More than 25,000 people gathered in Montgomery, Alabama 45 years ago on this date to protest racial discrimination—the culmination of a month of hardships many now refer to as the turning point for the Civil Rights Movement.

Several hundred marchers had just completed the 54 mile trek from Selma as part of the historic Alabama Freedom March. The New York Times captured the moment with a front page story, mostly centered on Dr. King’s address to the crowd:

He referred to the tumultuous events at Selma in the last two months, during which time the voting-rights campaign that he began there turned into a general protest against racial injustice, with two men dead and scores injured.

“Yet Selma, Alabama, has become a shining moment in the conscience of man,” he said. “If the worst in American life lurked in the dark streets, the best of American instincts arose passionately from across the nation to overcome it.”

“The confrontation of good and evil compressed in the tiny community of Selma, generated the massive power that turned the whole nation to a new course,” he said.

“Alabama has tried to nurture and defend evil, but the evil is choking to death in the dusty roads and streets of this state.”

Dr. King spoke with passion, and the thousands sitting in the street beneath him responded with repeated outbursts of approval.

Several times he urged his followers to continue their support of nonviolent demonstrations, with the aim of achieving understanding with the white community.

“Our aim must never be to defeat or humiliate the white man,” he said, “but to win his friendship and understanding. We must come to see that the end we seek is a society that can live with its conscience.”

He ended his address with a peroration on the theme, “How long must justice by crucified and truth buried?” a spirited quotation of a verse of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and finally a burst of “Glory, hallelujah,” repeated four times.

The crowd rose to its feet in one great surge, and the applause and cheering reverberated through the Capitol grounds.

• On Sunday, tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Washington in a major rally for immigration reform. Estimates of the crowd size ranged from 200,000 to as much as 500,000.

• Tens of thousands of French public sector workers held a day-long, nationwide strike yesterday to protest  against the government’s social and economic policies.

• Code Pink pulled off a hoax by releasing a fake press release in AIPAC’s name calling for a complete freeze on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories. Code Pink members also dressed up in suits and handed out copies of the statement outside an AIPAC conference to confused attendees.

• About 400 students took part Monday in a peaceful sit-in and walkout to protest the scheduled closure of their South Los Angeles charter school at the end of the academic year.

• In Cape Town, minibus taxi representatives embarked on a one-day strike on Tuesday in protest against what they claim is intimidation and harassment by law enforcement authorities.

• On Sunday, patients of a leprosy hospital, inmates of a destitute children home and staff of an HIV care center staged a sit-in at a market on the outskirts of Imphal city in India to protest monetary demands made by a faction of the Kangleipak Communist Party.

• Half a dozen nurses staged an impromptu sit-in at Pierre Boucher Hospital in Quebec to protest chronic understaffing at the facility – which they say is putting both them and their patients at serious risk.

I write this article just a few minutes walk from the district court here in Wellington, New Zealand, where I was delighted to witness the jury’s unexpected “not guilty” verdict in the trial of the three Ploughshares activists in Wellington District Court last week. Adrian Leason, Father Peter Murnane and Sam Land—the three men who were charged with intentional damage and unlawful entry at Waihopai spy base in Blenheim, New Zealand—were acquitted of all charges against them.

At the conclusion of the trial, Father Peter, Sam and Adrian said they felt privileged to have helped uncover the true nature of the spy base. “Our actions in disabling the spy base and stopping the flow of information helped save lives in Iraq,” added Adrian.

“What has been humbling for us to realize is how our witness has impacted on so many people around the world and at home,” said Sam.

Father Peter Murnane speaks to press

“We did not try to avoid the consequences of our actions, because we respect the rule of law although we do believe we are ultimately accountable to a higher authority. We damaged property at the spy base in order to save victims of war and torture. It’s all about Jesus’ command for us to treat all people as our brothers and sisters,” said Father Peter.

Commenting at the conclusion of the trial Waihopai Ploughshares media spokesperson Graham Bidois Cameron said this Ploughshares action is part of an ongoing tradition: “The practice of non-violent resistance and direct action in the cause of peace has a long history in this country—the peaceful resistance to the invasion of Parihaka, and non-violent direct action against nuclear armed warships entering our harbors being just two examples.”

“The actions of Waihopai Ploughshares also need to be understood in relation to an international movement for disarmament and peace,” said lawyer Moana Cole, herself a Ploughshares activist. “Adrian, Sam and Father Peter are part of a rich history of activism in support of those without a voice and the movement is certainly growing.”

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• Thousands marched through the nation’s capital on Saturday to urge immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. At least eight people, including activist Cindy Sheehan, were arrested by U.S. Park Police at the end of the march, after laying coffins at a fence outside the White House.

• Activists with Rainforest Action Network erected two 20-foot-tall, purple tripod structures in front of the Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters in Washington to pressure EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to enforce the Clean Water Act and halt mountaintop removal coal mining. They stayed on the tripods for 32 hours before deciding to leave.

• 130 people took part in the two-hour Melbourne World Naked Bike Ride in Australia yesterday to protest oil dependency and highlight bike safety.

