February 21, 2005: Rustbelt Radio, from Pittsburgh Indymedia

Airs at 6pm on WRCT Pittsburgh, 88.3FM, and webcast.

Intro (:45)

Welcome to this week's edition of Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of the news from the grassroots, news overlooked by the corporate media. The show airs every Monday from 6-7pm on WRCT 88.3FM in Pittsburgh, PA and every Saturday from 5-6pm on WVJW Benwood, 94.1 FM in the Wheeling, West Virginia area. And we're also available on the internet, both on W-R-C-T's live webstream at W-R-C-T dot ORG and archived at radio dot I-N-D-Y-P-G-H dot org.

On today's show...

• Controversial black-militant and separatist Malik Zulu Shabazz came to Carnegie Mellon University last Thursday. We recorded his lecture and the reactions of students and other community members.
• Saint Lawrence University in Upstate New York is trying to censor an online student publication that is critical of the university. We speak with two of the students who are involved in the publication about the lawsuit that the University is trying to bring against them.
• And i

n central Brasil, 12,000 homeless squatters were attacked last week by state police. Two people died and hundreds were arrested, including one reporter for NYC Indymedia. We will here more from a member of Indymedia Brasil.

• but first, these headlines.

Headlines

Local News

Valentines Day Reclaimed (:30)

Valentine's Day was a day for lovers and activists in Pittsburgh this year. Code Pink Pittsburgh held a "make love not war" event at Diva's in the Southside over Valentines Day weekend. They decorated the store pink, held signs and handed out flyers about the war in Iraq.

As part of their ongoing campaign against Foie Gras, Voices for Animals staged a Valentine's Day Protest outside Isabela's Restaurant on Mount Washinton. The event marked the 1-year anniversary of the group's Pittsburgh campaign, which has so far convinced 12 restaurants to stop selling the delicacy. Foie Gras is the diseased liver of a force-fed goose. Several countries and the state of California have banned it, calling its production cruel to animals.

Vagina Monologues (:45)

Eve Ensler's play and movement, the Vagina Monologues, saw two performances in Pittsburgh near Valentine's Day. Performances at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh celebrated women's issues while raising money for local charities like the Women's shelter of Pittsburgh and for the international charity, V-day.

V-day describes itself as a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sexual slavery.

Rustbelt Radio recorded this year's vagina monologues performance at CMU.

[ vagina monologues clip from CMU -- 0:35 ]

More than a thousand performances of the Vagina Monologues were held around the world this year, with all of the money raised going to womens issues.

Cycling Committee update (1:30)

Last Thursday The Urban Cycling Committee of Sustainable Pittsburgh and the bicycling advocacy organization Bike Pittsburgh met to discuss transportation infrastructure in the city. Richard Meritzer from the City of Pittsburgh Planning office reported that the city’s bike facility guidelines, which establish standards for the creation of bike lanes, have been finalized, and plans to create 5 new bike lanes in the city this year are still on course. Public input is encouraged to help the city decide where to place the bike lanes. More new bike lanes may be possible in the future, especially if public support is demonstrated for the first round. When questioned about criteria for citing bike lanes, Meritzer reported that low traffic volumes and connectivity to desired locations are important—and also that current city policy is that on-street parking cannot be sacrificed to create a bike lane, and a strong demonstration of public support for bike lanes instead of parking would be required to change this policy.

Jake Milofsky, bicycling intern at the city planning office spoke about plans to create a bike trail and route system linking the four major parks in the city. A proposed route will run from central Lawrenceville to Highland Park, and then to Mellon Park. Bike Pittsburgh members reported that plans are underway for BikeFest, a week-long celebration of all things bicycle-related that will be held June 17-24. Port Authority representative David Wullwill reported that plans to expand the ride-rack-and-roll program by installing bike racks on more Port Authority routes have been put on hold until the outcome to this year’s funding crisis is determined. Although the funds for ride-rack-and-roll are not related to the operating funds that are in crisis, planning staff currently have no time to devote to the program.

