Dear Readers, Last month, we had two FCC commisioners here in the SF Bay Area for a public meeting on media diversity and anybody who wanted to speak got two minutes (woo hoo!). There were lots of people who had a lot to say including yours truly. This is what I had to say: Good day to you. My name is Paul Griffin and I am speaking on behalf of the Association of Micro-Power Broadcasters. We are a group of radio and internet broadcasters, both authorized and unauthorized who share information and programs with each other. First of all, let me say it's good to see you here today. We've been waiting a long time for this and it's about time. Frankly, we are disgusted by the highest-bidder-take-all mentality at the FCC and if you are considering more of what you call "media deregulation", we've had quite enough of that, thank you. The FCC has utterly failed in it's mission to protect access to the public airwaves and what we now see is a handful of super-rich corporations owning practically all the media in the USA. For the "crime" of using the airwaves without a license, members of the AMPB have had their doors smashed in, personal property confiscated and guns put to their heads. The less fortunate ones have been subject to house arrest and threatened with huge fines and jail sentences. You can call them pirates or whatever but the fact is, everyone involved in broadcasting has violated an FCC rule at one time or another. We were quite encouraged when we first heard about former Chairman Bill Kanard's plan for a Low Power FM service. Lots of people got in applications right away, but after Congress got done passing their Radio Broadcast Preservation Act, there was very little spectrum left for all the people who wanted to start up a community radio station. Of course the FCC has licensed thousands of repeater stations for high-power broadcasters since then, but that's a separate issue. What we want is a piece of the radio band between 85 and 88 megahertz set aside for micro-power radio only with minimal license fees and technical requirements, but we really don't expect you to ever do anything of the sort. So why don't you just go back to DC, keep pulling down your big government paychecks, and leave us the F#*K ALONE! Thank you!
STATION ALERT FM transmitters will be legal in the UK Dinah Greek, Computeract!ve 23 Nov 2006In two weeks time, it will be legal for people to transmit music to their radios and in-car entertainment systems using FM transmitters. Under current laws, the Wireless and Telegraphy Act of 1949, which was updated in 1998, low power FM transmitters are illegal to use because of the possibility of interference with legitimate broadcasts. However, the range of the transmitters is so short, the makers of these transmitters, which could legally sell them in the UK, have argued that this is quite unlikely to happen in practice. This means that these transmitters UK which wirelessly connect mp3 players to radios and in-car entertainment systems have been on sale, and in use in the UK, for some time. According to Computeractive's research, there have been no prosecutions in the 57 years since the Act was passed. Griffin Technology and its UK distributors have been campaigning to change the law allowing low-power FM transmitters since February 2003. The cause was also taken up by Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Don Foster MP and telecoms regulator Ofcom then agreed to review the law. Now Ofcom has announced that, as of December 8, low-power FM transmitters, will be legal for use in the UK under the new Wireless Telegraphy Regulations 2006. Computer accessories company Kensington, a firm that has waited until this announcement to sell its FM transmitters in the UK so that it did not place users at risk from breaking the law, welcomed the news. Karen Hicks, the company's European product manager for its &lsquoPlay it&rsquo range, told Computeractive that it was a shame it had taken so long for the Government to realise these devices would not pose a problem. "The British public has been denied the opportunity to use an FM transmitter to listen to their own music on their own equipment, due to out-of-date legislation. "It's farcical that the 1949 Wireless Act has the power to stop people from using their own low-powered FM transmitters in 2006. "With radio being the technological success story of the 1940s, the Act was implemented to stop people from using transmitters for pirate broadcasts. However, this is hardly relevant to those who want to listen to their iPod tunes over an FM frequency today." Permalink to this storywww.computeractive.co.uk/2169439
Florida Authorities shut down pirate station The Broward Sheriff's Office on Thursday said they shut down a private radio station operating out of a home in Sunrise. Here's what Mike Jachles, BSO spokesman, said happened after detectives were notified by Christian Radio Station 96.9 that a pirate radio station was interfering with its licensed broadcast signal. Engineers from the Lauderdale Lakes radio station tracked the signal to 2301 NW 60th Ave. in Sunrise and BSO detectives recorded some of the bootleg transmissions. The detectives also said they saw a radio antenna attached to a palm tree in the front yard with a black cable running into the home. A man in the house, Sitho Bains, 41, of Lauderdale Lakes, was seen looking out of a window and was questioned. He signed a consent form and allowed BSO detectives to enter the house and seize his radio equipment. Bains was charged with one count of unauthorized transmission/interference with public radio station, a third-degree felony. He was taken to the Broward Sheriff's Office Main Jail where he posted $1,000 bond.
