class people are determined to stop displacement racial profiling and police
violence in our neighborhoods that's Saturday August 13th at noon a march
against gentrification racism and police violence in Flatbush and East Flatbush
organized by equality for Flatbush for more information email Imani at equality
for Flatbush org or call six four six eight two zero six zero three nine and
the time is just about 7 o'clock p.m. you're listening to 99.5 FM WBAI New
York on the web at WBAI org and it's just about time for another exciting
edition of off the hook
you
and a very very good evening to you the program is off the hook Rob T Firefly
here with you and I'm alone I'm alone in this studio on the phone we do not have
Bernie S from Philadelphia in the studio we do not have a manual we do not have
Kyle they are on their way they will be here slightly later we might have
another friend or two joining us but all is not lost dear listeners for I do
have on the phone a special guest someone who's been on this program
before she was on shortly before hope her name is Nina Ali and she presented
biohacking materials at hope she was active in the biohacking stuff at the
recent DEF CON convention Nina are you with us I am hi hello Nina hey so with
everything going on I assume you're properly recovered from the DEF CON
conference I'm not I've been sleeping really late but I think today was my
breaking point so I'm good now so tell us a little bit about what you were
doing we heard a little bit about what you were going to present at hope did
that all go well I think so I think it went pretty well I ended up showing one
slide I made the executive decision that morning that I wanted to talk to speak
to the crowd not at the crowd so there could be more of a conversation instead
of me directing and I think that went pretty well I think my my talk was
well-received and for listeners who missed your previous episode and who
didn't catch your talk can you talk a little bit about what it was yeah for
sure so I talked about DNA and how it actually my own DNA and how it actually
helped me save my own life by going to the doctor and presenting the findings
that I had through 23 and me and being able to avert my own death so in a
nutshell it said that I was going to die of reproductive cancer and went to my
doctor had some tests done one of my hormones was 30 times what it should
have been we did an MRI and we did find a benign tumor in my brain and it's
going to be watched and as far as I know right now it's I'm fine I'm alive so
happy ending to that story glad to hear but it's one of the it's one of those
things where we need to be more informed and take our health care into our own
hands in and present information to physicians and just make sure that we
are all on the same page of proactive health care and not reactive health
care absolutely and so what what were the biohacking things at DEFCON that
you were involved with so I am the project leader at the DEFCON biohacking
village the presentations varied it was sort of a tour de force as one of the
participants told me and I was very happy to hear that it ran the gamut of
grinders nootropics the FBI came DARPA a lawyer it was marijuana a lot of
people came to just bring the whole biohacking theme full force and full
spectrum and I was really happy with the outcomes so it all went well what what
what kind of stuff went out there like what was it like running that wow it was
probably the same way you felt at hope it was a lot it was but you know what
honestly at the end it was so gratifying I felt so good at the end of every day
knowing it was first of all it was done day one was done day two was done day
three was done but more than that it was people were were interested they were
getting involved and that's what I wanted I wanted this to be something
where people would walk in and say wow what is this what are you doing and
actually we were upstairs on the 26th floor in the corner next to sky talks
and I love sky talks I love all of DEF CON but at one point we ended up out
doing the line for sky talk and that was just phenomenal and what are what are
sky talks for those unfamiliar so you're not allowed to record or take any
pictures it's kind of a free forum to have whatever kind of discussion you
want to have up there interesting we've just been joined in the studio by our
old friend Alex Alex how are you today all right I'm a bit of a sweaty mess
having just you know run through the streets of Brooklyn it's a constant
reminder today that we were about 75% water or so excellent so I'm speaking of
how are you good evening fantastic hello speaking of things were made up of so
so what sorts of what sorts of new and interesting things could people
discover when they came up to your table at DEF CON so it wasn't actually
a table it was a room we had our own room it was the inaugural year of the
DEF CON village so full force DEF CON village biohacking village it was again
it just depended on what time they came in and what they were interested in day
one was it was a lot of things I I wanted genomics there I wanted I wanted
to run the gamut so regardless of what anybody was interested in or what they
wanted to learn about they would be able to at one point or another walk in and
grasp something we also had the implants we had a mall doing implants and I hear
somebody somebody actually got implanted with something at the conference more
than one person we I think he brought up like 200 implants and they were all gone
most of the 190 were gone by Saturday he had about 10 to 13 left on Sunday and
what sorts of implants were these they were NFC and RFID implants so actually
we went to the social engineering village and he did a live implant on
Michelle who's one of the owners of the social engineering village and that was
a good time so just a passive RFID or anything fancy right they're passive
they're passive all right so it looks like we've got their people creeping
into the studio I seem to kind of kind of recognize them it's been a while but
no Emanuel and Kyle are setting things up and they will be taking their places
in in due course but for now let's focus back on you Nina so so now that
you've done you've done the biohacking talk at hope and you've done the this
biohacking village at Defcon how are you feeling about the whole thing because it
seemed to it seemed to us from the hope staff point of view that there's been
such a huge surge in interest in the biohacking stuff in general what I
totally agree what what do you think what do you think causes that how do you
account for that I think medicine is one of the last frontiers of technology
we've put so much stock in you know the the industry of medicine itself telling
us what's good for us and what we should be doing and how to take care of
ourselves and now we're we're doing more for ourselves we're learning more about
how our biology and physiology work and because we're doing all of this we're
able to do more with it we can take care of ourselves better we we have
more knowledge and less we so we're also changing the way that we perceive
