Protests - Part 89

IMF Protest, Prague 2000

In September, 2000, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) met in Prague.  The IMF is an agency of the United Nations.  It acts as a lender of last resort, lending money to member nations having a balance of payments crisis.

The 2000 meeting drew a crowd of 400 activists, criticizing IMF for the harsh requirements it makes when it lends money to poor countries.

Above, the crowd of protesters saying "Balls to the IMF".

One of the protesters got naked.  He was from Switzerland and identified himself as Rafael.  We see him here by the line of police.

"This is a battle for equal justice worldwide," said Rafael.  His painted message says "Fuck you new feudalism."

Here is Rafael with another protester.  Eventually the protest turned to violence, with the protesters throwing paving stones and Molotov cocktails at the police, who responded with tear gas and a water cannon.

Note Rafael's imaginative decor criticizing capitalism: a dollar bill stuffed in each ear, and another dollar bill pierced by his penis.

Protests - Part 88

 St. Peter's 2023

In June, 2023, a Polish man approached the high altar of St. Peter's at the Vatican, undressed, and jumped up onto the altar.

A close-up shot.  On his back is written his protest message "Save children in Ukraine."

I could only find censored frontal views of him.

The Vatican police apprehended him and handed him over to the Italian police, who issued an expulsion order requiring him to leave Italy.

Catholics condemned this incident as sacrilege.  The Vatican considered it a desecration of the high altar, and Cardinal Gambetti conducted a purification rite for the altar.

All I can say is, really?  Having a naked man on the altar desecrates it?  The Vatican is full of statues and paintings of naked men.  Above, this Vatican statue of the boxer Creugas isn't even an ancient statue.  It was made c. 1800.

And of course, the most famous Vatican naked artwork: Michelangelo's painting in the Sistine Chapel of God creating Adam.

So paintings and sculptures of naked males are fine, but an actual naked male is a sacrilege?  Let me propose a toast to Vatican hypocrisy (above).

Protests - Part 87

Taiwan Nuclear Protest

In June, 2006, a group of protesters in Taiwan demanded that the government cease construction of its fourth nuclear power plant.  The protest was titled "Rather nude than nuke" and about 30 demonstrators took part.  These six covered their fronts, but not their rears.  I was puzzled by their chest message EKUNON, until I realized that it said NO NUKE backwards.  Why backwards?  The protesters had simply each turned around to face the opposite direction for this photo.

Here's a rear view of them before they turned around.  Note that the guy with the head scarf, who is on the right end of the line in the previous photo, is now on the left end of the line when viewed from the other side, so their chest message would read NO NUKE from left to right.

I can't read Chinese, so I don't know what the message on their backs says.

Protests - Part 86

Trump - Crooked and Obscene 

On Sept. 29, 2024, a 43-foot-tall naked statue of Donald Trump appeared outside Las Vegas, suspended from cables like a marionette.  The statue was called "Crooked and Obscene", and the name evidently referred not only to the statue, but to the subject of the statue and his behavior.

Unlike some previous "Trump has no balls" statues, this one at least had a penis, though it also appears to have no balls.

A rear view.  The art collective that created the statue would not be identified, which was probably wise, because the statue drew Republican condemnation.

After a few days, the statue disappeared, but it turned out it was traveling across the country on the "Crooked and Obscene" tour.  On October 4 it was seen in Phoenix, Arizona, above, though its penis seems to have disappeared.

On October 11 it appeared in Detroit, Michigan, above.

On October 27 it was in Madison, Wisconsin, above.

Finally, on October 31 it appeared in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, above.  Crooked and obscene?  The statue, not so much.  The man, definitely.

Protests - Part 85

Tyagarah Nude Beach Closure

For decades, Tyagarah Beach on Byron Bay, a bit south of Brisbane, Australia, was a legal nude beach.  The Byron Shire Council approved the nude beach status in 1998.  Above, tanning at Tyagarah.

But in 2024, the Nation Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of New South Wales determined that the area was under their jurisdiction, and determined to revoke the clothing-optional status after receiving complaints from some residents about lewd behavior on the beach.

Above, a group of naturists meets on the beach to hold a rally to protest the closure of the nude beach status.

