And this is another announcement.
The technical and creative team that has brought to these airwaves many of the most profound radio dramas to ever be transmitted will come together once again to present, on Saturday, November 16th, 2019, something you have never witnessed before.
Prepare yourself.
Oh, I was not prepared.
Okay, you are listening to WBAI New York.
It's, oh wow, it's five minutes after eight o'clock.
Time for Off the Hook.
The telephone keeps ringing, so I ripped it off the wall.
I cut myself while shaving, now I can't make a call.
We couldn't get much worse, but if they could they would.
Bondedly bond for the best, expect the worst.
I hope that's understood.
Bondedly bond.
Bondedly bond.
Bondedly bond.
Bondedly bond.
Bondedly bond.
Bondedly bond.
And it's another episode of Off the Hook.
Emmanuel Goldstein here with you tonight.
Joined by nobody, because nobody else is here, at least not yet.
Wow, it's a little bit of a drizzle outside, and apparently that makes everybody move very, very slowly, and that is why we started a little bit late.
But more importantly, more importantly, this is a momentous program, because we are marking the end of one of the older democratic, so-called democratic countries in the world, the United Kingdom.
Which, until tonight, comprised itself of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland.
And unfortunately, I guess all good things come to an end.
Yeah, because tonight, tonight the country is slightly, you know, this is going to be going once a minute, as happens during state funerals.
We basically have a situation over in the United Kingdom where parliament is being suspended.
That's what happens when you have inconvenient debate.
When you have people who disagree with you.
You shut them up.
That is the new way.
And as of today, Queen Elizabeth II has approved the new Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Trump lookalike guy, the plan to suspend parliament.
She has approved that plan.
It's not really her fault, because she approves whatever she's asked.
She's not supposed to really express an opinion.
But basically, what that means is that parliament is going to be suspended in early September, around September 9th through September 12th, all the way up until October 14th.
Just maybe turn that down a little bit.
Yeah, it's going to be very annoying.
So five weeks, five weeks.
They're basically going to shut parliament up and there's not going to be any way that they can debate the issue of Brexit, which, as you may know, is happening on October 31st with or without a deal.
And Boris Johnson has said repeatedly that he will gladly, well, maybe not gladly, but he will certainly go through with it, even if there is no deal.
Obviously, this is something that parliament is very, very strongly opposed to.
But by shutting them up for five weeks makes it a lot harder for them to do anything about it.
It's just it's it's really incredible to see this actually happening, actually taking place.
But it is true in the actual order, this day ordered by Her Majesty in Council that the parliament be, I don't know how to pronounce this word, prorogue.
It's not a word we use over here.
On a day no earlier than Monday, the ninth day of September, no later than Thursday, the 12th day of September 2019 to Monday, the 14th day of October 2019.
So we are going to be pretty much devoting this show to the memories of the United Kingdom, because after this, after this, we don't know what's going to happen.
We don't know where it's going to go from here.
You have a situation where parliament is being silenced.
You have a situation where the United Kingdom is going to leave the European Union without a deal in place.
In all likelihood, there's going to be mayhem.
There's going to be all kinds of economic catastrophe.
Or maybe nothing will happen.
Maybe everything will work out somehow.
Seems kind of hard to believe, but it's entirely possible.
We're opening up the phone lines to anybody from the United Kingdom who wants to call us.
Obviously anyone can call us, but we especially want to hear from people in the United Kingdom, because maybe soon you won't have phones.
Who knows?
Our phone number here is, of course, country code 1, and then the number is 212-209-2877.
And again, I want to apologize for the rather last minute sound of this.
It is rather last minute.
I just got into the studio only a minute before I started talking.
And there's something going on downstairs.
I don't know what it is, but it basically involves nobody being able to move.
So we got here.
Kyle and I got here.
He's still parking the car, I think, and hopefully he'll be up soon.
If there is a parking space anywhere in Brooklyn, everybody else is away for one reason or another.
I can't remember the last time I've been on Off the Hook by myself.
It's kind of nice, actually.
There's nobody to interrupt me, nobody to distract me in any way.
Yeah, and I can just pretty much ramble on without anybody interrupting or debating.
You know what? It's just like what happened over there.
There's no debate anymore.
This is what it's going to be like in the United Kingdom.
Nobody to talk to.
Nobody will talk to you.
We have some stories.
And again, the phone number, 212-209-2877, especially for people in the United Kingdom or people who have opinions on the United Kingdom.
We have some UK-based stories, such as an Uber advertising campaign in London has claimed its carpooling service reduces traffic,
which contradicts the findings of the U.S. ride-hailing app company's own research.
A large billboard poster displayed in London this month said UberPool reduces traffic by moving more people in fewer cars.
It was displayed at a busy junction near two of Transport for London's main offices in Southwark.
The poster has since been replaced.
