[00:02.070 --> 00:03.380]  We're completely amoral.
[00:03.570 --> 00:04.240]  Yeah, yeah.
[00:05.930 --> 00:07.280]  But, you know, I don't know.
[00:08.490 --> 00:12.320]  I know that Special Forces has changed over the years where it used to be.
[00:12.420 --> 00:21.280]  I mean, that was sort of the hallmark of a Special Forces soldier, someone who exercised a lot of initiative, had a little bit of that buccaneer spirit, and was willing to bend a few rules to get a job done.
[00:21.400 --> 00:22.900]  And that's squashed now.
[00:23.080 --> 00:24.380]  Ends justify the means.
[00:24.880 --> 00:25.980]  You know, I got it.
[00:26.080 --> 00:27.060]  We are out of time.
[00:27.780 --> 00:29.920]  I cannot believe how fast this...
[00:29.920 --> 00:31.800]  You and I are going to do more shows.
[00:32.000 --> 00:34.620]  You know, whenever your book comes out, we're going to just...
[00:34.620 --> 00:37.860]  You know, I just can't get enough of the information you have.
[00:38.060 --> 00:40.000]  And I think I've only scratched the surface.
[00:40.260 --> 00:46.500]  And I want to promise the WBAI listeners and the Los Angeles listeners that you're going to be back, Stan.
[00:46.760 --> 00:50.780]  Well, then if you know any publishers out there interested in the big books about baby books...
[00:50.780 --> 00:53.020]  Well, they will, and they're going to call me.
[01:01.000 --> 01:03.740]  Yes, the time is now 8 o'clock.
[01:03.940 --> 01:09.780]  You're listening to Radio Station WBAI in New York, in the United States, on planet Earth.
[01:10.440 --> 01:12.640]  It's time for Off the Hook.
[01:19.080 --> 01:40.840]  The telephone keeps ringing So I ripped it off the wall I cut myself while shaving Now I can't make a call It couldn't get 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!
[03:09.440 --> 03:13.540]  Good evening, and welcome to another edition of Off the Hook.
[03:16.220 --> 03:16.740]  Thank you.
[03:17.020 --> 03:17.840]  Thank you very much.
[03:19.220 --> 03:20.500]  And Isaac is here.
[03:20.780 --> 03:21.060]  Isaac.
[03:21.380 --> 03:21.760]  How are you doing?
[03:21.780 --> 03:22.900]  Let's go and welcome to Isaac.
[03:24.380 --> 03:25.120]  Oh, gee.
[03:25.240 --> 03:25.520]  Oh, dear.
[03:25.580 --> 03:27.200]  Well, you really warmed up the crowd tonight, didn't you?
[03:27.600 --> 03:29.660]  My presence seems to be a damper everywhere.
[03:29.900 --> 03:30.140]  Yeah.
[03:31.880 --> 03:33.660]  Well, hopefully they'll get back pretty soon.
[03:33.860 --> 03:34.040]  Okay.
[03:34.060 --> 03:35.180]  A nice round of applause there.
[03:35.400 --> 03:39.860]  So, this is one week closer to Y2K and all the horrors that take place.
[03:40.020 --> 03:40.620]  Dun, dun, dun.
[03:40.700 --> 03:47.660]  As crowds in Florida are at each other's throats, kicking and screaming for pieces of plywood and canned food and things like that.
[03:48.240 --> 03:53.660]  And it just makes you wonder how far people are going to go when the real thing hits.
[03:53.800 --> 03:57.360]  But you see, if they were preparing for Y2K, they'd have been all set for the hurricane.
[03:58.000 --> 03:59.000]  I suppose, yeah.
[03:59.760 --> 04:03.200]  But, you know, these things always catch you by surprise.
[04:03.380 --> 04:04.100]  They always do.
[04:04.440 --> 04:06.820]  You can't plan a disaster, you know?
[04:06.940 --> 04:09.240]  Well, you can, but that winds up being criminal.
[04:09.380 --> 04:09.920]  Well, that's true.
[04:10.500 --> 04:11.200]  Oh, there they are.
[04:11.320 --> 04:11.620]  I'm back.
[04:15.030 --> 04:15.350]  Okay.
[04:16.550 --> 04:17.190]  Get out of here.
[04:17.650 --> 04:17.990]  All right.
[04:18.370 --> 04:19.450]  That can be really annoying.
[04:21.910 --> 04:25.030]  We have some interesting Y2K things, which we'll get into in just a little bit.
[04:25.130 --> 04:26.450]  First, look what I have.
[04:26.550 --> 04:28.910]  I have a video copy of the film Takedown.
[04:29.570 --> 04:29.890]  How?
[04:30.310 --> 04:30.630]  Whoa.
[04:30.870 --> 04:32.970]  I actually got my hands on...
[04:32.970 --> 04:36.530]  I went down to a video store and just happened to be talking to the guy there about the film.
[04:36.830 --> 04:39.670]  And he said, lo and behold, we have a copy of the film Takedown.
[04:39.670 --> 04:40.370]  Really?
[04:40.490 --> 04:40.650]  Yeah.
[04:42.510 --> 04:43.510]  That's rather incredible.
[04:43.530 --> 04:44.250]  Shocking, isn't it?
[04:44.330 --> 04:44.510]  Yeah.
[04:44.930 --> 04:45.950]  What's even more shocking...
[04:45.950 --> 04:47.550]  They bypassed the whole theater thing and went straight to video?
[04:47.550 --> 04:48.030]  They sure did.
[04:48.250 --> 04:49.430]  Right, straight to video.
[04:49.550 --> 04:51.190]  But what's even more shocking is the content.
[04:51.410 --> 04:52.770]  It's not exactly what you might expect.
[04:52.810 --> 05:00.470]  In fact, I've shown this to a couple of people and in both cases, people literally ran screaming out of the room within a minute.
[05:00.650 --> 05:01.450]  Did they still have the...
[05:01.450 --> 05:02.790]  Well, a minute and 30 seconds, actually.
[05:03.090 --> 05:03.530]  A minute and 30 seconds?
[05:03.690 --> 05:03.810]  Yeah.
[05:04.590 --> 05:04.990]  But...
[05:04.990 --> 05:05.950]  So that's the opening credits.
[05:06.690 --> 05:09.570]  The opening credits actually got some kind of response, too.
[05:09.670 --> 05:11.390]  from, you know, a couple of people.
[05:11.530 --> 05:14.670]  But it was the content, I think, that got people.
[05:16.370 --> 05:20.350]  Takedown, I'll read you the plot synopsis they have on the back.
[05:20.470 --> 05:20.750]  Please do.
[05:21.290 --> 05:26.350]  And quite an interesting picture there of someone crying in agony.
[05:26.530 --> 05:27.050]  That's kind of odd.
[05:27.290 --> 05:27.430]  Yeah.
[05:28.030 --> 05:31.130]  When losing becomes a way of life, winning seems an impossible dream.
[05:31.390 --> 05:35.350]  No group feels this more acutely than the senior class of Mingo Junction High School.
[05:35.750 --> 05:39.430]  The colorless town of Mingo Junction offers them less than promising futures.
[05:39.730 --> 05:42.730]  Looming straight ahead for most students are jobs in the local steel mill.
[05:43.030 --> 05:44.950]  Even the school's athletic teams are appalling.
[05:45.090 --> 05:47.890]  There hasn't been a win by any team in any sport for over nine years.
[05:48.130 --> 05:54.910]  So, before they start to think of themselves as losers, too, this graduating class wants to taste victory just once.
[05:56.090 --> 05:59.710]  Wrestling is the only sport that offers even a dim hope for success.
[05:59.710 --> 06:03.210]  Somehow, the school finds 12 courageous volunteers for the team.
[06:03.650 --> 06:06.550]  Unfortunately, that's the first and last positive development.
[06:06.750 --> 06:10.430]  The 12 teammates all have high spirits but woefully out-of-shape bodies.
[06:10.930 --> 06:14.450]  The man chosen to coach them is Ed Branish, the remedial English teacher.
[06:14.630 --> 06:17.570]  Ed has no knowledge of wrestling and even less interest in it.
[06:17.650 --> 06:20.510]  In fact, he hates sports almost as much as he hates Mingo Junction.
[06:20.870 --> 06:27.410]  And the thought of spending time with 12 hulking, sweating young athletes is more than this sensitive Shakespearean scholar can bear.
[06:28.410 --> 06:37.970]  Compounding his problem, the best wrestler in school, Nick Kilvitas, is not only disinterested in joining the team, he's close to failing Ed's English class.
[06:38.190 --> 06:38.510]  Ooh.
[06:39.190 --> 06:49.790]  Clearly, this is a team in turmoil, yet just when it seems that only a miracle man could make it all work and only a fool would try, Ed finds the key to motivating himself, Nick, and his ragged troops.
[06:50.010 --> 06:55.790]  But will it be too little, too late, to give Mingo Junction its one shot at glory?
[06:56.910 --> 06:58.130]  Enter Kevin Mitnick.
[07:00.390 --> 07:02.630]  That sounds a little different than advertised.
[07:02.650 --> 07:05.390]  Clearly, this film, this is not the right takedown.
[07:05.590 --> 07:05.830]  Okay.
[07:05.830 --> 07:08.770]  It seems that there's more than one film called takedown.
[07:08.850 --> 07:09.510]  So who's in this one?
[07:09.790 --> 07:13.230]  This actually stars Lorenzo Lamas.
[07:13.590 --> 07:14.030]  Really?
[07:14.150 --> 07:15.730]  The star of Falcon Crest, it says here.
[07:15.870 --> 07:16.150]  Ooh.
[07:16.370 --> 07:16.510]  Yeah.
[07:16.790 --> 07:18.070]  And Stephen First.
[07:18.370 --> 07:20.210]  You might know him as Veer from Babylon 5.
[07:21.230 --> 07:24.590]  As well as Elliot from St. Elsewhere.
[07:25.930 --> 07:27.450]  And what's his name from Animal House?
[07:27.610 --> 07:28.270]  Yeah, that guy.
[07:28.270 --> 07:28.690]  Yeah, that guy.
[07:29.430 --> 07:29.750]  Flounder.
[07:30.490 --> 07:31.390]  So he's in this.
[07:31.590 --> 07:33.050]  I'm not sure what year this came out.
[07:33.110 --> 07:33.970]  It was a while ago, though.
[07:34.430 --> 07:35.110]  It's not Flounder.
[07:35.550 --> 07:38.530]  Well, I don't know if it came out before Animal House or after.
[07:38.530 --> 07:41.310]  I'm going to heave it over to you and you can pretty much be careful.
[07:41.450 --> 07:42.130]  This is a rental.
[07:42.230 --> 07:42.950]  I don't want to break it.
[07:43.630 --> 07:43.830]  All right?
[07:43.850 --> 07:44.770]  Well, how much would they charge you?
[07:44.830 --> 07:45.050]  All right.
[07:45.330 --> 07:46.250]  Why don't you hand it to me?
[07:46.870 --> 07:47.290]  All right.
[07:48.110 --> 07:49.170]  Nice going, Isaac.
[07:49.170 --> 07:50.830]  Well, hey, you know, I'm a hacker.
[07:50.970 --> 07:52.290]  I don't have to be coordinated.
[07:53.510 --> 07:54.490]  Oh, silly picture.
[07:54.830 --> 07:54.990]  Yeah.
[07:55.890 --> 08:00.970]  Anyway, so that's the exciting news out of the hacker world as far as upcoming films go.
[08:01.750 --> 08:03.390]  It's factory sealed for your protection.
[08:03.610 --> 08:03.890]  Yeah.
[08:04.210 --> 08:07.190]  And maybe it should have been perma-sealed for your protection as well.
[08:07.790 --> 08:11.390]  I couldn't make it past the first couple of minutes of it myself, knowing what it was.
[08:12.050 --> 08:13.410]  But that's just the way it is.
[08:13.850 --> 08:16.190]  We have an update on the real Kevin Mitnick story.