If you would like to give the city your input about possible bike lanes you can Email Richard Meritzer at Richard.meritzer@city.Pittsburgh.pa.stateSTOPSPAM.us. If you would like to get involved with bike fest and suggest or organize events you can contact Bike Pittsburgh at bikefest@bike-pghSTOPSPAM.org The next Urban Cycling Committee meeting is scheduled for 6 pm, Thursday April 14th, at the Bike Pittsburgh offices at 33 Terminal Way on the South Side. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Ohio Patriot Act (1:00)

Ohio Senate is currently considering Senate Bill 9, which creates an Ohio version of the USA PATRIOT Act. It has been called an attempt to suppress the growing movement opposing the PATRIOT Act. The Ohio ACLU is fighting the bill, calling it an attack on civil rights.

The bill:

· Requires that all state employees comply with the USA PATRIOT Act and with all executive orders regarding homeland security, even if doing so would require them to violate another law.

· Prohibits municipalities from enacting Bill of Rights or anti-PATRIOT Act resolutions that might interfere with terrorism or immigration law enforcement.

· Requires that people disclose whether they have given material support to terrorism related organizations, even if they don’t know and cannot reasonably been expected to know they’ve done it.

· Requires you to provide your name, address, or date of birth to a law enforcement officer who suspects that you have committed or are about to commit a crime, or that you have witnessed a felony offense of violence.

Thanks to Cleveland Indymedia for that story.

Wrapup

For more on all of our local news stories, visit pittsburgh dot I-N-D-Y-M-E-D-I-A dot O-R-G. We're going to take a short break and then return with global news headlines.

[ Musical Break ]

Global News

Intro

That was .... Welcome back to Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of the news overlooked by the the corporate media. We turn now to headlines from Independent Media Centers around the world.

Malcolm X Assasination Anniversary (:45)

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Malcolm X, a black leader who advocated self-defense and racial pride in the early 1960s. A controversial figure within and without the civil rights movement, his philosophy was often contrasted with the non-violent direct action of his contemporary, Martin Luther King. Malcolm X was never afraid to turn his criticism inwards.

Although in his early years he was an articulate and angry advocate of black separatism and rejected racial integration and harmony, he later modified those views. After a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964, he declared that he no longer believed whites to be innately evil and acknowledged the chance of a future of universal brotherhood.

He was killed one year later.

Greenpeace Protestors Shut Down Oil Trading (2:00)

Members of the environmental advocacy group Greenpeace shut down oil trading for several hours last Wednesday. The campaigners blew whistles and used distress alarms suspended from balloons to stop trading from taking place in London's International Petroleum Exchange. Trading at the Exchange sets the price for 60% of the world's petroleum.

Trading at the exchange works using the 'open outcry' method. For a trade to be made, all orders have to be shouted in a clear and audible voice. The actions of the Greenpeace activists made any trading impossible.

Greenpeace had a series of actions on Wednesday to protest the oil economy. Wednesday marked the day that the Kyoto Protocol on Global Warming and Climate Change went into effect, without the cooperation of the United States.

From within the walls of the International Petroleum Exchange, Greenpeace's Stephen Tindale has more.

[ MP3, 1:33 ]

McLibel case settled (1:00)

Last Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg declared that the notorious and long running McLibel case was in breach of the right to a fair trial and right to freedom of expression. The McLibel 2, (Helen Steel & Dave Morris) had launched legal proceedings against the UK government arguing that the marathon 'McLibel trial' which lasted 313 days - the longest trial of any kind in English legal history - and UK libel laws, breached the European Convention on Human Rights Article 6 (right to a fair trial) and Article 10 (right to freedom of expression).

The McLibel case started when London based protestors passed out pamphlets opposing McDonalds restaraunts. McDonalds sued the protestors for libel. Under UK's then existing draconian libel laws, a defendant sued for libel must prove that any challenged statements were true. Most defendants simply settle or stop their statements rather than accept such a difficult burden, but Steel and Morris decided to challenge McDonalds' army of lawyers by themselves as they were granted no legal aid. After the longest legal battle in UK history, they proved many of their allegations to be true, including the fact that McDonalds abuses their workers and exploits children with advertising.

Vigilantes on Border

Mexico City, Mexico, Feb. 4 (IPS) -- “Freedom don’t come for free” warns the Minuteman Project, a US vigilante group that is calling for volunteers, especially people with law enforcement or military experience, “for the purpose of aiding the US Border Patrol in ‘spotting’ intruders entering the US illegally.”

