RSID: <<2019-11-22T00:31Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>

Welcome to program 127 of Shortwave Radiogram.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

  1:38 MFSK32: Program preview (now)
  2:53 U.S. to help Iranians bypass internet shutdown
  5:48 MFSK64: How US/EU could facilitate free Iran internet*
11:56 Example of Persian-language text**
14:41 This week's images*
27:53 MFSK32: Closing announcements

* with image(s)

** use UTF-8 character set (default in Fldigi and TIVAR)


Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

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Twitter: @SWRadiogram




From Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Envoy For Iran Says U.S. Working To Help Iranians Bypass Internet
Shutdown

RFE/RL Radio Farda
19 November 2019

Brian Hook, Washington's special envoy for Iran, says the United
States is working to help Iranians bypass a near-total Internet
shutdown imposed by the clerical establishment amid violent
protests over a sharp hike in gasoline prices.

Speaking to RFE/RL on November 18, Hook said the United States
was trying to put in place "workarounds" to help Iranians access
the global Internet.

NetBlocks, which monitors worldwide Internet access, said
connectivity in Iran had fallen to just 5 percent of ordinary
levels in recent days.

"We think that's going to help some people connect to the
Internet so that they can continue getting out their videos [of
the protests]," Hook said.

He added that the United States had taken "a number of steps" in
the past 18 months to help Iranians bypass Internet censorship.

"We have been able to get into the hands of the Iranian people
circumvention tools that allow them to communicate with each
other when the regime tries to censor them," he said.

Hook accused the Iranian leaders of "hypocrisy" for using social
media while depriving millions of Iranians from access to the
Internet.

"The supreme leader, the president, and the foreign minister
continue to use social media and they use the Internet to get out
their message, but they don't let the Iranian people get out the
truth," Hook said.

The White House on November 17 condemned "the lethal force and
severe communications restrictions used against demonstrators"
and said it supported "the Iranian people in their peaceful
protests."

https://www.rferl.org/a/envoy-for-iran-says-u-s-working-to-help-iranians-bypass-internet-shutdown/30280082.html

 

Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 ...
 

RSID: <<2019-11-22T00:35Z MFSK-64 @ 9265000+1500>>


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From Deutsche Welle:

How the US and EU could facilitate a free internet for Iran

Fabian Schmidt
19 November 2019

US Ambassador [to Germany] Richard Grenell's tweet suggesting
that the United States and European Union could restore the
internet for Iranians has drawn attention.

We have the technical ability to turn the internet on for
the people of Iran. And ensure it is free of government
blockers. Europe and America should do it together.

Grenell followed up with a tweet to cellphone manufacturers and
social media companies, encouraging them to join in the task.

Now would be a good time for @Google, @facebook, @Apple,
@Twitter, @instagram, @nokia and @ericsson to help the
people of Iran

In order for the World Wide Web to work well, it requires a
constant connection through which data can be sent and received.
If the state or the provider cuts off the connection, nothing
works.

It's nearly impossible for ordinary users with computers and
routers to quickly access familiar internet services if a regime
blocks network connections. However, limited communication may
still be possible with a fair amount of effort.

The World Wide Web, with its web browsers, is one of many
technologies that use the internet. The internet can be used just
as well without the World Wide Web.

Before the World Wide Web got going in the 1990s, plenty of
people already used the internet to communicate without being
online all the time.

CrossPoint as inspiration?

CrossPoint (also called XP) brought together the function of
discussion forums with those of an email program. Simple PCs
equipped with one or two telephone modems acted as servers.

These CrossPoint servers only needed to call one another every
now and then on a normal telephone line to exchange their data
packets.

The technology works in countries run by authoritarian regimes,
too. The Zamir Transnational Network demonstrated that starting
in 1991, during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. As long as the
servers were able to reach a telephone number in a free country,
communication with the internet and the rest of the world was
assured. The authorities at the time were able to tap analog
phone calls, but the digital gobbledygook was too much for it.

It could still take days for an email to reach its recipient, but
it was far faster than sending a letter.

'A sensible way'

The backbone of a contemporary system in Iran and other countries
with authoritarian governments would be the hundreds of thousands
or even millions of smartphones that people carry around with
them.

An app could create a network out of the devices of people who
take part: Each of those phones would become a server and connect
with other phones nearby. A massive parallel internet would
emerge through which users could communicate with each other.
Bridgefy, an app that connects smartphones via Bluetooth, has
been used by protesters in Hong Kong and Lebanon.

Theoretically, the Wi-Fi function of cellphones could be used the
same way to communicate. Then each phone would become a wireless
router.

But it wouldn't be straightforward for programmers, said Fabian
Marquardt, a researcher of networks and IT security at the
University of Bonn. "It is difficult to organize the
redistribution of the messages in a sensible way," he said,
adding that if the messages are always redistributed to everyone,
there's a danger that too much useless data ends up taking up
space on too many phones.

Secret servers

Users trying to avoid the scrutiny of politically repressive
regimes such as China's and Iran's would need to worry about
leaving digital traces. With a skillfully designed Bluetooth or
WiFi solution, a SIM card might no longer even be necessary.
Cellphone users would no longer need to register with telecom
providers, and it would become harder to expose them. But they
would need to be able to buy phones anonymously.

It is also important that any messenger software they use to
communicate have end-to-end encryption. Signal is similar to
WhatsApp, the market leader. But, with Signal, no one aside from
the recipient can determine who sent a message or what it says.
Users' contact lists are also anonymous.

The free internet for Iran that Ambassador Grenell has called for
could possibly be implemented with a cleverly designed app that
would include a number of secret servers operated inside the
country that allow telephone communications abroad.

What about satellites?

If a country blocks all channels of communication abroad, what's
left is communication into space. But not every mobile phone user
has that option because their devices do not necessarily have the
technical means to send such signals.

But opposition figures could be outfitted with compatible
devices, such as Iridium phones. Iridium already provides a
messaging service. Why not hand out a few hundred devices to
trustworthy people in Iran as hubs for everyone connected to the
greater network to be able to communicate with the outside world?

Users would have to contend with one limitation: High-quality
images or videos would probably cripple the system quickly.
Communication would be better restricted to text.

In the future, the Starlink satellite system from SpaceX might be
able to bring properly free internet with a high bit rate
directly to the people. But users would need special antennas
that aren't yet available.

Like satellite dishes, the antennas would need to be installed
outside, said Marquardt, the IT researcher. "Anyone who mounts
such a thing on a roof in Iran or China has to be prepared for
someone eventually knocking on the door and asking what it is,"
he said.

https://www.dw.com/en/how-the-us-and-eu-could-facilitate-a-free-internet-for-iran/a-51313314

Accompanying image of a mobile device in Iran unable to access
the internet ...

Sending Pic:208x128C;





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With Iran's internet in the news, this would be a good time to
try the transmission of Persian text. This is an except of a
Deutsche Welle Persian news item about the amount of waste caused
by food packaging in Germany ...
 

Full text: bit.ly/35n8ZBr




 

This is Shortwave Radiogram

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This week's images ...



Lightning did not actually strike this A380 at Christchurch
Airport in New Zealand, but it was close enough. From
bit.ly/2D7Y0zy ...


Sending Pic:201x186C;





Fighting the Gospers Mountain Fire southwest of Sydney, NSW,
Australia. From bit.ly/2QGj1cK ...

Sending Pic:149x210C;

The muggy, damp environment of Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve,
Costa Rica, is home to lovely winding trails and an array of
birds, big cats and insects. From cnn.it/2s5xpBa ...

Sending Pic:211x118C;

Fallen leaves on frosty turf in northern Indiana, 17 November.
From bit.ly/2KHhuzr ...

Sending Pic:207x138C;

Late autumn scene in Rock Creek Park, Washington DC. From
bit.ly/37n3W5L ...

Sending Pic:208x155C;

Sunset in Washington DC, 15 November. From bit.ly/35p8CX7 ...

Sending Pic:170x201C;


 

This week's painting is by Iranian-American artist, Dr Ziba
Shirani. From bit.ly/2KIhO0S ...

Sending Pic:154x208C;




 

Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 ...

RSID: <<2019-11-22T00:57Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>



This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 ...


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I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave
Radiogram.

 

RSID: <<2019-11-21T02:42Z MFSK-64 @ 5850000+1500>>

Sending Pic:300x300C;

This Is A Music Show #039
21 November 2019

0200-0300UTC on 5850 kHz
0200-0230UTC on 7780 kHz*
0230-0300UTC on 9395 kHz*

via WRMI, Okeechobee USA

*freebie backups kindly provided by WRMI to fill empty slots ;)

----------------------------------------

PLAYLIST
 

Links of note:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQNL83fhWJU

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