DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-196, December 13, 2001 edited by Glenn Hauser, wghauser@hotmail.com {Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. For restrixions and searchable 2001, 2000 contents archive see} http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/Dxldmid.html Check the WOR websites: http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/ http://www.worldofradio.com [NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn] WORLD OF RADIO #1109: (STREAM) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1109.ram (DOWNLOAD) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1109.rm (SUMMARY) http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/wor1109.html NEXT AIRINGS ON WWCR: Friday 1030 on 3210, Saturday 0300 on 3215 FIRST AIRINGS ON RFPI: Friday 1930, Saturday 0130, 0730, 1330, 1800 on some of: 21815-USB, 15040, 7445 ON WORLD RADIO NETWORK: Sat 0900 to rest of world; 1500 to NAm SELECTED ENGLISH LANGUAGE DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS ON SHORTWAVE compiled by John Norfolk, OKCOK new revision December 12, 2001: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html HOLIDAY SPECIALS ON WEBCASTING US PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS: http://www.worldofradio.com/holiday.html (under construxion) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS Glenn: Just wanted to thank you so very much for all the work you and your team are doing to make sure we DX'ers get the information we depend on from the one program that I`ve enjoyed since the old UT [University of Tennessee] Radio days, World of Radio. Many thanks for pushing ahead with your hard work, and I also want to thank you for your inspiring me to get into the hobby in 1976. --- (Noble West, TN, Dec 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Glen[n], I would like to say how much I appreciate your work for the DXing movement, totally committed, and you will always credit me when I tell you things. Not like one DXer you know who won`t do this. I also appreciate your DXLD which I receive via David Vitek. Really great (Chris Hambly, Mont Albert North, Victoria, Australia, Dec 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello Glenn, Just a quick note to send you a few dollars to support your work with World of Radio. I`m not independently wealthy (far from it), but will try and send something when I can. WOR and COM are the most informative programs on the airwaves, and I try to listen as often as possible. Keep up the great work. Sincerely, (Frederick Moe, Seldom Heard Radio, Warner NH, Dec 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN. DX Information from the British DX Club (BDXC-UK). My brother, who is currently in Kabul with the BBC World Service, has visited Radio Afghanistan and managed to confirm that they are now using two transmitters: 1. AM 1530 kHz 2. FM 96 MHz. They are on air between 6-8 am and 4-9 pm local time (i.e. 0130-0330 and 1130-1630 UT C). The main news is at 1430-1500 in Pashto and 1500-1530 UT in Dari. Transmitter power is not known, but reception is reportedly possible within about 80 km of Kabul (Richard Kenny in Kabul via Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK via DXLD) The above information may only be reproduced if full credit is given to the original source, contributor AND to the British DX Club (BDXC-UK) ** AFGHANISTAN. Here is the CNN broadcast piece on the Radio Afghanistan news anchor that happens to also be a woman. http://www.cnn.com/video/world/2001/12/12/ps.afg.anchorwoman.cnn.med.html (Pete Costello, NJ, Dec 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Senate Committee Approves Radio Free Afghanistan 13 December 2001 The proposed Radio Free Afghanistan has moved a step closer to reality following the approval of the relevant bill by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on 12 December. The bill has already been approved overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives (405-2), and now goes to the full Senate for a vote. Radio Free Afghanistan will be based at the headquarters of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in Prague, and RFE/RL has indicated that it could be ready to start transmissions within a few months of getting the go-ahead. See our earlier Story Is Two better than one? (© Radio Netherlands Media Network via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. USA: Senate Foreign Relations Committee approves Radio Free Afghanistan bill The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on 12 December approved a bill that will establish and fund a Radio Free Afghanistan. The bill will allow Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which is also funded by the US Congress, to broadcast 12 hours of programming a day to Afghanistan in local languages. The US House of Representatives voted 405-2 in favour of the legislation on 7 November. The bill now heads to the Senate floor for a vote. Representative Ed Royce (Republican, California), who framed the bill and pushed it through the House, said: "Radio Free Afghanistan has now been authorized and funded by the House and now that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has passed the bill it's well on its way to final passage." Royce's web site added: "I applaud Chairman Biden and Senator Helms for their commitment to Radio Free Afghanistan. Once Radio Free Afghanistan is signed into law, limited broadcasts could begin almost immediately." Royce said that Radio Free Afghanistan is vital to the rebuilding of Afghanistan. "At congressional hearings five years ago, I warned that terrorist-harbouring Afghanistan was an emerging national security threat. War-wracked Afghanistan will continue to be a threat to us unless it establishes a stable government with the wherewithal to dislodge al- Qa'idah and other terrorists. Let's make that formidable mission more attainable by again giving Afghans access to a Radio Free Afghanistan." Royce pointed to the effectiveness of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty during the Cold War. "The concept behind Radio Free Afghanistan is to do what was done with Radio Free Europe in Poland and Czechoslovakia. When we talk with leaders of Poland or the Czech Republic, they say that the hearts and minds of these people of those countries were turned by the opportunity to listen daily to a radio broadcast which explained what was actually happening inside their society." Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 13 Dec 01 (via DXLD) Afghanistan: Media round-up Wednesday 12 December 2001 Media groups issue action plan for media Nine press freedom watchdogs and journalists' organizations have issued a joint statement setting out a strategic action plan for the media in post-war Afghanistan. They called on the international community to ensure that commitments to respect freedom of expression and to promote an environment in which a strong, independent and pluralistic media sector can flourish should form part of all political and development aid negotiations. They recommended the establishment of an independent authority to issue broadcasting licences. They added that the state broadcaster should be a public service broadcaster which is protected against interference from the government and has its editorial independence guaranteed. Following is text of the statement, issued by the London-based Article 19 organization on behalf of itself and eight other organizations; dated 11 December 2001; subheadings as published: A crucial prerequisite for peace and stability, and democracy, in Afghanistan is the creation of an inclusive media environment based on respect for the international guarantee of freedom of expression. The structure of indigenous media will be a significant factor in shaping the social and political future of the country. POLICY PRINCIPLES FOR MEDIA IN POST-WAR AFGHANISTAN The international community should ensure that the following concerns are raised in all political and development aid negotiations. Commitment to respect freedom of expression The Afghan authorities should make a commitment to respect and promote freedom of expression as a human right, including by: - undertaking, as soon as possible, a review of all laws restricting freedom of expression, including general content restrictions, particularly of a criminal nature, with a view to bringing them into line with international standards; - promoting an environment in which a strong, independent and pluralistic media sector can flourish; - removing obstacles to free access to information, including by recognizing the right of journalists to protect the confidentiality of their sources of information; - removing any obstacles to the right of journalists to freely organize themselves into independent associations; and - ensuring the safety and security of journalists and media staff. Regulatory authority The Afghan authorities should undertake the following as soon as possible and with maximum participation of a range of local stakeholders: - Establish an Independent Broadcasting Authority to serve as the authority for issuing broadcasting licences, enforcing compliance with licences and administering norms. The Authority must be protected against political and commercial interference through the appointment of an independent governing body with governing rules that set out clearly a fair licensing process. - Develop a plan for the distribution of transmission licences that assures an appropriate mix of public service and private broadcasting, including local broadcasters. - Provide for the development, by the Authority in close consultation with broadcasters and civil society, of a self-regulatory code for the electronic media, which promotes professionalism and ensures that broadcasters refrain from inciting violence or hatred. 1. The State Broadcaster Whatever government comes to power in Afghanistan, it is likely to establish its own broadcasting outlet. A public broadcaster of this sort has the potential to be an important institution of national unity but it could also simply serve as a mouthpiece of government. This broadcaster should be a public service broadcaster which is protected against interference from the government, including by having its editorial independence guaranteed, by being overseen by an independent governing body, by receiving sustained, politically independent financial support, and by receiving intensive management and journalistic training. 2. The Print Media No licensing system should be imposed on the print media, although these media, like everyone else, may be subject to rules of general application, including in relation to matters such as defamation and incitement to hatred or violence. The print sector should be given an opportunity to develop a self-regulatory system. 3. Journalists' Organizations Journalists in Afghanistan should be free to organize themselves into professional associations. At the same time, journalists should not be required to be members of any particular association and there should be no formal conditions on who may practise journalism. Recommendations for direct support from the international community We call on the international community to provide resources to assist with the following media development activities. 1. Training There is a critical shortage of trained Afghan journalists, producers and technicians so training must be a priority for international efforts to promote media development. This need applies to all media, print, as well as both public and private broadcasters. Participants should be drawn from all of Afghanistan's 29 provinces and a particular effort should be made to include women in training programmes. Close coordination between NGOs is necessary to avoid duplication and to ensure that participants are committed to independent reporting. 2. Support to Independent Media While organized ethnic factions and local power brokers are likely to attempt to exert control over certain media, there will also be legitimate independent local broadcasters and publications. Support to independent local media is critically important to the longer-term development of civil society in Afghanistan and these independent media should be the primary focus of international assistance efforts. Support should also be provided to the public broadcaster, but only if it meets certain standards of independence. 3. Funding It is essential that a wide range of donors participate in a coordinated media assistance programme to avoid any appearance of domination by a single outside state. It is unlikely that the Afghan economy will generate significant advertising revenue for some time, so donors should be aware of the need for sustained support over a period of time. To ensure coordination, the UN should convene a media donors' meeting at the earliest possible opportunity. Levels of assistance to broadcasters or publications should be sufficient to promote varied and professional media but, at the same time, should not create a media sector that is unsustainable over the longer term. Flexibility and constructive dialogue among all local and international partners will be critical to this endeavour. Andrew Puddephatt, Executive Director, Article 19 David Hoffman, President, Internews Monroe Price, Director, Programme in Comparative Media Law, Oxford University Edward Girardet, Director, Media Action International Anthony Borden, Executive Director, Institute for War and Peace Reporting Jesper Hojberg, Executive Director, International Media Support Robert Menard, General Secretary, Reporters Sans Frontières Aidan White, General Secretary, International Federation of Journalists Ann Cooper, Executive Director, Committee to Protect Journalists For further information, contact Article 19, 33 Islington High St., London N19LH, UK. Tel: +44 207 278 9292, Fax: +44 207 713 1356, e-mail: asia@article19.org, Internet: http://www.article19.org Source: Article 19 press release, London, in English 11 Dec 01 Kabul TV/Radio Radio Afghanistan in the capital Kabul broadcasts from 0130-0330 gmt and 1130-1630 gmt on 1530 kHz mediumwave and 96 MHz FM. The news in Pashto is at 1430 gmt, and in Dari at 1500 gmt. Kabul TV broadcasts via a 10-Watt transmitter, which is very low power in terms of TV broadcasting, so range would be limited, probably to central Kabul. The station is on the air for three hours a day. Balkh Radio Balkh Radio, which is based in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif, Balkh Province, continues to be heard. On Wednesday 12 December, the 0230-0430 gmt (0700-0900 local time) morning broadcast was observed by BBC Monitoring; the evening broadcast was also observed from 1130 gmt. Broadcasts are on the usual frequency of 1584 kHz. US PsyOps radio: broadcast in Arabic heard US PsyOps Information Radio continues to be observed by BBC Monitoring broadcasting in Pashto and Dari to Afghanistan. On Wednesday 12 December, the broadcasts were heard from 0030-0530 gmt and again from 1230 gmt. Information Radio is heard on 8700 kHz upper sideband mode and at times on the former Kandahar mediumwave frequency of 864 kHz. A third announced channel of 1107 kHz (former Kabul frequency) has not yet been observed by BBC Monitoring. The 864, 980 (reportedly a relay of Voice of America) and 1107 kHz channels are believed to be broadcast from US PsyOps "Commando Solo" EC-130 aircraft. Radio Voice of Afghanistan broadcasts... [no details] Compiled by Foreign Media Unit, BBC Monitoring Telephone +44 118 948 6261 e-mail: fmu@mon.bbc.co.uk Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 12 Dec 01 (via DXLD) DIEGO GARCIA [tent]. 8700 Commando SOLO. I finally picked this one up around 0330 with a cheerful Afgani tune, followed by what sounded like a message in Dari, with the mention of Taleban, Alqa'da and Kabul. The strange thing was hearing a message in ARABIC!! I confirm hearing a message in Arabic. Sounds like it's beamed to the Afghan Arabs, as we call them the Arabs who fought with Taleban. The message was mainly talking about Osama Ben Laden and that he's ERHABI -- that terrorist in English. I heard this message once. The signal faded around 0430 (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, SU1TZ, BC-DX Dec 10 via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. /RUSSIA, 9950, Radio Voice of Afghanistan, Samara relay is heard with very good signals at 1330 Dec 13 here in north Europe - political talks, news and local folkmusic programs (Torre Ekblom, Esbo, Finland, AOR7030, active antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALGERIA. Tipaza longwave transmitter reopened after renovation | Text of report by Algerian TV on 12 December The longwave radio broadcasting centre, known as Channel 3 Broadcasting Centre, in Tipaza Province [80 km to the west of Algiers] is reopened today after being closed for six months for renovation works. Minister of Culture and Communications Mohamed Abbou, who oversaw the reopening of this centre, had the opportunity to be acquainted with the working of the centre and to see its various branches. More details by [television correspondent] Jazia Bayou: [Bayou - recording] The longwave radio radio broadcast centre - known as Channel 3 Broadcasting Centre - in Tipaza Province, which had been closed for six months in order to renovate it, was reopened officially today by Minister of Culture and Communications Mohamed Abbou. The reopening ceremony, which was attended by Tipaza Province's local officials, allowed the minister to be briefed on the way this centre is functioning. The cost of the centre's renovation works are estimated at about 30bn centimes. The renewal of the equipment and transmitter of this station, which began transmissions in 1972, has become a necessity after its deterioration as a result of natural causes such as sea salt, humidity and dust which had affected the quality of transmission. During a brief stop at Tipaza Province's headquarters, Tipaza's governor proposed the creation of local radio stations. Mohamed Abbou expressed the wish to provide every province with a radio station. However, in the face of the high cost - which he estimated at 130m dinars for a single radio and of which 80m in hard currency - the minister recommended the improving of the existing installations. The minister said in case of availability of financial means, radio stations would be established in university institutions. These would provide services for students and for society in general. On the occasion, Minister of Culture and Communications Mohamed Abbou praised the assiduous work by the workers and employees of the radio and television broadcasting company in organizing telethon 2001 for the benefit of the victims of 10 November floods. [The Tipaza transmitter broadcasts Algerian Radio's French network - channel 3 - on 252 kHz longwave.] Source: Algerian TV, Algiers, in Arabic 1900 gmt 12 Dec 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. Gracias a un amigo diexiesta en Arizona, afirmando que escucha aun a RNASG, LRA-36, Antártida, me puse a captarla hoy martes 11 de diciembre. Aunque muy débil sin audio, pude sintonizar a una portadora en exactamente 15475.6 kHz, desapareciendo precisamente a las 2059:25 Tiempo Universal. Por eso nos parece que hasta ahora la emisora no ha dejado de existir y transmitir. Quedan bienvenidas las observaciones de Vds. en el Cono Sur al respecto. 73, (G. Glenn Hauser, Oclajoma, Conexión Digital via WORLD OF RADIO 1109, DXLD) LRA36 estuvo fuera del aire sólo durante 18 días en el mes de noviembre tras haber sido su antena destruida por una fuerte tormenta antártica, retomando sus emisiones normales y usuales diariamente de lunes a viernes, de *1800-2100* en 15476 kHz. Según su operador, desde que inclusive han arreglado su antena rómbica, han recibido comentarios de que la señal es mejor recibida en diversos lugares del mundo; claro, esto siempre dependiendo de las condiciones de propagación. Cabe señalar que su e-mail esta actualmente fuera de servicio por razones técnicas. El colega GH esta en lo cierto, la emisora está totalmente activa ahora. 73's GIB (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, Dec 11, Conexión Digital via WORLD OF RADIO 1109, DXLD) ** ARMENIA. Winter B-01 schedule for Voice of Armenia on SW: 0300-0330 Daily Armenian 4810 9965 0330-0345 Daily Spanish 4810 9965 0800-0820 Sun only French 4810 15270 0820-0840 Sun only German 4810 15270 0840-0900 Sun only English 4810 15270 0900-0930 Sun only Armenian 4810 15270 1700-1745 Daily Armenian 4810 9965 1745-1815 Daily Arabic 4810 1900-1915 Daily German 9960 <<<<< R.Intercontinental!?! 1930-2000 Mon to Sat Armenian 4810 9960 2000-2020 Mon to Sat French 4810 9960 2020-2040 Mon to Sat German 4810 9960 2040-2100 Mon to Sat English 4810 9960 (Observer, Bulgaria, Dec 12 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. RA Previews: UT Fri Dec 14: 2105 Feedback* - listener letters, features and news about RA. This week, Roger Broadbent talks with Peter Senger of Deutsche Welle who is Chairman of Digital Radio Mondiale and reprises excerpts of ABC Radio's Marconi centenary celebration. (via John Figliozzi, swprograms via DXLD) Repeats UT Sat 0005, 0605, Sun 0305 ** AZERBAIJAN. Voice of Azerbaijan, Baku - according to an email received from Dir. Arzu Abdullayev, they are now transmitting only on 1296 and 6110 kHz (Torre Ekblom, Esbo, Finland, Dec 13, AOR7030, active antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS. Belarus` noted with spur on 7025 (for instance at 0942 Dec 5). Mix of 7145 & 7265 (?). (Vlad Titarev, Ukraine, DXsignal Dec 5 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** BURKINA FASO. 5030, Radio Burkina; Ouagadougou, Dec. 11, 1923-1946, Strong signal on this new frequency. No trace of them on old 4815 kHz. Afropop. At 1930 time-check and ID by male in French, followed by drums. Talk with regular mention of Ouagadougou, at 1941 followed again by drums and Afropop. At 1945 time-check and ID again (Mark Veldhuis, Holland, SWBC via WORLD OF RADIO 1109, DXLD) Caught this one this afternoon on both my Satellit 800 and Drake SPR-4: 5030 BURKINA FASO Radio Burkina at 2127 Dec 11 with a good signal of an interview program in French, woman with "Vous écoutez La Magazine du Radio Burkina" at 2138, more formal program closing ID at 2157 "La Vie de la Nation...La Vie de la Nation, La Magazine du Radio Burkina". I'm not sure if this is a permanent move but it sure is nice to hear this one away from that whirlybird QRM (Mark Coady, Ont., ODXA via DXLD) 5030 BURKINA FASO Radio Nationale de Burkina 12/11 2250 Talk in French about Sekou Toure of Guinea, many mentions of Guinea and Ghana, music, program "Integracione", multiple IDs as "Radio Nationale de Burkina" @ 2306, complete with address, another ID as "Radio Burkina", more music, national anthem at close. Tnx Mark Veldhuis for the tip (Ralph Brandi, NJ, SWBC via DXLD) Radio Nationale du Burkina. 5030 kHz, 2253 UTC, Acting on a tip from Mark Veldhuis in Cumbre DX Special Edition 376.2, I found this station on a new frequency with an interview in French, West African music, and a clear station ID with address at 2306 UTC. This may be a change from their former frequency of 4815, which has severe interference from some sort of utility station that may have made the frequency unusable. Fair-good signals with some shallow fading. Still on as of 2318 UTC. Thanks to Mark Veldhuis for the tip! 73, (Marie Lamb, Syracuse NY, Dec 11, swl@qth.net via DXLD) ** CANADA. The CBC technician's union has posted some pictures from the picket line at the Sackville transmission site. That begs the question: Do three people make up a picket line? :) http://www.cbucc.org/strike/photo_gallery.htm See the beginning of the third row. Regards, (Ricky Leong, QB, Dec 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. More from CBC's tech union [1 of 3] ========== CBC Lockout Hurts Canada's Poor - Charity events cancelled by CBC FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 10, 2001 Major Charity broadcasts were cancelled by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation after locking out CBC employees. "Millions of dollars in much-needed food and donations will be lost by Canada's poorest people at the worst time possible," says Peter Murdoch, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union vice-president, media. 'It's the giving season, it's the beginning of a long, cold winter, and CBC has refused our offers to keep those charity events on the air, so once again, the public loses." CBC locked out its 1,600 technical and design employees in the middle of the night last Thursday night, and tore out equipment set up for special charity broadcasts in such centres as Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax. Charity organizations such as Food Banks expected the broadcasts to generate millions of dollars worth of much needed assistance from loyal public listeners. CEP officials in those cities had offered to guarantee no disruption until after the broadcasts, but CBC refused. CEP picket lines have set up Food Bank baskets as a partial replacement for the CBC's cancellation. But without the publicity of CBC's broadcasts, the public won't know where to drop off the food. 'Our picketers have nicknamed the CBC President Robert Rabinogrinch,' says Mike Sullivan, CEP representative. "CBC planned this action with military-like planning and quasi-military security forces to tear out the equipment. They have been planning this lockout since August, when they first announced they would be hiring replacement workers for the Olympics. It is criminal of CBC to allow these Charities to get suckered into their dirty game." CBC locked out its staff when they refused to accept drastic concessions which would allow managers to force staff to work without meal breaks or sleep between shifts. For further info please contact: Mike Sullivan, National Representative, CEP, Tel 416-240-7836 Fax 416-240-9854 Email msullivan@cep.ca (via Ricky Leong, QE, DXLD) More from CBC's tech union [2 of 3] There is mention of Sackville down there somewhere, although I have no idea what it means. :) (Ricky Leong, Dec 12, DXLD) ========== Bargaining Communiqué # 49 December 10, 2001 (15:00 hrs) Reports from Locals Dear Members, Day four of the CBC Lockout has started, and there are no talks on the horizon. Here is an update of what has been happening in most locations. Goose Bay - Local 910M - other CBC employees (CMG) stayed out Friday, Security was not a problem. Corner Brook - Local 93M - had 100% CMG member support St. John's - Local 94M - had an active picket line and are building? a shelter for the picketers Sydney - Local 95M - No programs, no Television news gathering at all. Halifax - Local 91M - 'Scratch-an-ass-a-ten' ( Sagitarius Security) is the firm supplying guards, and the CMG is already grieving CBC's forcing its members to do struck work. CBC wants Halifax to be the new home of a National Radio Noon, which will be therefore doing the work of CEP members across the country - we will be asking the CMG to tell its members not to do struck work. A Christmas Charity event was 'postponed' until after the strike. Charlottetown - Local 911M - Apparently the firm used there is not licenced in the province - the police are checking into it. Fredericton - Local 92M - Goons assaulted and threatened our members and Guild members - the police are being informed. One of them has already been sent back home, for good. Sackville - Local 96M - Guards hired using local police offices - APS crossing daily with no escort. Saint John - Local 916M - CBC cancelled the Harbour Lights Charity event, and our members will be looking to turn the picket line into a donation site. Moncton TX - Local 97M - No goons - all locks were changed. Are we locked out? Ottawa - Local 74M - A manager told us quietly that managers are not allowed to act regarding any matter without direction from Toronto, and are not allowed to be anywhere near the picket line. CMG will be asked to stop its members doing our work. Firs meeting with our brothers from STARF on Sunday. Toronto - Local 71M - Picketing is 24/7. Special support events are being planned. CBC's open house was cancelled despite our assurances we would not interfere. Picketing seminars continued through the weekend. Windsor - Local 75M - No production is going on. Colleagues in CMG donated a day's pay each to the local strike support fund. Winnipeg - Local 82M - Another Charity event canned by CBC. The local will be looking for ways to help out. Regina - Local 87S - The management scab slept in, so programming was delayed. CEP conducted picketing seminars for local members. Saskatoon - Local 811M - Picketers have been conducting safety meetings, and Postal and delivery workers refused to cross lines. Edmonton - Local 86M - APS members helped CBC by making calls to members advising them of the lockout. Food Bank collections are going on on the picket line, and our members are asking the security guards to carry the donations inside CBC. Calgary - Local 818M - No newsworld programs, and food bank drive was cancelled by CBC. BC Interior - Local 810M - over 300 transmitter sites are now being operated by two persons, one an APS person. problems will follow. It is unlikely that CBC has hired 300 security guards to 'watch' the sites, but access codes were changed. Vancouver - Local 83M - It took 8 people 5 hours to set up the major food bank remote on Thursday. All of it was torn out (presumably by the goons) in a couple of hours Friday morning. CBC cancelled plans to broadcast hockey from Vancouver, opting instead for a tape-delayed Edmonton game as the second game. Yellowknife 85M and Whitehorse 81M - It's very, very cold. Spirits are generally good, there have been few incidents (we are a peaceful bunch, and that should continue), and we continue to get strong support from the membership of the CMG both morally and physically. Hopefully CBC will abide by its deals with CMG and stop asking their people to do our work. We will be continuing to bring public and political pressure to try and get CBC back to the bargaining table with a mandate to reach a compromise. We will continue to keep you posted. In solidarity, Mike Sullivan on behalf of Your Negotiating Committee, Rick Warren -Vancouver, John Seccareccia and Anton Szabo -Toronto, Chris Turner - Fredericton, Blayne Paige - Ottawa and Len Deiter - CEP National Representative (via Ricky Leong, QB, DXLD) More from CBC'S tech union [3 of 3] - Support from U.S. & European broadcsting unions sought - BBC's union "formally protesting" CBC's use of BBC as a replacement program ========== Bargaining Communiqué # 50 December 10, 2001 (18:30 hrs) National and International Activities Dear members, While there are local activities, there are also national and international actions. We will be asking the NHLPA to refuse to grant interviews. We have asked unions in Europe to support our cause, and have already received responses from