Blogs

Were you at the G8?

Find out how dutch, german, english and international television stations were reporting about the G8. Which programmes were giving a fair and accurate perspective on the negotiations, and on the protests?

Users have been recording television news items and uploaded them to UNSPINTHEG8.ORG. Analyse the news items, and discuss with other users.

UNSPIN THE G8 is a temporary toolkit for the analysis of media reports during the run-up to the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany (6-8 June 2007).

Bono is here, performing with a south asian fusion band called Bangla in a rockstock to 'end all poverty'. Can't think what's more scheinheilig at the moment...the concert or the achtung baby from africa that reportedly cracked up into 3 pieces as it was floated down the WARNOW river. (the idea we were told was to have white people grab and climb onto the baby as she floated down the river, a symbolic gesture in solidarity...we fucked africa up?)

Guy Debord

The Sick Planet

I'm living in new york right now and want to post some reactions and street interviews in the next couple of days.

Today it is sunny again. After a few cold and cloudy days the protests against the G-8 meeting continue with blockades of the streets that lead to the conference venue in Heiligendamm, 15km outside of Rostock. Organisers say there are more than 10,000 people on the blockades. According to several sources various groups seem to have reached the 12km long fence that walls off Heiligendamm from the rest of the world. Apparently all roads to Heiligendamm are blocked, the G-8 delegates can access Heiligendamm only by air or sea.

Based on a year of ongoing conversations and interviews with migrant workers working as cleaners in the London Underground, this film is about their living and working conditions as as migrants with precarious status, as well as working under the Public Private Partnership of the London Underground.

"Good Copy Bad Copy", a Danish documentary about "the current state of copyright and culture", has just been released to the net. None here has watched it yet, but at first glance it looks promising. Get it here.

the question then becomes: who is this being produced to? of course, the joy and grief of 2.0 anything is that the answer to this question can only be: dunno. but the goal would have to be something that is more than

a) 'a different perspective on events for those who've been there to watch afterwards'(because different perspectives are 10p a piece and the only difference between anyone else and me right now is that i'm up, writing a blog entry and cursing the hardware for not allowing me to edit the footage i have)

b) 'an artist's perspective on events'

how did the problem of producing images hit me? the days before the opening demo were relatively fine, since there was no pressure to document anything in particular. i went to the camp in reddelich, walked around rostock and everything; it must be siad that the latter corresponded less to my expectations than the former. still, no pressure to produce any particular image.

that it is not a matter of images, but of summits themselves. what new images can they produce? what can the interviews say that weren't said before? is there a new point to be made?