WBAI

WBAI treasurer’s 8July monthly report

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Click to access treasurers_report_2020-07-08.pdf

. . . right on time – as usual . . .

R Paul Martin, long-standing WBAI treasurer, & Secretary of the PNB Finance Cttee, gives a written report to each meeting of his Local Station Board. This one, five pages, was a lot easier for him: usually the national Cttee meets the evening before, calling for a page or three of details. Small mercies in These Times of the Reign of the Lunatic.

These Times of the Reign of the Lunatic. Made possible by the opportunistic Republican Party. Made worse by renegades from their scientific & public health training, bringing their professions into disrepute, bending to the opinions of The Lunatic, discarding their duty to the public, diluting CDC public health policy. Sacrificing the public, collateral in a self-serving effort to keep their jobs. Colluding with the advocate of shining the light, cleaning with disinfectant. Betraying fidelity to evidenced reason. Capitulators. Yes, these enablers are led by Sideshow Bob–Debby–&–(less so)–Tony. Sad, horrible, as The Lunatic says in public. Wimps, cucks, as The Lunatic says in private.

. . . Amerikan Karnage . . .

~

Meanwhile, back in PacificaWorld . . .

Remarks on the report:

  • FY2018 audit delay: will do a separate post on this fiasco
  • re eligibility for money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, CPB, the lack of “the FY19 audit” (p. 3, emphasis added) largely misses the point: even if Pacifica can earn timely audited financial statements, & not an auditor’s report declaring their absence, the CPB has criteria for evidenced listenership ‘in the community’ that’ll trip up Pacifica
  • “we can’t forget that the principal on the big loan is scheduled to come due in less than nine months” (p. 4) – much, much worse than that, Paul: not only is there no plan addressing FJC’s $3.265m, there hasn’t even been the preliminaries of a public Pacifica discussion to simply identify the options!
  • corrections: NETA is not Television (p. 1), but Telecommunications; & FJC quarterly interest, due 30Sep, 31Dec, & 31Mar, is not ~$70k (p. 3), but, since 16Mar2020, $51 016 ($3.265m x 6.25% ÷ 4).

~

Lastly, this teleconferenced meeting isn’t being streamed. No explanation is given in the notice on kpftx.org. It’s an open meeting, in the terms of the Communications Act of 1934, § 396(k)(4). This sub-section implies that if Pacifica is indeed receiving any money under the Act, then for a teleconferenced meeting to be compliant, Pacifica has to publicly stream the proceedings, not simply make public a recording of the meeting. That is, the meeting must be witnessed, even if only aurally; & witnessing means whilst it’s happening.

https://pacificaradiowatch.home.blog/sources-on-pacifica/ (the Act, p. 216)

And what counts as a meeting? ln the opinion of the CPB, “[n]ote that deliberations do not require any formal action or vote. Any discussion of public broadcasting issues that may influence the opinions of members makes it a meeting” (all emphases added). So much for the view expressed at the 11Mar2020 LSB meeting that, in the past, decisions had been ratified at a subsequent meeting.

https://www.cpb.org/stations/certification/cert1 (linked from https://kpftx.org/, the homepage)

Have any audiofiles been posted on kpftx.org? In 2020, prior to today’s meeting, there’s been six LSB open meetings, one each month, with the last four being teleconferences. But only the March has a publicly available recording – and although the box says “Archive Soon” it’s actually there, as a URL, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RnIDQDCaO1mGn5z-Zph0eluonkbQvTdm/view?usp=drive_web – so no, it’s not the proposed agenda. Hidden gems do exist in PacificaWorld.

https://kpftx.org/archive.php

The public can obviously attend in-person open meetings, & posting a recording is a courtesy to members & listeners, & an exercise in transparency. The April/May/June teleconferences may indeed have been streamed, even allowing public comment, but Pacifica has offered no evidence that this was so. In fact, only the April & May notices show such an intention. Let’s hope that if the CPB comes auditing for compliance then the evidence exists. And if there are audiofiles, why aren’t they posted in the meetings archive, kpftx.org?

~

R Paul Martin’s monthly reports, from Apr2013, are archived here: https://glib.com/treasurers_reports.html.

