And it's just about 10 o'clock on a Wednesday night, which means once again, and it's been
a while, but once again it's time for Off the Hook.
Yes, it's time for Off the Hook, I don't know where our theme music is, but there it is.
So I ripped it off the wall, I cut myself off shaving, now I can't make a call.
It could be yet much worse, but if they could, they would.
Bum Diddly Bum, but I best expect the worst.
I hope that's understood, Bum Diddly Bum!
Bum Diddly Bum
Well, we had a sticky button there, but no longer.
It's time for Off the Hook, this is Emanuel Goldstein, the program that asks the question,
how do I make a phone call, and what in the world is going on with regards to phones,
computers, and high tech?
Is Big Brother really watching me, or is Big Brother a part of all of us?
That's the question that we seek to answer, and we encourage our listeners to also call
in and give their examples of what's been going on to them in the last couple of weeks.
It's been a while, it's been three weeks since we've been on the air last, much has happened.
We're going to go through some listener mail, we're going to talk about some things that
have happened, we may give some advice, and also, we'll be taking your phone calls, 212-279-3400.
Of course, since it'll probably be a few minutes before we get to the phones, it's kind of pointless
calling now, you know, because if you call now, after a couple of minutes, New York Telephone
will disconnect you because if there's no answer, they're not making any money.
That's logic of the 90s, as far as the phone companies go.
They're doing it because they can, and continuing because we let them.
Well, one thing that is not going to be continuing because we didn't let them is something in
New Jersey.
Several people sent in articles on this.
Thank you very much to everybody in New Jersey that sent in articles on this most important
news development.
That concerns Caller ID.
As many of you know, New Jersey was the first state, first state in the history of this nation
to implement Caller ID.
And, in a rather heavy-handed manner, they elected not to allow anybody to block their numbers,
ever.
It wasn't met with popular enchantment.
But, it continued because not too many people objected.
Well, we objected on this program.
A lot of you objected.
The ACLU objected.
And, as of September 15th, things started to change.
On that day, state regulators approved a settlement that, for the first time, will restrict the
use of New Jersey Bell's controversial Caller ID service, ending a long legal challenge over
the right to privacy by callers.
In a settlement worked out by Bell and the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, and by
Bell, they mean New Jersey Bell, the phone company will offer free per-call blocking for
those who want to shield their numbers from Caller ID subscribers.
Per-call blocking is the kind of blocking where you have to do it every time.
It's not a default setting.
You have to dial star six, seven before every single phone call.
Or, if you don't have touchtone, you have to dial 1167.
All-call blocking is far preferable.
It's what we have here in New York.
And, that allows you to say to the phone company, look, I don't want to send my number ever.
And, then, every time you call a number, your number is not sent.
Also, along with this, New Jersey Bell will be offering a related free service, enabling
Caller ID customers to automatically reject calls from those who opt to block, kind of upping
the ante there.
The State Board of Regulatory Commissioners, affectionately known as the BRC, met in Trenton
on September 15th, and they approved the settlement by a three-to-zip vote, said the agreement responded
to the safety and privacy concerns expressed by many groups.
With this decision, New Jersey joins 29 of the 33 states with Caller ID to offer a blocking
feature.
Now, as most of you know, Caller ID is an advanced electronic service first introduced
six years ago.
It allows subscribers to see the originating phone number of all incoming calls on a digital
display screen before picking up a phone.
Of New Jersey Bell's three million customers, about 250,000 of them subscribed to this service
cost $6.50 a month for residential customers.
And, of course, you have to buy one of those little boxes that gives you that information.
Now, I'm going to read a paragraph here which isn't quite right.
It's not quite right.
Something a little bit wrong with it.
But we'll get back to that.
We'll get back to what's wrong with this paragraph because if we stop and pick apart
every news story we read, we just never get through them.
Here's the offending paragraph.
The service only works on calls carried by New Jersey Bell and does not activate long-distance
calls from other states or between the 201 and 609 area codes.
Okay, that's the offending paragraph.
We'll get back to that in a little while.
Caller ID has been the focus of nationwide debate over the issue of privacy since it was
first developed.
Many state utility regulators have refused to make it available without the provision
of blocking for callers who want to remain anonymous.
And, you know, we're not all criminals, though.
That's what we want to remain anonymous.
One state even found the service violated its wiretap laws and would not permit its usage
in any form.
It's not permitted in California, for example.
And Pennsylvania, there are quite a bit of problems there, too.
But as we mentioned, New Jersey was the first state to allow caller ID, giving Bell the
go-ahead to offer it on an unrestricted basis.
And while some opponents, including the Department of the Public Advocates, said callers should
have the option to shield their numbers, New Jersey Bell maintained that the availability
of blocking would diminish the value of the service.
And since they're the ones that run the service, that's the way it was.
That's how things came about.
Not exactly fair to those of us who don't agree, but that's the way it's been.
Last year, the ACLU filed a legal challenge to the service.
A lot of that was based on various shelter groups, you know, organizations for battered
women.
Shelter groups complained that husbands and boyfriends had tracked their victims' locations
through caller ID, and doctors and child services workers lamented the fact that their home numbers
were revealed if they called clients and the clients had caller ID.
For example, if you're a doctor and you live, you know, in some neighborhood where people
aren't allowed to go, and you call some lowly patient, and that patient happens to have
caller ID, well, they're going to find out your home number.
And then they can call you any time they want.
It's really kind of annoying.
But the fact of the matter is, it's something we should have a choice in, and we just didn't
have a choice.
The phone company also agreed to several other concessions.
It was big of them.
It plans to offer a free option exclusively to battered women's shelters and rape crisis
centers that would allow them to block their number on all outgoing calls, in other words,
all-call block, which is a standard feature here in New York and many other states, but
not available to any other customers in New Jersey.
The company also agreed to offer free installation of phones that don't take incoming calls, again,
available only to shelters.
Seems if you're in New Jersey and you want to get decent phone service, you're best off
opening up a shelter, and then you can get the kind of phone service everybody else gets.
Now, there's another offending paragraph here.
We're actually kind of crisscrossing between a couple of different news stories here, but
this is something concerning the service that New Jersey Bell is now offering to allow people
to block those people that block their numbers.
So, if you wish to remain anonymous, well, you can tell those people not to be anonymous,
so you won't take their phone call.
It's kind of silly, but that's the way things are going.
But this particular article, and this one is from the record we have been reading from
the Star-Ledger as well.
This particular paragraph says,
Well, that's not correct because the way blocking anonymous calls works is they block those calls that are made using the privacy feature.
In other words, if you dial star 6-7, the word private will show up on a caller ID box.
If somebody calls using an operator, or calls using a calling card, or calls from another part of the country,
the word unavailable or out of area will show up.
It's not the same thing as private.
And the phone company would be very foolish if they blocked those kind of calls from coming through,
because that means no long-distance calls could be received.
So, I really doubt that's true.
But it's understandable that newspapers will make that mistake.
As long as we're going to criticize the newspapers a little bit,
let's go back to that other offending paragraph
concerning receiving caller ID data from other states.
