Pacifica and iED has been maligned so easily on Indymedia. What is going on here ?

"Wow, some [ article of which this is a comment to ] tinged with angry

words [t]here ...but where are the substantiating sources for that info ?"

[= no references, no apparent fact checking noted in article, so is th is just another smear campaign? And why is this written anyhow ? & why now ? ]

Thursday, Oct. 08, 2009

reposted here from http://la.indymedia.org/news/2009/10/230955_comment.php#230978

these are some quotes of much written above to address here : [snipped from much more malignments and claims that remain unsubstantiated in that article ]


"Under the revised governance structure and byelaw changes, a small number of listener-subscribers and staff elect biannually a 25 member Local Station Board. The logic of such “democracy” entails a tiny fraction of listeners electing a board with a great deal of power."


"...led by an unwilling reject of the Church of Scientology,"


"Since Aaron’s cabal has come to power, the financial situation has markedly deteriorated."


"...these positions have mostly gone to board cronies without even a pro forma gesture towards open hiring"


"Notwithstanding elements of farce and a descent into snake oil peddling, there is an enormous amount at stake in the struggle for the soul of Pacifica."


So here are our Questions and concerns from that article [too long to be reproduced here, but can seen on link above - that also contains others' comments as well ] :


" electing a board with a great deal of power."


There has been a big to-do about the LSB, getting voted on, or who gets to represent [no one anyone can name as] a legitimate KPFK group, and hoping to affect the programming or get a program of one's very own...


but it has also been questioned just how much "power" is given or available to the whole LSB, and how ineffective that group is, maybe mostly because of the intense factionalization, continual distractions, the rebellious outbursts that often interrupt any work presented. And all theo bstructions that keep it's own members from provoking dramas for their own image making rather than dedicating their energies to producing benefits for the station and it's management.


So the question of how "powerful" other than in name is to be explored, investigated and surely questioned seriously.


Then repeated references to the iED Aaron attempting to malign her by some extraneous label and describe her work as "led by an unwilling reject of the Church of Scientology". Does this mean she is not even qualified for that unpopular organization and it's believers ? Or that if she is a Scientologist, she certainly cannot belong or be rational and effective working for the stations ?


Or what does that reference intend anyhow ? And who is going to verify that this is current, or what the prior circumstances of her life was that now makes her unqualified or inept ?


Another great declaration: " Since Aaron’s cabal has come to power, the financial situation has markedly deteriorated."


Who has determined that she is in any way a cause or contributor to Pacifica's continual money troubles and not a solver or working to improve that forever-impoverished condition ? And is the word "cabal" a negative implication or a description of whom and what ? It appears to be another attempt to demean, discredit and allude to Ms. Aaron's person and colleagues also.


Is that statement verified somewhere that was not included in the historical article above ? Does the public information of the financial condition mean it is to be kept secret from it's stakeholders and those concerned about the stations' stability ?


Or does this big implication only mean that the iED has so much power now, more than any ED just prior to her becoming a temporary one, that she alone can make and break Pacifica's banks? Huh ? Explain please, with actual direct causal facts, not just hearsay and rumor or deliberate malignments.


Let's get real here. Indymedia is hopefully not just a place to vent and rant and rage and hope someone else might agree and then act in your behalf.


Another statement : "these positions have mostly gone to board cronies without even a pro forma gesture towards open hiring"
Can this be shown, proved, verified ?
What are the rules for open-hiring at Pacifica ?
What does a manager do when there is no one yet visible who is qualified or hire-able permantly and the work needs to be done ?
Use a temp agency maybe ?
Or put up an ad on Monster Board ?
Or find someone to fill in until all can be done properly, knowing everyone who is not "in" will accuse and complain for sure, and loudly so.


The competition for any of these stressful positions is strong, and the in-fighting with accompanying stress must surely deter many qualified individuals from joining such wildly buffeted organizations.


And while there is much more to question and answer for above, this quote : "notwithstanding elements of farce and a descent into snake oil peddling, there is an enormous amount at stake in the struggle for the soul of Pacifica."


So where can one find the "soul" of a non-profit NGO like Pacifica ?

How did a soul [however defined even in Wiki if need be] ever get into such a changing of leadership corporation ?

And how did it then evaporate or escape from it's cubby hole?


And the farce that is an eternal Pacifica drama - yes, that many enjoy without even paying their pledges to support this theater of the absurd- continues.


Here some of us agree that "farce.... struggle... " are more useful descriptions, meaning there is more drama and theatrics than actual working towards a goal in LSB and maybe other board or committee meetings. Many love and make provocations and shout-matches to produce these intense and involving theatrical experience.


Just like the old Greek dramas but in an odder modern version with ' any minority defined as victim to get an immediate defense' and so the next power-struggle for poorest victim to be saved' forms the basis for the next diversion from managing business that must get done.


To be sure, the battle for Pacifica is being fought on a ground not of our own choosing. The entire landscape of internal communications , in Pacifica and it's station, and from the author above, needs to be clarified, and made more factual. Or else everything said and written must be contested and questioned.


Some phrases above are well said and there is some agreement about the concerns of how and by whom all is handled.


Oh, yes, and thanks to author for not being hidden behind a pseudo-name, tho some of us who live locally and try to help affect and improve our local Pacifica station do NOT TRUST the individuals who fractionalize and vent and act-out in some angry ways those who do not just 'agree' and defer to their righteous views. [self-righteous to enhance some demanding very smart people who dedicate enormous amounts of time and energy to doing something for or against their preferred station


(c) 2009 akpfker