AMPB REPORT #101

Dear Readers,

Since the last dispatch (#100), things have been pretty lively. We’ve seen full-scale revolution in the Middle East, a huge earthquake and sunami in Japan, and the near shut-down of the US government. May you live in interesting times, indeed! On the micro-radio scene, supporters gathered in Boston this month for the National Conference on Media Reform. Chuck Rosina gives us the 411 in this edition. Pirate Cat Radio is a shell of its former self while the founder, “Monkey” has left the area. Read all about it! Here in Berkeley, we have recovered from our saboteur and have resumed 24/7 operations. It’s good to be back! Also, we have the latest about how the iPhone keeps track of everywhere you go. All that and the usual music updates. Thanks to everyone who supports our efforts and we’ll be back with another edition when we have something to say.

-Paul Griffin (for the AMPB)

Media Reform Conference Report-Back

by Chuck Rosina

For 3 days in early April, the bi-annual National Conference on Media Reform came to Boston, MA. It brought thousands of media activists together in one location to share ideas, strategies and organize for the future. Sponsored by Freepress.net, the conference featured an impressive array of speakers, workshops, concurrent sessions, activist booths, book signing, and festivities. The conference opened with a live broadcast of Democracy Now. Amy Goodman was in her glory at the conference, chairing panels, delivering a keynote address on Saturday evening, doing independent media interviews and book signings. That woman never stops. She is an inspiration to behold. One of the bigger problems was figuring out which concurrent sessions to attend. There were an average of 10 concurrent sessions at a time, and I wanted to attend at least half of them. Plus I wanted to go around and talk with various vendors at their booths to get up close on what other activists were doing. It was quite a challenge. There were of course lots of media activists, impossible to meet them all. I met up with Pete Tridish of A-info Radio Project. They host the web site Radio4all.net. It was formed in 1996 by grassroots broadcasters to provide means to share radio programs via the internet. The web site allows for community radio producers from around the world to share content. I have posted 2 of the concurrent sessions in full at this web site.

They are:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/50849

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/50956

Boston is fertile ground for activism, and there were many local groups represented. In fact, there was a local host committee to help plan the event and welcome the out of towners. Jason Pramas is editor and publisher of Open Media Boston, an on-line news weekly. He was also a member of the local host committee, and part of the panel discussion in the concurrent session “Building a Media Reform Network in Boston.”

He said that group consisted of grassroots to public media, and even a member of the straight corporate media in town. Jason was impressed that someone from that realm was honestly interested in media reform.

Samantha Clemens, host of a liberal talk show on a commercial AM station also attended that group.

She had high praises for her colleague, Jeff Santos, who started the concept of liberal commercial AM talk radio, called “Revolution Boston.” It is molded after the now defunct Air America for the local market.

I also talked with friend and media cohort, Linda Pinkow. She hosts the public affairs radio show, “What’s Left” on WMBR from the campus of M.I.T. in Cambridge, MA.

Several thousand people all to talk about Media Reform, was very exciting to her. She quoted a comment from Laura Flanders of Grit TV (on the Free Speech TV Dish Network), at one of the concurrent sessions:

“People come here because they want to meet people who look and sound like us. And indeed there were those sort of people here.” Another local group was the MIT Center for Future Civic Media. Regan St. Pierre, is the Community outreach coordinator. She told me they are a joint venture of the MIT Media Lab and the Department for Comparative Media studies. Their mission is to look at civic media, weather on line or texting, or billboards, any medium that strengthens social bonds. “We’re creating media tools and projects that not only allow people to share info, but to do so in a way to inspire them to act on it as well.” Said St. Pierre. The weekend was about media, technology and Democracy. It was about transforming frustrations with the current media system into a vision and action to create a better one. Thousands of people converged on Boston from different backgrounds and experiences because they all believed that an informed citizenry is essential to Democracy, and that better media is key to advancing that cause.

-Chuck U. Rosina

Independent radio producer, Boston, MA.

STATION ALERT

Pescadero radio station moves on

By Julia Scott and Carina Woudenberg

As fledgling Coastside radio station KPDO prepares to sail through its anniversary, its captain has been replaced by his crew -- and they're not looking back.

Station director and chief visionary Daniel Roberts, aka "Monkey Man," abruptly left town for England back in November to attend to some family problems. He left the station without access to its bank account, and he also left behind a lot of questions about the station's relationship with Pirate Cat Radio. The staff of Pirate Cat was shocked to learn that Roberts had sold the cafe to an investor and "transferred" the Pirate Cat Radio stream to Pescadero Public Radio Service, a foundation that operates KPDO, where Roberts was president of the board of directors. Then he suspended the operations of Pirate Cat. "Rather than setting up a new corporation and organize another board of directors, it was easier and cheaper to merge PCR into PPRS," Roberts said in a recent news release. The volunteer staff of Pirate Cat Radio challenged Roberts' right to merge, transfer or suspend the station, and they formed a breakaway group, called the Pirate Cat Radio Collective, which continues to broadcast the station's signature blend of underground arts coverage, eclectic music, in-your-face politics and live guests in Roberts' absence. When he resurrected KPDO last May -- a defunct frequency with a frail signal -- with his vision of creating a truly local community radio station, he made no secret of his plans to broadcast much of Pirate Cat's musical content on the air at KPDO. KPDO founder Maggie Celeste Worden claims Roberts never effectuated any "transfer." "There's no legal way for KPDO to own Pirate Cat," Worden said. "Pirate Cat has a separate account they pay into. We do not co-mingle funds." Roberts' lawyer, Michael Couzens, said there had been an attempt to combine the two radio operations, but it never transpired. "In my view, that transfer was null and void," he said. Roberts did not reply to an e-mail seeking comment. The station's staff recently took control of its operations in a similar vein to the Pirate Cat Radio Collective, albeit with Roberts' tacit consent. After Roberts signed a waiver, the board of the Pescadero Public Radio Service shifted him to vice president. Worden, who acquired the station's FCC license in 2003, is assuming her original position as president. Shannon Bowman-Sarkisian, a KPDO DJ who has also been operating as station manager in Roberts' absence, is assuming the role of secretary. Catherine Peery, host of the station's weekly "Pescadero Pesos" segment, is now treasurer. The station also opened a new bank account since the old one was solely controlled by Roberts, and they couldn't access it. Now focused firmly on its future, KPDO is planning a major fundraising campaign to coincide with a celebration of its anniversary on May 7. Perry said the station sits comfortably "in the black" on a monthly income of $1,500 -- mostly from local businesses that supply underwriting and $25 in monthly dues from each volunteer DJ. In the long term, Worden would like to raise $25,000 in operating expenses and hire one or two staff members. The station is also working to expand its reach. It is in talks to buy a radio frequency down the coast in Boulder Creek, which could open up the airwaves in Santa Cruz. Worden is holding discussions with the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District about moving KPDO into Pescadero High School, which would allow the station to set up a separate production studio geared toward teaching high school students all aspects of radio. KPDO already has several student DJs as young as 16. Worden would like students from local community colleges to mentor the high school kids. The station will give them a creative outlet, teach them how to write, and instill a sense of pride, she said.

