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20:46:18 04/12/09
How To Get Your P O V Heard A Conversation Among Filmmakers Organizers And Media Professionals
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 20:46:18 04/12/09
--Elvira Colorado, Chichimec Otomi, playwright, storyteller and cultural activist.--Jocelyn Glatzer, documentary film director, producer, and editor.--Natalie Jesionka, journalist, human rights activist lecturer at Rutgers University, and media literacy advocate. --Cynthia Lopez, Vice President, P.O.V.--Irene Villaseor, Ifugao, babaylan, advocate and member of the borderlands. Join us for an in-depth conversation about social issue documentaries and their impact. We'll discuss how to work across media platforms (print, radio, TV, online) from the grassroots level and up and across generations to effect change and insert rarely heard perspectives into the national dialogue. The panel will be moderated by Cynthia L?pez ,Vice President of P.O.V., and includes award-winning filmmaker Jocelyn Glatzer, former P.O.V. Youth Views Director, Irene Villase?or, Elvira Colorado (American Indian Community House) and Natalie Jesionka (Amnesty International). P.O.V. is the longest-running showcase on television of independent documentary films and is a pioneer in using nonfiction media to foster dialogue and action around contemporary social issues.
2 Views
17:50:00 01/03/09
September 4th: The Bombing of the Peace March
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 17:50:00 01/03/09
http://rnc8.org/
Defend the RNC 8!
The RNC 8 are organizers against the 2008 Twin Cities Republican National Convention who have been falsely charged in response to their political organizing: Luce Guillen-Givins, Max Specktor, Nathanael Secor, Eryn Trimmer, Monica Bicking, Erik Oseland, Robert Czernik and Garrett Fitzgerald .
On Saturday, August 30th 2008, the Ramsey County, Minnesota Sheriff’s Department executed search warrants on three houses, seizing personal and common household items and arresting RNC organizers Monica Bicking, Garrett Fitzgerald, Erik Oseland, Nathanael Secor, and Eryn Trimmer. Later that day Luce Guillen-Givins was arrested leaving a public meeting at a park. Rob Czernik and Max Specktor were arrested on Monday, September 1. These arrests were preemptive, targeting known organizers in an attempt to derail 2008 anti-RNC protests in St. Paul, MN before the convention had even begun. The “RNC 8″ were originally charged with conspiracy to riot in the 2nd degree in furtherance of terrorism, a felony which is the first ever use of Minnesota’s PATRIOT Act.
In December 2008, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner (who is also running for Governor of Minnesota as a Democrat) added three more felony charges: 2nd degree conspiracy to riot (without the terrorism enhancement), 1st degree conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property in furtherance of terrorism, and 1st degree conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property (without the terrorism enhancement). Combined, we believe the charges would carry a maximum of 12.5 years in prison.
This site contains news updates, press releases, biographies, resources, events, and information for contributing to their legal support, and is maintained only by the support committee for the RNC 8 . For the latest updates on the defending the RNC 8, view the Recent Posts on the right.
This case is as an opportunity to demonstrate community solidarity in the face of repression and to establish a precedent of successful resistance to the government’s attempts to destroy our movements. We will not be intimidated!
SEE YOU IN THE COURTS!
Terrorizing Dissent
The Election Cut
Glass Bead Collective, Twin Cities Indymedia, and other independent media activists have released a new film, 'Terrorizing Dissent', an exposé of events at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Featuring first-person accounts and footage from more than forty cameras on the streets, 'Terrorizing Dissent' focuses on the story of dissent suppressed. People charged with "conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism" speak out against the government's campaign to manipulate media coverage and label civil disobedience and community organizing as terrorism. > "If civil disobedience becomes framed as 'terrorism' ... that's baloney. And the reason they're waving the T-word around, there's one reason and one reason only, because they want to squash dissent and they want to justify what the police do in the effort of squashing that dissent."