Advertisement

Chris Albertson died one year ago

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Chris Albertson, WBAI studios, 1965 (photographer: Sam Falk, New York Times)

Chris died a year ago today.

Respect.

His blogs, that are still maintained:

https://stomp-off.blogspot.com/

http://wbai-nowthen.blogspot.com/

Two of his obituaries:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/obituaries/chris-albertson-dead.html (written by Richard Sandomir)

https://jazztimes.com/features/tributes-and-obituaries/jazz-and-blues-historian-chris-albertson-dies-at-87/ (written by Michael West)

WBAI treasurer’s Feb-Mar2020 report to the WBAI LSB, W11Mar2020

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R Paul Martin’s latest diligent endeavour. Mr Martin is the only Pacifica treasurer to publish for members & listeners the report they make to their Local Station Board. Not only that, it’s posted online within hours of the meeting. His courtesy & service is unequalled amongst the $$$ p$$ps of Pacifica.

Also please note that by an accident of the Pacifica calendar, his LSB usually meets less than 24hrs after the PNB Finance Cttee, details of which are always part of his report.

Mr Martin’s dedication is exemplary, his judgment astute.

https://glib.com/treasurers_report_2020-03-11.pdf (downloadable; 4pp.)

The archive, starting Apr2013: https://glib.com/treasurers_reports.html

~~~

[Remarks to be added, esp. re the Tu10Mar PNB Finance Cttee that Paul discusses, one addressed by both Chief Financial Officer Anita Sims & auditor Jorge Diaz of Rogers & Co. With the breakers busy with their breaking, Paul was perhaps at his most pessimistic, wondering whether “this will be my final Treasurer’s Report” (p. 4), a small matter compared with his fearing for the future of WBAI. Unless the breakers pull some stunt, Tuesday’s showpiece was the last national Pacifica meeting on financial/audit matters before the referendum voting ends next Thursday, 19Mar, at 8.59pm PDT, 10.59pm CDT, & 11.59pm EDT.]

Fed judge Paul Engelmayer, Pacifica, & Pamela Geller – Fed court, NYC, 3pm, M21Oct2019

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. . . the federal judge for the M21Oct WBAI v. Pacifica hearing, someone with form: in 2012 he ruled as lawful this advert on buses of NY’s MTA . . .

The judge at today’s hearing is Paul Adam Engelmayer. On 20July2012 he ruled against the NY Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA), after they had refused to carry on their buses an ad, shown above, that they saw violated their no-demeaning policy.

No prob for Paul, because the MTA’s no-demeaning policy was discriminatory, allowing the demeaning of those people not specifically denoted by the policy, &, anyway, this was a matter of core political speech, protected under the First Amendment.

So there you are. The group bringing the case got permission to carry out their plan, putting the ad on over 300 buses for four weeks. Free speech in action. A Pacifica value, yes?

And the group? The American Freedom Defense Initiative, obvious patriots. Not just that, but also defenders of the flag of liberty – libertarians, just like IEW Vernile, as evidenced by the radio interview I linked to on Su6Oct: https://pacificaradiowatch.home.blog/2019/10/06/john-vernile-prince-harry-and-charlotte-church-qm-and-quincy-mccoy-qm/.

AFDI is probably better known as SIOA, Stop Islamization of America. Again, a cutting-edge topic – as witnessed by urgent preemptory legislation carried in various state chambers west of the Appalachians. Keeping the citizenry safe.

SIOA came to prominence in 2010 when it protested a Muslim group planning to build a cultural & inter-faith centre a few blocks from the Twin Towers site. It gave plenty of free publicity to the two creators of SIOA, Pamela Geller & Robert Spencer.

But AFDI/SIOA do bring people together, perhaps unique in earning the condemnation of both the Southern Poverty Law Center & the Anti-Defamation League. No easy feat. But for judge Paul, the law’s the law.

We’ll see how Paul interprets the law today, be it in favour of the defenders of WBAI, or in favour of dictatorial wrecking by the Interim Executive Wrecker.

Sources:

https://in.reuters.com/article/lawsuit-freespeech/new-york-bus-system-cant-bar-pro-israel-defeat-jihad-ads-idINL2E8IKBM820120720

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_A._Engelmayer & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Freedom_Defense_Initiative#2012

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/03/style/weddings-e-f-mandelstam-paul-engelmayer.html (nuptials; “[h]is mother retired as a remedial reading specialist with the New York City Public Schools. His father is a lawyer in New York”; his parents-in-law, one a lawyer, the other “retired as the managing director of Ascap, the music licensing organization in New York”)

“My guess is that there is big money and powerful people behind Vernile and Quincy McCoy” – temporary Pacifica Chair, Alex Steinberg

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Below is a comment posted to this blog today by temporary Chair of the Pacifica Board, Alex Steinberg. He’s also a WBAI listeners-delegate. (The text includes his correction, & three corrected typos.) https://pacificaradiowatch.home.blog/2019/10/15/wbai-statements-at-ny-city-hall-tu15oct2019/

As Alex says, it augments his remarks made Tu15Oct on the steps of NY City Hall. Given the political points he makes, & his assessment that Vernile & McCoy are more than they might seem, it warrants being a separate post on this blog.

However, what I said on Tuesday still stands: we need, & deserve, an explanation of why a temporary Chair was elected in secret. Not only does this violate the transparency principle of democratic proceedings, it’s also contrary to the Communications Act of 1934 – §396(k)(4); page 216 of the PDF. https://transition.fcc.gov/Reports/1934new.pdf

Even when Pacificans are victims of egregious secret manoeuvring, they themselves seem incapable of breaking with the unthinking obdurate & deep secrecy culture permeating the organisation. Yet, as passed down from the fathers to Primo Levi, if not now, when? The politics of ‘not in front of the children’ really has to end.

And this opens out into a much wider vista. It’s crucial that the new PNB majority speaks publicly – to members, staff, listeners, interested vendors, creditors, regulators, & potential donors & grantors. In a struggle, it’s essential to communicate. And the PNB minority seems to have control of Pacifica’s website & meetings archive. The new PNB majority must start a website or blog, not only posting their statements & reliable info, but also opening a discussion forum. Just in terms of disseminating the most basic info, it was absurd that the PNB tumult starting Th10Oct wasn’t made public by the PNB solidarians but by Tracy Rosenberg, in her Pacifica in Exile newsletter, released Su13Oct after the PNB sessions that day. That is the responsibility of protagonists, no-one else. https://pacificaradiowatch.home.blog/2019/10/14/can-this-be-true-qm-has-pnb-reversed-wrecker-vernile-s-wrecking-qm-will-he-resign-in-disgust-qm/

In the meantime, Mr Steinberg . . .

