Rustbelt Radio for October 2, 2006

Intro

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...

• We'll find out about a new report on harassment and bullying by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network and advice from local activists on starting gay-straight alliances and creating safer spaces for LGBTQ teens.
• Straight from the Picket we'll hear from Irish Residents who are fighting a Shell pipeline in their community
• New Jersey residents petition against felon disenfranchisement
• A new town in Pennsylvania has adopted a racist, anti-immigrant ordinance
• and more in our local and global headlines

Rustbelt Radio airs live every Monday from 6-7pm on WRCT 88.3FM in Pittsburgh, PA, every Thursday from 5-6pm on WVJW Benwood, 94.1 FM in the Wheeling, West Virginia area. And on WPTS 92.1FM from the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, Saturdays from 9 to 10am.

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 headlines.

Headlines

Local News

[3:30] the O being sued by EEOC

For the past ten years the strong smell of greasy fries and hot dogs wafted through the Carnegie Mellon University Center. That was until the Original Hot Dog Shop, known as the "O" closed their doors to business on June 30th 2006. Sydney Simon owner of the "O" claimed they were forced to close because of an unfavorable contract with Parkhurst Dining Services. Simon posted signs around the campus and an ad in the newspaper urging students to ask the university to give them a more favorable contract so that they could remain open. Tim Michael, the director of Housing and Dining services said that O sales had dropped significantly in the past year and that they had faced labor difficulties. These so-called "labor difficulties" referred to the alleged firing of black employees at the CMU location.

In February one of these fired employees Anton Rumph filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC filed a lawsuit against the O after an attempt to reach a voluntary settlement. According to this lawsuit, Bruce Simon, son of owner Sydney Simon, ordered the manager of the restaurant at CMU's University Center to fire all of the black employees in September 2005. The manager fired some employees, but then resigned in protest, resulting in Mr. Simon firing the remaining black employees.

Edward McCaffrey, Program Analyst in the Philadelphia District Office of the EEOC tells us about the lawsuit and federal anti-discrimination legislation.

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The EEOC is seeking what they call "Prayer for Relief"

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The EEOC says that they receive hundreds of similar complaints each year and file many lawsuits on behalf of employees. They say the majority have favorable outcomes.

[2:00] Route 65 Landslide

On September 19th a massive landslide at the site of the former Dixmont State Hospital in tiny Kilbuck Township blocked a section of Route 65 and covered one of three Norfolk Southern railway tracks in the area. The site is currently being developed by Kilbuck Properties LP. Despite community opposition, the developer intends to construct a controversial urban shadow shopping center, ‘River Pointe Plaza’, anchored by a 28 million dollar Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Both southbound lanes and one northbound lane were operating as of today. The developer has promised to pay all costs incurred by the cleanup operation. PennDOT has supended a permit necessary to join the new development with Route 65 and the state Department of Environmental Protection has suspended its permit pending completion of the cleanup operation and the results of an investigation into the cause of the landslide.

The slide consisted primarily of fill dirt used to construct level ground for the new supercenter, retail shops, and an associated parking lot. Kilbuck Township granted the developer variances in local grading standards in 2002 and 2003, a move opposed by local citizen’s group “Communities First!”. Those standards would have required the use of ‘benching’, the creation of flat regions on the slope that are intended to increase stability.

A report from Communities First consultant Victor-Wetzel Associates; of Sewickly Township warned of the danger of a landslide due to the steep grade. Bob Kier, co-chairman of Communities First claims those warnings were ignored by the township. Kilbuck solicitor Richard Start responded by claming that the engineers at Victor-Wetzel were not qualified to make that assessment.

A document released in 2004, Sprawl Standoff, written by smart growth advocate Michelle Pilecki, contains tax projections made by John Atwood of ASC Development Corporation. He indicated that the property’s current tax revenue of 20,000 dollars could increase to 535,000 dollars once development was completed. One hunded thirty five thousand dollars of this projected income would be directed to Kilbuck Township. Kilbuck’s total budget in 2006 was 1,160,000 dollars, an increase of 23 percent over their 2004 budget. However, tax income has decreased by fourty four thousand dollars since 2004. The two hundred thousand dollar increase in revenue is derived almost exclusively from a FEMA grant. Mary Louise Fowkes of ‘Communities First!’ is also quoted in that document as saying that “All these little communities are scrounging around for money because they need to survive” and that “Kilbuck is in desperate need of money”. According to County Executive Dan Onorato, in 2004, 30 of Allegheny County’s 130 municipalities were facing financial crises at least as severe as that faced by Pittsburgh.