[08:17.430 --> 08:21.150]  And, uh, as soon as I track it down.
[08:22.330 --> 08:26.250]  Kevin has been moved, as we told you last week, uh, to...
[08:26.250 --> 08:27.670]  More safely this time, though, right?
[08:27.710 --> 08:31.030]  Well, it's a better place than, than, uh, San Bernardino, certainly.
[08:31.710 --> 08:33.410]  But it's, uh...
[08:33.410 --> 08:34.350]  You know, it's kind of vague.
[08:34.830 --> 08:35.250]  It's, it's...
[08:35.250 --> 08:36.850]  There are a lot of places better than San Bernardino.
[08:36.850 --> 08:37.990]  Yeah, that's certainly true.
[08:38.050 --> 08:39.790]  But it's not, uh, it's not where he wants to be.
[08:39.910 --> 08:41.230]  Obviously, he wants to be, uh...
[08:41.230 --> 08:41.550]  Oh, dear.
[08:42.450 --> 08:43.610]  I forgot to turn my phone off.
[08:43.690 --> 08:44.150]  How do you like that?
[08:44.370 --> 08:45.390]  I can turn the phone off now.
[08:46.570 --> 08:49.190]  It's amazing how people just, uh...
[08:49.190 --> 08:50.390]  Most inopportune times.
[08:50.430 --> 08:51.730]  That said forward on it, though.
[08:52.450 --> 08:53.810]  It was being forwarded from somewhere.
[08:54.910 --> 08:58.610]  I must have left a phone line turned on someplace that forwards...
[09:00.130 --> 09:00.490]  Yeah.
[09:02.930 --> 09:03.950]  I can't turn the phone off.
[09:04.010 --> 09:04.590]  Okay, it's off now.
[09:05.170 --> 09:07.970]  Before they call up my sprint line, I'm gonna turn that one off.
[09:08.230 --> 09:08.430]  There.
[09:08.910 --> 09:10.610]  I forgot my beeper, so I can't be beeped.
[09:10.750 --> 09:11.710]  I can't be bothered now.
[09:13.130 --> 09:17.810]  Alright, still looking for the Kevin Mitnick information, which I had when I walked into the room, so it can't be, uh, too far away.
[09:17.950 --> 09:19.350]  Isaac, while I'm looking, why don't you tell us what's...
[09:19.350 --> 09:19.770]  Oh, here it is.
[09:20.270 --> 09:20.750]  Never mind.
[09:20.850 --> 09:21.450]  You don't have to tell us anything.
[09:21.530 --> 09:22.590]  I'll say absolutely nothing.
[09:22.670 --> 09:23.450]  Yeah, absolutely nothing.
[09:23.890 --> 09:26.030]  Uh, okay, Kevin has been moved, and, uh, we have...
[09:26.030 --> 09:27.250]  we have an update for his address.
[09:27.770 --> 09:29.410]  Uh, and also a...
[09:29.410 --> 09:30.770]  a renewed appeal.
[09:31.090 --> 09:34.310]  Now, the interesting thing is that Kevin can no longer make collect calls.
[09:34.750 --> 09:38.210]  Uh, that's how he's been keeping in touch with people over the past four and a half or so years.
[09:39.030 --> 09:47.190]  Now, however, he must make the phone calls and pay for them himself out of whatever budget he has in, uh, in the prison, in his commissary account.
[09:47.450 --> 09:48.390]  Where did that come from?
[09:48.630 --> 09:49.310]  Where did what come from?
[09:49.630 --> 09:52.590]  Is it something specific in his, uh, his...
[09:52.590 --> 09:53.510]  That's the way this...
[09:53.510 --> 09:54.810]  That's the way this particular...
[09:54.810 --> 09:55.650]  Is this an FCC thing, or is it a local prison thing?
[09:55.650 --> 10:02.010]  If you recall, Phiber Optik, when he was in prison at the federal camp, which pretty much is the first time Kevin has been in a federal prison.
[10:02.210 --> 10:02.350]  Right.
[10:02.490 --> 10:07.970]  He has, I mean, he's been in the, um, in the MDC, the Metropolitan Detention Center, beforehand, which is pre-trial.
[10:08.190 --> 10:10.350]  Then he went to San Bernardino, which is a county prison.
[10:10.470 --> 10:16.130]  Now he's finally in, for the last, last couple of months of his hell, he's, he's finally serving time in a federal prison.
[10:16.210 --> 10:18.510]  So it's a facility rule that you can't collect calls.
[10:18.510 --> 10:18.550]  It's a facility...
[10:18.550 --> 10:23.910]  If you recall, Phiber Optik had to, had to pay for all his calls, and we had to send him money to, uh, to cover that.
[10:24.050 --> 10:24.170]  Right.
[10:24.490 --> 10:29.830]  Uh, we have to do the same thing here so that Kevin can stay in touch with, uh, various people, friends, family, legal people.
[10:30.030 --> 10:31.210]  So what's the best way to send money?
[10:31.230 --> 10:31.610]  Money orders?
[10:31.830 --> 10:36.290]  Uh, money orders made out to him with his special, special prison number next to them.
[10:36.470 --> 10:37.790]  And I'm going to give that address right now.
[10:37.930 --> 10:42.770]  Please, people, whatever you can spare to, uh, to help Kevin stay in touch.
[10:42.930 --> 10:45.070]  When he runs out of money, he's not able to call anybody.
[10:45.590 --> 10:49.610]  And also, this money can be used to keep him alive in various other ways.
[10:49.750 --> 10:55.990]  You know, they, they charge outrageous amounts for everything, from a toothbrush to, uh, you know, to whatever it is you need to survive day to day.
[10:56.590 --> 10:59.810]  Um, and, uh, unfortunately, you've got to play by those rules.
[10:59.910 --> 11:02.090]  There isn't, uh, a lot of competition in the prison world.
[11:02.710 --> 11:07.350]  So, uh, if you want to help, please, uh, go down to the post office, get a postal money order.
[11:07.450 --> 11:08.310]  That's the easiest way.
[11:08.450 --> 11:12.850]  Other money orders are probably okay, but, uh, the one that we know works are the postal money orders.
[11:13.030 --> 11:14.090]  Checks do not work.
[11:14.230 --> 11:15.870]  So don't, don't even bother with checks.
[11:16.010 --> 11:18.190]  Just, uh, walk on down to your post office.
[11:18.310 --> 11:20.770]  Everybody's got one and, uh, get a postal money order.
[11:20.870 --> 11:22.790]  I think they charge you like 50 cents or something for it.
[11:23.390 --> 11:32.850]  And on, uh, make it out for however much you can on the, um, on the pay to line, write Kevin Mitnick, it's M-I-T-N-I-C-K, followed by these numbers.
[11:32.950 --> 11:33.690]  This is very important.
[11:35.490 --> 11:37.810]  899-50-012.
[11:38.030 --> 11:40.230]  That's 899-50-012.
[11:40.970 --> 11:47.210]  Now, address that and, uh, also include a letter to Kevin saying how much you're sending.
[11:47.310 --> 11:51.310]  That way he knows that somebody sent him money and it gets credited to him.
[11:51.610 --> 11:53.350]  Sometimes they do a sleight of hand thing.
[11:53.510 --> 11:59.770]  So if you don't include that information, he won't find out about it and he won't know and he'll never know if it doesn't get credited.
[11:59.930 --> 12:00.390]  Let's put it that way.
[12:01.030 --> 12:04.650]  Uh, the address, you have to write the same, uh, uh, the same information on the first line.
[12:04.770 --> 12:08.510]  Kevin Mitnick, number 899-50-012.
[12:09.410 --> 12:11.350]  F-C-I Lompoc.
[12:11.450 --> 12:13.330]  That's spelled L-O-M-P-O-C.
[12:13.990 --> 12:16.790]  The address, 3,600 Guard Road.
[12:17.070 --> 12:17.910]  I thought that was hilarious.
[12:18.150 --> 12:18.370]  Guard Road?
[12:18.370 --> 12:18.870]  Guard Road.
[12:18.950 --> 12:20.270]  They named the road after a guard.
[12:21.050 --> 12:21.670]  Not a guard.
[12:21.710 --> 12:22.130]  All the guards.
[12:22.190 --> 12:22.950]  All the guards, I guess.
[12:22.950 --> 12:24.170]  I guess they get their own little road there.
[12:24.890 --> 12:26.170]  Uh, Lompoc, California.
[12:26.530 --> 12:28.490]  Zip code 93436.
[12:29.710 --> 12:32.470]  Again, Kevin Mitnick, 899-50-012.
[12:32.770 --> 12:33.930]  F-C-I Lompoc.
[12:34.030 --> 12:35.410]  3,600 Guard Road.
[12:35.590 --> 12:36.530]  Lompoc, California.
[12:37.050 --> 12:37.450]  93436.
[12:37.710 --> 12:41.670]  Now, that is simply the fund to keep him in touch with people.
[12:42.030 --> 12:47.530]  And it's suggested that, uh, if you're going to send something to that, you know, 10, 20 bucks, uh, whatever you can afford.
[12:47.670 --> 12:50.250]  I mean, larger numbers, obviously, are greatly appreciated.
[12:50.250 --> 12:51.510]  They go pretty fast, believe me.
[12:51.590 --> 12:58.490]  When you're on the phone, a 15-minute phone call at, uh, something like, uh, I think a dollar a minute, it's insane.
[12:58.810 --> 13:01.610]  It'll, it'll, it'll run away, run out like, like, like nothing.
[13:02.590 --> 13:04.130]  So, uh, send as much as you can to that.
[13:04.230 --> 13:19.850]  But the real, real, uh, campaign that we have to begin, actually, which has already been begun, is the fund to help Kevin, A, pay his, um, pay the, um, the fine that the government, uh, threw at him, the $3,000 fine, which actually has pretty much, um,
[13:20.490 --> 13:22.110]  been covered by donations.
[13:22.810 --> 13:36.810]  But B, it sure would be nice if when Kevin does get out after five years in prison and, and something like two and a half years on the run, if starting over again won't be as insurmountable as they're trying to make it.
[13:36.890 --> 13:39.070]  They're trying to make it so that he can't survive.
[13:39.290 --> 13:48.010]  They're saying, you can't go near computers, you can't work any place that has computers, uh, you can't talk to people about computers, can't advise people or, or use cellular phones.
[13:48.110 --> 13:49.990]  Don't even think about doing arithmetic in your head.
[13:50.250 --> 13:52.370]  You can't use television sets that could access the web.
[13:52.570 --> 13:57.070]  You know, all these, all these crazy stipulations that are so incredibly easy to violate even by accident.
[13:58.330 --> 14:04.310]  And the fact of the matter is he is not going to be able to survive, to, to, to make a living doing anything.
[14:04.510 --> 14:08.350]  I mean, his, his expertise obviously is with technology and they're saying stay away from technology.
[14:08.350 --> 14:19.070]  So what I'm saying is it sure would be nice if there was something waiting for him when he got out so that right away, the first couple of days when he, when he leaves prison he doesn't have to worry about, uh, you know, how to stay alive.
[14:20.090 --> 14:24.490]  Believe it or not, a lot of people who leave prison almost immediately want to go back.
[14:24.970 --> 14:33.370]  Seems really weird, but that's the way it is because they're so frightened by the world when they get out there that, uh, they want the security of those four walls around them.
[14:33.790 --> 14:39.930]  You know, at least they know where they stand there, but the uncertainty of the free world, that's, uh, it can be a very scary thing.
[14:40.190 --> 14:42.370]  I mean, when's the last time you were put away for five years?
[14:42.930 --> 14:47.730]  Not seeing the outdoors, not being able to talk to whoever you want to talk to or go places.
[14:48.250 --> 14:54.390]  You know, when you suddenly have that freedom and suddenly you have to figure out how to survive, it can be very frightening.
[14:54.630 --> 14:58.190]  So, uh, that's the purpose of this new fund that we're going to be starting.
[14:58.430 --> 15:02.290]  If you want to donate to that, we've had some pretty generous donations already.
