Hawaiian Singer Played Occupy Protest Ballad for Asian Conference Leaders

The New York Times' The Lede ^ | November 14, 2011 | Robert Mackey

[2ndDivisionVet]

As my colleague Jackie Calmes reported, President Obama decided not to force world leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Honolulu over the weekend to wear Hawaiian shirts. But the White House did arrange for a local musician, Makana, to serenade the world leaders with tunes played in the Hawaiian slack-key guitar style known as ki hoalu.

Although Makana plays in a style with a Hawaiian name, he sings in English, and the day after his performance he revealed that he had slipped in repeated references to the Occupy Wall Street protests as he strummed in the background during a forum dinner on Saturday night.

As he showed in a brief video clip of the performance he posted online after the event, Makana had opened his jacket to reveal that his T-shirt read, “Occupy With Aloha.” Then he launched into a 45-minute version of his Occupy-inspired song, “We Are the Many,” which begins with the lines: “Ye come here gather round the stage/ The time has come for us to voice our rage.” It ends: “We are the many/You are the few.”

In a news release sent to journalists, the anticapitalist performance artists known as the Yes Men took partial credit for helping Makana pull off his subtle protest....

[2ndDivisionVet]

The fact that they didn't stop him tells me that it was pre-arranged by Mr. Obama's handlers.

[onyx]

Precisely!

[onyx]

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FReepathon Day 46!!

[Ezekiel]

“Occupy With Aloha.” Then he launched into a 45-minute version of his Occupy-inspired song, “We Are the Many,”

Must be a herd of luau/kalua pigs, coming up out of the pit.

Mark 5

8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.