There's a very peculiar full-page ad in this week's Philadelphia City Paper for a group called the International Coalition for British Reparations (and its web site, BritishReparations.com), which is demanding 31 trillion pounds in reparations for -- well, for literally billions of people worldwide, and almost everyone in the United States.

Here's what it looks like:

If you can't read the text, there's plenty more at the web site. The arguments are so silly that I don't think I need to address them seriously. (For starters, it's corruption of blood.)

Initially, I thought (as did a Cold Fury commenter) that the ad might be satire, for the site blames the British for, among many other things, Stalin's Gulags (prison camps were a British invention, natch), World Wars One and Two, all the Iraq Wars, the list goes on and on. But I think the Cold Fury commenter may have been wrong when he called Grasse a con artist:

Here is what I found interesting: Under the header of "Who is behind the International Coalition for British Reparations (ICBR)?" it says:

The ICBR was founded by Steve A. Grasse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Grasse is a lay historian and founder of a successful multinational marketing company

Allow me to translate:

"Lay historian": Someone who doesn't know shit about History but has read a few books and watched a few TV programs and fancies himself an "historian."

"founder of a successful multinational marketing company" = Con artist.

From the Amazon cache:

Editorial Reviews
Book Description
They invented slums. They invented child labor. They put Saddam Hussein in power. They burned Joan of Arc at the stake. They made Elton John a knight.

We're talking about Britain, of course, and the terrible evils they've set loose on the world. In The Evil Empire, American author Steven Grasse documents the 101 worst atrocities of Mother England everything from foxhunting and the invention of the concentration camp to the rock band Oasis. (He's also launching a massive global Internet campaign for reparations worth 58 trillion dollars this spring.) With an irreverent mix of historical facts, smartass commentary, and red-blooded American arrogance, Grasse offers a devastating critique of the country that gave us the machine gun, factory labor, and Phil Collins. Publishing just in time for the Queen's birthday (April 21), The Evil Empire is essential reading for anglophiles and true-blue Americans everywhere.

About the Author
Steven A. Grasse is the CEO of Gyro Worldwide, a multimillion-dollar ad agency. He has designed award-winning campaigns for clients such as Coca-Cola, MTV, and Puma. This is his first book. Penny Rimbaud is a drummer, writer, poet, and cofounder of the anarchist punk band Crass.

The new Amazon listing for the book says nothing about Grasse being the CEO of Gyro Worldwide, and I am not sure why. Considering that Gyro is a huge advertising outfit which has worked with the Philadelphia Inquirer with Phillycars.com (lots of big money involved there, folks), you'd think it would help sell the book to let the readers know what a hot shot the author is, and how long he's been a hot shot.

Here's what the "About the Author" section says now:

About the Author
Steven A. Grasse is a cultural studies analyst and media communications expert, who has extensively studied the British Empire. He is also the spokesperson for the International Coalition for British Reparations (ICBR), a massive global initiative for reparations from England worth 58 trillion dollars. This is his first book. Penny Rimbaud is a musician, writer, poet, and cofounder of the anarchist punk band Crass.

And right now, while I don't know exactly what is going on, I am very suspicious.

Is it possible that someone is pretending to be Steven Grasse, or that there's more than one?

According to local Philadelphia blog Phawker, Grasse directed a film called "Bikini Bandits" and sure enough, IMDB lists a "Steve Grasse" as the director of that film. And both City Paper and Wikipedia confirm that the director Steven Grasse is the founder of Gyro Worldwide.

Weird, huh?

This is obviously timed to coincide with Prince Charles' upcoming visit to Philadelphia, as the ICBR web site states that Comcast has pulled their TV ad, as did the Bill O'Reilly Show:

The ICBR is a new grassroots organization formed by Steven Grasse, a cultural studies analyst and media communications expert. His ancestors fought in the American Revolution and Civil Wars. He is a distant relative of three presidents--Franklin Pierce, George Bush, and George W. Bush. He is the author of a forthcoming work on the history of British civilization and its role in world affairs, to be published in April 2007.