[1:20] Needle Exchange Update

At the September meeting of the Allegheny County Board of Health, the board voted to accept an amended version of regulations authorizing the operation of Prevention Point, Pittsburgh’s only needle exchange program. The needle exchange program’s legality had been called into question six months ago by some County Council members. The program has been operating under the authorization of a declaration of emergency declared in November 2001 by the Board of Health.

The public health emergency was declared in response to a study showing that 90% of intravenous drug users were infected with Hepatitis C, and 8% had HIV. To address the County Council members’ concern, the Board of Health drafted regulations formally authorizing the needle exchange program in May 2006. However, the initial regulations included language that provoked outcry from local and national needle exchange advocates. They required participants to give their names, and prohibited “secondary exchange”, where a participant picks up needles for use by others. In response to the many comments they received, the board amended the regulations to preserve participants’ anonymity and allow secondary exchange. The regulations adopted at the September board meeting are now among the most progressive in the nation. To take effect, they must next be approved by the County Council, who is expected to consider them in November.

[1:00] Altoona Immigration Bill

Altoona, located 85 miles east of Pittsburgh, is the latest town in Pennsylvania to pass a racist, anti-immigrant ordinance.

After weeks of debate and controversy, Altoona City Council adopted on Wednesday the 27th an ordinance designed to make it difficult for illegal aliens to stay in the city. The council adopted the ordinance with a vote of 6-1.

In similar fashion to the anti-immigrant ordinance of Hazelton Pa which was passed this summer, the quote "Undocumented Alien Control Ordinance" calls for license suspensions and fines for businesses that hire and landlords who rent to undocumented citizens.

People in attendance spoke passionately for and against the ordinance before the council’s approval. The Reverend Luke Robertson, Catholic Charities director, spoke of the honorable tradition of civil disobedience in our nation. He asked, “Who will take care of the people made homeless and unemployed?”

Since the Hazleton vote, more than a half-dozen communities in eastern Pennsylvania have either passed or considered similar crackdowns on illegal immigrants, as have a number of municipalities around the country.

Hispanic activists and the ACLU sued to overturn Hazleton's illegal immigrant law, but the lawsuit was rendered moot earlier this month when the city passed a replacement law designed to better withstand a legal challenge.

Wrapup

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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Global News

Intro

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.

[1:00] Chicago Mayor Vetoes Living Wage

Earlier this year, the Chicago City Council approved a measure raising the minimum wage for employees of “big-box” retailers to $10/hour plus benefits. The new law was the first of it's kind in the United States and was the result of months of campaigning and organizing by a large coalition of community groups and labor unions. The resolution requires large and profitable stores – defined as those over 90,000 square feet with annul sales in excess of one Billion dollars – to pay a living wage.

Now, two months later, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has vetoed the city’s passage of the living wage ordinance. In defending his veto, Daley said that the bill, which the City Council passed in a 35 to 14 vote, would not help to lift Chicagoans out of poverty. He stated, "Rather, I believe it would drive jobs and businesses from our city, penalizing neighborhoods that need additional economic activity the most," he said in a press statement. It is the first veto he has exercised in 17 years as mayor, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Toni Foulkes, a community leader with the Chicago chapter of ACORN, a national grassroots advocacy network, strongly criticized the veto in a press statement. He said, "The mayor did the wrong thing by our communities when he bent to pressure from big money interests from out of town.We want the Aldermen on the City Council to stand up for their neighborhoods and override this veto, so we can have jobs with fairness and dignity in our communities."

While the legislation had strong support for its passage in July, three aldermen now say they will switch sides and support the veto, making an override by the City Council unlikely.

The ordinance would have affected 40 stores within the city limits where entry-level workers currently earn an estimated $6 to $8 an hour.

[1:30] Walmart's new workforce strategy

In related news, Walmart corporate officials have announced a new workforce strategy to improve profits and efficiency. The new strategy imposes salary caps on most workers, increases reliance on part-time employees, and schedules more employees to work during nights and weekends. Walmart spokeswoman Sara Clark said the changes would bring about (quote) "a productivity improvement through which we will improve the shopping experience for our customers and make Wal-Mart a better place to work for our associates (endquote)."

