community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
Rustbelt Radio for July 9, 2007
by Pittsburgh IMC: Rustbelt Radio collective
Monday, Jul. 09, 2007 at 11:44 PM
radio@indypgh.org (email address validated) 412-923-3000 WRCT 88.3 FM
On this week's show... * The Pittsburgh Police Department and Mayor Ravenstahl face public outcry after controversial police promotions * Vandana Shiva talks about the consequences of the Green Revolution in India, and what is in store for Africa * Activists speak out at the People's Assembly at the US Social Forum * "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" - an 1852 speech by abolitionist Frederick Douglass * and more in our local and global headlines.
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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...
Rustbelt Radio airs live every Monday from 6-7 PM on WRCT 88.3 FM in Pittsburgh, PA, and again on Tuesday mornings 9-10 AM. We're also on Pacifica affiliate WVJW Benwood, 94.1 FM in the Wheeling, West Virginia area, on Thursdays from 6-7 PM. And we're on at a new time on WPTS - 10-11AM on Wednesday mornings on 92.1 FM from the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.
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 local stories.
Last week, Allegheny Port Authority announced plans for a second phase of bus cuts scheduled to take place in September. The 10 percent decrease in service would eliminate 34 bus routes, weekend schedules for 18 routes, and decrease the service on 65 additional bus routes. Some of the affected neighborhoods include Mt. Lebanon, Monroeville, Homewood, Penn Hills, Oakland, and Shadyside, just to name a few. Along with the service cuts, Port Authority will also issue over one hundred employee layoffs.
Amanda Zeiders, chairwoman and organizer with Save Our Transit, discusses reaction to the recently announced cuts:
In June, Port Authority made their initial 15 percent service cut which eliminated 30 bus routes. The additional 10 percent will total the 25 percent service cuts that were initially thought to be necessary when addressing Port Authority's 45 million dollar deficit.
More from Zeiders on the inefficiency and inconvenience of the port authority system:
The cuts are scheduled to take place unless there is an increase in state funding. Zeiders discusses action that individuals can take to build support for the bus routes and speak out against future service cuts:
Save Our Transit's next meeting is scheduled for the beginning of August. For more information, you can visit http://www.saveourtransit.org
On June 18th, three Pittsburgh Police officers with an alleged history of domestic abuse were promoted to higher ranks within the department.
Gene Hlavac was promoted to sergeant. Police have responded to his home this year for what they call a nonviolent domestic situation.
The former detective George Trosky is now Commander Trosky. The promotion comes 10 years after he was demoted following an arrest on suspicion of domestic abuse and drunk driving. Trosky was arrested for breaking his then-wife’s nose and in a separate incident, punching a concert-goer in the face. The charges of assault, DUI and excessive force were later dropped. Police leaders say he has since redeemed himself and proven to be a valuable member of the force. Trosky will work out of the Zone 2 police station in the Hill District.
The third officer promoted is Charles Rodriguez, who was elevated to lieutenant. In April he was charged with assaulting his teenage daughter. He stated while visiting the 16 year old at her home, she became disrespectful toward him, and he admitted that he slapped her with an open hand. Police said the girl suffered a cut lip, and she complained of pain in her stomach or rib area. That part of her body was not bruised, the complaint said. In the latest news, on Thursday July 5th, Rodriguez’s daughter decided to drop a complaint of simple assault against her father.
Three days after the promotion of the officers, the city of Pittsburgh defended its decision to select officers with criminal charges in their past. Pittsburgh Police held a news conference in which they urged the public to give the three officers a chance.
However, outcry from many local and state women’s groups led Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who had defended all of the promotions, to meet with the city/county women’s commission on June 27th.
Shortly thereafter, he called the promotions quote “unacceptable” and said he was examining the procedures which lead to the promotions. He also said he was considering rescinding the promotions. The women’s commission asked the Mayor to implement tougher guidelines including:
Police Union Attorney Brian Campbell indicated he would be prepared to legally challenge the Mayor if he did in fact, rescind the promotions. He stated “our position is it would have to be something the individual did AFTER they were promoted, it couldn’t be something that possibly was taken into consideration during the time of their promotion.”
However, groups like the PA chapter of NOW, the National Organization for Women, state that these incidents cannot be ignored. The say that according to the National Center for Women and Policing, domestic violence is two to four times more common in police families than in the general population.
In a statement released on June 27th, they said : “Making light of domestic violence by covering up or ignoring one’s past behavior when off work continues to threaten the lives of women and children. These promotions send a message that it is okay to beat your wife or partner, your daughter or any significant other. Domestic violence starts off with verbal abuse and can escalate over time to murder or murder/suicide. Domestic Violence is a crime. It is not a family matter. And it should never be tolerated.”
Last year in Pennsylvania, 92 people were murdered as a result of escalating domestic violence; 13 of those were from Allegheny County.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County District Attorney, Stephen Zappala Jr., recently announced details of their plan for Pittsburgh’s security surveillance system. The 3.4 million dollar initiative will place several hundred security cameras in Downtown and throughout the city, specifically focusing on neighborhoods with complaints of criminal activity. There is concern that the plan to focus on certain neighborhoods will unfairly target minorities, particularly black males. However, Mayor Ravenstahl and police officials stated they would only be concerned with issues of crime when selected these locations. The intended neighborhoods have not yet been confirmed.
Further details of the surveillance project will include license detection devices that will capture plate information and run it through a database; and a gunshot detection system which will find the location of a shooting and take photographs.