The claim contradicts evidence from a study sponsored by Uber and fellow ride-hailing app company Lyft
that showed both were together responsible for as much as 13% of miles traveled by vehicles in the center of San Francisco,
one of six U.S. cities that were studied.
The report by the transportation consultancy Fare and Peers was based on data from Uber and Lyft.
A blog post accompanying the research, Chris Pangelnon, Uber's head of global policy for public transportation,
acknowledged that the evidence showed that his company and Lyft were likely to be contributing to an increase in congestion.
The effect of ride-hailing apps on congestion is contested.
They could reduce traffic by encouraging people to leave their cars at home,
or they could increase the number of vehicles on the road if people switch from public transport.
Asked about the poster, an Uber spokeswoman said,
More than 350,000 people in London regularly use UberPool to share their journey.
These shared journeys have saved over 1.7 million miles from being driven in London.
Wow. Interesting.
Contradictions, but interesting story nonetheless.
We have a caller. Is anybody on the line?
Yes, indeedy. I am calling from New York.
Okay, well, it's not really the UK, but it's close enough.
Yeah, well, it used to be a few centuries ago.
That's why it's called New York, indeed.
But I wanted to congratulate you on a rousing beginning.
You know, sometimes radio can become an art form,
and I really, really endorse and love what you did with the state funeral.
And, you know, this occasion needs to be marked solemnly, and ironically, as indeed you are.
So keep up the good work.
Thank you very much.
Do you have any thoughts?
Of course, I have lots of thoughts.
How much time do you have?
Well, actually about 45 minutes.
But no, share whatever thoughts you have on especially what happened today in the UK,
but anything else having to do with technology is certainly welcome as well.
Well, I mean, I was, you know, shocked and flabbergasted like everybody else who has a brain and still working,
because this is a real unexpected turn of events, you know.
But I want to point out something that I haven't heard much on any kind of commentary,
that, you know, the British monarchy is far from a symbolic head of state.
It is the head of state.
It's called Her Majesty's Government, Her Majesty's Prime Minister.
So Her Majesty, wake up and get off your behind, because you have a constitutional function to absolve.
It's not enough to just say, oh, I have to listen to my advisors.
No, you can fire the Prime Minister.
It's in the constitution of the UK.
And I think it's high time that the Queen, if she still is the Queen, exercises her function.
Well, the thing is, if she were to do that, then she would be very much involved in government,
which is what a lot of people don't want.
Never mind.
You know, she is, you know, that's why it's called Her Majesty's Government,
because it is hers, like the country, it is hers.
It's just that it's a constitutional expediency that basically, you know,
that people don't pay attention to the words.
But it's in her interest, it's in the monarchy's interest to have the subjects,
don't forget, they're called British subjects, to be governed by somebody that they, quote, choose.
So you have social teeth, but it is her stuff.
It is her country, it is her government.
And please, Her Majesty, take an active position for once in your life.
All right, well, if Her Majesty is listening, please do that.
Well, I don't know if I want that to happen, but I do want something to happen
that prevents all the lunacy from continuing.
Well, if you say democracy in the UK is finished, until, you know, until something does happen,
the democracy that started with the Magna Carta in 1215, as of 804 years later, is finished.
Well, you know what, maybe it's time.
Maybe it's time for something new.
Maybe this has run its course.
Well, I hope you're saying that ironically, because, you know,
something new from the outskirts doesn't seem as an improvement for now.
Well, what do you think is going to happen? Any predictions?
Well, interestingly, there are, you know, I've been following this thing pretty closely for months and years,
and there are attempts afoot to basically do something.
But it seems that the most likely thing to happen, it may be a vote of no confidence.
And if that happens, as of now, unless, you know, there are a lot of creative lawyers on both sides,
but it would seem that if there are new elections, Johnson can basically call them from after October 31st.
It's his prerogative. And that means crashing out with no deal.
And I think that's what he's aiming for.
If that were to happen, what do you think the result would be, crashing out with no deal?
Well, as you say, you know, rather chaotic.
I mean, and of course, there is a lot of disaster, trash talk.
But I don't think that all the forecasts that have been put out by non-government organizations,
governmental agencies, businesses of all sizes, from, you know, global to local, are all wrong.
You know, basically, if you can imagine, you have a truck of eggs,
and you want to bring them from France to England, and you have to wait several days or a week to bring them over,
because there is a huge queue at the border, what is the result?
You know, and I'm just using one example.
There are even much more urgent provisions.
I mean, everything is going to be like, I don't know if you have experience
or how much experience you have of crossing third world countries' borders.
I have. I drove from New York to Panama City in 1983 in the middle of revolutions and coup d'etats.
And I can tell you that every time I had to cross a border, it was a matter of hours.
But I had one little Volkswagen Rabbit.
You know, I didn't have a truck of merchandise.
