THE G-20 IN PITTSBURGH
by Tom Over 9-23-09
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On Tuesday, Sept 22, activists from Philadelphia, New York City, Pittsburgh and other cities held a mock funeral procession to demand better policies for addressing the AIDS pandemic, a day ahead of the arrival of delegates for the G-20.
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The approximately 50 participants in the New Orleans-style funeral march drew a mix of interest, irritation, and amusement from onlookers in the business district of downtown Pittsburgh.
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At the head of the funeral march where pallbearers carried a cardboard coffin, a man shouted into a microphone while someone else carried a portable amplifier, “when people with AIDS are under attack, what do we do ?” and marchers shouted in unison, “fight back!”
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Amidst the early afternoon bustle of an weekday, the demonstrators repeated this call-and-answer and similar chants as the funeral march made its way around the perimeter of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the site of the G-20 Summit later this week.
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Erica Goldberg works with ACT UP Philadelphia. She said global health is not on the agenda of the G-20 Summit.
“One of the things that some of the G-20 nations have promised us is funding for the global fund to fight, TB, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. This is all really important, especially if we want to meet the United Nations’ Millennium goal of eradicating these diseases by 2015. As of right now, this won’t be met. We have to hold our leaders accountable. They are the ones making decisions for the poorer countries,” Goldberg said.
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She commented on the timing of the demonstration. “We wanted this to be the first thing they (the G-20 delegates) see. They’re coming here tomorrow. We’re holding them accountable. This needs to be on the agenda.”
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She said AIDS activists chose Sept 22, two days before the official start of the G-20 Summit, and one day before the arrival of the delegates, so as to not have to compete with other protests. Also, she said the AIDS activists figured there would be less of a chance of conflict with police if they staged their protest earlier in the week.
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“We hope that this will hit the papers tomorrow, that it’s the first thing they see when they walk in, that they have this on their conscience and know we’re not going away,” Goldberg said. She urges people to contact legislators about supporting the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
“President Obama, as much as I love him, went back on his promise to fulfill the funding,” Goldberg said.
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She commented on how drug companies factor into all of this. “ Medication does not need to be this expensive. They can definitely lower their prices. We have big drug interests lobbying to prevent AIDS medication from getting” to developing nations.
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Goldberg said debt cancellation for developing nations is a factor that comes into play.
“When you don’t cancel debts of nations and they have to pay back loans to the IMF and the World Bank, they won’t have the funds necessary for getting AIDS medication, or they might get the medication but can’t pay the health professional because of their debt.
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She said vested interested motivated by huge profits stand in the way of doing a better job of addressing tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. “We have the power, the ability, and the medication.”
World News
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Communist Vietnam's police clashed with hundreds
of Catholics who were demanding two parishioners be released from
prison, resulting in what was described as "one of the bloodiest
religious crackdowns in recent years."
Government-controlled "television reported that about 300 people mobbed the Nghi Phuong village people's committee building," near Vinh city in Nghe An province on September 4, according to Washington-based, U.S. federally-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA).
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/church-09042013193713.html
Protesters "attacking" police with stones, injured one police officer and provoked the crackdown, Nghe An TV reported.
Police also fired into the air to disperse the crowd.
"They [police] fired 15 shots in front of the My Yen church. They beat some parishioners with electric batons," one protester told RFA's Vietnamese Service.
"Some parishioners had to be hospitalized. They also arrested nine to 10 people."
Government-controlled "television reported that about 300 people mobbed the Nghi Phuong village people's committee building," near Vinh city in Nghe An province on September 4, according to Washington-based, U.S. federally-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA).
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/church-09042013193713.html
Protesters "attacking" police with stones, injured one police officer and provoked the crackdown, Nghe An TV reported.
Police also fired into the air to disperse the crowd.
"They [police] fired 15 shots in front of the My Yen church. They beat some parishioners with electric batons," one protester told RFA's Vietnamese Service.
"Some parishioners had to be hospitalized. They also arrested nine to 10 people."
War and plunder continue to rip apart great swathes of Africa. The perpetrators are known, and many have been named and exposed. The regimes on Ethiopia, Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda continue to foment covert international guerrilla wars, backed by the Pentagon, NATO and Israel, while persecuting and defrauding their own people, even (at this writing) engaged in genocide. Meanwhile, leading white apologists whitewashing war crimes and genocide in Africa continue to squeal about anyone who does not tout the racist white power establishment line they worship and profit from.
