CONTENTSI- INTRODUCTION II- ASSESING YOUR NEEDS- A CHECKLIST III- ORGANIZING COMMUNICATIONS AND MONITORING
VI- LONG DISTANCE COMMUNICATIONS
VII- COMPUTERS
IIX- POWER SOURCES IX- RADIO SECURITY AND COUNTERMEASURES
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ACTIVIST
I. SIMPLE LIVING and ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
Most of us feel ambivalent about technology. For many years technology has been a weapon used by the powerful against the weak. Time has changed things; the technology built around the digital revolution is becoming cheaper and easier to use. Gone are the days when people with advanced degrees and astronomically expensive equipment were the only ones "tuned in".
Our fear of technology is exemplified by George Orwell's vision of Big Brother: an unseen force, constantly monitoring us through a technological "one-way-mirror". Our current reality is even stranger than Orwell could have predicted when he wrote 1984: we now have the tools to turn the "one-way mirror" into a window that looks back at those looking at us.
Tools such as scanners, the worldwide web, cellular phones and new communications satellites give us capabilities once available only to the military-industrial complex. It is our belief that these tools are most effective when used in the Spirit of Peace for a focused purpose. Government security services, the paramilitary right, survivalists, and cop wannabes have been using this stuff for years - since the technology is morally "neutral", it is up to us to give it the power to do good. We focus on what we need and remain respectful of personal privacy especially our own.
My goal is to introduce the powerful tools of communications and information technology to those in the environmental and social justice movements. I will focus on practical application rather than technical explanations of how things work. There is an interesting mix of time-tested ways and the cutting edge techniques available that could be of great assistance to those planning good deeds.
This technology, used correctly, can:
- Provide a margin of safety in sketchy circumstances
-Allow widely separated participants to coordinate their activity
-It allows you to listen to public agencies as they react to your situation
-It can give you the tools to get out words and images IMMEDIATELY
It should be noted that
many effective activities have taken place WITHOUT radios, cell phones, scanners and computers. Not having fancy equipment should NOT keep folks from doing an action or demonstration; mass movements such as the labor struggles of the 30's, the civil rights movement and the anti Viet Nam war demonstrations took place with only motivated participants. As always the passion and commitment of the participants are the most important factors in the success of any undertaking the rest are details.
CONTENTS
I- INTRODUCTION
II- ASSESING YOUR NEEDS- A CHECKLIST
III- ORGANIZING COMMUNICATIONS AND MONITORING
VI- LONG DISTANCE COMMUNICATIONS
VII- COMPUTERS
IIX- POWER SOURCES
IX- RADIO SECURITY AND COUNTERMEASURES
Email:
longwire@bigfoot.com