But that's basically what we're looking at if there is no deal.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
Yeah, and unfortunately, not a lot of rocket scientists apparently voted.
So I guess it's interesting times.
We're going to have to see where it goes, what takes place.
But it certainly seems like the theme of utter lunacy, chaos, and unpredictability is not confined to our borders.
And we're going to see some rather interesting, dramatic, maybe even sad things happen in the next couple of months.
It's a worldwide plot, you know.
And I don't want to be conspirationalist, but we have a Putin in Russia.
We have an absolutist government in China.
We have Bolsonaro in Brazil.
We have Trump and now we have Johnson in similarity with the hairdos.
But, you know, and then there are all the satellites.
Personally, I'm from Italy, and right now it seems that the tide has been temporarily stopped there.
But, you know, we had a pretty disgustingly reactionary government for 14 months.
Now it seems the reason is prevailing, you know.
And the main party of the so-called left has accepted to make a government with the newcomers.
We are sort of leaning left, but, you know, they're a strange animal that nobody knows how to basically fix.
And, you know, this would be a much wider discussion.
But there are some places and some instances where, I don't want to say reason triumphs, but at least the stupidity is being, you know, died.
For now, for now.
Anyway, it does feel as if a lot of the ugly is being expressed in many countries around the world at the same time.
And I can only think of one other time in recent memory where that has happened before.
It didn't end well.
So let's hope that reason prevails and that we get some sanity back soon.
I want to thank you for your call, though, and for your thoughts.
And let's check in after all this happens and see where things stand.
Thank you.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you very much.
And Kyle is here.
Wait a minute.
Hold on.
They press these buttons so that things don't work.
Hold on.
I got to press that to make it.
OK, go ahead.
Yeah.
There you are.
I'm over here.
Did you find a parking space or did you abandon the car?
I.
Yeah, I did.
It was getting to that point.
It really was.
It's an amazing atmosphere out there.
Very busy.
Very busy.
Brooklyn is.
Yes.
Like the population tripled overnight.
I don't know what's going on.
Good for everybody.
Good.
Well, it's it's raining a little bit and that always messes things up.
That was fun.
It was an adventure.
Right.
You call that fun.
All right.
We were looking at ways ways kept adding time.
You know, we gained all this time.
Then we said, no, you know what?
I'm going to add seven minutes and make you late.
So, hey, I'm blaming ways for making us late.
The point is, we're here and amazing discussion about this fall of democracy overall.
And you know what?
I think it is.
I think it's like a bet that the EU needs the microphone.
I'm sorry.
The EU needs Britain more than Britain needs the EU, or at least they're going to kind
of they want to crash out such that they're needed, you know, so that they think they
they think they can kind of flip the power and that they may somehow end up in a position
where they can really negotiate because all bets are off.
There's no more deal or nothing to rely on.
So every single thing has to be negotiated.
So therefore, they get all the restrictions, limitations, but they think the EU will want
to come and and, you know, coordinate every little bit.
And then they can kind of micromanage each step of that process and eventually kind of
work out the kind of arrangement that where they feel like they're their head.
Well, this is how you know that the whole thing is nonsense because Brexit was was basically
England taking control and saying, you know what?
We want to a voice in our own destiny.
We don't want anybody telling us what to do.
And so, you know, for the last couple of years, they've been trying to work it out, found
that it's much more difficult than they thought it could ever be.
And now at the crucial moment where they're figuring out what are we going to do as the
deadline looms, they decide to shut people up who disagree with them.
It's the same thing they were voting against.
They wanted control over their own destiny.
And now when someone disagrees with them and wants control over their own destiny, just
shut up, go away for five weeks.
And by the time you get back, it'll be too late to do anything about that.
Let me see if we have a phone call on this line.
They've been there a while.
Is anybody there?
Yes.
Hi, Emmanuel.
How are you?
Good.
How are you?
Okay.
My heart goes out to Great Britain.
Boris Johnson, to me, he's a bargain basement version of Donald Trump.
He's like a cheap knockoff.
He's buffooned, but not full-blown buffooned to the level of Trump, of course.
So he's terrible, and I hope that Britain will eventually boot him out of office at
some point.
But I guess they're stuck with him for the foreseeable future, which is very regrettable.
Let me just also ask if there's any particular reason that you only extended your sympathy
to Great Britain and left out Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, but is
not part of Great Britain, because Great Britain isn't Ireland.
It's very confusing.
Well, there was an oversight on my part.
Okay.
I just wanted to make sure.
I do have an extremely deep affinity for Britain, for the cultural exports that they've given
us that I've enjoyed over the years.
All the great music, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, David Bowie, Eric Clapton,
and of course the writers from Shakespeare to George Orwell to J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S.
Lewis.
You know who you left out?
Bonnie Python.
You know who you left out?
I left out.
Like a million and a half other people.
