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
Dear family and friends,
Yesterday the Prime Minister of Lebanon pleaded with the conscience of the world
to bring about an immediate internationally-sanctioned cease-fire, saying that Israel
was acting to destroy "everything that allows Lebanon to stay alive".
This morning's New York Times reports that "the death toll has reached
at least 230 Lebanese dead [up to 310 by noon today], most of them civilians, and
25 Israeli dead, 13 of them civilians. In Gaza, one Israeli soldier has died from
his own army's fire, and 103 Palestinians have been killed."
Yet spokespeople for the Israeli military say their offensive may continue "for
weeks" and the Bush administration openly approves.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- The surprise publication of a secretive letter to U.S. President George W. Bush from Thailand's distraught prime minister, warning of a "threat to democracy in Thailand," has provoked outrage, satirical abuse, and loud indignation.
In a 544-word letter, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said his political opponents are trying to "provoke violence" through "chaos" in the streets.
Hoping to rescue this Buddhist-majority Southeast Asian nation, he told Bush "our on-going war on terror" would continue, and Thaksin's victory in the next election "will have an important impact on the future course of democracy in Asia."
After mulling over Thaksin's June 23 epistle, Bush sent a 138-word reply on July 3 which said: "I appreciate your assurance that our good cooperation on issues of vital importance to us both will continue."
Bush told his beleaguered colleague, "Free and open political systems can be unpredictable."
"It is just a letter one national leader wrote to another," Thaksin told reporters, shrugging off attempts to embarrass him after failing to keep the notes from public scrutiny.
In a 544-word letter, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said his political opponents are trying to "provoke violence" through "chaos" in the streets.
Hoping to rescue this Buddhist-majority Southeast Asian nation, he told Bush "our on-going war on terror" would continue, and Thaksin's victory in the next election "will have an important impact on the future course of democracy in Asia."
After mulling over Thaksin's June 23 epistle, Bush sent a 138-word reply on July 3 which said: "I appreciate your assurance that our good cooperation on issues of vital importance to us both will continue."
Bush told his beleaguered colleague, "Free and open political systems can be unpredictable."
"It is just a letter one national leader wrote to another," Thaksin told reporters, shrugging off attempts to embarrass him after failing to keep the notes from public scrutiny.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Burma's military regime warned the world's
most famous political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi, that her days "are
numbered," and she is "heading for a tragic end."
The ominous condemnation on Wednesday (July 5) said Suu Kyi, 61, was in "her final days," and guilty of "betraying the national cause while relying on aliens," including the United States, Britain and the European Union.
Suu Kyi remains under house arrest inside her two-story villa in the former capital, Rangoon, where she has languished for more than 10 of the past 16 years.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party (NLD) won a landslide election victory in 1990, which the regime ignored.
"Attempts to translate into reality the 1990 election results are in vain," the military junta said.
"The days of [Mrs.] Suu Kyi and the NLD are numbered. They are heading for a tragic end," the government said in its official English-language newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar.
The ominous condemnation on Wednesday (July 5) said Suu Kyi, 61, was in "her final days," and guilty of "betraying the national cause while relying on aliens," including the United States, Britain and the European Union.
Suu Kyi remains under house arrest inside her two-story villa in the former capital, Rangoon, where she has languished for more than 10 of the past 16 years.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party (NLD) won a landslide election victory in 1990, which the regime ignored.
"Attempts to translate into reality the 1990 election results are in vain," the military junta said.
"The days of [Mrs.] Suu Kyi and the NLD are numbered. They are heading for a tragic end," the government said in its official English-language newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand's shaky government has suffered a
devastating decision by the attorney-general's office, which ruled
that the prime minister's party, and the biggest opposition party,
"both violated the law" and should be dissolved.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- clinging to power despite the past few months of anti-Thaksin street protests, an election boycott, and widespread condemnation by the country's media -- responded by insisting his party was innocent.
Thaksin hopes to contest a national election on October 15, despite loud complaints that he did not pay profit taxes on his family's multi-billion dollar telecommunications deal with Singapore.
The attorney-general's office, however, declared Thaksin's nationalistic Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party -- plus the main opposition Democrat Party and three tiny parties -- acted illegally during a flawed April election, which was later invalidated.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- clinging to power despite the past few months of anti-Thaksin street protests, an election boycott, and widespread condemnation by the country's media -- responded by insisting his party was innocent.