Veronica/NRG Founder Dies John Anderson Stephen Moss, founder of NRG Kits and the original creator of the Veronica line of gear, died on October 23rd from complications involving ALS/MND (known in the States as Lou Gehrig's Disease). He was first diagnosed in January, and while the prognosis is usually bleak in these cases the disease progressed unusually fast. According to correspondence with NRG staff, the business will continue to operate, but some gear will be discontinued - stuff that only Stephen could make. Further details are unknown at this time. The loss of Stephen Moss is huge for the FM free radio world. Veronica gear was once the gold standard, though what is marketed under that brand name now is not the same quality as what Stephen once made. NRG then assumed that role: price for performance, NRG transmitters were top of the line. I've seen several boxes go through hell and back and perform flawlessly. Let's hope Stephen's legacy lives on in that regard.
Top 25 Censored Stories of 2006 (to read about these under-reported stories, go to:
http://www.projectcensored.org
#1 Bush Administration Moves to Eliminate Open Government #2 Media Coverage Fails on Iraq: Fallujah and the Civilian Death #3 Another Year of Distorted Election Coverage #4 Surveillance Society Quietly Moves In #5 U.S. Uses Tsunami to Military Advantage in Southeast Asia #6 The Real Oil for Food Scam #7 Journalists Face Unprecedented Dangers to Life and Livelihood #8 Iraqi Farmers Threatened By Bremer?s Mandates #9 Iran?s New Oil Trade System Challenges U.S. Currency #10 Mountaintop Removal Threatens Ecosystem and Economy #11 Universal Mental Screening Program Usurps Parental Rights #12 Military in Iraq Contracts Human Rights Violators #13 Rich Countries Fail to Live up to Global Pledges #14 Corporations Win Big on Tort Reform, Justice Suffers #15 Conservative Plan to Override Academic Freedom in the Classroom #16 U.S. Plans for Hemispheric Integration Include Canada #17 U.S. Uses South American Military Bases to Expand Control of the Region #18 Little Known Stock Fraud Could Weaken U.S. Economy #19 Child Wards of the State Used in AIDS Experiments #20 American Indians Sue for Resources; Compensation Provided to Others #21 New Immigration Plan Favors Business Over People #22 Nanotechnology Health Effects Need Scrutiny #23 Plight of Palestinian Child Detainees Highlights Global Problem #24 Ethiopian Indigenous Victims of Corruption #25 Homeland Security Was Designed to Fail
AMPB LINKS ON THE WEB FEMA Trailer Parks are Like Prisons http://chartreuse.wordpress.com/2006/07/27/people-have-no-idea-how-out-of-co ntrol-things-are-down-here/
Gee, would our government really be planning on putting large numbers of people in prison camps? http://www.issuesandalibis.org/campsd.html
Five years later, do we know what happened on 9/11/01? http://www.mediachannel.org/articles/2006/11/16/The_911_Conspiracy.html
Download the Media Policy Action Directory First Edition: 240+ groups that opposed FCC efforts to remove media ownership limits. http://www.mediaactioncenter.org/printdirectory
HP and The Privacy Erosion http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/corp-focus/2006/000255.html
