Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Rustbelt Radio, every week from Pittsburgh Indymedia

On this week's Rustbelt Radio...

An interview with La'Tasha Mayes, a local reproductive justice activist with the Sistersong Collective
We'll hear about the "Catch an Illegal Immigrant" game hosted by Penn State University's College Republicans
Native Americans say "People not Mascots" in Cleveland
an underdog Democrat wins in a local special election
Anti-LGBT legislation in California targets students
Reports from "This week in Palestine" and "Bad Cop, No Donut"
and our local and global headlines

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MP3 Format ]
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Ogg Vorbis |

MP3 Format ]

[

Transcript and Audio ]
Tune in every week, Monday at 6pm or Tuesday at 9am on WRCT 88.3FM, Saturday at 5pm on WPTS 92.1FM, or listen online at radio.indypgh.org.

Governor Rendell Signs PA Ecoterrorism Bill into Law

04/17/2006

On Friday, April 14th, Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell signed House Bill 213, which amends the state's criminal code to include the offense of "ecoterrorism." HB 213 increases the severity of penalties for pre-established crimes, such a criminal trespass, vandalism and arson, based on the motivation of the actor and the fact that the conduct is in some way related to an activity involving animals or natural resources. A sizable coalition of interests lobbied on behalf of a bill, including the pharmaceutical industry, biotech industry, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, Pennsylvania Forestry Association, Pennsylvania State University, University of Pittsburgh and University of Pennsylvania.

[

read more | previous article |

previous Rustbelt Radio coverage | HB 213 text ]

Elaine Brown speaks on New Age Racism

04/14/2006

Elaine Brown, the former chairperson of the Black Panther Party and author of the books Taste of Power and The Condemnation of Little B spoke at Carnegie Mellon University on April 10th, 2006. In her speech about New Age Racism she spoke about Juvenile Justice, Standardized Testing, the Myth of the American Dream and various other issues.

The 27 minute interview aired on Rustbelt Radio on April 3rd. (The lecture is 1 hour and 8 minutes)

[

Interview: part 1 | part 2 ] [

Lecture | Q&A ]

Irate police officer interrupts Critical Mass

03/31/2006

During the March Critical Mass bike ride, an angry Pittsburgh police officer sped through the group of riders near Penn Circle in East Liberty. Shortly after, several more officers arrived, provoking a stand-off with the crowd.

In the end, several riders were given citations, and a young bystander who was not a part of the ride was taken away in a police cruiser. The entire event was videorecorded by a news crew from WQED-TV's OnQ program.

[

Report, with photos |

legal support meeting info ]

Anti-war protests mark the 3rd anniversary of Iraq invasion

03/19/2006

Thousands marched in protest from East Liberty to Oakland on Saturday on the third anniversary of the Iraq invasion.

One protestor arrested on Saturday was released on his own recognizance after 3 AM on Sunday morning. He is being charged with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

Speakers and interviews from the march can be heard on this week's Rustbelt Radio (live Monday at 6pm, 88.3FM).

[ Photos:

Anti War Bike Ride, March 18 |

M18 Anti-war March Pics |

M18 Anti-War March pics 2 |

Iraq War Protest Photographs ]

[ see also: Previous Pittsburgh Indymedia coverage of anti-war demonstrations ]

The People, United - Pittsburgh Indymedia's video documentary of the January 2003 anti-war convergence - is now available for download via bittorrent. (Click here for help with video)

You can also download the video

here. And the DVD is available for lending from the Carnegie Library or for sale at The Big Idea Infoshop.

New documents uncover FBI monitoring of the Thomas Merton Center

03/18/2006

The Thomas Merton Center and the American Civil Liberties Union have released documents relevant to the FBI's monitoring of the Thomas Merton Center.

The documents indicate, among other things, that the FBI targetted the Thomas Merton Center because of their opposition to the Iraq War, and that the FBI used confidental sources "who are not in a position to testify" to monitor the activities of the Thomas Merton Center.

In protest of the domestic surveillence, the Merton Center's Anti-War Committee and the Pittsburgh Bill of Rights Defense Campaign have organized a "spy-in" on Tuesday, March 21st at the Federal building downtown.

[ View the released documents (PDF Files): International Terrorism Matters , investigation of anti-war activity, confidential sources ]

[ Read more from the ACLU ]

Penn-Trafford teachers, lacking contract, strike

10/27/2005

Teachers in the Penn-Trafford School District, working without a contract since June, hit the picket lines Monday after months of contract negotiations. The teachers are among the lowest-paid in their area and their healthcare costs are among the highest.

Under current state law, teachers are permitted to strike for 26 days. If the strike is not resolved, school would remain closed until Thanksgiving.

[

Contract negotiations, strike affect Penn-Trafford |

P-T teachers continue strike for better benefits, salaries |

Strike Photos ]

[

Former student: Local teachers deserve compensation for efforts |

Senior: Strike spoils students' school year ]

[ links:

Penn-Trafford School District |

Penn-Trafford Educators ]

Legal Update for August 20 Counter-Recruitment Arrestees

10/07/2005

On September 27th, concerned community members packed into a courtroom at the Allegheny County Jail-Courthouse building in Downtown Pittsburgh. They were in attendance to show support for four people who were arrested during the August 20th Counter-Recruitment demonstration.

The police violence on August 20th is well documented and Pittsburgh Police has come under increased scrutiny for it. This hearing, however, focused on violence allegedly committed by protesters. One observer referred to the hearing as a "trumped up show hearing" and points out that the testimony offered on the 27th ranges from the inaccurate to the contradictory.

Pittsburgh Organizing Group, which has been an organizer of counter recruitment activities in the city, has issued an update on the situation.

Carnegie Mellon Red Team: Funded by Caterpillar, for DARPA

08/29/2005

Caterpillar Incorporated furthers its support of a Carnegie Mellon project to create a driverless vehicle to negotiate off-road in the Nevada desert.

[

Read more |

fact sheet ]

[ More articles about militarism at CMU 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ]

Activists return to Oakland Recruiting Station

08/28/2005

On Saturday, August 27, the Pittsburgh Organizing Group (POG) held a non-violent picket at Oakland's military recruiting station, the site of last week's police assault in which the police Tasered two demonstrators and a 68-year old woman was bitten by a police dog. By noon, about 100 people lined the sidewalk on Forbes between Atwood St. and Oakland Ave. There was a sizeable presence of police in the vicinity -- including Pittsburgh Police Chief McNeilly -- but unlike last week, the police did not attack the crowd and the protest ended without incident.

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photos 1 2 ]

Counter-Recruitment demonstrators shot with Tasers, bitten by dogs

08/21/2005

Today in Oakland in front of the Army Recruiting Center on Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh Police and University of Pittsburgh Police fought with protestors on the sidewalk. At least six people were arrested; police fired tasers and other weapons at the crowd, including restrained arrestees and bystanders.

During the rally at the station, a freelance Fox News cameraman who was aggressively filming demonstrators' faces was told to leave and started a minor confrontation with protestors. He returned with police officers, claiming that either he was punched or that his camera was broken (although he continued to use his camera the rest of the day). Witnesses confirm that neither of these things happened. On this pretense, police began chasing any masked protestors they could find, arresting several and firing weapons at the crowd. Several people have confirmed that they were hit with tasers and chemical weapons. Video cameras captured tasers being fired at people who had already been subdued and restrained by police officers.

Later, police dogs were used to chase away protestors on the sidewalk, and one woman was bitten from behind by a police dog. Some time later, after telling police she wanted to file a complaint, she was told the police would "take her information," but instead she was arrested and placed in the back of a police van.

[

Taser photos |

POG Report,

Media Advisory |

video clips |

Protestor Arraigned |