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YouTube Yanks Anti-War Video
After 48 hours on its site, YouTube, purchased by Google in 10/06 for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction, yanked a powerful anti-war video. Jamie Cavenaugh's 4-minute video combines footage of the Beach Impeach action which took place on Saturday, January 6, 2007, with gut-wrenching footage of the war in Iraq with the soundtrack of Nina Simone singing "O Sinnerman."
YouTube Yanks Anti-War Video
by Wendy Tanowitz
Just two days after San Francisco’s Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Brad Newsham, a stay-at-home dad, a writer with two published books, and a veteran San Francisco taxicab driver, realized a dream: one thousand people lay down in the sand at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach, their bodies arranged to spell out the message “IMPEACH!” in 100-foot letters.
Photos taken from a helicopter that January 6, 2007, circled the globe in an Internet heartbeat and wound up in newspapers and websites around the world. With the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, and the waves of the Pacific Ocean lapping at the sand, the images had an iconic quality. Brad, whose vision created the Beach Impeach event, commissioned the printing of a photo postcard and mailed it out to 800 people, including members of Congress. But he didn’t stop there.
Jamie Cavenaugh, Brad’s friend of 40 years and a professional videographer based in Sausalito, California, agreed to produce a video out of the footage he had taken that day—along with that of colleague Chris Robson who was simultaneously filming from a helicopter. “Run to the Rock,” Cavenaugh’s freshly-minted work, seamlessly blends images from Beach Impeach with gut-wrenching images from Iraq; the visuals are melded with Nina Simone’s soulful rendition of the classic, “Sinnerman.”
After seeing “Run to the Rock” for the first time, Brad wrote to his extended email list: “Three minutes and 49 seconds later I was covered in goosebumps, had tears in my eyes and some weird choking action going on in my chest, and, mostly, wanted to go out and dance all night. Everyone who saw the video agreed. By Saturday night [March 24, 2007] it had 250 views, by Sunday morning it had 750. It was rated a solid 5-stars and was going viral… And then YouTube pulled it – told Jamie it had “inappropriate” images. What bullshit! We’ve got a friggin’ inappropriate war going on in our names, and to think it’s somehow inappropriate for us to see images of it.”
Youtube.com’s exact language to Cavenaugh was: “YouTube also reserves the right to decide whether Content or a User Submission is appropriate and complies with these Terms of Service for violations other than copyright infringement and violations of intellectual property law, such as, but not limited to, pornography, obscene or defamatory material...”
Not wanting to butt legal heads with YouTube — which was bought in October 2006 by Google.com for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction; see http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/google_youtube.html — Cavenaugh has since posted “Run to the Rock” on http://www.ifilm.com/profile/james_cavenaugh/video/2827514.
The passion which incited Beach Impeach continues to burn. Representatives of twenty-five groups focusing on impeachment met recently in New York and declared Saturday, April 28, 2007, “A Day of Nationwide Protest Demanding Impeachment” and developed an Internet-organizing strategy to create “Impeach-Ins,” at 100 sites around the world on that date.
Brad has recently rented a storefront next to the historic Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, California; from this headquarters he will help jump-start groups to create their own version of the Beach Impeach event.
As the Bush Administration ratchets up the drumbeat of war – this time against Iran — we must not be silent. We must ratchet up actions which are peaceful, unusual and effective. And while building a strong culture of independent media, we must also somehow deal with the giant media conglomerates who have traditionally controlled what we see, hear and read.
To organize or participate in an event in your area, visit:
http://www.bodiescount.org
http://www.impeach07.org
http://www.a28.org
Wendy Tanowitz lives in San Anselmo, California. She was among one thousand people to form the word “IMPEACH!” at Ocean Beach in San Francisco on January 6, 2007. She is a member of the Marin Peace & Justice Coalition. She may be contacted at green-girl [at] comcast.net.
Jamie Cavenaugh
jcavenaugh [at] earthlink.net
415-332-2479
Brad Newsham
newsham [at] mac.com
http://www.bradnewsham.com
by Wendy Tanowitz
Just two days after San Francisco’s Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Brad Newsham, a stay-at-home dad, a writer with two published books, and a veteran San Francisco taxicab driver, realized a dream: one thousand people lay down in the sand at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach, their bodies arranged to spell out the message “IMPEACH!” in 100-foot letters.
Photos taken from a helicopter that January 6, 2007, circled the globe in an Internet heartbeat and wound up in newspapers and websites around the world. With the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, and the waves of the Pacific Ocean lapping at the sand, the images had an iconic quality. Brad, whose vision created the Beach Impeach event, commissioned the printing of a photo postcard and mailed it out to 800 people, including members of Congress. But he didn’t stop there.
Jamie Cavenaugh, Brad’s friend of 40 years and a professional videographer based in Sausalito, California, agreed to produce a video out of the footage he had taken that day—along with that of colleague Chris Robson who was simultaneously filming from a helicopter. “Run to the Rock,” Cavenaugh’s freshly-minted work, seamlessly blends images from Beach Impeach with gut-wrenching images from Iraq; the visuals are melded with Nina Simone’s soulful rendition of the classic, “Sinnerman.”
After seeing “Run to the Rock” for the first time, Brad wrote to his extended email list: “Three minutes and 49 seconds later I was covered in goosebumps, had tears in my eyes and some weird choking action going on in my chest, and, mostly, wanted to go out and dance all night. Everyone who saw the video agreed. By Saturday night [March 24, 2007] it had 250 views, by Sunday morning it had 750. It was rated a solid 5-stars and was going viral… And then YouTube pulled it – told Jamie it had “inappropriate” images. What bullshit! We’ve got a friggin’ inappropriate war going on in our names, and to think it’s somehow inappropriate for us to see images of it.”
Youtube.com’s exact language to Cavenaugh was: “YouTube also reserves the right to decide whether Content or a User Submission is appropriate and complies with these Terms of Service for violations other than copyright infringement and violations of intellectual property law, such as, but not limited to, pornography, obscene or defamatory material...”
Not wanting to butt legal heads with YouTube — which was bought in October 2006 by Google.com for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction; see http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/google_youtube.html — Cavenaugh has since posted “Run to the Rock” on http://www.ifilm.com/profile/james_cavenaugh/video/2827514.
The passion which incited Beach Impeach continues to burn. Representatives of twenty-five groups focusing on impeachment met recently in New York and declared Saturday, April 28, 2007, “A Day of Nationwide Protest Demanding Impeachment” and developed an Internet-organizing strategy to create “Impeach-Ins,” at 100 sites around the world on that date.
Brad has recently rented a storefront next to the historic Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, California; from this headquarters he will help jump-start groups to create their own version of the Beach Impeach event.
As the Bush Administration ratchets up the drumbeat of war – this time against Iran — we must not be silent. We must ratchet up actions which are peaceful, unusual and effective. And while building a strong culture of independent media, we must also somehow deal with the giant media conglomerates who have traditionally controlled what we see, hear and read.
To organize or participate in an event in your area, visit:
http://www.bodiescount.org
http://www.impeach07.org
http://www.a28.org
Wendy Tanowitz lives in San Anselmo, California. She was among one thousand people to form the word “IMPEACH!” at Ocean Beach in San Francisco on January 6, 2007. She is a member of the Marin Peace & Justice Coalition. She may be contacted at green-girl [at] comcast.net.
Jamie Cavenaugh
jcavenaugh [at] earthlink.net
415-332-2479
Brad Newsham
newsham [at] mac.com
http://www.bradnewsham.com
For more information:
http://www.ifilm.com/profile/james_cavenau...
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