ourselves and medicine and doing and making making better decisions with it
and making changes to it do you feel it's something that's becoming more
more accessible to the average hacker like the I think maybe some of the some
of the trappings some of the things that you would want to have to start
playing with this stuff are getting more available cheaper more understandable
definitely there are a lot of DIY bio spaces opening up all over the United
States the one that I go to here in Brooklyn is gen space and during hope
actually I met a bunch of other people from DIY places in California like bio
curious and a bunch of other places and we're just giving people that conduit to
make those that you know to experiment to start doing things excellent well um
what do you what do you think the future holds for all this will you be back
again next next conference season doing more of doing more of the same for a
DEF CON or for hope both either everything I would just I'm putting I'm
planting a seed right now I would love to be on the speaker committee at hope
because 13 is one of my favorite numbers and if I can just plant that seed that
would be glorious for me and I'm actually PMing the DEF CON bio hacking
village again this year and I have a lot of plans we've started conversations
about what we're going to do already so it's it's going to be it's going to be a
lot and it's going to be awesome excellent well Nina thank you very much
for for joining us for a bit and we wish you all the best we'll catch up with you
soon thank you okay thank you have a great night so um that was Nina Ali and
you can you can find more material about what she's all about on the archives of
hope and DEF CON and everything else that are popping up and so I should also
mention I have not made mention yet that this is indeed still fundraising season
here at WBAI so if you think that what we do here is is important if you think
that it's worth continuing we we need your support to make it keep happening
so if you go to give to WBAI.org for a self-service style or if you want to do
it on the phone and call our pledge line at five one six six two zero three six
zero two WBAI has some has some premiums that they can send you we are still
working on fulfilling the premiums for those of you who have not received our
our past ones if you have not already and you have you're still waiting on a
premium send us your receipt and we will add it to what we're what we're hanging
on to and what we're using to make sure everything gets fulfilled but yeah give
us give us what support you can WBAI give to WBAI.org or five one six six two
zero three six zero two I think this season the station itself is the premium
keeping us going is what's really important about all this and we we could
not do this without the support that we get from our listeners both both
momentary if you join our our BAI buddy program and you have an automatic
donation that comes on a monthly basis either way you become part of what goes
on here you become part of what keeps us going here and you become part of
everything Kyle you're here yeah I'm here welcome to here maybe maybe you
could talk a bit about why this place is important oh yeah well there's a lot of
a transition going on with WBAI right now we had relocated from a really
wonderful place down downtown and we're in a temporary facility for a while and
and now we have this this incredible building that is a kind of a great
what do I want to say a space for intersection yeah intersection where
everyone of sort of the like perspectives and and that definite
community spirit can can co-operate and it's it's kind of a new space and we've
we've been slowly building different capabilities out but we desperately need
your support now please call 516-620-3602 this is WBAI 99.5 FM we're
also available at WBAI.org there's a lot of information there about other shows
and most importantly ways to participate ways to get involved and of course
donating which is what we're doing right now among other things you you
basically you can become a member you can do different types of pledging where
you become a buddy and that program is basically just sort of a monthly
predictable amount a small amount maybe like five dollars a couple bucks really
anything that you can contribute and what that what what happens with that is
that then gets processed as as do the other pledges and contributions that we
accrue during these fund drives and we're able to pay things like you know
you know every everyday kind of expenses that a business would incur but these
happen to be radio specific and so that's a fantastic way to get involved
become a member of the station and and especially if you call now around this
time I will definitely get credit if you're able to contribute and this this
is really a place for exciting and interesting programming we are
specifically covering topics of hacking freaking sociology communications
philosophy we we have a pretty wide open gamut but it all comes down to
hacking and the term the history and the spirit of inquisitiveness asking
questions trying to figure out how systems work how systems impact you how
you can affect systems yeah that you can you can still do that so all those
things are are what we cover on this this year show and we're delighted to be
here we love this opportunity but it does not it does not just happen out of
thin air and it is not a foregone conclusion that that we'll be here we
need your support so whether we're fundraising or not we funders it we're
fundraising right am I am I we are indeed we okay so I'll mention the
number again 5 1 6 6 2 0 3 6 0 2 that's 5 1 6 6 2 0 3 6 0 2 there's many
different pledge levels you can become a member you can become a buddy but know
that you're supporting community-based radio one of the strongest most amazing
community radio stations in this nation dare I say and it needs your help it
needs your help financially but also we're rebuilding we are forming
community reforming community and part of that process is fundraising we want
to get back on track we want to get our finances right so that we can build out
this awesome community space that we're a part of it's a great cooperative
opportunity and by by supporting this programming by supporting the station
you can create a space that that will allow members of the community like you
to come and and broadcast yourself and and and take advantage of the radio
spectrum and all that it offers as far as getting information to people and and
telling your story I agree with everything you said Kyle and I'd like
you to repeat it all starting now no I'll do it in reverse okay well maybe
maybe somebody can do that with the mp3 after the fact and you know have that to
enjoy Emanuel you're here yeah I was trying to see how long I could go
without saying anything I just want one of these shows where I just kind of sit
here and watch yeah I did just land along with Kyle there tornadoes at east
you know that tornadoes and heavy rain and a lot of stupid people on the
