Subscribe to the print edition and enjoy The Republic in
your bathroom!
Plus, your subscription goes a very long way in helping to support The Republic and its writers and produces. It's like paying for the music you like.
Click here for details
|
Media
2007 on YouTube
The Indie media phenomenon did a pretty good job last year
Tavis W Dodds
|
“Without a democratic free press, there is no democracy.” Union leader Dave Coles told Harper Index in an August 21st, 2007 interview. “Right now indie media is what’s saving our butt in the democracy. Very few Canadians understand the importance of it. The Web is going to be the foundation for democracy for a while.”
Looking back on 2007, we can see the year as a sequence of victories posted on YouTube. The year started with Saddam Hussein’s execution on computer screens the morning of New Years day, 2007. The continuing exploits of Vancouver’s Anti-Poverty Committee are posted for the world to see the unjust persecution of this brave band of activists. Footage of other police brutalities like taser incidents and murders have updated the public on police corruptions. And the state itself was exposed as corrupt when YouTube was used to expose undercover government agents inciting violence at the protest against the secret SPP summit in Montebello Quebec. All in all, it’s been a year of awakenings to just how inadequate the main stream media is compared to the free media of independent minds.
“Is this the Arab courage?” Hussein asked a crowd gathered to taunt him at the gallows. “Is this the courage of Arabs? Allah is great!” And then they hung him in accordance with the directions of a phony trial by a court set up by US forces expressly for the purpose of executing Hussein and his colleagues. The media was poised for a celebration that New Years Day, as Muslims heard the call to prayer on their holy day on January 1st, the same time people called out news of Hussein’s death. The only Canadian column on it talked about dancing the jig and whistling “Ding-Dong the witch is dead.” The public, however, proved less blood-thirsty than the media anticipated, and cell phone video of Hussein’s inhumane execution showed a reality quite unlike the one that was being fed to us by the videodrome media machine.
In February the Olympic Countdown Clock was unveiled at the Vancouver Art Gallery and a protest erupted against the Olympics and BC Premier Gordon Campbell. Police later said that it shouldn’t have been considered a protest but a criminal act by Vancouver’s Anti-Poverty Committee. Phoney stories were made up about rattles being “rocks wrapped in paper mache.” Independent film-maker Conrad Schmitt was on hand to record what really happened and “For the People” on YouTube shows the benevolence of the protesters and the violence of the police. Then when the Anti-Poverty Committee tried to attend a meeting of the COPE party at Heritage Hall, police attacked them with their bicycles and horses were used to push the protesters down the block, all of which is captured in “VPD and Protesters Clash.”
The police story on TV had police displaying bogus bottles of urine that were stashed there, but YouTube shows clearly what really happened while only a split second of the clash made it onto TV. The APC’s City Hall occupation through theatre was also posted under the title “Homeless in Vancouver,” yet it was totally ignored by the mainstream media and censored off the City’s web coverage. If you believe what you read in The Province or The Vancouver Sun or on CTV, this is a criminal organization, but anyone with a computer can see for themselves that these brave kids have been periodically holding the front line of opposition to Western Canada’s new Fourth Reich all year.
In Central Canada, too, the facts are posted in stark proof of a controlled media in the YouTube video of undercover state agents exposed by aging Council of Canadians activists and a band of young black-bloc youths. “Put the rock down, man!” Dan Coles yells at the height of the drama. Ensuing photos of the boots of the agents-provocateurs held us all at the edge of our screens while police, news stations and Public Security minister Stockwell Day all flailed at having been caught making up a whole violent story.
Like most of 2007’s historical videos, this one received hundreds of thousands of views overnight, but some of the lesser-viewed Montebello films deserve wider attention, such as the one depicting the Raging Grannies paddling a canoe up the river to the summit and being forced by a Canadian Forces helicopter to stop for a picnic. The best is perhaps “Montebello Anti-SPP Demonstrations August 20th”: a videographer walks through the extent of the crowd gathering to defy this secret meeting of government and big business, a crowd clearly not the militants we were told they were. These people were the real citizenry, the hero warriors of our age, young and old, scared, but standing up to the Beast and the tear gas, pepper spray, batons, and rubber bullets. The coverage on Cable TV laughed at these champions of liberty, but thanks to YouTube, history gets the last laugh on the Battle of Montebello.
