Winnipegs needs a new PATH

Illustration from Number 10 Architectural Group on the latest section of the Winnipeg Walkway.



The completed Winnipeg Walkway via second floor of the Delta Hotel.



Map of the Toronto PATH underground walkway.

Winnipeg has recently filled in some of the last sections of its walkway system that traverses the downtown area via second floor overpasses. It has taken nearly 40 years of work to do and runs about 2 kilometers. Our system, modeled on the Minneapolis Skyway System developed in detail in 1959, began ten years after Minneapolis began their efforts to create a counter to the suburban movement of enclosed malls.

In 2010, Minneapolis (and St. Paul next door) have one of the largest skywalk systems in the world. The largest skywalk system could be Calgary's +15 system which runs 16 kilometers versus Minneapolis's 11 kilometer system.

The most recent expansion of the Winnipeg Walkway connected the existing walkway system through to the Winnipeg Convention Centre with an overhead passage from CityPlace Mall to 330 St. Mary, above Hargrave Street, and in front of the Delta Hotel connecting to the established links at the Convention Centre and 155 Carlton. It can be seen in this picture from earlier entry on the Walkway.

I have commented before about the ugliness of some of the second floor overpasses. The ones over Portage Avenue are particularly harsh. While I understand the intent of the skywalks, I often wonder how things might have been done differently.

While researching this article, I found this claim made about Winnipeg's skywalk system.

Wayne Bollman, supervisor of property management for the City of Winnipeg, said the first skywalk, which connects the Medical Arts Building, on the western edge of downtown, to its parkade, was built in 1973.

Clearly, the walkway from Eaton's to the Woolworth building was first as seen in this picture from 1969.

In any event, Winnipeg modeled its skywalk system on what Minneapolis was doing but one wonders if we mimicked Toronto with its PATH underground system.

The Toronto system has evolved into a "28-kilometre subterranean city, which connects more than 50 buildings and office towers, 20 parking garages, five subway stations, six major hotels and City Hall."

I included a picture above to show how extensive it is.

The Toronto PATH system wasn't planned but evolved from the tunnel Eaton's constructed in 1900 from its department store to The Annex, a 10 story office and discount store owned by the company. The next stage happened in 1927 and connected Union Station and the Royal York Hotel.

The linkages in Toronto resumed in the 1970s when some of the large banks were asked to consider underground shopping by planners to mitigate crowded streets above. Some people resisted the idea in favour of Jane Jacob's philosophy of maintaining a vital street level retailing presence.

It was the underground tunnel system that prevailed although the street level does not seem to have been devastated it as a result. Perhaps this has something to do with the densities in Toronto's downtown or the fact that it has multiple forms of well used public transit systems both underground and on the surface through subways and streetcars and trains. However it happened, the results are that the largest underground shopping mall consisting of 1200 stores.

Most of PATH in Toronto is privately owned with some key parts owned by the city. And the future looks bright for the system as even further expansion is planned.

So what bearing does this have for the city of Winnipeg? Well, it seems that our city has both the underground component and the second story component, both of which have had their share of problems.

The difficulties for the Winnipeg system is that downtown is so spread out and we have never had a subway system that would help feed foot traffic below grade as what happened in Toronto. Winnipeg's main underground components are the Civic Centre tunnel system built between 1962 and 1967 and the Winnipeg Concourse and Winnipeg Square built at Portage and Main in 1979.

The Civic Centre tunnels connect City Hall, Public Safety Building, Concert Hall and Manitoba Museum complex. There is no retailing in any of the tunnels between the buildings.

The Portage and Main Concourse, Winnipeg Square and Richardson Concourse are all tunnels built with retailing in the makeover of the famous intersection in 1979 that saw the building of the Trizec complex (now 360 Main Street).

There has been much debate, most of it negative on the coercive move to force Winnipeggers below Portage and Main. And the result has been a retailing experience in Winnipeg Square that is almost exclusively geared to supplying the offices above with quick service restaurants and supplies such as paper, pens and ink cartrides. There are no retailers selling clothes in the 40 plus stores in the mall. Also included in the retailing at Portage and Main is the Richardson Concourse which is undergoing a $10 million renovation along with the surrounding Richardson buildings. There are only 11 stores in this offshoot to the Concourse and they too are mostly retailing and restaurants useful to towers above. A small food-court also sits under the Canwest Tower.

Neither the Winnipeg Concourse or the Civic Centre look to be linked in the foreseeable future due to the distances involved and the amount of heritage buildings that might require quite a lot of work to make their basements suitable for a connection. Still, the idea out to be encouraged. My suggestion is that the Union Bank Tower where Red River College is building their culinary school should be connected to the tunnel system once completed. Likewise, the Pantages Theatre and Manitoba Theatre Centre might makes for another idea linkage in the space between the two buildings.

Winnipeg needs a more uniform plan on connecting buildings. The idea is a sound one although it is quite apparent that skywalks are wholly inappropriate for some sections of the city. Efforts should be made to slowly connect Exchange buildings with underground connections. The skywalk system looks to be the chosen system south of Portage.

There will still be problems with the two approaches but if Winnipeg endeavours to make up a more comprehensive plan, it could attract people to live and shop in the area in a way that doesn't happen today.



myspace hit counter

Fundamental problems

"As Afghan and Western governments explore reconciliation with the Taliban, women fear that the peace they long for may come at the price of rights that have improved since the Taliban government was overthrown in 2001" (Rubin, 2010).

As usual, warmakers have fought their way straight into a pickle. They invaded Afghanistan rather than negotiate for the arrest and extradition of Osama bin Laden to face charges of terrorism after 9.11.01. This invasion was done by armed force, killing thousands of Afghans and driving many into the insane embrace of the Taliban and al-Qa'ida. The Americans--who had shown zero interest in women's rights in the 1980s, when they were funding the precursor mujahedeen factions to both the Taliban and al-Qa'ida--were now claiming that their invasion was really justified in part by how many wonderful rights they were bringing to Afghan women.

At this point, if they could have, Afghan women would have been best off distancing themselves from such 'liberators.' As Arundhati Roy said at the time, "Are we to believe that the American Marines are invading Afghanistan on a feminist mission?" It's not as though the Bush regime had expressed a single thought on the status of the women and girls of Afghanistan before 9.11.01, even though the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan had been trying and trying to get the world to notice their plight ever since the American-funded muj had driven out the Soviets in the 1980s (who also used women's liberation as their raison d'guerre and as one justification for their occupation, carrying on in the tradition of the previous imperial occupiers, the British, whose line about women in the Middle East and Central Asia was always that they were helping women to advance).

Women in Afghanistan seem to be either the chattel of their men or the hastily inserted casus belli for various invaders. So the empires East and West are forever prescribing women's rights for Afghanistan at the point of a gun, and guess what? That works about as well as installed democracy at gunpoint. Not well at all. Invariably, as soon as the occupying empire is kicked out--and they all are--women suffer an even worse backlash, shoved back into their homes in slavery to their King Kong men, and if they absolutely must go out they need to suit up for it in yards of canvas and netting, like a human tent.

So, wonders the meddling bleeding hearts, how do we get rights for the women of Afghanistan? Answer: we don't. They will get them for themselves once we get out of their way. Once others stop emasculating their men, their men can relax and stop proving that they can rule over something, even if it's only their women and children. Once we engage Afghan men and women with nuanced communication and make reparations for war damages and guarantee we are done invading or paying others to use violence in their country, we can have a good faith discussion. We need to make peace before we can even offer support to indigenous Afghan women in any meaningful way. Even well meaning Greg Mortenson is now backing the US military and military aid in his erstwhile elicitive and helpful program to help educate Afghan girls. He's gone over the line without realizing it and ultimately his own work will all be undone, every bit of it, because he is now perceived by more and more Afghans as a part of the military, violent, warring factions that send out men to rampage.

This is the contamination of violence, like a parts per billion pollution of a lake. A bit of violence makes the conflict waters--which used to generate clean creativity and productive critical thinking--poisoned. Nonviolence with the discipline that says the real test of nonviolence is when some violence is used and the response is nonviolence--that discipline keeps the conflict waters pure and potable. The minute you add violence all discussion is fraught with fear and hidden agendas. Oh, I'll say this because otherwise that party might inflict violence on me, or the ones I care about. And it breeds the passive aggression that keeps humanity simmering and ready to pass along oppression and violence where it can. If I come in at gunpoint and tell the man to allow his wife out without her burqa, what do I really think will happen? The women know. They come out without the burqa and try to enjoy the minute of liberation, knowing that as soon as the foreign guns leave, they will be beaten and crammed back into slavery.

It's not a hard phenomenon to predict. Muslims in some regions are as behind the times as US southern whites were for many years. Indeed, the psychological roots are essentially identical and the behaviors and rhetoric are stone similar. Ending oppression at gunpoint doesn't end the desire to oppress; it strengthens it. And those who go down in defeat in war are almost always more violent in their interpersonal lives. Two US studies on which sector of the US population resorts the most quickly to violence in interpersonal conflict showed clearly that southern white males are the most insecure about their honor and fastest to take offense and strike out violently (Pruitt, 2009)--and, naturally, they are disproportionately represented in the military, a legal and lethal outlet for the descendants of the losing side in the US Civil War, which northerners believe is over and for which southerners are still exacting vengeance. Violence and nonviolence alike tend to breed themselves. Use nonviolence and you don't reinforce the need to dominate the vulnerable ones. Use violence and you create fundamentalist Christians, Muslims, Hindus, or whomever. It's not a tough concept--the inputs into a system will affect the outputs. And the effects last for generations. It's a long, long process, requiring unilateral change or the change won't happen. We should get started.

References
Pruitt, Dean G. (2009). Experimental research on social conflict. In Bercovitch, Jacob; Kremenyuk, Victor; & Zartman, I. William (Eds.). The Sage handbook of conflict. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. p.p. 102-118.

Rubin, Alissa J. (2010, July 30). Afghan Women Fear the Loss of Modest Gains. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/world/asia/31women.html?_r=1&th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print

Rental and Housing

The numbers on Winnipeg rental apartments available is dismal and shows no sign of getting better.

The Spring Rental Market Survey Report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. shows that not only does Manitoba have the lowest provincial apartment vacancy rate in the country at 1.0 per cent, but the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment jumped by 4.5 per cent to $816 per month between April of last year and April of this year.

And for Winnipeg:

It had the third lowest overall vacancy rate among the 35 major Canadian cities surveyed, also at 1.0 per cent, the CMHC data shows. And the 4.6 per cent increase in the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Winnipeg was the fifth biggest increase among the 35 cities.

Landlords are realizing the only was to improve the return on their investment is to renovate and be allowed to exceed the rent control limits or to convert to condos. Hardly anyone is building. There are now 673 fewer units this year than last. Only 383 units were built last year. This year looks as bad with only 155 units built so far.

Manitoba will be unable to sustain the immigration growth is to have space for the new people to live. Last year 11,029 people moved to province, many to Winnipeg.

The last 20 years of rent control is failing. If the goal is to keep rent under control, it is failing. If the goal is to ensure supply of rental units, it is failing.

The Manitoba government had to change their tune on a tuition freeze because the universities were about to collapse from it. And so it goes with rent control.

No one is going to build if they can't get a return on investment. And Manitoba won't grow if it doesn't have places for people to live.

We have reached a crisis on housing and the government cannot say it is acting when the numbers are so poor and where it is shown that there are fewer units available on the rental market.



myspace hit counter

Charleswood-Tuxedo Candidate Dashi Zargani

Thanks to the Dashi Zargani for his answers to the questions about his candidacy in Charleswood-Tuxedo for the upcoming city election.

Questions for the candidates for Charleswood-Tuxedo Ward

Question 1: What is your name?

Dashi Zargani

Question 2: What is your profession?

I am a Tuxedo businessman, and chef

Question 3: How old are you?

40 years old.

Question 4: Can you tell us about your family?

I have a wife and 3 children all living in the area

Question 5: Why are you running in Charleswood-Tuxedo?

Chareleswood-Tuxedo is my home. I know the people of Charleswood Tuxedo, and if elected, I would represent the people of Charleswood-Tuxedo. I would return every call myself, and hold regular hours in the ward.

Question 6: How long have you lived in the ward?

I have lived in the charleswood area for nearly a decade

Question 7: Have you had any past political affiliations in provincial or federal politics?

While I have most recently been active in Gary Doer’s new democrats, I have been politically active outside political parties most of my life. I would not consider myself to have a political affiliation, just a love for democracy.

Question 8: Who did you vote for in the last civic election both for mayor and councillor and why? How would you rate the last council and mayor?

I voted for Bill Clement for council and Sam Katz for mayor.

Question 9: Do you feel your political views are left, center or right? How would you describe your political views?

I consider myself to be a populist. I believe representatives have a responsibility to bring their constituents views to city hall, and not the other way around.


Question 10: What do you think are the major issues for the city of Winnipeg?

Crime is not a statistic. We need to tackle crime in communities. Community safety is the focal point of my campaign. We can get police into schools, patrolling neighbourhoods and making us safer.

Question 11: What do you think are the major issues for the ward of Charleswood-Tuxedo?

Community Safety, and community infrastructure. I will work with whoever is elected as mayor, and my colleagues in other wards to ensure that Charleswood will neither be taken for granted, or a roadblock to development. Charleswood will get a piece of the infrastructure pie, as well as our fair share of police and first responders to ensure the safety of the ward is second to none.

