Redistricting Board Decision Day (Wed April 13, 2022) Video

The Board has posted the video of the April 13 Board meeting (embedded below) when the three Republican appointed majority members voted to approve the map Option 3B, submitted by long time Republican strategist (and past Republican Party Chair) Randy Ruedrich.  

They did these explanations because the Court found the previous map unconstitutional and had said that the Board needed to justify its decisions on the record, especially if they are contrary to public opinion.

As you listen, I remind you that Judge Matthews concluded  that contiguity simply means the two districts have touching boundaries in his order in the court cases - see pages 40-42.  He repeats it again on page 74-75, rejecting the concept of 'transportation contiguity.'

But he also notes that Marcum started the November approved Senate maps in Anchorage with the firm belief that JBER and Eagle River could not be pulled apart.  I'd note that D23 which includes most of JBER is also 1/3 off base areas left over from cutting downtown apart along 4th Avenue.  I mention that here because Simpson strongly defended the 23/24 pairing and he saw any attempt to split them as an attack on "our soldiers' and proof of partisan gerrymandering.  (Note how often Republicans these days are quick to accuse anyone who opposes of doing the exact same illegal or immoral thing they are doing.) He noted that protecting this pairing is what prevented the Board from pairing the two Eagle River districts which were shown to be communities of interest by the East Anchorage plaintiffs' expert witness, Dr. Chase Hensel.  

Enough preface.  I'm working the next post which will look at how their decision was based on unsupported assertions, anecdotes, and attacks on alternatives.  Not on any kind of professional decision making process.  

This is the video of that meeting.  My previous post reviewed member Budd Simpson's reasons.  That begins right about 20 minutes into the video and goes to about 45 minutes in.  This is followed by member Nicole Borromeo's critical response (beginning about 46) which includes asking the Court not to remand this back to the Board but to just finish the map because the Board will just continue with partisan gerrymandering.  

We also have much shorter (than Simpson) reasons from Marcum and Binkley.   Then there's the vote.  I like John Binkley as a person - he cheerful, has a ready smile, and genuinely seems to like people - all kinds.  And he has this amazing ability to keep that cordiality going even facing diversity.  Listen to him right after Borromeo blasts the majority decision. He couldn't be sweeter if she had praised the majority decision highly.  But also not how he tends to keep talking much longer than necessary - wanting to keep every possible option open as long as possible.  The procedural decisions that should have taken 15 seconds or more just go on and on.  

Joint Redistricting Board - 4/13/2022 - 1:00pm from AlaskaLegislature.tv on Vimeo.

Redistricting Board Has Posted The Video From Their Final Meeting Where Bahnke and Borromeo Refused To Back Down - See Below

 

The last Redistricting Board meeting was contentious, even explosive. I commend the Board for quicly posting the video of that meeting for all to see and judge for themselves.

Joint Redistricting Board, 11/10/21, 9am from AlaskaLegislature.tv on Vimeo.

Here's the link to the page with the video and many more.   Watch the Nov 8 video and see if you can find where John Binkley called for a vote on the Senate pairings. I missed it and I was there.

There's lots more to talk about this event.  I think it will be seen as the day that two Alaskan Native women stood up and refused to be polite and obedient partners of the three white Board members who pushed through a 3-2 vote to approve what seems to many to be a blatant partisan gerrymandering of the Eagle River senate pairings.  John Binkley, who throughout this process has been friendly and open and conciliatory, seemed like a different person was he pushed this through.  No attempt to find a way to resolve this other than the 3-2 vote.  He wanted to erase their names from the Proclamation because they wouldn't sign it. It took the Board's attorney to resolve the issue by proposing that people sign the document as approving or opposing.  This was a big day for Alaskan Natives all over the state and for everyone who believes in fair, non-partisan redistricting.  

[UPDATE Nov 13, 2021:  After watching this again, I think there are a number of important issues.  One is the point, made by Melanie Bahnke, that this shines a light on how things get done by elected and appointed officials, not just in this case, but in all situations.  Also important to me was that neither Bethany Marcum nor Budd Simpson, when asked, chose to counter anything that Borromeo and Bahnke said. 1.  Because they can't offer any legitimate rebuttal, and 2) because they know they have three votes to two votes. ]

Good Analysis Of How Television Subtly Influences How People Are Perceived

This tweet - and the comments - shows us how people can be influenced by the setting of the interview.   If you click on the tweet, you can see the thread of comments that analyze the setting.  Most comments, I think, are on the mark.  A few may be seeing more than is there.  It would be interesting to hear from the people who set this up.  How much of this was done consciously - was the bust behind Banning really lit up more than the other one intentionally?

