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...
- an interview with our featured local grassroots organization of the week, Canaries in the Coalfields, a new group opposing the coal industry and its effects on the environment, workers and communities.
- Also we'll take a look at a new piece of immigration reform legislation: "The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005"
but first, these headlines from the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center.
Headlines
Local News
[ 1.00 min ] 2004 State of the Air Report
According to the American Lung Association’s 2004 State of the Air Report: About 50.2 million Americans, or nearly 17 percent, live in counties with unhealthy levels of all three types of air pollutants: ozone, short-term particle pollution, and year-round particle pollution.
29 out of 30 counties surveyed in Pennsylvania received an “F” for the occurrence of high ozone days. 5 out of the 7 counties surveyed in West Virginia also received an “F” rating.
The State of the Air report also took a look at the Metropolitan Areas Most Polluted by Short-term Particle Pollution. In this study, the Pittsburgh area was rated as the 4th worst region for this type of pollution. The Cleveland-Akron-Ohio region was ranked 10th, and the Weirton West Virginia and Steubenville,Ohio area was ranked at 21.
Philadelphia and Harrisburg also are among the top 25 most polluted metropolitan areas.
According to The American Lung Association or ALA, “analyses undertaken over the past five years tie air pollution to shorter lives, heart disease, lung cancer, asthma attacks and serious interference with the growth and work of the lungs.”
The Pitt News reported that City Council President Gene Ricciardi has recently introduced resolutions to the City Council to enact “Ozone Action Days.” These days would encourage people to avoid air-polluting activities such as idling car engines and lawn mowing.
The ALA suggests ways to protect yourself from increasing air pollution such as walking, biking, and carpooling as alternatives to driving. They also suggest filling up your gas tank after dark. Filling up after dark will help prevent the sun from turning gasoline emission gases into smog.
For more information on this report and ways to protect yourself contact www.lungUSA.org
[ 2.00 min ] Equal Access Measure at Schoolboard
On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh School Board held its monthly legislative meeting. Legislation that would have required schools to notify parents that they could withold their child's information from military recruiters was going to be on the agenda, but at the request of Board President William Isler the legislation will be delayed at least one month.
The bill's sponsor, Board Member Mark Brentley of District 8, said that he respected the decision to not vote on the bill immediately, but emphasized the urgent need for parents to have equal access to information from conscientious objectors and others who oppose the military's deceptive recruitment tactics.
[ Audio Clip (0:16)]
The meeting came just a week after the US military's recruitment division held a "stand down day" in the wake of numerous reported incidents of military recruiters abusing their positions. In the past several months, multiple instances of recruiters lying to recruitees or abusing their positions in other ways had come to light. In one brutal example, a recruiter lured a woman to his home promising to help her with her desire to join the military but then raped her.
Ed Bortz, a Pittsburgh parent and member of Conscience, a group of Pittsburghers who oppose military involvement, spoke to us about his groups efforts to inform students and parents in the Pittsburgh School district.
[ Audio Clip (0:50) ]
Ed told Rustbelt Radio that Conscience wasn't worried that the legislation had not yet come to a vote, but urged members of the public to contact the Board to voice their support for the legislation. The School Board's website is P-G-H B-O-E dot org, or you can call them at 412-622-3500.
[ 2.5 min ] POG CR action
On Saturday, May 28th, members of Pittsburgh Organizing Group returned to the Oakland recruiting station.
[ 2.00 min ] Union Carbide pays up for Environmental Damage in West Virginia
Union Carbide Corporation entered into a consent agreement last week with the Environmental Protection Agency to settle violations of federal and state laws. The violations happened at the company's specialty chemical manufacturing plant in
Institute, West Virginia. The town of Institute is an unincorporated suburb of Charleston and is the location of West Virginia State University, a historically black college. The company was charged with violations of laws regarding hazardous waste storage and annual reporting of toxic chemicals.
Chemical manufacturer Union Carbide is based in South Charleston, West Virginia and is now a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. In negoatiations with the EPA last week, the company agreed to pay a $16,600 dollar penalty and will also provide $19,800 worth of emergency equipment to the town of Institute's Volunteer Fire Department. But this is not the first time Union Carbide has substituted meager cash payments in place of responsibility for environmental damage.
