Grandmas protest the war in Iraq and get the cuffs Funny, great story. We tried to ring the bell at the booth, but no one answered," Wile said. "I saw a head poke up from behind the counter every once in a while and then duck back down. I don't know what they were afraid of. Maybe they don't know how to deal with a bunch of grannies."
posted by mountainmambo on Oct 19, 2005 - 84 comments

Princeton Students and Polticians Stage Filibuster -- Princeton students started a filibuster at the Frist Campus Center at Princeton University to protest the impending unloading of the "nuclear option" in the United States Senate. Bill Frist is a Princeton alum and his family donated the building the filibuster is in front of. It's been going on for a whopping 78 hours already and looks to at least go through the weekend. Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) spoke earlier today, and NJ Assemblyman Reed Gusciora was there yesterday. They've even got physicists (one and two) and a Nobel Prize winner.
posted by nathanrudy on Apr 29, 2005 - 20 comments

Blackout Some sites have gone black today in protest of black box voting and/or four more years of Bush. But, actually, I haven't seen many. Are people tired of fighting or is this just a poorly-organized effort no one knows about?
posted by sparky on Jan 20, 2005 - 64 comments

At first glance it would seem to be something one would find in some photoshop gallery. But then one finds out that she has been forced to justify her work, for they are pictures of freshly killed animals. Much to the dislike of some craigslistians. With the growing uproar, there is even a petition going around (though petitions like that are hardly rare.) Is this a work of someone seeking attention through offending people? Or someone unable to use photoshop? Whatever the case, I’m sure PETA will join in. . . . Wait, it has.
posted by TwelveTwo on Jan 10, 2005 - 90 comments

F*ckNewYork-- very fitting quicktime piece (9 meg, NSFW--offensive language/attitude) concerning the upcoming Republican Convention. Links to RNC Not Welcome, and Counterconvention, but i don't think it's something they created. And a torrent here.
posted by amberglow on Aug 15, 2004 - 43 comments

Lost Liberties? Salon has an interesting two part series on the tensions between antiwar protesters and law enforcement. Part 1: "Outlawing dissent: Spying on peace meetings, cracking down on protesters, keeping secret files on innocent people -- how Bush's war on terror has become a war on freedom." Part 2: "A thousand J. Edgar Hoovers: State and local police are taking it upon themselves to investigate antiwar activists -- and in the computer age, the threat to our civil liberties is even greater than it was in Hoover's day." Does Protester = Criminal?
posted by homunculus on Feb 20, 2004 - 2 comments

"If voting could really change things, it would be illegal." More fun from Diebold: on Tuesday, two PA-based student groups announced they will engage in "electronic civil disobedience" by ignoring Diebold's demands to remove public access to leaked memos from Diebold offices, which indicate among other things "...that Diebold, which counts the votes in 37 states, knowingly created an electronic system which allows anyone with access to the machines to add and delete votes without detection."
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Oct 22, 2003 - 49 comments

Free speech zones Appearing everywhere from Florida to Oregon. In California the concept has been fought and defeated, but in Kansas there seems to be little resistance. It's not just the usual suspects, either. Watch where you are standing no matter who you are protesting, even if it's just governors.
posted by betaray on Sep 21, 2003 - 31 comments

The prison diary of Scottish Parliament MP (and successful self-publicist) Tommy Sheridan, jailed for seven days (not for the first time) for refusing to pay a fine imposed after he was found guilty of a breach of the peace while demonstrating at Faslane against nuclear weapons.
posted by ascullion on Sep 2, 2003 - 7 comments

Democrats in GOP-dominated Texas House stage mass absence to break quorum It comes as a stinging response to Republican tactics to redraw districts that are favorable to Republican outcomes
posted by The Jesse Helms on May 12, 2003 - 21 comments

Pop Culture vs. War!! (avert eyes) So Madonna pulls her anti-war video at the last minute, "never to be seen again". Have to say, it sounds just as finely-wrought a piece of art as G.Micheal's Shoot the Dog. Meanwhile, Lil' Kim attempts some bridge-building between the cultures with this subtle intervention. In times of peace, we expect pop musicians to shoot their mouths off about anything - that's what we pay them for. But I haven't been impressed by anything from rock'n'pop yet in this war. (Micheal Moore's press conference at the Oscars rocked harder than any of them). Is it straight forward fear of career death (see Dixie Chicks)? Or is it just that nobody can do this (dylan) or this (Starr) anymore?
posted by theplayethic on Apr 2, 2003 - 29 comments

Civil disobedience ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS PLAN TO DISRUPT DAILY ACTIVITIES IF WAR BREAKS OUT--but, shush, don't let this news get out yet.
posted by Postroad on Feb 28, 2003 - 55 comments

Protest Is Not Tolerated

I wasn't sure how much good I could do or how much power one person has but I wanted to do it. When I took my place on the sidewalk across the street from my church, I was struck with this Norman Rockwell picture of America. Families with their balloons, flags and signs made it feel like the Fourth of July. I was thrilled by all the patriotism and was proud to be part of this community that cares enough to turn out to greet the most powerful politician in our land. But when I unrolled my sign, all that changed, and I may never be able to look at my community the same way again.

