On this week's show...
* Hill District Residents continue to mobilize against a casino in their neighborhood
* Taking back the land: homeless Miami residents build a shantytown
* We'll hear voices from the International Day of Action Against Climate Change and key predictions on climate from new scientific studies.
* Persecution of gays in Iraq has led to several murders
* updates on the situation in Oaxaca and more local and global news
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...
Hill District Residents continue to mobilize against a casino in their neighborhood
Taking back the land: homeless Miami residents build a shantytown
We'll hear voices from the International Day of Action Against Climate Change and key predictions on climate from new scientific studies.
Persecution of gays in Iraq has led to several murders
updates on the situation in Oaxaca and more local and global news
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 can be heard on WPTS, 92.1 FM from the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, Saturday mornings from 9-10 AM.
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
[2:00]Beaver County Jail Privatization
A judge has ruled that Beaver County must accept a compromise contract for the guards at the Beaver County jail, forcing the county to abandon plans to outsource the operation of the jail to the Massachussetts company CiviGenics. The guards at the jail have been working without a contract since January 1st.
Beaver County faces budget deficits, and the County Commissioners had hoped to privatize the jail in order to save 1.9 million dollars a year. In negotiating with the jail guards, who are represented by SEIU local 668, they had previously refused to accept any offer that did not match the savings that CiviGenics promised to deliver. In June, the negotiations went before an arbitration panel, which recommended a compromise contract where workers gave some concessions to result in $600 million per year savings.
On Friday October 27, County President Judge Robert E. Kunselman ruled that the county had to comply with the results of the arbitration. The county commissioners decided to accept the four-year contract and not appeal the ruling because the county had already incurred $500,000 in legal fees, and they were not certain to win an appeal.
Commissioners Chairman Dan Donatella said of the settlement that (quote) "It's not everything we expected, but it's not what they expected either. It truly came down to both sides giving up something.: (endquote). The county must now pay CiviGenics at least 125,000 dollars in costs they have incurred initiating the jail privitization plans. The county is also continuing to negotiate with five other SEIU bargaining units representing county workers, who have been without contracts for the last two years.
[2:00] School gym facilities
Last November 9, Pittsburgh Public School Superintendent Mark Roosevelt unveiled a "right-sizing plan" in which the district would shrink from 86 schools in 80 buildings to 68 schools in 62 buildings.
This included the closing of the Millones Middle School in the Hill District and Reizenstein Middle school in East Liberty, two schools that serve largely African American communities. Students who had attended those schools as well as many others now attend schools that do not have adequate gym and pool facilities. At last week's school board meeting the board discussed a resolution to rent facilities from community groups through the city. Mark Brentley a board member feels that this plan is racially biased against black students because they are the ones being deprived of adequate athletic facilities.
brentley 1:10
Brently also expressed objection that under the right-sizing plan contracts for building renovations have not been awarded to small business or women and minority owned busineses.
[2:00] Kilbuck Landslide Problems Continue
The September 19th landslide in Kilbuck Township continues to create conflict between township officials, developers, elected officials, and local residents.
The landslide occurred at the site of a proposed Wal-mart supercenter and shopping plaza. The development company Kilbuck Properties proposed building a new store for the retail giant on the 75-acre site. The landslide, which affected Rt 65 and adjacent railroad lines, dumped 500,000 cubic yards of dirt and debris onto the road -- enough to fill 50,000 dump trucks--- and caused nearly 2 million dollars in damages, which will be paid by the developer.
Now state lawmakers intend to implement a task force with subpoena power to investigate the Kilbuck landslide. They are also calling for new laws to prevent small municipalities from making major land-use decisions without oversight. Senator Jim Ferlo, of Highland Park, called for the Allegheny County attorney general to investigate quote "potential criminal negligence."
It is also suggested that the grading ordinance was waived for financial motives, despite indications that the site may have been problematic. Bob Keir, a member of Communities First stated, "We've suspected all along that's why they did it. That's exactly what it was. It was money." Communities First opposed the project long before the massive September landslide occured.
In a public correspondence, Township officials acknowledge that abiding by the ordinance would have made the project too expensive for the developer, preventing Kilbuck from benefiting from the $500,000 a year in municipal, county and school property tax money that the development will bring.
