Sasha Lilley
Interim Program Director
ipd@kpfa.org

Lemlem Rijio
Interim General Manager for KPFA
igm@kpfa.org

Dear Lemlem and Sasha:

I learned from e-mail which was cc:ed to me yesterday that:

1. My appearance on KPFA Radio/Flashpoints yesterday was canceled shortly before the show;

2. My audio seminar and appearance to help KPFA/Flashpoints fundraising for an additional target of $15,000 was not desired; and

3. My appearance on KPFA Radio/Flashpoints is canceled for the indefinite future.

Before that time, I had no communication from you or any KPFA staff (other than the Flashpoints team) to:

1. Provide me with feedback –positive or negative — on my participation in the Community Business segment of Flashpoints;

2. Learn more about me and my professional or personal activities; and

3. Thank me for providing audio seminars and show participation to raise what I am told by Flashpoints staff was $45,000 to date this year.

I have no understanding of what your concerns are other than an e-mail rant from someone who does not know my name and has apparently not read my website to learn the basics of what I do.

I appreciate that providing citizens with an insiders understanding of how money and resources work is always a sensitive issue. So much political and economic control depends on the financial system remaining overly complex to busy people. My first experience with being censored was in the first Bush Administration. The situation at the New York Times got so ugly that the reporter had to resign. The Times Bureau Chief was rewriting the article without her permission. She caught it and stopped the story, and then resigned from the Times and retired from the industry. After watching numerous examples of censorship subsequently, I experienced a particularly painful experience in 1997 when the Washington Post spiked a story. That was when I decided to withdraw from investing time in response to requests from most corporate media.

I have been doing Flashpoints because I have great respect for Dennis and his team. The Flashpoints team help me accomplish my mission of “navigating toward a financially intimate world.” I miss doing the show. However, at your insistence, I have no choice but to cease and desist from making money and building listenership for KPFA/Flashpoints until some mysterious investigation finishes looking into some mysterious allegations.

Consequently, I would appreciate knowing precisely what your specific concerns are and on what facts and documentation you base them. I would also welcome knowing why you have not communicated them to me before the Community Business show was censored.

I welcome your reply. Please feel free to contact me if a phone conversation can be of assistance. I look forward to a timely clearing of these issues and a positive resolution in the highest and best interest of all concerned.

Sincerely Yours,

Catherine Austin Fitts
President
Solari, Inc.

cc:

blog@wordpressdevurl.com
dbernstein@igc.org
e.c.klein@gmail.com
nicole@pacifica.org
nora@riseup.net
Related Reading

CAF Note: This censorship happened immediately prior to the federal takeover of Freddie and Fannie: See Fannie and Freddie Become Penny Stocks

26 Comments

  1. So, can someone explain what the complaint was about and why KPFA managers
    took such punitive action against Catherine?

    Dave Goodman
    WMBR, Cambridge, MA

    ________________________________________
    From: owner-grc@peak.org [mailto:owner-grc@peak.org] On Behalf Of Scooter
    Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 5:55 AM
    To: pnb@pacifica.org
    Cc: ipd@kpfa.org; igm@kpfa.org; catherine@solari.com; dbernstein@igc.org;
    nicole@pacifica.org
    Subject: [grc] Open Letter on Catherine Austin Fitts-KPFA Fiasco

    As a proud, long-standing satirist on Pacifica’s airwaves , I must bow down
    humbly to the astounding clueless rocket surgery displayed by the ‘Who’s
    in charge? committee’ at WTF KPFA.

    In my lifetime, the death of irony has been pronounced by notables from
    Kissinger’s Nobel Peace Prize to George W Bush’s Peace plan for the Middle
    East.

    Irony did not end there.

    It is alive and well at KPFA. These asshats and their insipid arbitrary
    fumbling have left me speechless.

    I would attempt to exaggerate this into a hilarious farce, but there’s no
    way to improve upon this fiasco.

    It mainstreams Dada.

    It trumps satire.

    Just repeating the facts as they occurred leaves no room for improvisation,
    which would take away from the hideous mangling of lucid cognition displayed
    by tin pot reach-a-rounders who actually get paid to stumble around FCC
    approved installations waving their hands and gnashing their teeth, and
    crawling around on the floor, looking for their car keys.

    It suggests that Scientology is rational by comparison, and Pat Robertson
    is a philanthropist.

    I have been left frighteningly speechless in the face of this ludicrous
    display of clueless grasping at straw persons.

    The best I can do is suggest that we not let KPFA deciders manage our
    National Zippers, lest the human race die out.