"If you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own" http://www.diymedia.net
Now that the election is over, let's get down to the politicking! http://www.dailykos.com
Michael Tsarion: "2012-The Future Of Mankind " http://www.thelastoutpost.com/site/1133/default.aspx
Stolen Lives and Survivors http://www.myspace.com/isfoundation
The Brandon Corey Story http://www.truthseekertv.com
AMPB RECORD CHART FOR THE WEEK ENDING: 11/18/2006
# TITLE - ARTIST - LABEL 1 THE OUTSIDER DJ SHADOW UNIVERSAL 2 THINK GLOBAL BELLYDANCE WORLD MUSIC NET 3 YELL FIRE MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD ANTI 4 IN THE GRIP OF OFFICIAL TREASON JELLO BIAFRA ALT. TENTACLES 5 M'BEMBA SALIF KEITA DECCA 6 RADIO LATINO VARIOUS ARTISTS PUTUMAYO 7 LA CANTINA LILA DOWNS NARADA 8 THE LONGEST MEOW BOBBY BARE, JR. BLOODSHOT 9 HEALTHY LIFESTYLE LUTAN FYAH VP 10 FAREWELL FERENGISTAN BANCO DE GAIA SIX DEGREES 11 LIVE & DIRECT: INST... ANDREW CAMPBELL YOUNG TREE 12 OFF THE HOOK TOM RIGNEY AND FLAMBEAU PARHELION 13 IBM 1401-A USER'S MANUAL JOHANN HOHANNSSON 4AD 14 RHYTHM OF THE RIVER VARIOUS ARTISTS RIVERBOAT 15 THE ROUGH GUIDE TO YODEL WORLD MUSIC NET 16 LIVING WITH WAR NEIL YOUNG REPRISE 17 FALL OF TROY GUNNAR MADSEN G-SPOT 18 ACOUSTIC AFRICA VARIOUS ARTISTS PUTUMAYO 19 KING AT THE CONTROLS KING JAMMY VP 20 PICK A BIGGER WEAPON THE COUP ANTI 21 COLORBLIND ROBERT RANDOLPH & THE FAMILY BAND WARNER 22 HELL BENT FOR LETTERS BLOODHAG ALT. TENTACLES 23 TSOTSI SOUNDTRACK VARIOUS ARTISTS MILAN 24 GRAVEYARD SHIFT SCOTT H. BIRAM BLOODSHOT 25 OUT OF THE ASHES SHELLEY MORNINGSONG SILVER WAVE 26 INTRODUCING BELA LAKATOS & THE GYPSY YOUTH PROJECT WMN 27 THINK GLOBAL WEST AFRICA WORLD MUSIC NET 28 BASS JIHAD DUB GABRIEL AZRA 29 DIVA LA GRANDE CANDYE KANE RUF 30 COHETES LA FAMILIA PENA-GOVEA MIGUEL GOVEA 31 UNDER THE SKIN LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM REPRISE 32 CHILD OF A KING LUCIANO VP 33 ONE WORLD, MANY CULTURES VARIOUS PUTUMAYO 34 WAR, JOURNALISM... ROBERT FISK ALT. TENTACLES 35 SUPER POP VENEZUELA LOS AMIGOS INVISIBLES GOZADERA 36 THE ROUGH GUIDE TO LATIN-ARABIA WORLD MUSIC NET 37 (SELF TITLED) MOONDOG HONEST JON'S 38 WELCOME TO MY WORLD MIGUEL ROMERO ALAFIA 39 THE ROAD TO ESCONDIDO JJ CALE AND ERIC CLAPTON REPRISE 40 DUB SELECTOR 3 VARIOUS ARTISTS QUANGO
CAPTAIN FRED'S WORLD CRUISE #69 THIS SHOW IS AVAILABLE ON RADIO4ALL.NET AND RADIO.INDYMEDIA.ORG
THE OUTSIDER-DJ SHADOW CALCULER REMIX-SALIF KEITA RECOMPENCE-LUTAN FYAH UH WUH OH-BOBBY BEAR, JR. CIELO EXCARLATA-LOS PINGUOS BASS IS THE PLACE-DUB GABRIEL ALA WARAG IL FOUL-FATME SERHAN MAIN HOON JHOOM JHUMROO-KISHORE KUMAR EL CORRIDO DE MIDSI SANCHEZ-LA FAMILIA PENA-GOVEA TO THE SHORE-BOMBAY DUB ORCHESTRA GOIN' TO TEXAS WHEN I'M THROUGH-WAYNE HANCOCK I AM WAITING-LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM MURO SHAVO KIKI-BELA LAKATOS BANA-FAYA TESS & LOKUA KANZA CROSSING THE PLAINS-GUNNAR MADSEN WORLD GONE CRAZY-SHELLEY MORNINGSONG PEACE TRAIN-LUCIANO LIGHT UP YA LIGHTER-MICHAEL FRANTI THE RESTLESS CONSUMER-NEIL YOUNG LULLABY IN YOUR EYES-BOBBY MARTINI MINORITY-GREEN DAY FCC SONG-THE FAMILY GUY SINGERS
AMPB REPORT ASSOCIATION OF MICRO-POWER BROADCASTERS PMB 22, 2018 SHATTUCK AVE.BERKELEY, CA 94704 (510) 525-2704 E-MAIL: ampb@california.com