Just want to weigh in, as an art historian, on @FareedZakaria's comments on Steve Bannon. Zakaria presents his interview with Bannon as an ostensibly neutral act of "listening" to someone else's perspective. But just look at how @CNN visually framed the whole thing pic.twitter.com/uLRbptBxKl

— Michael Lobel (@mlobelart) September 9, 2018

Click on the tweet to see the thread of analysis.

AK Press Club: Libby Casey - How To do Good Video

OK, this session by Washington Post on-air reporter Libby Casey is about using video as part of your news stories.  But she was a reporter in Alaska for many years.   She's talking about how and why to pull out your phone and video.  So here's some video of the speaker.




OK, the disadvantage of the video is that I couldn't track most of the session because I was editing the video and uploading it.  Youtube decided not to recognize my computer today and so I had to search for my password to upload to my Youtube account.  And I didn't listen to the audio because I'm in the session and I don't have earbuds.  I had to sort of just jump in at the beginning.

Since I've been using video on this blog since 2006, most of this is stuff I already know.

Going to drop into the session again now.  Some rules:

• Can't stage a scene.  
• But you can take control of an interview.  Tell interviewee where to look, etc.
• Horizontal or vertical?  Traditionally horizontal.  More complicated now because media like SNAP going vertical.  But still horizontal.  Some going square even.  Never shift partway through.  
• Need good audio.
• Keep shot steady - use a mono-pod.  Selfie stick works, table tripods.  Gorillapod.  Also can get stabilizer.  She's talking about things to use with your cell phone.
• Audio - lavelier mics, good, fit right into your phone.  Audio! website - Smartphone Lab $79.  The more connections you have, the more likely to screw something up.  If you have none of these tools can use headphone or earbuds as way to get the sound to make sure it's good

What makes you so special?  What is your experience that gives you creditability?  Take advantage of what you know, in your community.
Do's and Don'ts

• Don't worry about production perfection - it's ok raw.  
• Don't get overwhelmed

Do

• Authentic
• Journalism standards
• Be aware your video can travel - if you are talking trash about neighboring community, they will get that eventually.  

11:20 Questions?

Q:  Working with kids?
A:  Never work alone - work as a team.  Sign permission forms for kids.  Don't need to know more th

Q:  Why stop with FB Live?
A:  First had grant and it ran out, but that wasn't the reason.  Just not getting enough traction right now.  If at protest, that's compelling and people want to share.  Why?  Wish I was there.  Supporting you by sharing.  I want to show this crazy thing happening.  Using periscope more.  Hit and miss to see what works.  Using more watch pages on FB.

Q:  Comments - don't they become overwhelming?
A:  My ?? series not that popular, so not overwhelming.  Can be.  At the post have team of social media people.  Before that I had other pages at FB.  I ended up shutting down my fan page because it was all like, 'you looked good today."  I just didn't want to engage in that.
My FB page - how to be a journalist page.  Put up good stories that don't fit elsewhere.  NRA said media loves mass shootings.  Got to us.  Should we even mention the NRA?  We did, but not until minute 16, not a reaction to them, but it's mentioned.  Just can't keep up with it, I do it on my own. But we do delete mean and demeaning comments.

I had to take some breaks here but you get a sense of the session.

Why I Live Here - Bridgman/Packer Win Bessie Award

Bessie?  Who"s that, you might ask?  Here's what the New York Times says about the Bessies:

"New York Dance and Performance Awards — affectionately known as the Bessies, the dance world’s equivalent of the Tonys and Oscars." (emphasis added)

Here's the award for Outstanding Production from the Bessies website:

"OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION:
Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer Bridgman|Packer Dance for Voyeur at the Sheen Center
For groundbreaking use of video in live performance, creating a space where virtual and actual movement merged. For inhabiting Edward Hopper’s imagery and taking the audience on an inventive journey of private spaces and ever-shifting viewpoints."

And what does this have to do with living in Anchorage?

Well, back in 2008, Bridgman Packer were in Anchorage in a very small venue doing the kind of amazing dance performance that won them the award the other night.  It's a mix of dancing with their own shadows and with video of themselves dancing live.  When I first saw them in 2008 here, I was breathless afterward.  What I saw was so amazing.  I worried that maybe I was just a hick from Anchorage who was excited over something New Yorkers take for granted.