"The vision is to allow the kids who live in a strangely isolated rural environment, in the midst of a major metropolitan area, to recognize they are not isolated as it seems," she said.

iPhone Tracking Only Tip Of Security Iceberg

By Thomas Claburn InformationWeek

Revelations that the iPhone stores data about where users have been on the device and on the computer used to sync the iPhone turn out to be less revelatory than claimed. Alex Levinson, a senior engineer at Katana Forensics and the developer of a leading iOS forensics application, says that the purported discovery put forward at the Where 2.0 conference on Wednesday has been known for months. Levinson himself contributed to a book--iOS Forensic Analysis for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, published in December, 2010--that details the database used to store location data on the iPhone and in iTunes. We spoke with Chris Sather, Product Management for Network Defense at McAfee about McAfee's next generation firewalls that analyze relationships and not protocols. Yet, if the privacy risk presented by the presence of this data on iPhones and in iPhone database backups may be less than the researchers reporting the issue this week have suggested, it's nonetheless prompting concern among regulators and businesspeople. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) has penned a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs seeking clarification on how iPhone location data is handled, why the data is not encrypted, and whether Apple's handling of this data is permissible under the terms of its privacy policy. Congressman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has sent a similar letter to Jobs, asking for an answer by May 12--this despite the fact that Apple already explained its location data policy to Markey in a letter sent last July. And Germany's Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection has expressed interest in clarifications from Apple, according to Reuters. Apple has legal cover for its actions under its iPhone 4 software license agreement, which states, "Apple and its partners and licensees may transmit, collect, maintain, process and use your location data, including the real-time geographic location of your iPhone, and location search queries." Nonetheless, the company is likely to be forced to change its ways and/or provide a more specific explanation for keeping location data in unencrypted form on iPhones and iPhone database backups, if only because maintaining this information about minors may be legally risky. Apple has not responded to requests for comment. Though queries from regulators sound like political opportunism more than anything else, Apple's data storage scheme deserves a closer look. For companies that issue iPhones or iPads to their employees, or that allow employees to use such devices to conduct business, the issue goes beyond Apple's failure to provide specific notification about how and where its software stores unencrypted location data. The issue is that the iPhone, just like other mobile devices, isn't all that secure. For example, security firm Zscaler security researcher Michael Sutton on Thursday revealed that JotNot Scanner Pro, an iOS application, stores passwords for other applications unprotected in the iTunes backup database. In a blog post, Sutton explains, "Unfortunately, the authentication credentials stored for Evernote, Google Docs, Apple's iDisk and any WebDav enabled server are stored in plain text. Therefore, anyone that gained access to this backup file, would then have your username/password for these services." Mobile devices present a unique security challenge, particularly because they are often simultaneously consumer and business devices. It's not an insurmountable challenge, however. Frank Kenney, VP of global strategy for Ipswitch, a maker of network security software, says that his experience with companies that implement iPhones leads him to believe that access to users' location data is pretty well covered when organizations lock down computers carefully.

CAPTAIN FRED’S WORLD CRUISE #101

(download from radio4all.net or archive.org)

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/51367

State Run Radio-Lupe Fiasco

Desencabulada-Luísa Maita

Quick Money-Jahdan Blakkamoore

The Model-Seu Jorge And Almaz

Daddy Loves You-Dead Prez

I want the one I can't have-Janice Whaley

Paddy's Got A Brand New Reel-Black 47

Abstract Relations-Dream Aria

Ahoulaguine Akaline-Bombino

Lágrimas mexicanas-Vinicius Cantuária/Bill Frisell

Creep-Scala & Kolacny Brothers

Esperanza-Salsa Celtica

Ana Maria-Pacifika

Wherever You Are-Steve Krause

Every Day Is Yours To Win-R.E.M.

