The financial state of KPFK in LA is totally dependent on what is spent, not only locally, but for any other radio station that it TIED to each other thru the Umbrella called Pacifica Radio Foundation.
Another website in NY is still current, discussing the loans that all 5 stations are paying and dependent upon, thu their commentators there. Occasionally, we will copy, paste, and share honestly what is written in those Eastern country web pages to insure that if info is of value to anyone still donating/ paying/ supporting our Local station, that the details we never hear anything about are revealed here, as it is at WBAI related blog.
So with no plagiarism or borrowing, here are some selective & edited for readability only, [no information is changed or corrected or distorted ! ] may be reposted here, with the original source post listed to go read MORE there...
Every station claims, pretends, denies and lies when they ask for 'donations for your radio station' by not mentioning anywhere, not on their websites, certainly not on Pacifica's sparse website [bylaws are there tho ] nor on-air is any back-room deals, audits, loans, financial shenanigans or 'other costs not related to Your Radio Station' given.
So here is the source: http://wbai-nowthen.blogspot.com/
The articles are light but the commentators provide much more in details and varied shared info that is not found elsewhere ...any more... While the prior KPFA blog with info about the Pacifica National Board members that were causing problems [apparently] and a bit of the financials too, has gone relatively silent since April 2018.
[Names are often excerpted out with "..." inserted instead, tho some may slip thru. ]
here are some selected quotes [edited for read-ability]: by Jara Handala Oct 19, 2018
http://wbai-nowthen.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-response-handala-to-manfredonia.html#comment-form
"probably the most authoritative source on the FJC loan terms, the latest
Pacifica auditor’s report, for FY2016, dated 31 May this year, produced
by Regalia & Associates. This is what it says, in full:
“Loan
covenants: Under the loan, the Foundation is subject to specific loan
covenants, some of which are summarized as follows:
• Submission of audited financial statements within 120 days following the close of the fiscal year.
•
Submission of paperwork signed by the CFO certifying compliance with
all covenants within 120 days following the close of the fiscal year.
•
The Foundation shall not make capital expenditures for its stations in
excess of $150,000 during any fiscal year without the prior written
consent of the lender.
• The Foundation shall not, except with the
prior written approval of the lender, incur any debt in excess of
$25,000 in any one instance other than customary trade payables.
• A ‘Reserve Account’ in the amount of $379,000 must be created.
•
The Foundation must be in compliance wit4h [sic] every material
provision of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(ERISA).”
(note 17, page 19 –
http://pacifica.org/documents/financial/audit_2016.pdf )
Relevant
are the first, second, & last terms. (The other three are repeated
in the spurious summary of the loan, circulated under the authority of
PNB chair ......)
FY2017 audited statements may be ready
for FJC either side of Christmas. The 2018 are likely to extend beyond
any second six-month compliance waiver FJC may grant:
bookkeeping
disarray tends to be cumulative, becoming increasingly intractable,
unearthing nastier surprises, bringing longer delays, sapping morale.
The Pacifica accounting labyrinth will drop into a new dimension.... The antithesis of dizzy with
success.
For 2018, will CFO-the-Third be Maxie-the-Third? [new ED hired ]
Maxie’s spoken at four broadcasted meetings, & he’s no money man .....
Buzzwords: best practice (never a mention of satisficing practice); the
network effect; curs’d be patchwork programming. Strangely quiet on
diversity, #earsofcolor – but he knows the interests of the key people
on the PNB, so he’s not going to go all identitarian when what’s needed
is “the network effect”, a stress on *common identity*, not
particularist identity. In any case, he doesn’t want to become embroiled
in useless squabbles: for him a priority is managing his Pacifica time
well so he can devote the necessary hours to his other money-making
activities. So, many reasons why he won’t emulate Tommy-..... in
being a party to a serious violation of the Pacifica by-laws: “neither
the Secretary nor the Chief Financial Officer shall serve concurrently
as the Chairperson of the Board or the Executive Director”
(Article 9,
Section 1 http://pacifica.org/indexed_bylaws/art9sec1.html ).
The
auditors, not surprisingly, refer to “CFO”, not ED, as the qualified
Pacifica *employee* to take the responsibility, ...
something that Pacifica
can’t contractually palm off to an agent, like Anita-from-NETA. This
term was worded before Pacifica decided to outsource the bulk of the
accounting work, so perhaps FJC will agree to a double certification by
the ED & NETA, with the PNB deciding to de facto dissolve the
position of CFO. As director.... knows, this is just one of
those “technical things”.
The last term refers to a
long-established member of the Pacifica herd, the pensions elephant.
Ever-present, never spoken of – until that chilly Californian spring
morning, when the IRS came knocking … & the DOL … & who knows
who else. Just more of those “technical things”.
AND more comments from another posting
[google images ]
All happening within KPFK is of interest and discussed here.There are No Other found websites that are Commenting, Questioning Our Radio Station. Join US here in creating TRANSPARENCY . Started 2012 to date, This has been our COLLECTIVE effort =seems there are no other KPFK blogs than this 1 ! Had to recently discontinue - whatever happens, doesn't much matter as same personnel, attitudes, barricades continue - as 2019 are barely any changes there.(c) mm + foto credit :(c) photosbyalexandria.com
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Monday, August 6, 2018
This may be our last sharing of KPFK's / Pacifica's hidden doings, quotes here:
Below are more quotes from another NY focused website. If we have inadvertently Repeated any blurbs/ comments here, please excuse us.
the glazed eyes syndrome comes upon any readers of too many words to consume intelligently. The many comments begin to blurrrrr together and need much time/ attention to sort and put together in a logical manner. We have unfortunately not been able to do that for our readers. Sorry.
