On this week's show...
* we talk with Steve Donahue about recent changes to Pennsylvania utility laws that are leaving consumers in the cold this winter
* we'll hear about proposed UPMC parking lots and other development in the uptown neighborhood of Pittsburgh
* and we'll talk with As'ad AbuKhalil about the recent developments in Lebanon,
* Pittsburgh city council tentaviesly passes restriction for anti-abortion protestors
* our local and global headlines
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 talk with Steve Donahue about recent changes to Pennsylvania utility laws that are leaving consumers in the cold this winter
we'll hear about proposed UPMC parking lots and other development in the uptown neighborhood of Pittsburgh
and we'll talk with As'ad AbuKhalil [say: a-sahd abu-ka-leel] about the recent developments in Lebanon, but first, these headlines
Headlines
Local News
[4:15] City Council tentatively passes restriction for anti-abortion protestors
Last week City Council tentatively passed a proposed ordinance, which would bar protesters from within 15 feet of the doors of any health care facility, including clinics. When within 100 feet of health facility doors, they would not be allowed within eight feet of clients, without the clients' consent.
City Council passed the new restrictions by a vote of 5-3 with one abstention from Councilman Sala Udin, who is expected to vote in favor of the ordinance when the final vote takes place tomorrow.
Prior to the vote, City Council held a public hearing to receive comments on the proposal. 70 speakers from both sides of the issue presented their opinions. Anti-abortion protesters claim they are merely offering alternative information to women heading into healthcare facilities. Meanwhile abortion service providers and patients state that protesters are becoming more aggressive and violent in their actions. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Police Commander Paul Donaldson said officers have been called to Planned Parenthood's Downtown location to look into harassment or disorderly behavior 22 times in the last six months.
If the ordinance goes into effect, anti-abortion protesters have vowed to challenge and ignore what they consider a restriction of their speech and activities.
One local woman shared her story of the harassment she experienced from anti-abortion protesters outside of Planned Parenthood Downtown:
The first Pittsburgh Palestine Film Series concluded its six-week run earlier this month with the film "Rachel: An American Conscience" accompanied by Cindy and
Craig Corrie, parents of Rachel Corrie. Rachel was a 23-year-old American peace activist who was crushed by an Israeli military bulldozer in March 2003 as she stood defending the home of a Palestinian pharmacist in the Gaza Strip.
Rustbelt Radio has more from the event.
Pennsylvania's own Senator Arlen Specter chairs the Senate Judiciary
Committee. Pennsylvanians are helping the campaign for justice in
Rachel's case by telling Senator Specter they support the Corrie
family's demand for an independent investigation. You can read more on
the case on the internet at www.rachelcorrie.org.
[2:45] Minutemen Forum
On Sunday December 11th The Americans Friends Service committee, Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network and the American Civil Liberties Union held a screening of the movie “Rights on the Line: Vigilantes on the Border.” The movie focused on the actions of the Minutemen Project, a quasi-militia group that has stationed itself on the Mexico-US border to try to prevent undocumented immigrants from entering the United States. The Minutemen claim that they are acting as a citizen watch group and aiding efforts of the Border patrol. Critics of the the Minuteman Project say that it helps to fuel anti-immigrant bias, and interferes with the work of law enforcement and border patrol agencies.
After the Minutemen movie screening Rustbelt spoke with Jacqueline Martinez Esq. the Chair of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She told us what she feels is the true motiviation behind the Minutemen’s actions.
That was Jaqueline B. Martinez speaking about the Minutemen Project and Immigration Issues.
[1:30] A20 Legal update & tasers
Legal proceedings continue against the Pittsburghers arrested for
protesting military recruitment last August. Last week a judge dismissed
all charges against the 68-year-old Carol Wiedmann who was arrested after complaining
that a police dog bit her.
