community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
Rustbelt Radio for June 30, 2008
by Pittsburgh IMC: Rustbelt Radio collective
Monday, Jun. 30, 2008 at 11:01 PM
radio@indypgh.org (email address validated) 412-923-3000 WRCT 88.3FM
On this week's show... * Voices from the 2008 Allied Media Conference * Pittsburgh city government plans to install a surveillance camera network * Former Political Prisoner Lorenzo Komboa Ervin speaks about the movement to end Solitary Confinement in U.S. Prisons * A local study cites lower salary expectations for women * and the latest in the series "Radio for People: The Next Wave of Community Radio"
audio link: 
MP3 at 27.3 mebibytes
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 is broadcast live from WRCT studios every Monday at 6 PM on 88.3 FM in Pittsburgh, and the program airs again on WRCT every Tuesday morning at 9AM.
We can also be heard weekly on the following stations:
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 from our website at radio dot I-N-D-Y-P-G-H dot org.
We turn now to local stories.
Fed Up, the local chapter of The Human Rights Coalition brings us this week's report on the prison industrial complex:
On Saturday June 21st, over 150 Black Males gathered in Homewood to participate in a rally and community building event called Brother to Brother. This year’s event was the 2nd annual Day of Black Male Solidarity, which called on black men of all ages to come together with the common goals of mentorship, leadership, and mobilizing communities to inspire action. Organized by the Community Empowerment Association, this intergenerational gathering began with a rally, and then moved to local churches in Homewood to continue the dialogue. Discussion topics included promoting unity amongst black males, inspiring leadership in young people to create better communities, and addressing the violence and crime that plague Pittsburgh’s black neighborhoods.
After the rally, Rustbelt Radio spoke with Reverend Eugene Blackwell, of Bethesda Church in Homewood. He explained further the purpose behind the Brother to Brother event.
The Day of Black Male Solidarity sought to inspire older males to mentor younger men. Reverend Blackwell explains how the Brother to Brother mentorship program has positive impacts on the young people involved.
Last year’s Day of Black Male Solidarity was held in the Hill District, and attracted over 400 participants. Reverend Blackwell shares his thoughts on why less people came out this year.
Lack of media coverage may have also contributed to the smaller numbers at the rally this year. Reverend Blackwell sees this as an ongoing problem with the media.
Finally, Reverend Blackwell explains how the public can get involved to confront the issues facing black males in Homewood and Pittsburgh.
* reb2.wav: audio clip 2 Rev. Eugine Blackwell (1.30s)
The City of Pittsburgh is poised to join the nationwide trend of local governments installing surveillance cameras in public spaces. Last summer, the city council approved a plan to install a network of cameras at various locations in the city. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala are major advocates of the camera program, which they say will make the city safer. The program is funded with 2.5 million dollars from the Department of Homeland Security and 850 thousand dollars from the City of Pittsburgh. When city council approved the plan last summer, it required that the city also develop a privacy policy for use of the surveillance data. Last week a privacy bill was introduced in council. Council may vote on the policy this week, and plans call for installation of the cameras by the end of 2008.
The cameras will be installed in several phases. Phase one would link existing surveillance cameras throughout the city so they can all be monitored from a central point. According to Police Chief Nate Harper, there are over 70 cameras in downtown Pittsburgh on public and private buildings. There are also cameras in Oakland, on the North Shore, in East Allegheny, and in public housing communities. The cameras that would be linked together would include those owned by different public agencies and private corporations. Twenty eight new cameras would also be installed on 14 bridges, atop the U.S. Steel Tower, and in Point State Park.
In phase two, more cameras would be installed downtown. In phase three, cameras would be installed in high crime areas of neighborhoods.
The privacy bill introduced into city council would restrict who can look at the data and how long it could be kept. It bans the capture of sound, and the use of video-analytic technologies that could recognize faces or track personal information. However, the bill also provides a loophole to many of these restrictions, which will apply (quote) "Except as provided in the applicable Department of Public Safety regulations and procedures" (endquote).
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, these regulations and procedures will not be released to the public. The privacy bill also does not impact the ability of state and federal courts to subpoena the data, and it would not impact Patriot Act provisions that allow federal agencies to access the data without even a warrant.
There are very few studies of how effective surveillance cameras actually are in stopping crime or terrorism. The Northern California ACLU published a report in 2007 finding that 131 California cities had installed cameras, and (quote) "no jurisdiction has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the cameras' effectiveness." (endquote). Anecdotal reports from law enforcement are mixed. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that cameras had aided in only one arrest over two and a half years in that city, while the Chicago Police department says it has made over 1700 camera-aided arrests in the past two years. In London, which has installed an extremely comprehensive network of cameras, the Evening Standard reports that (quote) "police are no more likely to catch offenders in areas with hundreds of cameras than in those with hardly any. In fact, four out of five of the boroughs with the most cameras have a record of solving crime that is below average" (endquote).
Although the Pittsburgh grant application to Homeland Security claims the cameras will help prevent terrorism, the City Paper reports that the Port of Pittsburgh Commission and the local Coast Guard branch were unable to recall a single incident of terroristic threats against the city’s waterways. In London, images of the 2005 subway bombing perpetrators were caught on camera, but authorities only found them once they knew who they were looking for, and some footage was not found until three months after the bombings took place.