Well, we had a rather startling thing happen to us at 2600 Magazine this week.
We have a caller ID box which we experiment with.
And not here at the radio station.
This is at 2600 Magazine.
I feel I should point that out because
there's a lot of hysteria going on,
and I'll clear that up in a little while too.
But we experiment with it because,
well, for one thing, it's important to know
if caller ID works.
A lot of people tell the phone company they don't want to send their number,
but how do they really know?
Until they call somebody who has caller ID,
and that person tells them if they can see their number or not.
In many cases, the phone company has not done what they're supposed to do
and has continued to send their number out.
But something even more startling happened this week
when we received a phone call with the 703 area code.
Now, 703 is Virginia.
We got a phone number all the way from Virginia.
Now, according to the phone company,
this is not supposed to happen.
It's impossible.
Caller ID only works within the state of New York.
And that's why this paragraph that says
that caller ID only works within the state of New Jersey
is suspect.
Obviously, something is afoot.
And the only way we're going to find out is by watching the boxes.
Now, I'd like to ask people to help us out here a little bit.
It's going to involve some element of trust
because I'm going to be asking people to call a phone number
that has caller ID.
At least at the moment, it has caller ID.
We forwarded the main office number of 2600 Magazine
to a phone number that has caller ID.
And that means anybody that calls in
will have their number show up.
Now, the reason we're doing this
is to see just how far this spreads.
We're particularly interested.
We know it works from the 718 area code.
We know it works from 212 and from 914 and, of course, from 516.
What we'd like to know
is if caller ID works from the 201 area code,
in other words, New Jersey,
or the 203 area code, Connecticut,
or any other area code that might be outside
of that particular zone,
Pennsylvania, Alaska, who knows?
What we'd like people to do
is dial the following number,
516-751-2600.
You don't have to wait for an answer.
Just let it ring twice and hang up.
You won't be charged.
What that will tell us
is if your number is being transmitted,
if your number from New Jersey, say,
is being transmitted into New York,
if your number from Connecticut
is being transferred into New York.
We know numbers within those particular area codes
in New York are already transmitted.
And we do know now
that at least one number in Virginia
got transmitted, too.
It was in the 883 exchange,
if anybody wants to check that out
and see what kind of a switch it is.
Something strange, perhaps.
But it seems like we're on the verge
of nationwide caller ID,
although nobody has told us.
And nobody will tell us until it's here.
So next week we can announce
the results of this particular,
I guess you'd call it,
listener poll.
And please, don't be concerned
that we'll see your phone number
if you want to call from somewhere else.
Call from a place you don't want
the number to be transmitted from,
or we don't care if the number
is transmitted from.
But we're not going to do anything
with the numbers.
We just want to see what area codes
we're able to get this from,
and then we'll report that back next week.
So, again, if you're in New Jersey
or in Connecticut
or in any state outside New York,
please give a call to that number,
516-751-2600.
Let it ring twice.
We'll see if the number shows up
on the caller ID device.
Yeah, it's kind of a crazy thing
we're asking people to do, I know.
But these are crazy times.
And crazy times demand crazy solutions.
Yeah, and there's been a lot of talk
recently also about call return,
which is something that
a lot of people are upset about.
A couple of weeks ago in this program,
we told you how it's possible,
although we don't know how,
but it's possible to block call return.
In other words,
you can prevent somebody
from calling you back.
This has nothing to do with caller ID.
Now, the reason we know
that you can prevent this from happening
is because, well,
pay phones are able
to prevent it from happening.
The number shows up
on caller ID boxes.
However, you cannot hit star 69
and call them back.
You get a recording.
Major institutions, universities,
businesses, that kind of thing,
they have this option
where you cannot star 69 them.
What we're trying to do
is get that option
available to individuals,
but we face a problem
in that we don't know
what the option is.
So, if there's anyone out there
that handles phone services
for large institutions,
businesses, universities,
mental institutions, whatever,
see if you can talk
to your local phone company
and find out
if that service is available to you,
and if so,
what is it called?
And then once we know that,
we can start pushing
to have it available
for individual people as well.
It's a long fight.
It's a hard struggle,
but we're getting there.
We're getting there
slowly but surely.
I also want to clear up
a misconception
that's being passed around
in the hacker world,
and if it's passed around
in the hacker world
a couple of years from now,
it's going to make it
into the real world,
and that is that there's
a service called
Call Return Denial
that blocks Call Return.
Well, yeah,
there is such a service
that is called
Call Return Denial.
However, it's rather misnamed
because it doesn't prevent
people from calling you back.
What it does
is it prevents you
from calling anybody back.
In other words,
it blocks star 69
from working
on your particular phone.
That's for the kind of people
that don't want to spend
75 cents every time
they dial three buttons
on their phone.
That's all that does.
It disables
that particular function,
but people can still
call you back.
Nothing has changed.
All right.
Yes.
We have a couple
of news items.
A couple of other
news items as well.
We'll be taking phone calls
in just a moment.
Here's something crazy.
New $839 million
radar system
for guiding
the nation's jet liners.
It's getting a few
critical reviews
from air traffic controllers.
For instance,
in Cleveland,
a squirrel,
cute little squirrel
chewed through
a power line
and disrupted
the system
for more
than a week.
Shocking.
Here's something
from the Risk's Digest.
Risk's Digest
being a wonderful
electronic publication
that you can subscribe
to on the internet
that tells you all
about the risks
of high technology.
Sort of a version
of what we do here,
but with a lot
of worldwide input,
people from all
over the world
read this.
This comes from
Theodore M.P. Lee.
Until such time
as either the general
public learns
what to expect
or digital authentication
becomes widespread,
I suspect we will hear
more of the following
kind of incident.
This academic year,
the University of Wisconsin
started providing
email accounts,
electronic mail,
to all students
at its Madison campus.
Madison's a really
cool city, too,
I should point out.
The students,
both technical
and non-technical,
are being encouraged
to use email
as a way of interacting
with their instructors
and obviously themselves.
They access the accounts
either through
university-supplied machines
scattered throughout
the campus
or through dial-up
serial-link protocol
connections.
A mix of Macintosh's
PCs and other
assorted workstations
are involved.
A couple of weeks ago,
rather early
in the school semester,
a group of five students,
several from the honors
floor of one of
the freshman dorms,
just to let you know
that can happen
to anybody,
several students
were caught
having forged
several pieces
of email.
Shocking, isn't it?
Most potentially damaging
was a note saying
it was from
the director of housing
to the chancellor
of the university.
And it was basically
a note saying
that the previous chancellor
is now President Clinton's
secretary of HHS,
so the present chancellor
is new to the job.
The forged message
was a submission
of resignation.
Now,
Ward's secretary,
just being born last week,
had just returned
from vacation also
and apparently assumed
the resignation
was legitimate.
The secretary accepted it
and started to act upon it,
and it was
only during the course
of doing that
that it was discovered
to be a fake.
The students also
sent messages
purporting to be
from the chancellor
to other students
asking them to pay
their tuition.
They also forged
a message from
the chancellor
saying he was going
to come out of the closet
and announce it
on September 25th.