The waiver of the ordinance allowed excavation and construction upon the site, despite the property's steep slopes and landslide-prone soils.
Kilbuck Properties declined to appear at a recent Township hearing but issued a two-page statement. It said that (quote) "Kilbuck Properties is confident that the work performed at the site has stabilized the slope and eliminated the danger of another similar landslide." (endquote).
However, Ron Schwartz, DEP's assistant regional director disagrees: he stated (quote) "We can't guarantee -- nor can the developer -- there won't be future landslides." (endquote).
Wrapup
For more on local news, you can visit pittsburgh dot I-N-D-Y-M-E-D-I-A dot org.
[ HMB BREAK RUSTBELT - 0:20 (fades down 0:10 in to start global intro) ]
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.
[3:30] Oaxaca Followup
Last week, Rustbelt Radio reported on the situation in Oaxaca, Mexico. Friday, October 27, three people were killed in Oaxaca, including Brad Will, an Indymedia journalist from New York City. Following these deaths, the Federal Preventative Police, or PFP, occupied the city. Thousands of troops had been gathering since October 2nd, and entered the city on Saturday, October 28th.
Solidarity actions took place last week in cities all over Mexico, the United States, and Western Europe. The Sixth Commission of the Zapatista’s Other Campaign called for a nation-wide shut down of highways and means of communication in solidarity with the Oaxacan People’s Popular Assembly and the people of Oaxaca and their demand of an immediate withdrawal of the federal police from Oaxaca.
Saturday, November 4, hundreds of people including Subcomandante Marcos took over the Lerdo de Tejada international bridge, which connects Ciudad Juárez to El Paso, Texas. They advanced to the highest part of the bridge while members of the Other Campaign on the Other Side did the same, chanting in chorus, “we are a people without borders.”
The federal police are now occupying the Zocalo, or central square, of Oaxaca city. They are using the tents and encampment set up by members of the teachers union who had been on strike since June. The Mexican government and some corporate media outlets have claimed that the federal police have restored order to the city. Some barricades have been cleared, and graffiti has been cleaned from the Zocalo, but the struggle is ongoing.
Thursday, November 2, the federal police attempted to occupy the Benito Juarez Autonomous University in violation of Mexican law, which prohibits the incursion of law enforcement into autonomous universities, unless requested by the university. In response to a call for help made on air by the host of radio APPO, neighbors and students surrounded the federal police. The federal police withdrew after a six hour siege. The University is the home of Radio Universidad, voice of the Oaxaca People’s Popular Assembly, known as APPO.
Radio Universidad continued its broadcast throughout the siege. Here is a segment of the broadcast from Thursday, November 2.
* Oaxaca.ogg [1:10]
Yesterday, November 5, the APPO offered its response to claims made by Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz that the conflict in Oaxaca is limited to, quote, “one avenue in the capital.” End quote. Demonstrators filled over three miles of federal highway with hundreds of thousands of protesters voicing their demands. These demands included the removal of the Federal Preventive Police (PFP) from Oaxaca, an end to the repression of the Oaxacan people, and the removal of Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz from Oaxaca.
Solidarity actions are ongoing. The Zapatistas made a call for adherents of the Other Campaign to participate in a general strike on November 20th. For further updates on Oaxaca and global solidarity actions, go to www.narconews.com and www.el enemigo comun.net
[3:45] Gay Killings in Iraq
In addition to the fear of car bombs, shootings, and violence between militants and American soldiers, gay men and women in Iraq are living in fear of being beaten and killed, simply for their lifestyle choices.
While thousands of civilians are dying in a low-level civil war, gays are being targeted just for being gay. The Badr Corps has launched a campaign of "sexual cleansing," in the country, marshaling death squads to exterminate homosexuality. The Badr Corp are the military arm of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq,or SCIRI for short. SCIRI is the country's most powerful Shiite political group.
In October of 2005, Iraq's chief Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa calling for death to gay men and women. He also encouraged families to kill their sons and brothers if they do not change their gay behavior. In May of 2006, the fatwa was removed from his website for gay men only, but not lesbians. However, the call still remains in effect and persecution of gay Iraqis has only escalated.
This persecution has led to the deaths of Iraqi men and women who are gay, suspected of being gay, and even family members of such men and women. The extreme fear has led many gay Iraqis to live their lives indoors, only leaving once or twice a month to buy food. They are extremely conscious of haircuts, clothing styles, and the way they carry themselves, out of fear of being beaten or killed by the Badr Corp, Iraqi police, or other civilians.