Thaksin hopes to contest a national election on October 15, despite loud complaints that he did not pay profit taxes on his family's multi-billion dollar telecommunications deal with Singapore.
The attorney-general's office, however, declared Thaksin's nationalistic Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party -- plus the main opposition Democrat Party and three tiny parties -- acted illegally during a flawed April election, which was later invalidated.
Kadiatou Diallo is an ingenious Foulah descendant of West African Kings and healers. Born in 1959, she was traditionally raised in turbulent Republic of Guinea during the long dictatorship era of late President Ahmed Sekou Toure. Guinea is situated on Africa’s West coast, flanked by Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Senegal. Its population is 8,800,000 and ruled by Iron-fisted leaders since independence from France in 1958. After independence, it severed relations with France and turned to then Soviet Union. Its mineral resources potentially places Guinea among one of Africa’s richest nations, though its people are among the poorest in West Africa, plagued by a culture of dictatorship, a controlled economy and rampant corruption in the society.
In October 2005, Liberians elected Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as President, an erudite politician who adopted the popular moniker “The Iron Lady,” after defeating her opponent George Oppong Weah a world soccer star turned politician. This war torn-nation had experienced 14 years of violence and instability. Sirleaf swept a 60% majority votes, securing for herself an enviable place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first female President in Africa, whose political helm is culturally held by men.
Sirleaf is a 67-year-old Harvard-educated economist and a seasoned politician, with a political stature dating back to her days as finance minister under William Tolbert’s paternalistic rule. Her decades of trials and tribulations under the draconian rule of Samuel Doe, together with a wealth of administrative experience at the United Nations, where she worked during almost 20 years of exile, having escaped the ruthlessness of Liberia’s Charles Taylor, is tangible evidence that Ellen is up to the task.
Sirleaf is a 67-year-old Harvard-educated economist and a seasoned politician, with a political stature dating back to her days as finance minister under William Tolbert’s paternalistic rule. Her decades of trials and tribulations under the draconian rule of Samuel Doe, together with a wealth of administrative experience at the United Nations, where she worked during almost 20 years of exile, having escaped the ruthlessness of Liberia’s Charles Taylor, is tangible evidence that Ellen is up to the task.
How Capitalism Unleashes the Beast of Soulless Avarice
Jinshan Mining Ltd, a leading mineral extraction corporation based in China, has officially announced its ground-breaking technology for extracting gold from the water supply in the United States, including groundwater, rivers, lakes and streams. After years of fastidious research, Jinshan has concluded that most of the water throughout the continental United States contains significant trace levels of gold particles. Its scientists have determined that the concentration of particles is high enough to enable the mining concern’s innovative new extraction process to cull significant quantities of the precious metal from ordinary H2O.
Jinshan, a Chinese multinational, has indicated they have found a surprisingly inexpensive means to process the millions of gallons of American water necessary to reap the profits they seek.
CEO Zhu Jintao was brimming with enthusiasm as he addressed eager members of the US media via satellite link from a remote area of China where he was vacationing with his family:
Jinshan Mining Ltd, a leading mineral extraction corporation based in China, has officially announced its ground-breaking technology for extracting gold from the water supply in the United States, including groundwater, rivers, lakes and streams. After years of fastidious research, Jinshan has concluded that most of the water throughout the continental United States contains significant trace levels of gold particles. Its scientists have determined that the concentration of particles is high enough to enable the mining concern’s innovative new extraction process to cull significant quantities of the precious metal from ordinary H2O.
Jinshan, a Chinese multinational, has indicated they have found a surprisingly inexpensive means to process the millions of gallons of American water necessary to reap the profits they seek.
CEO Zhu Jintao was brimming with enthusiasm as he addressed eager members of the US media via satellite link from a remote area of China where he was vacationing with his family:
“After the explosion itself, anyone on the edge of the explosion (who were lucky enough to survive) would have melted flesh and severe burns, the skin would literally fall off the bone. Anyone who had seen the blast from such a distance would have permanent loss of vision.”
(http://www.armageddononline.org/nuke.php)
A little perspective, please
After years of living under the perpetual risk of the ultimate terrorist attack, most people have become acclimated to the distinct possibility of imminent extinction of life on Earth. Fortunately, humans tend to be highly adaptable beings, and most are able to go on with their daily tasks without dwelling on potential doomsday scenarios.
