DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-132, September 23, 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 [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] ** ARGENTINA. 29810-LSB, 21.9 1715, Radio Diez in Buenos Aires very good at this early time. Lots of ads and IDs, ``Radio Diez, la Radio más potente de Argentina``. In the background another Spanish- speaking station, certainly also an Argentinian ``feeder``, but I couldn`t identify that one, despite good strength in between. S 3-4 for Diez (Björn Fransson, Sweden, SW Bulletin, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) Must remember to keep checking for this one, on high MUF days; never had more than a trace of it before (gh, OK, DXLD) ** ARMENIA. Interesting, BBC on 1314 via Al-Dhabbaya... [see UK non]. Yesterday I simply did not consider any other site than Gavar as possible origin. Noel: This transmitter is of course not silent but instead carries Hinz and Kunz as German saying goes. Amongst the users is also RFE/RL with "Radio Liberty Iraq": 1314 1400 1600 RL RLIQ AB ERV A 180 The IBB file suggests a beam heading of 180 degrees for Gavar, i.e. straight southwards. Gavar is just 1500 km away from Abu Dhabi, so I really wonder how both stations can co-exist when transmitting simultaneously. I expect the result to be a horrible mess, similar to 1215 here in Germany (VoR Bolshakovo against Virgin Radio). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS. Sasnovy/Belarus 1170: Also to the best of my knowledge this channel did no longer carry any RM/VoR programming during the recent years; I think Radio Moscow disappeared from this frequency already when the USSR declined, probably at the same time when Radio Minsk discontinued using 1215 (at this time certainly very few if any foreigners was aware of the 1215 transmitter site in Kaliningrad area rather than Belarus`). Probably Czech and Hungarian was already in the past carried on 1170 since some reports mentioned "languages of eastern Europe" in general, and indeed I am not aware of any other mediumwave transmissions of these RM/VoR services since then, so perhaps this is more or less a restoration after a decade. [This refers to observations by Olle Alm, that Sasnovy 1170 now carries Voice of Russia programming; Hungarian at 1700, Czech around 1830. Wolfgang pointed out that these programs was so far only on shortwave anymore.] (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS. Hello, Radio Minsk had a new address in the World Wide Web: http://www.tvr.by There are also audio files of the 2 weekly English and German programmes of this station as audio-on-demand. vy73 (Dietrich Hommel from Schwerin, Germany, Sept 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. Coming back from radio related trip from Bolivia I can tell you, that the new director of Radio Norte/Montero gave me some few signed original QSL-cards. So if you can send a reception report and if you are willing to pay the postage fees from Germany to your QTH, I can help you to fill this gap. Please contact me first directly via E-mail. 73s, (Andy, Schmidandy@aol.com hard-core-dx via DXLD) Hi, If this is a new way of QSL-ing stations I am not agreeing at all. How can you possibly know anything about whether the DX-er has heard the station or not (if not by a recorded ID, which might have been produced anywhere in the world), about program details or anything? No, in my opinion such a QSL isn't worth anything but the souvenir worth. Maybe others have other opinions? I have reception reports, remaining unanswered, from Radio Norte, but if not the station itself cannot confirm them, nobody can. 73 from (Björn Fransson, the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea of Sweden, holder of 22 "real" confirmations from Bolivian stations, ibid.) ** CANADA. RCI will be adding frequencies to its broadcasts to the Indian subcontinent at 0200 and 1500 UT. Frequencies not yet announced (still negotiating); hopefully will use UAE transmitter site (CKUT International Radio Report Sept 23 via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 12069.38H LV del Guaviare, San José de Guaviare. Harmonic from 6034.89 kHz (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Sept 23, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. Dear Friends, Due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, RFPI has not been able to bring you program previews these past weeks. In our efforts to bring you up-to-date information on the crisis, some of our other functions have had to be suspended until further notice. We regret any inconvenience. One source of daily progressive programming we are now bringing you during this crisis is Democracy Now! in Exile with Amy Goodman http://www.democracynow.org Democracy Now! features the ideas and voices of some of the best minds of this generation (and previous ones), including activists, muckrakers, visionaries, artists, risk- takers, academics and "just folks" who share a commitment to truth, democracy, justice, diversity, equality and peace. Democracy Now! goes beyond the rhetoric and party politics offered by the mainstream media. Instead, it highlights grassroots efforts to enhance and ignite democracy in the U.S. Airtimes: 1600-1800 UT Monday - Friday, repeated 6, 12 & 18 hours later. Freespeech Radio News http://www.fsrn.org follows DN! (except at 1800). Regularly scheduled programming will be preëmpted. [see under USA below for efforts to reunify Goodman with Pacifica] (RFPI info@rfpi.org http://www.rfpi.org Sept 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 3600.02(H?) // 4259.98 // 5679.98 "Radio Rebelde", unknown QTH. Sept. 2001 - 1025 UT. The station on 3600.02 has been an unID for quite a long time, mostly due to weak signal strength (see SWB 1464). The station on 5679.98 heard best of the three. News cast with contributions from different "Rebeldes" around the country. I presume that all these three Cubans are harmonics from MW. Theories are allowed so ........: 3600.02 might be a harmonic from Radio Rebelde, Cienfuegos-720 kHz (5x 720.004) with 1 kW or more probably the high effected Radio Rebelde, Urbano Noris-600 kHz (6x 600.003) with 150 kW. The Cubans on 4259.98 and 5679.98 might be harmonics from the same frequency - Radio Rebelde, La Julia on 710 kHz with 150 kW (6x 709.99 resp. 8x 709.99). For those two a probable frequency is 1420 kHz but there is no listed "Rebelde". ID or jingle with one word plus ".....la radio". I hope someone has information regarding the three Cubans above. I have only experience from harmonics up to the 5:th order and I wonder if anybody ever logged something up to 8:th order? The fact that Radio Rebelde on 600/710 kHz is high effected might make it an easier task (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Sept 23, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) Oh, sure, 6th and higher order harmonics from Cuban MW have been heard in North America for sesquidecades. The 600 and 710 kHz transmitters are surely the source, if the math works out (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. Noted