Friday, April 22, 2011

Pretty Good Friday

Reblogging socks sucks. Normally we would avoid merely copying someone else's content unless it was copypasta done ironically. Because we love irony in the same way a hipster loves PBR ironically. Oh, shhhiii... never mind, forget we said that. GF and BNtP are waaay too old to be hipsters (we're told the maximum age for a hipster is 27). And we prefer MB quart cans.

Anyway, RP is ankle-deep in dirty socks, trying to finger out a way to blog about how sockpuppets are the Cancer Killing the FRN* while either: (a) making it funny; or, (b) ranting about it in a way that's so obviously a parody that almost everyone would realize it's parody. Almost everyone. We already know CB will never find it funny, that's a given. We're pretty sure that the only thing CB finds funny, other than himself, is South Park audio bits, and we agree with him on that.

Meanwhile, tip to the wise: When debating really important shit that nobody cares about issues on the FRN, keep in mind that ComBun's known sockpuppets include Official Pus Press Release, Mosby, Thumper and Bouncer, and probably Beans (although Beans and Officious Pus Release may be share-puppets accessible to more than one person). Gargle "bobsmith6955@yahoo.com" on the web and on usenet and the connections become obvious. So follow Father Poet's lead and cut through the bullshit - demand to speak directly to His Hareness or not at all. Be part of the Cure That Is Saving the FRN. (But don't worry about "saving free radio." Free radio does just fine all around the world without any websites, including a vanity site like the FRN.)


The Sockpuppets' Last Supper

Sockpuppets on the radio: Entertaining.
Sockpuppets on the interbutt: Doing it wrong.
Sockpuppets at supper: Feed a dozen for the price of one.

*Updated 4/24/11 for clarification:
"The cancer that is killing (X)" is just a web catchphrase referring to whatever and whomever is blameworthy for the perceived decline in quality of (X = insert your formerly favorite site/cause here).

Common culprits responsible for the cancer include, but are not limited to:

Mostly you.



While digging through the interbutts searching for sockpuppet art to steal and remix to give ourselves the illusion of being immodestly clever, we found this post from an Underpants Gnome demonstrating the real challenges faced by free radio stations around the world.

From the HF Underpants...

Real Radio Wars

"These reports make the past decade of U.S. shortwave "pirate wars" seem petty and insignificant, driven by egos rather than genuine issues related to free speech and liberty."


Thanks to "bun" on IRC #pirateradio, which routinely proves itself to be a haven for genuine camaraderie and regard for free radio, despite the efforts of some to paint a warped and distorted picture of the channel.

FM 93 Dilbar Radio in Charsadda, Pakistan bombed
Suspected militants blew up parts of the privately-owned radio station FM 93 Dilbar Radio at about 1:30 a.m. on April 20, 2011 after planting explosives around the building housing the station. Radio Dilbar is located in the town of Charsadda, 120 kilometres southeast of Peshawar in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, and broadcasts a mix of news and music.

According to press reports, unknown persons planted powerful explosive material around the station; two rooms and the boundary wall of the radio station were completely destroyed and some equipment was also damaged in the blast. Two technical staff members and two security guards were present at the time of the blast but no injuries or loss of life were reported.

Shahryar Shah, station manager of Radio Dilbar, told Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) that the radio station had temporarily stopped transmission for 18 hours, but had resumed transmission later that evening. Shah said they had not received any threats, but suggested that the attackers were the same militants who had earlier targeted District Coordination Offices (DCO) and schools in Charsadda.

Police officer Shafiullah Khan said no one had claimed responsibility for the attack. Members of the Gandhara Union of Journalists condemned the blast at the radio station, calling it an attack on the media. They also criticized local police for failing to prevent it and for not providing protection to media institutions.

Source: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)
Date:4/22/2011

Unidentified arsonists set fire to the home of Teresa Reyes and Radio Faluma
Bimetu director Alfredo López at midnight on 7 April, 2011

Also: http://hondurashumanrights.wordpress.com/

Unidentified arsonists set fire to the home of Teresa Reyes and Radio Faluma Bimetu director Alfredo López at midnight on 7 April, in the latest in a long list of attacks on the personnel and installations of this community radio station (known in Spanish as Radio Coco Dulce), based in Triunfo de la Cruz, in the Atlantic coast municipality of Tela.

The mouthpiece of the country’s Garifuna (Afro-Honduran) community, Radio Coco Dulce has been attacked repeatedly since the June 2009 coup d’état. The attacks have intensified since the start of 2010, when its premises were ransacked and torched, but they have never been properly investigated and remain unpunished.

Reporters Without Borders and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC-ALC) reiterate their appeal to the Honduran authorities to lose no time in investigating the recent attacks on the station’s members. The international community must urge the Honduran government to protect all of this community radio station’s rights, including the right to free expression.

