Arlen Spector and Robert Casey - Our so called Pennsylvania congressional reps. also voted to advance the U.S. Senate Bill S 510, the one that takes our food freedoms away, making it illegal to grow your own food and save your seeds. What They are doing is Pre-Meditated Mass Murder in my book!
The 19 Senators Who Voted To Censor The Internet
by Mike Masnick
Thu, Nov 18th 2010
from the free-speech-isn't-free dept
This is hardly a surprise but, this morning (as previously announced), the lame duck Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to move forward with censoring the internet via the COICA bill -- despite a bunch of law professors explaining to them how this law is a clear violation of the First Amendment. What's really amazing is that many of the same Senators have been speaking out against internet censorship in other countries, yet they happily vote to approve it here because it's seen as a way to make many of their largest campaign contributors happy. There's very little chance that the bill will actually get passed by the end of the term but, in the meantime, we figured it might be useful to highlight the 19 Senators who voted to censor the internet this morning:
Patrick J. Leahy -- Vermont
Herb Kohl -- Wisconsin
Jeff Sessions -- Alabama
Dianne Feinstein -- California
Orrin G. Hatch -- Utah
Russ Feingold -- Wisconsin
Chuck Grassley -- Iowa
Arlen Specter -- Pennsylvania
Jon Kyl -- Arizona
Chuck Schumer -- New York
Lindsey Graham -- South Carolina
Dick Durbin -- Illinois
John Cornyn -- Texas
Benjamin L. Cardin -- Maryland
Tom Coburn -- Oklahoma
Sheldon Whitehouse -- Rhode Island
Amy Klobuchar -- Minnesota
Al Franken -- Minnesota
Chris Coons -- Delaware
This should be a list of shame. You would think that our own elected officials would understand the First Amendment but, apparently, they have no problem turning the US into one of the small list of authoritarian countries that censors internet content it does not like (in this case, content some of its largest campaign contributors do not like). We already have laws in place to deal with infringing content, so don't buy the excuse that this law is about stopping infringement. This law takes down entire websites based on the government's say-so.
First Amendment protections make clear that if you are going to stop any specific speech, it has to be extremely specific speech. This law has no such restrictions. It's really quite unfortunate that these 19 US Senators are the first American politicians to publicly vote in favor of censoring speech in America.
Showing posts with label Pennsylvania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pennsylvania. Show all posts
Friday, November 19, 2010
Monday, November 30, 2009
Pittsburgh, PA Chemtrails 11.29.09
Thanks to: Safety Joe
http://www.myspace.com/safetyjoebackup
http://www.youtube.com/user/wearechangepgh
On 11.29.2009 I documented a few hours worth of Chemtrails that littered the Pittsburgh skyline. Earlier in the day, the skies were blue, around noon the Chemtrails started to appear. Was able to start video recording @ 2:30 pm.
http://www.myspace.com/safetyjoebackup
http://www.youtube.com/user/wearechangepgh
On 11.29.2009 I documented a few hours worth of Chemtrails that littered the Pittsburgh skyline. Earlier in the day, the skies were blue, around noon the Chemtrails started to appear. Was able to start video recording @ 2:30 pm.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Pennsylvania Supreme Court -a bit of History
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania meets in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. The Harrisburg Chamber of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, located on the fourth floor of the Capitol, is both a seat of justice as well as an artistic treasure.
Predating the United States Supreme Court by 67 years, Pennsylvania's highest court was established by the General Assembly on May 22, 1722, a remarkable creation unprecedented in American history.
Penn, a self-taught lawyer who was jailed on dubious grounds five times in England, wanted a fair and competent court system. In the original constitutions drafted by Penn, he established a Provincial Court under the control of his British governors.
The General Assembly, however, espoused the principle of separation of powers, and formally called for a third branch of government starting with the 1701 Judiciary Bill, written by the brilliant Speaker David Lloyd of Chester County. Penn consistently rejected such measures. In 1722, the appointed British governor needed the House to raise revenues. House leaders agreed to raise taxes in return for an independent Supreme Court. Lloyd became its first Chief Justice.
Nowhere else in the early 1700s was there an independent Supreme Court with the power to declare laws made by an elected legislative body to be unconstitutional. The concept of a free judiciary is one of Pennsylvania's greatest contributions to democracy.
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/wu01/vc/visitor_info/blue/supreme_court.htm
My comments:
It looks like something is wrong with the whole thing.
Penn was Jailed 5 times in england. Came over here and established a Provincial Court under the control of his British governors.
Although Penn was against it, The General Assembly called for a separte branch of powers, and formally called for a third branch of government starting with the 1701 Judiciary Bill, written by the brilliant Speaker David Lloyd.
House leaders agreed to raise taxes in return for an independent Supreme Court. Lloyd (appointed British governor) became its first Chief Justice.
Sounds all supsect to me! Doesn't this sound like we have always been under the British rule of Thumb? then does't that mean most of our History is truely then a Lie?
The United States of America is Independant of Who and When?
Well what do we expect. the British Empire is the seat of Satan! the dirty birds!
~LisaMarie~
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania meets in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. The Harrisburg Chamber of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, located on the fourth floor of the Capitol, is both a seat of justice as well as an artistic treasure.
Predating the United States Supreme Court by 67 years, Pennsylvania's highest court was established by the General Assembly on May 22, 1722, a remarkable creation unprecedented in American history.
Penn, a self-taught lawyer who was jailed on dubious grounds five times in England, wanted a fair and competent court system. In the original constitutions drafted by Penn, he established a Provincial Court under the control of his British governors.
The General Assembly, however, espoused the principle of separation of powers, and formally called for a third branch of government starting with the 1701 Judiciary Bill, written by the brilliant Speaker David Lloyd of Chester County. Penn consistently rejected such measures. In 1722, the appointed British governor needed the House to raise revenues. House leaders agreed to raise taxes in return for an independent Supreme Court. Lloyd became its first Chief Justice.
Nowhere else in the early 1700s was there an independent Supreme Court with the power to declare laws made by an elected legislative body to be unconstitutional. The concept of a free judiciary is one of Pennsylvania's greatest contributions to democracy.
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/wu01/vc/visitor_info/blue/supreme_court.htm
My comments:
It looks like something is wrong with the whole thing.
Penn was Jailed 5 times in england. Came over here and established a Provincial Court under the control of his British governors.
Although Penn was against it, The General Assembly called for a separte branch of powers, and formally called for a third branch of government starting with the 1701 Judiciary Bill, written by the brilliant Speaker David Lloyd.
House leaders agreed to raise taxes in return for an independent Supreme Court. Lloyd (appointed British governor) became its first Chief Justice.
Sounds all supsect to me! Doesn't this sound like we have always been under the British rule of Thumb? then does't that mean most of our History is truely then a Lie?
The United States of America is Independant of Who and When?
Well what do we expect. the British Empire is the seat of Satan! the dirty birds!
~LisaMarie~
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
PA Has Pandemic Emergency Powers Act Just Like MA In House
From: REVO76 Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
Date: 10/13/2009 12:50:00 PM
Subject: PA Has Pandemic Emergency Powers Act Just Like MA In House
PA Has Pandemic Emergency Powers Act Just Like MA In House Now! Mandatory Vaxs Is Fascist!!
JUST LIKE MASSACHUSETTS!! SOBS BASICALLY SUBVERT THE CONSTITUTION PUTTING EMERGENCY POWERS OVER AND ABOVE THE PEOPLES CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS!! THIS MUST BE STOPPED!! IT IS CURRENTLY IN COMMITTEE! THANKS NORMAN!! THESE SOBS! I BET THERE IS SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN JUST ABOUT ALL THE STATES! FUNNY THEY SHOULD ALL BE WORKING ON THIS 1929 BILL IN SECRET BEFORE THE PANDEMIC EVEN HIT!! FEB 18 2009! GO FREAKIN FIGURE!!
HERE IS THE BILL...From Page 3
The rights of people to liberty, bodily integrity
and privacy must be respected to the fullest extent possible
consistent with the overriding importance of the public's
health and security.
PA HB492 Pandemic Emergency Powers Act Feb09
http://www.scribd.com/doc/20926856/PA-HB492-Pandemic-Emergency-Powers-Act-Feb09
Emergency Health Powers and Procedures - The General Assembly of Pennsylvania - Session of 2009
The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MSEHPA)
http://farmwars.info/?p=1243
As of this writing, Federal Guidebook to Pandemic Preparedness has not yet ... ID, IL, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, OK, OR, PA, RI, ... of the states that passed the Model State Health Emergency Powers Act
Refusing Vaccination Labels You A “Criminal”, So Says WHO
By Marti Oakley
http://www.thenhf.com/vaccinations/vac_263.htm
Jul 30, 2009 ... If the Model Emergency Health Powers Act is implemented on the instructions .... “This pandemic has been characterized, to date, by the mildness of ... IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, OK, OR, PA, RI,
Forced Vaccinations - HB 492 - The General Assembly of Pennsylvania - Session of 2009 - Emergency Health Powers and Procedures - authorizes on the basis of one man's opinion - the governor - forced medical examinations, forced isolations and quarantines, forced relocations,
prohibitions of firearms, and forced vaccinations. See attached copy of legislation and please do not miss the following:
"The public health authority may, for such period as the state of public health emergency exists, compel a person to be vaccinated"
- HB 492, Pg. 28, Line 29 to Pg. 29, Line 3
"A person who fails to comply with this section commits a misdemeanor of the third degree."
- HB 492, Pg. 29, Lines 20-21
"The public health authority shall have the power to enforce the provisions of this article through the imposition of fines and penalties, the issuance of orders and such other remedies as are provided by law."
- HB 492, Pg. 36, Lines 22-25
Based on the above, it appears that a patient who refuses vaccination may be incarcerated and fined under the above provisions. Further, scientific evidence is now clear that vaccines can and have done harm to the patient and have even caused death. If the vaccination actually harms the patient, government officials and health care providers are exempt from civil damages except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, facts very difficult to prove.
"State immunity-Neither the Commonwealth, its political subdivisions, nor, except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, the Governor, the public health authority or any other State official referenced in this article shall be liable for the death of or any injury to persons or damage to property as a result of complying with or attempting to comply with this article or any rule or regulations promulgated pursuant to this article." - HB 492, Pg. 38, Lines 5-12
"During a state of public health emergency, no private person, firm or
corporation and employees and agents of such person, firm or corporation in the performance of a contract with and under the direction of the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions under the provisions of this article shall be civilly liable for causing the death of or injury to any person or damage to any property except in the event of gross negligence or willful misconduct." - HB 492, Pg. 38, Line 25 to Pg. 39 Line 2
The State also assumes the power to destroy property and as was just referenced, the Commonwealth
nor any of its agents can be held accountable or liable for damages. This provision violates the clear
rule that private property cannot be taken for public use without just compensation.
"The public health authority shall, for examination purposes, close, evacuate or decontaminate any facility or decontaminate or destroy any material when the authority reasonably suspects that such facility or material may endanger the public health."
- HB 492, Pg. 12, Lines 3-7
The State's emergency powers further include the power . . .
"to control, restrict and regulate by rationing and using quotas, prohibitions on shipments, price fixing, allocation or other means, the use, sale, dispensing, distribution or transportation of food,
fuel, clothing and other commodities, alcoholic beverages, firearms, explosives and combustibles" - HB 492, Pg. 18, Lines 18-24
Similar legislation was introduced in Massachusetts and made national news and has met with much resistance.
Please help get the word out about this.
Posted by Guy Razer on October 11, 2009
http://fightingforliberty.ning.com/profiles/blogs/pa-has-pandemic-emergency
Date: 10/13/2009 12:50:00 PM
Subject: PA Has Pandemic Emergency Powers Act Just Like MA In House
PA Has Pandemic Emergency Powers Act Just Like MA In House Now! Mandatory Vaxs Is Fascist!!
JUST LIKE MASSACHUSETTS!! SOBS BASICALLY SUBVERT THE CONSTITUTION PUTTING EMERGENCY POWERS OVER AND ABOVE THE PEOPLES CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS!! THIS MUST BE STOPPED!! IT IS CURRENTLY IN COMMITTEE! THANKS NORMAN!! THESE SOBS! I BET THERE IS SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN JUST ABOUT ALL THE STATES! FUNNY THEY SHOULD ALL BE WORKING ON THIS 1929 BILL IN SECRET BEFORE THE PANDEMIC EVEN HIT!! FEB 18 2009! GO FREAKIN FIGURE!!
