MetaFilter posts tagged with protest

Iranian banknotes uprising

Daddy-O — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:27:10 -0800

Iranian protesters are putting messages of dissent on currency via

This is what Democracy looks like, ten years later

twoleftfeet — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:54:52 -0800

I think that ten years from now, the thing that's going to be written about Seattle, is not what tear gas bomb went off on what street corner, but that the WTO in 1999 was the first of a global citizens movement for a democratic global economy (This is What Democracy Looks Like). Ten years ago tomorrow, diverse activist groups appeared in Seattle to protest perceived globalization/corporatization exemplified by the World Trade Organization. (Wiki) Some more anniversary stuff from KPLU in Seattle, Real Change, and maybe the Teabaggers. Previously: One year after.

As God as my witness, I thought that polar bears could fly.

cjorgensen — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:59:17 -0800

NPR fact-check of environmental protest group Plane Stupid's latest commercial featuring polar bears falling from the sky. [Warning: graphic.] This is not the only commercial that has people upset. Enter PeTA's "Grace" which several NBC affiliates predictably refused to air during Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

14 who bucked "the Cowboy Way"

liketitanic — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:31:56 -0800

The airing of the upcoming PBS documentary Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons, will bring new attention to a protest event against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that raised important questions about free speech, the rights of student athletes, and the state of the Civil Rights Movement in the Mormon Church. On October 17, 1969, 14 football players at the University of Wyoming were suspended for threatening to wear black armbands onto the field in an upcoming game against Brigham Young University. The squad members, who were known as the "Black 14," were protesting the the Mormon Church's exclusion of people of African descent from the priesthood. Other student athletes whose teams were members of the Western Athletic Conference had refused to compete against Brigham Young that year, including eight Black track team members at the University of Texas, El Paso. Others, including athletes at San Jose State, would protest in support of the Black 14; protest later extended to the University of Washington. This was not the earliest anti-LDS student-athlete protest, nor were athlete boycotts a totally new general protest tactic; in 1968, Black student athletes participated in 130 protest actions. But this case was one of the best-known, in part because of the civil lawsuit Williams v. Eaton, which alleged an infringement of the students' First Amendment Rights. At Wyoming, the Black Student Alliance first publicized the idea of a boycott and protest of BYU on October 15; the group urged students and players to protest a matchup scheduled for three days later. Despite the warning of Coach Lloyd Eaton to each of the 14 that team rules prohibited participating in demonstrations or protests, they together decided to wear armbands as a sign of protests. In a meeting with Eaton on October 17, the day before the game, the coach berated them publicly, revoking their scholarships and suspending them. Eaton remembered the event as "simply a matter of discipline. Black or white, it didn't matter to me. They broke the rule and I told them they were no longer members of the team." Yet Eaton, almost in the same breath, evoked conspiracy theory: "Why haven't we had a demonstration before? . . . we've had Negro players here since 1960. I'll tell you why. This is the first year the Black Student Alliance has been on campus. Now they're organized and ready to act. The WAC was picked because of Brigham Young. And we were picked as the trigger because of our rule against demonstrations. It all fits." And other accounts allege that Eaton told them to "shut up," and that without his team "they would be out on the streets hustling." Game-day student protests (archival footage), a 17-1 vote in the student senate to support the players, and faculty support, which extended as far as 7 faculty members threatening resignation, were not strong enough to drown out Eaton's supporters, which included the University trustees and leadership. The 14, with the help of the NAACP, became plaintiffs in Williams v Eaton, a $1.1. million civil suit filed on October 29, 1969. The Federal District court, upheld on appeal, ruled against the players, arguing in support of Eaton's no-protest policy. A subsequent appeals decision, in 1972, ruled that their free speech rights had not been violated when Eaton and the University Trustees forbade armbands. Eaton resigned in 1971, after the protests were accompanied by a wave of losses (and a worse season the following year). Ten of the 14 players graduated from college, and players Tony McGee was the best known of the four who went on to play football professionally. The LDS Church would not allow blacks to ascend to priesthood until a 1978 Revelation received by President Kimball Spencer Kimball apparently extended the office through God's providence.

