Frequently Asked Questions as the mob film takes over the airwaves - ch. 802 UPC digital

Media that doesn't have any other distribution....................
.........................
..........other than the internet, screenings, dvds.........
........
a place where these films are broadcast and can be submitted to be put on the television.......

It had to come to this. Somewhere along the way the means of production and distribution of media would fall into the wrong hands and even indymedia would be fully co-opted for the armchair activist. Don't go out on the streets, don't gather at your screenings or media centres, don't pass samizdat video from hand to hand - now you can consume independent media through the goggle box.

Dublin Community Television is launching on 16th July and the launch night schedule gives a clue to the influences - premieres of Route irish and Torture is Us mark the Independent Media Bloc which shows activist videos from Ireland and the world. Below the fold is the guide to the launch in the handy form of a FAQ.

Related Links:
www.dctv.ie | Route Irish | Torture is Us | the scheduler. | PDF File listing some other DCTV programmes | Cameras Filming in New Theatre as part of Launch | Seattle Showdown - the first Indymedia TV series

The truth about the WRC

Yesterday Choice Ireland picketed the WRC on Dorset street - they intend to picket every Saturday (1pm) this month to highlight "the lies, bullying, and manipulation of the WRC.

Choice Ireland says "The WRC is located at number 50 on Upper Dorset Street. The sign above the door reads “WRC” but this rogue agency has many aliases. It was known as “Aadams” from 1995 until 1999 when that incarnation was shut down in the midst of an illegal adoption scandal. It reopened as the “Women's Counselling Network” and was more recently calling itself “Alpha” until a Newstalk exposé led it to change its name once more to the “WRC”. This agency is also known to misleadingly advertise in the yellow pages as “British Alternative Pregnancy Services” and “Choice for Women” in order to give the false impression that they will discuss all the options available to women in crisis pregnancy when they have no intention of doing so."

Related Links:Choice Ireland

Always the bridesmaid...

A bit of rain didn't stop thousands from taking to the streets of Dublin to celebrate what is now a fixture in the Irish calendar and to campaign for Marraige Equality for same sex relationships. This year saw the 25th anniversary and homage was paid to the years of campaigning and how far Irish society has come. However there was a recognition that not all was won and the struggle for full equality still goes on.

Related Links:Dublin Pride Pride 08 on YouTube

Local opposition

The Combined Residents Against the Incinerator (CRAI) which is made up of residents from Ringsend, Irishtown, Sandymount and other parts of Dublin is currently making presentations to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Oral Hearing on the proposed mass-burn incinerator, planned to be built by Dublin City Council on the Poolbeg Peninsula in Dublin City.

CRAI submitted 3000 letters of objection to the An Bord Pleanala Hearing in October 2006 but despite this An Bord Pleanala granted planning permission to Dublin City Council (DCC) to build the 600,000 tonne mass-burn incinerator. The next stage in this process is the EPA is deciding what sort of waste pollution licence it will grant to DCC for the incinerator. CRAI is calling on the public to attend the hearing and make their voice of opposition heard.

Related Links: EPA Proposed licence decision DublinWaste.ie debate
Coverage on JohnGormley.com

Cover of 'The RAG' #2

Why Anarchafeminism?
A women-only discussion hosted by RAG

RAG, the Revolutionary Anarchafeminist Group is now in its third year. The collective was set up in order to explore our ideas and produce a magazine, the Rag. Meetings are held weekly on Mondays, but the first Monday of every month is an open meeting, in which non-members are invited to a workshop or discussion.

On Monday 7th April, the open meeting was entitled “Why Anarchafeminism?” The purpose of the meeting was to encourage women outside of RAG to question and explore their ideas about feminism and anarchism and to draw links between the two. Also, it gave members of the group a chance to revisit the fundamental aspects of our beliefs. The following is a personal account by two of us of the discussion. It is limited by the quality of our notes and recollections. It does not present a RAG position on anything, but is simply an attempt to share some of the ideas that were touched upon with those who were unable to attend.

Related Links: Rag's Blog Feminist Gathering Fundraiser