community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
Rustbelt Radio for November 5, 2012
by Pittsburgh Indymedia: Rustbelt Radio Collecti
Tuesday, Nov. 06, 2012 at 1:00 AM
radio@indypgh.org
On today's show: An international delegate reports back from the presidential election of Venezuela; We bring you a report on the impacts of Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast, and how communities are coming together to respond, and more in our local and global headlines.
audio link: 
MP3 at 68.7 mebibytes
Rustbelt Radio for november 5, 2012
Welcome to this week's edition of Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's bi-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 other 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.
The Pennsylvania Prison Report is edited and produced by Rustbelt volunteer Hannah Taleb
[ HMB BREAK RUSTBELT - 0:20 (fades down 0:10 in to start global intro) ]
You are listening to Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's bi-weekly review of news overlooked by the corporate media. We turn now to other independent news from beyond Western Pennsylvania.
Days leading up to the October 7th presidential election in Venezuela, a delegation of over 200 members of government and election commissions, judges, professors, and journalists from all over the world arrived to witness thier election system. Robin Alexander of Pittsburgh was one of the delegation participating as a member of the National Lawyer's Guild. Rustbelt Radio spoke with Alexander to report the experience of witnessing a truly democratic process. Alexander describes her role as an international accompanier.
Having had the opportunity to participate, critique, and share with the National Electoral Council or CNE in Venezuela, Alexander describes the legistics of the process as well as how the United States' election system might be beneficially influenced.
Alexander was diligent in her assignment to learn as much as possible about the process, to gain feedback from as many people as possible, and was impressed especially by the level of participation among the people of Venezuela.
* 2morethingsRobin.wav: (2:43)
The number of voters in Venezuela greatly contrasts to that of the United States.
Voting gives the people a choice between two explicitly different approaches to future direction.
Through to the end of the election day, Venezuela exemplifies a democratic system.
This story was produced by Emily Laychak.
You're listening to Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's bi-weekly review of news from the grassroots.
And now we have a public service announcement from Women Against Street Harassment (WASH): Street harassment is a serious crime affecting nearly all women in the United States and around the world. Most women face some form of street harrassment throughout their lives. Some women deal with it on a regular basis. Not only is it wrong, abusive, and disrespectful, it is also a crime. Do not be afraid to stand up for yourself of others if you experience or see street harassment. For more info, visit www.stopstreetharassment.org.
That was Suggestion by Fugazi.
We now bring you a special feature focusing on the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in the hard-hit areas of New York and New Jersey. We’ll cover updates on the damages, look at the science behind the storm, and…..
Almost two million homes and businesses remained without power as of Sunday night, and most without power also have no heat. Photographs show dramatic images of downtown Hoboken and Atlantic city under water; of water rushing down New York streets; and of homes and infrastructure destroyed by flooding in low-lying portions of New York such as Staten Island. Outside of the flooded areas, the region is still feeling the disruption. As people tried to return to work Monday morning, crowding and long lines developed, with public transit still on limited service. Gas shortages persist in New Jersey, with lines miles long.
Some questions have been raised about whether evacuation and public warnings in advance of the storm were adequate. A reuters article printed October 28th shows that New York city and state government did not do as much to prepare for Sandy as they did for Irene a year earlier. Hoboken residents complained that public warnings to evacuate were not as strong as they had been for Irene, and that they wished that not only ground-floor units of apartment buildings had been evacuated, because upper-floor residents were still stranded even if they weren’t flooded.
However, since this weather is virtually unprecedented in this region of the country, and since Irene did not pack the punch it was predicted to last year in New York and New Jersey, many found it difficult to imagine what was actually going to happen in advance of Sandy’s arrival. This is Molly and John Knefel, a brother-sister team that hosts the internet radio program Radio Dispatch based in New York, from their November 1st episode reporting on Sandy:
There is only one other instance in recorded history of a hurricane making landfall in New Jersey. It is extremely unusual for a storm moving north in the mid-Atlantic region to head westward rather than off to sea, and the reason this happened with Sandy is because of a weather pattern called “arctic blocking” that lodged a cold air mass to the north of the storm, forcing it to veer inland. According to the blog Weather Underground, by meteorologist Jeff Masters, arctic blocking has historically occurred only 2% of the time. But, new research shows that as arctic sea ice declines, disruptions in the jet stream are becoming more common, and so is arctic blocking. This summer was an especially bad year for the arctic sea ice, vast regions of which melted even faster than scientists had been predicting would result from rising global temperatures.
