From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Part II of: Origins of activ-l and MAP: The PACH Project (autopost)
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 09:30:06 GMT

	     Progressive Alliance ClearingHouse -- Part II

	[See "Thinking About Effectiveness" auto-posted earlier, which
	is Part I of the PACH project]

                 ====================================
                 PART II: Description of PACH Project
                 ====================================

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   -->  [Send the 1-line message GET PROJECT PACH-2 ACTIV-L to   ]
        [LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET for a copy of this file.         ]
   -->  [Send GET ACTIV-L ARCHIVE ACTIV-L to above address for a ]
        [listing with brief descriptions of other files available]
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In order to fulfill goal (5) above, and in working towards the other
goals, we need a central network for communication and cooperation
among peace groups, for sharing and disseminating information and
resources, and for the coordination of activist projects; a
Progressive Alliance Clearing House (PACH).

The PSN-EN Project:
===================

As part of this overall project, we would link electronically (and
otherwise) Progressive Student Newspapers (PSNs) and form a PSN-EN
(PSN Electronic Network). The advantages for the PSNs are clear, and
include the sharing or articles, ideas, and advice among editors, and
a massive increase in the amount of information available to PSNs, as
via PeaceNet and other components of PACH to be discussed below.

However, the greatest benefits of this project will come from the
information access made available to potentially millions of students,
as well as activists without access to computers, who currently are
effectively insulated from receiving vital information by the
mainstream news media; vital information which the PACH network,
through the PSN-EN, could provide.

In addition, the PSN network would go a long way toward linking
campus peace groups with each other, and with the activist world at
large. While one of PACH's purposes is the coordination of activism in
general, the PSN network could facilitate the planning and
carrying out of campus activism, -- a higher-quality, more effective,
more informing campus activism at that.

This includes national campus activist drives and themes (e.g.
"X-Week"), speakers' tours, and informational tours, e.g. national
campus tours of videos like "Voices From Panama" and "COVERUP: Behind
The Iran-Contra Affair," etc, which could be put together more quickly
and efficiently, at a lower average cost, and with a higher overall
quality due to access to more organizations and resources.

On the financial side, to which we later return from a wider
perspective, cooperation between the PSN network and national
progressive newspapers/publications (NPNs) like The Nation and In
These Times, would clearly promise substantial benefits to both
parties, in terms of revenue (and possible re-running of NPN articles)
for PSNs, and additional subscription revenue for the NPNs. Perhaps
most importantly, this would facilitate increasing substantially the
number of students getting quality alternative (i.e., what the
mainstream censors out or distorts) information. So along with PSN-EN,
we've alluded to a second component of PACH, namely these NPNs. I
should mention here that Charlie Forcey has interned at The Nation
this past summer, and has contacts there, e.g. Neil Black.

This idea is not new; Activist Mailing List (AML) member Charlie
Forcey, editor of Princeton's Progressive Review, gives an overview of
the Network of Alternative Student Papers (NASP) and New Liberation
News Service (NLNS) in the appendix, and the Progressive Review is now
part of a network of over a hundred PSNs. But this idea needs support.

The Info-coop
=============

A database of PSNs' articles, NPN's articles and other resources (see
below) would be the informational heart of PACH; this "information
coop" (info-coop) would allow an activist -e.g. someone writing an
article for a PSN- to ask for a variety of different categories of
information, for example for:

                "FAIR's report `The Media Goes To War...";
        "Greenpeace's [latest] calendar of upcoming events",
                "LADB's Central America Update, 10/3/90";
        "Amnesty's '88 report on `death squads' in El Salvador"
                "Zeta Magazine's [or WOLA's or..] address";
        "What legislation is/upcoming in the House/in committee re..?"
                "Details of covert operations `reform' bill"
        "Contents of CoverAction Inf. Bulletin's [or..] latest issue"

Etc; the key role is to get vital, otherwise censored information to
millions of students (and eventually, to the public at large)

There are other categories of information which are useful for
activists; in the AML library, I have compiled the following resource
files:

  * American Friends Service Committee catalog of publications/videos
  * Fairly large file of progressive publications
  * Fairly large file of progressive/peace groups
  * File of quotes (e.g. Dom Helder "When I gave food to the poor,..")
  * File w/various ill-publicized but important statistics
    (e.g. stats of reverse robin-hood of the 80's; application of DP)
  * File describing "Socially Conscious Investments" from Working Assets
    Money Fund and other groups; plus related items
  * Files with government tels/addresses; media and Senate label-ready
          addresses, etc.
  * File with AI and other independent/peace groups' videos
  * We will be scanning in [thanks->Dave Ratcliffe] the entire Amnesty
    International '90 catalog of publications, which includes a
    comprehensive listing of over 100 country reports; also, South End
    Press's catalog of publications; list of speakers on issues, etc.
  * File of Advertisers from progressive publications, for advert-coop.

