Web links related to the Back of the Book program of October 29, 2001

Hell, it's now Monday morning 11/5/2001 01:20:29 and I'm declaring this Web page finally done. I was at an event all weekend long, just before the program, and that made it quite a busy time, which made for a wild program, for me. I was told not to pitch because tally was shut down at 1:00 AM. I did get to some of the mail backlog on this program. The usual mix of tenses below from my writing here on more than one occasion. It's all done. Let's hope that the settlement mentioned below is a good one for all of us.

Here is the latest on the theft of Pacifica. As I type this there is word of a settlement in the various lawsuits against Pacifica Management. Full settlement details are supposed to come out later this week. When that happens I will post those details at the above link right away.

Here's my take on the current WBAI and Pacifica crisis.

And remember, there's still a gag rule at WBAI.

There have been some developments in the listener lawsuits, as well.

Some listeners are convinced that only open elections will provide a long range cure for the Pacifica Crisis. Here's an election proposal.

Our colleagues from Off the Hook have a RealAudio streaming web cast operating, and it was working at 10:59 PM last night. Their MP3 stream is sometimes working again, although it wasn't last night.

Oh, It's back to Standard Time for all of us and Seasonal Affective Disorder for me.

Some scientists think that they've found a gene that gave rise to speech. This would be one of the main things that have defined humanity.

Now if only we could use this ability to stop from fighting with each other.

I've gone on before about the First amendment and free speech rights on line and off. The problem of large companies forcing people off domain names they legitimately own continues, and I see this as a free speech issue.

I'm glad to report that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has arbitrated in favor of some little guys and has rebuked two companies for “reverse hijacking.”

So we couldn't get to any mail at all on the October 15th, program because it was so short. So we're still backlogged on mail. With luck we'll get caught up in a few more programs.

I should note that Martha from Queens sent us a Halloween card with an amusing audio insert. This audio made several appearances on the program.

The below E-mail relates to my having been born in the Summer. Unfortunately, the link requires that you register with the site. I leave it up to you to decide if you want to do that or not.

Subject: when's your birthday?
Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2001 11:13:29 EDT
From: North American Shirley
To: rpm@glib.com

<<<...... existing evidence that season of birth may be an important factor in mental health during adulthood. Previous studies have indicated that summer babies may be more prone to eating disorders, depression and dyslexia, while autumn and winter babies may be more at risk of schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. >>>>

see: http://psychiatry.medscape.com/40673.rhtml?srcmp=psy-072001

(requires free registration at site)

Fernando weighs in with another trolling E-mail. He likes spy cameras and face recognition in Tampa, Florida, but he wouldn't like it if he ran afoul of such measures.

Subject: Broadcast of July 8
Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2001 18:08:51 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fernando
To: rpm@glib.com

Dear R. Paul,

Please excuse the lateness of this missive on your most recent broadcast which dealt with security cameras being installed in the city of Tampa. I had intended on replying earlier to your comments but recently, I have been travelling to various locations around New Jersey to talk about myself. One such location was shut because of a lice infestation.

On the matter of the cameras in Tampa, I am very much in favor of their use for the purposes of surveilance but I question if they are being installed where they would be of most use. I am very familiar with the Tampa area and I have family there. While growing up, my father would take us to Tampa every year where we would stay with my aunt, who was his sister. When I graduated high school, my aunt took me to Tampa to stay with her and put me to work in my cousin's deli which was located in the Tampa downtown. It was my first job and I began to date one of the waitresses who worked for my cousin. She was a marijuana addict and stood me up one night because she was high and forgot we had a date. I am very much opposed to the use of marijuana. I oppose all substances that impair one's judgement. I believe in keeping one's senses perpetually alert and on the look-out. Everyone has enemies somewhere. Although, I was aware that this girl was smoking reefer, I looked the other way because she was hot and I was interested in sleeping with her. I am thirty-one years old now.

