"Frank Dresser" wrote in message ...
"Lawrence H. Bulk" wrote in message
om...

The communist countries were on the air with a political agenda which
could be argued (successfully, by our side, as it has turned out).


Arguments didn't run down the communist countries, it was containment and
economics.

Information and education were really what brought down the
communists. I met some individuals from Czechoslovakia and Hungary
during the "cold war" and while they had some potent arguments for the
merits of their system, their failings, once exposed to them and to
their people, outweighed any advantages their system might have
offered. Once their people really knew about the outside world, they
themselves brought down their governments and their failed system.

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the
others."

Were the communists a scourge of mankind? Of course they were
(20,000,000 Russians killed by Stalin, among other atrocities), but
their system at least started out with some noble purpose. It just
worked out exactly the opposite of what its founders envisioned.

(This is a poor point here in this argument, but how many Americans
[native, black, etc.] have been killed with the tacit acceptance of
the government?)

The "religious" broacasters have no noble purpose. Just MONEY.


Anyone who thinks he or she can "buy" his/her way into "heaven" (or
that these so-called "holy men" will help them do so) is, in my
opinion, very foolish.

That's hardly unique to religion. Fool/Money/Parted.

But these "religious" broadcasters prey (no pun intended) on it. That
is their sole (again, no pun ...) reason for existence.


Their "shows" aren't even entertaining!

They are very entertaining!!

Maybe they give you a good laugh but I can tell you that, among other
things, they are ruining the shortwave hobby (as well as being
inherently evil). I have given shortwave receivers as gifts to four
individuals, three youngsters and one adult. I have shown them how to
use these radios, as much as one can do in an hour or two. After a
month or somewhat more, they all had the same complaint: nothing but
"religious" shows on shortwave. Sure I tell them where to tune, but
the complaint persists. No shortwave converts here. Regardless of what
anyone says or even believes, this ("religious" broadcasts), more than
anything else I can think of, is very damaging to the hobby, in my
opinion. These hucksters are not interested in shortwave, or even,
again in my opinion, in true religious beliefs. They only want MONEY!

Sorry for the diatribe, but I really feel strongly about this. I love
listening to the shortwaves for the fun of it (there is still
something magical about it that the internet can never replace) and
for the information it brings about countries that I shall never have
the opportunity to visit. Are the opinions biased? Certainly they are,
but all human opinions are biased in one way or another. At least
these foreign broadcasts have mostly a decent purpose behind them,
whether or not you believe in their system (I have no use whatsoever
for Fidel Castro, but look at the record: he has outlasted nine US
presidents [and who knows, he may outlast George W. Bush]. If there
have been any assassination attempts by his own people against him, I
am unaware of them. (Of course they wouldn't make that a headline on
Radio Havana!) You and I don't like him, all the refugees don't
either, but maybe some of his people do!

I have just as much contempt for the "religious" broadcasters as I do
for Castro.

Again my apologies. You certainly have every right to believe the way
you do (and you don't need my "permission" to do so).

Lawrence