[15:02.470 --> 15:07.630]  This is before the fund was even started because I think people recognize the need for something like this.
[15:08.970 --> 15:28.810]  If you're interested in that, uh, basically it's the same, uh, same rules that, uh, we set up for the defense fund where, uh, you make the check out to Kevin's grandmother, Reber Vritanian, B-A-R-T-A-N-I-A-N, and you send that over to us at 2600 and we will forward it to his grandmother and she'll set up the account for him.
[15:29.430 --> 15:33.190]  And, uh, the address, uh, to send that to 2600 P.O.
[15:33.290 --> 15:38.090]  Box 752 Middle Island, New York, 11953.
[15:38.430 --> 15:46.350]  And we'll keep a running tally of that on the website, which is www.freekevin.com, as well as, uh, running tally of everything else that's going on.
[15:46.490 --> 15:51.630]  I want to thank everybody for all the support they've been showing, uh, in recent weeks, and of course over the past few years.
[15:52.110 --> 15:53.450]  It's been a hell of a trip.
[15:53.570 --> 15:54.210]  It's not over yet.
[15:54.430 --> 15:59.030]  It won't actually be over until three years after Kevin gets out because that's when his supervised release ends.
[15:59.630 --> 16:03.990]  And at any point during that time they can say, nope, you violated something and you must go back to prison.
[16:04.350 --> 16:06.510]  And in fact, that's what they did back in 1992.
[16:07.110 --> 16:10.190]  Keep in mind, Kevin originally went to prison back in 1989.
[16:10.650 --> 16:12.310]  This is when this all really started.
[16:13.110 --> 16:21.310]  And what they said was, you violated something, something bizarre, something weird, something minor, and then they issued a warrant for him.
[16:21.310 --> 16:28.170]  Trouble is, they never served him with the warrant, and the warrant wasn't actually issued until after his probation had ended or his supervised release had ended.
[16:28.930 --> 16:36.530]  And so he spent the next two and a half years trying to avoid being captured as I think anybody would, especially having been in solitary confinement for eight months.
[16:38.050 --> 16:41.310]  So we're talking about a hell that's been going on for ten years.
[16:42.330 --> 16:43.090]  It's unbelievable.
[16:43.470 --> 16:46.270]  And what are we talking about as far as the crime here?
[16:46.630 --> 16:58.130]  For those of you maybe tuning in for the first time who aren't familiar with the Kevin Mitnick case, we're talking about somebody who simply accessed information, looked at things he wasn't supposed to look at, kind of wandered around, trespassed.
[16:58.650 --> 17:07.990]  You know, someone wanders into an organization, into a school or a hospital or a tunnel system or a golf course, whatever analogy you want to draw up.
[17:08.670 --> 17:11.150]  Ten years in prison for that seems a bit much.
[17:13.230 --> 17:21.670]  And somehow when you bring computers into it, people say, oh, no, you've got to lock the person up forever because computers represent our economy, computers represent big money.
[17:22.290 --> 17:24.290]  You know, well, who set it up that way?
[17:24.630 --> 17:28.890]  The internet was not set up to be big business's playground.
[17:29.230 --> 17:37.450]  It was set up to be a communication tool originally set up by the defense department and then taken over by individual people, college students.
[17:39.170 --> 17:43.550]  I tell you, whenever big business gets involved, things, all logic goes right out the window.
[17:44.450 --> 17:49.770]  Anyway, we welcome all kinds of information on that, on this, feedback, things like that.
[17:49.870 --> 17:53.450]  We'll be taking phone calls, 212-209-2900 in just a few minutes.
[17:54.210 --> 17:56.390]  A couple of other bits of information
[17:59.630 --> 18:02.630]  on website alteration.
[18:03.090 --> 18:05.270]  Ooh, there's a euphemism.
[18:06.130 --> 18:08.350]  There's an article...
[18:08.350 --> 18:09.230]  Unrequested website.
[18:09.230 --> 18:11.710]  An article in typical wired style.
[18:12.290 --> 18:14.270]  Oh, go ahead.
[18:14.590 --> 18:24.210]  Well, it was written by Reuters, but you just know that they rewrote the headline to read NATO Cracker Pleads Guilty because Wired has like a vested interest in this Cracker definition thing here.
[18:25.470 --> 18:31.670]  Anyway, it's funny because they can't even keep it into the first paragraph because then they call him a computer hacker right away.
[18:32.650 --> 18:38.370]  It's like they have warring factions over there with the Cracker people and the regular people that just want to call them hackers.
[18:39.450 --> 18:52.090]  A 19-year-old computer hacker with the screen name Zyklon pleaded guilty on Tuesday, it was a week involving webpages for NATO, Vice President Al Gore and the United States Information Agency.
[18:54.490 --> 19:03.670]  Basically, they said Eric Burns of Shoreline, Washington also admitted in federal court in Virginia that he advised others on how to attack the White House website in May.
[19:04.210 --> 19:05.750]  Here we go all over again.
[19:05.870 --> 19:12.130]  They said Burns faced a maximum possible punishment of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine,
[19:17.310 --> 19:18.750]  who do not know how it works.
[19:19.130 --> 19:28.670]  Altering a website is simply changing the contents of a file called index.html and replacing that with a different file.
[19:29.010 --> 19:30.310]  It's extremely easy.
[19:30.490 --> 19:39.190]  Most times, I say 90% of the time when people do this, they save the original page, make it index2.html or index.bak or whatever.
[19:39.290 --> 19:44.710]  They just name it something else and it's very easy to simply erase the altered one and put the original one back.
[19:45.110 --> 19:51.310]  Failing that or if you think that they might have done something more nefarious, you simply restore it from backups.
[19:51.490 --> 19:51.590]  What?
[19:51.650 --> 19:52.910]  You haven't been keeping backups?
[19:53.110 --> 19:55.970]  Well, now, who is it that should not be on the net in the first place?
[19:55.970 --> 20:00.950]  You don't keep backups, I have no sympathy for you and I don't think most other people would either.
[20:01.470 --> 20:04.470]  You know, the net is basically a big playground.
[20:04.770 --> 20:07.390]  I mean, if you don't like that, that's just too bad, that's the way it is.
[20:07.610 --> 20:14.110]  You know, someone can write graffiti on the side of your wall at any time and, you know, it sucks and you gotta clean it off but you know what?
[20:17.090 --> 20:21.910]  This is something that is extremely easy to completely wipe away and put back the way it was.
[20:22.150 --> 20:30.370]  So when you talk about $250,000 fines, five years in jail, paying restitution, someone is pulling the wool over our eyes because that's not how it works.
[20:30.530 --> 20:31.950]  That is not what it's all about.
[20:33.230 --> 20:41.850]  And I just hate to see somebody else go through the same crap that Mitnick went through for the last five years but it's just gonna keep happening and the media is not helping.
[20:41.950 --> 20:47.130]  The media just keeps putting out these stories that makes it seem like these really evil things are going on.
[20:47.310 --> 20:51.190]  Now, on the flip side, look what's happening in East Timor.
[20:51.550 --> 20:54.290]  People are hacking websites over there and we're applauding that.
[20:54.410 --> 20:54.970]  Hey, that's great.
[20:55.070 --> 20:55.750]  That's freedom of speech.
[20:55.870 --> 21:05.830]  These people are being massacred and the word is getting out because people are altering Indonesian government webpages and putting pictures of what's really going on up there.
[21:05.890 --> 21:15.630]  And if you want to see a really disturbing picture, go to the hacked website archive on www.2600.com and you'll see what's been going on in East Timor.
[21:16.630 --> 21:24.430]  And I'll tell you, it's a valid form of speech, a valid form of political expression and sometimes just adolescent stupidity.
[21:24.630 --> 21:27.330]  But either way, we're talking about speech here.
[21:27.410 --> 21:28.530]  We're not talking about vandalism.
[21:28.630 --> 21:29.530]  We're not talking about destruction.
[21:30.210 --> 21:31.790]  We're talking about speech.
[21:32.310 --> 21:36.330]  So, I really think people should treat it as such.
[21:37.170 --> 21:42.490]  Anyway, Matt Drudge's website got hacked last night, I think.
[21:42.830 --> 21:44.350]  Yeah, last night, Matt Drudge.
[21:45.190 --> 21:47.230]  The group calling itself United Lone Gunman.
[21:47.410 --> 21:49.650]  And of course, they're going to read all kinds of things into that now.
[21:49.790 --> 21:51.470]  United Lone Gunman.
[21:51.730 --> 21:52.950]  They spelled Lone wrong too.
[21:53.150 --> 21:53.830]  L-O-A-N.
[21:54.970 --> 21:55.930]  Unless they're talking about...
[21:55.930 --> 21:56.570]  It might be a parody.
[21:56.790 --> 21:59.390]  Yeah, I think they might be talking about a loan of some sort.
[21:59.530 --> 22:00.590]  I didn't really read into that.
[22:00.710 --> 22:11.810]  But basically, they replaced Drudge's main page with a message saying they take control of Mike Drudge's data stock yarn to once again show the world that this is the realm of the hacker.
[22:13.070 --> 22:14.270]  Ooh, that was purposeful.
[22:14.290 --> 22:16.990]  This is our world now, the world of the bite and whatever.
[22:17.510 --> 22:18.610]  Whatever all that...
[22:18.610 --> 22:19.510]  The beauty of the ball.
[22:19.730 --> 22:20.850]  Yeah, that thing.
[22:23.290 --> 22:26.870]  So, yeah, the fun continues in cyberspace.
[22:28.070 --> 22:31.550]  As I'm sure it will for months, weeks, years to come.
[22:31.630 --> 22:32.770]  What was Drudge's reaction?
[22:33.050 --> 22:34.450]  Did he actually post something?
[22:34.450 --> 22:34.970]  I don't know.
[22:34.970 --> 22:37.410]  I don't look at his site, so I don't really know.
[22:37.910 --> 22:39.630]  Come on, after the Monica Lewinsky thing.
[22:39.750 --> 22:39.930]  Yeah.
[22:42.030 --> 22:45.130]  these things attract more attention, so he should be happy.
[22:45.270 --> 22:48.050]  Now, people are looking at a site that might not have looked at it before, like me.
[22:48.250 --> 22:49.350]  I have no interest in a site.
[22:49.430 --> 22:50.690]  I just went over there and looked at it.
[22:50.810 --> 22:51.770]  That's kind of what I was getting to.
[22:51.970 --> 22:52.110]  Yeah.
[22:52.190 --> 22:52.370]  Okay.
[22:52.530 --> 23:02.190]  But if you want to look at all the archived ones from yesterday until years ago, go to the Hacked Archive web page on our website and study.
[23:02.550 --> 23:08.270]  And tell us if you think that's the real threat, people should go to prison for five years or something like that.
[23:08.570 --> 23:10.250]  Or even, you know, a week.
[23:10.870 --> 23:20.930]  You know, it's just, it might be childishness, it might be a way of crying out for attention, it might be a way, a desperate way of getting the world to see something.
[23:21.170 --> 23:33.090]  I mean, keep in mind, we've had sites hacked in China, Indonesia, all over the world crying out about human rights violations, and it's something that people need to know about, but the media is not going to cover it.
[23:33.130 --> 23:35.550]  For instance, East Timor, you know about East Timor, right?
[23:35.930 --> 23:38.090]  Had you even heard of East Timor a couple of years ago?
[23:38.630 --> 23:39.330]  Probably not.
[23:39.930 --> 23:44.690]  If you listen to Pacifica, Amy Goodman's been going over there now for many years talking about this.
[23:46.070 --> 23:52.710]  And it's just, it's amazing how we don't care until all of a sudden people are being massacred left and right.
[23:53.330 --> 23:55.350]  It's really, it's really pretty sad.
[23:55.450 --> 23:56.690]  You know, Amy was on CNN last week.
[23:56.910 --> 23:57.150]  Really?
[23:57.150 --> 23:59.630]  And they didn't let her talk at all.
[24:00.190 --> 24:01.130]  I mean, they let her talk.
[24:01.130 --> 24:03.210]  She said this amazing thing about U.S.
[24:03.310 --> 24:04.650]  complicity in the whole incident.
[24:04.770 --> 24:06.190]  But then after that, they wouldn't let her talk at all.
[24:06.370 --> 24:08.910]  It's like you violated some sort of rule by criticizing the U.S.
[24:09.010 --> 24:10.170]  government on CNN.
[24:10.170 --> 24:14.350]  and all of a sudden, you know, your persona non-grata.
[24:14.410 --> 24:15.030]  That's how it works.
[24:15.110 --> 24:15.870]  That's how it really works.
[24:16.810 --> 24:17.450]  All right.
[24:17.670 --> 24:20.410]  It's the ominous time of the show again.
[24:21.330 --> 24:46.710]  And as the weeks and months tick ahead into the, I guess, inevitable sense of doom that we might all feel, as the calendars change, as the years move ahead, as we move ever closer to January 1st, 2000.
[24:49.760 --> 24:55.840]  We must all look deep into ourselves and ask how we will respond.
[24:58.570 --> 25:01.710]  Who will cast the first stone to start the riots?
[25:03.610 --> 25:08.630]  Who will begin disassembling Western civilization and maybe part of Eastern civilization as well?
[25:11.920 --> 25:17.540]  As we look at Y2K, Countdown to Dune.
[26:10.540 --> 26:11.540]  They like that line.
[26:13.960 --> 26:16.780]  Okay, we have some updates here.
[26:17.100 --> 26:19.760]  Isaac, I believe you've got something from China, is it?
[26:19.760 --> 26:33.900]  Yeah, there's a little bit going around, I've heard second hand, that the one free market in China experienced some 9999 computer problems that has since been closed.
[26:34.060 --> 26:41.040]  Now, that was last Thursday, September 9th, 1999, 9999, which some people were worried about.
[26:41.220 --> 26:42.400]  You said there was nothing to worry about, though.
[26:42.400 --> 26:45.820]  I honestly did not think that there would be much of an issue.
[26:45.940 --> 26:50.120]  And with a few minor exceptions, such as, you know, the Chinese free market.
[26:50.320 --> 26:52.780]  Now, what happened to the Chinese free market?
[26:53.160 --> 26:54.260]  Is it no longer free?
[26:54.460 --> 26:57.220]  Well, it's been kind of closed.
[26:57.940 --> 27:05.320]  There are differences of opinion, though, because one technician who was asked said, yeah, the computer crashed from 9999.
[27:06.100 --> 27:11.820]  Meanwhile, the official disclosure is we've been having some nebulous technical difficulties.
[27:12.760 --> 27:16.520]  So, nobody really knows what's going on, as is generally the case with China.
[27:16.900 --> 27:21.140]  Well, you know, everything can be blamed on something Y2K-related.
[27:21.300 --> 27:21.500]  Yes.
[27:21.600 --> 27:22.480]  Just bad programming.
[27:22.640 --> 27:23.580]  They'll say, oh, it's a Y2K.
[27:23.580 --> 27:24.020]  A Y2K.
[27:24.020 --> 27:25.080]  You should have paid more money.
[27:25.260 --> 27:25.440]  Exactly.
[27:25.580 --> 27:26.100]  It wouldn't have happened.
[27:26.320 --> 27:28.100]  We couldn't have foreseen this.
[27:29.120 --> 27:34.480]  Well, I don't know if this is Y2K-related, but I looked up my electric bill the other day.
[27:35.720 --> 27:37.480]  And I went on to the web.
[27:37.660 --> 27:40.920]  I looked on Con Ed's web page and entered my account number.
[27:42.000 --> 27:43.240]  And I don't know about this.
[27:43.360 --> 27:44.840]  The bill seems perfectly okay.
[27:44.980 --> 27:45.400]  It seems right.
[27:45.440 --> 27:46.460]  It's just the range.
[27:47.600 --> 27:53.140]  It's my electric bill from January 1st, 1800 to August 12th, 1999.
[27:54.420 --> 27:57.200]  I have no idea where they got this from.
[27:57.200 --> 28:02.500]  They have a double Y2K bug because it's supposed to be $1,900 if they do have a Y2K problem.
[28:02.580 --> 28:03.900]  I don't know where they got $1,800 from.
[28:04.460 --> 28:06.360]  Was Con Edison around in $1,800?
[28:06.620 --> 28:07.680]  I don't think they were.
[28:07.940 --> 28:12.880]  I always like to say that their first customer must have been named Ed.
[28:15.200 --> 28:16.560]  That's how they got their reputation.
[28:16.720 --> 28:17.400]  Preemptive billing.
[28:17.520 --> 28:17.980]  I like it.
[28:18.140 --> 28:26.860]  But if you have a Con Ed account, and I imagine a lot of our listeners do in the New York area, run onto the web right now because I like to hear the results of this.
[28:28.520 --> 28:30.140]  www.coned.com.
[28:30.260 --> 28:31.760]  It looks like coned.com.
[28:33.540 --> 28:35.400]  And enter your account number.
[28:36.860 --> 28:39.640]  There's an automated online customer service.
[28:41.920 --> 28:43.460]  And then bill information.
[28:43.580 --> 28:48.240]  Under bill information, it should say your electric bill from whatever date to whatever date.
[28:48.240 --> 28:53.000]  I'd just like to know if other people are having the same problem or feature, whatever you want to call it.
[28:53.680 --> 28:54.980]  Or if I'm the only one.
[28:55.300 --> 28:57.920]  Well, maybe you should ask for a refund for all the other bills you've paid.
[28:58.100 --> 28:59.780]  Because if this is it, since 1800.
[29:00.980 --> 29:01.300]  Yeah.
[29:01.680 --> 29:03.280]  I can hardly wait for the printed bill to come.
[29:03.360 --> 29:04.340]  Let's see if it says it on that.
[29:04.500 --> 29:04.940]  I don't know if it will.
[29:04.940 --> 29:07.940]  It's probably just a problem with the Perl script or whatever they have running the website.
[29:08.100 --> 29:08.520]  Perl script.
[29:08.600 --> 29:09.980]  Yeah, they got it running in basic, I think.
[29:10.680 --> 29:12.400]  On a PDP-10.
[29:13.560 --> 29:13.820]  Anyway.
[29:13.940 --> 29:14.520]  Those were fun, this one.
[29:14.700 --> 29:15.360]  Yeah, they were.
[29:15.480 --> 29:15.760]  They were.
[29:15.860 --> 29:17.960]  But I don't know if they can run New York City power companies.
[29:18.600 --> 29:19.640]  You'd be surprised.
[29:20.120 --> 29:21.300]  Interesting news from the FBI.
[29:21.300 --> 29:32.040]  In a nutshell, they bring up the very real fear that reliance on foreign programmers to repair Y2K difficulties has opened up a potentially serious security hole for our information infrastructure.
[29:32.140 --> 29:39.040]  Problems might include trap doors, root passwords, exploiting corporate information, and implanting malicious code.
[29:39.160 --> 29:39.960]  Dun-dun-dun-dun.
[29:39.980 --> 29:49.680]  And you can look at this at www.sans.org.newlook.resources.y2k.htm.
[29:51.120 --> 29:53.920]  Case matters in the HTM file, doesn't it?
[29:54.240 --> 29:57.320]  So I should say it's uppercase, y2k, lowercase, .htm.
[29:58.700 --> 29:59.740]  Depends on the system.
[29:59.960 --> 30:00.760]  Actually, I don't know.
[30:00.940 --> 30:01.980]  I'll have to...
[30:01.980 --> 30:03.140]  Well, it's a possibility.
[30:03.280 --> 30:05.460]  Anyway, we can tell you the countries right now that they're very worried about.
[30:05.700 --> 30:08.520]  They include Russia, France, India, and Israel.
[30:09.700 --> 30:10.200]  Oh, yeah.
[30:10.260 --> 30:10.860]  Case does matter.
[30:11.060 --> 30:11.400]  I'm sorry.
[30:12.520 --> 30:16.680]  It doesn't matter on the things before it, but it does matter on the last file name, I believe.
[30:17.160 --> 30:26.420]  So, yes, if you have a bunch of Russians, Israelis, Indians, or French people fixing your computer to be Y2K compliant...
[30:26.420 --> 30:28.000]  Well, why would you even have the French fix on it?
[30:28.480 --> 30:36.040]  Well, I would say that according to this, you should be very wary because they might be implanting all kinds of things to take control of your life as of next year.
[30:37.020 --> 30:38.020]  So, who came out with this?
[30:38.060 --> 30:38.460]  The FBI?
[30:39.920 --> 30:40.640]  Um, well...
[30:40.640 --> 30:41.980]  It sounds more like the...
[30:41.980 --> 30:43.080]  The SANS Institute...
[30:43.080 --> 30:44.020]  I'll throw you the page.
[30:44.060 --> 30:47.160]  The only problem is that because of the computer problem, it didn't print out the entire page.
[30:47.240 --> 30:48.380]  It only printed up to a certain point.
[30:48.660 --> 30:48.740]  A certain point.
[30:48.760 --> 30:51.760]  So, you can read a lot of the sentences, but they don't really make sense.
[30:51.760 --> 30:58.160]  It sounds like some programmer's union who is trying to say, hmm, all the cheap extranational labor is a problem.
[30:58.160 --> 30:59.100]  Oh, yeah, of course, of course.
[30:59.240 --> 31:03.780]  Everybody who says it's a Y2K problem has got some financial gain by making people panic.
[31:04.760 --> 31:06.280]  That's the way it is.
[31:06.480 --> 31:07.200]  Not everybody.
[31:07.940 --> 31:08.800]  Almost everybody.
[31:11.580 --> 31:12.660]  Those are rather ominous.
[31:13.600 --> 31:14.900]  What's meant to be ominous, Isaac?
[31:15.020 --> 31:16.200]  It's a serious matter.
[31:16.640 --> 31:19.060]  We don't take things like Y2K lightly around here.
[31:19.640 --> 31:21.260]  We take it quite seriously.
[31:25.360 --> 31:26.440]  That wasn't supposed to happen.
[31:27.460 --> 31:28.160]  There you go.
[31:28.180 --> 31:28.980]  That was supposed to happen.
[31:29.060 --> 31:31.440]  You see, computer problems can be everywhere.
[31:33.160 --> 31:33.580]  Absolutely.
[31:35.540 --> 31:37.640]  Bell Atlantic News is coming up in just a moment.
[32:12.750 --> 32:16.190]  And our phone number, again, is 212-209-2900.
[32:16.190 --> 32:18.190]  We'll be taking phone calls in just a moment or two.
[32:19.350 --> 32:23.030]  A bit of listener mail from last week's show.
[32:23.090 --> 32:25.630]  We're talking about the great NPR threat.
[32:25.970 --> 32:27.830]  And someone actually did some research on this.
[32:27.990 --> 32:31.730]  They found that there are 799 NPR stations nationwide.
[32:31.750 --> 32:32.830]  That's a lot of stations.
[32:32.990 --> 32:34.150]  We need one more to break 800.
[32:35.170 --> 32:35.830]  Well, yeah.
[32:36.170 --> 32:37.950]  There's that challenge, which I'm sure they'll meet.
[32:37.950 --> 32:45.550]  But of those 799 stations, and this is what really ticks me off, 217 of them are educational institutions.
[32:45.750 --> 32:47.190]  Now, why does that upset me so much?
[32:47.190 --> 32:53.270]  It upsets me because those are 217 college stations that don't exist because of a network moving in.
[32:53.350 --> 32:54.130]  A non-commercial network.
[32:54.290 --> 32:54.930]  I'm not a bad network.
[32:55.050 --> 32:55.870]  I have nothing against them.
[32:55.870 --> 33:00.550]  But I really think that college radio is a very valuable resource.
[33:00.850 --> 33:02.930]  I would not be here right now if it wasn't for college radio.
[33:03.050 --> 33:04.750]  Is all their programming NPR dominated?
[33:05.030 --> 33:05.830]  The vast majority.
[33:05.970 --> 33:11.490]  There are a couple of college stations that broadcast a couple of NPR programs and then have the college students do the rest of it.
[33:11.490 --> 33:12.650]  But not very many.
[33:12.830 --> 33:13.690]  Not very many at all.
[33:13.830 --> 33:20.210]  Most of the time, it's 24-hour classical music off a satellite or having some professional person, they pay, come in and play classical music.
[33:21.370 --> 33:26.890]  And students go to this campus with a 50,000-watt radio station right there that they're not allowed to even access.
[33:28.090 --> 33:28.870]  It's really sad.
[33:29.050 --> 33:34.310]  It's like imagine turning over a valuable resource to a big corporation on a campus.
[33:35.190 --> 33:36.550]  That's pretty much what they did.
[33:36.870 --> 33:40.330]  And I'm sure they make money at it, but it's a big waste.
[33:41.130 --> 33:42.590]  And the airwaves are big.
[33:42.730 --> 33:43.970]  There's lots of space for everybody.
[33:44.170 --> 33:56.550]  You know, as long as people don't get greedy, as long as big corporations don't buy hundreds of stations and program the same kind of music on them, as long as non-commercial entities don't go crazy with their coverage areas, as long as religious institutions don't go nuts,
[33:56.890 --> 33:58.930]  as long as we all share, there's enough.
[33:59.530 --> 34:01.790]  Of course, it's probably too late now.
[34:02.550 --> 34:03.290]  But we'll see.
[34:04.050 --> 34:05.050]  The battle continues.
[34:05.170 --> 34:08.210]  And the reason that came up last week was because of the issue of micro-broadcasting.
[34:08.210 --> 34:12.330]  That is, new radio stations at 1 watt to 100 watts.
[34:13.150 --> 34:16.230]  NPR being one of the big objectors to that.
[34:16.590 --> 34:21.970]  And, of course, the reason is because they have a monopoly on just about all of non-commercial radio.
[34:22.450 --> 34:22.990]  All right.
[34:23.010 --> 34:27.170]  Let's go to the Bell Atlantic section of the program here.
[34:27.730 --> 34:28.030]  Uh-oh.
[34:28.490 --> 34:34.070]  Yeah, you better believe it's uh-oh, because there are a lot of weird things going on in the world of Bell Atlantic.
[34:34.950 --> 34:36.550]  First of all, area codes.
[34:37.010 --> 34:38.590]  You know, 914 now is in danger.
[34:39.110 --> 34:39.510]  That's right.
[34:40.170 --> 34:47.890]  New York State Public Service Commission has recently announced that the 914 area code is running out of telephone numbers and that a new area code will soon be needed.
[34:47.890 --> 34:48.990]  And, Isaac, where is 914?
[34:49.330 --> 34:50.250]  914 is Westchester.
[34:50.350 --> 34:50.790]  That's right.
[34:50.810 --> 34:56.490]  And, you know, they'll be very happy to hear you say that because it's the people of Westchester that are trying to save 914 for them.
[34:56.890 --> 34:59.590]  Now, 914 is also Rockland and I think Dutchess County.
[34:59.870 --> 35:00.210]  That is Westchester.
[35:00.270 --> 35:01.890]  But no one even knows what goes on up there.
[35:03.370 --> 35:08.970]  So, basically, the people of Westchester are saying, give the new area code to, you know, the people out in the boondocks there.
[35:09.110 --> 35:11.810]  We want to keep 914 because 914 belongs to us.
[35:11.930 --> 35:15.550]  And they're willing to take up arms about this, according to this press release.
[35:16.190 --> 35:25.710]  The PSC has outlined two main options for area code relief, an overlay or a geographic split, and we'll be accepting public comments on those options through September 17, 1999.
[35:25.710 --> 35:26.870]  That's only two days from now.
[35:27.170 --> 35:32.550]  So, if you're in 914 and you're interested in this, this is more warning than we got in 516 when we lost our area code.
[35:32.650 --> 35:33.030]  Uh-huh.
[35:33.310 --> 35:34.530]  The bozos out West.
[35:35.830 --> 35:36.230]  All right.
[35:36.370 --> 35:39.030]  What's our new area code in 516, Isaac?
[35:39.230 --> 35:39.950]  What's our new area code?
[35:40.030 --> 35:40.970]  I still have 516.
[35:41.270 --> 35:44.050]  Yeah, but you don't even know what our area code is going to be in Suffolk County, do you?
[35:44.230 --> 35:44.450]  No.
[35:44.450 --> 35:45.770]  Yeah, you see, that's the problem.
[35:45.930 --> 35:47.370]  People don't know what the area codes are.
[35:47.410 --> 35:48.290]  They don't make any sense.
[35:48.470 --> 35:51.090]  They've pretty much given up geographic area codes in this country.
[35:51.370 --> 35:52.870]  I don't know where we're going to go from here.
[35:53.930 --> 35:55.470]  6-3-1 for those people who care.
[35:55.690 --> 35:55.950]  Okay.
[35:56.370 --> 35:58.550]  And it's just not going to be right.
[35:58.730 --> 36:00.130]  Well, you got the 6 and the 1 still there.
[36:00.670 --> 36:02.690]  You just lost the 5 and you rearranged them.
[36:02.770 --> 36:03.050]  Yeah.
[36:03.510 --> 36:05.490]  That'll make it easy for all the senior citizens out there.
[36:05.650 --> 36:05.770]  Okay.
[36:05.870 --> 36:07.150]  Well, I thought that would be comforting.
[36:07.390 --> 36:08.070]  Alter their lives.
[36:08.290 --> 36:12.510]  The PSC will decide which option to implement by October of this year.
[36:12.510 --> 36:21.170]  So, County Executive Spano believes that Westchester County should retain the use of the 914 area code so he does not have to change all his stationery.
[36:22.450 --> 36:23.990]  I really don't think he meant for that to go out.
[36:24.270 --> 36:25.090]  Yeah, I was wondering.
[36:25.990 --> 36:27.450]  Oh, did I say that with my speaking voice?
[36:28.990 --> 36:31.130]  PSC must hear from you before the end of August.
[36:33.510 --> 36:35.090]  I guess I got this a little too late.
[36:35.190 --> 36:35.710]  Well, listen.
[36:36.110 --> 36:38.530]  The thing is, they're deciding September 17th.
[36:38.710 --> 36:40.670]  And I think there's a meeting.
[36:40.870 --> 36:41.970]  I really hope there's a meeting.
[36:42.070 --> 36:43.450]  Otherwise, it's a big waste of time.
[36:45.170 --> 36:46.490]  I thought there was a meeting on here.
[36:47.040 --> 36:49.110]  Well, in any event, here's a phone number.
[36:49.650 --> 36:52.470]  And forget that I said they have to hear from you by the end of August.
[36:52.730 --> 36:54.590]  Call them tomorrow and voice your opinion.
[36:54.910 --> 36:57.090]  1-800-335-2120.
[36:57.430 --> 37:05.810]  Or you can access the customer comment forum on the PSC website, www.dps.state.ny.us.
[37:06.210 --> 37:08.130]  I don't know why it's DPS, not PSC.
[37:08.410 --> 37:08.810]  Yeah, I was wondering.
[37:08.810 --> 37:10.490]  But regardless.
[37:11.370 --> 37:14.410]  There's an address here, but, you know, it's not going to make it in time unless you send a telegram.
[37:14.410 --> 37:17.410]  Oh, Department of Public Service for DPS.
[37:17.610 --> 37:18.570]  Okay, I guess that's it.
[37:19.030 --> 37:27.730]  The address, Deborah Renner, R-E-N-N-E-R, Acting Secretary, New York State Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223.
[37:29.830 --> 37:41.730]  And the PSC has determined that a new area code is needed for the region currently served by 914, which is Westchester County, and all or most of the counties of Duchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, and Ulster since the early 1950s.
[37:42.150 --> 37:45.170]  But since they're running out, they're going to have to make a change.
[37:45.350 --> 37:46.370]  They have two options.
[37:47.170 --> 37:50.890]  And that's what they're going to be deciding in the next, I guess, couple of days.
[37:51.670 --> 37:53.350]  An overlay is one of those options.
[37:54.150 --> 37:58.630]  And that means the new area code will be established over the entire 914 region.
[37:59.130 --> 38:02.310]  Current customers would keep the 914 area code and telephone number.
[38:02.410 --> 38:05.670]  New customers would receive either the old or the new area code, depending on availability.
[38:06.330 --> 38:11.930]  And all customers would have to dial 10 digits every time a call is made, even calls within the same area code.
[38:12.030 --> 38:15.650]  Now, 646 exists now in New York, I believe.
[38:15.970 --> 38:20.390]  I don't know of anybody with a 646 area code number, but I think there are people out there that actually have those numbers.
[38:21.510 --> 38:23.150]  Now, they made an exception for us.
[38:23.230 --> 38:24.470]  We don't have to dial 10 digits.
[38:24.810 --> 38:26.030]  We can dial 7 digits.
[38:26.690 --> 38:34.790]  That's because New Yorkers are such a pain in the ass that we complain so much that they kind of gave us a pass on that law.
[38:34.890 --> 38:42.790]  And the reason why they had that law in the first place is to make it equally inconvenient for everybody so that people getting the 646 area code would have to...
[38:42.790 --> 38:45.290]  wouldn't be the only ones having to dial 10 digits to get the 212.
[38:46.450 --> 38:48.050]  That's the way, theoretically, it should work.
[38:48.410 --> 38:51.730]  But people in New York overrode that, I guess, at least temporarily.
[38:52.110 --> 38:54.530]  The other option for 914, a geographic split.
[38:54.770 --> 38:57.050]  The 914 area code would be split into two regions.
[38:57.050 --> 38:59.630]  One region would retain the use of 914.
[38:59.630 --> 39:01.330]  The other would be assigned a new area code.
[39:01.850 --> 39:05.130]  And, of course, everybody would keep 7-digit dialing within their own area codes.
[39:05.550 --> 39:09.990]  So, the argument here is Westchester is 914, and 914 is Westchester.
[39:10.350 --> 39:15.870]  County Executive Spano believes that all current and future Westchester residents and businesses should retain the use of the 914 area code.
[39:15.970 --> 39:16.770]  That's an identity thing.
[39:16.870 --> 39:21.370]  Westchester has the largest overall population, the largest number of senior citizens in the 914 region.
[39:21.630 --> 39:26.810]  The confusion generated by an area code change would be particularly difficult for our seniors as it would be for all of our residents.
[39:27.410 --> 39:32.050]  Because they're rather dim up there, and changing numbers wouldn't be a very easy thing to do.
[39:32.190 --> 39:32.510]  Well, the only reason...
[39:32.510 --> 39:33.290]  Can you say that with the speaking words?
[39:33.290 --> 39:38.610]  No, I'm bitter about it, because I've got to change my digits, and nobody pulled the senior citizens out by me, you know.
[39:38.750 --> 39:40.870]  People are wandering around the streets now in utter confusion.
[39:41.170 --> 39:44.110]  We've got another month or so of 516, and then it changed to 631.
[39:45.090 --> 39:46.090]  This is not going to be pleasant.
[39:46.250 --> 39:48.890]  So, when is the advertising campaign to educate everybody to start?
[39:50.390 --> 39:51.950]  Um, I think it's already started.
[39:52.670 --> 39:53.290]  I think it's supposed to...
[39:53.290 --> 39:54.130]  Could have fooled me.
[39:54.270 --> 39:55.910]  Listen to these other bits of logic here.
[39:55.910 --> 40:00.490]  The headquarters of more international corporations than any other 914 county are in Westchester.
[40:00.910 --> 40:02.710]  All right, that's a reason to keep 914.
[40:03.030 --> 40:08.510]  More small businesses, 10 or fewer employees, more women-owned businesses, and more minority-owned businesses than any other 914 county.
[40:08.610 --> 40:08.830]  So basically...
[40:08.830 --> 40:09.750]  Oh, yeah, that's a reason.