The system was created in response to increased city violence and issues concerning terrorism. It is expected that the project will use federal, state, and city money to fund the project. City officials hope that it will serve as a crime deterrent and expect to use evidence gathered by the cameras later in criminal prosecutions
Here is Melissa Ngo, Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center’s Identification and Surveillance Project, on the connection of surveillance systems and crime reduction:
There is also concern regarding the affect that such a large and widespread surveillance system will have on the psyche of those being filmed.
More from Ngo on the experience of individuals who have security cameras installed within their communities:
While the cameras will be centrally monitored, the city has yet to establish guidelines for who will access the information or how it will be stored and shared. Recently, Mayor Ravenstahl has expressed the possibility of joint ownership of the system and the sharing of information with both public and private safety forces in the area.
Ngo discusses conflicts that may arise from public and private ownership as well as the importance of standards for those who are allowed to view security cameras:
City officials are currently in talks with security firms regarding the plan and design of the camera system.
For more on local news, you can visit http://pittsburgh.indymedia.org
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.
On the evening of Saturday, June 23, Columbus Ohio's SDS and Arawak (Air-uh-Whack) City anarchists organized a march against the war to coincide with the city's annual Com Fest. Rustbelt Radio spoke with Dusty from Arawak City Anarchists about the event. We began by asking what ComFest? was.
Dusty describes the state of radical action in Columbus in the context of the march's success.
Dusty describes the march itself.
The police's use of excessive force is a growing issue in Columbus.
Finally Dusty describes the follow-up actions the Arawak City anarchists will be pursuing.
More information about the Arawak City anarchists as well as a video from the protest can be found at Columbus Indymedia at http://cbusimc.org (C-Bus IMC).
The Green Revolution grew out of an ideal to solve the problem of world hunger by using agro-chemicals and genetically modified crops. Over the past 40 years, the revolution has spread from Mexico to Asia and it is credited with doubling food production in the global south during this time. Critics of the Green Revolution state it has had devasting ecological and social effects on the communities where it has been implemented.
Last November The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced they were teaming up with the Rockefeller Foundation to launch a new green revolution for Africa. Leading environmentalist and globalization writer and activist Dr. Vandana Shiva talks about the effect of the first green revolution on India and the problems with launching a second one in Africa.
The Green Revolution has led to loss of biodiversity and is heavily focused on incorporating genetically engineered seeds into local crops. These seeds which are owned by multi-national corporations have resulted in dire consequences for many Indian farmers. More from Vandana:
Citing India as a clear example, Vandana explains why the Green Revolution will not work in Africa either:
Thanks to Redeye on Vancouver Cooperative Radio for this story.
You're listening to Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
Over 10,000 grassroots activists gathered in Atlanta, Georgia last week for the first United States Social Forum. The theme of the five-day event was: "Another World Is Possible. Another U.S. Is Necessary." The gathering was inspired by previous World Social Forums in Brazil, India and Kenya.
The forum brought together activists, people in the churches, trade unions, community organizations and other groups working for social justice in the US. Nine-hundred fifty sessions were submitted to the organizers before the forum began. Another two to three hundred workshops were organized on the spot, so the agenda of the forum was built by attendees.
According to Alice Lovelace, the national USSF coordinator, this first US Social Forum was intentionally located in the South for two reasons: one, because it was a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement, which was a very successful convergence of grassroots movements, from labor and education, to healthcare. The second was because the South is a microcosm of the world. Everything that happens in global communities happens in the South, from poor education, poor healthcare, and underpaid workers, to bad housing, and lack of water.
That was Nora Barrows-Friedman reporting from the US Social Forum in Atlanta, Georgia. The audio in this segment was one of many excerpts from Pacifica Radio's coverage of the forum. The Social Forum was also extensively documented by other journalists and attendees. WRFG, a community radio station in Atlanta, broadcast live from the Social Forum during the plenaries and the morning sessions. Reports can be found on the US Social Forum website, www.ussf2007.org . Audio, video and photos are being uploaded to media.ussf2007.org. For a report-back from Pittsburgh- based activists who attended the US Social Forum, check the Thomas Merton Center calendar of events in the upcoming weeks, and stay tuned to Rustbelt Radio.
Frederick Douglass was an influential black abolitionist during the pre-Civil War era. His struggle against slavery began when he became a thief in 1838, by (quote) stealing his limbs, his head and his body from his master by running away.
Douglass was invited to speak at a Fourth of July celebration in Rochester, New York on July 5th, 1852. He delivered a “fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm and stern rebuke” to Americans celebrating their own freedom while enslaving others. The speech is as relevant and powerful today as it was one-hundred fifty five years ago. The title of the speech is “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
That was Frederick Douglass' 1852 speech titled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”, read by Marcus Brathwaite, a performer in 'the Indicator Species', a Pittsburgh based political puppet troupe. Thanks to the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings for the music.
And now we present the Indymedia Calendar of Events:
Thanks for tuning in to Rustbelt Radio here on WRCT Pittsburgh, WVJW Benwood and WPTS Pittsburgh.
Our hosts this week are Carlin Christy and Diane Amdor with contributions from Carlin Christy, Veronica Milliner, Donald Deeley, Diane Amdor, and Etta Cettera. This week's show was produced by Donald Deeley, Matt Toups, and Phill Cresswell. 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.
Rustbelt Radio for July 9, 2007 (ogg vorbis)
by Pittsburgh IMC: Rustbelt Radio collective
Monday, Jul. 09, 2007 at 11:44 PM
radio@indypgh.org 412-923-3000 WRCT 88.3 FM
audio: ogg vorbis at 24.1 mebibytesaudio: ogg vorbis at 24.1 mebibytes
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