The company is most famous for the Bhopal Disaster of 1984, in which the company's leak of the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate killed thousands in Bhopal, India. The Union Carbide chairman, Warren Anderson, was charged with culpable homicide in India for this tragedy, though he now lives freely in the US. He is now a declared absconder and a fugitive in Indian courts, against whom India is seeking an extradition ruling from the United States.
Though it reached an out of court settlement with the Indian Government, Union Carbide refused to accept responsibility for the disaster. Over 20 years later, the Bhopal area is still highly contaminated according to a BBC report last year. And before Bhopal, the corporation caused the largest industrial disaster in the US. In the construction of the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel in West Virginia in 1934 nearly 2000 company workers, most of them black, died of silicosis – an occupational disease caused by hazardous working conditions.
[ 4 min ] West Virginia residents confront Massey Energy Co.
And also in the mountains of West Virginia, residents of the Coal River Valley rallied last week against the company Massey Energy in the town of Sundial about 50 miles south of Charleston. The company operates a coal preparation plant beside Marsh Fork Elementary School, and has constructed a dam holding 2.5 billion gallons of toxic sludge just a few hundred feet from the school, which has angered local residents. The protestors, many of whom are parents or grandparents of the school's students, demanded that the coal preparation plant be shut down, that Marsh Fork Elementary School be cleaned up or that a safe, new school be built in their community, that Massey withdraw its application to build a second coal loading silo behind the school, that Massey stop blasting their homes because residents have a right to be safe and secure, and that Massey shut down its surface mine sites.
The residents were met by the plant's head of security who refused to allow them to present their demands. When the residents again attempted to present their demands, several were arrested.
Bo Webb, one of the residents who was arrested said, (quote) "Seems to me that every government official in this country has a responsibility to protect American citizens everywhere. In fact, they've sworn to it. Yet, we, the citizens of Coal River Valley, have been abandoned to fend for our children. I commend the West Virginia State Police Department for being courteous and calm and treating us with the utmost respect, which is something that no politician or coal company has ever done for the residents of Coal River Valley."
Another arrestee was Judy Bonds, the 2003 Winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize, a grandmother, and a resident of the Coal River Valley. She said (quote) "I have to commend the residents of Coal River. I'm very proud of them for standing up to Massey Coal. We embrace and we welcome all our brothers and sisters all over America in this fight to stop the rape of Appalachia. I think this is a perfect way to announce that we are Mountain Justice Summer. I think that it's a crime that the people of Appalachia have to beg the government to protect them from violent coal companies like Massey Energy." (end quote)
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is considering Massey's application to construct a second loading silo next to the first, which sits 150 feet from school grounds. Operations at the coal loading silos release high levels of coal dust into the air, exposing children and teachers to serious health risks. The permit for the sludge dam above the school, which is used to wash the coal and contains over 60 toxic compounds including heavy metals, is also up for renewal. At a hearing last thursday, residents of the Coal River Valley, joined by participants in the Mountain Justice Summer campaign against mountaintop removal mining, voiced strong opposition to both permit applications.
Resident Pauline Canturbury said:
[ pauline clip - 0:10 ]
Bo Webb, a resident active with the local group Coal River Mountain Watch, spoke to the danger of the toxic dam above the school:
[ bo webb clip - 0:14 ]
Blacksburg, VA resident Erin McKelvy spoke to why mountain justice summer activists from across the country had come to join the Coal River Valley residents in protest:
[ erin mckelvy clip - 0:40]
And Debbie Jarrells, a Coal River resident whose granddaughter attends Marsh Fork Elementary, said (quote) "This coal company and this state are using our children as sacrificial lambs. We're here to take their place. All parents need to stand up for their children."
Stay tuned to Rustbelt Radio for more on the battle being waged by community organizers and environmental advocates against the coal mining industry in Western Pennsylvania along with the Mountain Justice Summer campaign in West Virginia.
