Rustbelt Radio for May 22, 2006
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'll hear more on a proposal to build a new waste-coal fired power plant in Robinson Township, Washington County
- In Dublin, Ireland, a group of 41 Afghanis occupied St. Patricks Cathedral seeking asylum
- local news on a funding crisis for needle exchange, solitary confinement in Pennsylvania prisons, and single payer health care reform
- and global news on an anti-Halliburton protest in Oklahoma, the Sri Lankan civil war, and more
Rustbelt Radio 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.
We turn now to our local headlines.
Headlines
Local News
[2:30] Prevention Point funding crisis
Prevention Point Pittsburgh, Allegheny County's only needle exchange program, is undergoing a funding crisis. We spoke to Jim Robinson, a volunteer with the organization, who describes what Prevention Point does and explains the current funding crisis
That was just Prevention Point Pittsburgh volunteer Jim Robinson. For more information you can go to
http://www.pppgh.org or call 412 247 3404 . Their exchange hours are 12:00-3PM every Sunday in the back of the Health Department building at 3333 Forbes Avenue in Oakland, between 5th and Forbes Avenue.
[2:30] Citizens Hearing on Health Care Reform
On Sunday, May 21st, a citizens hearing on healthcare reform was held
at Temple Sinai in Squirrel Hill, organized by the Western Pennsylvania
Coalition for Single-Payer Health Care. In attendance was congressman
John Conyers of Michigan (the prime sponsor of House Resolution 676 -
the United States Health Insurance Act), several other local politicians,
and a large group of community members who gave testimony about the
plight of the nearly 46 million Americans without health insurance
including almost 1.5 million uninsured in Pennsylvania alone.
At the hearing, US Congressman Mike Doyle, who represents Pittsburgh and surrounding communities, unexpectedly announced his support for Representative Conyers' bill to guarantee healthcare for all.
Tune in to Rustbelt Radio next month for more voices from the citizens hearing.
The Coalition for Single-Payer Healthcare will be holding a rally on Wendesday, June 7th at noon at the Highmark building, 120 Fifth Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh, in support of House Resolution 676 to provide comprehensive health insurance coverage for all United States residents.
[4:00] Buried Alive Conference
Buried Alive, a conference about long term solitary confinement in the Pennsylvania Prison System, was held in Philadelphia on Saturday May 20th. The conference was organized by the Human Rights Coalition. The group is composed of prisoners, their families, ex-prisoners, community activists, and sympathetic individuals and is working to publicize injustice and abuse in the judicial and prison systems across the United States, encourage the rehabilitation of prisoners and abolish the Prison Industrial Complex.
It is estimated that between 36 and 45 people in the Pennsylvania prison system are in long time solitary confinement and spend 23 hours a day in a bathroom sized cell. Richard Tut-Ankh Amun Carter, a member of the advisory council of HRC and a member of the American Friends Service Committee, spoke to us about the issues that Buried Alive addressed.
That was just Richard Tut-Ankh Amun Carter speaking about Solitary Confinement in the Pennsylvania Prison System. For more information you can go to
http://www.hrcoalition.com (H-R-coalition dot com)
[1:00] Ride of silence
Last week around 25 cyclists in Pittsburgh joined in the Ride of Silence, an annual memorial to all bikers killed and injured by motorists. The somber ride took participants all around Pittsburgh's east end, as well as to downtown pittsburgh and the south side. To communicate meaning without speaking words, nearly all the riders wore signs explaining the purpose of the silent tour. The Rustbelt Radio correspondents present on the ride found that riding slowly and silently through town was an effective and moving way to memorialize the cyclists who have been killed in the last year. Simultaneous rides were held in over 200 other cities around the world, a number which has grown since the annual tradition began only 3 years ago in 2003.
Wrapup
For more on local news, you can visit the Pittsburgh Indymedia website at: pittsburgh dot I-N-D-Y-M-E-D-I-A dot org.
[ HMB BREAK RUSTBELT - 0:20 (fades down 0:10 in to start global intro) ]
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.
[1:00] New Senate Bill Designates English as the National Language of the US
On Thursday the Senate voted in favor of a proposal that would designate English as the national language of the U.S. A 63 to 34 vote added the Inhofe bill to the Senate’s immigration bill. Both Pennsylvania Senators, Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum, voted in favor. The bill calls for the government to “preserve and enhance the role of English."
