gblowfish
06-04-2005, 01:46 PM
This guy is a weird agent. He probably thinks David Glass is the Anti Christ! Story from the SF Chronicle is below:
Great pics that go with this story: http://tinyurl.com/9gy4q
Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, June 4, 2005
A tanned reverend with a bleached-blond pompadour and a beige
polyester suit blessed the offices of three San Francisco supervisors
on Friday to protect the city from the "shopocalypse."
Bill Talen, more commonly known as the Rev. Billy of the Church of
Stop Shopping, delivered a rousing sermon denouncing the evils of
sweatshops on the steps of City Hall before he and his choir marched
into the offices of Ross Mirkarimi, Aaron Peskin and Fiona Ma. None of
the supervisors was present, but the Rev. Billy blessed their desks,
chairs and computers anyway.
"We are in the office of exalted leader Peskin," the reverend told
Peskin's stunned staff. "He is on vacation in Utah, but we know he
will use San Francisco's taxpayer money to do the right thing."
New York's the Rev. Billy is a nationally known -- well, in some
circles -- performance artist and crusader who travels the country to
support local movements against big-box retailers and rampant consumerism.
His collar may be fake, but he's got a true preacher's style. He and
his Stop Big Boxes Gospel Choir are on a six-day Shopocalypse Tour of
the Bay Area, to coincide with World Environment Day.
He stopped at City Hall to praise a sweatshop-free ordinance Mayor
Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Tom Ammiano are expected to introduce
within two weeks.
The legislation would deny contracts to businesses that engage in
questionable labor practices, said Tomas Lee, legislative aid to
Ammiano. It would apply to all city purchases, ranging from police
uniforms to flags to forks in the cafeteria.
The Rev. Billy and his choir were invited to preach their gospel by
Global Exchange, which is strongly pushing the law.
"We want to pass the strongest 'sweatshop free' ordinance in the
country, mandating that whatever the city buys is not produced in
sweatshops," said Valerie Orth, Global Exchange's organizer for
campaigns against sweatshops.
After several "hallelujahs" and "amens," the reverend put his hands on
the supervisors' desks and asked them, in spirit, to support the
ordinance. Mirkarimi was an obvious proponent who knelt before the
Rev. Billy, who had earlier honored him as a saint.
Blessings offered, the Rev. Billy took his message to the masses.
"Blessed are those who forgo the Gap," he preached while walking
through Civic Center Plaza, drawing stares from tourists gathered in
the park.
The reverend and his choir travel nationwide, performing "retail
interventions," raising awareness and fighting labor and legislative
battles.
"We give energy to activists," the reverend said. "They are often
exhausted and isolated."
The choir -- complete with organ, trumpet and trombone players -- wore traditional blue and yellow robes, singing songs like "Union in My
Soul" and "Stop Starbucks, Stop Disney."
The group's first Bay Area stop was Wednesday at Wal-Mart in Vallejo,
where it urged Solano County officials and shoppers to boycott the
store and prevent others from opening in the area.
Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Starbucks are frequent sites of the Rev.
Billy's sermons.
The Rev. Billy, who lived in San Francisco for many years, is a
disciple of Burning Man who received $6,000 last year from the Black
Rock Arts Foundation, the nonprofit arts funding arm, for an
evangelical anti- consumerism tour of California. He is among a
handful of artists to be sponsored by the organization.
He was a big hit at Burning Man in 2003, with his nightly shows
denouncing consumerism and the Bush administration. He was among the first artists to be openly political in the desert.
He has used art to force people to think about their consumer choices
for more than a decade.
The Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping will appear at 8 p.m.
today and Sunday at the Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St., San
Francisco. For information visit www.revbilly.com.
Great pics that go with this story: http://tinyurl.com/9gy4q
Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, June 4, 2005
A tanned reverend with a bleached-blond pompadour and a beige
polyester suit blessed the offices of three San Francisco supervisors
on Friday to protect the city from the "shopocalypse."
Bill Talen, more commonly known as the Rev. Billy of the Church of
Stop Shopping, delivered a rousing sermon denouncing the evils of
sweatshops on the steps of City Hall before he and his choir marched
into the offices of Ross Mirkarimi, Aaron Peskin and Fiona Ma. None of
the supervisors was present, but the Rev. Billy blessed their desks,
chairs and computers anyway.
"We are in the office of exalted leader Peskin," the reverend told
Peskin's stunned staff. "He is on vacation in Utah, but we know he
will use San Francisco's taxpayer money to do the right thing."
New York's the Rev. Billy is a nationally known -- well, in some
circles -- performance artist and crusader who travels the country to
support local movements against big-box retailers and rampant consumerism.
His collar may be fake, but he's got a true preacher's style. He and
his Stop Big Boxes Gospel Choir are on a six-day Shopocalypse Tour of
the Bay Area, to coincide with World Environment Day.
He stopped at City Hall to praise a sweatshop-free ordinance Mayor
Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Tom Ammiano are expected to introduce
within two weeks.
The legislation would deny contracts to businesses that engage in
questionable labor practices, said Tomas Lee, legislative aid to
Ammiano. It would apply to all city purchases, ranging from police
uniforms to flags to forks in the cafeteria.
The Rev. Billy and his choir were invited to preach their gospel by
Global Exchange, which is strongly pushing the law.
"We want to pass the strongest 'sweatshop free' ordinance in the
country, mandating that whatever the city buys is not produced in
sweatshops," said Valerie Orth, Global Exchange's organizer for
campaigns against sweatshops.
After several "hallelujahs" and "amens," the reverend put his hands on
the supervisors' desks and asked them, in spirit, to support the
ordinance. Mirkarimi was an obvious proponent who knelt before the
Rev. Billy, who had earlier honored him as a saint.
Blessings offered, the Rev. Billy took his message to the masses.
"Blessed are those who forgo the Gap," he preached while walking
through Civic Center Plaza, drawing stares from tourists gathered in
the park.
The reverend and his choir travel nationwide, performing "retail
interventions," raising awareness and fighting labor and legislative
battles.
"We give energy to activists," the reverend said. "They are often
exhausted and isolated."
The choir -- complete with organ, trumpet and trombone players -- wore traditional blue and yellow robes, singing songs like "Union in My
Soul" and "Stop Starbucks, Stop Disney."
The group's first Bay Area stop was Wednesday at Wal-Mart in Vallejo,
where it urged Solano County officials and shoppers to boycott the
store and prevent others from opening in the area.
Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Starbucks are frequent sites of the Rev.
Billy's sermons.
The Rev. Billy, who lived in San Francisco for many years, is a
disciple of Burning Man who received $6,000 last year from the Black
Rock Arts Foundation, the nonprofit arts funding arm, for an
evangelical anti- consumerism tour of California. He is among a
handful of artists to be sponsored by the organization.
He was a big hit at Burning Man in 2003, with his nightly shows
denouncing consumerism and the Bush administration. He was among the first artists to be openly political in the desert.
He has used art to force people to think about their consumer choices
for more than a decade.
The Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping will appear at 8 p.m.
today and Sunday at the Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St., San
Francisco. For information visit www.revbilly.com.