Michelle Gross, Communities United Against Police Brutality
'Terrorizing Dissent' shows the results of the $50 million dollars the Department of Homeland Security gave to local authorities for security — a large chunk of which went to weaponize the police — and the $10 million insurance policy contract between the RNC Host Committee and the City of St. Paul, which shattered Minnesota's civil compact between protesters and police.
Effectively, the Republican National Committee provided financial cover for the widespread, organized suppression of dissent. The FBI and Secret Service coordinated with local police to raid homes and work spaces before the RNC even began. On the streets, the government's intimidation strategy shut down peaceful protests through the heavy use of tear gas, pepper spray, stun grenades, rubber bullets, and other projectiles. This excessive use of force followed months of harassment and surveillance of community activists. At every stage, local officials have refused to release the documentation behind what they did, from the origins of dubious search warrants to joint powers agreements.
The Republican Party's efforts to control the message and crush dissenting voices were led by one of the top local Republicans, troubled Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who personally spearheaded the "pre-emptive raid" strategy and spun the media by claiming captured household items were weapons (most notably, the buckets of recycled grey water he dubbed "urine"). At every stage, from fake urine to riot threats, messages of fear were distributed to chill Minnesotans from exercising their First Amendment rights.
Just days before Fletcher launched high-profile preemptive raids against protesters, two of his closest aides, Mark Naylon and Timothy Rehak, were found guilty on federal charges after they attempted to steal $6,000 in an FBI sting. To shore up his murky political future, Fletcher staged an authoritarian spectacle unparalleled in Minnesota history. > "We have unlawful search and seizure. We have unlawful arrest without probably cause.... Mass arrest and detention without probable cause.... Then you have excessive force. Spraying people point blank range with mace who aren't resisting and who are peaceful is excessive force. Beating people in jail is excessive force... Those all should be criminal complaints. They'll never be charged as such by any prosecutor."
Bruce Nestor, National Lawyers Guild
As local Democratic officials cautiously stepped back, Fletcher put himself in front of a classic "security theater" media campaign to create a non-existent enemy, equate civil disobedience with terrorism, and move in to attack peaceful protests. This plan culminated with the blocking and flashbang bombing of a peaceful march organized by anti-war activists on September 4th as John McCain delivered his acceptance speech at the Xcel Center.
Within weeks, John McCain's campaign turned to attacking Barack Obama on the same grounds as the RNC Welcoming Committee, a group that provided logistical help such as housing, food and a convergence center for demonstrators.
This rapidly produced "election cut" shows how the government — even in a liberal state like Minnesota — easily rolled over to domestic militarization and criminal abandonment of Constitutional freedoms. As the Republican National Convention paved the way for a fall of terrifying national instability and financial chaos, Americans need to know about the techniques used to silence Minnesota.
Cut from hundreds of hours of donated footage, "Terrorizing Dissent" has been released for free on the Internet in HD, FLV and Quicktime formats, under the Creative Commons / CopyLeft license, and its producers encourage everyone to share this important film. More video releases are planned; stay tuned to this website for updates.
Glassbead Collective ( glassbeadcollective.org ), based in New York City, brings together individuals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds including video art, film, theater, architecture, photography, music, mathematics, fine arts and philosophy to create works which re-contextualize culture and the world in which we find ourselves today.
Twin Cities Indymedia ( twincities.indymedia.org ) is the local chapter of the international Indymedia network, a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage. Indymedia is a democratic media outlet for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of truth. Twin Cities Indymedia provided up-to-the-minute coverage of the St. Paul's Republican National Convention with news and media straight from the streets. As an entirely volunteer-run organization, the Tech Collective handles the Web platform, and the passionate observers of the Editorial Collective write stories and fend off spam. TC Indymedia plans to organize a new video project collective as an extension of the work behind producing 'Terrorizing Dissent.' http://blip.tv/file/get/Glassbeadcollective-TerrorizingDissentS4SD_fin_h264418.mov
1 Views
17:48:00 01/03/09
September 3rd: And Then They Came for the Anarchists
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 17:48:00 01/03/09
Terrorizing Dissent
The Election Cut
Glass Bead Collective, Twin Cities Indymedia, and other independent media activists have released a new film, 'Terrorizing Dissent', an exposé of events at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Featuring first-person accounts and footage from more than forty cameras on the streets, 'Terrorizing Dissent' focuses on the story of dissent suppressed. People charged with "conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism" speak out against the government's campaign to manipulate media coverage and label civil disobedience and community organizing as terrorism. > "If civil disobedience becomes framed as 'terrorism' ... that's baloney. And the reason they're waving the T-word around, there's one reason and one reason only, because they want to squash dissent and they want to justify what the police do in the effort of squashing that dissent."
