MEDIA ROOTS – At Ground Zero this past September 11, a more docile crowd congregated at the site for eternal mourning. The number of family members and protestors were generally smaller and most in the 9/11 Truth movement honored a four-hour silence out of respect for the victims and their families. What ensued was a gathering of people from across the 9/11 landscape with several constructive conversations and very few emotional diatribes.

The goal for this year’s annual gathering of 9/11 questioners was to capture activists’ collective experience. Several individuals from around the country were featured, some whom made the pilgrimage from as far as the state of Georgia. New York City is the de facto home of the 9/11 Truth movement where weekly street actions continue at Ground Zero every Saturday for several hours each afternoon.

 

Reflections from the 9/11 Truth movement after 11 years.

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Oscar Mosko is a producer at truth-march and is managing editor at Media Roots.

MEDIA ROOTS – Media Roots is a not-for-profit community news sharing platform that has been keeping followers in the loop since 2009. We follow stories that are often marginalized by mainstream outlets and are always looking for fresh perspectives, particularly from the artist and activist community.

Is there a song about the struggle for justice that you’ve heard recently that you think needs to get out there?

Did you watch a film online that deserves a solid review?

Have you read a poem or story that really captures the spirit of a social movement that’s important to you?

Submit your review (1000 words max.), as well as a hyperlink to the original content, for consideration by September 23 and our editors will select the top two entries for distribution on the site. A grand prize of $50 will be awarded in the form of an online gift card and both will receive a Media Roots T-shirt!

With your submission please include your name, phone number, and your city and state. (Only your name will be published with the article.) Also, please mention your desire to contribute to Media Roots in the future, if applicable. All submissions will become property of Media Roots and can be used for any purpose.

Good luck and we look forward to hearing from you!

Submissions without attachments can be made to [email protected]

This piece of writing about Abby Martin and the foundation of Media Roots was written for a college journalism paper. 

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MEDIA ROOTS – Abby Martin initially had little political awareness growing up in Pleasanton, California.  When she attended college at San Diego State University, she was introduced to U.S. foreign policy priorities through her studies in Spanish, Sociology and Political Science. Since then – and especially after 9/11 – she began to realize something was terribly wrong in the world. As she began researching more about the underlying motivations of the corporate-controlled federal government, she became a prominent anti-war activist against the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Her realization of the glaring inconsistencies in the official rendition of the September 11th attacks prompted her to also become active in San Diego’s 9/11 Truth Movement. Through this movement she realized that “media censorship is what prevents pertinent information from reaching the masses, fostering an environment of ignorance and complacency,” according to Martin.

In 2009, Martin joined an independent media outlet entitled “Your Network.” After a year long stint of producing, directing and starring in weekly political exposés, the organization dissolved. However, her passion still thrived. Media Roots was her next brain-child, which fostered the spirit of the old media network while, as Ms. Martin explains, “provided an avenue to share and grow her journalistic endeavors.”

Media Roots has come a long way since its humble grassroots beginning. Writers from around the world are now contributing content that is under reported in the mainstream media. Subjects have expanded to original artist interviews and in-depth commentary through a variety of mediums such as radio, video, and written word. The citizen journalism project reports primarily on corporate and political corruption from outside party lines. Some stories covered include Kyrgystan’s kidnappings of brides, lessons on the elite Bohemian Grove camp-out, and the toxic elements now circulating in the global food production. 

“I typically rely on RSS feeds and Twitter to find videos and articles to cover,” Martin explained when asked about her research regiment. She also has a stark viewpoint when it comes to politicians. “Political personas don’t always match…. What political figure has been entirely honest about his or her intentions? All politicians are actors in a sense. They say what they need to maintain their position in government.”

The site is overseen and run by Martin herself and funds it with no advertizing revenue. She mentions that it can be difficult to keep site contributors motivated with her full-time obligations at RT America. But there are still goals for growing Media Roots, such as an upcoming redesign for the website and constantly generating content for public exposure.

There are many aspiring journalists that can learn from this driven activist-turned-journalist. “Many individuals now have the tools to be a citizen journalist whenever they want. Live-streaming, social-networking, and blogs are all ways one can start to report and remain proactive in communities… to tell the truth from the grassroots level without the corporate spin. Hone in on what you are passionate about, and let that passion flourish.

“Everyone has talents – unique skills to offer the world. With some reflection and discussion, one can find out what those things are and use them as tools for self-expression and to contribute to better society as a whole.”

Currently, Abby Martin sits on the board of Project Censored, the largest research organization in the U.S., and anchors at RT America’s DC bureau.

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Written by Cassandra Kerkman, edited by Oskar Mosco

MEDIA ROOTS – The criminal trial for my alleged resisting arrest was again delayed this morning after prosecutors demanded access to a video that captured the aftermath of the March 25 detainment when I defied an unlawful order by a US Park Police offcier to put away my video camera. The trial showed increased public interest with several additional pedicab operators in attendance in court this morning for the outcome of the trial will heavily influence the future of this green mode of transport on the National Mall.