The August 20th police action led to a debate on the nature of taser use
in Pittsburgh law enforcement. Outgoing police chief Robert McNeilly
defended the use of tasers and said that the police department has a
policy on taser use but he cannot reveal it because sophisticated
anarchist groups would make use of it.
Last week an anonymous report from Pittsburgh Indymedia described another event involving officers and tasers.
The posting to the local indymedia website says that on December 3rd on East
Carson Street in the South Side an unmarked police car hit a bicyclist.
When bystanders came to the victim's aid and to call for medical help,
the enraged officer pulled a weapon. Some bystanders were reportedly
arrested and one person was said to have been shocked three times with
a taser.
This information is from an anonymous website posting to Pittsburgh Indymedia last
Friday - future Rustbelt Radio shows will update you when we have more information.
[0:45] Homewood shootout
Also last week, Pittsburgh police officers in Homewood fired over a
dozen shots after pulling over an African-American man for a broken
tail light. The driver, Steve Hamlin from Penn Hills, was critically wounded.
According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the officers tried to use
their tasers on the fleeing suspect, but both tasers malfunctioned. It
was then that the officers saw that suspect had a gun, and the officers fired their guns.
Sgt. Craig Campbell was shot in the hand, and according to Chief McNeilly it is
unclear if he was shot by the suspect or by his partner, Officer Eric Harpster.
Wrapup
For more on local news, you can visit 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 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.
[0:40] Ode to George W. Bush discovered in Pakistani textbooks
The Guardian reports that the Pakistan Education Ministry decided to delete a poem from English textbooks after it was discovered that the first letter of each line spelled out "President George W. Bush." The 20-line acrostic, written by an anonymous author, includes the lines: "Never backs down when he sees what is true/Tells it all straight, and means it all too/Going forward and knowing he's right/Even when doubted for why he would fight." The revelation is likely to embarrass Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, who has been criticized for his support of the Bush administration's so-called war on terror. A commission has been called to investigate how the poem fell through the cracks of censorship.
[1:15] "Starving for Access" Hunger Strike for deaf students in Flint, Michigan
In Flint Michigan students have been protesting for weeks outside the Michigan School for the Deaf. Michigan Indymedia's Blackbox Radio reports that Ryan Commerson, a former teacher at the school, began his hunger strike named "starving for access" before Thanksgiving to call for better education for students, the hiring of a deaf principal, and employing staff members who are fluent in American Sign Language. The local protest has gained national attention and has been joined by a deaf and blind man from Minnesota and a deaf school counselor from Washington, D.C.
Two weeks ago, 43 out of the 160 students at the school were suspended for participating in the protest. Senior class President Tar Burt says the school needs to change, but that it is resistant to calls for better conditions.
After a meeting with top state education officials, Commerson agreed to end his hunger strike but will continue his protest ourside the school. He is calling for a statewide deaf bill of rights, and advocates a teaching method for the deaf called "bilingual-bicultural" which teaches American Sign Language as a first language. Commerson said (quote) "Deaf people don't consider themselves disabled. We are a language and cultural minority. Our needs are just to get access to A-S-L."
Updates of the ongoing protest can be found at starvingforaccess (dot) blog (dot) com
[0:30] Sudan leaders 'had role in Darfur'
An 85-page report released by Human Rights Watch on Sunday said the Sudanese government was involved at the highest level with the genocide in Darfur, which has displaced 2 million people and killed tens of thousands. The report included a list of individuals to be tried by the International Criminal Court in March, and called for sanctions against those individuals.
[4:00] Lebanon Update: Assassinations, politicized UN reports, etc
In Lebanon, the political turmoil continues. Yesterday, the UN investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri released its second report after questioning top Syrian officials, including some relatives of the Syrian president Bashar Assad. Hours later, Jubran Tuwayni, an anti-Syria Lebanese Member of Parliment who founded the popular newspaper An-Nahar, was killed along with two of his aides in a car bomb.