But as time went by, I realized, that they were the real thing and my reaction was justified.  They have gotten a number of awards before, but here it is nine years after people in Anchorage first got to see them close up and personal (you could talk to them and the other artists with them after the performance), New York gives them dance's highest honor.

Here's a post I did about their 2011 performance in Anchorage.

I'm going to add some video here, but with a BIG warning.  You might be able to video other dance performances, but you can't really capture Bridgman Packer on video because live, they already dance with video of themselves dancing.  Though this clip comes close.  Remember, there are just the two of them.  It's hard to tell who is the live performer and who is just the image.  And it's NOT a gimmick, it's integral to the messages they are conveying about reality and illusion and truth.


Bridgman|Packer Dance Excerpts from Bridgman|Packer Dance on Vimeo.

I believe Out North was involved with their first performance here, along with The Alaska Dance Theater.  I know for sure Out North was involved with their second trip here.

AK Press Club - Matt Pearl On Creating A Video Story

I'm at the Alaska Press Club listening to Atlanta television (WXIA)  journalist Matt Pearl talking about how to put together a video story. One story was about an autistic high school student who comes into his own as manager of the high school football team and the story was about the night he got to play in a game and make a touch down,  He went through the logistics of getting out to the town three hours from Atlanta, how he connected with the kid's mom and gathered a lot of different kinds of shots so he could tell the story with some real context.

Pearl strongly emphasized the need to think hard about why the story is important.  He used his story about the Cleveland Cavaliers victory parade in Cleveland and how he got up at 5am to get establishing sunrise shots of Cleveland, then how he took wide shots to establish the setting for the viewers so they get a sense of where they are when they see the close ups.  He even demonstrated this by taking an audience member and walking around the room to show how he'd get shots from different angles.

This talk inspired me to take some video, but I can't edit it while I'm here at the talk, so maybe I'll get to put some up later. [Later: the video wasn't good enough to use.] I'm thinking about how I use video which is different from what he's describing.  But I can use words and other pictures to do some of the story, but without having to make the video the whole story.

The key point I got was that you have to go the extra mile to make the story more than just out of context images.

Oh, and he's also the author of The Solo Video Journalist.

Graffiti On Steroids

This takes graffiti to a whole new level from blublu.



Great idea and lots of work.  Here's BluBlu's blogblog.

Expanding Humpty Dumpty For 2015 And Beyond

We're in Seattle with our daughter and granddaughter.  The other night I read one of her books which included Humpty Dumpty.  So far so good.  When I was done, she said, "I want to watch the Humpty Dumpty video on your computer."  I'd forgotten about that.  We'd found some Humpty Dumpty videos on a previous visit.  You'd be surprised how many there are.  The top ranking one on Youtube is this Indian version:





And then there's this version where doctors come and get him patched up and he decides that no one should sit on the wall.  Oh dear, is this a really good lesson?  For some things maybe, maybe not.  I'm just giving you a link, because this is a long, long video with lots of different nursery rhymes - old and new.  But it starts with Humpty Dumpty.  It's from Chu Chu TV - another Indian production.

This one also has an ad that I couldn't figure out how to skip.  Had to turn off sound till it was over.

If you go to Youtube on the link to the Chu Chu TC version, you'll fjnd lots more  versions of Humpty Dumpty.

I can see how totally addictive this can be for little kids.  I asked my granddaughter if she could watch it all day and she just looked away with a little smile on her face.   I'm limiting it to 15 minutes a day when I'm with her.

Gramping, Learning My New Computer And Software - Testing iMovie - The Wind

There are two grandkids here now.  That's a big distraction.  The older one and I mixed bread dough today.  She paid very close attention and we didn't make too much of a mess.  This is a very simple recipe from a Josey Baker bread book I got at the library - just flour, salt, yeast, and water.  But it does call for it to rise at least three hours and then spend the night in the refrigerator.  So maybe all the fermenting will give it interesting tastes.

I'm also getting used to how to do things on Yosemite (the new Mac operating system) and figuring out how to find things in the various other updated software. iMovie is proving a longer haul - partly because I have about 30 minutes of interview with Attila Szász, the director of The Ambassador to Bern which will show in the Anchorage International Film Festival in December.  So I'm transcribing it and figuring out how I want to edit it.  Part of it is a discussion of taking a real historical event and then fictionalizing it.

It was taking so long that I decided to just make a short video from start to finish - it saves video in different ways that I'm trying to get my head around - just to do one.  It was windy this morning when I woke up, so I took a picture of the evergreen out the window blowing in the wind.

