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FCC Agents Raid Berkeley Liberation Radio
Press release issued by Berkeley Liberation Radio on Thursday, Dec. 12 in response to the FCC raid.
On the morning of December 11, 2002, agents of the Federal Communications Commision confiscated the broadcast equipment of Berkeley Liberation Radio 104.1 FM. Using a little known legal tactic, the FCC acquired an arrest warrant for the transmitting devices.
"This is a free speech issue and the FCC is trying to prevent us from exercising our First Amendment right," said Bryan Smith (BPM Smith), a Berkeley Liberation Radio DJ. "If more people ran radio stations without their endorsement then the FCC would lose power. That makes them attack us but the FCC cannot govern us and they cannot extort money from us by way of fines."
The station has been on the air since the summer of 1999 providing music and information to the San Francisco Bay Area. Operating without a license, BLR has defied the media monopoly and federal government by exceeding the one tenth of a watt power limit imposed by the FCC. by exercising our right to free speech guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, we challenge the FCC's authority and demand that they return our community property.
Beyond the confiscation itself, we question the timing of this act of repression, as the U.S. government prepares for war. It cannot be our music that the government fears, but our speech. The last thing a government bent on war wants is a vocal opposition, and the last thing we can afford to lose is that - our voice. The only barrier to endless war is endless reason.
We, the volunteers of BLR, vow to return to the airwaves, with the support of free speech lovers everywhere. We refuse to surrender our rights to any bureaucrats.
Please join us for a protest rally at the Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay Street, on Wednesday, December 18 at noon.
This is our statement of purpose: Berkeley Liberation Radio exists to provide a voice for the diverse community within the Berkeley / Oakland area and beyond. Further, it is a vehicle that we establish to bring about social change. Consistent with a vision of creating an alternative diverse hybrid society free of sexism, homophobia, racism, and all other forms of oppression, programming on Berkeley Liberation Radio will be reflective of those goals and ideals.
"This is a free speech issue and the FCC is trying to prevent us from exercising our First Amendment right," said Bryan Smith (BPM Smith), a Berkeley Liberation Radio DJ. "If more people ran radio stations without their endorsement then the FCC would lose power. That makes them attack us but the FCC cannot govern us and they cannot extort money from us by way of fines."
The station has been on the air since the summer of 1999 providing music and information to the San Francisco Bay Area. Operating without a license, BLR has defied the media monopoly and federal government by exceeding the one tenth of a watt power limit imposed by the FCC. by exercising our right to free speech guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, we challenge the FCC's authority and demand that they return our community property.
Beyond the confiscation itself, we question the timing of this act of repression, as the U.S. government prepares for war. It cannot be our music that the government fears, but our speech. The last thing a government bent on war wants is a vocal opposition, and the last thing we can afford to lose is that - our voice. The only barrier to endless war is endless reason.
We, the volunteers of BLR, vow to return to the airwaves, with the support of free speech lovers everywhere. We refuse to surrender our rights to any bureaucrats.
Please join us for a protest rally at the Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay Street, on Wednesday, December 18 at noon.
This is our statement of purpose: Berkeley Liberation Radio exists to provide a voice for the diverse community within the Berkeley / Oakland area and beyond. Further, it is a vehicle that we establish to bring about social change. Consistent with a vision of creating an alternative diverse hybrid society free of sexism, homophobia, racism, and all other forms of oppression, programming on Berkeley Liberation Radio will be reflective of those goals and ideals.
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Whose Next?? we here at Free Radio Santa Cruz are on high alert since the blr bust but remain on the air so should all unlicensed stations DO NOT LET THEM INTIMIDATE YOU!! we need more and more stations to go on the air NOW!! Fuck low pwr licensing weve lasted 8yrs with total non compliance met w/ every fcc visit weve refused any and all attempts of fcc to serve any paperwork, and gained comunity and city support we need to contact each other immedatly when shutdowns occur LONG LIVE PIRATE RADIO!!!
For more information:
http://www.microradio.net/frsc
I do a Free Radio Santa Cruz show on Sunday 10 AM -1:30 PM. I'd appreciate a call-in and update, if there's anything beyond what was written in this press release. Also curious to know how S.F. Liberation Radio is doing. I haven't heard back from Richard E.after two calls there. Does anyone know how many pirate radio stations there are currently in California?
Any more details on this arcane "transmitter" warrant?
Tune in Sunday at http://www.microradio.net/frsc and call in at 831-427-3772 !
Any more details on this arcane "transmitter" warrant?
Tune in Sunday at http://www.microradio.net/frsc and call in at 831-427-3772 !
FCC Agents Raid Berkeley Liberation Radio!
Protest Rally at the Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay Street, on WEDNESDAY December 18 at noon!
Protest Rally at the Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay Street, on WEDNESDAY December 18 at noon!
For one, I was glad to see the radio station go off the air & hope the busts continue. Why should blr be able to broadcast their garbage for free?? They should have to pay the license fees just like everyone else.
Screw blr. Try listening to a good radio show like Mike Savage.
Screw blr. Try listening to a good radio show like Mike Savage.
idiot without a job.
For one, I was glad to see the radio station go off the air & hope the busts continue. Why should blr be able to broadcast their garbage for free?? They should have to pay the license fees just like everyone else.
Screw blr. Try listening to a good radio show like Mike Savage.
Screw blr. Try listening to a good radio show like Mike Savage.
Think of something new to say.
people who have worked at the same station as Michael Savage have commonly described that he seems to suffer from mental illness, demonstrated in his interpersonal skills.
people who have worked at the same station as Michael Savage have commonly described that he seems to suffer from mental illness, demonstrated in his interpersonal skills.
Berkeley Liberation Radio is engaged in a struggle with the most powerful government the world has known. It is a daunting task. The only way we can possibly win is through forming--and joining--a mass movement.
This is a fluid situation, and we can't pretend to have all the answers at present, and some interim tactical plans should not be revealed too soon so as to not tip our hand. But there is hope. Government policies can be defeated. It will take work, and organization.
We need to develop a long-range strategy, as well as an interim one. This will mean deeper thought as to our mission.
We aspire to be a community radio station, but to do this we have to make it impossible for anyone ever again to think of us as a "vanity broadcaster." We need to redouble our efforts to fully represent the community in which we find ourselves.
If there is a hospital strike, we must give voice to the strikers, not the management, as the commercial media does. If there is a school struggle, students and teachers need to know we can be counted on to bring their position to the community. Already people in the community come to our "Slave Revolt" show to tell of instances of police brutality. Folks need to think of us as a place to go to in order to be heard.
We have already been offered solidarity by some of our peers in the microradio broadcasting community, such as SFLR and Santa Cruz Liberation Radio, and Luver.com, an internet broadcaster. KPFA announced our rally on the air, and we should cultivate that relationship. We need to link up with Indymedia, Media Alliance, other independent media organizations. We need to establish ties with community newspapers, such as the Bayview News, Mission News, the Commemorator.
All this is a start. Eventually we would like to get our story told on commercial media, to garner public support at large, in order to get the government to accept the fact that the airwaves belong to the people.
To do all this it is absolutely necessry to establish a strong Outreach Committee.
And to back this up, and all our other moves, we need a strong Finance Committee.
This is a fluid situation, and we can't pretend to have all the answers at present, and some interim tactical plans should not be revealed too soon so as to not tip our hand. But there is hope. Government policies can be defeated. It will take work, and organization.
We need to develop a long-range strategy, as well as an interim one. This will mean deeper thought as to our mission.
We aspire to be a community radio station, but to do this we have to make it impossible for anyone ever again to think of us as a "vanity broadcaster." We need to redouble our efforts to fully represent the community in which we find ourselves.
If there is a hospital strike, we must give voice to the strikers, not the management, as the commercial media does. If there is a school struggle, students and teachers need to know we can be counted on to bring their position to the community. Already people in the community come to our "Slave Revolt" show to tell of instances of police brutality. Folks need to think of us as a place to go to in order to be heard.
We have already been offered solidarity by some of our peers in the microradio broadcasting community, such as SFLR and Santa Cruz Liberation Radio, and Luver.com, an internet broadcaster. KPFA announced our rally on the air, and we should cultivate that relationship. We need to link up with Indymedia, Media Alliance, other independent media organizations. We need to establish ties with community newspapers, such as the Bayview News, Mission News, the Commemorator.
All this is a start. Eventually we would like to get our story told on commercial media, to garner public support at large, in order to get the government to accept the fact that the airwaves belong to the people.
To do all this it is absolutely necessry to establish a strong Outreach Committee.
And to back this up, and all our other moves, we need a strong Finance Committee.
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