Dear cj, For some reason, the cj#'s jumped down from #969 to #770 back on the 4th of July. I guess they were declaring their digital independence. With this post, I've persuaded them to be more cooperative. Below are four items about censorship, one about KPFA, another from Pakistan, one involving the NY Times, and another involving a Chinese cyberspace attack on Canadian service providers. I've been a KPFA listener since the sixties, and it has provided a unique counter-voice in the San Francisco Bay Area to the deluge of all-the-same media disinformation. The station has survived many previous attacks, and it is sad to learn that its demise seems to imminent. regards, rkm ============================================================================ ============================================================================ Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 18:51:05 -0700 From: Daniel del Solar <•••@••.•••> To: NolanHarvard Bowie <•••@••.•••> Bcc: rkm Subject: [Fwd: Pacifica's Assault on KPFA] THE classic line at a time like this is, "what is to be done?" or, "Que hacer?" I've been a producer, subscriber, and listener, for 28 years at KPFA and other Pacifica stations. I think it is a real challenge and would like to hear what you think are good options, good things to do. I hope this finds you well. Daniel ---fwd message--- Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 06:53:37 -0700 From: Norman Solomon <•••@••.•••> To: •••@••.••• ASSAULT ON RADIO STATION RAISES KEY ISSUES By Norman Solomon It could become a notable media crime of the century -- the killing of the strongest progressive radio station in the United States. Or it may turn out to be a case of attempted murder, ultimately averted by the determined struggle of a vibrant 50-year-old named KPFA. With its back against the wall, the nation's first listener-supported radio station is fighting for its life. Days ago, sources confirmed what many supporters of KPFA Radio have suspected for a long time: KPFA's parent company, the Pacifica Foundation, is moving toward sale of the station. The foundation could gain $60 million or more from such a sale. But the loss to much of Northern California -- which has received the unique political and cultural offerings of the Berkeley-based station since 1949 -- would be incalculable. KPFA has overcome many big obstacles. During the McCarthy era, pseudo-patriotic zealots tried to shut it down. Financial problems and internal strife often afflicted the fiercely independent station while its unabashed leftist politics and diverse cultural programs clashed with the mainstream mush dominating the radio band. With escalating ruthlessness in recent months, the Pacifica Foundation which also owns noncommercial radio stations in Los Angeles, Houston, New York City and Washington -- has subjected KPFA's staff to repeated attacks on free speech. Journalists have been harassed and fired for the content of their on-air reports. One evening in mid-July, longtime staffers were among more than 50 people arrested for "trespassing" at the station after management interrupted a newscast in mid-sentence and imposed a lockout. According to a spokesperson for Pacifica board chair Mary Frances Berry, last Tuesday night she "emphatically denied" that selling KPFA is "an option being seriously considered." But the next day, the latest deception fell apart. "I take no pleasure in being here today," board member Pete Bramson told a news conference Wednesday afternoon, "but I cannot remain silent while Pacifica's national board holds serious discussions in secret about selling KPFA." In fact, during a phone meeting of the national Pacifica board -- only hours before Berry's denial on Tuesday -- the board vice chair had proposed taking out a $5 million loan against the value of KPFA's license. And, as Bramson noted, the proposal involved "selling the KPFA frequency, which has an estimated value of $65-$75 million." In the tradition of gutsy whistleblowers, Bramson spoke openly about the private meeting. He provided chilling details of a discussion in which leaders of the board talked about selling a precious and beloved radio station as if it were a tract of barren real estate. "We do need our radio station back," Bramson said at the Berkeley news conference. "I call publicly on my fellow board members to do the right thing and give KPFA back to its community." Such pleas resonate with people across the country who have often lost their favorite radio stations to gradual corporatization or outright sale. Last Wednesday evening, with tensions soaring still higher and a mass demonstration set to fill the streets of Berkeley on Saturday, it appeared that Pacifica chair Berry was suddenly beginning to offer some concessions. The details were murky as the station's thousands of active supporters waited to see her offer in writing. But one overarching reality remained clear: Whether or not KPFA's staff would be back inside the station's building on Martin Luther King Jr. Way at the start of August, the key issues of the huge dispute were sure to remain. Can KPFA revive its tradition of free speech and fearless challenge to corporate power on the air? Can the station, after half a century, turn back the authoritarian forces eager to crush its most vibrant characteristics? The answers that emerge from the struggle to save KPFA are sure to reverberate far beyond the range of the station's transmitters. Several decades ago, across America, the noncommercial portion of the FM band was explicitly set aside for the public -- but few of the radio stations that call themselves "listener supported" have been willing to open their decision- making process to direct community participation. Public radio's evocations of democratic values on the airwaves are undermined when stations treat democracy as a concept that should not intrude past their own front doors. In such a context, the governance of the medium is the message. ________________________________________________ Norman Solomon is a syndicated columnist. His latest book is "The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media." ============================================================================ ============================================================================ From: •••@••.