Indymedia.ie Still Wrecking Heads 7 Years On / A Shindig for the Server.
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arts and media |
feature 
Thursday January 08, 2009 11:54
by Indymedia Worker Drone
after seven years, indymedia.ie will even outlast George W Bush
(for larger hi-rez version of poster, Click Here)
The Lower Deck Portobello, Dublin
Playing: Herv / 6ft Apprentice / PCP / Section 4 and Chirps.
As editors, we, more than most, realise Indymedia.ie's had it's ups and downs in contributions and content. Editors have come and gone, and the very nature of online publishing and user generated content has fundamentally changed with the Web 2.0 revolution.
But once the dust of discussion has settled, one clear fact remains, the Irish movement has yet to create a media outlet with the reach and scope of Indymedia.ie. Until something better comes along, Indymedia.ie remains a vital communicative node for those in struggle in Ireland, it binds us together where usually we fracture. But to survive, we need your help.
Read on to see how you can help...
Over the years we have done some extraordinary things. Remember the excitement of countering the mainstream media's constant implicit acceptance of the Gardai's line on policing anti-globalisation protests with video evidence of the vicious attack on the Dame St Reclaim the Streets?
It was this site that
shattered the illusion of government claims that US Military aircraft were not re-fuelling in Shannon airport in those early days of the Iraq conflict. For all the trolls, all the vitriol, and the spelling mistakes, Indymedia.ie has consistently provided one of the only media outlets for Irish social struggles.
These have ranged from the Anti Bin Tax campaign to the anti-deportation campaigns to the student movement, environmentalism and the to the campaigns against the imposition of a Shell Oil refinery on a community in Rossport
We have done all this on a tiny budget, with no advertising, no employees and complete autonomy from all political organisations. We use an open and transparent method to organise our work. Our editorial collective is made up entirely of volunteers, organised as equals. This has allowed us to remain truly independent and to provide space for all those voices marginalised by the mainstream. From Dublin to Rossport, Clonakilty to Donegal, we give people a voice and a way to be heard.
Our current costs are 470€ per quarter, therefore we need approx 2000 per year. A month or so ago we had a bit of a fundraising drive. However due to technical problems during Nov/Dec 2008, Paypal had locked us out of our account due to EU Anti-Money Laundering regulations to collect official documentation and personally identifying information from customers who receive more than a set limit in total payments. We now once again have running update of the donations received so far on our donatations page. As things stand, we've got about 1,500 euro and we need 500 more blips to cover our asses.
Why not give us a hand and spread word of our little shindig through your social networks? There's a larger version of the poster we are using to advertise the gig available if you want to get printing some off to plaster around your 'hood. The full line up is below. If you can't make the gig, you can always head over to our donote page and get your brown envelope buzz on..
INDYMEDIA.ie FUNDRAISER
HERV (GO AWAY / RICHTER)
SIX FOOT APPRENTICE (KABOOGIE)
PCP (KABOOGIE/ RADIO NA LIFE)
SECTION 4 (DIY OI)
CHIRPS (LOUD BITS LOUD QUIET BITS QUIET)
8PM - THURSDAY JAN 15TH - THE LOWER DECK PORTOBELLO
The Lower Deck Located in the heart of Portobello and known locally as Ryans of The Harbour. You can find a map here.
FIVE EURO BEFORE NINE AND SIX AFTER
HERV
After almost a year's absence, Herv returned last month with Lithic, possibly his most dancefloor friendly release yet. If Lithic is anything to go by, on the night you can expect breaks, spinbacks and stabs of oldskool rave, thudding acid techno, growling industrial processes and piano ambience all mixed in with Herv's trademark hyper-melodic chipcore. Optimus lives!
http://www.myspace.com/hervmusic
SIXFOOT APPRENTICE (!Kaboogie Records - Ireland)
Dublin based dj and producer Sixfoot Apprentice has been playing around Ireland for the past 2 years. He has also been busy making remixes and mashups of local and international acts, and is currently working on more of his own original material. His sets are a mixture of breakcore, jungle, booty-bass, grime and a general digital mish-mash of genres. You can check out his live set from this years Mantua Festival here...