highway but we made it anyway and thanks thanks to you and everybody for for
manning the fort while while we were away and and yeah here we are well we
had to get our suction cups maintained we dropped them off we were following
the story that guy this guy climbed the Trump building while we the whole time
we were driving this guy was climbing the Trump building with suction cups it
was riveting but uh yeah apparently apparently it wasn't it wasn't it wasn't
something he was gonna be able to finish because I think they grabbed it yeah the
cops got in the way as they always do in situations like this but it's yet another
way to get the word Trump into the news media unbelievable and Alex you're here
I am indeed Wow great to be here it is great to be here isn't it I mean here we
sure worked for it today there's no question no question I wasn't sure what
kind of suction cups you were talking about because I thought you might be
talking about the suction cups that everybody's using during the Olympics oh
yeah that's there are different suction cups it's a good month for suction cups
it is indeed there's a lot of suction like saying the word suction I think we
should do more of that on the radio yeah well I think we'll be doing a lot more
of that in the months to come if current trends continue but Alex you've been
here in a little while I don't think yeah well I was here when you were away
with Rob maybe about a month ago usually here when I'm not here exactly I time it
perfectly there's a reason for that well I had to I had to get you two here and
at the same time just to dispel the rumors that you were the same person so
that's true from behind we do look alike it's amazing the kinds of rumors you can
get started well let's let's get your impressions of hope since you were a big
part of it as well I loved it I'm still recovering I'm still fatigued I think
you know I had a great time I had a great time I really honestly you know
not just you know this isn't just fluff I think this was the best hope ever I it
felt to me like the original hope in a lot of respects and because it's such a
unique community of people that come there and I think you get there on
Friday afternoon and everybody is a little bit shy we're shy people you know
by nature right it's it's in somehow ingrained in our genes a little bit of
shyness introversion but by Saturday night everybody's partying everybody is
garrulous and affable and you know and by Sunday afternoon everyone doesn't
want to leave it was a fantastic it was a fantastic conference it was a pleasure
to participate the social engineering panel when I got you was was was just I
think the highlight you think that was the highlight okay I do I do all right I
had a great time with the Panama Papers quick update from that by the way I was
standing on 14th Street the other day and somebody comes walking past me and
says you're the guy who did the Panama Papers talk at hope that's kind of scary
yeah it was a little scary Wow was he wearing a suit in an earpiece and dark
glasses no no but it did perk my ears up quite a bit actually it was it was odd
but apparently I have a recognizable face for various reasons but kind of a
short update from the Panama Papers talk one of the last things that I had
discussed was that Mossack Fonseca in Panama through the MF corporate services
and limited Nevada entity in the United States was being pursued for sanctions
probably worth millions of dollars for the destruction of evidence and
providing false testimony that sounds so exciting but it's really just papers
being filed right yes papers being filed for millions of dollars I mean it's not
somebody running down the street with you know chasing people yeah I guess
that would be that would be yeah this is much more drawn out unfortunately and
dry yeah it's very very much more more dry you know we went into this during
the during my talk but the the emails that we had discussed and put forward
and on the screen for everybody to see were unredacted emails that we had
personally translated from Spanish into English but in the court filings you
know they're all redacted for some reason they are all redacted even though
these are public documents the court for some reason one of these these
documents to be redacted so that there's a Mossack Fonseca was supposed to be
filing their response to sanctions now but both parties have consented to an
adjournment of that date to August 11th so I think we're not going to see a
decision on whether Mossack Fonseca is going to be hit with what I honestly
believe is probably several millions of dollars of legal fees relating to NML
capital's expenditure on seven different motion sequences until I think mid
November I'm sorry mid-September possibly October but it's going to be
very very interesting because they closed up shop in the United States they
took themselves out of operation when it comes to being in a registered agent for
service of process for probably tens of thousands of corporations that they had
formed for various purposes some legal some questionable but we are going to
see if Mossack Fonseca is going to get slapped by a US court for the
destruction of data very soon it's going to be interesting we'll talk about
it so that's that's August 11th as in tomorrow actually you know what I think
it I think you're right it is it's it's no it's tomorrow so yeah tomorrow to get
going or tomorrow generally people file these things right around midnight so
yeah the filing will come in tomorrow probably around midnight we're going to
scarf it up and maybe we can talk about it next week or the week thereafter if
people are interested in following all this for themselves what's the best way
to do that that's a good question this stuff isn't really out there in the
mainstream media it's very very difficult to figure it out I would say
you know listen to WBAI that's why we're here yeah that's it there's a pretty
slick segue did you see what I did there yeah yeah 5 1 6 6 2 0 3 6 0 2 okay hear
it anywhere on that subject I didn't know we're doing another fun I'm sorry
I don't mean to sound shocked but it's the fourth week of the summer drive
which supposed to be only two weeks and you know this fun drive is in danger of
colliding with the next fun drive it's that's really a concern I don't know
what happens if they overlap but what Alex says is true we do need the help
to support the show before us we did a really good job outlining all the things
that we really need to fix in this place building a studio for one thing we seem
to have forgotten that you know we have a room we're in a room you can hear
everybody walking by we can hear airplanes flying over elevator the
elevator it just arrived I can hear that it's it's insane this is not a radio
studio it's a room in a building a great building but we need to build a
radio studio we need our phones back we need our phones back now last week we
had a bit of a problem when we tried to plug in our phone and but Kyle we
figured it out right yeah that was my my fault entirely I should have picked
