Decision Forces Filmmaker to Turn Over 600 Hours of Footage to Chevron � Moving Train Media

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the Federal District Court in New York granted Chevron’s request for a subpoena, which demands access to over 600 hours of footage from “Crude,” a documentary that chronicles a legal battle being supported by 30,000 Amazonian settlers hoping to hold Texaco (now owned by Chevron) responsible for environmental devastation in Ecuador.

Joseph Berlinger, the filmmaker behind “Crude,” claimed he was protected by “journalistic privilege,” but, according to the New York Times, he qualified for the privilege but “the conditions for overcoming that privilege had been met” by Chevron.

Berlinger plans to ask the judge to “stay the subpoena” so the decision can be appealed.

Many in the documentary filmmaking community have indicated that they will support Berlinger’s effort to appeal and resist this decision. Filmmakers understand what this decision could mean for the future of documentary filmmaking.

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CHEVRON - one more Oil Corporation in control of - and devastating whole swaths of humanity and planet with every mile. You can see more about it at http:www.linktv.org or http://democracynow.org; or in many other articles. Just the pictures of Chevron's actions show their attitude in sharp relief.

CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE.

Decision Forces Filmmaker to Turn Over 600 Hours of Footage to Chevron � Moving Train Media

Rustbelt Rage

Jan. 21, 2010, will go down as a dark day in the history of U.S. democracy, and its decline.

On that day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government may not ban corporations from political spending on elections—a decision that profoundly affects government policy, both domestic and international.

The decision heralds even further corporate takeover of the U.S. political system.

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A well-done article, as always, from Professor Chomsky.

Paz.

Rustbelt Rage