[New-imc] IMC Winnapeg- Jumping Ahead

[Deja]

This was posted to Process today:

"hey
im geoffrey young im involved with the startup imc winnipeg in canada.
alright.
we sent our stuff/homework to the new imc folks and everything is fine. we
got a good collection of folks together and have had several meetings.
allz we need now is a site.
we have three techies waiting to kick into action on our end.
we are in dire need of a host. we have tried vancounver, philly and ottawa
with not much succes so far.
Organizing meeting for the kg8 have already begun in winnipeg and the imc
site is a resource that is much needed in the city in order to help ensure
maximum representation and effctivness at the summit.
is there anyone that I can be ppointed to who can provide a host and help
us get the site up within the next week or so?
thanks
geoffrey"

There has obviously been a bit of a communication breakdown here.
This is the last I heard of the application:
Geoffrey Feb 12-"There is a meeting on sunday and I imagine that the stuff will be filed
sunday night or monday some time."

When was this "stuff' sent? When did we say that "everything is fine"? 
Am I missing something? 

I would love to see an IMC in Winnapeg, and
it sounds like you have a great group working there, but I feel that this is a serious 
breach of trust. 

Here is the Winnapeg correspondance:


----------Geoffrey to Process: Feb 7

hey. Im geoffrey young.
I have been involved VERY heavily with IMC in Ontario (Toronto and Ottawa)
I spearheaded the establishment of the centre for our Oct16 actions in
toronto.
I have also been imc involved in Philly, Quebec, Washington.
cant count the posts and comments ive made
For the past year, I have devoted the bulk of my time to imc related stuff
instead of getting a job and making a living.
I have recently moved to winnipeg and am starting imc here. The great folks
in Ottawa are also trying to get recognized for a site.
I have a couple of very serious complaints to make.
first involving the ottawa site.
Ottawa is our national capital. They are among the most dedicated folks imc
has anywhere and the most knoledgable. They are in the most important
canadian city for imc. Already, the one guy derek has had his apartment
turned into a flop house and raided by police. he is the proud operator of
what will soon be a bus company. an other works doing high level encryption
for the powers that be. They have a beautiful community radio station that
supports them whole heartedly.
They are students and professionals and they deserve a site. they dont
deserve several months of procedural crap and red tape. They are as much or
more of an asset as any of the already established imcs and deserve to be
treated as such.
Please consider some sort of fast track for them. I understand that this is
politiking, I refer to it as speaking American, but Ottawa, is, as I said
our National capital therefore dragging feet on this issue may be seen by
some (certainly not myself) as just a touch offensive as such a sittuation
would perfectly mirror the same treatment that exists in the governmental
sphere between our countries.
Second, involving the Winnipeg site,
I moved here about 2 weeks ago
have you ever been to Winnipeg? Do you know of our history at all? Emma
Goldman is from here. Theres not much heavy industry in Winnipeg. This is
because they're not willing to establish in a region where workers have
much more power than anywhere else on the continent.  This week there were
2 demos planned. One a student demo about tution and privitization, another
against the war. Lets say that this is normal for any city of around a
million folks. But it must be considered that it is -40 degrees here in the
winter. Imagine mobilizing a few thousand people to march in -40 weather in
seattle or san francisco.
There is a part of the city known as the A-zone. It is in the core of the
downtown. Imagine the Anarchist Zone in New York City being a block from
wall st. Imagine an Anarchist zone in NYC at all.
Here, we have volunteers from a record label (G7 WelcomingCommitee),
manager of a community station. One publication, another on the way, some
pirate broadcast coming down the pipes, 2 university trained journalist, a
lawyer, couple of techies.
Technical back-up for both Ottawa and Winnipeg centres exist in Waterloo
from IMC Ontario.  We also have at our disposal an arts collective from
Toronto that has been involved in internet since the early-mid 90s. This
included the folks that started the countires first internet radio, one of
the pioneers of the usenet, people that have been doing web since html1 was
released, the folks that ran university of Toronto's servers (enrollment
over 100 000), the former assistant to the good Dr Steve Mann (inventor of
the wear-com qwireless communication pc).
The time sittuation here in winnipeg is crucial. Theres just so much going
on that news is seriously getting lost, just not making it to where it can
be useful. This is the most vibrant activist scene I have ever seen, even
compared to the Quebecois.
As you know, its organizing time for the KG8. if the red tape takes too
long then imc will have to wait. Its like this, either the preparations for
G8 as far as Winnipeg is involved can happen through indymedia where it
will benefit the wider population beyond winnipeg or through the local
outlets. I would personally prefer that it be made avail through
winnipeg.indymedia as its about time to start getting resources up there
for all the happy campers. very shortly, KG8 we require all the attention
it can get, I would very much prefer that this happen through IMC.
Would it be possible to get both sites fastracked so that they can be
established by March1. That gives us here three months of getting practiced
before the show.
that is if they dont move it on us.
thanks for time and consideration
geoffrey young
204-779-3113