Well, I mean, they're just the ones that came to the top.
Yeah, of course.
There's so much.
It's a ridiculous amount.
There is.
That one Ireland.
It's great.
I mean, I'm so indebted to them.
They've gotten me through a lot of hard times.
And of course the actors, Olivier, Cary Grant, Charles Laughton, Alec Guinness, Richard Burton.
Speaking of technology, though, there was one question I was curious about, because
I know you've discussed this in the past about DVDs that, you know, like a DVD only plays
in a certain region of the world.
Yes.
And I was thinking of this when you raised the issue at the beginning, talking about
Britain.
The BBC World Service, they had this special last year for New Year's Eve.
It was a comedy special.
And it was like back-to-back, like a dozen stand-up comics in a row.
And unfortunately I only caught like the last 15 minutes of it.
So I went online, I went to the BBC World Service website, and I found this broadcast
that they aired on New Year's Eve.
And I clicked on the play button, and I got this message that said...
You can't play this in your country.
The content is only available, right.
And I was wondering if you or any of your colleagues have ever devised some kind of
a workaround to get around that, to trick the computer?
We didn't devise it, but it has been devised.
And it's extremely simple.
All you have to do is subscribe to a service that gives you a VPN in a different country,
such as ExpressVPN, that's a really good one.
You pick the country you want to be in, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, and the IP that you
come from, everything that you connect to on your computer, will appear to be in that
country.
So if you go to Google, it'll be Google in that country.
You look at news, you'll see news from that country.
But most importantly, if you go try to view streaming content, it'll work from that country.
Oh, I see.
So it's all about a VPN, you're saying, that's based in Britain.
That would be the way to do it.
Yes.
Yeah.
And of course, United States content will stop working.
Yeah, VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, and it's a protocol.
It's a part of the networking system itself that you could even build your own VPN, and
many businesses often use it.
But this service is one of many different types, so there's plenty of options out there.
But basically, you just need to appear as though you are in Great Britain, and all that
traffic will then be allowed.
It's really ridiculous what they make you go through to see content that is provided
for free.
For instance, right here in the States, I'll pick a network, TBS, TNT, one of those networks,
same thing.
You basically, to watch content on a device like a Roku or something, on-demand content,
you have to enter this information from your provider, such as cable company, satellite
company, et cetera, and then they send you a code.
You run to your computer, you get the code, you enter it into a website, and then they
allow you to start watching their content, which includes commercials.
I don't know why people have to go through all that to watch free content that has commercials,
or why it's restricted by region, by country.
It's absurd, but that is the reality we live in right now.
No doubt they're selling or reselling your preferences and your sort of usage history
itself.
So yeah, it's like they figured it out, and then they made it worse.
Absolutely.
If I had a VPN, though, would I have to put all my computers on it, or could I just set
the VPN to one specific computer?
There's a bunch of different options.
You could even set up a piece of hardware, like a router or access point, to make sure
everything that was connected through that device is running on a VPN.
A lot of those different routers and so on can be repurposed, or maybe even have the
ability to interact with a service or use a service you've built.
But suffice to say, they also include a client for each machine, and you can, especially
with the services like we mentioned, they often offer you the unlimited devices and
so on and so forth.
So you would maybe download the app and then use the credentials when you signed up on
that device and then all the devices you want.
So you can either use it per device independently, or you could go for a fancier router or specifically
built sort of bit of hardware where everything that gets an IP from that router is then pushed
through that service or your own VPN.
I have to say, it's a godsend.
When Kyle and I were traveling in Europe a year or so ago, having this running on one
of our laptops in a train that had Wi-Fi, we were able to see Vice News, we were able
to see Daily Show, stay sane, be able to catch up on what's going on back home.
But you would not be able to do that unless you used a service like this.
Oh, that's great.
You'd be blocked out wholesale.
Oh, that's great news.
It's really something important to take advantage of because functionally, you may be out of
the area, but you really are still the same customer you were.
And ostensibly, you could find that information in other modes.
They might as well just get it to you.
But until then, there's these good workarounds that we found helpful.
Anyway, thank you very much for your call.
One last thing.
Do you have any update about the Hope Conference?
Other than the fact that we are still trying to figure that out.
For those who don't know, the hotel tripled their price, making it very difficult for
us to continue having a conference without bankrupting a lot of people.
But we have a bunch of people looking into options.
We have so much support.
So many people have written in.
If you have ideas, write to us.
Hope at hope.net is the address that works.
And we'll get through this.
Sorry, I just want to look out for announcements.
At hopeconf is our Twitter handle for the event.
And also the hope.net website, of course.
We'll push out an RSS or an article or maybe even a link as well to the news feed on our
homepage, 2600.com.
All right.
Thanks again for the call.
All right.
Take care.
I don't know if this phone here, this phone has been ringing ever since that guy started
talking.
