Dear Readers,

Things continue as normal here in Berkeley. The FCC shuts us down at one place and we move on to another. This dance has been going on since 1993. When will they learn we aren’t going away? In this edition, we have reprints from Radio Survivor and Rolling Stone. The tunes keep rollin’ along on Captain Fred’s World Cruise and we salute Time Magazine for naming “the protester” as the person of the year. We’ve also got the lineup for the latest benefit for Berkeley Liberation Radio 104.1 FM which is happening at the Revolution Cafe on March 3rd. If you’re in the SF Bay Area on that date, won’t you please come by and support us? Thanks for reading! -Paul Griffin (for the AMPB)

Soul Presents: in the Spirit of Free Speech....

Take Back The Mic

A Benefit for Berkeley Liberation Radio 104.1 fm

featuring

Third Eye Coalition

Brotha Chaz Walker

Soul-Spoken Word

Clara Bellino

Aima The Dreamer

Smart Mouth and

The Know it Alls

Upword Movement

with Nacole Predom

Becente

Yukon Hannibal

And more

DJing Event-DJ Nobody

Sound provided by: DJ Fathom

March-3-2012 Saturday 9:00pm

Revolution Cafe

1610 SEVENTH ST. WEST OAKLAND

Vendor Booths and Green Friendly

$5.00 donation at the door

Special thanks to Arnie Fields for the space to share our Art with the Community

STATION ALERT

Afghanistan Invasion a Total FUBAR

By Michael Hastings

Colonel Daniel Davis, a 17-year Army veteran recently returned from a second tour in Afghanistan. Davis had written an 84-page unclassified report, as well as a classified report, offering his assessment of the decade-long war. That assessment is essentially that the war has been a disaster and the military's top brass has not leveled with the American public about just how badly it’s been going. "How many more men must die in support of a mission that is not succeeding?" Davis boldly asks in an article summarizing his views in The Armed Forces Journal. Davis last month submitted the unclassified report –titled "Dereliction of Duty II: Senior Military Leader’s Loss of Integrity Wounds Afghan War Effort" – for an internal Army review. Such a report could then be released to the public. However, according to U.S. military officials familiar with the situation, the Pentagon is refusing to do so. Rolling Stone has now obtained a full copy of the 84-page unclassified version, which has been making the rounds within the U.S. government, including the White House. We've decided to publish it in full; it's well worth reading for yourself. It is, in my estimation, one of the most significant documents published by an active-duty officer in the past ten years. Here is the report's damning opening lines: "Senior ranking U.S. military leaders have so distorted the truth when communicating with the U.S. Congress and American people in regards to conditions on the ground in Afghanistan that the truth has become unrecognizable. This deception has damaged America’s credibility among both our allies and enemies, severely limiting our ability to reach a political solution to the war in Afghanistan." Davis goes on to explain that everything in the report is "open source" – i.e., unclassified – information. According to Davis, the classified report, which he legally submitted to Congress, is even more devastating. "If the public had access to these classified reports they would see the dramatic gulf between what is often said in public by our senior leaders and what is actually true behind the scenes," Davis writes. "It would be illegal for me to discuss, use, or cite classified material in an open venue and thus I will not do so; I am no WikiLeaks guy Part II."

According to the Times story, Davis briefed four members of Congress and a dozen staff members and sent his reports to the Defense Department’s inspector general, and of course spoke to a New York Times reporter; only after all that did he inform his chain of command what he'd been up to. Evidently Davis's truth-telling campaign has rattled the Pentagon brass, prompting unnamed officials to retaliate by threatening a bogus investigation for "possible security violations," according to NBC News. Although Davis's critics have tried to brush off his claims as merely the opinions of a "reservist," – as Max Boot put it – his report is full of insight, analysis, and hard data that back up each one of his claims. He details the gross failure of training the Afghan Army, the military's blurring of the lines between public affairs and "information operations" (meaning, essentially, propaganda), and the Pentagon's manipulation of the U.S. media. (He expertly contrasts senior military officials public statements with the actual reality on the ground.) Davis concludes: "It is my recommendation that the United States Congress – the House and Senate Armed Services Committees in particular – should conduct a bi-partisan investigation into the various charges of deception or dishonesty in this report and hold broad hearings as well," he writes. "These hearings need to include the very senior generals and former generals whom I refer to in this report so they can be given every chance to publicly give their version of events." In other words, put the generals under oath, and then see what story they tell. For the whole report, go to: http://www1.rollingstone.com/extras/RS_REPORT.pdf