Another breakthrough of YouTube free press came in 2007’s taser abuse videos. When a student posed tough questions to John Kerry at the University of Florida, the public tubed in to see numerous perspectives of security tasering the questioner repeatedly as he yelled out “Don’t taze me, bro!” In the UCLA library a similar incident was captured as security repeatedly tazed a guy in “UCLA Police Taser Student.” And then at the end of 2007, the Robert Dziekanski execution video aired despite repeated attempts by the media and the police to keep it unwatched. We have to wait years for a coroner’s inquiry, but with cell phone footage on the internet we have a more reliable inquiry instantaneously. If the police have lost the public’s trust, they owe it in part to YouTube shots of police brutality.
There are so many more 2007 moments posted. 2007 saw unprecedented public participation in the Democratic Leadership debates on YouTube. The British Royal Family chose to broadcast the Queen’s Christmas Address on Youtube this year. On another channel, we were watching what revolution really looks like: an army of monks marching against state brutalities in Burma.
If a person wanted to watch all the videos of soldiers in Iraq tormenting children with water, or firing on innocents, it could take all of 2008. Perhaps the worst of these is “British Soldiers Beat Iraqi Children”.
On a brighter note, all the “420 Vancouver” videos burn onto the historical record images of thousands packed shoulder to shoulder on April 20th at the Vancouver Art Gallery, smoking enough pot to hot box the downtown core, and all without police or media attention. (OK, the Countdown Clock security and 24 Hours’Guts MacTavish were there).
We may ask ourselves how many years we can expect to keep what’s left of this fragile democracy. For 2007, at least, Indie media held its ground.
|
The Republic
print version is generously supported by the following regular advertisers:
Storm Brewing
604-255-9119
Dan's Homebrewing
692 E Hastings
Co-operative Auto Network
604-685-1393
Turk's Coffee
1276 Commercial Drive
Dutch Girl Chocolates
1002 Commercial Drive
Magpie Books and Magazines
1319 Commercial Drive
Artrageous Pictures & Framing
1256 Commercial Drive
Bouzyos Greek Taverna
1815 Commercial Drive
Magnet Hardware
1575 Commercial Drive
Uprising Breads
1697 Venables
Highlife World Music
1317 Commercial Drive
Mark's Pet Stop
1875 Commercial Drive
Abruzzo Cafe
1321 Commercial Drive
Our Community Bikes
3283 Main Street
Does Your Mother Know
Magazines Etc
2139 West 4th Ave
Kali
1000 Commercial Drive
Uncle Don
Freelance Curmudgen
on CFUR Radio, Prince George
Receptive Earth
Hemp & other Earthly delights
4168 Main Street
Geist
Magazine of Canadian ideas & culture
Momentum
Bike magazine
West Coast Seeds
Where to find the print version of The Republic:
Vancouver
Aboriginal Friendship
1607 E Hastings
Bean Around the World
10th & Trimble
Benny’s Bagels
Broadway & Larch
Big News Coffee Bar
2447 Granville
Black Dog Video
Cambie & 19th
Book Warehouse
550 Granville
632 W Broadway
2388 W 4th
Cambie Hostel
300 Cambie St
Capers Community Markets
2285 W 4th
1675 Robson
Carnegie Comm. Centre
Hastings & Main
City Square Mall
Cambie & 12th
Cuppa Joe 189-175
E Broadway
Dadabase
Broadway & Main
Danny’s Coffee
Denman & Pendrell
Denman Community Ctr
Denman & Nelson
Denman Mall
Denman & Nelson
Drive Organics
Commerical & Napier
Does Your Mother Know?