this today, Sunday the 23rd, at 1015 UTC. Radio Rebelde, Cuba, normally on 5025, this morning using 5020 with terrible audio in AM, very good in USB. I wonder if this was a mistake, on the part of Radio Rebelde, or a permanent move to get away from co-channel QRM from Dr. Gene Scott's University Network on 5030? You would think that an SSB transmitter on 5025 with output on the LSB would accomplish the same thing (Mark Coady, ODXA via DXLD) 5025 and 5030 are adjacent-, not co-channels (gh) ** CUBA [and non]. Somewhat overlooked this week was the arrest of a senior analyst for the (U.S.) Defense Intelligence Agency on charges of spying for Cuba. Of particular note was the allegation in the prosecutor's information that the Cuban intelligence agency communicated with its agent by means of "numeric signals by short- wave radio broadcasts," which were then decoded by using what sounds like a one-time pad on a computer diskette (Chuck Albertson, Seattle, WA, Sept 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [WUN] Use of Numbers Stations by Alleged Cuban Spy. Here is an interesting item posted on the Worldwide Utility News group by Jack Smith, K8ZOA, of Clifton, Virginia, earlier today. (Sheldon Harvey) Extracted from 22 Sept 2001 Washington Post, page A1: The Defense Intelligence Agency's senior analyst for matters involving Cuba was arrested at her office yesterday and accused of providing classified information about military exercises and other sensitive operations to the Cuban government. Federal prosecutors said Ana Belen Montes, 44, of Northwest Washington, was working for the Cuban intelligence service while on the U.S. government payroll. The FBI, which had been tailing Montes for months, surprised her at work yesterday morning at Bolling Air Force Base and charged her with conspiracy to deliver U.S. national defense information to Cuba, a capital offense. Authorities declined to say what led them to focus on Montes or how they believed she became associated with the Cuban government. They said she communicated with her Cuban handlers via shortwave radios, computer diskettes and pagers, methods employed by a Cuban spy ring based in Florida -- known as the Wasp Network – that attempted to infiltrate Cuban exile organizations and U.S. military installations. According to the FBI's affidavit, the Cuban intelligence service often communicates with overseas agents by broadcasting encrypted messages at high frequencies via shortwave radio. The messages typically are conveyed in a series of numbers and transcribed into Spanish text by a computer program. (via Jack K8ZOA Smith, Sept 22, WUN via DXLD) -- The Worldwide UTE News (WUN) mailing list. WUN is a non-profit, dues-free club established in 1995 to share information on shortwave utilities. For more information: http://www.wunclub.com. Write to listmaster@wunclub.com if you need assistance with the mailing list. (via Sheldon Harvey, DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. La Voz de la Fundación, órgano radial de la Fundación Nacional Cubano Americana (FNCA), cerró sus puertas ayer tras 12 años de transmisiones ininterrumpidas hacia la isla.La decisión de clausurar la emisora --con siete empleados y un presupuesto anual de $500,000-- fue tomada por la junta directiva de la FNCA, considerando que su programación no estaba llegando con efectividad a Cuba. García añadió que La Voz se había convertido en ``un enorme gasto sin el éxito esperado''.La emisora transmitía diariamente cuatro horas de programación, orientada a ofrecer noticias excluidas de los medios oficiales cubanos y denunciar las violaciones de derechos humanos dentro de la isla. [Realmente el Jamming procedente desde Cuba en las frecuencias de 9.955 kHz via WRMI y 7.315 kHz via WHRI en sus horarios matutino y nocturno era apenas audible en mi QTH Miami -- Oscar.] La FNCA insistió anoche en que no renuncia a retomar el proyecto en un futuro. ``El tono y el contenido de la programación debe ajustarse a las nuevas circunstancias de cambio en Cuba y en el mundo'', expresó García. Publicado el sábado, 22 de septiembre de 2001 en El Nuevo Herald. Cordiales 73's (Oscar, FL, DXLD) ** DENMARK. RADIO DENMARK October 28, 2001 --- March 30, 2002 UTC Target (primary target in brackets) kHz Tx Beam 0930-0955 Australia, Europe (southwest), South America 13800 S 235 Far East, New Zealand 15705 K 40 Middle East (east), South Asia (India) 18950 K 95 1030-1055 Europe, Mediterranean, Canary Islands 13800 S 180 South America, Canary Islands, Africa (west) 21765 S 235 1130-1155 Europe, Mediterranean, Canary Islands 13800 S 180 South America, Canary Islands, Africa (west) 21765 S 235 1230-1255 Far East 12070 K 35 Europe, Mediterranean, Canary Islands 13800 S 180 South East Asia, Australia (west), Russia 15735 K 80 North America (east), Caribbean 18950 S 280 1330-1355 Europe 9590 S 180 Far East 13800 K 35 South East Asia, Australia (west), Russia 15735 K 80 North America (east + central), Greenland 18950 S 300 1430-1455 Russia, Europe (south east), Middle East (east), South Asia (India) 13800 K 95 North America (east + central), Greenland 17525 S 300 1530-1555 Russia, Europe (south east), Middle East (east), South Asia (India) 13800 K 95 Middle East (west) 15735 K 120 North America (west), Greenland 17525 S 315 1630-1655 Russia, Europe (south east) 7490 K 95 Europe (south east), Middle East (west), Africa (east) 13800 K 145 North America (west), Greenland 18950 S 315 1730-1755 Europe 7490 S 180 Russia 9980 K 95 Europe (southeast), Middle East (west), Africa (east) 13800 K 145 North America (east), Caribbean 18950 S 280 1830-1855 Europe 7490 S 180 New Zealand 9980 K 35 Africa, Europe (south) 13800 K 165 North America (east + central), Greenland 15705 S 300 1930-1955 Europe (north + central), Skandinavia 243/1062 Ka ND Europe, Canary Islands 7490 S 180 Africa 9980 K 165 North America (west), Greenland 13800 S 315 2030-2055 Europe, Canary Islands 7490 S 180 Australia 9980 K 65 2130-2155 Europe, Canary Islands, Africa (west) 7490 K 195 Australia 9510 K 65 2230-2255 Far East 7465 K 40 South America, Canary Islands 7530 S 235 2330-2355 North America (east), Caribbean 7390 S 280 South America 7465 S 235 South East Asia, Australia (west) 7490 K 80 Far East 9480 K 40 0030-0055 North America (east), Caribbean 7470 S 280 South East Asia 7490 K 80 0130-0155 North America (east), Caribbean 7470 S 280 South Asia (India) 7495 K 95 North America (east + central), Greenland 9945 S 300 0230-0255 North America (east), Caribbean 7470 S 280 South Asia (India) 7490 K 95 North America (east + central), Greenland 9590 S 300 0330-0355 North America (west), Greenland 7465 S 315 Middle East (east) 7490 K 110 Europe (south ast), Africa (east), Middle East (west) 9945 K 145 0430-0455 North America (west), Greenland 7465 S 315 Middle East (east), Russia 7490 K 95 Europe (south east), Africa (east), Middle East (west) 9945 K 145 0530-0555 Europe 5945 S 180 Russia 7490 K 95 0630-0655 Europe 5945 K 180 Europe, Canary Islands 7180 S 195 Europe (south west), Canary Islands, Africa (west) 9590 S 220 Africa, Europe (south) 13800 K 165 0730-0755 Europe 7180 K 165 Europe, Canary Islands 9590 K 195 0830-0855 Australia, Europe (south west), (South America) 13800 S 235 Far East, New Zealand 15705 K 40 Address: Radio Danmark, Radioavisen, Rosenorns Allé 22, DK-1999 Frederiksberg C, Denmark RD office: +45 35 20 57 84 (then press ‘9’) - Telefax: +45 35 20 57 81. e-mail: schedule, programme matters: rdk@dr.dk - technical, reports: rdktek@dr.dk WWW: http://www.dr.dk/rdk or http://www.dr.dk/radiodanmark - including RealAudio on demand of our broadcasts. The daily live transmissions in Danish only are aired at 09.30, 13.30 and 17.30 utc. Transmissions in between are repeats. The letterbox programme, ``Tune In`` is heard the last Saturday and Sunday of the month from 1737 UT, the last broadcast being on Sunday at 1637. Radio Denmark shares the Norwegian transmitters with Radio Norway. They broadcast at xx.00-xx.30, followed by Denmark at xx.30-xx.55, 24 hours a day. Stations: Kvitsoy (K) and Sveio (S) each have two 500 kW transmitters. They are located on the Norwegian west coast near Stavanger and Haugesund at 05.27E 59.04N (K) and 05.19E 59.37N (S). Kvitsoy covers the Eastern Globe, while Sveio covers the Western Globe [Hemisphere]. - Kalundborg, Denmark (Ka) = 300/250 kW. Radio Denmark replies complete reports by a QSL-card. Although not necessary, return postage is appreciated (1 IRC or 1 US dollar). Recordings (incl. RealAudio and MP3 email files) are accepted. Tapes, however, are not returned. (via Erik Køie, Sept 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Quito Sept. 22 2001. Wrote in en E-mail a week ago that I should take ``a vacation` from DX-ing for a while but it is so difficult not to tweak the knobs. So, there is a bandscan also for this issue. The noise at about QSA 3 which has spoiled a lot has also been gone the last couple of days and thus my inspiration is back. 3360.04 La Voz del Upano, Macas. Sept. 9 2001 - 0010 UT. The station on this frequency is not listed in WRTH, but listed as inactive on 3370 kHz. Heard the station only this date. The programme was a live transmission from "la Catedral de Macas" and was heard simultaneously on 5040.04 and 5999.42 kHz. I will also mention that LV del Upano on 5965 every time at sign on for the day clearly states that the transmission comes from Tena and not from Macas (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Sept 23, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** ESTONIA. Pereraadio is actually no new story, but I must confess that I also did not remember it when I read the first 1035 observations, so here this summary: Once this station intended to use 612 and to start broadcasting on Christmas Eve 2000 but failed to reach this target date. An old report by Bernd Trutenau mentioned the construction of a new 100 kW transmitter with a 249 metre tall antenna near Tartu. I think Bernd also reported that problems with the originally intended 612 frequency arose, so it is of course no surprise that now 1035 is in use instead. In the past both 612 and 1035 were operated alongside 5925 from Laitse near Tallinn, and I still wonder about the fate of the Laitse site since Pereeraadio obviously does not use these old facilities (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. RFI generates profit of FFr36m in 2000 La Tribune- France, Sep 18, 2001 Radio France Internationale generated a positive balance of FFr36m, higher than that generated last year, according to sector watchdog CSA during the publication of RFI's balance sheet for 2000. CSA indicates that RFI has continued extending its broadcasts thanks to an increased presence on direct broadcast satellite stations. Various surveys demonstrate that its audience is significantly increasing in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. RFI's editorial content includes 36 different programs broadcast in 20 languages. Abstracted from La Tribune. World Reporter All Material Subject to Copyright (Financial Times via Mike Cooper, DXLD) How can RFI generate any profit? Is it running advertising? (gh, DXLD) Big increase in RFI audience, says French broadcasting authority (Progression significative de l'audience de RFI en 2000, selon le CSA) Les Echos - France, Sep 18, 2001 The listening audience of Radio France Internationale (RFI) increased significantly in 2000, the French broadcasting regulator (CSA) revealed yesterday. This finding, said the CSA, is based on polls conducted in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In the course of last year, RFI also concluded numerous agreements worldwide which brought the number of satellites broadcasting its programmes live to 28. Furthermore, 170 foreign radio stations broadcast RFI programmes live and 340 provide delayed broadcasts. Abstracted from Les Echos. All Material Subject to Copyright (via Financial Times Sept 18 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL ATMOSPHERE [non]. I wonder if trans-Atlantic airline pilots know the frequencies of BBC World Service. It's possible they listen to shortwave broadcasts over the Atlantic to keep informed and amused, given that no other broadcast media are receivable out there. But aircraft do use MW and LW broadcast stations as backup navigation aids. Perhaps the Air Canada flight was tuned to BBC on 198 kHz LW, which would have been BBCR4 or BBCWS, depending on the time of day. (Kim Elliott, swprograms via DXLD) Well, if they're Lufthansa, they know the frequencies of Deutsche Welle. I was on a 747 flight from Frankfurt to Boston on September 11th, the day of the terrorist attacks. We were about an hour off Newfoundland when we were told that all US airports were closed. After some confusion about which airport would accept our plane, we diverted to Halifax. There were 44 diverted planes at the Halifax airport, triple-parked on the tarmac. Ordinarily, jumbo jets do not use that airport, so they were ill-equipped to handle that many planes. The pilot did not tell us immediately the reason we could not land in the US. Once on the ground, he told us briefly what he knew, which was not much. And because of the logjam of planes on the ground, we were not able to disembark for seven hours or so. To keep us informed, the pilot piped Deutsche Welle from his cockpit shortwave, in German, over the plane's PA. Of course, many passengers, including me, did not speak German. Some of the German speakers help translate to fellow passengers. Somehow, the stories of what had happened transmogrified as they got translated and propagated from passenger to passenger. And in any case, the cockpit shortwave set was not receiving DW very well. So the non-German speakers were not getting very good information. While that was going on, I tried to receive what I could on my tiny Sangean DT-110 AM/FM radio. The crew had opened the cabin doors, since the pilot had turned off the air conditioning to save power. I could receive some stations by standing next to an open door. Another passenger persuaded the pilot to use my radio to pipe a CBC English FM broadcast over the PA. For the record, it was 102.7 