[New-imc] the beginning of the cuba.indymedia project...need help

[boud]

hi israel ascazo, hi sky,

sky - i hope you're back in good health after the events in Genoa.

On Sun, 21 Dec 2008, Zeus wrote:

> I tried to use the new imc form but it did not work. here's hoping

Please contact imc-commwork at lists.indymedia.org to find out what's
wrong with the new.indymedia.org server. It will make things easier
for us if the israel can get the form successfully submitted, because
that way we will have the info in the contact database (more info:
http://contact.indymedia.org) Remember that there are over 100 collectives,
so we cannot remember who's who etc. without some software help.

> someone here can respond with help for me and the fledgling
> habanas.indymedia.org....I have posted as much technical detail about
> media licenses because this is going to be an issue for us in
> indymedia but i know it can be resolved.

> This site is going to need alot of help to open up to the world and
> particularly South America. Cuba has had no internet until recently.

> My friends in Cuba want a small team of experienced indymedia people
> to fly into Havana soon to help teach them how to use their new
> indymedia. please contact me for details of this trip.

You could try finding such volunteers from the north and south american
region - try asking at:

imc-latina at lists.indymedia.org 
imc-us at lists.indymedia.org

http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-latina
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-us

but you're welcome to try on some other regional lists.


> meanwhile, can new imc process begin the process of giving them an
> indymedia site and a URL? I think cuban connection problems and
> media licenses can be resolved.

Your (sky) indymedia credentials are of course as solid as those of
anyone else - not that many of us have had our bones broken due to our
indymedia activity. But maybe you overestimate our degree of
centralisation.  The new-imc working group is a meta-group, we try to
help people learn methods of communication and how to organise and
contact other working groups of indymedia, but we try to avoid having
any power ourselves except for our minimal facilitation role that is
necessary. And even then, we are not necessarily successful at even
that, though we do our best when we have time. In principle, the
priority is in helping stimulate a real group of *people* willing and
able to work together and with the wider network in the long term
according to a minimal sort of non-hierarchical etc principles. The
website and URL are in principle much easier to create than a
collective as a group of people.

However, in practice tech issues are themselves in something of a
state of flux and development and controversy at the moment in the
network - the imc cuba people are going to have to contact different
groups and judge for themselves what tech approach they want to take.

If the group wants to start a website before having got organised
as a collective, that's OK, but the URL habanas.indymedia.org will only
be allocated once the group has gone through a self-organising process
and sent documents describing its self-organisation to the network.

Anyway, please read through:
https://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/NewImcHowTo

While it's offline for a few days, have a look at an archive.org'ed copy.
Start here and go to the most recent archived version:
http://web.archive.org/web/%2A/http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/NewImcHowTo

If the server is down, you'll need to use archive.org for each of 
the individually linked pages, e.g. the PrinciplesOfUnityEs and
MembershipCriteriaEs pages.

It would be best if someone spanish-speaking (not me) could be a new-imc
helper for you. i really suggest you ask for help at imc-latina (in spanish!) - 
i haven't participated there, but there are imc's in virtually every
south american country and a few central american countries.

> here is me and my friends from Havana waiting for your response

There's no need to wait for anything. If you (the collective) are
self-organised, you just have to sit down and write your responses to the
questions, check if you have already done the suggested organising,
write that up, send it to new-imc, and by the time that's done -
typically it takes a few months for people to sit down and discuss and
consense on stuff - the proposal can be sent to imc-process to see if
any existing local imc has any objections or concerns. Normally by the
time a proposal gets sent to imc-process, there has been enough
contact in the network and so on that there are no concerns.

Actually, by the sounds of it, you already have answers to many of
the questions already answered, so it's just a matter of sitting down
together face-to-face (since most of you are in Habanas i guess you
meet face-to-face, with the appropriate security considerations), 
discussing, consensing and writing down your answers.


> Mark Covell 'Sky' Indymedia London
> 
>  
> 
> Hi, Sky!
> 
> Here it goes. First, answering your questions:
> 
> Media licences ? theoretically, internet publishing is not regulated by the Cuban law; but they reserve the right of limiting access from
> Cuba to ?conflictive? sites. Theoretically (as well), serial publishing spaces (including web, etc.) can get a licence (actually,
> inscription in 2 registers) from competent Cuban authorities (Registro nacional de las publicaciones seriadas, and Cuban ISSN agency);
> this turns them into ?official? publications. But to get such licences you must be supported or managed by an official Cuban institution.
> Theoretically (again!) a Cuban indymedia could receive a licence if it becomes associated with a Cuban institution (like Asociacion
> Hermanos Saíz ? an official organization of young intellectuals) ? but this would critically affect the actual independence of the
> collective. In fact, many blogs and web projects (including serial ones) operate without any registrations. This would be, in our
> collective´s opinion, the correct option for us.

i don't imagine any collective in the network would interfere in imc habanas'
decision either to ask for a licence or not. My guess is people might
recommend against it, but it's really only the local cubans who can judge.

> Reporting, filming and surveying licences ? foreign reporters have Cuban government-issued accreditation cards; if they are not
> accredited, they can be deported. Cuban reporters, journalists and other press personnel have analogous cards, issued by official media
> institutions; also, they usually hold the membership card of the Cuban Union of Journalists (UPEC). But, again, most of the bloggers and
> amateur reporters do not have either. The point is about maintaining discretion. To make sociological surveys (polls) a letter of
> authorization emitted by the Ideological Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba is needed. Many students do
> this kind of research actions without such a letter, but they may have problems with the police. The discretion point applies again.
> Letters from Cuban scientific or cultural institutions may also be of great help (we can arrange them for ourselves). Filming may be
> conflictive, especially in Havana; a municipal executive decision applies, which provides for the need of a special permit from Havana
> authorities or the Cuban Institutes of Cinema (ICAIC) or of Radio and Television (ICRT). Interviewing may also result suspicious, in
> specific surroundings. However, we have in favour the fact that nowadays many Cubans are studying Social sciences at University levels
> (this is a massive phenomenon, due to the spread of community colleges), and they are required to do such surveys, interviews and
> sometimes even filming. The point about the usefulness of Cultural institutions´ letters applies as well.
> 
> Radio broadcasting licences ? available only to official media and to the members of the official Cuban Federation of Radio-amateurs.
> Currently, we do not have access to it, and should investigate how it goes. But obviously government ? controlled, and sometimes even
> used by the Army ? e.g. during natural disasters. They can detect any illegal station.      
> 
> Functioning as a collective in Cuba and dealing with the Govt ? We prefer acting anonymously, using pseudonyms. We would like to maintain
> clear goals and a mission statement (see infra), but strongly prefer maximum confidentiality. In our situation, it is the only warranty
> of independence. In case of negotiation, we will flag our anti-imperialist left-wing commitment, and seek support of the organizations of
> which we are members. The negotiation is possible, but not recommendable at the initial phase of the growth of Cuban indymedia. We will
> rely on alternative spaces and collective, and we strongly prefer to begin acting with an underground status. I wish you & friends will
> understand us well.  

i can't believe anyone in the network would object.

> Regarding the contact names, etc. ? I wish you´ll understand that we prefer remaining anonymous. Nonetheless, if a ?real? name is needed,
> you can use mine. The pseudonym to be used if real name not needed will be Israel Ascazo.

Of course we do not need a real name. This is indymedia, not The Government.


> You could learn that internet connection in Cuba is fluctuant. We will try to solve it ?with a little help from our friends? here. But
> hiring a 10-hour-per-month connection is a luxury allowed just to foreigners, and it currently costs about $17 USD (per month). We could
> find the foreigner who could help us with the connection, but definitely we cannot afford it ($10 USD is approximately equivalent to my
> monthly salary as a University professor). We will be grateful for any help regarding this; otherwise, we will stay wired using the
> available institutional networks, but sometimes they are not secure.
> 
> One last thing: we will be grateful if you could help us with some encryption software. I was told that gpg could be good. We will have
> the need of using such resources to send the information over the indy network. We already have a counter-part in Europe who could be in
> charge of uploading the stuff.

gpg is certainly one good step on the way. Ask on imc-tech at lists.i.o 
or #tech if you have no idea how to get started on learning about a tech
subject like gpg (hint: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<subject>  or install the
package on a gnu/linux machine and do one or more of

info <program> 
man <program>
<program> --help
ls -l /usr/share/doc/<program>/*
zless /usr/share/doc/<program>/README
).

