Intro
Welcome to Rustbelt Television, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's Television program featuring news from the grassroots, news overlooked by the corporate media. This is our premier show of the season. Rustbelt Television is produced in collaboration with Rustbelt Radio which airs live every Monday from 6-7pm on WRCT 88.3FM in Pittsburgh and can also be heard 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 local stories:
Local
Bechtel Protest & related events
On August 6, 2006 the anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, about 120 activists marched on the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in West Mifflin leading to the facility being shut down for the day. The first-ever march to Bettis was part of three days of education and action to expose U.S. nuclear hypocrisy and confront Bechtel Corporation, the region's largest war profiteer, which has a $4.2 billion dollar contract to operate Bettis. Sunday's events were preceded by a well-attended discussion and book signing on Friday night with author Antonia Juhasz.
Cut to Tape With Antonia
Cut to Host
According to a local resident who attended the festival, Bechtel had warned employees that "5,000 violent protesters were planning on storming the gates." DoE police had also posted yellow "do not cross" tape along huge portions of the facility. Organizers did not seek a permit for the march but just before it got underway West Mifflin police agreed to shut down a lane on Bettis Rd.
a simultaneous protest was held at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. In addition to Bettis and Livermore, protests took place at other DoE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) sites where Bechtel has received contracts, including the Nevada Test Site, the Pantex Plant, the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was developed. Activists note that Bechtel's profit often comes at the expense of indigenous peoples and local residents near these facilities.
Local organizers say that they plan to continue organizing against Bechtel, which also has Navy contracts to build submarine components in a plant in Wilkins Township. Organizers at other facilities express similar sentiments.
Edgewood/Swissvale Police Violence Protest
Angered by racial profiling from the Swissvale and Edgewood Police Departments, several teenagers in the community organized a group, called Let's Stand Up. On August 26th, around 50 people participated in the group's first public protest.
Wheels of Justice Tour
INTRO: Over the past three years, the Wheels of Justice Tour has sent people who have spent time in Iraq and Palestine to thousands of venues in hundreds of cities across the United States. Traveling in a biodiesel powered tour bus, participants share their firsthand experiences living with war and occupation in those countries. In early October, the Tour stopped at several locations in Pittsburgh, where speakers Twyla Miller and Joe Mueller talked about their recent trips in the Middle East.
Twyla Miller traveled from Detroit to the West Bank in 2003, 2004, and 2005 to work with the International Solidarity Movement. She visited Nablus, Tulkarem, Bilin�, Hebron, and other villages and cities to participate in checkpoint watches and nonviolent vigils and rallies. Joe Mueller lives in Cleveland, Ohio as a member of the Cleveland Catholic Worker Community. Joe was a member of the Christian Peacemaker Teams� September 2005 delegation to Iraq, where he met with Iraqis living and working in Baghdad, Kerbala, and Najaf.
The two spoke at Carnegie Mellon University on October Fourth.
mcdonalds protest video
On Friday, October 27th, about 20 supporters of the Student/ Farmworker Alliance turned out to protest at McDonalds near the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland. The protest was part of the Days of Action involving the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Alliance for Fair Food. Protesters seek to improve the living and working conditions of Florida farmworkers who are responsible for the bulk of McDonald's tomato supply.
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The campaign against McDonalds follow on the heels of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers's successful boycott against Taco Bell, who eventually acceded to all of campaign's demands. For more information about the Student/Farmworker Alliance visit www.sfalliance.org.
Global stories
Tazers and Lies
INTRO: As the number of people who have been killed or wounded in Iraq continues to rise, people in cities across the United States have begun to confront military recruiters in their communities. Many of these people have friends and family serving in the military or have been in the military themselves. The following video, submitted by Mental-Rev Productions, shows footage and interviews from counter recruitment events that were held in several different cities, including one in Pittsburgh, where police used dogs and tasers to disperse protesters in front of the recruiting station.
New Orleans East
from Mary Beth Black
Coming Attraction: Slingshot Hip-Hop
And finally, we present a preview of an upcoming feature film: Slingshot Hiphop: the Palestinian Lyrical Front. SlingShot Hip Hop is a documentary film that focuses on the daily life of Palestinian rappers living in Gaza, the West Bank and inside Israel. It aims to spotlight alternative voices of resistance within the Palestinian struggle and explore the role their music plays within their social, political and personal lives. Directed by Jackie Salloum, the film is coming later in 2006.
- DVD trailer 5:00 (title #1 - or, bottom right corner of menu)
Outro
Thanks for tuning in to Rust Belt Television here on PCTV
Our hosts are Matt Toups and Anitra Van Lier. Segments produced by Ron Douglas, Rob Cullen, David Meieran, Roger Hill, Mary Beth Black, Jen Lawhorne and Jackie Salloum.
Special thanks to all of our hosts, producers, and contributors.
You can get involved with Rustbelt Television! To contact us, or to send us your comments email video at I-N-D-Y-P-G-H dot ORG.
We are a new project in search of filmmakers, reporters, and those with a commitment to independent media. This year we will be hosting a series of video and radio editing trainings. If you are interested contact us at (412) 923-3000 or e-mail
video@indypgh.org to find out more information You can find some of these video segments at the website of the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's website pittsburgh dot indymedia dot org. To listen to Rustbelt Radio tune in Monday Nights at 6PM and Tuesday Mornings at 9AM on WRCT 88.3FM, and Saturdays at 5PM on WPTS 92.1FM. Rustbelt Radio is available for download or podcast on our website at radio dot indy-P-G-H dot org.
video.indypgh.org
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