Unique experiences, insights, and perspectives of Alex Ansary

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Portland Community Media is going broke, here comes the first big slash!

It's been an amazing experience at PCMTV since it became a critical part of my life in 2004. Although PCMTV is not going away today, the continued collapse of our county's financial situation will surely change the facility as we know it in only a matter of time.

I have been warning about this about for some time now and the response from the staff at PCMTV has been the same response I've gotten from other people in the world that I talk to about other major events happening in the world.

First you face heavy waves of denial.

When that denial erodes and the severity of the situation sits in, you then witness a justification for why it has to be that way or why it can't be fixed.

It has been announced via email only an hour ago that PCMTV will be slashing it's hours of operation. This follows the layoff of what THEY describe as 1.5 people. There are also plans to layoff 3.5 more people by April. This follows the collection of $50.00 from each producer that plans on using PCMTV equipment in 2009.

It's no secret that the Obama administration has provided a highly disturbing sense of false hope concerning our country's financial future. It's alarming to continually see PCMTV leadership pin their hopes on a solution from Washington. It's a fact that the City of Portland today is not willing to support PCMTV for much longer if they can find a way out of it.

PCMTV is a valuable asset that's able to get out critical information that otherwise won't be head or seen on the mainstream networks. Its upsetting that there won't be public outcry over the potential collapse of PCMTV. The public won't even know for the most part.

But how can PCMTV survive as it is when the staff that currently works there seems to have lost the passion for the facility and what it can really do to help provide perspective and information that the people are really starving for? Most of the employees are simply shaking in their boots, hoping the axe won't point their way. In their minds, that means giving themselves some insurance by acting like good workers that keep their mouths shut when poor policies and fiscal decisions are made that jeopardize the future of PCMTV, a gem of community access TV that has helped myself and others reach much of the community and in some cases, the world.

While my own show may be popular to some in Portland and on the world wide web, within the halls of PCMTV I'm just another person and will not be given any special treatment. This blog is not just about my show. It's about everybody that is apart of the real PCMTV family. It's also PCMTV's ability to continue to provide health care for PCMTV employees. That part is still intake now that cuts have been made, but what is the long term solution to a problem that is just beginning? If you can't address that, then the situation at PCMTV will get much worse.

Each week, the facility gets positive emails about the show I produce, but I only hear about it if it comes across my friend's desk. Otherwise, you'd never know. In fact, there is not doubt my show makes some staff very uncomfortable. Body language and looks of fear tell it all.

They don't look uncomfortable to the point that they would attempt censorship, (they don't have that right, that's why my show exists in the first place) but uncomfortable in the sense that when times get rough like this, they likely won't be planning to "have my back" when things really kick into next gear and whole days get slashed instead of merely hours.

When I found out about this, I checked to see if maybe I could come in early to work on my show. In the old days, they used to have something called "Senior Producer Status." I was just told by a staff member in a very frank, non emotional tone that "senior producer editing hasn’t existed for a quarter or so." Well forget I even asked then! You see what I mean? Oh, and that's from my so-called friend at PCMTV.

The following appeared in my email an hour ago:

Dear PCM Producers & Stakeholders:

It need not be said, but the national and local fiscal picture continues to worsen, and this has affected Portland Community Media. Although the stimulus bill was recently passed by Congress, we do not know how these dollars will directly affect PCM. Meanwhile, we have been aggressively seeking alternative funding to diversify our funding base.

Given these financial concerns, PCM plans to reduce public hours by 10 hours per week. Beginning April 1, PCM will be open to the public for 32 hours per week with the new public hours as follows:

Wednesday-Friday 5-10pm

Saturday 10am-8pm

Sunday 1-8pm

PCM has tried to prevent the cut in public hours. However, we are anticipating up to a 5 percent city budget cut that could start as early as this fiscal year-before June 30-and this will be the fourth budget cut for PCM in seven years. We have been working hard to reduce our looming deficit. We have had to lay off and reduce hours for some staff while also doubling employee insurance premiums. PCM has instituted a modest user fee for producers even though additional revenue will be lost as we offset our deficit. Additionally, we have had to rearrange staff positions and consider future staffing reductions to maintain the organization at a functioning level.

In an effort to lessen the impact of fewer public hours, PCM has only shortened public hours during slow periods. There is no future date for when these hours will return to previous public hours. When the budget outlook goes back to normal, PCM will consider reverting to 42 public hours per week.

We regret the inconvenience this causes our community. However, we believe this is in the best interest of everyone concerned and a wise move, allowing PCM to offer the best in local programming, media education and youth media programs to its communities.

If you have questions, contact Alain LeTourneau at 503-288-1515 ext.113. Thank you for supporting PCM. We look forward to serving you.

Sincerely,

Sylvia McDaniel, Chief Executive
Portland Community Media



Why is it that valued producers only have input in controlling setting meeting where PCMTV leadership controls the mike? Oh right! That's because 'we the people' aren't in charge of anything...

Perhaps Sylvia needs to come on the show and explain the situation to the people instead of sending out emails telling us that this our only solution and to hope for the best that the stimulus packages will work.

I'm trying to be nice guy. But I want answers...NOW.

Alex Ansary

Sunday, March 01, 2009

alexansary.com web traffic exploded this week


I finally put together a report on sunspot cycle 24 and the weakening magnetic field.

It seems there was a lot of interest in this topic.

Read the article in full here

http://alexansary.com/Editorial/Sun%20spots%20and%20a%20weakened%20magnetic%20field.html

Social Engineering 2009

Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas. ~ Stalin

For a world that has access to an abundance of information and historical records, I find it quite peculiar that most humans can't seem to figure out why our planet is now experiencing the beginning of a sweeping new wave of violence, crime and social disruption.

It is a fact that a poor economy has a direct result on crime rates, as well as mental health.

Perhaps looking at the cause and effect of events in the world has become too much for people that can't seem to stomach the truth about how serious things could get in the near future when the bailout package doesn't work.

As our nation's corporate controlled leadership continues to gamble with the sovereignty and security of the United States, the families and children continue to suffer. It's no surprise that the military has escalated their plans to 'manage' waves of civil unrest throughout our country. They expect a very large, angry population to rise against the government. What events are they expecting in the near future that concern them so greatly?

While we sleep, they are are preparing for an ENDGAME scenario. The military no longer has a problem hiring foreign nationals to do the job of going to war for the military industrial complex. At a later date, those same foreign troops may be used domestically inside the United States to maintain security during a crisis when American marines can't or won't enforce martial law.

The military also has no problem hiring convicted felons to add to the bloodbath. As far as the Pentagon is concerned, these men are nothing more than necessary fuel sources for the military machine.

Our nation's foreign and domestic policy is breaking the back of this country and our collective moral fiber. It's also destroying the United States military by using our troops to fight an illegal war, and to incrementally build an unconstitutional police state within the borders of the United States.

It needs to be pointed out that it's never a good sign when your military boys are committing suicide in record numbers that exceed the death toll of those killed by enemy fire. It is an even worse sign when women in the military are statistically more likely to be gang raped by their fellow soldiers than killed by enemy fire.

With the approach of the next great depression which will rival the last, we are now starting to see waves of violent crime hit the nation. Throughout history, depressions have brought a collective of unfavorable changes to society.

Human beings adapt themselves to their survival needs for better or for worse. People need to eat and pay their rent. It has been said that the Nazis' were just doing their job and following orders.

History shows that the bulk of the population will move in the direction of the jobs that are available if it is needed for their basic day to day survival in the so-called civilized world. It's living out of fear of not surviving or not being safe that often causes people to make a decision that goes their better judgment and integrity.

It's kind of like looking at a wealthy land owning warlord who owns all the water rights and is enslaving the people that are dependent on his water for survival and life. In this case, the ruler is in a position to make the people do whatever he wants them to do in order for them to be allowed to drink what he claims is his water.

Some of the new ways of life that humans adapt themselves to during an economic meltdown are: (but not limited to) spikes in alcoholism and drug addiction, endemic depression, suicide, consuming food of poor quality, degraded health, educational system meltdown, moral and spiritual bankruptcy, people fighting each other, relationship and family problems, homelessness, ghetto life, rise in fanatical cults, gangs, organized crime, murder, car thefts, bank robberies, home invasions, the adult industry, prostitution, rape, and the human trafficking of women.


All of these things are beginning to manifest incrementally in our country and these changes in society have also been happening throughout the world where the economic situation has been dire for some time now. Much of the third world has been going through these nightmares for years. Our own society has already seen it's share of these social ills. Only now its about to be felt tenfold in what once was the world's largest military and economic superpower. That is something that is not new, nor something that most people will have the privilege of ignoring for much longer.

There clearly are some serious issues with our modern civilization that must be addressed in some way. It should also be noted that as concerned as some people seem to be about their own economic future, few appear to be publicly looking for the real answers as to why things are manifesting the way and at the rate that they are.

While the American people aren't responsible for the economic crash underway, the people in control of our financial system are guilty of treason. It are these corrupted individuals that are working their hardest to make sure the population and the next generation foots the bill and voluntarily remains asleep during the process.

Meanwhile, the bailout money seems to have no positive impact on our economy. It's actually having a negative effect. Now that the rest of the world can see that the fake liquidity of the Federal Reserve and big banks can no longer work magic, we are about to sleepwalk into a free fall of the US economy and our social order.

Headlines that report an increasing level of gang violence in small times has already become commonplace. In my city we are currently experiencing an unprecedented rise in shootings not seen in several decades.


While solutions to some of these changes seem out of reach, we cannot overlook our responsibility to watch over our young and to protect them from those that seek their unquestioned loyalty and servitude. Our children are growing up in a world exposed to alarmingly high levels violence in video games and in movies. Their understanding of the world, themselves, values, desires, goals often are shaped by these outlets. While they aren't actually in the battlefield, they are in a simulated sense via the technology available in the digital age. The military has already announced their plan to recruit young gamers to operate the killer drones in the middle east. If that wasn't a red flag, the similarity in technology and joy sticks between modern video games and the Army's robotic army is increasing by the day. What will become of these children in the future when their are no jobs and the world is awash in war and technology?

Meanwhile, some other children like those attempting to stay alive in the Middle East and Africa get to witness their villages destroyed, their mothers and sisters raped, and their fathers executed before their very eyes. Only our nation's military doesn't have a policy of counting the dead civilians. What will become of these children in the future?

This is an evil place in time where the mass media delivers to a sea of viewers each night a whole new set of nightmares and terrifying visions of not only the future, but the day at hand. This box has become the parent, in a world where the parents are also enslaved to the same system, often too busy working (or trying to find work) to tend to the development and nurturing of the family. The world the children are growing up is a world where their leaders say this will be a hundred year war, according to PNAC documents.

Now here's a question: How is the next generation supposed to respond to this declaration that the rest of their lives will likely be filled with wars, rumors of war, a police state, cameras on every corner, famines, super viruses, terrorism, and many other FILL IN THE BLANK events?!

These events are being engineering in order to re-social engineer our society and world. Their goal is to move us and our children rapidly into the machine, into a place where their is no place to hide.

If we have any connection to our own humanity still left in us, we have to nurture that and realize that we can't take our ability to love and feel for granted. One day people may forget much of their past and what things were like when we didn't have to thumb scan to travel to another state or to pay for our groceries. This is where our passion for life and experience comes into play. It is our responsibility to plant basic seeds of wisdom and to remind people that we used to be live a more peaceful existence before the events were orchestrated, and that the emerging New World Order is not our savior but the consumer of humanity.

There will be many children growing up in the future that will be searching for answers and truth, and some could be more intelligent than we think. Whether its our child or not, we need to be willing to care for others in a time of crisis where mindful leadership may need to emerge to shed some light on what's going on when the crisis happens, and how we can work together to remedy the situation.

The globalists' are hellbent on creating a society where the people devour each other in a crisis that has been perpetuated on the people. It's our job to expose the plots and already begin to take part in a very long, but meaningful and important rebuilding effort.

"In the end, we will remem​ber not the words​ of our enemi​es,​ but the silen​ce of our frien​ds.​"​ - Marti​n Luthe​r King Jr.