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.
On today's show...
- We have an interview with former Black Panther Elaine Brown;
- An eyewitness account of the genocide in Darfur;
- And local updates on police harrassment of Critical Mass, A FOIA party at the Thomas Merton Center, an agreement between The University of Pittsburgh and SEIU, and the City's plans for a security camera network downtown.
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. And we're now on WPTS 92.1FM from the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, also Saturdays at 5pm.
We're also available on the internet, both on WRCT'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.
Headlines
Local News
[3:10] Police Stop Critical Mass
Last Friday's critical mass was assaulted and shut down by police in East Liberty, resulting in three citations and the apparent arrest of a bystander.
The monthly ride describes itself as a celebration of urban cycling and seeks to draw awareness to bicyclists and other non-motorized forms of transportation. Last Friday's ride began in Oakland and rode through Shadyside and most of East Liberty before one officer forced his patrol car through the mass of riders and blocked the ride. Noah Willumsen, a Critical Mass participant and one of those detained and cited describes what happened:
The officer attempted to detain several riders, including anyone who asked for his name or badge number:
Leeana Ninez, the woman who the officer threw the lit cigarette at, describes the incident:
More police, including K-9 units, eventually responded, leaving Penn Avenue blocked by police cars for approximately an hour.
Those detained received citations stating that they “blocked traffic” and “refused to stop.”
Critical Mass participants point out that cyclists have, according to traffic law, the same rights to use public roads as motor vehicles.
Many of the cyclists present expressed outrage at the actions of the initial police officer; they are meeting on Monday April 3 at 8pm at the Big Idea Bookshop in Bloomfield to file civilian complaints and plan further response.
Critical Mass is the last Friday of every month. In Pittsburgh, the ride meets at 5:30 at the Dinosaur in front of the Oakland Library.
[1:50] FOIA Party at Merton Center
Last Wednesday the American Civil Liberties Union sponsored a File you own FOIA [foy-ah] party at the Thomas Merton Center in Garfield. Barb Feige, Director of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the ACLU explains what FOIA is, and how it is being used to uncover government surveillance of domestic activist groups:
The motivation for holding this event at the Merton Center was the result of earlier FOIA requests:
The ACLU and the Thomas Merton Center are encouraging anyone who feels that they may be the subject of surveillance by the FBI or any law enforcement agency because of their political activism to file a FOIA request on themselves. For more information, visit A-C-L-U-P-A- dot org, or thomasmertoncenter.org
[1:00] SEIU and Pitt sign 5 year contract
The 350 custodians, mechanics, groundskeepers and maintenance workers at the University of Pittsburgh voted by a three to one margin late Friday to ratify a five year agreement with the University.
The previous contract with the members of the Service Employees International Union Local 3 expired in December of 2005. The SEIU says that the negotiations for the new contract were characterized by a new spirit of cooperation between the support staff and the University. On two separate occasions workers participated in lobbied legislators in Harrisburg about the University’s commitment to decent jobs with health care and the importance of increased funding for the University to be able to continue this commitment.
The 350 custodians, mechanics, groundskeepers and maintenance workers at the University of Pittsburgh are members of SEIU Local 3. Local 3 has 10,000 members in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan that work in the property service industry as janitors, food service workers, mechanics, maintenance workers and security guards.
[1:00] Pittsburgh City Council considers installing spy cameras
The Pittsburgh City Council has given preliminary approval on a resolution to spend more that $1 million of a US Justice Department grant in an effort to put the city under a massive robotic surveillance grid. This action took place with only one dissenting voice.
At the City Council meeting, member Bill Peduto questioned the city deputy director of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security about assurances that this new robotic surveillance system won’t be used to spy on people. Supporters of the plan says that the system will only be used for evacuation purposed during an emergency such as a flood.
Video gathered by this extensive system can be archived and then shared between federal, state and local entities and so it will be.
On Tuesday, April 4 Pittsburgh City Council will consider giving final approval to the bill.
[2:30] Paul Watson Speaks
Green Peace co-founder Paul Watson spoke in Pittsburgh last week. He talked about the nonviolent foundations of Green Peace and how he has moved away from these Quaker-influenced ideals and towards direct action on the high seas. Watson has been called a pirate and an eco-terrorist, but has never been convicted of any crime. Watson spoke about his current work in protecting sea creatures with the Sea Shepard Conservation Society.
Wrapup
For more on local news, you can visit pittsburgh dot I-N-D-Y-M-E-D-I-A dot org.
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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.
[0:35] Army Deserter Appeals to Canadian Refugee Board
The Canadian Govenment's Refugee Board is set to hear the appeal of Josh Key, an Army Explosives expert who deserted from the US Army. Key fled to Canada after refusing to return to Iraq for a second tour; he is applying for political assylum in Canada on the grounds that he will face persicution if returned to the United States.
In an interview with the BBC, Key stated that in his experince in Iraq: "The only people that were getting hurt was the innocent; that was innocent Iraqi people, as well as innocent soldiers."
The BBC also reports that "About 20 US soldiers have applied for asylum in Canada. Two have already had their applications rejected."
-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4859948.stm
[1:00] Meatpacking company suing USDA over mad cow policies
A Kansas-based meatpacking company, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, is suing the US Department of Agriculture, or USDA. The USDA has said that US meatpacking plants are not allowed to voluntarily test their beef for Mad Cow Disease.
The US has had three confirmed cases of mad cow disease, or BSE. Eating meat from a cow with BSE can kill a human. Japan and Europe require all adult cows to be tested for BSE prior to slaughter, but US companies only test around 1 percent of cows, and plan to lower this percentage. Despite pressure to ban the practice, the USDA also allows cows to be fed blood and slaughterhouse waste.