    -scooter
    http://acksisofevil.org/innerside.html
    programmer
    KPFT Houston weekly
    WBAI Monthly

    — On Mon, 8/4/08, amanda bellerby wrote:
    From: amanda bellerby

    Subject: Fwd: Letter of concern regarding censorship at KPFA
    Date: Monday, August 4, 2008, 1:28 PM

    ———- Forwarded message ———-
    From: amanda bellerby
    Date: Aug 4, 2008 11:26 AM
    Subject: Letter of concern regarding censorship at KPFA

    Dear Ms. Sawaya,

    It’s disturbing to learn that censorship has once again reared its ugly mug
    at “free speech” radio, KPFA. I am writing as part of a growing chorus of
    KPFA / Pacifica supporters and programmers around the country who are
    deeply concerned about the unceremonious yanking of Catherine Austin-Fitts
    from the “Flashpoints” program by interim management at KPFA. The complaint
    against Ms. Fitts being on the show, which was tepid to begin with, has
    since been retracted by the listener who made it.

    Yet the ban against Catherine remains, which, according to Peter Phillips of
    Project Censored, amounts to a clear case of censorship. (he should know).
    This is both distressing and confounding to the “Flashpoints” team, along
    with scores of supportive fellow programmers and producers around the
    country who are equally alarmed by these proceedings.

    As producer of the weekly “Best of Flashpoints” show and contributing
    national producer to the daily program, I am privy to a lot of excellent
    feedback, from listeners and fellow radio workers alike. The weekly
    “Community Business” segment with Carherine Austin-Fitts is an especially
    popular part of the “Flashpoints” lineup, and I often included it in the
    weekly “Best of FP” digest. Catherine was gaining listeners by the minute in
    recent months due to the ravaged state of the US economy.

    Catherine’s contributions to Pacifica radio are legend at other stations as
    well, like KPFT, and she helped us raise tens of thousands of dollars for
    KPFA in a single pledge drive. Listeners have told me directly that they
    appreciate her clarity, gentleness and ability to inspire mutual aid within
    our communities, fiscal responsibility and financial security in these
    troubling times. She is a valuable resource to us all.

    KBOO in Portland has just picked up the daily “Flashpoints” program, airing
    in Democracy Now!’s former time slot. The weekly “Best of FP” show I produce
    is also gaining in popularity, with three new stations on board in just the
    past week.

    The listeners have always loudly applauded the weekly “Community Business”
    segment with Ms. Fitts, and have pledged generously in $ support during
    every fundraiser. Catherine appeals to intelligent, educated listeners with
    good consciences, progressive politics, and considerable financial
    resources. Surely this particular slice of the American demographic should
    be welcomed into the KPFA fold. Having such an esteemed and well-regarded
    guest on the “Flashpoints” show on a regular basis can only serve to make
    that community part of KPFA’s loyal membership.

    As always, it’s the listeners who suffer most from our internal confusion by
    getting abruptly cut off from an information source they have come to trust
    and value very highly.

    I hope that you are able to help us resolve this strange situation, Nicole,
    and will encourage clear, open and respectful communication along with fair
    treatment of all workers from the interim managers at at our beloved KPFA.
    Let’s work together to put fair practices back into the workplace so we can
    all get on with the hard work of producing excellent programming, to appeal
    to the widest possible audience, while staying true to our mission and
    purpose at Pacifica.

    Respectfully,

    Amanda Bellerby
    National Producer, “Flashpoints”
    Producer, “If You Love This Planet” with Dr. Helen Caldicott

  2. I have followed Ms. Fitts various interviews, and she seems to be quite knowledgeable and balanced in her approach to personal finance and investing. One problem I have with the webiste, though, is that their appears to be no way to email her – all the email addresses I’ve tried have bounced!

  3. My censorship (see previous blog posts) is your financial opportunity.

    KPFA was going to provide our 2-CD audio seminar Positioning Your Assets for Growth in Uncertain Times as a premium for donations of $120.

    Solari sells it for $50 for mp3 and for $60 for CD. You can learn more and purchase at: http://www.solari.com/store/audio-seminars/positioning_your_assets/ .

    The Positioning Your Assets audio seminar is an accumulation of our responses to thousands of questions we have received from our listeners and readers over many years.

    Will we make money from this audio seminar? You bet! Are we proud to do so? You bet! We think sustainable small businesses are a terrific thing. We are proud to be a small business. We are proud to make money doing things that help you make money. We are proud to generate revenues that translate into income for employees, vendors and contractors and generate tax revenue for state and local government.

    Our audio seminar pricing goal is to capture a portion of the value we create for our listeners and network. We believe that the price of this audio seminar is less than you will lose this month as a result of a falling dollar. If you listen to Positioning Your Assets with your neighbors and families, your purchase can help you save even more losses that are happening right now and impacting your quality of life and finances.

    Thank you for your questions and your support. We appreciate your feedback and your business.

    In abundance,

    Catherine

  4. If Peter Byrne is the award winning investigative journalist he claims to be, he should spend more time doing his homework before firing off emails like the one that started this mess.

Comments are closed.