Back of the Book links for the November 12, 2001 program

Here is the latest on the theft of Pacifica. Hopes for a settlement in the various lawsuits against Pacifica Management have been dashed. See the link for details.

Some listeners are convinced that only open elections will provide a long range cure for the Pacifica Crisis. Here's an election proposal.

Our colleagues from Off the Hook have a RealAudio streaming web cast operating, and it was working at 11:45 PM last night. Their MP3 stream is sometimes working again, although it wasn't last night.

Well, it's depression time for some of us. Pickles of the North, however, has bought a full spectrum lamp to see if the course of a mighty river can be changed.

We made a significant dent in the mail backlog during this program. We read some missives written on the remains of dead trees and we present here the E-mails.

Fernando writes, again, about his great score of Reggie Bars. He is also rather credulous about some living dinosaur claims, bolstered by that paragon of hard scientific information Sightings on Fox. He follows this up with a report of a UFO sighting.

Subject: Mokele-mbembe
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 21:36:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fernando
To: rpm@glib.com

Dear Paul,
First, I would like to update you on a matter on which I had previously written to you. I'm not sure if you remember or not but I had related to you how I scored a sweet box of GENUINE Reggie Jackson candy bars. When you read my missive relating this success, you warned me NOT to eat the bars as they were twenty-two years old and probably not fresh anymore. You also said it would not be a good idea for me to give these out to children for Halloween. Do you remember me, R? I decided you were right when the bars arrived and I saw their condition. They were not as mint as I expected. They were also very hard. Some had lost their shape and some were DEFINITELY stuck to their wrappers. This was especially true of the ones that had sustained water damage. I therefore will not eat the bars and I will instead keep them as curiosities until World Series fever hits and then I will turn around and sell these babies for a tidy profit. I think this will show my mother that I'm not blowing it with these. Would you agree, R.?
On another matter, I have recently been reading the work of Scott T. Norman. Are you familiar with him? He is a photographer and a Christain. He is also contributing to the firld of cryptozoology and in particular to uncovering the mokele-mbembe.

This is fascinating, R. The mokele-mbembe is a species of sauropod dinosaurs that live in the rivers of the Likouala Swamp in the Congo. Is the Congo still called The People's Republic of the Congo, R? I'm not clear on that point. Norman describes the mokele-mbembe as being five to ten feet long and roughly the shape of a brontosaurus. They tend to be reddish brown to grey in coloring. They are vegetarians and their diet consists of malombo plants. They aren't meat-eaters but apparently they ARE dangerous as they have been known to overturn boats and bite people to death. Have you heard about this, R?

Apparently, they also dislike hippopotamuses because they will kill any hippos they find. This particular area of the swamp is devoid of hippos. My theory is that mokele-mbembe have killed them all there. Would you concur? What is their problem with the hippo?

Is the mokele-mbembe really there, R? Norman is not my only source for information on this topic. I also saw a feature on mokele-mbembe on Fox's SIGHTINGS show. Did you watch it? In that show, the investigators had villagers who live along the swamp to draw pictures of mkele-mbembe. They all drew pictures resembling brontosauruses. This is significant because these people HAD NEVER SEEN A SAUROPOD DINOSAUR! How would they get this image? What is happening in the Congo, R? Are these creatures there? Would it be worth draining the swamp in an effort to once and for all capture a specimen? I would like to know your thoughts, Paul. I thank you for your consideration.

Yours truly,

Fernando
Florham Park, NJ

Subject: An Incident Over New Jersey
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 16:07:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fernando
To: rpm@glib.com

Dear R.,

I enjoy your broadcasts very much even though we are in disagreement on most political and social topics. You feature a good deal of scientific content that is interesting to me. You also have a nostalgic quality that I can relate to. I am thirty-one years old. I would like to turn your attention to an incident that occured here in New Jersey at 12:40 am on July 16th. This was a Sunday night into a Monday morning.

At that hour, in the sky above the town of Carteret in New Jersey, twelve bright lights appeared in the sky moving slowly and in a V formation. Have you heard about this, Paul? It has received a good amount of coverage. I looked up the story on-line after a guy on the phone told me about it. The story also appeared in my newspaper. According to the account, within the hour of this sighting, the Cartaret police department received at least FIFTEEN reports of these lights. On the New Jersey Turnpike, SEVENTY-FIVE cars pulled over to watch the lights. This qualifies as a MULTIPLE-SIGHTING, R. This is very important as it is a very credible UFO sighting.

According to witnesses who observed the lights closely, they claimed that the lights were attached to a large, BOOMERANG-shaped aircraft which moved NOISELESSLY across the sky. What could this be, Paul? Is this right? The lights hung in the air until one by one they went out. What could do this to us, R? Do you have any further information on this?

Please do not confuse this with the East Coast Meteor Shower of July 23. I followed reports of that event closely and while I could not find anything unusual in the descriptions I've read (save for the timing of the event of course) I am not entirely convinced we are being told everything about this "meteor shower." Are you, R? Have you heard about this? Do you think this shower or the July 16 Cartaret lights have anything to do with the destruction of Flight 800? These are suspicious happenings as they both occured in the air. I am always concerned when the Navy is involved as they have acted very secretly in the past. Would you agree with me on this?

On another matter, I have two suggestions for your broadcasts as I am a fan of radio and of your show. First, I would like to suggest that you run contests in which we, the callers, could phone in with trivia answers or to just be a certain numbered caller such as the fifth or seventh. You could offer an autographed photo of yourself or copies of your books. My other suggestion is that you record some of your broadcasts for compilation on a "Best Of.." CD. You could sell these CD's in stores or they could also be prizes in your contests. I hope you enjoy these ideas. I will give them further thought and update you later with what I come up with.

I enjoy your broadcasts as you remind me of the classic work of Joe Pine and Long John Neville. In one of your recent broadcasts in which you read an e-mail I sent to you, you seemed somewhat dismissive of Long John, but I believe he is VERY important to our society. Long John worked to bring out the work of Dr. Morris K. Jessep who in turn was instrumental in uncovering the writings of Carl allen aka Carlos Allende. Allen was the key eye witness who cracked the story of the U.S. Navy's ultra-Top Secret Project: Rainbow. This was the incident, more commonly known as the Philadelphia Experiment, in which they Navy attempted to make a destroyer escort, the USS Eldridge (which has been sold to Greece) INVISIBLE and instead they teleported it from Philadelphia to Norfolk. Have you heard of this, R? If you haven't, I refer you to the work of William Moore and Charles Berlitz. Do you know them?

The Cartaret Lights bear a strong similarity to the Phoenix lights incident which happened about two years ago. Are they related, R? Is there something going on here? Have you heard about the Phoenix lights? You can occasionally find a special on it on the Discovery Channel. I regularly scan Discovery for UFO specials. I also try and catch X-Creatures and Arthur C. Clarke Presents..., but sometimes my mother needs the TV set.

I look forward to your assesment of this incident. It is very disturbing and I see it as a harbinger of a greater event about to happen. Let us hope it is a POSITIVE event as it will affect ALL the Earth.

Very Sincerely,

Fernando
Florham Park, NJ

Next we have a listener who has been listening for a while and who sends us good wishes in these perilous times at WBAI.

Subject: On the Oregon Trail
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 03:13:44 EDT
From: ALBERS
To: rpm@glib.com

Dear R. Paul,
Ever since 1990 i have been a listener to WBAI, and was introduced to the station via the Bob Fass Show - "radio unnameable' i was a guest at the old uptown studio. I had the delightful opportunity to hear you one late night in the early to mid-nineties, and have listened to you as often as possible ever since. However I shall be moving to portland , Oregon after Labor Day. I want to let you know that your humor knowledge and insight have been a real pleasure to listen to for some time now. I will attempt to listen to you via the internet as soon as able, and will periodically check your web site for other points of interest. Continue your fight for dignity respect and decency at WBAi I am sure it shall be well worth it. Keep up the interesting discussions on the Universe, it was one of the many points that were great about your show. Thanks for the Memories, and hope to hear you again in 2 weeks before I depart, and do not think you will sucumb to a stroke, remember you were a runner as achild and that can help your cardio/vascular in later years. Bank on your eighties at the very least. This is the modern World if Dick Cheney is still alive you shall be fine...
Albers

Next we have a listener who corrects an assertion made by none other than Fernando on a program in August.

Subject: Little Rascals Urban Legend...
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 15:55:54 -0400
From: Jack
To: rpm@glib.com

Dear R. Paul,

Long-time listener, first-time writer. Heard your show on 8/20 and there was a letter from a listener regarding racially offense--and perceived racially offensive--cartoons and shows. The letter mentioned that Bill Cosby bought up the rights to The Little Rascals in order to keep them off television because they depict racial stereotypes. Well, that's a known urban legend. It's reported here...

--> http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/rascals.htm

Keep up the good work on the show! But the Little Rascals are a-okay.

I was nearing my 54^th birthday in August and I spoke about an incident when I was young when some public official got bounced out of a job and reporters were there asking him questions. One reporter asked, “What are you going to do now? You're only 54, you're a young man.”

When I heard this, decades ago, I thought to myself that this was an absurd statement, that at age 54 a man had one foot in the grave. And here I was remembering that as I was about to turn 54.

A listener has come up with a likely candidate for the disgraced public official of my youth.

Subject: Lindsay Scandal
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 20:24:32 EDT
From: Sharon, the Wicked Witch of the East (Side)
To: rpm@glib.com

Dear R. Paul,
This rang a bell for some reason. I think it was Lindsay's Water Commissioner, James Marcus (back when NYC had a Water Dept.) who got fired. Don't ask me how I remember , with all the scandals that have happened since; but I didn't want you staying up all night trying to remember his name. I'm three years younger than you, and this is happening more and more often -- I try to think of somebody's name, can't come up with it, and it surfaces a few days later. I think my database is OK, but I need a new search engine.

Happy birthday from Sharon, the Wicked Witch of the East (Side).

Subject: when I'am 54
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2001 13:28:47 EDT
From: Norman
To: rpm@glib.com

Well....I turn 54 this coming April.

I have no clue where the time went.

Enjoyed your show.

best regards,
Norman

Subject: grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2001 22:04:33 EDT
From: North American Shirley
To: rpm@glib.com

Hi; these cats hate you

http://www.mycathatesyou.com/othercat.htm

Subject: The FLY
Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 14:32:57 EDT
From: North American Shirley
To: rpm@glib.com

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/341/332143.html

August 24, 2001
BOSTON (AP) - Scientists are questioning the most surprising discovery from last winter's deciphering of the human genetic code - the assertion that people have only about 30,000 genes, or roughly twice as many as the fruit fly.

Here's a listener who expresses his hope that Back of the Book stays on the air. As for Web casting if it's not on the air anymore, I don't know. I'd certainly keep doing things on this Web site, but Web casting is probably too expensive a proposition and I'd have even fewer listeners than I have now!

Subject: The future of Back Of The Book
Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2001 01:45:40 -0400
From: Sean
To: rpm@glib.com

R. Paul,

For the past few shows you have hinted that you might not have a radio show at WBAI in the future. I have listened to your show for about 5 years. Your show was my introduction to WBAI. I now listen to a few WBAI programs... Carrier Wave, Dr. Michio Kaku, Mass Backwards, The PC Show, Off The Hook, Night Shift... I am very loyal to your show. If in the future you are cut from the WBAI program schedule I hope you have plans to broadcast a show via the internet.

-Sean

Subject: another listener online
Date: Sun, 02 Sep 2001 23:27:59 -0700
From: Judy
To: rpm@glib.com

hi,

i try and catch your show whenever i can, online. i'm up in the north, the interior of british columbia. new york was my home from 1960-68 and i had WBAI on from morning to night at that time. hope you don't get bumped off the air. i love your ranting ramblings, your lovely honesty and your chomping humour. regards to pickles.

best, judy
visualchemy

And, finally, we finished up this program's E-mail reading with more science facts, as they called them on Mystery Science Theater 3000, from North American Shirley.

Subject: Science Fact of the Day
Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 10:28:49 EDT
From: North American Shirley
To: rpm@glib.com

An octopus' arms often function completely independently of its brain.

... mine sometimes too; this could explain some of the strange emails that go flying around cyberspace ....

http://www.nature.com/nsu/010913/010913-1.html

Subject: interesting
Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 13:13:52 EDT
From: North American Shirley
To: rpm@glib.com

Studies Suggest Hepatitis G Virus Slows Down The AIDS Virus

NEW YORK (AP) - Infection with an apparently harmless, newly recognized virus seems to interfere with HIV, slowing its progression and prolonging survival of AIDS patients.

http://ipn.intelihealth.com/IPN/ihtIPN?st=23883&t=7223&c=333171

Subject: The Kindness of Neandertals
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 22:53:44 EDT
From: North American Shirley
To: rpm@glib.com

see full article at:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/toothless010911.html

Toothless Pre-Neanderthal
Fossil Suggests Others Cared For Ailing Pre-Neanderthal

By Amanda Onion
— It was the worst known toothache of prehistoric times.

New evidence suggests an early Neanderthal living about 175,000 years ago in France had a mouthful of infection. Hollow pockets in its fossilized lower jaw show where severe abscesses ate into the bone. And exposed, worn tips of tooth roots suggest the individual had gummed food, despite feeling what must have been excruciating pain.

The jaw fragment shows the individual had been missing teeth for some time before death in his or her late 40s. And this suggests that pre-Neanderthals may have been a somewhat caring bunch.

Copyright © 2001 ABCNEWS Internet Ventures.

There are a lot of issues that we can't talk about on the air at WBAI. But there is an Internet list called “Free Pacifica!” which you can subscribe to, and these issues are discussed there. If you subscribe to it you will receive, via E-mail, all of the messages which are sent to that list. You will also be able to send messages to the list.

The above list has occasionally produced a high volume of E-mail because of the attention that these issues have drawn. If you would prefer to subscribe to a low volume list that only provides announcements of events related to these issues then subscribe to the FreePac mailing list.

Another list that's sprung up is the “NewPacifica” mailing list. This one is very lively and currently includes over 400 subscribers coast to coast. Being lively, of course, it sometimes also gets a bit nasty. All sorts of things are happening on this list. With that warning in mind, you can look at the NewPacifica list here, and you can join the list from that Web page too, although you'll have to deal with Yahoo! to do so.

There is also the more WBAI specific “Goodlight” Web based message board. This one has a great many people posting anonymously and there's also an ancillary board that's just totally out of hand.

The “Goodlight” Web based message board has expanded to cover all Pacifica stations.