Tampa's cameras are being installed in the Ybor City section which is a trendy strip of clubs and bars. It is usually very crowded and frequented by both tourists and young locals. I don't know if there has been trouble there recently but I feel that the cameras could be more effective in a more remote section of town. While Tampa is a fairly large city, its downtown area is small in comparison to that of most cities. The downtown also shuts down almost entirely once the work day winds down and the streets become very empty and secluded. The Tampa downtown has virtually no night life and so at night is when the homeless and the blacks take to the streets. My cousin used to shut down his deli in the early afternoon just because he wanted to avoid this unsafe element. I believe the cameras would be needed more to keep tabs on what the bums are doing than in watching the trendy bar-goers of Ybor City. Do you know what I mean, R.?

I have no problem in monitoring closely everyone's activities. I firmly believe that if someone is doing nothing wrong or nothing that they should be ashamed of then they have nothing to fear from being watched on camera. I have read in Irving Wallace's book, The Secret Sex Lives Of Famous People, that Elvis Presley used to maintain cameras behing two-way mirrors in the guestrooms of Graceland. Apparently, the King liked to watch his guests having sex. Is this true, R.?

I recently watched an episode of Sixty Minutes which featured a report on the alarming number of rapes in South Africa. It seems that a rape occurs in South Africa every twenty three seconds! This is incredible, Paul. These people should have cameras installed there. Fortunately there is a nice amount of vigilantism going on in South Africa as well. Sixty Minutes showed footage of a group of rapists being tied together naked while a whole town rolled out and beat them up. We need more of this here to keep the people in line. Force is an excellent deterrent for crime and a proven means of controlling people.

I read in my local newspaper that a protest was waged in Ybor City by people opposed to the cameras. They wore Groucho Marx masks and they gave the cameras their middle finger. These people are ingrates. Would they be happier at the mercy of African rape gangs? What are these people doing that they do not want to be on camera? I would love to be on camera. In a well-regulated civilized society, there is no privacy.

Thanks for listening, R. Paul. I remain as always a fan.

Fernando
Florham Park, NJ

Next we have an illustration of how tense and uncertain things are around WBAI these days. A mis-tuning of the radio dial gets a listener to wondering if Back of the Book has been removed from the air.

Subject: What Happened?
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 01:34:00 EDT
From: Mike
To: rpm@glib.com

Dear R Paul,

I just tried to tune to your program and got a new station. What Happened?

I thought there was something wrong with my radio. I'll miss your program. If you get a chance please e-mail me what happened at ———@——

Sincerely,
Mike


Subject: Sorry
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 01:55:31 EDT
From: Mike
To: rpm@glib.com

Dear R.Paul,

Please excuse my email “What Happened” I must have picked up another station down here in Ocean County New Jersey and thought I lost your station.

Sincerely,
Mike

Next we have a listener correcting what was apparently a cascade of goofs I made on a program. I did not read all of the comments about WBAI on the air, but I can post them here.

Subject: Ouch
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 13:54:53 -0400
From: Gene
To: rpm@glib.com

Pau, Re your show of shows of 7/23:

Kathleen Harris, Fl Sec'y of State, not AG. Think about it- it's bad enough she was foisted into a meaningless, about-to-be-abolished position(or is being abolished because of her pre-election performance?), but AG? She is not an attorney, and I would be surprised if anyone got into this spot in even the most backward of states without a law degree. Bob Butterworth, a Democrat, is AG, I'm pretty sure- it's elected in Fl.

Not some Democrats, but the state party of Oregon, passed the S.C. impeachment gambit.

The meeting in Quebec City in April was not WTO, but Free Trade Area of the Americas, a hemispheric expansion of NAFTA. Maybe govt officials are only straphangers anyway these days, but it was quite a different cast than World Bank, G-8 and even WTO meetings.