Detroit City-Macy Blackman & The Mighty Fines

Menina Moça-Dusko Goykovich

The Irish Rover-The High Kings

One Tribe-The Black Eyed Peas

Punky Reggae Party-Bob Marley

RECORD CHART FOR THE WEEK ENDING:4/23/2011

# TITLE - ARTIST - LABEL

1 PUTUMAYO PRESENTS BOSSA NOVA AROUND THE WORLD PUTUMAYO

2 LAGRIMAS MEXICANAS - CANTUARIA/FRISELL EONE MUSIC

3 THE EXCITEMENT EXENE CERVENKA BLOODSHOT

4 LIVE FOREVER BOB MARLEY ISLAND

5 THE SOUND OF SUNSHINE MICHAEL FRANTI BOO BOO WAX

6 THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY LOREENA MCKENNITT QR

7 ALMAZ SEU JORGE AND ALMAZ NOW-AGAIN

8 THE SMITHS PROJECT JANICE WHALEY THE SMITHS PROJECT

9 YEAHWON YEAHWON SHIN ARTISTSHARE

10 WOMAN'S WORLD VARIOUS WOMEN SIX DEGREES

11 PUTUMAYO PRESENTS YOGA VARIOUS ARTISTS PUTUMAYO

12 LERO LERO LUISA MAITA CUMBANCHA

13 SONGS FOR JAPAN VARIOUS ARTISTS UNIVERSAL

14 KISS EACH OTHER CLEAN IRON AND WINE WARNER BROS

15 SUNDOWNER EDDIE SPAGHETTI BLOODSHOT

16 A FUNKY CEILE BLACK 47 BLACK 47 RECORDS

17 LOUD FAST RULES THE STIMULATORS ROIR

18 MEMORY LANE THE HIGH KINGS EMI

19 LIVE LIKE YOU WANNA LIVE GREENSKEEPERS OM

20 SOMETHING GOOD CHARMAINE CLAMOR FREEHAM

21 TWIST-O-LETTZ HOLMSTROM/LOGAN/HODGES MOCOMBO

22 LONELY AVENUE BEN FOLDS FIVE NONESUCH

23 BROKE DOWN BEAUTIFUL STEVE KRAUSE (SELF-PRODUCED)

24 AGADEZ BOMBINO CUMBANCHA

25 PROVENANCE MAYA BEISER INNOVA

26 COMMITMENT SEAL REPRISE

27 DEATH OF A DECADE HA HA TONKA BLOODSHOT

28 COLLAPSE INTO NOW R.E.M. WARNER BROS

29 DON'T YOU JUST KNOW IT MACY BLACKMAN MAMARU

30 SUITE KEVIN BURKE/CAL SCOTT LOFTUS

31 HAVEST THE BEAST BAD COP ROIR

32 ANOTHER APRIL DAY MARIE-THERESE McCARTIN MTM RECORDS

33 SKY POINTING GARRETT WALL BAND COSMIC TRIGGER

34 SOLDIER 2 SOLDIER DEAD PREZ REAL TALK ENT.

35 FIRST MELANCHOLY... RICK CUTLER NEW DUDE

36 MY LAND ORLA FALLON ELVATION

37 PUTUMAYO PRESENTS RUMBA MAMBO CHA CHA CHA PUTUMAYO

38 ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN CAROL EMANUEL ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN

39 FALLEN ANGEL DREAM ARIA (SELF-PRODUCED)

40 ROSLER'S RECORDING BOOTH VARIOUS ARTISTS FINGERS CROSSED

AMPB REPORT

ASSOCIATION OF MICRO-POWER BROADCASTERS

PMB 22, 2018 SHATTUCK AVE.BERKELEY, CA 94704

(510) 525-2704

E-MAIL: ampb@att.net

BLOG: www.ampbreport.blogspot.com

youtube channel: CAPTAINFRED999

latest videos: Berkeley Broadway Singers live at El Cerrito High School

AMPB REPORT #97

Dear Readers,

Things in the world pirate radio get interesting whenever the FCC goes on one of their enforcement binges. Free Radio Santa Cruz, Berkeley Liberation Radio, FCCFree Radio and many other stations have recently received letters from the authorities. The meek will comply, the stubborn will forge on. They do their job and we do ours. In these times, the need for micro-power radio is very important to us all. Perhaps some day we will get our freedom of speech restored and the media conglomerates will fade into obscurity. Until that day, we will still be “pirates”.

-Paul Griffin (for the AMPB)

Santa Cruz Pirate Radio Walks Plank ... Again

By CURTIS CARTIER

In a secret broadcasting studio somewhere in Santa Cruz, a ponytailed 62-year-old DJ is speaking crisply into a large, spongy microphone. “That was ‘Heart Full of Soul’ by the Yardbirds,1965, and before that ‘Indifference’ by Moby Grape,” he says. “I’m Uncle Dennis right here at Free Radio Santa Cruz, 101.1 FM and triple-w dot freak radio dot org.” Around him, the walls are covered in faded layers of posters and scribbled graffiti featuring images of the Brown Berets and Mumia Abu-Jamal and phrases like “Is this freedom?” and “Who laughs last?” Above an old Dell computer is a printed, single-sided piece of white paper with a banner reading, “FRSC Transmitter Evicted!” It’s not the first time the anonymous DJs and staff of Free Radio Santa Cruz have been told they’ll need to find a new home for the station’s transmission antenna. As an unlicensed (and therefore illegal) “pirate radio” station, FRSC all but expects that every few years, pressure from the FCC will spook either the tenants or the landlord of whatever property the big four-pronged transmitter is resident at for the moment, and the station will have to find a new set of hosts willing to defy the federal government. “Basically, we got a call saying the landlord had received a notice from the FCC saying a illegal transmitter was found and that he would be fined if he didn’t get rid of it,” explains Uncle Dennis, a veteran FRSC DJ and the current host of “From the Cream to the Dregs.” “This is a typical tactic they use to deal with unlicensed broadcasters.” It’s not a particularly successful tactic from the FCC’s perspective. In the 15 years since FRSC broadcast its first show from the bedroom of local activist Kim Argula, the transmitter, studio equipment or both have been forced to move seven times, according to station co-founder Skidmark Bob. Except for a month-long hiatus following a 2004 raid in which U.S. Department of Justice agents confiscated all the equipment in the studio, the station has managed to keep broadcasting nearly uninterrupted. The staff has also learned to keep its studio gear in one location and its transmitter in another, so if DOJ agents show up again at the signal source, they’ll find only an antenna, not a costly soundboard and microphone system. At the FCC, pirate radio stations are dealt with regularly, although full-scale raids like the 2004 incident are rare. One man who knows the routine of fighting the FCC better than perhaps any is Stephen Dunifer. The founder of Free Radio Berkeley and the man sometimes described as the “Godfather of Pirate Radio,” Dunifer was part of two landmark court cases in 1995 and 1997 in which U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken found that fines levied by the FCC against him for broadcasting without a license were unconstitutional. Besides vehemently denouncing the FCC’s action against FRSC he offers some advice to the unlicensed broadcasters in Santa Cruz and anyone who might be willing to mount an illegal transmitter in the backyard. “You need to understand that the FCC is full of shit,” he says. “They will target the landlords with letters, but a landlord is not criminally or civilly responsible for their tenants. They just need to find a landlord who is willing to tell the FCC to kiss their Bill of Rights.”