[40:09.750 --> 40:12.290]  It's more small businesses and more big businesses.
[40:12.930 --> 40:14.330]  They're covering all bases here.
[40:15.730 --> 40:18.830]  We need to help ensure the continued growth and success of these businesses.
[40:19.610 --> 40:22.310]  They'll move away if the area code changes.
[40:23.170 --> 40:23.870]  Well, no, they'll just...
[40:23.870 --> 40:24.830]  But they'll keep the 914 when they move.
[40:24.950 --> 40:25.830]  They'll give up.
[40:26.070 --> 40:27.330]  They'll just close their doors.
[40:27.950 --> 40:29.330]  You took away my 914?
[40:29.490 --> 40:29.970]  Well, that's it.
[40:29.990 --> 40:30.450]  I give up.
[40:30.550 --> 40:31.890]  No more for me.
[40:32.310 --> 40:33.790]  People want to keep their area code.
[40:33.950 --> 40:35.790]  They're going to say anything they can to keep it.
[40:35.870 --> 40:38.370]  The confusion and expense of a new area code would be detrimental to them.
[40:38.430 --> 40:40.970]  What about all those poor rural hicks out there in Ulster County?
[40:41.110 --> 40:42.870]  I'm probably pissing off now by saying that.
[40:42.910 --> 40:43.790]  Well, they don't have to worry about...
[40:43.790 --> 40:45.370]  They've got to change their stationery, too.
[40:45.470 --> 40:47.710]  You know, it's just people...
[40:47.710 --> 40:52.450]  They just want to, you know, keep their own area codes and they don't care about anybody else.
[40:52.570 --> 40:54.170]  Maybe we should just deny people phones.
[40:54.490 --> 40:55.390]  Four-digit area codes.
[40:55.450 --> 40:55.990]  That was the solution.
[40:56.110 --> 40:56.490]  They blew it.
[40:57.630 --> 40:58.110]  All right.
[40:58.330 --> 41:01.030]  So that's the deal going up 914.
[41:01.890 --> 41:06.390]  Uh, this reader writes in, or listener writes in, saying, uh, I've had Hell Atlantic.
[41:06.690 --> 41:07.330]  I like that, huh?
[41:07.330 --> 41:07.770]  Hell Atlantic.
[41:07.810 --> 41:08.230]  Hell Atlantic.
[41:08.550 --> 41:09.210]  Changed my...
[41:09.210 --> 41:09.470]  Obvious slip.
[41:09.650 --> 41:12.350]  Changed my account, so there is no default long-distance carrier.
[41:12.690 --> 41:18.910]  Uh, there's a monthly charge of $1.04 listed as FCC non-presubscribed blind charge.
[41:19.450 --> 41:22.190]  And there's also a one-time charge for the change, which is about $5.
[41:22.470 --> 41:22.810]  Well, that's...
[41:22.810 --> 41:22.890]  I pay that.
[41:23.650 --> 41:24.370]  That's, uh...
[41:24.370 --> 41:25.010]  That's good.
[41:25.090 --> 41:26.090]  I thought it was more than that.
[41:26.150 --> 41:26.530]  It really did.
[41:26.650 --> 41:27.890]  No, I lose $1.04 every month.
[41:28.210 --> 41:33.870]  What that person might want to watch out for, that might have been, like, a pro-rated type of thing where it was only for a couple of days for the first time.
[41:33.870 --> 41:35.410]  It might be more for a full month.
[41:35.530 --> 41:40.370]  I'm not sure about that, but people with, uh, with more experience on that, maybe, uh, we'll look into that.
[41:41.670 --> 41:46.270]  Okay, and, uh, this, this bit of news from the Queen's Courier, which, uh, someone faxed over to us.
[41:46.650 --> 42:00.130]  In a letter sent to Federal Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard, Congressman Joseph Crowley expressed grave concern about the increasing number of fees appearing on consumer telephone bills and urged the FCC to take steps to protect and inform consumers.
[42:00.130 --> 42:03.770]  Over the past several months, I have heard complaints from numerous conti...
[42:03.770 --> 42:04.490]  conti...
[42:05.330 --> 42:05.810]  constituents...
[42:05.810 --> 42:06.690]  I always hated that word.
[42:06.970 --> 42:09.990]  ...who have seen dramatic increases in their monthly bills.
[42:10.470 --> 42:17.450]  Frankly, such statements trouble me because the FCC has continually insisted that rate restructuring would save consumers money.
[42:17.830 --> 42:20.450]  I'm especially concerned about my elderly constituents.
[42:20.590 --> 42:22.890]  They're always the people that everyone's concerned about, you know?
[42:22.950 --> 42:23.850]  It's the old and the children.
[42:24.070 --> 42:25.310]  That's why you do everything in this country.
[42:25.470 --> 42:26.510]  Yes, think about the children.
[42:27.310 --> 42:37.590]  I am especially concerned about my elderly constituents who are paying minimum monthly usage charges on fixed incomes and may lack basic information about alternative pricing plans, Congressman Crowley wrote in the letter.
[42:37.890 --> 42:47.990]  According to Consumers Union, the current FCC pricing system for telephone rates has added almost $5 billion a year to consumer phone bills as a result of increased charges.
[42:48.130 --> 42:49.670]  Where does the $5 billion go?
[42:50.210 --> 42:51.550]  You thought this was small potatoes, huh?
[42:51.770 --> 42:52.930]  It's not a $5 billion.
[42:53.230 --> 42:53.870]  It's a lot of money.
[42:54.710 --> 43:01.830]  Congressman Crowley urges residents of Queens and the Bronx to comment directly to the FCC by the end of the public comment period.
[43:01.830 --> 43:03.870]  And that is on September 20th, 1999.
[43:03.910 --> 43:05.870]  So you've got a lot of public commenting to do.
[43:06.510 --> 43:12.890]  And he may be urging people of Queens and the Bronx to do this, but I'm urging people everywhere to do this because it affects all of us.
[43:13.150 --> 43:18.070]  All filings should reference CC docket number 99-249.
[43:18.210 --> 43:20.870]  That's CC docket number 99-249.
[43:21.030 --> 43:23.350]  You can file your comments in three ways.
[43:23.490 --> 43:44.670]  By going to the web www.fcc.gov slash e-file slash ecfs.html Or if that bothers you, you can send email to ecfs at fcc.gov and simply put in the body of your message the following words.
[43:44.770 --> 43:47.970]  Get form and then put your email address after that.
[43:48.010 --> 43:51.590]  You might not have to put your email address after that, but it's a good idea just to make sure it goes to the right place.
[43:52.070 --> 43:54.490]  A sample form and directions will be sent in reply.
[43:54.690 --> 44:02.750]  And if you want to do it the old-fashioned way by paper, you must file an original and it says here tour copy?
[44:03.290 --> 44:04.350]  T-O-U-R copy?
[44:04.430 --> 44:05.130]  What's a tour copy?
[44:05.510 --> 44:10.230]  I guess it's the one that goes around the country and everybody stamps it and it comes back to you like your passport.
[44:10.390 --> 44:11.570]  Oh, how about that?
[44:11.690 --> 44:12.230]  I have no idea.
[44:12.310 --> 44:13.790]  Hopefully it'll come a lot faster than my passport.
[44:14.910 --> 44:32.250]  All right, well, you send that to Magalie, M-A-G-A-L-I-E, Roman Salas, S-A-L-A-S, Commission Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street Southwest, Counter-T-W-A.
[44:32.530 --> 44:33.950]  Yeah, I guess they are going on a tour.
[44:34.110 --> 44:35.010]  That's what it says right here.
[44:35.430 --> 44:37.810]  Washington, D.C., 20554.
[44:38.410 --> 44:39.350]  That's a mouthful.
[44:39.970 --> 44:45.530]  So, yeah, there's a lot of discontent out there as far as these bills.
[44:47.390 --> 44:56.270]  Slammers, beware, Bell Atlantic is stepping up its efforts to help customers stomp out slamming by introducing a first-of-its-kind automated system to help prevent slamming.
[44:56.950 --> 45:02.970]  Slamming, as you know, is basically subscribing you to a long-distance or regional carrier without your permission.
[45:03.510 --> 45:12.370]  And freezing is a new term allowing you to protect yourself against that by putting a freeze on your account until you open it up again.
[45:12.550 --> 45:13.830]  So, freezing stops slamming?
[45:14.070 --> 45:15.170]  Freezing stops slamming.
[45:15.230 --> 45:17.210]  I thought just being courteous would stop slamming.
[45:17.310 --> 45:17.810]  Not anymore.
[45:18.050 --> 45:18.430]  Not anymore.
[45:18.650 --> 45:22.230]  But if we call this number, and we're going to get a dial tone on the line here.
[45:22.390 --> 45:22.610]  All right.
[45:23.590 --> 45:24.570]  It's an 800 number.
[45:26.090 --> 45:26.490]  Yeah.
[45:27.190 --> 45:29.210]  It means you don't have to pay anything for this.
[45:34.350 --> 45:35.150]  305-4838.
[45:36.890 --> 45:38.010]  Let's see what happens.
[45:39.850 --> 45:41.370]  Welcome to Bell Atlantic.
[45:41.690 --> 45:48.350]  This system allows you to freeze or unfreeze your choice of regional or long-distance service providers at no charge.
[45:48.450 --> 45:48.970]  Doesn't the word be wrong?
[45:48.970 --> 45:54.570]  Freezing your selection means that your choice of carrier cannot be changed unless you contact us to change it.
[45:54.810 --> 45:58.730]  You may freeze or unfreeze your service provider choices at any time.
[45:59.070 --> 46:03.010]  To use this system, you will need information from your Bell Atlantic phone bill.
[46:04.670 --> 46:08.190]  Please enter the area code and telephone number you are calling about.
[46:08.490 --> 46:08.650]  All right.
[46:08.730 --> 46:10.530]  Well, let's enter NBC because I always like to do that.
[46:12.470 --> 46:13.930]  We're not going to change anything.
[46:14.210 --> 46:14.370]  Oh, okay.
[46:16.630 --> 46:22.350]  For your security, please enter the six digits that follow your telephone number on your Bell Atlantic phone bill.
[46:22.650 --> 46:24.870]  These six digits are unique to your account.
[46:25.190 --> 46:25.910]  Six digits.
[46:26.090 --> 46:26.910]  So I'm just going to guess.
[46:28.450 --> 46:31.030]  Please hold while we retrieve your account information.
[46:31.030 --> 46:31.610]  Thank you.
[46:32.550 --> 46:33.250]  We'll see how...
[46:33.250 --> 46:35.830]  Sorry, we cannot locate a record for the account you have entered.
[46:36.050 --> 46:36.690]  Okay, I've been caught.
[46:36.710 --> 46:46.690]  The telephone number you are calling about is 2-1-2-6-6-4-4-4-4-4.
[46:47.070 --> 46:49.010]  If this is correct, press 1.
[46:49.130 --> 46:50.490]  See, that's NBC's phone number.
[46:50.590 --> 46:54.190]  Yeah, for all those people who are, like, running to get their detailed decoders.
[46:54.490 --> 46:56.710]  Okay, so I can keep doing this.
[46:56.810 --> 46:58.670]  I can keep entering six digits.
[46:58.750 --> 47:01.670]  But the thing is, it's not hard to get those six digits.
[47:01.910 --> 47:02.530]  It really isn't.
[47:02.530 --> 47:04.210]  People throw out their phone bills all the time.
[47:04.390 --> 47:06.610]  People can be conned into giving that number out.
[47:06.690 --> 47:08.690]  You can probably get that number from the phone company.
[47:08.810 --> 47:15.510]  Considering I was able to get my secret password from the phone company once because I forgot it, I'm sure it's possible to get those six digits off a phone bill.
[47:15.650 --> 47:17.410]  It's really not that difficult.
[47:17.610 --> 47:18.910]  So, I don't know.
[47:19.090 --> 47:20.450]  Yeah, but is it a real security risk?
[47:21.610 --> 47:22.530]  It might be.