Michelle Gross, Communities United Against Police Brutality
'Terrorizing Dissent' shows the results of the $50 million dollars the Department of Homeland Security gave to local authorities for security — a large chunk of which went to weaponize the police — and the $10 million insurance policy contract between the RNC Host Committee and the City of St. Paul, which shattered Minnesota's civil compact between protesters and police.
Effectively, the Republican National Committee provided financial cover for the widespread, organized suppression of dissent. The FBI and Secret Service coordinated with local police to raid homes and work spaces before the RNC even began. On the streets, the government's intimidation strategy shut down peaceful protests through the heavy use of tear gas, pepper spray, stun grenades, rubber bullets, and other projectiles. This excessive use of force followed months of harassment and surveillance of community activists. At every stage, local officials have refused to release the documentation behind what they did, from the origins of dubious search warrants to joint powers agreements.
The Republican Party's efforts to control the message and crush dissenting voices were led by one of the top local Republicans, troubled Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who personally spearheaded the "pre-emptive raid" strategy and spun the media by claiming captured household items were weapons (most notably, the buckets of recycled grey water he dubbed "urine"). At every stage, from fake urine to riot threats, messages of fear were distributed to chill Minnesotans from exercising their First Amendment rights.
Just days before Fletcher launched high-profile preemptive raids against protesters, two of his closest aides, Mark Naylon and Timothy Rehak, were found guilty on federal charges after they attempted to steal $6,000 in an FBI sting. To shore up his murky political future, Fletcher staged an authoritarian spectacle unparalleled in Minnesota history. > "We have unlawful search and seizure. We have unlawful arrest without probably cause.... Mass arrest and detention without probable cause.... Then you have excessive force. Spraying people point blank range with mace who aren't resisting and who are peaceful is excessive force. Beating people in jail is excessive force... Those all should be criminal complaints. They'll never be charged as such by any prosecutor."
Bruce Nestor, National Lawyers Guild
As local Democratic officials cautiously stepped back, Fletcher put himself in front of a classic "security theater" media campaign to create a non-existent enemy, equate civil disobedience with terrorism, and move in to attack peaceful protests. This plan culminated with the blocking and flashbang bombing of a peaceful march organized by anti-war activists on September 4th as John McCain delivered his acceptance speech at the Xcel Center.
Within weeks, John McCain's campaign turned to attacking Barack Obama on the same grounds as the RNC Welcoming Committee, a group that provided logistical help such as housing, food and a convergence center for demonstrators.
This rapidly produced "election cut" shows how the government — even in a liberal state like Minnesota — easily rolled over to domestic militarization and criminal abandonment of Constitutional freedoms. As the Republican National Convention paved the way for a fall of terrifying national instability and financial chaos, Americans need to know about the techniques used to silence Minnesota.
Cut from hundreds of hours of donated footage, "Terrorizing Dissent" has been released for free on the Internet in HD, FLV and Quicktime formats, under the Creative Commons / CopyLeft license, and its producers encourage everyone to share this important film. More video releases are planned; stay tuned to this website for updates.
Glassbead Collective ( glassbeadcollective.org ), based in New York City, brings together individuals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds including video art, film, theater, architecture, photography, music, mathematics, fine arts and philosophy to create works which re-contextualize culture and the world in which we find ourselves today.