The Coalition consists of forgotten victims of the British Empire who have banded together to ask for compensation for the injuries and injustice suffered over the past five hundred years. England's shameful misconduct and neglect have necessitated that a global network of citizens from all walks of life unite to seek reparations in the sum of 31 trillion pounds sterling. ($58 trillion USD).

The controversial spot was set to air on "The O'Reilly Factor," but was pulled mid-airing in a move that can be called nothing short of censorship. Comcast execs refuse to broadcast the commercial until major revisions have been made.

Comcast accepted payment for the advertisement and then mysteriously yanked the spot mid-air. When ICBR representatives called to inquire as to whether or not it was a technical difficulty they nervously explained that Comcast's New York City legal counsel had prohibited the commercial and cancelled all future airings.

We respectfully ask: What was the reason for this? Who got to them? And what other acts of injustice will innocent citizens of the world face at the hands of the British Empire?

It would be easy to dismiss this nonsense if it didn't appear to be the product of an important person.

If this is a gigantic hoax, or if Steven Grasse is not the Gyro founder/movie director, I hope someone will let me know.

My information comes only from what I found at the above sites.

I enjoy jokes, and even an occasional hoax. But if it turns out this is serious, and if it turns out a well-connected Philadelphia advertising executive is behind it, would it still be funny?

Well, maybe to me.

(But then, I think Ward Churchill and Michael Moore are funny....)

MORE: If you're as offended as I am by the gratuitous bashing of an ally, Glenn Reynolds links a more appropriate use of the Union Jack.

(Sorry, Glenn! I meant "scary racist symbol." My bad.)

MORE: The same full page ad appears in this week's Philadelphia Weekly.

British Reparations may be a lunatic fringe idea, but somebody's putting a lot of money into it.

UPDATE (01/27/07): Metro Philadelphia asserted that the British Reparations movement is in fact run by the same Steven Grasse of Gyro:

CENTER CITY.?Blame the bloody English.

That's what a longtime Philadelphia advertising executive says in a book set for release in April called "Evil Empire" and plans to spell out at a press conference tomorrow at the Constitution Center.

Steve Grasse, head of Center City's Gyro Worldwide Advertising, wants Britain to pay $58 trillion to the world, or roughly $8,500 per person, for causing what he called "injuries and injustices suffered over the past [500] years" by the world at the hands of the British.

"We're only asking for a fraction of what the world is due," Grasse said yesterday of his Philadelphia-based organization called the International Coalition for British Reparations.

And he says he's dead serious.

What I'd really like to know is why the Philadelphia Inquirer does not seemto consider this major local story to be newsworthy.

Something isn't right.

MORE: If Gyro is trying to hide its connections with British Reparations, they aren't doing a good job. Using a standard domain lookup, I discovered that the contact information for BritishReparations.com points to "Carrie Carnegie" at Gyro:

Registrant:
Carnegie, Carrie
ATTN: BRITISHREPARATIONS.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA. 20172-0447

Domain Name: BRITISHREPARATIONS.COM

Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
Carnegie, Carrie Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com
Gyro Worlwide Advertising
ATTN: BRITISHREPARATIONS.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
570-708-8780

Record expires on 04-Sep-2007.
Record created on 04-Sep-2006.

Registrant:
Gyro Worldwide
394 Walnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
US

Domain Name: GYROWORLDWIDE.COM

Administrative Contact:
Carnegie, Carrie Whois Privacy and Spam Prevention by DomainTools.com
Gyro Worlwide Advertising
114-120 S 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107

If Mr. Grasse is joking, I'm waiting to hear all about the prank.

UPDATE: My thanks to Pajamas Media for linking this post!

At this point, I think it's obvious who's behind it.

What I'd like to know is why. Is it a joke, or is it serious?

And why the lack of local coverage?

MORE: I hate it when things don't make sense.

If the idea here is for a big, MSM-connnected ad agency to create a brand-new political meme, wouldn't media coverage be the whole idea? After all, it's not as if this involves some piddly rent-a-demonstrator service.

Come on guys! If this is a media-manufactured meme, where's the media?