another channel and been more confident about yanking a CD player whatever has
to be replaced always be more confident about yanking wires around so we are
gonna be taking your phone calls listeners because we haven't forgotten
about you and on another subject I know a lot of people have supported us in the
past and and we're so appreciative of that and we are we are pretty upset that
you have not been treated with the respect you deserve in insofar as
getting the premiums you pledged for I've got a few letters I want to I want
to read no one take some phone calls as well all the all the same though I still
want to encourage people to call and pledge support for the radio station
because that is a fact that's not going away we do need the support the station
has to stay on the air but that said a lot has to be done better we have to get
the premiums out to people we have to do a better job as far as accounting for
funds and and applying them in the right place and and things need to move
forward and that has not happened nearly enough here's a letter from Jim who says
how much postage does it take to mail a thumb drive a good question Jim I know
that they they they already charged you to mail the thumb drive and they didn't
mail the thumb drive they charge me extra for postage on top of the $75
donation reality there's only one program WBAI that I still listen to and
that is off the hook but sending money to BAI these days seems futile since the
station is so mismanaged and seems to have a management that wants a station
to die I listened to the PC show also which is coming on after us by the way
but those guys spend so much time arguing with each other and
misunderstanding call the questions I don't bother much at a time well you
know to each their own some people listen for exactly that reason and some
people don't agree and well the thing is on WBAI you can find all sorts of
amazing listening experiences that's what you're pledging for that's what
you're calling 516-620-3602 and just saying I want to keep the radio station
on the air don't send me anything because I know that something's gonna
get messed up and it's not gonna arrive anyway so just pledge whatever you can
afford become BAI buddy that way it gets deducted once a month much much
lower rate recurring at that point but this is a dire important exceptional
emergency I add your adjective but this is crucial to the future to moving
moving forward and and progressing with what the station will become and you
can be a part of that 516-620-3602 call now pledge your support take any of the
the premium gifts that the operator is able to to describe to you but really
what matters is getting those calls right now 516-620-3602 and do mention to
the operator that you're calling to support off the hook in particular as we
hope you are. Ruben K. writes hi Emanuel, Kyle, Rob T. Firefly, Bernie S. anyone I may
have forgotten listening to your show right now I have a question for you I
read an article about Edward Snowden who said it's time I did see that quote you
guys have any insight for me I think he wants to come home well I think he
always did want to come home home has to be a place worth coming to and I think
if if if attitudes changed a little bit as far as those in charge and and a
dialogue could actually be started I think he would be more than happy to
come home and and and basically explain why he did what he did and and what it
means and how things can be better but if if the only thing that we're
promising him is the inside of a prison cell no I don't think he's gonna want to
come home to that so we have to change we being the country I donated to the
summer fun drive which is the one that we were on last week and the one we're
doing this week I've become a WBA I buddy for the first time and of course
I mentioned your show within my list of shows which I listen to and appreciate
so thank you Ruben for that also my hope archives flash drive is MIA I sent you
the receipt before in the past let me know if I should resend it well Ruben we
did receive that we have it we have dropped off the premiums to the radio
station a while ago and we know they have not been sent out and that's that's
a question that we need to have answered we have asked all the
appropriate people it's it's something that's a serious problem here it's
something that is affecting this place in a very negative way because people
don't call up and pledge if they are treated with disrespect it's a fact it
doesn't take much to figure that out we've done our part we've we've made the
premiums we delivered them the radio station has already charged you for the
postage to send it they need to send it and I'll say this right now we are not
offering any new premiums until we hear back from each of the people that I'm
reading from tonight saying I got my premium might have taken a year and a
half but I got my damn premium it's we're not going to contribute to this
we're not going to contribute to any more people feeling disaffected we do
encourage people to call and pledge and the radio station will remain on the air
and that will be your premium and you'll feel good about that but as far as I was
saying you're going to get something knowing the odds are good that you're
not going to get it no we're not going to participate in that not until this is
fixed yeah we definitely want to clear up and get loose ends taken care of
before we can move on because it is it's something that we volunteer to do we we
take that on and we take that responsibility pretty seriously and we
care about how our audience is is left feeling so to that end for us to do the
work to to find more interesting things to give us thank you gifts it it would
not be it wouldn't be advantageous for us to spend time doing that if if we
could not guarantee that that stuff going forward is going to be handled
carefully here's a letter from John Bernard I heard you guys in the radio a
while back asking to email you with information on the premiums that were
ordered as part of donating to WBAI if we did not already receive them I have
not received my hope archives thumb drive yet and you know what John Bernard
that letter that you sent us was actually re-sent to us you sent it a
second time you originally sent it on May 18th so this has been going on for a
while inexcusable inexcusable and when every single one of these issues is
dealt with that is when we will resume offering premiums I mean we have we're
Kyle and I have been working with with some other people on the hope videos
from most recent conference oh yeah day and night it's a lot of work it's
basically we have to salvage the video footage improve upon it work with people
that have additional footage as well we'll be talking more about that in
weeks to come but that is something that we have offered in the past as premiums
here at the radio station we're not doing that not doing that until we know
that things are under control as far as getting the things to the people that
that pledge for them it's it's it's that simple here's a letter from Robert I was