Meet Dr. Gerald Caplan, a fine example of the worst kind of imperialist: one who works with the world's worst dictators, peddles the racist propaganda at home and abroad, speaks at international conferences, collects a fine salary working for the misery industry, and one who ever believes that he is a force for good, and for ethics and truth, and who, therefore, is never, ever to be challenged by anyone.
Meet Dr. Gerald Caplan, a fine example of the worst kind of imperialist: one who works with the world's worst dictators, peddles the racist propaganda at home and abroad, speaks at international conferences, collects a fine salary working for the misery industry, and one who ever believes that he is a force for good, and for ethics and truth, and who, therefore, is never, ever to be challenged by anyone.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- A Buddhist group says it successfully convinced a
French factory to stop printing Buddha's face on toilets, but failed
in a lengthy campaign to censor a Walt Disney movie series featuring a
dog named Buddha.
The Bangkok-based group, Knowing Buddha (Knowing Buddha), also targets the "disrespectful" use of Buddha's face or iconic appearance on dildos and other sex toys, clothing, tattoos, furniture, statues and souvenirs.
"No progress on Disney, they have not responded at all," said Acharavadee Wongsakon, the Thai founder of Knowing Buddha, referring to the "Buddies" movies.
"Also, the U.S. Embassy has not been helpful," she said in an interview on March 20.
"It is pathetic. We have been trying to push the [Thai] government to arrange a seminar for government bureaus, including tourism and hotels, to show the serious problem that is happening, and to address a solution. Our effort is fruitless."
The Bangkok-based group, Knowing Buddha (Knowing Buddha), also targets the "disrespectful" use of Buddha's face or iconic appearance on dildos and other sex toys, clothing, tattoos, furniture, statues and souvenirs.
"No progress on Disney, they have not responded at all," said Acharavadee Wongsakon, the Thai founder of Knowing Buddha, referring to the "Buddies" movies.
"Also, the U.S. Embassy has not been helpful," she said in an interview on March 20.
"It is pathetic. We have been trying to push the [Thai] government to arrange a seminar for government bureaus, including tourism and hotels, to show the serious problem that is happening, and to address a solution. Our effort is fruitless."
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- An American combat photographer said his
picture of captured U.S.-backed Cambodian officials, hours before they
were "bludgeoned to death" by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge in 1975, is the
most important testimony he gave at an international tribunal.
Today, a new American Embassy covers the spot where the officials were executed 37 years ago, when Khmer Rouge guerrillas seized the capital Phnom Penh.
Photographer Al Rockoff also said the Khmer Rouge's defense lawyers appeared to be trying to get him to say that Pol Pot's victorious rebels were divided into "factions".
The defense may have wanted him to say that, so the Khmer Rouge leaders on trial could claim they were not responsible for any deaths or other criminal policies during their "killing fields" regime.
During Pol Pot's 1975-1979 back-to-the-jungle dictatorship, 1.7 million Cambodians died from executions, torture and other official policies which inflicted starvation and disease on the population.
Mr. Rockoff testified at the United Nations-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), on January 28 and 29, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.
Today, a new American Embassy covers the spot where the officials were executed 37 years ago, when Khmer Rouge guerrillas seized the capital Phnom Penh.
Photographer Al Rockoff also said the Khmer Rouge's defense lawyers appeared to be trying to get him to say that Pol Pot's victorious rebels were divided into "factions".
The defense may have wanted him to say that, so the Khmer Rouge leaders on trial could claim they were not responsible for any deaths or other criminal policies during their "killing fields" regime.
During Pol Pot's 1975-1979 back-to-the-jungle dictatorship, 1.7 million Cambodians died from executions, torture and other official policies which inflicted starvation and disease on the population.
Mr. Rockoff testified at the United Nations-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), on January 28 and 29, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- In November 1975, seven months after Pol Pot
seized Cambodia, then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger asked
Thailand's representatives about Pol Pot's brother-in-law, Ieng Sary.
Thailand's Chatichai Choonhavan had recently met Ieng Sary in Bangkok.
"Did Ieng Sary impress you?" Mr. Kissinger asked.
"He is a nice, quiet man," replied Mr. Chatichai who was then foreign minister.
"How many people did he kill? Tens of thousands?" Mr. Kissinger responded.