If you use institutional networks/computers, then you might find
live cd's like knoppix very useful:

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/knoppix

Since windows machines are constantly being turned off/on, you can
boot up a windows machine with a knoppix CD, your operating system
will exist only temporarily in RAM (live memory), you can then 
use

* https://
* TOR
* gpg for emails e.g. through riseup (or other safe servers, not gmail!)

and after you shut down the computer, there will be essentially no
trace, if you did things properly. However, i don't know if you can
maintain a server while retaining anonymity. Also, take this advice
here as just a hint: read up much more thoroughly (e.g. on docs.indymedia.org
and in the relevant tech pages and wikipedia pages) to understand 
yourselves rather than just believing my suggestions. Anyway, back
to new imc organising:


Once the docs.indymedia.org returns to its normal state, please read
through the documentation there. Most is in English, especially tech
stuff, but if you browse through the tech sections (even use google if
necessary, e.g. keywords: <word-you-want> site:docs.indymedia.org )
you'll find lots of stuff.  Some stuff is in espagnol.

There really is a HUGE amount of high quality info there - though of course,
a lot may be out of date or written chaotically.  It's a wiki.


> Proposed IMC Name (required): habanas.indymedia.org
> 
> Proposed Indymedia URL (required): habanas.indymedia.org
> 
> Current URL (if any): none
> 
> City: Havana
> 
> State/Province: Ciudad de La Habana (City of Havana) and La Habana (Havana)
> 
> Country: Cuba
> 
> Contact name (required): Israel Ascazo (if a real name is needed, then XXXX)

Don't repeat your real name to new-imc! Our list is publicly archived.


> email (required): iascazo gmail.com; Israel.ascazo gmail.com
> 
> phone: none
> 
> Webmaster-contact name (if different from above) same
> 
> email same
> 
> phone: none
> 
> Are you:
> 
> Regionally focused? yes
> 
> Issue focused? no
> 
> Events focus? yes
> 
> are you working with any support groups? no
> 
> Please write an introductory statement about why you want to participate in the Indymedia Network.
> 
> We are eager to create an information network with an anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist focus, to share the local news and viewpoints
> about the Cuban events from our bases in Ciudad de La Habana and La Habana (although this does not mean that we will refrain from
> providing information about events occurring in the other Cuban territories; however, we would like to stress that our perspective is
> mediated by the fact that we live in the Cuban capital and its hinterland: so we emphatically abstain from claiming any ?exclusive?
> rights of representing all the Cuban archipelago over the indymedia network ?that?s why habanas.indymedia.org instead of
> cuba.indimedia.org-; once acknowledged this initial bias, we would strongly support the cooperation with activists from and the creation
> of new IMCs in other Cuban locations).

Cool. :)