http://www.myspace.com/sixfootapprentice
PCP On his olwill.com blog, PCP claims to get his "instructions from streetsigns, newspapers and pieces of conversation I snap out of the air the way a vulture will tear from other mouths." A few years ago he was known for dishing out a tasty decks meets guitar show with his brother ludo that took in a strange range from the Cocteau Twins, via Aaron Spectre jungalism's to Irish hip hop. These days he's busy exploring the intersections of bass cultures with an emphasis on the gutter. See his olwill.com site for a proper taste of the man's style.
SECTION 4
These three drunken alps started playing a few songs in august 2007. They are DIY. They like to play gigs. They hope to have their first release out in the first half of 2009. In total they have 22 fingers!
http://www.myspace.com/section4bt
CHIRPS
Chirps are a three piece rock type outfit from Ballina that keep the loud bits very loud and the quiet bits quiet. The vocals are low in the mix, with melodic as well as heavy bits trading off and even teaming up. They all live in Dublin and send money home to their mammies as often as they can. In return for this they receive hugs. Chirps are mad for gigs, they plan to record an album sometime soon and once played a Mission of Burma cover.
http://www.myspace.com/tellinchirps
ABOUT INDYMEDIA
The Independent Media Centre Network is a network of collectively run media outlets for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of the truth. We work out of a love and inspiration for people who continue to work for a better world, despite corporate media's distortions and unwillingness to cover the efforts to free humanity. The money raised at this gig will be put towards paying our server costs and keeping the site online.
Comments (17 of 17)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17It is really important that indymedia users/particpants/ contributers support Indymedia financially so I will certainly drop down and make a donation at the gig.
However, I think most regular users of Indymedia know that the standard has dropped significantly over the past 18 months. There are many reasons for this, and I think it would be useful to have a open forum on the site to discuss how to improve Indymedia. I think it could be a really good discussion.
Most indymedia contributers make the argument that 'its your site so if its shite then thats the fault of indymedia users'. However, I dont buy this argument any more.
From my discussions with people who read (rather than contribute to) indymedia the following complaints regularly emerge:
1. It is too negative, there is rarely anything positive on it. Its focus is too narrow.
2. It is biased towards the far-radical libertarian left and therefore people who are not of this persuasion feel too intimidated to write anything that goes against the grain of far-left analysis.
3. It is dominated by a certain anarchist group who monopolise content and indirectly dominate the discussions/threads.
4. It lacks a 'public-personal' face
5. Diversity of ideas is not respected
6. The quality of writing can be quite poor and difficult to read
Perhaps an open public meeting could be arranged to allow indymedia users to discuss publicly the best way forward for the site?
Indymedia goes up and down with the tides of political activity in Ireland - always has. The last year has been quite dead in terms of anything beyond events in Rossport. But at times like now (Gaza Protests) the site comes into its own and really comes alive.
The problem imo that leads to it kind of going into a semi-coma between times is that in an ongoing way groups and individuals are quite happy to see indymedia as a service provider at times like this - to notify people of and report their events etc - but don't contribute otherwise and dont really recognise that Indymedia, with a little concerted effort from the left in ireland - could easily be the equivalent of a national newspaper.
I also believe that Indymedia should serve as a content aggregator for political web based content in Ireland - this would have the effect of lessening its dependence on original contributions / action reports - which can be very very slow at times.
It should also be highlighting and linking into discussions in all online fora in Ireland - politics.ie / machine nation / propertypin etc - and it also should have a presence on social networks.
The model I would have in mind is the excellent NZ based scoop.co.nz
As for groups being particularly identified with it - the more that other groups contribute - the less that this will be the case.
911- killed indymedia ...!
In victoria Bc, canada
we had problems ...