The students were only
caught through a combination
of circumstances.
First,
since they used
one of the dial-in connections,
there were logs
of who dialed in when.
Secondly,
during the course
of their experiments,
they botched some addresses,
which caused enough traffic
to go to the dead letter office,
and the investigation
was able to narrow down
what was happening.
It should be pointed out
that the forgery
was fairly easy
to accomplish
using the Eudora mail client
on a Macintosh.
The user has complete choice
over the from field
of a message.
That's really basically
what it is,
editing the from field.
In other words,
imagine this.
Imagine being able
to write on an envelope
on a letter you sent
to the U.S. Postal Service.
Imagine being able
to write on that piece
of paper,
on the envelope,
someone else's name
and address.
Of course,
that's impossible.
It's all kinds of security
to prevent you
from writing somebody else's
name and address
on an envelope.
But on computers,
it's very simple.
The FBI is investigating
whether any federal crime
was involved,
and needless to say,
the students are likely
to be expelled
at the least.
Now, it's pretty silly
when you look at things
like this.
You look at pranks,
college pranks.
That's what people do.
They make fake notes.
They cause mayhem.
They do juvenile things.
And the only difference here
is that they're using
computers to do it.
Would you expel somebody
for writing somebody else's
name and address
on an envelope
and pretending
that somebody else
mailed a letter?
Probably not.
They might get
disciplinary action
at the most.
But do it on a Macintosh,
and you're out of here.
Okay, one other
kind of amusing story.
It's amusing to most of us,
but I guess it wouldn't be amusing
if it happened to you.
Well, come to think of it,
it wouldn't be anything
if it happened to you.
I'll explain.
The body of an elderly woman
who died in 1990
lay undiscovered
in her apartment
for more than three years,
while computers received
her pension
and automatically
paid her bills,
according to Swedish police.
It's very unusual
for someone to be dead
so long
without anyone else reacting,
said a police duty officer
in the Stockholm suburb
of Barsta.
The woman's last open mail
was dated May 11, 1990,
indicating she had died
at the age of 72.
Her name has not
been made public.
Police were called
to break into the apartment
by its landlord
after he had made
repeated efforts
to gain the occupant's
permission to renovate it.
I guess it gets so cold
up there
that I didn't notice
the smell.
Either that
or they have
very good walls.
Seems to me
something like that
happened a few years ago
and I guess it's just
going to keep happening
as we have
automated bill payers
and credit card
deposits
and all that kind of thing.
I don't know,
there should be
some way of checking
to make sure
that people are actually
still alive
since we don't have
any social interaction
anymore
and computers
do all of our work
for us.
But
that's probably
too much to expect.
Alright.
Let's
read a piece
of listener mail
and then we'll go
to some phone calls.
It's been a while
so basically
any comments,
questions,
criticisms,
whatever has been
happening over the
past several weeks
you can give us a call
at 212-279-3400.
But first let's get
into this particular
letter.
This comes from
a listener
in Sagtikos,
New York.
You know,
I never knew
Sagtikos was anything
more than just a highway
but apparently
there's a whole town
there.
That's really nice.
Dear Emanuel,
there are a number
of subjects
I'd like to hear
you address
as well as
questions you might
answer.
Number one,
electronic signatures.
Federal Express,
UPS,
and other shipping
companies are using
portable electronic
devices which carry
package delivery
information which is
perfectly fine with me.
But now these devices
are also being used
to digitally record
the customer's signature
which is ripe for
misuse, fraud,
and privacy invasion.
I recently received
the package via UPS
and electronically
signed for the package
out of the novelty
of it.
I have never done so
in the past and it
wasn't until later
that I began to wonder
if I was wise to
have done so.
What is UPS going
to do with my signature?
The package I received
was the result
of a phone-called,
mail-ordered,
credit card purchase.
There is no signature
for UPS to verify
against.
Not that they asked
for my identification,
so what is the purpose
of signing electronically
over the pen
and paper method?
It didn't occur to me
at the time,
but what if I had refused
to electronically sign
my name?
Would or could UPS
legally refuse
to turn the package
over to me?
Is UPS building
an electronic signature
database?
If so, why?
And what are they
doing with it?
What security do they
have for it,
and under what conditions
will they give a copy
of my or anyone's
signature away?
What rights does the
consumer have in regard
to this?
Very good questions,
very important questions.
UPS has been doing
this for a few years now.
They've had this
electronic signature
machine, I guess
you'd call it.
Basically, what you do
is you're handed
the equivalent
of a clipboard,
but you sign with
something that is
not really a pen,
and your signature
shows up on the screen,
and it looks really
terrible.
It doesn't even look
like your signature
at all,
and they store this
electronically,
and what I imagine
they use it for,
and this is from
my questions to UPS,
they use it simply
to verify that it's
you against
packages you've
signed for in the
past.
Of course,
they're not able
to do this on the
spot.
They simply store
the information,
and I guess if
something comes up,
they're able to
reference it.
For them,
it makes things
easier because they
don't have to
store paper.
paper, but as with
the case of anything
electronic, the
privacy implications
are rather profound.
It's a lot easier to
get a lot of
information on people
electronically.
I don't think UPS is
up to anything, but
somebody else could be
up to something with a
similar device in the
future.
It definitely bears
watching, and if anybody
gets a UPS package in the
next week, ask some
questions, see what they
know about it.
Okay, number two.
On a related subject I
read in the June 16,
1993 Newsday article,
new license may cut
time at Department of
Motor Vehicles, that
the New York State
Department of Motor
Vehicles is now using
digitized photos as well
as electronic signatures
of license holders and
maintaining them in DMV
computers in the name
of progress, speeding up
the license-slash-renewal
process.
Here is yet more data
available to those who
would invade our privacy.
The DMV is already a
source of information for
privacy invaders.
What will they do with our
photographs and signatures?
Perfectly forge our names?
Steal our identities to
create fake passports,
credit cards, etc.?
Will they sign for
merchandise we did not
order but have charged to
us?
Yeah, all this is possible
if somebody gains access to
the system.
And we all know that
anybody that says their
system is not vulnerable to
unauthorized people gaining
access to it, well, they're
either very stupid or they're
lying.
The Department of Motor
Vehicles is a great example
of ineptitude, as I'm sure
just about anybody knows.
I was there just last week,
in fact.
I had a very simple thing to
do.
Very, very simple.
I had to give back some
license plates.
You know, when I went out to
Alaska this summer, I left
the car there, but I brought
the plates back.
And when you do that, you
have to give them the plates.
I don't know exactly what
they do with them.
I think they destroy them, but
they have to have them.
They're very anal about that.
They have to have their
plates, and they have to
give you a receipt saying
that you gave them the
plates.
Okay.
So I get on this line, and
I'm waiting on the line, and
you know, everything's going
fine.
People are being helped.
And then, after a while, I
realize, it's been about ten
minutes, and I'm seeing the
same people around me, and
nobody seems to have moved.
Everybody's getting a bit
surly.
And so, eventually, somebody
makes an announcement.
And when they make an
announcement at motor
vehicles, it's always bad
news.
Always.