So I really doubt somebody is here, but I'm going to check anyway.
Is somebody here?
There's two more ringing.
Is anybody on this phone line?
Hello?
Okay.
You see, when you do that, you make it seem like someone's there.
And it's possible.
Now, it's possible somebody might be using VoIP or something like that and making it
sound good.
So may I just ask you politely to shut up and put down your microphone.
Nobody is there, right?
This phone line just rings.
No, nobody's there.
Okay.
So I'm going to hang up on you.
Wait.
It hung up when I said that.
You saw that?
That's weird.
You just got hung up on by silence.
Wow.
Okay.
Well, this I'm pretty sure is a person.
So good evening.
Hello?
Yes.
Go ahead.
Yeah.
Tom from the Bronx here.
Tom from the Bronx.
How you doing?
I'd like to say this.
As bad as Trump is perceived, I'll tell you one thing.
I usually don't like sentences that start like that, but go ahead.
Finish it.
Wait a minute.
When he goes after the Fed, that's true.
The Fed is ruining this country financially.
Yeah.
But the President of the United States saying that kind of, it makes things a little jittery
on the stock market.
Not that I really care about that so much, but not the most professional way of dealing
with things.
Yeah.
But there was a strange meeting.
Did you hear in the news?
There's lots of strange meetings.
There was a strange meeting out in Jackson's Hole.
I imagine it's Wyoming, where the people for the Fed, they had a meeting and they keep
bad-mouthing Trump.
So if they have to have some kind of a sinister meeting like that, they must despise him no end.
Well, yeah.
But I have not been to a meeting in the last several years that has not said something
nasty about Trump.
So I can understand it.
I can see where they're coming from.
And especially if he's insulting them, they're going to insult him back, right?
I'm sorry.
Yeah.
And I disagree.
I just don't think it was like a secret meeting.
That's kind of a mischaracterization in my opinion.
Well, I had a talk on my iPad if it's a secret meeting.
It was all over.
Why didn't they meet right in New York City?
Well, I don't know.
Maybe they just wanted to go out to Wyoming.
Why didn't they meet at your station and talk it over?
What, have the Fed meet at our station?
They got to talk behind big walls.
Well, yeah.
We don't have very big walls here.
That's for sure.
But, you know, maybe they didn't know they could.
And you can.
You can come to BAI and you can have your secret meetings live over the air.
Right.
Well, like I'm being sarcastic, but it makes me wonder.
I mean, if they have to go and badmouth him that way.
I mean, he criticizes them.
He's right in that regard.
He's not right in every regard, but he's right in that regard.
Well, he's right to criticize them, but they're not right to criticize him.
Listen, I think his criticism of them is much more valid than anything they have to spew about him.
What about what they're doing?
I mean, what course change would you recommend for the Fed?
To get rid of them.
All right.
Maybe that's why they're resistant to it.
But listen, this is not a financial show, and I love hearing your opinions.
Thanks very much for calling in.
We're going to go to other phone calls.
We're talking about the demise of the United Kingdom, who has suspended parliament so that they don't voice inconvenient opinions and try to stop Brexit from happening.
And Brexit is on schedule for October 31st.
I don't know if that's the best day to choose for something so dramatic.
And isn't that also Mischief Day?
Isn't that what they call it over there?
I think there's always that over here.
I'm not certain.
I've never really even heard of that day.
You've never heard of Mischief Day?
I mean, that's every day for us, right?
Well, it depends.
Depends on what kind of mood we're in.
This is WBAI.
This is off the hook.
It's Mischief Night.
I'm sorry.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's exactly what it is.
Okay.
It's an informal holiday on which children and teenagers engage in pranks and vandalism.
Didn't you know about this?
Wow.
Okay.
Okay.
I'm sorry.
It takes place on October 30th and sometimes on November 4th.
Okay.
Okay.
That's Halloween.
For obvious reasons.
But, yeah.
It's in the United Kingdom.
It's in the United Kingdom.
They do things on May 1st as well, but they also do things the night before Halloween.
So, that's going to be in some parts of the country.
Mischief Night is held the night before Halloween.
The separation of Halloween tricks from treats seems to have only developed in certain areas,
often appearing in one region, but not at all nearby.
Mischief Night in Yorkshire is known as Mischievous Night or the shortened Chivis Night.
All kinds of other names.
Miggy Night.
Tic Tac Night.
Calm Night.
Trick Night.
Mickey Night.
Okay.
Yeah.
It's celebrated across Northern England.
That is celebrated on November 4th.
We should be spending this time, like, contacting the Queen.
Just making sure she's okay with her decision.
And that's the night before Bonfire Night.
They have a holiday in England called Bonfire Night.
Bonfire Night?
This is why this is hurting so much to see them going down this road.