Twin Cities Indymedia ( twincities.indymedia.org ) is the local chapter of the international Indymedia network, a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage. Indymedia is a democratic media outlet for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of truth. Twin Cities Indymedia provided up-to-the-minute coverage of the St. Paul's Republican National Convention with news and media straight from the streets. As an entirely volunteer-run organization, the Tech Collective handles the Web platform, and the passionate observers of the Editorial Collective write stories and fend off spam. TC Indymedia plans to organize a new video project collective as an extension of the work behind producing 'Terrorizing Dissent.' http://blip.tv/file/get/Glassbeadcollective-TerrorizingDissentS3sdh264755.mov
6 Views
17:41:00 01/03/09
September 1st: The Battle of St Paul
[LESS INFO] 6 VIEWS | ADDED 17:41:00 01/03/09
Terrorizing Dissent
The Election Cut
Glass Bead Collective, Twin Cities Indymedia, and other independent media activists have released a new film, 'Terrorizing Dissent', an exposé of events at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Featuring first-person accounts and footage from more than forty cameras on the streets, 'Terrorizing Dissent' focuses on the story of dissent suppressed. People charged with "conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism" speak out against the government's campaign to manipulate media coverage and label civil disobedience and community organizing as terrorism. > "If civil disobedience becomes framed as 'terrorism' ... that's baloney. And the reason they're waving the T-word around, there's one reason and one reason only, because they want to squash dissent and they want to justify what the police do in the effort of squashing that dissent."
Michelle Gross, Communities United Against Police Brutality
'Terrorizing Dissent' shows the results of the $50 million dollars the Department of Homeland Security gave to local authorities for security — a large chunk of which went to weaponize the police — and the $10 million insurance policy contract between the RNC Host Committee and the City of St. Paul, which shattered Minnesota's civil compact between protesters and police.
Effectively, the Republican National Committee provided financial cover for the widespread, organized suppression of dissent. The FBI and Secret Service coordinated with local police to raid homes and work spaces before the RNC even began. On the streets, the government's intimidation strategy shut down peaceful protests through the heavy use of tear gas, pepper spray, stun grenades, rubber bullets, and other projectiles. This excessive use of force followed months of harassment and surveillance of community activists. At every stage, local officials have refused to release the documentation behind what they did, from the origins of dubious search warrants to joint powers agreements.
The Republican Party's efforts to control the message and crush dissenting voices were led by one of the top local Republicans, troubled Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who personally spearheaded the "pre-emptive raid" strategy and spun the media by claiming captured household items were weapons (most notably, the buckets of recycled grey water he dubbed "urine"). At every stage, from fake urine to riot threats, messages of fear were distributed to chill Minnesotans from exercising their First Amendment rights.
Just days before Fletcher launched high-profile preemptive raids against protesters, two of his closest aides, Mark Naylon and Timothy Rehak, were found guilty on federal charges after they attempted to steal $6,000 in an FBI sting. To shore up his murky political future, Fletcher staged an authoritarian spectacle unparalleled in Minnesota history. > "We have unlawful search and seizure. We have unlawful arrest without probably cause.... Mass arrest and detention without probable cause.... Then you have excessive force. Spraying people point blank range with mace who aren't resisting and who are peaceful is excessive force. Beating people in jail is excessive force... Those all should be criminal complaints. They'll never be charged as such by any prosecutor."
Bruce Nestor, National Lawyers Guild
As local Democratic officials cautiously stepped back, Fletcher put himself in front of a classic "security theater" media campaign to create a non-existent enemy, equate civil disobedience with terrorism, and move in to attack peaceful protests. This plan culminated with the blocking and flashbang bombing of a peaceful march organized by anti-war activists on September 4th as John McCain delivered his acceptance speech at the Xcel Center.
Within weeks, John McCain's campaign turned to attacking Barack Obama on the same grounds as the RNC Welcoming Committee, a group that provided logistical help such as housing, food and a convergence center for demonstrators.