[47:22.670 --> 47:23.130]  It might be.
[47:23.230 --> 47:28.470]  Considering also that the phone companies are the ones you're trying to protect yourself against, they're the ones that have that information.
[47:28.670 --> 47:28.770]  Oh.
[47:29.130 --> 47:32.730]  So, you know, Bell Atlantic can slam you as well.
[47:32.970 --> 47:34.570]  Bell Atlantic is a regional provider.
[47:34.950 --> 47:40.550]  They could take your business away from another regional provider and guess who has a six-digit code.
[47:41.310 --> 47:42.550]  So, I don't know about that.
[47:43.430 --> 47:54.670]  There's also a form on www.bellatlantic.com slash foryourhome slash consent and that allows you to basically...
[47:55.450 --> 47:56.310]  Well, let's see.
[47:56.770 --> 48:05.790]  You have to give permission for them to give your name and address out to other people and all you have to do is fill out the form here.
[48:06.070 --> 48:07.250]  First name, last name.
[48:07.750 --> 48:13.330]  You check a little box saying I'm a decision maker for this account and Bell Atlantic has permission to review my account information.
[48:13.550 --> 48:20.830]  Then you put in your home telephone number and then you click submit and it says thank you for your submission and that's it.
[48:22.170 --> 48:23.570]  So, when am I going to...
[48:23.570 --> 48:24.030]  There's no security whatsoever.
[48:24.070 --> 48:27.530]  When am I going to expect the flood of spam and...
[48:27.530 --> 48:34.110]  Well, yes, I've taken control of your phone and a number of others and I'm now the decision maker on these phone lines.
[48:34.270 --> 48:37.990]  This is all in the latest little bulletin that Bell Atlantic sends out.
[48:38.070 --> 48:39.270]  There's no security whatsoever.
[48:40.250 --> 48:44.370]  Now, whether or not that actually makes me into the decision maker for those phone lines, I don't know.
[48:44.530 --> 48:46.050]  We'll find out in due time, I guess.
[48:46.150 --> 48:49.550]  But it doesn't bode well for the future.
[48:50.210 --> 48:50.550]  All right.
[48:50.630 --> 48:54.670]  We don't have much of a future left because we've been talking so long so let's take some quick phone calls.
[48:54.870 --> 48:55.630]  And I mean quick.
[48:55.790 --> 48:56.170]  Good evening.
[48:56.310 --> 48:57.010]  You're on the air.
[48:58.830 --> 48:59.650]  Not quick enough.
[48:59.790 --> 49:00.010]  All right.
[49:00.070 --> 49:01.010]  Let's go over here.
[49:01.230 --> 49:01.790]  Good evening.
[49:01.950 --> 49:02.470]  You're on the air.
[49:03.070 --> 49:03.430]  Hi.
[49:03.650 --> 49:03.910]  Hi.
[49:03.930 --> 49:04.290]  How are you doing?
[49:04.730 --> 49:05.130]  Pretty good.
[49:05.590 --> 49:06.190]  What's on your mind?
[49:06.190 --> 49:06.810]  Oops.
[49:07.250 --> 49:09.170]  So let me tell you something that happened to me.
[49:09.430 --> 49:18.590]  I'm on the AT&T Lifeline program, which means that I get to that connecting line fee, a universal line charge.
[49:18.870 --> 49:19.110]  Right.
[49:19.110 --> 49:19.970]  I get that waived.
[49:20.150 --> 49:20.510]  Really?
[49:20.730 --> 49:21.570]  Because I'm disabled.
[49:21.770 --> 49:23.110]  It's a Bell Atlantic Lifeline, right?
[49:23.190 --> 49:23.990]  Not AT&T.
[49:24.110 --> 49:24.490]  Well, no.
[49:24.610 --> 49:26.590]  AT&T controls it too.
[49:26.710 --> 49:33.390]  There's a Bell Atlantic Lifeline, but there's also an AT&T Lifeline for that universal connectivity line that everybody's been complaining about.
[49:33.390 --> 49:35.630]  You know, the $3.20 or whatever it is?
[49:35.790 --> 49:36.010]  Yes.
[49:36.430 --> 49:41.010]  Well, you know, disabled people who can prove it get rescinded.
[49:41.150 --> 49:41.690]  That's good to know.
[49:41.770 --> 50:00.810]  However, I used one of those brochure, you know, somebody still found me on my mailbox, one of those 1010-like numbers to make a long-distance phone call, and AT&T claimed that the minute I did that, I was transferring my account to this new account, and they dropped me from the Lifeline program.
[50:00.850 --> 50:01.730]  Well, they can't do that.
[50:01.990 --> 50:04.790]  They can't do something like that without telling you in advance.
[50:05.250 --> 50:06.850]  Even then, I don't think it's legal.
[50:06.970 --> 50:24.250]  It isn't legal, and not only have they blamed it on the 1010 company, well, it wasn't 1010, but something like that, and I know that they just did it in order to reassert their hegemony of my long-distance dialing, because it took me an hour on the phone to get through all the millions of 800 numbers I had to die.
[50:24.250 --> 50:30.090]  I wasn't aware that as a poor or disabled person, you weren't allowed to call certain phone numbers.
[50:30.090 --> 50:34.590]  So I become cured once I make an outside phone call from AT&T.
[50:34.850 --> 50:40.490]  I'm no longer disabled, and they blamed the other company for having spammed me, but in fact, I wasn't spammed by them.
[50:40.630 --> 50:42.630]  I was just dumped by AT&T.
[50:42.630 --> 50:44.570]  So did you get your service back?
[50:45.670 --> 50:45.790]  I did.
[50:45.790 --> 50:46.150]  Which I did.
[50:46.550 --> 50:52.510]  They sold me something extra, which I don't even know about, six cents a minute, which everybody else is giving you for four cents a minute.
[50:52.750 --> 51:03.250]  But nevertheless, now I have to go through the Public Service Commission in order to complain to them about this, because I'm sure a lot of people just don't know that they're dumped the minute they go outside and use a much cheaper fee.
[51:03.450 --> 51:07.830]  They told me I could negotiate with AT&T lower rates if I'm disabled.
[51:07.990 --> 51:11.330]  Well, you can negotiate with some phone companies to a degree.
[51:11.330 --> 51:14.130]  I'm not sure about four cents a minute, but you can certainly give it a shot.
[51:14.270 --> 51:17.330]  This is an out-of-country, long-distance out-of-country call, international.
[51:18.010 --> 51:21.830]  But I can't imagine calling up AT&T every time we want to make a phone call and negotiating with them.
[51:21.890 --> 51:22.830]  No, that would be kind of silly.
[51:22.990 --> 51:25.930]  But keep us updated on your fight here, because...
[51:25.930 --> 51:26.710]  Yeah, best of luck with the commission.
[51:26.890 --> 51:30.470]  Yeah, it sounds interesting, and it sounds like something that a lot of people would be affected by.
[51:30.650 --> 51:31.890]  People don't know about these kind of things.
[51:32.030 --> 51:33.410]  Thanks for letting us know about it.
[51:34.010 --> 51:34.730]  Take another phone call.
[51:34.810 --> 51:35.030]  Good evening.
[51:35.070 --> 51:35.530]  You're on the air.
[51:35.690 --> 51:36.190]  Hi, Emmanuel.
[51:36.190 --> 51:36.830]  How you doing?
[51:36.970 --> 51:37.850]  Nice to hear a friendly voice.
[51:37.990 --> 51:38.210]  Good evening.
[51:38.290 --> 51:38.730]  You're on the air.
[51:40.710 --> 51:43.070]  Okay, listen, we need people, not machines here.
[51:43.370 --> 51:43.830]  Good evening.
[51:43.910 --> 51:44.330]  You're on the air.
[51:45.750 --> 51:46.370]  Quick question.
[51:46.530 --> 51:46.670]  Yes.
[51:46.750 --> 51:48.270]  What's the purpose of Star 69?
[51:48.790 --> 51:50.030]  The purpose of Star 69?
[51:50.110 --> 52:03.410]  Well, that's a good theoretical or philosophical question, but Star 69, basically, the practical use is to tell you who just called you, so that when you're falling out of the bathtub to run to the phone, and you just missed that phone call, you dial Star 69,
[52:03.550 --> 52:07.630]  and it used to just ring back, but now it tells you the phone number of the person that just called you.
[52:07.810 --> 52:09.010]  Here's the interesting part, okay?
[52:09.290 --> 52:14.970]  Of course, if they have their number blocked, when you call Star 69, do you know what the message is?
[52:15.370 --> 52:18.410]  The message is the number you are trying to call cannot be called in this method.
[52:18.530 --> 52:20.250]  If you know the number, give it a call.
[52:20.270 --> 52:20.930]  That was my point.
[52:21.010 --> 52:22.350]  If you know the number, please give it a call.
[52:22.710 --> 52:23.550]  I know, it's silly.
[52:23.570 --> 52:24.350]  Why call Star 69?
[52:24.550 --> 52:27.270]  It's very small to give them 75 cents per use.
[52:27.430 --> 52:27.950]  Well, that's it.
[52:28.050 --> 52:30.730]  They should add after that the sound effect of the cash register.
[52:30.850 --> 52:33.650]  Yeah, and you know, they charge you even if they don't give you a number.
[52:33.830 --> 52:38.290]  Even if they say it's blocked, they still charge you for that because to play that recording costs them money.
[52:38.490 --> 52:40.950]  Oh, of course, hey, that girl's got to say that every time.
[52:41.050 --> 52:42.290]  She's sitting in a little room somewhere.
[52:42.570 --> 52:45.110]  But two interesting things, two interesting things.
[52:45.270 --> 52:49.590]  First of all, the old-fashioned Star 69 used to call back people even when their number was blocked.
[52:50.210 --> 52:55.910]  Today, that would be detrimental because it speaks the number before it calls it back, so block numbers would have been given out.
[52:55.990 --> 53:02.870]  But the other interesting thing, you might know that caller ID, when someone calls you on caller ID, you have to let the phone ring twice in order to see the number.
[53:03.450 --> 53:05.410]  With Star 69, you don't have to do that.
[53:05.650 --> 53:09.970]  Star 69, you can just immediately call, dial Star 69, it'll tell you the phone number.
[53:10.150 --> 53:11.590]  You don't have to wait for those two rings.
[53:12.130 --> 53:14.670]  So it's a lot more dangerous.
[53:14.790 --> 53:18.470]  A lot of people think if they just call somebody and they pick up quickly, you know, they're safe.
[53:18.630 --> 53:20.470]  They didn't get their phone number, but not with Star 69.
[53:20.630 --> 53:33.050]  And if you're ever in a situation where you've called somebody by accident and you don't want them to have your number, simply call them again quickly from another line or through an operator and that will overwrite their Star 69 so that when they Star 69,
[53:33.150 --> 53:34.750]  they'll get that number instead of yours.
[53:34.930 --> 53:37.010]  Or dial Star 67 before you even dial.
[53:37.210 --> 53:39.590]  Well, yeah, that's if you're too late.
[53:40.290 --> 53:41.750]  Good evening, you're on the air.
[53:42.370 --> 53:44.850]  Yes, I'd like to talk about the Al Gore tax.
[53:45.110 --> 53:46.710]  The Al Gore tax, okay, go ahead.
[53:46.750 --> 53:52.130]  I have a long distance service, GTE, and I told them I want the tax off, and they said, oh, they can't take it off.
[53:52.490 --> 53:55.010]  It's something the FCC has mandated.
[53:55.670 --> 53:58.270]  I think you guys should talk more about these things.
[53:58.430 --> 54:01.690]  And also, they charge an hour minimum per month for long distance service.
[54:02.350 --> 54:08.030]  If you don't make $3 per month for long distance calls, they charge you anyway.
[54:08.270 --> 54:09.950]  Well, those are certain companies.
[54:10.070 --> 54:11.350]  I don't believe every company does that.
[54:11.490 --> 54:11.750]  I know...
[54:11.750 --> 54:13.130]  I know GTE, AT&T.