in Halifax. That broadcast came in especially well, and had lots of details of the attacks. Apparently, the cockpit radio did not receive FM. So we plugged in my Sangean to a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, and taped the pilot's microphone to the headphone speakers. Because the mic was push-to-talk, we had to wrap some tape around the talk switch. Hey, this jerry-rigged system sounded pretty good. Naturally, I asked a stewardess first whether it was OK to use my electronic device inside the plane :-) During our seven-hour confinement to the plane, radio, both shortwave and FM, made all the difference in the world. (-- Paul Steckler, swprograms Sept 23 via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH [non]. RKI says they will have a special program about a World Food Festival in all ten languages, part 8 of the 10-part annual series for ``Visit Korea Year`` on Thursday, Sept 27, from Kwangju City where Oct 20-23 a kimchee festival will be held. I had to catch the webcast at 1935 as I could not get any of the details on Multiwave Feedback, Sun Sept 23, 1137 on 9650 via Canada, since the Chicom distortion jammer is back on frequency, contrary to my last observation. Nor was the jammer on 9630 today so I assume it and its target Taiwan had previously moved temporarily to 9630. RKI was about 90% unintelligible, including Bill Matthews` DX report which I could discern quoted a number of items from DXLD. RKI continues to ignore the needs of its would-be listeners in the Great Center of NAm, where direct transmissions are much less reliable than on the west coast, and Sackville relay, as presently managed, is useful only further east (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN [non?]. 3985, 19.9 0302 Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, The Voice of Iranian Kurdistan QSA3-2 politics, mx. 4130, 18.9 1800 Radio Kurdistan, Voice of Kurdish Socialist Democratic Party, QSA2-3 politics, mx (Tor-Henrik Ekblom, Finland, SW Bulletin Sept 23 via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non?]. CLANDESTINAS: 6995 KHz. Voice of the People of Kurdistan, Postfach 21 02 31, 10502 Berlin, Alemania. Carta QSL (Verificador: Dara Gafori), con datos completos. Respondió en 21 días (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Conexión Digital Sept 23 via DXLD) ** NEPAL [non]. AUSTRIA: 7235 KHz. Everest Radio, 226 Greenford Ave., Hanwell, Londres W7 3QT, Gran Bretaña. Tarjeta QSL que muestra una hermosa vista del Monte Everest de 8848 metros de altura. Tardó 90 días aproximadamente (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Conexión Digital Sept 23 via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. 15120 gives pretty decent reception in the south of Brasil, with a Sony 7600G and a randomly strung up longwire. regards, (Rik van Riel, Sept 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Times? Languages? Definite ID? What about Cuba, RCI, i.a. which also use the frequency? (gh, DXLD) Unfortunately I don't remember these any more, but I do remember listening to their program comfortably for quite a few minutes. Definitely not RCI or Cuba, though... I'll write you down a more detailed description of some of the stuff I am getting down here in Curitiba, the state capital of Paraná, in the south of Brazil. I'm about 500 km southwest of Sao Paulo. Btw, I'm Dutch and only moved here some 1 1/2 years ago; the differences in propagation are quite interesting... (lots of fun in the 90 meter band at night). (Rik van Riel, Brazil, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. Our Pakistani friends don`t seem to be too keen on English. You may want to try for the 15 minute bulletin in English. Probably not a good time on your side of the pond during the week, and propagation might be shaky as well, but try 1600-1615 UT on: 11570, 15100, 15725 and 17720 kHz I had them on 11570 and 15100 with good signals the last couple of days. 11570 is of course the best here in Europe. All broadcasts at this time are beamed west, to various parts of Africa and the Middle East. But, who knows - you might get lucky... 73 de (Thomas, DL1CQ, Roth, Sept 21, swl@qth.net via DXLD) ** PERU. 5853.00v, Radio Americana, Nueva Cajamarca, Región San Martín. Sept. 20 2001 – cd 0200 UT. First time heard this date with schedule 1100-0200 UT. Probably a new station, at least not listed. Mentioned only "frecuencia modulada estéreo", any announcement of SW- frequency was not heard. The telephone number of the station is: 55 60 61. ID: "Americana Radio está transmitiendo desde Nueva Cajamarca, Región San Martín para todo el Perú y el mundo". Has been varying in frequency 5852-5854 kHz and the format is the old wellknown one: greetings, music and ads. Performed a search in the Peruvian telephone directory for all of the "departamentos" and the result was a person who has the number given by Americana, besides in Nueva Cajamarca: Rivera Burga Jose Saul, Dirección: JR Imperio 762 Distrito/Localidad: NUEVA CAJAMARCA, Departamento: SAN MARTIN, Teléfono: (94) 55-6061 (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Sept 23, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. Radio del Reino de Arabia Saudita (BSKSA) A-01: 1er Programa (Arabe): 0600-0900 17560, 17760, 21505, 21705 0900-1200 21505, 21705 1200-1500 17560, 21505, 21705 1700-1800 11785, 15315, 15435 1800-2300 9555, 9870 "Llamando al Islam" (Arabe): 1500-1700 11785, 15315, 15435 "Sagrado Coran" (Arabe): 0300-0500 9675, 9715, 15170, 15435, 21495 0500-0600 9675, 9715, 11820, 15170, 15435, 21495 0600-0800 9715, 11818, 15380, 17895 0800-0900 17895 0900-1200 11935, 17615, 21495 1200-1400 15380, 17760, 17895, 21600 1400-1500 17760, 17895 1500-1600 13690, 17760 1600-1800 11710, 13690, 15205, 17560 1800-2100 11820, 11935, 11950, 15230 2100-2300 11820, 11935, 15230 Servicio al Exterior: 0400-0500 17760 Somali 0400-0600 15275 Turco 0500-0600 17760 Swahili 0800-1000 21600 Frances 1000-1200 21670 Indonesio 1200-1400 15345 Urdu 1400-1500 15345 Bengali 1400-1600 11745 Persa 1400-1600 21600 Frances 1500-1700 9730 Turkmeno 1700-1800 17775 Bambara (via Marcelo Cornachioni, Conexión Digital Sept 23 via DXLD) ** U K. [Gavyn Davies was] appointed to chair the BBC board, (sorry Ralph Brandi), and is now being accused of being a Tony Crony, which he is, and plays both side of the dodgy Labour fence with his wife as agent for Gordon Brown. ============================== Subject: friend of Tony: Davies of BBC Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2001 10:13:28 -0700 (PDT) http://www.red-star-research.org.uk/subframe1.html ---------------- Gavyn Davies is the Chief International Economist at the investment bank Goldman Sachs. He is a a senior partner, paid #2 million a year. In August 2000 he made #15 million from selling 219,000 shares in Goldman Sachs. His total shareholding is worth #85 million. In 1998 when thousands of people in the north east of England were losing their jobs he said that half a million job losses were a fact of life in the battle against inflation. He is married to Sue Nye, who runs Gordon Brown's