Ain't that America? Proud to be Born in the USA? Constitutional rights? Not with the "Defenders Of All Things Duhbya!"
posted by nofundy on Feb 27, 2003 - 141 comments

Web sites protest by going black. A little over 100 web sites have bandied together to go black on this international day of protest. Some with interesting art, some with personal notes and others with strong words. Are there other web protests going on that you've heard of? Links?
posted by DragonBoy on Feb 15, 2003 - 16 comments

The Twelve Peace Prayers.
posted by thedailygrowl on Feb 15, 2003 - 10 comments

It seems that there is some disconnection between the foreign policies of the American administration and the beliefs of a significant part of the population. In many countries, direct action is seen as a normal response. Will that happen here? Or here?
posted by Nicolae Carpathia on Feb 2, 2003 - 18 comments

Treetop Bloggers Protest Logging A group of anti-logging activists are now ready to maintain their own blog 130 feet up in an ancient redwood. I've considered tree sitting, but find myself much more inclined to do so if I could continue working (or reading MeFi, as the case may be). Interesting intersection of technology and activism. Doncha think? (via /.)
posted by maniactown on Dec 13, 2002 - 6 comments

Pipedown: The campaign for freedom from piped music (aka elevator music or Muzak). A noble cause if ever there was one.
posted by dchase on Apr 26, 2002 - 8 comments

Eight peace activists were shot and wounded by Israeli soldiers. The soldiers apparently (and I could be wrong) fired without provocation -- the activists were unarmed, and were marching peacefully. Israel's Justice Minister was quoted in the Miami Herald today (no web link available, sorry) as saying, "A person playing with fire should not yell when he gets burned." Essentially, what is being said here is that being a protestor is sufficient reason to be shot. The Israeli army claims to be hunting down "terrorists", but if this is how they define the word I don't feel too inclined to trust them.
posted by tweebiscuit on Apr 2, 2002 - 48 comments

Combatting White Supremacy in the Anti-globalization Movement
The anti-globalization movement has been vibrant in communities and organizations of color in the US and around the world for hundreds of years, yet white supremacy was rampant in the movement against the WTO ministerial meetings in Seattle. In other words, racism is alive and well in social justice organizing, and the WTO was no exception.

posted by djacobs on Mar 20, 2002 - 8 comments

For any unconvinced that demonstrations against corporate greed are called for, take a look at this documentary about a section of NAFTA which allows corporations to sue governments (in private tribunals) for having laws which get in the way of their profits. One current example is a canadian company suing the US gov't for an environmental law which bans their product.
posted by mdn on Feb 5, 2002 - 50 comments

"I think it's a healthy sign that there are demonstrators in the streets. They are raising the question of 'is the rich world giving back enough?'" : Bill Gates (yeah, this guy). I think it's interesting that the "evil capitalists" seem to actually have some similiar beliefs to the protestors at the WEF conference. Perhaps we've moved a step beyond between the us=good them=bad analogies?
posted by owillis on Feb 4, 2002 - 50 comments

So what happened? News from New York. A banner was unfurled (somewhere - nobody really saw it). A Starbucks had an incomprehensible something spray painted on a window. A few people protested cheap kakhi's at the Gap (I passed this one on the way to a meeting and, ironically, some appeared to be wearing Gap clothes). The Falun Gong exercised outside, but on the whole this week has turned into a non-protest ... with the 10,000 that organizers expected turning into about 500. Has the anti-globalization movement had the life drained from it by Sept. 11? Is this just a temporary lull?
posted by MidasMulligan on Feb 2, 2002 - 47 comments

Woomera detainees sew lips together At least 58 asylum seekers have sewn their lips together during a hunger strike at the Woomera detention centre. I don't know what to think, I know we have to take precautions against letting terrorists in, but this is just awful.
posted by Tarrama on Jan 18, 2002 - 39 comments

On September 30th, there was a peace protest in Washington D.C. I'm surprised no one else linked to this -- about 50 students from my college attended and joined the crowd of a few thousand. I would have gone, but I'm dubious about the efficacy of public protest despite the fact that I'm an affirmed pacifist. What do you folks think? Will a totally non-military action be an appropriate response? (And is there any possiblity of the US acting in such a way?) Is the loss of a single additional human life in this new war justifiable?
posted by tweebiscuit on Oct 3, 2001 - 109 comments

