Australia
Program Notes. Sunday Night, on November 9 had a very thoughtful focus on the role of the religious right in the US Presidential election. This was a breath of fresh air as far as a serious look at this issue without the shouting matches that have come to dominate such issues covered on American TV (especially FOX, CNN, and a bit less so on MSNBC), and talk radio as well (a major exception being most NPR / PRI programs). Reception was poor enough that I did not catch the names of those interviewed, though one had written a book on how James Dobson / Focus on the Family has dominated and is winning the cultural wars. The tone of the show seemed to indicate that this segment of Republicans is likely to remain a minority if they continue to focus almost exclusively on abortion and homosexuality. This all bodes poorly for Republicans over the next several presidential election cycles. Perhaps coming from Australia, at a distance where unreasoning passions do not dominate so strongly, it was possible to present a more even handed and thoughtful discussion of the future of the religious right and the Republican Party than is possible within this country.
Russia
Tough to hear in recent months, but now seems to be settled in on 6240 kHz English sign-on at 0200 UTC, reception generally fair-poor, largely readable but not great.
Moscow Mailbag on November 9th with Carl Watts, host, and answering the questions, Yuri ________. Yuri answered a rather strident anti-Russian letter on Russia’s conflict with Georgia. He suggested that the letter writer should go to BBC on-line to get more information on the background of that conflict. Further on in the program, Yuri spoke of his impressions on his visits to the United States, including in the late 1980s to Atlanta, Georgia. He thought they were friendly, polite, curious about other places, but woefully uninformed / misinformed on world affairs.
With the same quirky theme music, and a format very similar to that first heard by me in the mid 1960s with Joe Adamov, this is one program that is still around all these years. Here’s hoping that I can hear it (on short wave) for many years to come, though VOR is in the past few years generally tough to hear with limited hours and frequencies. This, like other broadcasters (now gone), a far cry from the 1960s when they came booming in on 10 (or 15, or 20) different frequencies.
(Source: Roger Chambers, NY via Cumbre DX)
Grundig YB 400 PE with long wire.