Indy Media Watch

A well referenced and thoughtful post appears on the Investigative Blog, entitled From Indymedia to Indyjournalism. One point stands out:

Indymedia and Blogger.com

Indymedia’s early role as an open bulletin board filled an important niche. At the time, there were very few news websites that weren’t related to existing newspapers, and the free publishing systems that existed (Geocities, Angelfire) did not lend themselves to regular updates. The Active software created a system where people with only a rudimentary understanding of html could upload their stories, without needing to FTP them to the server, rename files, etc.

The open publishing system worked well, particularly during the events that individual Indymedia sites were often created to cover. It was not long however before it became obvious that this openness was a liability afterward, where Indymedia sites became sites of flamewars, racist commentary, advertising and porn. Regular posters developed the habit of posting articles to the newswires of every available Indymedia – undermining the necessity of having geographical sites in the first place.
...
The space for an unedited, unrestricted, uncensored newswire exists outside of Indymedia – any number of blog sites – blogger/livejournal/xanga/myspace etc all allow for this open publishing format. Therefore, it’s not necessary for Indymedia to continue supporting the publication of garbage in the name of free speech.

So then what’s the point?

An excellent question, and one we are currently asking ourselves, in terms of the future of this blog. It would seem by now, the point has well and truly been made.

A comment on UK Indymedia is a clear incitement to arson.

ARSON AROUND with Auntie A.L.F.
your guide for putting the heat on animal abusers every where

Our contributor has emailed UK Indymedia to draw it to their attention. As yet, it remains visible.

Perhaps it doesn't contravene the multi-dimensional all-purpose polymorphic editorial guidelines?

Budding arsonists can be assured they'll be heroes on Indymedia and regarded as effective activists or, if arrested, "political prisoners", as in the case of Jeff Luers, currently serving 26 years about whom I wrote this.

Bloggers in Iranian prisons are political prisoners. Dissidents in China are political prisoners. Idiots that set fire to things are not political prisoners and calling them as such is an insult to people who genuinely did nothing wrong except think. Sadly, it was the lack of thinking which got him into prison in the first place. Maybe Luers can think about it now (perhaps in the showerblock).

UK Indymedia is carrying, unchallenged (and plagiarised), an Iranian news agency article concerning US munitions, apparently found at the site of terrorist booby traps.

Booby Traps Detonated by US Remote Controls

James Jones | 21.02.2007 15:55

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- An informed source said in Tehran on Tuesday that after terrorists' hideout in Iran's southeastern city of Zahedan was conquered, Iranian police discovered several US-made remote controlled detonators there.

The story has remained on their newswire for over 24 hours. Any number of other blogs and news sources, have confirmed the photograph used as 'evidence' is a (badly) Photoshopped and wholly doubtful fraud, no doubt aimed at discrediting the US.

Yet there it is, right there on UK Indymedia, known for supporting terrorists.

What a quality 'news source'. Come on 'Sam Wilson', we're all dying to hear your latest excuse.

Update: Wilson's latest excuse in comments:

I could have sworn you just evidenced your post with little green f***tards and onward christian soldiers.

I could have chosen from hundreds of sites, however felt the sites with the scoop and up to date links, were the most appropriate.

Beyond that, Wilson has no actual argument of course.

Others tried pointing this out earlier on UK Indymedia, with comments on the post such as:

Charles Johnson and others debunked a crude Iranian PhotoShop purporting to show U.S. munitions being used to subvert the government of Iran over the weekend, it didn't keep the ever-gullible Indymedia UK from running the photo.

Bloggers did a good job showing the PhotoShopping faults that Indymedia should have quickly and rather easily caught, but simply doing a Google image search should have quickly proven the rifle ammunition claim questionable.

and

O come on, this picture was proven as a fake by a number of people. It's all over the web, this sort of stuff makes IM look stoopid

Naturally both comments were hidden, with the usual unbelieveable message that:

This posting has been hidden because it breaches the Indymedia UK (IMC UK) Editorial Guidelines..

I'd love to know which "Editorial Guideline" prohibits pointing out that an article is a fraud.

Update: The whole post has been hidden - only after festering on the newswire for at least 48 hours. Such quality...

US Vice-President Dick Cheney is touring Australia.
As might be expected, protesters have planned to 'greet him'.

Since its Seattle inception, Indymedia has always been very good at photos from the 'front-line' of (often violent) protests and a great source for 'action shots'.

Sydney Indymedia however, is down. Melbourne Indymedia will no doubt have photos in the next day or so, once again raising the question of 'local' IMC sites.

In the meanwhile, Melbourne Indymedia has photos of the Killer Clouds of Doom.

Update: Photos of protest activity, and usual accusations of "Police Violence" have appeared.

My god Elliot, I was astounded by the images of extreme police violence in your post. I was particularly alarmed at the image of the violent police standing in a line looking at the backs of the protesters - very violent stuff indeed! Get a life sook........

