Prankster Playing Bhutto’s Son on Facebook Fools News Outlets
By Mike Nizza
The New York Times
January 2, 2007

When Benazir Bhutto’s replacement as party chairman turned out to be her relatively unknown son, reports turned up little beyond his age (19) and occupation (student at Oxford University). In other words, enough facts to warrant a sprint to Facebook, where millions of college students publish troves of personal information.

At first, Facebook did not disappoint in enriching the scant portrait of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Time magazine found a Facebook associate and dorm-mate named Phillippa Neal who confirmed his page under the name “Bilawal Lawalib,” an alias to disguise his identity. (”Lawalib” is his first name reversed).

She also relayed some interesting Facebook statements by Mr. Bhutto Zadari, like “Well behaved women rarely make history,” and The Guardian’s perusal found that “fellow students’ Facebook pages reveal him to be a popular student.”

London’s Evening Standard uncovered the juiciest bit — a photo of him donning a devil costume on Halloween, along with a comment: “We’re ready to bring hell on earth. . . waaahahahahahah.”

But this Facebook page was “significantly downgraded recently,” Ms. Neal told The Lede today in what would seem to be a case of damage control. As Mr. Bhutto Zadari’s father, Asif Ali Zardari, explained on Sunday night, “in this country, symbols matter.” And a devil costume is no way to present the heir to Benazir Bhutto’s political fortunes.

Before signing off for the day, Ms. Neal strongly warned against a competing profile on Facebook: “The other profile has been set up by someone else, not Bilawal!” (more…)

From the Center for Media and Democracy at PRWatch.org:

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the year that the Falsies Awards have truly arrived!

Here at the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), we’ve dearly treasured our Falsies since we gave the first awards out in 2004. After 12 months of reporting on the cynical, manipulative and just plain anti-democratic pollution of our information environment, we love adding an extra dash of humor to our work. But this year’s Falsies Awards are extra super special.

Why, you ask? Well, more people responded to our Falsies Awards survey than ever before. Thanks to the more than 1,400 people who took part! Our Falsies are your Falsies, too.

In addition, this year marks the first time there was an organized campaign in favor of one of our Falsies Awards nominees. To find out who was stuffing our Falsies survey, read on.

A Holiday to Remember in Bagdad, courtesy of Abidin Travels.

For your trip to Bagdad, follow the links for flights, car rental, hotels, tours, food, and more.

The Web site, part of Abel Abidin’s installation for the 2007 Venice Biennale is a multimedia virtual tour showing what life is like for Iraqis at this moment.

Helpful hints found on the Web site:

Nonverbal communication

Useful items

(more…)

From monochrom:

Hans Dichand, born in 1921, founded the Austrian “Kronenzeitung” (”Crown newspaper”) in 1959 and still acts as its editor in chief to this day. With over 40% market share, this right-wing populist paper has a unique position of power, and Dichand used this to influence Austrian politics to a great extent. This media-political practice earned him the nickname of “Kanzlermacher” (”He who makes the chancellor”).

Shortly after Mr. Dichand started blogging in November 2007, another weblog under his name appeared, where an unknown writer spoofs the newsmaker by using his rather unique tabloid writing style to express views and ideas contrary to those of the original, and to poke fun at the mighty newsmaker.

This fake blog has gathered quite a bit of media attention over the last weeks, especially since the original Dichand saw it necessary to write about “The Forger,” as the fake blogger has been called on numerous occasions.

Red faces for Howard’s party over fake leaflets
by Barbara McMahon in Sydney
November 23, 2007
The Guardian

Australian prime minister John Howard’s faltering re-election campaign was badly damaged yesterday by a last-minute scandal in which supporters were accused of a dirty tricks campaign that sought to show the opposition as terrorist sympathisers.

Two days before the general election members of Howard’s Liberal party were caught distributing bogus pamphlets falsely linking the Labor party with Islamic terrorists. The flyers, purporting to be from a fake organisation called the Islamic Australia Federation, were posted through letterboxes in the marginal seat of Lindsay in suburban Sydney.

They suggested that the Labor party approved of forgiving the men involved in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings which killed more than 200 people, 88 of them Australian. There was a forged Labor logo on the leaflet and the phrase Allahu Akbar, God is Great, had been misspelled as Ala Akba. (more…)

Prankster puts Kirribilli House on sale
theage.com.au
November 22, 2007

An online prankster has listed the prime minister’s Sydney residence, Kirribilli House, for sale on an internet real estate site.

It’s not the first time Kirribilli House has been the target of a bogus for-sale listing.

The latest fictitious advertisement suggests the four-bedroom abode at 111 Kirribilli Avenue will be “open for inspection - sorry open for election” this Saturday.

“Far superior to any old Lodge in Canberra, this house fits a family of five and provides the ultimate abode in which to be relaxed and comfortable,” the ad says, playing on John Howard’s statement before the 1996 election on his vision for Australia. (more…)

Consuming War
An exhibition curated by Barbara Koenen
November 4 to January 20, 2008
Hyde Park Art Center
5020 S. Cornell Avenue
Chicago, IL 60615

Featuring works by Lynda Barry, Wafaa Bilal, Mary Brogger, Adam Brooks, Burtonwood & Holmes, Michael Hernandez de Luna, Fred Holland, Harold Mendez, Michael Rakowitz, Ellen Rothenberg, Edra Soto, Paula White and Dolores Wilber.

