VOA to be eliminated?
 

Passport 2006 says that Voice of America will be eliminated entirely and
resources shifted to other radio and TV ventures of the US govt. This
means that real programming will be dumped in favor of music services
and that lame Al Houri satellite TV channel that nobody watches.

Al Houri was a good idea, especially considering that more Arabs watch
satellite TV than listen to shortwave, but like everything else in the
war on terror the Bushies have completely ****ed it up. EVERYBODY knows
that it is a propaganda arm of the US govt, and therefore NOBODY watches
it except when Saddam's trial is on. Don't get me started on Radio Sawa.

It seems that SW services around the world are severely being curtailed
except for countries like China which are far from an unbiased source.
At least Radio Havana is interesting (sometimes) and occasionally drops
a real bombshell that makes it on to the US evening news three nights
later.

In today's unstable geopolitical environment, I think cutting back on
shortwave will prove to be a real mistake. The BBC didn't bother to
serve Nepal except on FM until the king clamped down. The Beeb's FM
station in Kathmandu was shut down and the reporters arrested. Suddenly,
the Beeb was redirecting SW transmissions to Nepal to serve the
Nepalese.

SW has proven its utility in places like Zimbabwe and China where the
populace is limited in the news they can get from the outside world and
where asking the wrong questions can make you disappear. Don't think
that a clampdown can't happen in America, or a revolution in Saudi
Arabia, or an insurgent victory in Iraq. Then people would see how much
of a mistake it was to cut shortwave.

VOA to be eliminated?
 

running dogg wrote:
Passport 2006 says that Voice of America will be eliminated entirely and
resources shifted to other radio and TV ventures of the US govt. This
means that real programming will be dumped in favor of music services
and that lame Al Houri satellite TV channel that nobody watches.

Al Houri was a good idea, especially considering that more Arabs watch
satellite TV than listen to shortwave, but like everything else in the
war on terror the Bushies have completely ****ed it up. EVERYBODY knows
that it is a propaganda arm of the US govt, and therefore NOBODY watches
it except when Saddam's trial is on. Don't get me started on Radio Sawa.

It seems that SW services around the world are severely being curtailed
except for countries like China which are far from an unbiased source.
At least Radio Havana is interesting (sometimes) and occasionally drops
a real bombshell that makes it on to the US evening news three nights
later.

In today's unstable geopolitical environment, I think cutting back on
shortwave will prove to be a real mistake. The BBC didn't bother to
serve Nepal except on FM until the king clamped down. The Beeb's FM
station in Kathmandu was shut down and the reporters arrested. Suddenly,
the Beeb was redirecting SW transmissions to Nepal to serve the
Nepalese.

SW has proven its utility in places like Zimbabwe and China where the
populace is limited in the news they can get from the outside world and
where asking the wrong questions can make you disappear. Don't think
that a clampdown can't happen in America, or a revolution in Saudi
Arabia, or an insurgent victory in Iraq. Then people would see how much
of a mistake it was to cut shortwave.

It's gonna free up some valuable bandwidth, though.

VOA to be eliminated?
 

For Bro. Stair and the like.

Hudley Pearse

VOA to be eliminated?
 

David wrote:
On 13 Feb 2006 06:46:00 -0800, "John S." wrote:


SW has proven its utility in places like Zimbabwe and China where the
populace is limited in the news they can get from the outside world and
where asking the wrong questions can make you disappear. Don't think
that a clampdown can't happen in America, or a revolution in Saudi
Arabia, or an insurgent victory in Iraq. Then people would see how much
of a mistake it was to cut shortwave.

I don't see how a government funded and operated shortwave radio
station like VOA would help if the government is doing the clamping
down. Unless you plan to be the one who singlehandedly storms the VOA
on Independence Avenue during the clampdown.

The USA has been under a media clampdown for over 20 years. The
people are sufficiently brainwashed and no threat to the rulers.

Oooooh...I.....see.....

Are the rulers you are concerned about commuting to Area 51 by flying
saucer to run the nation?

VOA to be eliminated?
 

"John S." wrote in message
oups.com...

David wrote:
On 13 Feb 2006 06:46:00 -0800, "John S." wrote:


SW has proven its utility in places like Zimbabwe and China
where the
populace is limited in the news they can get from the outside
world and
where asking the wrong questions can make you disappear. Don't
think
that a clampdown can't happen in America, or a revolution in
Saudi
Arabia, or an insurgent victory in Iraq. Then people would see
how much
of a mistake it was to cut shortwave.

I don't see how a government funded and operated shortwave radio
station like VOA would help if the government is doing the
clamping
down. Unless you plan to be the one who singlehandedly storms
the VOA
on Independence Avenue during the clampdown.

The USA has been under a media clampdown for over 20 years. The
people are sufficiently brainwashed and no threat to the rulers.

Oooooh...I.....see.....

Are the rulers you are concerned about commuting to Area 51 by
flying
saucer to run the nation?

It's the same group that periodically shuts down the
internet for maintenance.

--Mike L.

VOA to be eliminated?
 