~~~

I would have said something about the politics of the coup. But I was under pressure to finish my remarks quickly. The lineup at the Press Conference gave too much time to people who were talking in general about WBAI and not about the coup. We did not hear nearly enough from [the Chair of the WBAI Local Station Board], Carolyn McIntyre, or the WBAI GM, Berthold Reimers, or the WBAI Program Director, Linda Perry.

It is now obvious that John Vernile was selected for this job to do a corporate style takeover of WBAI and to drown up whatever radical voices remain on WBAI and afterwards the rest of the network. My guess is that there is big money and powerful people behind Vernile and Quincy McCoy [my emphases]. They are attempting a ‘cleansing’ operation to remove any dissident voices to the left of the Democratic Party establishment from having any say on the politics and culture of this country. It’s of a piece with Hillary Clinton’s attempt to demonize Democratic Party presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, who is the only consistently anti-imperialist candidate running as a Democrat.

Alex Steinberg WBAI Director to the Pacifica National Board [Sa19Oct2019]

PNB motions/TRO court hearing moved from F18Oct to M21Oct2019 – Tom Hillgardner

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Th10Oct, IEW Vernile, using the name of Pacifica Foundation Inc., got the NY court to remove almost all the temporary restraining order against him

Below is a note by Tom Hillgardner. The WBAI peeps got a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the evening of the coup, M7Oct, to both reverse the firings & allow restoration of local programming. IEW Vernile, in the name of Pacifica Foundation Inc., then used members’ subscriptions & listeners’ donations to hire a Wall Street legal firm – literally, at #100, no less, on the 20th floor. https://www.foster.com/pp/bio-kara-steger.pdf?11341 (doubt if she has a corner office, just yet)

But on Th10Oct the court watered down this TRO, merely prohibiting staff firings (document #26, page 344 – yes, the photocopying alone is costing members & listeners a fortune).

http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/iscroll/SQLData.jsp?IndexNo=159745-2019 (doc. #26, like the others, is behind the captcha)

The next hearing was due to be F18Oct, as Tom Hillgardner explains.