STATION ALERT

Radio Obsessive Profile #11:

Paper Radio Publisher DJ Frederick

by Jennifer Waits

DJ Frederick (aka Frederick Moe) is a long-time radio DJ and has been publishing ‘zines for about a decade. His fascination with radio extends across numerous categories, including college radio, pirate radio, and shortwave radio. His first radio gig was in 1976 at WUNH and these days he has does the show “Radio Thrift Shop” at Colby-Sawyer College radio station WSCS.

Paper Radio covers a wide range of DJ Frederick’s interests. Earlier versions of the ‘zine (under a different name) even included a CD sampler featuring a range of snippets of radio broadcasts. The latest issue of Paper Radio (#9) just came out a few weeks back with stories about famed DJ John Peel, The Amateur Radio Hurricane Network, Occupy Shortwave, and the Voice of Next Thursday radio show/blog. To get more insight into the man behind the ‘zine, I recently conducted an interview with DJ Frederick over email about his radio obsession.

Q: What’s the goal of Paper Radio and how often do you publish it?

A: My hope with Paper Radio is to turn people on to the diversity and magic that radio offers us. I am hoping that media geeks and novices alike will read the zine and learn about something different. I have published Paper Radio three or four times a year for the past several years. It’s a grueling schedule for a solitary zinester.

Q: What prompted you to start writing about radio and when did you begin with your first ‘zine? How did Paper Radio evolve from your other ‘zine projects?

A: In 1999 I reconnected with radio in a major way, started listening to shortwave, became a DJ at my local college radio station. Around the same time I reconnected with both reading and writing zines. It seemed that radio and its endless varieties was an unexplored topic in the zine world. Pirate radio and shortwave listening have always been central to the zine projects. My earlier zines were called the /wave project and each had a title: short/wave, air/waves and so on. This was in the very early 2000s. Around 2007, I started calling the zine project Signals and in 2011 someone wrote that reading my zine was like listening to a radio show on paper. Eureka! A new title was born.

Q: How do you find story ideas for Paper Radio?

A: The story ideas seem to find me in moments when I’m not looking. There are dozens left to do – favorite dj heroes, the first song you remember hearing on the radio, the weirdest thing you’ve ever heard on the radio, how to build a transmitter, etc. I’ve been lucky that a few people have submitted their work including articles, reviews, and a couple of short fiction pieces. Anything related to media and radio is welcomed.

Q: Why do you love radio?

A: This has been expressed a million times before, but there is no medium as intimate as radio. I love the immediacy and the atmospheres that can be painted through sound. Radio sits close to our psyche, our imaginations. When I was a child, I was elated by the simple yet mysterious act of turning a dial of a dusty Zenith shortwave in my father’s workshop and hearing music from all over the world. My father had been a singing cowboy on WFEA 1370 in the late 1930s so he influenced my love for radio as well.

Q: Who do you consider your colleagues in the world of documenting radio?

A: I’m such a hermit, totally low-tech and an imperfectionist that I’m not sure I have any colleagues! Paper Radio is like my radio shows – no trappings, warts & all, mistakes, bloopers, everything is left in, because that’s what life is like. Exceptional radio reflects life back at us.

AMPB LINKS ON THE WEB

(just one link this time, but it’s a good one)