HERE IS THE BILL...From Page 3
The rights of people to liberty, bodily integrity
and privacy must be respected to the fullest extent possible
consistent with the overriding importance of the public's
health and security.
PA HB492 Pandemic Emergency Powers Act Feb09
http://www.scribd.com/doc/20926856/PA-HB492-Pandemic-Emergency-Powers-Act-Feb09
Emergency Health Powers and Procedures - The General Assembly of Pennsylvania - Session of 2009
The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MSEHPA)
http://farmwars.info/?p=1243
As of this writing, Federal Guidebook to Pandemic Preparedness has not yet ... ID, IL, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, OK, OR, PA, RI, ... of the states that passed the Model State Health Emergency Powers Act
Refusing Vaccination Labels You A “Criminal”, So Says WHO
By Marti Oakley
http://www.thenhf.com/vaccinations/vac_263.htm
Jul 30, 2009 ... If the Model Emergency Health Powers Act is implemented on the instructions .... “This pandemic has been characterized, to date, by the mildness of ... IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, OK, OR, PA, RI,
Forced Vaccinations - HB 492 - The General Assembly of Pennsylvania - Session of 2009 - Emergency Health Powers and Procedures - authorizes on the basis of one man's opinion - the governor - forced medical examinations, forced isolations and quarantines, forced relocations,
prohibitions of firearms, and forced vaccinations. See attached copy of legislation and please do not miss the following:
"The public health authority may, for such period as the state of public health emergency exists, compel a person to be vaccinated"
- HB 492, Pg. 28, Line 29 to Pg. 29, Line 3
"A person who fails to comply with this section commits a misdemeanor of the third degree."
- HB 492, Pg. 29, Lines 20-21
"The public health authority shall have the power to enforce the provisions of this article through the imposition of fines and penalties, the issuance of orders and such other remedies as are provided by law."
- HB 492, Pg. 36, Lines 22-25
Based on the above, it appears that a patient who refuses vaccination may be incarcerated and fined under the above provisions. Further, scientific evidence is now clear that vaccines can and have done harm to the patient and have even caused death. If the vaccination actually harms the patient, government officials and health care providers are exempt from civil damages except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, facts very difficult to prove.
"State immunity-Neither the Commonwealth, its political subdivisions, nor, except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, the Governor, the public health authority or any other State official referenced in this article shall be liable for the death of or any injury to persons or damage to property as a result of complying with or attempting to comply with this article or any rule or regulations promulgated pursuant to this article." - HB 492, Pg. 38, Lines 5-12
"During a state of public health emergency, no private person, firm or
corporation and employees and agents of such person, firm or corporation in the performance of a contract with and under the direction of the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions under the provisions of this article shall be civilly liable for causing the death of or injury to any person or damage to any property except in the event of gross negligence or willful misconduct." - HB 492, Pg. 38, Line 25 to Pg. 39 Line 2
The State also assumes the power to destroy property and as was just referenced, the Commonwealth
nor any of its agents can be held accountable or liable for damages. This provision violates the clear
rule that private property cannot be taken for public use without just compensation.
"The public health authority shall, for examination purposes, close, evacuate or decontaminate any facility or decontaminate or destroy any material when the authority reasonably suspects that such facility or material may endanger the public health."
- HB 492, Pg. 12, Lines 3-7
The State's emergency powers further include the power . . .
"to control, restrict and regulate by rationing and using quotas, prohibitions on shipments, price fixing, allocation or other means, the use, sale, dispensing, distribution or transportation of food,
fuel, clothing and other commodities, alcoholic beverages, firearms, explosives and combustibles" - HB 492, Pg. 18, Lines 18-24
Similar legislation was introduced in Massachusetts and made national news and has met with much resistance.
Please help get the word out about this.
Posted by Guy Razer on October 11, 2009
http://fightingforliberty.ning.com/profiles/blogs/pa-has-pandemic-emergency
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Quit whinin', healthcare workers!
Arthur Caplan, (Ph.D. my Ass) sounds more like a Snake Oil salesman for Big Pharma to me!!! ~LisaMarie~
From: BVProductions (146303785)
Date: 10/8/2009 6:46:28 PM
Subject: MSNBC: Quit whinin', healthcare workers!
Anyone with some common sense can see how many things are wrong with this article....
News? Po-leaseeee!
-------------
By Arthur Caplan, Ph.D.
msnbc.com contributor
Enough already with the whining, moaning, demonstrating and protesting by health care workers. Doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, nurses’ aides, and anyone else who has regular contact with patients ought to be required to get a flu shot or find another line of work.
The California Nurses Association and the National Nurses Organizing Committee have issued statements that individuals should be able to refuse the vaccine. The New York State Public Employees Federation said that “vaccination for influenza is not as effective in the control of disease as vaccination for diseases such as polio, measles and mumps.” Other health groups wanted to know why those who preferred to shun the shot could not simply wear masks.
Last week hundreds of people showed up in Albany, N.Y., at a rally to protest New York State’s plan to require all state workers to get both an annual flu shot and a swine flu vaccine. Most at the rally said their rights were being infringed.
Excuse me? What rights might those be? The right to infect your patient and kill them? The right to create havoc in the health care workforce if swine flu hits hard? The right to ignore all the evidence of safety and efficacy of vaccines thus continuing to promulgate an irrational fear on the part of the public of the best protection babies, pregnant women, the elderly and the frail have against the flu? Those rights?
Many hospitals in Illinois, Washington, Missouri, Georgia and Maryland are putting in place flu shot mandates. My own institution, the University of Pennsylvania Health System and its affiliated, top-ranked Children’s Hospital are leading the way in getting mandates moving. Why? The answer is simple: The vaccine will save lives.
Nothing works as well as vaccines to prevent getting the flu and transmitting it others. Masks may help, but still 20 percent of those who wear them get sick. There is no evidence that vitamins, special diets, fresh air or any other alternative ideas does anything to make flu viruses less nasty. And all we really have to fight swine flu are ventilators, some drugs that may or may not work and the new vaccine.
Flu activity around the country
A state-by-state look at the geographical spread of both seasonal flu and swine flu (H1N1) in the United States.
The medical establishment has been recommending that kids get flu shots forever. The state of New Jersey just put into practice a law requiring flu shots for young schoolchildren in day care and preschool. The U.S. Armed Forces has no time for anyone who will not get a flu shot. If you want to legally immigrate to this country you have to roll up your sleeve. Why should health care workers be treated any differently?
I understand that there are a few people who have medical reasons not to get a flu shot. Those people are and should be exempt. But that is not the issue driving opposition to mandates. When there is push back it is based on the notion that the individual’s rights are being trampled in the name of the common good.
Look, there are legitimate issues that ought to be debated whenever someone says you must do something to benefit others ranging from taxation to restrictions on driving under the influence. But health care workers' own code of ethics dictates that they put the interests of others — their patients — first.
Getting a flu shot is the least those who claim to be bound by professional ethics ought to do. It's time to man-up and protect those at risk in our hospitals and nursing homes, along with each other, and make getting a flu shot a part of the responsibility of being a healer.
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33210502/ns/health-health_care
From: BVProductions (146303785)
Date: 10/8/2009 6:46:28 PM
Subject: MSNBC: Quit whinin', healthcare workers!
Anyone with some common sense can see how many things are wrong with this article....
News? Po-leaseeee!
-------------
By Arthur Caplan, Ph.D.
msnbc.com contributor
Enough already with the whining, moaning, demonstrating and protesting by health care workers. Doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, nurses’ aides, and anyone else who has regular contact with patients ought to be required to get a flu shot or find another line of work.
The California Nurses Association and the National Nurses Organizing Committee have issued statements that individuals should be able to refuse the vaccine. The New York State Public Employees Federation said that “vaccination for influenza is not as effective in the control of disease as vaccination for diseases such as polio, measles and mumps.” Other health groups wanted to know why those who preferred to shun the shot could not simply wear masks.
Last week hundreds of people showed up in Albany, N.Y., at a rally to protest New York State’s plan to require all state workers to get both an annual flu shot and a swine flu vaccine. Most at the rally said their rights were being infringed.
Excuse me? What rights might those be? The right to infect your patient and kill them? The right to create havoc in the health care workforce if swine flu hits hard? The right to ignore all the evidence of safety and efficacy of vaccines thus continuing to promulgate an irrational fear on the part of the public of the best protection babies, pregnant women, the elderly and the frail have against the flu? Those rights?
Many hospitals in Illinois, Washington, Missouri, Georgia and Maryland are putting in place flu shot mandates. My own institution, the University of Pennsylvania Health System and its affiliated, top-ranked Children’s Hospital are leading the way in getting mandates moving. Why? The answer is simple: The vaccine will save lives.
Nothing works as well as vaccines to prevent getting the flu and transmitting it others. Masks may help, but still 20 percent of those who wear them get sick. There is no evidence that vitamins, special diets, fresh air or any other alternative ideas does anything to make flu viruses less nasty. And all we really have to fight swine flu are ventilators, some drugs that may or may not work and the new vaccine.
Flu activity around the country
A state-by-state look at the geographical spread of both seasonal flu and swine flu (H1N1) in the United States.
The medical establishment has been recommending that kids get flu shots forever. The state of New Jersey just put into practice a law requiring flu shots for young schoolchildren in day care and preschool. The U.S. Armed Forces has no time for anyone who will not get a flu shot. If you want to legally immigrate to this country you have to roll up your sleeve. Why should health care workers be treated any differently?
I understand that there are a few people who have medical reasons not to get a flu shot. Those people are and should be exempt. But that is not the issue driving opposition to mandates. When there is push back it is based on the notion that the individual’s rights are being trampled in the name of the common good.
Look, there are legitimate issues that ought to be debated whenever someone says you must do something to benefit others ranging from taxation to restrictions on driving under the influence. But health care workers' own code of ethics dictates that they put the interests of others — their patients — first.
Getting a flu shot is the least those who claim to be bound by professional ethics ought to do. It's time to man-up and protect those at risk in our hospitals and nursing homes, along with each other, and make getting a flu shot a part of the responsibility of being a healer.
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33210502/ns/health-health_care
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Street Report from the G20 by Bill Quigley
From: PAPA JOHN
Date: 9/29/2009
Bill Quigley: Street Report from the G20
The G20 in Pittsburgh showed us how pitifully fearful our leaders have become. What no terrorist could do to us, our own leaders did.
Out of fear of the possibility of a terrorist attack, authorities militarize our towns, scare our people away, stop daily life and quash our constitutional rights.
For days, downtown Pittsburgh, home to the G20, was a turned into a militarized people-free ghost town. Sirens screamed day and night. Helicopters crisscrossed the skies. Gunboats sat in the rivers. The skies were defended by Air Force jets. Streets were barricaded by huge cement blocks and fencing. Bridges were closed with National Guard across the entrances. Public transportation was stopped downtown. Amtrak train service was suspended for days.
In many areas, there were armed police every 100 feet. Businesses closed. Schools closed. Tens of thousands were unable to work.
Four thousand police were on duty plus 2500 National Guard plus Coast Guard and Air Force and dozens of other security agencies. A thousand volunteers from other police forces were sworn in to help out.
Police were dressed in battle gear, bulky black ninja turtle outfits: helmets with clear visors, strapped on body armor, shin guards, big boots, batons, and long guns.
In addition to helicopters, the police had hundreds of cars and motorcycles , armored vehicles, monster trucks, small electric go-karts. There were even passenger vans screaming through town so stuffed with heavily armed ninja turtles that the side and rear doors remained open.
No terrorists showed up at the G20.
Since no terrorists showed up, those in charge of the heavily armed security forces chose to deploy their forces around those who were protesting.
Not everyone is delighted that 20 countries control 80% of the world’s resources. Several thousand of them chose to express their displeasure by protesting.
Unfortunately, the officials in charge thought that it was more important to create a militarized people-free zone around the G20 people than to allow freedom of speech, freedom of assembly or the freedom to protest.
It took a lawsuit by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the ACLU to get any major protest permitted anywhere near downtown Pittsburgh. Even then, the police “forgot” what was permitted and turned people away from areas of town. Hundreds of police also harassed a bus of people who were giving away free food — repeatedly detaining the bus and searching it and its passengers without warrants.
Then a group of young people decided that they did not need a permit to express their human and constitutional rights to freedom. They announced they were going to hold their own gathering at a city park and go down the deserted city streets to protest the G20. Maybe 200 of these young people were self-described anarchists, dressed in black, many with bandanas across their faces. The police warned everyone these people were very scary. My cab driver said the anarchist spokesperson looked like Harry Potter in a black hoodie. The anarchists were joined in the park by hundreds of other activists of all ages, ultimately one thousand strong, all insisting on exercising their right to protest.