In September, there were three raids by the Interior Ministry on two safe houses in Basra and Najaf. Run by two lesbians, the safe house in Najaf harbored young kids who had been trapped in the commercial sex trade. However, the two women were suspected of running a brothel, and during this raid they were killed on the spot.
The chaos and lawlessness in Iraq facilitates the outright killing of this group of people. Hussein, a 32 year old gay man in Baghdad stated, "Everyone says it's easy these days to get away with killing gays, since there is no law and order here."
The Badr Corps' murderous campaign is not limited to street executions -- it includes Internet entrapment and intimidation backed by violence. Networks of neighborhood informers, SCIRI militants and sympathizers, track suspected gays and report them for targeting by the terror campaign.
The overall situation for gays in Iraq has led to many fleeing the country. Those who have left Iraq frequently receive news that friends and partners have been killed.
According to a spokesperson for the US in Iraq, the military is aware of the killings and is taking steps to curtail sectarian violence.
Yet international human rights groups, including the U.S.-based International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, complained that the U.S. and its coalition partners do not appear to be taking any action to stop the murders.
For more on this issue from an Iraqi perspective, log on to iraqi lgbt uk.blogspot.com.
[7:30] Climate Change
On Saturday November 4, activists around the world participated in the International Day of Action Against Climate Change. Today, November 6th, marks the first day of the Conference of the Parties to Climate Change convention in Nairobi, Kenya, which will last until November 17th. The conference brings together delegates from around the world to discuss the most recent scientific research on climate change. A conference of youth will also gather to create a resolution that will follow an International Youth Declaration on Climate Change signed in Montreal last year.
A key document to be discussed at this year's conference is the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement which requires participating industrialized countries to reduce their emissions by 5% from their 1990 levels by the year 2012. A provision in the protocol for emissions trading allows countries to buy and sell their agreed allowances of greenhouse emissions. This lets countries that pollute more buy credits from those countries that pollute less. Many environmental activists have critiqued this, among other aspects, of the protocol, asserting as well that emission caps need to be lowered. To date, the United States has not signed the Kyoto Protocol. The US emits more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year than any other country in the world; in the year 2000, the US emitted 20.38% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
These emissions aggravate the greenhouse effect, a phenomenon in which gases trap energy from the sun
rather than allowing it to escape into the atmosphere. Although the greenhouse effect is a natural process,the emission of historically unprecedented levels of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel combustion has magnified its impact far beyond natural levels, causing severe climate disruption. Symptoms of these changes include rising temperatures and volatile oceans. A new scientific report on the future effects of unchecked greenhouse gas emmissions, released this week by the United Nations, states that rising sea levels precipitated by climate change could cause the flooding of African cities like CapeTown, South Africa and Lagos, Nigeria by the year 2080.
The report also states that the world's poor, who have contributed least to climate change,
will suffer most from its effects. Crop yields are predicted to decline in Africa, leaving millions
without the ability to feed themselves, and diseases such as malaria are predicted to increase.
Earlier this week, investigations continued into US government suppression of NASA scientists' research exploring the imminent threat of climate change.
To find out more about the phenomenon of climate change and how activists are strategizing against the forces of climate change, and the government policies and irresponsible human activities that accelerate these forces, Rustbelt Radio spoke to Boston activist Adi (AH- dee) Nochur (no- CHOOR).
On events in Boston during the International Day of Action, this is what Adi had to say:
* adi_boston_actions.ogg: [1:30] adi boston actions
Adi discussed the roles of personal and structural work in resisting climate change:
* adi_personal_structural.ogg: [1:30] adi personal structural
Here's an excerpt from a speech at last year's Montreal climate talks by scientist and author Guy Dauncey, author of the book Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change. Guy discusses the relationship of human fossil fuel use to climate change.
* twelvestep.ogg: [0:47] twelve step
For news on the Nairobi conference and other climate change issues, visit climateimc.org on the web.
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.
[14:00] Miami Land Occupation
"Take Back the Land" has become the battle cry of many Liberty City residents and supporters, who have built a shantytown on public land to meet the housing demands of their community. This Miami land occupation or liberation as many are calling it began on October 23rd and since then over 18 people have been living in these shanties with the support of many others. The number of occupants is continually growing and they are planning on making this a permanent land takeover.
