April 4, 2005: Rustbelt Radio, from Pittsburgh Indymedia

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

Intro

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...

• We speak with the birth circle, a community group that works with child bearing families
• We will hear about the life of young men in a palestinian refugee camp

but first these headlines from Pittsburgh Indymedia.

Headlines

Local News

Mayoral Race [5 Min]

Seven Pittsburgh mayoral candidates met Thursday at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre in East Liberty. There they participated in a debate moderated by Post-Gazette columnist Tony Norman. In a tightly-timed discussion, the candidates talked about their plans to revive Pittsburgh.

• mayors.ogg (4:19)

Students in Solidarity Anti-Sweatshop Dance [5 Min]

The University of Pittsburgh is a member of the "Fair Labor Association" (FLA), but this is not good enough say the members of Pitt's Students in Solidarity. The university should be a part of the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), an organization that checks the companies for staying within the labor laws of their country.

The Students in Solidarity decided to dance on the walkway last Thursday to protest Pitt's policy. Here is John Clendaniel to explain why they danced.

[ Audio Clip ]

Mountain Justice [2 Min?]

(Is Jessie doing this? Target Length 5 to 10 Min --abie) (looks like this is not happening this week --matt)

Darfur [2 Min?]

Yesterday, April 3rd between 50 and 100 members of the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition and othere people concerned with the ongoing crisis in Western Suday marched through Squirrel Hill. Following the Peace March the group gathered for a community forum to discuss the genocide that is occurring in Sudan. Zeinab Eyega, a Sudanese scholar spoke of how the conflict affects women, especially in regards to sexual violence. Eyega (a-yay-ga) spoke about the need for more female relief workers because many women are afraid to come forward about rapes.. Eyega also outlined ways in which she thinks the conflict can be resolved. She said that the world needs to support the UN sanctions against Sudan and that the UN needs to increace their peacekeeping force to 30,000 workers. Eyega stateed tha t51 people responsible for much the violence were arrested in Darfur and that the U.S. is one of the few countries that does not support taking them to International Criminal Court in the Hague. A Divestment campaign was also mentioned as a way to exert economic pressure on the Sudanese Government.

And that brings us to our global news stories. The Harvard Corporation today (April 4) announced its decision to have Harvard Management Company divest its holdings of stock in PetroChina^? Company Limited. "This decision reflects deep concerns about the grievous crisis that persists in the Darfur region of Sudan and about the extensive role of PetroChina^?'s closely affiliated parent company, China National Petroleum Corporation, as a leading partner of the Sudanese government in the production of oil in Sudan," said the University's Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility (CCSR) in a statement endorsed by the Corporation. "Oil is a critical source of revenue and an asset of paramount strategic importance to the Sudanese government, which has been found to be complicit in what the U.S. Congress and U.S. State Department have termed 'genocide' in Darfur and what a United Nations commission of inquiry recently characterized as 'crimes against humanity and war crimes . . . [that] may be no less serious and heinous than genocide.'"

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.

[ optional music break ]

Global News

Intro

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

Halliburton [1.5 Min]

Last Friday flyers detailing allegations of Halliburton's worker mistreatment made it into the hands of hundreds attending the company's open house hiring session. Renee Feltz reports from KPFT in Houston:

[ halliburton 1:06 ]

Cesar Chavez anniversary [5 Min]

Mexican-American labor leader Cesar Chavez was born 78 years ago last week, and died in 1993. He founded the National Farm Workers Association, now the United Farmworkers.

In 1965, Chávez and the NFWA led a strike of California grape-pickers in demand of higher wages, along with a national boycott of California table grapes, which, five years later resulted in the first major victory for US migrant workers. He continued to struggle against large growers, including going on three hunger strikes over wages and conditions. At the time of his death he was leading another grape boycott to protest the use of harmful pesticides.

He became an American labor rights hero for supporting labor rights for Mexican migrant farm workers. Chávez was also an ethical vegetarian and a strong proponent of nonviolence. A central contradiction in his life was connecting his Mexican heritage with an opposition to too liberal immigration laws.

Thanks to the Pacifica Radio Archives, Rustbelt brings you a recording of a speech he made just before his death at Harvard University.

[Audio - 4'30" ]

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 ]

Bad Cop No Donut [4 Min or 8 Min]

This week on Rustbelt's regular Bad Cop No Donut report, these regional police misconduct stories:

• The former Police Chief of the Allegheny County borough of West Homestead who had sex with 14 year-old in his police car was released last week.
• In Allegheny County's Rankin Borough near Swissvale, a former police chief was caught trying to eat evidence used against him at trial.
• In Licking County, Ohio a 9-month old baby has been hospitalized after her father, a local sheriff's deputy, shook her violently in a rage.
• and In Hellam, Pennsylvania near York, has been charged with falsifying vehicle records and other record tampering.