It's like, you know, state-run
radio being taken over by
somebody.
It's never quite good.
And so, people make an
announcement saying, the
computer is down.
Now, saying the building is
on fire would be better
news than saying the
computer is down.
But basically, the gist of
it was, the computer is
down, and it's not going to
be up for at least 15
minutes.
And no, we can't do anything
about it.
This is happening all
throughout New York State.
Every motor vehicle computer
in every office throughout New
York State is down.
similar crowds of people, just
like yourself, are being told
the same bad news right now
and are thinking the same
thoughts as you.
So, take comfort in that
fact.
Bond together with their
thoughts.
Share their pain.
And needless to say, when I
asked, do you really need a
computer to take back my
license plates, the answer
was, absolutely, we can't do
anything without the
computer.
So, ineptitude.
Ineptitude with a capital I.
Having a system that is
totally dependent on a host
computer in another city, and
when it goes down, you're
unable to even take back
somebody's license plates and
handwrite them a receipt.
There's no redundancy, no
backup system, nothing.
You're forced to just stand
there and wait.
And as it turned out, it was
over half an hour.
People were extremely
patient.
I mean, nobody pulled out
Uzis or anything like that.
It was very civilized.
Of course, people weren't
friendly either, but they
weren't hostile.
That's the important thing.
So, Department of Motor
Vehicles, yeah, they could
learn a thing or two, and if
they're experimenting with
high technology, you've got to
start wondering just where
that's going to go.
Number three.
We're back to the letter
now.
That was a long go sub there.
Okay, we're back to the
letter.
Number three.
Despite your explanation of
a new electronic switch being
the cause of the two-minute
busy signal limit, I'm not
sure you are right.
Here is my theory.
Allowing a person to
maintain a busy signal for
an extended period of time
reproduces for free a phone
smart service which costs
75 cents per use.
It's called repeat
dialing, star 66, or
1166, which maintains a
busy signal for up to half
an hour, then calls you
when the person answers.
Do you really think that the
two-minute busy signal limit
is a byproduct of a new
switch, something that New
York Telephone cannot
prevent?
In my opinion, New York
Telephone has altered the
system to make money off
repeat dialing, especially in
light of their current
advertising of the repeat
dialing feature.
Slimy, isn't it?
Yes, I agree completely.
It is slimy, and it is
certainly something that New
York Telephone is pushing.
But the fact of the matter is
that the programming of our
5ESS is what determines that
the busy signal stops or the
ringing stops after a
predetermined amount of
time.
Now, it may be the same
mindset behind it all that
says, let's impose these
limits, but it is the limit
coming from the switch.
The switch, when it is
installed, is able to have a
total time, total number of
rings, total number of busy
signals.
It's not related to that
feature, except for the fact
that New York Telephone is
probably capitalizing, making the
most out of it.
And by the way, a warning on
those Star 66 calls, if you're
calling somebody back, calling
through a busy signal, you're
charged even if the call
doesn't go through.
I don't know if you have a
single frame VCR.
What you might want to do is
record one of their commercials
on TV and then freeze it in
that one frame that allows you
to see the small print.
You'll also need a large screen
TV set for this.
Large screen TV set and a VCR to
freeze frame on particularly the
right moment.
It might take you about a half
hour so to find the right
frame, but when you find it,
you'll see in a little tiny
print at the bottom of the
screen that, yes, you are
charged 75 cents per call
regardless of whether or not
the call is completed.
So, dial Star 66 now.
75 cents.
That's it.
You can cancel it.
Star 86.
To cancel it, you're still
charged at 75 cents.
Or you can dial Star 66 and
wait a half hour and the phone
will be busy.
And then the system will give
up, but you'll still be
charged.
That's the kind of progress we
are making right now.
Okay, number four, getting back
to the letter.
Is it considered wiretapping to
dial up and access a person's
answering machine messages
without their knowledge or
permission?
Well, it's not considered
wiretapping, but it is
considered intrusion of some
sort, electronic intrusion, the
same basic thing as logging into
somebody's computer account.
Is it ever prosecuted?
No, not really, unless you're a
big, expensive corporation and
can afford to pursue this.
The best prevention against
that kind of thing is to have
some security and not have an
answering machine that has a
two-digit code or a one-digit
code or something remarkably
silly like that.
So, an ounce of prevention is
worth two in the bush or
something like that.
Okay, number five.
In case you did not get the
message I left on your 2600
magazine answering machine, I
found out how to defeat call
return, star 6-9.
Simply dial star 8-9.
Suppose you make a phone call
to someone who you do not want
to call you back.
He is away, thus no one answers
your call, so you hang up.
Pick up your phone, dial star 8-9,
and then hang up.
When the person gets home and
dials star 6-9, he will get a
recorded message informing him
that the call cannot be reached
using that method.
That is completely false.
That is not true at all.
That is not what star 8-9 does.
Now, I'll explain the process to
you.
It's very, very important that
people understand this.
There is currently no way to
defeat call return, other than
calling through a long-distance
company, calling through an
operator, calling from a pay
phone, or calling from some
business or institution that is
able to block call return.
There's no way for residences to
do that in New York State and
certainly not in New Jersey.
Now, by dialing star 8-9, what
you are doing is canceling a
star 6-9 that you have
initiated.
In other words, let's say you
call me, okay?
You let the phone ring twice, and
I run out of the shower.
I want to call you back.
I don't know who you are.
I dial star 6-9 to call you
back.
However, your phone is busy.
Well, star 6-9 automatically
puts you on kind of a camp mode,
where it will keep trying for a
half hour.
It's like dialing star 6-6, but
it's different.
It'll keep trying for half an
hour, and then ring you back
with a special ring when it
gets through.
That's automatic every time
star 6-9 is met with a busy
signal.
To cancel that, you would have
to dial star 8-9.
If you dial star 8-6, which is
what you would dial to cancel a
repeat call, which is star 6-6, it
won't work.
It'll say it worked, but it will
not work, and you'll get the call
back when the person gets off
the phone.
So, star 8-9 simply cancels a
star 6-9 that you have
initiated.
And I can imagine all the
people out there right now that
are tearing their hair out
saying, what is this nonsense
this person is talking about?
Star 8-9, star 6-9, star 6-6.
I just want to make a phone
call.
I'm sorry.
This is not my idea.
But the fact of the matter is,
this is the way the phone system
works now, and this is something
that we're going to have to get
used to.
And the best way to get used to
it is to learn how to do it.
Make some mistakes.
Make some experiments.
Do what you have to do.
Okay.
Number six, you seem to have
ignored the recent stories
concerning ATM fraud.
I have enclosed some
photocopies.
And yes, some of those
photocopies which I looked at
have to do with some stories
we did cover.
Particularly the Connecticut
ATM fraud where some
pranksters actually were able
to set up a fake ATM and get
people to enter their pins
and account numbers and all
that kind of thing, and they
were able to use it to
withdraw money.
We focus on ATM fraud for
technology's sake.
It's not something that is
particularly clever.
At least the withdrawing of
money is not particularly
clever.
Figuring out how to make a
fake machine, that's pretty
clever.
