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BBC resurrects shortwave broadcasts as Russia blocks news of Ukraine invasion

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Re: BBC resurrects shortwave broadcasts as Russia blocks news of Ukraine invasion

#51

Post by avh02 »

laurent92 wrote: post #40
aix1 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Russian authorities block access to internet sites they don't like. I imagine that on a technical level it's not hard to bypass those blocks, but the vast majority of the population is neither motivated nor technically savvy enough to do that. I don't know about foreign media specifically, but in the last couple of days they shut down some of the few remaining independent media outlets (TV Rain and Echo of Moscow) an…

Note that Europe also bans media they don’t like, namely RT News and Sputnik, along with severe guidance on content with regular threats of fines or deplatforming, coming from governments such as CSA in France. Censorship has absolutely a role in democracy.

I think the difference is that western media generally can and do publish at least some critical pieces. The same can't be said in Russia right now. It's a whole different level.

Re: BBC resurrects shortwave broadcasts as Russia blocks news of Ukraine invasion

#52

Post by Animats »

shimonabi wrote: post #6

What measures does the Russian government take to prevent access to foreign media?

The USSR used to have high-powered jammers used to jam the short-wave radio frequencies of the VOA, BBC, etc. Those noisemakers could be received worldwide. They shut down decades ago.

Here's a picture of one, abandoned.[1]

[1] https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/old-russian-jammer...

Re: BBC resurrects shortwave broadcasts as Russia blocks news of Ukraine invasion

#53

Post by Animats »

mariojv wrote: post #10

What is the best type of radio, or best type of radios, to have in the event of a protracted, possibly nuclear conflict? Ready.gov suggests a hand crank or NOAA weather radio. Specifically, I suppose some good goals would be: 1. Receive instructions from any functioning local or state government. This would require that the local government know which type of radio the populace is likely to be listening on, which giv…

Most likely AM radio. The range is thousands of miles at night, and most cars still have an AM receiver.

Re: BBC resurrects shortwave broadcasts as Russia blocks news of Ukraine invasion

#54

Post by updatedprocess »

LeoPanthera wrote: post #27
zrm wrote: post #9

Shortwave is neat and everything, but isn't this also the bailiwick of Tor and pluggable transports and the whole internet anti-censorship ecosystem?

Receiving shortwave radio doesn't require a functioning internet. Actually it doesn't require any infrastructure at all. Just a radio and a battery.

What, no wind up short wave radios available?

Re: BBC resurrects shortwave broadcasts as Russia blocks news of Ukraine invasion

#55

Post by Nux »

digitalsankhara wrote: post #39

The BBC has been broadcasting on shortwave for decades - BBC World Service. The, somewhat hyperbolic, article implies this is somehow new and "WWII era". Many counties around the world still use shortwave for various reasons - unofficial propaganda being one of them. The BBC World Service itself is and has been funded by the British government to promote its interests abroad.[1] The content is usually cultural in con…

BBC stopped shortwave broadcasts to Europe in 2008 alas, glad to see it brought back.

Very glad. Was tired only hearing Radio Romania International and China Radio International.. :)

Re: BBC resurrects shortwave broadcasts as Russia blocks news of Ukraine invasion

#56

Post by anon2020dot00 »

watwut wrote: post #48
anon2020dot00 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People who cry whataboutism are the ones extinguishing critical thought. No one can think or compare or draw analogies anymore. Analogy: Definition, a thing which is comparable to something else in significant respects. "works of art were seen as an analogy for works of nature" Anytime anyone brings-up Western aggression, people cry whataboutism and so the topic cannot be discussed anymore. It's fine for people to sa…

> Anytime anyone brings-up Western aggression, people cry whataboutism and so the topic cannot be discussed anymore This is literally lie. There are both discussions and articles about Iraq, Afganistan and what have you all the time. Especially here in HN. Hey, why do you dare to talk about Iraque when you did not stopped Balkan conflicts, you never attempted to help Tibet or stop genocide going on in Chine, so no ta…

Here I'll give you a quick example:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30558245

Mikeb85

"> invades Iran The difference between Ukraine and all the other countries invaded in the last 50 or so years is that Ukraine is a real democracy and liberal, modern society.

Iran, Syria, Iraq, etc... are not the same as Ukraine."

femiagbabiaka

"Truly amazing. This statement shows that you know very little about the history of Ukraine or Iran, Syria, Iraq."

Mikeb85

"It's truly amazing how much whataboutism and Russian propaganda there is in the US."

Mikeb85 is claiming that Ukraine is not the same as Iran, Syria, Iraq as a "a real democracy and liberal, modern society". femiagbabiaka challenges this claim and is stating that Mikeb85 doesn't know the history of those countries. Mikeb85 responds with "So much Russian propaganda and whataboutism".

Honestly, where is the whataboutism in what femiagbabiaka said?

Answer: no whataboutism.

All femiagbabiaka said is that Iran, Iraq, Syria were/are real societies not deserving to be bombed by stronger powers just like Ukraine; whether that is true or not is debatable but what is not debatable is not there is no whataboutism in that statement.

My pet peeve is people mis-using "whatboutism", calling whataboutism at the very mention of other countries such as Iraq; and above is a simple example of that.

Mis-using whataboutism to just kill all discussion such as on the topic of justified Western or Russian aggression.

Re: BBC resurrects shortwave broadcasts as Russia blocks news of Ukraine invasion

#57

Post by glogla »

throwaway5848 wrote: post #44
thriftwy wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never heard what's the actual problem with whatabaoutism. If you do bad things and get away with those, quit preaching at least.

Yup, there's nothing wrong with it. Crying about it just an effective way to shut down dissent.

No post body was provided.

Re: BBC resurrects shortwave broadcasts as Russia blocks news of Ukraine invasion

#58

Post by haunter »

mariojv wrote: post #10

What is the best type of radio, or best type of radios, to have in the event of a protracted, possibly nuclear conflict? Ready.gov suggests a hand crank or NOAA weather radio. Specifically, I suppose some good goals would be: 1. Receive instructions from any functioning local or state government. This would require that the local government know which type of radio the populace is likely to be listening on, which giv…

I have a Midland ER310

Shortwave/NOAA radio, flashlight, hand crank, solar panel, USB charger

https://midlandusa.com/products/er310-eready-emergency-crank...

You can't communicate with other though

Re: BBC resurrects shortwave broadcasts as Russia blocks news of Ukraine invasion

#60

Post by noneeeed »

digitalsankhara wrote: post #39

The BBC has been broadcasting on shortwave for decades - BBC World Service. The, somewhat hyperbolic, article implies this is somehow new and "WWII era". Many counties around the world still use shortwave for various reasons - unofficial propaganda being one of them. The BBC World Service itself is and has been funded by the British government to promote its interests abroad.[1] The content is usually cultural in con…

One of the cuts to BBC funding that Cameron introduced was for the World Service. They removed main funding from the Foreign Office, it is now funded from the BBCs general budget. I hadn't realised that they had been topping it up with additional funding from the FO.
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