[ bcnd_local.ogg: BCND local stories - 3:20 ]

That was an excerpt from Bad Cop No Donut, a weekly radio program hosted by Ron Anicich (AN - uh - sich) at CKLN Toronto. Rustbelt radio selected stories from the eastern ohio, western pennsylvania, and central pennsylvania area for our listeners.

The full 40-minute program with news on police brutality, corruption and misconduct from across north american can be downloaded from the indymedia radio project at radio (dot) indymedia (dot) org

optional part:

Next up, Bad Cop No Donut presents a weekly wrap-up of TASER news.

[ bcnd_taser.ogg: BCND taser segment - 3:39 ]

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.

[ Musical Break ]

Military recruiters on campus [6:00]

On campuses across the country, students are challenging military recruiters.

At the University of California at Berkeley, the student government association passed a resolution last week banning the military from recruiting on its campus or using any campus resources. The resolution will be enforced only for resources controlled by the Student Government association, but it also calls on the Chancellor, the UC-Berkeley administration, and the board of regents of the entire UC system to follow suit. The resolution was inspired by the successful outcome of a U.S. district court case brought by a group of law schools who oppose the military's discriminatory "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

At New York University, a planned CIA recruiting event at was cancelled after the Campus Antiwar Network called a protest demanding that the CIA abandon its recruiting program at NYU. 20 hours before the recruiting event was scheduled to begin, its organizers sent an email to all those who had registered, headlined, [quote] The CIA Speaker Event scheduled for Thursday, March 31 @6PM has been CANCELLED due to the possibility of a protest by the Campus Antiwar Network.

Finally, last fall, three students from City College of New York (or, CCNY) and a CCNY secretary were arrested following a counter-recruitment demonstration at a CCNY job fair. They were charged with felony assaults of security officers and suspended from school and banned from campus. Next week they will face disciplinary hearings that will determine whether they can return to school. In the following excerpt, two of the arrested students talk about their case.

[ ccny clip 4:26 ]

Thanks to New York's Rise Up radio for that excerpt.

Birth Circle [10 Min]

And now we turn to our highlight of a local community organization. This week we will speak The Birth Circle, a group that works with our community to build an intergrated circle of care that address the needs of childbearing families. We will now speak with Pamela Wilson, a doula with the Birth Circle

Birth Circle 5:20

We will now hear about the services that the Birth Circle provides and also the role that doula's play.

Birth Circle 2 3:40

For more information you can contact the East Liberty Family Health Care Center at 412 661 2802, the Lemington Family Health Care Center at 412 361 8284 or Metro Family Practice, INC. at 412 247 2310

Palestinian Youth [13 Min]

In the Dheisheh Refugee Camp-Ibdaa a group of young palestinain men talk about experiences living in refugee camps. Tondre has the report

[ palestinianyouth.ogg: Palestinian youth with music 13:00 ]

Thanks to Tondre for that report

Ending

Calendar of events

Finally, we present the Indymedia calendar of events:

• Land and Freedom, about the 1936 Spanish Civil War, is this week's Thomas Merton Center Weekly Video Screening and Discussion. That's Tuesday April 5th at 6pm, 5125 Penn Ave. in Garfield.
• On Wednesday, April 6,the PA Abolitionists United Against the Death Penalty will screen the film FRAMING AN EXCECUTION at 7PM, at Calvary Episcopal Church, Walnut and Shady. The movie will be followed by a discussion led by Western PA Uncompromising Committee to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal For more information call 412-241-6087

---

On Friday, April 8th, there will be a picket at the Sky Bank in Lawrenceville, condemning Sky Bank's role in the injustice done to the Janitors at Centre City Towers downtown. Thats at noon on friday, 4319 Butler Street.

• On Saturday, April 9th, there will be a Victoria's Secret Protest Against Forest Destruction. That's noon on Sunday the 9th, at the Victoria's Secret store on 5505 Walnut Street in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
• And on Sunday, April 10th, there will be a rally for striking nursing home workers in Washington PA. Workers have been fighting for over a year to get a fair Union contract with affordable health care, better wages, and better care for their elderly residents. That's at 3pm Sunday, 815 South Main Street in Washington PA.

Outro

[ Cue Outro music? ]

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

Our hosts this week are [ Quinten Steenhuis, Gwen Schmidt, and Jessie Buckner ] with contributions from [ David Meieran ]. This week's show was produced by [ Matt Toups, Andalusia Knoll and Abie Flaxman ]. 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 overlooked by the corporate media.