RNI Pirate Radio Shut down!

July 28th, 1987 the FCC shut down RNI, the Pirate station Radio New York International. They were operating from a ship off the coast of Long Island near Jones Beach.

Allan Weiner the founder of RNI later syndicated RNI programming to shortwave station WWCR in Tennessee. He is currently the licensee of WBCQ shortwave in Monticello, ME.

Shallow Hal

I first wrote about radio personality Hal Turner back in 2007. Here are my exact words:

"Hal Turner isn't a run-of-the-mill bigot. He's really a flaming shitheel of racist redneck throwback to previous century. I was surprised how human he looked in his headshot. I expected the slouched posture, pronounced forehead, and hairy palms."

It was true. Hal was and is a white supremacist nutter and I probably disagree with everything that he's ever said and most of what he hasn't said. Strangely, the FBI has managed to get involved in his life in such a way that I almost have a little sympathy for the bigot. So let's begin with the strangest part of the story. More here.

Since 2003 Hal has been a salaried employee of the FBI. That means when he uttered this hateful crapola in the clip below in 2007... our tax dollars were paying for it.
But the FBI made good use of him. he was a valuable contact within the white power movement. They exploited his credibility to manipulate contacts as far away as Brazil. A FBI memo said Hal "has proven highly reliable and is in a unique position to provide vital information on multiple subversive domestic organizations." Try to remember, he's not the head of a militia. He's a radio host that got kicked off WBCQ and lately is just a blogger. More here.

Today he's an inmate. The same FBI that was paying him to snitch on his fellow bigots arrested him for saying hateful things. It becomes more complicated now because Hal claims that the FBI coached him, with specific thing they wanted him to say; with specific people they wanted him to focus on. He is a bit of a nutter so the latter may or may not be true, but the story now lies in the arena of things that only can happen in radio.

Free Speech, Racism and Radio

Hal Turner isn't a run-of-the-mill bigot. He's really a flaming shitheel of racist redneck throwback to previous century. I was surprised how human he looked in his head shot. I expected the slouched posture, pronounced forehead, and hairy palms. But try as I may to write-off all racists as neanderthals... I can't. Some are perfectly intelligent, they were just indoctrinated as children and never became worldly enough, well read enough or educated enough to realize that mom dad or that weird uncle might have been wrong about a few things. i.e. moonshine, black people and Jews.

But this isn't a blog about idiots I disagree with. It's a blog about radio. God help us, but Hal has a radio show. Most stations won't carry it because he encourages violence against minorities regularly, but he's got a few. I'm told he has been carried on 60 stations, but nobody can furnish me a list. I have verified that shortwave station WBCQ in Maine has in the past carried The Hal Turner Show.

There are only 16 privately owned shortwave radio stations in the United States and most of them sell airtime. And that's what it took to get Hal on the air. He has to pay for it. The radio equivalent of a John.

WBCQ is willing to do this because of the big loop hole in the center of liberal reasoning. Allan Weiner, it's owner is a free speech advocate. In the spirit of the 60s the airwaves he really believes that the airwaves should be open to all who want to use them, and the world is a better place because of it. In 1997 his book Access to the Airwaves, was touted as a brilliant memoir, of both pirate radio, free speech and free thinking. But how could Allan Get along with a man who said

"Imagine there's no homos. I hate those little fudge-packin' nancy-boy pricks; Manolo, every time I see one, I wanna beat him in the friggin' head..."

Well he doesn't. Allan is pretty blunt that he doesn't like Hal's show. And that Hal has been on probation a few times for trying to incite violence among other transgressions. He said himself "Hal does know that I am upset with his program." I don't know why Hal is gone... but I expect that it has something to do with another house rule... "WBCQ Radio shall not broadcast any speech which incites hatred" ... or likely to lead to physical harm.

Here's a little clip of Hal spouting off: