Author: Paul

FCC’s Most Liberal Commissioner to Leave The FCC announced yesterday that Commissioner Gloria Tristani, a Democratic Clinton appointee, will be leaving the Commission on Sept. 7. This gives Bush the rare opportunity to completely rework the FCC, appointing all 5 commissioners, two of whom must be Democrats. Which is also why it is unfortunate, since…

Infoworld says: ‘Parasitic grid’ wireless movement may threaten telecom profits; I say: so be it. By ‘parasitic grids’ they mean free community networks using wireless ethernet to connect any user to the Internet via generous users’ DSL, cable modem, or fatter connections. Of course, as I’ve stated here before, I think that’s a good idea,…

Make the Most of Indpendent Streaming Media An enormous demonstration against the agents of global capital is in preparation for the Sept. meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Washington D.C. As it has for the last two years since Seattle, the Indymedia network will be springing into action to provide unfiltered coverage that…

There are some interesting ideas for making your own DSL line in this here article by Cringely. The plan does require that you have a high-speed connection to the Internet at some point, but it does give good ideas for sharing it in what is likely a more economical way. I like the notion of…

Pacifica’s Democracy Now in Re-Runs Due to Labor Dispute This is something I’ve meant to post for the last week, but only just gotten to it now… sorry. It’s been a tough two weeks for Amy Goodman, the host of the most popular nationwide progressive news program, Pacifica’s Democracy Now. The program has been in…

Something else I just stumbled on: “Hardware Handshake: Listserv forms Backbone of National Free Radio Network,” by Ted Coopman, a free-lance radio scholar/researcher, also responsible for Rogue Communication.

Hot Off the Presses: Micro-Film v2n2 For those interested in the power of independent and personal cinema, I can’t recommend enough that you check out the newest issue of Micro-Film–it’s a truly independent ‘zine about independent film. I have an article in this issue on indy documentarian Kevin Keyser and his video “Free Radio.” There’s…

I just stumbled on Res Magazine, “the Future of Filmmaking.” It covers the burgeoning world of digital video based filmmaking, and seems fairly interesting. After perusing a few of the articles they have on-line it seems that the magazine has a more professional focus, profiling already-successful actors, directors and producers who are working in DV,…

A Loss to the Pirate Radio World: Kirk Trummel, RIP. Kirk Trummel worked in and wrote about the shortwave pirate radio scene for years, co-authoring the “Pirate Radio Survival Guide.” I personally enjoyed his writing, comments and advice that he published on the Free Radio Network. Kirk died on Aug. 15 from terminal pancreatic cancer…

Food for thought: MIT’s Technology Review has this article on “Taming the Web,” that deconstructs the myth that “information wants to be free,” by critically examining the assumptions about the Internet which underlie it, but, in fact, may not be as iron clad as popularly believed: Nonetheless, the claim that the Internet is ungovernable by…