The windows here muffled the sound pretty well, so I looked for some wind sound effects - found 'cave and wind' - and I also tried out the video effects.  The video is short, but look at the difference between the raw footage (what I normally would have used with the old iMovie I was using) and the enhanced video with the added sound.





This is a little related to the discussion of taking a real event and fictionalizing it.  For creative film makers, this offers lots of possibilities: the enhanced mood of the video effects and the sound of wind from the sound effects tools.  But when you compare the beginning few seconds to the second part, you can see the dangers of this sort of editing for people putting up the news.  It's easy to make the video far more exciting than what it really was.  Of course, everyone knows this, but I haven't had such easy access to such smooth and easy enhancements.

So, as you watch video on tv or online, look for whether you're seeing what the camera caught or what the editing room wrought.

NY 1st Time Book Promotion With Foreigner Swearing In Thai - AIFF Winner's New Video Goes Viral

Thanachart in Anchorage Dec 2013

Thanachart Siripatracha's The Words I Love won honorable mention at the Anchorage International Film Festival for short documentary last December.  We had the pleasure of having Benz (as he's called) stay with us for part of the festival.  His winning film was charming as is he.  He currently lives in New York where he's been studying film making.  You can see a short video of Benz talking about his first time in Alaska at this post. 

A couple of weeks ago he sent me a link to a video he did to promote his book - related to the AIFF winning film.  His book,  New York 1st Time, is in Thai about his adventures in New York.  

 

The video was a spoof of his book by talking to a farang (foreigner) about his first time in Bangkok.  In this case it was his first time being cursed by a Thai.  That doesn't happen often (a foreigner being cursed by a Thai) unless the foreigner really deserves it, as he did in this case.









Here's the viral video (it's in English and Thai):





I was going to wait to post about this until I got the book, but Benz sent me a follow up - the Bangkok post has written about this video.  Here are a couple of excerpts:

A video clip of an American retired lecturer documenting his first experience of being sworn at in Thailand has attracted more than half a million views after one day after being uploaded to YouTube. . .

Thanachart Siripatrachai uploaded the video clip of 78-year-old Nelson Howe describing his first experience of being subjected to foul language after living in Bangkok for three years. .  .

The video was made to promote a book written by Mr Thanachart about his 'first time' experience of visiting New York. Mr Thanachart, an assistant film director, said on his Facebook page that Mr Howe was a former university lecturer who he met accidentally in New York.

Mr Thanachart initially just wanted to promote his book using the clip describing Mr Howe's 'first time' experience in Thailand. But the film-maker now plans to make several more videos based on the academic's...

 By the way, as I write this, the video has 2.5 million hits. 

Why Many Of My Videos Won't Work For A While

Viddler, a site similar to Youtube in that you can put videos there and then embed them into your blog post, recently notified me they were shutting down the free accounts.   I posted about this once March 2, 2013.

I used YouTube in the beginning, but uploading was very slow and videos had to be very short.  So one day I discovered Viddler and found they uploaded faster, they had sharper images, and you could upload longer videos.  So I switched over.  That was back in August 2007. 

In 2010 Viddler sent out emails to members saying they were going to convert to paid accounts only.  I told them about my blog, that I was an early adopter, and all the trouble it would cause me to replace all the video on my blog. I suggested they let me continue free as an early adopter.  I'd even put up my only ad for them as a sponsor of my blog.  They agreed in concept, but it turned out they just backed down on closing down the free accounts.  But I got the message.  Meanwhile, Google had bought YouTube, and the quality there was much improved.  So I started using YouTube as my main server for video on the blog.  Once the video is on the server, you can get the embed code and put that in your blog (or on your website) and the video appears.

So about a month ago, I got the new email that they were now closing down the free part of their website.  I had 478 videos on Viddler.    So I've been busily downloading.  I had some problems and the staff were very prompt and helpful.  They even offered me a way to batch download the videos, but I couldn't make it work.

In any case, with the exception of about a dozen videos in December 2008 which had some sort of problem they've said they'd try to fix, I think I have everything downloaded.  Today was the deadline, but they assured me that they wouldn't shut down my page until I had it all done.

So now I'm uploading videos to YouTube so I can swap out the Viddler hosted videos for Youtube hosted videos.  In the near future, the ones that were Viddler will probably stop working.  I'm starting to replace the most recent ones - and I really haven't used Viddler that much recently.  So I think I might get 2014 and 2013 taken care of before the account closes.  Most of those I saved originally to YouTube.  It's the older ones that will take a while and may be unviewable until I get them swapped out.  If I can do ten a day, I could get them done in a couple of months.  

