January 9, 2006: Rustbelt Radio
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 live every Monday from 6-7pm on WRCT 88.3FM in Pittsburgh, PA, every Thursday from 11am to noon on WARC-Meadville from the campus of Allegheny College, and every Saturday from 5-6pm on WVJW Benwood, 94.1 FM in the Wheeling, West Virginia area. We're also available on the internet, both on W-R-C-T's live webstream at W-R-C-T dot ORG and for download, stream or podcast at radio dot I-N-D-Y-P-G-H dot org.
On today's show...
- we'll hear about connections between prison abuses at home and abroad
- and we'll speak with Katrina Kozarek about the Calle y Media video cooperative in Venezuela
- but first, these local and global headlines
Headlines
Local News
[3:00] Penn-Trafford Teachers Strike Update
Teachers in the Penn-Trafford School District in Westmoreland County who have been working without a contract since June held a strike last Thanksgiving for 12 days, which ended when the school board agreed to enter face-to-face negotiations in November. Now the negotiations are at an impasse over the issue of a salary increase. The teachers want an agreement that yields an average salary increase of $3,550 while the school board wants to raise salaries by only $2400.
In December, the school board requested that the dispute enter so-called final best-offer arbitration, where both sides present their final contract offers to an arbitrator, who recommends which one he thinks is fairest. This is a non-binding decision, but according to an Associated Press story, such rulings often spur negotiations when they're made public.
The Penn-Trafford Education Association rejected the request last week, saying [quote] “there is little chance of the school board accepting a positive settlement should the arbiter rule in our favor.”
Following this rejection, the chief negotiator for the school board, who was also representing Highland School District in similar negotiations with their teachers, was fired from the Highland position. The Highland School Board president explained the decision by saying [quote] “the approach of using [him] now, like before, didn't accomplish anything.”
[4:00] Political Prisoner Maroon Shoatz speaks out against conditions at SCI-Greene
Russell Maroon Shoatz is a black panther and political prisoner who has been locked up for 34 years in Pennsylvania’s prisons. He has been held in solitary confinement for 25 years, serving the last 11 years at State Correction Institution-Greene in Waynesburg, about an hour south of Pittsburgh. Maroon recently sent out this call for action pertaining to the inhumane and degrading treatment experienced by people who are incarcerated in the Restricted Housing Units of SCI-Greene. The following is an excerpt from Maroon’s report:
Over and over, the leaders of the United States swear they do not tolerate any
torture or inhumane and degrading treatment in "any" U.S. controlled prisons.
Yet, right in the state of Pennsylvania, prisoners at the State Correctional Institution at Greene (SCI-Greene) are daily being subjected to just that.
You may recall that SCI-Greene is where Abu Ghraib torturer Charles Grainer worked in civilian life, and where Mumia Abu Jamal is being held. SCI-Greene, which should be called State Concentration and Internment Ground, since no correction (in a positive way) takes place there, has a prison within a prison, called the Restricted Housing Unit, or,
R.H.U-Control Unit.
There's close to 500 men there and most of them are subjected to sleep deprivation, because their cell lights stay on 24 hours a day. Also, there's the withholding of food, showers and cell water at the whim of the guards. The withholding of food and water is very hard on the prisoners because all cells are fully enclosed, which prevents others from passing food to them.
Other "no touch" torture techniques are even harder to deal with. They revolve around keeping prisoners on 23 hour lockdown, hundreds of miles from their families, for years and decades! That’s 23 hours a day confined within bathroom size cells.
Now if you're "good", they'll allow you to buy a TV and radio, as well
as a limited amount of food items from the commissary.
Outside of that, you're "suppose" to get one hour of outdoor exercise, in a dog cage, 5 days per week, three 10 minute showers and a one hour "no contact" visit a week. Visitors are only permitted to see RHU inmates during the week, so the only time you can see your family is if they can afford to travel for hundreds of miles on weekdays.
DOES YEARS AND DECADES OF SUCH TREATMENT SOUND INHUMANE TO YOU?