listening to the podcast today heard you guys asking for forwards I have not yet
received the flash drive hope to have this resolved soon and he forwards
forwards a letter from November of 2015 yeah almost a year ago Richard writes
here's my WBA I received also from November I requested one of the thumb
drives to your point supporting the station is the main reason but it'd be
nice to get the premium I agree with you Richard and Robert and everybody else
it's it's it's really it's it's inexcusable here's a letter we got today
from Gabriel dear hackers makers of off the hook I write to you because I've
donated money in WBA I just support off the hook way back in March still haven't
received my premium I gave $55 on the 10th of March 2016 on the website give
to WBA I org selected the car hackers handbook as a premium PayPal as a
payment method paid for the order immediately by PayPal but the order
status page under my account says a waiting payment still the money has been
transferred they've got it but the order isn't moving I've written several emails
to the general manager the only contact I could find haven't received a single
response so far I am deeply frustrated and unhappy about this I feel like I was
taking advantage of and then ignored this was the first time I supported WBA
I and if they don't get this sorted out it will be the last time that my friends
is the mood out there that is the mood we are fostering by not dealing with
this we have to get these premiums out we have we have delivered the print now
the the car hackers handbook actually we haven't the radio station has told us
that nobody has pledged for that I know that's not true yeah this is a numbers
thing basically we have those items and we we need to get accurate numbers
numbers that we can check because the first word we had when we checked about
that premium was that no one had ordered it mm-hmm which to us is kind of
jaw-dropping it seems I mean it may be one maybe two it's it's uh sometimes
people just aren't able to contribute in that particular fundraising period
but we were a little surprised at that so that's the first one I've heard we
have they've been a few there's been a couple other people have not gotten it
because we've been told nobody asked for it and I know that's not true that's a
discrepancy between somebody wrote something down wrong or didn't tell
somebody else I don't know what the problem is guys we got to get this all
right together here we have those books though we have the books but what's the
point of delivering into the station if the station doesn't believe that anybody
is owed the books they're just gonna disappear into a black hole and and then
we don't have the books anymore so yeah these are these are the issues that have
to be dealt with that have to be they have to be fixed and and we're putting a
foot down as far as this goes yes support the station but no we're not
participating in the premiums anymore until we figure out how to handle
premiums it's not that hard yeah and this was basically a policy that we
started after we cleaned out basically we got we found a lot of stuff that had
been in that proverbial black hole and so to prevent stuff from accruing and
sort of becoming piles of stuff here that that doesn't actually get to people
we we want a verification process so that we know exactly how many to bring
and that those people actually get them what I think we really need is a swarm
of people to descend upon this place and volunteer time and and skills and I mean
there's no question the people here are overworked and underappreciated and I'm
sure the last thing I want to hear is me complaining about all this but it's a
it's a legitimate complaint it's something that is hurting us and if we
had you know a flock of new people that were kind of more inspired you know to
take these things on then I think maybe it would get done we'd have more
enthusiasm we'd have more support we wouldn't be fundraising for the entire
summer you know I think that is what we need right now so if you're interested
in becoming a part of a massive community radio station that's in
serious trouble come on down 388 Atlantic Avenue that's our address I'm
sure they can put you to work right away or write to us oth at 2600 calm we can
probably give you more information yeah absolutely I mean the the real important
thing here is that we're not just here complaining about terrible things we're
not just here complaining that things aren't get done things aren't getting
done but we believe it's worth rescuing we believe it's worth saving we believe
it's worth fixing none of us would be here if we didn't believe that and it's
only by your your support by calling 516-620-3602 or going to give to WBAI.org
and showing your support that there's any possibility of us continuing and
and getting this back up on its feet and doing what we should do for for you the
listeners yeah yeah 516-620-3602 or give to WBAI.org make your donation and
that's a great suggestion that you don't always have to support financially maybe
a contribution of five dollars maybe becoming a WBAI buddy is too much for
you right now but you have time you have energy you have ideas for how to
participate in an organization like this and really be a part of affecting
what it becomes as I said earlier what the station transitions into during this
sort of tumultuous time here with the move and rebuilding we've had such
frustration just trying to get the basics done as far as just being able to
put a show together and having the phone cut off that's that's like the last
straw really because now we we can't have phone guests although Robbie were
able to do that through Skype it's not it's not a good replacement for a phone
line where there aren't dropouts and you know where it's a lot easier and where
people can contact you in a much easier way so we have put together a method
which people have already been taking advantage of we didn't give out the phone
number yet but people have already called it and you know they figured this
out we didn't tell them this was impossible they've been texting it oh
really yeah you can text this number that we put together only only during
this hour though because we disconnected after the show and and he can't do it
then people been texting a couple of texts that we got this is from let me
cool if we read SMS on the air we should set up a short code specifically for the
show this is from Michael I sent $75 for off the hook there's his receipt right
there premium was a thumb drive again with the hope conference hope X and
that's Michael over there in the Bronx and let's see well you know more more
text like that basically people saying things a lot of administrative topics
right along with the theme of what we're talking about here we are gonna try and
take listener phone calls even though we don't have a phone line because we're
hackers and that's the kind of thing we try and do we tried it last week we
didn't have any setup time now we have some setup time it should be right over
there channels is going to come up on CD one I think the furthest left blue
one this one yeah okay and that button doesn't have to be pressed down or
anything it might be and you might have to turn up press down you might have to
turn up the well I know I have to turn up the game that's that's you know but
it needs to be it likes to be boosted you mean up there okay like really here's
the phone number and if there's a listener out there wants to be the first
to call and see if we can get you on the air 3 3 1 2 2 3 WB AI that's 3 3 1 2 2 3
9 2 2 4 and hopefully we can make a little history here and take a phone
call where there are no phone lines those of you who just want to pledge the
number for that 5 1 6 6 2 0 3 6 0 2 again we can't emphasize enough the
importance of calling and keeping this place on the air because once it's gone
it's gone it's not coming back it's that's really important we have a phone
call from Southern New Jersey let's see if we can get this to to work hello can
you hear us I can hear this person a little bit hold on a second let me turn
that up keep speaking pretty low Kyle any ideas try the volume on your phone
that cell phone is all the way up the handset okay should I mess with these no
I think that's about as much as we can it's pretty awful can you keep keep
talking please there might be I'm sorry say again these dials I've never touched
before yeah that one's good so if you've ever wanted to call and shout at us so
we're all set okay go ahead what's on your mind well I just had a small bit of
hope feedback as well as a question which would you prefer let's start with
the hope feedback yeah sure I mean I had a great time really I there's not much I
feel like I could improve on I really love that you guys did a sort of like
more casual hacking competition and I think that the value of that is
ordinarily I'd be too intimidated to participate and I participated in that
was a lot of fun that was the the EFF one I believe this is the capture the
flag competition or a or event basically that occurred at the conference I'm not
sure exactly what for that was on I'm looking right at my fresh new YubiKey
really enjoy it but the one bit of constructive feedback I've got is it'd
be really cool if there was some sort of social media or message board that hope
attendees could use before during and after but maybe connect for like
impromptu things that sort of thing that's a brilliant idea yeah we've tried
that in the past the only difficulty with that is you get you get influxes
waves of a lot of spam sometimes we've tried we've had forums and so on in the
past but the other thing is deciding or settling on which format what is it
gonna be is it gonna be IRC is it gonna be this is gonna be that all formats we
use everything that's what we do it's gonna be my fork of slack and yeah you
know I'm gonna do this you know if we're gonna do that we need more people to
just manage that because we are we are taxed to the limit but I will say we can
look into this and and talk about it and maybe read through some of the other
feedback because in the future I think we're gonna have a lot more capability
to work on things like that like soft integrating our web and software teams
with the the conference organizing teams sure yeah this was something I thought a
bit about last year obviously the year before where when some of the rooms were
a capacity for Ed Snowden and a friend of mine just happened to have a
projector that's hotel so we felt like an impromptu thing up in the mezzanine
and sort of struggled to get the word out and thinking like I've been so cool
to let you know get the word out but anyway that was that was really and and
you notice now now we're doing that on a regular basis we have that overflow area
in the mezzanine so people can always go and see something so we kind of adapt as
as we go along yeah and I gotta I gotta say it felt really cool like it was a
relatively minor thing that we did oh we set a projector and a speaker up no big
deal but like we're very shy people in nature and it felt really good to
participate you know to contribute something right and and I don't know is
a feeling like none other in my life yeah no I I hear that absolutely that's
something that I've heard many times from Hope volunteers that they want to
get involved and and be a part of it and they are such a big part of it as are
all the attendees but to actually find yourself working side by side with so
many other people to make the magic happen that's something that it's almost
indescribable yeah yeah I agree and it wasn't even that we had volunteered it
was just oh hey there's a situation maybe we can help we have a projector
and just the organic nature that was I don't know it felt really good so that's
that's what made me think like oh we've been cool to have I don't know some sort
of sanction maybe a rep maybe a subreddit who knows but right right a
message a message board of some kind no I think that's a that's a fair fair
comment and it certainly is I mean that that spirit of hacking I was certainly I
would encourage you if you have time in the future at an event to volunteer
because we desperate we do need a lot of hands on deck so to speak and we
really appreciate that help and it's a great way to perpetuate that kind of
that great feeling of of being able to contribute something and and socialize
and we just we have just under two years to organize the next one so yeah yeah
maybe I'll shoot you guys an email but uh okay call with a question okay go
ahead I have something on my mind that if I'm taking up too much air time here
but I'm so curious what you guys think about this so every time I leave hope
I'm always geared up and I want to be involved and and not just with hope or
any of our various causes that hackers in general are going to find important
but sorry I just really just curious where do you see the role of the the
average everyday hacker trying to get the message forward right I mean I saw
some talks about crypto parties and stuff like that and I was just curious
what your take on that stuff what can the average Joe in suburbia do I mean
the the short answer for me I would say is is act absolutely act locally and be
a be a bit of an evangelist be a diplomat for hacking because there's a
lot of people that don't quote get it and that are not from the community and
you find that you got to realize that you are insulated to a degree if you
only hang out with hackers so definitely share your positive
experiences and mix it up with other scenes like the making and bio or
whatever other areas that might interest you
yeah it's all about communications all about as Kyle says spreading the word
yeah totally and keep the keep the momentum going after hope check out if
you haven't already your local 2600 meeting if you don't have a local 2600
meeting you could make a local 2600 meeting all that info is on 2600.com
slash meetings and it's a great way to get things going in your local area and
and see where it goes I mean so many awesome things have been a product of
those meetings of other meetings other meetups technology technology related