2139 W 4th
Duthie Books
2239 W 4th
East End Food Co-Op
1034 Commercial
Elysian Room
1778 W 5th
Food Stop
Commerical & Venables
Gemeral Store
312 Cambie St
Gold Coin Laundry
B-way & Waterloo
Granville Island
Public Market
Grind
4124 Main
Higher Ground
Broadway & Vine
Il Mercato
1641 Commercial
Joe's Café
1150 Commercial
Laughing Bean
Hastings & Penticton
Lugz
2525 Main Street
Magpie Magazines
1319 Commercial
Our Town Cafe
245 E Broadway
Pacific Central Station
Bus Depot
People's Co-op Books
1391 Commercial
Polonia Sausage
Nanaimo &Hastings
Rebound Health
Hastings & Kamloops
Receptive Earth
Main & King Edward
Rhizome Cafe
317 East Broadway
Simon Fraser
Downtown Foodfair
Soma
2528 Main Street
Sweet Tooth Cafe
Nanaimo & Hastings
Turk's Coffee
1276 Commercial
UBC
Student Union Building
Union Food Market
810 Union
Uprising Breads Bakery
1697 Venables
Vancouver Community College
250 W Pender
Vancouver Public Library
350 W Georgia
1661 Napier
2425 MacDonald
370 E Broadway
West Vancouver
Capers
2496 Marine Dr
West Vancouver Library
1950 Marine
Duncan
Community Farm Store
330 Duncan St
Victoria
Bean Around the World
533 Fisgard
Munro’s Books
1108 Government
University of Victoria
Graduate L0unge
Victoria Public Library
735 Broughton
Powell River
River City Coffee
4801 Joyce
Local Loco’s Music & Arts Cafe
Flying Yellow Breadbowl
4698 Ewing
Powell River Library
4411 Michigan
Kaslo
Blue Belle Bistro
302 Fourth
SunnySide Naturals
404 Front
Nanaimo
Nanaimo Public Library
Harbourfront Br
Port Place Shopping Ctr
650 S Terminal
The Green Store
Port Place
Mermaid’s Mug
357 Wesley St
Nelson
Mountain Pass Imports
402 Baker
Toronto
Moonbean Cafe
30 St. Andrew St
Future Bakery
483 Bloor St West
Oakville Peace &Ecology Centre
148 Kerr
|
The Republic of East Vancouver masthead
The Republic of East Vancouver supports no party, advocates
for no cause, represents no group, serves no master, and considers
problems with no preconceived notions. We hope to afflict the comfortable,
both materially and intellectually, and comfort the afflicted—of
both kinds as well, and we are trying to do both things at the same
time.
Publisher, Editor
Kevin Potvin
Managing Editor
Kara Foreman
Copy Editor
Janis Harper
Website
Chris Lavigne
Advertising
Chris Richmond Kevin
Potvin
Support
Dan Crawford, John Daigle,
Jack Etkin, Janis Harper, Carl Johnson, Hilary Jones, Chris King,
James Mecham, Albrecht Meyers, Peter Miller, James Pope
Contributors in this and recent issues
Bruce Alexander, Dan Adleman, Toby Alford, Kevin Annett, Santo Barbieri, Bob Broughton, Mike Bryan, Stephen Buckley, Matthew Burrows, Maria Calleja, Ron Carton, Chad Christie, Joshua Corber, Dan Crawford, Gail Davidson, Eric Doherty, Joe Donaldson, Lorena Jara Patty Ducharme, Shadia Drury, Taivo Evard, Reed Eurchuk, Farnaz Fassihi, Thomas Feakins, Anthony Fenton, Reza Fiyouyzat, Andrew Gordon Fleming, Ryan Fugger, Sasha Gagic, Matt Goody, Guy Hawkins, Spencer Herbert, John Irwin, Nick Istvaniffy, Junius, William Kay, Mike Keep, Kate Kennedy, Donald Kropp, Chris LaVigne, James Lindfield, Brian Lindgreen, Karen Litzke, Keith MacKenzie, Michael McLaughlin, Sonya McRae, Rafe Mair, Sonia Marino, Jennifer Matsui, Michael Millard, Isaebel Minty, Michael Nenonen, Wendy Nylund, Derrick O’Keefe, Stephen Osborne, Sean Orr, Evan Augustine Pederson III, Stephen Peplow, Kim Peterson, Kevin Potvin, Mary Rawson, Andrea Reimer, Erin Riley, Phil Rockstroh, Becky Scott, Jason Scott, Chris Shaw, Jeff Steudel, Alex Tegart, Scott Turner, Elbio Grosso Trentini, Patrick Vert, Chris Walker, Sean Wilkinson, Brad Zembic
For comments or suggestions, please contact the
Republic Webmaster
|