Canada created new "security-laws"
exposing activist's ( running the website ) ,
to crinimal prosicution for the action's of a few people
>>> many thought to be "provociter's" hired by the police
(ie:
http://houston.indymedia.org/archives/archive_by_id.php..._id=1
Austin RNC Informant Brandon Darby is Provocateur Not Hero
News of Brandon Darby's role as an FBI informant has caused a tempest of responses from the activist community, news ........!
( RNC ...? repbulican National convention )
--- just how does one sue the police for THEIR paranoia ...?
when we are happy to be released after 4-5hrs with NO CHARGES ....!
(ie: busted at a demo )
any ways ,
you know what I'm saying ...?????????
SUPORT THE INDYMEDIA MOVEMENT
( perhaps Irland , can be a indymedia-server for us ) ...?
http://victoria.indymedia ( is dead )
;{-
.
.
.
homeless people in victoria ,
need to know that Irland has homeless people too ...!
all we get ,,, from our media ,??? are stories about the need to pay BILLION'S of dollar's to the Bank's & the automobile manufacture's ....
(ie: businessmen , crying in their business suit's ,
is something we can't have ...! )
we hear how bad palistinian-people are ,
( rotten to the core) , due to where they were born ...!
Soon we'll hear about the great need to help Isreal
with it's need to RE-ARM it's self , and how Canada will pay them ....
( while Canadian-citzen's STARVE on our street's )
ted... ( we need a clown-army ) not an army of clowns...!
you know what I mean ...!
"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."
Thoughts from former US President Abraham Lincoln at: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/229.Abraham_Lincoln
Related link: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22You+cannot+furt...f&oq=
Alanna, please source your quote of Abe Lincoln.
• goodreads.com cites no original sources.
• and merely linking the quote on the google search engine proves nothing other than a lot of other fooled people cited the exact same quote!
I did a search on the 'The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln' website
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/
and did not find your quote. Try it yourself, I would like to be corrected.
But, I did find the following quote of Abe Lincoln:
The point is, when Indymedia works and is at its best it is self-correcting and is not just 'passionate' but also seeks and tells the truth.
The Mainstream media will not do this, we know this, so ordinary people must do it themselves.
[quote edited & modernized by myself]
I'm very grateful to you for your correction.
There is more on this subject at http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/l/lincoln-quotes.htm -- which claims that:
"The quotes were published in 1942 by William J. H. Boetcker, a Presbyterian minister. He released a pamphlet titled 'Lincoln On Limitations', which did include a Lincoln quote, but also added 10 statements written by Boetcker himself."
I agree with you fully that "when Indymedia works and is at its best it is self-correcting".
Also, and possibly like yourself (?), I feel it might help if more people in Ireland get to learn (via Indymedia Ireland) that great minds have already struggled with the great problems we still have in connection with "man's inhumanity to man": for the purpose of trying to build constructively on earlier efforts, as opposed to going around and around in time-wasting circles "reinventing the wheel" -- and "getting stuck" (often hopelessly it seems) in such struggles.
Though I went through the "three levels" of education in Ireland myself, I can't ever recall being taught anything of significance about such EXTREMELY important matters as the "American Declaration of Independence" (and the reasons for it); or, about the people (like former US Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson for example) who struggled so hard to create and keep the spirit of it alive and well, while others very close to them were doing their damndest to undermine and corrupt it: unfortunately with great success for the most part.
It was not without reason that President Lincoln commented: "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves".
All we seemed to get in Ireland's educational system (in effect) was the "London & Rome" viewpoint of world history and politics - a viewpoint which I believe has left many short-changed and severely disadvantaged. The same problem also seems to linger on through our "main stream media" of course. Though the "American" view of the world is all too frequently trust upon us by the main stream media these days, it is the "Bush" view we mostly get -- which has very little (I would say almost nothing) in common with the views and associated hard work of individuals such as Jefferson and Lincoln.
All of this appears to me to be particularly relevant at the present time -- as it seems to be the case that President-elect Barack Obama is a great fan of former US President Lincoln!!
