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At least that's what the National Geographic and the NPR articles conclude. It's easier to swallow than the idea of a chimp and a gorilla getting it on.

This might help. Also, one of CC's big wig worked on Bush Sr.'s campaign (forgot name, heard on today's FreshAir).

The problem is that the various frequencies that are used by NPR around the country are not bought and sold like the rest of the FM spectrum

On the surface that would seem correct. But the reality is much different. Why is this spectrum different? It exists to serve the public, not corporate, interest.

There are two areas of concern (in reality excuses). The main "primary" transmitter and all the thousands of "secondary" translators in use.

To say that a 10-100 watt LPFM station would "interfere" with a 100,000 watt primary station is laughably ridiculous at best. That would leave the "translators".

The purpose of translator stations was to fill in gaps in coverage for the existing transmitting signal, not to EXTEND coverage of a single station across large regions They originate no programming. That is why they exist under a "secondary" purpose, not as a "primary" station.

The problem is that the various frequencies that are used by NPR around the country are not bought and sold like the rest of the FM spectrum.

This has nothing to do with it. What gives NPR the right to transmit over the whole nation?? You are absolutely right when you said "This is the frequency range between 88 and 92MHz and are reserved for non-commercial use." What makes NPR so "special" that they need to have every frequency in the "non-commercial use" spectrum?? What makes them so "special" that they need to have coverage over large geographical areas that commercial stations don't have??" What makes them so special that they have to have a "monopoly" on public radio???

This also begs the question if NPR is really "non-commercial." Have you listened to NPR recently?? They are filled with station breaks giving acknowledgements to corporations that "sponsor" programs that predominantly contain promotional announcements. I really can't tell the difference between what they broadcast and a regular advertisement on a "commercial" radio station. At least alot of the religous stations don't have that nonsense.

Maybe NPR needs to be kicked out of the "non-commercial" section of the spectrum and let them compete honestly with regular broadcasting corporations. Oh wait, NPR's "corporation for public broadcasting" isn't really a corporation. I see.

Does NPR really serve the public interest?? According to this link, not really. Not only by not representing a variety of viewpoints, but also by hoarding translator frequencies that they really don't need. They seem to be representing increasingly commercial interests. There are others who are noticing this also. NPR has even tried putting a bandaid on it. As can be seen, NPR takes out the "community" in "community radio".

After NPR goes dark from drives like the unpledge, those that love it can pick it up on satellite radio. NPR is not an irreplaceable resource. There are thousands of people ready to put up LPFM transmitters in its place that are really non-commercial.

I know that there are alot of of people who listen on NPR on slashdot, but it is time to realize that NPR no longer represents community interests. Sure their programming is fun and interesting to listen to at times. But the same could be said of any

He was asked if he'd vote for the Medicare bill with a prescription drug benefit that is likely to pass Congress soon? Dean wouldn't say. Why?

Is he still for a balanced budget amendment? He said only that he's "tempted" to be for it.

Balanced budged amendment is something that is political, I've publicly said that it's not great public policy, but we may have to have it anyway because you can't trust the Republicans with your money. And that's true, this president is using Argentina as his fiscal model: borrow and spend, borrow and spend, borrow and spend. It turns out the Republicans pushed the balanced budget but they never balanced budgets. They cut taxes, they cut services, they raise your middle class property taxes, but they never balance budgets and that's why we may need a balanced budget amendment.

Should a gay marriage in Canada be recognized in the United States? He refused to give a responsive answer.

Would he name the Democratic candidates who he said need a "backbone transplant"? No, he wouldn't.

I would hardly equate "Bowling for Columbine" with NPR's All Things Considered. And that's about as close as you're going to get to "government run news" in the US.

"Commentator Chelsea Lowe, a former telemarketer, says that while people may hate a dinnertime solicitation, a human being is on the other end of the phone."

There was a good story on NPR's Morning Edition this morning about this ... The NPR story has a bit more 'meat' if you'll pardon the pun.

There was a good story on NPR's Morning Edition this morning about this ... The NPR story has a bit more 'meat' if you'll pardon the pun.

it was on this morning, very interesting: http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfI d=1317769

NPR had a great series called "Lost and Found Sound", one episode had the sounds of the Northern Lights, and lightning. Sounds of the Northern Lights

In a related story, Intel is suing Intellivision for infringing on their brand name. An Intel spokesman reveals that any word containing the name Intel, as well as Inside, and the letter P are considered to be the P(tm)rop(tm)erty of Intel.
Ongoing cases
here and
here.

It works for Public Broadcasting

Does it? Could they function without the $380 million check from the govt? Maybe we could expand the welfare system to automatically cover "artists" - then they could live on a donation system too.

I record bands that play in the venues around town and in places within driving distance. If I'm interested in a group, I'll find out their taping policy and ask them at the show if it's ok if I record them. Lots of other people have been doing this for years. It can be a lot of fun and you get to meet some interesting people.