Working Hard To Get Back To Normal - Viddler Shuts Down Free Accounts

Blog videos need to be hosted somewhere on a server. (So do photos - but Blogspot automatically puts them on Picassa.)  When I put up my first video - about ten seconds of a street scene in Amritsar, India - I put it on YouTube.  But YouTube was the big player and I as I looked around for other video server platforms, I found Viddler.  It let me put up bigger files, they looked better, I could insert comments.  There were lots of advantages.

So I opened an account and began loading up my video on Viddler.  Over time, YouTube got bought by Google (who also owns Blogspot), but I stayed loyal to Viddler.  A while ago - maybe a year, maybe a little longer - someone at Viddler sent me an email saying they were shutting down their free video hosting service and I could by a professional membership.  I wrote back I'd been an early supporter and that I have a lot of hits on my blog and people get to see Viddler's name on my videos.  I also talked about how hard it would be to download all the videos, upload them onto YouTube, and then re-embed them into my posts.  I suggested grandfathering in people like me.  They said fine and dropped their plan.

But I got nervous and began uploading most of my video onto you YouTube.  And a couple of weeks ago I got the email I assumed would eventually come:  They're dropping the free video hosting and I have until March 11 to download my videos before they close the account.  Or I can pay $300 a year to keep being hosted by them.  Is that a lot for the video hosting?  I don't know.  I tend to be an anti-consumer.  I think too many people are willing to shell out whatever their cable or phone company tells them.  They just have to have the latest goodies.  Even when the company is making huge profits.  Even when it means the consumer goes further into debt each year.  And that $300 a year is forever if I want to keep the videos showing up on my blog.

So I'm spending a lot of time now downloading my videos from Viddler.  (I do have them on external hard drives, but this way I'm getting them in chronological order with dates that will make it easier to figure out which posts they are in.  And then I'll have to upload them to YouTube.  And then I'll have to re-embed them into the posts they're in.

So, I get to do all this work - there are 535 videos on Viddler - and it will take from blogging time, and I'm sure it will take me longer than the deadline to get them all back into the posts they are in.


Here's a screenshot of my Viddler account.  This is eight of the 535 videos.  I have to hit edit, then manage, the click on the file.  In some cases there's a different file format and I have to play with that and change the name from Viddler's identification (numerical) to what I named the video. 


I figure about 8-10 hours to download, then the time to get them up on YouTube and embedded back here.   If it were just a one time $300 charge, it would be worth it.  But a continuing charge forever?  No.

Working hard just to stay where I am.

And I suspect a lot of stuff people are storing free on 'the cloud' somewhere, is going to get a fee one day.  And you're going to have to make a similar decision about whether to pay or find another way.  And there's no guarantee that YouTube won't do the same thing one day.  And slowly, but surely, the easy access we've had to be our own publishers, is going to disappear.  

[UPDATE March 11, 2014.  It was more than 10 hours, but it's mostly done.  Here's a new post on what I've done and replacing the old Viddler videos with YouTube videos.]

How to Choose Where To Start (And End) An Embedded Youtube Video

Suppose only a short part of the video is relevant to what you're posting?  You just want from 8 minutes in to 10 minutes in.  (Sorry, this is a post mainly directed at other bloggers, but I think readers should get to peek behind the scenes sometimes too.)

I found a great website where you just plug in the

Screenshot from Tech Tips For All

• Youtube url
• Starting point
• Ending point

Then you hit the 'get the code' button, and it gives you the embed code! It couldn't be easier. Your viewers don't have to cue the video to the right place.  You do it for them.

Videotaping US Police versus Videotaping Swedish Police [Updated]

From a June 2012 post I wrote:

[Following up Anon's comment,   I found where it moved to and changed the link.]

- Photography is Not a Crime - which is full of stories about people having problems when they photograph or video tape cops in action or just in public places.  Here are links to some of his recent posts:

[I took out the links, but if you go to the main site, you'll find lots of similar posts.]

• NYPD Publishes Poster of "Professional Agitators," aka Citizens who Record Cops

• LAPD Tell Photog Not to Listen in on Their Private Conversation on a Public Sidewalk

• Introducing TapIn, an iPhone App Essential for Citizen Journalists

• Albuquerque Police Officer Chases Away News Videographer From Investigation 

• Austin Man Facing 10 Years in Prison After Photographing Cops Making Arrest 

It doesn't have to be this way.  Wimp.com describes this video as:


This is what happens when you attempt to take video of police in Sweden.