Question 12: Do you support a continued tax freeze or do you believe that taxes should go up to re-build infrastructure and support programs?

The tax freeze has not hurt municipal coffers. Winnipeg’s property values have skyrocketed. I am opposed to any increase in the mill rate.

Question 13: Do you support cuts in the city of Winnipeg budget? Where?

This city’s bureaucracy needs to start trimming waste. As any Charleswood-Tuxedo resident who has gone down to a permitting office will know, the place is a mess. We need to get our shop in order, and fast, so that money is spent on programs that benefit Winnipeg residents, and not the bloated bureaucracy.

Question 14: Do you support increases in the city of Winnipeg budget? Where?

Once we have cut down on waste, I would spend that money, as well as the increased budget from our growing population on fighting community crime and ensuring community safety. The city should ever spend in deficit, but I would fight to ensure that every new dollar is spent on ensuring the safety of my ward.

Question 15: Do you support an increase, decrease or a freeze in the city budget for police officers? Do you believe we need more police officers? If so, would you support a tax increase for it?

We can increase the number of police officers, as well as the budget that is behind them by cutting out wasteful spending, and putting the money where it counts.

Question 16: What is your view on crime in the city of Winnipeg and what can you as councillor do about it?

I trust our city’s police, they are doing the best they can with the resources we are giving them. The chronic underfunding of Winnipeg’s on the ground police is a wrong that must be righted.

Question 17: Do you support rapid bus transit or light rail transit? Do you have any other ideas for rapid transit? Do you believe Charleswood is well served for public transit?

The debate should not be over what is a better form of transportation. What is needed is the federal dollars to get the project done. When it comes to an investment in the community or city, I wont play politics, ill get the job done.

Question 18: Do you believe a city should fund a zoo? If yes or no, please indicate why. Would you support closing or selling the zoo or ending funding of the zoo?

The Winnipeg Zoo is a treasure. The city of Winnipeg can work with the province and non profits to make the zoo a break even venture so that families will be able to
enjoy this asset

Question 19: Do you believe a city should fund arts and culture? If yes or no, indicate why.

Our community centres, cultural clubs and festivals are part of what make Winnipeg such a great place to live. The thousands of Winnipeggers that flock to the fringe festival, folklorama, jazz festival and hundreds of other events in the city are a market-case for why some funding to start new festivals, centres and groups is a valid use of the public dollar. Seed money should be available for cultural and community events to help them become self sufficient, so that our city’s diversity continues to be celebrated.

Question 20: Do you believe the fire department should have an increase, decrease or a freeze in their budget? Would you support a tax increase for the fire department?

Fire fighters and first responders deserve every dollar that they need to keep our city safe. Fire fighters are heroes, and I would vote for every motion before council that provided them with the things they need to keep our city running smoothly, because if my house catches fire, I don’t want the fire department to be a choked off resource. Fire and rescue services are not a political football. Firefighters know where the best places for stations are, what human and capital resources they need. Fire fighters are the only experts when it comes to fighting fires.

Question 21: Do you believe that roads, water and sewer should receive an increase, decrease or freeze in their budget? Would you support a tax increase for roads, water and sewer?

Winnipeg’s pothole problem is one that needs to be fixed. That being said, throwing money at a problem isn’t always the answer. I would support research and technology improvements to our roads. Russian infrastructure is under similar pressures and fares much better in the winters. It is time we look at why Winnipeg roads are being built on the cheap, and start building them to last.

Question 22: Do you support the present hotel tax?

The city’s tourism industry is incredibly important and if I was presented with a case that sold me that this tax was hurting our tourism industry, i would consider voting against it. However when I travel, Winnipeg hotels seem to be in line or more reasonable with other major cities, and currently I do not believe this tax is affecting our competiveness.

Question 23: Would you support the city of Winnipeg having a sales tax in addition to property tax?

I would never vote for a new tax without removing or reducing an old one. I would support a sales tax only if an equal amount was being taken off of property taxes. I believe that property taxes unfairly target seniors and home owners, and believe that a sales tax would be more fair.

Question 24: Do you think Winnipeg should have a tax cut? If yes or no, explain why?

The provincial and federal government need to give tax relief. The city of Winnipeg provides many of the basic services that people count on. I believe that tax relief has to come from the other levels of government at this time.

Question 25: Do you believe that the present city of Winnipeg budget is adequate for the city of Winnipeg? If yes or no, explain why.

The city’s budget isn’t the problem, its the way the money is used. I would not cut the city budget, but I would cut the city’s waste, and use that money for essential services, such as police.

Question 25: Should education be funded through property tax or through general funds from the province?

This is a question you should ask your school trustee and provincial MLA.

Question 26: Do you support term limits? Will you be serving a term limit even if there are no rules in place? How long will you serve?

We have term limits, they are called elections. I trust the residents of charleswood-tuxedo to decide who they want to serve them, and do not believe it is my place to limit their freedom to choose.

Question 26: Do you think housing should be allowed at The Forks? If yes or no, explain why.

The forks is an incredible development, high-rise condo development at the forks will serve to bring more people downtown, a key component in our downtown revitalization.

Question 27: What changes (if any) should be done to upkeep our city parks and recreation programs?

A strong community policing program will help make out parks safer, and therefore more utilized asset.

Question 28: What do hope to see in the Kapyong Barracks along Kenaston?

This is a key development area for Winnipeg. This housing needs to be turned over to the provincial government for development.

Question 29: Do you support a moratorium on development on old railway lines in favour of rapid transit and bike corridors?

This city needs a vibrant network of rapid transit and trails; the redevelopment of abandoned land is always a good thing.

Question 30: Do you support widening Kenaston to three lanes in each direction?

I absolutely do. With the upcoming IKEA there is going to be more traffic. Hundreds of charleswood-tuxedo resident’s use this corridor, and I believe they will support this project.

Question 31: Do you support the creation of service roads for any further shopping developments?

Shopping development send up providing the city with a permanent source of revenue for future development. We get great bang for our buck with a service road.

Question 32: What is your view on city taxes going to build a stadium for the Blue Bombers and Manitoba Bison?

The city got a great deal on the blue bombers stadium. We should thank the province on this one. I wouldn’t have supported a huge investment using city dollars, but the city’s investment in this project was reasonable.

Question 33: What is your view of a possible call for taxpayer help to expand the MTS Centre? Would you support it?

I support downtown revitalization. More events at the MTS is going to drive more growth in our downtown.

Question 34: What do you believe the city should do to ensure a vital downtown? Do you believe it is important as a councillor to support it?

My first goal as councillor is to fight for investments in my ward. My second goal as council is to take my constituents concerns and bring them to city hall.

Question 35: Do you believe that some city service should be privatized? What services (if any) would be candidates for it?