This rapidly produced "election cut" shows how the government — even in a liberal state like Minnesota — easily rolled over to domestic militarization and criminal abandonment of Constitutional freedoms. As the Republican National Convention paved the way for a fall of terrifying national instability and financial chaos, Americans need to know about the techniques used to silence Minnesota.
Cut from hundreds of hours of donated footage, "Terrorizing Dissent" has been released for free on the Internet in HD, FLV and Quicktime formats, under the Creative Commons / CopyLeft license, and its producers encourage everyone to share this important film. More video releases are planned; stay tuned to this website for updates.
Glassbead Collective ( glassbeadcollective.org ), based in New York City, brings together individuals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds including video art, film, theater, architecture, photography, music, mathematics, fine arts and philosophy to create works which re-contextualize culture and the world in which we find ourselves today.
Twin Cities Indymedia ( twincities.indymedia.org ) is the local chapter of the international Indymedia network, a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage. Indymedia is a democratic media outlet for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of truth. Twin Cities Indymedia provided up-to-the-minute coverage of the St. Paul's Republican National Convention with news and media straight from the streets. As an entirely volunteer-run organization, the Tech Collective handles the Web platform, and the passionate observers of the Editorial Collective write stories and fend off spam. TC Indymedia plans to organize a new video project collective as an extension of the work behind producing 'Terrorizing Dissent.' http://blip.tv/file/get/Glassbeadcollective-TerrorizingDissentPart1TheFallInStPaul227.mov
3 Views
02:58:26 12/15/07
Enviro Groups Plan Dec 17 Protest Rally Of State Decision On Michigan Acid Mine
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 02:58:26 12/15/07
Michigan top environmental watchdog agency sells out pristine U.P. by giving green light to controversial sulfide mineEnvironmental groups organize Monday rally in Marquette to oppose state’s decision: “It ain't over til' its over!” - seven environmental groups issue joint statement and join forces with pledge to keep fighting project“Acid mine” opposed by American Indian tribes, environmental groups and many othersFriday, Dec. 14, 2007 - a day that will live in infamy in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.The state of Michigan today handed a huge defeat to American Indian tribes, environmental groups and others who have actively opposed a controversial sulfide mine that the Kennecott Minerals Company plans to build in the pristine Yellow Dog Plains near Lake Superior.“The Department of Environmental Quality announced today its decision to approve a series of permits to the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company to conduct mining operations at the proposed Eagle Project Mine near Marquette,” read a press release by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).Mine opponents have said they will file a lawsuit - possibly seeking an injunction or other actions to stop the project.Save the Wild UP - one of the longtime opponents of the sulfide mine - has announced a rally on Monday, Dec. 17, 2007 to protest the state’s decision to approve the mine permits.“It ain't over til' its over!” - states the Save the Wild UP website.Link to information on the rally that begins at noon Monday on the steps of the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office in Marquette::http://www.savethewildup.org/blog/marquette-rally-show-your-disappointment/#comment-3568Seven environmental groups issued a joint statement announcing the fight is not over."We are extremely disappointed that after all the work which went into crafting the law governing non-ferrous mining in Michigan that the DEQ has chosen to simply ignore key components of that law,” said Anne Woiwode, state director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter.“They’ve granted Kennecott a permit which clearly doesn’t even meet the intent, let alone the letter of the law," Woiwode said.National Wildlife Federation attorney Michelle Halley said she and other opponents are currently considering a variety of administrative and court actions. “We need time to review the final permit conditions and will proceed after that,” Halley said.Link to the entire press release from the seven environmental groups:http://www.savethewildup.org/blog/joint-press-release-on-deqs-approval-of-the-eagle-project/The mine will remove nickel and other minerals from the ground - leaving behind sulfuric acid as a nasty byproduct. That has caused many to call the project an “acid mine.”The mine must still get the approval of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.The Michigan DNR - the sister to the MDEQ - is expected to give its approval, however critics hope the EPA will not rubber stamp the project.Link to Michigan Department of Environmental Quality press release announcing why it wants an “acid mine” built in the Upper Peninsula:http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135--181926--,00.htmlIn gushing over the Kennecott proposal, Michigan’s top environmental protector said the international