But our intent is to do the final clear-out of what we have kept for this TRANSPARENCY PROJECT that pertains to Our Radio Station- KPFK - and it's being under the Pacifica top heavy loaders and the old By-Laws, many of which should have long ago been updated and corrected, but, as usual, NOT done.
Below are some comments re-posted from WBAI - NY's focus as if NY were so much more valuable or relevant than LA's KPFK. Not. Except in bad deed done that are now encumbering all 5 radio stations, turning what was barely financially viable before...now paying loans, interest, court settlements, attorney, etc etc etc and more... some of which is detailed by others below here:
[google/hackernoon.]
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
comments here are copied as found, to provide a bit, not much, of information re KPFK too...
Jara Handala has left a new comment on the post "Has Reimers called Cosby yet?":
"3 of 3
"Lastly, whenever anyone speaks of Pacifica's big loan it should always be termed 'the FJC variable interest loan'. This is because even PNB directors, including some on its Finance Cttee, didn't realise it wasn't fixed.
"Again the Trump technique: it was first spoken about as a 7% loan (wrong figure, but hey), really good for the likes of Pacifica, we're so lucky. And that's how it got fixed in people's heads, a specific number – so fixed, not variable.
"So at the last Finance Cttee meeting, Tuesday 10 July, director Tony L___gasped on hearing the news (6:38, Ken Aaron, KPFK Treasurer speaking, Gasping Tony gasping "who knew that?!?" in the background at 7:10 – & no, I never want to see the gif – https://kpftx.org/archives/ pnb/finance/180710/ finance180710b.mp3).
"Guess Director Tony, also member of the national Finance Cttee, never got round to reading the FJC webpage (http://fjc.org/fjc-agency- loan-fund – incidentally, how Pacifica satisfied the FJC Loan Cttee's third bullet-point mandatory condition, only G-d knows)." ###
yet another's words here reposted:
"As for your question as to the Large Loan, so far as I know, .... there’s a great deal, particularly as to specifics, that isn’t known, that’s simply not available to the listeners, to the public.
"The ‘democratization’ and ‘openness’ Pacifica claims are on the whole quite simply lies and false claims.
"Most critical business, pretty much anything involving money in any meaningful way is kept in ‘confidence’ in ‘Executive Session’ meetings. Sometimes there’s information available post facto, but often it’s simply never available, and in those cases where it is available, it’s almost always so long after the actual decision and expenditure that it’s of only slight historical interest."We know almost nothing of the terms of the loan, really. All significant specifics are still in ‘confidence’. Even many board members simply aren’t informed, and if they are informed it’s only after the actual decisions have been made by a far smaller group."In a sense, anyone who’s interested has little choice but to rely on a combination of rumors, the occasional leak or two, and a few bits of fairly hard information occasionally actually reported."The overall picture is what really matters, I think, and we do know that the overall financial picture is still very bad. Estimates as to total indebtedness for the large loan, pension obligations, etc, seem to range from about $6m and north from there.
" It’s possible that the ‘housekeeping’ efforts with the new accounting firm, etc, will result in firmer estimates."The key, though, as I’ve mentioned and as I see it, is simple: Pacifica programming simply doesn’t appeal to enough people to keep Pacifica alive."Unless truly radical positive changes are made, all evidence strongly suggests it will in time collapse."Then again, that threat has existed in various forms for decades and they’ve managed to squeak along, largely unchanged, and with very little audience, serving really only themselves – which seems, sadly, to be all they really care about, rhetoric notwithstanding. ####
"You are by no means the only one who wonders about that. There are many secrets and where they’re are secrets there are, as we all know, things to hide— we really need to know what they are hiding, and why. ###
MORE HERE : yet another's words here reposted:
Anonymous has left a new comment on the post "Has Reimers called Cosby yet?":
"I’m neither an attorney nor an accountant, and memory is ever and always a fallible instrument. Also, of course, hard information is nearly nonexistent.
"All that said, my impression is that KPFK is in a sense directly vulnerable in that I think the space used for Pacifica Archives, which I think is owned and/or controlled by KPFK was used as part of the collateral for the Large Loan."In a sense, though, particular properties being ‘owned’ by particular stations is something of an illusion. Don’t forget, that all five station, plus the archives are part of Pacifica, which means that in reality, legally, as I understand it, Pacifica owns everything, and the debts of any entity or combination of entities is all owed to Pacifica."There are consistent rumors, incidentally, that the loan agreement precludes Pacifica filing for Ch 11. If that’s the case, and the financial picture worsens, it may be the case that Ch 7 dissolution is the only option. Again, I’m not an attorney, I’m not an accountant, and very nearly no one has seen the actual loan agreements, and those who have seen the full documents ain’t talkin’."There are longstanding rumors that factions supportive of KPFK and/or KPFA want WBAI’s frequency t to be sold and those monies used to ‘save’ themselves (KPFT is sort of up on the air in these rumors, and for that matter, so is WPFW, and there are some pretty clear differences of opinion between KPFA and KPFK).
"t was pretty clearly factions from Southern California that fought the proposal of last fall to file for Ch 11 protection and reorganization, preferring the strategy of the Large Loan and the hiring of Mr Livingston.
" Frankly, I have no opinion as to which might be the better strategy – I simply don’t have enough information as a mere member of the public, and I think it’s safe to say that very, very, very few of these people are to be believed or trusted."As ... said, I see the core problem as the lack of talent, and the lack of programming of any substantial merit. Thus their relegation to history, obscurity, and irrelevance."As stated previously at tedious length, I see the abandonment/betrayal of the original foundational principles in favor of narrow, strident political advocacy as the fatal error. That transition occurred somewhere in the mid-1970s and onward.
"Amongst other problems it meant that the criterion for access to air was no longer whether or not the person or persons ‘did good radio’ but whether they were in accord with the reigning political line and reflective of that ‘correct’ mindset."Such unimaginative, closed-mindedness is not likely to lead to fascinating radio, nor to drawing audiences. As has been demonstrated now for about… what, three or four decades?"Pacificans seem to be rather slow learners, I suppose which, given the original foundational goals and purposes, and the first few decades, is a shame.. but so it is, and so it has
long been. " ###
READY FOR MORE ? HERE'S another's words here reposted:
"have not seen the breakdown of the massive buyout of the ESRT lease."How much for interest?"How much for penalties?"How much for rent owed?"How much for penalties?"For how many months was the lease bought out? What was the cost for each month? Was there a discount applied for the months that remained?"When a commercial lease is broken, the remaining obligation of the lease comes due. Ergo, quantify the amount saved by breaking the lease?"Let us all stop the nonsense." ###
yet another's words here reposted - IF ANY ARE REPEATS, FORGIVE THESE TIRED EYES WE'VE COME TO SUFFER FROM...[po' lit'l us..... ]:
"Pacifica provided documents to FJC in support of the loan application, including its plan on how it will repay the loan by c. 31 March 2021. Unbelievably, this central text, supposedly regulating what the Foundation does for the next three years (well, 32 months now, 11% fundraising time already lost), has not been distributed to the directors as a whole;
here's another's words here reposted:
a new comment on the post "Has Reimers called Cosby yet?":
"who knows, and can tell "the rest of us" how those producer/programmers = the long-termed-forever-clinging to their On-Air Access spots and never releasing the space for any other views, demographic set, or more updated viewpoints CAN hold on for so long so tightly, and on and on.....?????"Who decides if that same program can remain on-air forever after ? By what standards, criteria, or reviewed values is it Determined that those, once-in, never get out ?"Is it the GM, PD or LSB or ????? And who informs the stakeholders of why, and HOW those decisions of POWER are made ? "Who holds those reins and controls it all - to stay stuck in the long-past repetitions ???"This is not a facetious but honest want-to-know question" ####
end of quoted words - whew !
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
WOW ! no more words here being re-posted- ....whatever else was written in July 2018 must by now remain elsewhere, as if ever single written utterance contained some so! important ! data, or fact, or information-needed ? = not.
[google - unsealed.org ]
we are so ordinary sometimes ! as in always thinking of More to share, to find, to want to help FIX IT !
but we know, we can do so little, except flap wings, look shiny, attract attention to what is not being revealed / nor admitted.....
and then let the rest do whatever "happens". or doesn't. both /either/ all is OK as IS.
[google provides beauty ]
we are not concerned with what we cannot even know or is beyond our mere human actions or comprehensions.
We are responsible for OUR CHOICES, our doings, our intentions and our
doing-the-work-in-volved. period.
[google loves pretty things too]
The rest is UP to whatever else occurs or doesn't, .... just as life evolves, revolves, randomly or with patterns. All is done as each wing or wave or seed can offer it's own energy to the Whole. we are. so too.
Enough.
(c) mj ++ 2018 [a collective work done ! ]
the glazed eyes syndrome comes upon any readers of too many words to consume intelligently. The many comments begin to blurrrrr together and need much time/ attention to sort and put together in a logical manner. We have unfortunately not been able to do that for our readers. Sorry.
But our intent is to do the final clear-out of what we have kept for this TRANSPARENCY PROJECT that pertains to Our Radio Station- KPFK - and it's being under the Pacifica top heavy loaders and the old By-Laws, many of which should have long ago been updated and corrected, but, as usual, NOT done.
Below are some comments re-posted from WBAI - NY's focus as if NY were so much more valuable or relevant than LA's KPFK. Not. Except in bad deed done that are now encumbering all 5 radio stations, turning what was barely financially viable before...now paying loans, interest, court settlements, attorney, etc etc etc and more... some of which is detailed by others below here:
[google/hackernoon.]
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
comments here are copied as found, to provide a bit, not much, of information re KPFK too...
Jara Handala has left a new comment on the post "Has Reimers called Cosby yet?":
"3 of 3
"Lastly, whenever anyone speaks of Pacifica's big loan it should always be termed 'the FJC variable interest loan'. This is because even PNB directors, including some on its Finance Cttee, didn't realise it wasn't fixed.
"Again the Trump technique: it was first spoken about as a 7% loan (wrong figure, but hey), really good for the likes of Pacifica, we're so lucky. And that's how it got fixed in people's heads, a specific number – so fixed, not variable.
"So at the last Finance Cttee meeting, Tuesday 10 July, director Tony L___gasped on hearing the news (6:38, Ken Aaron, KPFK Treasurer speaking, Gasping Tony gasping "who knew that?!?" in the background at 7:10 – & no, I never want to see the gif – https://kpftx.org/archives/
"Guess Director Tony, also member of the national Finance Cttee, never got round to reading the FJC webpage (http://fjc.org/fjc-agency-
yet another's words here reposted:
"As for your question as to the Large Loan, so far as I know, .... there’s a great deal, particularly as to specifics, that isn’t known, that’s simply not available to the listeners, to the public.
"The ‘democratization’ and ‘openness’ Pacifica claims are on the whole quite simply lies and false claims.
"Most critical business, pretty much anything involving money in any meaningful way is kept in ‘confidence’ in ‘Executive Session’ meetings. Sometimes there’s information available post facto, but often it’s simply never available, and in those cases where it is available, it’s almost always so long after the actual decision and expenditure that it’s of only slight historical interest."We know almost nothing of the terms of the loan, really. All significant specifics are still in ‘confidence’. Even many board members simply aren’t informed, and if they are informed it’s only after the actual decisions have been made by a far smaller group."In a sense, anyone who’s interested has little choice but to rely on a combination of rumors, the occasional leak or two, and a few bits of fairly hard information occasionally actually reported."The overall picture is what really matters, I think, and we do know that the overall financial picture is still very bad. Estimates as to total indebtedness for the large loan, pension obligations, etc, seem to range from about $6m and north from there.
" It’s possible that the ‘housekeeping’ efforts with the new accounting firm, etc, will result in firmer estimates."The key, though, as I’ve mentioned and as I see it, is simple: Pacifica programming simply doesn’t appeal to enough people to keep Pacifica alive."Unless truly radical positive changes are made, all evidence strongly suggests it will in time collapse."Then again, that threat has existed in various forms for decades and they’ve managed to squeak along, largely unchanged, and with very little audience, serving really only themselves – which seems, sadly, to be all they really care about, rhetoric notwithstanding. ####
"You are by no means the only one who wonders about that. There are many secrets and where they’re are secrets there are, as we all know, things to hide— we really need to know what they are hiding, and why. ###
MORE HERE : yet another's words here reposted:
Anonymous has left a new comment on the post "Has Reimers called Cosby yet?":
"I’m neither an attorney nor an accountant, and memory is ever and always a fallible instrument. Also, of course, hard information is nearly nonexistent.
"All that said, my impression is that KPFK is in a sense directly vulnerable in that I think the space used for Pacifica Archives, which I think is owned and/or controlled by KPFK was used as part of the collateral for the Large Loan."In a sense, though, particular properties being ‘owned’ by particular stations is something of an illusion. Don’t forget, that all five station, plus the archives are part of Pacifica, which means that in reality, legally, as I understand it, Pacifica owns everything, and the debts of any entity or combination of entities is all owed to Pacifica."There are consistent rumors, incidentally, that the loan agreement precludes Pacifica filing for Ch 11. If that’s the case, and the financial picture worsens, it may be the case that Ch 7 dissolution is the only option. Again, I’m not an attorney, I’m not an accountant, and very nearly no one has seen the actual loan agreements, and those who have seen the full documents ain’t talkin’."There are longstanding rumors that factions supportive of KPFK and/or KPFA want WBAI’s frequency t to be sold and those monies used to ‘save’ themselves (KPFT is sort of up on the air in these rumors, and for that matter, so is WPFW, and there are some pretty clear differences of opinion between KPFA and KPFK).
"t was pretty clearly factions from Southern California that fought the proposal of last fall to file for Ch 11 protection and reorganization, preferring the strategy of the Large Loan and the hiring of Mr Livingston.
" Frankly, I have no opinion as to which might be the better strategy – I simply don’t have enough information as a mere member of the public, and I think it’s safe to say that very, very, very few of these people are to be believed or trusted."As ... said, I see the core problem as the lack of talent, and the lack of programming of any substantial merit. Thus their relegation to history, obscurity, and irrelevance."As stated previously at tedious length, I see the abandonment/betrayal of the original foundational principles in favor of narrow, strident political advocacy as the fatal error. That transition occurred somewhere in the mid-1970s and onward.
"Amongst other problems it meant that the criterion for access to air was no longer whether or not the person or persons ‘did good radio’ but whether they were in accord with the reigning political line and reflective of that ‘correct’ mindset."Such unimaginative, closed-mindedness is not likely to lead to fascinating radio, nor to drawing audiences. As has been demonstrated now for about… what, three or four decades?"Pacificans seem to be rather slow learners, I suppose which, given the original foundational goals and purposes, and the first few decades, is a shame.. but so it is, and so it has
long been. " ###
READY FOR MORE ? HERE'S another's words here reposted:
"have not seen the breakdown of the massive buyout of the ESRT lease."How much for interest?"How much for penalties?"How much for rent owed?"How much for penalties?"For how many months was the lease bought out? What was the cost for each month? Was there a discount applied for the months that remained?"When a commercial lease is broken, the remaining obligation of the lease comes due. Ergo, quantify the amount saved by breaking the lease?"Let us all stop the nonsense." ###
yet another's words here reposted - IF ANY ARE REPEATS, FORGIVE THESE TIRED EYES WE'VE COME TO SUFFER FROM...[po' lit'l us..... ]:
Jara Handala has left a new comment on the post "Has Reimers called Cosby yet?":
"2 of 3
"2 of 3
"Pacifica provided documents to FJC in support of the loan application, including its plan on how it will repay the loan by c. 31 March 2021. Unbelievably, this central text, supposedly regulating what the Foundation does for the next three years (well, 32 months now, 11% fundraising time already lost), has not been distributed to the directors as a whole;
"this lil fact emerged at the end of the latest PNB
open session, Thursday 5 July. Point-of-order-Madam-Chair A____ put
questions to A____-from-NETA & Mr Tom (38:55 & 46:18 – https://kpftx.org/archives/ pnb/pnb180705/pnb180705b.mp3).
" First she asked A___ if she has two documents: Pacifica's cash-flow forecast thru to 30 September 2019
(the end of the fiscal year); &, more importantly, Pacifica's plan
to pay its debts. Simple, really. So simple that Chair N____
functioning as Praetorian Guard N____, immediately intervened to say
A____ would sent it to Mr Tom who would then send it to the directors
(40:18)."Eventually A____-from-NETA got her chance to speak about
the first document: "yes, Tom sent it to us, so we do have it, &
we're starting to, ah, review it [then she talked about NETA Cash-flowGuy
doing that work ...] so, yes, we do have it"."Then A____ asked
A___, in a confusing way, presumably thinking of the FJC loan in
particular but knowing that Pacifica is going all strategic these days,
whether Anita also has a copy of "the strategic plan to repay our debts"
(41:18). "Yes we do", replied A___, in a definitive, self-assured
voice. Well that seemed all done & dusted; straight questions,
straight answers. All above board.
"But this is Pacifica."A ____got a chance to repeat her request that the PNB, & so all directors,
receive these two documents (46:18). She asked Mr Tom directly: if NETA
can receive documents from you, why can't the PNB? Mr Tom betrayed that
he was a bit rattled here, pinned back into the corner by
Adriana-the-people's- Rottweiler, & wilted under the pressure:
"A__ was, er, er, mistaken about [Mr Tom] having sent that to them:
"I
have not seen it [one document or two?] myself, er, it was, er – we have
access to Sam's computer, um, and, er, yer, we were, the, what the
auditor has said is that this was something that was sent to him, so I'm
looking for it, um, I, er, in his, er, I, I have a, a gotten access to
the email that changed the password & so I'm looking, & I will
be glad to send that to you as soon as I can find it."
"And if you
believe that you'll believe anything. (Sam Agarwal, Pacifica's last
qualified Chief Financial Officer, finished working at Pacifica on Friday 8 June.
"So Mr Tom had the data in front of him for four whole weeks, but lacked
the competence to find them. Some iED & acting CFO.)"Anyway,
A____ just took Mr Tom's floundering as an upfront response, straight
away asking him something else. A___ didn't ask A___ why she said
what she did if it wasn't true, especially as she talked specifically
about CashflowGuy flowing thru the cashflow. (
"Yes, A____ was probably
off the call, but that's beside the point.) And A_____ didn't ask Mr
Tom, the acting Chief Financial Officer (unqualified), how he's managing
without both the fiscal year's cashflow forecast & 'the strategic
plan for paying Pacifica's debts'.
"Such trifling pieces of paper, so why
ring Doug R____ or Sam E____ for a copy? Shucks, no. Maybe he'll find
it on Sam's computer. Maybe he won't.
"But, guys, these are Pacifica
documents, so they're hardly worth anything to anyone, right?
"That's
some acting Chief Financial Officer (unqualified). But it's unfair to
call him Mr Tom. As I said a few weeks ago, he is qualified: he's Tom
L_____ BS.
And it's only because his political opponents at Pacifica
are so ineffective that his BS is able to smother them, it's only in
the dull reflection of this crew that Mr Tom looks qualified. "
###
here's another's words here reposted:
a new comment on the post "Has Reimers called Cosby yet?":
"By ‘housekeeping’ ....referring principally to moving to put financial affairs in something at least resembling coherent, sane function:"While the Ch11 v Massive Loan argument had valid points on both sides, so far as I could see, at least a decision was finally taken, and the massive loan was used to buy out WBAI’s crushing lease obligations at ESRT, and to move WBAI, complete with a new transmitter, to 4 Times Square, slashing unsustainable operating expenses."Similarly, the wildly overdue FY 2016 audit was completed and submitted, avoiding the immediate threat of the loss of charitable status for Pacifica."Similarly, also, steps were taken to hire a new firm to consolidate and carry out Pacifica’s book keeping functions, and to bring in people to assess and consider how to deal with Pacifica’s retirement fund short-funding problems."None of these is fully accomplished, but real, tangible, substantial steps were taken, and if carried forward, will begin to put Pacifica in a coherent financial state."That leaves open, however, whether Pacifica’s programming can be revised/improved/resurrected/transformed/whatever in such a fashion as to make Pacifica relevant to anyone other than itself, and to actually draw an audience sufficient to repay that massive loan and to move on to financial sustainability.
"These questions, those beyond ‘housekeeping’ are the ones that matter most and will matter most, and the failure to address these issues for decades is/are what has led Pacifica to its present status as invisible, inconsequential, irrelevant, and often reliant on scams of various sorts to attempt to survive – all of which was exhausted long, long, long, long ago."In a sense, simply to further speculate, much may depend on what sort of General Manager Livingston is able to recruit, and what actual authority they will have."Those are the questions that matter, if Pacifica is ever to matter in any meaningful sense, and I wouldn’t give odds on that happening."It is, in my observation, as I said, very highly resistant to any actual change. It was able, reluctantly, with a great deal of strife, still visible just beneath the surface, to accept steps desperately needed to avoid immediate implosion, which I’ve referred to as ‘housekeeping’."Anything more substantive, however, seems to me very doubtful. I’d guess that at best they’ll continue to barely survive, as a fever dream hobby-holiday for their producers.That’s at best, and as I said, I wouldn’t give odds even for that. " ####
"By ‘housekeeping’ ....referring principally to moving to put financial affairs in something at least resembling coherent, sane function:"While the Ch11 v Massive Loan argument had valid points on both sides, so far as I could see, at least a decision was finally taken, and the massive loan was used to buy out WBAI’s crushing lease obligations at ESRT, and to move WBAI, complete with a new transmitter, to 4 Times Square, slashing unsustainable operating expenses."Similarly, the wildly overdue FY 2016 audit was completed and submitted, avoiding the immediate threat of the loss of charitable status for Pacifica."Similarly, also, steps were taken to hire a new firm to consolidate and carry out Pacifica’s book keeping functions, and to bring in people to assess and consider how to deal with Pacifica’s retirement fund short-funding problems."None of these is fully accomplished, but real, tangible, substantial steps were taken, and if carried forward, will begin to put Pacifica in a coherent financial state."That leaves open, however, whether Pacifica’s programming can be revised/improved/resurrected/transformed/whatever in such a fashion as to make Pacifica relevant to anyone other than itself, and to actually draw an audience sufficient to repay that massive loan and to move on to financial sustainability.
"These questions, those beyond ‘housekeeping’ are the ones that matter most and will matter most, and the failure to address these issues for decades is/are what has led Pacifica to its present status as invisible, inconsequential, irrelevant, and often reliant on scams of various sorts to attempt to survive – all of which was exhausted long, long, long, long ago."In a sense, simply to further speculate, much may depend on what sort of General Manager Livingston is able to recruit, and what actual authority they will have."Those are the questions that matter, if Pacifica is ever to matter in any meaningful sense, and I wouldn’t give odds on that happening."It is, in my observation, as I said, very highly resistant to any actual change. It was able, reluctantly, with a great deal of strife, still visible just beneath the surface, to accept steps desperately needed to avoid immediate implosion, which I’ve referred to as ‘housekeeping’."Anything more substantive, however, seems to me very doubtful. I’d guess that at best they’ll continue to barely survive, as a fever dream hobby-holiday for their producers.That’s at best, and as I said, I wouldn’t give odds even for that. " ####
more words here reposted:
Jara Handala has left a new comment on the post "Has Reimers called Cosby yet?":
"1 of 3
Anonymous has left a new comment on the post "Has Reimers called Cosby yet?":
"Pacifica, as a product of
its history and the time of its first creation and earliest evolution,
is exceedingly resistant to any assertion or claim of authority in any
and all forms."For that reason, the default position makes it
extremely difficult if not impossible to remove a program, for very
nearly any reason."This has long been the case and is, I would
argue, the central determinant in very nearly all Pacifica decisions –
inertia, one aspect of which is incumbency ". ####
need more words here ? more reposted=
a new comment on the post "Has Reimers called Cosby yet?":
"it is always surprising, tho it should not be, that OTHER PACIFICA radio stations may replicate the same, similar stories & problems reported here re NY's WBAI.
"it is always surprising, tho it should not be, that OTHER PACIFICA radio stations may replicate the same, similar stories & problems reported here re NY's WBAI.
" At KPFK in far away LOS ANGLES the latest
returned GM may be adequate [tho loved by staff for his 'sweet
personality' and ways but the effectiveness of management is not
apparent in positive changes in how the station sounds, or probably
operates. no names mentioned, no law suits needed, thanks.
and KPFK has as racially slanted, biased and prejudiced - not in European heritaged people against the darker skinned people....but the applauding, admiring and seeking approval from those who emerged from further south: like African identified folks, or Latino's who dominate a whole segment of evening in only Spanish-Spoken-There prgms and another whole Friday afternoon, + more. "There does not need to be a 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/3 of dominant census based populations or their cultural preferences, leaving out the rest of the real world. But the disproportion and the sounds of OUTRAGE ! Righteousness as if there is only "1 Truth" and we know it and shout it. or Anger, attacking, and diss'ing anyone or profit earning businesses as "they must be evil" somehow ! etc. "Then: Aligning ONLY with victims, as the old 60's ideals held but couldn't produce the solutions that lasted hardly. But still demanded as if 2018 had reverted to a time when KPFK or other Pacifica stations elsewhere were relevant, and anti-war when there was a war to be anti."So there is going to be way toooo soon another "fund drive" - money money give give US more more more ! sessions with special repeated old pgms....
"and in-credible-ly [not believable, credible] high-priced exaggerated claimed products to produce those perfect, healthy, happy beings everyone dreams of being but knows it is imagination and not all that promises imply either. "OK, so why complain more here about the Other station, [KPFK] whose property was mortgaged for that loan to help WBAI survive - was that how it went ? "...because there is little information, revelations allowed to the stakeholders, donors, public listeners or anyone other than those rare self-serving 'press releases' by some management chief. so KPFK is silent, doesn't respond to questions, not at LSB meetings by public questioners either, and provides no honest, real feedback. Sad. too bad.
..."as to how to make actual positive changes, [not selling t-shirts and arguing about which color would sell better... please ! ]is dis-cussed on Pacifica group emails but the actions needed to ACTIONS AND CULTURE AND POSITIVE DIFFERENT IMPROVEMENTS are apparently not risked nor dared nor tried. "Or are they ? where ? what has been Done? Anywhere ? who knows. maybe better, who cares ? by this time."some try to share more publicly, openly, transparently. Like here.
like Pacificainexile.org which seems to have gone silent for last few months. "is the whole shebang gone dulled and the comments, concerns, questions 'just blowing in the (desert ) winds " ####
and KPFK has as racially slanted, biased and prejudiced - not in European heritaged people against the darker skinned people....but the applauding, admiring and seeking approval from those who emerged from further south: like African identified folks, or Latino's who dominate a whole segment of evening in only Spanish-Spoken-There prgms and another whole Friday afternoon, + more. "There does not need to be a 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/3 of dominant census based populations or their cultural preferences, leaving out the rest of the real world. But the disproportion and the sounds of OUTRAGE ! Righteousness as if there is only "1 Truth" and we know it and shout it. or Anger, attacking, and diss'ing anyone or profit earning businesses as "they must be evil" somehow ! etc. "Then: Aligning ONLY with victims, as the old 60's ideals held but couldn't produce the solutions that lasted hardly. But still demanded as if 2018 had reverted to a time when KPFK or other Pacifica stations elsewhere were relevant, and anti-war when there was a war to be anti."So there is going to be way toooo soon another "fund drive" - money money give give US more more more ! sessions with special repeated old pgms....
