Does protesting in the streets ever work?

Does doing mass protest ever work?

On local issues I can see it working. Ie protesting against your local council or your workplace.

But on huge issue like war. Vietnam war you have demostrations after demonstations. Did that stop the war? The US only stopped when they lost the war. The iraq war protest didn't stop the war. In UK the mass protest against the ban on fox hunting didnt change anything.

Live 8 is a mass demostration by itself against the G8 summit. Does it do anything?

Egypt?

Oh yes, it works. Usually against its (stated) objective, but yes.

Especially as the (officially lamented) "violent elements" are oh-so-not on some corpolitical payroll to intentionally make the protesters (and their cause) look bad and wrong.

>Does protesting in the streets ever work?

No. Eventually, it gets cold and the homeless people will start mugging you.