In and around the city of Liverpool, Mischief Night is known as Mizzy Night.
Trouble spots were being tackled by Merseyside police in 2015.
Okay.
So, it's all kinds of mischief ahead.
But, the day after Mischief Night is the day of Brexit.
So, it's going to be a lot of fun over in the UK.
I can hardly wait.
Let's take another phone call.
Good evening.
You're on Off The Hook.
Hi.
I thought I would just throw in, apropos your discussion,
the finale of Gilbert and Sullivan's Utopia Limited.
Okay.
There's a little group of isles beyond the wave,
so tiny you might almost wonder where it is.
That nation is the bravest of the brave,
and cowards are the rarest of all rarity.
The proudest nations kneel at her command.
She terrifies all foreign-born rapscallions
and holds the peace of Europe in her hand
with half a score invincible battalions.
Such, at least, is the tale which is born on the gale
from the island which dwells in the sea.
Let us hope for her sake that she makes no mistake
that she's all she professes to be.
Oh, may we copy all her maxims wise
and imitate her virtues and her charities,
and may we, by degree,
acclimatize her parliamentary peculiarities.
By doing so, we shall, in course of time,
regenerate completely our entire land.
Great Britain is the monarchy sublime,
to which some add, but others do not, Ireland.
Wow. And what is that from?
That's from Gilbert and Sullivan's Utopia Limited.
How interesting. Well, thank you for sharing that.
I did not attempt to sing it.
Well, I'd love to hear it, but thank you for sharing.
Maybe you could bring in a recording of that next time.
Okay. If there is a next time, for sure.
Thanks so much for sharing.
You're welcome. Bye-bye.
All right. Take care.
You know, we're talking about this because we're fascinated
by change, by systems, by exceptions to the rules
and extraordinary times.
You know, it's related to hacking.
You might not see it right away, but it is.
Whenever you experiment with things,
mess around with the status quo, it's fascinating.
And that's, I think, why so many of us are interested in this.
But there's something else which people are talking about,
another system. It's called Operation London Bridge.
Have you heard about this, Kyle?
I think, yes.
You think you've heard about this? Okay, well, I'll tell you.
The phrase London Bridge is down is a very significant phrase.
And when you hear that, those words said,
what that means is that the Queen no longer walks among us.
It's the nicest way I can possibly say it.
But when Queen Elizabeth dies, and she will die at some point,
she's like, what, 90, 12 or something.
I don't know how old. She's very old.
You don't know that?
They live so old.
Her mother was very old, too, over 100.
I mean, it's great, but wow.
So this hypothetical, yes, go on.
Well, this is the phrase that they, of course,
after the London Bridge attack, it got kind of confusing.
But I think they're still going to use that particular phrase when it happens.
But it sets in motion variously?
It does. It does.
Now, the Queen's private secretary will be the first official,
not one of the Queen's relatives or part of the medical team.
The Queen's private secretary will be the first official to convey the news.
And the private secretary is a senior operational member of the royal household
of the sovereign of the United Kingdom.
And, of course, that's distinct from the great officers of the household.
But you know what? We don't have time to get into that.
Well, they would probably know.
Right. So the private secretary's first act will be to contact
the incumbent prime minister of the United Kingdom,
and civil servants will convey the code phrase,
London Bridge is down, to him, using secure telephone lines.
The foreign office's global response center,
based at a secret location in London.
What? Didn't we go there? I'm pretty sure we were there.
Sure. Yeah.
I mean, there was some drinking involved,
but I'm pretty sure that's where we wound up.
You know what? I don't know where it is, though.
They showed us a button. I don't know.
Well, there were lots of buttons, actually, and lights, too.
They wouldn't let us touch any of them.
No. I didn't want to touch it, but it was kind of scary,
but also kind of comforting, too.
It was very quiet.
Yeah, and they had eggnog because it was Christmas time.
You know what? I'm saying too much.
Yeah, you really shouldn't talk about that.
But yeah, it's the global response center,
which is at a location that I could not find,
so no worries from me.
They will communicate the news to the governments
of the 15 other countries of which the queen was head of state,
the Commonwealth realms, and I guess Canada is one of them,
Australia, and I don't know the rest, but there's a bunch.
And to the governments of the other countries
of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Maybe that's what Canada is.
I'm not exactly sure. I should know these things.
That'll take a couple hours, right?
A lot of phone calls. A lot of phone calls.
The media would be informed via an announcement
to the Press Association and the British Broadcasting Corporation
through the Radio Alert Transmission System.
Yeah, their system is known as RATS.
I'm not making this up.
And to commercial radio through a network of blue obit lights.
Blue obit lights, which will alert presenters
to play inoffensive music and prepare for a news flash.
They have blue obit lights in the radio stations
that light up and get you to play inoffensive music,
like the music we don't play.
They have that stashed away.