Furthermore, degrading strip and cell searches are carried out daily! All prisoners are made to undergo a full strip and body cavity inspection, including examining your penis, testicles and rectum, on going to the yard, showers, visits, hospital etc., despite being
handcuffed and escorted by two guards, presenting no physical threat...except maybe spitting...which will cause you to be hooded and strapped to a rolling contraption, like Hannibal Lechter.
The intense and degrading regular cell searches are exercises in pure sadism, where guards go out of their way to read and comment on personal mail, photos, books and reading material they find in the cell. The make all sorts of statements to provoke inmates and then leave your cell ransacked.
If that don't beat all, some of the more sociopathic guards will go as far as to even leave you without any toilet paper, toothbrush, pens or comb.
That was an excerpt from a statement recieved last week from political prisoner Russell Maroon Shoatz reporting inhumane conditions experienced by prisoners held at State Correctional Institution Greene in southwestern Pennsylvania.
And today, members of Maroon's support committee in Philadelphia recieved word about the on-going harassment he's been subjected to by guards Peters and Lynch. Maroon said that an assistant to the warden came to see him in his cell, and after telling him what's been going on, he was tansferred to the death row unit. Two guards stepped in to escort him to his new cell; they told him that they would escort him rather than have Peters and Lynch do it. The guards told Maroon that Lynch and Peters were mad about all the pressure they've come under, and that given the chance they would attack him. Maroon reports that the death row unit he's on is real quiet, he has all his property back and a cell search was done, without tearing his cell property up. But Peters and Lynch are still terrorizing other prisoners under their watch.
[1:15] Electronic Voting Lawsuit
Voting rights activists and Pennsylvania State Senator Jim Ferlo have filed a lawsuit against Westmoreland County. They argue that the Pennsylvania Constitution gives citizens the right to democratically choose which type of electronic voting machine they use. The goal of the lawsuit is to require Westmoreland County to take input from the public before purchasing touch-screen voting machines.
Ferlo is co-sponsor of current legislation which requires all voting machines to have paper trails so voters can check their choices.
The Help America Vote Act is a 2002 federal law which requires that voting machines meet certain standards. The Westmoreland county solictor says that Westmoreland county must replace its voting machines before the May 16th primary election in order to comply with this act. He argues that there is not time to hold a separate election to pick the voting machines. He also argues that the federal law takes precedence over the state constitution's requirement that voters must approve electronic voting machines prior to their use.
On January 6th, a Common Pleas Judge refused to issue an order blocking Westmoreland County from purchasing the new touch-screen voting machines, and a second hearing will be held on January 11th.
Allegheny and other local counties are not yet compliant with the Help America Vote Act. They are considering a bulk purchase of voting machines in order to save money.
Wrapup
For more on local news, you can visit pittsburgh dot I-N-D-Y-M-E-D-I-A dot org.
[ 10 second break w/music ]
Global News
Intro
You are listening to Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news overlooked by the corporate media. We turn now to news from other independent media sources around the world.
[1:30] Comandanta Ramona dies
Comandanta Ramona, a Maya Indian rebel leader, women's rights champion, and heroine to anti-globalisation activists has died after a battle against cancer.
The Tzotzil Maya woman, was the first Zapatista rebel to appear publicly in Mexico City after a brief but bloody uprising in 1994. She died on the way to hospital in the southern state of Chiapas, said Subcomandante Marcos, a Zapatista leader, on Friday.
"Mexico has lost one of those fighters that matter, and a piece of our hearts has been ripped out," Marcos told supporters during a speech in Chiapas.
Marcos left his jungle hideout last Sunday to start a nationwide tour that seeks more support for Indians and the poor before July's presidential election.
He put the tour on hold to attend her funeral in the rebel stronghold of Oventic.
Always seen in the black ski mask worn by Zapatista leaders to protect their identity, Ramona was one of the main promoters of women's rights in the rebel group, which has ditched armed struggle in favor of political activism.
Ramona won the hearts of many Mexicans after media showed fellow Zapatista commanders towering above her during a first round of peace talks with the government in February 1994.
Ramona received a kidney from her brother in a 1996 transplant paid for by supporters who sent in cash after an internet campaign.
Along with Marcos figures, dolls of Ramona complete with rifle and ski mask are popular with tourists visiting Chiapas.