http://www.time.com/time/person-of-the-year/2011/

RECORD CHARTFOR THE WEEK ENDING: 2/25/2012

# TITLE - ARTIST - LABEL

1 MILES ESPANOL - VARIOUS ARTISTS - E ONE

2 I'M WITH YOU - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - WARNER BROS

3 PULL UP SOME DUST AND SIT DOWN - RY COODER - NONESUCH

4 2 CELLOS - SULIC & HAUSER - SONY

5 AREA 52 - RODRIGO Y GABRIELA AND C.U.B.A. - RUBYWORKS

6 - (SELF-TITLED) - SUPERHEAVY - UNIVERSAL

7 THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO - TRENT REZNOR - NULL

8 DUB TRIO IV - DUB TRIO - ROIR

9 AT CHANNEL ONE - SCIENTIST/MAD PROFESSOR - JAMAICAN REC.

10 THE LESS YOU KNOW THE BETTER - DJ SHADOW - VERVE

11 CULTURE OF FEAR - THIEVERY CORPORATION - ESL MUSIC

12 BAD INGREDIENTS - SCOTT H. BIRAM - BLOODSHOT

13 PUTUMAYO PRESENTS BOSSA NOVA AROUND THE WORLD - PUTUMAYO

14 EL CAMINO - THE BLACK KEYS - NONESUCH

15 SING YOUR SONG - HARRY BELAFONTE - SONY

16 GREAT EXPECTATION - THE JOLLY BOYS - GEEJAM

17 DUETS II - TONY BENNETT - COLUMBIA

18 SYSTEMA SUBVERSIVA - DA CRUZ - SIX DEGREES

19 OCEAN'S KINGDOM - PAUL McCARTNEY - MPL COMMUNICATIONS

20 MY SECRET RADIO - TIEMPO LIBRE - SONY

21 FEELS LIKE HOME - THE CELTIC TENORS - CONCORD

22 #1 - DIGITALDUBS - ROIR

23 PART LIES, ETC 1982-2011 - R.E.M. - WARNER BROS

24 UNA Y OTRA VEZ - SERGENT GARCIA - CUMBANCHA

25 SONGS FOR THE PEOPLE - RADMILLA CODY - CANYON

26 2 CELLOS - SULIC & HAUSER - SONY

27 SUMMER IN KINGSTON - SHAGGY - RANCH ENT.

28 WHO'S FEELING YOUNG NOW? - PUNCH BROTHERS - NONESUCH

29 BIG RED SESSIONS - DAVID ROVICS - (SELF PRODUCED)

30 THE ROUGH GUIDE TO SUFI MUSIC - WORLD MUSIC NET

31 RED HOT & RIO 2 - VARIOUS ARTISTS - RED HOT ORG

32 HE SAID, SHE SAID - DOCTOR/SCHUMACHER - VOCOLOCO

33 THE DESCENDANTS - VARIOUS ARTISTS - SONY

34 FREEDOM SHINES RIDDIM - VARIOUS ARTISTS - TRUCKBACK

35 NEW YEAR'S CONCERT 2012 - VIENNA PHILHARMONIC - SONY

36 NORTHERN CREE - DRUM BOY - CANYON

37 STRINGZ RIDDIM - VARIOUS ARTISTS - RUMBLE ROCK RECORDZ

38 IT’S NOT UP TO YOU - BJORK - ONE LITTLE INDIAN

39 VIII - MACTEP - (SELF PRODUCED)

40 MY LAND - ORLA FALLON - ELEVATION GROUP

CAPTAIN FRED’S WORLD CRUISE #105

download site:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/58113

Immigrant Song-Trent Reznor

Did I Let You Know-Red Hot Chili Peppers

'Ulili E-Dennis Kamakahi

Mahiya-Superheavy

Jokey Polka-Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Hanuman-Rodrigo Y Gabriela & C.U.B.A.

The Lady Is A Tramp-Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga

Money Maker-The Black Keys

El Corrido de Jesse James-Ry Cooder

Concierto De Aranjuez-Miles Espanol

Enemy Lines (Oakland Riot Mix)-DJ Shadow

I'm A Better Anarchist Than You-David Rovics

Words I Never Said-Lupe Fiasco

Ends Justify Means-Dub Trio

Soldiers Story-Shaggy

Code Talker-Radmilla Cody

Born In Jail-Scott H Biram

Upbeat Vibes-Digitaldubs

Warm Leatherette-Da Cruz

New York City-Punch Brothers

Ali Mullah-Transglobal Underground

MEGAUPLOAD IS DOWN-Anonymous

AMPB REPORT

ASSOCIATION OF MICRO-POWER BROADCASTERS

PMB 22, 2570 BANCROFT WAY, BERKELEY, CA 94704

(510) 525-2704

E-MAIL: ampb@att.net

blog: www.ampbreport.blogspot.com

youtube channel: CAPTAINFRED999

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

no facebook, myspace, or twitter