Harassment of Radio Coco Dulce resumed again during last January’s local elections, when several of its members were threatened or were the target of unjustified criminal proceedings, although the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has asked Honduras to take precautionary measures to protect its members.

Radio Coco Dulce has always defended the rights of Triunfo’s Garifuna community, including the right to keep its coastal land, which has been threatened by expropriation for major tourism development projects by a group of local politicians and entrepreneurs.

The frequent attacks on Radio Coco Dulce members and the failure to punish the threats and acts of violence against it constitute a serious violation of the Triunfo community’s right to free expression and reflect a desire of the part of the local authorities to silence the station.

Sad anniversary for La Voz de Zacate Grande

It is in this climate of heightened tension that La Voz de Zacate Grande, a community radio station on the Pacific Coast island of Zacate Grande, will be marking the first anniversary of its creation tomorrow.

A week ago, the prosecutor’s office in the nearby town of Amapala ordered the capture of eight leaders of the local peasant organization ADEPZA, of which La Voz de Zacate Grande is the mouthpiece. Several of those named in the arrest order are contributors to the radio station and the charges, which are several months old, directly concern its activities.

The authorities appear to be reluctant carry out the arrests on Zacate Grande island for fear that the local population will demonstrate in support of the station’s contributors, who are however liable to be arrested whenever they leave the island, above all when they report to the court in Amapala, which they are supposed to do every two weeks.

A meeting of community radio stations is to be held today to mark the anniversary.

Reporters Without Borders and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters - Latin America and the Caribbean (AMARC-ALC) call on the Honduran authorities to stop the harassment of community radio stations and to respect their right to free speech. They also urge the authorities to take whatever security measures are necessary to ensure that there are no problems at tomorrow’s AMARC meeting in Honduras.

http://en.rsf.org/honduras-community-radio-stations-still-13-04-2011,40023.html
Published on Wednesday 13 April 2011.


No Audio/Video/Blog of the Now this weekend. Believe it or nuts, we suggest you tune in to WBNY's Easter weekend broadcasts and try to snag some bunny love. Even if CB has forked up the interweb with suckerpuppets, many of his shows are entertaining and his current Easter basket QSL packages are spiffy swag, which one day will mark this era as among the most colorful in pirate radio history.
Frequencies to monitor: 6240khz, 6375khz, 6900khz, 6913khz, 6930khz, 6940khz, 6950khz, all in glorious AM, but 10 watts or less so be sure to extend those rabbit ears fully into the upright and crazy position.

7 comments:

  1. Seems to me that CB is using the same tactics as private radio to manipulate us ,bringing big brother corporate to the pirate airwaves to sell t-shirts.
    I want to listen to pirate radio that isn't bowing to the system . Commander Bunny is a symptom of what is wrong with all social manipulation experiments going on today.

    I'm no fucking Monkey Commander Bunny stop treating me like one,then maybe you'll get somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Don't sweat it man, NPD doesn't allow for any interpretation other then seeing monkeys eveywhere, but there lies the beauty, just like the abusive zoo keeper that suddenly finds himself in the same cage as the gorillas!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the comments, folks. Discussing the sockpuppet game is tricky because it skirts that thorny issue: respecting the anonymity of pirate operators. The worst offenders in the sockpuppet game also tend to be the least anonymous - and also the least respectful of other people's anonymity/pseudonymity - but woe unto anyone who makes the connections and points out the obvious.

    BTW, regarding WBNY's t-shirts,etc.: Technically it's not "commercialization" since he's giving away these generous QSL packages. But no amount of pogey bait will entice us to overlook CB's bullying tactics, propaganda and outright lies about other ops and even listeners.

    It's not about money. It's about sending a message.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The picture of the last supper is a true work of art! I'm going to frame it, and I am serious about that .
    THOSE guys do run on empty calories.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 'Be part of the cure that is saving the FRN'?

    First, you have to believe it is 'worth saving'.
    Second, you have to believe that it is not 'beyond saving'.

    I don't believe either any longer. First off, the software that runs it is caveman dogshit. New people have to beg to join. They've run off too many people who will never come back there, even if they were allowed. Certain persons allegedly 'no longer in charge' likely retain tools allowing them access to your private information. Lastly, the CB conspiracy may be wider than initially believed, even including all administrators.

    My advice is, look for the lifeboats. The Titanic has struck an iceberg. Too many compartments compromised. She will now sink with mathematical certainty; it's only a matter of time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Here's a riddle for you;

    What lagomorph claims to be running ten watts from the hutch when he's driving his lenny-ears with ten watts from the house?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks to Father Poet and this blog! The pirate radio scene is finally getting a long overdue breath of fresh air.

    ReplyDelete

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