MAIN EVENT. A Good Place to Get Started --- a.k.a "Table of Contents"
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MAIN EVENT. A Good Place to Get Started --- a.k.a "Table of Contents" |
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VOX POPULIOur "LETTERS" PageKudos, brickbats, spam, you'll find it all right here. We publish everything that comes to our mailbox. This is where our readers and writers get to talk to each other.
Enjoy!
This is my first time at this website, but thought I would like to respond to G21 editorial. I am currently married to a quadrapeligic, and I am frequently angered by the general publics offhand approach to those confined to wheelchairs. There isn't a day that goes by when I go to a store and I'll notice that the areas reserved for handicap are often filled with shopping carts, cars where people get out of with no apparent difficulty, etc. What I'd like to see is these places reserved for those who have difficulties policed more, and respected more. But I know until the rest of the public is made more aware of these problems, and hopefully starts to care, we will always have those who defiantly ignor there rights.
Absolutely wonderful interview. Damn good questions and sharp answers. Great Work!!
Subject: I Loved this Bit!
"G21: I have the sense that many readers just might go, "Huh?" to your response."
!! Can I hazard a guess that your interview was conducted by email and that your response was a polite reworking of a simple, down to earth, "HUH?" Still, great interview. Good links. Interesting man. I'm off to check out iSyndicate.com
Fliss
You might want to let Mr. Siegel know that Maynard hasn't lived in Vermont for several years, but in Mill Valley, Calif. As for he being "exquisitely beautiful" and "cute than Lolita"--that's his call.
Joy R.
I red your article on: http://www.g21.net/ps23.html and I wander where I can buy the Johnny Polanco cd on the internet? (Most big cd store don't have it in their collection) Please help me out,
Take care,
Small, independent labels sometimes are hard to find, but good luck in your search!
Bob Powers
Subject: Unamerican reacts to the situation at KPFA Radio
Hello everyone.
This is James Squeaky from Unamerican Activities. I know that not all of you (in fact, probably most of you do not) live in the Bay Area. I take some of your time and email space because there is something going on in Berkeley that is so important to the rest of this country's future of free speech and radio that it is crucial that everyone knows about what is going on and get involved, if even in a small way.
KPFA is one of the very few radio stations (and certainly the oldest) in this country that is almost totally listener funded- 90% or something like that. It is owned by a group called Pacifica (originally named for the "Passifist" Conscientious Ojecter Lew Hill, who started the station in 1949. KPFA has a long history of reporting news that other stations would not touch out of fear of offending advertisers or which would thought to be of a dissenting nature-particularly in regards to criticism of The Republican and The Democrat parties. They have featured important broadcasts with Mumia Abu Jamal, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Edward Herman and so many other imporant, but un-popular voices.
In the last six months or so, Pacifica has taken a very conservative turn under their board Chair Mary Frances Berry and executive director Lynn Chadwick. Claiming that they were going to expand the station to include more diversity, have in fact done the opposite, starting with firing KPFA general manager Nicole Sawaya. The firing revealed an utter disregard for the first and most obvious rule of community radio: major policy decisions will be made in consultation with the community. Pacifica management talked to no one beyond its own inner circle before taking this drastic step. A strong, independent minded leader, Sawaya was very much liked by KPFA's staff and the larger community. Her ousting provoked a huge wave of protest from KPFA supporters across Northern California.
Then it got much worse and I'll just point you towards the site http://www.savepacifica.net for all the details, but the firing led to protests among the staff at KPFA which led to last Tuesdays lock out of the staff by armed security hired by Pacifica-with the money that is generously donated by listeners to support a diverse, fair, peaceful and important radio station.
Since then there have been approximentally 100 arrests (just in the last week) of protestors by Berkeley pigs and there doesn't seem to be any sign of resolution in the next couple of days. Pacifica has repeatedly refused mediations and have instead wired an ISDN line so that they could broadcast from Los Angeles, happily the LA affiliate station has refused to cooperate.
It's important to realize that this stretches way beyond a little radio station in Berkeley that has strived to bring together a community for 50 YEARS. It effects all of us as it will surely set a precedent of what is tolerated and what isn't in listener sponsored radio.
Also, on a personal note, the issue hits particularly close to home as one of the three members of Unamerican actually served as an intern at KPFA, where she was met with such strong support and was even given the opportunity to do a segment on "Punk Business" where she interviewed Srini about Unamerican, as well as a few other important people in SF.
The staff of KPFA really needs everyone's support. If you are in the Bay Area, there is lots you can do-check out the website and it'll tell you about it. If you are outside the Bay Area, there are letters to be written, email addresses and phone lines to be jammed. Please contact your local media and make sure that they are covering this important event. Oh, and the phone numbers below are all in the Bay Area-call collect!!