> We want to end the informative vacuum about many of the important issues and events taking place in our country, generated by the fact
> that the mainstream media infrastructures are dominated by state and market forces. Our autonomous effort will provide the possibility of
> sharing with the worldwide publics a huge set of news and opinions that otherwise would be de-contextualized, misunderstood, excluded or
> censored. 
> 
> We would like to promote an honest image of our country, clarifying the complexities and the contradictions of the current Cuban society.
> Such an image, in our opinion, would de-idolize the international solidarity with the Cuban people, giving a global participatory
> platform for the Cubans themselves to deal with their issues and express their thoughts, feelings and opinions. 
> 
>    
> What kind of resources can you contribute, in terms of server/bandwidth/technical and organizing skills?
> 
> none
> 
> What kind of outreach have you done to bring together a diverse group of people?
> 
> The team of habanas.indymedia.org will be initially constituted by 6 persons (3 females, 3 males, in their 30-40ies). We share a set of
> basic political and living experiences, including those of the cataclysmic changes occurred during the ´90s, and the emergence of new
> cultural practices. Since that time, we have got involved in various social projects and proposals. We belong to different ethnic,
> cultural, ?racial?, territorial and professional backgrounds; although all of us share proletarian origins and have university degrees
> (in law, economics, natural and social sciences), our everyday environments are different as well: 4 are state employees (a common case
> in Cuba), 1 self-employed, 1 part-time worker; we all live in different zones of the Cuban capital and its surroundings (both urban and
> rural territories).  
> 
> We share a basic political consensus, i.e. opposition to all the imperialist and/or totalitarian politics, libertarian scepticism towards
> state and corporate institutions, respect of the dignity of the human person, of human diversity, of the rights to the satisfaction of
> the basic needs, to the freedoms of belief, thought, opinion, expression and self-organization. We love culture and spirituality, both
> for their intrinsic values and for their significance in the creation / expression / humanisation of the socio-political meanings and
> mutual support networks.
> 
> We believe in social autonomy and in democratic, non-hierarchical decision-making after a transparent discussion of all the relevant
> issues. Our core-group shares 12 years of enthusiastic, committed alternative left-wing political efforts. We have been friends for a
> long time, and enjoy practicing solidarity towards each other and to the rest of the world.
> 
> 
> How does the makeup of your collective reflect the diversity of the local community (e.g. in realtion to gender-, sexual-, spiritual-,
> and/or cultural-identity)?
> 
> The collective is diverse in relation to: gender-/sexual-identity (3 females, 3 males); ?racial?-/ethnic-identity (2 negras, 1 mulata, 1
> mulato, 2 ?asiáticos? (i.e. 1 Chinese-Cuban, 1 Slavic-Cuban): we use the Cuban folk terms for ?race? and ethnicity; all these groups are
> underrepresented in mainstream society); spiritual-/cultural-identity (1 believer in universal energy; 1 cosmist; 1 atheist; 1 Orthodox
> Christian; 1 non-homosexual-non-bisexual agnostic; 1 Afro-Cuban believer). Mostly brain-proletariat, artisans, informal sector
> (door-to-door selling) and underemployed workers, all with quite diverse work-experiences. 
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 
> If your group currently does not represent the diversity of the local community, particularly in relation to groups who are
> underrepresented in mainstream society and denied access to vehicles of expression, what steps will be taken to address this on an
> ongoing basis?
> 
> -We will create spaces of network visibility (by means of event reports, opinions, surveys, coordinative networking) for the groups not
> having access to mainstream media, thus countering both the internal colonialism in Cuba and the global media asymmetry
> 
> -We will promote the political debate and intellectual growth among those groups (by means of news comments, event promotions,
> involvement with existing non-mainstream spaces)
> 
> -Thus, underrepresented Cuban groups will feel attracted towards habanas.indymedia.org
> 
> -We will then promote both the inclusion of new committed activists in our collective, and eventually the development of new IMCs (in
> other regions of the country, as well as issue-focused ?e.g. for ethnic-, cultural- or gender-issue-based groups, event-focused teams,
> etc.)
> 
> 
> What steps will be taken to involve individuals in workfields new to them? What measures will be taken to overcome a gendered work
> division?
> 
> Nowadays we have a 50%-50% gender proportion. We will work towards keeping the gender bias minimized in the future. An increase of the
> number of volunteers could result from the monitoring of the existing and emerging non-mainstream social spaces, with particular emphasis
> on committed persons having some useful skills (like previous experiences as journalists, reporters, writers, researchers, promoters,
> artists, involvement in cultural actions, overall creativity and fresh views on the Cuban and international political fields) and
> emancipatory political militancy. In any case, we will contact the people on strictly confidential, voluntary and equalitarian basis.
> Additionally, we will study the contemporary radical gender theories, in order to critically implement a coherent policy.
>



horizontalidad,
boud (just one new-imc volunteer)