Wrapup (total: 11.5 minutes)
For more on our local news stories, visit pittsburgh dot I-N-D-Y-M-E-D-I-A dot O-R-G.
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.
[ 1.5 ] Commission Report Released on the Death of Victoria Snelgrove
On Wednesday, May 25, an independent commission in Boston released their findings on the police shooting of 21-year-old Victoria Snelgrove on October 21, 2004.
Snelgrove, a broadcast journalism student at Emerson College, was killed after being hit in the eye by a pepper-spray projectile while celebrating the Boston Red Sox victory over the New York Yankees in the American League playoffs. The projectile was fired by an FN-303 (quote) "less lethal" launcher that was purchased earlier in the year with funds earmarked for Democratic National Convention security. Earlier this month the city of Boston paid her family a 5.1 million dollar settlement to avoid a wrongful death lawsuit, and the Boston ACLU released their recommendations for so-called "less lethal" weapons used by the Boston Police Department and other law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth.
The commission's report concludes that Snelgrove's death was caused by series of mistakes made by the Boston Police, starting with the purchase of the weapon that was used in the shooting. The same day the report was made public, Boston Police Commissioner Katherine O'Toole announced that five officers would face disciplinary action for their role in the police shooting.
However, members of the police accountability group Save Our Civil Liberties say there are reasons to be concerned with the commission's report. They point out that the report fails to recommend a clear standard for police use of so-called "less-lethal weapons," nor does it call for the formation of a independent civilian review board with subpoena power.
The report comes at time when the increasing number of fatalities from Tasers has stirred fierce public debate over police use of less lethal weapons.
[ 2 ] Largest protest ever in Tonga
The largest demonstration ever in the history of the South Pacific nation of Tonga took place last Thursday. The island chain, which lies about a third of the way between New Zealand and Hawaii, is governed by a King and a Legislature made up mainly of nobles and appointments by the King. The islands recently saw an increase in electricitiy prices by the country's only power company, Shoreline, a monopoly owned by the Crown Prince and heir to the throne.
According to radio reports and witnesses, between 10,000 to 20,000 people took part in a march in the capital city of Nuku'alofa (nu-KU a-LA-fa) to protest the electricity monopoly and to call for democracy. The total population of Tonga is about 100,000 people spread across 169 Pacific islands south of Samoa and east of Fiji.
Protestors originally met to condemn the rise in electricity prices by the royal family-owned power monopoly, but as the crowd grew they also called for Tonga's octogenarian king to surrender power to a democratic government as they marched to the royal palace. Marchers carried banners demanding democracy and calling for King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV to give up his absolute powers.
Akilisi Pohiva, democracy movement leader and a people's representative in the Tongan legislature, said of the electrical prices, (quote) "People are very angry, very upset, disappointed. There is a very great, great injustice in the way the Crown Prince and his company manage that public resource."
Under the popular pressure, the company Shoreline said it would charge lower power prices for three months and may return control of the electrical system to the Government.
The Human Rights & Democracy Movement in Tonga has been challenging the feudalist system there since the late 1970s. Tonga's parliament includes the 12 cabinet ministers, who are appointed by the king, 9 nobles and 9 representatives of the people, most of whom belong to the pro-democracy movement.
The Tongan monarchy is also a member of George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing" in Iraq. A small number of Tongan soldiers were deployed, as part of an American force, to Iraq in late 2004, but the troops were withdrawn by December.
Wrapup (total: 3.5)
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 ]
[ 3 min ] Bad Cop No Donut
This week's Bad Cop, No Donut report features news of corruption and animal abuse in Ohio, and the death of a man in eastern Pennsylvania after police there used a taser on him.
[ BCND - 2:53 ]
You can hear Ron's full 36 minute program Bad Cop No Donut at radio (dot) indy media (dot) org. Tune into Rustbelt Radio next week for more updates on police brutality, misconduct, and corruption in our region.
Features
Intro
Welcome back to Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
[ 12 min ] Immigration Reform Bill
The United States is home to approximately 10 to 12 million undocumented immigrants. With increases in border security, and tighter restrictions to entry to the US, immigration and pathways to becoming a legal US citizen are increasingly difficult.