Flash mob in aisle 3!

markkraft — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:00:25 -0800

Brassed off?! (YouTube, 5 min.) Like the health care debate itself, the boycott / buycott confrontation regarding the recent article by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey may be heating up. Mackey, who was previously investigated by the SEC for making anonymous internet posts talking up his stock while trashing the valuation of an acquisition target, now faces opposition from suppliers and labor groups, a decrease in brand perception, investor calls to step down... and pesky oom-pah bands.

University of California Budget Walkout

spitefulcrow — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:16:55 -0800

Thousands of students, faculty, and staff have walked out today in protest of the University of California's budget cuts. Today marks the first day of classes for eight of the ten UC campuses, all of which have been hit hard by budget cuts as a result of the statewide budget crisis, which has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars of reductions to UC's budget. The cuts are being implemented via pay cuts and forced furloughs for UC faculty and staff, and drastic fee increases have been proposed. UC employees are worried about what is seen as the potential privatization of the nation's largest public university system. Many see the California budget process, hampered by a two-thirds majority requirement and numerous ballot initiatives blocking tax increases, as the source of the problem. Local coverage per campus: Berkeley Los Angeles Davis Santa Barbara Irvine

Go topless... and let me tell you about some UFOs

ocherdraco — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:21:19 -0800

The second annual National Go Topless Protest Day will be held this Sunday, August 23, in various American cities. It happens to be run by Raelians, members of a UFO religion founded by Rael, a former French sports-car journalist and test driver born Claude Vorilhon. (Coverage of last year's protest in New York City, which is, as one might suspect, NSFW.) Though the current "Go Topless!" site talks more about women's rights than Raelism, in 2004, Raelian women were marching topless not for the legalization of bare breastedness, but against "the repressive Myth of God." Don't remember the Raelians? This is just the most recent stunt by the publicity-hungry group that capitalizes on media-friendly controversy: in 2002, during the slow news week between Christmas and New Year's Day, they announced the creation of the first human clone, gaining what Rael estimated at over $500 million of free media coverage. In an interview, Rael unabashedly discusses his passion for publicity. From a press release:

The organization has decided to hold its protest events annually on the Sunday before Women's Equality Day, which is celebrated Aug. 26. On that date in 1920, after a 72-year struggle, women earned the right to vote. In 1970, Congress declared Aug. 26 Women's Equality Day "to remind people of women's continuing efforts for equality." GoTopless.org includes not only Raelians, who believe all life on Earth was created by advanced extraterrestrial scientists called the Elohim, but women and men representing many other beliefs. GoTopless's primary goals: nationwide legal recognition of women's right to go bare-chested and its acceptance by the public. "Breasts are noble parts of the anatomy," said Raelian Priestess Nadine Gary, president of GoTopless.org. "They shouldn't have to be hidden any more than arms or legs. 'Free your breasts, free your mind!' is our message to women. Men can practice respecting a freedom they take for granted and help end the puritanical idea that children shouldn't see breasts unless a woman is nursing." "Concern for children can be used as an excuse to violate human rights," said psychologist Daniel Chabot, a Raelian bishop. "But a child who sees breasts experiences no adverse effects. European children have been proving that for 40 years." Protest events will include marches, art displays; musical performances and speeches about top-less freedom. "The art works won't be censured for including nipples," Gary said. "In fact, we're encouraging the artists to celebrate the entire breast in all its magnificence and beauty!"

