thumping the tub
Tub-Thumper - 1. A speaker or preacher who for emphasis thumps the pulpit; a violent or declamatory preacher or orator; a ranter. (from oed.com). This blog will be a combination of reasoned posting somedays and an occasional rant.
Friday, March 10, 2006
INGENUITY
One of the great things about the protest scene is the level of creativity that is constantly shown by the protestors. Here are some of my favourites...

First up we have 'Billionaires for Bush' ('You Have Nothing To Lose But Your Job!'). When they appeared in Edinburgh and also in other places they were getting abuse because people were taking them seriously...


Next up we have the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA) who have made a name for themselves with some brilliant and brave street theatre. This one is from just before the G8 but there are loads more shorts about and by them.

Last but definitely not least we have the Yes men. If you haven't seen their movie try to make a point of it. I present a short they did about the Oil industry. I have rarely laughed so hard. It's not that difficult to see what they are implying here.

Enjoy!
posted by michael the tubthumper @ 1:22 pm  
9 Comments:

  • At 2:49 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I dunno, the "Up Came Oil" was surprisingly erotic. Or am I just lonely?

    I totally dig street theater and think it is far more effective than SERIOUS people that prance around but people THINK they are street theater and they're not. (Thats just how they talk.)

     

  • At 3:31 pm, Blogger michael the tubthumper said…

    thats what i meant. hilarious. i think they were making a little point about the machismo of it all.

    the clowns actually do a lot more stuff than what you seen there. if scuffles break out at protests they tend to position themselves between the police and the protestors and start performing and thus cool the situation. its very brave really.

     

  • At 4:44 pm, Blogger Youngfox said…

    I don't know about Europe but March 18
    (Iraq war start anniversary) is a day of public action for those who still care to hit the streets to protest in North America.

    There are many sights (such as those protesters in your post) to be seen (and heard).

    Creativity is key in protests but you do not want to get so clever as to talk over the heads of the proletariat couch-rotters.

    The anti-war message must also be accessible for those who passively support war out of sheer ignorance of the facts.

    All levels of society must be meaningfully engaged, as their support is essential. The anti-war message must be multi-faceted and geared toward the informed and oblivious alike.

    While such clever protest groups keep the spirits of the concerned uplifted there must also be a very simplistic message put forward in a far less elaborate fashion.

    The “Yes Men” are friggin’ hilarious. The clowns are plain brilliant.

     

  • At 6:06 pm, Blogger Peacechick Mary said…

    As usual, well done. Have you ever seen the Raging Grannies
    http://www.raginggrannies.com/
    I'm not a member of their group, but have seen them in action and their energy level outstrips any in the younger crowd. Very serious activists.

     

  • At 9:31 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Let's not forget about the Biotic Baking Brigade!

    *Speaking of erotica, the best protest sign I've seen is "Bombing for Peace is Like Fucking for Virginity".

     

  • At 10:23 pm, Blogger Graeme said…

    Nice work as usually. You are the king of video links

     

  • At 7:06 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hey, is that "Up Came Oil" video from the movie? Where is it from?

     

  • At 7:14 pm, Blogger lilmammal said…

    I love the Billionaires. I have a flyer or two of theirs hanging in my home.
    "Corporations are people too"

     

  • At 8:28 pm, Blogger mikevotes said…

    Not specifically related to Bush protest, but if you're throwing out character based protest groups, you can't leave out Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping.

    Not a big fan of the website, but they do some really funny (unauthorized) performance art pieces at consumer locations.

    Mike

     
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What is Tubthumping and who is doing it?

Name: michael the tubthumper
Home: Glasgow, Scotland
About Me: Tub-Thumper - 1. A speaker or preacher who for emphasis thumps the pulpit; a violent or declamatory preacher or orator; a ranter. This blog will be a combination of reasoned posting somedays and an occasional rant. 28 years old, I write and research for a couple of websites and also do my own stuff.
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Thumping The Tub Video

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I have made a few short movies. Here are links to free downloads for them all in the order that I made them (as far as I can remember). Please feel free to use, distribute, disagree with, shout at etc etc

  • Praise The Lord and Pass The Ammunition

    • This was a REAL song from World War 2. I was so stunned by it I had to make a movie

  • How Far Is It From Here to Nuremberg

    • This is my attempt at a video for the excellent, if worrying, David Rovics (see links) song

  • What You Like

    • I believe the word for this is "splenetic". Only 20 seconds long.

  • Imperial Measures

    • What is going on in Iraq? Some things you knew, some you didn't. A couple of bits of info are out of date now.

  • Wish You Were Here

    • Wish You Were Here is a 6 minute film about the unprecendted rate of animal extinction we are currently experiencing

  • Gorillas and us

    • I don't like creationism, neither did Douglas Adams
    Recent Thumping
    Older Thumping
    Links

  • spinwatch
  • adbusters
  • internet archive
  • art not oil
  • blairwatch
  • bushflash
  • camcorder guerillas
  • corporate watch
  • campaign for press freedom
  • noam chomsky
  • common dreams
  • counterpunch
  • cost of war
  • david rovics
  • democracy now
  • dissident voice
  • the dossier
  • downing street says
  • etims
  • robert fisk
  • food not bombs
  • global research
  • gmwatch
  • impeach blair
  • indybay video
  • killing hope
  • lobbywatch
  • mediachannel
  • medialens
  • mickey z
  • mixed up records
  • george monbiot
  • mark thomas
  • john pilger
  • radio 4 all
  • schnews
  • snow shoe films
  • sourcewatch
  • tom englehardt
  • ukwatch
  • video activist network
  • howard zinn
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    some of the blogs I look at
    Arse of the month

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    The inaugural 'Arse of the month' award goes to our very own Scottish First Minister Jack (Joke) McConnell. He seems to spend a lot of his time sucking up to english politicians and yet it appears they don't even know his name. Follow the link to see..

    NODOBY KNOWS ME
    It's All Gone Scottish

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    A list of some other Scottish sites and blogs most of which, if not all, are pro-independence. I don't agree with content on all of them obviously. Some are Scots at home, others abroad.

  • The Scottish Patient
  • Kim Ayres
  • Our Scotland
  • average tosser
  • 1820
  • big stick small carrot
  • J. Arthur MacNumpty
  • World of Jack McConnell
  • The Firefox Chronicles
  • Independence 1st
  • Radio Free Scotland
  • Scots and independent
  • Scottish Independence Guide
  • TCOAW
  • Small Nation
  • Inveresk Street Ingrate
  • Radical Glasgow
    		•
    Want to Swot?

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    If you like this site and think it is time to start getting informed here are a few real favourites of mine that will help you blow away the corporate and government propaganda you are constantly bombarded with. It is added to every so often.

  • politics and the english language
  • Beyond Hope
  • the gore exception
  • your tax dollars at work
  • a cultural chernobyl
  • choose life (not trainspotting)
  • shooting an elephant
  • a war crime within a war crime...
  • the menace of liberal scholarship
  • the modern era of law
  • naming the problem
  • the four ages of sand
  • a news revolution has begun
  • come september
  • money is the cause of poverty
  • countering corporate power
    		•
    Other Stuff

    Who links to me?

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