mining company “met the high standard set by Michigan's environmental laws."However, critics say the truth is just the opposite: Michigan law have not kept up with the new technology proposed by Kennecott and other mining companies."This has been one of the most thorough reviews of an application ever done by this agency," said DEQ Director Steven E. Chester.Opponents fear the mine will open the floodgate to similar proposals across northern Michigan and even encourage the opening of uranium mines.The Eagle Mine, which could begin to open in the spring of 2008, will tunnel below a prime trout stream - the Salmon-Trout River - that feeds Lake Superior.One geologist’s study expresses concern the river could collapse into the mine thus polluting the entire Great Lakes. A state Michigan employee left that study out of a report on the proposed project leading to charges of a cover up - but the state investigated itself - and decided the oversight was accidental.The mine proposal comes from the Kennecott Minerals Corporation - an international mining company with one of the worst environmental records.A similar Kennecott Mine in Wisconsin continues to pollute and has left the site unusable.Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm - a democrat - refused to fight the mine proposal apparently because of the state's terrible economy.However, critics say the short-term jobs and long-term environmental impact makes the mine a poor trade for a mere bump in the economy.Critics say Granholm's silence is reminiscent of former Republican Michigan Governor John Engler who supported all business proposals no matter what the future cost.Among those opposing the mine are U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-MI, of Menominee:“Sulfide mining, like that of the Yellow Dog mining project, may create potentially irreversable environmental damage to the region and lasting health ailments to area residents,” said U.S. Congressman Stupak.Keweenaw Bay Indian Community President/CEO Susan LaFernier said the tribe continues to closely monitor the Kennecott Minerals Co. Eagle Project in the Yellow Dog Plains."Our tribal cultural committee has been very involved with it (Eagle Project) and we're going to continue to do what we can (to halt it)," Keweenaw Bay Indian Community President/CEO Susan LaFernier told the daily Mining Gazette of Houghton, MI.The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) strongly opposes "acid mine" on the Yellow Dog Plains because sulfide mining tramples ceded territorial rights and the treaties of 1842 and 1856.The mine will be built near Big Bay, the site of the murder and later filming of the famous movie "Anatomy of a Murder." Opponents say the opening of the mine would be Part Two: Anatomy of a Murder 2008":For more information please look at this blog on Urth-TV::http://www.urth.tv/content/view/18871/397/A pristine trout stream - the Salmon-Trout River - will be the very first Lake Superior tributary polluted if there is a problem at the mine that is using new and unproven technology.Photos of the Salmon-Trout River are published with consent of Northwoods Wilderness Recovery and photographer Jackie Donohohttp://www.northwoodswild.org/ (906) 226-6649Acid reaching Lake Superior will eventually make its way into the other Great Lakes.The Opposition:http://yellowdogwatershed.org/html/more_mining_news.htmlCurrent opposition is becoming more and more widespread as Michigan's people hear about the trade-off of their U.P. and waters for 75 or so jobs.U.P. groups consist of local grassroots/community citizens, the Huron Mountain Club (HMC) and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC).The tribe's hard stand that sulfide mines, and this particular mine on the Yellow Dog Plains, impose on their ceded territorial rights and the treaties of 1842 ad 1856.Photo by Jackie Donoho, Northwoods Wilderness RecoveryNational/State environmental groups that participated in the development of the new law, have come out in opposition to this project on the Yellow Dog Plains and include: National Wildlife Federation, Michigan Environmental Council, Sierra Club, National Trout Unlimited, Michigan League of Conservation Voters, and Clean Water Action. They have retained hydrologists, geophysicists, AMD experts, mining engineers, botanists, birding/macroinvertibrate/plant scientists, water chemists, etc., as experts in this issue.---KBIC oppose mine:http://www.theminingnews.org/news.cfm?newsID=1958Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) members testify against mine:http://www.keweenawnow.com/views/ted_soldan_deq_06_04/ted_soldan_deq.htmKBIC tribe cultural committee watches mine processhttp://www.savethewildup.org/alerts/?id=418Menominee Indian tribe to call the corporation's actions a "declaration of war." http://nativenet.uthscsa.edu/archive/nl/9507/0472.htmlAmerican Indian Tribes against mine:http://www.northwoodswild.org/newspro/viewnews.cgi?id=EEZkpAZpZkdXGKQtlmhttp://www.keweenawnow.com/news/sulf_mining_trek_05_08/sulf_mining_trek_05_08.htm---
2 Views
17:30:12 08/19/05
Echo Chamber Project Vlog Episode 2: Media & Politics
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 17:30:12 08/19/05
Here is the second Echo Chamber Project video blog entry
Description: Technology is transforming media & politics, and large-scale collaborative media can provide some insights into grassroots leadership and bottom-up democracy.