[4:00] Greenpeace/Sea Shepard battle Japanese Whalers
Greenpeace is in the midst of a year-long campaign to improve the state of the world's oceans. And for the last few weeks, ships for Greenpeace and the Sea Shepard Conservation Society have been in Antarctica to protect whales from hunters.
Before beginning this mission, Shane Rattenbury described the plans:
Action by Greenpeace and the Sea Shepards forced the hunters to suspend operations for 11 days, but the lull ended last Thursday, and the whale hunting has now resumed. To protect the whales, Greenpeace and Sea Shepard sailors have been positioning inflatable boats between the whalers and the whales, while shooting a mist of water into the air to prevent harpooners from targeting their prey. In addition to the inherent danger of a mission which requires chasing a whale in freezing weather while attempting to stay
in front of a harpoon gun at all times, Greenpeace activists now report that on Sunday, the Japanese Whaling ship Nisshin Maru intentionally rammed into a Greenpeace ship. Shane Rattenbury writes in the Ocean Defenders blog, [quote] “suddenly there was a loud bang, and our little ship shook. Then a second bang, as their stern swung around and caught us again. And then the strangest part - as their stern slid past, I looked up and saw that a man was standing at one of their water cannons, and as he passed by, he turned the water cannon straight at us, pouring water at the bridge of our ship.”
[2:00] Sharon In Coma; the Colonization of Palestine Continues
As Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon lay in a deep coma this week, Israeli soldiers and settlers bombed Gaza, killing both militants and civilians, and annexed parts of the West Bank. The International Middle East Media Center reports.
[imemcreport.ogg 1:50]
[1:15] Citgo Donates Oil
Citgo, the Venezuelan nationally-owned oil company, has offered discounted oil to help low-income individuals in the United States. Residents of Massachusetts, and the Bronx, New York, have been sent discounted home-heating oil. Citgo plans to expand the program to low-income households in Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
In the Bronx, eight thousand low-income households will save four million dollars.
In Massachusetts, Citgo will deliver the oil to Citizens Energy, a non-profit which provides subsidized oil to low-income individuals, who will distribute it. Low-income residents of Massachusetts will save ten million dollars.
Most Illinois homes are not warmed with heating oil. So, instead of alleviating heating costs, Citgo offered to help Chicagoans with commuting costs by providing discounted diesel fuel for city buses. Citgo proposed to offer the Chicago Transit Authority, or CTA, discounted fuel so the CTA could pass these savings on to low-income residents.
The CTA refused Citgo's offer of discounted fuel. The transit authority, which is in need of additional revenue, will increase rider fares next month.
[4:00] Bush Touts Economy
Last week saw the launch of a new Republican theme, the great American economy. The main evidence supporting this claim is recent decline in unemployment rates, which dropped from 5% to 4.9%, lower than the average rate for the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Unmentioned in this statistic is a fact that even the mainstream media cannot overlook, that the unemployment rate drops when the unemployed give up looking for work. President Bush also offered the supporting evidence that there are more Americans who own houses today than ever before. Again unmentioned is the fact that there are more Americans today than ever before.
The lack of supporting evidence did not stop the Bush Administration from spreading the message that the economy is booming far and wide. Last Friday, Bush spoke about the economy at the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Economic Club, while Dick Cheney took the message to a Harley-Davidson factory in Kansas City, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez spoke in Louisville, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao spoke Baltimore, and Energy Secretary Sam Bodman came here to Pittsburgh.
Democrats were quick to counter the Republican claims. House Democratic Nancy Pelosi said [quote] “Middle-class Americans’ paychecks are flat or dropping, while health care costs continue to rise and home heating costs are skyrocketing. U.S. trade deficits and the borrowing from China to fund tax cuts will have real and harsh impacts on future generations.”
Mark Weisbrot is the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, which publishes
The State of Working America every year. He published his predictions for the year on ZNet on January 1st. He wrote [quote]:
The housing bubble has driven the economic recovery from that recession, and has been responsible for most of the job creation since 2001. The housing market is already cooling, and when the bubble bursts it is very likely to cause a recession. Our record trade deficit is another unsustainable trend. We are now borrowing about 7 percent of our GDP from abroad. At some point this will have to adjust, and the way this happens -- unless we have a serious recession -- is for the dollar to fall.