But when you actually resort to
just stealing, well, it loses
the cleverness.
So yeah, we devote time to it,
but it's not the main thrust
of our program here.
Okay, on a recent show, you
alluded to the fact that you
were caller IDing people who
called with questions, then
drop the matter.
In my humble opinion, you
either ought to stop the
process, practice rather, or
make it clear to your
listeners what you're doing.
Okay, I don't know where this
is coming from.
I don't know where this level
of paranoia is emerging from.
I've tried to make this clear.
I've never in my life seen such
misunderstandings going on.
We do not have caller ID at this
radio station.
Never had it, never will.
We don't subscribe to those
kind of things.
We have no interest in it.
And I'm looking at the phone
now.
We don't have it.
We really don't.
I'm familiar with the phone
system here, and we do not
have that device.
We do not have that service.
You have to have both.
You have to have a box, and
you have to subscribe to the
service.
It costs $6.50 a month.
It would be very, very
expensive for us to do this
month after month, line after
line.
And even if we did do it, it
would be incredibly difficult
for us to keep track of all
the calls we get.
We have no interest in that,
and I never said on the air
that we had caller ID here.
We had any kind of such thing
as that.
We don't have it.
We have the capability of
having it.
There's a difference.
If we wanted it, we could get
it.
We don't want it, and we won't
get it.
And as long as I'm here, I'll
see to it that we don't invade
people's privacy in that way.
Okay, that is the story on
that.
Okay, number eight.
This is the final one.
Some time back, you asked
listeners to name the things
that they would like to see
for the telephone system,
products, features, etc.
Here's mine.
The telecommunications future
seems to be in either fiber
optic networks or advanced
wire systems, which will
allow telephone, computer,
audio, and video to be used
simultaneously on the same
lines.
One company should not be
allowed to control and
monopolize the system.
Our road and highway system
is owned and maintained by
the state as a necessary
requirement for transportation.
We need the same in regard
to communications.
I would like for New York
State to own the new fiber
optic telephone lines.
Telephone companies would
provide local switches which
would plug into the system,
thus allowing any company to
do the same.
Just as airlines now provide
less but more convenient
routes, phone companies
would provide their own
schedules, switch-to-switch
service.
A phone user could subscribe
to a particular company's
switches and or touch-tone
a different company access,
sort of like long-distance
company 10XXX.
Interesting idea, and I
encourage more people to
write in with such detailed
letters because they are
interesting.
Our address is off the hook,
care of WBAI, 505 8th Avenue,
New York, New York,
10018.
And, here's something I'd like
for people to take a good
listen to.
New York Telephone, what town,
please?
Now, that might sound like an
operator, and as we've said
before, that's a recording, a
recording of an operator, but
what New York Telephone now
is doing, at least in many
areas, is using the exact same
recording for all operators.
Actually, to be honest, I
don't know what they use for
male operators because it
would sound pretty silly, but
if you're in the mood for it,
this is what I suggest you do.
Go over to a pay phone,
because they don't charge for
information, and dial 411, and
see if you don't hear that
recording.
And after the person says,
what town, please, you say,
hello, and then you'll get a
totally different voice,
totally different person.
And you'll see how New York
Telephone is economizing,
not only on workers, but on
the few workers they have
left on their voices, on their
vocal cords, because they don't
have to say anything anymore.
They play one computer to
greet you, you do all the
talking, and then they press a
button and play the number.
That's all there is to it.
Okay, one other thing that I'd
like to share with people.
AT&T has been disconnected.
No further information is
available about AT&T.
Please check the number and
dial again.
Thank you for using MCI.
Oh, yes.
That comes to us courtesy of
Touchtone John on the 2600
voicemail system.
Real good, real good.
We don't know how that came
about, but it's just one of
those side benefits, I guess,
of the technological age.
Okay, it's time for us to take
some phone calls at 212-279-3400.
There's a couple of openings on
the circuits here, and we'll
try to get to everybody
tonight.
Hopefully, we'll get to you
before New York Telephone
cuts you off.
Good evening.
You're on Off the Hook.
Yes, hello.
Enjoying your show tonight.
I have a question regarding the
voice recognition capabilities
of Apple's Quadra 660 and 840 AV.
Okay, I'm not familiar with
that at all, but why don't you
ask the question, and I can
maybe theorize.
Okay, sure.
Recognition capabilities of the
AT&T DSP chip that's built into
this machine, and one of the
things they said is that it could
not do voice recognition over the
phone lines because there wasn't
enough bandwidth, and I'm wondering
if there's any ways around that
problem that you could maybe
discuss.
Well, there is voice recognition
over the phone lines.
There's quite a bit of it, but it is
limited right now.
I mean, I'm not quite sure what the
what that particular product you're
talking about is offering.
I am familiar with one that AT&T offers
using collect calls and that kind of
thing where they recognize a couple of
words.
You know, how is it that, I mean,
in that instance, there's enough
bandwidth for their machine to
recognize your voice and respond to
it, whereas apparently with this DSP
chip that's built into the new Apple
machine, it can't do that.
Well, I can't really answer that, to be
honest.
It seems to me, though, that it's
possible to do just about anything
voice-wise over the telephone because
you would need the extra bandwidth of
such things as video signals, high-speed
data, that kind of thing.
To recognize voices, it doesn't seem like
it's too difficult to capture certain
key phrases.
Now, we're not talking about anything
really sophisticated here.
We're talking about yes, no, one through
nine, that kind of thing, and that's
what most people do on voice
recognition systems.
They do exist.
They are in use throughout the phone
system, and I imagine they're getting
more and more advanced.
I'd like to demonstrate one, actually,
one system that is in use right now.
I'll check into the system you're
talking about, though, and see if
what exactly, who is it offered for,
that particular system?
Well, it's Apple Computer, and the
computer is the Quadra 840 AV, and it
has really some impressive voice
recognition capabilities if you're
sitting right in front of the machine
talking to it.
Right.
It seems kind of ridiculous, but it
actually works.
The other question...
Well, a dedicated line, of course,
would give you the same voice quality,
but you'd have to get a dedicated line
for that.
Yeah, that's what I'm wondering.
What kind of a line would you get?
I've heard some people mention ISDN,
I guess, where you have the 56, 64K,
I guess, or...
Well, for instance, most radio stations
you listen to are traveling over phone
lines, because that's how we get to the
Empire State Building.
From here, we use phone lines because
we use dedicated lines.
So if you have an entire phone line
dedicated to your use, you're not
sharing the bandwidth with anybody else,
you can get FM quality.
You can get real voice quality.
So it's just a question of, you know,
what you're willing to spend and how
much technology there is at your
disposal.
I see.
And what's that actually called?
I mean, if you're going to go to the
telephone company and say, I want one of
these high-quality lines to...
It's called dedicated line.
Excuse me?
It's called a dedicated line.
It's a dedicated line.
Yes.
Okay.
All right.
Well, thank you very much.
Okay.
Thanks for calling.
And what I'd like to do now is
demonstrate, if we can, I'm not sure
if our phone system is set up to do
this, but let's give it a try here.
Okay.
We have a dial tone.