This drove the authorities crazy.
Battle dressed ninja turtles showed up at the park and formed a line across one entrance. Helicopters buzzed overhead. Armored vehicles gathered.
The crowd surged out of the park and up a side street yelling, chanting, drumming, and holding signs. As they exited the park, everyone passed an ice cream truck that was playing “It’s a small world after all.” Indeed.
Any remaining doubts about the militarization of the police were dispelled shortly after the crowd left the park. A few blocks away the police unveiled their latest high tech anti-protestor toy. It was mounted on the back of a huge black truck. The Pittsburgh-Gazette described it as Long Range Acoustic Device designed to break up crowds with piercing noise. Similar devices have been used in Fallujah, Mosul and Basra Iraq. The police backed the truck up, told people not to go any further down the street and then blasted them with piercing noise.
The crowd then moved to other streets. Now they were being tracked by helicopters. The police repeatedly tried to block them from re-grouping ultimately firing tear gas into the crowd injuring hundreds including people in the residential neighborhood where the police decided to confront the marchers. I was treated to some of the tear gas myself and I found the Pittsburgh brand to be spiced with a hint of kelbasa. Fortunately, I was handed some paper towels soaked in apple cider vinegar which helped fight the tears and cough a bit. Who would have thought?
After the large group broke and ran from the tear gas, smaller groups went into commercial neighborhoods and broke glass at a bank and a couple of other businesses. The police chased and the glass breakers ran. And the police chased and the people ran. For a few hours.
By day the police were menacing, but at night they lost their cool. Around a park by the University of Pittsburgh the ninja turtles pushed and shoved and beat and arrested not just protestors but people passing by. One young woman reported she and her friend watched Grey’s Anatomy and were on their way back to their dorm when they were cornered by police. One was bruised by police baton and her friend was arrested. Police shot tear gas, pepper spray, smoke canisters, and rubber bullets. They pushed with big plastic shields and struck with batons.
The biggest march was Friday. Thousands of people from Pittsburgh and other places protested the G20. Since the court had ruled on this march, the police did not confront the marchers. Ninja turtled police showed up in formation sometimes and the helicopters hovered but no confrontations occurred.
Again Friday night, riot clad police fought with students outside of the University of Pittsburgh. To what end was just as unclear as the night before.
Ultimately about 200 were arrested, mostly in clashes with the police around the University.
The G20 leaders left by helicopter and limousine.
Pittsburgh now belongs again to the people of Pittsburgh. The cement barricades were removed, the fences were taken down, the bridges and roads were opened. The gunboats packed up and left. The police packed away their ninja turtle outfits and tear gas and rubber bullets. They don’t look like military commandos anymore. No more gunboats on the river. No more sirens all the time. No more armored vehicles and ear splitting machines used in Iraq. On Monday the businesses will open and kids will have to go back to school. Civil society has returned.
It is now probably even safe to exercise constitutional rights in Pittsburgh once again.
The USA really showed those terrorists didn’t we?
http://ccrjustice.org/bill-quigley%3A-street-report-g20
Date: 9/29/2009
Bill Quigley: Street Report from the G20
The G20 in Pittsburgh showed us how pitifully fearful our leaders have become. What no terrorist could do to us, our own leaders did.
Out of fear of the possibility of a terrorist attack, authorities militarize our towns, scare our people away, stop daily life and quash our constitutional rights.
For days, downtown Pittsburgh, home to the G20, was a turned into a militarized people-free ghost town. Sirens screamed day and night. Helicopters crisscrossed the skies. Gunboats sat in the rivers. The skies were defended by Air Force jets. Streets were barricaded by huge cement blocks and fencing. Bridges were closed with National Guard across the entrances. Public transportation was stopped downtown. Amtrak train service was suspended for days.
In many areas, there were armed police every 100 feet. Businesses closed. Schools closed. Tens of thousands were unable to work.
Four thousand police were on duty plus 2500 National Guard plus Coast Guard and Air Force and dozens of other security agencies. A thousand volunteers from other police forces were sworn in to help out.
Police were dressed in battle gear, bulky black ninja turtle outfits: helmets with clear visors, strapped on body armor, shin guards, big boots, batons, and long guns.
In addition to helicopters, the police had hundreds of cars and motorcycles , armored vehicles, monster trucks, small electric go-karts. There were even passenger vans screaming through town so stuffed with heavily armed ninja turtles that the side and rear doors remained open.
No terrorists showed up at the G20.
Since no terrorists showed up, those in charge of the heavily armed security forces chose to deploy their forces around those who were protesting.
Not everyone is delighted that 20 countries control 80% of the world’s resources. Several thousand of them chose to express their displeasure by protesting.
Unfortunately, the officials in charge thought that it was more important to create a militarized people-free zone around the G20 people than to allow freedom of speech, freedom of assembly or the freedom to protest.
It took a lawsuit by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the ACLU to get any major protest permitted anywhere near downtown Pittsburgh. Even then, the police “forgot” what was permitted and turned people away from areas of town. Hundreds of police also harassed a bus of people who were giving away free food — repeatedly detaining the bus and searching it and its passengers without warrants.
Then a group of young people decided that they did not need a permit to express their human and constitutional rights to freedom. They announced they were going to hold their own gathering at a city park and go down the deserted city streets to protest the G20. Maybe 200 of these young people were self-described anarchists, dressed in black, many with bandanas across their faces. The police warned everyone these people were very scary. My cab driver said the anarchist spokesperson looked like Harry Potter in a black hoodie. The anarchists were joined in the park by hundreds of other activists of all ages, ultimately one thousand strong, all insisting on exercising their right to protest.
This drove the authorities crazy.
Battle dressed ninja turtles showed up at the park and formed a line across one entrance. Helicopters buzzed overhead. Armored vehicles gathered.
The crowd surged out of the park and up a side street yelling, chanting, drumming, and holding signs. As they exited the park, everyone passed an ice cream truck that was playing “It’s a small world after all.” Indeed.
Any remaining doubts about the militarization of the police were dispelled shortly after the crowd left the park. A few blocks away the police unveiled their latest high tech anti-protestor toy. It was mounted on the back of a huge black truck. The Pittsburgh-Gazette described it as Long Range Acoustic Device designed to break up crowds with piercing noise. Similar devices have been used in Fallujah, Mosul and Basra Iraq. The police backed the truck up, told people not to go any further down the street and then blasted them with piercing noise.
The crowd then moved to other streets. Now they were being tracked by helicopters. The police repeatedly tried to block them from re-grouping ultimately firing tear gas into the crowd injuring hundreds including people in the residential neighborhood where the police decided to confront the marchers. I was treated to some of the tear gas myself and I found the Pittsburgh brand to be spiced with a hint of kelbasa. Fortunately, I was handed some paper towels soaked in apple cider vinegar which helped fight the tears and cough a bit. Who would have thought?
After the large group broke and ran from the tear gas, smaller groups went into commercial neighborhoods and broke glass at a bank and a couple of other businesses. The police chased and the glass breakers ran. And the police chased and the people ran. For a few hours.
By day the police were menacing, but at night they lost their cool. Around a park by the University of Pittsburgh the ninja turtles pushed and shoved and beat and arrested not just protestors but people passing by. One young woman reported she and her friend watched Grey’s Anatomy and were on their way back to their dorm when they were cornered by police. One was bruised by police baton and her friend was arrested. Police shot tear gas, pepper spray, smoke canisters, and rubber bullets. They pushed with big plastic shields and struck with batons.
The biggest march was Friday. Thousands of people from Pittsburgh and other places protested the G20. Since the court had ruled on this march, the police did not confront the marchers. Ninja turtled police showed up in formation sometimes and the helicopters hovered but no confrontations occurred.
Again Friday night, riot clad police fought with students outside of the University of Pittsburgh. To what end was just as unclear as the night before.
Ultimately about 200 were arrested, mostly in clashes with the police around the University.
The G20 leaders left by helicopter and limousine.
Pittsburgh now belongs again to the people of Pittsburgh. The cement barricades were removed, the fences were taken down, the bridges and roads were opened. The gunboats packed up and left. The police packed away their ninja turtle outfits and tear gas and rubber bullets. They don’t look like military commandos anymore. No more gunboats on the river. No more sirens all the time. No more armored vehicles and ear splitting machines used in Iraq. On Monday the businesses will open and kids will have to go back to school. Civil society has returned.
It is now probably even safe to exercise constitutional rights in Pittsburgh once again.
The USA really showed those terrorists didn’t we?
http://ccrjustice.org/bill-quigley%3A-street-report-g20
Friday, September 18, 2009
So how did the Point get on a Mayan calendar?
The Mayan world tree A road map to the Point?The fountain in Point State Park is a place to play and to soak in cool mist on a hot day. But to Vikki Hanchin and a local network of spiritually eclectic devotees, it is also a sacred place, a portal between Earth and heaven that they find depicted in the ancient Maya calendar.
According to that calendar, a new age is predicted to begin in 2012. Before that time, these local believers say, the aquifer feeding the fountain will develop miraculous healing powers.
The Maya, who flourished in southern Mexico and Central America from 2500 B.C. to 800 A.D., believed that certain places on Earth matched constellations in the sky, and were portals between this world and heaven.
These Pittsburghers today believe that the confluence of the three rivers at the Point, together with the "underground river" that feeds the fountain, are an exact match for the "Tree of Life" or "World Tree" that the Maya saw at the center of the Milky Way. That, they say, makes it a very important portal to another world.
Ms. Hanchin, a psychotherapist from Swissvale, inadvertently became the spokeswoman for the network when she wrote about it in the local bimonthly magazine Point of Light.
"The more I have sat with this material, I have asked myself, 'Why is this coming to us? Why me?' " she said.
She says her interest in integrating ideas from different faiths -- her parents practiced an array of beliefs, from Rosicrucianism to Eckankar, when she was growing up in the '60s -- led her to the Maya. Their complex hieroglyphic calendar depicts an accelerating series of epochs, one of which is set to end around 2012. Many doomsday scenarios have been constructed around that date.
Ms. Hanchin believes the next age will be one of peace and renewed harmony between humanity and nature.
"The idea is that planetary consciousness would go through a great, evolutionary leap. It disturbs me that the media was making it into a fear-mongering thing about the end of the world," she said.
Meadowcroft connection
But if confluence of the four rivers is depicted on the calendar, how did the ancient Maya come to know about it?
Here's her thinking: The Meadowcroft Rockshelter, just south of Pittsburgh, is the oldest known human settlement in North America, dating back about 16,000 years.
What if its inhabitants had migrated South, like a prehistoric Steeler Nation, carrying a cultural memory of the Point? She envisions them leaving a trail of burial mounds as they went, with their descendents eventually arriving in the Yucatan to become the great pyramid builders of the Maya.
She discovered that a local mystic and spiritual healer, Nance Stewart, of Valencia, had had visions of just such a migration, with ancient humans crossing on a glacier and settling in Meadowcroft before moving south to the Yucatan. Ms. Stewart, a retired crisis intervention worker, believes the heavenly portal at the Point is why Pittsburgh has been the birthplace of so many things, from the first Hindu temple in the United States to the Catholic charismatic movement.
In the vision, Ms. Stewart saw that the confluence at the Point was one of 12 portals worldwide -- some of the countries where others are located include Australia, China and Israel -- "that would bring universal light." Before 2012, she said, the aquifer feeding the fountain, known as the Wisconsin Glacial Flow, will produce healing waters so powerful that people will come from all over the world.
"It will be something like Lourdes," she said.
She says her visions showed modifications to the park that have only recently been done, making it more accessible to wheelchairs.
"I think the city fathers were guided to prepare Point State Park as a place where people can go to receive physical healing. We are all being guided, but we don't really know the whole plan," she said.
Skeptics weigh in
Such visions don't convince academics who study the ancient Americas.
James Adovasio, director of the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute, led the Meadowcroft excavation. He calls the theory that the Maya came from here "far-fetched."
He said it is impossible to link Meadowcroft to any group because there is no evidence one way or the other. The Indian mounds between here and Mexico mean little because it was a logical way to bury the dead that many groups might have devised independently.
"We don't know who [the Meadowcroft dwellers] are except that they ultimately came from northeastern Asia," he said. "They may or may not have had any genetic progeny who migrated south. They may have become locally extinct and have no descendents today."
Olivier de Montmollin, a University of Pittsburgh archaeologist specializing in the
Maya, said there is little resemblance between the beliefs of these Pittsburghers and those of the ancient Maya.