The Northern California ACLU report raised cautions about the growing trend of government-funded surveillance. The report states: (quote) On its own terms, pervasive video surveillance threatens privacy and other constitutional rights. The threat multiplies when surveillance cameras are combined with other emerging technologies such as automated identification software, face and eye scans, and radio frequency identification (RF ID) tags. In that context, video surveillance provides a critical pillar of a surveillance infrastructure and creates the potential for the government to monitor people in public space in a way previously envisioned only in futuristic novels. It is particularly troubling that while the technology has improved along with the government’s ability to infringe on constitutional rights, the legal landscape has not kept pace. (endquote)
A recent study done by Duquesne University suggests that women who have recently graduated and plan to enter the workforce expect to make less money than their male counterparts despite their greater numbers and better academic records.
Professor of Economics at CMU Linda Babcock describes the findings of this and other studies:
* LinbaBabcock1.wav: LinbaBabcock1.wav
This expectation is not overly pessimistic. Babcock explains:
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Babcock describes some factors accounting for these differences:
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One of the reasons men and women expect different salaries is the larger proportion of women in lower-paying service oriented jobs. Babcock explains:
* LindaBabcock4.wav: LindaBabcock4.wav
Babcock believes that more information on the wage gap could lead women to demand comparable salaries. She has written two books on the topic entitled Women Don’t Ask and Ask For It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation.
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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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.
"Radio for People: The Next Wave of Community Radio" is a series of short segments produced by Pacifica Radio. The stories are part of a project to document the efforts and dreams of hundreds of communities across the U.S. that applied in October 2007 for full-power noncommercial/educational FM radio licenses. Today, we bring you the story of Christopher Maxwell, who says that radio saved his life:
* chris.maxwell-radio.saved.my.life.mp3: radio for people
Radio Rootz brings us this radical history lesson for July 1st.
Women's E-news has the weekly cheers and jeers for women across the globe:
You're listening to Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
Evolution Beyond Survival: Media Strategies for the Next 10 Years. That was the theme of this year's Allied Media Conference held in Detroit Michigan. For the 10th year, the AMC gathered hundreds of media makers, grassroots activists, educators and artists of all ages, races, genders, and abilities from across the country. Participants attended workshops, produced media, and held dialogues to network, share innovative projects and build grassroots movements to promote social justice in local, as well as global communities.
During the Keynote Speech on Friday June 20th, over 10 people shared their visions and ideas for using the media to advance justice movements. A video produced by spoken word artists Climbing Poetree titled "Hurricane Season" explores issues of humanity and the social consciousness that is being created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the current global environmental crises. Their film began with the voice of author, scientist, and activist- Vandana Shiva.
In addition to Climbing Poetree, hacktivist Ricardo Dominguez unveiled a new technology that will assist immigrants to safely cross the desert from Mexico into the US. Called "The Transborder Immigrant Tool", this technology uses cell phones and GPS systems to map out routes to water in the desert. As hundreds of immigrants die every year due to dehydration in the desert, this technology has the potential to save thousands of lives over time. Dr. Dominguez explains further his research to disturb the US-Mexico border:
To learn more about the Transborder Immigrant Tool, you can go to: bang.calit2.net. And to see more from Climbing Poetree, you can go to their website climbingpoetree.com
Hundreds of people gathered in Late May for the Stop Max conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While denouncing the 23 hour daily lockdown of 20,000 prisoners nationwide as a human rights violation, conference attendees strategized how to put an end to solitary confinement.
Lorenzo Komboa Ervin, a lifelong anti-authoritarian activist and community organizer spoke on a Survivors Panel at the Stop Max conference about the 15 years that he served in solitary confinement. Komboa Ervin had received a life sentence for hijacking a plane to Cuba, and was released from prison as a result of support from a strong network of activists.
After the Survivors panel Rustbelt Radio's Andalusia Knoll spoke with Lorenzo Komboa Ervin about the movement to end Solitary Confinement , Prisoner, Anti-Racist and Anti-Authoritatian struggles throughout the years, and his personal experiences during his many years on lockdown
lorenzokomboa.ogg
That was just an interview with Lorenzo Komboa Ervin from the StopMax Conference
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And now we present the Indymedia Calendar of Events:
[ Outro Music ]
Thanks for tuning in to Rustbelt Radio here on WRCT Pittsburgh, WPTS Pittsburgh, WNJR Washington, WVJW Benwood, and WIUP Indiana.
Our hosts this week are Carlin Christy, Larry Miller and Ben Klahr with contributions from Lizzie Anderson, Carlin Christy, Ace Yilma, Ellen Pierson, Jessica McPherson and Andalusia Knoll. This week's show was produced by 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 June 30, 2008 (ogg vorbis)
by Pittsburgh IMC: Rustbelt Radio collective
Monday, Jun. 30, 2008 at 11:01 PM
radio@indypgh.org 412-923-3000 WRCT 88.3FM
audio: ogg vorbis at 20.2 mebibytes
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