meetups just see what's going on in your local area you're from southern New
Jersey I believe according to your caller ID so that means you can go to
Philadelphia meeting or the New York meeting or that might be a New Jersey
meeting hey we're gonna move on because there was another call coming in from
somebody with an unknown caller ID so I'm kind of curious hello unknown caller
you're on the air go ahead yes we can hear you fine except only on one channel
but that's not your fault that's our fault
for a book No Place to Hide by Glenn Greenwald which was quite the thing
there talked about mr. Snowden journey and so on and five days later I
contributed another $200 basically never got the premiums got involved tried to
talk to people never got through multiple phone numbers never anyone
answering them when I was able to get through on an occasional time where they
leave the message board they say the message board is filled you can't get
through I spoke to Mike Haskins several times he actually called me back tried
to get something going but never came through he actually gave me Burt
Reinhardt's personal number I spoke to him several times he was always going to
involve in something always going to get back to me was aware of the problem he
managed to get me one premium but I'm still old three more including recently
in May 21st 2016 backroom deal for the 1% he said he was going to get right
back to me spoke to him he said he's speaking to the guy right now all we
just stepped out he'll be right back I'll call you back never did this goes
on and on I finally just called up somebody out of frustration on the 516
number to donate I said I'd like to leave a message because I don't use the
internet I only have a phone I said I just like you to know that most people
probably view you as home shopping network that never delivers and that's
the frustration that's going on with me I've contributed over $500 over the
other premiums here and I've been a longtime supporter but I'm just
frustrated because I feel like I'm being really abused by the station there
they're promising things are never delivering so I'm glad to hear if I
turn on the station now in the middle of a program that you guys are trying to do
something well I'm glad I'm glad you got to express that and I think you're
speaking for a lot of listeners and I think maybe this will show the level of
support I mean you kept calling back you kept supporting you know I almost
sound like you're addicted to WBAI because you keep you keep giving us more
and and we keep hurting you in exchange for that and you know that's that's the
kind of dedication I'm not saying that's kind of dedication we want to
encourage because we want people to feel appreciated but but you have the right
spirit as far as wanting to keep this place going and and you're being
betrayed and and we feel that and we are so sorry this is happening which we're
doing everything we can to try and fix this and hopefully this dialogue is one
step in that direction well it's nice to hear that somebody's
actually involved and seems to be like trying to do something I don't know
though it seems like you guys are very disorganized there and don't see nobody
seems to be in charge or in authority I mean I spoke to Burt Reinholdt while he
was sitting in the room with all these things piled up he said and he was going
to get right back to me he managed to get me to Gary Knowles thing for $95 we
never came to an agreement on the Glenn Greenwald thing which during the
time span I said I got frustrated I went and bought the book myself but I was
owed two CDs and he was going to try and do something about that the rock and
roll thing he said he's speaking to the guy I actually spoke to him he says yeah
I got your number from Bertie I'll call you back yeah does the show on Friday
and Saturday and Sunday nights here and he never got back to me and then the
last thing news Bert was going to get back to me on this last thing vacuum
deal for 1% the recent donation that I gave in May of this year and and you can
see from from from the premiums you're listing these are premiums that off the
hook does not offer it just shows that this is a problem that's systemic across
the entire station and when when you say you know you guys seem disorganized you
know we off the hook we're disorganized in our own way but we're not a part of
this disorganization because what we do is we offer the premiums we bring the
premiums in and that's really the extent of it as far as everything that we can
do there is another organization at the station that's supposed to be involved
with sending all this out processing it and that's where the breakdown is
occurring now we're a part of the problem I realized by by contributing
premiums that never get delivered that's why we're stopping that until this is
resolved but we feel your pain and we feel your frustration and and we really
hope we can get this resolved I spoke to Amy Goodman about this because what
do you call it because you know you really seem to be flying a false flag
operation there you're going on promoting this I mean her desperate
please really ensconce me out of about the $300 at one point over a five-day
period because they you know the station seems so desperate even this year gets
my better judgment when they found it so desperate again I said all right you
know I'll do this and the rest of it and I tried to impress I had a long
conversation one time with Burt Reinhold and I said listen in your flowchart in
your you know flowchart of operations I said this has to be paramount I said I'm
a very forgiving guy and I'm sorry if I'm sounding so bitter even now but it
just seems that if people are just ignoring their obligations and their
duties I said you have no credence whatsoever if I am this frustrated and I
continue to give and be abused now for the last two and a half years imagine
what's going on out there you've got to necessitate putting this as priority
number one get these things out give your station some credence so people
don't feel like they're involved in some sort of three-card monthly game here
and he expressed to me oh it's very important that's what I'm going to do
well that was um you know two and a half months ago yeah yeah the thing is
multiply it by a couple of hundred people saying the same thing and it's
inevitable people are going to feel like their specific needs are not being
addressed not to you know negate them at all but this this is a problem that is
almost out of control and we really need to apply some some additional help to
get this resolved yeah yeah the finances and fundraising itself is definitely a
huge goal but we also we want to be able to improve some of these processes and
and keep the integrity and the and the reputation of the station intact as it
should be we we want to honor our word and and and and make sure that our
listeners are working with an entity that is is doing the same well I
appreciate that but somebody somewhere along the lines speak to the board and
get in touch and get a different general manager I have to say this I mr.