This situation should become much more clear on January 20th -- only 11 more days to go.
Related link: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Lincoln%2C+Obama&b...earch
Good luck to you all and fair wind and weather for the continuing journey. Sure there's been some fur and feathers flying occasionally but the initiative is as vital and worthwhile as ever. No idea who all is on the working groups now but whoever you are, long may it continue.
we are a global network, all who look at, read, comment, write, record audio, make radio, video, make film.... learn the truth... tell the truth... live passionately. For that IMC-IE thanks and good luck
Well done for the first 8
Good luck in future experiments and presence...
Any chance of more physical imc-ie presence / workshops in dublin/ ireland?... how can people get involved? screenings, giving workshops, working on printable summing up like the old printflares... might there be a space in the new seomra, or an IMC-IE gathering time, to talk about projects, share skills, produces stuff, work on better features... self analysis, correction, learning etc...
From that, there might be moves in the audio and vid world, maybe setting up hard and software systems to allow for streamings from the seomra, to enable imc-ie's assistance for wider diffusion of "passionate tellings of truth"... in time maybe we all might be able to tune in to each others spaces, stories, talks etc.... this is the true building up of a global network, its already happening, (in my opinion) it should be pushed more...
how long will it be till we can listen to a weekly / monthly / alltime IMC-IE radio show??? again the physical space with training and experimenting would lead to this.
Maybe here in Barcelona we might be able to do likewise, maybe redjade in Budapest (i think thats where he is) and others elsewhere might like to experiment here.. i know some of the original IMC-BCN crew are keen on developing the IMC project to more than just a website for posting and sourcing news (which in itself is great, needed and thankfully growing) example of this is the R23 network
good luck
related
Indymedia Centre - everyone welcome... (Saturday April 24, 2004)
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/64562
Printflare Issue 5
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/64322
Indymedia radio support for WSF 2007 from Kenya
http://www.indymedia.org/en/2007/01/878667.shtml
streaming from the gaff (imc-ie`s controversial "live stream")
http://www.archive.org/details/livestream
imc-radio
http://radio.indymedia.org/
R23 - from IMC to global streaming tools and community
http://r23.cc/interface/
Brad Will, Indymedia Reporter, Shot Dead in Oaxaca
Brad Will, New York Documentary Filmmaker and Indymedia Reporter, Assassinated by Pro-Government Gunshot in Oaxaca While Reporting the Story --democracynow.org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KlEnhrmS-M
IMC-IE MAYDAY centre @ 2004
IMC-IE PRINTFLARE : the physical world presence
IMC GLOBAL COMMUNITY: Indymedia radio support for WSF 2007 from Kenya
Caption: Video Id: 9KlEnhrmS-M Type: Youtube Video
Embedded video Youtube Video
Main reason for American Declaration of Independence:
"When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."
( Thomas Jefferson at http://www.indianchild.com/thomas_jefferson.htm )
Related link: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Jefferson%2C+Reaso...o&oq=
Indymedia has gone a bit stale simply because the model (if somewhat modified) has spread to mainstream media sites.
On many websites now, people can log in and comment on stories - prime example is that of "Comment is free" on the Guardian website, the current source of the Atheist bus advertising campaign, I think. In many cases too, people are likely to stick with putting their comments up on these sites, because they wont get deleted. Loads of comments get deleted from Indymedia - yes some are racist, sexist, etc etc, but some of them are just chatter and 'not news', but for people contributing (however small and idiotic their contribution), when they return to the story and they find their comment has been deleted, they just never return, preferring instead other sites.
OK, so its not 'open publishing' on those sites, so the original source story has to be approved by an editor; but honestly, some of the dross that gets published as 'news stories' on the IMC newswire, or even in the 'Opinion & Analysis' section, its really bad.
