The Times finds the duo of left-wing, anti-corporate satirists (opponents would call them fraudsters) "The Yes Men" quite cute. Jamie Diamond's dispatch in the Sunday Styles section from Los Angeles recounts Diamond hanging out with Andy Bichlbaum, one of the "Yes Men": "Prankster With a Purpose: A Night Out With Andy Bichlbaum [1]."
The "culture jamming" activists pose as spokesman for evil corporations, including McDonald's and Dow Chemical. Most recently they spoofed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, falsely claiming the organization had reversed their stand on global warming. That apparently doesn't bother that large corporation known as the New York Times Co. (Although the Yes Men distributed a parody issue of the Times on July 4 this year, their target wasn't the Times but President Bush and the war in Iraq.)
A glass of whiskey in hand, Mr. Bichlbaum, who is one half of the prankster/activist duo the Yes Men, was greeting fans in the courtyard of the Hammer Museum where "The Yes Men Fix the World" was about to have its Los Angeles premiere. The other Yes Man, Mike Bonanno, was in Washington talking on MSNBC about the film.
Mr. Bichlbaum, 46, had on a dark suit jacket and a dress shirt, which he wore untucked over baggy cargo pants that were tied at the ankles. Nonetheless, he conveyed the same air of authority that helped him when, keeping a straight face, he held a televised news conference two weeks ago as a representative of the United States Chamber of Commerce and announced that the organization had dropped its opposition to climate-change legislation. (On Tuesday the organization sued the Yes Men for trademark infringement.)