours in productive bedlam,
The Yes Men