Only a few days before, a key witness to the UN investigation was found to be a fraud. Hassam Hassam claimed to have been tortured and bribed into giving his testimony. A second key witness is already in a Paris jail, also for fraud, and a third person questioned in the investigation was found dead in his office two months ago, allegedly having committed suicide.
Some, like Professor As'ad AbuKhalil, see the developments in Lebanon as the rekindling of the Lebanese civil war, which lasted 15 years and cost 200,000 lives.
Rustbelt spoke with Professor AbuKhalil last week about the decline of Lebanon into civil war, the politicization of the UN report, and why it was bound to fall apart.
[lebanon.ogg 3:16] (new edit on monday - matt)
[2:00] Junk food and youth study
On December sixth, the Institute of Medicine, or IOM, of the National Academy of Sciences released a report stating that the marketing of unhealthy food is a significant factor in low nutrition and high obesity rates among children. The IOM found direct links between food marketing and food choices among children. The study leading to this report was requested by Congress, and sponsored by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report finds strong evidence that television advertising influences the consumption habits of two to eleven-year-olds. It also shows that an individual's eating habits are formed in childhood, so marketing at youth puts children at risk
for long-term health problems. The report offers recommendations for how the government and private sectors can promote healthier eating among children. It calls for schools to sell nutritious foods and drinks in school stores, vending machines, and when fundraising.
On December first, the American Beverage Association came out with their own report stating that soda sales in schools do not significantly contribute to childhood obesity. Their report is part of their defense against a planned lawsuit to ban soda in US schools. Some of the lawyers planning this lawsuit are with the Center for Science in Public Interest, and some have been involved in similar lawsuits against the tobacco industry. Earlier this year, the American Beverage Association announced a proposal which would limit soda sales in schools, including banning soda sales in elementary schools.
Pittsburgh is among many areas which plan to eliminate the sale of soda at school. This past summer, the Pittsburgh School Board voted unanimously to ban the sale of soda and potato chips on school grounds.
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.
Bad Cop No Donut
It's time for our regular police brutality and misconduct update from Bad Cop No Donut, with news from Pennsylvania and Ohio police departments.
BCND excerpt
Features
Intro
Welcome back to Rust Belt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
[15:00] Possible Uptown Developments
audio track
[16:00] Winter gas shutoffs
Last week KDKA reporters broke the story that a apartment building in Wilkinsburg was subject to a winter gas shutoff by Dominion People's Gas. The shutoff left the tenants in the cold, but it was the result of non-payment by the landlord.
[0:12] kdka.ogg
What the KDKA report did not mention is that this winter-shutoff probably would not have happened 2 years ago. Rustbelt Radio and Steve Donahue have more on recent legislation concerning utility shutoffs and its effects.
And now we present the Indymedia calendar of events:
Global Coalition for Peace kicks off a weekly community meditation. Meditations will be held every Wednesday at 7pm at the Friends Meeting House of Pittsburgh. For more information, call 412-655-3063, or write to rose @ food4peace. com
On Wednesday there will be a Candlelight Vigil for a Moral Budget, calling attention to a national budget that will take away necessities from poor people, such as health care, food stamps, welfare, and the full US fair-share contribution of $700 million to the Global AIDS Fund. That event will be at the Landmarks Building at Station Square, above the Grand Concourse Restaurant, which is the site of the office of Rick Santorum, Wednesday the 14th at 7PM.
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 Daniel P with contributions from Andalusia Knoll, Carlin Christy, Lora Gordon, Matt Toups, Jessi Berkelhammer, and Abie Flaxman.
This week's show was produced by Matt Toups, assisted by Carlin Christy and Don Deeley. Special thanks to all of our hosts, producers, and contributors.
You can get involved with Rustbelt Radio! We can use your help recording, interviewing, writing, editing, and proofreading this show! 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 the Best of Rustbelt Radio, this year's final program. Watch for new episodes of Rustbelt Television, which will air on PCTV Channel 21 monthly starting in January. And we'll be back in 2006 with more Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
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