[00:02.440 --> 00:11.740]  In the midst of the sharpest rise in Medicare premiums in history, a program that pays monthly Medicare premiums for low-income seniors is set to expire.
[00:12.020 --> 00:16.760]  The bill for its reauthorization has passed in the Senate and is awaiting House approval.
[00:17.220 --> 00:21.680]  Dean Beebe of the Medicare Rights Center describes what the program currently covers.
[00:21.960 --> 00:34.080]  The premium that's deducted from Social Security checks every month to cover the cost of outpatient care, such as doctor services and outpatient hospital services and laboratory tests.
[00:34.720 --> 00:42.720]  And low-income people depend on this to help pay other health care expenses, such as their medications.
[00:43.080 --> 00:52.260]  The possibility of a potential end to the benefit that pays low-income seniors monthly premiums comes as Medicare doctor premiums have risen by 17 percent.
[00:52.600 --> 01:05.520]  Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi blames this largest premium increase ever on the Medicare prescription drug law that gave billions of dollars to HMOs and drug companies but failed to reduce prescription drug prices.
[01:05.560 --> 01:20.080]  If the qualifying individual, or QI1, program for low-income seniors is allowed to expire, low-income seniors will face a new premium cost of just under $1,000 per year, in addition to the increase in doctor premiums.
[01:20.240 --> 01:23.260]  Beebe does expect the House to pass this bill.
[01:23.260 --> 01:30.520]  We are hopeful that Congress members in the House will remember poor people with Medicare and extend QI1.
[01:30.740 --> 01:33.080]  Jenny Johnson, Free Speech Radio News.
[01:33.500 --> 01:38.500]  And now FSRN commentator Mumia Abu-Jamal from his cell on Pennsylvania's death row.
[01:38.740 --> 01:40.400]  This is Doctors for Sale.
[01:40.720 --> 01:48.100]  As we scan today's headlines, the news flashes about the recent scandal involving the arthritis drug Vioxx.
[01:48.100 --> 02:06.520]  When news stories revealed that the Food and Drug Administration failed to protect the health and indeed lives of thousands of Americans, many of whom suffered heart attacks, strokes, and even death as a result of Vioxx use, the question looms, where was the FDA?
[02:07.060 --> 02:08.200]  Where was the government?
[02:08.200 --> 02:22.680]  It appears that the government, academia, and many physicians were billying up to the cash window of many of the nation's major pharmaceutical companies and not protecting the health and welfare of the public.
[02:23.220 --> 02:34.780]  The answer lies in the offices of many of the members of Congress on Capitol Hill, where the interests of the wealthy drug companies take precedence over the lives and health of Americans.
[02:34.780 --> 02:49.760]  The answer also lies in the nation's newspapers and on broadcast cable TV stations, not because of the news reporting, but because of massive direct-to-consumer advertising known as DTC.
[02:50.400 --> 02:51.620]  You've seen the ads.
[02:51.800 --> 03:06.500]  They are masterpieces of subliminal seduction, a rustic, bucolic scene lit in soft, sun-swept pastels underscored by sweet violins, and even a hip, funky bass line occasionally.
[03:07.020 --> 03:11.800]  It draws you in, and a confident voice seems to confide in you.
[03:12.280 --> 03:13.560]  Having trouble sleeping?
[03:14.140 --> 03:15.620]  Add any other ailment.
[03:15.700 --> 03:16.240]  It doesn't matter.
[03:16.480 --> 03:24.540]  The soft, seductive voice suggests you tell your doctor about Viatrax, or some other new, improved super drug.
[03:24.540 --> 03:34.940]  It's time to take the poisonous profit motive out of the leading farm firms to treat people because they are people, not because they are wealthy.
[03:35.460 --> 03:40.940]  From Death Row, for Free Speech Radio News, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
[03:42.520 --> 03:46.480]  These commentaries are produced by Noelle Hanrahan for Prison Radio.
[03:49.420 --> 03:52.320]  You've been listening to Free Speech Radio News.
[03:52.480 --> 03:53.800]  I'm Aura Bogado.
[04:01.310 --> 04:05.770]  The telephone keeps ringing, so I ripped it off the wall.
[04:06.750 --> 04:11.290]  I cut myself while shaving, now I can't make a cough.
[04:11.950 --> 04:19.530]  We couldn't get much worse, but bum-dilly-bom, but the best is back the worst.
[04:20.150 --> 04:23.090]  I hope that's understood, bum-dilly-bom!
[04:26.450 --> 04:28.430]  And a very good evening to everybody.
[04:28.790 --> 04:31.490]  The program is off the hook, and are we on the air?
[04:31.490 --> 04:32.430]  Excellent.
[04:32.450 --> 04:33.130]  We're on the air.
[04:33.210 --> 04:33.730]  How about that?
[04:34.390 --> 04:41.330]  It's 21 minutes after 7 o'clock, and I guess a little explanation is in order for what's been going on for the last few hours.
[04:41.910 --> 04:46.230]  There was a massive fire on Wall Street underneath the earth.
[04:46.470 --> 04:52.270]  Yes, for some reason, something underground decided to explode last night and knock us off the air.
[04:52.270 --> 04:54.630]  Yes, that's the sole effect it had, apparently.
[04:54.930 --> 04:57.070]  And we've relocated to Midtown.
[04:57.330 --> 04:59.750]  We're in the fine studios of Sirius.
[04:59.950 --> 05:02.070]  We've moved to Sirius before Howard Stern.
[05:02.190 --> 05:02.770]  How do you like that?
[05:03.270 --> 05:08.130]  And we're broadcasting from this... I can't describe this place.
[05:08.250 --> 05:08.690]  It's unbelievable.
[05:08.690 --> 05:13.030]  We walked into this building, and there's just all these people broadcasting out of all these different rooms.
[05:13.610 --> 05:15.030]  It's simply mind-boggling.
[05:15.150 --> 05:17.410]  We're in the heart of the Sirius broadcasting empire.
[05:17.650 --> 05:18.890]  We're in a squash court.
[05:19.250 --> 05:20.430]  We're in a squash court?
[05:21.530 --> 05:22.810]  Maybe you're in a squash court.
[05:23.330 --> 05:24.530]  There are clear walls.
[05:24.730 --> 05:26.050]  I don't think your microphone is on.
[05:26.210 --> 05:26.890]  I don't think so either.
[05:26.970 --> 05:28.310]  Yeah, so then be quiet.
[05:29.030 --> 05:30.470]  Until all the microphones are turned on.
[05:31.270 --> 05:33.030]  All right, I think... now say your witty retort.
[05:33.030 --> 05:34.650]  I was saying we're in a squash court.
[05:34.810 --> 05:40.110]  There are clear walls on multiple sides of plastic or glass or whatever.
[05:40.410 --> 05:41.650]  Well, we can play later then.
[05:41.650 --> 05:42.030]  Okay.
[05:42.370 --> 05:46.210]  But anyway, we will be broadcasting out of here for the next...
[05:46.210 --> 05:51.690]  well, at least the next few hours, maybe longer, depending on how long it takes them to fix things down on Wall Street.
[05:52.310 --> 05:53.510]  So a lot of thanks.
[05:53.850 --> 05:57.410]  Congratulations are in order for all the people who have been working very hard to get this done.
[05:57.490 --> 06:00.950]  And I've watched people virtually build a radio station here in the last hour.
[06:01.330 --> 06:02.510]  So it's pretty unbelievable.
[06:02.610 --> 06:03.190]  We started late.
[06:03.270 --> 06:06.310]  We started at 721, so that means we'll be going until about 20 after 8.
[06:06.490 --> 06:08.230]  The personal computer show will be starting then.
[06:08.230 --> 06:11.830]  And hopefully the BAI schedule will be pretty much intact.
[06:12.550 --> 06:16.850]  Now, the next achievement we hope to make is to bring Bernie S.
[06:16.910 --> 06:18.410]  in from Philadelphia on the telephone.
[06:18.530 --> 06:19.370]  Bernie, are you there?
[06:20.730 --> 06:21.690]  I guess I'm here.
[06:21.830 --> 06:22.230]  That's him.
[06:22.330 --> 06:22.730]  That's his voice.
[06:22.790 --> 06:23.350]  I recognize him.
[06:23.430 --> 06:23.690]  Wow.
[06:23.930 --> 06:24.570]  It works.
[06:24.630 --> 06:24.990]  It's great.
[06:25.970 --> 06:26.770]  It's pretty amazing.
[06:27.030 --> 06:28.290]  Well, to you, it probably sounds the same.
[06:28.410 --> 06:30.910]  But to us, we're in a completely different environment.
[06:30.910 --> 06:33.350]  We're in the middle of Manhattan instead of the lower part of Manhattan.
[06:33.350 --> 06:35.070]  We call it the belly of the beast on Wall Street.
[06:35.190 --> 06:36.270]  This is the heart of the beast.
[06:36.590 --> 06:36.870]  Okay.
[06:38.530 --> 06:41.030]  It's really weird and crazy, but...
[06:41.030 --> 06:48.250]  Emmanuel, was this arranged at, you know, when all this fire disaster happened?
[06:48.250 --> 06:50.910]  Or was this a set-up, back-up plan in advance?
[06:51.290 --> 06:52.930]  Or how was this arranged?
[06:53.150 --> 06:56.830]  It's probably not wise to get into the details of that, exactly how this came about.
[06:56.990 --> 06:58.070]  But it just happened.
[06:58.070 --> 06:58.770]  Let's put it that way.
[06:58.890 --> 07:00.890]  It just somehow happened, and we're happy it did.
[07:00.890 --> 07:03.870]  But hopefully we sound okay.
[07:04.110 --> 07:07.030]  If there's any problems on the air, I'm sure our listeners will let us know.
[07:07.250 --> 07:08.790]  We'll be taking phone calls a little later.
[07:08.930 --> 07:13.610]  I neglected to write down the phone number that we're supposed to give out, but maybe one of our people can run in and get it.
[07:14.030 --> 07:14.630]  I'm sorry.
[07:14.730 --> 07:17.330]  But we'll be taking phone calls in about 20 minutes or so.
[07:18.310 --> 07:18.710]  Okay.
[07:18.710 --> 07:20.050]  So we have a lot of things to talk about.
[07:20.930 --> 07:25.970]  Again, the BAI schedule is about 20 minutes or about, yeah, 20 minutes behind.
[07:27.090 --> 07:30.250]  And we'll be catching up, slowly but surely.
[07:31.530 --> 07:31.970]  News.
[07:32.310 --> 07:33.330]  What's been going on?
[07:33.390 --> 07:35.610]  Anybody have anything for us before I start what I have?
[07:36.250 --> 07:37.410]  Mike, you look like you have something.
[07:37.690 --> 07:37.870]  No.
[07:38.070 --> 07:39.930]  I'm just ready to make a snide remark.
[07:40.170 --> 07:41.090]  You're leaning up to the microphone to say no.
[07:41.210 --> 07:41.370]  Okay.
[07:41.370 --> 07:41.730]  Fine.
[07:42.630 --> 07:43.630]  Well, let's see.
[07:43.790 --> 07:44.790]  We were talking about...
[07:44.790 --> 07:47.770]  Well, actually, let me update people on my court case, which took place today.
[07:49.210 --> 07:54.090]  I had another hearing in front of New York City court people, whatever.
[07:54.350 --> 07:59.690]  They called me 10 different times throughout the last two days with a recorded announcement that starts off in Spanish.
[07:59.690 --> 08:02.510]  So you don't know what they're saying if you don't know Spanish.
[08:03.750 --> 08:07.570]  And eventually, it plays out that you have to be at this particular place at this particular time.
[08:07.710 --> 08:09.930]  Ten times they left me this message on my voicemail.
[08:10.550 --> 08:11.390]  So I showed up.
[08:11.590 --> 08:12.570]  I would have showed up anyway.
