On today's show, Students in Solidarity are working to get the University of Pittsburgh to take a stronger stand against sweatshop labor. We hear about local activists who assisted in the post- hurricane animal rescues down south. And, a UN Report on the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister implicates Syrian and Lebanese officials; we'll talk with the webmaster of Indymedia Beirut about the implications.
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...
Students in Solidarity are working to get the University of Pittsburgh to take a stronger stand against sweatshop labor
We hear about local activists who assisted in the post- hurricane animal rescues down south
and, a UN Report on the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister implicates Syrian and Lebanese officials; we'll talk with the webmaster of Indymedia Beirut about the implications.
but first, these headlines from Pittsburgh Indymedia.
Headlines
Local News
[1:00] Pgh Mayoral race "underway"
The Pittsburgh mayoral race made waves this weekend, when 3rd party candidates were excluded from televised debates. Green Party candidate Titus North and Independent candidate David Tessitor protested their exclusion from televised debates this weekend. It is generally believed that Democratic candidate Bob O'Conner will win a landslide victory in the upcoming election, and the Pittsburgh Tribune Review reports that he has already begun parking his car in the space reserved for mayoral staff. Pittsburgh has had a democrat mayor for the last 70 years.
[1:20] PUSH rally to introduce health care reform bill
Last Monday the Pennsylvania Health Care Solutions coalition held a rally to roll out a health care reform bill they have written that would develop a universal health care coverage system in Pennsylvania. Brian Stagno, a participant in the coalition who attended the rally, described the event for Rust Belt Radio:
[push-rally.ogg clip :50]
Tune in next week to Rust Belt Radio to hear more on this health care reform effort.
[0:30] Population increase during workday
The US Census Bureau has released its first report on how the populations of cities change during the workday. The population of Pittsburgh increases by forty-one point three percent during the the workday. Pittsburgh has the fourth largest population increase among large cities, after Washington DC, Atlanta, and Tampa.
Such figures can be used for evacuation and other disaster planning. They can also be used for transportation planning, such as congestion mitigation.
In Pittsburgh, there have been efforts to implement a commuter tax so suburban commuters help pay for city services, but these efforts have been unsuccessful.
[2:10] October 22nd rally
This past Saturday, October 22nd, was the national day of protest against police brutality, repression, and the criminalization of a generation. A group of 30 people gathered in the rain at Freedom Corner and marched to the County Courthouse to commemorate victims of Police Brutality. Similar events were held at over 25 cities across the country. We will now hear from Celeste Taylor, one of the organizaers of the event and also other people who were in attendance.
[4:30] Diane Dolev: anti militarism in israel
Dr. Diana Dolev spoke this past Wednesday October 19th at Carnegie Mellon University about de-militarization of Israeli Society. Dolev is an Israeli activist who works with Women in Black and the group New Profile. New Profile is a feminist movement that works to de-militarize Israeli society, to end its occupation of land conquered in 1967, and to generate a life-preserving, egalitarian, humane society. Dolev speaks about why demilitarization is important:
Dolev’s presentation focused on the pervasiveness of the military in society. Often female soldiers in uniforms will help teach elementary schools even though they have not been trained as teachers. Dolev says by allowing uniformed soldiers into schools they are normalizing the idea of the existence of soldiers and merging military and civil society. Military presence is more even common in high schools especially with the recent passage of a government educational program, that aims (quote)"to prepare youths for military service, with a stress on combatant functions." Brigade General Ilan Harari, Chief Education and Youth Officer, adds that the aim is "Not only to prepare the future recruits to their military service "but also to strengthen their national identity, their identification with the nation and the State and to raise the motivation that will be their companion from now onwards". Dolev said there is not a forum in school for those who choose to opt out of military service. She illustrated this by telling a story of her daughter’s experience in high school.
Her daughter is not alone in her refusal to take part in school military activities. Dolev spoke about high school students who chained themselves to the school to prevent military commanders from entering. Dolev also spoke about the pervasiveness of the military in other aspects of society. She presented numerous advertisements for beer, condoms, cell phones and other consumer goods that used soldiers to promote their products. She stated that the advertisements illustrate the concept of “soldierhood as selfhood” and lead people to believe that if you are not a good soldier you can not be a good Israeli citizen. New Profile is rejecting this notion by bringing their message to the streets in protest and also by giving educational presentations in schools, community centers etc. Dolev repeated a popular New Profile slogan at protests.
For more information about New Profile, de-militarization and the peacenik movement you can go to www.newprofile .org Dolev’s talk was hosted by the Middle East peace forum who you can contact at (412) 371-1000 or on their website: www.middleeastpeace.pghfree.net
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 Rust Belt 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.
[:30] Doctors at Wal-Mart
Solantic, a Florida-based urgent care provider, has made a deal with Walmart to put walk-in health clinics in two Florida Wal-mart stores. Each center will be open whenever Walmart is open, including holidays and weekends. Solantic reports patients can shop instead of sitting in a waiting room, and they will be paged or called when it is time for their appointment.
If successful, Solantic says the service might be expanded across the U.S. Walmart is the world's largest retailer, and the biggest seller of many items, including books, groceries, jewelry and toys.
[0:30] Laws passed to protect cheeseburger & gun makers
On Wednesday, October nineteenth, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act”. This bill was nicknamed the Cheeseburger Bill. It protects fast food and other restaurants from lawsuits where individuals blame the restaurants for health problems, such as obesity.
Republican lawmakers have been pushing for legislation which protects companies from being sued for their products' impacts. On Thursday, October twentieth, the House passed a bill which protects manufacturers and dealers of firearms from being liable for crimes committed with their weapons. The National Rifle Association has been pushing for such legislation for many years.