We have successfully gotten a dial tone.
And we have an outside line.
What I'm going to try to do now is
use AT&T to make a collect call.
And this collect call will be going
to a computer modem.
So there won't be any chance of
somebody picking up and accepting
charges.
Let's see if the voice recognition
picks up.
All right.
We have AT&T.
You are calling from a touch-tone
phone.
Please enter your calling card
number and PIN now.
We're not going to do that.
We're going to wait, and another
computer will take over.
Listen.
This is AT&T.
Please say, collect, calling card,
third number, person to person,
or operator, now.
Strawberry milkshake.
Your request was not understood.
Damn.
Please say, collect, calling card,
collect.
Number.
It understood that.
Thank you.
Please call for billing acceptance.
It can understand you while it's talking.
Now, this is what's going to happen.
I don't know if it's coming to you.
This is the AT&T operator.
It's an answering machine,
or a fax machine.
Is this a human?
That's a fax machine.
But you're a human, right?
Ah, okay.
No, it's just I was talking to a computer,
and then all of a sudden I was talking to a human.
Sometimes that happens.
We have, you know.
Uh-huh.
So, now, I would give my,
who would I give my name to?
The computer didn't take my name.
Oh, well, you're supposed to give it to me,
but when they,
it's a machine that's picking up on the other,
on the number you dial collect.
Uh-huh.
I see.
So you get my name just when they're picking up the phone, then.
Right.
I see.
Okay.
But, uh, see,
being that it was a fax machine.
Right.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Is this a new system?
No, this has been in effect for over a year.
Really?
Yes.
Okay, I think from my area,
it might be new,
because I've,
I've never gotten it before.
Oh, usually you get two operators
when you're making, like, collect.
Uh-huh.
Only person-to-person,
the first operator handles.
Yeah.
But, uh,
if you're making collect calls,
then the second operator,
uh, you know,
the first operator comes,
she takes the information.
Uh-huh.
And she, uh,
go off the line,
and if the part,
you see,
the purpose of that is
that if the phone,
if it rings and there's no answer,
then, you know,
you automatically hang up.
Uh-huh.
But that's, you know,
kind of save time.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, it saves a tremendous amount of time,
but unfortunately,
it's still picking up
with that strange little beep.
Yeah, well,
that sounds like a fax machine.
Yeah.
Do they have a machine
connected to their phone?
Well, I'm going to have to call them
and ask,
except they have the machine,
so, uh,
I guess I'll write them a letter
or something.
Oh, okay.
I'll get to the bottom of this
one way or the other, though.
Ah, okay.
All right, thank you very much.
This is AT&T.
Okay.
Now, uh,
that is voice recognition
and rather primitive voice recognition.
Not her, not her,
the computer.
And, um,
you're going to see things like that
a lot more often.
It's very sophisticated, actually.
It can, it can, um,
it can, you know,
talk back to you
while you're talking to it.
And it's,
it's kind of, kind of neat.
All right, let's go back to the phones.
Good evening.
You're on brain, uh,
off the hook.
Yeah, good afternoon.
Uh, I mean, good evening.
Um,
I'm wondering if,
uh, how,
what's the cheapest way
to make a, um,
uh, conference call?
Uh, one to Chicago
and one to Pittsburgh.
Um,
I tried to do it today
and AT&T tells me
that I got to pay
$20 for the connection
and then it was $1.30
something cents a minute.
Right.
The cheapest way?
Yeah.
Get three-way.
Yeah, because I,
I, I, I'm only on one line.
That's why.
So get three-way.
It costs,
it costs $4 a month,
maybe $5 a month
and you can place two calls
and patch them together.
Failing that,
get a,
a two-line phone
and,
and have a conference feature
on the two-line phone.
Right.
You have two phone lines that way.
Believe me,
the cheapest way
is not to use
any of the commercial services
that allow conferencing.
The cheapest way
is to have two lines
and patch them together
yourself one way
or the other
or have three-way.
I see.
What if you have a,
a,
a,
a,
one line
but two numbers
on that particular line?
Uh,
one line
but two numbers,
you mean like a personalized
ringing number?
Yeah.
Yeah,
you don't really have two lines.
You just have two numbers
for one line.
That's one line,
right.
Yeah,
but you need,
you need to be able
to get a second dial tone
somehow.
Now,
you know,
if you're able to call
somebody else
that has this feature,
they can patch you together.
Mm-hmm.
I see.
And there are,
there are offices
that allow you
to patch multiple,
multiple parties together
for absolutely nothing.
Like for instance,
here at BAI,
we can,
we can hit all ten lines
at once
and patch everybody together.
It's,
it's very simple
to wire phone lines
to do that.
Okay?
Okay,
thank you very much.
Thanks for calling.
Good evening,
you're on Off the Hook.
Uh,
greetings,
Emmanuel.
I,
I was listening
to your article
on,
uh,
what you were reading
in the beginning
of the show
of,
uh,
New Jersey Bell.
Yeah.
And,
uh,
I called New Jersey Bell,
tried the star six,
seven feature,
you know,
to see if I can,
you know,
block,
you know,
the per call,
uh,
caller ID.
And it doesn't work yet.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's not going to work
until January.
Right.
And when I called the operator,
she's like,
ignorant,
you know,
she's so ignorant
of the situation.
Right.
They have to search hard
to find people
that don't know
what they're talking about.
Yeah.
And that's what the operators,
I don't want to insult operators,
but no,
a lot of,
a lot of operators
don't really know
what's going on
and they should.
I was being put on hold
for an operator
for five minutes
trying to figure out
this answer.
Uh-huh.
Yeah,
you probably caused
quite a bit of commotion
down there.
Yeah,
I probably scared
the hell out of you.
Yeah.
The thing is,
operators need to ask
more questions
and the phone companies
need to encourage
their operators
to actually learn something
about how the phone
system works.
It's very important.
True.
Thanks, Emmanuel.
Okay.
Bye.
212-279-3400.
You know,
we only have a couple of minutes,
right off the hook.
Hi, Emmanuel.
Some information
regarding a call ID
here in Brooklyn.
I noticed,
like,
where I am,
I have a call ID
in different parts
of Brooklyn.
Uh-huh.
If they don't have
the equipment
in the exchange,
I'm going to get
out of area thing.
But what I find
it's insidious
is that when they start
installing the equipment
in the exchange,
they're not letting people know
because they found that out
with one of my friends
where we used to call
and I used to get
out of area.
And then one day,
I see his line
on the phone
and he wasn't aware
of it.
And also,
the same thing
with that call return
business.
Right.
They don't tell you.
Yeah.
But also,
on call return,
like,
say I call you
and then you call me back,
if your line's not blocked,
your line's coming
right through
is on the call return
also.
Uh-huh.
Yeah,
that's true.
And the fact is,
this is interesting.
They claim they block
the number from showing up.
If you have privacy,
if you have all-call restrict.
That's what I supposedly have.
I mean,
I have all-call ID,
but I have call-call restrict
supposedly.
Right.
Now,
there's no way yet
that residences
can block
somebody from calling back.