------Application:Feb 8

A proposed new IMC is being requested.
Details are as follows: Proposed IMC Name:IMC Winnipeg
Contact Name:Geoffrey Young
Email:downitgoes at antisocial.com
Phone:204-779-3113
City:Winnipeg
State:Manitoba
Country:Canada
Tech Contact Name:Geoffrey Young
Tech Contact Email:downitgoes at antisocial.com
Tech Contact Phone:204-779-3113
Regional Focus:yes
Issue Focus:yes
Event Focus:yes
Critical Dates:Mar 1-15 launch due to Kannanaskis prep.
Supporting Groups:g7 welcoming committe, CKUW, Idiosyntactix, IMC Ontario, BOB, Trick Media, MMM Design, luther blissett and monty cantsin
Other comments:
Resources to contribute: does this mean how much money we can give you? none. other resources described in essay. Why we want to be an IMC: wow, an essay, im in school again!
I hope is graded on a bell curve so I can slack and still pass.
lets see there were 2 marched here this week. The student one drew a few thousand and the anti-war one is on saturday. This is essentially lost news.
As you may or may not know, Winnipeg is the site of the continents first major strike and the home of one Emma Goldman. It is the left most geographic area on the continent. The dissenting scene here is larger than that 
of the average city 4 or 5 times its size. not to mention, the 2 marches per week happen in -40 weather. imagine mobilizing sf or seattle in -40 weather.
AS you probably already know from the email I sent to process list we here in Winnipeg are nearing the part when we start to prepare for the G8. An indymedia site would allow folks everywhere to benefit from our 
preparations. Theres heaps of shit, maps, scouting info etc... that we plan to post to compliment the alberta stuff as well as transport information for all the manitobans and folks passing through from the east.
The government here in manitoba is wierd. We have soviet style car insurance where no companies are involved. Its an NDP government, which is surprisingly left but still not left enough for most of the citizenry.
The protest history is paralell and almost indentical to city history.
There is no real heavy industry here because there are no large corporation that willing to deal with manitobas labour movement, historically the strongest on the continent.
The Anarchist zone is a block from the business district. this would be equivalent to having the anarchist zone just off wall street in NYC.
Cost of living is low and rent controls are really tight.
Winnipeg probably has the highest percentage of resident aboriginals on the continent.
but for some reason, there hasnt been imc yet.
So I would say that this "collective" we have here is most interested in starting imc winnipeg because it is needed.
We already have a staggering amount of resources, though no money. These invlove a record label, community station manager, lawyer, 2 university trained journalists, techies.
We also have tech support from kevin smith at imc ontario, he told me to contact vancouver and said they help. We have idiosyntactix collective in toronto which includes trickmedia and mmm design. These people have 
been doing web shit since html1 was launched and are pioneers in internet broadcast.  I remember helping them with internet broadcast as early as 1996. We have access to the guy that ran University of Torontos servers 
as well as former personally assistant to Dr Steve Mann, inventor of the Wearcom wearable PC and now a movie star (cyberman.
I myself have been going to marches, writing letters and doing political shit since I found burroughs at age 15.then adbusters. thats all she wrote. Ive organized punk shows and helped in the organization of large festivals.  
Bin shot at, gassed, pepper sprayed, starved, arrested, beaten, jumped, threatened by police and interviewed by mass media. I cant tell you which was worse.
I personally have dealth with IMC Ontario primarily and played a major role in establishing imc for the Oct16 actions in Toronto. I helped at O17 action in Ottawa which included a 7 hour marathon overnight broadcast. I 
have also helped at centres in washington, philly and Quebec.
For the past 9 months I have devoted the lions share of my time to indymedia rather than getting a job or making a living.
so thats about it, thats the needs and reasons for getting an imc here asap.
id contact kevin smith, hes the best to vouch and dk at trick.ca
geoffrey

____Response


Hello Geoffrey,Feb 11
....finally, the last of Canadas major centers is joining the IMC network, YAY!
My name is Deja and I'm from IMC Victoria. I am here to guide you through
the exciting process of  joining the IMC network.The first thiing that you'll
need is a mailing list. Go to http://newlist.indymedia.org/ and fill out the application.
So heres the deal, read this stuff,
 -- INTRODUCTORY LETTER --
"http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/new-imc/2001-September/000935.html" >
 -- INDYMEDIA FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FILE --
"http://process.indymedia.org/faq.php3"
 -- a (slightly out of date) GLOBAL INDYMEDIA OVERVIEW --
"http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/new-imc/2001-May/000157.html"
 -- DRAFT PRINCIPLES OF UNITY --
"http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/new-imc/2001-May/000160.html"
 -- DRAFT MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA at
"http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/new-imc/2001-May/000155.html"
and then get out there and organize your community into action!
If you have any questions send them to me and I will do my best to answer
as quickly as possable!
Good luck and happy organizing!
Deja
dejaisnot at shaw.ca