UNI-MEI (Union Network International- Media and Entertainment International) and BECTU (BBC). BECTU is formally protesting CBC's use of BBC World Service as a replacement broadcast. We have asked Wayne Gretzky to stay away from CBC for his announcement of the Men's Olympic Hockey Roster. We will be sending a team to Salt Lake to seek support from Unions there. We are also taking some legal actions against CBC. We have charged CBC at the Canada Industrial Relations Board with an Unfair Labour Practice. CBC is forbidden under the Labour Code from changing any term or condition of employment during the statutory 'freeze' from the point of notice to bargain (March 30) to the point of lockout. CBC violated that 'freeze' by unilaterally removing approximately $1M in benefits to several hundred of our members who took vehicles home. We have asked for full retroactive redress. We will continue to keep you posted. Mike Sullivan, National Representative, CEP On behalf of your Negotiating Committee, Rick Warren -Vancouver, John Seccareccia and Anton Szabo -Toronto, Chris Turner - Fredericton, Blayne Paige - Ottawa and Len Deiter - CEP National Representative (via Ricky Leong, QU, DXLD) A sooper sekret new CBC stream Thanks to the wonderful world of labour disputes, CBC RealAudio listening has become as much of an adventure and puzzle solving process as shortwave listening during a civil war in Lower Slobovia. Let's say you want to listen to an Atlantic Time Zone CBC R. 1 stream. Click on the CBC web page and you will get all sorts of streams on raf.cbc.ca. But raf.cbc.ca is not working as a RA server. It neither takes connections on port 7070 (pnm://) nor on port 554 (rtsp://) Click on Moncton and you will get: rtsp://media.cbc.ca/halifax/halifax/temp/unavailable.rm This lives up to its name--it lasts a few seconds and show the word "unavailable" on the screen. Click on Charlottetown and you get: rtsp://media.cbc.ca:5078/live/charlottetown.rm which is also unavailable. But, let's combine the old Moncton address with the current PEI address. We now get: rtsp://media.cbc.ca:5078/live/moncton.rm and voilà! It works. Combining other possibilities to find CBC streams is left to the reader as an exercise (Joel Rubin, NY, Dec 12, swprograms via DXLD) We need to come up with an acronym for this exercise. Can't use DXing - - maybe we should use the term UXing. Here's the logic: "DX" can be taken be either: 1) an abbreviation for "distance" or 2) an abbreviation for "distance unknown". Conversely, "UX" can be taken to mean: 1) an abbreviation for "URL" or 2) an abbreviation for "URL unknown". Excuse me while I dash off to the US Patent and Trademark Office to file the trademark. Regards, (Richard Cuff, ibid.) ** CANADA. Subject: CBC News piece on Gazette (and, by extension, radio) Here's a piece from yesterday's CBC News (it ran in full as the last piece on Tuesday's "World at Six," about the controversy at the GAZETTE concerning the imposition of editorials from CanWest management. If you take the 4+ minutes to listen to the archived audio of Bernard St-Laurent's piece, it's extremely enlightening concerning the kind of crap the GAZETTE is giving us these days, and the in-built biases of management. You'll even hear the GAZETTE's radio-tv columnist, Peggy Curran, talking about attempts to censor her column because she wrote about a CBC TV documentary which was critical of Israel. It really makes one wonder...and get angry. It's been a long day...here's the link...and I do recommend that you take the time to listen to the entire piece: http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?category=Canada&story=/news/2001/12/11/canwest011211 73- (Bill Westenhaver, QU, Dec 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. CIS/BULGARIA [to China] 9945 Falun Dafa. The last two nights the 9945 Falun Dafa txer has had a loud buzz, but I still have to find other transmission chunks from the same faulty unit. It COULD be Irkutsk, but this is so far not confirmed. Anyhow, it must be a CIS outlet with full CIS pips two evenings in a row (Olle Alm, Sweden, BC- DX Nov 29, via DXLD) The carrier before 2100 was strong and I found a similar signal on 9775 with VOR English. I tested the mirror frequency, i.e. 9945 + the difference between 9945 and 9775 = 9945 + 170 = 10115, and found a rather strong signal there. It had the same programs, i.e. VOR En and pips, and also went off exactly with 9775 just after 2100. Obviously the site is the same as 9775. HFCC says Yekaterin`burg 280 degrees, but I think Samara is closer to the truth. According to the VOR schedule it opens at 1700 with German, then mostly En except for 30 minutes in Albanian. It is to mention 9945 as "presumed Samara", this site seems likely. But also according to RVI Brussels` "Radio World" by Frans Vossen, Samara closed down on Dec 4th for UNKNOWN reason, all outlets replaced by Armavir-Krasnodar and Moscow area locations. (Dec 3) 5925 Falun Dafa. There has been an apparent change of transmitter on 5925. I have a stronger signal and a very loud buzz. I know of only one tx that has this noise, and it is a 100 kW unit at Tbilisskaya. Moreover, it ran three CIS type pips with the high pitch (approx. 1 kHz) that is used by Tbilisskaya. [otherwise called Armavir-Krasnodar, north of Caucasus region] 9945 changed from weak and fluttery to good and stable as Moscow txs on 9470 and 9480 did so, so it seems to remain at Moscow as found out earlier this weak. Some days this tx has a very noticeable buzz, but it is much softer than the hard buzz on 5925. The Tbilisskaya superbuzz tx was used for the R Rossii relay for several years before it was replaced some months ago (Olle Alm, Sweden, Dec 8, all BC-DX via DXLD) ** CYPRUS TURKISH. I regret to inform you that all went wrong today and we were unable to perform our test transmissions on 6159, as planned before. We are working on the problem and will re-schedule our tests on this and other frequencies. Meanwhile, we will stay on the air on 6150, with considerably low power. My sincere apologies to all, for any inconvenience this may have caused (Mustafa Tosun, Head, Transmitter Dept, BRTK, via J. Sgrulletta-USA, DXplorer Dec 10 via BC-DX via DXLD) Dear Glenn, Just a short message to let you know that I have just heard Radio Bayrak from Northern Cyprus this evening. After being off the air for some years. As per their predictions today they came on again. Heard on frequency 6.150 MHz at 1755-1803 UT in Greek with Greek music then at 1800 Station ID. "This is the Voice of the station of Northern Cyprus Radio Bayrak" by woman announcer. Followed by the news items: breakthrough last week on peace talks between the two leaders, Clerides and Dentash. After four years break talks will be held again before the year end and three times a month until a solution is found. SIO 444. 12/12. Grundig YB 400. Reel antenna used. Glad to hear Radio Bayrak again. 73,s (Costa Constantinides, Cyprus Greekish, Dec 12, WORLD OF RADIO 1109, DX LISTENING DIGEST) previous notice claimed they would be using 6159; their typo? Guess not (gh, DXLD) Also Skepsis beiseite, diesmal scheint es doch nicht das übliche Loch Ness Bayrak zu sein. Ob es sich nun um den neu gelieferten Sender, oder eine hergerichtete Ersatzanlage handelt, geht aus der Mail nicht hervor. Ich erinnere mich an die 6159.6 Frequenz in den 80zigern, die wurde durch die 300 kW aus Mossbrunn in unseren Breiten geradezu zugepustet, aber da waren die Amis auch immer auf 6160 Richtung Ostblock zugange, und deshalb auch kein 2.7 kHz Filter im USB mode hilfreich (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Dec 12 via DXLD) ** DJIBOUTI. Djibouti/USA: US officials discuss installation of 600 kW VOA transmitter | Excerpt from report by Djibouti news agency ADI web site on 10 December A delegation of the American international radio and television broadcasting office has been on a working visit to Djibouti since 9 December. The mission led by the First Counsellor of the US embassy in Djibouti, Ann K. Breiter, and consisting of engineers Walter Boys and John B. Bowen, on Tuesday 11 December, met officials from the Ministry of Communication to discuss modalities for installing medium wave [MW] and frequency modulation (FM) transmitters in Djibouti... Discussions between the two sides focused on the financing, construction, installation and management of the technical facilities in the republic of Djibouti for the retransmission of programmes targeting countries of the region and the Arab peninsula. The technical facilities include, among others, the installation in Djibouti, in town and at Arta (42 km from the capital), of 600 kW mediumwave and FM transmitters. The MW transmitters will be for the retransmission of the Voice of America programmes in Djibouti. It is worth recalling that such installations have already been serving RFI since 1992 and the BBC since February 2000. Source: ADI news agency web site, Djibouti, in French 12 Dec 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** EGYPT. 10325, Radio Cairo, 12/12 0140, talk in Spanish, Arabic music, cutting in and out, then English heard at 0230 or so, time pips and ID heard at 0315; // 9475. Must be a spur, as 9475 is the only frequency scheduled in Spanish and English at these times. Interestingly, the audio on 10325 is clearer than on 9475. Now we know where all the good part of Cairo's audio goes (Ralph Brandi, NJ, SWBC via DXLD) Guess what: another Cairo frequency is halfway between these two, 9900 (gh, DXLD) ** FRANCE. [BDXC-UK] Paris DRM tests DX Information from the British DX Club (BDXC-UK). For those of you who can understand French this is quite an interesting report from the http://www.radioactu.com web site about the testing of DRM in Paris on mediumwave. Unfortunately no frequency is mentioned.... 11/12/2001 - DRM- Un test en région parisienne Alors que le CSA s'apprête à lancer un appel à candidatures sur la bande AM, un essai grandeur nature de diffusion DRM va avoir lieu en région parisienne. Cet essai, piloté par TDF, aura lieu selon toute vraisemblance les 12 et 13 décembre prochains sur un site de la région parisienne. Il s'agit d'un test-laboratoire, à caractère strictement technique. Cette expérimentation sera réalisée sur une antenne fictive, sans rayonnement. Les émissions ne seront donc pas écoutables sur un récepteur traditionnel. Le DRM, qui consiste à diffuser en ondes moyennes avec une qualité numérique équivalente à la FM traditionnelle, est actuellement en phase expérimentale. Aucun essai de diffusion réelle ne devrait pour l'heure être effectué sans autorisation du CSA. Concernant les tests réalisés par TDF, ils permettront de valider les différents processus de la diffusion en numérique et analogique simultanément (Simulcast) et en diffusion numérique seul (DRM). Le CSA, qui s'apprête à lancer dans les semaines à venir un appel à candidature sur la bande AM, devrait suivre de très près les résultats des tests effectués par TDF. D'autre part, le consortium DRM va lancer prochainement une série de tests similaires sur les Ondes Courtes (OC). Ces essais seront réalisés en partenariat avec plusieurs radiodiffuseurs étrangers. Des émissions seront ainsi diffusées plusieurs heures par jour dans différents pays européens (via Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. Re 29820 harmonic, unknown site: RUSSIA 9940 (ex=9480) 1200-1600 Moscow relay, German language, 500 kW 068 degrees to CIS, RUS-Siberia, FE, JPN, CHN. DW: GERMAN 1200-1600 9940(x9480) MOSKVA 500 068 GUS 73 de wb df5sx http://www.wwdxc.de/topnews.htm (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello, Deutsche Welle on 9940 originates from the Moscow area, actual site is Lesnoy in the northern outskirts of Moscow I think. This frequency is in use 1200-1600 and replaced recently 9480. (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GHANA. BBC Monitoring training programme ends in Accra | Text of report by Ghanaian radio on 12 December A training programme for six GBC [Ghana Broadcasting Corporation] staff in the techniques of monitoring and using information technology ended in Accra today. The six-week [training programme] was organized by the BBC [BBC Monitoring] for monitoring radio stations of both English and French-speaking countries in the west African subregion. The programme is a collaborative effort between the BBC and the GBC. The BBC is to provide equipment and training, with the GBC providing furniture and accommodation. During the closing ceremony, the director general of the GBC, Seth Ago Adjetey, said his vision of the project is one of excellence in the subregion. He urged the trainees to work hard to justify the investment in the project. According to him, their contribution goes beyond the four walls of the GBC and the country. Mr Adjetey expressed appreciation to the BBC for choosing Ghana from among the west African countries for the project. He assured the BBC trainer, Chris Greenway, of the readiness of the GBC to take up the challenge of making the project a success. For his part, Mr Greenway said the project is a long-term one. He said Ghana was an obvious choice for the BBC when it was looking round for the location of the centre. Mr Greenway noted that the BBC made a judicious choice because the trainees have, within a short period, learned more than is done elsewhere. Source: GBC Radio 1, Accra, in English 1300 gmt 12 Dec 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** GREECE. VOG reception observations: On the 0000-0350 to NAm i.a., 5865 is mostly poor, but gets better as my evening progresses. It should improve as the lower bands open up later in the year. 7475 is supposed to be the best frequency to NAm, but is severely damaged by adjacent-channel Norway`s interference from 7470, with 500 kW in Norwegian and Danish at 0000-0255 to ENAm and CAm. Since R. Norway takes up 15 kHz, it is necessary for me to move my dial to 7478 in order to get rid of Norway. At 0300, R. Norway moves to 7465, and its antenna to cover WNAm; then, VOG can once again be heard at full stregnth in this area without interference. This problem has been going on since Nov 14 and I do not know whether other listeners have informed you of this. 7480 seems to be quiet during this time period, and from info about reserved frequencies you gave me last year, 7480 is available for use by VOG to by-pass Norway`s interference from 7470, and give your NAm listeners a usable frequency. I do not believe that Norway would be willing to move down to 7465 or 7460 because of the severe RTTY station on 7454. Since 12110 is to SAm and 15630 rarely comes in, we hope that you can resolve the 41m problem. On the 1200-1500 service, VOA Delano on 11900 seems to be having problems picking up the satellite feed, making my reception poor in the first hour. Often, the signals are better on 15630 and 15650, direct from Greece. By 1300, the signal is back to normal. 1600-2200 from Delano [17705] comes in from very good o excellent during the entire time period (John Babbis, Silver Spring MD, Dec 8, cc to DXLD of letter to Dionisios Angelogiannis, VOG) Frequency change for ERA INTERPROGRAMME effective Dec. 10: 1700-1800 Serbian/Bulgarian; 1800-1900 Albanian/French; 1900-2000 Polish/English all on NF 11645 (45544), ex 12110 // 1386, also 792 till 1800. Voice of Greece in Greek noted on Dec. 10: 1900-2050 again on nominal 7475.0, ex 7477.0, but 2300-2350 and 0000-0550 on 7477.0 (Observer, Bulgaria, Dec 12 via WORLD OF RADIO 1109, DXLD) ** GREECE. I did hear about 5 minutes of English on the Voice of Greece. I heard a female announcer talking about the air travel industry - how it has been since September 11th. How it has affected European countries air travel industry. 12/12/01 15630 khz 0940-0945 UT. But it wasn't the news. When I was in Greece in the summer of 2000 for 3 months and without a shortwave receiver but with just a simple AM/FM unit. I regret not taking a shortwave unit with me but I was not into this hobby. Anyway I heard the same type of program while I was in Greece because I recognize the words "Orientation" being mentioned in different languages and then preceded I guess with the same topic spoken in that language (Petro Giannakoloulos, GA, Dec 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Orientations is supposed to include a full half-hour in English at 0930; perhaps you did not listen that long? (gh, DXLD) As for the Voice of Greece Orientation, I heard English for 5 minutes, then the music followed. I didn't listen for the full 30 minutes. I will check this over for you one day when I get up early in the morning (Petro, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. 3291.30, GBC, 0150-0210 with ID as both "GBC radio" and "Voice of Guyana" [R. L. C. Wilkner, FL, Dec 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST] ** INDIA. 4840, All India Radio, Mumbai with local program and news in EE at 1430 Dec 13. As reports sent to this station during decades (no replies so far direct or via New Delhi), it will interesting to see if the new v/s Superintending Engineer will reply to further reports direct to the station also in the future. 73s (Torre Ekblom, Esbo, Finland, AOR7030, active antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. Subject: [SWL] Do I Dare Open This Envelope? Today I received a large padded envelope from Iran by air mail. There is a tear in the envelope the size of a half dollar. Not a mail inspector, probably sorting machinery. The postal system does not open overseas mail and inspect it. The sender, Radio Tehran, must sign a statement stating the contents and that it is free from tampering. It is then sent through the U.S. mail system. My heart skipped a few beats when my grandson brought that envelope in the house. He said it was from Italy, I was expecting a money order for equipment from a man in Italy. Closer inspection showed it was from Iran. I wasted no time taking that outside! I called the post office and asked if they had checked this prior to delivering it. Nope. It was safe to open because they had a signed form by the sender saying it was safe. Gee, don't we in this country ever learn? Do they really expect a terrorist to confess they put some deadly bacterial warfare agent in with the QSL card? About the same rationality as these forms one fills out that asks if you have ever been convicted of a felony! Do I open this? (Duane W8DBF Fischer, MI, Dec 11, swl@qth.net via DXLD) I trust you will be no less suspicious about mail from Trenton (gh, DXLD) Hi Duane, I've received a couple-three of these from Iran in the past. They had always been "partly opened", and while maybe the postal folks don't open them, perhaps customs do. The first time I got one I was a little leery as there was a mail bomb scare going around at the time. But never had any problem. The size of the package is usually due to the fact that they typically enclose an English language newspaper, a book on Islam fundamentals (different book each time) as well as QSLs and other goodies. I'd probably open it with no trepidation since this seems to be their normal modus operandi. 73 de (Phil KO6BB Atchley, ibid.) First, if it is any help, I saw a report in the current issue of Cumbre DX that Hishashi Mogi in Japan got an envelope on November 27th from the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which included a QSL, a program schedule, a booklet about daily life in Iran, and a magazine in English for young people. Thus, they're sending responses to other SWLs, and Mr. Mogi apparently had no problems. If it were me, I think I would be more concerned if this is something I had not expected to get, but this is something that is presumably in response to your reception report. I'd guess this probably just got damaged in the mail, but if you're concerned about it, I think I'd do like Terry suggested and have the post office open it for you. I have heard authorities here in Syracuse say that, if a piece of mail is suspect, do not throw it away; if it has a biological or chemical agent in it, then it should be handled by those whose job it is to keep it from hurting anyone else, and if it is OK, then it probably has your QSL in it! 73, (Marie Lamb, NY, ibid.) ** IRAQ [non]. CLANDESTINE/SAUDI ARABIA? 9563.0, Tentative "Voice of Iraqi People" 2300 13 Dec, Arab - Chorus music; male & female announcers. Very poor, splatter. SIO 211 (Bill Flynn, Cave Junxion OR, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. Frequency change for Kol Israel effective Dec. 15: 2000-2025 English; 2030-2045 French; 2045-2100 Spanish all on NF 7520, ex 7510 // 9435, 11605, 15640, 15650 (Moshe Oren, Frequency Manager, BEZEQ via Observer, Bulgaria, Dec 12 via DXLD) Originally planned to switch from 11605 to 6280 Dec 15, so is that no longer the case? And we were unaware they were already using 7 MHz, if so (gh, DXLD) ** ITALY. **M** Radio Europe tests 11-13 December, MARCONI DAY Dear Glenn, sorry a bit late info, but I wanted to be sure before to alert you and all down area DXers. RADIO EUROPE, PIOLTELLO, ITALY, is operating in this moment on 7306 kHz USB with 500 watts power 2300 UT today 11 December till 0800 UT 13 December with programs featuring Marconi, Morse, DXing info, Play-DX news......all related to our hobby. Special QSL card featuring a photo (black and white) of Elettra, vessel of Marconi sailing Venezia 1934 will be sent to all correct reports set to: MARCONI DAY, C/o PLAY-DX, DARIO MONFERINI, VIA DAVANZATI 8, IT-20158 MILANO, ITALY. 2 IRCs or 2 $ us required for air mail reply outside Europe. Hope you may spread this message to all DXers in the world.....ok?? 73's (Dario Monferini, Italy, Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The above item barely missed DXLD 1-195, but was immediately posted on our Marconi page, and on Anomaly Alert (gh) R Europe Int was audible with weak signals last night on 7306 USB from 0730z. Mostly a discussion in Italian with music later on. Cheers, (Paul Ormandy, Oamaru, New Zealand, Dec 12, ARDXC via DXLD) ** ITALY. **M** BC-LIFE-ITALY-RADIO Three small clicks for man, giant leap for radio By Shasta Darlington ROME, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Italy, which denied Guglielmo Marconi funding during his lifetime, honoured its greatest 20th-century inventor on Wednesday, 100 years after he created radio with three faint clicks heard across the Atlantic. With the one experiment, Marconi proved that messages could be sent over thousands of miles (km), laying the foundation for modern day radio and later the digital age. To celebrate the event, scientists in Italy beamed a message from near his birthplace of Bologna to the world's amateur radio operators by using the moon as a satellite dish, and politicians paid homage at a gala in Rome. "We must remember the first big protagonist of globalisation was Italian, Marconi himself," Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said during a ceremony at the Post and Telecommunications Museum that was attended by Marconi's daughter Elettra. Communications Minister Maurizio Gasparri hailed Marconi as "an Italian myth and authentic global village hero." He said radio remained a symbol of liberty, as shown in Kabul when the first thing residents did after the fall of the hardline Taliban government was turn on the radio. Marconi, whose father was a wealthy Italian landowner and mother from Ireland's Jameson whisky distillery family, was refused funding for his experiments by Italy, making many of his discoveries in England. In 1896, he filed a patent for a system of telegraphy there and in 1897 founded the British Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company, transmitting messages over short distances for the British Royal family and military. In 1901, the 27-year-old Marconi, educated privately in science after failing entrance exams at an Italian university, decided to put his theories to the test and attempt a trans-Atlantic wireless transmission. On December 12, shortly after midday, and struggling through strong wind and static, he heard the three clicks of the letter S in Morse Code that marked the birth of the radio. "The receiver on the table before me was very crude," Marconi later said. "No valves, no amplifiers, not even a crystal. I was at last on the point of putting the correctness of all my beliefs to the test." OVERCOMING THE EARTH'S CURVE The radio signals travelled 2,200 miles (3,500 km) from a transmitter Marconi had built in Cornwall to a blustery cliff on the Newfoundland coast, where Marconi received them with his assistant, George Kemp, proving that the curvature of the earth would not impede radio signals. The first transmissions were in Morse Code. Speech transmission was not common until after the First World War. To demonstrate the advance of technology, scientists near Bologna in central Italy were to transmit throughout the day a microwave message, including recordings of Marconi, by bouncing the transmission off the moon's surface and back to earth. In 1909, "the father of radio" received the Nobel Prize for Physics jointly with German physicist Karl Ferdinand Braun. In 1912, distress signals sent over his system helped save hundreds of passengers from the sinking Titanic. The company that grew out of Marconi's work, British telecoms equipment maker Marconi Plc, has not fared as well as Marconi's invention, losing over five billion pounds ($7 billion) in the first half of this year. Marconi died in Rome in 1937, one of the most celebrated men of his age, bestowed with honours at home and abroad (REUTERS via David Alpert, DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. From: http://www.koreaherald.com New English spellings in Korea bewilder foreign visitors BUSAN - South Korea is rewriting the map, baffling travelers by changing the English spellings of big cities, but insisting it is setting the linguistic record straight. Thousands of dignitaries are arriving in the southern city of Pusan for Saturday's draw for the 2002 football World Cup finals, only to find it has been renamed Busan. The world's biggest sporting event will be jointly staged from May 31 next year by South Korea and Japan. But the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected in Korea must brace for big changes to the names of most of the 10 cities that will host matches. After several years of study, the government-backed Korean Language Research Committee has ordered that Kwangju become Gwangju, Chonju turn into Jeonju, Taegu and Taejon become Daegu and Daejeon. Sokwipo on the island of Cheju, one of the more exotic World Cup venues, is now Seogwipo on the island of Jeju. The capital, Seoul, is unchanged but other cities have undergone minor changes: The western port of Inchon, where South Korea's main international airport was opened in March, is now Incheon. The old spellings were first thought up by European academics McCune and Reischauer, and introduced in 1939. The committee worked for several years on the new spellings, which it says are closer to the Korean pronunciations. The result is a linguistic revolution similar to one that occurred when China changed the English spelling for its capital from Peking to Beijing. But South Korea is making the change as it prepares for a World Cup invasion. Over the past year, the South Korean authorities have been altering names on traffic signposts, subway stations and official documents. But as you arrive in Pusan, now Busan, many advertising billboards stick to the traditional spelling. A floral display at the entrance to the airport declares:,"Welcome to Pusan." Steve Saunders, an American shipping company executive who arrived in Busan this week for meetings, said, "This is my first time here and I have to say the name was a surprise." "My father was in the Korean War and it was always called 'the Pusan landings' I thought they had made a mistake on the ticket when I changed from the airport in Seoul. It seems strange, but I suppose they have their reasons." The authorities admit it will take some time for the message to get the world to fully accept the new names. Kim Myong-sik, director of the government's Korean Information Service, said the authorities were about halfway through changing signs and official documents. "It will take a long time, but there is no turning back now," said Kim. "This is the result of a lot of study. The new spellings better reflect the Korean sounds. "The World Cup has not had any effect on the changes. The work has been going on for many years. I don't think there will be a lot of confusion." In the longer term, the linguistic purification could have an even more profound impact on the way the rest of the world sees Korean people. Under the new system, Koreans who have the surname Kim should spell it Gim. But the government is leaving it up to individuals to decide how they will spell their names on documents and in passports. That radical move could take generations to implement. (AFP) 2001.11.30 (C) Copyright 2000 Digital Korea Herald. All rights reserved. (via Daniel Say, DXLD) ** KOREAS [and non]. 3912.01 kHz, VOICE OF THE PEOPLE, Seoul with 2/2-3 = S/O 1312 UTC. 4120 kHz, VOICE OF THE NATIONAL SALVATION, Pyongyang with very strong and clear signal in parallel with 4450 kHz. 1320 UTC. Same afternoon I heard also a VIETNAMESE station LAO CAI BC STATION 1340 UTC on 5596,70 kHz. First time in my earphones. However, no positive ID for Korean Clandestines or LAO CAI. ILG Data Base and PWBR are my Bible. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, Dec 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN. Iraq: Kurdish Islamic radio station in Arbil closed | Text of report by independent Iraqi Kurdish newspaper Hawlati on 10 December Recently, the competent authorities of the [Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP-led] regional government have closed down the Arbil radio station of the Islamic Group in Iraqi Kurdistan. The closing down of the radio was the result of not having an official permission, which the Islamic Group has not been granted. Source: Hawlati, Al-Sulaymaniyah, in Sorani Kurdish 10 Dec 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) What was the name of the station? Was it on SW? (gh, DXLD) ** LAOS. 6130, Lao National Radio, 1156-1218 fade out Dec 3 and 4, nice instrumental music until familiar seven gongs at 1200 and a woman announcer with the news. Muddy audio at first but steadily improving during news until bottom fell out (Rich D'Angelo, PA, ARDXC via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. APwo 12/10 1356: Radio 6 ordered to stop religious-linked ads KUALA LUMPUR, Thurs.