The sheer size of hurricane Sandy is also noteworthy because meteorologists predict that as global temperatures rise, hurricanes will becomes stronger, since warmer air holds more water. At this point global temperatures have risen an average of 1 degree. So in many ways, Sandy is compelling evidence that the effects of global climate change are already here, and are worse than predicted.
To describe some of Sandy’s effects on the ground we now bring you another segment from Radio Dispatch:
Thousands of residents of high-rise public housing buildings remain without power, since many of these structures line the waterways in the New York – New Jersey area. As with Katrina, aid to these communities, and the way they are portrayed in the media, reflects social bias against low-income people of color. A number of news articles highlighted the fact that authorities urged residents to leave, and residents refused; however, they did not acknowledge that many residents may not have the resources or even the physical ability to leave. The New York Times reports today that residents are working together to survive the power outages, and also that police cars drive by but do not enter the darkened projects.
Now we bring you the conclusion of Radio Dispatch’s interview with Danny Gold, starting with the importance of radio during emergencies where power outages make TV and other media inaccessible:
Neither residents or government agencies were truly prepared for the massive-scale disruption that Sandy caused to this densely populated urban region. Like most U.S. cities, residents depend on shipments of food and fuel and on fuel-based infrastructure like transit, gas stations, sewage and water treatment every single day for their survival. The loss of many of these invisible support systems has challenged communities to respond to immediate dangers and to find other ways to meet their daily needs. In addition to the efforts of first responders and emergency staff, communities have spontaneously organized mutual aid systems in many of the hardest-hit areas. We now bring you an essay written by Sara Jaffe and published in Jacobin magazine, called “Power to the People”, that reports and reflects on these developments:
That was an essay entitled “Power to the People”, written by Sara Jaffe and published in the magazine Jacobin, read by Rustbelt correspondent Jessica McPherson [PRONOUNCE: mic FUR son].
Radio Dispatch interviewed Michael Primo, one of the Occupy organizers involved in relief efforts, on their November 1st episode:
You can read and listen to more updates and reflections on the impact of Hurricane Sandy from the independent sources in our story today at: theradiodispatch.com and jacobinmag.com
This report was produced by Jessica McPherson
And now we present the Indymedia Calendar of Events:
* Don't forget to get out and vote on Tuesday November 6th. Remember, poll workers may ask you for your id, but may not prohibit you from voting if you do not show one. Only first time voters must show a valid photo id or or an approved form of non photo id that states your name and address. If you think your right to vote has been denied, call the ACLU Voter Protection Hotline at 877-523-2792.
[ Outro Music ]
Thanks for tuning in to Rustbelt Radio here on WRCT Pittsburgh, WSDR Pittsburgh, WIUP Indiana, WNJR Washington, WLRI LanChester, and FRSC Santa Cruz.
Our hosts this week are [ ] and [ ] with contributions from [Emily Laychek, Jessica McPherson, and Hannah Taleb]. This week's show was directed by [ Kayla Slicker] and produced by [Shawn Watson]. Special thanks to all of our hosts, producers, and contributors. We have a special birthday today - that of Hannah Taleb, a long time volunteer who turned some young age today. Also! Last show, October 22nd, we did not mention a happy birthday to Jessica McPherson - another long time contributor. Happy new revolution around the sun. y'all! We adore you.
You can get involved with Rustbelt Radio! To contact us, email RADIO at I-N-D-Y-P-G-H dot ORG. Become our fan on Facebook to receive updates on our latest episode, and follow us on Twitter @pghimc. All of our shows are available 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 bi-weekly review of news from the grassroots.
Rustbelt Radio for November 5, 2012
by Pittsburgh Indymedia: Rustbelt Radio Collecti
Tuesday, Nov. 06, 2012 at 1:00 AM
radio@indypgh.org
audio: ogg vorbis at 53.6 mebibytesaudio: ogg vorbis at 53.6 mebibytes
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