Posted on 06/05/2008 10:56:33 AM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
The man known as the French "Spiderman" climbed The New York Times building on Thursday to draw attention to global warming, adding to earlier conquests including the Eiffel Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Alain Robert, 45, told reporters ahead of the climb on U.N World Environment Day his aim was "to raise awareness of global warming since this is one of the main problems for our time."
He raised both arms and waved to onlookers when he reached the top, where waiting police handcuffed and detained him. Using the lattice work on the facade, he climbed without equipment besides chalk for his hands and climbing shoes.
Around the 10th floor he put up a banner saying, "Global warming kills more people than 9/11 every week."
The climb drew hundreds of spectators in Midtown Manhattan who gathered around the Times building plus police, fire fighters and other emergency services personnel.
"He must be nuts," said Sammy Cataldo, a construction worker on a neighboring building.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Yet another story that contains the words “global warming” and “facade”
1 brave frenchman on the whole world and he wastes his time with this???
Like to seem him climb a mosque and unfurl a banner that says "Islam kills more people every week than all other religions put together for the entire year."
"French Daredevil"...c'mon, are we gonna be asked to believe in the Tooth Fairy next?
This guy is awesome, brilliant, but also a completely idiotic AGW theorist. Very French, and I say that with some affection.
Yep, French and daredevil are mutually exclusive.
Oh! Okay! I get it!
Some folks figure politics dignifies "look at me, Ma!" Most don't.
“Global warming kills more people than 9/11 every week.”
What a fool!!
Climbing a building to raise awareness of global warming is easier than blowing it up to raise awareness of radical Islamism.
Too bad there's no one in the building to see this.
If this nonsense wasn't going to cost us money I would actually welcome it. Let these nuts keep busy and their attention occupied on it while we go kick more Islamic butt!
What’s the big deal? The way the building is tilted he could have just walked up it. At least they could have titled the camera angle to make it look like he was really doing something dangeous, Gee wiz!
stupid, senseless and illegal.
sounds like most enviroweiners.
Did you really mean that to come out the way it sounded?
Somehow, some french guy doing stupid and senseless things is supposed to make me more aware of the truth(?) behind Global Warming?
He should have put up a sign showing the NY Slime’s dropping circulation numbers.
Good call, Sammy.
The truth is that Global Warming is a stupid and senseless concept, one which might appeal to the silly french folks, but which I need not have anything to do with.
that reminds me of the daredevil scene from Kentucky Fried Movie.
Glad you clarified that.
Brave? Sorry, this guy’s brain never matured enough for him to percieve danger.
“Global warming kills more humans every day than died from the attacks on 09/11.” This guy needs some help.
Petit first received the inspiration while he sat in his dentist’s office in Paris in 1968. He came upon an article on the as-yet unbuilt towers, along with an illustration of the model. He then became obsessed with the towers, collecting articles on the towers whenever possible. Petit also traveled to New York on several occasions to have some first-hand observations. Since the towers were still under construction, Philippe and N.Y.-based photographer Jim Moore went up in a helicopter to do aerial photographs of the WTC.
The purpose of having these photographs was for Petit to make a scale model of the towers to help him figure out the rigging he needed to prepare for the upcoming wirewalk. Petit and three others made fake identification cards (claiming that they were contractors that were installing an electrified fence on the roof) in order to gain access to the towers. Prior to this, Petit sneaked into the towers several times, hiding on the roof and other areas in the unfinished towers, in order to get a sense of what type of equipment he needed.
To make it easier to sneak into the buildings, Petit thoroughly observed the clothes worn by construction workers and what kinds of tools they carried, as well as the clothing of businessmen so that he would blend in with them when he tried to enter the buildings. He also noted what time the workers arrived and left, so he could determine when he would have roof access. He once even claimed that he was with a French architecture magazine wanting to interview the workers on the roof. The Port Authority allowed Petit to conduct the interviews, but the real reason he wanted to be up on the roof was to make more observations. He was once caught by a police officer on the roof, and his hopes to do the high wire walk were dampened, but he eventually regained the confidence to proceed with it.
Petit and his crew were able to ride in a freight elevator to the 104th floor with their equipment the day before the walk, and were able to store this equipment just nineteen steps from the roof. In order to pass the cable across the void, Petit and his crew decided to use a bow and arrow. They first shot across a fishing line, and then passed larger and larger ropes across the space between the towers until they were able to pass the 450 pound steel cable across. Cavalettis (guy lines) were used to stabilize the cable and keep the swaying of the wire to a minimum. For the first time in the history of the Twin Towers, they were joined. The ‘artistic crime of the century’ took six years of planning, during which he learned everything he could about the buildings, taking into account such problems as the swaying of the towers because of wind and how to get the walking cable across the 140 foot gap between the towers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Petit
“Global warming kills more people than 9/11 every week.”
PROOF.
And prove to me that it doesn’t save the lives of that many more people by making more land arable.
What kind of CHEESE did he bring with him?
Tyranny had kill far more people than “man made global warming”.
Natural global climate change killed more dinosaurs than man ever could.
Tyranny has kill far more people than “man made global warming”.
Natural global climate change killed more dinosaurs than man ever could.
(pardon for any repost but FR is having difficulties)
“”Global warming kills more people than 9/11 every week.””
He’d have been an honest and more effective communicator if he’d hung a poster that read: “I’m a stupid attention whore” instead.
UNWED Day? what will those dorks think of next.
Let us not confuse "idiotic" with "brave."
When some leftist protester climbed a skyscraper in Houston (and I think died afterwards or during), he was unable to get his message out.
We have jumpers here too (suicide) and they don’t make the news. I think because the building owners don’t want to draw attention to the possibility their tall building offers such people.
Just think of all the carbon dioxide he exhaled during his “protest”.
Bingo Bango Bongo - I’d love to see algore and some of his watermelon buddies squirm around with that one! :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