Some North Americans "are attracted to aspects of Maya religion, and kind of mash them together with ideas from western religions to create what is essentially a new religion," he said.
Most modern Maya are Catholics or Protestants who integrate vestiges of Maya religion into their Christian faith, he said.
"The Maya living in Central America today aren't really into [the 2012 prophesies] as far as I can tell," he said. "That is not part of their religion. The vast excitement about the big cycle is more in North America."
He's not impressed with the configuration of the Point.
"The Maya idea about portals is that there are lots of them in lots of places," he said. "The Maya people today think of their own village as the center of the world. They are kind of ethnocentric -- like we all are. The residents of Pittsburgh think it's the greatest city ever."
Blessing the waters
But Ms. Hanchin cites support from an influential Maya elder, Don Alejandro Oxlaj, who offered prayers at the inauguration of Guatemala's president and is described as a high priest and "grand elder of the Mayan Council of Elders of Guatemala" and "Day Keeper of the Mayan Calendar." After learning of her article about Pittsburgh and the Maya, he came to visit in December, and blessed the waters at the Point.
He envisioned the city having many worries, but also many good people and predicted that "solutions are coming for these serious problems," according to an oracle he gave to the city of Pittsburgh during his visit that was distributed by Ms. Hanchin and others.
Speaking of the waters at the Point, he said, "The rivers show us oneness, with the understanding that all life flows to the ocean, to the source. ... The rivers show us this unity that is the future. ... Mayan prophecy tells us the dawn is coming for this unity. This is the predicted time of the return of the Ones of Wisdom."
Fernando Cardoza, a board member of Pittsburgh's Latin American Cultural Union, said that among Latinos, Don Alejandro is regarded as "the Dalai Lama of the Mayan tradition" because of his message of reconciliation.
Mr. Cardoza said he is drawn less to the mystic aspect of Don Alejandro's teachings than to his practical message of care for the earth and reconciliation among all people.
"He said yes, indeed there are prophecies that refer to the alignment of the rivers here in Pittsburgh. But the essential part of the message that I picked up is that you people in Pittsburgh can choose to do something to make a better future," he said.
"He said that if your leaders want to do this for the higher good, your city is going to be a powerhouse."
Be thankful for the rivers
Ms. Hanchin isn't asking anyone to practice the Maya religion. She believes all faiths encourage people to be thankful for the rivers and use them as places of prayer. That is all that is called for, she said.
"Western culture has been cut off from the wisdom of nature," she said. "It's gotten lost in an overly materialistic way of life. The imbalance is such that it threatens our survival.
"The messages about the rivers remind us to reconnect with our sacred geology and to reconnect with the ancient, indigenous wisdom of how to live in harmony with the Earth."
The only preparations Pittsburghers need make for 2012 are things they should do anyway, Ms Stewart said.
"We need to spend as much time on our spiritual hygiene as we do on our physical hygiene. That means taking time for prayer or meditation, and practicing nonjudgment and unconditional love," she said.
"If all the people in this area did that, that would prepare them for whatever is going to come tomorrow, or in an hour."
Ms. Stewart's Web site is www.twinmiracle.com. Ann Rodgers can be reached at arodgers@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1416.
First published on June 22, 2008 at 12:00 am
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08174/891772-52.stm
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Protesters Arrested @ “Army Experience Center” In Philly
After Downing Street
9/13/09
By Linda Milazzo
OpedNews Journalist and Six Protesters Arrested At “Army Experience Center” In Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA, September 12, 2009: Six members of various anti-war groups, including World Can’t Wait and Military Families Speak Out, and an OpedNews journalist, were arrested today at approximately 3:00pm (ET) at a protest organized to shut down The Army Experience Center, located in Franklin Mills Mall in Philadelphia, PA.
Photo by Rob Kall: Protester arrest outside Army Experience Center. Cheryl Biren (OpedNews) in foreground photographing event.
As reported to me by Rob Kall, publisher of OpedNews, those arrested and currently detained include Debra Sweet, National Director of World Can’t Wait, and Elaine Brower, of Military Families Speak Out, whose son was deployed three times to Afghanistan and Iraq. According to Brower:
“The AEC is giving guns to 13 year olds, drawing them in with violent video games. As more and more Afghani civilians and US military are being killed in the US occupation of Afghanistan, we’re saying NO to these wars. We’ve got to stop the flow of youth into the military where they’re being used to commit war crimes in our name.”
Earlier in the day, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, Christopher Hedges, author of “War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning,” and “Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle,” addressed the crowd outside the Franklin Mills Mall on Knights and Woodhaven Roads.
Hedges, a former war correspondent for several publications including the New York Times, has spoken openly of his aversion to war after spending years covering major conflicts in El Salvador, the Middle East, Bosnia and Kosovo. In advance of today’s event, Hedges released the following statement describing his opposition to The Army Experience Center:
“War is not a game. Weapons are not toys. The essence of war is death. The purpose of war is to extinguish all opposing living systems from the economic to the political, social, cultural and finally, familial. Those who entice children to play with mock weapons of war will never allow these children to see what these weapons do to human bodies. They hide from them the fundamental truth about violence and in this way socialize them to kill.”
Photo by Philadelphia Indymedia
On the eve of the eighth anniversary of the United States’ invasion of Afghanistan, with President Obama’s current escalation of military action resulting in increased American and Afghan deaths, the war on Afghanistan is quickly losing favor amongst Americans. The Army Experience Center is to date the military’s most ambitious high tech effort to counter disfavor and drum up army recruitment by instilling militarism and weaponry excitement in impressionable youth. This 13 million dollar, 14,500-square-foot recruitment tool has drawn wide-ranging criticism for its over-the-top attempt to inspire enthusiasm for war through simulated games which show none of the horror and destruction of war, but focus instead on the adrenalin rush of state of the art weapons and machines.
As of now, the exact charges against those arrested have not been detailed. The five women protesters also include Sarah Wellington, Joan Plume and Beverly Rice. They have been transferred to The Roundhouse, the central police facility in Philadelphia. Also arrested was Cheryl Biren, an OpedNews Managing Editor who was standing apart from those being arrested and photographing the arresting officers. Even though Biren told police she was a journalist, they rapidly approached her and arrested her with the protesters. Biren is still being detained. The exact circumstance and identity of the man who was arrested have not been revealed.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/45979
Story also at:
http://america20xy.com/blog6/2009/09/13/opednews-journalist-and-six-protesters-arrested-at-army-experience-center-in-philadelphia/
9/13/09
By Linda Milazzo
OpedNews Journalist and Six Protesters Arrested At “Army Experience Center” In Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA, September 12, 2009: Six members of various anti-war groups, including World Can’t Wait and Military Families Speak Out, and an OpedNews journalist, were arrested today at approximately 3:00pm (ET) at a protest organized to shut down The Army Experience Center, located in Franklin Mills Mall in Philadelphia, PA.
Photo by Rob Kall: Protester arrest outside Army Experience Center. Cheryl Biren (OpedNews) in foreground photographing event.
As reported to me by Rob Kall, publisher of OpedNews, those arrested and currently detained include Debra Sweet, National Director of World Can’t Wait, and Elaine Brower, of Military Families Speak Out, whose son was deployed three times to Afghanistan and Iraq. According to Brower:
“The AEC is giving guns to 13 year olds, drawing them in with violent video games. As more and more Afghani civilians and US military are being killed in the US occupation of Afghanistan, we’re saying NO to these wars. We’ve got to stop the flow of youth into the military where they’re being used to commit war crimes in our name.”
Earlier in the day, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, Christopher Hedges, author of “War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning,” and “Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle,” addressed the crowd outside the Franklin Mills Mall on Knights and Woodhaven Roads.
Hedges, a former war correspondent for several publications including the New York Times, has spoken openly of his aversion to war after spending years covering major conflicts in El Salvador, the Middle East, Bosnia and Kosovo. In advance of today’s event, Hedges released the following statement describing his opposition to The Army Experience Center:
“War is not a game. Weapons are not toys. The essence of war is death. The purpose of war is to extinguish all opposing living systems from the economic to the political, social, cultural and finally, familial. Those who entice children to play with mock weapons of war will never allow these children to see what these weapons do to human bodies. They hide from them the fundamental truth about violence and in this way socialize them to kill.”
Photo by Philadelphia Indymedia
On the eve of the eighth anniversary of the United States’ invasion of Afghanistan, with President Obama’s current escalation of military action resulting in increased American and Afghan deaths, the war on Afghanistan is quickly losing favor amongst Americans. The Army Experience Center is to date the military’s most ambitious high tech effort to counter disfavor and drum up army recruitment by instilling militarism and weaponry excitement in impressionable youth. This 13 million dollar, 14,500-square-foot recruitment tool has drawn wide-ranging criticism for its over-the-top attempt to inspire enthusiasm for war through simulated games which show none of the horror and destruction of war, but focus instead on the adrenalin rush of state of the art weapons and machines.
As of now, the exact charges against those arrested have not been detailed. The five women protesters also include Sarah Wellington, Joan Plume and Beverly Rice. They have been transferred to The Roundhouse, the central police facility in Philadelphia. Also arrested was Cheryl Biren, an OpedNews Managing Editor who was standing apart from those being arrested and photographing the arresting officers. Even though Biren told police she was a journalist, they rapidly approached her and arrested her with the protesters. Biren is still being detained. The exact circumstance and identity of the man who was arrested have not been revealed.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/45979
Story also at:
http://america20xy.com/blog6/2009/09/13/opednews-journalist-and-six-protesters-arrested-at-army-experience-center-in-philadelphia/
Monday, September 7, 2009
Go to Pittsburgh, Young Man, and Defy Your Empire
By Chris Hedges
Posted on Aug 31, 2009
Go to Pittsburgh, Young Man, and Defy Your Empire
Globalization and unfettered capitalism have been swept into the history books along with the open-market theory of the 1920s, the experiments of fascism, communism and the New Deal. It is time for a new economic and political paradigm. It is time for a new language to address our reality. The voices of change, those who speak in powerful and yet unfamiliar words, will cry out Sept. 25 and 26 in Pittsburgh when protesters from around the country gather to defy the heads of state, bankers and finance ministers from the world’s 22 largest economies who are convening for a meeting of the G-20. If we heed these dissident voices we have a future. If we do not we will commit collective suicide.
The international power elites will go to Pittsburgh to preach the mantra that globalization is inevitable and eternal. They will discuss a corpse as if it was living. They will urge us to remain in suspended animation and place our trust in the inept bankers and politicians who orchestrated the crisis. This is the usual tactic of bankrupt elites clinging to power. They denigrate and push to the margins the realists—none of whom will be inside their security perimeters—who give words to our disintegration and demand a new, unfamiliar course. The powerful discredit dissent and protest. But human history, as Erich Fromm wrote, always begins anew with disobedience. This disobedience is the first step toward freedom. It makes possible the recovery of reason.
The longer we speak in the language of global capitalism, the longer we utter platitudes about the free market—even as we funnel hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars into the accounts of large corporations—the longer we live in a state of collective self-delusion. Our power elite, who profess to hate government and government involvement in the free market, who claim they are the defenders of competition and individualism, have been stealing hundreds of billions of dollars of our money to nationalize mismanaged corporations and save them from bankruptcy. We hear angry and confused citizens, their minds warped by hate talk radio and television, condemn socialized medicine although we have become, at least for corporations, the most socialized nation on Earth. The schizophrenia between what we profess and what we actually embrace has rendered us incapable of confronting reality. The longer we speak in the old language of markets, capitalism, free trade and globalization the longer the entities that created this collapse will cannibalize the nation.
What are we now? What do we believe? What economic model explains the irrationality of looting the U.S. Treasury to permit speculators at Goldman Sachs to make obscene profits? How can Barack Obama’s chief economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, tout a “jobless recovery”? How much longer can we believe the fantasy that global markets will replace nation states and that economics will permit us to create a utopian world where we will all share the same happy goals? When will we denounce the lie that globalization fosters democracy, enlightenment, worldwide prosperity and stability? When we will we realize that unfettered global trade and corporate profit are the bitter enemies of freedom and the common good?
Corporations are pushing through legislation in the United States that will force us to buy defective, for-profit health insurance, a plan that will expand corporate monopolies and profits at our expense and leave tens of millions without adequate care. Corporations are blocking all attempts to move to renewable and sustainable energy to protect the staggering profits of the oil, natural gas and coal industries. Corporations are plunging us deeper and deeper as a nation into debt to feed the permanent war economy and swell the military budget, which consumes half of all discretionary spending. Corporations use lobbyists and campaign contributions to maintain arcane tax codes that offer them tax havens and tax evasions. Corporations are draining the treasury while the working class sheds jobs, sees homes foreclosed and struggles to survive in a new and terrifying global serfdom. This has been the awful price of complacency.