Tom’s Facebook page has lots of political posts, & so including WBAI & Pacifica: https://www.facebook.com/tom.hillgardner.

Finally, some details of the federal court hearing were provided W16Oct by Tracy Rosenberg, in a somewhat garbled post, ‘Legal wheels spin’: https://pacificainexile.org/archives/2792.

~~~

There was no court proceeding today [F18Oct]. The hearing on the TRO [temporary restraining order] that originally was scheduled to be heard in state court on 10/18 was cancelled by operation of law when defendant Pacifica removed the case to federal court. The federal judge then continued that TRO, as modified by the Appellate Division, until October 21 when the court has scheduled the initial court conference, the hearing of Pacifica’s motion to preliminarily enjoin the effectiveness of motions passed by a majority of directors at a 10/13 board meeting, and the hearing of the plaintiff’s motion to remand this action back to NYS Supreme Court. This last item will have priority as it involves the question of whether the federal court has jurisdiction, which I believe the court will rule that it does not [emphases added]. Such a ruling would vacate the federal court TRO temporarily restraining the effectiveness of the motions passed by a majority of directors at the October 13 meeting of the Pacifica Board and would require withdrawal by Pacifica attorneys from representing Pacifica in that action.

Protest & solidarity continues in Berkeley, W16Oct2019

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This Wednesday, 16Oct, a group was again outside the Pacifica building in Berkeley, protesting the breakers’ coup against WBAI & Pacifica. (Vid is 15:58.)

One speaker is Tom Voorhees, a Pacifica director, & KPFA listeners-delegate (1:36). The breakers are trying to oust him as a director, replace him by a breaker, turning the PNB back into a 11-11 paralysis. Two weeks or so after the launch of their petition for a new Pacifica constitution, the breakers on Th26Sep called a KPFA delegates assembly to oust Mr Voorhees. This takes place Sa26Oct. It’s crucial that he’s supported both within the meeting & outside. https://kpftx.org/pacalendar/cal_show1.php?eventdate=20191026

A similar action by the protest/solidarity group occurred the Wednesday before: https://pacificaradiowatch.home.blog/2019/10/09/video-of-kpfa-peeps-supporting-wbai-pacifica-solidarians-reject-the-breakers-s-move/ (the vid is much longer, 35:58)

IEW Vernile already came into the job with ‘Pacifica Across America’: Quincy McCoy at the Sa17Aug2019 KPFA LSB

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. . . screenshot of the homepage, taken the day of the coup, M7Oct2019 – the sole webpage WBAI has, showing the audio button of the relay, https://www.wbai.org/ . . .

With the coup at WBAI by the breakers, a new phrase entered the lexicon of PacificaWorld. Everyone wondered what it was, where it came from. It may surprise people, but Pacifica Across America, both the term & the idea, was mentioned seven weeks before, by KPFA station manager, Quincy McCoy. The occasion was the Sa17Aug2019 KPFA Local Station Board. In response to what proved to be a serendipitous question, McCoy referred to Pacifica Across America in connection with Interim Executive Wrecker John Vernile & SiriusXM, a broadcaster:

[…] a series of programs that we want to put together called, er, I think – the working title is Pacifica Across America, & that would be a list of the best shows of Pacifica that would run on, on Sirius & also on the Pacifica website”

31:07, https://kpftx.org/archives/pnb/kpfa/190817/kpfa190817a.mp3

Audio feed? There is no audio “Pacifica website”. But WBAI has a website. It’s now a single webpage, emblazoned with Pacifica Across America. Beneath it is an audio button of the 24-hour alienation organised by the PAA “Consulting Programmer”. A certain Quincy McCoy. (And, of course, it’s not being pumped out on https://pacifica.org/.)

https://pacificaradiowatch.home.blog/2019/10/07/vernile-and-breakers-propagandise-pseudo-plan-in-sq-peaceful-informed-dialogue-sq-m7oct2019-letter/

Seven weeks. And how long had IEW Vernile been in the job? 17 days, having started 1Aug. Now why would the IEW prioritise starting this Pacifica Across America project in his first two weeks? Before visiting the stations? Without having raised this idea in a publicly recorded Pacifica meeting? Why?

The clue lies in the months before. In the planning of how to oust ED Maxie Jackson:

The five-person PNB Personnel Cttee hadn’t met in Feb & Mar. But it was awoken from its slumber. And put to work. Starting Tu16Apr, it met each & every week, for 12 weeks. The last five meetings, from M3June, were all in private. M1July everything was ready, agreeing its ED evaluation report for the PNB. The next evening, the PNB ousted Maxie. Friday, he left his job. Sorted.

If Pacifica’s good at anything, this is it. (Yes, it bears repeating. Pacifica rarely gets complimented these days. Have a heart.)

https://pacificaradiowatch.home.blog/2019/08/01/administrative-measures-not-open-discussion-the-pacifica-way/

Four weeks later, Vernile appeared out of the blue. Or so it seemed.

And the personnel of the Personnel Cttee? Chair Jan Goodman (KPFK listeners-delegate), Sabrina Jacobs (KPFA staff-delegate), Donnie Grumpf (KPFA listeners-delegate), Adrienne LaViolette (KPFT listeners-delegate), Robin Collier (affiliates) . . . more than a majority – and all breakers.

It seems IEW Vernile came into the job already knowing what he was going to do.

WBAI Treasurer R Paul Martin’s W9Oct2019 report

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Apologies for posting this so late. Commentary to follow today.