private office. Their children were bridesmaid and pageboy at Gordon Brown's wedding. He is an 'unofficial' adviser to Gordon Brown and a friend of Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson. He was offered the job of Deputy Governor of the Bank of England in 1998, but turned it down when he could not get a guarantee that he would ultimately get the Governor's job. Before the 1997 election Davies and Sue Nye were involved in organising expensive dinners for City bosses as part of the Labour Party's bid to win them over. He was born in Zimbabwe and went to Oxford and Cambridge Universities before working in the Number 10 policy unit from 1974-6 and as an economic adviser for both the Wilson and Callaghan Labour Governments from 1976-9 (where he met Sue Nye). As Callaghan's Treasury adviser he first promoted the idea of allowing council tenants buy their homes - possibly why Thatcher gave him an OBE in 1979. He worked as an economist in the City, first for Phillips and Drew, then Simon and Coates, before starting at Goldman Sachs in 1986. He was also an economic adviser to Tory Chancellor Kenneth Clarke (one of his Treasury's 'wise men') from 1993 and was ex-Prime Minister John Major's favourite economist. He was brought in by the Government to review the funding of the BBC, coming up with a proposal for huge increase in the licence fee and the suggestion that the BBC should bring the private sector into its commercial activities. He is a director of iMPOWER, along with Robert Devereux. On 14/12/2000 Davies was appointed Vice-Chairman of the BBC. He is expected to succeed Sir Christopher Bland as Chairman in 2003. [picture of Baggy House in North Devon ] [picture of #1.8 million house in south west London.] They have a house in Clerkenwell, London, a multi-million pound modern house in Croyde, near Barnstaple in Devon and a #1.8 million house in South West London. The house in Devon, called Baggy House, has an entire wall made of glass which slides open at the touch of a button. --------------- X-URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4260770,00.html Profile: Gavyn Davies Hidden passion of a thoughtful man [1]MediaGuardian.co.uk Matt Wells and David Teather Thursday September 20, 2001 The Guardian Gavyn Davies is not exactly Mr Charisma. His rather mournful delivery and lugubrious manner go well with his image as chief international economist at the US investment bank Goldman Sachs, but they are not characteristic of the world of broadcasting. "He makes John Birt look like Michael Barrymore," said one media commentator. Yet the appointment of the multi-millionaire was welcomed with relief by many at the BBC who see him as the safest possible pair of hands to steer the corporation through a gathering storm. Before the corporation's charter comes up for renewal in 2006, the BBC faces a full-scale review in 2004; and earlier still, next year's communications bill will decide how far the corporation's independence from outside regulation should be curtailed. It needs someone with intellectual clout, and Mr Davies, 50, has that by the bucketload. The problem is that the Tories' charge of cronyism following the appointment of Mr Davies as BBC chairman is not exactly without foundation: the economist enjoys a rock-solid position at the heart of New Labour. It is not simply that his wife, Sue Nye, is political secretary to the chancellor; Mr Davies's links with Labour go right back to the Wilson administration, when he joined the Downing Street policy unit. He is both a friend of Gordon Brown, and has the ear of Tony Blair. It was at Mr Davies's home that Peter Mandelson and Mr Brown held their famous "ceasefire meeting" in 1999. With the former Labour party donor Greg Dyke as director general, it puts the BBC in a politically sensitive position. The candidature of Baroness Jay was regarded with horror by many within the BBC who feared she wanted the job simply for political reasons. Michael Grade - an unsuccessful candidate for director general two years ago - did not impress the independent panel that conducted interviews. David Dimbleby, whatever his credentials as a broadcaster, never had a chance. The panel realised that his lack of vision in the key area of digital television, and his general lack of administrative experience, made him an impossible choice. Mr Davies, on the other hand, has been deputy chairman of the BBC's board of governors since the beginning of the year, and in 1999 chaired the review panel that examined how the BBC should be given extra cash to fund its expansion into digital television. In the end, his key recommendations were rejected; nevertheless, the review was thorough, and Mr Davies was credited with a deep understanding of the problems which are facing the BBC. The economist, whose personal fortune is estimated at around £150m, is clearly not in it for the money. The four-day-a-week post at the BBC carries a salary of £77,590. But for a man of his enormous wealth he is not known as a profligate. Perhaps the one attempt to fritter his cash away was made in a bid to buy his beloved Southampton FC. He is described by many as a pragmatist. He doesn't smoke, rarely drinks and is regarded as a serious person. It is difficult to find anyone, other than Tory politicians, with a bad word to say about him. Born in Zimbabwe to working-class parents, Mr Davies had worked for a number of finance houses before joining Goldman Sachs in 1986. He made much of his fortune from his stake in the business when it floated in 1999. "He's very passionate about broadcasting," said one former colleague. "He's a very funny guy, but can be quite shy". References 1. http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk/ (via Daniel Say, Sept 23, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. thr 074 US Attacks-BBC /WRD/ Muslim Leaders Urge BBC To Stop Using Term 'Islamic Terrorists' London, Sept. 19, IRNA - Muslim leaders in the UK have urged the BBC to stop using such emotive terms as 'Islamic terrorists' and not to describe Saudi-dissident as an Islamic fundamentalist because of the backlash of attacks it is provoking on the Muslim community. But according to the Times newspaper Wednesday, the BBC is saying that it will not back down over the euphemism despite the large number of complaints the state-funded broadcaster is receiving. "The BBC broadcasts around the world and has a duty to stop bringing the name of Islam into disrepute," Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain said. "The BBC is planting an association in the minds of many people the notion that ordinary peace-loving Islamic fundamentalists are no different to bin Laden. We fear that this can cause unrest the type of which we have seen in Britain recently," he said. Several mosques across the UK have been vandalised over the past week, while Muslims walking on the streets have been subjected to attacks and verbal abuse. A hate campaign has also been waged in barrages of e-mails to Islamic organisations. "We will never accept the term Islamic terrorist. Islam does not permit