Reinhold and mr. Hopkins have been very you know affable and understanding and
empathetic empathetic you say what you will but yet you know where the rubber
hits the road it's not happening and if you have somebody there who is in charge
who could not at least do this I mean the man was actually the last time I
spoke to him in depth was sitting in a room with these objects in front of him
and he could not find a way to as a long conversations and knowing that I had his
personal number he could still not find a way to get this out the door so what
does that say about him well I was to say about all of us as far as this whole
organization we need we need a revolution here is what we basically
need and I hear you sir and I hope we can get this uh-huh well I'm not
pointing to any specific people I'd rather avoid that well again you know
not to defend anybody but if he doesn't have access to the right database to
know that it's going to the proper person I don't know I don't know the
specifics but we need to to organize that we need to have a lot more people
involved and listen I'd like to try and take one more phone call but we're on
this we're gonna work as hard as we can all right thanks thank you
but at this point the well is run dry you know there's the old once twice shame
on right shame on me this has been you know multiple times and I'm just tired
of it I just feel well I hope we we at least have you as a listener but thanks
thanks for that call let's take one more from New Jersey good evening New Jersey
you're on the air can you hear us yes yes I it's gonna have to be quick though
all right I'm a fan and I love it however I'm different with everybody I
think this should be the time that these four weeks I turn the dial off I
hear over and over again the same things repeated and I they lose interest in
the very time that they should be people what I suggest is if virtual or whoever
wants people to love the station have them come there are people with poetry
readers anything so that should be the print not a premium but allow the people
of that month who never get a chance to speak or talk invite them and use that
time now that's a good point by the end of each program but continue the
wonderful programs you have without the message without repetition of how many
times we hear programs I don't want to say what they are but you know as well
as I how many times can they talk about health about how many to the same thing
repeated and how many times about the history and I teach history at William
Paterson University so I'm well concerned about this okay I'm sorry I
have to cut you off there but that you raise a very good point and I think
that's the right track to be honest less premium driven and more content driven
of the station as a whole more involvement with the community getting
more people on the air getting us all involved I think that's that's the key
here and that's where we have to start and the way you can start call 516 620
360 to pledge whatever you can afford hey we're out of here until next week
personal computer shows on next I believe for two hours tonight Wow okay
well good luck with that this is to be BAI New York the manual for off the hook
right to us OTH at 26 home.com see you next week
I'm sure we'll find an extra piece where each has a plate of leather
Yama Yama, Yama Yama, Yama Yama
Move in and catch your
Yamaha, Yamaha
Yamaha, Yamaha
Yamaha, Yamaha
Yamaha, Yamaha
Yamaha, Yamaha
Here he is the Electro Gypsy
Here he is the Electro Gypsy
There he goes the Electro Gypsy
Everywhere he goes he needs to take a generator
Power is not what he craves my friend
His system needs to move his electro head
Yamaha, Yamaha
Yamaha, Yamaha
Here he is the Electro Gypsy
Here he is the Electro Gypsy
Here he is the Electro Gypsy
Here he is the Electro Gypsy
Move in and catch your
Yama Yama, Yama Yama, Yama Yama
Move in and catch your
Yamaha, Yamaha
Yamaha, Yamaha
Move in and catch your
Yam yamaha, yam yamaha, yam yamaha, mugun kashiyo
Yam yamaha, yam yamaha, yam yamaha, mugun kashiyo
Yam yamaha, yam yamaha, yam yamaha, mugun kashiyo
Yam yamaha, yam yamaha, yam yamaha, mugun kashiyo
Yam yamaha, yam yamaha, yam yamaha, mugun kashiyo
Here he is, the electro gypsy
Here he is, the electro gypsy
Mugun kashiyo