"Nice and quietly!" exclaimed the State Department's then-Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Philip Habib.
"Not more than 10,000," said Mr. Chatichai, who later became Thailand's prime minister.
"That's why they need food. If they had killed everyone, they would not need salt and fish. All the bridges in Cambodia were destroyed. There was no transportation, no gas. That's why they had to chase people away from the capital," Mr. Chatichai told the Americans.
"But why with only two hours' notice?" Mr. Kissinger asked referring to the immediate, forced evacuation of all Cambodian cities in April 1975.
Thailand's Chatichai Choonhavan had recently met Ieng Sary in Bangkok.
"Did Ieng Sary impress you?" Mr. Kissinger asked.
"He is a nice, quiet man," replied Mr. Chatichai who was then foreign minister.
"How many people did he kill? Tens of thousands?" Mr. Kissinger responded.
"Nice and quietly!" exclaimed the State Department's then-Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Philip Habib.
"Not more than 10,000," said Mr. Chatichai, who later became Thailand's prime minister.
"That's why they need food. If they had killed everyone, they would not need salt and fish. All the bridges in Cambodia were destroyed. There was no transportation, no gas. That's why they had to chase people away from the capital," Mr. Chatichai told the Americans.
"But why with only two hours' notice?" Mr. Kissinger asked referring to the immediate, forced evacuation of all Cambodian cities in April 1975.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Former king Norodom Sihanouk was cremated on February 4, but the flames could not destroy the legacy of his words, describing how he transported weapons to Vietnam's communists to kill Americans, and promising guns and ammunition to Cambodians to avenge the coup which toppled him.
Crowned by the Nazi-backed Vichy French regime in 1941, Sihanouk's most violent quotes were uttered in the early 1970s when he committed what critics say were his bloodiest mistakes.
Sihanouk's words give voice to his revenge-filled, contradictory personality as one of Asia's last powerful monarchs.
The U.S. Pentagon and politicians who "secretly" began bombing Cambodia in 1969 for five years -- during Washington's spiraling Vietnam War -- can hear Sihanouk ordering his military to allow deadly assistance to communist-nationalist Viet Cong guerrillas who eventually chased U.S. forces out of Vietnam.
"My own militant support for the Viet Cong was...no mere gesture," Sihanouk said.
Crowned by the Nazi-backed Vichy French regime in 1941, Sihanouk's most violent quotes were uttered in the early 1970s when he committed what critics say were his bloodiest mistakes.
Sihanouk's words give voice to his revenge-filled, contradictory personality as one of Asia's last powerful monarchs.
The U.S. Pentagon and politicians who "secretly" began bombing Cambodia in 1969 for five years -- during Washington's spiraling Vietnam War -- can hear Sihanouk ordering his military to allow deadly assistance to communist-nationalist Viet Cong guerrillas who eventually chased U.S. forces out of Vietnam.
"My own militant support for the Viet Cong was...no mere gesture," Sihanouk said.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- A pool of flesh-eating fish may conjure up painful visions of pointy-toothed piranhas, but that doesn't stop countless people offering themselves to gentler fish which hungrily suck dead skin, prompting new health warnings about infections from mixing blood and water.
"It is the same feeling like a mosquito biting you," said Lomporn Chintee, 27, after letting herself be nibbled in a "fish spa" on Phi Phi island.
"It tickles. I didn't know there was any health risk. But I'm not afraid. I would do it again," Lomporn said.
Clive Helman, visiting Bangkok from England, said he was intrigued by the idea.
"I would consider having it done if the place was pretty clean looking. There is a place on Phi Phi where you could give the fish your full body, with no clothes on. I would start with my feet, though, and perhaps then give the full body treatment a go, despite the alleged dangers."
The process is akin to sticking your limbs, torso or head into a big aquarium which is filled with lots of small fish, and allowing them to tenderly assault your skin in an uninhibited feeding frenzy.
"It is the same feeling like a mosquito biting you," said Lomporn Chintee, 27, after letting herself be nibbled in a "fish spa" on Phi Phi island.
"It tickles. I didn't know there was any health risk. But I'm not afraid. I would do it again," Lomporn said.
Clive Helman, visiting Bangkok from England, said he was intrigued by the idea.
"I would consider having it done if the place was pretty clean looking. There is a place on Phi Phi where you could give the fish your full body, with no clothes on. I would start with my feet, though, and perhaps then give the full body treatment a go, despite the alleged dangers."