Focusing on the U.S. conflict in the Middle East over the past 10 years, Consuming War addresses the ways the American media and consumer culture have manipulated and influenced our perceptions of war, often turning it into a spectacle for American consumption. While war is an underlying theme in all the works, each addresses the concept of war, and our relationship to it, from a variety of angles, creating pieces that range from political cartoons to sculptures that recreate the archeological artifacts looted from the National Museum of Iraq and large suspended papier mâché bombs made from sale advertisements. Timely in its subject matter, Consuming War offers an innovative platform in which the complex and multifarious connections between war, capitalism, American consumer culture, and our everyday lives can be re-situated and critically examined.

Related links:

image: Proposed work by Burtonwood & Holmes, 2007
via Art Threat

Models presented creations by Chinese conceptual artist Zhao Bandi for the Bandi-Panda fashion show at China Fashion Week in Beijing Nov. 4, 2007. Zhao uses the medium of fashion to present 33 Chinese social classes and social issues.

via neatorama and China View, photos: China Daily/Agencies

Related articles:

From Oddee.com:

The Church of Euthanasia: “Save the Planet, Kill Yourself”
Bizarre Religions and Cults around the World
October 25, 2007

The Church of Euthanasia (CoE) is a dadaist organization started by Rev. Chris Korda in the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States. According to the church’s website, it is “a non-profit educational foundation devoted to restoring balance between Humans and the remaining species on Earth.” The CoE uses sermons, music, culture jamming, publicity stunts and direct action combined with an underlying sense of satire and black humor to highlight Earth’s unsustainable population. The CoE is notorious for its conflicts with anti-abortion Christian activists.

According to the church’s website, the one commandment is “Thou shalt not procreate”. The CoE further asserts four principle pillars: suicide, abortion, cannibalism (”strictly limited to consumption of the already dead”), and sodomy (”any sexual act not intended for procreation”). The church stresses population reduction by voluntary means only. Therefore murder, rape and involuntary sterilization are strictly forbidden by church doctrine. (more…)

From A Hunger Artist:

Her intention was to protest the force-feeding of ducks and geese for foie-gras. But the affect was unexpected as dozens of men queued up at the table and begged for her phone number.

Photo: UK Indymedia

Submitted by artist Steve Lambert about an event he organized last month:

On September 15, 2007, Ronald McDonald, who had fallen in love with the food of New York and become frustrated with the corporate agenda of McDonald’s, stepped into action closing every McDonald’s store in Manhattan.

The closure, while temporary, affected all stores and was accomplished using simple signs and tape, as seen in the below video. Later that day, L.M. Bogad (of the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army and author) appeared as Ronald McDonald giving a press conference. Also involved was writer/performer Kevin Crook as a McDonald’s corporate representative.

(more…)

Woman who signed dog up to vote accepts deal
USA Today
September 6, 2007

Seattle (AP) — A woman who faced up to 90 days in jail for registering her dog to vote has agreed to a deal that could remove the charge from her record.

Jane Balogh, 66, will not be prosecuted on the charge of making a false or misleading statement to a public servant if she does 10 hours of community service, pays a $250 fine and avoids violating the law for the next year, District Judge Mariane Spearman said Wednesday.

Balogh registered her Australian shepherd-terrier mix, Duncan M. McDonald, to vote in April 2006 by putting her telephone bill in the dog’s name and using that as identification when she mailed the form to election officials. She said she did it to protest a change in the law that she believed made it too easy for non-citizens to vote. (more…)

Australian comedians arrested for stunt at Bush hotel
September 6, 2007

Sydney (AFP) — Stars of a hit Australian comedy show, one dressed as Osama bin Laden, came within 10 metres of the hotel where US President George W. Bush was staying in a prank on Thursday, witnesses said.

Two stars of the satirical programme The Chaser’s War on Everything were among 11 crew members charged after the stunt, involving a fake motorcade of three black limousines flying Canadian flags in the heart of Sydney.

Surrounded by fake security men in black suits but lacking security passes for the ongoing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the pranksters managed to get past one important security checkpoint, witnesses said. (more…)

UN official website hacked
From correspondents at the UN
Agence France-Presse
via The Herald Sun at news.com.au
August 13, 2007

The official website of the United Nations appeared to have been hacked last night and briefly displayed a message protesting US and Israeli policies in the Middle East.

The section of the site reserved to statements by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon showed a message, repeated several times, that read: “Hacked By kerem125 M0sted and Gsy That is CyberProtest Hey Ysrail and Usa dont kill children and other people Peace for ever No war”.

The message also appeared on other web pages that usually display quotes and speeches from the secretary general.

The pirate message disappeared from the UN website, www.un.org, at about 9.15am (9.15pm AEST). (more…)

Greenpeace carves question mark on genetically engineered crop
Group calls on B.C. to require mandatory GMO labelling
CBC News
August 8, 2007

Greenpeace activists cut a 61-metre-long question mark inside a crop circle in an Abbotsford, B.C., cornfield Wednesday morning, in protest of the absence of genetically engineered food labelling in Canada.

The question mark was to signify all the questions around the safety of genetically engineered corn — both from its consumption and its potential spread to nearby organic farms, said Josh Brandon, a genetic engineering campaigner with Greenpeace in B.C.

The cornfield Greenpeace targeted grows a variety of corn — genetically engineered by the agricultural company Monsanto — known as NK603 corn.

Brandon said they submitted a Greenpeace report to B.C. Health Minister George Abbott on Wednesday, pointing to new scientific evidence that they say highlights the dangers of genetically modified corn. (more…)