• More than 1,000 union members, workers and activists gathered in downtown Philadelphia on Friday to challenge the nation’s six largest banks to pay for their bailouts by contributing to job creation and doing their part to restore the economy.

• More than 100 workers gathered outside the Department of Water Management in Chicago on Friday to protest forced furloughs.

• Around 500 protesters marched through the town of Bideford in south-west England to “reclaim” it from rising street violence.

• More than 60 Harlem middle and high school students walked out of class on Friday, while another 50 chose to stage a sit-in to protest the planned dismissal of about 150 teachers and staff members.

• More than 7,000 protesters made their way through Togo’s capital on Saturday to protest presidential election results.

• British Airways employees began a three-day strike on Saturday to protest a pay freeze and proposed changes to working conditions.

When we reported on the pouring of blood outside the Thai Prime Minister’s home in Bangkok the other day, I have to admit I was a little confused about the purpose of this action. Blood has often been sprayed or sprinkled by Western activists, such as the Ploughshares, to symbolize the death of innocent people. But the huge jugs of blood collected during a series of blood drives by the red-shirted Thai protesters and poured en masse to create what seemed like a horrifying stream of blood in front of the PM’s house seemed to indicate something totally different. I just wasn’t sure what that something was. None of the articles I read seemed to offer an explanation. As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one with questions. The BBC ran a story yesterday explaining the significance of the blood protest because of the way many Westerners had perceived it:

Many Thais and Westerners were revolted by the spectacle and worried by the hygiene implications of the recent blood-spilling on Bangkok’s streets.

Some denounced the sheer wastefulness of a precious resource which could have been used to help the sick.

But red-shirt leaders said the blood spilling was a sacrifice for democracy and a curse on the government.

While a lot of the same concerns went through my mind, such as the hygiene issue, I told myself there must be some cultural explanation. It seems I was right.

In the battle for Thailand’s political soul – played out over several years by “yellow” and “red” waves of protesters – symbolism is probably the most important weapon.

A powerful belief in astrology and the supernatural (‘saiyasat’) co-exists alongside an increasingly commercial, globalised culture.

This is not just a frame of mind found in far-flung rural areas. Many of the country’s top leaders, civilian and military, have actively participated in magical rituals to seek special powers and enlist them on their side.

The rest of the story attempts to explain this mysticism, but the important thing to understand, it seems, is that we must be careful not to judge a protest in a different part of the world based on our own cultural practices.

That’s not to say the blood protest was the right tactic for the red-shirts to take. It simply means that we must judge it on the cultural standards of the Thais. Hopefully that kind of analysis will surface soon.

• Around 1,000 Egyptian university students held a protest on Wednesday to voice their opposition to Israeli construction plans at disputed holy sites in East Jerusalem.

• More than 3,000 Kyrgyz rallied in the capital Bishkek on Wednesday to express their discontent with President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who was hailed as Central Asia’s most democratic leader when he came to power in 2005, but has since tightened his grip on power and jailed political opponents.

• The six major Estonian newspapers left one of their pages completely blank today to protest of the source protection act 656 SE, which would make possible to punish with imprisonment journalists in the field of investigating journalism.

• Tibetan high school students protested in the streets of at least two towns in western China this week to mark the anniversary of an uprising against Chinese rule. At least 20 teenagers were taken into custody by police.

• A union representing New Jersey government workers says it staged more than 20 lunch hour demonstrations outside state agencies Thursday to protest Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed spending cuts.

• Thousands of Russians are preparing to take to the streets on March 20 for nationwide rallies against worsening living conditions and official corruption.

• For almost a week, a group of around 300 students have been occupying a lecture hall at the University of Sussex in England to protest proposed cutbacks.

A fierce campaign against British supermarket chain Tesco is being waged in Bristol, where residents fear the opening of a new store will threaten not only the local businesses, but the independent spirit of their neighborhood. Six weeks ago, a group of about 10 people began squatting on the vacant site of the future store. Riot police were called in this week to remove them. But it wasn’t easy, as The Daily Mail noted:

Two protesters had encased their arms in concrete and had to be cut out with sledgehammers and a pickaxe. Another had superglued himself to the building, and a third was cheered by crowds as he tried to climb on to a cherry picker used by security guards to access the roof… Police made four arrests for breaches of the peace and had to close roads as 300 furious locals gathered in front of the site chanting: ‘Whose streets? Our streets.’

Protest organiser Claire Milne, 33, who lives in Stokes Croft, said she had received 2,000 postcards pledging support for the anti-Tesco campaign.

She added: ‘People from all walks of life have been protesting through lots of different channels. We’ve been writing letters and working with the council but they say there’s nothing they can do.

• Opposition protesters in Thailand poured bottles of their own blood at the offices and home of the prime minister today, vowing to remain camped out in the capital until he resigns and new elections are called.

• Hundreds gathered in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juraez yesterday to protest the arrival of President Felipe Calderon and his military crackdown on drug cartels. Many Mexicans would prefer reform of corrupt police forces that aid drug gangs, effective criminal investigations and an end to the culture of impunity that allows cartels to flourish.