However,
on the local itemization,
what shows up
is the area code,
your exchange,
and then four zeros.
I thought it would be
four X's,
but it's four zeros.
That's kind of silly
because there are actually
phone numbers
that end in four zeros.
And the first time I saw that
on my local itemization,
I was wondering
why I called this strange number
with four zeros at the end.
But that's how they choose
to do it,
and I imagine
it's not too difficult
to figure out
what number you called.
Yeah.
One other fast question.
When you call 800 information,
is that supposedly
a free call
or a charge?
No, 800 information is free.
I'm surprised
they haven't figured out
a way to charge for that yet.
But you know what it is?
The operators don't know
what they're talking about
because I had made a,
I had to call New Jersey
to find out a phone number,
so I got charged
like 65 cents.
Right.
And I had forgotten
all about it.
So I called the 800 information
and asked them
if it's a free call.
And they said,
no, no,
people get it confused
because it's 800,
but the 555-1212,
even their operators
don't even know
what's going on there.
Uh-huh.
Well, you know,
a lot of us
don't know
what's going on either.
Really, operators are,
a lot of people tell me this.
They say,
I should take it easy
on the operators
and they're right to a degree
because operators
are only human.
They're as human as we are.
We expect more of them
because they're running
the phone system.
You know,
they're really in control.
But the surprising thing is
they don't know anything more
about the phone system
than we do.
Yeah, I guess it's just
the bike.
It's kind of scary.
Yeah, and the representatives,
same thing.
And some of the technicians,
too, believe it or not.
Yeah.
Okay, thanks a lot.
Okay, thanks for calling.
We have time for one more call.
Good evening.
Oh, I guess we'll go to a better call
than that.
Good evening.
Yeah, hi, Emmanuel.
Well, I was wondering,
is it possible
to send a false number
to somebody's caller ID box?
It's possible to do things
to a caller ID.
Yes, of course it's possible
to do this
if you're able to manipulate
that data in some way,
the data that comes
between the first
and second ring.
If you're able to somehow
get something to be sent
to the person's local phone,
you could do it.
I have yet to see anybody
actually successfully do this.
It is, however,
possible to spoof
the caller ID box
in a couple of different ways.
For instance,
if you call somebody
and they're busy
and then you star 66
onto their line
and then it calls you back
when it's not busy anymore,
if you have caller ID,
it will look as if
that person is calling you.
In other words,
their number will show up.
They've never called you,
but their number is showing up
in your caller ID box.
This could be used
to falsely accuse somebody
of calling you.
You say, look,
you called me at this date.
The caller ID box
doesn't lie,
but of course,
it can be manipulated
just like any kind of data can be.
Right.
Manuel,
could you do me a quick favor?
It's got to be quick
because we're out of time.
I'm trying to test
the touchtone decoder box.
Would you play a touchtone
over the air for me
so I can see if it works?
Okay, sure.
What touchtone would you like?
Anything you want.
Let me see if I can see
what it is.
Okay, hold on.
Are you going to tell us live
what it is?
I'm going to try.
Okay, here we go.
Here come three touchtones.
That didn't work.
Didn't work.
Oh, well,
I'm sorry to everybody else
for having to hear me.
Well, I'll put going
to mono input,
so I've got to figure out
a way to change it.
Well, I'm sure you'll meet
with success at some point
and if we can help you
next week, we will.
Okay, I'd like to hear
some discussion
on cellular phones
eventually if you have,
you know, time.
Okay.
Okay.
Thanks for calling.
Bye.
That's going to just
about do it for us
here today.
The program is
Off the Hook
and of course
we'll be back next week
with more fun
and adventures.
Please write to us
Off the Hook
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Good night.
Stay tuned for the news.
We'll be right back.
Are you concerned
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Now that we've heard
from Bill and Hillary
about their national
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some of your questions
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HETAPU, ALAFIA, PEACE AND BLESSINGS
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Bumps can't stop us now
That just is a lead
Bumps can't stop us now
Good evening.
In the news tonight,
is it time for the United States
to pull out of Somalia?
What will the Clinton administration
do about increased poverty in America?
And in New York,
an update on the World Trade Center
bombing trial
and the Mullen Commission hearings.
With these and other stories,
I'm Jose Santiago in New York
with Verna Avery Brown in Washington,
and this is the news for Wednesday,
October 6, 1993.
First to these headlines,
topping the news.
President Clinton said today
that the U.S. must conclude
its role in Somalia
without letting that nation
return to chaos.
Clinton offered no details
on his policy,
but said he would give
more specifics tomorrow
after further discussions
with top advisers
and members of Congress.
Meanwhile,
Senate leaders put off
for a week
any vote on the withdrawal
of troops from Somalia,
saying that the climate
on Capitol Hill
is too emotional
for a vote right now.
Sixty-five House Republicans
sent a letter
to the President today
calling his policy
in Somalia
a failure.
President Boris Yeltsin
today confirmed
that Russia will have
new parliamentary elections
in mid-December.
In his first
nationally televised address
since Monday's storming
of the Parliament Building,
the Russian leaders
spoke of the madness
and tragedy
of the past few days.
Andrew Harding
reports from Moscow.
Boris Yeltsin said
the worst was now over.
In an authoritative speech,
he said the swastika
and the hammer and sickle
had united
to try to enforce
the dictatorship,
but they had failed.
Let us remember
this madness,
he said,
so it will never be repeated.
He called for the heaviest
punishment
for those involved
in the parliamentary rebellion
and, speaking of the heavy
price paid for averting
a civil war,
he offered his condolences
to the families
of those who were killed.
As for the future,
Mr. Yeltsin confirmed
that December elections
would take place
for a completely new parliament.
He warned the public
against apathy
and urged them
to vote wisely.
All political parties
will be eligible
except those
who'd been involved
in the armed rebellion.
As if to underline
what Mr. Yeltsin
clearly hopes
is a final break
with Russia's
turbulent political past.
The government
announced today
that the ceremonial guard
at Lenin's mausoleum
has been removed.
Andrew Harding
for Pacifica Network News,
Moscow.
A right-wing group
in Haiti
is calling for
a general strike tomorrow.
The strike
is part of a campaign
to prevent the return
of exiled President
John Bouton-Aristide.
Observers in Haiti
say that the group
known as FLOP
will have the support
of police attachés
who are expected
to enforce the strike
through intimidation
and threats of violence.
The U.S. has expressed
its concern
to President Yeltsin
about his censorship
of the Russian press.
State Department
spokesperson Mike McCurry.
After the establishment
of public order
and during and after
the election campaign,
we fully expect
full freedom of the press,
full freedom of assembly
for a wide spectrum
of political parties
and groups within Russia
to be the status
of the conduct
of that election.
We do have every indication
from the Yeltsin government
that that will be the case.
Yeltsin closed down
ten Russian opposition
publications,
including Pravda,
which sympathized
with hardline
parliamentary rebels.
On the third day
of the World Trade Center
bombing trial,
witnesses described
the horror of the day
that the bomb
rocked the Twin Towers.
A witness today
confirmed that shortly
before the blast,
he saw a yellow van
that may have carried
the bomb.