Between PeaceNet and UseNet and the PSN-EN, one part of the nuts and
bolts of the info-coop would be a moderated UseNet newsgroup
"misc.peace.pach," making available to the PSN network, to the UseNet,
PeaceNet, and other on-line activists, resources from: these
components; plus items from the AML library, especially resource
files; and articles from PSNs and eventually from NPNs; finally, AML
and or alt.peace.pach would offer a human resource: the technical
support necessary to build the PSN-EN, helping PSNs get on line, etc.

Two bits of technology would be very useful here: first, an archiver
which would enable instantaneous "replies" to the list of questions
above, and to obtaining resource files; an activist, e.g. someone
writing a PSN article, could send the archiver a command like "send
nader.tax.stats" or "send AI.rprt.ES" to receive these files. A second
piece of technology to be implemented would be an automatic poster
which would periodically post resource files; indices of AML/info-coop
files; and introductory files "about PeaceNet" or "about PSN-EN" etc;
these posts would automatically go not just to the proposed PACH
newsgroup but also to alt.activism and other groups when appropriate
(e.g. soc.rights.human; soc.culture.l-a)

So PACH (or, it's electronic component) would include:

  (1)The PSN-EN; (2)PeaceNet, EcoNet, UseNet, etc; (3) NPN's;
  (4)Linking electronically with national peace groups (creating UseNet
    access/audiences for groups on PeaceNet, putting "on line" groups
    which are not, etc)
  (5)A Central database with info from (1)-(4);
  (6)A clearinghouse for progressive advertisers as a financial base.

As to this last item, it would encompass more than just agreement
between the PSN-EN and various NPNs; here's an excerpt from a recent
letter:

  ...Ms. magazine's no-advertising decision is exactly the wrong
  solution to the right(ly defined by them) problem... what the Left
  needs is a good source of $, which the Right has because they promote
  agendas beneficial to those *with* $, hence, to belabor the obvious,
  they are given $ by these elites to publish, put things on TV, etc; so
  PACH comes in by having a centralized clearing house of names and
  addresses of progressive advertisers, both national and the many, many
  small locals (which will have to provide much of the sustaining
  $-blood; few multi-billion-$ corp.'s are likely to advertise with
  PSNs/NPNs). Left publications help them grow as we get PSNs to
  improve, cooperate, and so, expand audience; they help us grow w/$..

This is clearly necessary if we're serious about the goals at the end
of the introductory file, e.g., a national progressive cable channel. We
conclude with a diagrammatic sketch of PACH, followed by a table of
short-, medium-, and long-term goals.

      A   D i a g r a m m a t i c   S k e t c h   o f   P A C H
      =========================================================

                                   work together
(millions of students) <--- [PSNs] <-----------> [Campus Peace Groups]
                              ^     information
                              |
                              v
 _______                   ________             ___________
/PeaceNet\            tech/        \ articles  /           \
| EcoNet |<->[misc.pach]->| PSN-EN | <-------> | Nat'l PNs |
\__etc___/      ^     asst\________/     $     \___________/
               /              |                      |
              /               |$                     |$
            _/                |                      |
 [UseNet] <-    ##############|######################|##############
    |          #       [Network of Progressive Advertisers]       #
    |         #  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #
    v        #               * I N F O - C O O P *              #
[other]     #  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #
[people]   #  Resource File Libr.; Archiver; Automatic Poster #  
          ####################################################

------------------------------------------------------------------
[There should be dashed lines of "info" from PeaceNet etc box, via
misc.pach, to PSN-EN and NPNs; lines from Resource Library (and
Info-Coop in general) to various components, etc. Eventually we want to
reach tens of millions of Americans, having linked not just with PSNs
but with local/regional progressive newspapers/TV stations.]
==================================================================

Short-, Medium-, and Long- term goals:
======================================

Short                            Medium                  Long
------------------------------------------------------------------
Create misc.pach at UseNet      Create PSN-EN           finish PSN-EN;
Automatic posting software      with:NASP/NLNS;         work on PACH,
Quality/organized archiver      PeaceNet,EcoNet;        electronic&non

Build contacts with NASP/NLNS   Work on:                Reach out
Build contacts with PeaceNet    Database software       to all U.S.
Build contacts with Nation,etc  $-coop                  peace groups

Contact Institute for S&C Dev.  start reaching out:     National
[who do Zeta;NLNS;SouthE Press] to campus groups;       cable &
                                groups not "on line"    newspaper

AMLers advertise project, and   PeaceNet,AML,misc.pach  ???
use their contacts to bring     people use contacts     ???
people in                       to bring people in      ???