-Information Minister Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob has ordered Radio 6 (Tamil) to stop all advertisements and talk programs that use religion to help promote or advertise certain consumer products. The order was made at a post-Cabinet meeting yesterday following complaints from consumers. There was a public outcry from the Indian community over the use of religion to promote certain medicinal products over the Tamil network on Radio Televisyen Malaysia. Radio and Television Indian Programs Monitoring Unit Malaysia president S. S. Rajalingam pointed out that the products advertised bore no relevance to Hinduism. "The Radio 6 broadcasters even go to the extent of encouraging listeners to call the station and endorse the products," he said. "The trend is now copied by a private station, Time Highway Radio, in a program called THR Raga," he added. Advertising Standard Authority Malaysia deputy chairman Juni Ewe said the Government should scrutinise all advertisements. "We also call upon media owners not to publish, transmit or circulate advertisements that may exploit consumers." She added that there needed to be continuous reviewing and upgrading of advertising guidelines and procedures. "The guidelines should encompass advertisements in specific industries, for instance, medicine, pesticides, beauty and health. A Content Code, which sets out guidelines and procedures for good practise and standard, including that of advertisements disseminated via electronic media, was near completion. "This self-regulatory code is provided for by the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and includes matters on consumer protection." Copyright 2001 NEW STRAITS TIMES-MANAGEMENT TIMES all rights reserved as distributed by WorldSources, Inc. (Dec 10 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. RN`s recent change to 7260 blocks Vanuatu`s only active frequency here (Chris Hambly, Victoria, Australia, Dec 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 0930-1130 Petropavlovsk Kamchatski 7260 244 degrees 250 kW English Far East + E Asia + Aust (Media Network RN Schedule via DXLD) ** NEWFOUNDLAND. IMHO the Great Eastern was one of the better come er um Cultural programs on the CB er um BCN. Any new "what's that noise from Newfoundland" segments? Vivat the BCN and steam-powered radio. It might help if you knew that NF was a separate dominion from Canada which went bankrupt in the depression, went back to being a more-or-less a colony of Britain, and then, after WWII, joined Canada in a move which still is not universally acclaimed in NF. (Well, for many years, there were people who bemoaned NYC's consolidation of the City of Brooklyn in 1898.) (Joel Rubin, NY, swprograms via DXLD) ** NEWFOUNDLAND [non]. I heard nothing yesterday from Poldhu on 1700 kHz, and didn't really expect to. But press reports tell of success at the St. John's receiving site. This is RCI's report: ST. JOHN'S: MARCONI VINDICATED December 12th marked the 100th anniversary of the first trans-Atlantic radio transmission. On that date a century ago, Guglielmo Marconi succeed in transmitting a radio signal between Poldhu, England, and St. John's, Nfld., in eastern Canada. Mr. Marconi himself received the signal on the Canadian city's Signal Hill. Canadian, British and American military technicians re-enacted the experiment on Wednesday using similar equipment. Its success has apparently put an end to suggestions that Mr. Marconi could not have succeeded in transmitting and receiving a signal with the equipment at his disposal. The anniversary was marked by a ceremony in St. John's that was presided over by Canada's governor-general, Adrienne Clarkson. Mrs. Clarkson says Mr. Marconi's feat marked the beginning of the global village. (via Kim Elliott, DC, Dec 13) BC-CANADA-RADIO-ANNIVERSARY High winds, snow buffet Canada's Marconi centenary By Gavin Will ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland, Dec 12 (Reuters) - An international corps of army engineers succeeded in duplicating Guglielmo Marconi's first transatlantic wireless signal of 100 years ago on Wednesday, but not without falling back on some modern telecommunications technology. Powerful winds and snow squalls buffeted Signal Hill at St. John's, Newfoundland, on Canada's eastern tip, forcing communications engineers from the Canadian and U.S. armed forces to abandon the launch of a kite similar to the one used by Marconi to receive a signal from England on Dec. 12, 1901. Marconi's was not the first international wireless signal -- the Italian inventor and others had tinkered with the technology before, even sending a signal across the English Channel -- but the faint three dots, the letter S in Morse code, were a landmark, quashing doubts that a radio signal could ride across an ocean, in a precursor to the wireless, digital age. In place of Marconi's kite, 2001's team of engineers raised an antennae [sic] below Signal Hill, a barren, sheer cliff standing at the mouth of St. John's harbor, which derives its name from Marconi's achievement. "The weather caused some difficulties and did play a factor in raising a kite," said Captain Todd Anstey of the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics. "The last few days we've been working really hard trying to get set up and practise our kite flying skills that a lot of us haven't done since we were children," Anstey said. "It was very challenging and very much like a history class in progress: researching what Marconi did, how he did it, and the difficulties he went through. "He lost a few kites and weather balloons and it took him a few days just to get something up. He had to deal with the weather, just as we did today," Anstey said. Those sentiments were echoed by members of the U.S. Naval Academy from Annapolis, Maryland, who painstakingly built a replica of the receiver invented by Marconi. "We used schematics from the U.K. to build as close as we could a receiver identical to the one Marconi invented," said Captain Robert Voigt. "It was a fascinating process for electrical engineering students at the academy," he said. One of those students, Midshipman Philip Gift, said he had never worked with such crude instruments before, adding that the centenary project had reinforced the magnitude of the inventor's breakthrough. "It's good to go back and see what they did, so that we can see just how far we've come in such a short time, because it's only been one hundred years," Gift said. The U.S. Navy students were spared a full re-enactment of Marconi's experience in Newfoundland, however. "We got lucky because the Canadians gave us a van to work in -- with a heater." Inside Cabot Tower, a circular stone structure rising from the apex of Signal Hill, a steady stream of electronic beeps rang loudly as amateur radio operators kept busy communicating with other radio enthusiasts around the world. The Society of Newfoundland Radio Amateurs celebrates Marconi's achievement each year on this date, but Wednesday's centennial event was a once in a lifetime broadcast. "It's always special to re-create the transmission from England to St. John's, but this year was more interesting than usual," said society member Paul Piercey. "Our equipment is somewhat better than it was in Marconi's time, and we like to put on a show to demonstrate that radio definitely works, and where it came from." Reut16:10 12-12-01 (via David Alpert, DXLD) I read the following article via Glenn Hauser's website, "Faking The Airwaves" http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4317198,00.html I totally disagree with the opinion of the so called radio propagation experts that Marconi's feat of crossing the Atlantic Ocean was improbable. The frequency of Marconi's transmitter was approximately 830 kc. I spent a lot of time in Newfoundland in the U.S. Coast Guard in the winter in the 1970's and 1980's and could hear European broadcast band stations at local noon. With the low sun angle and weak D layer ionization at that latitude in winter, medium wave signals cross the Atlantic Ocean easily, especially during the low part of the sunspot cycle. In December 1901 the smoothed sunspot count was 3! bottom of that particular cycle. Looks like the usual political correctness routine of discrediting anything positive that white Europeans have accomplished is at work here. 73, (Thomas Giella, KN4LF, Plant City, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I made the same point on WOR 1109, before seeing these remarks (gh, DXLD) Newfoundland DXpeditioners have proven validity of the Marconi experiment by receiving transatlantic mediumwave signals in the daytime. Also remember that there were no other sources of interference at the time, so Marconi essentially had a clear channel. Lastly, it's known that Marconi used an untuned receiver as the tuned receiver failed. The signal from England was also an untuned or wideband spark gap transmission (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, NRC-AM via DXLD) As I see it: (1) the actual frequency of Marconi's transmission was and is a subject of considerable debate. Estimates from those who have a lot more knowledge and available time than us range from just over 100 kHz to over 1 MHz. (2) the real issue (at least in the debates I have read) centers on the equipment. What was the real radiated power? What was the sensitivity of the receiver? What was the strength of the harmonics of the primary frequency (and there were a lot of them for sure) and how well did they radiate from the antenna? Some people think Marconi's reception was actually of SW harmonics rather than the fundamental! (Chuck Hutton, NRC-AM via DXLD) Do remember the almost indescribably bad receiver in use. It could hardly have been any more sensitive than a crystal set. On the other hand, the equipment in use would also have been almost indescribably unselective. The transmitter would have been radiating significant power on just about every frequency from a few kilohertz through VHF, and the receiver would have been sensitive to pretty much that entire spectrum. They weren't skimping on transmitter power or antenna size either. I think there's a good chance that Marconi actually got across on shortwave, without realizing it (Doug Smith, W9WI, NRC-AM via DXLD) And, of course, many of us who have DX'ed in the Northeastern US or Canada during times of favorable solar/geomagnetic conditions can surely attest to the ease with which MW signals of as little as 1000 watts have made it across the 'Great Pond'! (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** NORWAY. The cessation of the English language service (also at astoundingly short notice, less than one week as I recall) was an attempt to try and persuade the Foreign Ministry that they, and not NRK, should finance this strand of programming. The funding shortfall was some NOK 600 000 (about 50 000 [what?]). Ending the English probably cost RNI the greater part of its audience, and from that time on, the continuation of any Overseas programming must have been in serious doubt. I dare say that as the Norkring contract still continues in force, that NRK will simply transmit one or other of their domestic radio programs over the Overseas network, but I don't think that there will be many to mourn the passing of RNI, and that is the real sadness! (Alex, LA0GV algordon@online.no Dec 10, BC-DX via DXLD) ** NORWAY. Longwave announcement: Press release from http://www.northernstar.no ========================================= Dated 10th of December, 2001 For Immediate release Northern Star International Broadcasters AS presenting Cruisin'216 ============================================= The long battle for a commercial super power radio station broadcasting from Norway to Europe has reached an important target as Northern Star International Broadcasters AS last December formally submitted its proposals to the Norwegian Mass Media Authority to operate a radio station with 1,200,000 watts [1.2 Megawatts] on 216 kHz long wave, with many positive benefits for Norway. Only one competitor applied, who later withdrew, after there had been numerous rumours of several applicants for the valuable license. After meetings with the authorities in the spring of 2001, the licensing authority stated they planned giving the company a license to broadcast on 216, subject to presentation of a couple of documents. Among our plans at Northern Star are a studio and office centre in Bergen for the station's 15+ staff. The station, which has the working title of "Cruisin' 216" will be aimed at adults aged 35 to 75, broadcast in English and hope to employ several well known radio names as presenters on the station, which should launch in 2003. The company- Northern Star International Broadcasters AS- is the fruit of an over 30 year old idea, with over 7 years, and 100s of hours filled by hard and dedicated work laying stone on stone each day. The Rev. Svenn Martinsen gained a deep knowledge of radio broadcasting from extensive research of radio broadcasting and avid listening to radio stations from all over the world since 1964. He has put together a small team of radio enthusiasts and professionals that believes in the future of international AM broadcasting. Together they have long experience in various fields, and are set on implementing the vision - a successful radio station broadcasting full service, good entertainment and a caring attitude on a Christian foundation, from Norway to the rest of Northern Europe. Cruisin' 216 will communicate true Christian values using a programme format aimed at mature adults. "It has been a long battle," said Svenn, who has spent the last 7+ years not only caring for his Ministry, but then work additional hours, nights and holidays preparing various documents, as well as lobbying at the Dept of Culture, Stortinget (Parliament), Post & Teletilsynet (Telecoms), various Defence authorities and travelling to business partners in countries such as the UK, Netherlands and the USA. "There was both goodwill and opposition to the freeing of the Norwegian AM frequency, not to mention the battle for the Decca stations", Svenn "AM" says. "But some very influential people high up saw what enormous knowledge the project and company had gained since the 70s, and besides liking the project, they also understood the vast potential of the "super- power" channels Norway was allocated in Geneva 1974/1975. They also realized that one of these channels could form a powerful international voice for Norway. Not to mention the extremely interesting possibilities in Digital AM. NSIBC AS was formed in 1999 to lobby the Norwegian Government to drop its objections to free the frequency, after the project, previously known as C-am/Radio Stella Maris, already had applied to the Dept of Culture in 1997. The company propose playing a personality driven popular music format, coupled to news, weather, sports and block Christian programming, even if the final format will be decided nearer to on-air date, due to market considerations. "We believe the 216 Long Wave signal will reach as far as the UK, Ireland, the Benelux countries, much of Scandinavia and onto the Baltic states on one end and Faroes and Iceland on the other, but consider to boost reception still further by broadcasting on satellite and short wave to other parts of the world." "It's very important that the station be seriously 'international' and not just a station broadcasting to Scandinavia." NSIBC AS can be contacted at PO Box 153, N5346 Ågotnes, Norway Our e-mail address is gm@northernstar.no (via Dave Kenny, Dec 12, BDXC- UK via DXLD) ** PALESTINE. CBC TV News reports Israeli attacks on Palestinian territory have destroyed the "transmitter" of the Voice of Palestine. The accompanying footage showed a tower collapsing. I think this is the link for a web-streamed version: http://www.cbc.ca/clips/ram-lo/macdonald_mideast011213.ram Regards, (Ricky