Paul DiRienzo
has more from New York.
Defense attorneys
objected to the litany
of horror stories,
saying the testimony
was designed
to prejudice jurors.
United States District
Judge Kevin Duffy
ruled he would allow
witnesses to describe
the terror of the bombing
that killed six
and hurt a thousand.
But yesterday,
Duffy expressed impatience
with the testimony.
And one of the witnesses,
veteran Secret Service
agent Jan Gilhooley,
angered defense attorneys,
saying he saw a yellow van
seconds before a fireball
vaporized the Trade Center
garage.
It was the first testimony
that could be linked
to the four defendants.
Prosecutors maintain
a rented yellow van
carried the bomb
into the garage.
Today, defense attorney
Robert Precht
asked Gilhooley
if the Port Authority,
the agency that owns
the Trade Center,
operated any yellow vans.
Gilhooley acknowledged
they had.
Prosecutor Gilmore Childers
has said no eyewitness testimony
to the mechanics
of the bombing
would be introduced
in the trial.
For Pacifica National News
in New York,
I'm Paul DiRienzo.
And those are the stories
topping the news.
President Bill Clinton
is facing a growing chorus
of opposition
to continued U.S. involvement
in Somalia.
Congressional members
stepped up political pressure
today for a swift withdrawal
of American forces
as the president
huddled with his top
national security advisors
to figure out
what to do next.
Complicating the situation
is the fact that
one American
is now being held hostage
in Somalia
by forces of factional leader
Mohamed Farah Adid.
Pacifica's Don Rush
has this report.
It was a tired Bill Clinton
who emerged
from a day of White House
meetings with his top
national security staff.
The issue, of course,
was Somalia
where 78 Americans
were wounded,
12 killed,
and another taken hostage
on Sunday
in clashes with
Somali faction leader
Mohamed Farah Adid.
Late this afternoon,
the president promised
to meet with
congressional leaders
about the next step
in the Somali operation
and said he would reveal
his plans to the nation
very soon.
But for now,
he left the American people
with his pledge.
Our men and women
in Somalia,
including any held captive,
deserve our full support.
They went there
to do something
almost unique
in human history.
We are anxious
to conclude our role
there honorably,
but we do not want
to see a reversion
to the absolute chaos
and the terrible misery
which existed before.
The president has ordered
up more reinforcements
for the U.S. troops
in Somalia.
Meanwhile,
Clinton has been
getting an earful
from congressional members.
Denunciations of his policy
could be heard
on the floors
of both chambers,
but perhaps the most
devastating indictment
came from House Republicans.
Sixty-five of them
released a letter
to the president
declaring that
the Somali operation
was a disaster.
House Minority Leader
Bob Michael of Illinois.
In our view,
the Somalia policy
your administration
has pursued
is a failure.
Therefore,
we believe it imperative
that you communicate
to the Congress
and the American people
your administration's plan
to secure the freedom
of any American prisoners
held in Somalia
and your intention
to expeditiously
withdraw our forces
in a safe
and orderly manner.
Americans'
international standing
must not be jeopardized
by an indisputative
and naive approach
to foreign policy.
In the Senate,
leaders of both parties
reportedly put off
for at least a week
any vote on forcing
a U.S. withdrawal
because the climate
was too emotional.
Earlier this year,
Congress approved
non-binding resolutions
calling on the president
to report on his
Somali policy
by October 15th
and to seek
congressional authorization
for continuing
the operation.
Critics of the president's
policy appear to be
riding a tidal wave
of public opinion.
The latest ABC News poll
found that a majority
of Americans want
U.S. troops pulled
out of Somalia,
even if that means
resumption of the famine
there.
But California Senator
Dianne Feinstein
had a grave concern
about just pulling up stakes.
That America doesn't
become a paper tiger.
That any time
you shoot down
two helicopters
and take some
of our people hostage
that we will turn
tail and run.
And that's,
that is something
that we,
a message we then
send out by our actions.
There is one sticking
point in the calls
for a U.S. withdrawal
and that is
the American hostage
being held by
forces of a deed.
As a result,
a number of critics
have also called
for caution.
Today, Bob Michael
said he would be
willing to give
the president room
for diplomacy
to get the hostage out.
But then he suggested
there might be
other ways.
Who knows
if under certain
circumstances
I could conceive
where a very
minimum,
minimal
military force
of some description
could perform
a particular task
that might have
to be done.
And I'm not going
to go beyond that
because I guess
I know a few things
of what they'd
like to do
in some quarters
but not
altogether, sure.
Back in Somalia,
a top aide
to Adid said
that the American
soldier would be
exchanged for
Somalis being held
by the United Nations.
A videotape
of a badly injured
American was released
to the news media
and has inflamed
U.S. public opinion.
Here in Washington,
Ali Gouled,
billed as the
personal representative
for General Adid,
assured reporters
that the American
was being taken care of.
First thing I can assure you,
he's safe
and he's well-fed
and he's healthy
and nobody will harm him
and he will not be a shield.
And despite the standoff,
Gouled said that Adid
did not want the U.S.
to withdraw from Somalia,
but he made it quite clear
some accommodation
must be reached.
He wants the United States
to stay in Somalia
as long as they're neutral,
as long as they will not interfere
our political system.
Does that also mean...
As long as they will not take sides,
we would like to have them
in our country
and we need their technology.
We need you very badly.
We all love Americans.
They have to cease this.
This has to stop.
This punitive action
against the General
has to stop.
As for the arrest warrant
for Adid,
Gouled said his boss
would be willing
to go before a tribunal
if others,
including U.N. forces,
were also required to do so.
Adid complains
that he is being singled out
by the U.N.
and says that
other faction leaders
have not been required
to disarm.
Pantusharou,
a professor at
American University,
believes disarmament
is a key
to resolving the standoff.
The other warlords
are keeping quiet
right now.
They are not being disarm.
They are trying to
in fact legitimize themselves
by appearing
to be cooperative.
So they are still intact.
I think that's a very
crucial issue to see.
As Sheru believes,
Adid should be included
in discussions
with other faction leaders
for creating
a new Somali state.
Don Rush,
Pacifica Network News,
Washington.
THE END
The U.S. Census Bureau
released its figures
on poverty this week
and the report indicates
that in 1992,
for the third year in a row,
the number of
impoverished Americans
rose.
So what's the
Clinton administration
doing about it?
Mark Beavish reports.
The Census Bureau
reports the number
of Americans
living in poverty
has reached its highest
level since 1962.
Almost 37 million people
are poor in this country.
That's nearly 15%
of the population.
The highest of any
industrialized Western nation.
And the numbers
are not getting better.
1.2 million more people
are living in poverty
than this time last year.
We called several
administration offices
to ask what President Clinton
is doing about the increase
in poverty,
but numerous phone calls
to those who should know
were not returned.
So instead,
we trained two policy analysts
like Jared Bernstein
at the Economic Policy Institute.
The Clinton administration
has done very little
to repair the holes
in the safety net,
gaping holes that have
developed over the past
12, 13 years.
The administration says
Bernstein has done one thing.
And I'll be frontая
for a little bit.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.