The economic recovery has also been driven by consumption, financed by enormous levels of borrowing. Last quarter the household savings rate was negative for the first time ever. This rate of borrowing and consumption is also unsustainable. It is possible that business investment could pick up as consumer spending inevitably slows. But business investment as a share of the economy is still far below its level of 2000.
Wages have lagged behind inflation, which means that most people actually lost ground. And this does not include increases in the costs of health insurance and co-payments.
[endquote]
Finally, in direct contrast to the main evidence of a strong economy presented by President Bush, the low unemployment rate, Weisbrot says, "our 5 percent unemployment rate, which looks relatively good at first glance, is misleading. If we look at the
employment rate instead -- as the new Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has pointed out -- we find that it is about 1.7 percentage points lower than it was in 2000. This corresponds to about 3.4 million fewer jobs, because people have quit the labor force. If these missing jobs were counted in the unemployment rate, it would be more than 7 percent.
Wrapup
You can read more independent global news stories by visting indymedia: I-N-D-Y-M-E-D-I-A dot O-R-G.
[ Musical Break - Kool Keith - I Don't Believe You ]
Features
Intro
That was Kool Keith. Welcome back to Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
[12:00] Activist Protest Abuse of Prisoners at Home and Abroad for International Human Rights Day in Richmond VA
On International Human Rights Day last month, prison and human rights activists gathered outside the Red Onion state prision in Viginia to protest prison abuses at home and abroad
You're listening to Rust Belt Radio.
[ Break: Phil Ochs,
There but for Fortune ]
[15:00] Calle y Media and Venezuela
Katrina Kozarek is a videographer and community activist living in Caracas, Venezuela, who grew up in Apollo, Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Calle y Media video collective which produced, among other things, the film
Mardi Gras: Made in China which screened this summer as part of the Amnesty International Film Festival and the video
The Old Man and [hey-zeus] Jesus, which she screened last week at the Thomas Merton Center. Rustbelt spoke with Katrina about her cooperative, her neighborhood in Venezuela, and her experiences living there when she was in town visiting her family for the holidays.
That was Katrina Kozarek of the Calle y Media video collective. We'll have more of our discussion with Katrina next week.
Ending
[1:00] Calendar of events
And now we present the Indymedia calendar of events:
- On Friday, lawyer Dan Kovalik will deliver a lecture on US military aid to Colombia, Colombia's conflicts and its affect on labor organizers, and discuss the three lawsuits he is bringing for human rights violations. That's Friday at 7 PM at the Pittsburgh Mennonite Church at 4005 Murray Ave in Squirrel Hill.
- On Saturday, BLACK VOICES FOR PEACE & BLACK RADICAL CONGRESS present a discussion entitled "THE IMPACT OF THE IRAQ WAR ON THE 19TH AND 24TH STATE LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS". The discussion will take place at The Kingsley Center, 6435 Frankstown Avenue, East Liberty, at 3 PM, and feature State Representatives Joseph Preston, Jr. & Jake Wheatley as invited speakers.
- Also on Saturday, the POG Counter Recruitment picket returns to the military recruiting center in Oakland, starting at 11:30 AM at the 3712 Forbes Ave (between Atwood and Bouquet streets).
Outro
[ Outro music ]
Thanks for tuning in to Rust Belt Radio here on WRCT Pittsburgh, WARC Meadville and WVJW Benwood.
Our hosts this week are Abie Flaxman and Jessica McPherson with additional contributions from Etta Cetera, Carlin Christy, Jessi Berkelhammer, and Lora Gordon. This week's show was produced by Matt Toups and Don Deeley. Special thanks to all of our hosts, producers, and contributors.
You can get involved with Rustbelt Radio! To contact us, 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 or podcast on our website at RADIO dot INDY-P-G-H dot ORG and this show can be heard again Tuesday morning on WRCT at 9 AM after Democracy Now!
Tune in next week at this time for another edition of Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
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