However, employees say the changes will decrease their already minimal earnings, make their lives harder, and remove any incentive to improve efficiency. They say increased reliance on a transitional, part-time workforce eliminates the greater efficiency of experienced workers, and decreases job security for workers. A memo disclosed by the New York Times also said the company preferred part-time workers because they are less likely to enroll in the company's health plan. Workers say the salary cap removes any incentive to work harder, because they would be prohibited from ever receiving raises above the caps.

Walmart says its plan to schedule more workers for nights and weekends is neccesary to meet the demands of peak shopping hours. The company also says its policy will take into account workers' shift preferences and give employees their schedules three weeks in advance. However, workers from many stores across the country have said their managers tell them they must be available around the clock on short notice, or their hours will be cut in retaliation. Employees say that constant schedule changes, and being forced to work more nights and weekends, make it difficult to plan for their personal lives, schedule childcare, and establish family routines.

[4:30] Jews for Justice

Today Monday October 2nd marks Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of Atonement which comes 10 days after the Jewish New Year, known as Rosh Hashanah. Jews in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle and the Bay Area have declared these 10 High holy days as days of reflection concerning Israel's actions in Lebanon and Palestine. In excepts of their campaign statement they say:

"At this time, our tradition asks us to reflect and atone for the individual and collective injustices we have committed or allowed to happen. We are mobilizing Jews across the U.S. to honor Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur through educational, spiritual and creative actions, that challenge the violence done in our name in Palestine and Lebanon.

We raise our collective voice to condemn the destructive policies and practices of the State of Israel. Specifically, as Jews living in the United States, we call on our communities to question the effect of our government’s unconditional political and financial support of Israeli policy. This uncritical support has enabled the continuing oppression of the Palestinian people and Israel’s historic and current military aggression in the region, including the recent war in Lebanon.

Since June, the actions of the Israeli military have resulted in the deaths of over 1600 people in Lebanon, and over 200 Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. This history is an affront to the historic Jewish commitment to justice and it must be examined and questioned.

Our silence about these injustices is a dishonoring of Yom Kippur – an ancient commitment to reflecting on and taking account of our individual and collective actions. Hope for a new year of reconciliation can only be found by taking responsibility for our actions, and working for justice in Palestine and an end to Israeli aggression in Lebanon."

As part of this campaign, activists with groups such as Jews for Justice have flyered outside of synagogues, urging people to support Lebanese and Palestinian people at a time when many synagogues are giving out pledge cards for people to support Israel. In Boston, Jewish activists confonted a board meeting of Jewish philanthropists regarding their ongoing support of Israel. Bay Area Jews are participating in a joint Jewish and Muslim Yom Kippur/Ramadan solidarity 'Break the Fast' fundraiser and potluck dinner to raise money for humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza and Lebanon.

This High holy day campaign is part of the ongoing efforts of Jewish Americans working for justice in the Middle East. On August 22nd, fourteen Jewish Americans were arrested in the Bay Area in a nonviolent civil disobedience action in front of the Jewish Community Federation and Jewish Community Relations Council. Here are the voices of some who participated in that action:

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For more information on all those activities and to read the full campaign statement go to http://jewishconscience.blogspot.com

[0:45] Fab 5 Freddy vs George H.W. Bush

Hip-Hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy confronted George Bush, Sr. last week about the war in Iraq. They crossed paths at the football game between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 25, which marked the reopening of the Louisiana Superdome. The Superdome has been shut down for a year in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Freddy told the New York Post that he attended the football game with several television industry executives. When the group stepped on the field to view performances by U2 and Green Day, George Bush, Sr. walked by. Freddy told the Post [quote] "I got in his way and [yelled], 'We need to bring the troops home!'". According to the former host of Yo! MTV Raps, Bush replied "We must win this war." Fab Five Freddy said he reiterated his call to bring the troops home to Bush, who was being shuffled away by associates. The former President reportedly came back to Fab 5 Freddy and said "I don't really have anything to do with it."

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.

Features

Intro

You're listening to Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.

[6:00] New Jersey Felon Disenfranchisement

Claiming that felon disenfranchisement is a violation of universal Human Rights principles, The American Civil Liberties Union and the Rutgers Law School Constitutional Litigation Clinic filed a petition on September 16th with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. This petition urges the Inter American Commision to rule that denying New Jersey citizens on parole and probation the right to vote violates universal human rights principles.

Frank Askin Proffesor of Law at Rutgers told us they decided to file this petition after the New Jersey Supreme Court refused to hear their case.

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Of the approximately 100,000 parolees and probationers subject to the state's felon-disfranchisement law, more than 60 percent are African American or Latino. Askin further discussed the role that race plays in felon disenfranchisement.

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New Jersey is not alone in disenfranchising felons.

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The ACLU released a study called "Out of Step with the World" showing how The United States is out of line with voting rights in other westernized nations.

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For more information and to view the petition you can go to www.aclu-nj.org

[17:00] GLSEN and the Attic: LGBTQ teen spaces

A new report released by the research department of GLSEN (pronounce like "listen" with a g in front), the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, on bullying and harassment of LGBT teens in Pennsylvania, reveals that homophobic language and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender teens are commonplace in high schools in the state. The report reveals that 93% of Pennsylvania students reported hearing homophobic remarks from other students. 37% of students noted that faculty and staff rarely or never intervened when homophobic remarks were made in their presence.

20% of students reported being physically harassed or assaulted in the past year.

51% of students who responded that they experienced harassment or physical assault at school never reported the incidents to a teacher, principal, or other staff person.

To learn more about the climate for LGBTQ teens in schools and ways that teens and allies are working toward building safer spaces, Rustbelt Radio spoke with local activists.

Three local youth active in the Pittsburgh chapter of GLSEN and their high school Gay Straight Alliance spoke to us about the climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender teens at their school and ways that LGBTQ and straight students have built networks of support, despite an often apathetic school administration.

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The youth then offered advice on how to start and maintain Gay Straight Alliances and build strong movements for the rights and well being of LGBTQ teens.

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An adult active in GLSEN spoke about the findings of the GLSEN report.

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When asked about the differences in experiences for LGBTQ teens in the past and today, this is what he had to say.

* GLSEN_ADULT_outing.ogg: GLSEN adult: outing today vs past generation [0:55]

Finally, he spoke about the meaning of safe space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender young people.

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We spoke to a Philadelphia resident active in the Attic Youth Center, a Philadelphia community space for LGBTQ teens. We heard about efforts to make Philadelphia schools safer for LGBTQ teens and to make school curricula more reflective of a diverse range of experiences and identities.

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We also heard about the importance of education on transgender experience:

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Finally, we heard some advice to teachers and others working with LGBTQ youth on how to function as strong allies and to maintain safe spaces.

* attic_advice_to_teachers.ogg: new teacheradvice [1:05]

For more information on GLSEN, visit www.glsen.org.

For research on outreach and education to LGBTQ teens and their allies outside of urban areas, you can visit the Attic Youth Center's Bryson Institute page at www.brysoninstitute.org

[13:30] Shell in Ireland

Last Tuesday, September 26, over 100 local fishers, farmers, and other residents of the Erris region in County Mayo, Ireland, gathered together to prevent construction crews from entering the site of a proposed natural gas refinery at Ballinaboy Bridge in County Mayo.

Here to describe their protest, of about 200 people, is a resident of the rossport solidarity camp

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The brief standoff last Tuesday morning is merely the latest event in a struggle that has been going on for years. Shell, in conjunction with Statoil and Marathon, announced plans in 2000 for a natural gas pipeline and refinery in this remote region of Western Ireland. Planning for the project went ahead rapidly until local citizens became aware of it and started asking questions. Shell began preparing the Ballinaboy site for construction in January 2005. Five of these inquisitive residents were jailed in June 2005 for disobeying a court order not to interfere with construction of the gas pipeline. The day after the men were arrested, other locals stopped construction at the Ballinaboy site and refused to allow Shell vehicles in or out. The five men who were arrested, now known as The Rossport Five were released in August 2005. They entered into negotiations with Shell in October. The mediator, Peter Cassells, released his report in July 2006. Following the mediator�s report, Shell announced its plans to re-start construction in the fall of 2006. On September 26 they were frustrated in their attempt to enter the construction site by local supporters of Shell to Sea. Shell to Sea is a network of concerned citizens whose goal is to draw attention to the planned Corrib gas project.