Foreign buyers are worried about BSE in US beef, and this has hurt US beef company sales. In order to satisfy foreign buyers in Asia and elsewhere, Creekstone announced plans to voluntarily test all cattle it processes. This prompted the USDA to file a notice against Creekstone. Creekstone is suing the USDA, claiming that it has the right to electively test its meat for BSE.
[1:00] US embassy in London won't pay congestion charge
London Mayor Ken Livingstone has called Robert Holmes Tuttle, the US Ambassador to Britain, a (quote) “chiseling little crook” for the embassy's refusal to pay London's congestion charge. The congestion charge is a fee to drivers entering Central London.
Congestion charging encourages the use of public transportation, bicycles, and other alternatives to private vehicles. Supporters claim that the fee reduces congestion and pollution, and generally improves urban life. London is not the only city with such a program. Other cities, including Singapore and three Norwegian cities, already have congestion charging programs. Many cities across the globe are considering implementing similar plans, including São Paulo, Edinburgh (ED-in-bur-oh), Barcelona, and San Francisco.
The US Embassy stopped paying the fee in July, and London officials estimate that the embassy owes the city approximately a quarter million dollars for congestion fees. The US embassy argues that the fee is a tax and that diplomats are exempt.
[0:45] Anti-HR4427 protest in NYC
In another in a series of protests against House Resolution 4427, thousands of New Yorkers marched yesterday across the Brooklyn Bridge. This protest follows other massive street demonstrations in Chicago, where over 100,000 rallied, and a record-setting protest in Los Angles, where, by some estimates, a million people joined demonstrations against the bill.
HR 4427 makes the 12 million undocumented workers in the United States felons, and makes it a crime to provide aid in any form, including medical care, to anyone without proper immigration status.
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.
Features
Intro
Welcome back to Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
[10:00] Tour of Darfur
On Wednesday, March 29th, Captain Brian Steidl gave a lecture, "Tour for Darfur: Eyewitness to Genocide". Brian Steidl is a former Marine and Naval officer who worked in Sudan for 7 months as an operations officer, then volunteered for Darfur as one of 3 US Observers of the conflict for another six months. He served as a photographer, and against the rules of the Sudanese government, has made these pictures and their stories public.
Darfur has been the location of genocide on African peoples for over a decade, as Captain Steidl explains:
- [LetMeTellYouAboutSudan.ogg 3:58]
Captain Steidl spoke about many things he has witnessed, backed up with his photographs. He showed photographs of military helicopters in use bombing villages, the same military helicopters that the government denied using. He showed slides of young children killed in their homes from the helicopters, women beaten up after brutal rapes, men raped and slaughtered, or burnt in the homes the soldiers locked them into. He spoke of whole villages being burned:
People who survived the villages which were systematically burned had the choices of finding relatives to stay with, or going to Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camps. He gave the story of one such camp's progression from safety inside a village to being moved 2km away and then bulldozed in the middle of the night.
- [TaleOfAnIDPCamp.ogg 0:53]
Gwendolyn Schmidt spoke with Captain Steidl after the event, and asked him what the radio audience can do to help:
You can find more information on this topic and what you can do at the website pittsburghdarfur.org
http://www.pittsburghdarfur.org/
Pittsburgh Darfur also has information on how to participate in the March for Darfur in Washington DC on April 30th. A full recording of Captain Brian Steidl's lecture is available online at indypgh.org.
http://www.indypgh.org/.
[27:00] Elaine Brown
In 1974, Elaine Brown became the first and only woman to lead the Black Panther Party, one of the most important movements for civil rights in American history.
Elaine was born and raised in North Philadelphia. In her memoir, A Taste of Power, Elaine chronicles her experiences of growing up, getting radicalized, struggling against racism and sexism, pursuing a career as a singer and songwriter and taking up leadership in black liberation movements. Since her days with the Panthers, Elaine Brown has worked actively in radical prison reform movements, run for public office, and organized in struggles against racism, classism, sexism, and the prison industrial complex. Brown's latest book is New Age Racism and the Condemnation of "Little B" ,the story of Michael "Little B" Lewis, a 14-year-old sentenced to life in prison for a Georgia murder he did not commit.
On Monday April 10, Elaine Brown will be speaking at 7:30 PM at Carnegie Mellon's Doherty Hall room 2210. Last week, Andalusia Knoll spoke with Elaine Brown via phone.
You're listening to Rust Belt Radio.
Ending
[m:ss] Calendar of events
And now we present the Indymedia calendar of events:
- On Tuesday, City Council will vote on Downtown Camera Surveillance. You can make your voice heard at the City Council Meeting in the City-County Building, on the 5th floor, starting at 10am.
- On Wednesday, Voices for Animals of Western PA will be at Day's Chrysler and Jeep Dealership in Bloomfield protesting their support of the Shrine Circus, which promotes animal abuse.
- Friday through Sunday, the Pittsburgh Organizing group will hold a Regional Counter-Recruitment Conference on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University. For a schedule of events visit organizepittsburgh.org
- On Saturday at 8pm, the ACLU and Kiva Han Coffee in Oakland are joining forces to present the "Freedom Files" film series to promote awareness of civil liberties. This event is free, and participating students will receive discounts on coffee and food from Kiva Han.
Outro
[ Outro music ]
Thanks for tuning in to Rust Belt Radio here on WRCT Pittsburgh, WARC Meadville, WVJW Benwood and WPTS Pittsburgh.
Our hosts this week are Abie Flaxman and Donald Deeley with contributions from Morgan Ress, Abie Flaxman, Jessi Berkelhammer, Gwen Schmidt, Matt Toups, Andalusia Knoll, and Vani Natarajan. This week's show was produced by Matt Toups. 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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