In this video, a reporter from AtCenterNetwork speaks to anti-abortion demonstrators and asks them the simple question, "What do you think the penalty should be for woman who get an illegal abortion?"

Now, these people all emphatically state that abortion absolutely should be illegal. And yet, almost every single one of them, when asked the question above, says, "I haven't really thought about it." Most of them eventually conclude that the woman in question should be subjected to a penalty that falls somewhere between counseling and simply sitting there and thinking about what she's done.

Since the crazies usually get the press, it's nice to give a face to demonstrators who are not of the clinic-bombing, torch-waving, stone-the-sinners variety. For the most part, though their convictions are strong, they seem to have compassion for the women involved as well. So much so that the end interview, which seems to gently mock a woman simply for bringing her faith into the discussion, feels like a low blow.

On the other hand, if you think something should be illegal -- and, in fact, you think it's actual murder -- it really seems like you should have given some thought to what should happen to people who do it.

History was made in the United States Senate on Thursday when, for the first time, a Hindu chaplain delivered the opening invocation. History was immediately flipped the bird, however, when three protesters from the Christian Right anti-abortion group Operation Save America disrupted the proceedings.

Loudly praying for the Lord's forgiveness for the "abomination" of a non-Christian prayer, the protesters interrupted guest chaplain Rajan Zed several times before they were removed from the Senate Chamber. According to OSA's chief, Rev. Flip Benham, the activists had actually come to the nation's capital to protest a proposed hate crimes bill, but after learning about the Hindu invocation, they decided to broaden the scope of their visit. Well, it's always good to diversify. (Except when it comes to religion, apparently.)

In the run-up to this year's G8 summit in Germany, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to protest issues like globalization, the exclusion of China from the G8, and other social and economic issues the member countries are said to create and/or ignore. Oh, and there is always "the war."

Thanks to YouTube and sites like IndyMedia, global protesters can now distribute footage of demonstrations within hours of the event. "Protester porn," the remixing of video and still photos to an angry-but-beautiful soundtrack, makes me want to throw bricks and get informed. It is also eerily beautiful -- a bit remniscent of TDR's favorite overlooked movie of 2006: Children of Men. The similarities are a testament to how good amature journalism/filmaking is getting, and that great filmmakers are taking a cue from reality's aesthetic.

The point of a political protest, I always thought, was to increase awareness of an issue and make your opinions heard. So this Second Life anti-war protest makes absolutely no sense to me. For one thing, the only people who could witness this protest are the 25,000 maximum users who might have been logged into the virtual reality. For another, the only real opinion stated is that "war is bad" -- hardly a convincing argument for either side.

This video is essentially a music video of avatars with signs, inflammatory slogans pixel-rendered onto costumes. Featuring the stiffest posturing seen since the 2004 Kerry campaign, it's not hard to understand why this video has inspired so much mockery. Why can't supernerds use their powers for good? Not that I know what good is. I just know that this isn't it.