I won't bother you again about this-thanks for listening. If you are interested, then check out the http://www.savepacifica.net and they have an email list and will send you updates of what is going on and how people can help. There is also a petition at http://www.radio4all.org that you can print out and send to the Coalition for Democratic Pacifica-499 Alabama Street #221, SF CA 94110. Also, for some really great articles about what is going on and the history or the eventsUnam, The Guardian did a great amount of coverage this week and their site is www.sfbg.com
Thanks for listening everyone
James Squeaky
 The following is from an email I received from KPFA this morning: UPDATE...AND ACTION SUGGESTIONS! A NOTE ON COMMUNICATIONS: We've been told that a few - probably a very few - among the thousands and thousands of people who've written, e-mailed, FAXed, and telephoned Pacifica board members and others during this crisis have used disrespectful, insulting, sometimes violent language. PLEASE remember that this is not what we're about, this is not in the Pacifica tradition, and it will not advance our cause - quite the contrary. We understand that emotions are high around this outrageous usurpation of power. But please remember that NOONE'S EMOTIONS ARE HIGHER THAN OURS...the locked out staff and outraged community. We are working endlessly to reverse this situation. But we are not helped by inappropriate communication. Thanks again for your participation, your passion, and your cooperation! THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY TO HELP US! 1. Call or write Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean and DEMAND that she endorse and support a special session of the Berkeley City Council. And that she reverse herself and support the resolution sponsored by Councilmembers Donna Spring and Dianne Wooley which askes for: 1)Immediate resumption of live programming on KPFA; 2) Ending the lockout of staff and community; 3) Returning dismissed staff and volunteers; 4)Removing the gag rule; 5) Establishing a process for democratic representation of the local boards to the national governing board; 6) MINIMIZING THE USE OF POLICE! Mayor Shirley Dean
2. Pacifica has reportedly fired spokesperson Elan Fabbri (known to us as "the fabbricator" for her frequent erroneous statements about what's happening) and hired an expensive San Francisco public relations firm, Michael Fineman and Associates, to tell its story. PLEASE CALL MR. FINEMAN AND HIS ASSOCIATES and explain to them who they are representing! And that they are receiving subscribers' money to work for Lynn Chadwick and Mary Frances Berry and AGAINST the interests of free speech, community radio!
Michael Fineman and Associates
3. Despite repeated denials from now departed spokesperson Elan Fabbri that they intended to do so, Pacifica yesterday forced the installation of ISDN telephone lines to KPFA's transmitter. Union installers from Pac Bell, fellow members of CWA 9415, the union that represents the paid staff at KPFA, refused to cross our informational picket line. Instead, a Pac Bell management person, escorted by police, circled around and entered the property. Thanks largely to pressure from supporters like you, the staff and management of KPFK Los Angeles have refused to allow their programming to be broadcast on KPFA. The workers at Pacifica Program Service in Los Angeles have made the same statement. IT IS NOW DISTINCTLY POSSIBLE that Berry and Chadwick will begin broadcasting on KPFA's transmitter, bypassing our building completely. One possible site is Western Public Radio in San Francisco. It is run by Carolyn Van Putten, the first would-be scab recruited by Lynn Chadwick (Van Putten was brought in and was waiting to go on the air to replace Mary Berg or Robbie Osman after Larry Bensky was fired in April, should either invite Bensky on the air. Both Berg and Osman speak out strongly about the matter anyway, and Osman was eventually also fired.) Van Putten, who has no relationship to KPFA, was proposed by Chadwick as a Pacifica national board member at the recent meeting in Washington, but was rejected after the board apparently concluded that her appointment would further anger KPFA supporters. She is a long-time associate of Chadwick's. Western Public Radio is a grant and fee supported training and production facility. Many of the signers of the so-called "diversity coalition" letter last month, which supported Chadwick, are associated with it. The only local scab to cross into KPFA's building since the lockout, Chris Howell, also is associated with WPR. KPFA PROGRAMMING FROM WESTERN PUBLIC RADIO...OR ANY PROGRAMMING DONE BY ANYONE OTHER THAN KPFA STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS FROM KPFA'S BUILDING IS SCAB PROGRAMMING! Also...Western Public Radio shares its space at Ft. Mason San Francisco, with the headquarters of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, which Chadwick formerly headed. Many NFCB stations have strongly protested Berry and Chadwick's actions. Please call Carolyn Van Putten and Western Public Radio...RIGHT AWAY... and DEMAND THAT THEY ISSUE A STATEMENT LIKE THAT OF KPFK AND THE PACIFICA PROGRAM SERVICE...THAT THEY WILL NOT SCAB ON KPFA!
Western Public Radio
James Squeaky
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From Darice C. [No City Provided], USA: