She was always the quintessential anti-Pacifica voice, but I think Margaret Prescod may have outdone herself today as she spewed her venom from the gutter in order to make some bucks for WBAI.
Apparently, she and her handlers have a very low opinion of Pacifica listeners or, shall we say, what remains of them after years of inferior propaganda radio. I will say no more for this miscast opportunist speaks for herself. Here are examples from the fund-raising venom she spat out today:
Notice how she brings Ferguson into her pitch and asks that we help her "free Africa" by purchasing an extra set of this package and sending it to Ferguson, St. Louis, and other places where school children need to hear it. In another pitch, this evening, she also suggested that an extra set be sent to incarcerated people.
Of course, the prisoners and young people in Ferguson, Missouri, really don't need more fuel for their anger, do they? What does Margaret Prescod hope to accomplish? The money is going to WBAI, to pay Reimers $100,000.00 salary, back rent in three locations, etc. We know from what "management" has uttered, that it isn't going to pay for the postage needed to deliver the product. We don't know how it is going to free Africa! In fact, in her rambling, repetitive bull, Prescod never comes up for air, never makes a valid case for Pacifica's ongoing existence, never rises above the old snake oil approach.
This is yet another reason why WBAI and Pacifica have lost any significance. Who brings people like that to Pacifica's microphones? Why do they think this kind of rhetoric adds anything to people's lives?
Do you find it as irresponsible and embarrassing as I do?
UPDATE ON PRESCOD FUNDRAISING
The following link is to a downloadable PDF file contains a post made by Tracy Rosenberg to the PacificaAirwaves list this evening.
The following link is to a downloadable PDF file contains a post made by Tracy Rosenberg to the PacificaAirwaves list this evening.
She's obnoxious, but she is hawking political stuff, which is better than snake oil. I just avoid her. Is it just me, or does she sound a lot like a Mimi Rosenberg imitation? Buy two copies and send one to your local morgue...
ReplyDeleteAnyway. If anyone wants to see the mediocre Cuba: An African Odyssey for $2.99(!), go to the amazon.com url below and save some money. Take the rest of the money and give it to some charities to feed people over the upcoming holidays. And if you ever want to see some DVD being hawked on WBAI, check amazon.com first. Many are there for a few dollars viewing.
http://www.amazon.com/Cuba-African-Odyssey-ITVS-International/dp/B0043BUSN6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
WBAI really needs to get someone who can raise the dead to pitch for them...
SDL
Also check Youtube, where some of WBAI's high-priced "thank you gifts" can be downloaded gratis.
DeleteShe's Pollyanna compared to Sister Mimi.
ReplyDeleteAs best as I can tell, the main thing Margaret Prescod offers BAI--or any other radio station--is that she can talk loud and fast, nonstop. If her rants were aircraft, they could take me to Paris in ten minutes.
ReplyDeleteWhat gets me about people like her is that they never actively involve themselves in the places, or with the people, about whom they claim to care so much. In some ways, she's even worse than Al Sharpton, who at least makes photo ops in Ferguson or wherever else there's strife.
Maybe she's in deeper with Reimers than any of us realize.
Paris in ten minutes? How about her taking one to hell in a New York minute??\
DeleteKPFA should send her to West Africa for some on the spot reporting, interviewing ebola victims face to face...
DeleteSDL
WBAI has been dead air from 7 p.m. 10/9 on both over the air and streaming. I pray it stays that way.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure it isn't just Radio Unlistenable being aired 5 hours early?
DeleteI was listening to Democracy Now, which replaced Forlano tonight, and all of a sudden static, not just dead air. DN fits so well in that 6-7PM spot that they should dump Forlano for it immediately. DN would bring in lots of money, too.
DeleteAnyway. If it were Fass, we'd be hearing lots of weird sounds, not static. "Am I on? Am I on? Or am I off?"
SDL
Guess you're right about that. The Blueboard came alive for a 15-input thread started by Frank Lefever (who has been in hiding). He wants to know who called the cops on Sidney. I didn't know it went that far. R. Paul is convinced that this was the work of Berthold Reimers, who has had it in for Sidney.
DeleteHaskins' "family" obviously hasn't read "Family for Dummies."
He's also dodging on what basis the cops were apparently called. They may or may not have been called for a valid reason, but if they were called they have to have been given some stated reason, of some sort, valid or not.
Delete~ 'indigopirate'
Also, I'm sure they had to submit some sort of written report.
DeleteI wonder if the caller reported "man with sledgehammer"?
Everybody together now...
"We are family! "We are family! We are family! We are family! We are family!"
Well, that was interesting reading during dinner.The problem is that EVERYONE is keeping quiet over the accusations. I would imagine a journalist could go to the local police precinct and get the info about the call. Whether one does is another story. If Smith is innocent, I hope he seeks a lawyer.
DeleteWouldn't it be interesting if a bunch of people called the next Report to the Listener and asked about this? Imagine one call after the other?
As a friend would say, "The plot sickens..."
Reimers should read The Complete Idiot's Guide to Radio Management.
We are family... Butthole Sniifer, Hay-tie and Sledgey...
SDL
Notice how Reimers hides behind the green curtain. I can't believe that someone didn't bring this up at the last executive meeting of the WBAI LSB. If he had a millimeter of spine, Reimers would have included it in his obligatory "report" to that dysfunctional committee.
DeleteIt would appear that R Paul Martin is now requiring screening and approval of new posts – or, at least, new posts referring to Uncle Sidney.
Delete~ 'indigopirate'
That's interesting. Perhaps he has been receiving visits from the anonymous troll from Kew Gardens who regularly tries to post here. Station just came on again, after 2 hrs and 20 mins. As usual, no explanation, no apologies. And, most importantly, no station ID!
DeleteBTW, who is the "chief engineer" Canniball refers to as having been laid of but refusing to leave.
Fair question as to the 'chief engineer'.
DeleteOn the whole I've found government agencies more open about their workings and their business than WBAI/Pacifica. They seem very self-important old school, like that ancient 'I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you' joke.
The director of ops at Groom Lake, incidentally, was for many years a simple air conditioning repair man.
~ 'indigopirate'
Good point – wouldn't there have to be a written report, and mightn't it be public record?
ReplyDeleteWonder why LeFever would suddenly bring this up.
Curious, too, that Uncle Sid wouldn't address the matter – or did he, and I didn't catch it.
~ 'indigopirate'
Lefever is a weird guy. Notice, he has gone from running around like quicksilver to being as invisible as Reimers, the man he used to boast of having selected for the "job." Perhaps his need for attention has resurfaced.
DeleteI believe you are right about police reports (calls, at least) being accessible.
Uncle Sid has, indeed been oddly silent about this, although he did post something veiled about it on Facebook. I believe that he and RPM are pretty tight, so if he discussed it with anyone, my bet would be that it was RPM. Or a lawyer?
Station has now been off the air for an hour and fifty minutes. Do you suppose it is divine intervention? After all, this is a time when they are trying to extract blood from oranges.
Off the air... hmm... I've never bought into the whole Karma nonsense any more than Great Magical Sky Gods... but we can hope :)
Delete~ 'indigopirate'
Signal back at 9:25PM.
ReplyDeleteSDL
I am the troll from Kew Gardens. R U prejudiced against me
ReplyDeleteI can't be prejudiced against you since I don't know who you are, but one might say that you seem to submit comments just for the sake of submitting comments. Most of us occasionally engage in light stuff, but we don't take WBAI's abuse and impending doom lightly. You obviously have some knowledge of the station and its recent history, so why don't you participate here on a more serious level level?
DeleteI saw that Tracy Rosenberg thing on the Yahoo list. I doubt the FCC would even care. Pacifica is so far under the radar, the FCC probably forgot they even exist.The bigger question is whether the charity will ever see the money raised for them.
ReplyDeleteSDL
Fifty years have certainly seen changes in FCC regulations and procedures. In my BAI days, they kept a file of accumulated infractions and complaints for review at license renewal time.
DeleteAs for the big question you pose, it is indeed important. See the October 9 tally details where that side trip is not mentioned. Hmmmmm
I know he is kinky, and he has never tried to hide that, but wasn't he accused of something worse? If that part of the unsubstantiated rumor is true, it seems odd that the NYPD just came, looked around, and left the premises.
ReplyDeleteSomething does not feel right. They should tell us what Reimers said in the recent "executive session." Not that he is to be believed, but if he instigated the banishment, he owes an explanation. As I understand it, Reimers told others that he would be in touch with Sidney, but never followed through.
The photos you posted from Sidney's blog do indicate an uncomfortable mindset, but they can also be misleading, as, for example, interpreting pet pictures as evidence of bestiality.
Haskins runs a most unusual "family" at WBAI.
Given the content on Sidney's blog it may well have been both necessary and prudent to let him go. One can't be certain without knowing more, granted, but it may very well be the case that he had to go.
ReplyDeleteThere was, as I've mentioned, a similar situation with Charles Pitts, the difference being that Pitts' advocacy and enthusiasm for NAMBLA were on-air.
These are serious issues, with serious legal considerations.
~ ‘indigopirate’
Maybe with the Rosenberg post information, stations can now NOT give the money to charity using the 3rd party fund raising waiver not being requested properly as an excuse? I would if I were Reimers. "We didn't know, so we're keeping the dough..." In all fairness, I doubt Reimers or Murillo knew anything about this small mess.
ReplyDeleteWell, I did check Smith's blog now and then over time. While there is nothing pornographic on it, it is certainly made up of some images someone could potentially exaggerate into something more than they are. Having those images on his blog doesn't help Smith. I just hope the rumor isn't true. Reimer's should stop hiding and say what the accusation(s) is(are). If Smith cooses, he can defend himself. I still say the ball is in all their courts.
As for Charles Pitts. I think that Pitts was far more extreme, and was accused of not just words but actions, if you know what I mean. I know there was a rumor about something at the station, even. No idea if it's true, though.
I still refrain from any view on this matter as at this point we can simply say WBAI is treating Smith like he's a prisoner at Guantanamo, no charges or trial. Nothing for me to base anything on.
SDL
I feel as you do, STL, this whole thing is a mess and Reimers probably Is mostly to blame. Dictating this from my iPad so if there are mistakes please excuse me.
DeletePrudence alone would dictate Smith's being banned from the station and its facilities. Prudence and legal considerations would also require a person in Reimers' position maintain public silence.
Delete~ 'indigopirate'
Just for accuracy's sake: Margaret Prescod is not a KPFA programmer. Her home station is KPFK in Los Angeles.
ReplyDeleteThanks , If I'm the culprit, I'll make the correction.
DeleteIf you were stranded on a desert island with Margaret Prescod, Juliana Forlano, Mimi Rosenberg and Kathy Davis and you had one ball gag, what would you do?
ReplyDeleteIf I were stranded on the desert island with that group I think I would commit suicide.
DeleteThis would be a case of cursing Allah for sticking me with four women...
DeleteMake sharkfood of Prescod, Rosenberg and Davis, ballgag Forlano. Why? Forlano is dense, but not psycho, like the others. Also, Forlano is, at least, OK looking.
SDL
I'd rather be stranded with Sister Sally O'Brien, Oy Vey.
DeleteKew Gardens Troll