Leong, QE, Dec 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It is. Only the first few seconds of the 3-minute report concerns destruxion of a radio tower, not the self-supporting, but a much thinner one next to it can be seen falling (gh, DXLD) Palestinian Broadcasting Headquarters Destroyed --- 13 December 2001 Israeli troops have destroyed the broadcast centre and main transmitting mast of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) in Ramallah. Following heavy overnight bombing of the radio and TV studios, bulldozers were brought in on Thursday to raze what remained of the building to the ground. The main 225 metre high broadcasting antenna was blown up. An Israeli army spokesman said the station and other Palestinian media had been inciting violence against Israel, a claim rejected by Palestinian officials. Transmissions on mediumwave 675kHz have been silenced, and the PBC is now producing and transmitting programmes using the facilities of independent stations on the West Bank. These stations broadcast on FM. Besim Abu Samay, Director of Voice of Palestine radio, said the Israeli operation was an attempt to strangle free speech, and programmes were "going ahead as usual." An official statement from PBC said that "the radio will continue to broadcast information, despite the latest attack, because it has a "professional duty to carry the truth and reveal the daily Israeli violations". (© Radio Netherlands Media Network via DXLD) West Bank and Gaza/Israel: Israeli forces destroy VOP station | Text of report by Palestinian FM station Amwaj, which is relaying Voice of Palestine (VOP) programmes due to the damage caused to VOP's main studio by Israeli forces; dated 13 December Within the framework of the escalating war against our people and their National Authority and following the barbaric bombardment of various positions in Ramallah, Al-Birah, Gaza, and Nablus, the Israeli occupation forces occupied the radio station of the Voice of Palestine last night. Eyewitnesses said the occupation forces destroyed the station. Bulldozers are currently destroying the technical installations, residential buildings, and warehouses belonging to the station. The bulldozers are also uprooting trees and levelling land in the largest organized sabotage operation against the Voice of Palestine transmission station. Source: Voice of Palestine, Ramallah, in Arabic 0800 gmt 13 Dec 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) West Bank and Gaza/Israel: Army spokesman explains strikes on VOP Israeli Defence Force Spokesman Brig-Gen Ron Kitri has stressed that the army is taking control of Palestinian National Authority areas "out of sincere concern for the welfare and well-being of the Palestinian population which, because of the PNA, has been suffering for so many months. Regarding the reason for hitting the Palestinian radio station, Brig-Gen Kitri said it was to improve Israeli "control of the territories to enable a more effective way of dealing with the terror". The following is the text of a telephone interview with Brig-Gen Kitri, by Ayre Golan, broadcast live by Israel radio on 13 December; subheadings inserted editorially: [Golan] Could you tell us what is the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] doing at this time in the PNA [Palestinian National Authority] areas, both in Judaea and Samaria [West Bank] and in the Gaza Strip? [Kitri] At this time our troops are tightening their control in the places we took over during the night, places we deem fit to control as a result of yesterday's attack. We are talking about five villages in the vicinity of Imanu'el which have been placed under curfew, as a direct consequence of the footprints left behind by the terrorists who operated yesterday. Regrettably, the IDF's hot pursuit didn't succeed. We dealt with and destroyed two roadblocks on the outskirts of Ramallah, to its west and south of the city. [Golan] Was Arafat's office in Ramallah also bombed? [Kitri] Not that I know about it. [Golan] Not that you know about it could mean yes, but you don't want to admit it. [Kitri] No, no, no. If I knew about it, I would tell you. No, we have no interest in dealing directly with his office. We have taken control of three commanding sites around the city of Ramallah, which we regard as a problematic centre, both to the south, west and northwest of the city. We will do the same in other places, such as vital lateral roads in the Gaza Strip. Hitting Palestinian radio station [Golan] We hear now from our political correspondent Yoni Ben-Menahem that the Voice of Palestine has stopped broadcasting. Is this the job of our forces? [Kitri] Unless we are talking about a labour strike, then probably yes. [Golan] We never heard of labour strikes in the PNA. Hence, one of the targets was the PNA media. [Kitri] Yes, this could be one of the consequences. [Golan] What is the purpose? [Kitri] The purpose is to deal with the PNA, which has been defined irrelevant, in the way it deserves. The real purpose, however, is not to deal with this or other symbols but to improve our control of the territories to enable a more effective way of dealing with the terror. Our interest is to thwart terrorism, prevent its launching, and strike at potential perpetrators, not after but before they set out on their missions. PNA non-existent [Golan] Sir, would it be right to say that we are actually acting now as if there were no PNA? [Kitri] To a certain extent yes. However, we will not conduct steamrollering operations or carpet bombings, as the Americans did at some points in Afghanistan, but pinpoint attacks in an attempt to reach the true planners of terror and out of sincere concern for the welfare and well-being of the Palestinian population which, because of the PNA, has been suffering for so many months. Of course, there is a contradiction between our actions and providing better and more reasonable conditions to the population, and we will have to deal with that too. [Golan] You are saying that we are now dealing with the Palestinian population as if the PNA didn't exist. [Kitri] To a certain extent, that's right. [Golan] Could the practical consequence of the IDF operation be the neutralization of Yasir Arafat? [Kitri] I don't want to comment on the man. [Golan] The man is the chairman of the PNA, which you say we are ignoring in our actions. [Kitri] Despite his commitments and promises over many months, we didn't see him or his leadership delivering the goods and dealing with the terror. Yesterday's attack in Imanu'el and others are only an example. We are forced to do the job ourselves. [Golan] What is the meaning of the order issued to the IDF by the security cabinet last night to deploy rapidly to operate in the vicinity of the cities in Judaea, Samaria and Gaza in order to conduct arrests and confiscate weapons? Foiling terrorist activities [Kitri] I would surmise that that's exactly what the order means. In other words, we will have to plan how to deal with the terrorist nests wherever they are. By the nature of things these are not located in Giv'atayim or in Bene Beraq but in Palestinian cities and big villages, and we will have to deal with them there. I would say that taking over the Palestinian cities is not the thing we want to do most. On the other hand, we will have to find the method to deal with these places and with the people who perpetrate the terror in a more effective way than in the past. [Golan] Will it be right to say that this time that the IDF is working on the assumption that the PNA actually doesn't exist? You used the words take over. Does that mean that the IDF will stay in those places where there are Palestinian terrorist nests? [Kitri] I propose to wait and see. In my opinion, the word stay is irrelevant here. We want to foil terror. If we have to go in and out we will do that, and if we have to remain there then we will. [Golan] And what if we have to go in and stay? [Kitri] Then, of course, needs will prevail. The judgment and considerations at every point in time will decide. [Golan] One more question: You mentioned that last night's hot pursuit after the perpetrators near Imanu'el didn't succeed. On the other hand, there have been complaints reported earlier in our programme that our forces arrived a bit late to the scene of the attack. What do you say to these complaints? [Kitri] First of all, our haste to complain and assign blame is shocking at times. I suppose that the military will conduct debriefings today and look into the matter. If malfunctions occurred they will try to rectify them, and if there weren't they will try to strengthen the weak points. One must bear in mind that we are talking about securing thousands of kilometres of highways and side roads. This is a complicated matter, like looking for a needle in a haystack at times. I heard a reporter say earlier that the terrorists arrived on the scene without difficulty. How does he know that? Perhaps they had a hard time? I think the troops should be given full credit that they are making every possible effort to thwart such attacks. Unfortunately, at times this doesn't work. [Golan] Another question: Why doesn't the IDF strike at Hamas [Islamic Resistance Movement] and Islamic Jihad targets? We see that the IDF concentrates on all sorts of organizations of the PNA's police, preventive security and Force 17. [Kitri] I propose that we look at each one of them separately. By the nature of things, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are more compartmentalized and less visible than groups which have been defined as terrorist organizations such as Force 17 and Fatah Tanzim. They are clandestine and secret organizations, and we will have to get to them and deal with them. [Golan] Brig-Gen Ron Kitri, thank you very much. Source: Voice of Israel, Jerusalem, in Hebrew 0530 gmt 13 Dec 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) West Bank and Gaza/Israel: Israeli forces destroy VOP, could blow up transmitters | Text of report by Palestinian FM station Amwaj, which is relaying Voice of Palestine (VOP) programmes since VOP's main studio was reportedly hit during Israeli military action in Ramallah on 13 December, on 13 December Israeli occupation forces have turned the premises of our radio broadcasting station into ruins. It is feared that they will destroy the radio's transmitters. For more information on the occupation forces act of destroying the radio transmission station, we have with us [on the telephone] correspondent Rashid Hilal. Rashid, good afternoon. [Hilal] Good afternoon Muhammad. [Announcer] How are things at the transmission station after this barbaric Israeli attack? [Hilal] The Israeli occupation bulldozers continue to demolish the main premises of the Palestinian Radio and Television Corporation in al- Irsal street. They have completely destroyed the entire building with all the equipment in it, which is worth more than 3m dollars. Occupation forces and bulldozers have also demolished some smaller buildings that are part of the station. At the moment, occupation bulldozers are stationed on the location. The occupation forces have also laid out wires along the way to the transmitters. We are not sure if these wires are intended to blow up and destroy the station's transmitters, but eye witnesses said that these wires are intended for this purpose. It is worth mentioning here that after the Israeli occupation left and the Palestinian National Authority took over Ramallah and Al-Birah on 24 December on 1995, the radio station was returned to Palestinian national sovereignty and, from that point onward, the radio and television corporation was being run by Palestinian engineers. Voice of Palestine Radio broadcasts on 675 kHz, corresponding to 440 meters. It is also worth noting that the engineering staff of the station has just completed a project to develop the station and supply it with field equipment. [Brief cut in reception] Right now the occupation forces are firing at a group of Palestinian citizens who gathered close to the station. Indeed, it is feared the occupation forces may tempt to do something really crazy and stupid to these Palestinians who are watching with their own eyes the Israeli barbaric and criminal acts against the Palestinian radio station. It is an ugly and barbaric sight. Right now, the occupation forces are wreaking more destruction and uprooting trees in the vacinity of the radio station. This is what things looks like so far. [Announcer] Thank you Rashid Hilal from Ramallah and Al-Birah. Source: Voice of Palestine, Ramallah, in Arabic 1000 gmt 13 Dec 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) West Bank and Gaza/Israel: Army destroys Ramallah radio, TV station | Text of report by Israel radio on 13 December The IDF [Israel Defence Forces] has destroyed the Palestinian radio and television station in Ramallah, including the broadcasting antenna. Bulldozers razed the station building and afterward bomb disposal experts placed explosives at the bottom of the antenna and blew it up. Nevertheless, our correspondent Dani Zaqen reports that Voice of Palestine has been broadcasting intermittently from mobile transmitters in various places in the West Bank. IDF soldiers have also taken over neighbourhoods to the south of Ramallah which are under Israeli security control, our correspondent Karmela Menashe reports. The IDF has taken over a high-rise building near the settlement of Netzarim from which Palestinians fired mortar shells. Earlier, it was reported that IDF troops had blockaded the Tall al-Sultan neighbourhood on the outskirts of Rafah from which mortars were fired at the settlements of Morag and Atzmona. ["It has just been reported that the PNA's [Palestinian National Authority] television station is broadcasting from some other installation after its Ramallah station was bombed," the announcer added towards the end of the newscast.] Source: Voice of Israel, Jerusalem, in Hebrew 1100 gmt 13 Dec 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) West Bank and Gaza/Israel: Palestinian Radio, TV condemns targeting of VOP | Text of statement by the Palestinian Radio and Television Corporation broadcast on 13 December by the Palestinian FM station Amwaj, which is relaying Voice of Palestine (VOP) programmes since VOP's main studio was reportedly hit during Israeli military action in Ramallah As part of the hostile war Israel is launching against our Palestinian people and their National Authority - the Authority's legitimate agencies and establishments - Israel completely destroyed Voice of Palestine radio transmission station at dawn on Thursday 13 December 2001. This is an aggression confirming that Israel has put the last nail in the coffin of what it alleges to be the freedom of opinion, expression, and democracy. It also proves that it has made a final decision to put an end to the peace process and to any peace effort. While coming under this serious attack, the Palestinian Radio and Television Corporation stresses to the world public that Israel's accusations and claims that the radio station is airing incitement are baseless. Its claims expose its premeditated hostile intentions against the freedom of opinion and expression, and against human rights. They also reveal the Israeli government's insistence on continuing its attacks on our people and their humanitarian and civil establishments. They seek to blow up all agreements in order to achieve the perfect crime silently and without any prosecution witnesses. The Israeli repressive trend of muzzling mouths and choking voices is one that has been proved to be deeply rooted in the Israeli policy. It seeks to publicize one speech, which is that of Israeli violence, killing, and aggression, which manifests itself daily through bombardment, destruction, and killing of innocent people. It has recently reached its peak when F-16 warplanes were used to bomb civilian targets in areas inhabited by civilians, killing tens of innocent people, including children. This policy was previously practiced when Israel destroyed the installations and equipment of the radio transmitters and the television and satellite television headquarters on 12 October 2000, leading to an interruption in transmission and obstruction of their media mission. That was a precedent unparalleled in the civilized world. As a national institution concerned with preserving the ethics of the profession and the integrity of the press and media, the Palestinian Radio and Television Corporation and stresses that it will continue its professional and national role in exposing the Israeli aggressive actions, thus proceeding from its media duty and role in reporting events and exposing the daily Israeli practices and violations to the public opinion in Palestine. [Signed] The Palestinian Radio and Television Corporation, December 2001 Source: Voice of Palestine, Ramallah, in Arabic 1015 gmt 13 Dec 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** PALESTINE [non]. Clandestine from Iran, the 'Voice of Al Aqsa Intifada' I picked them up *0800 UT. The program is mainly about the current situation in Palestine and it had some phone calls and interviews with members of HAMAS and Jihad. The freq is 15545, the sign off back to the Arabic section of VOIRI 0900 UT (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, SU1TZ, BC-DX Dec 8) "Voice of Al-Aqsa Intifadah from Tehran" (Arabic: "Sawt Intifadat al- Aqsa min Tehran") 15545 *0800-0900* ?? New time ? Repeat bc ? 