Allah-o-Akbar

homunculus — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:36:22 -0800

Iran: The Rooftop Project. "This is meant to be the most complete possible collection of recordings of nighttime protest in Iran since the beginning of the uprising. Its goal is to locate and profile at least one video for each night primarily focusing on the nightly chanting of Allah-o-Akbar from the rooftops, whenever that footage is available. Some of these videos have not been widely seen until now." [Via]

The earth has no price.

shetterly — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:33:29 -0800

A fight for the Amazon that should inspire the world. "Army helicopters opened fire on the protesters with live ammunition and stun-grenades. More than a dozen were killed. But the indigenous peoples did not run away. Even though they were risking their lives, they stood their ground. One of their leaders, Davi Yanomami, said simply: "The earth has no price. It cannot be bought, or sold or exchanged. It is very important that white people, black people and indigenous peoples fight together to save the life of the forest and the earth. If we don't fight together, what will our future be?" And then something extraordinary happened. The indigenous peoples won." Via A Tiny Revolution: Latin America, World's Moral Political Leader.

The mysterious death of a young hotel chef in China mobilizes thousands

sswiller — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:36:32 -0800

"At 1am on June 19, police and funeral cars arrived at the hotel, wanting to take the body away. 2,000 Shishou residents blocked the hotel entrance to protect Xu's corpse."

Political violence in Peru

nomis — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:08:25 -0800

On the morning of 5 June, Peruvian police forces opened fire on indigenous protesters near Bagua, Amazonas. Amazonwatch has an excellent audio report (about 8 mins) from Gregor Maclennan. The majority of the protesters were from the Awajún/Aguaruna and Wampís/Huambisa tribes of the northwestern Peruvian Amazon, and were armed only with traditional wooden spears. Indigenous leaders say that dozens of protesters were killed and their bodies secretly disposed of; the official toll is nine indigenous deaths and over 20 police deaths (In Spanish). A blog providing political information relevant to the Wampís (in Spanish) gives details of indigenous arrests, injuries and deaths. The ultimate source of the conflict is a Free Trade Agreement that President García signed with the USA, which included new laws making oil and lumber extraction from tribal lands by foreign companies much easier. Peru's main indigenous organisation AIDESEP claims that these laws are unconstitutional as they were passed by presidential decree with no consultation. The president of AIDESEP, Alberto Pizango, is facing 35 years prison for inciting the violence, and has taken refuge in the Embassy of Nicaragua (in Spanish). Meanwhile García makes it clear that he considers natives to be a separate class of citizens from "Peruvians". Indigenous people have been protesting these laws for nearly two months now throughout the Peruvian Amazon, although the main focus has been in the area around Bagua. Here is a youtube link to video of the removal of Awajún and Wampís protesters from the bridge at Corral Quemado on 10 May 2009.

June 5, 1989: "Why are you here? My city is in chaos because of you."

blahblahblah — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:20:47 -0800

The iconic image of Tienanmen Square protests was that of the "Tank Man," a lone individual who stepped in front of a column of armored vehicles at the height of the massacre. On the eve of the anniversary of the protests, the New York Times interviews the four photographers who took images of the event, including how they got their film out of China, and there is also a video of the event, where you can see the man blocking the tanks. In a program available in full online, Frontline tries to find the identity of Tank Man, and finds that China has been remarkably successful in erasing the image from public memory. [prev.]

“I want you to know I care deeply about your views”

univac — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:01:19 -0800

Single-payer health care advocates arrested at Senate hearing. On May 5, 2009 advocates of a U.S. national health care program disrupted a Senate Finance Committee event to call for single-payer healthcare to be part of the discussion. The eight protesters were subsequently arrested. The protesters included representatives of Physicians for a National Health Program, which favors the The United States National Health Care Act, H.R. 676. Committee Chair Max Baucus (D - Montana), who has received more money in contributions from health insurance companies than any other member of Congress, favors requiring Americans to purchase private health insurance from those companies. Baucus, who has previously said that single-payer is "off the table," responded to the doctors and their fellow activists with, “I want you to know I care deeply about your views," and then, "we need more police [to eject protesters]."