On 13 Feb 2006 08:11:12 -0800, "John S." wrote:


David wrote:
On 13 Feb 2006 06:46:00 -0800, "John S." wrote:


SW has proven its utility in places like Zimbabwe and China where the
populace is limited in the news they can get from the outside world and
where asking the wrong questions can make you disappear. Don't think
that a clampdown can't happen in America, or a revolution in Saudi
Arabia, or an insurgent victory in Iraq. Then people would see how much
of a mistake it was to cut shortwave.

I don't see how a government funded and operated shortwave radio
station like VOA would help if the government is doing the clamping
down. Unless you plan to be the one who singlehandedly storms the VOA
on Independence Avenue during the clampdown.

The USA has been under a media clampdown for over 20 years. The
people are sufficiently brainwashed and no threat to the rulers.

Oooooh...I.....see.....

Are the rulers you are concerned about commuting to Area 51 by flying
saucer to run the nation?

Mock as you will. The USA is finished.

VOA to be eliminated?
 

David wrote:

On 13 Feb 2006 08:11:12 -0800, "John S." wrote:


David wrote:
On 13 Feb 2006 06:46:00 -0800, "John S." wrote:


SW has proven its utility in places like Zimbabwe and China where the
populace is limited in the news they can get from the outside world and
where asking the wrong questions can make you disappear. Don't think
that a clampdown can't happen in America, or a revolution in Saudi
Arabia, or an insurgent victory in Iraq. Then people would see how much
of a mistake it was to cut shortwave.

I don't see how a government funded and operated shortwave radio
station like VOA would help if the government is doing the clamping
down. Unless you plan to be the one who singlehandedly storms the VOA
on Independence Avenue during the clampdown.

The USA has been under a media clampdown for over 20 years. The
people are sufficiently brainwashed and no threat to the rulers.

Oooooh...I.....see.....

Are the rulers you are concerned about commuting to Area 51 by flying
saucer to run the nation?

Mock as you will. The USA is finished.

You'll be finished long before the USA is, dumbf**k.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

VOA to be eliminated?
 

I wouldn't go Bird Hunting with any politicians or ex politicians or
future politicians either.I prefer to LIVE.I wouldn't even go hunting
with goobernor Haley Barbour.Now,I certainly would go Hunting with the
37 year old blonde Bell South woman next door because she has been
Hunting before for many years and I trust she wouldn't shoot me.
cuhulin

VOA to be eliminated?
 

Mr.Whittington had a close call.I think he thinks too close for
comfort.Last night,I heard on my radio he is doing ok,he is sitting up
and flirtin with them nurses.He will survive.
cuhulin

VOA to be eliminated?
 

HFguy wrote:
John S. wrote:

Is there such a thing as an government radio station that is an
unbiased news source? I can't think of one.

I think Swiss Radio (SRI) was about as unbiased as a government station
could be. Sadly they're gone. I miss the 'Two Bobs' DX program.

Yeah, that was a really enjoyable program.

VOA to be eliminated?
 

That might explain a lot, but I think space aliens would have to be
smarter than this crew.

Hudley Pearse

VOA to be eliminated?
 

VOA to be eliminated?
 

I may be wrong, but I suspect you're underestimating the intelligence of
those foreign officials. No slight to you or anything, but I suspect that
most of them are quite a bit more sophisticated than we might suspect.
Especially the higher level leaders as some of them have probably been to
the US at some point or another. So they probably understand the concept of
non state owned enterprises. But the big thing is that they don't endorse
freedom because it is a threat to their monopoly on power.

I do agree though that the US is unique in that you can pretty much host
your own show as long as you can foot the bill. That's rare when you
consider that in a lot of nations, the broadcasting corporations are state
owned and only in a number of Western nations are there alternative
broadcasts.


"running dogg" wrote in message
. ..
wrote:

Bro. Stair's going to CRI? Like Dr. Gene Scott was renting
transmitters from Voice of Russia for a while? That would be
interesting. Stair, et al, are already a sort of alternative Voice of
America, telling them that we are insane fundies!

Hudley Pearse


I've always been worried about unintended audiences (ie foreigners)
listening to US kook broadcasts and mistakenly thinking that the kooks
are somehow endorsed by the US govt or even worse that they are official
US govt broadcasts. Someday, some US politician is going to be told by
an important official in a vital part of the world that the US govt
endorses some extreme stand against said part of the world expressed by
US kook broadcasters (like preachers saying that Islam is an evil
religion). Why? Because it's on a radio station licensed by the US govt,
of course.

The US is virtually unique in the world in that the central govt does
NOT control all broadcast media tightly and does NOT have an official
state broadcaster. Anybody can say practically whatever they want on a
govt licensed broadcast station within a few broad limits, if they're
willing to pay for it. In most of the rest of the world, including
Europe, that is simply inconcievable. I don't expect officials in say
Iran or China to understand the fine differences between US govt
licensing of a station and paid programming by non-govt entities on said
station. That difference could cost the US dearly in the future, not
just with leaders but with public opinion in places that are already
predisposed to view the US unfavorably.