~~~

https://glib.com/treasurers_report_2019-10-09.pdf (six pages)

Additional documentation from the Treasurer: https://glib.com/wbai_coup_2019.html

Mr Martin appended to his report WBAI’s FY2020 cashflow projection, with FY2018 & 2019 comparatives (year-end is 30Sep). This was taken from ICFO Tamra Swiderski’s undated cashflow report presented to the Th19Sep private PNB meeting. (Why private you may rightly ask – but that’s the default obdurate & deep secrecy culture permeating almost everyone occupying a seat on a Pacifica committee.) That report has individual FY2020 cashflows, with the two comparatives, for each of the five stations, the Radio Archives & National Office, & then an aggregation of the seven (consolidation, in the jargon).

Cashflow statements must be interpreted carefully, not least because they ignore both expenses that have accrued (so not yet billed) & revenues that have been deferred (again, not yet billed). Given Pacifica’s activities, especially how revenues are generated, cashflow statements materially underestimate its accrued financial position, & therefore whether creditors are smiling or frowning, & how intensely.

https://mega.nz/#!mmZUkICB!1c74TQ4oTKyQ6dHNB_h5eLYHspltLDujlGFbEcj-X_c (9 pp.)

Please note that given the ICFO’s assumptions, KPFA’s cumulative cashflow deficit for the three years to 30Sep2020 is $1 091 306, more than 2½ times that of WBAI’s. Lest anyone think this is just about the past, KPFA’s deficit for the year just started is projected to be $658 207. They don’t tell you those three facts in quite a few Pacifica forums. Such is the work of ideology, here that of California station chauvinism, exhibited as separatism, not solidarity.

WBAI statements at NY City Hall, Tu15Oct2019

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. . . but what’s the plan addressing the deficiencies, both WBAI & Pacifica-wide? . . . (photo courtesy of Paul ‘Weegee’ DeRienzo)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/WBAIonline/permalink/10157636210842389/

(video, 1:09:32)

Director & temporary PNB Chair, Alex Steinberg: 12:27

Director Ralph Poynter: 15:35

Legal counsel for WBAI peeps, Arthur Schwartz: 16:24

GM Berthold Reimers & PD Linda Perry (our photogenic duo): 58:15

He says he was elected temporary Chair of the Pacifica Board at its Su13Oct meeting – why this wasn’t done in public, he didn’t even address. The politics of ‘not in front of the children’ has to end.