[Please, dont hurl the 'you should write something/become the media' stone at me, I dont care enough about any particular issue or protest any more to write a story or take photos at it]
Even on many mainstream media websites, you can upload your own photos and videos. If you were a budding amateur news media photographer, why would you upload your material to indymedia (with a limited readership/audience) when you can put it somewhere where it'll be seen by much more?
Personally I'd like to see a smaller number of writers given access to write 'starter' stories on imc.ie, and grammar/editing enforced (that guy dunk, still after years of posting his links and crap on this site, still cant use a full stop or a capital letter properly, its infuriating and you wouldnt read it in any other media) and then leave the comments 'free', but then that probably goes against the ethos of IMC 'open publishing'.
I imagine the site will keep rumbling on, but if you click on a load of those links to IMC's around the world, you'll find many of them expired... the project IMHO failed to adapt or change to stay original when the media world around it changed too. Not sure how this could have been done - but I'm open to hear suggestions.
sorry to bother you but ...!
Amy-Goodman lays out the truth behind 1776
and the so called , " Boston - Tea - Party " ...!
---- To understand that , is to understand the real America
what it was built on ,
and happened next ...!
( plan - columbia )
ie: like any drug-addict in recovery ,
they notice they are banrupt...
----- look here : --------
http://www.democracynow.org/2006/12/22/rum_a_social_and...story
rum and not tea ....!
ted... ( enjoy ) the history lesson
Part of the Irish contingent -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lookingleft/3185833639/
To Alanna:
Lincoln: "Government of the people, by the people, for the people ..."
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Lincoln%3A+Governm...f&oq=
Bush: "Government of the corrupt, by the corrupt, for the corrupt ..."
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Bush%3A+%22Governm...earch
??? Obama ???: "Government of the people, by the people, for the people ..." ???
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Obama%3A+%22Govern...earch
Related link: http://www.humanrightsireland.com/ChiefJusticeMurray/21...l.htm
Come down.
It would be great if indymedia could have a radio station or TV channel.
I am sick of watching biased RTE news.
Enjoy the boogy tonight, but also, have a think about my above post. Im out of Ireland, but now with the seomra spraoi and its big next step, Dublins community TV station, WSM´s monthly radio show and general stuff moving in Ireland, why dont you try to set up the Irish indymedia radio station or TV station?
If there is not a physical space, make one.
If there is not support, find people and experiment
If there is not what you desire yet, there will be when you act on those desires.
If you desire assistance, limited tek support, or space to bounce ideas, give me a shout.
Regards from BCN
http://www.seomraspraoi.org/
http://www.dctv.ie/
Radio Solidarity Show from the WSM- Dublin community radio station NEAR 90.3FM.
- http://libcom.org/forums/ireland/radio-solidarity-show-...12009
- http://www.archive.org/details/RadioSolidarityShow1From...eland
Maybe soon, Irish overseas will be tuning in live to those critical chats in the seomra c/o IMC-IE RADIO
Keep it rockin'
http://www.archive.org/download/RadioSolidarityShow1FromTheWorkersSolidarityMovementIreland/WorkerssolidaritymovementradioSolidarityShow1_64kb.mp3
Embedded audio: http://www.archive.org/download/RadioSolidarityShow1FromTheWorkersSolidarityMovementIreland/WorkerssolidaritymovementradioSolidarityShow1_64kb.mp3
Dear " Long - Time - Reader "
I hear what you are saying ,
i hope I'm not the problem you discribe ...!
perhaps some of the change's you suggest
would require , some of your own personal time ...?
Are you willing to put in the time that's needed ...?
are you , going to go to some of the meetings , and
put forward some of those "changes" you suggested ...?
if Indymedia is going to change ,,, ?
it changes one site @ a time ...!
--------- sorry ----------
ted... ( geez )
I hope I'm not the guy you are talking about
if so,
( what change's do you suggest .... ? )
Indymedia Ireland is a media collective. We are independent volunteer citizen journalists producing and distributing the authentic voices of the people. Indymedia Ireland is an open news project where anyone can post their own news, comment, videos or photos about Ireland or related matters.