More reports are coming out about the deplorable conditions at Orleans Parish Prison in New Orleans last month after Hurricane Katrina. Indymedia's Jenka Soderberg spoke to prisoners in New Orleans such as Dale, a man who was held in OPP during the storm. He was detained for over two months though he has yet to stand trial.
dale (1:03)
[1:00] Bolivian election news
Bolivian presidential candidate Evo Morales announced last Wednesday that Bolivian troops gave their supply of land-to-air missiles to the United States. The missles were originally obtained from China and army officers claimed that they were out-dated and unsafe.
In his news conference, Morales said that soldiers who opposed the secretive operation reported it to his political party, Movement towards Socialism.
Morales alleged that a Bolivian commando force commanded by elements from the US Embassy and the CIA were involved in the seizure.
This follows the controversial decision last week to redraw the district-ing divisions before the December presidential election. Critics claim that the new districting will favor candidates 2 candidates, Jorge Quiroga (who served as Bolivia’s President from 2001-2002) and Samuel Doria Medina (who is the owner of several Burger King restaurants in Bolivia). This redistricting will work against M-A-S candidate, Evo Morales.
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.
[3.5] Bad Cop No Donut
On this week's edition of Bad Cop, No Donut, Ron Anicich (an-uh-sich) reports on police brutality and misconduct in Ohio and on the Justice Department's investigation of the Easton Pennsylvania Police Department.
Features
Intro
Welcome back to Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
[5:00] Students in Solidarity
This week, Rustbelt Radio's featured local grassroots group is the Students in Solidarity at the University of Pittsburgh.
[12:00] Pittsburgh activists help in animal rescues down south
Members of the local group Voices for Animals of Western Pennsylvania, or VFA, can normally be seen protesting at Victoria’s Secret in Shadyside, at the Mellon Arena when the Circus comes to town, and at restaurants that continue to serve foie gras (fwah grah) on their menus. Their members are strongly committed to a wide variety of actions in the Western Pennsylvania area, but when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused thousands of animals to become abandoned, displaced, and homeless, VFA headed down south to assist in the animal rescue efforts.
Local members of the organization teamed up with activists from NY who had collected clothing and food and other aide to bring down with them.
The first stop was Gulfport Mississippi, which had been severely affected by the hurricane. We spoke with one member of VFA, Mark Rawlings, about their experiences in Mississippi.
Track 1: (0:47) scene of Gulfport
VFA members began volunteering at the Halo animal shelter in Gulfport, however, at this shelter they were unable to take animals with them back to Pittsburgh. Frustrated by the lack of organization and bureaucracy that they encountered, they decided to head to Gonzalez Louisiana, which is located ( ) miles from New Orleans. At this particular animal shelter, they had the authority to adopt the animals. This shelter also had rescue operations going on, which brought in a constant influx of new animals, which besides cats and dogs, included horses, a pig, and a tarantula.
We asked Mark to share some stories of what he experienced in Gonzalez.
Track 2: (2:15) animals on the streets
Mark described the method that the Humane Society was using to feed animals, and the difficult decisions they were forced to make:
Track 3: (2:00) military code marks on the houses
We asked Mark for his thoughts on the no-pets evacuation policy of New Orleans, and he also shared the story of one person who went to great lengths to stay with his pets.
Track 4: (3:00) animal treatment in the USA
Although Mark and other members of Voices for Animals had many difficult experiences in their trip down south, overall they were happy to achieve their ultimate goal of adopting animals and bringing them back to Pittsburgh.
Track 5: (2:15) animals brought back with them
Voices for animals also conducted a return trip to Georgia this past weekend and brought back nine dogs that have been placed in foster homes.
Now that the shelters are closing, many animals are being shipped to other parts of the country, where they will be placed in already over-crowded shelters, and in many cases, euthanized.
If you would like to donate to voices for animals or adopt a rescued pet, visit www. vfa-online dot org (vfa dash online dot org)
For more information on the animal rescue missions and ways to help contact www. hsus dot org.
You're listening to Rust Belt Radio.
[19:03] Lebanon
Lora Gordon interviews Mohammed Shublaq from Beirut Indymedia about a new UN report on the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister.
Ending
[m:ss] Calendar of events
And now we present the Indymedia calendar of events:
This Wednesday at 7pm, the program Heads Up on WRCT will continue their look at Allegheny country Transportation issues with Political Cartoonist Andy Singer.
This Friday, October 28th, Critical Masquerade, the October Critical Mass, will take place. The bikeride will meet at 5:30 at the Dinosaur by the Carnegie Library.
On Sunday, October 30th, the documentary film "Women in Struggle" will be at CMU's Porter Hall room 100, on Frew Street across from Flagstaff Hill. This documentary film is about Palestinian women whom are ex-political detainees demonstrating their struggle during their years of imprisonment in Israeli jails.
Also on Sunday October 30th the Media Swap Meet will take place at the Mattress Factory. The event will feature the Movilibre Bookmobile, bookmaking presentations, DJs, and more. Rustbelt Radio and the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center will be there, demonstrating how to record, edit and write stories for both radio and the Indymedia website.
Outro
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Thanks for tuning in to Rust Belt Radio here on WRCT Pittsburgh, WARC Meadville and WVJW Benwood.
Our hosts this week are Matt, Carlin, and Andalusia with contributions from Abie, Andalusia, Jessica, and Lora. This week's show was produced by Andalusia and Lora. Special thanks to all of our hosts, producers, and contributors.
Your story 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 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 Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
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