Protests will begin several days before the summit. Many of the activities are being coordinated by Pittsburgh’s Thomas Merton Center. There will be a march Sept. 25 for anyone who, as Jessica Benner of the center’s Antiwar Committee stated, “has lost a job, a home, a loved one to war, lost value to a retirement plan, gotten sick from environmental pollution, or lived without adequate healthcare, water, or food. … ” There will be at least three tent cities, in addition to a Music Camp beginning Sept. 18 that will be situated at the South Side Riverfront Park near 18th Street. Unemployed workers will set up one tent city at the Monumental Baptist Church on Sept. 20 and five days later will march on the Convention Center. The encampment and the march are being organized by the Bail Out the People Movement. The Institute for Policy Studies, The Nation magazine, the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, Pittsburgh United and other organizations will host events including a panel on corporate globalization featuring former World Bank President Joseph Stiglitz, along with a “People’s Tribunal.” There will be a religious procession calling for social justice and a concert organized by Students for a Democratic Society.
But expect difficulties. The Secret Service has so far denied protesters permits while it determines the size of the “security perimeter” it will impose around the world leaders. Pittsburgh has contracted to bring in an extra 4,000 police officers at an estimated cost of $9.5 million. Activist groups have reported incidents of surveillance and harassment. The struggle to thwart the voices of citizens will be as fierce as the struggle to amplify the voices of the criminal class that is trashing the world’s economy. These elites will appear from behind closed doors with their communiqués and resolutions to address us in their specialized jargon of power and expertise. They will attempt to convince us they have not lost control. They will make recommitments to free-trade agreements from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT, the World Trade Organization and NAFTA, which have all thrust a knife into the backs of the working class. They will insist that the world can be managed and understood exclusively through their distorted lens of economics. But their day is over. They are the apostles of a dead system. They maintain power through fraud and force. Do not expect them to go without a struggle. But they have nothing left to say to us.
“Those who profess to favour freedom, yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground,” Frederick Douglass wrote. “They want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
If you can, go to Pittsburgh. This is an opportunity to defy the titans of the corporate state and speak in words that describe our reality. The power elite fear these words. If these words seep into the population, if they become part of our common vernacular, the elite and the systems they defend will be unmasked. Our collective self-delusion will be shattered. These words of defiance expose the lies and crimes the elite use to barrel us toward neofeudalism. And these words, when they become real, propel men and women to resist.
“The end of something often resembles the beginning,” the philosopher John Ralston Saul wrote in “Voltaire’s Bastards.” “More often than not our nose-to-the-glass view makes us believe that the end we are living is in fact a new beginning. This confusion is typical of an old civilization’s self-confidence—limited by circumstances and by an absence of memory—and in many ways resembling the sort often produced by senility. Our rational need to control understanding and therefore memory has simply accentuated the confusion. … Nothing seems more permanent than a long-established government about to lose power, nothing more invincible than a grand army on the morning of its annihilation.”
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090831_hedges_pittsburgh_g20_defiance/
Posted on Aug 31, 2009
Go to Pittsburgh, Young Man, and Defy Your Empire
Globalization and unfettered capitalism have been swept into the history books along with the open-market theory of the 1920s, the experiments of fascism, communism and the New Deal. It is time for a new economic and political paradigm. It is time for a new language to address our reality. The voices of change, those who speak in powerful and yet unfamiliar words, will cry out Sept. 25 and 26 in Pittsburgh when protesters from around the country gather to defy the heads of state, bankers and finance ministers from the world’s 22 largest economies who are convening for a meeting of the G-20. If we heed these dissident voices we have a future. If we do not we will commit collective suicide.
The international power elites will go to Pittsburgh to preach the mantra that globalization is inevitable and eternal. They will discuss a corpse as if it was living. They will urge us to remain in suspended animation and place our trust in the inept bankers and politicians who orchestrated the crisis. This is the usual tactic of bankrupt elites clinging to power. They denigrate and push to the margins the realists—none of whom will be inside their security perimeters—who give words to our disintegration and demand a new, unfamiliar course. The powerful discredit dissent and protest. But human history, as Erich Fromm wrote, always begins anew with disobedience. This disobedience is the first step toward freedom. It makes possible the recovery of reason.
The longer we speak in the language of global capitalism, the longer we utter platitudes about the free market—even as we funnel hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars into the accounts of large corporations—the longer we live in a state of collective self-delusion. Our power elite, who profess to hate government and government involvement in the free market, who claim they are the defenders of competition and individualism, have been stealing hundreds of billions of dollars of our money to nationalize mismanaged corporations and save them from bankruptcy. We hear angry and confused citizens, their minds warped by hate talk radio and television, condemn socialized medicine although we have become, at least for corporations, the most socialized nation on Earth. The schizophrenia between what we profess and what we actually embrace has rendered us incapable of confronting reality. The longer we speak in the old language of markets, capitalism, free trade and globalization the longer the entities that created this collapse will cannibalize the nation.
What are we now? What do we believe? What economic model explains the irrationality of looting the U.S. Treasury to permit speculators at Goldman Sachs to make obscene profits? How can Barack Obama’s chief economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, tout a “jobless recovery”? How much longer can we believe the fantasy that global markets will replace nation states and that economics will permit us to create a utopian world where we will all share the same happy goals? When will we denounce the lie that globalization fosters democracy, enlightenment, worldwide prosperity and stability? When we will we realize that unfettered global trade and corporate profit are the bitter enemies of freedom and the common good?
Corporations are pushing through legislation in the United States that will force us to buy defective, for-profit health insurance, a plan that will expand corporate monopolies and profits at our expense and leave tens of millions without adequate care. Corporations are blocking all attempts to move to renewable and sustainable energy to protect the staggering profits of the oil, natural gas and coal industries. Corporations are plunging us deeper and deeper as a nation into debt to feed the permanent war economy and swell the military budget, which consumes half of all discretionary spending. Corporations use lobbyists and campaign contributions to maintain arcane tax codes that offer them tax havens and tax evasions. Corporations are draining the treasury while the working class sheds jobs, sees homes foreclosed and struggles to survive in a new and terrifying global serfdom. This has been the awful price of complacency.
Protests will begin several days before the summit. Many of the activities are being coordinated by Pittsburgh’s Thomas Merton Center. There will be a march Sept. 25 for anyone who, as Jessica Benner of the center’s Antiwar Committee stated, “has lost a job, a home, a loved one to war, lost value to a retirement plan, gotten sick from environmental pollution, or lived without adequate healthcare, water, or food. … ” There will be at least three tent cities, in addition to a Music Camp beginning Sept. 18 that will be situated at the South Side Riverfront Park near 18th Street. Unemployed workers will set up one tent city at the Monumental Baptist Church on Sept. 20 and five days later will march on the Convention Center. The encampment and the march are being organized by the Bail Out the People Movement. The Institute for Policy Studies, The Nation magazine, the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, Pittsburgh United and other organizations will host events including a panel on corporate globalization featuring former World Bank President Joseph Stiglitz, along with a “People’s Tribunal.” There will be a religious procession calling for social justice and a concert organized by Students for a Democratic Society.
But expect difficulties. The Secret Service has so far denied protesters permits while it determines the size of the “security perimeter” it will impose around the world leaders. Pittsburgh has contracted to bring in an extra 4,000 police officers at an estimated cost of $9.5 million. Activist groups have reported incidents of surveillance and harassment. The struggle to thwart the voices of citizens will be as fierce as the struggle to amplify the voices of the criminal class that is trashing the world’s economy. These elites will appear from behind closed doors with their communiqués and resolutions to address us in their specialized jargon of power and expertise. They will attempt to convince us they have not lost control. They will make recommitments to free-trade agreements from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT, the World Trade Organization and NAFTA, which have all thrust a knife into the backs of the working class. They will insist that the world can be managed and understood exclusively through their distorted lens of economics. But their day is over. They are the apostles of a dead system. They maintain power through fraud and force. Do not expect them to go without a struggle. But they have nothing left to say to us.
“Those who profess to favour freedom, yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground,” Frederick Douglass wrote. “They want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
If you can, go to Pittsburgh. This is an opportunity to defy the titans of the corporate state and speak in words that describe our reality. The power elite fear these words. If these words seep into the population, if they become part of our common vernacular, the elite and the systems they defend will be unmasked. Our collective self-delusion will be shattered. These words of defiance expose the lies and crimes the elite use to barrel us toward neofeudalism. And these words, when they become real, propel men and women to resist.
“The end of something often resembles the beginning,” the philosopher John Ralston Saul wrote in “Voltaire’s Bastards.” “More often than not our nose-to-the-glass view makes us believe that the end we are living is in fact a new beginning. This confusion is typical of an old civilization’s self-confidence—limited by circumstances and by an absence of memory—and in many ways resembling the sort often produced by senility. Our rational need to control understanding and therefore memory has simply accentuated the confusion. … Nothing seems more permanent than a long-established government about to lose power, nothing more invincible than a grand army on the morning of its annihilation.”
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090831_hedges_pittsburgh_g20_defiance/
Saturday, September 5, 2009
G20 likely to lay siege to Pittsburgh
Mike Boda
May 29, 1:00 PM
www.examiner.com
G20 likely to lay siege to Pittsburgh
It is the people who will deliver us from the men who have been corrupting us, and the people themselves will win their liberty.
-Louise Michel
There are numerous articles gushing over the decision to allow the global elite to gather in Pittsburgh, that speak of a vague "benefit" for the City and its residents. If other recent gatherings of the "masters of the universe" are any indication, unless you are employed by a hotel or an escort service or some other high-end tourism or security industry, all the average Pittsburgher will likely get out it is the inconvenience of closed streets, checkpoints, armored personnel carriers, protests in the streets, and the occasional whiff of stray tear gas.
Before the most recent G20 summit, London residents who were living near the ExCeL center where the summit was held, were required to carry two forms of ID, to get to their homes:
Residents at the western end of the ExCeL estate will have difficulty accessing their homes, whether by vehicle or on foot, because of road closures at the site and also with searching and screening taking place. They will be required to carry two forms of identification/proof of address (one of which must be photographic) to gain entry through security cordons.
Residents in surrounding areas will not be required to carry ID unless they are planning to travel into the ExCeL estate for work.
This should be less of a problem for Pittsburgh since in 2008 only 2,148 people actually lived in the Golden Triangle which was likely a consideration in our City being selected for this event.
The David L Lawrence Convention Center was likely selected for having water on one side, like the London site did. During the period of regular street demonstrations against the crusade in Iraq, the Convention Center was rumored to be used a temporary detention center in the event of mass arrests even larger than the122 protesters taken into custody, but that probably won't work for this one.
Many local business will be closed and boarded up for the duration, and while the federal government will foot most of the bill for turning the City into an armed camp, it has not been determined who will pay for the inevitable lawsuits, should another police riot break out. The Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway is very close to the proposed site for the G20 and transit service will likely be negatively impacted. How is any of this "beneficial"?
Since the G20 is comprised of unaccountable people who are largely responsible for the recent global economic crisis, extreme measures will be taken to ensure that the voices of those affected by it will not be heard. Infiltrators will be used to provoke and entrap dissenters and it's a safe bet to expect preemptive arrests and raids on the homes of local activists, as well as a flurry of sensational media coverage and statements from public officials intended to demonize anyone who happens to oppose closed meetings that have a negative impact on the rest of us.
London's Tory mayor, Boris "The Menace" Johnson, used his column in the Daily Telegraph to demonize and ridicule those opposed to these kinds of undemocratic institutions. Many people await the Boy Mayor's babbling on the subject with baited breath.
This type of coverage ensures that law enforcement will likely be whipped into a frenzy, over equipped and under trained, as the London police allege they were. David Gilbertson, a retired Scotland Yard police official, fears that policing in the UK has "morphed into a faux US-style operation" and:
Officers are trained to be on guard against attack, to regard every situation, no matter how seemingly benign, as a threat situation. The lesson is that the public are your enemy. That mindset appeared to dominate at the G20 protests.
The frightening part is that London, like the rest of Western Europe, enjoys a much higher tolerance for street protests than we do in the US.
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10661-Pittsburgh-Grassroots-Examiner~y2009m5d29-G20-likely-to-lay-siege-to-Pittsburgh
May 29, 1:00 PM
www.examiner.com
G20 likely to lay siege to Pittsburgh
It is the people who will deliver us from the men who have been corrupting us, and the people themselves will win their liberty.