There is a medium ground. Corporate sponsorships, corporate partnerships and corporate opportunity all serve to get the city taxpayers more bang for their buck. That being said, if your water starts running brown would you rather be knocking on the door of your councillor, who needs you to elect him, or a corporate entity. Public corporations give the public the right to service that doesn’t exist in any other model.

Fun Questions for the candidates for Charleswood-Tuxedo Ward

Question 1: What is your favourite form of recreation?

I love to bike. This city has done great things expanding our bike trails, and biking has never been safer, but there is more to do.

Question 2: Do you have any hobbies?

As a professional chef, people assume I do a lot of cooking. I’m actually more of a builder.

Question 3: Do you support any charities?

I support united way and welcome place, a charity to assist new immigrants settle into Canada.

Question 4: What is your favourite book(s)?

The folklorama tour guide gets to be a pretty dog eared piece of paper right around this time of year.

Question 5: What is your favourite movie(s)?

All drama and family movies.

Question 6: What is your favourite TV show(s)?

I watch the news every night, but other than I keep the television on child friendly programming, and no one running for councillor is going to admit that their most frequented show is blues clues.

Question 7: What is your favourite sport(s)?

I support the bombers, and go to games whenever I can, I also love hockey.

Question 8: Who is the most important person(s) in your life?

My children

Question 9: What is the last sporting event in Winnipeg that you attended?

Baseball at the Goldeyes stadium.

Question 10: What is the last artistic event that you have attended in Winnipeg?

(i.e.: Manitoba Theatre Centre, Rainbow Stage, Plug-in Gallery)
folklorama

Question 11: What is your favourite type of music?

Country music

Question 12: Who is your favourite musician(s)?

Trisha Yearwood

Question 13: Who is your favourite author(s)?

Gordon Sinclair

Question 14: What is the mode of transportation you use daily?

Well being as Tuxedo residents will know, our options are limited. I drive to work every day.

Question 15: Who is the person you admire most outside of your family?

Silvano Platter

Question 16: What school did you graduate from?

Red river College

Question 17: What was the first job you ever had?

Operator of laser machine (cutting steel) at Buhler.

Question 18: What was your dream job growing up?

I always wanted to own my own business. I am so grateful to have been able to achieve that goal.

Question 19: What countries have you visited?

Germany, England, Netherlands, Italy, France

Question 20: Do you have a cottage?

I have tent for camping

Question 21: Do you have a second winter home?

As cold as Winnipeg gets, I’m here with the rest of you.

Question 22: Where was your last holiday and how long were you away for?

It was in England for two weeks.

Question 23: What would be your dream holiday destination?

Greek

Question 24: What languages do you speak?

I speak English

Question 25: What is your favourite dessert?

Ferreira Rocha

Question 26: What is your favourite food?

Seafood specially pickerel

Question 27: What is your favourite restaurant?

Cosmos restaurant at 5114 Roblin BLVD

Question 28: What radio stations do you listen to?

CJOB, Bob99 and Qx104.


Question 29: What local or national newscasts do you watch on TV?

CBC news and CNN

Question 30: What provincial politician do you admire the most?

MLA of Tuxedo Heather Stefanson for her great community work.

Question 31: What federal politician do you admire the most?

Justin Trudeau for bringing energy to federal politics again.

Question 32: Who in history would you want to have dinner with if you were to get the chance?

Sir John A Macdonald.

Question 33: Who is your secret celebrity crush?

Shania Twain

Question 34: Which are better dogs or cats?

Well dogs are loyal, which I appreciate. Loyalty is a two way street.

Question 35: What is your favourite season of the year?

Summer



myspace hit counter

Staunching the flow

Except for crazed warmongers and those who profit from the war system, no one wants war, nor bloody attack. Thus, reason would suggest, we who wish to work toward a mitigation of such anthropogenic catastrophes would do well to pay attention to the research that suggests ways to manage conflict without bloodshed.

A popular idea is to arm one's self, one's protectors, and one's nation to the teeth, on the theory that doing so is the path to deterrence. The reasoning is that knowing that our enemies know that attacking us is going to lead to their own annhilation prevents them from doing so.

Fair enough. What if, however, there are other methods of deterrence, of assuring damage that doesn't kill or wound or even starve others? Would that also serve as a deterrent to any threatening adversary? What does the research tell us about this?

One interesting 2006 study by Jacob Bercovitch (New Zealand professor of International Relations) and Robert Trappl (head of the Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Vienna) concludes that conflicts that are shorter, that haven't yet produced many fatalities, and that are between parties of comparable power levels are far more amenable to mediation, that is, to nonviolent management.

This suggests that when we see conflict brewing, that is the time to jump in to promote discussion, before the positions are set in concrete. For many developing conflicts, this could lead to a good outcome. A sort of global conflict antennae detection system has been proposed since at least 1957, when it was theorized in the premier issue of the Journal of Conflict Resolution. Since we are so busy funding war and preparation for war, humanity has not gotten around to this yet, even though it would likely save enormous amounts of money and lives.

This research also would say that we might ask about the definition of power. If, for instance, an adversary were told that certain behaviors would result in the leadership of that party (nation, nation-state, insurgency, armed challenger group) being hurt--not physically, but in loss of income, resources, influence, ability to travel, possibly even freedom--that might change the power equation enough to produce a nonviolent negotiated path to better management of the conflict. In other words, threatening the leadership of, say, a genocidal government with incarceration, might work to slow and stop the genocide (unless, as in the example of Darfur, the African Union called for the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants against Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir to be suspended while the continental body carries out a probe into alleged genocide in Darfur--thus dramatically ending the credibility of the International Criminal Court in Africa).

Or, in the case of deterring invasion, if the people of, say, the US were highly trained and committed to mass and virtually total noncooperation with any potential invading and occupying power, that would provide an interesting deterrent. Of course, for that threat to be effective, it would need to be credible, and our fat lifestyle and our civil society's sad history of failure to rise to the occasion (e.g. allowing George W. Bush and the US Supreme Court to blatantly steal the 2000 election) would make any potential invader scoff at such a threat. We would need to change our American way of life before that threat would hold any power.

But theoretically, we have all that power in civil society. Historically, we've seen the hints of that when civil society in South Africa decided to simply withhold cooperation from the apartheid government. As long as they were using insurgent violence with Umkonto we Siswe (the armed wing of the African National Congress, literally the Spear of the Nation), they were losing, the leaders (e.g. Nelson Mandela) stayed in prison, and the white minority ruled. When civil society stopped cooperating, apartheid crumbled. The same was true in India, when Gandhi called for hartal (cessation of societal activity, effectively a general strike) first in spring of 1919, and the British were terrified. Only when his own Indians committed violence did Gandhi call off the hartal. This was also the period when labor across the world was beginning to grasp that power and led to the formation of unions and collective bargaining. Many other examples, from Solidarity in Poland to the slowdowns in Chile as Pinochet's power was confronted, show that this power of withholding is power that might be organized for a substitute military.