violence," Bunglawala said. He insisted the BBC should call bin Laden a terrorist, but said it was not even-handed in connecting him with religion as it never did about Northern Ireland terrorism. The Times said that the complaints led to a heated debate in the BBC that involved the news and current affairs department and the Diversity Unit, which was set up to encourage the recruitment of ethnic minorities. But it reported that the issue was resolved in favour of the current policy by the BBC's controller of editorial policy, Stephen Whittle. The refusal contrasts with the BBC apologising the US Ambassador in London over anti-American sentiments expressed in an audience debate last week about the attacks in New York and Washington. Over the past month, the BBC is reported to have also bowed down to the Zionist lobby in curtailing the use of 'Israeli assassinations' of Palestinians to the preferred euphemism of 'targeted killings.' HC/HC End (Iranian News Agency Sept 19 21:35 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K [non]. G'Day Folks, Following the item in DXLD 1-131. Yes the BBC using 1314 is interesting. Both UAE and the Armenian relay service are high power. The BBC would expect the UAE Dabiya signal to be clearly heard in the target area however competition from Armenian signal could degrade it. AWR/VOA/VOR also use 1314 from Armenia. I have only ever heard the UAE Dabiya signal here on the east coast of Oz once, in recent years, during auroral cx. This means the BBC is buying time from UAE Radio. So how hot is the radio war going to become? And what part can we expect the Diego Garcia base play in the propaganda war - if any? PS: if any of you have a copy of Arthur Cushen's book "The World In My Ears" you might care to read chapter 2. Cheers (Chris Martin, Brisbane, Australia, Sept 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Can`t speak to the finances, but Merlin now operate the Dabiya site, so BBC have easy access to it. One would think under circumstances, Armenia co-channel, also hired out to relays, would cooperate rather than conflict (gh, DXLD) ** U K [and non]. Kim Elliott this morning said the MW transmitter is the 2 MW one at Dhabbiyya on 1314 - I assume the 1 MW tx in Armenia on 1314 is off air?? He didn`t give any SW frequencies. But I hear 17585 on air as I type this - 0950 - with 'rolling' music and brief announcements. Big Ben at 1000 and news. Strange fluttering signal - like another carrier was present (but there isn`t). (Noël Green, England, via Büschel) So, I looked into the Internet today, and selected some relay station information on that particular region services. Changes are very complex, so I hope 'I got it...' ... 73 de Wolfgang _____________ MW 1314 Al Dhabbaya-UAE 0045-0130 Hi, 0130-0200 Ur, 0200-0230 En WS, 0230-0300 Pe, 0300-0400 En WS. 1300-1400 En WS, 1400-1445 Hi, 1445-1500 En by Radio - lang lesson. 1500-1545 Ur, 1545-1615 Pashto, 1615-1700 Pe, 1700-1730 Hi, 1730-1745 Ur, 1800-1900 Uzbek!!! [regular Uzbek is 1700-1730 + 1730-1800], 1900-2100 En WS. _____________ MW 702 Masirah Isl Oman Arabic 1500-0300 [regular 1500-2115 only] _____________ 0030-0100 Nepali 17615THA 0100-0130 Nepali 15210THA 17790SNG 0130-0200 Persian 9875CYP 11750CYP 11865CYP 0200-0330 Persian 9875CYP 11750OMA 11865CYP 0200-0230 Daily Pashto 11685OMA 13780CYP 15470CYP 17640THA [regular sce] 0300-0330 Arabic 11740CYP 13660SKN 0330-0500 Arabic 9875CYP 11740CYP 13660SKN 15185OMA 0500-0530 Arabic 11740CYP 13660SKN 15185OMA 15575CYP 0530-0800 Arabic 11740CYP 13660SKN 15185OMA 0715-0745 Daily Persian 12030OMA 15175UAE 17720CYP 0745-0945 Fri Pashto 12030OMA 15175UAE 17720CYP 0945-1130 Thur/Fri Persian 15175OMA 17870CYP 1130-1230 Thur Pashto 15175OMA 17870CYP 1130-1230 Fri Persian 15175OMA 17870CYP 1200-1500 Arabic 11820CYP 15555CYP 17785SKN 1400-1430 Persian 15470THA 17860RMP 1430-1530 Persian 6195WOF 15470THA 17860RMP 1500-?1515 Kazakh 15595RMP 17895RMP [additional ??] 1500-1630 Arabic 702 OMA 6030OMA 11820CYP 15555CYP 17785SKN 1530-1615 Daily Pashto 6195WOF 15470THA 17870RMP [regular sce] 1314UAE 1413OMA (both 1545-) 1615-1700 Persian 6090OMA 6195RMP 9915CYP 15470THA 17870THA 1630-1800 Arabic 702 OMA 6030OMA 11820CYP 11680RMP 1700-1800 Persian 6090OMA 15470THA 1800-2115 Arabic 702 OMA 6030OMA 9915CYP 11680RMP 1830-1900 Persian 6090OMA 7210THA 11970THA 2115-0300 Arabic 702 OMA _____________ [Note: following were ORIGINAL schedules as of last March 19! Which was during B-00, but referring to usage in A-01? -gh] BBC ARABIC registration 639 0330 2115 smtwtfs Cyprus 500 180 ARABIC ME 702 1500 2115 smtwtfs Masirah 750 267 ARABIC ME 720 0330 1830 smtwtfs Cyprus 500 110 ARABIC ME 720 1830 1900 .mtwtf. Cyprus 500 110 ARABIC ME 720 1900 2115 smtwtfs Cyprus 500 110 ARABIC ME 6030 1630 2115 smtwtfs Masirah 100 305 ARABIC ME 7140 0300 0715 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 170 ARABIC ME 7140 1200 2115 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 170 ARABIC ME 7325 0445 0715 smtwtfs Woofferton 250 170 ARABIC N AF 9825 0445 0600 smtwtfs Rampisham 500 140 ARABIC N AF 9825 0445 0600 smtwtfs Skelton 300 180 ARABIC N AF 9825 0600 0715 smtwtfs Skelton 300 180 ARABIC N AF 9875 0330 0445 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 102 ARABIC ME 9915 1800 2115 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 147 ARABIC ME 9915 1800 2115 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 280 ARABIC N AF 11680 1630 2115 smtwtfs Rampisham 500 168 ARABIC N AF 11740 0300 0600 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 150 ARABIC ME 11820 1200 1630 smtwtfs Cyprus 250 102 ARABIC ME 11820 1630 1800 smtwtfs Cyprus 250 147 ARABIC ME 13660 0300 0445 smtwtfs Skelton 300 110 ARABIC ME 13660 0445 0715 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 107 ARABIC ME 13660 1200 2115 smtwtfs Skelton 300 180 ARABIC N AF 15180 1200 1800 smtwtfs Rampisham 500 168 ARABIC N AF 15185 0330 0600 smtwtfs Masirah 100 280 ARABIC ME 15185 0600 0715 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 150 ARABIC ME 15555 1200 1630 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 150 ARABIC ME 17585 1200 1630 smtwtfs Skelton 300 180 ARABIC N AF (BBC/Merlin Mar 19, 2001) _____________ Middle East BBC registrations Freq From To Days Site kW deg Language Target 639 0330 2115 smtwtfs Cyprus 500 180 ARABIC ME 702 1500 2115 smtwtfs Masirah 750 267 ARABIC ME 720 0330 1830 smtwtfs Cyprus 500 110 ARABIC ME 720 1830 1900 .mtwtf. Cyprus 500 110 ARABIC ME 720 1900 2115 smtwtfs Cyprus 500 110 ARABIC ME 801 1700 1900 smtwtfs Baku 15 0 AZERI CAU 1251 1700 1730 smtwtfs Duchanbe 100 0 UZBEK C AS 1413 0100 0130 smtwtfs Masirah 750 87 HINDI S AS 1413 0130 0200 smtwtfs Masirah 750 87 URDU SW AS 1413 1400 1445 smtwtfs Masirah 750 87 HINDI S AS 1413 1500 1545 smtwtfs Masirah 750 87 URDU SW AS 1413 1545 1615 smtwtfs Masirah 750 350 PASHTO W AS 1413 1700 1730 smtwtfs Masirah 750 87 HINDI S AS 1413 1730 1745 smtwtfs Masirah 750 87 URDU SW AS 5875 1700 1800 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 77 AZERI C AS 5990 1630 1700 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 325 BENGALI