Speaking of losing friends? WBAI died a slow death after I returned from vacation Jan 8. I was way of state and knew nothing about the coup. I rarely listen anymore, including your show. I check in Tue-Thu at midnite for hints and whispers about what's really up inside and out in the streets. I started referring to and thinking about your bud Sidney Smith's show as “The Janitor's Show,” after he was identified as a janitor on an email list decrying Mama Doc's report to the listener wherein she appeared to round up testiliars including Sidney wherever she could find them. I wouldn't touch “Sunrise” and have been most amused to learn a bit of Nieves' history with BAI management.

I do WBIX a bit, but mostly go west - KPFA and KAZU in Pacific Grove. I enjoyed somewhat Laura Flanders on KWAB, but it was watered down somewhat for commerical purposes, and of course it folded a couple months ago.

Do you ever get much mail on your scientific musings and expositions? No offense, but there seems a chasm between the letters you share and your 'science segments?' It's not level of understanding, it's areas of interest. I wonder how much of the audience is along for the ride. I frankly got lost last night.

Cheers. Gene


Subject: Fwd: The Growing Gay Workforce
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 14:49:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: Alan
To: rpm@glib.com

hi, R. Paul

look at this,,,

from kyobasi, in Japan

this is not alan

The Growing Gay WorkforceGay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) employees are a rich talent pool you can't afford to ignore. GLBT issues are especially important in IT because anecdotal evidence suggests that gays are overrep Queta Gonzalez, a project manager at Shell Services International, says gay and lesbian IT workers feel most comfortable working at companies that demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity ....

http://computerworld.com/nlt/1%2C3590%2CNAV64_STO62386_NLTC%2C00.html

The Homer restaurant is gone, as are a number of other things these days.

Subject: Personal note
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 20:07:05 -0400
From: Barbara
To: rpm@glib.com

Hi R. Paul!

Heard you last night, and you made me so sad. I didn't realize that Homer's was gone. It really makes you think about where all of us are to go as these special places that make community disappear. I just assumed the place was safe but apparently the developer has won out.

This worm you speak of, someone last week in my office said it had come from Italy, and after all thats happened there I woudn't doubt it.

glad to see you hanging in,
Barbara

This next E-mail from North American Shirley tells us something that we probably all know already.

Subject: Liberals sleep sounder?
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 20:48:32 EDT
From: North American Shirley
To: rpm@glib.com

Do Conservatives have more Nightmares?
A new study found intriguing relationships between political ideology and dreams. Conservatives had more nightmares than Liberals, and female right-wingers had the most sexual dreams. Most of the press reported this story as Republicans having more nightmares than Democrats. The study was more complex than that, but the sample was so small that it is unclear what the results mean.

http://mentalhealth.about.com/library/weekly/aa073001a.htm

Susan from Long Island sent some missives and things that you can link to.

Subject: JibJab Link For You!
Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2001 06:46:18 "GMT"
From: susan from long island
To: rpm@glib.com

Hi

Your friend, susan from long island, thought our site was good enough to recommend to you. Click the link below to check it out!

http://www.jibjab.com/default.asp?mode=link&link=freestuff/screensavers/declaration.htm


Subject: E-Greeting For You!
Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2001 07:14:38 "GMT"
From: susan from long island
To: rpm@glib.com

You have an e-greeting waiting for you at JibJab.com. To view your card just click the link below.

http://www.jibjab.com/default.asp?mode=ecards&cardnum=455974762&id=173896

You'll be able to view your card for the next 30 days. We hope you enjoy it!

Sincerly,

susan from long island


Subject: You have a multimedia greeting card on our server!
Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 07:05:53 -0600 (MDT)
From: susan from long island
To: rpm@glib.com

Hi,

SFLIstopped by our site, “STUPIDHEAD” and created a Virtual Card just for you! To pick up your card, simply point your browser at the page listed below.

http://stupidhead.net/flashcards/aug4-3035383139.html

The card will remain on the server for about 10 days, so please print it out or save it as soon as you can.

North American Shirley gets some odd calls! Sadly, for some, the National Debris Preserve is pretty much gone now.

Subject: Lying In
Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 14:40:59 EDT
From: North American Shirley
To: rpm@glib.com

I was awakened this morning by a call informing me that I had been randomly selected for a free cemetery plot (you can imagine my excitement) ... Alas I was too sleepy for the witty replies I thought of later. But it got me thinking - where would I like my ashes scattered when the time comes? I finally came up with the ideal place - would you mind if I found my eternal rest in the National Debris Preserve?
Yours perpetually,
North American Shirley

Here's a vote for science topics on the program — among other things. We even have a reference to an old friend at the end.

Subject: Re: August 6th “Back of the Book”
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 05:38:45 EDT
From: kalipadma
To: rpm@glib.com

Yes, R. Paul, I am usually listening to your show while I'm naked. It's late, the weather's hot, I'm half-asleep, and your sexy allusions to personal body functions (“pardon me while I cough on the air”) set my loins a-stirring.

If the studio continues to go without air-conditioning, I strongly suggest you remove your clothes while on the air, too. (“Naked radio with R. Paul Martin at the arse-end of Wall Street.” Old habits die hard, eh? Use a rubber. You don't know where Wall Street's been.)

Your science-based articles don't bore the pants off me (as I said, I'm not wearing any). But the theories of astronomers about the origins of the universe are difficult to prove. I personally think the heavens are supported by giant elephants, while Lord Vishnu dreams us into being while sleeping on the coils of a sea-serpent. Prove me wrong.

But I like best when you talk about the early days of the Gay Rights movement. So, who was the actor you “ate” in one of the trucks along the West Village piers? Someone asked me how I liked Ben & Jerry's “Cherry Garcia” ice cream pop. I said, “I'd rather be eating Bob Weir. ”

I, too, have a “wee mousie” problem. The latest invader is just a baby, doesn't even know to run along the walls or that humans are scary. I shout, “Get out!” and he leaps several inches into the air and runs away. Cute, huh? Bummer that your mousie is eating Pickles' plants. My cat used to do that...

Fernando needs to get a life.

Long live Pope Weaselpenis!

-- Black Lotus

And here's another vote for scientific topics!

Subject: cosmology on air
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 10:33:06 -0400
From: “Pubdogs”
To: rpm@glib.com

Dear R.paul; Hi my name is David and I have been listening to your show for at least 10 years now. I work at night (concierge/porter) so I have plenty of time to think. The science segment of your show is greatly needed and apprieciated. The early man/neanderthal stories are my favorite.Please keep it going we are out there. P.S. I have been a contributor in the past but I'm kinda turned off and confused by the recent events at the station. Thank you Pubdog 1

There are a lot of issues that we can't talk about on the air at WBAI. But there is an Internet list called “Free Pacifica!” which you can subscribe to, and these issues are discussed there. If you subscribe to it you will receive, via E-mail, all of the messages which are sent to that list. You will also be able to send messages to the list.

If you want to subscribe to the “Free Pacifica!” list just click on this link and follow the instructions, and you'll be subscribed. Could open your eyes a little bit.

The above list has occasionally produced a high volume of E-mail because of the attention that these issues have drawn. If you would prefer to subscribe to a low volume list that only provides announcements of events related to these issues then subscribe to the FreePac mailing list.

Another list that's sprung up is the “NewPacifica” mailing list. This one is very lively and currently includes over 400 subscribers coast to coast. Being lively, of course, it sometimes also gets a bit nasty. All sorts of things are happening on this list. With that warning in mind, you can look at the NewPacifica list here, and you can join the list from that Web page too, although you'll have to deal with Yahoo! to do so.

There is also the more WBAI specific “Goodlight” Web based message board. This one has a great many people posting anonymously and there's also an ancillary board that's just totally out of hand.

The “Goodlight” Web based message board has expanded to cover all Pacifica stations.


My voice mail number at WBAI is 212-209-2996. Leave a message.

You can also send me E-mail.



WBAI related links

Free Pacifica Web site

WBAI Listeners' Web page

WBAI Management's official Web site


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The contents of this Web page and subsequent Web pages on this site are copyright © 2000, R. Paul Martin