School for Sadists

adamvasco — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:27:11 -0800

Father Luis Barrios, Episcopalian priest, full professor and academic chair at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, was sent to federal prison five weeks ago, after being convicted of trespassing. He was arrested in November for pushing a wheelchair-bound Vietnam veteran about one mile past the gates of the Fort Benning military base in Georgia. Fort Benning is the home of The School of the Americas also known as "School for Dictators", "School of Assassins", and "Nursery of Death Squads". SOAW campaigns to close this School which has the distinction of providing murderers for Latin American Regimes.

Keeping the peace.

reynir — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:50:41 -0800

One man died on the day of the G20 protests in London. He wasn't a protester, wasn't a police officer. Ian Tomlinson was a 47 year old newspaper seller trying to get home, who collapsed and died of heart failure. Three minutes before he collapsed and died, this happened. The official statement from the police made no reference to any contact between their officers and Mr Tomlinson but instead focused on the attempts to treat him after his collapse, and the much reported complaint that their officers had a couple of bottles thrown at them while doing so. The video footage was sent to the Guardian by a fund manager from New York.

Gee, 20

mippy — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:10:15 -0800

Protests against today's G20 summit in the UK turn predictably bloody. The main financial hub, the City, is closed off as a retail bank is broken into and dismantled. Another street, in contrast, is taken over and turned into an encampment.

Most Embarassing Protest

jsonic — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:26:15 -0800

Last month's food court occupation at NYU's Kimmel Center cafeteria, live-blogged here, has produced what is possibly the most embarassing protest video ever. Video summarized by the following exchange: Police: Son, there is no 'cooperation' -- you need to just leave. Student: Ok, um, we need to democratically decide on that. ... We would like to democratically decide in a consensus area. ... We need to look at the relationship here, the power hierarchy here. ... We need to decide whether we're going to cooperate with their demand. ... guys, we need to talk to each other ... ok, who wants to be facilitator? who can facilitate at this point?

Bus tours of the rich and infamous

445supermag — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:22:10 -0800

Bus tours of the houses of AIG executives, who are mostly not home or hiding behind security. One A.I.G. executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared the consequences of identifying himself, said many workers felt demonized and betrayed. “It is as bad if not worse than McCarthyism,” he said.

A New Way Forward

geos — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:17:14 -0800

Nationalize. Reorganize. Decentralize. anewwayforward.org wants you to organize a protest on April 11^th to express your frustration and disapproval with how our elected officials have handled the economic crisis.

a moment of great courage

shetterly — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:13:04 -0800

Palestinian girl, Israeli soldier. It made me remember 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests.

Students Occupy The New School

dskinner — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:29:21 -0800

In protest to tuition increases and the anti-democratic policies of President Bob Kerrey, students from The New School, CUNY, NYU and others have occupied the Graduate Faculty building of The New School at 65 5th Avenue.

The Commons

finite — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:30:45 -0800

It's the commons, our right of birth
And to you who would own everything all around the Earth
Our future is your downfall, when we cut this ball and chain
You who'd sacrifice the public good for your private gain

Ron Paul '08: So sayeth the Lord.

god hates math — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:06:51 -0800

The Alliance Defense Fund is organizing Pulpit Freedom Sunday, urging Pastors to explicitly endorse Presidential candidates in violation of IRS rules governing the non-profit status of religious organizations.

James Powderly's story of his Beijing detention

kliuless — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:11:13 -0800

An American in Beijing's Detention Facilities (via kottke)

After hours without sleep and threats against their lives and the lives of their loved ones, Powderly and the other Americans began to crack. “That’s when I started to realize that I’m really good at being a douche-baggy art star, but I’m really bad at this secret agent business,” he said.

which can be compared/contrasted with recent police action in st. paul (and of course guantanamo), but also the larger image and reality in china.

An outlaw view of the underbelly of the beast during the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:16:02 -0800

Fear and Loathing in Denver, Colorado - August 24-28, 2008.