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
President Bush and other top officials in his administration used the National Security Agency to secretly wiretap the home and office telephones and monitored private email accounts of members of the United Nations Security Council in early 2003 to determine how foreign delegates would vote on a U.N. resolution that paved the war for the U.S.-led war in Iraq, NSA documents show.
Two former NSA officials familiar with the agency's campaign to spy on U.N. members say then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice authorized the plan at the request of President Bush, who wanted to know how delegates were going to vote. Rice did not immediately return a call for comment. The former officials said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also participated in discussions about the plan, which involved "stepping up" efforts to eavesdrop on diplomats.
A spokeswoman at the White House who refused to give her name also would not comment, and pointed to a March 3, 2003 press briefing by former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer when questions about U.N. spying were first raised.
Two former NSA officials familiar with the agency's campaign to spy on U.N. members say then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice authorized the plan at the request of President Bush, who wanted to know how delegates were going to vote. Rice did not immediately return a call for comment. The former officials said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also participated in discussions about the plan, which involved "stepping up" efforts to eavesdrop on diplomats.
A spokeswoman at the White House who refused to give her name also would not comment, and pointed to a March 3, 2003 press briefing by former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer when questions about U.N. spying were first raised.
ROME, ITALY -- A slightly unreal moment this afternoon. Here in the land of Dante, as the taxi from the airport sped by the ruins of the Roman Forum and glimpses of the Coliseum up the side streets, the car radio began playing the seventies hit "Disco Inferno." As Dorothy Parker would have said, what fresh Hell is this?
It has been that kind of year, one of incongruities and contrasts in which just about everything seemed a little off-kilter or more. It was the year of the real life-and-death Terri Schiavo story and fictional "Desperate Housewives;" the death of John Paul II and Rosa Parks; the re-election of Tony Blair and the indictment of Tom DeLay (who told one, presumably stunned audience, "Humility is something I work on every day.").
It was the year of Katrina and Rita, peace mom Cindy Sheehan and hawk turned dovish owl Jack Murtha, London underground bombings and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, intelligent design and runaway brides. President Bush announced his complete confidence in both Karl Rove and Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, who told Congress in March he had never used steroids, then six months later tested positive.
It has been that kind of year, one of incongruities and contrasts in which just about everything seemed a little off-kilter or more. It was the year of the real life-and-death Terri Schiavo story and fictional "Desperate Housewives;" the death of John Paul II and Rosa Parks; the re-election of Tony Blair and the indictment of Tom DeLay (who told one, presumably stunned audience, "Humility is something I work on every day.").
It was the year of Katrina and Rita, peace mom Cindy Sheehan and hawk turned dovish owl Jack Murtha, London underground bombings and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, intelligent design and runaway brides. President Bush announced his complete confidence in both Karl Rove and Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, who told Congress in March he had never used steroids, then six months later tested positive.
I half-suspected NPR to exhume Henry Kissinger (he is dead, isn't he?) the other day when they did a promo about a story on "Iraqization," but no, they spared us the sonorous tones of Doctor Strangelove, only to give us his pin-headed sidekick, former Nixon Defense Secretary, Melvin Laird.
Since it's clearly too much to expect National Pentagon Radio to invite an eminent historian like Howard Zinn or someone of similar ability onto our airwaves to explain the likely pitfalls of Bush's plan to hand over Iraq to our hand-picked Iraqis, it falls to the Itinerant Scribbler Corps to put Laird's interview into historic perspective.
"Eventually we have to get out as soon as our job is done." Laird began, omitting, of course, any mention of exactly what that job might consist of.finding WMD's; freeing Iraqis from despotic torture chambers; militarily securing a strategic, oil-rich region?
Since it's clearly too much to expect National Pentagon Radio to invite an eminent historian like Howard Zinn or someone of similar ability onto our airwaves to explain the likely pitfalls of Bush's plan to hand over Iraq to our hand-picked Iraqis, it falls to the Itinerant Scribbler Corps to put Laird's interview into historic perspective.
"Eventually we have to get out as soon as our job is done." Laird began, omitting, of course, any mention of exactly what that job might consist of.finding WMD's; freeing Iraqis from despotic torture chambers; militarily securing a strategic, oil-rich region?
BANGKOK, Thailand -- America and Russia are competing to sell expensive, high-tech warplanes to Thailand, sparking debate among Thai politicians and air force officers over which combat aircraft are better.
"It's not a good thing to depend on one provider of military equipment," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters earlier this week, prompting widespread speculation that he will lessen Thailand's traditional dependence on U.S. F-16 jet fighters in favor of Russia's Sukhoi SU-30s.
A switch to Russia would mean a commercial loss to several U.S. corporations including Texas-based Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Sechan Electronics, and General Electric which builds, arms and maintains F-16s.
"The government must heed what the air force needs," said Air Force Commander-in-Chief Chalit Pukpasuk, according to Thursday's (Dec. 22) Bangkok Post.
"The air force will select only one type which meets our needs, and propose it directly to the government. The prime minister will not pick the type," Chalit insisted.
"It's not a good thing to depend on one provider of military equipment," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters earlier this week, prompting widespread speculation that he will lessen Thailand's traditional dependence on U.S. F-16 jet fighters in favor of Russia's Sukhoi SU-30s.
A switch to Russia would mean a commercial loss to several U.S. corporations including Texas-based Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Sechan Electronics, and General Electric which builds, arms and maintains F-16s.
"The government must heed what the air force needs," said Air Force Commander-in-Chief Chalit Pukpasuk, according to Thursday's (Dec. 22) Bangkok Post.
"The air force will select only one type which meets our needs, and propose it directly to the government. The prime minister will not pick the type," Chalit insisted.
