the buzz log

Two, four, 68. Where do we participate?

Or aggravate, depending on one's perspective of the political alliance billing its Democratic National Convention retro-protest as "Recreate 68." The liberal anti-war protestors—a loose coalition of groups including Code Pink and figures like activist Cindy Sheehan and author Ron Kovic—have made their way to Denver to reignite the revolutionary days of 1968.

Not however, as its Website testily explains, the violent clashes of 40 years ago. The group aims to reignite "mass political participation" by protesting Democratic and Republican parties alike. The largely peaceful but not necessarily polite opening day crowds bumped its online profile up nearly 800%, making the top 50,000 searches. Among Denverites who have to live with the traffic snafus and political theater, the alliance is among the city's top 1,000.

Thus far, Recreate 68 complained about protest facilities, faced off with a Fox reporter and symbolically "levitated" the Denver Mint. About 90 protesters were arrested Monday night, but a Recreate 68 organizer's anxious plea for nonviolence seemed to indicate that confrontation wasn't planned.

While the activists do promise to stir up more acts of civil disobedience, so far their numbers are far lower than predicted: About 1,500 out of an anticipated 25,000 marched Sunday. Plus, the 'pigs' aren't what they used to be: The Star-Ledger reported that cops' mellow attitudes disconcerted protesters looking forward to a hoosegow hoedown.

A few have admitted they don't want to be spoilers at Barack Obama's historic nomination. Speaking of history, after the 1968 DNC protests, Richard Nixon won the White House.

Filed under: Politics, Protests, Conventions, Elections

Attention China. You officially have a P.R. problem. Recent protests surrounding the 2008 Olympic torch relay have captured the world's attention big time, turning a normally rah-rah event into a publicity nightmare.

Queries on "olympic torch" surged a raucous 281% on Monday, but that was just the beginning. Once news of the Paris protests hit the Web, searches on the twice extinguished flame jumped an additional 172%.

One might think that after the chaos in Paris, the torch would take a break. Maybe go to the movies or hit the sauna. Not so. The flame's next stop is San Francisco, a city known for its beauty, hills, and population of protestors willing to be outraged at a moment's notice. Uh oh.

The torch isn't scheduled to appear in San Francisco until Wednesday, but all signs point to a not-so-warm welcome. A few demonstrators already climbed the Golden Gate Bridge to fly a banner expressing anger over China's treatment of Tibet. Folks of all ages searched on "olympic torch san francisco," "olympic torch map," and "olympic torch schedule" among many, many others.

The protests and controversy led to a lot of popular articles and blogs within Yahoo! Buzz. A story on the perceived need for increased security for the torch's trip through San Francisco was the most buzzed sports article of the past 24 hours. Another piece on how most Americans feel China shouldn't host the games garnered boffo buzz as well.

Now there are talks that Olympic organizers may cancel the torch's trip through San Francisco entirely. Whether that would be viewed as a bitter victory for protestors or a savvy public relations move by Olympic organizers remains to be seen.

Filed under: Protests, Olympics

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Police Department wrested Daryl Hannah from a tree on a South-Central L.A community farm. For nearly three weeks, the actress had been perched high in the air, protesting the sale of the 14-acre plot to warehouse developers.

It's a long story with many players, but the one-time mermaid has stolen the spotlight. After the arrest, she spiked 1,826% in Buzz, landing with a splash in our top five movers for the day. Kansas, Nebraska, and Washington surprised us by topping the list of states suddenly fascinated with the square-jawed blond. And a preponderance of guys (nearly 90%) took the time to search for "daryl hannah pics." Someone had to check how well she weathered nearly one month in nature.

Among the coterie of celebri-advocates who joined Hannah in her vigil, Julia Butterfly Hill, Joan Baez, Willie Nelson, and Ben Harper rustled up some buzz. Ralph Horowitz, the site's owner, jumped in Search. So did "south central farm." Although, in this case, Kansas, Nebraska, and Washington weren't that interested. At the end of the day, it seems a local land dispute is still just a local land dispute, movie stars and mermaids notwithstanding.

Filed under: Celebrities, Protests