Citizen journalists, while lawfully protected by the Constitution, continue to be harassed – and occasionally detained – by many officers of the law for recording them during their duties. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the studios of Russia Today yesterday to discuss how citizen journalists’ rights continue to be marginalized yet how affective their work is at holding law enforcement accountable.

Oskar Mosco

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Liz Wahl and Oskar Mosco discuss the plight of citizen journalists.

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MEDIA ROOTS — The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is the next looming threat to internet freedom, as the American government continues its relentless siege of the digital domain.  Coming on the heels of SOPA, PIPA and ACTA, CISPA sounds more like the final name in a quartet of lovable Disney characters as opposed to draconian internet legislation.  However, this latest incarnation appears to be the internet’s biggest foe to date.  If CISPA becomes law, the risk to civil liberties is greater than all the previous bills combined.

U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-MI) is the architect of CISPA, or H.R.3523.  Prior to his political calling, Rogers served as a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent.  Currently, he serves as the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.  This latest effort to undermine the internet focuses less on intellectual property and does not burden private companies with policing their information flow.  Rather, CISPA makes a broader and more sinister reach for power by simply forcing companies to comply with new government regulations, in the name of cyber security.  As Andrew Couts of digitaltrends.com aptly points out, “Whereas SOPA and PIPA were bad for many companies that do business on the Internet, and burdened them with the unholy task of policing the Web (or face repercussions), this bill makes life easier for them; it removes regulations and the risk of getting sued for handing over our information to the law. Not to mention doing what the bill says it’s going to do: protecting them from cyber threats.”

CISPA aims to grant non-civilian agencies unrestricted access to all digital information.  So, it stands, the National Security Agency will benefit the most from the legislation.  If this initiative succeeds, the NSA will have access to emails, social media, library records, online banking and credit card information.  In a letter sent by opposition groups and a number of Democratic lawmakers to CISPA sponsors Mike Rogers and C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersburger (D-MA) these alarming implications are made clear. The letter says, “Without specific limitations, CISPA would, for the first time, grant non-civilian federal agencies, such as the National Security Agency, unfettered access to information about Americans’ Internet activities and allow those agencies to use that information for virtually any purpose.” 

Supporters of the bill say it will allow private companies to easily share customer communications related to “significant” cyber and national security threats with government agencies.  As long as the information meets these two criteria, government agencies can use it on a wide scale.  In turn, private companies would be shielded from lawsuits filed by customers.  A number of Silicon Valley companies have already pledged their support for the bill including: Facebook, Microsoft, Symantec and IBM. 

However, a vocal opposition has developed in an attempt to beat back CISPA.  U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) has been CISPA’s most notable opponent, calling it “Big Brother writ large.”  RT (formerly known as Russia Today), a cable news station with an American audience of 50 million, was one of the first media outlets to decry CISPA and to use the phrase “worse than SOPA.”  CISPA is particularly dangerous because it would void current privacy laws and create channels for companies to share digital information with government agencies without the need for court orders. 

In addition to this attack on internet privacy, the bill contains numerous other disturbing implications.  One is the erosion of barriers between the private sector, government and military.  Also, like so many bills of the post 9/11 era, the language is ambiguous.  The language describing what can be spied on and how that information can be used is extremely vague.  Moreover, if a private company violates your privacy, the ensuing legal battle to prove liability is a Herculean task.  A complete summary of CISPA’s threats to cyber privacy can be found at Time’s Techland section.

Despite widespread opposition to the legislation, the bill passed the House of Representatives on April 26, 2012.  Whereas SOPA and PIPA squared off Hollywood and Silicon Valley against one another, in a fight over piracy, CISPA goes beyond that and zeroes in on privacy.  As a result, there is much more widespread support for the bill in the tech-community.  Whereas SOPA, PIPA and ACTA would have placed the burden of cyber-policing onto companies, CISPA relieves them of this duty and places the onus government.  According to The Vigilant Citizen “Privacy and free speech are not exactly mutually exclusive. Loss of privacy threatens free speech, and the loss of free speech is inevitably a loss of privacy.” 

As the American government becomes more authoritarian and American people more paranoid, the battles fought over the privacy of the public digital domain will intensify.  Much like the government and the military-industrial complex dumping vast amounts of our America’s wealth into wars abroad, yielding questionable results, the government will continue its aim to control one of the last bastions of free speech.  Only time will tell how successful their surge will be.  Have the shut downs of SOPA, PIPA and ACTA taught Americans to remain vigilant and make their voices heard, or will CISPA prevail?

Learn more about what you can do here.

Adam Miezo for Media Roots, Edited by Eric Aragon

Photo by Rock1997