In fact, people have become so desensitized to the threat of nuclear holocaust that those who still believe American propaganda are more terrified of religious fanatics wielding box cutters than they are of an ICBM capable of annihilating millions.
According to the FBI, domestic terrorism is:
(http://www.armageddononline.org/nuke.php)
A little perspective, please
After years of living under the perpetual risk of the ultimate terrorist attack, most people have become acclimated to the distinct possibility of imminent extinction of life on Earth. Fortunately, humans tend to be highly adaptable beings, and most are able to go on with their daily tasks without dwelling on potential doomsday scenarios.
In fact, people have become so desensitized to the threat of nuclear holocaust that those who still believe American propaganda are more terrified of religious fanatics wielding box cutters than they are of an ICBM capable of annihilating millions.
According to the FBI, domestic terrorism is:
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra resigned on Wednesday (April 5), and appointed a loyal colleague, to end anti-Thaksin street protests before the June arrival of the world's kings, queens and other royalty to honor Thailand's revered monarch.
Thaksin named Justice Minister Chitchai Wannasathit, who is also a deputy prime minister and former police general, as this Southeast Asian nation's interim prime minister.
Chitchai, 59, received a Ph.D. in Justice Administration in 1976 from the University of Louisville, Kentucky, according to his official biography.
Chitchai, considered a close friend of Thaksin, has extensive police experience including previous posts as Immigration Commissioner, Secretary-General of the Narcotics Control Board, and Interior Minister.
"I have appointed Chitchai to do my work from now on. I need to rest," Thaksin told the nation on Wednesday (April 5).
"It's not that I'm not willing to fight, but when I fight, the nation loses," Thaksin said.
"I don't need to see bloodshed among Thais. Thai blood must not paint the land of Thailand."
Thaksin named Justice Minister Chitchai Wannasathit, who is also a deputy prime minister and former police general, as this Southeast Asian nation's interim prime minister.
Chitchai, 59, received a Ph.D. in Justice Administration in 1976 from the University of Louisville, Kentucky, according to his official biography.
Chitchai, considered a close friend of Thaksin, has extensive police experience including previous posts as Immigration Commissioner, Secretary-General of the Narcotics Control Board, and Interior Minister.
"I have appointed Chitchai to do my work from now on. I need to rest," Thaksin told the nation on Wednesday (April 5).
"It's not that I'm not willing to fight, but when I fight, the nation loses," Thaksin said.
"I don't need to see bloodshed among Thais. Thai blood must not paint the land of Thailand."
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Despite an opposition boycott of Sunday's (April 2) nationwide poll, Thailand's billionaire prime minister expects to be re-elected but then suffer insults, allegations and condemnation by thousands of protesters determined to cripple his government and snarl Bangkok's streets.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra hoped this Southeast Asian nation's rural and urban poor would help re-elect his welfare-friendly Thai Rak Thai ("Thais Love Thais") party, which thrust him to power in 2001 and endorsed him in February 2005 with 19 million votes.
Clean-shaven Thaksin has been portrayed as Adolf Hitler by his enemies in speeches, published commentary, and huge posters caricaturing him with a swastika on his forehead and a black moustache -- prompting a public complaint by Israel's embassy.
After the election, Thaksin may unleash lawsuits against his critics, whose speeches mixed legitimate issues with rants and unproven allegations.
The boycott by opposition candidates could deprive Parliament of its necessary 500 members, because the three biggest opposition parties told Thais to vote "no" instead of avoiding the polls.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra hoped this Southeast Asian nation's rural and urban poor would help re-elect his welfare-friendly Thai Rak Thai ("Thais Love Thais") party, which thrust him to power in 2001 and endorsed him in February 2005 with 19 million votes.
Clean-shaven Thaksin has been portrayed as Adolf Hitler by his enemies in speeches, published commentary, and huge posters caricaturing him with a swastika on his forehead and a black moustache -- prompting a public complaint by Israel's embassy.
After the election, Thaksin may unleash lawsuits against his critics, whose speeches mixed legitimate issues with rants and unproven allegations.
The boycott by opposition candidates could deprive Parliament of its necessary 500 members, because the three biggest opposition parties told Thais to vote "no" instead of avoiding the polls.