http://cellar.org/pictures/nakedpro2.jpg

The IotD area here is where we shall document the continuing and now international trend of protesting things by getting naked. This gent is Swedish, and he is protesting Bush's visit.

I think. The image came from a Spanish version of Yahoo, with Spanish captions, and I don't read Spanish.

Why did he undress? Why does he think he gets some weird advantage by being naked? Where are the cops looking? Aren't police dogs trained to grab onto appendages to keep suspects at bay? And what's with the watch? If you're planning to strip for a protest, why accessorize?

According to an artist friend of mine, without the socks and watch, he'd be nude and not naked. Not sure if that explains things or makes them muddier.

protest advantage
 

IMHO the protestor gets a couple of advantages. The cops can see he is unarmed, so they are less likely to split his skull and it would look much worse on the tube if they did. He can also count on a much wider audience. After that, there is the symbolic power of being naked before the coercive power of the State. In all I think its effective but being of Irish extraction...