protests

885 Outraged Fanboys Rally Behind ‘Iron Man 2′ Jiltee Terrence Howard

6:50AM STV | The “pimps” at Marvel Studios may have finally closed the deal that pulled the last inch of Iron Man’s blockbuster rug from beneath Terrence Howard, but a radical group of franchise purists are fighting his ouster with the new petition “Terrence Howard as War Machine in Iron Man 2.” It seems a legal impossibility at this point, with Don Cheadle locked in as Col. Jim Rhodes, but! As the scrappy revolutionaries in Audrina Patridge’s neighborhood showed us on Tuesday, there is no affront that can’t be corrected with a surge of Democratic fervour — and maybe some fanboy earnestness to spare: More »

Power To The Emos!

9:53AM Clem Bastow | You’ll recall a week or so ago we drew your attention to the frankly idiotic treatment the Daily Mail gave a story about the suicide death of a teenager who also happened to be a My Chemical Romance fan. Naturally the paper decided that MCR’s album about “The Black Parade” was all about the “nickname for the place where Emo fans believe they will go when they die.” Well, the fans have had it up to here with the media’s treatment of their favourite band – rightly so, really – and have decided to gang up and march to the Mail’s headquarters in protest. The march, to be held on May 31, will begin at Hyde Park’s West Pond and end outside the offices of The Daily Mail. More »

Jazz Randyboy, You Have Started A Stripping Epidemic!

2:59PM Jess McGuire | Melbourne residents, only just recovering from the mass taxi driver stripathon late last month which led to the city’s cabbies having their list of demands approved by the State Government, have again had to endure an eyeful of flesh, with another bunch of protesters who figure a shirts off approach to demonstrating is the best way to get their point across. Hands up those of you who have been secretly longing for Family First spunk Stephen Fielding to get his gear off? It’s your lucky day! Photo: Angela Wylie Angry pensioners and a Family First senator have stripped off and stopped traffic on one of Melbourne’s busiest intersections in a protest against a lack of support for seniors in this week’s Federal Budget. Up to 200 elderly people stood at the corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets this morning. It was inspired by topless taxi drivers who won safety concessions after a city centre protest rally two weeks ago, was organised with the backing of Family First senator Stephen Fielding. Mr Fielding stripped off his shirt in support of the protest, while two elderly women wore only their bras. Highlights of the sexy but serious protest include - - ‘John’, 69, who ran off into the intersection and stripped off to his underpants, said the budget was a “slap in the face” for pensioners. - Another woman stripped down to her bra and longjohns during the protest. According to the article, “traffic returned to normal after about 15 minutes” – but the visual picture will no doubt stay with witnesses for the rest of their lives. More »

Victory For Melbourne’s Stripping Cabbies! You Can’t Stop The Sexy!

10:42AM Clem Bastow | We thought those of you who were entertained by the slow and sensual strip show protest staged by Melbourne’s taxi drivers yesterday would like to know that their bare-chested protestations didn’t go unnoticed, and all but two of their demands will be met by the State Government. Maybe the teachers’ unions should start looking into massed nudity? Pre-payment of fares between 10pm and 5am — a key demand from drivers to deal with the frequent problem of passengers who “do a runner” without paying — will be introduced in the next few months. Drivers will estimate the amount of the fare before the journey and then the difference, if there is one, will be paid by either the driver or passenger. The State Government will pay 50% of the cost of introducing safety screens, with the balance to be paid by taxi operators. The screens, worth $1000 to $1200, will be removable, allowing drivers who do not want them to store them in the boot. At first the installation will cover about 75% of Melbourne’s 3800-strong taxi fleet. This is great news for the cabbies, though we’re slightly disappointed that Jazz Randyman didn’t turn up again as a mouthpiece for the protest. Now, if they could just work on the taxi drivers who, upon one’s entering the cab and requesting one’s destination, turn around looking slightly frightened and as, “Do you know how to get there?” we’ll all be laughing. More »

Who Knew Melbourne’s Taxi Drivers Were Such A Sexy Bunch?

9:13AM Clem Bastow | We should preface this piece by making it clear we support the Melbourne cabbies’ protest and think that taxi drivers really get a bum deal these days (excluding the ones who actually don’t know where anything is/have the heater on 43 degrees and windows up/smell like Don Skinless Franks). However, we couldn’t help but laugh in a somewhat bemused fashion at the following highlights from this morning’s reportage of the cabbie strike in Melbourne’s CBD. We’ve underlined the best bits, just in case you miss them in your first scan: Taxi drivers blockading a major intersection in Melbourne’s CBD have started to remove their clothing and have released their demands, saying they will not move until authorities meet with them. Several hundred drivers are sitting and standing in a circle around the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets in central Melbourne, holding up placards and protesting against violence and abuse of taxi drivers. The protest started yesterday evening and has continued overnight. One of the organisers, Indian-born taxi driver Jazz Randyboy, said the protest had been peaceful. We bet it’s been peaceful, Mr Randyboy – and sexual. Seriously, is this a hack? Why are they stripping? Are they protesting by unleashing such a torrent of taxi-bound sensuality that the CBD grinds to an orgasmic halt, thereby greatly reducing productivity and sending the economy into a tailspin? For god’s sake someone tell us what is going on! UPDATE!! Are you ready for this jelly? The Age has a photo of the bare-chested cabbies’ protest. Over the jump for all the righteous sexy you can handle! More »

‘Anonymous’ Shows Its Face, Sort Of, For Scientology Protest On Hollywood Blvd.

4:03AM Seth | Remember, remember the … 10th of February? There were no spectacular fireworks flying out of the Hollywood Scientology Center set to Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” yesterday afternoon, but there were an awful lot of folks in Guy Fawkes masks protesting the somewhere-in-the-Pacific-Ocean-based organization. It was one of several such demonstrations held throughout the world yesterday. For those out of the internet-meme-activism loop: More »