It's kind of like when a Soviet leader died,
they would just play a funeral dirge and nobody knew why.
You had to sort of figure it out.
Same thought there.
You're listening to commercial radio
and all of a sudden you start hearing inoffensive music.
Well, that's when you start worrying about the Queen.
So anyway, prepare for a news flash.
BBC Two would suspend their scheduled programming for the day
and switch to BBC One's broadcast of the announcements.
So they simulcast. They do that sometimes.
BBC News, that's their internal news network,
will air a pre-recorded sequence of portraits
during which the presenters on duty at the time
will prepare for the formal announcement
by putting on somber clothing
prepared specifically for this purpose.
Now, okay, they might not have thought of this,
but if they put the somber clothing together
too far in advance,
the presenters might get fatter.
Or they would be out of fashion, perhaps.
And considering how long these monarchs can live,
that is entirely possible.
So I would just say, check it every few months.
See if it still fits.
Or just wear somber stuff all the time.
You don't want buttons bursting on the air.
That's the worst thing.
No, that would be uncouth.
Now, The Guardian has reported that The Times
has 11 days of pre-prepared coverage ready.
I don't know why they're ratting out another newspaper.
And that ITN and Sky News have long rehearsed her death,
but substituting the name Mrs. Robinson.
I don't know why they picked Mrs. Robinson.
Okay, so a footman would pin a dark-edge notice
to the gates of Buckingham Palace.
At the same time, the palace website
would display the same notice.
The Parliament of the United Kingdom would be recalled.
Kind of like what we're seeing now,
except not told to shut up.
It's recalled, brought back.
I guess it's the opposite of what is happening now.
If possible, it would meet within hours,
and the Prime Minister would address the House of Commons.
Is that recalled as the Senate reconvening
after a shooting or two?
Yeah, like that.
Exactly like what Mitch McConnell didn't do.
Exactly like that.
So the day after the Queen's death,
the Accession Council would meet at St. James Palace
to proclaim the new monarch.
Parliament would meet that evening
when MPs would swear allegiance to the new monarch or die.
Well, it doesn't say that, but that's implied.
Because, I mean, what are you going to do
if you don't swear allegiance to the new monarch?
And then all kinds of things involving the funeral
and moving the casket and lying in state and all that.
But wow, they've got a system.
They've got a system in place.
Let's take another phone call.
We're on off the hook.
Hi.
Hi, what's on your mind?
I'm sorry?
Just wanted...
Can you hear me?
Hi.
Yes, let's start over.
Where are you calling from?
UK, London.
Oh, you're calling from the UK, wow.
Well, then we'll give you the floor.
Which means you can speak.
All right, okay.
Um, yeah.
Hi, Emmanuel.
Hi, Kyle.
Hello.
How you doing?
We can hear you great.
Um, yeah, this is Zap from London 2200.
Oh my goodness, it's Zap.
We haven't spoken to you in a while.
Oh, it's been forever.
Yeah, um, just want to give you an update on Brexit, really.
Thought I'd phone him.
Yes, please do.
It's pretty difficult with this leg, but yeah.
Um, so far London hasn't erupted in riots or anything so far.
Um, but I don't...
I don't, um...
I don't know what's going to happen on Halloween.
Uh-huh.
That's going to be fun.
It's going to be something else.
You know, we're thinking of coming over for that.
Yeah, I think we're going to do a few tricks.
Yeah, I think there might be some tricks that are being done on you.
So how are people responding to the news of Parliament being suspended?
Basically, people have been protesting outside Downing Street.
Okay.
So Boris can hear them?
Yep, so people are going on the streets and protesting.
There'll probably be more protesting in the next few weeks when it's more organized.
Mm-hmm.
Makes sense, yes.
And media coverage?
What has that been like over there?
Um, it's been covered on the BBC.
You know, it's on the radio reports and stuff.
Well, we've been hearing something of it here.
Not nearly as much as you're probably hearing.
I can only imagine what the newspaper headlines will be tomorrow.
Yeah, has there been any revelry?
Yeah, definitely.
Any contrary spirits?
Like a revelry or excitement that people are expressing?
Yeah, celebration about Parliament being suspended?
Any of that?
Or just shock?
Well, the country is divided like 50-50.
People either want Brexit or don't want Brexit.
Mm-hmm.
So half the country is going to be happy.
Half the country is not going to be happy.
Yeah, that's certainly true.
But I would say even if I wanted something, I'd be kind of perturbed by silencing the critics.
That kind of makes it feel like you're on the wrong side.
Yeah, well, democracy doesn't work that way.
You need to have a voice if you're pro or against.
You must have a voice.
And also a plan.
Have you thought or are people talking about what's going to happen after Mischief Night?
On that day when the UK either comes up with a last-minute deal or crashes out?
What's it going to be like then?
I have no idea.
