FEBRUARY 5, DEADLINE IS NEAR FOR BALLOT RECEIPT
IN CRITICAL L. A. PACIFICA STATION BOARD ELECTIONS
-- FTW ENDORSES CANDIDATES WHO WILL LIBERATE LISTENER-SPONSORED RADIO

Spinning the Bush Administration's 9/11 pretext for the "war on terrorism" as "intelligence failure", we see little difference between the Corporate and the so-called Alternative Media. As the planet careens towards Peak Oil and impending natural gas shortages, the corporate media censors it and alternative media  gnores it. Who will tell the people about these and other issues, like the ongoing 9/11 cover-up and the real stories behind the invasion of Iraq?

Pacifica radio can fill this void, under the management and leadership of
dedicated, fearless and professional broadcasters and researchers.

Founded in 1949 by WWII war-resister, Lew Hill, Pacifica invented the non-commercial, self-supporting, listener-sponsored economic model which From The Wilderness adopted as its own model. When money comes in littlebits from lots of people, no concentrated special interest can dictate editorial policy. FTW differs from the Pacifica model, however, in that we are not subject to advisory boards or the intensity of a complex political process. Radio airwaves are powerful avenues of public education and battles are fought over their control. Powerful interests always inject themselves to protect their interests at the people's expense.

I have had both good and bad experiences with various Pacifica stations and
hosts. But I have never doubted Pacifica's value to the nation and to the
world. I want it to be all that it can be in these perilous times.

Pacifica is a non-profit foundation, holding federal broadcasting licenses
and assets worth half a billion dollars. After 55 years, it is
democratizing its Local Station Boards (LSBs) and enfranchising its
Listener-Sponsors as Members with voting rights. We are nearing the end of
an historic struggle for listener-elected oversight of these precious
airwaves as local elections approach next week throughout the Pacifica
network.

In Los Angeles, FTW's current home, there are some excellent candidates at
Pacifica's KPFK (90.7 FM). FTW has been following the on-air and community
candidate forums closely. From voices in the wilderness to voices for the voiceless, we have identified a slate of candidates who we believe will fight for goals shared by FTW and KPFK's listeners: free speech (unscreened listener call-ins); grassroots democracy; local autonomy (decentralized bylaws); transparency and affirmative action (legal remedies in the bylaws). We believe these
candidates will do the outreach and recruiting necessary to build KPFK into
a beacon for us all, and restore it to its original mission.

If you are a registered KPFK listener-sponsor and have received a ballot,
FTW encourages you to support the following candidates. Some are good
friends whom we have known for years. Others, based upon their campaign
statements, past history and activism, have convinced us that their
dedication and philosophy are in complete harmony with FTW's primary
mission: bringing the world a better map. We especially salute the
principled and decisive leadership of current station manager, Eva Georgia.

There will be no democracy without an educated people...and there will be
no educated people among Pacifica's listeners if YOU don't cast your ballot
by next Thursday and elect anti-censorship candidates! To learn more about
the KPFK election process, the candidates, the rules and what's at stake,
please visit: http://www.kpfk.org.

Mike Ruppert
Publisher/Editor
www.fromthewilderness.com

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FTW ENDORSEMENTS FOR KPFK LOCAL STATION BOARD -
in alphabetical order:

Raul Castillo
Marie Deary*
Jim DiEugenio*
Manuel X. Fernando*
Bill Gallegos*
Earl Grant*
Jane Hallaren
Sasha Karlik
Harvey Lewis*
Moe Mansouri*
Reza Pour*
Gloria Parker
Leslie Radford*
Lawrence Reyes*
Julie Chavez Rodriguez
Neelam Sharma
Harrison Weil*
Simone SaRa Wyatt*

Staff Candidates
(only Staff may vote for Staff):

Thandi Chimurenga*
Lila Garrett
Ian Johnston*
G.S. Khalsa
Margaret Prescod**
Fernando Velasquez*

*Coalition for Justice - www.radiojustice.net
**Margaret Prescod is the local organizer of the
international "Global Women's Strike" (every March 8).

While this election is almost over, democratization has just begun! The LSB
will be comprised of 18 Listener seats and 6 Staff seats. Half of the 18

Listeners seats (9) will be up for the second election cycle starting in

October 2004. The other half will be seated for 3 years. If you did not
receive a ballot for this election, it's not too late to get involved in

this historic media democratization! Volunteer 3 hours or donate $25 in the
upcoming February fund drive, and you will become an eligible KPFK Voting
Member for the 9-seat Fall elections. You might want to consider running

yourself...

There will be no democracy without an educated electorate...and there will
be no educated electorate among Pacifica's listeners if YOU don't cast your
ballot in this election by next Thursday and elect anti-censorship
candidates to Pacifica's Local Station Board!

-----------------------BIG EVENT SATURDAY-----------------------

From The Wilderness is honored to endorse the Global Women's Strike
network's historic U.S. tour of Nora Castaneda this Saturday. We hope you
will attend:

NORA CASTANEDA
President of the Women's Development Bank
in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

January 31, 2004 @ 5:00 p.m.
Immanuel Presbyterian Church
3300 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles
$25 for 1, $40 for 2
Low waged & unwaged $5-$10
No one turned away
All proceeds will go to grassroots women in Venezuela
who are building cooperation and mutual support.

Nora Castaneda, an economist committed to grassroots women, was appointed
by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to head the Women's Development Bank

when he agreed to women's demands for a bank as a way of funding reforms to
benefit the poorest families & communities. Of African and Indigenous
descent and the daughter of a low-income single mother, Ms. Castaneda is a
remarkable woman in a remarkable time - one of great economic and social

change ushered in by the election of President Hugo Chavez in a landslide
in 1998 to get the country's oil revenue back and to tackle poverty and
corruption, and by the people's defeat of the 2002 coup carried out by the
racist Venezuelan elite with the support of the U.S. administration.
Venezuela is the world's 5th largest oil exporter, yet most of its
population lives in poverty.

The event is sponsored by the Venezuelan Embassy, KPFK, KPFA, WBAI,
Vanguard Foundation, Danny Glover, Ed Asner, Dolores Huerta, Greg Palast,
Office of the Americas; 2000+ Bookstore, ANSWER/LA, El Sereno & San Gabriel
Valley Neighbors for Peace and Justice.

It is endorsed by LA County Federation of Labor, Bolivarian Circle/LA
"Esequiel Zamora", Casa del Pueblo, CISPES, Ricardo Moreno, Alexandria
House, Action Resource Center, Puerto Rican Alliance, WILPF, Humanitarian
Law Project, LA Greens, From The Wilderness, and more.

For info on the tour or the GWS video
"Venezuela - A 21st Century Revolution",
in which Ms. Castaneda is a featured speaker,
email: la@crossroadswomen.net,
website www.globalwomenstrike.net

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