One of the ways the Shell to Sea campaign has drawn attention to the project has been their picket of the proposed construction site for the past year. Maureen McGrath describes how the picket at Ballinaboy began, the day after her husband and four other men were arrested for preventing Shell trucks from using a road through their community

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PJ Moran and Maura Harrington describe what the picket has been like for the past year

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The local residents who oppose the gas refinery believe Shell has been deceptive about safety and environmental hazards. The Shell to Sea campaign has also raised questions about the role of government in relation to citizens and corporations.

One of the "Rossport Five" Vincent McGrath, discusses the perceived safety risks

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Andy Pyle of Shell responds to residents' safety concerns.

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The Advantica report mentioned by Mr. Pyle was commissioned as an independent safety review by the Irish government. Advantica is a global engineering consultancy firm owned by Transco, or Transcontinental Gas � a British gas company. Questions have been raised about the impartiality of a gas company investigating the safety of another gas company.

Many of the area residents have felt deceived by their own government in this process. Caitl�n � Seighin(say �cat-leen oh-shine�), wife of one of the �Rossport Five,� describes this feeling, and why she became involved in the Shell to Sea campaign

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The Shell to Sea campaign has drawn connections between their struggle and the struggle of the Ogoni people in Nigeria against Shell in 1995.

Mark Garavan, spokesperson from the Shell to Sea campaign, outlines the international implications of their campaign by highlighting the Ireland-Nigeria connections

1:10 * 7shell100.ogg: 7shell100.ogg

The Shell to Sea campaign has also raised questions about the proper role of the state in the relationship between people, government and corporations. More on this angle, from Andy Story of the Center for Development Studies at University College Dublin

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The balance was tilted away from corporate power on Tuesday, September 26 when members of Shell to Sea prevented construction crews from entering the site. But the scale has not settled yet � more attempts to enter the site are expected in the weeks to come.

For up to date information on the campaign and for more background information, you can visit Ireland Indymedia and the Shell to Sea campaign online at www.indymedia.ie and www.corribsos.com.

For the audio in this segment, thanks also to Kay Sheehy, producer of the series �From Rossport to the Niger Delta� which can be heard in its entirety at www.rte.ie/radio1

Ending

You're listening to Rust Belt Radio.

Calendar of events

And now we present the Indymedia calendar of events:

• Tonight Monday the 2nd, at 8pm, on the CMU campus, there will be a discussion with Mumia Abu Jamal and Staughton Lynd entitled "In the Shadow of John Brown: Toward a Renewed Interracial Radicalism". This event will take place at the Adamson Wing of Baker Hall.

• On Wednesday, October 4, 2006 at 7:30 pm, there will be a free screening of the film "An Inconvenient Truth-A Global Warning". This movie will be shown at the First Unitarian Church, located at the corner of Morewood and Ellsworth in Shadyside Date and is free and open to the public. For more information call 621-8008.

• This Thursday, October 5th, the Wheels of Justice Tour is coming to Pittsburgh. Activists from the groups Jewish Witnesses for Peace and the Cleveland Catholic Worker Community and others will provide eyewitness reports from Iraq & Palestine. This will take place at 7 PM, in Margaret Morrison Room A14 on the Carnegie Mellon Campus.

• And finally this Friday Inga Muscio - Author of Cunt and new book "Autobiography of a Blue Eyed Devil: My Life and Times in a Racist, Imperialist Society will be speaking at CMU at 7pm. This will take place at Breed Hall in the Margaret Morrison Building.

Outro

[ Outro music ]

Thanks for tuning in to Rustbelt Radio here on WRCT Pittsburgh, WARC Meadville, WVJW Benwood and WPTS Pittsburgh.

Our hosts and contributors this week are Andalusia Knoll, Jessica McPherson, and Carlin Christy with additional contributions from Diane Amdor, Vani Natarajan, Stuart Anderson, and Abraham Flaxman. This week's show was produced by Donald Deeley and Matt Toups. 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 October 2, 2006 [ogg vorbis]
by Indymedia Rustbelt Radio collective Monday, Oct. 02, 2006 at 10:31 PM
radio@indypgh.org 412-923-3000 WRCT 88.3FM

audio: ogg vorbis at 24.2 mebibytesaudio: ogg vorbis at 24.2 mebibytes