I couldn't find a way to embed the video, so you can click the link above or on the screenshot from the video to the right.


Of course, this is just one unverified example.  Take it as a piece of evidence, not a conclusion. 

Our Rights To Film Cops in Public

I ran into this post the other day - filming cops in public can get you in trouble:

Saturday, July 30, 2011

A disturbing trend: many innocent Americans arrested for legally filming on-duty public servants

Madison Ruppert, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

In recent years an unsettling pattern in law enforcement interactions has emerged. American citizens, innocent of a crime, filming a public servant performing their duties in public, have been targeted and had their constitutionally protected rights destroyed.

The cases continue to pile up, some more disturbing and egregious than others. One of the most shocking examples is the case of the Las Vegas man, Mitchell Crooks, who was brutally assaulted by an on-duty police officer for filming the officer from his own property. [It goes on to give a number of other examples of photographers being harassed.]

I knew I'd written about this topic and it turns out that it was not quite a year ago - Photography is Not a Crime - Blogging, The First Amendment, and Your Camera.   It's an important enough topic for bloggers with cameras to be raised now and again.  That older post had three rules on how to film cops from Carlos Miller:

1 Get it on video.
2 Assert your rights.
3 Just leave.  
[The link has the details]

I looked for something newer and found that the Illinois' Supreme Court upheld photographer's rights.

Aaron Dykes
Infowars.com
November 26, 2012

The state of Illinois has some of the harshest “eavesdropping” laws on the books, and those statutes have been frequently abused to prosecute individuals for filming police actions in public in numerous cases.
Now, a fresh Supreme Court decision has declared this to be a violation of the First Amendment, refusing to hear an appeal from Cook County officials to allow prosecution of those recording cops, and instead upholding a lower court decision that resulted from an ACLU lawsuit.

Michael Zhang at Peta Pixal, in March of this year reports:

The US Department of Justice issued a statement this past Sunday that confirms the fact that the 1st, 4th, and 14th Amendment protect citizens’ rights to photograph police in public places.  (emphasis added)

The Statement of Interest document is a message to the US District Court in Maryland that it supports photojournalist Mannie Garcia in his lawsuit against the Montgomery County police. Garcia photographing police back in June 2011 when he was arrested and had his camera equipment (and photographs) taken away.  [Get the rest here.]

Below is a quote from the United States District Court in Maryland Court Decision.  It says that citizens, not just journalists, have First Amendment rights to record police conduct and other items of public interest:

"Courts have long held that recordings made by private citizens of police conduct or other items of public interest are entitled to First Amendment protection. See, e.g. , Glik , 655 F.3d at 84-85 (findingFirst Amendment right to record “clearly established”); Smith , 212 F.3d at 1333; Fordyce , 55 F.3d at439; Blackston v. Alabama , 30 F.3d 117, 120-21 (11th Cir. 1994); Lambert v. Polk Cnty. , 723 F. Supp.128, 133 (S.D. Iowa 1989). Similarly, the Supreme Court has established that journalists are not entitled to greater First Amendment protections than private individuals. See,e.g. , Nixon v. Warner Comm., Inc. ,435 U.S. 589, 608-09 (1978) (“The First Amendment generally grants the press no right to information Case 8:12-cv-03592-JFM Document 15 Filed 03/04/13 Page 12 of 13 13 about a trial superior to that of the general public.”); Branzburg , 408 U.S. at 684 (“It has generally been held that the First Amendment does not guarantee the press a constitutional right of special access to information not available to the public generally.”) (citing cases). Thus, this Court should make clear that Mr. Garcia’s status as a credentialed journalist does not influence its analysis of his First Amendment right to document police activity occurring in public."

The judge seems to be going out of his way to say that Mr. Garcia isn't winning because he's a journalist, but simply because he's a citizen.  I guess that's good for citizens, does it have downsides for journalists?  I'm not sure.  I'm glad everyone is protected, but is there some inherent loss for journalists?  I don't know.

This part of the decision might be a good thing to have on one's person if one might be filming cops who might object.  A way to follow Miller's second rule:  Assert your rights.

Don't take this as the last word on this.  Just a little more info to think about when you want to whip out your camera and take video in public.  

[UPDATE:  See July 30, 2013 post including video on filming Swedish cops.]