[08:13.310 --> 08:20.570]  And basically, I just had to sit through a whole lot of other hearings, a lot of other people basically pleading and accepting deals and things like that.
[08:20.570 --> 08:27.630]  And finally, they got to me at about one o'clock or so, and they told me that I had to come back on November 29th.
[08:27.670 --> 08:29.810]  And I think that is when the trial will actually start.
[08:29.930 --> 08:31.310]  It's a Monday, November 29th.
[08:31.750 --> 08:33.950]  So if you have travel plans, cancel them.
[08:34.110 --> 08:34.670]  Come to the city.
[08:34.770 --> 08:35.530]  Be part of the trials.
[08:35.530 --> 08:37.670]  I'm told it's going to be interesting and fun.
[08:38.670 --> 08:41.410]  I went yesterday to another trial.
[08:41.550 --> 08:42.650]  You went to another trial?
[08:42.810 --> 08:47.470]  Of someone similarly situated to you, I guess, a bit further ahead in the process.
[08:47.670 --> 08:47.890]  Right.
[08:48.570 --> 08:52.590]  This gentleman had emailed us because he had a two-day trial.
[08:52.730 --> 09:04.770]  And the first day of the trial, which I did not attend, I guess the prosecution used your videotape in some vain attempt to place him at the scene of the crime.
[09:04.770 --> 09:08.550]  The problem is that the videotape showed him standing on the sidewalk observing.
[09:10.010 --> 09:14.930]  And so the result of this was that he was found not guilty as he was.
[09:15.150 --> 09:16.990]  So my videotape helped to exonerate someone.
[09:17.010 --> 09:19.250]  Well, he would have been exonerated anyway.
[09:19.530 --> 09:22.350]  Your videotape failed to help prosecute.
[09:23.870 --> 09:28.950]  This prosecutor, it was the ADA, the assistant district attorney.
[09:29.090 --> 09:30.170]  It was his first case ever.
[09:30.350 --> 09:32.250]  He was really, really eager.
[09:32.250 --> 09:35.570]  They had the police officer who had arrested him.
[09:36.450 --> 09:38.530]  English was clearly not his first language.
[09:38.890 --> 09:45.270]  And so he was a little bit confused about the meanings of words like incident.
[09:45.850 --> 09:49.170]  And the time, the officer had...
[09:49.170 --> 09:50.430]  Was it the prosecutor or the policeman?
[09:50.690 --> 09:51.270]  The policeman.
[09:51.690 --> 09:51.850]  Okay.
[09:51.850 --> 09:57.350]  The prosecutor was really eager, but the judge was like, kind of had to tell him what to do.
[09:58.710 --> 09:59.670]  It was on...
[09:59.670 --> 10:04.910]  It was not the New York City prosecutorial whatever's finest moment.
[10:05.050 --> 10:05.890]  Well, you don't know that.
[10:06.950 --> 10:08.210]  It very well could have been.
[10:08.270 --> 10:10.410]  Well, if it was, we're in good hands.
[10:11.030 --> 10:15.790]  Well, in any event, in about two weeks, a little less than two weeks, I'll be going through the process.
[10:15.790 --> 10:21.830]  And I got to tell you, I'm not at all worried about it because, you know, I know what particular state I'm in.
[10:21.930 --> 10:23.490]  I know about the evidence that's on my side.
[10:23.610 --> 10:25.090]  And I know the evidence that they don't have.
[10:25.310 --> 10:27.050]  The whole thing is a big waste of time.
[10:28.130 --> 10:32.670]  And I think it's very important that people stand up when they're accused of something unjustly.
[10:33.270 --> 10:35.890]  So, we'll have more on that when that happens.
[10:37.650 --> 10:38.790]  Bernie, are you trying to say something?
[10:38.910 --> 10:39.830]  Because I keep hearing noises.
[10:40.950 --> 10:43.030]  They must be noises over at the serious end.
[10:43.190 --> 10:44.530]  I'm quite quiet over here.
[10:44.610 --> 10:45.150]  You're quite quiet.
[10:45.250 --> 10:45.430]  All right.
[10:45.490 --> 10:46.410]  Yeah, it might be different noises.
[10:48.250 --> 10:55.330]  Well, we had a lot of mail about the airline incidents that we've been reporting the past few weeks.
[10:56.030 --> 11:01.070]  Basically, people being subjected to extended searches like I was a couple of weeks ago.
[11:02.070 --> 11:05.750]  And a couple of people wrote in with some very interesting bits of information.
[11:07.790 --> 11:14.210]  Melissa, the caller from Brooklyn, this is a letter, seems to be on to something as it relates to the letter S on her ticket from U.S.
[11:14.290 --> 11:14.570]  Air.
[11:14.790 --> 11:20.730]  I purchased three tickets last January from Delta Airlines from Atlanta to Rome for our family vacation.
[11:20.970 --> 11:22.710]  I paid for them all at the same time.
[11:23.030 --> 11:27.890]  At the airport, we were handed our boarding passes by the agent at the Delta desk and told to proceed to security.
[11:27.890 --> 11:32.310]  We all went through security, but only my 16-year-old son was taken out and thoroughly checked.
[11:32.570 --> 11:39.210]  I asked the TSA agent to explain what triggers the search, and he indirectly told me to compare all of our boarding passes.
[11:39.630 --> 11:46.210]  My son's boarding pass had six S's across the top right of the large part, and the bottom of the piece you get back before boarding the plane.
[11:46.310 --> 11:52.810]  In fact, when returning from Rome, both my son and I had the S on our passes, and sure enough, both of us were checked at security.
[11:52.810 --> 12:02.330]  It appears that the airlines and the TSA have decided the S, which could stand for search, suspect, or sucker, is their little special code to harass travelers.
[12:04.010 --> 12:04.890]  Signed, Nachista.
[12:05.130 --> 12:07.150]  I will never go to Celebration, Florida again.
[12:07.670 --> 12:08.110]  Okay.
[12:08.730 --> 12:10.230]  And another letter on the same subject.
[12:10.470 --> 12:12.090]  Two things will get you flagged for sure.
[12:12.090 --> 12:17.310]  If you purchase a ticket only a day or two before the flight, definitely less than 48 hours advance purchase will trigger the system.
[12:18.130 --> 12:21.530]  Also, purchasing a ticket with cash at any time will get you selected.
[12:22.810 --> 12:22.950]  You're right.
[12:23.050 --> 12:31.930]  When a passenger is flagged for special screening, the boarding pass is dispensed with four S's printed on it in two places, one on the stub for the passenger, one on the part the airline keeps.
[12:32.090 --> 12:34.170]  This is how the security people know whom to hassle.
[12:34.310 --> 12:38.750]  The question I can't answer is what, in addition to what I had mentioned, can get a passenger flagged.
[12:38.790 --> 12:44.550]  For sure, there are other formulas the airlines, cooperating with the government, of course, use to flag passengers based on available data.
[12:44.550 --> 12:53.190]  A friend of mine who works at United tells me the company admits that it uses passenger data to flag customers and that other than the two formulas I mentioned, it won't say a thing about the others.
[12:53.470 --> 13:01.910]  United claims that an agent at the ticket counter cannot flag a passenger, which I think is untrue, and that some selections are simply random, signed Nick.
[13:02.050 --> 13:08.530]  Well, I went and I looked at my boarding pass from JetBlue, and sure enough, at the bottom, look at that, a little row of S's.
[13:08.530 --> 13:11.590]  I've got S's on my boarding pass, and I was searched.
[13:12.270 --> 13:15.490]  Now, the interesting thing about this is that boarding pass came out of a computer.
[13:15.670 --> 13:17.190]  It was not issued by a human being.
[13:17.350 --> 13:22.790]  I simply entered my confirmation code, and this thing was spit out.
[13:22.950 --> 13:24.170]  Now, it happened to me twice.
[13:24.350 --> 13:28.310]  It happened to me both in New York, at JFK, and at Long Beach on the way back.
[13:29.230 --> 13:31.150]  So, why was I flagged twice?
[13:31.330 --> 13:32.170]  Jim, you seem to have a theory.
[13:32.170 --> 13:32.530]  I have a question.
[13:32.610 --> 13:33.170]  I have a question.
[13:33.710 --> 13:34.790]  That's your boarding pass.
[13:34.930 --> 13:36.610]  The other part, was there another part to that ticket?
[13:36.790 --> 13:37.990]  I think that's the part they took.
[13:38.530 --> 13:38.910]  Oh, okay.
[13:38.950 --> 13:43.950]  I was just wondering, because that S is way in the lower right, and you could theoretically tear it off.
[13:44.330 --> 13:44.950]  You could.
[13:45.170 --> 13:45.750]  You certainly could.
[13:45.850 --> 13:51.150]  But the interesting thing is that the person that you handed to took one look at it and said, okay, you go over there.
[13:51.290 --> 13:52.790]  And I thought it was incredibly fast.
[13:52.790 --> 13:55.270]  She judged us very quickly, and my friend must have had one as well.
[13:55.530 --> 13:59.530]  Now, I can accept it being a random incident, but it did happen twice.
[13:59.530 --> 14:00.970]  It happened on the way back as well.
[14:01.150 --> 14:02.950]  So, that seems a little odd to me.
[14:03.050 --> 14:04.430]  So, where am I flagged?
[14:04.430 --> 14:10.410]  Maybe they flag you once for whatever reason, and then you go into a higher probability pool.
[14:10.570 --> 14:12.630]  Not a definite pick-em-out-of-the-line-up pool.
[14:12.730 --> 14:17.350]  And my other question is, isn't this incredibly stupid?
[14:17.350 --> 14:23.210]  If you are a terrorist, and you notice you have S's on your boarding pass, maybe you'll say, this isn't a good day to try it.
[14:23.210 --> 14:25.110]  I'll try it some other time when there aren't any S's.
[14:25.710 --> 14:30.350]  I mean, if you're going to do something, if you're going to target people, announcing it on the boarding pass?
[14:31.730 --> 14:32.050]  Emmanuel?
[14:32.650 --> 14:33.290]  Red Hack first.
[14:33.550 --> 14:39.550]  I was just going to say, I mean, it seems with the person who wrote in, on the way there, only her son had it on the way back.
[14:40.170 --> 14:41.070]  She had it as well.
[14:41.170 --> 14:41.930]  So, it could be random.
[14:42.030 --> 14:45.030]  I mean, it's probably based on passenger data, but it also could be random.
[14:45.370 --> 14:52.170]  I think, I don't remember what country it was, but there used to be a country where when you'd get on a plane, you'd press a button, and if the light turned green, you could go through.
[14:53.310 --> 14:55.990]  They'd search you, and that was like their random searching system.
[14:56.170 --> 15:01.570]  And it could be the same way with the S's, you know, when the computer prints the pass, prints out on random tickets.
[15:01.570 --> 15:06.750]  I would believe it was random if it happened to different people, but it seems to happen to the same people so often.
[15:06.970 --> 15:08.790]  That's the thing that makes me really wonder about this.
[15:08.810 --> 15:09.190]  Yes, Bernie?
[15:09.630 --> 15:26.510]  Well, I'm not advocating this, of course, and I can't see your boarding pass, but would those S's be, could they be easily obfuscated with a like-colored label that's like blank, but colored the same as the background color of the...
[15:26.510 --> 15:37.050]  It could be, but, you know, I think because they're looking specifically in that area, any oddity at all in the bottom right, in this particular case in the bottom right, might lead you to be interrogated even further.
[15:37.170 --> 15:42.990]  But if anyone has a JetBlue pass out there, go look at the bottom and tell me if you have S's down there and if you weren't searched.
[15:43.430 --> 15:43.730]  All right?
[15:43.790 --> 15:47.490]  Always save your boarding passes so that we can compare them during discussions like this.
[15:47.630 --> 15:51.350]  And let's not forget that JetBlue was the first U.S.