-------Geoffrey Feb 11

Ok Boss, all this stuff is done.
Im not really a runnin stuff/boss type. Im more of a starting things/
catalyst type. We have avolunteer who will probably take over the day to
day responsibilities of imc winnipeg. However since i am the probably the
rudest one and probably the one with the most imc related experience I am
steering the ship through the initial building process.
Both our centre and the ottawa centre are working together in a unified
push to fast track in order to have our site up by early march thus
allowing us the preparation time we need for the big camp-out in june. We
have been in contact with the process people but if you want to send them
an email of support on our behalf for the fast track then that would be
much appreciated.
The concern is that the people that would plan their activities for kg8 as
part of indymedia will already have made other arrangments if the site
takes too long to get up and going.
We are starting to work on raising funds so that all ontario and winnipeg
imc folks can go to the camp-out without much cost to themselves. This
money will take a while to raise, even in Toronto so as much time as we can
get here in Winnipeg is preferable.
We fit the criteria and agree with the principals but I personally hope
that our site will have less editorial control allowing a wider range of
interests/opinions to be presented no matter how nasty they are.
Of course anything actionable will be removed.
so ya, any more question, please send em to me.
thats it
geoffrey

____Deja Feb 11


Ok,
Why is there all this 'red tape'?
-An IMC is not just a web page. The page is just the face of an organization.
We need some evidence that there is an organization being built in the community
to support and maintain your efforts, and not just any organization, but one that
has agreed in writing with the Principals of Unity and the Membership Criteria and
is then accountable to them.
Sorry to be a bit of a hard ass, but as far as I'm concerned no-one deserves
'special treatment' in this regard.
Frankly, the process will move along as quickly as you want it to, and I will do my
best to make it happen as quickly as possable. Early March should be no problem
at all if you are organized and furfill the requrements that we have all agreed to.
So what you ned to do is sit down with your group in Winnapeg and go through these
documents and write up your responses to the individual 'articles'. Write up your editorial
policy and mission statements (this is the part that can take a while although you can
just 'steal' the global policy untill you have time to do this)
and some quick personal introductions from that members of your group.
Then send that to the new-IMC list. If everything is cool, and I can't see why it wouldn't be,
there is a one week space for people to put in thier opinions/accentions then it goes to
the Process list where the real decision is made. Then a mail is sent off to tech to have you
added to the cities list, and thats that. Since you've already done all of the consensus
work that gives you 2 weeks to get your 'documenation' together
and two weeks for process and your in on your timeframe without the need for 'fast track'.
Besides, getting an agreement for 'fast track' would take longer...there would have to
be a whole new process for that and the objections would kill it in a minute.
Happy typin'
Deja

----------Geoffrey Feb 12

ok so we'll copy the rules and change em as we necessity requires.
Let me describe the indymedia hunk that did the toronto centre for oct 16
actions.
its an arts collective of a different name. Sometimes, if there are
certain, specific people who are not normally part of the collective there,
it is indymedia. If its another given group of extras, its something else.
There are no assigned roles, each person's role is only what they want to
do. it way be tech or photography. people tend to stick to the things they
are best at a little more but they do not have to do the things they are
good at if they do not want to. Personally, I like it better when the
techies go out and get into the thick of it.
There will be one person in winnipeg who will be responsible for making
sure the "organization" meets its indymedia requirements. There will be a
principal techie although maybe not in winnipeg at all.
We do not plan to have an editorial policy. As long as given post is not
actionable AGAINST US, we will not censor it unless it is nonsensical and
presents no conceivable point. A couple of us here are journalism students,
one is a lawyer so we are pretty much on top of our media law and will not
publish anything that is contrary to that law. (ie folks addresses, numbers
etc...) We will try to make it very clear on the site, hopefully with a
larger editorial policy button than normal that it is open publishing. like
having a sheet on paper glued to your house that anybody who passes can
write on.
Winnipeg has a huge anarchist contingent. Not necessarily black block ones
but the smart type that really believes in it. They, as myself have
reservations about any sort of  proper structure as long as the guidlines
are met and there are one or two constant contact people.
I personally would rather not include names and stuff but we will give you
a list of what resources are available (human and other). Im not going to
make these kids use their names if I dont have to. the contact people will
use their names but I am sorta gonna ask people not to use them as long as
they can help it until after kannanaskis. that way we have a better chance
of getting there if it gets wierd.
Im sorry about this fast track bs but I was distictly under the impression
(from other int'l imc folks) that there would be votes and debates and
shit. I was mistaken and I am sure glad as hell you can meet our time frame.
There is no offense taken at any hard assedness as I mayself rather enjoy
being more than a little hard assed at times.
There is a meeting on sunday and I imagine that the stuff will be filed
sunday night or monday some time.
The winnipeg activist list is mad busy a lot of the time. We have the
city's major media in our sites. Of all the cities that indymedia is active
in, Winnipeg is probably the one where it has the most chance of, (are you
ready for this?) competing directly with the major media to be the city's
primary source of info.
Anyways, please tell me if any of the ideas put forth in trhis mail are
problematic and they will be addressed immediately.
thanks
geoffrey