• Police in Havana detained about 30 people today as they marched in a protest led by the mother of a political prisoner who died in a hunger strike last month.

• Three Greenpeace activists targeted a vessel operated by an energy consortium off the coast of Liguria in northern Italy yesterday that endangers a nearby whale sanctuary. They painted “Balene Finite” (The End of Whales) on the side of the vessel before boarding it and unfurling a banner reading “Fine del Santuario” (The End of the Sanctuary).

• Hundreds of students congregated outside the Georgia State Capitol on Monday to protest the potential $387 million worth in budget cuts against the University System of Georgia.

• Proposals for a low level nuclear waste site in King’s Cliffe, England were rejected yesterday after a successful protest campaign by local residents.

• More than 300 reporters for Islam Online camped out in their Cairo offices today to protest the alleged efforts by the management in Qatar to assume editorial control of the Islamic website.

• Around two dozen Tibetan exiles arrested while demonstrating in Nepal last week have begun a hunger strike to protest against their detention.

After they saw my previous post here on Judith Butler’s Frames of War, the folks over at Guernica magazine asked me if I would interview Butler about the book. I would, and we did, so now you can read our conversation about the politics of grief, the prospects of nonviolence, and the uses of philosophy. Here’s a sampling:

Guernica: Your account of nonviolence revolves around recognizing sociality and interconnection as well. Does it also rely on the kind of inner spiritual work that was so important, for instance, to Gandhi?

Judith Butler: I am not sure that the work is “inner” in the way that Gandhi described. But I do think that one has to remain vigilant in relation to one’s own aggression, to craft and direct it in ways that are effective. This work on the self, though, takes place through certain practices, and by noticing where one is, how angry one is, and even comporting oneself differently over time. I think this has to be a social practice, one that we undertake with others. That support and solidarity are crucial to maintaining it. Otherwise, we think we should become heroic individuals, and that takes us away from effective collective action.

Guernica: What can philosophy, which so often looks like a kind of solitary heroism, offer against the military-industrial complexes and the cowboy self-image that keep driving us into wars? At what register can philosophy make a difference?

Judith Butler: Let’s remember that the so-called military-industrial complex has a philosophy, even if it is not readily published in journals. The contemporary cowboy also has, or exemplifies, a certain philosophical vision of power, masculinity, impermeability, and domination. So the question is how philosophy takes form as an embodied practice. Any action that is driven by principles, norms, or ideals is philosophically informed. So we might consider: what practices embody interdependency and equality in ways that might mitigate the practice of war waging? My wager is that there are many.

I think it’s very encouraging to see a major, mainstream contemporary philosopher like Butler taking up the language and objectives of nonviolence—and all the better that she does so critically, rather than the simple lip-service that we often hear. She treads cautiously around the Gandhian approach, questioning its assumptions and its spiritual proclivities, but that’s exactly what we need at a time when old thinking isn’t doing enough to inspire the current generation of activists. The point is, she insists on resistance, and she insists that doing it with violence won’t do any good.

One of the most annoying traits of nonviolence skeptics is that they tend not to hold violence to the same rigid standard of success. For skeptics, nonviolence must always work right away, after only one attempt. If it doesn’t, then it’s a failure. Can you imagine a US military general giving up on violence after a loss or set back? Of course not. A good general is persistent and learns from his mistakes. So wouldn’t the same be true of a person waging a campaign of nonviolent resistance?

More annoying than the skeptics who take this position, however, are nonviolent activists who give up after a couple failures. It’s as if they believe what the skeptics are telling them, when history clearly shows that nonviolence works, but almost always after a long campaign with many ups and downs. In an interview aired on Democracy Now! yesterday, Noam Chomsky expounded on this point:

You just can’t become involved part-time in these things. It’s either serious and you’re seriously involved, or, you know, you go to a demonstration and go home and forget about it and go back to work, and nothing happens. I mean, things only happen by really dedicated, diligent work. I mean, we’re not allowed to say nice things about the Communist Party, right? That’s like a rule. But one of the reasons why the New Deal legislation worked, you know, which was significant—you know, just changed the country—was because there were people who were there every day. Whether it was a civil rights issue, a labor rights issue, organizing, anything else, they were there, ready to turn the mimeograph machines—no internet—organize demonstrations. They had a memory. You know, the movement had a memory, which it doesn’t have now. Now everyone starts over from fresh. But it had a kind of a tradition, a memory, that people were always there. And if you look back, it was very heavily Communist Party activists. Well, you know, that was destroyed. And it’s one of the—the lack of such a sector of dedicated, committed people who understand that you’re not going to win tomorrow, you know, you’re going to have a lot of defeats, and there’ll be a lot of trouble, you know, and a lot of things will happen that aren’t nice, but if you keep at it, you can get somewhere. That’s why we had a civil rights movement and a labor movement and so on.

The rest of the interview is well worth watching, as Chomsky goes into rare detail of his own activist history during the Vietnam War. Although it’s clear Chomsky believes in nonviolent action, it’s often ancillary to his normal foreign policy talking points. That’s why this interview is so refreshing. It’s a reminder that even the man who knows perhaps the most about the evils of this world hasn’t ever been willing to give up.