Elsewhere, this is what passes for intelligent political discourse at Melbourne Indymedia:

Who is gonna take this smug C#$t down?

Real nice...

A hilarious post appears on Melbourne Indymedia where the ever paranoid "Tom" is convinced Sydney Indymedia's downtime may be due to a forthcoming state election.

Quite a 'coincidence.' Get the feeling the activist community are being played by a superior influence? We shouldn't be so proud to think its not happening.

A Sydney Indymedia moderator intervenes:

what can I say.

I'm doing my best, and all tom can do is spread paranoid rumors about me.

And the rumours continue:

What is so difficult about installing a msql, php based INDY package, Cam??

DADA, Oscailt, SF-active to name a few, install in 10 mins resotring backup, another 10 mins, general fucking around lets say 48 hours.

so either hand the site over to someone who is able or fuckin do it wanker ... u can't fool linux hackers

Ppl might begin to think you are working for the man

Personally, I don't think Sydney Indymedia's ever looked better!

We have previously observed that Google discredits itself by regarding Indymedia as a viable source for Google News.

A post on Melbourne Indymedia reports:

I have discovered that in the last week or so MIM has been removed from Google News searches and is now regarded as a “blog”.

Shocker! Now Google News users won't find out such Indymedia scoops as:

BATTLE FOR PATERNITY OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S DAUGHTER: THERE IS NO FATHER, SHE IS A CLONE!

by CLONES HAVE RIGHTS, TOO!

Dannielynn, daughter of Anna Nicole Smith, has no father because she is a clone. Anna Nicole Smith secretly visited a cloning clinic!

Dannielynn, daughter of Anna Nicole Smith, has no father because she is a clone of Anna Nicole Smith, conceived in a fertility clinic that specializes in cloning.

But wait, according to a later comment on that post:

Actually, this was voluntary and initiated by the Collective. On behalf of the Melbourne Indymedia Collective I temporarily suspended Google News Indexing on 28 Jan 2007:

"...We would like Google News to temporarily stop automatic indexing from our site as we cannot guarantee sufficient editorial control over articles posted to our local newswire feed...."

What's that? Indymedia editors acknowledging problems and accepting responsibility? Kudos! That's all this site has ever asked.

It would also explain this:

It should be said that VERY FEW Indymedia sites are recognized as worthy of inclusion – there are currently about five sites worldwide that ARE included. Up until last week MIM [Melbourne Indymedia] was one of them.

It's a simple question of quality. Something about which too many of the dozens of IMC sites are in total denial.

What is it, with crazy taxi drivers called Ahmed? A Tennesee Cabbie has run down some passengers:

A local cab driver allegedly tried to run over two customers after a fight over religion became heated.
...
Ahmed has been convicted of misdemeanors including evading arrest in a motor vehicle and driving on a suspended license, said police.

Ahmed was charged with theft because police said the license plate on his cab was listed as stolen. His bond is set at $300,000.

In Sydney, equally deranged (but as yet at-large) taxi driver Faruque Ahmed, clearly frustrated with Sydney Indymedia's recent downtime, has proved he doesn't need Indymedia and started his own blog, the charming "Who Deserve Gas Chamber" (sic).

No links for the stupid, but if you are feeling masochistic, check out http://whodeservegaschamber.blogspot.com

Who deserve straitjacket?

Update: New South Wales Police are appealing for help from the public to locate two taxi drivers following an incident.

Shortly before 3am, a man and woman got out of a taxi on the corner of Parraweena Road and Gwawley Parade. The pair then crossed the road.

At that time a second taxi drove along Parraweena Road and, as it turned into Gwawley Parade, it struck the woman and dragged her approximately 150 metres along the road.

Police have so far been unable to identify the drivers of both vehicles.
...
Investigators are appealing for help to locate the drivers of the two taxis.

The driver of the first vehicle is described as being of white/European appearance. The driver of the second vehicle, which was red and white, is described as being of Indian/Pakistani appearance.

Must be a trend.

A post on UK Indymedia tells a rather disturbing story about some London police further to an Indymedia type taking pictures of security cameras in the area.

I'm walking back across London, from Piccadilly Circus to Waterloo East, taking photos of interesting things. I start to notice how many CCTV cameras I'm on whilst I'm doing this, and take a few shots of the more striking ones, or ones in interesting locations. I'm also taking shots of reflections in the water, buskers and all sorts of random things and people.

Whatever turns you on, I suppose.

Then I spot three police officers confronting a female in the middle of the corridor. There is a security camera sticking out of the wall in the foreground above the level of their heads. I can't resist. I take a photo.

And then the fun begins.

One of them, the shortest, oldest one, is right up close to me. I can tell he is spoiling. I've seen it many times when I was younger at school, I've seen it from drunk 18 year olds when I was a student. I've seen it at kicking out time in town centers. I've never seen it from a sober, middle aged police man before (not so focused, and apparent, like this anyway).