Senators Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and John
McCain? of Arizona, along with 3 house representatives have recently introduced a new piece of immigration legislation to Congress. The bill, which is titled "The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005" calls for a new temporary-worker visa program. Other pieces of the bill promote access to healthcare, reunification of families, and a means for eligible undocumented immigrants to gain temporary, and possibly permanent status as US citizens.
Members of the local group "PIIN" -- Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, a faith-based community organizing coalition, are working to inform the public about this new bill and garner support in Washington. Rustbelt correspondents heard from members of PIIN this past week who spoke of the current immigration system, and the need for reform.
- TRACK 1 "10 -12 MILLION WORKERS" [00:45]
Another member of PIIN spoke of the dependence of the US economy on these undocumented workers.
- TRACK 2 " DEPENDENCE + FOOD" [ 00:39]
One of the main points of the Secure American and Orderly Immigration Act is the Essential Worker Visa Program. This program will create a new temporary visa to allow foreign workers to enter and fill available jobs that require little to no skills.
However, the paperwork and costs of obtaining this visa are substantial. In order to obtain the visa, workers must show proof of a job waiting for them in the US, clear security and medical checks, and pay a 500 dollar fee in addition to application fees. This visa will be available to 400,000 workers annually and is valid for 3 years at which time the worker can renew it for an additional 3 years. At the end of these 6 years the worker must return to their country or apply for a greencard, which can take several years to obtain. In order to qualify for permanent status, workers will have to meet a future work requirement, clear additional background checks, pay back taxes, fines and application fees of approximately 2000 dollars per adult, and meet English and civics requirements.
The worker-visa program also takes measures to protect workers from employer abuses and will give temporary workers remedies for violations of their rights.
Sister Janice Vanderneck of St. Hyacinth Church in South Oakland, a predominantly latino church, spoke of how the new options of this bill benefit workers . She also related the fundamental desire to work that these immigrants express.
- TRACK 3 " SR WANTING TO WORK" [1:11]
Another Sister affiliated with PIIN, Sister Ceinwen (Kine- win) described the plight of illegal workers and pointed out that this new bill may benefit not only illegal immigrants, but also the government.
- TRACK 4 " PLIGHT OF WORKING ILLEGALLY" [00:50]
In addition to addressing the issue of legal work, The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act also contains provisions for the unification of families separated by the complex immigration process in the states. Margaret Stock, a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and a Professor at West Point Military Academy states (quote) "Legal permanent residents often wait up to 20 years to reunite with their spouses and children." She also indicates that reinforced borders are exacerbating the separation of illegal immigrants and their families. quote "...undocumented workers are now deciding to stay in the US, rather than risk death by crossing the borders through increasingly hostile terrain." Workers also express fear that by leaving the US, they may not be able to ever return for future work.
One of the reforms of the new bill presents is the ability for workers to include their spouses and children in their greencard applications. Also income requirements for sponsoring a family member for a greencard are changed from 125% of the federal poverty guidelines to 100%. Finally, immediate relatives of US Citizens are not counted against the 480,000 annual cap of family-sponsored greencards, thereby providing additional visas to the family preference categories. Evans Moore, Executive Director of PIIN emphasized that this will work to prevent family separation.
The lack of adequate healthcare is another major issue that illegal immigrants face. Title ten of the act promotes access to healthcare by extending the authorization of federal reimbursements for hospitals that provide emergency care to undocumented workers who are under the new temporary visa program. However, the act fails to mention the promotion of access to medical care other than in the case of emergencies. The new bill also stipulates that the US and Mexican governments work together on healthcare access, so that (quote) "the US is not unfairly impacted with the costs of administering healthcare to Mexican nationals."
Sister Barbara Finch, secretary of PIIN,described the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act as a step towards integrating immigrants into the process of citizenship:
While the amount of support for this bill in congress is unclear, likely- voter surveys show overwhelming support for immigration reform. In a survey conducted by The Tarrance Group this past March, the majority of voters believe the current immigration system is flawed and 75% support a (quote) " comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform proposal that combines toughness, fairness, a guest worker program, family reunification, and a path to legal residency for undocumented immigrants who are already here."