-Louise Michel
There are numerous articles gushing over the decision to allow the global elite to gather in Pittsburgh, that speak of a vague "benefit" for the City and its residents. If other recent gatherings of the "masters of the universe" are any indication, unless you are employed by a hotel or an escort service or some other high-end tourism or security industry, all the average Pittsburgher will likely get out it is the inconvenience of closed streets, checkpoints, armored personnel carriers, protests in the streets, and the occasional whiff of stray tear gas.
Before the most recent G20 summit, London residents who were living near the ExCeL center where the summit was held, were required to carry two forms of ID, to get to their homes:
Residents at the western end of the ExCeL estate will have difficulty accessing their homes, whether by vehicle or on foot, because of road closures at the site and also with searching and screening taking place. They will be required to carry two forms of identification/proof of address (one of which must be photographic) to gain entry through security cordons.
Residents in surrounding areas will not be required to carry ID unless they are planning to travel into the ExCeL estate for work.
This should be less of a problem for Pittsburgh since in 2008 only 2,148 people actually lived in the Golden Triangle which was likely a consideration in our City being selected for this event.
The David L Lawrence Convention Center was likely selected for having water on one side, like the London site did. During the period of regular street demonstrations against the crusade in Iraq, the Convention Center was rumored to be used a temporary detention center in the event of mass arrests even larger than the122 protesters taken into custody, but that probably won't work for this one.
Many local business will be closed and boarded up for the duration, and while the federal government will foot most of the bill for turning the City into an armed camp, it has not been determined who will pay for the inevitable lawsuits, should another police riot break out. The Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway is very close to the proposed site for the G20 and transit service will likely be negatively impacted. How is any of this "beneficial"?
Since the G20 is comprised of unaccountable people who are largely responsible for the recent global economic crisis, extreme measures will be taken to ensure that the voices of those affected by it will not be heard. Infiltrators will be used to provoke and entrap dissenters and it's a safe bet to expect preemptive arrests and raids on the homes of local activists, as well as a flurry of sensational media coverage and statements from public officials intended to demonize anyone who happens to oppose closed meetings that have a negative impact on the rest of us.
London's Tory mayor, Boris "The Menace" Johnson, used his column in the Daily Telegraph to demonize and ridicule those opposed to these kinds of undemocratic institutions. Many people await the Boy Mayor's babbling on the subject with baited breath.
This type of coverage ensures that law enforcement will likely be whipped into a frenzy, over equipped and under trained, as the London police allege they were. David Gilbertson, a retired Scotland Yard police official, fears that policing in the UK has "morphed into a faux US-style operation" and:
Officers are trained to be on guard against attack, to regard every situation, no matter how seemingly benign, as a threat situation. The lesson is that the public are your enemy. That mindset appeared to dominate at the G20 protests.
The frightening part is that London, like the rest of Western Europe, enjoys a much higher tolerance for street protests than we do in the US.
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10661-Pittsburgh-Grassroots-Examiner~y2009m5d29-G20-likely-to-lay-siege-to-Pittsburgh
Welcome to the G 6 Billion
Join us as we journey and witness for the 6 (almost 7) billion people who are not represented by the group of 20 leaders yet whose lives and livelihoods are affected by choices not of their making.
Please peruse our site, download a flier, and join us on Sunday, September 20, at 2 PM, at Smithfield United Church of Christ, 620 Smithfield Street, to prepare for the Journey to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center to Witness for the 6 (almost 7) Billion people who are not represented by the Group of 20 leaders yet whose lives and livelihoods are affected by choices not of their making.
Download our flier here for the Journey and Witness flier and another for the
Planting of the Peace Pole and International Day of Peace
Bring a banner from your organization or house of worship or
sign up to carry one of the 192 flags of sovereign nation states of the United Nations. Contact teacher41@aol.com . For more information please call 412-596-0066 or the Thomas Merton Center 412-361-3022.
There will be many opportunities to welcome the world to Pittsburgh and everyone is still preparing. In addition to our recommended events for faithful and spiritual folks we also endorse the following events. Please visit their websites for more information.
* Peoples Voices http://pittsburghunited.org/g20
* Bail Out the People http://www.bailoutpeople.org/
* Peoples Summit http://www.peoplessummit.com/
* Women's Tent City http://www.g20media.org/sectors
* Peoples' March to the G 20 http://www.pittsburghendthewar.org/
It is also possible to contact the G20 Media at the Thomas Merton Center. Hopefully, this will continue to be updated. Go to: http://www.g20media.org/sectors
Journey and Witness
Who We Are
Recommended events leading up to the G 20
Packets for Houses of Worship and other Organizations
Oneness Prayer Meditation
Preemptive Nonviolence
Resources
G6 Billion Statement
Reform: Poverty is the Measure
http://g6billion.org/Site/Welcome_to_the_G_6_Billion.html
G-20 Summit Organizing at a Glance
Thomas Merton Center
http://www.thomasmertoncenter.org/
Mobilization Support
The Thomas Merton Center, a local hub for peace and justice organizing, is helping to facilitate G20 organizing across different sectors. Working groups include housing, march & rally planning, G20media, “legalities” and others.
Press Contact: Melissa Minnich, melissa@thomasmertoncenter.org , 412-361-3022
The People’s March
http://www.pittsburghendthewar.org/
9/25, 12pm
The Thomas Merton Center’s Antiwar Committee is taking the lead for the coordinating a 9/25 permitted march & rally to demand, “Money for Human needs, Not for War!”. The march will start in Oakland and end Downtown. They are inviting groups to form contingents and feeder marches.
Press Contact: Melissa Minnich, melissa@thomasmertoncenter.org , 412-361-3022
The People's Summit
http://www.peoplessummit.com/
9/19, 9am-6pm; 9/21-22, 7pm-10pm
A partnership of educators and advocacy groups concerned with peace and social justice is organizing a summit to discuss global problems and possible solutions that are informed by the basic principles of democracy and human rights. They are diverse speakers and panels, representing different perspectives, as well as organizing interactive workshop discussions. Locations TBA.
Press Contact: tba
People’s Voices
9/23, 6:30pm; 9/24, 3-5pm; 6:30-8:30pm
The Institute for Policy Studies, The Nation Magazine, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), Pittsburgh United, and other organizations are hosting three events. 9/23 (unconfirmed): a panel on corporate globalization featuring former World Bank President Joseph Stiglitz along with other prominent speakers. 9/24: “A Global ‘Local’ Exchange” at 3:30pm as well as a “People’s Tribunal” at 6:30pm. Locations TBA.
Press Contact: Robin Alexander, peoplesvoices.events@gmail.com
International Peace, Justice, & Empowerment Summit
9/22-23 location TBA
The National Council For Urban Peace, Justice & Empowerment is organizing a response to the G20 Summit. The purpose is to elevate discussion of the G20 beyond the narrow aspects of the health of financial markets, to addressing problems such as poverty, housing, employment, education, climate change, urban infrastructure, healthcare, economic development and other issues pertinent to the survival of disadvantaged peoples as part of the long-term answer to the viability of countries.
Press Contact: TRByrdsong@ceapittsburgh.org
Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project
http://www.resistg20.org/
Mobilization Support — Direct action on 9/24, 2:30pm & 9/25, 12 noon
PG20RP's goals are to set up a convergence space, find housing, maintain an information clearing house, create & distribute materials, provide legal support, build hype for the mobilization, engage in local outreach, and develop an action framework. The action framework consists of a march on the Summit on 9/24.
Press Contact: press@resistg20.org
3 Rivers Climate Convergence: United for Environmental Justice
http://www.3riversconvergence.org/
9/20-9/25 Climate Camp — 9/21-9/23 Coal Protests— Screenings
Local and national groups and individuals are collaborating on a climate justice camp & sustainable-living fair, protests & creative actions around the International Coal Conference that directly precedes the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, screenings & live presentations w/environmental justice films, and showcasing the North American Climate Justice Tour featuring climate change refugees.
Press Contact: 3riversconvergence@gmail.com , 412-216-9821
Global Justice Panel
9/22 or 9/23 (unconfirmed)
University of Pittsburgh’s Students for Radical Change is organizing a panel at the Univ. of Pittsburgh featuring Amy Goodman and Naomi Klein to be held at the University of Pittsburgh.
jj.LaTourelle@gmail.com
G-6 Billion
http://www.g6billion.org/
Procession on 9/20, 2pm, and more
A collection of spiritual, religious, and other groups & individuals have come together to organize a procession on Sunday, 9/20 that will start on the North Side at 2pm and end near the Convention Center. They are also organizing educational activities and prayer in the days leading up to the G20 Summit as well as an event on 9/21, the UN's International Day of Peace.
Press Contact:
Women's Coalition
9/20-25 Tent City — Feeder march for 9/25 permitted march
Pittsburgh chapters of the CodePink, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and other groups are forming a coalition for "Women's Tent City: Real People, Real Needs" representing refugees at a location TBA and a feeder march & contingent for the 9/25 march.
Press Contact: codepinkpgh@aol.com
Bail Out the People
http://www.bailoutpeople.org/
9/20, 2pm: March for Jobs & Tent City
Caravans of unemployed workers to set up a tent city at the Monumental Baptist Church 9/20 - 9/25 and march to the Convention Center on 9/20, 2pm.
Press Contact: March4Jobs@gmail.com , 412-780-3813
G-∞ Radio Project
http://www.indypgh.org/
Pittsburgh Indymedia and Rustbelt Radio will provide a 24/7 live web-streaming & radio broadcast during the week of the G20 summit. A forum for the voices of the people who are affected by the G20 policies, but whose stories go largely untold. Together with Pittsburgh's Indymedia's website, the project will provide up-to-the-minute, people-based coverage of G20-related events.
Press Contact:
No-G, 20k Bike Tour
(unconfirmed)
The 20k (12.4 miles) bike tours will ride the streets of the Steel City, stopping briefly at radically historic sites, alternative institutions. Some bikes will be available for out-of-towners.
Press Contact:
Pittsburgh Organizing Group
http://www.organizepittsburgh.org/
Pittsburgh Organizing Group's Tactical Training Initiative is organizing workshops throughout August and September.
Press Contact: pog@mutualaid.org
SDS Concert
studentpowerinthefaceofempire.wordpress.com
9/24 - evening
Students for a Democratic Society are planning a concert featuring Anti-Flag, State Radio and Ryan Harvey.
Press Contact: lotorto@riseup.net
Senator Jim Ferlo
9/23 -?
Senator Ferlo announced plans to seek a permit for a concert/rally to be held at Point State Park - but he’s been turned down.
Press Contact: mpappas@pasenate.com
United Steelworkers
9/23 -?
USW (and perhaps AFLCIO) are tentatively planning a rally and march downtown (unconfirmed).
Alliance for Climate Protection
9/23 -evening
ACP has announced they are working on a “high profile event.”
Amnesty International
AI plans to participate in some way TBD.
Press Contact: sameerdossani@gmail.com
Last updated: 8/14/09 by David Meieran, david@heartofdarkness.org
http://www.g20media.org/sectors
http://www.thomasmertoncenter.org/
Mobilization Support
The Thomas Merton Center, a local hub for peace and justice organizing, is helping to facilitate G20 organizing across different sectors. Working groups include housing, march & rally planning, G20media, “legalities” and others.
Press Contact: Melissa Minnich, melissa@thomasmertoncenter.org , 412-361-3022
The People’s March
http://www.pittsburghendthewar.org/
9/25, 12pm
The Thomas Merton Center’s Antiwar Committee is taking the lead for the coordinating a 9/25 permitted march & rally to demand, “Money for Human needs, Not for War!”. The march will start in Oakland and end Downtown. They are inviting groups to form contingents and feeder marches.
Press Contact: Melissa Minnich, melissa@thomasmertoncenter.org , 412-361-3022
The People's Summit
http://www.peoplessummit.com/
9/19, 9am-6pm; 9/21-22, 7pm-10pm
A partnership of educators and advocacy groups concerned with peace and social justice is organizing a summit to discuss global problems and possible solutions that are informed by the basic principles of democracy and human rights. They are diverse speakers and panels, representing different perspectives, as well as organizing interactive workshop discussions. Locations TBA.
Press Contact: tba
People’s Voices
9/23, 6:30pm; 9/24, 3-5pm; 6:30-8:30pm
The Institute for Policy Studies, The Nation Magazine, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), Pittsburgh United, and other organizations are hosting three events. 9/23 (unconfirmed): a panel on corporate globalization featuring former World Bank President Joseph Stiglitz along with other prominent speakers. 9/24: “A Global ‘Local’ Exchange” at 3:30pm as well as a “People’s Tribunal” at 6:30pm. Locations TBA.