"and in-credible-ly [not believable, credible] high-priced exaggerated claimed products to produce those perfect, healthy, happy beings everyone dreams of being but knows it is imagination and not all that promises imply either. "OK, so why complain more here about the Other station, [KPFK] whose property was mortgaged for that loan to help WBAI survive - was that how it went ? "...because there is little information, revelations allowed to the stakeholders, donors, public listeners or anyone other than those rare self-serving 'press releases' by some management chief. so KPFK is silent, doesn't respond to questions, not at LSB meetings by public questioners either, and provides no honest, real feedback. Sad. too bad.
..."as to how to make actual positive changes, [not selling t-shirts and arguing about which color would sell better... please ! ]is dis-cussed on Pacifica group emails but the actions needed to ACTIONS AND CULTURE AND POSITIVE DIFFERENT IMPROVEMENTS are apparently not risked nor dared nor tried. "Or are they ? where ? what has been Done? Anywhere ? who knows. maybe better, who cares ? by this time."some try to share more publicly, openly, transparently. Like here.
like Pacificainexile.org which seems to have gone silent for last few months. "is the whole shebang gone dulled and the comments, concerns, questions 'just blowing in the (desert ) winds " ####
yep, always more.... words here reposted
Jara Handala has left a new comment on the post "Has Reimers called Cosby yet?":
"1 of 3
"not only the breakdown but even something as basic as the
size of the settlement (ending the contract prematurely) has not been
disclosed. And of course the settlement should not be confused with the
judgment, the court judgment, that preceded it.
"The same two things
apply to the judgment: its cost has not been disclosed, nor how it was
make up. But isn't a $1.8m figure bandied around, sufficing for most as
the size of some Empire State problem or other?
"And that's the problem
with casual talk: we all think we know what's being referred to, but the
imprecision allows the nitty-gritty to slip thru the fingers – and that
always lets those in positions of power (& responsibility) off the
hook."And that's the situation here. Pacifica's information
gatekeepers have consistently pursued an approach that Trump often uses:
choose a quite different thing, cite it, cite it again, & keep
citing it. That thing is the judgment, the 4 October 2017 NYC court
judgment, which refers to unpaid rent of c. $1.8m –
..."which seems to be
the amount outstanding when Empire State Realty Trust made its
application to the court on 23 November 2016. The $1.8m actually
excludes the following: the subsequent rent due prior to judgment;
interest & penalties as per the contract; interest at 18% levied by
the court for delayed payment of the judgment sum; court fees; the legal
fees of Pacifica; & the legal fees of ESRT. Plus, no doubt, some
less obvious charges.
"So $1.8m? No, the judgment alone – & this is
apart from the settlement – is a fair bit more than $1.8m."So,
why the hell have the Pacifica administrators & PNB not given the
facts to the members & other listeners? Why are we all in the dark
about the cost of the judgment, & its breakdown, & the cost of
the settlement, & its breakdown?
" Why? The answer is anyone's guess –
is it to help politically those who pushed for the loan, to suppress
bad news, done to help the very people who went on & on about the
process costs of bankruptcy, the alternative course?
"And given this
disclosure deficit, why the hell are there so few directors (i.e. the
PNB) & delegates (i.e. the Local Station Boards) demanding that this
info be released to the members & other listeners? Why? Life, even
that of a zombie radio network, moves on.
"And like Trump, keep leaving
issues in your wake & they sink to the bottom of the ocean,
forgotten by all.
And it seems only a few directors have been given copies of, or sight of, the FJC & Socal loan documents. Who decided on this apparent restricted distribution? Using which criteria, criteria agreed by which PNB meeting?
And it seems only a few directors have been given copies of, or sight of, the FJC & Socal loan documents. Who decided on this apparent restricted distribution? Using which criteria, criteria agreed by which PNB meeting?
"The very Finance Cttee of the PNB
has itself complained, without success, to the iED & the PNB that it
hasn't seen these documents (or even received summaries, written by
which privileged employee or fellow director, on whose orders?).
"How can
all this be other than a dereliction of duty? Why does the PNB, &
indeed the members, tolerate this? But worse is to come." ###
another comment here reposted=
new comment on the post "Has Reimers called Cosby yet?":
"Question : Tho this blog is all about only NY's WBAI - Null was a prime seller / distributor for many years on KPFK in LA.... but is he still on elsewhere, or at KPFK?"And Null and other 'guests', sales promoters, workshop promoters, etc. are not listed on the schedule on website either. Who's to know ? Do you ?"Some of us barely can tolerate the other false-claim hawking and racially-motivated slants to listen to anything past old recordings replayed from other distributors {Soundstrue, Nader, Watts' son's site, etc ] - while Ian Masters is the most balanced/ exposing various view by academics and some politicians - at KPFK, that is. "So it is unhelpful and uninteresting to be a 'listener' any more. "How is it elsewhere? Are any/ many programs replayed at the other Pacifica stations that are worth hearing from 1 ? " ###
"Question : Tho this blog is all about only NY's WBAI - Null was a prime seller / distributor for many years on KPFK in LA.... but is he still on elsewhere, or at KPFK?"And Null and other 'guests', sales promoters, workshop promoters, etc. are not listed on the schedule on website either. Who's to know ? Do you ?"Some of us barely can tolerate the other false-claim hawking and racially-motivated slants to listen to anything past old recordings replayed from other distributors {Soundstrue, Nader, Watts' son's site, etc ] - while Ian Masters is the most balanced/ exposing various view by academics and some politicians - at KPFK, that is. "So it is unhelpful and uninteresting to be a 'listener' any more. "How is it elsewhere? Are any/ many programs replayed at the other Pacifica stations that are worth hearing from 1 ? " ###
more words = here reposted:
"who knows, and can tell "the rest of us" how those producer/programmers = the long-termed-forever-clinging to their On-Air Access spots and never releasing the space for any other views, demographic set, or more updated viewpoints CAN hold on for so long so tightly, and on and on.....?????"Who decides if that same program can remain on-air forever after ? By what standards, criteria, or reviewed values is it Determined that those, once-in, never get out ?"Is it the GM, PD or LSB or ????? And who informs the stakeholders of why, and HOW those decisions of POWER are made ? "Who holds those reins and controls it all - to stay stuck in the long-past repetitions ???"This is not a facetious but honest want-to-know question" ####
end of quoted words - whew !
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
WOW ! no more words here being re-posted- ....whatever else was written in July 2018 must by now remain elsewhere, as if ever single written utterance contained some so! important ! data, or fact, or information-needed ? = not.
[google - unsealed.org ]
we are so ordinary sometimes ! as in always thinking of More to share, to find, to want to help FIX IT !
but we know, we can do so little, except flap wings, look shiny, attract attention to what is not being revealed / nor admitted.....
and then let the rest do whatever "happens". or doesn't. both /either/ all is OK as IS.
[google provides beauty ]
we are not concerned with what we cannot even know or is beyond our mere human actions or comprehensions.
We are responsible for OUR CHOICES, our doings, our intentions and our
doing-the-work-in-volved. period.
[google loves pretty things too]
The rest is UP to whatever else occurs or doesn't, .... just as life evolves, revolves, randomly or with patterns. All is done as each wing or wave or seed can offer it's own energy to the Whole. we are. so too.
Enough.
(c) mj ++ 2018 [a collective work done ! ]
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"comments spaces" are used as hacked ways to sell whatever = people, services, products.
These are NOT EVER ALLOWED nor solicited.
When caught and read, these are immediately deleted !
Spammers, hackers, fakers are not welcome here. That is space-stealing for their advantages only. Horrible people do things like that, even located from outside of USA too.
"comments spaces" are used as hacked ways to sell whatever = people, services, products.
These are NOT EVER ALLOWED nor solicited.
When caught and read, these are immediately deleted !
Spammers, hackers, fakers are not welcome here. That is space-stealing for their advantages only. Horrible people do things like that, even located from outside of USA too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
..... the main difficulty is that the FJC loan contract is not publicly available, & matters are made worse because there’s little documentation to rely on. There seem to be only two relevant written public statements that can help us:
departing CFO Sam Agarwal’s resignation letter, 28 March 2018; & what PNB chair N.... calls a loan summary, distributed by her Saturday, 16 June, in time for the Californian LSB’s that weekend. In addition there’s a sentence – yes, we really are down to scraps – by iED Tom L....in an undated email (seems to be early April this year) .... I asked her for details of the two loans, FJC & SoCal.
(The latter usually has ‘supporters’ added, although this is disingenuous given that the last auditor’s report says they consist in “Board members and other individuals”, directors who to this day remain un-named (FY2016, note 17, page 19) – http://pacifica.org/documents/financial/audit_2016.pdf .)
I consider each document in turn, finishing with an addendum on who FJC are & what this can mean for Pacifica.
1) Sam’s letter was kindly published by.... [WBAI's on his blog:] http://wbai-nowthen.blogspot.com/2018/03/why-agarwal-cut-out.html . The relevant part is his point (e), cited here in full, & I have emphasised 4 passages, using paired asterisks:
“Recent PNB action in approving a $3.7 million loan has put me in an impossible position. *The loan mandates extensive accounting and financial reporting requirements which cannot be met in any foreseeable period of time.*
We do not produce Balance Sheets monthly, so cannot track/report our liabilities on a current basis. We generate Balance Sheets only at the time of audit which is running about 500 days late. *Under any loans, it is almost mandatory to produce current audit reports in a reasonable time. We cannot comply with this requirement.*
*There are other documented delinquencies like non-compliance and non-payment of Retirement contributions which puts us in direct breach of loan covenants.*
I have repeatedly informed PNB of my serious concerns, but it has had no effect in its decision making. It is unconscionable for me to wait for a few months and then report default *when it is clear that we will not comply at the outset.* Our accounting and reporting is so deficient that, at the present rate of progress, it will take years to come close to meeting the demands.
This is ONLY IF, extraordinary resources are devoted for improving the situation, which I have not seen happening in last two years.” (original caps)
It’s worth noting, especially as he speaks of “reporting requirements which cannot be met in any foreseeable period of time”, that he doesn’t draw attention to another unsatisfiable basic: the need for Pacifica to be solvent.
But perhaps it was so obvious it was better not to rub it in. Even so, it is a contractual requirement according to Nancy’s spurious summary, so I’ll address it there.
The giving of the waiver by FJC is consistent with Sam’s assessment, as without it Pacifica “will not comply at the outset [of the contract]”.
But how patient will FJC remain? Will they keep giving waivers provided the quarterly interest carries on rolling in? As I said last month, & I repeat it below in more detail, FJC doesn’t wait for a borrower to default: they sell on the loan when it is merely “potentially impaired” (see the FJC “delinquent & impaired loans” accounting policy described in any of their auditor’s reports for at least the last 10 years – links below).
So whenever it suits FJC they can declare that Pacifica’s principal, $3.265m, is unlikely to be paid on time, c. 31 March 2021, & sell the debt – & there’s nothing, absolutely nothing, Pacifica can do about it. The loan is FJC’s asset, theirs to dispose of at will.
Yes, putting the vernacular at its most refined, Pacifica is FJC’s female dog.