Photography Is Not A Crime - Blogging, The First Amendment, And Your Camera

Even at this relatively mild blog, I've been threatened with law suits twice, and I was accused on a local talk show of killing someone with a post that didn't even mention the guy and which was much more factual and restrained than the talk show host. 

So I have an interest in people who blog about first amendment rights for bloggers and  for photographers - especially those who are keeping public officials honest.  It began with a Reason post I stumbled on which gave three rules for how to photograph a cop from Carlos Miller:

1 Get it on video. Police think twice when dealing with video, as opposed to a still camera. If your camera has video capabilities, start rolling. If you have a smart phone, use a live stream service like Qik that stores the video online immediately. Inform the officer that the video is live streaming and people are already watching it online.
2 Assert your rights. Police also think twice when dealing with people who know their rights. Inform the officers that they need a subpoena before confiscating your camera, even if they demand it “as evidence.” Police can confiscate your camera only if it was used in the commission of a crime, such as child pornography.
3 Just leave. Ask the officers if you are being detained or are free to leave. If they are detaining you, they must have reasonable suspicion you are committing a crime. Taking pictures or video in public is not reasonable suspicion. If they are not detaining you, then you are free to leave—with your camera.

 This led me to Miller's blog - Photography is Not a Crime - which is full of stories about people having problems when they photograph or video tape cops in action or just in public places.  Here are links to some of his recent posts:

[UPDATE July 30, 2013:  I've updated the link to Photography is Not a Crime above.  I've removed the links below, but if you go to the link above, you'll find lots of examples like these.]

• NYPD Publishes Poster of "Professional Agitators," aka Citizens who Record Cops

• LAPD Tell Photog Not to Listen in on Their Private Conversation on a Public Sidewalk

• Introducing TapIn, an iPhone App Essential for Citizen Journalists

• Albuquerque Police Officer Chases Away News Videographer From Investigation

• Austin Man Facing 10 Years in Prison After Photographing Cops Making Arrest 

This last one is about a West Point grad who served in Iraq who was arrested.

My short visit to his blog does suggest that Miller tends to take the side of the photographer and while I'm sure there are photographers who provoke police, I'd guess more often than not, police are simply irritated and taking advantage of their power.  In any case,  it is useful to be aware what kind of trouble your camera (or smartphone) can get you into and know your rights before something happens.

That led to looking for other blogs focused on blogging, photography, and the first amendment.

http://photoblawg.wordpress.com/ - the most recent post I could find was August 2011, but there are interesting stories by " San Antonio photojournalist and law student Alicia Wagner Calzada"

The Radio, Television, Digital, News Association  Website - has Ethics Guidelines for Social Media and Blogging 

The National Photographers and Photojournalist Association - has articles on rights of photojournalists

For the most part there are articles and posts on this topic on blogs and websites that deal with a wider range of topics.  Here are a few:

Chicago police arresting photographers 

DOJ affirms right to photograph police

PATCO:  Photographers are probably not terrorists

Caught on camera:  Lancashire police arrest amateur photographer

All dressed up and nothing to do except arrest photographers

  

[UPDATE JULY 30, 2013:  See also this video an encounter with a Swedish police officer for a contrast.]

"I was going to pull a Columbine"

When I did the skype interview with Brent Scarpo, almost two weeks ago, I asked what was the best experience he had doing his transformational work.  He gives two in the video below.

UPDATE:  Brent in the studio with Shannyn Moore

Listen and talk to Brent on the Shannyn Moore Show at 11:15am today (Monday) on 1020  on the AM dial.  95.5 FM.  Call 907-522-1020  Not in Anchorage?  Listen online.

Then tonight he'll talk at the East High Auditorium in his main public appearance while he's in town.  7pm.  It's free.

The title of the post? Ya gotta watch the video.



There's also a workshop Tuesday from 5:30pm to 9pm at the Mt. View Credit Union 1. To reserve  a spot in the workshop email Healing Racism in Anchorage or go to the HRA website.

UPDATE: I added the pictures of Brent in the studio with Shannyn Moore. David Linck, the publicist for Frozen Ground being filmed now in Anchorage (and many other movies including American Beauty) was also there.

Industrial Revolutions - Wow!

It takes a really amazing video for me to just post someone else's video here.  But Bicycles and Icicles put up this video Monday that's too good not to post.  The subject is amazing enough, and the videography and the music make it even more so. Bicycles and Icicles just wrote:

"There are no words  (except go to full screen.)"