This action was called for by the Center for Pan African Development and a few other organizations. Real Estate has skyrocketed in south florida in recent years pricing thousands out of affordable housing. Max Rameau, explains this housing crisis that serves as the backdrop for "taking back the land".
1miami 2 min
Amanda Seaton another activist involved with the land liberation describes to us the shantytown and structures involved with it.
1:45
This plot of land was chosen very deliberately and Max Rameau explains why
2:15
The police have not disturbed or evicted the residents. Rebecca states that this action is completely legal based on the pottinger act.
:50
Max Rameau sees this as long term project and neither wants government assistance nor interference
1:20
Rebecca expands upon the community support that the shantytown has.
1:20
Many involved say that the liberating of this land goes beyond providing food and shelter and delves into building a new world.
2:20
To view Max Ramaeu's blog you can go to takebacktheland.blogspot.com and you can also read more about it and view a video at Miami Indymedia's website at miami.indymedia.org
[11:30]In Lieu of Condemnation/Hill Casino
Raise your hand song 1 minute can be faded out at second time she says hand
This song filled the air at Freedom Corner on Friday November 3rd during an arts and awareness action in which Hill District residents, artists, activists, and concerned citizens gathered to say no to a casino in the hill district. Freedom Corner is caddy corner to the site of this proposed slots casino and new hockey arena. Dr. Goddess, author of the Hill district freedom song and organizer of this action, explained the motivation and perceived success of this event
doctor godess 2:40
"no casino on the hill" was written boldly on the sign of Olay Washay Goun, a longtime hill resident who braved the cold flashing his viewpoint to the many passerbys.
olay 2:00
Renee Wilson, longtime activist and cousin of famous playwright August Wilson, thinks a casino is the last thing the hill district needs.
renee 145
Many properties in the lower hill district would be demolished if the proposed arena that would be built in conjunction with the casino is constructed. While the national trust for historic preservation conference took place over the weekend in downtown, people gathered a few blocks away to both celebrate and lament the slated demolition of the Sage Building. The Sage Building, located on fifth avenue in uptown, is a turn of the century five story structure that was converted in 1998 to artists' studios, offices for the League of Young Voters, and musician spaces for bands like rusted root. The tenants of the building held a closing party entitled "In Lieu of Condemnation." Leslie Clague explained this title to us.
leslie 1min
Rick Schweikert, the former owner of the building, thinks the casino will not solve the problems that concern the hill district and uptown.
rick 1 min
While the Pittsburgh Gaming Task force has practically endorsed the Isle of Capri casino proposal, it does not mean it is a done deal. Hill district residents and activists are convinced that they can stop a casino from being constructed in their neighborhood. To find out more about the issue you can listen to a radio special that aired on Rustbelt Radio on September 11th. On no dice is sponsoring a lecture entitled " " that will take place at the The Hill District Gaming Meeting will occur on the Hill tentatively on Nov. 15th and the The Casino “suitability” hearings begin Nov. 20th in Harrisburg, PA
Ending
Calendar of Events
And now we present the Indymedia Calendar of Events:
On Friday November 10th, the Thomas Merton Center will host its annual Merton Award dinner. This year’s honoree is Angela Davis, radical black feminist, socialist, prison abolition activist, and professor in the History of Consciousness program at UC Santa Cruz. There will also be spoken word and musical gospel performances. The event will begin at 6pm and it takes place at the Sheraton Hotel, in Station Square.For more information contact the Merton Center at 412-361-3022 or info@thomasmertoncenter.org
On Sunday, November 12th, the film The Future of Food will be shown at 7pm at the William Pitt Union - Dining Room A at the university of Pittsburgh. The film investigates the growth of unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods in U.S. grocery stores.
[1:00] Outro
[ Outro Music ]
Thanks for tuning in to Rustbelt Radio here on WRCT Pittsburgh, WVJW Benwood and WPTS Pittsburgh.
Our hosts this week are Matt Toups and Andalusia Knoll with contributions from Vani Natarajan, Morgan Ress, Jessica McPherson, and Carlin Christy. This week's show was produced by Donald Deeley. 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.
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