Generating more research and making the real world examples manifest is a dual agenda for those who would like to see war begin to evaporate as a method of conflict management. The costs of war are so massive that no one has ever calculated them--the human lives, the national treasure, the environment, the reduction in all social services, the net loss of employment. Surely it's time to generate serious alternatives.

References
Bercovitch, J. and Trappl, R. (2006). Machine learning methods for better understanding, resolving, and preventing international conflict. In R. Trappl (Ed.) Programming for peace: Computer-aided methods for international conflict resolution and prevention. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. (Cited in Druckman, Daniel (2009). Doing conflict research through a multi-method lens. In Bercovitch, Jacob; Kremenyuk, Victor; & Zartman, I. William (Eds.). The Sage handbook of conflict. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. p.p. 119-142, p. 129).

Manitoba Hydro

Manitoba Hydro's proposed line.

Manitoba Hydro has produced their choice for route for the proposed hydro line down the west side of the province.

A few NDP blogs have indicated that this is now the justification for going down the west side. It isn't. Manitoba Hydro indicated very early on their choice at the beginning was to build down the east side of the province.

The NDP government said that this wasn't going to happen so Hydro made its proposals for the west side. Much of this was motivated by the desire to get a UNESCO designation for the site. The problem is that the drive to produce a road through the area seems contrary to keeping the location pristine.

My guess is that the issue of the roads is going to be an issue as they ramp up in construction. If a road is permissible, why not the hydro line? Moreover, once the permanent road is built, it is easy to see eastern communities requesting hydro lines to connect to their now diesel fueled electric and heat buildings. What will the NDP government say to that? No?

The expense of the line will not go away. There will be some heated battles all along the private land to get right of ways.

The election will fought and won in Winnipeg. If people in Winnipeg think that the hydro line is on the west side for politics despite the cost, it will be hard for many to support it. And if people who are environmentalists think that the government is pushing a road that they believe is just as bad or worse, there will be a sense of betrayal for many who might have voted for them in the next election.



myspace hit counter

Nested truths, cascading problems

"House Approves Money for Wars, but Rift Deepens, By ELISABETH BUMILLER and CARL HULSE, Published: July 27, 2010
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives agreed on Tuesday to provide $59 billion to continue financing America’s two wars, but the vote showed deepening divisions and anxiety among Democrats over the course of the nearly nine-year-old conflict in Afghanistan."
--New York Times, 28 2010

We see at least five basic truths emerging from the Afiascostan situation.

One, Barack Obama baldly lied to us when he promised in his campaign that the days of funding wars via supplemental spending bills--acting as though an ongoing war were suddenly an unpredictable emergency--those days were done. Just elect me, he promised, and you'll never see that bait-and-switch again. We got gamed. This supplemental was voted in at his personal request.

Two, the war president and his pushbutton Senate and House war allies are committed to absolutely draining the American taxpayer of all lootable funds. All the idiot lights on the American societal dashboard are flashing red--unemployment is worsening, housing is sliding, BP has befouled the Gulf of Mexico for the next century, militarism has penetrated even the grade schools of our coarsening country with Starbase, we are wondering where our next energy meal is coming from--and yet these federal elected 'leaders' have just conspired to continue this incredible self-inflicted hemorrhage.

Three, this H.R. 4899 desanguination of both your paycheck and the social services available to you and yours is done despite a nearly Ellsbergian whistleblow on the war with the Wikileaks release of 91,000 documents that conclusively prove American war crimes in the conduct of the war. This corpus of open secret disclosures effectively shows yet again that all the US military is ultimately doing there is aiding al-Qa'ida and Taliban and other Islamist recruiting around the world.

Four, applying one bit of commonsense and human decency to this would result in the US ending its armed occupation of Afghanistan and launching a far less expensive rebuilding program via the UN. This would serve to dry up motivation to shoot, bomb, kidnap, stab and otherwise attack Americans. This cannot be done at gunpoint. Rebuilding America's image will be done by unarmed and unguarded people giving help, never by armed troops. We will do this with nonviolence--gasp!--or it will never be done. Never.

Five, the Republicans will fight tooth and nail against every single thing Obama might try to do for people on the ground. Their unity is mindlessly complete, forming a solid phalanx across access to help for the unemployed, the sick, those needing education, and simple household need for poor people. But give them a chance to vote more money for war and the bipartisan roses suddenly bloom, reddened by the blood of war victims on all sides and by the lifesblood of our culture and society. The Ds and Rs probably couldn't agree on whether the sun rises in the east, but they can find solidarity in war spending. A Reuters-Ipsos poll this week shows the Democrats-in-the-headlights will pay heavily for this next November 2.

At some point the US will downsize,

draw in its horns from its military forward power projection wars and bases, and assume a more normal stature amongst the world nations. The only question is, will the US be worth saving at that point or will we continue this literal insanity straight over the cliff? All signals are flashing, the klaxons are blaring, and somehow the country seems to be looking only at their entertainment centers for the next chapter in the Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton NewsShow. Militarism and the addiction to amusement while wearing Bad News Cancellation Headphones is our recipe for a long, slow, painful demise. We wonder if and when more might notice?

In memoriam: Sam Day, public peace intellectual

“One of my neighbors at the Minnehaha County Jail was an inmate in his thirties named Jeff, who made his living for a while as a rodeo clown.…taunting bulls is a habit not easily broken. Jeff exhibited it again on the afternoon of Monday, July 17, when he and I were ordered out of Cellblock C and told to get ready for the federal prison airlift. ‘Gee, that’s a good-looking suit,’ said Jeff, pleasantly, poking fun at the grim-faced marshal who approached him with handcuffs and waist chain. ‘Did they have one in your size?’”
—Sam Day, Jr., Crossing the line: From editor to activist to inmate—a writer’s journey, p. 216

Samuel H. Day, Jr. was a journalist who changed the practice from objective observer to conscientious participant. Sam went from reporting the news to making the news—especially since he found that the news was not acceptable.