Featuring: Chris Nolan , Jeff Jarvis , Doc Searls , Scott Heiferman , Markos Moulitsas , Mindy Finn & Kent Bye.
(5:08 minutes / 12.6 MB)
Download Quicktime
Subscribe: Vlog RSS / Blog RSS
Listed below is a full transcript of this video with additional links...
BIG NEWS! >
[ UPDATE: November 2, 2005 ] The Rasiej campaign was never able to provide the necessary footage for this proposed remix. More details here.
This video blog episode will be one of the first citizen videojournalism reports to be remixed by a political campaign. This could provide a viable model for how traditionally top-down driven political campaigns could release some control over their communications strategy, and facilitate collaboration with citizens and issue-based advocates for talking about the niche concerns of constituents.
Vlogger and citizen journalist Ryanne Hodson will be gathering sound bites from Andrew Rasiej's campaign for Public Advocate in New York City, and then remixing them with sound bites from this Echo Chamber Project vlog episode in order to create a message that is unique to their campaign.
Both entries discuss how technology is changing media and politics, and how the Internet could faciliate a true grassroots, bottom-up democracy like we've never seen before.
Here is the pitch that I sent to the Rasiej campaign in order to open source the National aspects of their local campaign.
I framed the potential vlog remix as a way to "catalyze and energize a National-to-Local, peer-to-peer communications strategy" by having bloggers to tell NYC Democrats to know for Rasiej on September 13th.
In other words, since the Rasiej campaign has been so focused on the local Get Out the Vote efforts, then they didn't have time to connect the dots for what Rasiej's vision means for grassroots democracy and how political parties could use technology in new and innovative ways. Since I had already made this argument in this vlog entry, then I suggested that we collaborate on getting this message out there by open sourcing his national campaign strategy.
New York City also has a lot of political and cultural power, and if Rasiej is elected and his vision for Universal municipal Wi-Fi is implemented, then could set a trend for other cities to follow.
Rasiej founded the Personal Democracy Forum, which advocates for using technology to manifest a more grassroots democracy. This also happens to be where I gathered these interviews.
Here is a link to Rasiej's remixed video blog entry ( Remix Still in Production ).
It's nice to have the opportunity to put some of this theory into action for what is possible with using citizen journalism as a way to "open source" political campaigns. It is also opening more doors and paving the road for more doing collaborative media.
The Echo Chamber Project has more plans for how to take this idea to the next level by creating the tools to make large-scale collaborative media possible.
I am still searching for potential funders and computer programmers, so please leave a comment below if you're interested in getting more involved. Screen Capture Transcript Kent Bye ( EchoChamberProject.com ): I wanted to talk a bit about the intersection between media and politics for a couple of reasons. Collaborative media can provide a lot insights into grassroots activism and bottom-up democracy. The Echo Chamber Project is also developing a lot of the open source tools for collaborative media that could also be used for political campaigns in the next election cycle. So here are some insights from the Personal Democracy Forum.