Press Contact: Robin Alexander, peoplesvoices.events@gmail.com
International Peace, Justice, & Empowerment Summit
9/22-23 location TBA
The National Council For Urban Peace, Justice & Empowerment is organizing a response to the G20 Summit. The purpose is to elevate discussion of the G20 beyond the narrow aspects of the health of financial markets, to addressing problems such as poverty, housing, employment, education, climate change, urban infrastructure, healthcare, economic development and other issues pertinent to the survival of disadvantaged peoples as part of the long-term answer to the viability of countries.
Press Contact: TRByrdsong@ceapittsburgh.org
Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project
http://www.resistg20.org/
Mobilization Support — Direct action on 9/24, 2:30pm & 9/25, 12 noon
PG20RP's goals are to set up a convergence space, find housing, maintain an information clearing house, create & distribute materials, provide legal support, build hype for the mobilization, engage in local outreach, and develop an action framework. The action framework consists of a march on the Summit on 9/24.
Press Contact: press@resistg20.org
3 Rivers Climate Convergence: United for Environmental Justice
http://www.3riversconvergence.org/
9/20-9/25 Climate Camp — 9/21-9/23 Coal Protests— Screenings
Local and national groups and individuals are collaborating on a climate justice camp & sustainable-living fair, protests & creative actions around the International Coal Conference that directly precedes the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, screenings & live presentations w/environmental justice films, and showcasing the North American Climate Justice Tour featuring climate change refugees.
Press Contact: 3riversconvergence@gmail.com , 412-216-9821
Global Justice Panel
9/22 or 9/23 (unconfirmed)
University of Pittsburgh’s Students for Radical Change is organizing a panel at the Univ. of Pittsburgh featuring Amy Goodman and Naomi Klein to be held at the University of Pittsburgh.
jj.LaTourelle@gmail.com
G-6 Billion
http://www.g6billion.org/
Procession on 9/20, 2pm, and more
A collection of spiritual, religious, and other groups & individuals have come together to organize a procession on Sunday, 9/20 that will start on the North Side at 2pm and end near the Convention Center. They are also organizing educational activities and prayer in the days leading up to the G20 Summit as well as an event on 9/21, the UN's International Day of Peace.
Press Contact:
Women's Coalition
9/20-25 Tent City — Feeder march for 9/25 permitted march
Pittsburgh chapters of the CodePink, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and other groups are forming a coalition for "Women's Tent City: Real People, Real Needs" representing refugees at a location TBA and a feeder march & contingent for the 9/25 march.
Press Contact: codepinkpgh@aol.com
Bail Out the People
http://www.bailoutpeople.org/
9/20, 2pm: March for Jobs & Tent City
Caravans of unemployed workers to set up a tent city at the Monumental Baptist Church 9/20 - 9/25 and march to the Convention Center on 9/20, 2pm.
Press Contact: March4Jobs@gmail.com , 412-780-3813
G-∞ Radio Project
http://www.indypgh.org/
Pittsburgh Indymedia and Rustbelt Radio will provide a 24/7 live web-streaming & radio broadcast during the week of the G20 summit. A forum for the voices of the people who are affected by the G20 policies, but whose stories go largely untold. Together with Pittsburgh's Indymedia's website, the project will provide up-to-the-minute, people-based coverage of G20-related events.
Press Contact:
No-G, 20k Bike Tour
(unconfirmed)
The 20k (12.4 miles) bike tours will ride the streets of the Steel City, stopping briefly at radically historic sites, alternative institutions. Some bikes will be available for out-of-towners.
Press Contact:
Pittsburgh Organizing Group
http://www.organizepittsburgh.org/
Pittsburgh Organizing Group's Tactical Training Initiative is organizing workshops throughout August and September.
Press Contact: pog@mutualaid.org
SDS Concert
studentpowerinthefaceofempire.wordpress.com
9/24 - evening
Students for a Democratic Society are planning a concert featuring Anti-Flag, State Radio and Ryan Harvey.
Press Contact: lotorto@riseup.net
Senator Jim Ferlo
9/23 -?
Senator Ferlo announced plans to seek a permit for a concert/rally to be held at Point State Park - but he’s been turned down.
Press Contact: mpappas@pasenate.com
United Steelworkers
9/23 -?
USW (and perhaps AFLCIO) are tentatively planning a rally and march downtown (unconfirmed).
Alliance for Climate Protection
9/23 -evening
ACP has announced they are working on a “high profile event.”
Amnesty International
AI plans to participate in some way TBD.
Press Contact: sameerdossani@gmail.com
Last updated: 8/14/09 by David Meieran, david@heartofdarkness.org
http://www.g20media.org/sectors
Local events related to the G-20 Summit -Pittsburg. Pa
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The following are some events related to the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh. If your organization is planning an event related to the G-20 and you'd like to be included in this listing, send information and contact information to seberson@post-gazette.com.
PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP
These are upcoming events announced by the Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership. For more information: www.pittsburghG20.org:
Regional clean-up:
Sept. 12: Daylong effort to spruce up the city, coordinated by Pittsburgh Cares. Pick from a list of projects and sign up at http://www.pittsburghcares.org/
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust performing arts events, Katz Plaza, corner of 7th Street and Penn Avenue:
Sept. 17: noon, North Side Urban Pathways School Steel Pan Band
Sept. 18: noon, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre dancers; 6 p.m., Global Beats/PUMP Dance Party
Sept. 19: 1 p.m., Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh; 6 p.m., America's Latin Orchestra
Sept. 20: 2 p.m., CLO Ministars; 5 p.m., members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Sept. 21: noon, traditional Indian dance by Spilling Ink Dance Co.; 5 p.m., Brazilian vocalist Kenia
Sept. 22: noon, Pittsburgh Opera; 5 p.m., Jazz by Jevon Rushton Group; 7:30 p.m., Jazz by Sean Jones and Joe Negri, The Cabaret at Theater Square. There will be a cover charge.
Sept. 23: noon, Flamenco artist Carolina Loyola Garcia
Cultural Trust visual arts:
Sept. 11 to Nov. 6: "Soulpurpose: Local Artists Showcase," 709 Penn Gallery, a survey of 15 local artists.
Exhibitions will also take place at the Wood Street Galleries, SPACE and 707 Penn Gallery.
For more information on Trust events, call 412-456-6666 or visit http://pgharts.org/
Heinz History Center panel discussion
Sept. 16: International experts and local CEOs discuss summit issues, sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and RAND Corp.
Student Summit
Sept. 17: Fox Chapel Area High School. Students from across the region will participate in their own G-20 student summit.
Celebrations:
Sept. 17: Welcome celebration by Arrepia,Brasil! for the Pittsburgh G20 Summit, 5-6:30 p.m., Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 6th Ave, Downtown. Includes several presentations highlighting Brazil's culture and presence in Pittsburgh.
Beer Summit
Sept. 22: tasting of six beers from selected G-20 countries, 6 p.m., the Sharp Edge Beer Emporium, Friendship. Space is limited.
Sign up for these three events at http://www.worldaffairspittsburgh.org/
Day of Service
Sept. 25: If your job or school is closed due to the summit, sign up for a variety of community service projects in other parts of town at http://www.pittsburghcares.org/
MORE G-20-RELATED EVENTS
Lectures/panels/workshops:
Topic: Discover G-20: Who Are They? What Do They Do? Do Their Meetings Make Any Difference?
Mt. Lebanon Public Library, 16 Castle Shannon Blvd., 412-531-1912.
Sept. 9, 10 a.m.: Professor James Burnham, Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Duquesne University will discuss the G-20. http://www.mtlebanonlibrary.org/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: The G-20: How Will Leading Nations Lead? Great Powers in a Time of Great Change
Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave., Shadyside.
Sept. 16, 7 p.m.: Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee hosts David Shorr, expert on national security strategy, and Andrew S. Weiss, director of RAND Center for Russia and Eurasia. Open to the public; RSVP or inquiries: pajc@pajc.net
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Topic: How will media cover the G-20?
Sept. 21, 7 p.m.: Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium, Oakland. Katz Business School hosts discussion on The Post-Gazette???s Dan Simpson moderates with panelists including Sharon Epperson from CNBC and Jeffrey Ballou from Al Jazeera. The event follows the ???Eds & Meds??? media showcase that same day. http://edsmedspittsburgh.org/tours/
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Topic: University Lecture Series
Through Sept. 23: Pitt Business G-20 World Tour, lobbies of Mervis Hall and Sennott Square, University of Pittsburgh.
Through Sept. 16: World Wednesdays.
www.business.pitt.edu/g20
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Topic: Carnegie Mellon's G-20 Forum
McConomy Auditorium, CMU campus
Sept. 14, 7 p.m.
www.cmu.edu/g20
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: The People's Summit
Sept. 19, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.: Panels and workshops at 20th Century Club, 4201 Bigelow Blvd. (Oakland). Sept. 21, 7 p.m-9:30 p.m.: Speakers and panels at New Hazlett Theatre, North Side. Sept. 22, 7 p.m-10 p.m.: 20th Century Club, 4201 Bigelow Blvd. (Oakland).
http://www.peoplessummit.com/page/peoples-summit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: Korean Festival
Sept. 20, 2-7 p.m., University of Pittsburgh, Cathedral of Learning, Commons Room. A free celebration of Korean culture featuring music, dance, food and art.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: Public forum
Sept. 15, 5 p.m.: Stuart Hoffman, senior vice president and chief economist for The PNC Financial Services Group, will explain the global, U.S. and regional issues to be impacted by the G-20 summit. Admission is $2 per person. Refreshments will be served at 5 p.m., Hoffman's presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. Sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh Inc.
EXHIBITION
"Hot Spots: What Comes After Oil," Art Institute of Pittsburgh, 420 Blvd. of the Allies, 412-291-6200
Sept. 14-30: Art Insitute's Downtown Gallery features multinational art-and-design exhibition exploring past, present and future of oil. Also, students at AIP, the American University Dubai and Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates have designed posters for an international exchange. aip.aritinstitutes.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Films
Wednesdays in September, 8 p.m.: Thomas Merton Center hosts a free film series this month at Your Inner Vagabond (4130 Butler St., Lawrenceville). Films will be followed by conversation about economic, social, and political issues as they relate to the G-20 Summit. http://www.thomasmertoncenter.org/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March
Sept. 20, 2 p.m.: Planned for Smithfield UCC Church to the Convention Center
http://g6billion.org/Site/Welcome_to_the_G_6_Billion.html
PRAYER SERVICES
St. Paul Cathedral, Oakland
Sept. 21, 7 p.m.: Interfaith service with Jewish, Christian and Muslim prayers, sponsored by Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania and the Religious Leadership Forum of Southwest Pennsylvania.
St. Mary of the Mount Church, Mount Washington
Sept. 21, 6:30 p.m.: Interfaith prayer service and march for peace, beginning and ending at St. Mary's of the Mount. Includes planting of a peace pole, march down Grandview Avenue with the flags of nearly 200 nations and a prayer service.
St. Paul Seminary, East Carnegie
Sept. 24-25: Forty hours of prayer, starting with Mass celebrated by Catholic Bishop David Zubik at 6:30 a.m. Sept. 24. People will pray in shifts around the clock until 10 p.m. Sept. 25. http://www.cmfpitt.org/
Food & Drink
G-20 Prixe Fixe Menu
Lucca, 317 S. Craig St., Oakland, 412-682-3310
Sept. 21-26; dinner begins at 5 p.m.: Prix-fixe menus representing the Western and Eastern Hemispheres for $45 per person during the week of the G-20. http://luccaristorante.com/
First published on September 2, 2009 at 12:00 am
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09245/994817-482.stm
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The following are some events related to the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh. If your organization is planning an event related to the G-20 and you'd like to be included in this listing, send information and contact information to seberson@post-gazette.com.
PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP
These are upcoming events announced by the Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership. For more information: www.pittsburghG20.org:
Regional clean-up:
Sept. 12: Daylong effort to spruce up the city, coordinated by Pittsburgh Cares. Pick from a list of projects and sign up at http://www.pittsburghcares.org/
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust performing arts events, Katz Plaza, corner of 7th Street and Penn Avenue:
Sept. 17: noon, North Side Urban Pathways School Steel Pan Band
Sept. 18: noon, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre dancers; 6 p.m., Global Beats/PUMP Dance Party
Sept. 19: 1 p.m., Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh; 6 p.m., America's Latin Orchestra
Sept. 20: 2 p.m., CLO Ministars; 5 p.m., members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Sept. 21: noon, traditional Indian dance by Spilling Ink Dance Co.; 5 p.m., Brazilian vocalist Kenia
Sept. 22: noon, Pittsburgh Opera; 5 p.m., Jazz by Jevon Rushton Group; 7:30 p.m., Jazz by Sean Jones and Joe Negri, The Cabaret at Theater Square. There will be a cover charge.