The invitation to help “protect our country from a 40-year-long invasion across our southern border with Mexico” is for Apr. 1-30 in Tombstone, Arizona.

The 441 volunteers who have already signed up, according to the Minuteman web site, include 16 pilots with aircraft, such as para-gliders.

Minuteman, which is made up mainly of former members of the military, is just one of several anti-immigrant groups active along the US-Mexican border. Some of these vigilante organizations have less than 10 members, and most only make sporadic appearances. But they all tend to use military weapons and strategies to help track down and “catch” undocumented immigrants.

Wrapup

You can read more about our global news stories by visting I-N-D-Y-M-E-D-I-A dot O-R-G. We'll be back after a brief break.

[ Musical Break ]

Features

Intro

That was .... Welcome back to Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of the news overlooked by the corporate media.

Malik Shabazz Lecture (18:00)

Malik Zulu Shabazz was born as Paris Lewis. He attended law school at Howard University and quickly joined the Nation of Islam, later becoming the head of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense. Since then, he's been called an anti-semite, homophobic, and a reverse racist.

Members of the original black panther party denounce the New Black Panther Party. According to the Huey Newton Foundation, there is no New Black Panther Party. According to a statement released by the foundation, the New Black Panther Party stands in opposition to everything that the original party stood for. The foundation's statement said,

(quote) "The Party's fundamental principle, as best articulated by the great revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, was: "A true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love." The Black Panthers were never a group of angry young militants full of fury toward the "white establishment." The Party operated on love for black people, not hatred of white people."

Shabazz spoke on the Carnegie Mellon University campus last Thursday. Hundreds came to protest him and hundreds came to listen to him talk.

• shabazz_edited.ogg: Shabazz Lecture + interviews - 17:05 edited

You've just been listening to our recording of militant black-separatist Malik Zulu Shabazz lecturing at Carnegie Mellon University.

Take Back Our Campus interview (3:30)

At Saint Lawrence University in Canton, New York, a group of anonymous people, presumed to be students, have been maintaing a "Web Log", or "blog," called "Take Back Our Campus." Take Back Our Campus mixes satire with political commentary, and has grown into the University's only alternate media on campus. The satire often targets the administration and right-wing student activists on Saint Lawrence's campus, and the commentary seeks to air the University's dirty laundry for all to see.

On December 22nd, Saint Lawrence University officials took the step of banning access to the site from the campus network. The University did not announce this to the campus community, and Take Back our Campus reported on their banned status in early Janurary. Shortly afterward, a lawsuit was launched against Take Back our Campus by University officials. As the contributors post anonymously, the lawsuit cites "John Does 1 through 4" as defendants.

The legal basis for the lawsuit concerns images that were taken off of Saint Lawrence's own website and used as a basis for the creation of satirical images. Take Back Our Campus maintains that their usage of the material falls under the "fair use" doctrine of copyright law, and is protected speech under the first amendment.

On February 19th, Rustbelt Radio had an exclusive interview with Christian Evangelist and Colors Down from Take Back our Campus.

Because Saint Lawrence University is actively working to obtain the identity of the contributors to the site, the interview was on the condition that we digitally alter the interview to disguise their voices and protect their anonyimity.

* tboc4.mp3: Take Back Our Campus interview 1:36 [clip]

[ALTERNATIVELY, since the clip is hard to understand, you can read this transcription]

(quote) The administration is very unhappy that we've been critical of them.

I mean, among the things we've reported are the administration cancelling a program called upward bound, which, in new york, is intended to encourage children from lower class backgrounds to do higher education. It's sort of a tutoring and mentoring program from middle school through high school. Saint Lawrence just cancelled that and is no longer doing it, even though they were receiving hugh federal grants or huge state grants. It cost the university almost no money to run, and essentially they shut it down because they were sort of sick of having to deal with poor children on this campus. The quandries and implications of that are very clear.

We also reported on the dean Marcia Kennedy targeting Jewish student workers for conversion to Christianity. She's absolutely responsible for converting the guy who's now the head of Canadian Jews for Jesus. (endquote)

Rustbelt also asked in the lawsuit against John Does 1 through 4, what do you fear the university will do if they discover your identity?

(quote) Well, they're definitely not going to be happy. I mean at this stage they probably just gonna shut us down.

[END OF ALTERNATIVE TRANSCRIBED PORTION]

The bloggers added that if people would like to support them, they can contact SLU administrators about the case, but added that what they would like the most is for people to imitate their work and engage in similar critical blogging in their own communities. For more information, go to t-b-o-c-lives dot blogspot doc com.

Brasilian police attack homeless in Goiânia (18:00)

( Pronunciation: goy - AN - ee - ah )

Last week in the city of Goiânia in central Brasil, police attacked a community of 12,000 homeless squatters, killing two and wounding many more. This is yet another violent event in a history of land struggle in the fifth largest country in the world. Brasil also has one of the deepest divisions between rich and poor.

The Brazilian Landless Workers Movement is the largest social movement in Latin America and one of the most successful grassroots movements in the world. Hundreds of thousands of landless peasants have taken onto themselves the task of carrying out a long-overdue land reform. More than 250,000 families have won land titles to over 15 million acres after land takeovers by the MST.

Toya of Indymedia Brasil spoke to Rustbelt Radio by phone from Brasil this past weekend. First she will give us some background on the landless workers movement in rural Brasil as well as the struggles of the urban homeless movements in Brasil's cities.

[ clip 1 - 3:48 ]

The land being occupied in Goiânia is unused land for which taxes are owed. Brasil's constitution mandates that unused land with no social benefit be allocated to landless people, but today landless and homeless still must take action to occupy lands to force change.

[ clip 2 - 1:10 ]

The occupation in Goiânia, central Brasil, started in May 2004 in an area which has been abandoned for years and quickly gathered 3,000 families. The homeless land occupation is called Sonho Real (which means Real Dream).

Since January, state police have been threatening eviction and terrorizing families with violent threats. On February 11, police showed up suddenly and shot gas and concussion bombs and fired rubber bullets against the people, and one child was hit by a concussion bomb. On February 15, in another attack, police shot concussion bombs and fired with guns, injuring two people.

Then on Wednsday, February 16, a large military police operation with 2,500 men began to the evict the people living in Sonho Real. In addition to the two people killed, over 800 people were arrested. Among the arrested, two Indymedia volunteers, one from Goiânia and one from Indymedia New York.

Toya described more of the illegal actions taken by police last week.

[ clip 3 - 4:10 ]

Unfortunately this story is not unusual -- all over Brasil people have been killed trying to find land or homes.

[ clip 4 - 5:44 ]

That was Toya from Indymedia Brasil, on the movements for land reform and justice. Rustbelt Radio will follow up on the situation in Brasil in future shows.

Ending

Calendar of events

• Tonight, February 21, at 7 and 10 PM, you can see The Battle of Algiers, Gillo Pontecorvo's powerful and lucid 1965 docudrama about the Algerian struggle for indepdendence. Toinght in McConomy Auditorium at CMU.
• Tomorrow, February 22, at 6pm, Rebels with a Cause chronicles the history of Students for a Democratic Society. Tomorrow at the Thomas Merton Center, 5125 Penn Avenue in Garfield.
• Tomorrow night at 10pm, Rustbelt TV will air again on PCTV Channel 21 on cable. The show is made from this radio show, and will also air on the 24th at 1 PM.
• On Thursday the 24th, a lecture titled "All Power Through The People" by Ashanti Alston, former member of the original Black Panther Party, former political prisoner and contemporary anarchist. That's Thursday at 4:30PM in McConomy Auditorium, CMU University Center.

[ Cue music ]

Outro

[ Cue Outro music halfway through ]

Thanks for tuning in to Rust Belt Radio here on WRCT Pittsburgh and WVJW Benwood.

Our hosts this week are [ Andalusia Knoll ] and [ Quinten Steenuis ] with contributions from [ Danny P , Matt Toups ]. This week's show was produced by [ Matt Toups ]. Special thanks to all of our hosts, producers, and contributors.

Your audio submissions are welcome! To get involved with Rust Belt Radio, or to send us your comments, email RADIO at I-N-D-Y-P-G-H dot ORG. All of our shows are available for download on our website at RADIO dot INDY-P-G-H dot ORG

Tune in next week at this time for another edition of Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of the news that the corporate media overlook.