shortwave summary: 27 sep 2005

I should come up with a consistent name for posts that include tidbits from multiple broadcasts. For now I'll try "shortwave summary".

* 27 Sep 2005: Radio Netherlands is a reliable broadcast during 0400-0500 UTC when they have broadcasts in the prestigious 49 meter and 31 meter bands. I briefly tuned in to 6165 khz (SIO 544) at 0424 UTC. They referred to Hurricane Katrina as a "veritable orgy of destruction."

* 26 Sep 2005: I started listening to the Voice of America on 9575 khz (SIO 555) at 0414 UTC. As mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to know what the Voice of America was telling the world, especially since they're not currently supposed to broadcast to United States citizens. First they discussed tracking monarch butterfly migration. (Your tax dollars at work.) Then they applied more spin than the world's finest laundromat to brag that advanced warnings and path prediction of Hurricane Katrina saved "tens of thousands of lives". What happened to the rest of the story?

* 25 Sep 2005: I had another chance to hear KBS from South Korea. I tuned into 9560 khz at 0213 UTC, when the SIO code was a respectable 454. They have a fun broadcasting style which is similar to Radio Taiwan International and Radio Havana Cuba sometimes, with two announcers on at once. Both people can discuss a news story and offer different opinions. They discussed a drink-serving robot, an idea which is not new, but is always fun to think about. (Sorry, I couldn't find a URL for this). They also mentioned the horrific possibility of remote-controlled robot soldiers.

* 24 Sep 2005: The United States is still bombing Afghanistan with B52s, destroying villages. There's disagreement with Hamid Karzai over the methods for hunting the Taliban. A widely-held view seems to be that Americans are arrogant. This was heard on Radio Netherlands, 6165 khz (SIO 544) and 9590 khz (SIO 353) around 0400 UTC.

* 24 Sep 2005: $1 billion is missing from the Iraqi defense fund. This was from Radio Havana Cuba on 6000 khz (SIO 454) at 0543 UTC.