Sept. 23: noon, Flamenco artist Carolina Loyola Garcia
Cultural Trust visual arts:
Sept. 11 to Nov. 6: "Soulpurpose: Local Artists Showcase," 709 Penn Gallery, a survey of 15 local artists.
Exhibitions will also take place at the Wood Street Galleries, SPACE and 707 Penn Gallery.
For more information on Trust events, call 412-456-6666 or visit http://pgharts.org/
Heinz History Center panel discussion
Sept. 16: International experts and local CEOs discuss summit issues, sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and RAND Corp.
Student Summit
Sept. 17: Fox Chapel Area High School. Students from across the region will participate in their own G-20 student summit.
Celebrations:
Sept. 17: Welcome celebration by Arrepia,Brasil! for the Pittsburgh G20 Summit, 5-6:30 p.m., Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 6th Ave, Downtown. Includes several presentations highlighting Brazil's culture and presence in Pittsburgh.
Beer Summit
Sept. 22: tasting of six beers from selected G-20 countries, 6 p.m., the Sharp Edge Beer Emporium, Friendship. Space is limited.
Sign up for these three events at http://www.worldaffairspittsburgh.org/
Day of Service
Sept. 25: If your job or school is closed due to the summit, sign up for a variety of community service projects in other parts of town at http://www.pittsburghcares.org/
MORE G-20-RELATED EVENTS
Lectures/panels/workshops:
Topic: Discover G-20: Who Are They? What Do They Do? Do Their Meetings Make Any Difference?
Mt. Lebanon Public Library, 16 Castle Shannon Blvd., 412-531-1912.
Sept. 9, 10 a.m.: Professor James Burnham, Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Duquesne University will discuss the G-20. http://www.mtlebanonlibrary.org/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: The G-20: How Will Leading Nations Lead? Great Powers in a Time of Great Change
Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave., Shadyside.
Sept. 16, 7 p.m.: Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee hosts David Shorr, expert on national security strategy, and Andrew S. Weiss, director of RAND Center for Russia and Eurasia. Open to the public; RSVP or inquiries: pajc@pajc.net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: How will media cover the G-20?
Sept. 21, 7 p.m.: Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium, Oakland. Katz Business School hosts discussion on The Post-Gazette???s Dan Simpson moderates with panelists including Sharon Epperson from CNBC and Jeffrey Ballou from Al Jazeera. The event follows the ???Eds & Meds??? media showcase that same day. http://edsmedspittsburgh.org/tours/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: University Lecture Series
Through Sept. 23: Pitt Business G-20 World Tour, lobbies of Mervis Hall and Sennott Square, University of Pittsburgh.
Through Sept. 16: World Wednesdays.
www.business.pitt.edu/g20
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: Carnegie Mellon's G-20 Forum
McConomy Auditorium, CMU campus
Sept. 14, 7 p.m.
www.cmu.edu/g20
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: The People's Summit
Sept. 19, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.: Panels and workshops at 20th Century Club, 4201 Bigelow Blvd. (Oakland). Sept. 21, 7 p.m-9:30 p.m.: Speakers and panels at New Hazlett Theatre, North Side. Sept. 22, 7 p.m-10 p.m.: 20th Century Club, 4201 Bigelow Blvd. (Oakland).
http://www.peoplessummit.com/page/peoples-summit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: Korean Festival
Sept. 20, 2-7 p.m., University of Pittsburgh, Cathedral of Learning, Commons Room. A free celebration of Korean culture featuring music, dance, food and art.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: Public forum
Sept. 15, 5 p.m.: Stuart Hoffman, senior vice president and chief economist for The PNC Financial Services Group, will explain the global, U.S. and regional issues to be impacted by the G-20 summit. Admission is $2 per person. Refreshments will be served at 5 p.m., Hoffman's presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. Sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh Inc.
EXHIBITION
"Hot Spots: What Comes After Oil," Art Institute of Pittsburgh, 420 Blvd. of the Allies, 412-291-6200
Sept. 14-30: Art Insitute's Downtown Gallery features multinational art-and-design exhibition exploring past, present and future of oil. Also, students at AIP, the American University Dubai and Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates have designed posters for an international exchange. aip.aritinstitutes.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Films
Wednesdays in September, 8 p.m.: Thomas Merton Center hosts a free film series this month at Your Inner Vagabond (4130 Butler St., Lawrenceville). Films will be followed by conversation about economic, social, and political issues as they relate to the G-20 Summit. http://www.thomasmertoncenter.org/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March
Sept. 20, 2 p.m.: Planned for Smithfield UCC Church to the Convention Center
http://g6billion.org/Site/Welcome_to_the_G_6_Billion.html
PRAYER SERVICES
St. Paul Cathedral, Oakland
Sept. 21, 7 p.m.: Interfaith service with Jewish, Christian and Muslim prayers, sponsored by Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania and the Religious Leadership Forum of Southwest Pennsylvania.
St. Mary of the Mount Church, Mount Washington
Sept. 21, 6:30 p.m.: Interfaith prayer service and march for peace, beginning and ending at St. Mary's of the Mount. Includes planting of a peace pole, march down Grandview Avenue with the flags of nearly 200 nations and a prayer service.
St. Paul Seminary, East Carnegie
Sept. 24-25: Forty hours of prayer, starting with Mass celebrated by Catholic Bishop David Zubik at 6:30 a.m. Sept. 24. People will pray in shifts around the clock until 10 p.m. Sept. 25. http://www.cmfpitt.org/
Food & Drink
G-20 Prixe Fixe Menu
Lucca, 317 S. Craig St., Oakland, 412-682-3310
Sept. 21-26; dinner begins at 5 p.m.: Prix-fixe menus representing the Western and Eastern Hemispheres for $45 per person during the week of the G-20. http://luccaristorante.com/
First published on September 2, 2009 at 12:00 am
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09245/994817-482.stm
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Lawmaker faces angry Pa. crowd on health care
By ERICA WERNERThe Associated Press
Tuesday, August 11, 2009; 4:50 PM
LEBANON, Pa. (AP) — Voter fears of a government takeover of health care and rampant costs were on stark display Tuesday at a longtime senator's noisy town hall, a session that underscored the challenge for President Obama and Democrats in overhauling the nation's system.
Republican-turned-Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter faced hostile questions, taunts and jeers as he gamely tried to explain his positions. It was likely a moment of deja vu for the five-term lawmaker facing a tough re-election next year. Just a week ago, Specter encountered a tough crowd at a Philadelphia town hall.
VIDEO: Sen. Specter faces angry crowd at town hall
HEALTH CARE: Obama pitches plan to the insured
At a crowded community college, Specter heard from speaker after speaker who accused him of trampling on their constitutional rights, adding to the federal deficit or allowing government bureaucrats to take over health care. "You'll be gone, by God the bureaucrats will still be here," said one man." "My children and grandchildren are going to pay for this," said another. "One day God will stand before you and judge you!" shouted a third man before security guards approached and he left the room.
Specter said he wouldn't vote for a bill that adds to the deficit. He also said he wouldn't support a bill that extends coverage to illegal immigrants. None of the bills in Congress would provide health insurance to illegal immigrants.
Specter explained repeatedly that there is no single Senate bill yet for him to talk about since the Finance Committee hasn't finished writing one. That explanation was usually met by boos from the crowd. Many had read portions of a bill passed by three committees in the House and tried to get Specter to respond to that.
One woman tried to make it personal for Specter, alleging the Democrats' plan would not provide care to a man in his 70s with cancer, like Specter had.
"You're here because of the plan we have now," she said. Specter showed some heat at that.
"Well you're just not right," he said. He called her claim a "vicious, malicious" rumor.
The passions of the crowd illustrated the problems for Democratic lawmakers around the country as they try to use the month-long August recess to promote Obama's health care overhaul agenda. There's not a single plan to promote, which Specter later told reporters made his job harder, along with the complexity of the issue. The House bill is more than 1,000 pages long.
And, Specter said: "The objectors have gotten ahead of the curve." Asked why, he cited talk radio, among other factors.
Democrats are trying desperately to regain control of the debate, with the White House posting a new website designed to dispel what it called "the misinformation and baseless smears that are cropping up daily." House Democratic aides have set up a health care war room out of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office designed to help lawmakers answer questions about the legislation.
Though his popularity is slipping in polls, Obama himself is repeatedly trying to make the case to the public for passage of comprehensive legislation this year to bring down costs and extend coverage to many of the 50 million uninsured.
Specter said that in a long life in politics he hadn't seen anything like what he witnessed Tuesday and at a town hall last weekend that turned even uglier.
"There is more anger in America today than at any time I can remember," Specter said. Many in the crowd said they came of their own accord, and several told Specter they objected to Democrats characterizing them as mobs or organized opposition shipped in by lobbyists or the Republican Party. National conservative groups are encouraging people to attend town halls, but liberal groups are doing the same — with less apparent success.
Several in the crowd wore T-shirts proclaiming: "Proud Member of the Mob."
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-08-11-specter-health-meeting_N.htm?csp=34#uslPageReturn
Tuesday, August 11, 2009; 4:50 PM
LEBANON, Pa. (AP) — Voter fears of a government takeover of health care and rampant costs were on stark display Tuesday at a longtime senator's noisy town hall, a session that underscored the challenge for President Obama and Democrats in overhauling the nation's system.
Republican-turned-Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter faced hostile questions, taunts and jeers as he gamely tried to explain his positions. It was likely a moment of deja vu for the five-term lawmaker facing a tough re-election next year. Just a week ago, Specter encountered a tough crowd at a Philadelphia town hall.
VIDEO: Sen. Specter faces angry crowd at town hall
HEALTH CARE: Obama pitches plan to the insured
At a crowded community college, Specter heard from speaker after speaker who accused him of trampling on their constitutional rights, adding to the federal deficit or allowing government bureaucrats to take over health care. "You'll be gone, by God the bureaucrats will still be here," said one man." "My children and grandchildren are going to pay for this," said another. "One day God will stand before you and judge you!" shouted a third man before security guards approached and he left the room.
Specter said he wouldn't vote for a bill that adds to the deficit. He also said he wouldn't support a bill that extends coverage to illegal immigrants. None of the bills in Congress would provide health insurance to illegal immigrants.
Specter explained repeatedly that there is no single Senate bill yet for him to talk about since the Finance Committee hasn't finished writing one. That explanation was usually met by boos from the crowd. Many had read portions of a bill passed by three committees in the House and tried to get Specter to respond to that.
One woman tried to make it personal for Specter, alleging the Democrats' plan would not provide care to a man in his 70s with cancer, like Specter had.
"You're here because of the plan we have now," she said. Specter showed some heat at that.
"Well you're just not right," he said. He called her claim a "vicious, malicious" rumor.
The passions of the crowd illustrated the problems for Democratic lawmakers around the country as they try to use the month-long August recess to promote Obama's health care overhaul agenda. There's not a single plan to promote, which Specter later told reporters made his job harder, along with the complexity of the issue. The House bill is more than 1,000 pages long.
And, Specter said: "The objectors have gotten ahead of the curve." Asked why, he cited talk radio, among other factors.
Democrats are trying desperately to regain control of the debate, with the White House posting a new website designed to dispel what it called "the misinformation and baseless smears that are cropping up daily." House Democratic aides have set up a health care war room out of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office designed to help lawmakers answer questions about the legislation.
Though his popularity is slipping in polls, Obama himself is repeatedly trying to make the case to the public for passage of comprehensive legislation this year to bring down costs and extend coverage to many of the 50 million uninsured.
Specter said that in a long life in politics he hadn't seen anything like what he witnessed Tuesday and at a town hall last weekend that turned even uglier.
"There is more anger in America today than at any time I can remember," Specter said. Many in the crowd said they came of their own accord, and several told Specter they objected to Democrats characterizing them as mobs or organized opposition shipped in by lobbyists or the Republican Party. National conservative groups are encouraging people to attend town halls, but liberal groups are doing the same — with less apparent success.
Several in the crowd wore T-shirts proclaiming: "Proud Member of the Mob."
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-08-11-specter-health-meeting_N.htm?csp=34#uslPageReturn
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