NPR had an interview with a guy from Transgenic Pets, about allergy free cats. What was funny was that the interviewer asked the guy repeatedly what was the benefit to the animal and all he could say was that 'it didn't hurt the animal at all'

crap: should have previewed Ah well.

I know it's a little different, but there's a very interesting segment on npr today: here

I found this pretty informative for a lot statistics and health care information.

no, it won't.

They had a discussion about this topic on Talk of the Nation on NPR today. One of the scientists that was on claimed that this report focused mainly on the extremes. For instance the 20% leakage they've been using is a worldwide amount. The national amount in the US is about 2%.

Mike

They had a discussion about this topic on Talk of the Nation on NPR today. One of the scientists that was on claimed that this report focused mainly on the extremes. For instance the 20% leakage they've been using is a worldwide amount. The national amount in the US is about 2%.

Mike

Here's the link to the ATC segment in case you want to listen to it.

I'd be interested to find that link. I looked on npr.org but could only find the reference to the Video Games Improve Visual Attention Skills article

It was covered on NPR yesterday and was front page news on most newspapers (Time, NY Times) today. How you missed it, I don't know. I will agree that CNN is pathetic though...

If they are NPR news shows you can download any of them for free already.

If the show is syndicated and not available online for free, you really should just ante-up and buy tapes to support it don't you think?

When I lived in the US, programmes like All Things Considered made NPR stand head-and-shoulders above everything else. Turn off that drivel spewing from the mouths of stupid loud DJs interspersed with advertising meant for the ignorant, and turn on something that activates the brain.

Of course, your point of view is the reference. I'll be sure to remember that in the future.

FWIW, NPR has good reason to be liberal-biased. They depend on liberal-minded people for their funding. If they didn't, I imagine they could actually be independent. I could certainly tolerate and support their right to hold whatever viewpoint they wanted if it wasn't my money, taken by law and backed by force, that supported them.

Actually, it would amuse me to see what would happen if NPR's editorial bias went to the right. Would the Democrats be fully behind renewing the CPB's grants in future years?

Don't forget NPR along with National Association of Broadcasters has vehemently opposed community microbroadcasting. That coupled with the advertising is enough to keep me from supporting them ever.

As much as I enjoy (some of) their content I think its sometimes better to let something die to give something else the opportunity to fill the vacuum. Or we continue to limp along with the steady Clear Channelization of public radio.

Just a friendly reminder to try your local national public radio stations. Although these stations aren't typically going to play current new music, often they do indeed run programs which feature new artists in various genres. Their website's music section, which lists upcomming scheduled music radio programs, reviews, and other things, is here.

At NPR's website, one can enter their zip code and your local NPR frequency will be shown to them.

On a side note, Clear Channel. Good Lord. Anyone here from Cleveland or familiar with the once-mighty WMMS? It was, during the late 60's and throughout the 70's and 80's, a great station. After several takovers and a seeming going-off-the-air-forever-stunt, Clear Channel picked them up. Today it is this pop-metal station that is the same format in every city. It is a really sad skeleton of a once-revolutionary radio station.

Loomis

Just a friendly reminder to try your local national public radio stations. Although these stations aren't typically going to play current new music, often they do indeed run programs which feature new artists in various genres. Their website's music section, which lists upcomming scheduled music radio programs, reviews, and other things, is here.

At NPR's website, one can enter their zip code and your local NPR frequency will be shown to them.

On a side note, Clear Channel. Good Lord. Anyone here from Cleveland or familiar with the once-mighty WMMS? It was, during the late 60's and throughout the 70's and 80's, a great station. After several takovers and a seeming going-off-the-air-forever-stunt, Clear Channel picked them up. Today it is this pop-metal station that is the same format in every city. It is a really sad skeleton of a once-revolutionary radio station.

Loomis

After Monday, the only impartial media out there will be public radio and television.

Support it, or it will die.
Find your local radio or television station and join up.

NPR ran an interview with FCC Chairman Michael Powell this morning, it is available here.

And now we're to believe that a TV show, from the Dubbya-Bee no less, about a teeny bopper girl who hunts boogeymans is somehow the 'best written show' on television? It's a fucking live action Scooby Doo, with Sarah Michelle Gellar stepping in to play the dog.


Hmm...

Hmmmmm.....

Hmmmmmmmmm.......

NPR had a show on Talk of the Nation Science Friday about this too. The link to the show is here. The segment is in the second hour, so scroll down.

I've been doing this for a while. Since most radio stations are on line I set up a scheduled task (cron job for the so inclined) to launch a browser at the appropriate time to the appropriate URL.

In my case I want a copy of a few public radio shows that played the night before and are archived at NPR. But this works for radio shows too. Since this is all happening at 3am I have the sound turned down.

I use Audio Grabber to record the file and convert it to an MP3. I pop in a CD-R when I get up and before my coffee is done I have a CD to take to the gym that contains the subset of news I want to hear when I want to hear it.