Sam began his journalist’s career in Idaho, working for a newspaper. He became radicalized around the nuclear issue as uranium mining, open-air nuclear bomb testing, and radioactive waste forced everyone in the American West to think about it. Eventually, he took over the editorial reins at the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, a scholarly publication devoted to giving voice to the scientists who had been muzzled during the Manhattan Project and subsequent government employ. When that no longer was radical enough for Sam’s escalating concern about the imminent dangers of radiological weaponry and war in general, Sam took on the job of Managing Editor for The Progressive, the left-wing challenger periodical. While there, Sam helped design a story by Howard Morland on making an atomic bomb from publicly available information. The federal government attempted prior restraint and sent agents to visit Sam and Erwin Knoll, the Editor-in-Chief. Ultimately, Sam and the Progressive won that battle, but not before the fed agents had issued veiled threats of capital punishment, if not summary execution, if the story ran. “They made that threat in the elevator,” Sam told me. “They said, ‘Think about that,’ so we just thought about that—and decided to fight them.”(Knoll, Day, Morland, 1979)

Finally, when the Progressive didn’t seem activist enough to Sam, he resigned and began working with Nukewatch, eventually retiring from that activist organization to begin a serious second career as an activist inmate. Sam told me that he wanted everyone who retired to take up a criminal career for peace. As a debilitating disease slowly robbed him of his sight, turning him completely blind finally, Sam only grew more wry and ironic. Every time I saw him he’d have a different journalist joke or anecdote to tell me. My favorite was:
The young eager reporter was sent by his hardbitten old editor to cover the Johnstown flood. His first story sent via the wire began, “God looked down with great sorrow upon the destruction wrought by this terrible flood…” and the editor wired right back, “Forget flood. Interview God.”(Sam wants to know how she got in his memorial!)

Sam was the best pitchman at any big peace event. He would appear on stage, fumbling around, talking about one or two of the people involved in the organization for which he was appealing to the audience. He’d praise them, remark on how important their work was, and then he’d say that of course they could accomplish so much more with just a few more resources. Then he’d say that he’s really been just thinking about them and how valuable their work is, so that, compared to that, most other things seemed less important. “I don’t have much—I’m just an old retired editor—so, let’s see” and he’d put his hand in his pocket, feeling around, “Oh, here, I have $13. Well, I can give them $3—no, wait, their work is so valuable, I’d better make it the $10 bill and I’ll get by on the $3…but that won’t be enough! Heck! I want them to have it all!” And he’d put it all in the hat. “Well, wait a minute,” he’d say, “I have a bus token. It’s my ride home…but darn it, their work is so vital—here, let me put my bus token in there too!” And then he’d mutter a little. “All I have left is my magnifying glass—hey! Maybe they can use that too! Here!” And he’d put it in the hat, turning his pockets inside out. “Give as much as you can!” he’d shout. “Give more than you can!” At every big peace event, the organizer knew who to ask when it came time to pass the hat.

Sam Day, Jr. was born October 3, 1926, and crossed over January 26, 2001 at age 74. He was chair of the US Campaign to Free Mordecai Vanunu, the Israeli whistleblower who has served so many years in Israeli prison. He worked a great deal with Jack and Felice Cohen-Joppa, who founded The Nuclear Resister, a newsletter dedicated to the news and views of nonviolent civil resisters to militarism. Because he was born in apartheid South Africa, he had a special affinity for that country and for its unique decision to unbuild its nuclear arsenal—a decision made in secret by the apartheid regime when it knew its days were numbered. Sam wrote brilliant pieces on these issues that few would cover well and was so credible that we were very reassured whenever he would categorically state something because he’d invariably be proven correct.

When Donna Howard and I got out of prison for our Plowshares act of Earth Day, 1996, we were invited to a gala party at Anathoth Community Farm, where at least 100 friends were crowded into the main house. We were still wearing the electronic ankle bracelets so the state could track our whereabouts. We made our way through the crowd to Sam, who was lost in conversation with Barb Kass. When we got to Sam, Donna, who has a quiet voice, said, “Hi, Sam.” Blind by then, Sam looked up and said, “Donna? Is that you, Donna? Come here. I hear you have to wear one of those ankle bracelets. Let me see it.” Donna held up her foot and Sam found her knee and began to run his hands down her calf, coming at last to the plastic band with the little box. He lifted it to his mouth, suddenly, startling Donna and everyone, and began to say in a loud voice, “Sheriff? Come in, Sheriff! I’ve got them under surveillance, so don’t worry! Expect my report! Over and out!” And let her foot go.

It was vintage Sam Day, a man who didn’t hesitate to interpose in violent situations, apparently intuiting that no one would gain a thing from roughing him up. Prison stories about Sam putting himself in harms way for some inmate being bullied by a guard or by another inmate solidified his reputation amongst those who watched and participated in nonviolent civil resistance; Sam was a great soul in all respects, a public peace scholar from the world of journalism.

For more on this great man, see his memorial website.

References

Day, Jr., Samuel H. (1991). Crossing the line: From editor to activist to inmate—a writer’s journey. Baltimore MD: Fortkamp Publishing.

Store and Restaurant Wish List

Victoria Secret.



Marshalls store coming to Canada soon.

The Free Press once did a wish list of stores and restaurants that Winnipeggers wanted to see in the city. Some of those wishes have been fulfilled, some have not. And in the last while, we have lost a few stores that people liked including the Disney store and Linens and Things.

In recent weeks, we have heard that several U.S. and international stores are looking to build in Canada or expand their locations in Canada. The latest is Marshalls, a fashion retailer.

They are not the only retailers indicating that they are considering coming to Canada. Also planning to build in Canada are Target, Juicy Couture and Victoria Secret.

In recent months, Winnipeggers were teased by the story that H&M was coming to Winnipeg. The story proved premature.

Lowe's has announced expansion into every western province except Manitoba.

TGI FRidays opens at the airport this year.

I have no idea what people in Winnipeg want today but I will list a number of stores and restaurants and will include any others people throw out there.

Restaurants:

Outback (already in Alberta and in Ontario although many closed in that province in 2009)
Hard Rock Cafe (in some Canadian provinces)
Chili's (already in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta)
Rainforest Cafe (already in Ontario)
Ruby Tuesday (already in Ontario)
Sweet Tomatoes

Stores:

Target
Lowe's (in Ontario and soon to be every western province but Manitoba)
Victoria Secret
Juicy Couture
Crate and Barrel
J Crew
Brooks Brothers

I will add more stores and restaurants over the next days.



myspace hit counter

Tuxedo Park Shopping Centre Part 3

It will be a sad day for some when Salisbury House restaurant closes at the Tuxedo Park Shopping Centre.

I have eaten there many times in the past but so often in recent years. The restaurant has been at its Tuxedo location for 27 years. I can imagine that some people are upset and with the closure, there will be very little in the way of eating establishments aside from Starbucks.

By all accounts it is a busy place but it wasn't enough to appeal to the managers of the mall who probably thought that a better class of clientele with a faster turnover of parking spaces lay in choosing the the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission's Liquor Mart expansion into the restaurant's space.

The 2,613-square-foot space will now be renovated into a full size Liquor Mart.

I can remember the petition several years ago that the MLCC undertook to get approved for a location at Tuxedo. There were some initial reservations. It looks as if those concerns have been swept aside in the last few years.

NewWest Enterprise Property Group has been upgrading the mall for some time. The Mac's store was discarded some time ago and now it will be followed by the Sal's in December.

The mall is filled to the rafters so there isn't a spot elsewhere that Sal's could move to. There is probably a need for place like Sal's in the River Heights/Tuxedo/Charleswood area given the seniors in the area but there is no spaces available until Charleswood. Senior's in Charleswood have been using the McDonald's at the Charleswood Shopping Centre Plaza for some time as a gathering spot.

It is possible that a Sal's could succeed at the Charleswood mall if the owner's of Sal's were willing to make that investment. My suggestion would be a restaurant in the parking lot.

Edit: Forgot to add that Salisbury House is building a 150 seat store in the former location of Longhorn's Texas Steakhouse (the Branigan's before that) on Leila Street in Garden City. It will also serve as their new headquarters as they move from St. James.



myspace hit counter

Who are the public peace intellectuals?

Three exemplars of what it means to be an engaged public peace intellectual:

Winslow Myers is a retired schoolteacher who has found a new career as a volunteer. He is an active public peace intellectual living in Jamaica Plain, MA, whose commonsense, retired-teacher writing style resonates well with mainstream American editors. He wrote Beyond war, a small book that has been used by many discussion groups for several years, primarily in churches and local peace groups in the US. Since his writing is so accessible to mainstream Americans, his message that we are going to have to end war if we hope to survive and progress as a country and as a species seems eminently sensible and like a doable public duty. In his quiet everyday fashion, Myers has become an outstandingly effective public peace intellectual. To learn more: http://beyondwar.ning.com/.

Russell Vandenbroucke, Professor and Chair of Theatre Arts at the University of Louisville, is the author of Atomic Bombers, a play broadcast on public radio to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hiroshima. Dr. Vandenbroucke became a Conscientious Objector to war during his military service in the 1960s and has been exploring the questions ever since. His public expressions of his peace analysis are often in the plays he writes, and his op-ed writing is often related to those topics about which he’s done particularly strong research, including the myths and facts surrounding the decision to bomb two cities full of civilians with the new weapon of mass destruction, atomic bombs, at the end of World War II. He debunks the myths that it helped end the war, that it saved any lives, and that is was a necessary evil. Indeed, since the US had full knowledge that Emperor Hirohito had already decided to intervene to stop the war and to surrender without any significant conditions, that bombing was simply evil and unnecessary. It is long past time for America to stop thinking that an atomic bomb saved any American lives; indeed, since the intercepted cable announcing Hirohito’s decision was from 12 July 1945, the decision to delay seeking peace until after the use of the atomic bombs actually cost American lives.

Lawrence S. Wittner is a historian with the State University of New York at Albany. He is one of the most published and prolific public peace intellectuals in US history. His impeccable credentials and professorial writing style make him both unassailable and widely published. Never shrill nor hyperbolic, he demonstrates the discipline to calmly explain academic research and explicate problems in a way that mainstream media editors find appealing and their readers appreciate. Wittner has arguably done more to straighten out historical misperceptions about peace movements, nuclear weapons issues and the effects of peaceful struggle than anyone. His ‘just the facts, Ma’am’ approach is manifestly credible and therefore acceptable, even when his message is quite opposed to the entire war system.

There are more dedicated public peace scholars and we hope we see many more undertake this work.

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport Part 5

The Grand Hotel to be built in 2012.



The future Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport



Arrivals area of Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport



Departures level of new terminal at Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport

I've been to the airport a few times in the last months and each time there have seen the progress on the creating the new terminal. It won't be long before building opens to the general public.

The above pictures show what the layout and amenities will be for each floor.

I remember a time when I found the old terminal to be old fashioned with its modern art walls and limestone walls and floors. I still think the art takes getting used to but I've found the building is functional and efficient and the second floor retailing is fairly good. Overall though, given the needs of security and in the interests of comfort, the airport has been adequate although not particularly flashy or filled with some of the extras that some other airports have.

Over the last few years, a number of hotels have been constructed in the airport area to service as well as complement the Polo Park shopping district. The Sandman Hotel took an awful long time to build but came into service in 2007. It also came with Winnipeg's first CHOP restaurant and a return of Denny's to the city. The hotel sits along Sargent Avenue which to this day still have above ground hydro lines which mar the sight-lines of the street. One wonders why the city couldn't get developers like Rona, Superstore and others over the years to help pay to bury the lines.

I won't review hotels here. Everyone has different price points and looks for different amenities and service can be an issue so I will refrain from commenting. The only thing I will say is that newspapers stories and anecdotal evidence suggests that airports are often a target for car break-ins or thieves. The Sandman has been no different on this count.

The Greenwood Inn and Suites just north of the Sandman on Wellington has the benefit of being on the street that leads to the main entrance of the airport. It was built in 2000 and is part of a trend to place more suite hotels in the city for those who might be in the city for a longer stay and might require additional room services.

Also built in 2000 was the Four Points by Sheraton at the airport. It is presently the only hotel on airport grounds and is currently being expanded to service the new terminal.

All of the current construction at the airport has triggered construction of three more hotels in the area. The first is the MainStay Suites on Route 90 close to Sargent Avenue. It is scheduled to open in October. Construction has also begun on Marriot Fairfield Inn on Ellice Avenue. I haven't seen where this one is actually located but will check it out next time in the area.

The last hotel to be built is the Grand Hotel for 2012. This is supposed to be a boutique hotel of the highest level. The picture of what it is to look like appears above.

One hotel that still seems to be standing is the former Howard Johnson. It still has Howard Johnson signage on it. Hard to tell what is happening there.

The three hotels being built will join the 12 already in the airport/Polo Park area.



myspace hit counter

The social norm is uninformed

(Danny Schechter and a friend)
Those who work on the inside of television and have a conscience that first pulls them toward a peace analysis and then seems to require them to act, sometimes use their considerable creative talents to first critique the medium in which they work, and then they try to fix it. Danny Schecter began his career in radio in Boston and moved to network television, even as he critiqued that media, which did little for his career in corporate media. He has long promoted getting the story that gives context to a peace analysis and points out the decontextualizing nature of shrinking news, celebrity fawning and other components of what another mainstream media creative employee challenged at the end of the 20th century.

In 1997, screenwriter Larry Gelbart created Weapons of Mass Distraction, a TV drama aimed at revealing to Americans why they seemed so generally clueless (Schechter, 1999, p. 42). His spot-on title has been used in many ways by many commentators ever since.

As we discuss current events in my classes I often will hear variants of “I am not up to speed on all this because I just haven’t been watching much TV lately.” That is a show stopper for me. I explain to students that Danny Schechter wrote a good book about this called “The more you watch the less you know”. He stresses in the book that in fact those who consume a great deal of television are more ignorant about current events, and the path to staying better informed is a combination of eclectic reading, for the most part, and some judicious use of broadcast media like radio or television, just to get the sounds and images. The structure of television, however, precludes staying well informed about our political world domestically and globally. The content just isn’t there.