[54:13.310 --> 54:14.490]  Yeah, the major ones do.
[54:14.570 --> 54:16.030]  You can find ones that don't.
[54:16.130 --> 54:19.650]  So, when we find ones that don't, we'll certainly pass that along.
[54:19.790 --> 54:21.610]  But yeah, that's what we're talking about.
[54:21.610 --> 54:26.130]  A lot of extra fees that really shouldn't be there that are ripping people off.
[54:26.130 --> 54:27.370]  $5 billion a year.
[54:27.530 --> 54:28.850]  Or $5 billion a year?
[54:28.970 --> 54:29.490]  Is that what we said?
[54:29.550 --> 54:29.950]  Yeah, that's what you said.
[54:30.030 --> 54:31.410]  Yeah, that's an awful lot of money.
[54:31.650 --> 54:37.230]  But then we only had like 1,000 people out of KPFA or something, as opposed to the 10,000 that we're supposed to be.
[54:37.230 --> 54:37.850]  Yeah, yeah.
[54:37.970 --> 54:38.890]  So maybe it's $50 billion.
[54:39.050 --> 54:39.170]  Yeah.
[54:39.350 --> 54:39.650]  Good evening.
[54:39.690 --> 54:40.130]  You're on the air.
[54:40.670 --> 54:45.690]  Hi, are you the same Emmanuel that I spoke to on the KTU party line last week?
[54:45.910 --> 54:47.190]  I don't think so.
[54:47.410 --> 54:49.470]  I don't even know what the KTU party line is.
[54:56.130 --> 54:56.550]  Yes, go ahead.
[54:56.910 --> 55:02.390]  Hi, I just want to tell you that I was actually at the Public Service Commission for the 914 area code.
[55:02.490 --> 55:02.690]  You were?
[55:02.930 --> 55:03.270]  Really?
[55:03.510 --> 55:07.190]  It was, I believe it was August 27th for Rockland County.
[55:07.410 --> 55:07.690]  Uh-huh.
[55:09.030 --> 55:25.730]  Basically, the way it seemed when I was speaking to the Public Service Commission person afterwards, is that they're probably going to go for geographic split B, which actually means that every town in Westchester below I-287 is probably going to end up with either 914 or the new area code.
[55:26.130 --> 55:27.970]  who gets the code is still undecided, of course.
[55:28.790 --> 55:37.670]  But the way it seemed, every other county is probably going to do the same thing that 914 did, which is completely reject the overlay and go straight for split B with the other counties keeping 914.
[55:38.590 --> 55:40.110]  Well, that's terrible, isn't it?
[55:40.330 --> 55:41.350]  Well, not for us.
[55:41.710 --> 55:48.850]  I guess, but the call was for 914 to stay in Westchester, and this sounds like it would just confuse everybody.
[55:49.470 --> 55:52.010]  Yeah, actually, my girlfriends are the exact same thing.
[55:52.150 --> 55:52.370]  Uh-huh.
[55:52.910 --> 56:06.710]  But anyway, besides that, actually, in the last issue of 2600 that was published, there was a letter about something called a datue, which you call it up, and it gives you a bunch of line-testing functions like an audio monitor...
[56:06.710 --> 56:06.910]  Yes.
[56:07.010 --> 56:07.610]  ...to bring short to ground.
[56:07.730 --> 56:10.390]  Yeah, you said, actually, you were going to publish an article about that.
[56:10.490 --> 56:12.170]  I sent that to you, but that's not what I wanted to say.
[56:12.770 --> 56:13.090]  Okay.
[56:14.190 --> 56:18.050]  The interesting thing about these things is that you can take dial tone away from a line with these.
[56:18.150 --> 56:19.510]  I don't know how much you've played with them.
[56:20.110 --> 56:21.350]  I'd like to know more about that.
[56:21.470 --> 56:22.710]  Can you send us information?
[56:22.890 --> 56:23.690]  Yes, actually, I can.
[56:23.870 --> 56:26.330]  I wrote an article about them for PhonePunks magazine.
[56:26.490 --> 56:32.210]  It's at fly.2 slash ppn, and then you're going to click on read issues of ppn.
[56:32.370 --> 56:36.630]  Okay, well, if you ever want to write an article about it for us, let us know, because we definitely would be interested in that.
[56:36.750 --> 56:38.890]  I sent one in, but I didn't get a response.
[56:39.110 --> 56:40.330]  Okay, well, you probably will, then.
[56:40.470 --> 56:40.930]  All right, thank you.
[56:40.990 --> 56:41.690]  Thanks for calling.
[56:42.010 --> 56:43.650]  Isaac, a very quick question for you.
[56:43.730 --> 56:44.670]  I'm going to try to take one more phone call.
[56:45.790 --> 56:47.730]  You are going to be faced with an area cut split.
[56:47.830 --> 56:49.170]  You might not have known this, but you are.
[56:49.470 --> 56:49.930]  I am.
[56:50.130 --> 56:53.610]  Yeah, 718 will be splitting as of October 1st.
[56:53.890 --> 56:54.210]  No!
[56:54.590 --> 56:58.550]  That's actually before the 516 split of November 1st, which is even a tentative date.
[56:58.890 --> 57:00.130]  October 1st, you will be splitting.
[57:00.590 --> 57:01.130]  Into what?
[57:01.670 --> 57:03.750]  You don't know what your own area cut is going to be, do you?
[57:03.790 --> 57:04.390]  No, I don't.
[57:04.590 --> 57:05.470]  That's kind of scary.
[57:06.030 --> 57:06.890]  Let's take on the phone call.
[57:07.090 --> 57:07.410]  Good evening.
[57:07.410 --> 57:07.910]  You're on the air.
[57:08.570 --> 57:10.590]  Yeah, that's a scary area cut split.
[57:11.070 --> 57:11.570]  All right, Rebel.
[57:11.710 --> 57:13.250]  What is the area cut split in 718?
[57:13.310 --> 57:14.450]  Because you're in 718 as well.
[57:14.610 --> 57:15.870]  Yeah, I'm in 718.
[57:15.870 --> 57:17.470]  What is the new area cut?
[57:18.630 --> 57:19.890]  It begins at 3.
[57:20.030 --> 57:22.530]  I think it's 3 and it ends at 4 or something like that.
[57:22.610 --> 57:24.210]  It's like 3, 6, 4.
[57:24.470 --> 57:25.370]  No, you're wrong.
[57:25.410 --> 57:26.170]  You're spreading misinformation.
[57:26.170 --> 57:28.130]  I suggest you go to your phone book and study.
[57:28.630 --> 57:30.210]  Then maybe you'll be ready to call us.
[57:30.670 --> 57:31.090]  Good evening.
[57:31.230 --> 57:31.650]  You're on the air.
[57:31.830 --> 57:32.750]  He doesn't even know.
[57:37.470 --> 57:39.350]  Studying area because you do dialing phones.
[57:40.150 --> 57:40.650]  Good evening.
[57:40.790 --> 57:41.270]  You're on the air.
[57:43.130 --> 57:44.110]  Oh, this person again.
[57:44.550 --> 57:44.990]  Good evening.
[57:45.050 --> 57:45.450]  You're on the air.
[57:46.990 --> 57:48.590]  Okay, people have multiple phone lines.
[57:48.710 --> 57:49.850]  You know, it's a real abuse of authority.
[57:49.950 --> 57:50.150]  Good evening.
[57:50.250 --> 57:50.590]  You're on the air.
[57:50.590 --> 57:51.370]  Hey, Don.
[57:51.590 --> 57:51.890]  Okay.
[57:52.410 --> 57:53.450]  Yeah, I'm calling...
[57:53.450 --> 57:54.430]  I just thought of something.
[57:54.430 --> 57:56.630]  I don't know if you can set it up or if it would work.
[57:56.750 --> 58:01.570]  Can't you give Kevin Mitnick like an 800 number that he could call into?
[58:01.770 --> 58:03.030]  He's not allowed to call 800 numbers.
[58:03.410 --> 58:04.970]  You can't call an 800 number.
[58:05.030 --> 58:11.330]  No, he can only make one-plus calls, not to 800s, not to 900s or anything else, and he's got to pay for those calls.
[58:11.590 --> 58:15.330]  What might work, local calls might be cheaper.
[58:15.450 --> 58:20.310]  We might be able to route something from a local number where he can dial out, but you know, that might be illegal in prison.
[58:20.590 --> 58:22.090]  You know, in the prison rules.
[58:22.310 --> 58:23.430]  So we don't want to get him in trouble.
[58:23.530 --> 58:24.530]  That's the last thing we want to do.
[58:24.830 --> 58:25.070]  Right.
[58:25.170 --> 58:28.450]  Well, I would assume that it should be easy to check, though.
[58:28.550 --> 58:28.950]  You know what I mean?
[58:29.070 --> 58:29.250]  Yeah.
[58:29.410 --> 58:30.330]  No, we are checking.
[58:30.410 --> 58:33.090]  He's only been in there for about a week, so yeah, we're looking into the new rules.
[58:33.290 --> 58:37.530]  Yeah, you dial into a local number and it repeats out of there to wherever he needs to go.
[58:37.670 --> 58:37.810]  Yeah.
[58:37.910 --> 58:39.370]  No, we are looking into that as a possibility.
[58:39.550 --> 58:40.070]  There you go.
[58:40.450 --> 58:40.730]  Okay.
[58:40.890 --> 58:41.330]  I like that.
[58:41.430 --> 58:41.590]  Thanks.
[58:41.850 --> 58:42.070]  Bye-bye.
[58:42.190 --> 58:42.470]  Take care.
[58:42.690 --> 58:45.510]  We're out of time, and Isaac, yes, your new area code might be 3-4-7.
[58:45.710 --> 58:46.450]  3-4-7.
[58:46.610 --> 58:47.570]  Or 7-1-8 area code.
[58:47.750 --> 58:49.050]  That's the split as of October 1st.
[58:49.050 --> 58:50.690]  I don't have anything in common except the 7.
[58:50.970 --> 58:52.370]  You at least keep the 6 and the 1.
[58:52.490 --> 58:54.150]  You know, someone brought this up to me.
[58:54.250 --> 58:56.630]  You know ISDN lines, how you have to program the spit in there?
[58:56.750 --> 58:56.910]  Yeah.
[58:57.070 --> 59:03.350]  Well, a lot of ISDN devices won't work after the area code splits because you have to program the new area codes in.
[59:03.950 --> 59:04.190]  Hmm.
[59:04.370 --> 59:04.550]  Yeah.
[59:04.830 --> 59:05.970]  People don't think about these things.
[59:06.570 --> 59:07.950]  But that's something to worry about.
[59:08.130 --> 59:09.050]  Something else to worry about.
[59:09.190 --> 59:12.030]  Something that will no doubt be panicking as Y2K approaches.
[59:13.130 --> 59:14.390]  That's the show for tonight.
[59:14.550 --> 59:15.270]  Emmanuel for Isaac.
[59:15.430 --> 59:15.870]  Have a good night.
[59:15.970 --> 59:16.450]  See you next week.
[59:16.690 --> 59:37.510]  The telephone keeps ringing So I ripped it off the wall I cut myself while shaving Now I can't make a call It couldn't get much worse But if they could, they would Bum, did they bom For the best, it's paid for worse I hope that's understood Bum, did they bom
[01:00:37.700 --> 01:01:00.900]  We want to thank and acknowledge all our listeners who made a pledge during our spring membership drive This is Valerie Van Nistel General Manager of WBAI and we especially appreciate your support during this difficult time for the station Your pledge helped us reach our goal That's why it's more important than ever before to keep your commitment to the station and pay your pledge today.
[01:01:01.340 --> 01:01:13.920]  Please mail your check or money order to WBAI Pacifica Radio, Post Office Box 11445, Church Street Station, New York, New York, 10277.
[01:01:14.180 --> 01:01:18.280]  And again, thank you from all of us at WBAI Radio.
[01:01:24.130 --> 01:01:25.010]  Thank you.