[15:51.410 --> 16:01.770]  airline, I believe, to share private airline passenger data with the federal government against their own privacy policy and in secret.
[16:02.290 --> 16:03.050]  That's correct.
[16:03.330 --> 16:04.070]  Redbird is also here.
[16:04.210 --> 16:07.650]  Now, what happens with the boarding passes with magnetic stripes?
[16:07.930 --> 16:09.850]  Is there anything different on those?
[16:09.990 --> 16:10.510]  I don't know.
[16:10.710 --> 16:11.450]  We can check.
[16:11.650 --> 16:14.950]  See, this one doesn't have a magnetic stripe because it just got spit out of a machine.
[16:15.090 --> 16:15.990]  It looks very cheap.
[16:16.090 --> 16:18.890]  It's, you know, it's not even cardboard or anything like that.
[16:18.890 --> 16:25.050]  But, yeah, if we have a way of reading the magnetic stripe on a boarding pass, that would yield some fascinating information, I think.
[16:25.530 --> 16:25.930]  Absolutely.
[16:27.690 --> 16:31.770]  Redbird, as long as you're here, we have some updates on the MetroCard project.
[16:32.510 --> 16:35.690]  This is just basically another request for information and...
[16:35.690 --> 16:36.210]  But we are learning.
[16:36.310 --> 16:36.970]  We're learning some things.
[16:36.990 --> 16:37.730]  We are learning, yes.
[16:38.270 --> 16:40.330]  We'll be more specific as to what we're looking for.
[16:41.530 --> 16:51.550]  On the receipts themselves, if you notice on receipts from MVMs or MEMs, which are MetroCard express machines...
[16:51.550 --> 16:52.510]  Hang on, hang on.
[16:53.090 --> 16:54.150]  MVM and MEM.
[16:54.550 --> 16:54.770]  Right.
[16:55.130 --> 16:58.550]  MVM are the big MetroCard vending machines that accept everything now.
[16:58.570 --> 16:59.750]  The big, huge machines in every station.
[16:59.870 --> 17:00.010]  Okay.
[17:00.270 --> 17:02.810]  And the MEMs are the express machines, which only take credit cards.
[17:02.890 --> 17:03.170]  Got it.
[17:03.790 --> 17:13.450]  Now, on the receipts, each MEM or MVM has a unique identifier, and you can actually find those on the machines themselves.
[17:13.710 --> 17:24.510]  But what's also printed on the receipts are the station identification number, I guess, of some sort, and then another four-digit identifier after that, which I'm not exactly sure what that is.
[17:24.630 --> 17:26.390]  Can you give us an example of one station, perhaps?
[17:26.490 --> 17:27.030]  Sure, an example.
[17:27.170 --> 17:29.310]  This is 175th Street in Fort Washington.
[17:29.310 --> 17:42.710]  The MEM number, one of the... I think there is only one, but the MEM there is 5274, and then I guess the station would be N010, and then there's another 0701 tag there, and I'm not exactly sure what that is.
[17:42.710 --> 17:46.310]  I was looking at that, and there seem to be a lot of 0701s and 0700s.
[17:46.910 --> 17:47.050]  Right.
[17:47.070 --> 17:48.430]  They're common across a lot of receipts.
[17:48.810 --> 17:49.050]  Uh-huh.
[17:49.630 --> 17:51.670]  It could be some kind of firmware revision.
[17:51.770 --> 17:55.050]  It could be some kind of, you know, machine identifier.
[17:55.450 --> 17:55.970]  I really don't know.
[17:56.070 --> 17:56.970]  Maybe a method of purchase.
[17:57.970 --> 17:58.330]  Possibly.
[17:58.330 --> 17:59.130]  That's a good idea.
[17:59.270 --> 17:59.970]  It could be that.
[18:00.610 --> 18:02.750]  So basically what we're doing is we're looking at the receipts.
[18:02.930 --> 18:06.130]  Whenever you buy a MetroCard, get a receipt, and there's all kinds of numbers on there.
[18:06.230 --> 18:10.470]  We're trying to figure out what all those numbers mean, because they all seem to be rather interesting in some way.
[18:10.550 --> 18:12.070]  And there's also another one there called, what, type?
[18:12.070 --> 18:12.250]  Right.
[18:12.330 --> 18:13.510]  It's the card type.
[18:13.670 --> 18:13.950]  Card type.
[18:13.970 --> 18:15.710]  And there's a bunch that we've gathered so far.
[18:16.310 --> 18:17.450]  I'll read you some examples.
[18:17.950 --> 18:19.170]  000 would be full fare.
[18:20.290 --> 18:21.990]  023 would be a one-day unlimited.
[18:22.210 --> 18:23.730]  024 would be a seven-day unlimited.
[18:24.750 --> 18:26.410]  026 would be a 30-day unlimited.
[18:26.410 --> 18:29.010]  And if you notice, there's a gap between the seven-day and the 30-day.
[18:29.210 --> 18:29.390]  Yeah.
[18:29.790 --> 18:35.450]  And that could be because they were possibly thinking of an intermediate unlimited pass, but I haven't seen any.
[18:35.710 --> 18:37.510]  And I don't know of any that exists.
[18:37.690 --> 18:39.490]  What about the seven-day express bus pass?
[18:39.950 --> 18:40.890]  Ah, I don't know.
[18:41.130 --> 18:41.790]  I haven't...
[18:41.790 --> 18:42.890]  Seven-day express...
[18:42.890 --> 18:44.710]  Oh, boy, okay, yeah, we've got to get one of those now.
[18:44.930 --> 18:46.610]  And a 30-day express bus pass.
[18:46.730 --> 18:47.710]  They don't make those anymore.
[18:47.810 --> 18:48.170]  Oh, they don't?
[18:48.290 --> 18:48.450]  No.
[18:48.990 --> 18:51.450]  Okay, well, and then 029 air train.
[18:51.670 --> 18:56.230]  And then there's a bunch of numbers from the old $1.50 fares, which are different than the new $2 fares.
[18:56.330 --> 19:00.870]  That would be 056 for a one-day, 057 for a seven-day, and 059 for a 30-day.
[19:00.950 --> 19:01.810]  And again, there's that gap.
[19:02.310 --> 19:05.370]  The single-ride passes are also different for the two different fares.
[19:05.370 --> 19:22.490]  The old single-ride $1.50 fare type is 062, and the new one is 087, so that's more information that we're looking for if anyone has receipts of any types that I haven't mentioned or knows where we can possibly get a database of any of these numbers, you know,
[19:22.830 --> 19:31.950]  the MEM, MVM numbers, the station ID numbers, which is what I'm assuming the second set of digits is, or the car type numbers.
[19:33.070 --> 19:35.350]  Okay, and if you have information to share with us, we'll see you next time.
[19:35.350 --> 19:39.310]  By email, write to us at OTH at 2600.com.
[19:39.590 --> 19:44.230]  If you have actual MetroCards, have we gotten a single MetroCard from anyone in New York?
[19:44.690 --> 19:44.930]  No.
[19:45.110 --> 19:46.330]  We've gotten a lot from Chicago.
[19:46.330 --> 19:47.310]  We got a U-Pass.
[19:47.450 --> 19:48.830]  Thank you so much for sending us a U-Pass.
[19:48.930 --> 19:49.870]  It has someone's picture on it.
[19:49.990 --> 19:51.270]  But we haven't gotten a single one.
[19:51.330 --> 19:52.470]  We especially are interested...
[19:52.470 --> 19:55.570]  I know this sounds horrible, but we're interested in senior citizen MetroCards.
[19:55.850 --> 19:57.510]  You know, we're not asking you to give up your MetroCard.
[19:57.570 --> 20:06.510]  We're asking you to, if you don't need it anymore, or if you've got a new one or something like that, send us the old one so we can look at numbers on the back of it and look for anything weird.
[20:06.710 --> 20:06.850]  Right.
[20:06.970 --> 20:08.070]  Old student passes as well.
[20:08.170 --> 20:08.910]  Old student passes.
[20:09.130 --> 20:12.790]  Please send them to us, because this is how we learn information, and we will be sharing all this information.
[20:13.510 --> 20:15.430]  Send that to 2600 P.O.
[20:15.470 --> 20:19.710]  Box 99, Middle Island, New York, 11953.
[20:21.810 --> 20:30.510]  We have more news about radio-related things, including, since we're here at Sirius Broadcasting right now, seriously, I can't believe we're here.
[20:30.690 --> 20:31.230]  It's unbelievable.
[20:31.410 --> 20:31.870]  This is what...
[20:31.870 --> 20:38.110]  I don't want to say real radio, because I think BAI is as real radio as you can get, but this is what, I guess, corporate radio is all about.
[20:38.690 --> 20:41.130]  There are so many little studios here.
[20:41.330 --> 20:42.250]  Yeah, I was...
[20:42.250 --> 20:44.070]  When we were walking in, there was just like little...
[20:44.070 --> 20:48.770]  smaller than a cubicle-sized studios with someone just sitting there with a mic, and I guess a computer.
[20:48.930 --> 20:50.170]  It was weird.
[20:50.350 --> 20:52.070]  Yeah, each one of those is a different channel.
[20:52.250 --> 20:53.710]  Very well soundproof, though.
[20:53.970 --> 20:54.170]  Yeah.
[20:54.410 --> 20:55.770]  But we're not a channel on Sirius.
[20:55.950 --> 20:59.250]  We're a radio station that's supposed to be downtown, but we're in Midtown right now.
[21:00.150 --> 21:01.290]  And why is that?
[21:01.390 --> 21:02.830]  Well, I happen to have an AP story.
[21:03.010 --> 21:10.910]  A manhole fire on Wall Street knocked radio station WBAI-FM off the air for several hours Wednesday and interrupted phone service for about 150 customers.
[21:11.310 --> 21:12.310]  150 customers?
[21:12.330 --> 21:12.810]  That's it?
[21:13.290 --> 21:14.250]  That's not that many.
[21:14.710 --> 21:19.390]  In the Lower Manhattan Financial District, authorities said, the fire began around 4 a.m.
[21:19.470 --> 21:27.890]  in a manhole near WBAI Studios at 120 Wall Street, and the station wasn't able to get back on the air until 1.20 p.m., according to a statement on its website.
[21:28.350 --> 21:32.310]  Crews from both Consolidated Edison and Verizon were on the scene following the fire.
[21:32.510 --> 21:36.850]  No customers reported power outages due to the fire, said ConEd spokesman Chris O'Lert.
[21:37.490 --> 21:44.750]  About 150 phone customers were affected and could be without service for several days, said Verizon spokesman Daniel Diaz-Zapata.
[21:45.350 --> 21:47.910]  Our network is fine, said Diaz-Zapata.
[21:48.110 --> 21:50.910]  Some individual customers were impacted, but nothing major.
[21:51.150 --> 21:51.970]  How do you like that?
[21:52.110 --> 21:52.710]  Nothing major.
[21:52.890 --> 21:56.330]  WBAI knocked off the air, but in the eyes of Verizon, that's nothing major.
[21:56.790 --> 21:57.230]  Well...
[21:57.230 --> 21:57.350]  Hello, Emmanuel.
[21:57.350 --> 21:58.350]  What's that, Bernie?
[21:58.650 --> 21:59.770]  If this had been...
[21:59.770 --> 22:09.650]  If this fire had been in a manhole, under a manhole cover next to the FBI office, and they were knocked off, there'd be like an orange or red terror alert.
[22:10.250 --> 22:10.870]  That's right.
[22:10.970 --> 22:11.350]  That's right.
[22:12.210 --> 22:16.050]  So why would that be any less big a deal as VAI?
[22:16.050 --> 22:20.310]  I think it's actually more important that VAI got knocked off the air than the FBI did, frankly.
[22:20.310 --> 22:30.190]  Well, one thing that was affected was our report to the listener wasn't on the air today, and that has to be rescheduled, and we'll be announcing that in a little bit as to when that's going to be on the air again.