In North Korea, Schechter notes, every house has a government radio that plays government news. That is not mysterious or confusing; everyone knows they only get one point of view. In the US, sadly, there is so much choice of fluff that we seem to believe in the old notion that the marketplace will compete to bring us the best information in order to help us in our efforts to be a well informed citizenry in our robust democracy. But when the network anchors and reporters compete to see how fast they can sport American flag pins and other nationalistic emblems, and when all the assumptions revolve around a militarized defense of US national interests as defined by corporate interests—What’s good for General Bullmoose is good for the USA—then we can begin to see how radically uninformed we actually are. I teach about 150 students each term and for every one of them who comes to my class well grounded and rounded in a diversity of media so that they have a good general working knowledge of current affairs (not the current affairs of Jennifer Aniston or Justin Timberlake, but of politically meaningful events and histories), there are probably 25 who could not pick Cesar Chavez out of a list of names of soccer players nor identify Aung San Suu Kyi. They have no idea what is going on in the Middle East except that Iraq sucks, as they often have family members in the military. The history of Israel Palestine is a cipher to them and they think of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a man who wanted little black children to play with little white children.

I sigh and start from zero every term, knowing that in our two-working parent world the electronic media have helped raise most of these young adults and that they are truly corporatized and mediated. My best hope is their native intelligence, which is often far smarter than mine, and I hope they are curious, the two factors that will bring them up to speed the fastest. In my ten weeks with them, they are exposed to another world, and it’s very counterintuitive at first. Nonviolence? No historical references except maybe naïve hippies in bell bottoms, dancing around with flowers while the real world blasted away in the background. Poverty? Well, there’s always the lottery. Unemployment as a function of corporate control of the workforce? Never heard of it. Islam? Yikes!

Most young Americans never have a single teacher who will expose them to this body of knowledge and methods of seeking more. In public high schools, any such efforts by the millions of great teachers is complained about by some rightwing parent and quashed. Our national treasury is so devoted to militarism that we teach to the tests, since scarce funding is allocated on that basis. The tests will not measure a student’s knowledge of how to deescalate conflict, how to seek peace, or how to mediate disagreement. Like a massively sophisticated North Korean system, our educational and media systems feed directly into the maw of the war system.
So those who don’t like that have a long struggle ahead. We hope you join.

References
Schechter, D. (1999). The more you watch the less you know: News wars, [sub]merged hopes, media adventures. New York: Seven Stories Press.

Force multiplier

(Ardeth Platte, Carol Gilbert, Jackie Hudson, Dominican nuns who did direct disarmament Plowshares at a nuclear missile in Colorado, 6 October 2002)
If a nonviolent resister falls in a forest of oppression, will anyone hear?

More to the point, if that forest of oppression does not harbor a species of observer, will that nonviolent resister be effective?

Generally, nonviolent resisters need to regard media as force multipliers in our efforts to exert nonviolent force. Media--both alternative and mainstream--should be managed so that it recruits more numbers, more members of support for the goals of the nonviolent movement.

Personal conversations are the best way to recruit. It is also impractical to attempt to have personal conversations with everyone in order to bring them into a movement--at least and especially at the early stages of any movement. Once a movement is so widespread that it has generated enough volunteers to literally go door-to-door, phone bank to substantive numbers, and head out into public fora to personally meet and discuss with large numbers of the public, then the media has served its recruitment purpose and will function more as a natural help to the mass movement underway. But until that day, media is a field of contest that largely determines who prevails in the overall policy contest to which nonviolent resisters are a party.

The first, easiest, and ongoing commitment is to alternative media. This is how we communicate best amongst ourselves is by creating and using our own newsletters, websites, community radio stations, cable community access television, laptop video production for web distribution, etc. We need to mobilize the mobilizable and alternative media is how we manage it.

The next step--and in any good and vigorous movement the next step comes quickly--is that we need to place some emphasis on recruitment via mainstream media. We never stop using our own alternative media, but we also reach out to mainstream media to begin bringing in new members into our movement and to generate sympathy with and from those who will likely never be a part of our or any movement, but who vote. We need mainstream media or we cannot grow beyond our current numbers to any appreciable degree. Recruiting people one by one when you have small numbers of recruiters is exhausting and takes far more effort per recruit when the cultural wallpaper of mainstream media is ignorant of or hostile toward the views of your movement. The unspoken block to building a movement by ignoring mainstream media is that small numbers look like losers. If you come to my door and urge me to join your movement, one I know nothing about because I only consume mainstream media when I have time to consume any media at all, I will likely not sign on to a campaign I see as marginal and quixotic. But if I've been seeing or reading about your efforts in my media and you call me up or hand me a brochure in the public square, I may be inclined to show up at your next public demonstration for peace, human rights, civil rights, or environmental protection.

If your nonviolent resistance is bold, innovative and involves people who are morally unassailable and thus credible spokespeople for a potential movement, you can literally jumpstart an entire campaign with one direct action. Rosa Parks did this by sitting on a bus. College kids in Nashville did this by sitting at lunch counters. Dan and Phil Berrigan did this by burning draft cards with homemade napalm and again by hammering on a nuclear missile nosecone. This is unusual and involves significant creativity and the volunteer sacrificial actions of people who are above reproach. It can happen and should not be discounted as a possibility, but without innovation and actionists of moral stature who cannot be smeared, it has little chance of success. Is this fair? No, but that's irrelevant.

Some elements of some movements appear satisfied with the comfort of only appealing to their own alternative media, either cynically alienated from the masses to the point where building a movement is seen as impossible, or perhaps they get everything they need from their dysfunctional marginal effort and are not interested so much in changing public policy as in the catharsis of trashing symbols of the policy they hate. When your movement has these strands, regard them as a happy problem. You can work with most of them and protect your own movement from them if you are serious. It takes direct outreach and compassionate creation of shared rules (don't use that terminology with anarchists--shared and co-created norms is far better).

The public is keenly aware of any perception of secrecy and lack of willingness to be accountable for behavior and will either be hostile toward or choose to ignore movements that look like they avoid public reckoning and accountability. Someone who wears a mask and breaks one window is generally regarded as a bad person, a bad actor and as a representative of some group that deserves to lose. On the other hand, Cortright (2009, p. 125-126) notes that Plowshares activists can generate public approval by their open, public accountability, while masked demonstrators alienate most others. We in the Plowshares movement often do many $thousands in damages to weapons, far more damage dollarwise than the masked anarchists do, and yet we are treated fairly well in mainstream media and we help bring in new people to our movements--not often as fellow Plowshares resisters, but as new participants in, say, a public demonstration against a military base, or a class of weapons, or a war.

The military has its force multipliers. Media are the force multipliers of the successful peace and justice movements.
References
Cortright, David. (2009). Gandhi and beyond: Nonviolence for a new political age. (2nd ed.) Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.