And I think a lot of people are worried about that because it's the fear of the unknown.
Who knows what's going to happen?
You're a hacker, so you notice things that other people don't notice.
Have you noticed anything in the way of preparation or unusual things that are going on perhaps in anticipation of this October 31st deadline?
Not really at the moment because it's still the early days.
We only found out today.
One thing that I have noticed over time since the referendum, there seems to be more racism on the street, especially to foreigners.
Interesting.
Yeah.
I guess they feel emboldened, kind of like they do here with Trump?
That's very familiar, actually.
Yes, it's very familiar. I think more or less happened both at the same time, really.
That sort of outward bitterness.
What is happening to the world?
Yeah, really. Good question.
Wow.
Send help. We have oil.
On that subject, Zapp, what can we do to help? What would you like to see from Americans?
I honestly can't say at the moment because I'm still in shock, really.
Boris Johnson has forced this, basically closing down Parliament, so we don't have a voice with our legal representatives that we voted for.
So, early days.
Yeah. Well, our thoughts are with you, and we hope you get through this.
We hope all your friends get through this as well.
Next time we see you, it'll be under more pleasant circumstances.
Yeah, and let us know. Give us some updates if this does galvanize people in such a way that they're taking action in the meantime.
Because other than that, it seems like we're left to be on the sidelines, collectively, everyone, really, and wait and see what happens.
Well, us hackers can do the best that we can do.
All right. Well, keep having the 2600 meetings regardless, okay?
Don't let anything get in the way.
They will never fade out. In fact, we're just starting a new one in Bournemouth.
Oh, really? Well, make sure you send it to us so that we can publicize it in the magazine.
Only when it's official, because at the moment it's going to be on the Saturday.
Okay.
After the first Friday.
Okay.
Well, we can make that work out somehow.
That'll help you get your numbers up, and then we can move it into print as soon as it is ready.
Well, great hearing from you. Get some sleep. It must be about 2 o'clock in the morning there, right?
We'll be getting to 2 o'clock in the morning in about five minutes, yeah.
Okay.
It was worth staying up for you guys.
Yes. Thank you so much. Thank you for calling us.
You're welcome.
Good to hear from you.
Yeah, it's great to hear you.
All right. Keep up the good fight.
We'll try. We have our own battles here.
Great. Good to hear from a familiar voice over there.
I want to thank the people who did call in.
And for those of you who we didn't get to tonight, well, we're sorry.
We can't get to everybody.
But you can write to us, OTH at 2600.com.
And we'll be thrilled to maybe read your letter over the air, over the airwaves.
Yes. We're also available at Hacker Radio Show.
On Twitter.
Yes, on the Twitter platform.
And, yeah, for other archive information, it's 2600.com slash off the hook.
And, of course, we'll be following this story as long as it continues to evolve.
As well as the many other stories that are happening in the world of technology overseas and here.
Because that's what we've been doing at Off the Hook since 1988.
And we basically keep our eyes on many, many things that are going on.
This is just one of them.
But it's a big one.
It really is.
And if you haven't heard much about this in the mainstream media, well, look elsewhere.
Look in some British newspapers.
Look at some alternative news sites.
Listen to WBAI.
And you'll learn a lot.
You'll learn a lot about what's going on, not only in the U.K., but in other parts of the world as well.
Because it's a whole big world out there.
And as part of the hacker community, we're fascinated by it.
And we like to share stories and trade hacking info between these nations.
And be there when things get difficult.
I remember Election Day 2016 or the day after.
How many people I heard from from many parts of the world.
Are you okay?
Is everything going to be all right?
And it was good.
It was good to hear from people there.
Yeah, check in.
Check in if you have friends out there.
And keep communicating.
Yeah, moments of crisis.
That's what your friends are for.
We are out of time.
And we'll be back again next week with another exciting program.
Dealing with all kinds of other issues as well.
But we'll be watching this story as everything else happens.
Until then, have some memories for the United Kingdom.
We'll see you next time.
I want a New York next to me.
I want a field that I can see.
Fish and chips, yeah, that's what I want.
Not piece of land or hamburger joints.
Green fields and clear blue skies.
Warm beer and meat pies.
People paddling with hankies on their heads.
An economy that's always dead.
Bye-bye England, England bye-bye.
Bye-bye England, England bye-bye.
Bye-bye England, England bye-bye.
Bye-bye England, England bye-bye.
No more embassies with afternoon tea.
Contracted out to the Taiwanese.
Upper class twits in the corridors of power.
It's goodbye to that mockery shower.
Country lanes, yeah, that's what I want.
No shopping malls and parking lots.
No more gumbo diplomacy.
It's goodbye to your sovereignty.
Bye-bye England, England bye-bye.
Bye-bye England, England bye-bye.
Bye-bye England, England bye-bye.
Bye-bye England, England bye-bye.