••• () [Pakistan] To: •••@••.••• (Richard K. Moore) Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 23:33:00 +0000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Subject: (Fwd) Editor banned from writing, reporter threatened CC: •••@••.••• ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 08:25:31 -0700 (PDT) From: Beena Sarwar <•••@••.•••> July 28 Editor banned from writing, reporter threatened When the confrontation between Jang-News and the government eased in late February, Dr Maleeha Lodhi, the editor of The News (Rawalpindi-Islamabad), one of the whose sacking was sought by official authorities, was asked by the management to exercise caution in her writings. In April however, the management requested her not to write critical pieces under her own name for the time being. In May when she wrote a piece on the governments crackdown on The Friday Times and detention without trial of its editor, the management stopped her from publishing this. That piece was subsequently published in The Friday Times. Thereafter, the management told her the only way it had managed to resist the government's demand to sack her was to offer the assurance that she would not write signed pieces until she mended her relations with the Prime Minister. This implicitly meant that she could now only write under her byline if the government so permitted by signaling that relations had been mended. Prevented from writing in the paper she edits since April 1999, Dr Lodhi has since then been writing for weekly and monthly publications which are not part of the newspaper group she works for. There has been no official statement in this regard, nor has the government contradicted the reports and comments appearing in other newspapers (eg. Dawn) about the ban on Dr Lodhis writing. However, when questioned, government officials privately fend off criticism by saying that if Dr Lodhi has a problem with her Publisher, that is not their fault. However, Dr Lodhi points out that if such a problem existed, she would hardly have been entrusted with not only bringing out an entire newspaper but also managing its editorial pages and policies, and even writing editorials (eg. the one below). Dr Lodhi is not the only member of the News staff in Pindi-Islamabad to be threatened. Frequently in the last six months, Nadeem Malik, senior economic correspondent of The News, has been harassed by intelligence sleuths and anonymous callers. The most serious incidents occurred in January 1999 when on two successive nights, unidentified people tried to break into his house but ran away when he and his family raised an alarm. A similar incident also took place during the day on February 15, 1999 at 11.30 a.m. On other occasions he has been chased and stopped by what he believes are intelligence sleuths as they kept trying to interrogate him. More recently, including in the last several days following a number of stories filed by him on the state of Pakistan's economy, especially about Islamabad's problems with the IMF, this pattern of official intimidation has revived. On successive nights in the week starting July 13, 1999 anonymous telephone calls have been received coinciding with an official blacklisting of Mr. Malik by the Finance Ministry. Mr. Malik believes the offending story that might have led to the ongoing campaign of harassment concerned an analysis by him on how economic weakness had forced Islamabad to bow to international pressure for the withdrawal of Kashmiri fighters from Kargil. Mr. Nadeem Malik apprehends that his personal safety is under threat. He fears that his house may be broken into as threats that he has received on the phone may translate into actions such as these. Editorial in The News, July 26 1999 since editorials are not signed, Dr Lodhi is allowed to write in this space Press under fire Many high-profile cases of intimidation and harassment of renowned journalists and their organisations drew domestic and international criticism of the government this year. Less noticed, though equally appalling, has been the state of the press working outside the mainstream national media. Last week, the news editor of a Sindhi daily, Kawish, was arrested by the Kotri police, forcing journalists to take to the streets in protest in Moro. This was not an isolated incident. Reports of one or the other Sindhi daily or weekly being suspended and its editor taken into custody regularly appear in newspapers. The troubled city of Karachi, where many of Pakistan's publications are based, makes the job of journalists even more demanding as private mafias are as interested in getting a favourable press as the government. Elsewhere in the country, unless they 'cooperate' with the administrative and political hierarchy, journalists at the local level are likely to face their wrath usually on the pretext of anti-state activities or one of the many laws used to curb the freedom of expression. The role of Pakistan's vernacular press, especially the Sindhi-language publications and small papers in many towns of Punjab, in giving voice to the people at the local level is little acknowledged. This small-town press has, by and large, been a messenger of authentic public sentiments at the grassroots. And doing this job scrupulously often means inviting the fury of local administrations and other segments whose interests are hurt by independent reporting and dissenting views. Anti-press measures targeting lesser known journalists in so-called "remote" areas and small towns often do not elicit the same response at home and abroad as we see in instances of national media figures and their publications. Yet protecting their rights by actively supporting them is crucial to Pakistans political development. Given recent events, it is not surprising that the example of intolerance set at the national level has been impacting at the local level by fostering the same behaviour of officials towards journalists. That is why so many incidents have come to light of harassment of pressmen across the country in smaller towns and cities. These cases must not lose our attention and support. The principle of freedom of expression is universal and needs to be protected at all places. (ends) Beena Sarwar, Editor (The News on Sunday) 13-Sir Agha Khan Road, Lahore (Pakistan) Ph: 9242 6304745 Fax: 9242 637-1335 Do You Yahoo!? Free instant messaging and more at http://messenger.yahoo.com -------------------------------------------------------- Imagine a World where All Women Enjoy their Human Rights creed (http://sangat.org/creed) citizens alliance in reforms for efficient and equitable development 44 Darulaman Society 7/8 Sharea Faisel Karachi PAKISTAN ph (9221) 453-0668 452-8884 499-0566 fax 454-9219 499-0566 777-2752 ============================================================================ ============================================================================ From: •••@••.••• Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 11:42:48 EDT To: •••@••.••• Subject: [actionalerts] DEVELOPING NEWS!!! NY TIMES HOLDS BACK NEW GERTH STORY ON CITIBANK AND CHINA From: •••@••.••• From: "Peter Murray" <•••@••.•••> TAKE ACTION!!!! PLEASE CIRCULATE!!!!! ====================================== Write NY TIMES!!!! EMAIL ADDY: •••@••.••• Tell them to RELEASE Gerth/Citibank Report!!!!!! ====================================== NY TIMES HOLDS BACK NEW GERTH STORY ON CITIBANK AND CHINA **Exclusive** The DRUDGE REPORT has learned that the NEW YORK TIMES is holding back a new blockbuster report that details how a New York City bank has been slow to cooperate with various federal investigations looking into money transfers from China to individuals suspected of passing cash to the Democratic National Committee. According to publishing sources, NEW YORK TIMES star reporter Jeff Gerth filed his story last Friday. And publication of the report has now been bumped from Saturday to Sunday to Monday...to one day. "It is a big story, and its fair to say that the editors are nervous," one newspaper source explained early on Monday. "And sure, CITIBANK is a huge advertiser." The exclusive report details how CITIBANK has failed to cooperate with various law enforcement officials in the China case. Investigators have subpoenaed bank account records of suspected money runners. CITIBANK has balked at providing any such records, according to the report, citing, among other things, a "language barrier" problem with its Hong Kong office. [CITIBANK also claimed the twelve hour time differential between New York and Hong Kong has led to communication difficulties.] One congressional committee investigating the cash transfers from China is now threatening to subpoena individuals from CITIBANK to explain the lack of cooperation. China's alleged money laundering scheme has been on Gerth's radar for months. "[Gerth] filed a solid story, that was very well sourced," one TIMES insider said of the Pulitzer Prize winner. "No one really knows why it hasn't run." ---<snip>--- ============================================================================ ============================================================================ Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 09:36:55 -0400 (EDT) To: •••@••.••• From: Cyber Rights <•••@••.•••> Subject: Canadian ISP's Under Attack in Internet War (Canada/China) Sender: John Walker <•••@••.•••> The CSS Internet News (tm) is a daily e-mail publication that has been providing up to date information to Netizens since 1996. Subscription information is available at: http://www.bestnet.org/~jwalker/inews.htm or send an e-mail to •••@••.••• with ---<snip---- Canadian ISP's Under Attack in Internet War (Canada/China) Hamilton, Ontario Internet service provider experiences Denial of Service attacks after hosting Falundafa site. by John Walker CSS Internet News http://www.bestnet.org/~jwalker Tuesday, 27 July 99 The Falundafa site was transferred to Bestnet Internet Inc late last night after another Canadian ISP which had been hosting the site could no longer cope with the continual attacks. Eric Weigel, Director of Bestnet Internet Inc. said in an interview today that the site was up at Bestnet by about 10:00 P.M. EST last night and the Denial of Service attacks began within an hour. Bestnet is one of several ISP's mirroring the sect's site after it was banned by the Government of China. System logs show attacks originating from The Information Service Center of XinAn, Beijing, China, and other locations in China. One ISP reports that "It is not just my machine under attack it is many machines from all over the US and Canada many of which are .edu (educational) sites." Mr. Weigel says "Bestnet will attempt to continue hosting the site in spite of attacks from individuals or governments. That's what we do." A regime that attempts to stifle free speech on the 'Net is bound to fail. A site that is banned in one country can be mirrored on hundreds of servers all over the world in just hours. This is one of the great strengths of the Internet. Links: Falundafa http://www.falundafa.ca Bestnet Internet Inc. http://www.bestnet.org Asia Pacific Information Center http://www.apnic.net/db Eric Wiegel, Director Bestnet Internet Inc. •••@••.••• ---<snip---- Posted by Andrew Oram - •••@••.••• A CPSR Project -- http://www.cpsr.org -- •••@••.••• http://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/cyberjournal-rights/ Materials may be reposted in their _entirety_ for non-commercial use. ============================================================================ ======================================================================== •••@••.••• a political discussion forum. crafted in Ireland by rkm (Richard K. Moore) To subscribe, send any message to •••@••.••• A public service of Citizens for a Democratic Renaissance (mailto:•••@••.••• http://cyberjournal.org) **--> Non-commercial reposting is encouraged, but please include the sig up through this paragraph and retain any internal credits and copyright notices. Copyrighted materials are posted under "fair-use". To see the index of the cj archives, send a blank message: mailto:•••@••.••• To subscribe to our activists list, send a blank message: mailto:•••@••.••• To sample the book-in-progress, "Achieving a Livable World", see: http://cyberjournal.org/cdr/alpw/alpw.html Help create the Movement for a Democratic Rensaissance! A community will evolve only when the people control their means of communication. -- Frantz Fanon Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world, indeed it's the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead
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