The process is akin to sticking your limbs, torso or head into a big aquarium which is filled with lots of small fish, and allowing them to tenderly assault your skin in an uninhibited feeding frenzy.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- He boasts of killing 20 Thai communists and fondly recalls working with the CIA, but denies suspicions that he leads a death squad, involved in bombings and shootings to help the Red Shirts cripple Bangkok.
Major General Khattiya "Seh Daeng" Sawatdiphol is one of the biggest reasons the government and military are afraid to attack the Red Shirts' barricades and clear them from Bangkok's streets.
"Every morning at 4 a.m., I inspect all these barricades," Maj. Gen. Khattiya said in Thai during an interview next to barriers built with bamboo spikes, rubber tires, rags, flammable oil, concrete blocks and razor wire.
"Every day I go out and do a reconnaissance. I do a tactical show of force."
He is wanted for questioning about a mysterious alleged death squad known as "Ronin Warriors."
Major General Khattiya "Seh Daeng" Sawatdiphol is one of the biggest reasons the government and military are afraid to attack the Red Shirts' barricades and clear them from Bangkok's streets.
"Every morning at 4 a.m., I inspect all these barricades," Maj. Gen. Khattiya said in Thai during an interview next to barriers built with bamboo spikes, rubber tires, rags, flammable oil, concrete blocks and razor wire.
"Every day I go out and do a reconnaissance. I do a tactical show of force."
He is wanted for questioning about a mysterious alleged death squad known as "Ronin Warriors."
On Monday, April 26, at Capital University, we might be willing to give the shirts off of our backs after meeting a Bangladeshi garment worker and a Pakistani who works in a factory that produces some of the balls soccer moms watch their kids kick around.
“The conditions are very bad in some of these factories. In fact, in Bangladesh, very recently there was a fire in a garment factory. The same factory had a fire six months ago and people died in both of those fires,” said Karen Hansen, an activist who works with Ohio Conference on Fair Trade, one of the groups sponsoring the event locally, along with some labor unions and the Ohio Sweat-Free Campaign.
Hansen said she disagrees with those who say sweatshops are justified in that people working in them would be worse off if the industries left their countries.
“That's one story they like to tell, especially those who profit off of those conditions. But there are plenty of places where they are creating fair-trade soccer balls and fair-trade garments. So, we know that it can be done,” Hansen said.
“The conditions are very bad in some of these factories. In fact, in Bangladesh, very recently there was a fire in a garment factory. The same factory had a fire six months ago and people died in both of those fires,” said Karen Hansen, an activist who works with Ohio Conference on Fair Trade, one of the groups sponsoring the event locally, along with some labor unions and the Ohio Sweat-Free Campaign.
Hansen said she disagrees with those who say sweatshops are justified in that people working in them would be worse off if the industries left their countries.
“That's one story they like to tell, especially those who profit off of those conditions. But there are plenty of places where they are creating fair-trade soccer balls and fair-trade garments. So, we know that it can be done,” Hansen said.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- An Arlington, Virginia-based company is defending its harshly criticized US $ 9.7 million sale of a helium-filled blimp, equipped with infrared thermal cameras, to Thailand's army for hunting Islamist guerrillas in the south.
Scathing criticism of the California-built Sky Dragon blimp, and its cameras, has been repeatedly published in Thailand's media during recent weeks, and voiced by worried politicians.
They describe the airship as a waste of money, not fully able to fly on operational missions, and impractical for Thailand's low-intensity guerrilla war where Muslim rebels hide in hilly jungles.
"The demand to fly the ship daily is there, but it's pointless to fly it if the entire surveillance system is not operational," said Aria International's President and CEO Mike "Bing" Crosby in an e-mail interview. "We are completing these tasks now, and should have the system turned over to the RTA (Royal Thai Army) in the very near future."
They describe the airship as a waste of money, not fully able to fly on operational missions, and impractical for Thailand's low-intensity guerrilla war where Muslim rebels hide in hilly jungles.
"The demand to fly the ship daily is there, but it's pointless to fly it if the entire surveillance system is not operational," said Aria International's President and CEO Mike "Bing" Crosby in an e-mail interview. "We are completing these tasks now, and should have the system turned over to the RTA (Royal Thai Army) in the very near future."