15545 0230-1630 38,39,47N,48N MAS=Mashad 500 kW 270 degr ARABIC IRN IRB (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX via DXLD) ** PERU. 5175.74, unID, 1105 Dec. 12, I assume this is R Continente, Jerillo, as was reported via Mark Mohrmann's website and Conexion Digital in Sept. I caught it this morning as it was fading out. Impossible to zero beat, because the carrier was jumping around. Fair to weak. Fast paced M announcer in Spanish. Andean folk music (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 2259v kHz, Radio La Mejor, Tumbes (tentative) (harmonic 2 x 1130) 1009-1053 Dec 11, 12, Andean music, announcer in Spanish with tentative mention of "...Radio La Mejor...", drifting carrier from 2258.6 up to 2259.1, weak signal with occasional fair peaks amidst multiple carrier heterodynes in and around 2260. Enhanced geomagnetic conditions these last 2 days have made it audible up here in Vermont. Only heard once before in September of this year. 6438.05, Radio Union, 1008 Dec 8, Yet another frequency for Union. Drifting carrier inside utility station QRM. 1014 announcer with ID. Strong signal but poor quality (Mark Mohrmann, VT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. 9660, R Blagovest, verified by E-mail. "Blagovest" is the only SW program prepared by the Christian R "Sophia" in Moscow, transmitted through R Veritas on two freqs, one to W Siberia and European Russia, other this one at 1330-1430, daily exc Sunday. Deals with various aspects of Christian religion, social problems and culture, both from the Catholic and the Orthodox point of view. [address removed upon request] (Masato Ishii, Japan, DX-Window via BC- DX via DXLD) ** TUVALU. Scientist pours cold water on "myth" of sinking Pacific atolls. AUCKLAND (AFP) Oct 17, 2001 Environmental fears that the South Seas once idyllic atolls are disappearing as global warming raises sea levels could soon be left high and dry, according to new scientific evidence which appears to scotch the myth of the sinking isles. Previously, spiralling concerns over the forecast ecological disaster have prompted appeals for help from Pacific political summits, fundraising efforts from Greenpeace and a media hunt for early victims. The atoll nation of Tuvalu earlier this year appealed to Australia to grant citizenship to more of its people, saying their homes are disappearing beneath the waves. But, says a scientist, the South Pacific ocean has not risen in the last decade. "The data does not support any sea-level rise at all," Wolfgang Scherer, the director of Australia's National Tidal Facility at Flinder's University in Adelaide told AFP. The facility, funded by Australian aid, has over the last decade installed tide gauges across the Pacific, including one at Tuvalus densley-populated capital atoll, Funafuti. Paani Laupepa of Tuvalu's Ministry of National Resources told Radio Australia it is expecting to evacuate its population of 10,500 from its nine tiny atolls within 50 years. Australia and New Zealand have shown reluctance to take these "environmental refugees" prompting anger from Tuvalu officials "Given the situation in which Australia is producing a lot of pollution into the atmosphere, the Australian government should take the necessary steps to accommodate the people who are suffering from the effects of the pollution," Laupepa said. "If you pollute, you should take responsibility for the actions that you are causing." But Scherer said data from Funafuti undermined Laupepa's argument. "As at June 2001, based on the short-term sea level rise analyses ... for the eight years of data return show a rate of 0.0 mm per year, i.e. no change in average sea level over the period of record." The facility found a major anomaly in 1998, an El Nino year, when sea levels actually fell by 35 centimetres (14 inches). The monitoring project will next year install satellite equipment which will determine whether the atolls themselves, as distinct from the sea, rise and fall. "We just don't know and we really do not have a good understanding at this time of what the regional longer term, sea level change is, or might be." Scherer has an explanation for the willingness of Pacific politicians to accept the notion that they are sinking. "When you live there on a day to day basis and you do have water lapping at your feet when you have storm surges coming through, it is not a very comfortable experience," he said. Records, both recent and pre-historic, show storm surges which bring the sea across the land, destroying gardens. "That is the over-riding psychology behind it," Scherer says, adding that population pressures are aiding the political drive to move people to Australia and New Zealand. "Sea levels have been rising since the last ice age. There is no evidence, over the last century that suggests there will be an acceleration..." In 1999 British media declared they had found the first victims of global warming: two uninhabited islands, Tebua Tarawa and Abanuea, in Kiribati. The sand islets were in the vast Tarawa lagoon, the badly polluted and severely over-crowded capital atoll. What was not reported was that the Kiribati government, with mainly Japanese aid, had linked all of the South Tarawa atolls by causeways. "That causeway has dramatically changed the usual oceanographic happenings, the flushing of the lagoons and such," Scherer said. On the main islets of Tarawa every family has built their own version of a sea wall. "Those islands that have sunk were not populated at all and so nobody had done anything and then the normal erosion effects, storm surge effects in particular, take their toll. Once the erosion sets in, mother nature does not bring the sand on shore." SPACE.WIRE References http://www.spacedaily.com/ (via Daniel Say, DXLD) Glenn Re: DXLD 1-195: Reports of Tuvalu's demise are entirely premature. The island nation is not sinking. There is no credible scientific evidence to support these claims (notwithstanding some erosion caused by cyclonic storm surges ). And there are certainly no 'advanced plans' for the resettlement of Tuvaluan refugees from the greenhouse effect. This story is something of a Pacific urban myth which can be traced back to some fairly outlandish statements by a junior Tuvalu government official many months ago. The story gets embellished with every telling. Such silliness is catching. The Premier of New South Wales recently blamed a particularly nasty storm that hit Sydney on climate change, disregarding the fact that Sydney is quite frequently hammered by powerful storms of one type or another. Regards, (Matt Francis, Australia, Dec 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Regarding the supposed demise of Tuvalu: the website "Tuvalu Online" http://www.tuvalu.f2s.com has a good sized news archive about the country. A few articles mention global warming as a big concern of theirs, and one article says they're talking to NZ about relocating 3000 citizens due to things like less fresh water. But there's no mention of a mass evacuation. To the contrary, the text of a speech, given by their UN ambassador to the general assembly on 16 Nov 2001, says they're worried that if global warming continues, Tuvalu may cease to exist several DECADES from now. It sounds like there's a true story here but someone embellished it a bit, sort of like Mark Twain's famous quote about rumors of his death being greatly exaggerated (Bruce Portzer, WA, Dec 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This may be the origin of the latest thread: from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,582445,00.html Andrew Simms, Monday October 29, 2001, The Guardian The world has just shifted on its axis, but not in the way you might first imagine. A group of nine islands, home to 11,000 people, is the first nation to pay the ultimate price for global warming. For many years the most interesting thing to happen to the Pacific island state of Tuvalu was the sale of its internet domain name, .tv, for $50m (£35m). But, just as Tuvalu has traded in its virtual domain, it is about to lose its real one. The authorities in Tuvalu have publicly conceded defeat to the sea rising around them. Appeals have gone out to the governments of New Zealand and Australia to help in the full-scale evacuation of Tuvalu's population. After an apparent rebuff from Australia, the first group of evacuees is due to leave for New Zealand next year... (via Eric Floden, IRCA via DXLD) ** U K. I guess BBC World Service goes by the motto: "Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Just when one starts to figure out how to use it, they decide to change things again. Latest cause for frustration is that on the BBC World Service homepage, there is no longer a stream for the general Internet channel that has all of their programming. Just the 24 hour News and Information stream. And they no longer link to the program schedule from the main page. They had a pretty good and useful page. But I guess that was too easy or something. Does anyone know why the change? (John Townes, USA, Dec 12, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. **M** Signal failures: I attempted to listen to the broadcasts from Poldhu at both 1800 and 1900 on 12 December on or around 1700 kHz, but heard absolutely nothing I had not arrived home from work by 1700, but will try again every hour until 2200 or so, which I reckon is due to be the last transmission Later: I checked every hour on the hour from 1800 to 2200 UT, 6-10 pm local time for the transmissions from Poldhu on or around 1700 kHz, but heard nothing which I could readily identify as being anything like what I was supposed to be listening for. I did note a weak signal on that frequency at 2200, but had no idea what it was. I therefore have to assume that my attempt ended in failure, from my very cold listening post in north-west London, where the central h eating is currently out of action on a very cold December night (Paul David, London, England, Dec 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also NEWFOUNDLAND non ** U K. **M** A new BBC website is now up detailing the Marconi celebrations in Cornwall http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/marconi/index.shtml Mike (Neil Jones, DXLD) A friend in Bush House advises me that a story from Poldhu on the commemoration of the UK side of Marconi's experiment is available on demand from BBC South West TV. Go to URL http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/news/index.shtml and click on "Spotlight" to launch the news report; fast forward to approximately 15:45 in the broadcast, and you'll see the Marconi centenary segment. Regards, (Richard Cuff, Allentown, PA USA , swprograms via DXLD) The edition available UT Dec 14 at 0500 had part 3 of a Marconi-spurred series starting at 16:37 into it, running almost 5 minutes, about virtual reality, avatars, etc. (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Samuel S. Weiner, founder of WBCQ Radio and beloved father of Allan H. Weiner and Barbara Weiner, passed on today, Tuesday, December 11, 2001. Mr. Weiner's undying love and support of his son Allan led to the establishment of this radio station. Samuel S. Weiner was a practicing attorney in the Yonkers, New York area in the USA, and helped thousands of people with their personal and business problems for over 60 years. He was a man of dedicated love and honor. Please reserve a moment in your prayers for this great man. He shall be missed by all. Funeral on Friday, December 14, 2001 at Whalen & Ball Funeral Home, 168 Park Avenue, Yonkers, New York 10703. (914) 965-5488. Interment at Mt. Hope Cemetery, 50 Jackson Avenue (Route 9A and Saw Mill River Road) Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. (914) 478-1855 (Steve Coletti, swprograms via DXLD) Our condolences (gh) ** U S A. We previously had some correspondence about programs on WWCR that got inadvertently repeated week to week instead of a new version being aired, mainly New Horizons. You mentioned that on Ask WWCR and the problem was fixed, but it seems to be back again. Both New Horizons and VOA Communications World were repeated this past weekend. The New Horizons aired on Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th was last week's version repeated, and the VOA Communications World as part of the Saturday-evening DX Block on the 8th was a repeat of the previous week's edition. I had noticed the VOA CW repeat a few times in the past, too, but didn't write about it before. Is this being caused by a problem in getting the latest version off the web in time for the Saturday evening airing? (I tend to fall asleep before the late-Sunday/early- Monday repeat so I seldom am able to check this at that time.) Does Kim Elliot listen to this and let you know when the wrong version airs? (Will Martin, St. Louis, Missouri, Dec 13, to Ask WWCR, cc to DXLD) ** U S A. Special Islamic Understanding Program on WWCR-Shortwave For Immediate Release 11 December 2001. POC: George McClintock WWCR, World Wide Christian Radio, located in Nashville, Tennessee, in the USA is airing two special radio messages, one about Muslims and one about their Islamic faith. The first program is a look at the Islamic faith. The 15-minute program is hosted by Dr. Richard Shriver, a Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. Dr. Shriver is also an ordained Minister in the United Methodist Church. Dr. Shriver, who teaches such subjects as comparative religions, will be discussing basic historical facts and theological doctrines of the Islamic Faith. This special radio program about the Islamic faith will be aired as follows: Tue, 1 Jan 02 at 12:15PM-C on 15.685 MHz, Sat, 5 Jan at 10:45PM-C on 3.210 MHz and on Sun, 6 Jan at 5:15PM-C on 5.070 MHz. The second program, which originally aired in November, is being re- aired again, by popular demand. It is hosted by Timothy Abraham, a former Muslim. Timothy, was raised in the Delta region of Egypt as a fundamentalist Muslim, but eventually came to the US and became a Christian. "Timothy Abraham Ministries" is now devoted to reaching Muslims for the Lord and sharing with them the Gospel of Christ. This English language program is called "Jihad In Light Of the Quran & The Hadith." Muslims represent 1/5 of the world's population and are the followers of Islam, a religion that emerged late in the 6th century. It began with a man named Mohammed who wrote the Quran, the Muslim holy book. This special radio program about Muslims will be aired on WWCR as follows: Fri, 4 Jan 02 at 11AM-C on 15.685 MHz, Sat-5 Jan at 11PM on 3.210 MHz and Sun, 6 Jan at 2AM-C on 5.070 MHz. WWCR is the sister station to WNQM-1300-AM (Nashville Quality Ministries-50,000 Watts) which serves Nashville and middle Tennessee with Christian talk and evening Hispanic programming. For more information, contact George at WWCR (615) 255-1300. Last revision 11 December 2001 © 2001 WWCR. All Rights Reserved. (WWCR website via DXLD; these are also scheduled separately earlier on WNQM, q.v.) ** U S A. What is it about the so-called patriot movement in the United States? The vanguard of a vast popular movement? Or just half vast. These guys that are so brilliant, so in touch, to have discovered the vast conspiracy to enslave America seem to have no clue about traffic laws. Item: Tim McVeigh got busted because of a license plate. He has now assumed room temperature. Patriot broadcaster Steve Anderson, a long time denizen of the pirate frequencies, is ``on the lam (sp?)`` as they say, after having shot a Kentucky police officer --- he was stopped because he apparently had a tail light problem. (You can see a photo of this genius at http://www.atf.treas.gov/wanted/pages/18anderson.htm (URL via Free Radio Weekly via DX Listening Digest #1174) Also not too bright to be driving around with a small arsenal. And Bill Cooper of WWCR and more recently, WBCQ has been shot and killed by law enforcement officials in Arizona. Cooper`s website http://www.williamcooper.com is still active, and being updated even after his death. I found him to be brilliant, entertaining, flaky and at times seemingly unstable. I flipped through a copy of his book in a St. Catharines bookstore --- somebody bought it before I could finish it --- and it reflected the material in his broadcasts. He gained a certain notoriety in the mainstream press, after it came out that the aforementioned Tim McVeigh was a fan. Otherwise I don`t think too many people outside of the shortwave hobby would have even heard of him. On some levels, he was a likable chap. He spoke often of his family, and he clearly loved his kids, sometimes putting them on the air. He could tell interesting, spellbinding stories about his experiences in Vietnam and often played some cool tunes from that era and vintage radio jingles. Still the only place I`ve heard the devastating roast Don Imus did of then-President Clinton. But he was also, well, flaky. Such as urging listeners to go underground when that comet smashed into Jupiter a few years ago (radiation or something was going to wipe us out) --- or better yet, was his theory that NASA was planning to blow up/ignite Jupiter to create a second Sun --- for what purpose I can`t really recall --- busy picking myself up off the floor. In recent years, when I bothered to listen, he seemed to be copying whatever was current on the Art Bell Show (with whom he had a sort of Seinfeld/Newman relationship --- see his rant about Art Bell on the website). Tales of chemtrails, UFOs and Y2k. Back to his book. Unfortunately, it disappeared from the bookshelf just as I got to the part about Eisenhower establishing diplomatic relations with the space aliens. Noted that he only wrote one or two paragraphs, the rest was ``documentation``. Before April 19, 1995 I considered him comic relief. After Oklahoma City my attitude towards him and his ilk hardened. More recently disturbed (post Sept 11) at reports of ``patriots`` giving interviews on an Iranian shortwave broadcast, along with occasional suggestions that the anthrax attacks may be domestic. Away, I suppose we should be thankful that patriots don`t read their drivers manuals! (As an aside, in 1982, a Marxist-Leninist federal candidate assured me, that the RIDE program (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) was a plot to harass Marxists (Fred Waterer, Ont., Programming Matters, Dec ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** U S A. WFMT at 50 - A Public Celebration for All Chicago Chicago's Classical Fine Arts Station Marks 50 Years of Broadcasting on December 13, 2001 with a Special Live Broadcast, Open and Free for All, Presented by Marshall Field's Project Imagine WFMT at 50 Live from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. And the WFMT at 50 Midnight Special from 9:00 p.m. to Midnight on Thursday, December 13 CHICAGO, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- 98.7 WFMT, Chicago's Classical Fine Arts Station is marking its 50th anniversary and the entire listening audience is invited to share in the celebration. On Thursday, December 13, Chicago's Classical Fine Arts Station will present WFMT at 50, a day long live broadcast featuring WFMT program hosts, live performances and special guests. The WFMT at 50 special will be broadcast in a live remote from Ganz Hall at Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University at 430 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, beginning at 6:00 a.m. and running until 7:00 p.m. All of the WFMT at 50 festivities at Roosevelt University are free and open to the public, thanks to generous support from Marshall Field's Project Imagine. Project Imagine, the name of Marshall Field's community giving program, donates 5% of federally taxable income back into the communities where Field's has stores. A large supporter of the arts, Project Imagine has become synonymous with great art and spectacular performances. Listeners can tune in to 98.7WFMT or stop by Roosevelt University's Ganz Hall to join in the festivities, including: The Morning Program with Carl Grapentine - * The day kicks off early with Carl welcoming a number of special guests, including Midwest Young Artists, from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Midday Program with Don Tait, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. - Don's guests include: * Pulitzer-prize winning author and former WFMT staffer Studs Terkel, back in his old time slot. Jim Unrath will join Studs and Don from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. * WFMT's Ray Nordstrand will join in, along with performances by violinist Rachel Barton, The Newberry Consort, Midwest Young Artists, The Rembrandt Chamber Players and pianist David Schrader. Also, conversations with WFMT program hosts Andy Karzas and Lois Baum, and a number of additional guests. Afternoon Program with Lisa Flynn, 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. - Lisa's program features: * The premiere of the winning compositions from 98.7WFMT's 50th anniversary 50 measures contest. A student brass quintet from Northwestern University will perform the winning pieces. * Performances by the North Park Chamber Players, pianist Jeffrey Siegel, Chicago Opera Theater, artists from the Merit School of Music, Bella Voce, Midwest Young Artists and many other special guests. After a break for the regularly-scheduled New York Philharmonic Live broadcast at 7:00 p.m., the WFMT at 50 broadcast resumes from 98.7 WFMT's Fay and Daniel Levin performance studio with an anniversary edition of The Midnight Special at 9:00 p.m. Host Rich Warren welcomes a cavalcade of special guests, including Rebecca Armstrong, Barbara Barrow, Tom Dundee, Mark Dvorak, Kat Eggelston, Joe Hickerson, Ed Holstein, Fred Holstein, Megon McDonough, Molly & The Tinker, Lee Murdock, Small Potatoes, Michael Smith, Sons of the Never Wrong, Ed Trickett, Susan Werner and more. Listeners can enjoy the anniversary edition of The Midnight Special from 9:00 p.m. until midnight on 98.7 WFMT. WFMT at 50, a celebration of 50 years of classical fine arts broadcasting, is made possible by Marshall Field's Project Imagine. Please note that all guests are scheduled to appear and performance times may change. More information and programming updates about the WFMT at 50 celebration is available at http;//www.networkchicago.com Whether heard locally at 98.7 FM, nationally through cable and syndicated programming or internationally through the Internet, WFMT is a cultural resource that continues to become more vibrant each year. All of this has been made possible through the remarkable loyalty of WFMT's listeners, advertisers and the community. Everyone at WFMT is profoundly grateful to them as we enter our 50th year of classical fine arts broadcasting. /CONTACT: Holly H. Gilson of WTTW Channel 11, +1-773-509-5424/ /Web site: http://www.networkchicago.com / (via Mike Cooper, WORLD FOR RADIO 1109, DXLD) We enjoyed quite a bit of this (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Pacifica, Owner of WBAI-FM, Settles Lawsuits December 13, 2001 --- By ROBERT F. WORTH The owners of WBAI-FM settled four lawsuits brought by listeners and dissident board members yesterday, ending a bitter two-year struggle that led to street protests and a national boycott against the parent of the left-leaning radio station and its four affiliates. The settlement appeared to be a victory for the plaintiffs, whose lawsuit maintained that the station's owner, the Pacifica Foundation, had violated its bylaws by appointing a new national board to moderate the five stations' programming. Some critics of the board had speculated that it hoped to broaden the stations' audiences or sell the license for WBAI (99.5), which by some estimates could be worth between $150 million and $200 million. Under the agreement, the stations will elect an interim board that will grant more power to the members of the five stations' boards at the expense of the national board, said Terry Gross, a lawyer for the listeners. "I think it's a victory for those who wanted to restore accountability and democracy to the nation's oldest listener-sponsored network," said Dan Coughlin, the coordinator of a listener group that started a boycott against the stations in February. George Barnstone, a member of Pacifica's national board, said he thought the settlement was a victory for the foundation as well. Last December, Pacifica's national directors fired the station manager at WBAI and several other longtime employees in what was called the "Christmas coup," generating angry street protests. Amy Goodman, the former host of a WBAI program, "Democracy Now," said she hoped the settlement would lead to the rehiring of those who were fired at WBAI and its affiliates in Los Angeles, Houston, Washington, and Berkeley, Calif. Several of Pacifica's national directors have stepped down in the last year, in part because of growing bitterness between the foundation and some employees and listeners, Ms. Goodman said. The settlement of the suits, which were filed in California, does not directly address the situation at WBAI but does create a committee to resolve employment issues at the station, said Bernard White, a program director at the station who was fired last year. The settlement also requires the insurance company for Pacifica's directors to pay $400,000 to the foundation. The plaintiffs had argued that the directors had done serious financial damage to the stations by alienating listeners. Pacifica was founded in 1946 by pacifists and former conscientious objectors. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/13/nyregion/13RADI.html?ex=1009276452&ei=1&en=d9d84884c01c6ec6 Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. **M*** Thanks for all the great [Marconi] information, Glenn. For anyone wanting to track down some of the amateur radio special event stations, you can go to http://oh2aq.kolumbus.com/dxs/ which is a DX cluster. Click on either 25 or "50 HF" under DX spots in the frame on the left hand side and on the right will appear a list of stations being heard, their frequencies, and some comments. Look through the list of calls and/or comments to find the special event stations. Cheers! (Kevin Cozens, http://www.interlog.com/~kcozens/ ODXA via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. GERMANY. United Methodist Church / Radio Africa International in French to E Africa from Dec. 10: 0400-0600 on NF 11645 (55444), ex 11775 to avoid Radio Martí in Spanish; // 9535 (Observer, Bulgaria, Dec 12 via DXLD) ** VANUATU. Radio Vanuatu has a new jingle. It's based on Abba's hit song "Dancing Queen". It's usually played right before the "Yellow Bird" interval signal. I've also heard an alternate jingle based on Abba's song "SOS". Today Dec 13, I heard a program in French 0700-0715, followed by religious songs and X-mas carols until 0730. 73, (Enzio Gehrig, Denia / Spain (38.50N/000.04E) JRC535D/ICR8500/ALA1530/Dipole DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. 5596.7, Lao Cai BC Station (very tentative), 1154 Dec 12; Exceptional conditions allowed for reception of this. Slightly wavering carrier. Very repetitive mournful singing by man, with no musical instruments. This lasted for 15 or 20 minutes. At 1220 YL was speaking in Asian language (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** YUGOSLAVIA [non]. Bosnia: Radio Jugoslavija transmitter switched off over electricity bill | Text of report by Bosnian Serb Banja Luka Radio on 12 December The operation of the short-wave transmitter of Radio Jugoslavija in Bijeljina was suspended yesterday. The transmitter was disconnected from the electricity grid over the outstanding debt of 298,000 convertible marks, Mico Candice, assistant director in charge of finance of Elektrobijeljina [Bijeljina electricity authority], said to the Radio of the [Bosnian] Serb Republic. Radio Jugoslavija has issued a statement warning that the short-wave radio centre, whose investment value is about 50m marks, is in danger of suffering permanent damage unless the power is switched back on as soon as possible. Source: Bosnian Serb radio, Banja Luka, in Serbo- Croat 1500 gmt 12 Dec 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4600.35, LA station, 1009 Dec 13; I last heard this one about a year ago. I believe this was reported to be an LA pirate. Low signal strength, far below Huanta 2000 and R Bambamarca, which were strong this morning. M announcer in SS between songs. Thought I heard the word Riobamba (sp?). Fair to poor @ 1010 down to very weak by 1024, and inaudible @ 1040 (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL RADIO MONDIALE Glenn, I've added a couple of transmissions from Rampisham to the DRM page at http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/drm.html We're still waiting for the schedules from Jülich and Sines. Please note I made a typo in the schedule I published on Monday: The first transmission from Bonaire starts at 0757 UT, not 0750. 73, (Andy Sennitt, RN, Dec 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###