[Intro Music Cue from Telekinetic Soulmate "Searching" courtesy of Defective Records] Chris Nolan ( "Politics from Left to Right" Blog): Back five / ten years ago, the people at Wired Magazine used to say, "The Internet changes everything." They were right. We're just getting -- I mean, outside of Silicon Valley -- people are just beginning to understand just how dramatic and how important those changes are. Jeff Jarvis ( BuzzMachine.com ): If you give the people control of media, they will take it. If you don't give them control, you will loose them. And I think we have to look not just at media where this is occurring, but also in marketing and in politics. I don't think here at the Personal Democracy Forum we've yet seen nearly the endgame of the people taking over their political process, and I do believe that will happen. Doc Searls ( Doc Searls Weblog ): Sooner or later, the connected electorate essentially imposes Democracy back on government in a way we've never seen before. So I think five years from now what we're going to see is something that's much more like democracy than we've seen in the history of the Republic. Kent Bye: It's safe to assume that the Internet will continue to change the way that we interact with media and politics. One of the founders of Meetup.com talks about the challenges of coordinating large-scale collaboration. Scott Heiferman (Co-Founder/CEO Meetup.com ): How do organizations find that balance between top-down and bottom-up? How is that you can both give people direction and leadership while at the same time giving people enough freedom to truly have a grassroots feel? Not just look grassroots, but authentically be grassroots. Not just sort of look bottom-up, but authentically be bottom-up. Markos Moulitsas ( DailyKos.com ): Now people want you to be proactive. They want you to be innovative. They want you to really look for solutions to problems. They don't want you to just follow orders. Yet we have a media environment and a political environment that are still very top-bottom driven. They still expect to issue proclamations and edicts and have people follow those. It's not like that any more. And I think that what we're seeing with the blogs is a creation of this new citizen's movement to take over things -- like I said -- politics, journalism and activism. Mindy Finn ( Republican National Committee eCampaign ): We're really tasked with online strategy. Leveraging the web and new media to help advance the committee's goals at all levels. For finance goals, which is raising money. To mobilization -- our political goals, getting grassroots out there, getting folks to the polls and actually voting for our candidates. And message, which is getting our message out there and hoping that it resonates, and helping drive the message into the grassroots and to the public. Markos Moulitsas: But I hope that what we're creating is culture where people don't feel a need to wait for "so-called leaders" to tell them to act to do anything. It's that they'll take that initiative on their own -- the tools are available. Mindy Finn: There's some hierarchy to respect. And I think there always -- I think there always will be and there always has been just to make sure that it's efficient and organized. But that what that hierarchy is all about is really putting people in touch with like-minded individuals -- empowering the grassroots. I mean, you have to have someone kind of crafting message. You have someone making sure that message is getting out to these individuals. Kent Bye: I think it's important to find that balance between top-down leadership and bottom-up participation without being too extreme on either end. What I hope to do with my open source documentary is help find that healthy balance. What I've done is I've gone out and taken the initiative to gather all of these interviews -- and ask the questions. But I'm releasing a lot of control with how the final film comes together. So I hope to have a community help collaborative edit and shape the film. So here's Doc Searls talking more about open source communities work. Doc Searls: Groups of people that work together in much the same way as -- say as a group of farmers would raise a barn. Right? And there's a shared understanding of what needs to be done. People step forward who have particular expertise, and they'll work on that part of the project. Kent Bye: Large-scale collaborative media can provide a lot of answers to some of the questions surrounding grassroots activism and bottom-up democracy. Small-scale collaboration is already possible with blogs, podcasts and video blogs -- but additional tools -- like the ones that I described in the previous episode -- have to be developed in order to facilitate collaboration on a large-scale. I'm still searching for funders and potential [software] programmers. So if you're interested in getting more involved, then please drop by the website and leave a comment.