Truthing

Ever since I was a college student and wandered around campus looking at the names of the buildings, I wanted to be able to put up plaques that said how the donors really made their money, how many people they screwed over, and how this building was a way to buy some sort of respectability.  Not everyone who makes such a donation has a nefarious past, and maybe most got their money through hard, honest work and good fortune and genuinely want to give back to society.  But even back then I wanted to peel back the facade and see where the money really came from.

This blog reflects that need to get below the surface.  So this video caught my attention.  What an honest political ad (courtesy of ifc at Youtube) would look like:

Burma VJ, Aung San Su Kyi, and ASEAN

Monday night at the Bear Tooth we saw Burma JV - a movie about a handful of Burmese video journalists (VJ) who took it on themselves to document what was happening in Burma using video cameras. So, when the monks began a demonstration in 2007, the group had contacts outside of Burma and was ready to send their video images of the demonstration and the government crackdown to the world via internet and satellite phones. For this blogger who sometimes dabbles with video reporting, this was an inspiring film. This is what journalism in the extreme is all about - informing the world and your fellow citizens what is really happening. They all did this at great personal risk. It's a compelling movie mostly narrated by one of the journalists who had to flee to Thailand because the government had clearly seen him filming at one of the demonstrations. You see the actual footage and his phone communications with his colleagues still in Burma. The Anchorage showing was sponsored in part by the Alaska Immigration Justice Project
which gives legal support to immigrants, including some Burmese. The movie helps show the sort of political oppression that many refugees in Anchorage are fleeing and why the AIJP's work is important.



I have a friend who doesn't like to go see political movies or other movies that have depressing scenes. Movies, for him, should entertainment and uplifting. I like genuinely good uplifting movies too. But they are far more than that. Well made movies are the most compelling way to learn connect emotionally to what is happening around the world. They can, of course, be used to mislead as well, so video literacy is an important skill that needs to be taught along with reading.

Then we got the word that Aung Sang Su Kyi was sentenced to 18 more months of house arrest. Click here for her Nobel Prize bio.

Now we see that even Burma's ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) neighbors are putting on pressure over Aung San Su Kyi's sentence. A post at ThaiVisa.com by John LeFevre reports:

Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anifah Aman said: "We were hoping that the junta will release her unconditionally and will hold an election to enable Suu Kyi and other political detainees to participate in that election.”

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said: "They don't want her to be out before the election."

India refrained from denouncing the outcome, but foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said New Delhi, "has emphasised to the government of Burma the need to expedite the political reform and national reconciliation process".

Locally, Thailand, as the revolving head of Asean, issued a statement saying it was with "deep disappointment" it had heard of Suu Kyi’s sentence.

The statement, issued by the Thai Foreign Ministry further said the Chair of Asean reiterates “the calls by the Asean Foreign Ministers attending the 42nd Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the 16th Asean Regional Forum held in July 2009 for the immediate release of all those under detention, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 General Elections”.

The statement said Asean “stands ready to cooperate with the
Myanmar (Burma) Government in its efforts to realize the seven steps to democracy and remain constructively engaged with Myanmar in order to build the Asean Community together.

“We also continue to support the ongoing good offices of the United Nations Secretary-General and urge Myanmar’s (Burma’s) full cooperation with the United Nations.

In May a war of wards broke out between Thailand and Burma over the detention of Suu Kyi after Thailand, the current rotating chair of the 10-member regional block, issued a statement saying Asean had "grave concern" over her situation.

The statement also said, “the honor and the credibility of the (Burma government) are at stake.”

Burma quickly fired back, attacking Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and accusing its neighbor of meddling in it’s internal affairs.

Thailand responded saying the original statement was made with the “best of intentions towards (Burma) Myanmar and reflects the desire for the process of national reconciliation in (Burma) Myanmar to move forward on the basis of inclusiveness, with the participation of all sectors of society.”

Below is a list of where it will be showing in the US next. Note: The Anchorage showing was not on the website's list of US showings, so it may be showing in other locations not on the list:

21-Aug – Hilo, HI – Palace Theater
28-Aug – Seattle, WA – NW Film Forum
28-Aug – New Haven, CT – Criterion
06-Sep – Albuquerque, NM – Guild Cinema
23-Sep – Tucson, AZ – The Loft
04-Oct – San Francisco, CA – Red Vic
08-Oct – Utica, NY – Utica College
09-Oct – Pleasantville, NY – Jacob Burns Film Center
24-Oct – Boulder, CO – UC-Boulder Int’l Film Series

And because I have way more to post than time, I'll add this picture of the bike rack at the Bear Tooth Monday night. The number of bikers keeps going up this summer.