LiP Media Blog

August 28, 2004 Edition

THiS WEEK: The Republican National Convention kicks off, and so do the protests. Read opinions and strategy about the RNC protests; find out where you can hear live independent radio and see streaming video; a high-visibility "banner drop" unfurls and stays around until world media shows up (brought to you in part by the Ruckus Society, of course, who've also introduced a protest-specific novel text-messaging group for your mobile phone).

1. Dissent Must Come Alive in New York
   Protesters need not fear that they will be playing into the hands of Bush's campaign strategy.
   Tom Hayden | Newsday
   http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vphay203935797aug20,0,6070651.story
   
   
   
2. Protestors Risk Playing Into GOP Hands
   Get Mad. Act Out. Re-Elect George Bush?
   Rick Perlstein | The Village Voice
   http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0434/perlstein.php
   
   
   
3. Emergency Revolutionary
   Margaret Cho is taking her revolution to the streets. The most difficult part of revolution? Feeling you deserve one.
   Scott Thill | AlterNet
   http://www.alternet.org/story/19682/
   
   
   
4. NYC Banner Drop Succeeds
   A group of activists calling themselves "Operation Sibyl," trained by the Ruckus Society, and describing themselves as a concerned group of students and professionals, dropped a banner off of the Plaza Hotel on 58th St. and 5th Ave on Thursday the 26th. The banner read "Bush" with an arrow pointing one way, and "Truth," with an arrow pointing in the other direction.
   
   READ: http://nyc.indymedia.org/feature/
   display/103408/index.php

   WATCH: Protestors scale the Plaza Hotel in midtown http://cbsnewyork.com/topstories/
   topstoriesny_story_239101008.html
   
   
   

5. Indymedia RNC Protest Coverage
   
   RADIO: http://liveradio.indymedia.org/
   
   VIDEO: “Un-conventional TV” - For coverage of the Republican National Convention that you won't find in the mainstream media
   http://www.nycimcvideo.org/
   
   
   
   
6. RADIO | A-NOISE Participatory Webstream
   The NoRNC Sound Coalition
   http://radio.socialtechnology.net/
   
   
   
   
7. RNC 2004 Text Alerts
   A mobile text message group for your phone. Subscribe to receive instantaneous updates on demonstration activities during the Republican National Convention.
   Ruckus Society
   http://www.ruckus.org/textalert/index.html
   
   
   
   
8. Court to Protestors: Drop the Rally
   David Lindorff | Counterpunch
   http://www.counterpunch.org/
   lindorff08262004.html
   
   
   
   
9. Partying at the Conventions
   What you see of the political conventions on television is only part of the story. Behind the scenes and away from the rhetoric at the convention halls, lavish parties sponsored by corporate interests celebrate the union of money and politics. NOW with Bill Moyers and ABC News chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross examine the close ties between big corporate donors and the elected officials they're courting and provides a candid look at the parties that the Democrats and Republicans don't want you to see.
   [Friday, August 27 at 9 p.m. on PBS - check local listings at http://www.pbs.org/now/sched.html]
   http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/082704L.shtml
   
   

- Media Picks compiled and edited by Erin Wiegand and Brian Awehali

Media Blog (The Media Picks archive)