Hello??? McFly???!!??? Tiny, but remarkable Pro-Bush/global-warming-as-myth protest in Bonn as reported by The Times. 40 deluded rich american kids against the world. Literally. And, no it's not a new reality TV series... although... I can see it now.... "Protester"(tm)
posted by blackbeltjones on Jul 19, 2001 - 44 comments

Your chocolate bar contains beans picked by child slaves. From the Philadelphia Inquirer. Part of an excellent report into the Ivory Coast cocoa trade. Awful stuff, especially for a corporation like Hershey Foods, which exists for the benefit of a school for disadvantaged children. Apparently boycotts won't help. If we shouldn't boycott, can't take direct action, what can we do? (Via TurksHeadReview.)
posted by ftrain on Jun 25, 2001 - 26 comments

I generally don't have anytime for large scale protest's (wto riots - and mayday riots) and i dont agree with them when they start a vicious offence. Police are only defending themselves with water cannons and tear gas - *BUT THIS* is completly out of hand....
posted by monkeyJuice on Jun 17, 2001 - 18 comments

The Harvard Living Wage Campaign has been sitting in blocking the administration building for 8 days, 8 hours, and 58 minutes. They've been nytimesed and you'd think the college would have to listen to Ben Affleck (and Ted Kennedey and 200 faculty and...).
posted by benjamin on Apr 26, 2001 - 24 comments

Summit of the Americas protest ratchets up a notch Have these accomplished anything?
posted by owillis on Apr 20, 2001 - 107 comments

The obvious next step has been taken: An Oregon state senator introduces a bill that will expand the definition of hate crimes to include ecoterrorism and illegal actions motivated by anticapitalism. Block a street, go to jail?
posted by aaron on Feb 13, 2001 - 48 comments

Anti-globalisation protesters "make me want to vomit" says Michael Moore, head of the World Trade Organisation. Which is funny, since *he* makes *me* want to vomit, too. "Because the poorest people on our planet, they are the ones that need us the most", says Mr. Moore. Oh, the sincerity in his words...
posted by tobyslater on Feb 6, 2001 - 42 comments

Global women are planning a general strike on March 8, 2001, in protest of pay inequity.
posted by tamim on Jan 26, 2001 - 17 comments

Why can't more protest movements be like this one? Neal Pollack, of McSweeney's, ushers a (very polite) call to arms.
posted by RakDaddy on Jan 17, 2001 - 4 comments

The "Stop Ashcroft" movement gets busy - does this coalition have a website? I've already e-mailed my senators but I'd like to see what else I can do to keep this goon as far away from the Attorney General's office as possible.
posted by NickBarat on Jan 9, 2001 - 31 comments

A pageant of protesting puppets hopes to shut down The School of the Americas at Fort Benning, GA, along with raising awareness of Lori Berenson's Peruvian imprisonment and other Central/South American issues.
posted by FearfulFred on Nov 24, 2000 - 1 comment

"I am concerned about the world's silence and co-operation with this massacre. Maybe if people at grassroots act, governments will follow." Neta Golan, 29, Israeli ctizen and voluntary human shield.
posted by lagado on Nov 19, 2000 - 6 comments

Here is an interesting account of S11 written by a journalist who went to protest on his day off. More inside...
posted by lagado on Oct 2, 2000 - 1 comment

when you aren't protesting anything, why not protest nothing?
posted by palegirl on Sep 27, 2000 - 9 comments

S26 protests get violent. Once again, those bloody radicals are blamed for turning a nice nonviolent protest bad. I seem to recall someone dismissing my criticism of the movement for not being on the same ideological page.
posted by norm on Sep 26, 2000 - 19 comments

It's odd that people reacting against globalisation should try to stop the forum meeting in Melbourne this week. It is working to solve the problems they are protesting against, warns the Swiss intellectual who is founder and president of the World Economic Forum.
posted by murray_kester on Sep 10, 2000 - 29 comments

The enemies of globalisation are readying to march on Melbourne. The irony, is that it's the Net that's bringing them together. Find out More
posted by murray_kester on Aug 30, 2000 - 3 comments

Constitutional Violations Persist in Philadelphia Prisons. Allegedly bad stuff going down at the convention. Did Tom Brokaw mention anything like this before last night's rerun of "Ally McBeal"?

"You just enjoy your television shows, son, and let us run the country!"
posted by dcehr on Aug 4, 2000 - 26 comments

In San Francisco, the Ad Hoc Committee Against the New Millennium staged a solemn march against Y2K. "Growing up in the '60s and '70s we were promised things like rocket cars, space travel, alien encounters...android sex slaves," said Horace Higginbottom, who thinks the world has been cheated out of the future. "What do we get instead? They gives us the lousy Internet, crummy e-commerce."
posted by mathowie on Jan 1, 2000 - 0 comments