I think the following item appeared in the Beetle Valley Enquirer. I haven't
seen it in any of the major newspapers and thought some of you might find it
interesting.
73,
Dick N6AA
________________________________
The human rights group, Empathy International, has issued a strong
condemnation of a replacement for the death penalty rumored to be under
consideration on some small Pacific islands. It has been suggested that
condemned prisoners be forced to obtain amateur radio licenses, be secured
into chairs in front of radio sets, and then forced to talk to weak-signal
European amateur radio enthusiasts in voice radio contests.
Scientists theorize that many Europeans have lived too close to nuclear
reactors and therefore are unable to remember their full radio callsigns.
The European amateurs will therefore frequently shout pairs of letters,
often related to these callsigns, at the hapless miscreants. The prisoners
would be expected to suffer from their inability to get the Europeans to
allow them the information needed for their contest entries.
Group spokesman, Baulder Dash, stated, "Empathy International has long been
in the fight against inhumane practices. We have opposed not only the death
penalty, but all forms of torture. The proposed amateur radio punishment is
no more humane than forcing prisoners to act as guinea pigs in biological
experiments. In this enlightened age, no one should have to endure talking
to hoards of weak Europeans in voice radio contests. We will speak out
against this barbaric practice wherever it surfaces."
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