San Francisco’s Newest Radio Pirate: Radio Valencia

by Jennifer Waits

Of course I’m biased, but San Francisco seems to have always been ground zero for radio innovators, back from the early days of pioneering technologists, to the freeform FM era, to punk and new wave stalwarts in college and commercial radio in the 1980s, to pirate radio champions like Free Radio Berkeley in the 1990s, to the web radio entrepreneurs of the 2000s and beyond. Although the lure of Internet-only radio is turning the focus away from terrestrial radio for many; there are compelling reasons why radio enthusiasts continue to launch licensed and unlicensed AM and FM stations in 2010. In San Francisco, a brand new unlicensed community radio station, Radio Valencia, is about to get off the ground, with a hoped-for launch date of early July. Housed in artist/musician/activist/former San Francisco mayoral candidate Chicken John’s warehouse “Chez Poulet” in the Mission District, it’s being envisioned as not only an underground radio station, but also as part of a larger non-profit community resource. When I visited the station last Thursday, I got to see the beginning stages of the studio that had been built by Chicken John in a week’s time. One of the founding members of the station, John Hell, talked to me about the collective vision for Radio Valencia and how it will be different from his numerous other radio endeavors. Ironically, it was just about a year ago that John Hell chatted with me about his then-new radio project, FCCFree Radio. Although enthusiastic about the possibilities of that particular station at the time, John Hell recently parted ways with FCCFree Radio after having philosophical differences with the station owner. Because of his strong passion for and commitment to radio, it was clear that it wouldn’t be long before he landed at another radio start-up. John Hell is no stranger to radio, having worked at college stations KCSM and KFJC, pirate stations San Francisco Liberation Radio, Pirate Cat Radio, and FCCFree Radio, as well as on the crew that founded the LPFM station Radio Free Burning Man that operated out in the Nevada desert during the annual arts festival from 1994 to 2008. When John Hell was approached by his long-time friend Chicken John, the initial idea was to start up an Internet radio station. As they discussed things further, the concept for Radio Valencia developed even more and the hope is that eventually it will be a community center with an open-door policy and a full schedule of events. Chicken John, John Hell, and other early participants presented the idea of this new station to other like-minded folks in their social networks and reached out to former college and pirate radio DJs and friends with deep connections in various arts and culture scenes in San Francisco. John Hell said that he’s been amazed by the response and told me that he already has 30 DJs committed to hosting a total of 24 different shows at Radio Valencia. When I asked him how this station will be different from others in the area, he said that it will be much more community-based, community-oriented, and community-run with “no central leadership.” He pointed out that they will not have mandatory meetings and will shy away from having too many rules at the station. Although Radio Valencia will officially be Internet-only, they are “expecting” to also broadcast at 89.9FM in San Francisco, although they won’t be hosting that signal themselves. With so many people listening to radio online, I asked John Hell why it was important for Radio Valencia to be on FM as well. He said, “radio is only really radio when it’s terrestrial radio.” He pointed out that a lot of people can’t afford high speed Internet connections, so for them terrestrial radio is crucial, saying, “Radio is vital for a community.” John Hell said that unfortunately the “LPFM Act made it very hard for urban locations to get a license,” adding that big broadcast groups have lobbied hard to “push out low power stations” in their areas. Although he’s not personally up for the paperwork, he said, “I would be fine if we filed for a LPFM.” He added that in the absence of that, “I believe that the air does belong to the people and the people who really deserve the opportunity to do radio” aren’t able to get access. Although he wasn’t sure how many people might wander in off the street into Radio Valencia, John Hell was excited about the possibilities.

Rinse FM awarded broadcasting license

Sean Michaels

London's biggest "pirate" radio station is going legit. Rinse FM has been awarded an FM broadcasting licence, giving it further opportunity to bring dubstep, UK funky and other new urban sounds into the mainstream. Founded in 1994, Rinse FM played a pivotal role in introducing London listeners to grime, garage and other homegrown sounds, when mainstream radio was still mostly concerned with Take That and S Club 7. More recently, Rinse FM has showcased dubstep producers such as Kode9 and Plastician. Initially an unlicensed radio broadcaster, Rinse has been available as an online stream since 2006. Rinse FM hasn't always had a satisfactory relationship with Ofcom, the body that oversees radio licensing. In 2005, regulators cracked down on illegal broadcasters, disconnecting one of the station's transmitters and landing DJ Slimzee with an Asbo. The station's fans have included the late BBC DJ John Peel, EMI Publishing's Guy Moot, and Dizzee Rascal, who called Rinse FM "inspirational and influential". Feargal Sharkey, CEO of industry lobbyists UK Music, praised Ofcom's decision. "I am hugely impressed with Rinse FM and their groundbreaking work," he said. "With a community licence in place, we believe the station can take that role forward – engaging with a young, dynamic audience and nurturing the next generation of inner-city talent." Rinse has been petitioning for an FM licence since 2007, organising an international petition. According to Spoonfed, the push for legitimacy may have also affected the station's music programming, moving toward to the "more radio-friendly" genre of UK funky. But Rinse FM has no intention to dilute its music. "The [FM] licence will allow us to continue our mission," said a spokesperson, "broadcasting in the pirate format that we and our listeners know and love."