He asks me what I'm taking photos of, I explain what the shot I had just taken was, said I was documenting the privacy implications of security cameras. He said, or more snarled, "Isn't it just common courtesy to ask people before you take photos of them". I guess he meant him. I didn't answer (avoid contradicting people directly, it tends to escalate the situation).

Sigh.

Previous posts to Indymedia regarding the police suggest one should take the report with a very healthy grain of salt. As does this comment which followed it:

While the police behaviour is appalling, as usual

As usual...

Read it all and make up your own mind. What I cannot figure out however, is why this comment was hidden by the UK Indymedia moderators:

A little realism needed

Although it does sound as though one copper was a bit heavy handed it's not really realistic to expect to go around London at the moment taking photos of cameras without attracting the attention of the Police is it ?

Let's not forget these cameras at the stations were the same ones who allowed the police to identify the London bombers and attempted bombers

It's that all-purpose "Editorial Policy" again.

A post on UK Indymedia is advertising a fundraiser for a Palestinian charity.

Event details are followed by this comment:

ignore any zionist comments stating that it's cancelled.

Well done for organising this event. Such postings here invariably attract zionist students who are actually paid by israel to continuously monitor and disrupt sites like this by posting comments stating that such pro Palestine events are cancelled due to "staff shortages" or the like. So if you see any such comments on this or on other activist sites, just ignore them and continue supportting [sic] this cause.

Does Mossad's budget know no bounds?

(Disclaimer: I am a paid Mossad agent, as are my pets and all the readers of this blog)

Needless to say, no such comment about cancellation has appeared on the site, nor is one really likely. However, it would be amusing if the function were actually cancelled, yet everybody turned up anyway, believing the cancellation post to be a deceptive Mossad ploy. Upon arriving at an empty venue, I have no doubt they'd blame the Jews for that as well.

Elsewhere on UK Indymedia, more of the usual antisemitic claptrap one might expect from that site:

it is the FACT [sic] that the representation of zionists within government is way beyond mere numerical relationships
...
it is the FACT [sic] that those that control the systems of money (the privately owned federal reserve) are almost universally jewish and represent the familiar roll call of old european banking houses
...
it is the FACT [sic] that the representation of zionists within government is way beyond mere numerical relationships

it is the FACT [sic] that by dint of dual nationality (one thinks of the present democratic 'money man' and his stint in the idf) these zionists flagrently [sic] breech [sic] the LAW on foreign powers and agents acting within government

it is the FACT [sic] that divergence from the zionist position will get you smeared from coast to coast in print, on tv & radio and from within debating chambers supposedly representing AMERICAN interests

it is the FACT [sic] that those that control the systems of money (the privately owned federal reserve) are almost universally jewish and represent the familiar roll call of old european banking houses

some call it Zionist Occupation Government

you would call it coincidence and unimportent?[sic]

It is the FACT that antisemites can't spell and aren't that bright.

So there you have it. Jews (sorry, sorry, Zionists) control the government, media, and world banks.

"Sam Wilson" should be along any second now to insist that there is no antisemitism on UK Indymedia and it's all in our imagination. While he's at it, he may also care to explain why hiding some articles which are reposts with links to other sites is considered to be within the "editorial guidelines", yet endless posts from "Kurt Nimmo's" blog such as the above, which fit a certain 'agenda', remain on the newswire.

A few weeks back, an armed individual in Santa Cruz ran into a restaurant, and refused to come out. This obviously prompted a police response and standoff. Thankfully for all parties involved, no one was hurt and everyone left the scene alive and well.

But over at Santa Cruz Indymedia, we learn that it was those rotten capitalist police officers who were the real threat! Because, you know, the suspect only had a pair of scissors, and the police have guns! Some individuals within the thread express their “disgust” at the waste of money attributed to this event, and place the blame squarely on the police department.

“What is with that HUGE truck? I live in something smaller than that. Pigs! Give me some taxpayer money!!!

Astounding! Not only is this the police department’s fault, but they should apparently also go into action weaponless and naked!

ACcording to a post on Pittsburgh Indymedia:

SFIMC Officially defrocked from the Collective


It all comes out in the end

the ongoing controversy surrounding the articles from SFIMC
and the continuous spam like posting of one of the editors has finally been brought to a Halt!
the IMC collective has taken action on the issue of inappropriate behavior of editors and staff from the renegade
news group in the west.

SF has been suspended from operation in the IMC collective. their equipment is the property of the collective and in the coming weeks will be redistributed to other Imc's with more worthy goals for social change.
the Leadership of the IMC collective wishes to apologize for the prolonged episodes of childish behavior that was allowed to come out of SF. this type of harassment of other IMC's is inexcusable we sight the poor management of this group for the final decision to close and dismantle the site

As with most 'news' on Indymedia, it's difficult to verify its authenticity, however SF Indymedia has been unreachable for some time.

Assuming it's true, SF Indymedia demonstrated how low, the depths an IMC site must reach before others will say they don't want a piece of it. Wow!

Update: Several comments cast doubt over what's actually happened. One way or the other, the site's still offline.