Though bill supporters insist that "national language" is not as severe as "official language," the bill states that no one has a right to federal communications or services in a language other than English except for those already guaranteed by law.
Opponents of the bill note that it could prevent many non English speaking Americans from obtaining crucial resources and rights, and could render obsolete many executive orders, regulations, civil service guidances and other multilingual ordinances not officially sanctioned by acts of Congress.
The previous day, the Senate voted in favor of 370 miles of triple layer border fencing between the U.S. and Mexico.
[4:30] Halliburton protest
On May 17th, sixteen people from all over the Heartland attempted a citizens’ arrest of Halliburton CEO David Lesar at the Halliburton Shareholders’ meeting in Duncan, Oklahoma. Instead, all 16 were themselves arrested. Their effort was part of a larger convergence of anti-Halliburton protests and educational events organized by Houston Global Awareness.
Among the sixteen who attempted the citizens' arrest was Hiram Myers, an attorney with a nephew deployed in Iraq who felt compelled by his conscience to prepare a legal document outlining Halliburton’s violations. Myers stated, “If we the citizens don’t hold Halliburton accountable, who will? Certainly not our government or the shareholders."
Pratap Chatterjee from San Francisco, Robert Guimaraes Vásquez from Peru and Michael Keania Karikpo from Nigeria went into the meeting as shareholders and spoke during the public comment section of the meeting. Three nuns also went in and introduced a shareholder resolution about human rights issues that was ultimately defeated.
Halliburton is currently under investigations by the Security Exchange Commission, Department of Justice and the Pentagon for bribery, fraud and overcharging no-bid military contracts. Additionally, Halliburton also has business dealings in Iran, which are contrary to the U.S. sanctions currently being imposed.
Scott Gourian, news director at KGOU Oklahoma reports from the protest in Duncan.
That was just Scott Gourian from the Halliburton Shareholder's Meeting in Duncan, Oklahoma.
[1:45] Student barred from singing anti-Bush song
Molly Shoul, a 10-year-old Coral Springs Florida girl, won't be allowed to sing a controversial Bush-bashing ballad at her school talent show after her principal deemed it inappropriate and too political. The song, "Dear Mr. President," performed and co-written by the singer Pink, criticizes the president for the war in Iraq and other policies, including his stance on gay rights. Here is an excerpt from Pink's song
Molly's mother Nancy said the principal's ban sends a bad message and violates her daughter's right to free speech. In an email provided by the mother, the principal of Park Springs Elementary, Camille Pontillo, explained that the song Molly chose to sing is (quote) "a political song and does use the word hell in it."
The student said on May 4 she thought the song was "really cool" because it spoke about important subjects like war and homelessness.
"If this was a student singing a pro-administration song, no one would quibble with it," Mrs. Shoul said. "The principal is just running scared and doesn't want to upset any parents."
[2:30] Sri Lankan Civil War and the Suppression of Independent Journalism
KPFK's Uprising Radio reports that civil war has resumed in Sri Lanka (LUNG-ka) after a four year ceasefire. The conflict is being described as a “low intensity war.” The Sri Lankan civil war began in 1983 and lasted for twenty years, claiming the lives of over 64,000 people on the island.
Reporters Without Borders has published accounts of government and paramilitary-sponsored violence against independent journalists in Sri Lanka writing in newspapers published in Tamil (TUH-mil), Sinhala (sin-HA-la), and English. Tamil (TUH-mil) is the language spoken by Sri Lanka’s ethnic Tamil minority while Sinhala (sin-HAA-la) is spoken by the Sinhalese (sin-ha-LEEZ) majority.
Earlier this month two employees at the Tamil language daily Uthayan (OO-tie-an), based in the city of Jaffna (JAAF-na), were gunned down a day following the publication of a cartoon that showed a former rebel and now pro-government leader prostrating himself before the president of Sri Lanka.
Earlier this year Subramaniyam (soob-ra-MUN-yum) Sugirdharajan (Su-geer-tha-RAAJ-an), a Tamil reporter, was shot dead while waiting for the morning bus to his workplace, one day after publishing an account of abuses committed by Tamil paramilitary groups in his hometown.
Last October, a paramilitary group committed several arson attacks on an English and Sinhala language-based independent media group’s printing press. 40 bundles of paper were set on fire, but workers put the fire out just in time to safeguard the printing press from flame.