Here's a group of protesters with some signs, including "Nude not Lewd" and "Byron Bay, not Byron Beige", apparently equating the requirement for swimsuits with dullness (beige).  Note the guy on the right is not concealed by a sign.

The same signs, but a different group of protesters using them.  The previous group was 3 men and 6 women; this group is 7 men and one woman giving us a rear view.

"Nude not Lewd" and "Friend not Enemy" say the slogans painted on the backs of these protesters.

Another group of protesters, with a couple of guys not hidden behind signs.

Two more protesters with signs.

We end with these protesters not concealed behind their signs.

The protests were not effective.  The beach ceased to be clothing-optional in August, 2024.

Protests - Part 84

 Stop Bush, Sydney Australia 2007

On Sept. 7, 2007, protesters gathered in Sydney, Australia, the site of an APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting, at which economic leaders of 21 nations met, including an appearance by U.S. President George Bush.

The majority of Australians were opposed to the U.S. war in Iraq, though the Australian government supported the war and Australian troops served in Iraq.

The next day there were more protests on the streets.  Protesters included these two guys.  On the left, his painted slogan "Hey Scipione, where's my concealed weapon?" is directed at Andrew Scipione, the New South Wales Police Commissioner.  The guy at right's slogan says "Hey, cops, look but don't touch.  I mean ... freedom."

They wore socks that barely hid their dicks, but then ...

the police arrested them.  In the process, his sock fell off, so everyone got a look.

There was another demonstration called "Bums for Bush" in which 50 people mooned an official APEC motorcade.  The letters painted on these bums say "no to bombs."

But not everyone opposed Bush.  This guy decided to show his support for Bush by mooning with a "Pro Bush" sign on his butt.

Protests - Part 83

Extinction Rebellion

Extinction Rebellion is a global environmental movement, founded in Britain, that uses civil disobedience to promote goals such as avoiding biodiversity loss.

On March 21, 2024, the Dutch branch of Extinction Rebellion staged a protest at Keukenhof, the biggest flower garden in the Netherlands.  

They were protesting the use of pesticides in flower bulb cultivation.  The banner "Sluit de gifkraan" means "Close the poison faucet."

The group demanded poison-free flower bulb cultivation to protect health and the environment.

Some of the protesters were naked to symbolize vulnerability (and to get the public's attention).

Other protesters wore bee suits (with the stripes) to represent the vulnerable pollinators, and fake dead bees were scattered on the pavement.

The naked protesters were covered in red "blood", which was supposed to represent the danger to health from pesticides, though the danger doesn't actually involve blood.

However, they presented a striking image.

Protests - Part 82

Portland Emergency World Naked Bike Ride

Normally, World Naked Bike Rides (WNBRs) are held in various cities to remind drivers to drive safely around bicycles and to encourage people to ride bikes instead of driving cars.

But organizers in Portland, Oregon, called for an "emergency" WNBR on October 12, 2025 to protest two things: (1) Donald Trump's decision to send the National Guard to Portland (note the rider's message above "Fuck Don-Old") ...

and (2) the activities of ICE in Portland (see another rider's message above).

The forecast called for rain, so some riders came prepared.

And the ride began.

Like other WNBRs, not everyone rode a bike, and not everyone was naked (it's "as bare as you dare").  These two guys ran the course with another anti-ICE message.

Here's a frontal view of the same two guys.

And here's a rear view, as it started to rain.

More protesters ("Fuck ICE").

The ride led to ICE headquarters in Portland.

We end with a couple of riders who are wearing face masks like ICE.  I read speculation based on pictures like this that ICE had infiltrated the WNBR.  Believe me, these guys are mocking ICE.  ICE agents would not appear naked in public.

In the end, the National Guard was not sent to Portland.  It was opposed as a totally unnecessary political stunt by the Mayor, the Governor, and both Senators from Oregon.  A U.S. District Judge barred the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard to Portland, and after the Supreme Court declined to overturn a similar judge's ban in Chicago, Trump announced the removal of federal troops from numerous cities, including Portland.  So the National Guard was not sent there.

Protests - Part 81

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