##################################################################


APPENDIX: Re Institute for S&C Change; NLNS; NASP; FAIR project:

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[From inside front cover of Fall 1990 South End Press Catalog:]

"South End Press is part of the non-profit Institute for Social and
Cultural Change. Related projects include: *Zeta* Magazine, a monthly
political publication; the Publishers Support Project, a vehicle for
sharing publishing experience and equipment with progressive media in
the U.S. and around the world; Speak Out!, a speakers bureau
presenting 50 knowledgeable activists and writers; and the New
Liberation News Service, providing articles, photos, and graphics by
and for the student movement. If you would like more information on
any of these projects, please write to us at our editorial office,
116 Botolph Street, Boston, MA 02115"

[Also contact FAIR re speakers, media/PSN advice, and cooperation on
the whole PACH project itself -- contact (and self-descriptive info as
below for Institute) FAIR with David Ratcliffe [dave@sgi.com ||
dave@ratmandu.csd.sgi.com] -- Harel]

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[CBFORCEY%PUCC.BITNET (Charlie Forcey)]:

..The Nation internship went well and gave me some strong contacts
there. These may be useful for your project if you can specify exactly
what you want from the Nation and it doesn't cost them much. Neil
Black [general manager of The Nation -HB], who you mentioned, is
extremely nice and will do whatever he can to put more of the Nation
into our hands.[..]Part of my internship was to continue and finish a
manual for student journal(s/ists)[..]working on the manual brought me
into close contact with NASP people[..]and NLNS people. My paper is
part of the network (now over a hundred papers strong) and is working
to computerize the article sharing

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Network of Alternative Student Papers (NASP) was founded in 1985 (or
so) by students working for a vigorous student and community paper in
Vermont called The Gadfly.  It has floated around for a number of
years (California, etc) in an effort to keep it decentralized and
build national members.  For those years, its primary function was to
maintain a mailing list of alternative student papers that would, in
theory, mail their issues to each other using the list.  Money and
disorganization prevented most papers from doing so.  Recently, NASP
has moved to Boston and the THISTLE, MIT's radical student bi-weekly.
There the network took a more serious turn, recruiting more actively,
purging the mailing list of defunct addresses, and organizing national
meetings that got things rolling in new directions.  Proposed projects
include: BITNET mailings of issue copy to member papers, advertising
syndicate to pay NASP's expenses, a large national conference in the
winter, and last but not least, The New Liberation News Service
(NLNS).
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NLNS was conceived by this group and a number of other NASPers around
the country, but it was actually brought into being this summer by
Jason Pramas who is their single paid staff member.  The idea, as you
all may have read elsewhere, was to revive the concept of the old
Liberation News Service, and produce timely, reprintable, and
important packets of articles which are then sent to all the member
newspapers.  The first packet is out and another one is on its way
soon.  I can't judge too well what the quality of the articles are
going to be like since I am reluctant to judge their first one.  There
were several good articles, in my opinion, and a number that I don't
think should have been included.  The idea is excellent though and the
school year is just beginning.  There is talk, but so far no action,
on a BITNET version of the packet which would be much faster and
cheaper for all.

  NLNS Contact: Jason Pramas, NLNS // P.O. Box 325 // Kendall Square Branch
                Cambridge, MA 02142.  (617) 492-8316

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Jason may be reached electronically at: dmstern@ATHENA.MIT.EDU
--HB

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The FAIR media campaign is just beginning this Fall with Princeton
planned as one of their first campus visits sometime in November.  I
will, of course, know more about their effectiveness then, but for
know I can outline what they hope to do.  They plan to provide two
things to campuses: 1) a number of speakers on issues of media bias
and media strategies for activists.  These events are intended for
general audiences (hopefully large), though they are willing to work
in a workshop format with a sponsoring student newspaper.  2)
financial and logistical assistance for student papers in desperate
need or just starting up.  Funding is apparently coming through by
January and will support a few papers a year with small grants.  They
have a comprehensive packet that explains all of this in more detail.

  Contact: FAIR, Renu Nahata // 130 W. 25 St. // New York, NY 10001.
           (212) 633-6700.

##################################################################

    "Those who wish to play a meaningful role in influencing public
    policy or changing its institutional base must begin with honest
    inquiry, in community with others if it is to be effective. [...]

    "There will be little hope for further progress unless the means to
    carry out these first steps are preserved and enhanced: networks
    of local organizations, media and publishers who do not bend to
    state and private power, and so on.  These first steps interact:
    the organizations will not function without access to information
    and analysis, independent media and publishing will not survive
    without the participation and intellectual and financial
    contributions of popular organizations [...]

    "There are no magic answers, no miraculous methods to overcome the
    problems we face, just the familiar ones: honest search for
    understanding, education, organization, action that raises the
    costs of state violence for its perpetrators or that lays the
    basis for institutional change -- and the kind of commitment that
    will persist despite the temptations of disillusionsment, despite
    many failures and only limited successes, inspired by the hope of
    a brighter future.

--Conclusion of Turning the Tide, by Noam Chomsky.


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feedback --> pach@pencil.cs.missouri.edu is always welcome (if or more
general interest, CC to activ-l@umcvmb.bitnet). It is suggested that
you read part I first; request "proj.intro" from
harelb@mssun7.msi.cornell.edu for a copy if one is still not archived
at the time of this post; try using the GET command with PROJECT
PACH-1 first.

    ======================================
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    archiver (files are two words  separa-
    ted by a space), send the 1-line message

    GET FILE NAME ACTIV-L

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    ======================================

    Use GET with the file ACTIV-L ARCHIVE for a listing of
    files available with the GET command.

e.g., send GET ACTIV-L ARCHIVE ACTIV-L to LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET to be
emailed the index of archived files.

Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive