So boasted the main headline on The New York Times copy I received outside of a subway station. At first, I walked right by, not believing for a second that the NYT would send someone handing out free copies of their paper from a bicycle. However, after my friend showed me the headline, I dashed back to obtain my copy. I could not believe it - I had not even heard a peep from 1010Wins that morning! I then noticed the date: July 4, 2009. And instead of the traditional "All the News That's Fit to Print," it instead had, "All the News We Hope to Print" in the upper left hand corner.
It was a stunt pulled by a group called the "Yes Men," a group
"Impersonating big-time criminals in order to publicly humiliate them. Targets are leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else."
1.2 million copies were claimed to be printed and distributed by thousands of volunteers. Reportedly, a few unnamed Times journalists had helped the publication. The paper was aimed at the next president to keep his promises regarding issues such as the closing of Guantanamo Bay or the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. However, most of the paper only mentioned "The president" instead of Barack Obama.
As I perused its stories, I found that it was extremely liberal, featuring headlines such as "Bush to Face Charges", "Ex-Secretary Apologizes for W.M.D. Scare", "Maximum Wage Law Succeeds" etc. I actually did wish that most of the laws and events described would happen, since it would definitely bring the United States in line with the policies of a majority of Western nations and to continue making progressive improvements. Yet I also winced at the news stories since I knew that in real life, compromises must be made in order to make progress.
>>>Read the online version of the paper
>>>New York Times description
(Published 11/28/2008)
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