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10 Weirdest Protests Around the World

Published on 10/14/2009 under Misc - by Gracie Murano - 99,688 views

Farmers protest by squirting cow milk

Protesters in Brussels have found a new way to show their displeasure: squirting milk straight from a cow at riot police. Farmers angered by collapsing milk prices demonstrated, pelting police with bottles and chickens and spraying officers with milk directly from a cow's udders. Over 2,500 farmers from across the EU blockaded the area outside the European Union's headquarters, burning tires and hay outside an emergency meeting of farm ministers. The jittery cow, frightened by firecrackers, sprang loose and chased an office worker down the street. The city has a history of violent protests by farmers, although throwing milk from a cow is more funny than violent. (Link)


Woman protests against sharks extinction by hanging from a boutique ceiling with fish hooks

Alice Newstead took protesting to the next level when she pierced her skin with oversized fish hooks and hung from the ceiling of a Paris boutique in a campaign over shark extinction.

Alice Newstead, an artist from Watford, used the backdrop of Paris for her fishy protest, painting her body in silver to resemble a shark, before being hoisted into the air with oversized fishing hooks. The painful stunt went on for 15 minutes, as shoppers came to have a gander at the weird protest in the window of cosmetics store Lush. According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) some 100 million sharks are caught in commercial and sports fishing every year, and several species have declined by more than 80 per cent in the past decade alone. (Link)


Egyptian protests against imposed marriage by chopping off his penis

A 25-year-old laborer from the village of Sheikh Eissa in southern Egypt cut off his own penis on Sunday in protest against his parents' choice of bride. The man, who had also mutilated his testicles, was taken to hospital in stable condition. He was in love with a woman but his parents rejected her and told him to marry another woman he didn't want. He took a knife and cut off his penis in his room. Doctors were unable to reattach the severed member. (Link)


About 200 Canadians protest against a ballon by collectively dropping their trousers at it

In Ontario, Canada, about 300 people dropped their drawers to give a balloon with a surveillance camera trolling the Canada-U.S. border a piece of their derriere. The bare-bottomed activists were protesting the 15-metre-long Aerostat balloon, which is equipped with a high-tech camera capable of identifying the name on a ship 12 to 15 kilometres out in Lake Huron. “We did a quick countdown, everyone did the moon and then dispersed,”_said protest organizer Eli Martin.

Martin said he wants to make it clear to the U.S. that Sarnia residents do not like being watched. (Link)





Teenager protests against dissections by changing her name to a URL

A 19-year-old Virginia woman has adopted a most unusual method of protest--by changing her name to a website address protesting animal dissection for scientific purposes. Her friends and family still call her Jennifer, however. The former Jennifer Thornburg – whose driver's license now reads Dissection.com, Cutout – wanted to do something to protest animal dissections in schools. The 19-year-old's new name is also the Web address for an anti-dissection page of the site for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, where she is interning. The Asheville High School graduate who is working in Virginia said she began opposing dissections in middle school after a class assignment to cut up a chicken wing made her feel uncomfortable. She helped create a policy at her high school that allows students who object to dissections to complete an alternative assignment. (Link)


Journalist protests against war by throwing both shoes at Bush

Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi became an international hero after flinging both his shoes at Mr Bush during a Dec. 14 2008 press conference. He shouted: "This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog," as he threw the first shoe, and: "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq," as he threw the second. Initially sentenced to three years in jail for his protest, he eventually served only nine months. It was alleged that he had been tortured. Mr Bush, meanwhile, demonstrated previously unseen reactions by dodging both shoes sharply. Many touted the act of defiance as a symbol for the common man standing up an American bully, as the act of throwing one's shoes is considered a harsh insult by Iraqi cultural standards. Al-Zaidi shoes were size 10.

(Link)


Student protests school's “no-touching” policy by duct-taping himself

Connecticut eighth grader Patrick Abbazia attended classes wrapped in duct tape to protest his East Shore Midddle School's “no touching” policy. East Shore principal Catherine Williams had sent home a letter telling parents that “physical contact is prohibited to keep all students safe in the learning environment.” The announcement was prompted by an incident in which a student required medical attention after being kicked in the groin, but the letter specifically banned “hugging” and “horseplay” as well. Williams said she was “only concerned about unsafe behaviors,” but Abbazia claimed teachers had told him that high-fives and pats on the back were out of bounds as well.

Abbazia had a friend tape his torso at the shoulders and elbows while he was waiting for the school bus, and kept the tape on until fourth period, just after noon. School officials called his father in for a conference, telling him that Patrick had misunderstood the policy. (Link)


Fathers protest against custody laws by dressing up like superheros

Divorced dads Jolly Stanesby and Eddie Goreckwi ambushed the rooftop of London's Royal Courts of Justice in October 2003 to call attention to the plight of fathers in family courts. As members of controversial "Fathers 4 Justice" group, the men came prepared; they brought with them enough food, bedding and clothes for an entire week of caped crusading. The following month, another member of "F4J" scaled a 120-foot crane to express disdain toward a judge who had denied him access to his 3-year-old daughter; he too was dressed like a superhero. Though none of the men served time for their guerilla-style theatrics, the organization nearly collapsed in 2006 after authorities uncovered a plot by several of the group's members to kidnap the 5-year-old son of then Prime Minister Tony Blair. (Link)


Hindy hard-liners protest against Valentine's Day

India's Hindu hard-liners are showing no love for Valentine's Day. A few dozen protesters briefly blocked a road in downtown New Delhi, burning Valentine's Day cards and chanting "Down with Valentine." In the nearby city of Lucknow, extremists threatened to beat up couples found celebrating their love. "We are deadly against Valentine's Day," said Sapan Dutta, a regional leader of the hard-line Shiv Sena group. "We are for civilized love and affection."The protests by groups like Shiv Sena, who say they are defending traditional Indian values from Western-style promiscuity, have become an annual media event. (Link)


Peruvians protest against corruption by washing the country's flag

To protest President Alberto Fujimori's re-election campaign in 2000, Peruvians gathered in Lima's main plaza regularly to "wash" the country's flag tarnished by "dirty" politics. (Fujimori was accused of abusing his power and using violent tactics to crush his opposition.) The flag-scrubbing protest went on for months, but it wasn't until a video surfaced showing a Fujimori ally bribing a legislator that the President was forced to flee Peru for Toyko, Japan. From exile, Fujimori resigned the presidency, but was extradited to Peru after traveling to Chile in 2005. He is currently in prison on abuse of power charges, and faces trial on accusations that as president he controlled death squads that killed 25 people in two separate incidents. The initiative was called "lava la bandera" (wash the flag). (Link)

Reader Contributions

Rage against the PMRC
by Jane Doe on 1/28/2010
While performing at Lollapalooza III, Rage Against the Machine memebers taped their mouths w/ duct t(...)
(Source)
Iranian men don Islamic female headscarves to support a jailed student activist
by Azadi on 12/23/2009
The campaign of "Men in Hijabs" (or "We're All Majid Tavakoli") was launched after the Iranian semi-(...)
(Source)
University Students rally for their friend's lovelife
by Ayla Ellis on 10/16/2009
The chants are in Filipino, in English it would translate to, "Relationships, Relationships, They Ar(...)
(Source)
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