[22:31.330 --> 22:34.090]  But, yeah, we had to scramble, and we did.
[22:34.870 --> 22:35.710]  Our network is fine.
[22:35.790 --> 22:36.470]  Okay, I read that part already.
[22:36.570 --> 22:45.730]  Although Verizon crews planned to work around the clock, the severity of the damage and the limited space for workers in the manholes could extend the repair work over several days, the spokesman said.
[22:46.610 --> 22:49.710]  WBAI said both its phone and cable lines were knocked out by the fire.
[22:49.990 --> 22:52.190]  The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
[22:52.510 --> 22:55.150]  WBAI relocated its broadcast to a midtown Manhattan studio.
[22:55.150 --> 22:55.950]  How'd they know that?
[22:56.330 --> 22:58.330]  Until full service is restored downtown.
[22:58.610 --> 23:00.270]  We only just did it an hour ago.
[23:00.490 --> 23:05.710]  There was some other midtown Manhattan studio that they were using earlier in the day, and it was announced on the website.
[23:05.850 --> 23:06.910]  We've been in three studios today.
[23:07.930 --> 23:13.870]  WBAI is a listener-supported operation that bills itself as, quote, your peace and justice community radio station, unquote.
[23:13.870 --> 23:15.930]  Quote, they sound like they don't believe us.
[23:17.030 --> 23:17.670]  All right.
[23:18.190 --> 23:22.570]  Here's a letter from listener Danny, who actually is in the studio somewhere today.
[23:22.910 --> 23:32.870]  I noticed that WLIW's BBC feed, yes, that's right, of the RNC convention in New York City, was about 45 seconds behind that of the local stations.
[23:32.870 --> 23:40.030]  I'm accustomed to a second or so difference between channels due to satellite bounce relay and or compression delays, but 45 seconds was way too weird.
[23:40.410 --> 23:43.470]  Even an Earth bounce would only have been five or so seconds.
[23:44.430 --> 23:53.270]  So, anyway, Danny wrote to WLIW, and they wrote back saying, Hi, Danny, the BBC feeds are delayed 29 to 35 seconds due to the underwrites at the head of the program.
[23:53.810 --> 23:58.190]  Even though it reflects a live broadcast of the moment, it is put on a server to make room for the lead-in.
[23:58.370 --> 24:00.090]  I hope that gives you an answer to your question.
[24:00.090 --> 24:02.410]  It's all about thanking the corporations.
[24:02.770 --> 24:03.230]  Uh-huh.
[24:03.230 --> 24:15.450]  And, Danny, if you're listening, you know, I hope that since you know somebody over there at WLIW or have contacted somebody, maybe you could also ask them if they know why we can't get the full BBC feed in this country.
[24:16.130 --> 24:24.790]  You know, WLIW somehow controls all the PBS stations in the country when they see BBC news in the morning or in the evening.
[24:25.050 --> 24:27.470]  You'll notice at the beginning it says WLIW presents.
[24:27.470 --> 24:29.450]  I'm not sure what they have to do in order to present this.
[24:29.590 --> 24:31.410]  It's a feed that just comes over the satellite.
[24:31.550 --> 24:32.630]  You just have to turn it on.
[24:33.110 --> 24:36.070]  My question is, why can't we get the full feed?
[24:36.190 --> 24:50.730]  Why can't we be watching programs like Hard Talk and Reporters and all these other great things that are on 24 hours a day that the rest of the world sees that make you think, make you think about the United States as seen from the rest of the world?
[24:51.030 --> 24:53.730]  It's not such a bad thing to know what other countries think of you.
[24:54.210 --> 24:59.510]  And on that subject, something I mentioned on the other radio show, there's going to be a change at CNN.
[25:00.210 --> 25:03.490]  There's a channel called CNNFN, CNN Financial News.
[25:03.490 --> 25:04.050]  You've heard of it.
[25:04.430 --> 25:05.750]  They're going out of business.
[25:05.750 --> 25:09.070]  I guess they didn't follow their own advice too well.
[25:09.710 --> 25:15.750]  And when they go out of business, there's a possibility that that channel will be replaced by a channel called CNN International.
[25:16.410 --> 25:25.750]  It is extremely important, in my opinion, that people write to their or call their satellite companies and their cable companies and demand, demand that that channel be carried.
[25:25.870 --> 25:31.950]  Because that channel is not quite as good as BBC World, but it is certainly much better than anything domestic that you get here.
[25:32.070 --> 25:39.310]  There's a big difference where you'll see Larry King live four times in one night interviewing, you know, somebody who wants new Princess Diana.
[25:39.310 --> 25:45.770]  Over there, you'll actually see a live report from someplace in the world about some breaking news story that won't even be reported on the domestic news.
[25:46.270 --> 25:46.750]  All right?
[25:46.830 --> 25:51.410]  So you have an opportunity to actually make a difference and get them to carry this channel.
[25:51.510 --> 25:56.630]  And then you'll be able to have a place to go and at least see something that reflects a different perspective.
[25:56.850 --> 25:58.930]  Because CNN has offices all throughout the world.
[25:59.010 --> 26:02.330]  They broadcast a different feed to the rest of the world than they do to the United States.
[26:02.490 --> 26:05.650]  If you've ever gone to their website, it's like two different worlds.
[26:05.790 --> 26:06.090]  That's right.
[26:06.150 --> 26:08.030]  Go to international versus U.S.
[26:08.030 --> 26:09.590]  Yeah, the questions that they ask.
[26:09.750 --> 26:12.290]  I remember one thing that sticks out.
[26:13.190 --> 26:16.490]  When there was protests in Spain, I believe it was.
[26:16.610 --> 26:17.450]  If you went to the U.S.
[26:17.510 --> 26:20.070]  site, it said, you know, some protesters come out in Spain.
[26:20.190 --> 26:20.750]  It was just a picture.
[26:20.870 --> 26:22.050]  You could see like four or five people.
[26:22.250 --> 26:24.590]  Then if you went to the international page, it was talking about the protests.
[26:24.670 --> 26:29.810]  And it was just, it was like the same picture, but zoomed out so that you could see thousands and thousands of people.
[26:30.190 --> 26:32.130]  And so I thought that was interesting.
[26:32.310 --> 26:36.930]  And, you know, even with the pictures, they'll do different parts of the same shot.
[26:36.930 --> 26:40.110]  And it'll give you a completely different feel for the whole story.
[26:40.270 --> 26:41.410]  It's a different editorial board.
[26:41.750 --> 26:44.870]  And they ask the little question of the day in the United States.
[26:44.970 --> 26:47.110]  It'll be, so what's the fashion statement of the year?
[26:47.210 --> 26:56.450]  And over the international section, it'll be, so you think the United States is right to go to war in this particular country this week.
[26:56.650 --> 26:58.150]  It'll be something a little bit more important.
[26:58.470 --> 27:00.070]  Not always, but most of the time.
[27:00.070 --> 27:08.470]  So anyway, if you have digital cable or you have satellite, please call your provider and ask them to replace CNN FM with CNN International.
[27:08.590 --> 27:09.610]  That will be happening in December.
[27:09.670 --> 27:14.770]  Or they'll just replace it with another shopping channel or religious channel or something worse.
[27:15.710 --> 27:16.690]  Okay, what else?
[27:16.810 --> 27:18.930]  Here's a letter from Meatwad.
[27:19.190 --> 27:21.150]  I was waiting for Meatwad to write to us.
[27:22.070 --> 27:26.270]  This concerns Rebel's question about tonal differences across radio stations.
[27:26.270 --> 27:32.150]  I'm convinced that many commercial radio stations are slightly speeding up songs so that they can run longer and longer commercials.
[27:32.310 --> 27:34.630]  Am I just paranoid or is this something that happens?
[27:35.050 --> 27:35.570]  Jim?
[27:35.810 --> 27:40.250]  This is something that's been going on for quite some time on television and radio.
[27:41.150 --> 27:45.190]  They've sped up many a TV show, notably movies.
[27:46.730 --> 27:50.490]  You can do it so that they delete tiny bits of each scene.
[27:50.630 --> 28:02.250]  Not enough so that you lose the continuity of the visual and not enough that you lose enough sound to make a difference in your understanding of it.
[28:02.350 --> 28:14.610]  But enough so that if you do this over the course of a little bit every minute or every few seconds, you can make 30 seconds or a minute out of an hour to put another commercial.
[28:14.610 --> 28:20.530]  I believe if you look at the beginning of a film that's affected or a TV program that's affected, it'll say time compressed.
[28:20.810 --> 28:20.950]  Right.
[28:21.150 --> 28:22.990]  Usually they do say that, yes.
[28:23.110 --> 28:26.390]  But, you know, they've also been doing this on radio stations for decades.
[28:26.390 --> 28:33.490]  I remember when I was a kid, I listened to one station in Connecticut, and I swear every other song sounded much faster than the song beforehand.
[28:34.030 --> 28:43.050]  And, you know, I was wondering if I was going nuts, but later I found out there was a practice where if you did that, you'd gain something like a minute every few hours.
[28:43.250 --> 28:45.590]  And you could sell that minute for commercials and make more money.
[28:45.970 --> 28:48.250]  And that's simply speeding up a song.
[28:48.410 --> 28:50.210]  So I imagine that still goes on to this day.
[28:50.630 --> 28:53.530]  There's a piece of equipment that's marketed to radio stations.
[28:53.550 --> 28:56.750]  I forget the exact name of it, but it's something like the money machine.
[28:56.750 --> 28:59.130]  It's basically what it's called.
[28:59.470 --> 29:10.590]  And like you said, Emmanuel, what it does is it speeds up the whole song or spoken word program or whatever it is by a few percent.
[29:10.890 --> 29:15.530]  So you don't really notice it, and it downshifts the frequency so it doesn't sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks.
[29:15.730 --> 29:18.650]  And most people don't notice it, but they get a few seconds.
[29:19.910 --> 29:22.230]  Well, they might get a second or so out of every minute.
[29:22.290 --> 29:26.070]  You add it up over an hour or over a day's time, and they can sell more advertising.
[29:26.070 --> 29:27.510]  And thus, they call it the money machine.
[29:28.870 --> 29:35.330]  I first noticed this many years ago watching an original Star Trek episode, which was, you know, in rerun.
[29:35.510 --> 29:38.350]  And I don't know, this was like five or ten years ago.
[29:38.430 --> 29:43.170]  And I just noticed, wait a second, Captain Kirk is moving around faster than he normally moves.
[29:43.430 --> 29:45.130]  It looked like he was on speed or something.
[29:45.350 --> 29:50.690]  And there were no pauses between his sentences like there normally was, no pregnant pauses.
[29:51.570 --> 29:55.430]  And they were chomping all these little seconds out here and there, fractions of a second.
[29:55.430 --> 29:58.770]  And probably squeezing a few minutes out of the hour show.
[29:58.910 --> 29:59.310]  It was amazing.
[29:59.830 --> 30:03.910]  We have another letter from someone on the subject of tone changes on the radio.
[30:04.170 --> 30:13.650]  While it is true that commercial radio stations make great use of compression in their broadcast signal chain, this primarily affects the dynamics and not the tone of the material.
[30:14.050 --> 30:18.650]  Another device known as an aural exciter is the culprit responsible for the tone change.
[30:18.650 --> 30:28.150]  These devices perform a variety of functions on an audio signal, which, when used properly, can add sparkle, detail, and clarity, as well as a greater perceived volume to recorded material.
[30:28.310 --> 30:32.450]  However, when used incorrectly, an exciter basically becomes a high-frequency distortion box.
[30:32.910 --> 30:37.310]  Today's pop music already undergoes a viciously aggressive mastering process before it's put on a CD.
[30:37.730 --> 30:43.330]  Anything more which is put on it by a radio station is overkill and ends up detracting from and not enhancing the recording.
