Pakistani pilots to speed up

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Late last week, Pakistan International Airlines‘ pilots agreed to bring their slowdown protest to a conclusion. The pilots were upset over compensation, and their fight-back-by-decelerating strategy caused the airline to cancel flights. Sixteen international flights and another 11 within Pakistan never left the ground as a result of the slow-motion show of defiance.

Negotiations have finally paid off, though. The airline is going back to a normal schedule. An agreement on the core issue of pay wasn’t reached, but both sides have set a timeframe by which to find a solution that makes everyone happy (or, happy enough).

If you’re keeping score at home, the pilots cost the airline 450 million rupees because they flew slowly, but the raises they want would cost the airline 640 million rupees (based on a 35 percent raise).

So, the pilots are more than halfway there!

Protesters disrupt service at Stansted Airport

by Josh Lew on

50 protesters from the environmentalist group Plane Stupid forced England’s Stansted Airport to close this morning after they cut their way through security fences and chained themselves to railings and fences near the runway. The airport is heavily used by budget carrier Ryanair, which had to cancel more than 50 flights as a result of the demonstration. The protest began at three in the morning and it was not until 8:30 a.m. that flights resumed.

Ryanair complained about the slow response from security officials:

“It is unacceptable that the travel plans of thousands of passengers have been disrupted because BAA Stansted security have failed to remove a number of protesters.”

Plane Stupid‘s protest was in response to the government’s decision to add another runway to the airport. They have spoken out against the airline industry’s handling of carbon emissions and pollution. I’m no PR expert, but chaining yourself near an airport runway is probably not the best way to get your point across. In fact, I’d way it was plain stupid.

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If you’ve got panties, you can contribute to world peace!

by Abha Malpani on

First it was those ugly yellow rubber peace bands that became a fashionable accessory because it flaunted your inner most desire for world peace (!?), now it goes ‘inner’ as you can buy panties for peace, but hopefully you won’t be flaunting those too many places.

Jokes apart, if panties can shudder a superstition and bring peace, why the hell not.

Mahatma Gandhi took a vow on celibacy because he believed that if you could control your sexual desire, you could control anything in the world. Perhaps the Asian belief that ‘women’s intimate clothes can take away your power’ has some relation to that thinking(?), which is why an activist group in Burma might make some headway in their protest against the current anti-democratic regime. (See our current series, A Keyhole Into Burma for more on this topic!)

140 panties were delivered to the Burmese embassy in Geneva, but so far it seems no reactions from the embassy have surfaced. Wouldn’t it be priceless candid-camera just to see the faces of Burmese officials as they open boxes of underwear!

Since anything remotely to do with intimacy gets media coverage, not to mention numerous and repeated search hits on the world wide web, the panty-flinging act might just have been a great ploy to get more exposure in the international media.

If you over analyze this mode of activism, there maybe an inspiring lesson for us to learn: if you can grab the intention of all those people who don’t give a rats about peace, be it with panties or whatever tickles your fancy, you can contribute to world peace. Way better than wearing a yellow rubber band, no?

World Naked Bike Ride Day, 2007

by Willy Volk on

Giving new meaning to “underground” railroad bicycle route, on March 10th, organizers staged a World Naked Bike Ride to protest against oil dependency and car culture. Missed it? Me, too. Don’t fret, though. There are more to come.

On June 9th and 30th, the organizers are staging additional WNBRs all over the world to continue their protests against indecent exposure to automobile emissions and to celebrate the power and individuality of our bodies. Painting your body, painting your bike, painting the town, and other creative expression is strongly encouraged. From the looks of it, lots of people were certainly expressive during the March protest ride.

If this sounds like something that oils your chain, check the list of locations, stock up on sunscreen, and plan a road trip. Oh, wait… does a road trip defeat the purpose?

(WARNING: The WNBR site is NSFW.)