S AS 6030 1630 2115 smtwtfs Masirah 100 305 ARABIC ME 6065 0030 0100 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 BENGALI S AS 6065 0100 0130 smtwtfs Masirah 100 45 HINDI S AS 6065 0130 0200 smtwtfs Masirah 100 45 URDU SW AS 6065 1700 1730 smtwtfs Masirah 100 45 HINDI S AS 6065 1730 1745 smtwtfs Masirah 100 45 URDU SW AS 6140 1400 1445 smtwtfs Masirah 100 106 HINDI S AS 6195 1530 1615 smtwtfs Rampisham 500 140 PASHTO W EUR 7140 0300 0715 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 170 ARABIC ME 7140 1200 2115 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 170 ARABIC ME 7205 1400 1445 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 HINDI S AS 7205 1500 1545 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 URDU S AS 7205 1630 1700 smtwtfs Singapore 250 340 BENGALI S AS 7205 1700 1730 smtwtfs Singapore 250 315 HINDI S AS 7205 1730 1745 smtwtfs Singapore 250 315 URDU S AS 7225 1330 1400 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 300 BENGALI S AS 7235 1700 1730 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 HINDI S AS 7235 1730 1745 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 URDU S AS 7320 0100 0130 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 102 HINDI S AS 7320 0130 0200 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 102 URDU SW AS 7325 0445 0715 smtwtfs Woofferton 250 170 ARABIC N AF 9605 1630 1700 smtwtfs Singapore 250 330 BENGALI S AS 9605 1700 1730 smtwtfs Singapore 250tts5 HINDI S AS 9605 1730 1745 smtwtfs Singapore 250 315 URDU S AS 9680 1500 1545 smtwtfs Singapore 250 315 URDU S AS 9790 0030 0100 smtwtfs Masirah 100 78 BENGALI S AS 9825 0445 0600 smtwtfs Rampisham 500 140 ARABIC N AF 9825 0445 0600 smtwtfs Skelton 300 180 ARABIC N AF 9825 0600 0715 smtwtfs Skelton 300 180 ARABIC N AF 9865 1330 1400 smtwtfs Tashkent 200 131 BENGALI S AS 9865 1400 1445 smtwtfs Tashkent 200 131 HINDI S AS 9875 0330 0445 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 102 ARABIC ME 9915 1700 1730 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 77 UZBEK C AS 9915 1730 1800 .mtwtf. Cyprus 300 77 UZBEK C AS 9915 1800 2115 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 147 ARABIC ME 9915 1800 2115 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 280 ARABIC N AF 11680 1630 2115 smtwtfs Rampisham 500 168 ARABIC N AF 11685 0200 0230 smtwtfs Masirah 100 45 PASHTO W AS 11685 0230 0300 smtwtfs Masirah 100 106 HINDI S AS 11685 0800 0810 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 BENGALI S AS 11740 0100 0130 smtwtfs Masirah 100 78 HINDI S AS 11740 0130 0200 smtwtfs Masirah 100 78 URDU SW AS 11740 0300 0600 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 150 ARABIC ME 11780 1400 1430 .mtwtf. Nakhon Sawan 250 325 KAZAKH C AS 11820 1200 1630 smtwtfs Cyprus 250 102 ARABIC ME 11820 1630 1800 smtwtfs Cyprus 250 147 ARABIC ME 11835 1330 1400 smtwtfs Singapore 250 330 BENGALI S AS 11850 0030 0100 smtwtfs Singapore 250 340 BENGALI S AS 11920 1400 1445 smtwtfs Masirah 100 45 HINDI S AS 11920 1500 1545 smtwtfs Masirah 100 45 URDU SW AS 12005 1700 1800 smtwtfs Biblis 100 85 AZERI CAU 12030 0745 0945 .....f. Masirah 100 45 PASHTO W AS 12045 1700 1730 smtwtfs Moscow 250 117 UZBEK C AS 13660 0300 0445 smtwtfs Skelton 300 110 ARABIC ME 13660 0445 0715 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 107 ARABIC ME 13660 1200 2115 smtwtfs Skelton 300 180 ARABIC N AF 13745 0100 0130 smtwtfs Tashkent 200 131 HINDI S AS 13780 0200 0230 smtwtfs Cyprus 250 77 PASHTO W AS 15175 1130 1230 ....t.. Masirah 100 20 PASHTO W AS 15180 1200 1800 smtwtfs Rampisham 500 168 ARABIC N AF 15185 0330 0600 smtwtfs Masirah 100 280 ARABIC ME 15185 0600 0715 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 150 ARABIC ME 15245 1400 1430 .mtwtf. Rampisham 500 62 KAZAKH C AS 15310 1700 1730 smtwtfs Skelton 300 90 UZBEK C AS 15310 1730 1800 .mtwtf. Skelton 300 90 UZBEK C AS 15380 0100 0130 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 HINDI S AS 15380 0130 0200 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 URDU S AS 15405 0230 0300 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 HINDI S AS 15405 0800 0810 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 300 BENGALI S AS 15405 0810 0820 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 300 HINDI S AS 15405 0820 0830 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 300 URDU S AS 15470 0200 0230 smtwtfs Cyprus 250 77 PASHTO W AS 15470 1530 1615 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 PASHTO SW AS 15495 1700 1800 smtwtfs Woofferton 300 74 AZERI C AS 15520 1400 1445 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 107 HINDI S AS 15520 1500 1545 smtwtfs Cyprus 250 107 URDU SW AS 15555 1200 1630 smtwtfs Cyprus 300 150 ARABIC ME 17585 1200 1630 smtwtfs Skelton 300 180 ARABIC N AF 17615 0230 0300 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 300 HINDI S AS 17640 0200 0230 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 PASHTO SW AS 17655 0230 0300 smtwtfs Irkutsk 250 224 HINDI S AS 17655 0810 0820 smtwtfs Irkutsk 250 224 HINDI S AS 17720 0745 0945 .....f. Cyprus 300 77 PASHTO W AS 17790 0810 0820 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 HINDI S AS 17790 0820 0830 smtwtfs Nakhon Sawan 250 305 URDU S AS 17870 1130 1230 ....t.. Cyprus 300 77 PASHTO W AS 17870 1530 1615 smtwtfs Rampisham 500 95 PASHTO W AS 21780 0800 0810 smtwtfs Tashkent 200 131 BENGALI S AS 21780 0810 0820 smtwtfs Tashkent 200 131 HINDI S AS 21780 0820 0830 smtwtfs Tashkent 200 131 URDU S AS (BBC/Merlin Mar 19, 2001) (via Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. As a follow-on to the William Safire column reprinted in DXLD 1-131, Sunday's Washington Post reports http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10797-2001Sep22.html that the State Department pressured the VOA to kill a four-minute segment to be broadcast earlier this week. The piece was a roundup of Middle East reaction to Bush's speech to Congress, and what drew the State Department's ire was the inclusion of a brief interview with a spokesman for the Taliban regime in Afghanistan (Chuck Albertson, Seattle, WA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Micromanaging the VOA...again. Remember when we were told about that VOA/IBB firewall that was going to insulate the VOA against political tampering from the State Department and Congress? This is the second incident this week that exposes the gaping holes in that structure. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10797-2001Sep22.html Look, I know everybody is a little jumpy; but this is the worst possible time for us to throw our long cherished principles out the window. I say, "Get off the VOA's back!!!" (--John A. Figliozzi, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yeah! (gh) Broadcast With Afghan Leader Halted --- State Department Pressures Voice of America Not to Air 'Voice of the Taliban' By Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, September 23, 2001; Page A09 Voice of America, a federally supported international broadcasting organization, Friday decided not to air a story that included parts of a rare interview with the leader of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, Mullah Mohammed Omar, officials said yesterday. The move came after Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage and senior National Security Council officials contacted members of the VOA's board of governors to express concern that airing the interview would amount to granting a platform to terrorists. The VOA board members in turn contacted VOA staff. "We told the members of the board of broadcast governors that we didn't think it was appropriate for the Voice of America to be broadcasting the voice of the Taliban into Afghanistan and we didn't think it was consistent with their charter," State Department spokesman Richard A. Boucher said. The four-minute story about Afghan reaction to President Bush's speech would have included a brief voice clip from Omar and a statement from the Taliban opposition. The decision not to air the story angered VOA staff. "I was stunned, absolutely stunned," said a VOA journalist who asked not to be named. "It goes against every principle of journalistic ethics." Boucher and his staff learned Friday that VOA had been offered an interview with Omar. The department sent word back through the board of governors that the offer should be refused, but by then VOA had completed the interview and was preparing the report to be aired Friday evening. VOA's intention had always been to use only an excerpt of the interview, but that approach was deemed unacceptable, administration officials said. "Voice of America is not the Voice of Mullah Omar and not the Voice of the Taliban," a senior State Department official said. It would be inappropriate to spend taxpayers' money to broadcast the comments of the leader of the movement protecting the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks, he said. A VOA staff member said that "if this is an indication of the gag order they're going to impose on us, we can't do our jobs . . . How can you talk about what we're fighting against if you don't give these people voice?" In the 12-minute telephone interview, conducted in Pashtu, with Omar in Afghanistan and a VOA journalist in the agency's Washington newsroom, Omar reiterated the Taliban's refusal to give up bin Laden and its belief that the United States has "taken Islam hostage." "America has created the evil that is attacking it," Omar said, according to a transcript of the interview translated by VOA's Pashtu service. "The evil will not disappear even if I die and Osama dies and others die. . . . The U.S. should step back and review its policy. It should stop trying to impose its empire on the rest of the world, especially on Islamic countries." It is not the first time that the VOA, created in 1942, has stirred controversy for airing an interview. But it is the first time since VOA was removed from the auspices of the State Department in October 1999 that such pressure has occurred. In 1998, Congress passed the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act that removed VOA from the State Department and put it under the oversight of the board of governors, though the board still includes the secretary of state or his designee. The intent was to erect a "fire wall" between the VOA and the State Department. This was meant to free the VOA of administration pressures, including attempts over the years to scrap interviews with Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan and Haitian President Jean- Bertrand Aristide in exile. Interviews with Cuban President Fidel Castro, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aidid caused stirs. A senior State Department official said the administration had received complaints recently about VOA's broadcasts in Dari and Pashtu, two languages spoken in Afghanistan. A review found that the two services, while not displaying a bias in reporting, had engaged in "sloppy journalism," officials said. Concerns about the VOA's various language services culminated this week in a decision to centralize the production of all of VOA's broadcasts. Pressure on the VOA mounted Thursday with a column by conservative writer William Safire titled "Equal Time for Hitler?" The column criticized the VOA for airing an interview on the day after the terrorist attacks with Yasser al Serri, an Islamic leader whom Safire said was linked toa terrorist group responsible for the killing of 58 foreign tourists in Europe, which was not in the VOA report. One VOA journalist said that despite efforts by Congress to ensure the journalistic integrity of the organization, until it is "totally independent" such debates will always arise. "We're still the Voice of America," he said. "Our paycheck still comes from the Treasury Department. So it's a fine line." Staff writer Alan Sipress contributed to this report. © 2001 The Washington Post Company (via John Figliozzi, Mike Cooper, Tom Roche, DXLD) READ the transcript of the interview, via the Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/attack/transcripts/omarinterview092301.htm (International Radio Report Sept 23 via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. RFE/RL: A correspondent of German ARD radio spoke with employees of the Iran service, who stated that their broadcasts are widely listened in Afghanistan. His report (in German of course) is to be made available in .ra format at http://www.radioeins.de/sendungen/apparat/aufnahme For those of you who read my remarks about the Masurenallee radiohouse at Berlin, including a mention of Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler: He died last Thursday. You will find a regarding piece on the referenced website, too (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. From time-to-time I frequent the 6800-7000 kHz range looking for unusual signals, utility, pirates, etc. A number of times I've come across a very strong signal at exactly 6900 in USB. It's always broadcasting one of those wacky 'patriot' programs. Last night around 0020 there was a show with a female announcer called "Kitchen Militia" (I almost fell off the chair laughing when I heard that one). There were a few quasi IDs of "Genesis Communications Radio Network". I think I also heard a few references to "GCN". Is this some sort of a relay service or a pirate? It puts in a potent S9+20 signal (very unusual for a pirate). I can't find a reference to any of the licenced broadcasters using this frequency (although some are turning up in bizarre places on the dial such as WWFV on nearby 6890). Anyone have an idea of what this signal is, or where it originates from? 73, (Greg Schatzmann, ODXA via DXLD) Sounds like United Patriot Radio, Somerset [non], KY, subject of numerous previous reports here, altho would not expect them to be so strong; why don`t you assume this at the outset? (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. 6958.80 UNID LA. Sept. 2001 - 0100 UT. Religious programming and close down at about 0130 UT (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Sept 23, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ###