www.rhci-online.net/radiogram/radiogram.htm

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                                                                    http://voaradiogram.net/

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Welcome to program 37 of VOA Radiogram from the Voice of America.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Washington.

Here is the lineup for today's program:

  1:31 MFSK16: Program preview (now) (2:32)
  4:03 MFSK32: DDoS attack on RFE/RL, with image (3:50)
  7:53 MFSK32: Reoganization of Russian media, with image (5:08)
13:52 MFSK64: Foreign journalists in China, with image (5:06)
18:58 MFSK64/Flmsg: Ancient Martian lake, with image (5:17)
24:20 MFSK64: Image of National Christmas Tree (2:28)
26:57 MFSK32: Closing announcements (:40)

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com

And visit voaradiogram.net

Twitter: @VOARadiogram

VOA Radiogram now changes to MFSK32...
 

<EOT>
 

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On today's program: stories about international media from VOA's
"sister" broadcasters, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio
Free Asia.


Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Inc. press release

RFE/RL Coverage Disrupted By Internet Attacks

December 10, 2013

RFE/RL has been experiencing Distributed Denial of Service, or
DDoS, attacks intermittently since 5 am EST Sunday, December 8.

RFE/RL technical staff is currently working to isolate fake
traffic and block further disruption to its operations, and every
effort is being made to maintain access to RFE/RL content on all
platforms.

"We are reporting this attack in response to the needs of our
audiences, who rely on RFE/RL reporting," said RFE/RL President
and CEO Kevin Klose. "RFE/RL stands for the essential right to
freely impart, receive, and exchange information, and we condemn
this interference with our mission and our work, especially as
momentous events are taking place around us. We believe the
attacks may be targeted and appeal to our audiences to stay with
us and not be deterred."

A DDoS attack floods the target with fake requests that come from
thousands, or even millions, of computers that have been
compromised or infected with viruses or malware.

RFE/RL experienced a similar DDoS attack on its operations last
month. A DDoS attack targeted RFE/RL's Belarus service in 2008.

http://www.rferl.org/content/rferl-coverage-disrupted-by-internet-attacks/25196278.html

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<EOT>
 

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<EOT>

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Putin Reorganizes State Media Into New Conglomerate

By RFE/RL
December 09, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the closure of RIA
Novosti, Russia's major state-run news agency, as part of a
reorganization of state-owned media assets. Also being closed is
the state-owned Voice of Russia radio.

Both media organizations are to be absorbed into a new media
conglomerate called Rossiya Segodnya, according to a decree on
the changes that was posted on the Russian presidential website.

The head of the Russian presidential administration, Sergei
Ivanov, told journalists on December 9 that the reorganization of
RIA Novosti and several other state-run media outlets is aimed at
improving cost-effectiveness and efficiency ahead of budget
reductions in 2014 for state-run information resources.

But a news report by RIA Novosti on its own demise calls the
closures "the latest in a series of shifts in Russia's news
landscape, which appear to point toward a tightening of state
control in the already heavily regulated media sector."

The head of Putin's administration also said that Russia "must
tell the truth and make it accessible to as many people as
possible and use modern language and the best available
technologies in doing so," as Russia is holding "an independent
policy and unwaveringly protects its national interests."

A direct translation of "Rossiya Segodnya" is "Russia Today." But
RIA Novosti reports that the new Kremlin-run media conglomerate
"will apparently be separate from RT, the Kremlin-funded
English-language television channel original known as Russia
Today."

In a separate decree published on December 9, the Kremlin
appointed Dmitry Kiselyov to head the new Rossiya Segodnya
conglomerate.

Kiselyov is a prominent Russian television presenter and Russia's
veteran state media manager who recently became embroiled in a
scandal over antigay remarks that he made on the air.

According to Putin's decree, Rossiya Segodnya will manage the
property used by RIA Novosti at 4 Zubovsky Boulevard in Moscow.

The decree also says the core business of Rossiya Segodnya will
be "the coverage of Russian state policy and public life in the
Russian Federation" for foreign audiences.

The presidential decree also merges state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta
(Russian Newspaper) with the state-run Rodina (Motherland)
magazine and closes Russia's Book Chamber -- with the property to
be transferred to Russia's state-run ITAR-TASS news agency. And
it liquidates the State Archive of Television and Radio Programs.

Putin has called for the Russian government to allocate necessary
funds for the creation of the new media conglomerate within one
month and to fully implement his decree within three months.

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-new-news-agency/25194336.html

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<EOT>
 

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<EOT>
 

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Comment by Kim: Voice of Russia, mentioned in the previous RFE/RL
news story, is the successor to Radio Moscow, the largest
international radio station during the Cold War years. The future
of international radio broadcasting from Russia, via shortwave or
other media, is uncertain.


This is VOA Radiogram from the Voice of America.

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com

And visit voaradiogram.net

Twitter: @VOARadiogram

VOA Radiogram now changes to MFSK64...

<EOT>

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Beijing 'Tightens Controls' on Foreign Journalists

Radio Free Asia
December 9, 2013

The environment for foreign journalists working in China has
worsened, with "negative trends" continuing in the past year, a
press group said in an annual statement amid growing tension
between Beijing and Washington over correspondents' visas.

"We have found that the Chinese authorities are increasingly
using the denial of visas, or delays in their approval, in an
apparent effort to influence journalists’ coverage," the Foreign
Correspondents' Club of China said in a statement issued on
Sunday and reported by Bloomberg.

"No correspondents for the New York Times and Bloomberg have yet
been able to renew their annual residence visas, which have been
subject to unusual and unexplained delays this year," the FCCC
statement said.

Both news organizations have published articles exposing the
wealth of relatives of Chinese leaders in the past year.

Now, their correspondents could be forced to leave the country by
the end of the year if their visas aren’t renewed, in what was
once a fairly automatic annual process.

'Special treatment'

A Beijing-based foreign correspondent who asked to remain
anonymous said there was little doubt among Beijing-based
journalists over the reason behind the visa problems.

"The authorities are very angry with The New York Times and
Bloomberg, so they are meting out this special treatment to
them," the journalist told RFA's Cantonese Service.

"Any stories about the leadership are particularly sensitive
right now," he added.

He said the climate for foreign journalists had changed
noticeably around the time of a clampdown on dissent sparked by
online calls for Chinese activists to emulate the Arab Spring in
early 2011.

"It was around the time of the so-called Jasmine Revolution.
There was a period when the police would contact us directly,
which they had never done before," he said.

"In the past few years we have had to have a chat with foreign
ministry officials when the time comes for us to apply for our
press card," he added.

Off-limits

The FCCC said Beijing had also clamped down on foreign reporters'
ability to interview members of the public during the past year,
rolling back a policy of greater access for foreign journalists
begun during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"Large swathes of Chinese territory remain effectively out of
bounds to foreign correspondents," Bloomberg quoted the FCCC
statement as saying.

"Although a handful of resident foreign correspondents and some
journalists visiting from abroad have been allowed into Tibet
this year, strict restrictions have been imposed on press
coverage there," it added.

Visa renewals

During a visit to Beijing last week, U.S. Vice President Joe
Biden called on the ruling Chinese Communist Party to expand
press freedoms and stop punishing U.S. news organizations for
critical coverage.

However, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei gave a stock answer
to a question about journalist visas on Sunday, saying only that
China always "deals with issues concerning foreign journalists
and media in accordance with laws and regulations."

Meanwhile, New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson told
Bloomberg by e-mail that the paper felt it crucial to provide
"unfettered" coverage of China at a compelling stage in the
country's development.

"We have made a major commitment to covering China and are eager
that our staff can continue to work there normally," Abramson
said.

Nearly two dozen journalists for The New York Times and Bloomberg
are based in China, and all of their visas must be renewed by the
end of the month.

However, the public security bureau has declined to respond to
their annual applications as usual.

FCC Hong Kong

The Foreign Correspondents' Club's branch in Hong Kong, a former
British colony which enjoys a greater degree of press freedom
than cities across the internal border with mainland China, said
it was deeply concerned about the refusal of work visas for
foreign journalists.

It cited the case of veteran Beijing-based journalist Paul
Mooney, who has received a number of awards for his human rights
reporting, who was recently denied a visa to work for Reuters,
which wanted to hire him in Beijing.

"These delays and the lack of transparency in the visa process
contribute to the impression that the process is used by
authorities to intimidate journalists and their employers," the
Dec. 3 statement said.

"It may be no coincidence that these delays come at a time when
major news outlets have published work examining the business
interests and personal wealth of members of China’s senior
leadership, as well as the social pressures created by the
country’s growing wealth gap."

It said any attempt to restrict journalists' access to a country
is a form of censorship, and urged Beijing to process
applications for journalists' visas in a "fair and timely
manner."

Reported by Grace Kei Lai-see for RFA's Cantonese Service.
Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/fccc-12092013131522.html

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<EOT>
 

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<EOT>
 

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The following VOA News story is in Flmsg format...

<EOT>
 

... start
[WRAP:beg][WRAP:lf][WRAP:fn VOAR37_Mars.b2s]<flmsg>1.1.33
:hdr_fm:19
VOA 20131212085341
:hdr_ed:19
VOA 20131212084259
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<h1 style="color:#132FBE;font-family:sans-serif">Voice of America</h1><h2
style="color:#FF0000;font-family:sans-serif">News / Science & Technology</h2><h2 style="font-family:sans-serif">
Ancient Mars Lake Could Have Supported Life</h2>
<b>Steve Baragona<br>December 09, 2013</b>

Mineral-munching microbes could have found a hospitable environment in an ancient Martian lake, according to new research.

Scientists say it's the best evidence yet of conditions suitable for life on the red planet.

Earlier this year, NASA reported evidence of water on Mars that could have sustained life.

The latest research, published in Science, shows the Mars rover Curiosity has found iron and sulfur minerals in different chemical
states at the bottom of an ancient lakebed.

<b>Rock eaters</b>

Those different chemical states show electrons can move around in that environment.

That's significant because "if you can move electrons around, you've basically got food," said geoscience professor Scott McLennan
at Stony Brook University. "In principle, you'd have microbes that could eat the rocks and that's very common on Earth [in caves
and thermal vents]. They're primitive life forms, but they're very, very well known and very well understood."

A string of research papers has suggested there could have been life on Mars, but this is the first time University of Tennessee
planetary science professor Hap McSween has been convinced.

"Before, we've found evidence of ancient water. We've found this or that, various pieces of the puzzle, but never the whole
package," McSween said. "And this place really does seem to have the whole package."

The samples were taken not far from Curiosity's landing site, in a geological formation known as Yellowknife Bay.

<b>Life on Mars and Earth</b>

The area appears to have been a lake more recently than researchers thought - though still nearly 4 billion years ago.

That's about the time life was emerging on Earth.

"It could be that the two planets had emerging but very simplified life at the same time," McSween said. "But we're a long way
from figuring out that this interesting lake deposit has any evidence of life."

The rover is not equipped to look for fossil microbes that could answer once and for all the question of whether there was life on
Mars.

"Ultimately, what's going to have to happen is to start the process of collecting samples on Mars [and] getting them ready to
return them to Earth," McSween said. "This certainly would be a prospective place to go and look for samples."

<b>Back to the plan</b>

In the meantime, the rover is headed for Mt. Sharp, a 5-kilometer-high formation of layered rock.

"It's like the pages of a book. You just work your way up through the history of Mars as it's recorded in the sedimentary record,"
McSween said.

Mt. Sharp is rover mission's original target. The remarkable discovery of a habitable ancient lake is just a detour.

<a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/ancient-mars-lake-could-have-suppo rted-life/1806648.html">www.voanews.com/content/ancient
-mars-lake-could-have-suppo rted-life/1806648.html</a>
[WRAP:chksum 9875][WRAP:end]
... end

<EOT>

Steve Baragona
December 09, 2013

Mineral-munching microbes could have found a hospitable environment in an ancient
Martian lake, according to new research.

Scientists say it's the best evidence yet of conditions suitable for life on the
red planet.

Earlier this year, NASA reported evidence of water on Mars that could have sustained
life.

The latest research, published in Science, shows the Mars rover Curiosity has found
iron and sulfur minerals in different chemical
states at the bottom of an ancient lakebed.

Rock eaters

Those different chemical states show electrons can move around in that environment.

That's significant because "if you can move electrons around, you've basically got
food," said geoscience professor Scott McLennan
at Stony Brook University. "In principle, you'd have microbes that could eat the
rocks and that's very common on Earth [in caves
and thermal vents]. They're primitive life forms, but they're very, very well known
and very well understood."

A string of research papers has suggested there could have been life on Mars, but
this is the first time University of Tennessee
planetary science professor Hap McSween has been convinced.

"Before, we've found evidence of ancient water. We've found this or that, various
pieces of the puzzle, but never the whole
package," McSween said. "And this place really does seem to have the whole package."

The samples were taken not far from Curiosity's landing site, in a geological formation
known as Yellowknife Bay.

Life on Mars and Earth

The area appears to have been a lake more recently than researchers thought - though
still nearly 4 billion years ago.

That's about the time life was emerging on Earth.

"It could be that the two planets had emerging but very simplified life at the same
time," McSween said. "But we're a long way
from figuring out that this interesting lake deposit has any evidence of life."

The rover is not equipped to look for fossil microbes that could answer once and
for all the question of whether there was life on
Mars.

"Ultimately, what's going to have to happen is to start the process of collecting
samples on Mars [and] getting them ready to
return them to Earth," McSween said. "This certainly would be a prospective place
to go and look for samples."

Back to the plan

In the meantime, the rover is headed for Mt. Sharp, a 5-kilometer-high formation
of layered rock.

"It's like the pages of a book. You just work your way up through the history of
Mars as it's recorded in the sedimentary record,"
McSween said.

Mt. Sharp is rover mission's original target. The remarkable discovery of a habitable
ancient lake is just a detour.

www.voanews.com/content/ancient-mars-lake-could-have-supported-life/1806648.html

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MFSK64 image follows: Artist's concept as to where water may have
once flowed in ancient Gale Crater lake (NASA/JPL)

<EOT>
 

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Next on VOA Radiogram, an MFSK64 image on the National Christmas
Tree, with the White House in the background...

<EOT>
 

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<EOT>
 

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VOA Radiogram now changes to MFSK32 for closing announcements...
 

<EOT>

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This is VOA Radiogram in MFSK32...


Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com

And visit voaradiogram.net

Twitter: @VOARadiogram

Thanks to colleagues at the Edward R. Murrow shortwave
transmitting station in North Carolina.

I'm Kim Elliott. Please join me for the next VOA Radiogram.

This is VOA, the Voice of America.

<EOT>
 

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Thank you for decoding the modes on VOA Radiogram.


This is the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station in North
Carolina signing off.

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Please join us for the next VOA Radiogram.
 

Radio Nostalgie   -   Images received via EASYPAL/DSSTV on 14233 kHz/USB from F1RXM in the last days.  (FRG-100 / Dipol for  ~12 MHz)