Deepak Bhargava, an organizer with the group Fair Immigration Reform Movement, describes the urgency of reform; (quote) "No longer can the federal govenment defend the status quo of an immigration system which exploits hard working immigrants while breaking their dreams and dignity every day. For far too long, immigrants have had to endure life in fear of death, deportation, and discrimination. The time to fix these laws is now."
For more information on the group PIIN's work with immigration legislation, contact p-i-i-n 2001 @ aol.com or call 412-621-9230
[ Break -- Aesop Rock 11:35 song about immigration 1:10]
You're listening to Rust Belt Radio. That was just Aesop Rock with 11:35
[ 25 min ] Canaries in the Coalfields
For the light at the end of the Fort Pitt tunnel, Rustbelt Radio's
weekly feature of a local grassroots organization, we have an
interview with Canaries in the Coalfields. The canaries are a new group
working to raise awareness of the true costs of coal power in the city
of Pittsburgh and surrounding regions. We spoke to two members of the
group, Jessica and Geoff last week as the group prepares to host a
weekend of events in Pittsburgh June 5th through 7th. They will present
a free community conference on the true cost of coal power and a green
energy expo. And on Tuesday the 7th they are organizing a rally and
march for health, jobs, and energy independence downtown outside the
national coal show at the convention center.
[ intro - 2:54 ]
In the region around Pittsburgh, a common form of coal mining is called
longwall mining. Geoff and Jessica explain how this works and the
effects it has on water, land, and communities.
[ longwall - 3:30 ]
A form of coal mining even worse than longwall mining is a technique
found in the mountains of West Virginia called Mountaintop Removal.
[ mountaintop removal - 4:42 ]
You're listening to Rustbelt Radio's interview with the new Pittsburgh
group Canaries in the Coalfields. Later in the conversation we talked
about how diverse groups opposed to the coal industry have come together
to form Mountain Justice Summer, and we talk about the conferences and
protests against coal planned in Pittsburgh June 5th throught 7th.
But first Geoff and Jessica talked about how communities in our
area are forced to depend upon the industry due to economic and
political forces, and what can be done to change it.
[ part4 - 13:34 ]
That was Canaries in the Coalfields, this week's featured local
grassroots organization on Rustbelt Radio. Stay tuned for next
week's show with coverage of this weekend's True Cost of Coal
conference. You can read more about the conference and other
events at the canaries' website:
thomas merton center (dot) org (slash) canaries (dot) H-T-M
or by calling: 412-310-4641
Ending
[ 1 min ] Calendar of events
And now we present the Indymedia calendar of events:
- Starting today at the Thomas Merton Center, African Child Soldiers' 'Art for Peace' Exhibition will be on display. The Thomas Merton Center is located at 5125 Penn Ave, in Garfield. For more information contact www.thomasmertoncenter.org
- Also as part of this exhibit, the video "Invisible Children" about African Child Soldiers will be screened this Saturday June 4th at 4pm in the William Pitt Union Lower Lounge, which is located at Fifth and Bigelow Streets in Oakland.
- Tomorrow May 31st will be the final film presented in the Women Say No to War Film Festival. The film "Frontiers of Dreams and Fear" presented by Palestinian Solidarity Committee will be screened at 7pm at Tazza d Oro in Highland Park. for more information call 412-389-3216
- And Finally, as part of Mountain Justice Summer, Canaries in the Coalfields will be presenting "The True Cost of Coal" Conference this Sunday June 5th from 10am to 5pm. This free conference will be held at the Garfield Community Activity Center which is located at 113 N. Pacific Ave. For more information call 412-965-0943
[ 1 min ] Outro
Thanks for tuning in to Rust Belt Radio here on WRCT Pittsburgh and WVJW Benwood.
Our hosts this week are [
______ ] and [
______ ] with contributions from [ Carlin Christie, David Meyran]. This week's show was produced by [
______ ]. 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 from the grassroots.
MP3 at 19.7 mebibytes
![[masthead]](/images/masthead_140.png)