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Though the distinction between demonstrators and IMC reporters rarely is seen when you're a cop, readers and participants of SF Indymedia are clear on the subject. Surprisingly, the Associated Press hasn't been able to grasp the distinction. In an article from 3/27, the AP wrote, "Before the invasion of Iraq began, the San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center solicited volunteers to stage sit-ins in particular intersections. When sit-ins sparked police confrontations, the group published live video on its Web site." This statement is humorous, given that while there are all kinds of calls from people who publish to this site, none come from the collective that maintains it.
AP reporters are encouraged to continue struggling against the ideological framework that inhibits their understanding of the open publishing and the Independent Media Center phenomenon.
Also, the Swiss-Jewish pressure group Aktion Kinder des Holocaust (Children of the Holocaust) is threatening legal charges against two people associated with the Swiss IMC for allegedly publishing anti-semitic material. The Brazilian cartoonist Latuff's "We are all Palestinians" series is the material in question, with AKdH alleging that it "stands for the extermination of the Jewish people and the state of Israel." The Swiss IMC collective voluntarily closed its site to discuss further action to take. Latuff series | Statement from Latuff | SF-IMC solidarity statement