[30:43.730 --> 30:47.190]  Also, it's too bad you didn't receive the warmest welcome when you visited Halifax.
[30:47.750 --> 30:48.030]  Halifax.
[30:48.030 --> 30:49.290]  Unfortunately, I was out of town at the time.
[30:49.430 --> 30:52.110]  Otherwise, I would have come out to meet you, signed Steve from Halifax.
[30:52.250 --> 30:53.490]  What's with all the Halifax people?
[30:53.850 --> 30:55.190]  Apologism to us, like, months later.
[30:55.390 --> 30:56.890]  You know, I'm getting a little fed up now.
[30:57.430 --> 31:01.550]  I'm very perturbed that everybody seemed to take vacation in Halifax when we went there.
[31:01.650 --> 31:02.890]  You and I, Mike, we were there.
[31:03.190 --> 31:04.470]  We went on this radio program.
[31:04.570 --> 31:05.570]  We said, is anyone in Halifax?
[31:05.630 --> 31:06.650]  We're going to meet you at this place.
[31:06.670 --> 31:07.370]  We'll buy you dinner.
[31:07.530 --> 31:08.650]  We offered to buy them dinner.
[31:08.770 --> 31:11.850]  And, of course, they did not even stay in town.
[31:11.910 --> 31:13.710]  They didn't cancel their travel plans and come back.
[31:14.230 --> 31:15.290]  We'll just have to do it again.
[31:15.290 --> 31:17.650]  Well, at least the Canadians are nice enough to apologize.
[31:17.930 --> 31:23.090]  I mean, you've gone to many cities in the States and found no one, and you never get nice letters.
[31:23.510 --> 31:24.170]  That's right.
[31:25.490 --> 31:26.870]  And one final story.
[31:27.090 --> 31:28.650]  The NAB withdrew...
[31:28.650 --> 31:29.630]  One final radio story, that is.
[31:29.710 --> 31:36.970]  The NAB withdrew its petition that requested the FCC prohibits satellite radio from broadcasting local traffic and weather services.
[31:37.310 --> 31:41.310]  With this action from the NAB, satellite radio now has no content restrictions.
[31:42.170 --> 31:50.930]  In the organization's formal request to dismiss the petition, the NAB stated the FCC at this time cannot paint the full picture of the effect on localism and local broadcasters.
[31:51.370 --> 31:59.350]  NAB believes the commission should not decide this issue without a full understanding of how this service is developing and what its true impact will be.
[31:59.350 --> 32:01.530]  Now, that's a dramatic about-face.
[32:01.670 --> 32:09.030]  What it basically means is that all these satellite networks that are forming, including the one we're sitting in right now, they can actually start becoming local.
[32:09.290 --> 32:14.050]  They can actually start broadcasting local news, local traffic reports, local weather reports.
[32:14.050 --> 32:15.090]  It's sourced from where?
[32:15.490 --> 32:15.950]  Yes.
[32:16.710 --> 32:17.490]  From here.
[32:17.550 --> 32:17.850]  From here.
[32:17.990 --> 32:18.610]  Well, who knows?
[32:18.610 --> 32:27.190]  But the point is, you know, better than one national feed would be, say, 50 local feeds or 500 local feeds.
[32:27.750 --> 32:28.490]  Who's running it?
[32:28.530 --> 32:29.170]  That's another question.
[32:29.170 --> 32:34.930]  But the fact that NAB is actually backing down on this, I think they're thinking of the future a little bit more.
[32:35.510 --> 32:37.990]  Well, I think the NAB was really...
[32:37.990 --> 32:42.990]  The terrestrial broadcasters were really lame in objecting to this.
[32:42.990 --> 32:43.830]  I mean, it's...
[32:43.830 --> 32:45.370]  You know, they're the ones that are crying.
[32:45.510 --> 32:47.110]  Or there should be free market competition.
[32:47.330 --> 32:54.310]  And on the other hand, they don't want any competition from satellite radio when it comes to local broadcast information.
[32:54.590 --> 32:56.450]  So I'm glad they lost this one.
[32:57.290 --> 32:59.690]  I don't think they lost it so much as they just backed down themselves.
[33:00.430 --> 33:01.790]  Well, they realized they were going to lose.
[33:01.910 --> 33:02.670]  So it was sort of like...
[33:02.670 --> 33:04.650]  It was kind of like Colin Powell resigning, you know.
[33:04.730 --> 33:05.450]  He's going to...
[33:06.710 --> 33:07.970]  Kind of like everybody resigning.
[33:08.090 --> 33:08.370]  Go ahead, John.
[33:08.370 --> 33:08.590]  Yes.
[33:08.990 --> 33:12.630]  I've got a story which starts off with a question, and it's for Bernie.
[33:12.990 --> 33:14.790]  And we'll explain why it's for Bernie in a moment.
[33:15.010 --> 33:17.450]  Bernie, do you think pretty girls ride the subway?
[33:18.230 --> 33:19.730]  I think it's a vicious lie.
[33:20.210 --> 33:34.550]  Well, anyway, the reason I ask is that that message, pretty girls don't ride the subway, was on an electronic message board at West 4th Street for about four to six hours on Veterans Day.
[33:34.550 --> 33:49.530]  And it's caused all sorts of to-do in the Transit Authority and among the media who are, like, upset that hackers, perhaps from a home computer, could get to a TA message board and change the message.
[33:50.130 --> 33:59.530]  Didn't token booth clerk David Romero notify the Transit Authority Command Center, speculating that someone broke into the TA's computer system?
[33:59.530 --> 33:59.810]  Yeah.
[34:00.170 --> 34:01.270]  Ooh, you're up on this.
[34:01.310 --> 34:02.490]  I heard the same thing.
[34:02.630 --> 34:05.850]  Even though the signs are controlled by IR keyboards.
[34:06.130 --> 34:06.390]  You know what else?
[34:06.390 --> 34:12.890]  The boards usually flash public service messages reminding parents to hold their kids' hands on escalators and fold-up strollers.
[34:13.130 --> 34:17.670]  When you think back, I think this happened back in, what was it, 1997 or something?
[34:17.670 --> 34:23.150]  It was on all, like, four news stations in New York.
[34:23.150 --> 34:24.150]  It was, like, big news.
[34:24.150 --> 34:26.950]  It was covered by the Associated Press.
[34:27.170 --> 34:27.990]  And it was, like, big news.
[34:28.030 --> 34:33.490]  But as I recall, the message wasn't something silly like stupid girls, pretty girls don't ride trains.
[34:33.690 --> 34:34.810]  What was the message back then?
[34:34.970 --> 34:36.530]  I think it was something about the hacker quarterly.
[34:36.790 --> 34:37.270]  Oh, really?
[34:37.390 --> 34:40.390]  And it ended up in a magazine article eventually, in the stock photo.
[34:40.490 --> 34:41.230]  In the stock photo.
[34:41.430 --> 34:41.590]  Yeah.
[34:42.230 --> 34:44.770]  As a cover for 2600, the hacker quarterly.
[34:45.330 --> 34:46.470]  I've heard of that magazine.
[34:46.470 --> 34:48.730]  But the point is this.
[34:48.950 --> 34:54.170]  Okay, yes, we expected this to be one of those fluff stories on a slow news day, Veterans Day.
[34:54.430 --> 35:02.110]  But the New York press, of course, articulated best what almost every news channel said, which was, it could have been worse.
[35:02.650 --> 35:11.070]  Someone could have put a message up there that said there are rerouted trains or bomb threats or terrorist attacks going on, but they didn't.
[35:11.170 --> 35:15.570]  And, of course, that's the public mentality about hackers continued.
[35:15.570 --> 35:19.150]  They continued and magnified ad nauseum.
[35:19.450 --> 35:23.170]  But nowhere in the article did it say that this is a very simple thing to do, did they?
[35:23.450 --> 35:23.810]  Exactly.
[35:24.030 --> 35:24.330]  Exactly.
[35:24.330 --> 35:33.550]  They made it seem like it was exactly the way it was in 1997 when they thought their computers had hacked and somebody had, you know, computers had been hacked and somebody had gotten in and had control of the whole system.
[35:33.550 --> 35:36.470]  But, you know, not something ridiculously minor.
[35:36.770 --> 35:36.910]  Yeah.
[35:37.050 --> 35:42.210]  You get the right part for the system and, you know, you can do it.
[35:42.310 --> 35:42.550]  Yeah.
[35:42.550 --> 35:44.790]  And it hasn't changed in nine years.
[35:44.830 --> 35:46.050]  The system hasn't changed, or eight years.
[35:46.230 --> 35:49.530]  I think the media was just looking for any excuse to interview pretty people.
[35:49.770 --> 35:49.950]  Yeah.
[35:50.930 --> 35:51.290]  Maybe.
[35:51.870 --> 35:52.230]  Okay.
[35:52.450 --> 35:54.390]  Do we have the phone number to give out for the call?
[35:54.390 --> 35:55.730]  We have the phone number.
[35:55.890 --> 35:58.450]  We're going to take calls in about five minutes, I think.
[35:58.610 --> 35:59.870]  Good for tonight only.
[36:00.110 --> 36:01.150]  So write this down.
[36:01.670 --> 36:12.930]  The phone number here at Sirius, which is hosting WBAI and off the hook, is area code 646-313-6029.
[36:14.430 --> 36:19.190]  That's 646-313-6029.
[36:19.490 --> 36:23.890]  And this is not one of those area codes with the surcharge.
[36:24.150 --> 36:29.710]  This is a regular New York City area code added in the last few years because, gee, we ran out of numbers.
[36:30.490 --> 36:33.950]  Just write me a copy of that so I can say the phone number over the air, which I like to do.
[36:34.370 --> 36:35.970]  And we'll be taking phone calls in just a moment.
[36:36.330 --> 36:37.830]  But first, Bernie, I want to ask you about this.
[36:37.870 --> 36:38.610]  I don't know if you saw this.
[36:39.750 --> 36:53.350]  The Department of Homeland Security confirmed last Tuesday that it requires its employees to sign nondisclosure agreements to prevent them from discussing or sharing information that it calls sensitive but unclassified with outsiders.
[36:53.690 --> 37:04.050]  Government secrecy experts said DHS's agreement was unprecedented in its scope, unconstitutional in its warnings of investigation and punishment, and ultimately unworkable.
[37:04.050 --> 37:18.050]  The agreement broadly defines sensitive information as anything that could hurt the national interest or the conduct of federal programs or invade an individual's right to privacy, and individuals who violate the agreement risk administrative, civil, and criminal prosecution.
[37:18.550 --> 37:20.990]  Furthermore, the agreement states that the U.S.
[37:21.110 --> 37:27.510]  government has a right to conduct inspections at any time or place for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the agreement.
[37:27.770 --> 37:32.090]  Some read that to mean the government can conduct warrantless searches of people's homes.
[37:32.270 --> 37:33.470]  Did you hear anything about this, Bernie?
[37:35.470 --> 37:35.790]  Bernie?
[37:36.270 --> 37:39.030]  Yeah, I was about to tell you, but all right, we lost Bernie, and they need his number.
[37:39.030 --> 37:40.030]  Oh, what a great time to lose Bernie.
[37:40.150 --> 37:42.330]  I'm asking him a three-minute-long question.
[37:42.810 --> 37:43.370]  Yeah, okay.
[37:43.370 --> 37:45.130]  Well, did anybody else happen to hear about this?
[37:46.670 --> 37:46.990]  No?
[37:47.230 --> 37:47.390]  No.
[37:47.410 --> 37:48.370]  Did we lose you, too?
[37:48.690 --> 37:49.470]  I'm gone.
[37:49.890 --> 37:50.210]  All right.
[37:51.090 --> 37:52.670]  Well, it's pretty shocking, I think.
[37:53.450 --> 38:04.570]  According to Mark Zaid, who unfortunately isn't here, because he would tell us a lot, I bet, this agreement gives the government the ability not only to penalize an individual, but subject their house to unlimited inspections.
[38:06.170 --> 38:08.710]  That's the most innocuous of internal documents.
[38:08.710 --> 38:10.570]  That's F-O-U-O documents.
[38:10.730 --> 38:11.810]  What does F-O-U-O stand for?
[38:12.670 --> 38:13.430]  Freedom of?
[38:14.070 --> 38:14.510]  No.
[38:14.770 --> 38:14.910]  No.
[38:15.450 --> 38:15.750]  Hmm.
[38:15.930 --> 38:18.090]  Some sort of inside thing that the government has there.
[38:18.770 --> 38:18.930]  Federal.
[38:18.930 --> 38:28.130]  According to Scott Armstrong, an open government advocate and former Washington Post reporter, the system is unworkable if it is ever applied throughout DHS and its millions of state and local partners.
[38:28.330 --> 38:30.770]  When it's expanded to four million civilians, it's staggering.
[38:30.770 --> 38:31.770]  I don't think this will last.
[38:31.930 --> 38:33.830]  This will fall from its own weight pretty quickly.
[38:35.550 --> 38:36.890]  Pretty shocking, if you ask me.
[38:38.010 --> 38:38.190]  Okay.
[38:38.310 --> 38:38.850]  Moving along.
[38:39.190 --> 38:48.490]  To answer your question on what happens when two senators have the same last name, check out www.senate.gov and then choose the senator's button slash link.
[38:48.590 --> 38:50.830]  You wouldn't believe how much mail we got on this because we asked.
[38:50.990 --> 38:58.710]  You know, everybody seems to have their own little, I guess, domain of sorts, pseudo domain within Senate.gov.
[38:58.710 --> 39:01.070]  So what happens when two senators share the same last name?
[39:01.150 --> 39:02.730]  Well, there are two Senator Grahams.
[39:02.930 --> 39:04.210]  And apparently Bob was first.
[39:04.350 --> 39:06.130]  He has www.gram.senate.gov.
[39:06.530 --> 39:09.410]  Lindsey Graham has www.lgram.senate.gov.
[39:09.870 --> 39:12.350]  Thank you, Aaron, from Kentucky for sending that in.
[39:12.430 --> 39:13.170]  Do we have Bernie back?
[39:13.890 --> 39:14.090]  Yes.
[39:14.250 --> 39:15.130]  I'm pleased to hear.
[39:15.210 --> 39:15.770]  I don't know what happened.
[39:15.850 --> 39:16.850]  We just think I dropped off.
[39:16.950 --> 39:17.310]  I'm glad.
[39:17.450 --> 39:22.290]  I'm pleased to see that people are paying attention and apparently know how to get in touch with their legislators.
[39:22.850 --> 39:23.150]  Yeah.
[39:23.290 --> 39:25.750]  That's a very good thing to know how to do.
[39:25.910 --> 39:26.430]  Our listeners.
[39:27.110 --> 39:27.510]  Absolutely.
[39:28.050 --> 39:29.810]  Speaking of which, let's talk to some of them.
[39:30.390 --> 39:31.710]  We're running 20 minutes late.
[39:31.850 --> 39:33.150]  It's 7.56 right now.
[39:33.890 --> 39:37.810]  And the phone number to call is 646-313-6029.
[39:38.150 --> 39:39.870]  Don't call the old number or you won't get through.
[39:40.370 --> 39:42.110]  Do we have our first listener phone call?
[39:43.050 --> 39:45.970]  I caught the tail end of the conversation, but it...
[39:47.570 --> 39:48.810]  We caught the front of yours.
[39:50.430 --> 39:50.790]  Okay.
[39:50.790 --> 39:52.830]  I guess we're learning the board in there, right?
[39:53.750 --> 39:54.110]  Okay.
[39:54.190 --> 39:54.950]  You want to try a second one?
[39:55.690 --> 39:56.230]  Good evening.
[39:56.370 --> 39:56.590]  You're on.
[39:57.710 --> 39:58.110]  No?
[39:58.810 --> 39:58.870]  No?
[39:58.870 --> 39:58.930]  Okay.
[39:59.050 --> 39:59.450]  Do we have any...
[39:59.450 --> 40:00.230]  Bernie, are you still there?
[40:01.390 --> 40:02.290]  Bernie, you're not there.
[40:02.830 --> 40:03.070]  Oh.
[40:03.310 --> 40:03.650]  Okay.
[40:03.690 --> 40:04.710]  We've lost everybody, apparently.
[40:05.310 --> 40:05.710]  Okay.
[40:05.730 --> 40:08.610]  We're supposed to just keep talking until the phones get fixed.
[40:09.050 --> 40:10.190]  I have a...
[40:10.190 --> 40:10.690]  Go ahead.
[40:10.690 --> 40:18.250]  In fact, I am a customer of AT&T Wireless, which is apparently in the process of merging with Singular Wireless.
[40:20.090 --> 40:32.150]  So, I guess on the other day, on the 15th of the month, my phone stopped displaying the words AT&T Wireless on it and is instead displaying AT&T slash Singular.
[40:32.150 --> 40:47.550]  And if you dial 611, you reach this voice, which tells you, you've now reached Singular Wireless, formerly known as AT&T Wireless, and they're willing to sell you all kinds of silly things that you don't need as a result of this.
[40:47.550 --> 40:50.250]  So, I guess the merger is starting to happen.
[40:50.530 --> 40:50.710]  Yeah.
[40:50.870 --> 40:54.810]  And as mergers happen, you get all kinds of weirdness for a little while.
[40:55.130 --> 40:57.250]  Doesn't explain what's happening to my Verizon phone, though.
[40:57.310 --> 41:00.290]  My Verizon phone has been giving me all kinds of trouble in the last few weeks.
[41:00.730 --> 41:09.650]  I like to know if anybody else with Verizon Wireless has had these problems, where you get blank messages, completely silent messages that go on for like a minute, minute and a half.
[41:09.910 --> 41:15.970]  Turns out, I've heard from the people who are very angry that I don't call them back, they're actually leaving messages thinking they're getting recorded.
[41:16.470 --> 41:20.290]  And it records for the amount of time that they actually speak.
[41:20.470 --> 41:21.850]  It just doesn't leave the audio.
[41:22.230 --> 41:26.830]  So, I can see that someone called me and they said something for a minute and a half, but I don't know what it was.
[41:27.010 --> 41:29.850]  Also, I get all kinds of phone calls where I pick up and nobody's there.
[41:29.970 --> 41:32.370]  I make phone calls where I call people and I don't hear anything.
[41:33.110 --> 41:38.610]  And on top of that, the other day, I was calling voicemail to hear my own voicemail, and I got somebody else's recording.
[41:39.310 --> 41:40.530]  I got another greeting.
[41:41.330 --> 41:42.630]  And I tried it three times.
[41:42.710 --> 41:44.130]  I got three different numbers in a row.
[41:44.550 --> 41:47.230]  And then I got silence after that, and I think someone's on the line.
[41:47.630 --> 41:50.690]  And I'll bet you anything, if you complain to Verizon, they'll say, it must be your phone.
[41:50.970 --> 41:51.670]  It must be.
[41:51.750 --> 41:53.770]  But it must be your phone, Bernie, or is it our phone?
[41:54.270 --> 41:54.750]  I don't know.
[41:54.810 --> 41:57.050]  Maybe there's a fire underneath Sirius.
[41:57.150 --> 41:57.550]  Let's hope not.
[41:57.810 --> 41:58.810]  They're searching for us.
[41:59.010 --> 42:00.410]  We're going to hop all around town.
[42:00.570 --> 42:01.550]  They won't be able to catch us.
[42:02.430 --> 42:02.710]  Okay.
[42:02.770 --> 42:04.510]  Are we ready to take phone calls?
[42:05.610 --> 42:06.030]  We're not.
[42:06.170 --> 42:06.290]  Okay.
[42:06.550 --> 42:08.570]  So, let's continue with some of these stories we have.
[42:08.650 --> 42:10.430]  Bernie, did you happen to hear what I was saying about Homeland Security?
[42:10.430 --> 42:12.270]  I missed that, unfortunately.
[42:12.550 --> 42:12.690]  Okay.
[42:12.770 --> 42:16.670]  Apparently, Homeland Security is making it...
[42:17.230 --> 42:25.950]  They're imposing on all of their employees and associates, many of whom are civilian, more draconian restrictions on what can be revealed.
[42:26.250 --> 42:30.590]  Things that aren't necessarily classified.
[42:31.090 --> 42:32.570]  The new secrecy orders, yes.
[42:32.830 --> 42:32.970]  Yeah.
[42:33.390 --> 42:34.610]  Now, what do you know about these?
[42:34.610 --> 42:36.630]  I read about it last week.
[42:36.750 --> 42:37.590]  I'm trying to remember the details.
[42:37.770 --> 42:47.830]  But basically, they were adding all these extra secrecy levels and classification levels to information that was previously regularly available to the public.
[42:48.670 --> 43:00.730]  And it just seems to be that the administration has this obsession with secrefying everything and just hiding everything they possibly can.
[43:00.930 --> 43:02.930]  And it's not a good sign.
[43:04.170 --> 43:04.970]  No, it's not.
[43:05.130 --> 43:08.390]  And next four years, I think we're going to see all kinds of signs like that.
[43:08.510 --> 43:09.850]  It's going to be interesting to see how people react.
[43:10.910 --> 43:12.930]  And we'll try to continue to bring you that information.
[43:13.630 --> 43:15.410]  We are working on getting the phones working.
[43:15.530 --> 43:18.350]  So we should also point out, this is WBAI New York.
[43:18.710 --> 43:19.230]  We are...
[43:19.230 --> 43:21.790]  Normally, the personal computer show would be starting at this time.
[43:21.890 --> 43:23.350]  It's going to be starting about 20 minutes late.
[43:23.610 --> 43:29.310]  The reason for that is we're sort of 20 minutes off because of the complications getting started from this new location.
[43:30.370 --> 43:31.450]  Let's read some listener mail.
[43:31.450 --> 43:37.210]  Now, I've recently come across your book in a Barnes & Noble store, and I wanted to get a hold of someone there that could help me.
[43:37.310 --> 43:39.370]  I'm trying to get into my fiancé's Hotmail account.
[43:39.730 --> 43:42.570]  I am not simply trying to get even or something ridiculous of that nature.
[43:42.830 --> 43:46.010]  It has come to my attention that she is cheating on me with someone she is emailing.
[43:46.270 --> 43:50.170]  Now, I've tried the simple things like favorite color, pet's name, favorite movie, blah, blah, blah.
[43:50.330 --> 43:50.750]  No luck.
[43:50.970 --> 43:54.630]  Is there a simple way for someone who doesn't know a thing about hacking to get this password?
[43:54.890 --> 43:58.410]  I've also tried typing in the address I thought she would have registered with, but no luck again.
[44:01.450 --> 44:05.370]  Further contacts with you will be stopped for the safety of yourself and your book.
[44:05.570 --> 44:05.970]  Thank you.
[44:06.090 --> 44:10.410]  Well, first of all, if I can just say one thing, which really upsets me, it's not a book.
[44:10.650 --> 44:11.610]  It's a magazine.
[44:11.950 --> 44:12.510]  All right?
[44:12.670 --> 44:13.590]  It's a big difference.
[44:13.870 --> 44:15.410]  You find us in the magazine section.
[44:15.430 --> 44:19.510]  You don't find us in the book section unless somebody moved us to the book section, which they shouldn't have done.
[44:20.150 --> 44:21.810]  Does anybody have any other comments for this letter?
[44:22.230 --> 44:22.590]  Jim?
[44:22.590 --> 44:24.590]  Jim, I have the password.
[44:24.590 --> 44:26.090]  I'm sleeping with your fiance.
[44:27.190 --> 44:28.030]  I'm sure that's...
[44:28.030 --> 44:28.490]  But seriously.
[44:28.790 --> 44:29.970]  ...shattering news for him to hear.
[44:30.210 --> 44:31.430]  But seriously, okay?
[44:31.430 --> 44:34.570]  If you know she's cheating on you, what do you need the proof for?
[44:34.750 --> 44:34.930]  Okay?
[44:35.450 --> 44:43.230]  Get either hire a private detective to take photos if you really want that sort of thing, or just break off with her.
[44:43.330 --> 44:44.210]  This is absurd.
[44:44.370 --> 44:47.070]  Bernie, I believe you actually penned a response to this person.
[44:47.070 --> 44:54.410]  Yeah, I just told them, you know, if there's this much suspicion and cheating going on in a relationship, just, you know, just call it off.
[44:54.530 --> 44:57.950]  I mean, why would you want to continue this unpleasantness?
[44:58.890 --> 45:01.050]  We get letters like this all the time.
[45:01.210 --> 45:03.690]  We've been getting letters like this for years, almost decades.
[45:04.150 --> 45:07.830]  People write to us thinking we can just get them the password for anything.
[45:07.910 --> 45:08.670]  It's always the same thing.
[45:08.690 --> 45:09.670]  I need to change my grades.
[45:09.710 --> 45:10.910]  My fiance is cheating on me.
[45:11.050 --> 45:12.230]  I have to get even with somebody.
[45:12.230 --> 45:16.070]  We've had people come to meetings and to the radio show and tell us this.
[45:16.070 --> 45:17.110]  Again, wave it in the air.
[45:17.310 --> 45:18.110]  I'll pay you.
[45:18.270 --> 45:20.170]  They think that hackers do this kind of thing.
[45:20.410 --> 45:21.650]  Well, let me tell you, they don't.
[45:21.710 --> 45:25.570]  People who do those kind of things are morons, idiots, people taking advantage.
[45:26.190 --> 45:27.130]  Or movie producers.
[45:27.250 --> 45:28.190]  Or movie producers, correct.
[45:29.930 --> 45:30.290]  Okay.
[45:31.950 --> 45:32.490]  Let's see.
[45:32.650 --> 45:39.550]  We had a good response also to the bank issue that a caller called in with last week.
[45:39.590 --> 45:41.970]  Remember, they called in saying that Chase had ripped them off.
[45:42.490 --> 45:44.370]  Well, I just listened to last week's Off the Hook.
[45:44.370 --> 45:46.210]  I wanted to share my experience with Chase.
[45:46.470 --> 45:50.870]  I had pretty much the exact same problem as the caller regarding their payment protection program.
[45:51.050 --> 45:54.550]  About a year ago, a representative called me up and told me about the program.
[45:54.870 --> 45:59.790]  I listened to his pitch and politely told him that I was not interested and did not want to enroll in the program.
[45:59.990 --> 46:02.430]  He replied that he did not want to enroll me.
[46:02.470 --> 46:06.330]  He just wanted to provide me with an informational packet regarding the program.
[46:06.530 --> 46:08.650]  I repeated that I was not interested.
[46:08.650 --> 46:18.050]  He insisted that I would not be enrolled in the program and said, and I'm paraphrasing here, we just want to notify you that we will be sending some information to you regarding the program.
[46:18.230 --> 46:21.630]  You can look at it and decide if you want to enroll once you get the materials.
[46:21.910 --> 46:28.970]  The way he said it implied that they would mail out this information regardless of what I said and that this phone call was just a friendly heads up.
[46:29.170 --> 46:32.930]  I said, okay, whatever, planning on ignoring the information when it arrived.
[46:33.450 --> 46:39.670]  Much to my surprise, the informational packet that arrived was actually a confirmation of my enrollment in the program.
[46:39.890 --> 46:42.970]  Since I never carry a balance on my credit cards, the plan didn't affect me.
[46:43.070 --> 46:45.870]  The monthly payment is based on a percentage of the balance you carry.
[46:46.090 --> 46:52.270]  At the time, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and assumed there was a misunderstanding, which, of course, is what they claimed, but I guess I was being naive.
[46:52.610 --> 46:56.630]  I would be canceling my account with them immediately, never to do business with them again.
[46:56.830 --> 46:58.850]  I would advise others to avoid them as well.
[46:59.210 --> 47:01.110]  Signed, John from San Luis Obispo.
[47:01.890 --> 47:03.990]  And Chase, take that to heart.
[47:04.330 --> 47:10.790]  You lost one customer already because of these practices, and apparently they are your practices because we've heard from two different people.
[47:11.010 --> 47:11.570]  More, actually.
[47:11.670 --> 47:14.230]  More people have written in to say that this kind of thing has happened to them.
[47:14.530 --> 47:21.030]  They use you saying yes as proof that you agreed to it, but they won't let you hear the rest of the conversation.
[47:21.030 --> 47:22.450]  They won't let you put it into context.
[47:23.290 --> 47:24.370]  Very, very slimy.
[47:24.590 --> 47:25.970]  Are we ready for some phone calls?
[47:26.070 --> 47:26.710]  We're going to give it a shot.
[47:27.350 --> 47:29.270]  646-313-6029.
[47:29.890 --> 47:31.670]  Let's see if we have a phone call out there.
[47:31.770 --> 47:32.030]  Good evening.
[47:32.710 --> 47:33.890]  Hey, I can't believe I got through.
[47:34.110 --> 47:34.910]  I can't believe it either.
[47:35.990 --> 47:36.610]  Surprise, surprise.
[47:36.610 --> 47:36.830]  Surprise.
[47:37.550 --> 47:42.370]  I was just hearing the last letter that you were reading about the Chase situation.
[47:42.370 --> 47:48.650]  I have a similar situation with Chase concerning that program, the payment protection.
[47:48.870 --> 47:49.570]  It's like a virus.
[47:50.950 --> 47:51.390]  Amazing.
[47:51.550 --> 47:52.970]  So what's your story?
[47:53.310 --> 47:53.790]  I'll tell you what.
[47:53.830 --> 47:54.790]  Let me turn this for you now.
[47:55.050 --> 47:55.750]  Yeah, probably best.
[47:57.390 --> 47:57.830]  Hello?
[47:58.070 --> 47:58.550]  Yes, go ahead.
[47:58.750 --> 47:59.610]  Tell us your story.
[48:00.070 --> 48:00.930]  Situation of this.
[48:02.430 --> 48:03.370]  I must have.
[48:03.470 --> 48:04.230]  I can't even remember.
[48:04.250 --> 48:06.250]  I had one of those calls back last year.
[48:06.690 --> 48:10.850]  And they were offering the program for a free trial period.
[48:10.990 --> 48:15.950]  I don't know what there is to try, but that's how they pretty much get you to feel that you can get into it.
[48:15.950 --> 48:18.090]  So it got started up.
[48:18.230 --> 48:24.590]  And then eventually, I started getting these small, insignificant charges to the account.
[48:24.690 --> 48:25.990]  As you say, it's based on a percentage.
[48:26.690 --> 48:28.330]  So at first, I didn't take it on.
[48:28.410 --> 48:29.790]  And as my balance grew, it grew.
[48:29.930 --> 48:32.290]  And I decided, look, this is not really doing anything for me.
[48:32.290 --> 48:33.890]  So I called in to have it cut off.
[48:34.890 --> 48:41.630]  And no sooner do I do that than the following month, I see an additional charge.
[48:42.090 --> 48:44.530]  And I figured it must have been some kind of a screw-up.
[48:44.610 --> 48:45.650]  Maybe they didn't get it right.
[48:45.650 --> 48:47.010]  So I just let it alone.
[48:47.010 --> 48:50.710]  And then the next month and so on, until a couple of months passed by.
[48:50.710 --> 48:52.230]  And I still notice that it's just there.
[48:52.250 --> 48:53.390]  So I called back now.
[48:54.810 --> 49:01.710]  And Payment Protector was telling me that they had canceled...
[49:02.410 --> 49:03.370]  Well, not canceled.
[49:03.590 --> 49:05.790]  They had upgraded the plan.
[49:06.810 --> 49:12.090]  At the time that I called in to have it canceled, Chase Systems shows that it's canceled.
[49:12.370 --> 49:14.830]  Payment Protector said, no, that's not a cancellation.
[49:14.830 --> 49:16.290]  That's actually an upgrade.
[49:16.290 --> 49:25.590]  And sure enough, at that same time period, you see a difference from $0.69 per $100 to $0.79 per $100.
[49:26.170 --> 49:29.170]  So it's not the same company, Payment Protector and Chase.
[49:30.070 --> 49:33.410]  It's a different company, but they have an affiliation with Chase.
[49:33.690 --> 49:41.230]  And basically, when you do something, Chase always puts you over to Payment Protector, and they do their own thing.
[49:41.390 --> 49:43.130]  They don't even share the same system.
[49:44.670 --> 49:53.150]  So basically, if you are talking to somebody at Chase about Payment Protector, it's not necessarily concerning Payment Protector.
[49:53.290 --> 49:57.910]  You have to be speaking to somebody at Payment Protector to find out what's really going on.
[49:58.150 --> 50:12.410]  And then the situation as it is now is that in the six months or so that it's been writing, it's about $15, $20 in fees that now, you know, they don't want to really cough it back up.
[50:13.230 --> 50:15.330]  It's really not a significant amount of money.
[50:15.350 --> 50:22.610]  But if they hit up all their clients this way, even if they get you for three months, you know, they raise an enormous amount of money.
[50:22.730 --> 50:23.110]  That's true.
[50:23.330 --> 50:28.870]  Just, you know, just basically siphoning off a penny from every customer would raise an immense amount of money.
[50:28.870 --> 50:34.370]  So you have to figure the people who fall for this kind of thing are really funding a lot of...
[50:34.370 --> 50:37.970]  Well, it's not enough money to say you fall for anything because it's nuisance money.
[50:38.090 --> 50:39.470]  And it's money that a lot of people...
[50:39.470 --> 50:47.870]  I mean, if you have an Internet connection, a high-speed connection, let's just say you spend $50 on it, and you have a DSL connection, maybe that costs $30.
[50:48.230 --> 50:52.030]  Nobody really needs that much speed for what people use the Internet for.
[50:52.030 --> 50:56.210]  So you can really save $20 right there by just going with a DSL line.
[50:56.670 --> 51:01.410]  But, you know, a lot of people go with the optimum, and they figure it's a high-speed connection.
[51:01.570 --> 51:02.750]  It's the fastest that you get.
[51:02.890 --> 51:06.350]  They want the fastest computer, and they don't really need all that speed.
[51:06.810 --> 51:08.890]  It's stuff that people can afford today.
[51:09.050 --> 51:10.990]  People can afford a lot of waste.
[51:10.990 --> 51:28.570]  And the feeling of security that Payment Protector offers you is really great because I'm sure when it comes time for you to try to get the money back, if anything would have happened to you, then is when you're going to start having to depend on the service.
[51:28.610 --> 51:30.550]  And that's when you really know what you have.
[51:30.730 --> 51:33.730]  Until then, you only have a feeling of security.
[51:34.310 --> 51:34.830]  Okay.
[51:34.830 --> 51:37.030]  But that's the reality.
[51:37.130 --> 51:37.390]  All right.
[51:37.470 --> 51:38.350]  Thanks so much for your call.
[51:38.610 --> 51:39.230]  User beware.
[51:39.230 --> 51:39.810]  All right.
[51:39.990 --> 51:42.990]  Mike, do you have an update on your Board of Elections nightmare, I believe?
[51:43.270 --> 51:43.430]  Yeah.
[51:43.510 --> 51:48.750]  If folks recall, last week we talked about this, when I went to vote, I was not in the book.
[51:49.270 --> 52:01.330]  But over the weekend, I received a white card in the mail telling me that my registration had been reinstated effective immediately, which doesn't really make a whole lot of sense.
[52:01.550 --> 52:02.690]  You can go out and vote now.
[52:02.790 --> 52:03.650]  Yeah, right.
[52:03.990 --> 52:05.890]  So I called the Board of Elections.
[52:05.890 --> 52:10.690]  I called their toll-free number and said, what does this mean?
[52:10.690 --> 52:12.350]  Did you count my vote or not?
[52:12.350 --> 52:14.050]  And why was I ever uninstated?
[52:14.610 --> 52:19.710]  And they did a whole bunch of punching around in the computers.
[52:19.710 --> 52:21.730]  The people who I spoke to were very nice.
[52:22.030 --> 52:30.510]  And they told me that they did, in fact, count my affidavit ballot that I cast in November with everyone else casting their votes.
[52:30.510 --> 52:32.050]  You're just going to prove it and tell you who you voted for.
[52:32.250 --> 52:33.970]  I didn't go that far.
[52:34.210 --> 52:40.250]  But they were staring at my record, and they could not figure out why I was ever deactivated.
[52:40.530 --> 52:42.450]  They knew I had moved.
[52:42.590 --> 52:44.870]  They knew every time I had ever voted in my life.
[52:45.270 --> 52:48.910]  And they knew all kinds of things, but they did not know why I was deactivated.
[52:48.910 --> 52:54.130]  They suggested that I call the County Board of Elections, which is for New York County, for Manhattan.
[52:54.430 --> 53:00.990]  And I called them, and that person who spoke to me was not at all friendly or helpful and also had no clue.
[53:01.270 --> 53:03.370]  Well, you've got to call back and annoy them even more.
[53:03.470 --> 53:04.530]  You've got to get to the bottom of this.
[53:04.610 --> 53:05.810]  That kind of thing should not go on.
[53:05.870 --> 53:10.730]  And I'm sure it happened to a lot more people who aren't calling, and are just accepting it and probably didn't vote.
[53:11.230 --> 53:15.630]  Mike, did you ask them if they'd been getting other calls from people complaining about this?
[53:16.070 --> 53:21.250]  I did not, but they seemed to think my situation relatively novel.
[53:21.470 --> 53:23.010]  So, I don't know.
[53:23.670 --> 53:23.990]  All right.
[53:23.990 --> 53:25.370]  We're going to try taking a couple more phone calls.
[53:25.430 --> 53:28.870]  Let me remind people once again that the Personal Computer Show will be starting up in about 10 minutes.
[53:29.690 --> 53:38.310]  And we're broadcasting from a temporary location here in Midtown Manhattan because of the fire downtown below the ground somewhere in Verizon Land.
[53:38.790 --> 53:41.210]  646-313-6029 is our phone number.
[53:41.690 --> 53:42.150]  Good evening.
[53:42.370 --> 53:42.990]  You're on the air.
[53:43.210 --> 53:43.690]  Oh, yes.
[53:43.690 --> 53:43.990]  Good evening.
[53:43.990 --> 53:48.050]  And a couple of quick tips for everybody with these phone calls from the banks, Chase, et cetera.
[53:48.810 --> 54:03.830]  Number one is if you want to not receive these calls, you've got to deliberately contact the company and tell them you no longer want to be opting into their partner offers and things like that.
[54:03.950 --> 54:04.490]  In writing?
[54:04.850 --> 54:06.010]  You've got to do it in writing.
[54:06.150 --> 54:06.950]  Yeah, that's number one.
[54:07.130 --> 54:07.670]  Can you do this?
[54:07.670 --> 54:12.590]  Now, they give you, every year they give you, you know, when they send you your credit card, they send you this little privacy statement thing.
[54:12.630 --> 54:15.890]  And you can actually opt out using a form that they have.
[54:15.890 --> 54:21.710]  But if you can't get a hold of that, I guess if you just call Chase or whatever bank you're using for the credit card, you request that form.
[54:21.890 --> 54:23.150]  Do you know if you can do it by fax?
[54:23.990 --> 54:25.170]  I believe you can, yes.
[54:25.170 --> 54:25.390]  Okay.
[54:25.390 --> 54:27.090]  It's all, you know, on the form they tell you.
[54:27.190 --> 54:28.850]  And I don't think you can do it online.
[54:28.970 --> 54:34.070]  But the other thing is, what you've got to watch out is when you get these calls, because, like, I personally have never opted out.
[54:34.210 --> 54:36.870]  I don't mind getting these calls for, I don't know, some insane reason.
[54:36.930 --> 54:43.890]  But when you get these calls, you have to be also very careful not to be so polite as to say, thank you, I'm not interested.
[54:44.270 --> 54:45.590]  Don't even say thank you.
[54:45.670 --> 54:47.290]  Just say, I'm not interested.
[54:47.710 --> 54:48.870]  The answer is no.
[54:50.030 --> 54:50.890]  Do you understand?
[54:50.890 --> 54:51.330]  And no.
[54:51.530 --> 54:55.410]  You've got to be very clear with them, because a lot of times you're getting a call from outside of the country.
[54:57.130 --> 55:08.310]  Basically, what's happening is the banks make a deal with some kind of a telemarketing company, and they've got all these deals, because they know what really happens is that, you know, there's a good percentage of people.
[55:08.490 --> 55:10.730]  It could only be 3 or 4 percent, possibly.
[55:10.890 --> 55:13.110]  It might be as many as high as 10 or 20 percent.
[55:13.430 --> 55:20.690]  But if they get enough people to just say yes, almost as a, like, people just want to get off the phone, so they can say, yeah, yeah, okay, I'm in, no problem.
[55:20.890 --> 55:21.590]  Oh, I can cancel.
[55:21.970 --> 55:26.030]  If you do decide to try one of the things out, you have to get the 800 number from that person.
[55:26.190 --> 55:27.870]  It's usually a legitimate phone number.
[55:28.130 --> 55:29.650]  You've got to take down those numbers.
[55:29.810 --> 55:30.410]  You've got to make sure.
[55:30.610 --> 55:36.170]  I have opted into some of these programs where they have, like, travel benefits or something like that, and you get a free gas card for 50 bucks.
[55:36.410 --> 55:39.930]  You can actually take advantage of those, but you've got to be really careful.
[55:39.930 --> 55:43.710]  If you plan to cancel, you've got to cancel it in the 30 days.
[55:44.670 --> 55:49.350]  Basically, you're putting a big hassle on yourself by just...
[55:49.350 --> 55:51.270]  Well, you have to cancel on a specific day.
[55:51.470 --> 55:58.650]  I was in some promotion with E-Trade Bank or something, or they gave me $75 if I moved money into this other account.
[55:58.790 --> 56:06.810]  And I had to cancel it on the same day that the deal was up, or I would be charged, like, this big service fee.
[56:06.810 --> 56:08.190]  So you have to, like, time it.
[56:08.330 --> 56:09.010]  But I did it.
[56:09.070 --> 56:18.330]  I mean, I had to mark up my calendar, and I called them on the right day, and they seemed really disappointed that I called them, like, right in this narrow time window to qualify to not lose the $75 they gave me.
[56:18.450 --> 56:20.670]  But it's usually not worth saying yes.
[56:20.790 --> 56:21.890]  It's saying no, because...
[56:21.890 --> 56:25.750]  I've come to the point where I used to do this, you know, just, ah, let's get the gas card, whatever.
[56:25.910 --> 56:26.250]  But you know what?
[56:26.430 --> 56:27.610]  Now, it's just so ridiculous.
[56:27.770 --> 56:28.290]  I just tell them no.
[56:28.470 --> 56:35.570]  Also, a lot of these companies do is they are hiring companies that are actually, like, in Singapore or Philippines.
[56:36.810 --> 56:39.270]  You know, next is China, but right now, you know, you get a lot...
[56:39.270 --> 56:43.510]  American Express was using India a lot, and, I mean, you can hardly understand what these people are saying.
[56:43.550 --> 56:44.410]  And they're all very nice.
[56:44.610 --> 56:45.570]  It's 5 in the morning for them.
[56:45.570 --> 56:46.630]  And they're all getting paid slave wages, too.
[56:46.630 --> 56:48.130]  And they're calling you at, you know, 6 p.m.
[56:48.510 --> 56:48.750]  Right.
[56:50.130 --> 56:50.810]  But that's some of that.
[56:50.810 --> 56:52.130]  We've been aware of that for quite some time.
[56:52.270 --> 56:53.410]  Let's try to fit in one more phone call.
[56:53.510 --> 56:54.390]  Thanks very much for that call.
[56:54.450 --> 56:54.690]  Thank you.
[57:06.970 --> 57:16.450]  And I had suspected that for many, many years, but only when I had heard WABC actually admit that they used to do it because they felt it would have a more impact.
[57:16.750 --> 57:28.270]  But it is kind of interesting because you do notice that now, because of the digitalization of everything, they take all of the natural spaces and the natural breathing out of your speech.
[57:28.890 --> 57:33.950]  Everything is just so perfect that it becomes absolutely monotonous because it doesn't really seem like a real person.
[57:33.950 --> 57:34.610]  Mm-hmm.
[57:34.770 --> 57:36.370]  Yeah, so perfect that it's horrible.
[57:36.750 --> 57:42.730]  Right, because the little breathing points, it's the normal emphasis of the space that you would have between talking.
[57:42.990 --> 57:45.110]  It actually dehumanizes people.
[57:46.170 --> 57:47.190]  Yeah, absolutely.
[57:47.610 --> 57:48.150]  All right, thank you.
[57:48.270 --> 57:49.430]  Thanks for your phone call.
[57:49.550 --> 57:51.730]  And I think that's going to just about do it for us here tonight.
[57:51.950 --> 57:56.790]  I want to thank everybody who helped put it together tonight so that we could broadcast out of this temporary space.
[57:57.250 --> 57:59.390]  Thanks to Sirius Radio for hosting us.
[57:59.770 --> 58:05.670]  And hopefully all the problems downtown will be fixed by next week's show, and hopefully sometime this week as well.
[58:05.990 --> 58:12.390]  The personal computer show is coming up next, and they'll be running for about an hour or so.
[58:12.610 --> 58:18.050]  And that's our outro theme, having to do with all kinds of problems, because that's what we've been having today.
[58:18.270 --> 58:18.690]  But you know what?
[58:18.790 --> 58:20.810]  We dealt with them, and you can too.
[58:21.290 --> 58:21.970]  See you next week.
[58:22.150 --> 58:22.330]  Good night.
[58:23.110 --> 58:26.150]  Too many problems, so why am I here?
[58:26.490 --> 58:29.190]  I need me because you're all too clear.
[58:29.410 --> 58:32.210]  And I can see there's something wrong with you.
[58:32.470 --> 58:35.270]  And what do you expect me to do?
[58:35.590 --> 58:38.330]  At least I gotta know what I want to be.
[58:38.750 --> 58:41.410]  Now come to me if you need pity.
[58:41.950 --> 58:43.050]  Are you lonely?
[58:43.070 --> 58:44.710]  You've got no one.
[58:44.890 --> 58:47.450]  You've got your body in suspension.
[58:48.010 --> 58:48.890]  The suspension has a problem.
[58:56.180 --> 58:57.860]  The problem is you
[59:08.120 --> 59:12.660]  eat your heart out on a plastic train.
[59:12.980 --> 59:15.660]  You don't do what you want, and you'll fade away.
[59:16.080 --> 59:17.140]  You're one for me.
[59:17.300 --> 59:18.780]  You're working nine to five.
[59:19.160 --> 59:22.000]  It's too much fun of being alive.
[59:22.240 --> 59:25.080]  I'm using my feet from a human machine.
[59:25.420 --> 59:28.280]  You're funny living for the street.
[59:28.380 --> 59:29.920]  Are you lonely?
[59:30.380 --> 59:31.520]  Or need kate?
[59:31.760 --> 59:34.880]  And you've got your brains dehydrated?