Wrapup
You can read more independent global news stories by visting indymedia at: I-N-D-Y-M-E-D-I-A dot O-R-G.
[ Musical Break? ]
Bad Cop No Donut
This week on Bad Cop No Donut we hear about a West Virginia officer charged with battery and a petition against taser use in Newark, Ohio high schools.
Features
Intro
Welcome back to Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
[15:00] Afghani Hunger Strikers in Ireland
A group of 41 Afghanis seeking asylum in Ireland occupied St. Patricks Cathedral in Dublin after services on Sunday May 14th and began a thirst and hunger strike. They decided upon this course of action after their applications were turned down by the Office of the Refugee Appeals Commissioner.
The asylum seekers issued a statement explaining their decision:
"We have been in Ireland for years and most of us have been suffering from mental and physical problems besides the mental and physical problems we had in Afghanistan. We want an answer from the Irish Government, Is it life in Ireland or death?"
Osman Hotak, one of the strikers, gave a progress report on the third day of the strike. 7 of the men had been taken to the hospital including a 16-year-old boy with kidney problems.
Father Joe McCullough, a priest from St. Patrick's Cathedral, spoke about the church's position on the issue and the state of the strikers.
An Afghani, Tahir Khan talked about the procedural problems with the ORAC (or-Rack)-the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner-and the RAT-the Refugee Appeals Tribunal-that led the men to go on hunger strike.
On the fourth day of the strike, Khan discussed the asylum seekers concerns.
By the fifth day all the asylum seekers were released from the hospital and had reconvened in the church. On day six a member of Residents Against Racism described the desperation of the situation.
- prepared for death.wav (1:55)
The Residents Against Racism representative here outlines the actions the asylum seekers had taken before going on strike and attacks the claims that had been made about them in the media.
On Saturday May 20th, the seventh day of the hunger strike, a large contingent from the riot squad moved into the vicinity of the cathedral. Vans were used to block the view of the entrance and the minors among the asylum seekers, who had previously been made 'wards of the court,' were removed by ambulance.
A member of Indymedia Ireland describes the scene.
The tension mounted as the asylum seekers had indicated they were prepared to kill themselves if any attempt was made to forcibly remove them from the cathedral. As word spread, supporters of the asylum seekers arrived on the scene and began to outnumber the anti-immigrant protesters. Finally, after several hours of negotiation, the Afghanis were removed from the church. The asylum seekers will be appearing in court on Thursday morning to face charges of "forcible entry" stemming from the strike.
[20:30] or [17:05] Waste coal power plant, part II.
- wastecoal2-1 (16:50)
- wastecoal2-end (:15)
Ending
Calendar of events
And now we present the Indymedia calendar of events:
- This week, the Partnership for Minority HIV/AIDS Prevention (PMHAP) and the Southwestern Pennsylvania AIDS Planning Coalition (SWPAPC) will present a community forum and workshop featuring Phill Wilson, Black AIDS Institute Founder and Veteran AIDS Activist. Wilson will address national HIV/AIDS issues, at The Future is Now, a community forum to be held at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Tuesday May 30th, at 5:30 P.M. On Wednesday May 31st, Wilson will present a workshop for AIDS service organizations at the offices of PMHAP and South Western PA Aids Planning Coalition. The East Liberty Presbyterian Church is located at the corner of Penn andHighland Avenues in East Liberty. For more information contact Aisha White at 412-337-7405 or aisha19 @ verizon.net
- On Friday May 26 at 7 PM at the Thomas Merton Center, there will be a book Discussion and strategy session with Dan Berger and Andy Cornell, co-editors of the book "Letters from Young Activists: Today's Rebels Speak Out". Dan Berger recently finished a book about the Weather Underground called "Outlaws of America" published by AK Press. Andy will be discussing his recent essay. A Q&A/discussion session will follow the talk, which is free and open to the public. Come out for an inspirational night of reading and strategizing. The Thomas Merton Center is located at 5125 Penn Ave, Garfield. For details, email Joey at hoperecords.com.
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 Vani Natarajan, Matt Toups, and Andalusia Knoll with contributions from Jessi Berkelhammer, Abie Flaxman, Andalusia Knoll, Matt Toups, David Meiran, Vani Natarajan, Jessica McPherson, Donald Deeley. This week's show was produced by Donald Deeley and Andalusia Knoll. 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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