5-4-3-2-1 ... Countdown to the RNC

Liza Sabater

I did not get to go to Boston for the Democratic National Convention and resorted to blog some of the speeches from my sofa.

Lucky me the Republican National Convention is being held in my home town. Read that lucky with a smirk : here in my neck of the woods, security hysteria has been set loose since May. Still, the next two weeks promise the largest series of cultural and political events ever held in the history of the city --and a lot of it is being coordinated through the web; with some sites running blogs.

With all what's going on, let me break it down to the basics.

MAIN EVENTS ORGANIZERS:
All these sites have links and resources; especially hosts for the monetarily challenged (the cheapest hotel rooms can cost $90/day here in the city). During the convention? Fuggedabouit! Still, at Daily Kos you will find an interesting cautionary tale. Best bet? Stay with somebody you know or that knows a close acquaintance of yours. If not, find somewhere in New Jersey to stay and bus in. You may also want to see if there's time to join the VR & camping section at Liberty State Park in Jersey City.

Imagine Festival
New York's first annual Imagine Festival, of Arts, Issues and Ideas coincides with the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. The Imagine Festival is hosting over 125 events that mix artistic and educational activities through a series of concerts, performances, screenings, forums, town meetings and other extraordinary cultural happenings. From August 28 to September 2, 2004 we will come together to share our intelligence, creativity and passion at numerous venues throughout the city.

Counter Convention - Republican National Convention Protest Tools and Resources and their blog, RNCWatch
For the past several months dozens of groups have been meeting to discuss strategy and logistics for protesting the Republican agenda. Instead of planning a traditional demonstration, CounterConvention.org has built a sophisticated website designed to coordinate the organizing efforts of others.

Involver
Involver is an alliance of independent organizations, venues and artists who are pissed off about the state of our country and are facilitating a new political movement with two solutions: 1. Convincing our generation that we have to get involved in politics in order to fix the big problems. 2. Offering ways to take action that will make the country work for us. We can just get pissed, or we can get involved.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AS A PROTESTER
Good, sound legal advice from the people that know.

FREE MEDIA TRAININGS at Grassroots Media Space
The NYC Independent Media Center ( NYC Indymedia ) is a grassroots organization committed to using media production and distribution as tools for promoting social and economic justice in the New York City Area. We are dedicated to addressing issues that the mainstream media neglects and we do not conceal our politics behind a false objectivity. We hope to empower people to "become the media" by providing democratic access to available technologies and information.

Protecting Protest: A Project of the NYCLU is a campaign of the New York Civil Liberties Union to ensure that protest can take place safely and legally during the Republican National Convention this August. We're defending civil liberties from a storefront near Madison Square Garden, in the courts by challenging NYPD demonstration control tactics, at City Hall, and on the streets.

ARTS, PROTEST AND OTHER ACTS OF POLITICAL MEDIATION
Planned Parenthood of New York City's -- Take Action
On August 28, 2004, thousands will march across the Brooklyn Bridge to make sure that issues of reproductive health, global family planning, real sex education, accessible, safe and legal abortion, birth control options, the right to privacy regarding sexuality, and equal access to health care are part of the national political dialogue.

Department of Art & Technology's The Experimental Party and their blog, We the Blog
Three years in the making, the installation is the culmination of a project started by US Department of Art & Technology Secretary Randall M. Packer in 2001 when he created a virtual government agency as a critique of the role of the artist in society. "Following 9/11, I called for recommendations on how Americans can by served by artists in order to be prepared for the consequences of a culturally divisive world", says Secretary Packer. "Now we are bringing our project examining political propaganda to New York City at this critical time right before the Republican National Convention. I call upon Department artists to carry out crucial acts of artistic mediation."

NEWSgrist
NEWSgrist is an e-zine devoted to the politics of art and culture in the digital age; dedicated to bridging gaps between the digital and the non-technical, art and activism, the diverse blog and non-blog worlds of readers and subscribers.

Im Voting,
NEWSgrist is hosting a civil and disobedient protest blog with links to resources and tactical media. Prepare for the RNC invasion of NYC and the Nov. 2 2004 election. Get out the vote!

Open RNC Moblog
This is a free photoblog. All are invited to post their observations and photos of the 2004 Republican convention in New York. Those abusing this site with spam or obscene language etc. will be blocked out. Our intention is to present all points of view. Pictures of inside and outside the convention as well as "Hello from New York" pictures by delegates are welcomed. Have fun! To participate send an email to admin@nujus.net.

Billionaires For Bush and Blog for Billionaires | Bottom-Up Communication for a Top-Down World.
Billionaires for Bush is a grassroots media campaign that is changing voters' minds in swing districts. We're using humor, street theater, and creative media to show how the Bush administration has favored the corporate elite at the expense of everyday Americans. We've been recognized by major media including The New York Times, USA Today, CNN, CBS News, The Akron Beacon Journal, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, etc. for bringing a unique brand of political activism to the 2004 elections.

UPDATE
postmasters gallery will serve as a physical node of an ad-hock public broadcasting system of online, real time protest performances, alternative news actions, a transatlatic, multimedia protest jam during the Republican National Convention, from August 29 to September 2.