christic@igc.org (06/14/91)
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/* Written 6:10 pm Jun 7, 1991 by christic in cdp:christic.news */
/* ---------- "MEDIA SECTION: PEACENET" ---------- */
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PEACENET: POWERFUL TOOL CONNECTS PROGRESSIVES IN 90 COUNTRIES
By ANDY LANG
Convergence Magazine, Christic Institute, Summer 1991
[Commercial computer networks like CompuServe and Prodigy link the
home or office personal computer with a growing array of
information services. With a few simple commands, your computer can
display electronic newspapers, wire services, stock quotations and
weather reports. But one of the best-kept secrets of the
information age is that the peace and environmental movements now
have their own computer networks. Activists throughout the world
are using these networks to discuss strategy, share information and
debate issues.
[One of these progressive networks is PeaceNet. This article will
introduce you to PeaceNet and other computer information services
offered by the Christic Institute. It will include advice on how
you can connect your computer to PeaceNet and dozens of other
electronic networks at very little cost.]
The Christic Institute uses PeaceNet and other telecommunications
networks to send electronic mail, contact supporters and organize
online ``conferences'' linking together field offices and local
chapters with the national staff.
PeaceNet is the largest computer network serving the peace movement
in the United States. More than 8,000 activists, local peace
centers and national organizations use PeaceNet's growing
library of news and information.
Anyone who uses a personal computer at home or the office can get
involved. You will need:
*A modem--an inexpensive device that allows computers to exchange
data over ordinary phone lines. A new modem can cost less than $80.
*A communications program. Modems usually come equipped with a
program that enables you to dial other computers, transfer files
and send electronic mail.
*A PeaceNet account. PeaceNet charges an initial fee of $15, plus
a $10 monthly fee billed either directly to your address or your
credit card. An additional fee is charged for the number of minutes
you spend on the system. Access to PeaceNet is less expensive
during ``offpeak'' hours in the evening and on weekends.
Hundreds of conferences available on PeaceNet will keep you
informed on developments censored by the mass media. A conference
can either be an alternative news service or an electronic
discussion in which anyone can participate. A conference title
usually consists of two or three words separated by periods. When
you type ``christic.news,'' for example, the system will connect
you to the Christic Institute's news service.
As you continue to explore PeaceNet, you will find serious news and
background articles on disarmament, ethnic strife in the USSR,
threats to the environment, the Federal budget, social policy,
economics and human rights, plus organizing alerts and information
needed for action campaigns.
PeaceNet proved its value during the Gulf crisis. Antiwar activists
used the network as a clearinghouse for news and bulletins,
including detailed reports on the destruction of Iraq's civilian
infrastructure and analyses of the war by progressive commentators.
PeaceNet helped organize demonstrations, kept activists informed
about actions happening in every corner of the country and around
the world--including protests and campaigns in European cities.
PeaceNet does not replace more traditional means of communication,
including the progressive magazines or newsletters you may already
receive in the mail. You should continue to subscribe to The
Nation, Z Magazine, In These Times and other alternative
periodicals. But a subscription to PeaceNet does include the
following advantages:
*PeaceNet is immediate. A bulletin or news story posted on PeaceNet
is available within seconds. You don't have to wait two or three
days to read the information.
*PeaceNet is an active medium. On many conferences you are not
simply a passive reader of information: You can respond simply by
typing a comment on your computer screen. Many conferences are not
only electronic ``news services'' but provide for reader reaction
and response. Other conferences are designed to help users to
discuss strategy and plan demonstrations.
*PeaceNet connects you with hundreds of organizations and thousands
of activists. You can browse through PeaceNet's catalogue of more
than 800 conferences and visit the organization or news service
that interests you the most.
*PeaceNet allows you to send and receive ``electronic mail.''
PeaceNet's electronic mailroom also be used to post messages to
fellow PeaceNet subscribers and to electronic addresses on other
computer networks around the world. You can also use PeaceNet for
telexes, faxes and telegrams. PeaceNet provides a special service
to send faxes to Senators and Members of Congress.
*PeaceNet is international. PeaceNet will let you discuss issues
and plan strategies with activists in more than 90 countries.
PeaceNet is part of a wider family of progressive networks in
Canada, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Brazil, Australia, the United
Kingdom, Sweden, Germany and the Soviet Union.
Some of these conferences require a small fee when you join the
network. Others are entirely free.
*Environment News Service: The latest dispatches from the world's
only news service devoted exclusively to the environment can be
read on the conference ens.newsline. Selected ENS dispatches can be
read without charge on ens.samples.
*U.N. Information Centre Newswire: Daily highlights of United
Nations activities are posted on the conference unic.news. During
the Gulf war all of the major Mideast resolutions were available on
PeaceNet hours after their adoption by the Security Council.
*Inter Press Service: IPS is the leading Third World news agency.
>From the latest developments in the civil war in El Salvador to
mass demonstrations by unemployed workers in East Germany, IPS
correspondents bring you news and perspectives you won't find in
your daily newspaper. IPS news pays special attention to developing
societies and provides special services on agriculture, the
environment, oil and natural resources. A subscription fee is
charged for the full service, but all stories are available without
charge 48 hours after filing in ips.englibrary.
*Africa Information Afrique: Based in Zimbabwe, A.I.A. is a
development information service, making available the latest
computer-based publishing technologies as part of an alternative
news, feature and research service providing a stimulus for
regional democratic media growth. Its mandate is to provide an
alternative channel of information on southern Africa. An open
conference, aia.samples, previews the services and stories you will
receive on the paid conference.
*Alternet News Service: Alternet is a news and feature syndicate
for the alternative press and uses PeaceNet as a medium for
electronic distribution. Based in Washington, D.C., it was formed
by alternative journalists to counter the corporate monopoly on
information. It makes professional, well-written stories available
to small, independent newspapers.
*Christic News: Our free conference, christic.news, makes articles,
bulletins and alerts available to Christic Institute supporters as
soon as they are ready for the mail.
Other news services, most of them free, include the following:
*carnet.ladb: A Latin American data base of news and issues.
*dfax.process: Headlines and extracts from Defense Daily and other
news services, including environmental publications.
*northwest.news: News filed directly from an independent press
service in Leningrad.
*spans.wire: Free, authoritative news service, reporting events and
issues of social, political and economic significance in the South
Pacific region from a progressive perspective.
*sscan.news: A weekly bulletin on events in Southern Africa.
*utne.warnings: Newswire service on emerging ideas, issues and
trends from the alternative press, sponsored by the editors of Utne
Reader magazine.
Supporters of the Christic Institute can also read news from our
investigations and participate in electronic discussions on
``Christic DataBank,'' a computer bulletin board system (BBS) in
Washington, D.C. The BBS is available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. eastern
time at (202) 529-0140 and accepts calls from 1200 to 9600 bits per
second.
Initial access to Christic DataBank is free. All you need is a
computer and a modem. For a modest charge you can spend more time
on the system and transfer files directly from our computer to
yours.
For more information on Christic DataBank, call Andy Lang at the
Institute's Washington office, (202) 797-8106. To learn more about
PeaceNet, write PeaceNet at 18 De Boom Street, San Francisco,
California 94107, phone (415) 442-0220.
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Christic Institute tcn449 TCN
Washington, D.C. christic PeaceNet
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