Still working on automating the CD-R creation. Gotta teach the cat to put the CD-R in the tray without scratching it.

(why is Science Friday on at such an odd time?)

Who needs TIVO for the radio when just about any worthwile programming is easily available anytime without commercials, except for the occasional ad from the national ketchup council?

The current USDA pyramid is flawed and promotes many unhealthy habits. Like much of the field of "nutrition", the pyramid isn't based on scientific facts, but rather conjecture and speculation.

There are definitely problems with the food pyramid. Some of it is, as you note, because of conjecture and speculation in the field of nutrition. But some of the problems are also due to politics as the USDA needed to assuage various competing industries.

NPR's Talk of the Nation had a fairly interesting discussion about this late last year. An archive of the program (Real Player or Windows Media) is available on their site.

NPR did a spot on this on Friday.

Is right here. Highly suggested reading/listening.

There was a piece on NPR recently where several families were interviewed on thier income, lifestyle, and tax burden. All of the families ranged from $100K to $1 million per year income. All of the families said that they were middle-class...not upper middle just middle. All of them were "just paying the bills."

For the record...
24 year old Mechanical Engineer
$4,000/month income


$360 Tithe
$700 mortgage
$0 car payment
$80 car insurance
$200 utilities
$30 phone
$40 cell
$40 Dish (Dish PVR is great)
$500 groceries (for me, wife, and 3 kids)
$40 consumer dept
$70 student loans
$40 hospital for surgery while uninsured

The rest goes to dining out, one-time
expendatures, and savings.

None of the relevant URLs are linked any more, but Mighty Google knows that NPR is still streaming in QuickTime.

Weird. None of the relevant URLs are linked any more, but Mighty Google knows that NPR is still streaming in QuickTime.

You can download audio of many articles directly from the site. Unfortunately, Apple's web browser of choice (Safari) thinks that the audio links are served up as *.smi files--perhaps "self mounting image files".

Safari will, instead of opening these files with RealPlayer, Quicktime or downloading them to a desiganted directory, will open them up directly with Disk Copy-- an operation that wil surely fail.

And because NPR uses javascript to decide what kind of stream to serve up, it's rather difficult to cut and paste a link directly into one of the audio streaming clients. I suppose you could uncheck the "open safe files automatically,", and control click the downloaded file, select "Open With RealOne Player" and enjoy the results, but that solution is rather complicated.

NPR blames Apple for this. I'm sure that in the confusion, angry Safari users have jammed already strained technical support queues. So NPR does the only sensible thing-- it seeks petty revenge by dropping Quicktime.

Ever see the broadway show The Mystery of Edwin Drood? Thing is, once it's in the PD, you can do exactly that.

Heh -- when I used Dickens in my example I wasn't thinking about Edwin Drood. Still... I see that more as a reinterpretation. Much the same as Dolly Parton covering Stairway to Heaven. Which, while it may be frightening just doesn't strike me as being the same thing as what this company did. However, as I said above, they had the right to do it and this suit should be thrown out.

Now what's really sleazy, is Patrtick McGoohan accepting a voice role in Treasure Planet.

Ever see the broadway show The Mystery of Edwin Drood? Thing is, once it's in the PD, you can do exactly that.

Heh -- when I used Dickens in my example I wasn't thinking about Edwin Drood. Still... I see that more as a reinterpretation. Much the same as Dolly Parton covering Stairway to Heaven. Which, while it may be frightening just doesn't strike me as being the same thing as what this company did. However, as I said above, they had the right to do it and this suit should be thrown out.

Now what's really sleazy, is Patrtick McGoohan accepting a voice role in Treasure Planet.

Of course, The World is produced by PRI, not NPR. Sorry.

on npr friday morning. you can listen to a stream of it here

it's streamed in either real or wmp.

We need to insure nothing threatens the nation-wide hegemony of National Socialist Radio.

We have also been stimulated by a knowledge of the general nature of the unpublished experimental results and ideas of Dr. M. H. F. Wilkins, Dr. R. E. Franklin and their co-workers at King's College, London.

Here's a brief NPR review of a recent biography of Rosalind Franklin and a more extensive review in Scientific American which details the theft of data by Watson/Crick/Wilkins.

"And pollution is bad, it just makes cities unpleasant."

Unpleasant? Isn't that a bit of an understatement?

Or is death merely an unpleasant experience, like having to stand in line too long at the grocery store?

"But fight these things for a real reason, not one that doesn't hold stand up to scrutiny."

You've got a long way to go buddy if you are seeking out real reason. Claiming pollution doesn't cause any harm... Ha!

I'm not an environmentalist, but it's quite clear you've drank the anti-Environment koolaid.

from

http://www.npr.org/news/specials/iraq2003/lyden91. html :

I am hesitant -- but Esho is not. Like many exiles, he wants Saddam out and if it means a U.S. attack, then so be it. When I point out that many members of his extended family could die, he says, "We are dying anyway."