AMPB LINKS ON THE WEB

Avandia Heart Risks Buried by Drug Company: Report

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/diabetes/articles/2010/07/13/avandia-heart-risks-buried-by-drug-company-report.html

RIAA Accounting: Why Even Major Label Musicians Rarely Make Money From Album Sales

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100712/23482610186.shtml

RIAA forks out $64 million to catch music pirates, recovers just $1.3 million in 3 years

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/14/riaa-forks-out-64-million-to-catch-music-pirates-recovers-just-1-million/

What’s Wrong With Music Biz, per Ultimate Insider

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/07/tom-silverman-proposes-radically-transparent-music-business/

Double whammy: The music tax based on deep packet inspection

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/14/prs_music_levy_dpi/

Biggest Defaulters on Mortgages Are the Rich

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/business/economy/09rich.html

Arlo Guthrie Endorses Ron Paul

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/01/29/group-w-grad-endorses-ron-paul/

FCCFree Radio goes quiet

http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2010/07/06/fccfree-radio-pirates-no-more/

A copyright ruling no one can like

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20010428-261.html

How our laws in California are really made

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_15452125?nclick_check=1

FCC Issues $10,000 Fine to Florida Pirate

http://www.radioworld.com/article/103328

Over 800 thousand security workers?

http://www.topsecretamerica.com

CAPTAIN FRED’S WORLD CRUISE #97

(download from archive.org or radio4all.net)

Glitter Freeze - Gorillaz

Africa - K'naan with Amadou & Mariam

Malagasy Shock - Ozomatli

Brasil Em Brasa - Roge

Contact - Telepath

Aloha Hokeo - Kupaoa

Fiesta en el barrio - Heriberto Gonazalez

Nkosi - Blk Sonshine

Sonata for Violin and Turntables, Part 1 - Daniel Bernard Roumain

Long Hard Road - Sade

On Coming from a Broken Home, Pt. 2 - Gil Scott-Heron

I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama - Robert Randolph & The Family Band

Ladyfingers - Charbel Rouhana

Salamalama Aby - Razia

Panacea for the Poison - Flobots

Galway Girl - The Elders

Pariwo - Tony Allen

Don't Shoot (I'm A Man) - Devo

Don't Pull Me Over - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Sinister Kid - The Black Keys

Cedar Smoke - Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra

AMPB RECORD CHART FOR THE WEEK ENDING: 7/17/10

# TITLE - ARTIST - LABEL

1 SECRET AGENT TONY ALLEN WORLD CIRCUIT

2 PLASTIC BEACH GORILLAZ EMI

3 RISE & SHINE SIERRA LEONE'S REFUGEE ALL STARS CUMBANCHA

4 BROTHERS THE BLACK KEYS NONESUCH

5 THAT'S ALL I NEED ANDRE WILLIAMS BLOODSHOT

6 SCRATCH MY BACK PETER GABRIEL REAL WORLD

7 SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY DEVO WARNER BROS.

8 ROUGH GUIDE TO WORLD MUSIC FOR CHILDREN WORLD MUSIC NET

9 PUTUMAYO PRESENTS SOUTH AFRICA PUTUMAYO

10 AL DOBLAR SL ESQUINA TITO GONZALEZ (SELF PRODUCED)

11 MOJO TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS REPRISE

12 PETALS ON THE PATH OTTMAR LIEBERT SPIRAL SUBWAVE

13 POWER UP THE PLANET VARIOUS ARTISTS PLANETWIZE

14 FIRE AWAY OZOMATLI MERCER STREET

15 KARAM KIMI DJABATE CUMBANCHA

16 THE ROUGH GUIDE TO ARABIC LOUNGE WORLD MUSIC NET

17 WOODBOX BEATS & BALLADRY D. B. ROUMAIN THIRSTY EAR

18 BURN AND RISE MAD SIN PEOPLE LIKE YOU

19 VOCABULARIES BOBBY MCFERRIN UNIVERSAL

20 ONE STEP AHEAD WOODLEG ODD WOODLEG ODD

21 WE WALK THE ROAD ROBERT RANDOLPH WARNER BROS.

22 PUTUMAYO PRESENTS LATIN PARTY PUTUMAYO

23 ARVO PART - PORTRAIT ANGELE DUBEAU ANALEKTA

24 SEA OF COWARDS THE DEAD WEATHER THIRD MAN

25 SUITE KEVIN BURKE/CAL SCOTT LOFTUS

26 LERO LERO LUISA MAITA CUMBANCHA

27 SOLDIER OF LOVE SADE SONY

28 ON APPROACH EVEREST VAPOR

29 LIVE SEARSON (SELF PRODUCED)

30 I'M NEW HERE GIL SCOTT-HERON XL

31 LIFE GOES ON THE ADICTS PEOPLE LIKE YOU

32 COMING BACK FOR YOU PRESSURE RYMSHOT

33 30 YEARS OUTSIDE THE BOX YO-YO MA SONY

34 SURVIVAL STORY FLOBOTS UNIVERSAL

35 HANK WILLIAMS DIED... JOE SWANK & THE ZEN PIRATES (INDY)

36 TRIBUTE TO A REGGAE LEGEND VARIOUS ARTISTS PUTUMAYO

37 REVELATION VALERIE MILOT ANALEKTA

38 ZEBU NATION RAZIA CUMBANCHA

39 BONNY PRINCE BARLEY BARLEYJUICE RYF RECORDS

40 PROVENANCE MAYA BEISER INNOVA

AMPB REPORT

a publication by the Association of Micro-Power Broadcasters

phone: (510) 525-2704

snail mail:

PMB 22

2018 Shattuck Ave.

Berkeley, CA 94704

email: ampb@att.net

youtube channel: CAPTAINFRED999

blog: www.ampbreport.blogspot.com

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AMPB REPORT #96

Dear Readers,

This month brings us one of the biggest crimes against nature ever commited, and the effects of the oil spill in the gulf of mexico will be felt for a very long time. Even the corporate shills in the mainstream media won’t be able to cover this up. Democracy Now! has done some very good reports on this situation. Also, check out the youtube link in this edition for the visual record. It really gives you an idea of the scope of this mess. Thanks to Joe Bryak for the link as well as many others he has sent my way. The micro-radio scene is lively as ever, and it just shows you can’t keep a good pirate down. Check out the articles on Pirate Cat Radio and Free Radio Santa Cruz in this edition. Spain is apparently trying to clean up it’s airwaves, but our pirate dj on the scene, Iris DJ, is not expecting change soon. So, if you want to know “why” this is all still happening here in the 21st century, check out “Confessions of a Radio Pirate”, or even better, check out Article 19 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. The Berkeley station is still alive and well. We have a large number of young people joining the crew and the sounds are amazing! Tune in to 104..1 FM when you’re in the area, or you can listen anywhere by directing your web browser to http://www.berkeleyliberationradio.net and click on the link that says “stream”.

- Paul Griffin (for the AMPB)

STATION ALERT

Monkey Time

Ben Fong-Torres

After 13 years as the operator of a pirate radio station out of the Mission, Daniel Roberts, who changed his legal name to "Monkey," has gone legit. Since last spring, the 29-year-old Roberts has been fighting a $10,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission for allegedly broadcasting his Pirate Cat Radio on the FM band without a valid license. Now he's taken the reins of KPDO, a moribund community station in Pescadero (San Mateo County). The signal has been licensed since 2006, but its founder, Celeste Worden, an educator, has moved out of town, leaving the station on autopilot. Roberts, who'd long wanted to acquire a license for Pirate Cat, heard about the largely deserted signal late last year and presented a program plan to Worden, emphasizing public service, local news and education. "She called me one morning at 6," said Roberts, "and said she'd read her tarot cards, and said, 'I'm gonna give you the station.' " Roberts has built a small studio ("all from recycled materials"), put together a DJ staff (half of them students from Pescadero High School) and was scheduled to hit the air May 8. The station is a 100-watter for now, reaching north only as far as San Gregorio. But it's online as well, at piratecatradio.com.

Monkey now splits his time between Pescadero and San Francisco's Pirate Cat Radio Cafe on 21st Street, where a volunteer staff serves a menu of vegan doughnuts and unique lattes (including a delish maple-bacon concoction that drew the attention of Anthony Bourdain and his TV show, "No Reservations"). They also take turns as DJs, spinning wildly eclectic music, with plenty of indie stuff, and offering news and commentary out of an adjacent control room. Because of the FCC action, Pirate Cat Radio airs only online and via podcasting. But, Roberts claims, the station's Internet site draws more than a million hits a month.

Spain Planning a Pirate Radio Crackdown

by Paul Riismandel

For Americans it may be hard to believe that Spain only this year passed a law that gives a new Spanish central radio authority the ability to pursue and shut down unlicensed radio broadcasters. Back in January the Spanish radio industry group AERC complained that 3000 pirate stations are operating in the country and need to be shut down. For its part the government recently claimed to have opened 109 cases against pirate operators since 2007. With the recently passed law the secretary of the Media of the Generalitat says the job will become easier. I know relatively little about radio broadcasting in Spain, although I have often heard that the radio dial is more chaotic than in other European countries. Given these kinds of stats I seriously doubt that the Spanish government is likely to make much of a dent in the country’s number of unlicensed stations. The FCC has been around for seventy-six years and I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t at least 3000 pirate stations operating in the US right now. At best the Commission does a pretty good job of keeping unlicensed operators more underground and less organized by playing a good game of cat and mouse. I reckon Spain has quite a way to go before it can even hope to have that level of success.

Santa Cruz still radio-active

From: skidmarkbob

Hey Captain Fred and AMPB. Skidmark here from sunny Santa Cruz where Free Radio Santa Cruz 101fm www.freakradio.org has just passed it's 15th year of unlicensed broadcast. We were inspired to start the station by the likes of Free Radio Berkeley and brave radio warriors like Mbanna Kantako of Human Rights Radio. I've seen alot of changes over the past 15 years and still it continues to amaze me how long it has existed. FRSC continues to operate as a Dj run

collective where programmers who attend meetings decide the programming, pay dues and debate and discuss into the night issues that come and up some can be very contentious and personal and that's one of the things that amazes me to no end how the station has lasted as long as it has. I guess the biggest change I can think of is the increase of Spanish language programs added to the schedule there are now 2 hours of mostly Pacifica Spanish language programs every weekday 10am-12noon. I recently have returned to the station after a hiatus and now do a weekly 3 hour program featuring new and not yet released music also an Al Jazeera English news block and some local news and issues and a Classic rock drive time set to end the show so tune in every Tuesday 3-5pm I also archive my

programs on my blog where you can stream or download the show http://popdefectradio.blogspot.com/

That's about it for now we're keepin it alive and on the air here in Santa Cruz. Cheers, Skidmark Bob

Confessions of a Radio Pirate

Electronic music, as we've lamented time and time again in these pages, is nowhere on the radio spectrum in Chicago. Outside of a record here and there, it hasn't been for years. And while we're stating the obvious, let's add that it ain't coming back any time soon. In fact, there's just about nothing on the radio for people interested in something more than Auto-Tuned pop, paleolithic rock and rabid political talk. This isn't unique to Chicago. Due to the mega-mergers of the last 15 years, it's true everywhere in the United States. The need for a multi-million dollar license hasn't stopped some broadcasters from taking to the airwaves. From the first citizen operators at the dawn of the 20th century to Wolfman Jack and the "border blasters" just across the Rio Grande, unlicensed broadcasting has played a major role in pushing music to the masses in America. It's been even more crucial in other countries. And some are still out there, with all of the romance and mystique of a Rob Roy or Sir Francis Drake on the high seas. This is an excerpt from a lengthy talk with a pirate radio broadcaster who, for understandable reasons, would prefer to remain anonymous for now. His name is not important; what is important is that he's been broadcasting on the West Coast from a homemade radio rig for more than a year. He's faced the agents of the FCC and spent from his own wallet just to broadcast his favorite independent music to his local community.

But with the risks have come rewards. The payoff isn't monetary. Though some of Europe's pirate stations have gone legit, it will never earn him a dime. But it keeps his community energized, informed, and exposes them to some great music.

First, why pirate radio when you could do it legitimately over the internet?

Audience and context. The audience on terrestrial radio is potentially enormous even with a very low power station. You don't need special equipment to listen to the radio. People just need to know the time and the frequency and need to be within so many miles. They can be doing anything they want and can have a huge system or a tiny car radio to listen. And they know I'm down the block, not at a studio in New York.

The airwaves belong to everyone and it was a political decision four or five generations ago to dice it up and sell it off to the highest bidder. This decision had nothing to do with me nor with the majority of citizens - polls have shown consistent support for community-based, low-power radio.

Aren't you running the risk of serious consequences from the government?

I've been busted three times in less than two years. I've heard of stations that use remote locations with recorded music but nobody seems to be able to connect any names to them, so I believe they're just urban legends (pirate radio has a lot of urban legends, which is one of the things that draw us to it). John Draper ("Cap'n Crunch", the very first hacker) ran a pirate radio station out of a van high in the hills above San Francisco, at an observatory. British broadcasters in the rave scene used microwave beams to broadcast to a remote transmitter. That stuff is way beyond me. The reality is that if you broadcast on anything like a regular schedule, in a place where people can hear it, you are going to get caught.

We've discovered a couple of loopholes which is the main reason I'd prefer to remain anonymous in this interview. I expect the FCC to look for our antenna but I don't want to sound like I'm taunting them. The letter of the law is that once they find you, the FCC must send written notice that you are violating the law and a demand that you cease. There are reports they'll try to confiscate your equipment on the spot but it's never gotten that far with us, anyway. I received the first letter about a month into broadcasting and I crapped my pants. I thought I was going to jail. But I'm not the only one involved in our station and someone suggested we should move it to her place. We did. The new location actually improved reception. A month later, the FCC came calling again, sent a written letter notifying my friend that she was violating the law. We moved again. We're now on our seventh location and it's never gone further than receiving a warning letter. Lucky? I have no idea. I'm not a lawyer and this is illegal, and people better acknowledge that risk before they get into this. However, Dave Conway from Little Radio in Los Angeles has written that they encountered this loophole too when they were broadcasting. For the record, we've been "notified" 3 times in 14 months. I repeat: I'm not a lawyer. Whatever risks I take are my own. There are stories of people receiving permanent injunctions. I still might get one. But we have a large team and we feel comfortable playing cat and mouse for the time being.

What does your rig look like? Did you build it or buy it?

We've needed to tailor our rig to local conditions at each broadcasting location. Building the broadcasting rig was my biggest stumbling block - I wanted to do this years before I did. Actually, it's VERY easy. It's NOT expensive, or at least not unreasonably so. You WILL have to do some shopping as few people have a broadcast transmitter or amp lying around, but the equipment is easy to find on the market. The most important thing about a station is reception. The higher you are, the better. There's a reason why radio transmitters are on skyscrapers in major cities. If there are any obstacles, they'll block your reception. So first, before you buy anything, you need a really good location (and as the FCC starts hunting you, more than one). At the heart of my rig is a simple MacBook Pro laptop. I play MP3s with iTunes. A mixer enables us to switch to a Technics 1200 MK2 for vinyl and the microphone. It depends on your style of music, if it's mostly on MP3 or if you want to take the time to rip CDs. To take the mystique out of it, I can break down our rig into three sections:

The Media Players: This is your laptop, CD player, turntables, microphone. This is the fun stuff that everyone that loves music has. You don't need special connections.

The Enablers: You need a mixer even if you're broadcasting from a laptop. As with everything: the cheaper and lighter, the better. The mixer plugs into a compressor limiter. This is great for making a professional broadcast. Without it, you'll sound like a pair of kids talking on walkie talkies.

The Broadcasters: Your compressor feeds into the transmitter, which feeds into the antenna. The power of your signal depends a lot on the location of your antenna. If you score a nice 30 watt micro-transmitter, you're probably all set. If you have a lower watt transmitter, then you can use a 5/7 watt amp to boost the signal. You can begin with something as tiny as a 1 watt transmitter and use the amp to boost it. I started with the cheapest equipment possible and upgraded as I learned. The transmitter is fed by a length of co-ax cable to the antenna. We use a 5/8-wave vertical antenna. They're a couple of hundred bucks new. The longer your antenna, the better your signal. The higher your antenna, the better the signal. The higher your elevation, the better the signal. Long cables will sometimes diffuse the signal, so I try to keep the transmitter as close as possible to the antenna and run less cable. For your frequency, you want something that will minimize the spillover of your signal bleeding into licensed stations but also their signal spilling over into yours. Most free radio stations that I know about broadcast in the high 80s. 88 to 92 MHz FM is the space reserved for "non-commercial radio" which is NPR and churches. They'll drop a dime on you as quickly as anyone, but that's where most free radio stations I've heard of rest.

I asked this in the beginning, but... why take the risk?

The music that I like isn't broadcast on the radio. I've read a lot about the history of radio since I started this. In the "old days" there were so many choices. Even if they were mostly bad, they weren't all bad. Today it's all bad. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was a disaster for radio as it allowed a handful of companies to gobble up every station out there and concentrated the entire broadcasting dial between five or six very powerful entities. They ate so many stations and now they're all going bankrupt because nobody likes it. Who loves a radio station anymore? It's background noise. If you are in a community that isn't being served by what's on radio - if you live anywhere in the US and like anything other than right-wing rage and commercial music, then this applies to you - you can do this. You don't have to pay for XM/Sirius to hear your favorite local artist. I think people can take this into their own hands and make a movement. Though not affiliated, the subject of this article recommends anyone interested in more details about free radio to visit the website of what is probably the longest running free radio station in the United States, Free Radio Berkeley, at freeradio.org.

AMPB LINKS ON THE WEB

Favorite download sites

(courtesy of Skidmark Bob)

http://music.is-amazing.com/

http://bolachas.org/

http://www.alternative2punk.net/

http://reloda.tk/

http://ipb.quicksilverscreen.com/

index.php?showforum=96

http://thebox.bz/browse.php

http://www.katzforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=79

India's copyright bill gets it right

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/04/22/indias-copyright-bil.html

video of spill/gusher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG8JHSAVYT0&feature=player_embedded

A Cheap, Portable Wound-Healing Device

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24837/page1/

FCC Adviser Advocates State-run Propaganda to Counter Alternative Media

http://www.infowars.com/fcc-adviser-advocates-state-run-propaganda-megaphone-to-counter-alternative-media/

“We Were Told to Just Shoot People, and the Officers Would Take Care of Us”

http://www.truthout.org/iraq-war-vet-we-were-told-just-shoot-people-and-officers-would-take-care-us58378

How to Create a Diabetes Plague

http://www.yourownhealthandfitness.org/blogs/2010/05/04/how-to-create-a-diabetes-plague/

Is the FCC's National Broadband Plan a Threat to Homeland Security?

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/is-the-fccs-national-broadband-plan-a-threat-to-homeland-securi/19427101/

Sex, Lies and Oil Spills

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/sex-lies-and-oil-spills_b_564163.html

Whose Revolution is this?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/30/AR2010033003252.html

A THOUGHT FOR MOTHER'S DAY

http://www.savethechildren.org/publications/state-of-the-worlds-mothers-report/

Slick Operator: The BP I've known too well

http://www.truthout.org/slick-operator-the-bp-ive-known-too-well59178

Take the time to watch this video: http://www.miauk.com/

Plastic from Algae: The First Step Toward a Fish-Friendly Gyre?

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/biofuel/algae-to-plastic?src=rss

Google admits Street View cars collected Wi-Fi data

http://www.macworld.com/article/151297/2010/05/google_privacy.html

CAPTAIN FRED’S WORLD CRUISE #96

(download from radio4all.net or archive.org)

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/42793

http://www.archive.org/details/CaptainFredsWorldCruise96Part1

http://www.archive.org/details/CaptainFredsWorldCruise96Part2

Internacional - Brazilian Girls

Born Free - M.I.A.

Superfast Jellyfish - Gorillaz

El Relampago - The Chieftains

Mifohaza - Razia Said

Peligro - Manu Chao

Singapore - Tom Waits

Cumbia Del Caribe - Fruko & Orquesta

Tamagbondorsu - Refugee All-Stars

Spaceships Over Haiti - Daniel Bernard Roumain

Weekend Irish - Barleyjuice

Say Ladeo - Bobby McFerrin

It's Only Paper - Ozomatli

Measure By Measure - DJ Spooky

Running - Gil Scott-Heron

The Moon and the Sky - Sade

Droub Al Lil - Azzddine

Good Soldier - Flobots

21 Guns - American Idiot Cast

Walk Of Shame - Woodleg Odd

RECORD CHART FOR THE WEEK ENDING MAY 15, 2010

# TITLE - ARTIST - LABEL

1 PLASTIC BEACH GORILLAZ EMI

2 ZEBU NATION RAZIA CUMBANCHA

3 POWER UP THE PLANET VARIOUS ARTISTS PLANETWIZE

4 THE ROUGH GUIDE TO ARABIC LOUNGE WORLD MUSIC NET

5 GOD'S FAVORITE BAND ASYLUM STREET SPANKERS YELLOW DOG

6 SURVIVAL STORY FLOBOTS UNIVERSAL

7 PUTUMAYO PRESENTS LATIN PARTY PUTUMAYO

8 I'M NEW HERE GIL SCOTT-HERON XL

9 VOCABULARIES BOBBY MCFERRIN UNIVERSAL

10 FIRE AWAY OZOMATLI MERCER STREET

11 30 YEARS OUTSIDE THE BOX YO-YO MA SONY

12 IMAGINARY TELEVISION GRAHAM PARKER BLOODSHOT

13 GLITTER AND DOOM LIVE TOM WAITS ANTI

14 WOODBOX BEATS & BALLADRY D. B. ROUMAIN THIRSTY EAR

15 CHANGES DON CARLOS DON CARLOS MUSIC

16 RISE & SHINE SIERRA LEONE'S REFUGEE ALL STARS CUMBANCHA

17 LIVE AT MAUCH CHUNK WAILIN’ JENNYS RED HOUSE

18 THE ROUGH GUIDE TO AFRICAN STREET PARTY WORLD MUSIC NET

19 THE RUMBA FOUNDATION JESSE COOK E1

20 ONE STEP AHEAD WOODLEG ODD WOODLEG ODD

21 SAN PATRICIO THE CHIEFTAINS BLACKROCK

22 BAIONARENA MANU CHAO NACIONAL

23 SOLDIER OF LOVE SADE SONY

24 HANK WILLIAMS DIED... JOE SWANK & THE ZEN PIRATES (INDY)

25 COMING BACK FOR YOU PRESSURE RYMSHOT

26 LIVE SEARSON (SELF PRODUCED)

27 KARAM KIMI DJABATE CUMBANCHA

28 THAT'S ALL I NEED ANDRE WILLIAMS BLOODSHOT

29 ...NORTHERN LIGHTS WHITE STRIPES THIRD MAN

30 ELECT THE DEAD SYMPHONY SERJ TANKIAN REPRISE

31 BONNY PRINCE BARLEY BARLEYJUICE RYF RECORDS

32 BUSHROCK 10 FT. GANJA PLANT ROIR

33 COMMON PROSPERITY PREZIDENT BROWN TOMORROW'S CHILDREN

34 PUTUMAYO PRESENTS SOUTH AFRICA PUTUMAYO

35 MIDNIGHT AT THE MOVIES JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE BLOODSHOT

36 ARVO PART - PORTRAIT ANGELE DUBEAU ANALEKTA

37 IGNORE THE IGNORANT THE CRIBS WARNER BROS.

38 DREAMIN' MAN LIVE NEIL YOUNG REPRISE

39 THE SECRET SONG DJ SPOOKY THIRSTY EAR

40 BORN FREE (SINGLE) M.I.A. XL

NEW ADDS (THANKS TO ALL OF THE RADIO PROMO FOLKS WHO SEND US STUFF):

THE RUNAWAY BUNNY VARIOUS ARTISTS SONY

SEA OF COWARDS THE DEAD WEATHER THIRD MAN

ON APPROACH EVEREST VAPOR

BROTHERS THE BLACK KEYS NONESUCH

The AMPB Report is a publication by the Association of Micro-Power Broadcasters

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