We all have thoughts, most of us have opinions. These are just two of the
ways we are all alike. Most division among people is intentional. If
thought is the vehicle of opinion and if we choose what to and what not to
think about, how reliable can most opinions be?
If you’re anything like me and I know that you are, one of the things you like the least is being lied to. There is plenty of information available across the entire spectrum of the press and electronic media to indicate that ‘a whole lot of lyen’s going on.’
We hear that Afghanistan is secure and stable with only sporadic violence from isolated pockets of the former Talaban and Al Quita elements. When in truth there is daily violence and Afghani civilians and American troops and internationals are still being killed regularly. We hear the good things the Afghani government is doing, when in reality the current government does not and has never controlled any more than thirty- five per cent of the country of Afghanistan.
If you’re anything like me and I know that you are, one of the things you like the least is being lied to. There is plenty of information available across the entire spectrum of the press and electronic media to indicate that ‘a whole lot of lyen’s going on.’
We hear that Afghanistan is secure and stable with only sporadic violence from isolated pockets of the former Talaban and Al Quita elements. When in truth there is daily violence and Afghani civilians and American troops and internationals are still being killed regularly. We hear the good things the Afghani government is doing, when in reality the current government does not and has never controlled any more than thirty- five per cent of the country of Afghanistan.
Imagine if Lavrenty Pavlovich Beria gave a press conference. What would it sound like?
Ft. Benning, GA – Sitting in a Georgia motel Saturday night, Kathy Kelly talked through a bad phone connection and a worse head cold to recount the previous day’s activities where she and 13 others were arrested at an airstrip outside Raleigh, North Carolina.
The tiny Johnson County Airport is home to Aero Contractors Corp., a firm described by the New York Times as “a major domestic hub of the Central Intelligence Agency's secret air service,” that shuttles prisoners abroad for interrogation and suspected torture. The Times reports Aero was founded in 1979 by the chief pilot for Air America, a CIA “front” in Vietnam.
In addition to Kelly, those arrested Friday included residents of a Raleigh Catholic Worker house and members of Stop Torture Now, a project of the Center for Theology and Social Analysis in St. Louis, Missouri. Protesters walked onto company property and lowered the flags to half-mast before being arrested.
The tiny Johnson County Airport is home to Aero Contractors Corp., a firm described by the New York Times as “a major domestic hub of the Central Intelligence Agency's secret air service,” that shuttles prisoners abroad for interrogation and suspected torture. The Times reports Aero was founded in 1979 by the chief pilot for Air America, a CIA “front” in Vietnam.
In addition to Kelly, those arrested Friday included residents of a Raleigh Catholic Worker house and members of Stop Torture Now, a project of the Center for Theology and Social Analysis in St. Louis, Missouri. Protesters walked onto company property and lowered the flags to half-mast before being arrested.
While he may be dead in the corporal sense, the spirit of Simon Bolivar continues to wage the struggle for freedom from oppression. Hugo Chavez is perhaps the most familiar incarnation of Bolivar's élan vital as he defies the neocolonial policies of the United States, a nation which has supplanted the European colonial empires as looters of Latin American bounty. Bolivar's spiritual essence also burns brightly in Evo Morales, another leader of the poor and oppressed in Latin America. Barring a CIA-orchestrated assasination or sabotage of the election process, in December Morales will be the next democratically-elected president of Bolivia. And deservedly so.
The only thing they have to fear is fear itself....or is there something more?
The only thing they have to fear is fear itself....or is there something more?
Two modes of government are doing battle in America today. The issue of secrecy in government has never been more important. Few Americans realize how radically the Bush Administration changed our systems and processes in order to deny the average American citizen access to information about what the government is doing in our name!
The leaks about secret prisons being run by the CIA around the world has produced near hysteria in Bush Republican circles. Republicans seem to be spinning the controversy into a scandal about leaks. The actual scandal focus should be almost exclusively focused on secret prisons.
The leaks about secret prisons being run by the CIA around the world has produced near hysteria in Bush Republican circles. Republicans seem to be spinning the controversy into a scandal about leaks. The actual scandal focus should be almost exclusively focused on secret prisons.
Bangkok, Thailand – Katrina's victims may learn lessons from Thailand's tsunami where DNA and real estate profits have become priorities, and thousands of survivors still cannot cope eight months after rescue.
Unlike impoverished Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka, quake-propelled tidal swells hit Thailand's glitzy tourist zone, killing more than 5,400 Thai residents and foreigners.
It became a crash-course for U.S. and international aid workers dealing with relatively prosperous victims in vicious floods.
Investigators needed to quickly determine the identities of Thailand's tsunami toll — so relatives could file insurance claims, inherit property, and stay in business.
Interpol tried to ensure criminals did not fake their own deaths to dodge arrest amid the tsunami's chaos.
The uniqueness of popular tattoos became a valuable clue, identifying many Westerners' corpses in Thailand.
Expensive, private, American and other security firms became a growth industry, along with scam artists, clairvoyants and others seeking to profit from the hunt for missing loved ones.
Unlike impoverished Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka, quake-propelled tidal swells hit Thailand's glitzy tourist zone, killing more than 5,400 Thai residents and foreigners.
It became a crash-course for U.S. and international aid workers dealing with relatively prosperous victims in vicious floods.
Investigators needed to quickly determine the identities of Thailand's tsunami toll — so relatives could file insurance claims, inherit property, and stay in business.
Interpol tried to ensure criminals did not fake their own deaths to dodge arrest amid the tsunami's chaos.
The uniqueness of popular tattoos became a valuable clue, identifying many Westerners' corpses in Thailand.
Expensive, private, American and other security firms became a growth industry, along with scam artists, clairvoyants and others seeking to profit from the hunt for missing loved ones.