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 -- A brawl over COVID-19 has erupted between the
American and Chinese embassies after President Trump's newly appointed
ambassador blamed China for spreading a "vicious and dangerous
conspiracy theory," prompting a Chinese envoy to hit back, blasting
the ambassador's "smear" and "lies".
Newly arrived U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Michael DeSombre began the
harsh confrontation by issuing a 700-word statement published in Thai
media on March 21, which was posted on his twitter account and on the
embassy's website.
"Ambassador Michael George DeSombre calls on the People’s Republic of
China to save lives, not save face," said the U.S. embassy's headline.
"When a vicious and dangerous conspiracy theory is uttered from an
official government mouthpiece, however, we should take particular
notice," Ambassador DeSombre wrote.
"That is exactly what happened this month when a spokesman for the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China leveled
false accusations against the United States related to the COVID-19
virus," DeSombre said.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Fear of the coronavirus is rapidly making
Thailand less attractive for tourists, potentially boring for
residents, and possibly dangerous for white people.
Places where people "rub up against each other" will be closed, Prime
Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced on March 17.
Earlier, Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's media blamed "dirty"
Caucasian tourists for infecting Thailand with COVID-19.
More than 600 people -- mostly Thais -- have been infected. Many of
them recovered, and one person died because of the coronavirus.
Officials announced the closure of all schools nationwide and, in and
around Bangkok, entertainment venues such as bars, massage parlors,
and sports stadiums from March 18-31.
Concerts, some Buddhist gatherings, horse racing and other mass events
have also been cancelled.
Shopping malls, restaurants, markets, and offices remain open but need
to sanitize people's hands or take other health precautions.
Thailand's April 13-15 Songkran new year holiday has also been
postponed indefinitely.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- High on hope, Americans and other foreigners have
arrived selling satellite imagery, financial services, grow lights and
other products to profit from Thailand's recently legalized medical
marijuana before Thais figure out how to do it themselves.
Foreigners are excitedly gathering at cannabis networking events in
Bangkok and elsewhere in this Southeast Asian nation, spouting sales
spiels and describing the most fantastic things since seedless joints.
They are also unraveling Thailand's newly created tangle of cannabis
laws to find loopholes and ways to squeeze money from weed.
Medical marijuana became legal in 2019. Recreational use did not and
still includes imprisonment.
As a result, the current investment rush is toward niche
infrastructure for government-controlled medical research and
production.
The Dutch are one of the new dominating suppliers of potent seeds to
Thailand. The Netherlands has spent decades producing some of the best
cross-bred seeds, which are now being purchased by government-approved
Thai researchers.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- More than 5,000 U.S. troops begin training
Thailand's military on February 22, coinciding with demands for the
army's chief to resign and alleged financial corruption within the
military be investigated after an army officer massacred 29 people in
a shopping mall.
Dramatically weeping during a televised news conference, Army Chief
Gen. Apirat Kongsompong said on February 11, "Don't blame the army"
for Sgt. Jakrapanth Tomma's 17-hour rampage in Korat, a northeast city
also known as Nakorn Ratchasima.
"Blame me, General Apirat."
Sgt. Jakrapanth's bloody spree ended on February 9 when security
forces shot him dead in the mall after he killed 29 people.
"Throughout the whole incident, there were only criticisms of the
army. I want you to know that the army is a national security
organization, a sacred organization," Gen. Apirat said.
Gen. Apirat's use of the Thai word "saksit," which means "sacred,"
angered critics.
"He used the Thai word 'saksit', the supernatural powers that demand
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Cambodia's authoritarian leader Hun Sen is not
panicking about the possibility of the deadly coronavirus killing
anyone in his Southeast Asian nation.
And he's not evacuating Cambodians trapped in China where more than
1,000 people have perished from the disease.
Instead, Prime Minister Hun Sen told Cambodians to stay and experience
Wuhan's dystopian lockdown.
He also allowed more than 2,000 people, including about 600 Americans,
to dock in Cambodia's port after their Westerdam cruise ship was
turned away by five countries amid unsubstantiated fears that it might
carry a coronavirus victim.
"Westerdam is now sailing for Sihanoukville, Cambodia, arriving at 7am
local time on February 13 & will remain in port for several days for
disembarkation," Holland America Line announced on February 12.
"All approvals have been received & we are extremely grateful to the
Cambodian authorities for support," it said on @HALcruises, the ship's
official Twitter site.
Hun Sen said everyone else in Cambodia should strip off their medical
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand's Disease Control Department is
preparing for "an epidemic all over the country" because data proves
the coronavirus can continuously double the number of infected people
in less than a week.
If that occurs here, it could multiply Thailand's confirmed 33 victims
to become thousands of infected cases in less than two months.
"If you look at Chinese data, the doubling time or the time when the
number of cases will be doubled, is around a week," said Dr. Thanarak
Plipat, deputy director of Thailand's Bureau of Epidemiology under the
Health Ministry's Department of Disease Control.
"So every week, the number of cases in China will be double. If they
have 1,000 cases, next week it will be 2,000 or a little bit more
because actually the doubling time is a little bit shorter than a
week," Dr. Thanarak said.
"The reproductive numbers are one infected person can spread to more
than two persons, and can infect more than two persons. That's how
quickly it spreads.
"And it has a very short incubation period of about five days. That is
It’s early 2019, and Brazil’s up surging right-wing elects Jair Bolsonaro, a retired army Captain. With it, comes a new administration alongside him, carrying the promises of a political shift away from the claws of corruption which have historically scarred the Latin American country’s turbulent political past.
Brazil’s still young democracy felt the tension of electing a pro-military strongman figure considering its worrisome relation with its military, which ruled the country through means of a dictatorship up until 1985.
Known for his controversial remarks, ranging from misogynistic statements to outright disregard for the rights of minorities and democratically established institutions, Bolsonaro’s reputation did not favor him when he came into office. Having significant low approval ratings from the start, the new president would have to gain the public’s trust. And by appointing lauded experts of their field as ministers of his administration, he found a way.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- After shooting dead an army gunman on February 9
in a Korat shopping mall where he killed 29 people, security forces
faced the difficult task of securing weapons, ammunition and vehicles
at military bases throughout the country to prevent a repeat of
Thailand's worst mass shooting of civilians in modern history.
The military may also want to examine the wisdom of having many of its
senior, most experienced officers busy playing politics, running
ministries, plus leading and supporting coups instead of focusing on
tightening discipline and access at their bases and barracks.
It is impossible to stop a lone gunman determined to kill innocent
people at a undefended venue anywhere in the world.
Mass shootings of civilians are rare in Thailand, unlike the United
States and some other wealthier, more advanced countries.
The shopping mall massacre in Korat, a northeast city also known as
Nakorn Ratchasima, showcased heroic, altruistic, unarmed security
guards who bravely escorted terrified customers to safety during the
17-hour ordeal.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand's health minister has provoked outrage
by demanding a warning to embassies and the deportation of all "those
damn Caucasian tourists" if they do not wear medical face masks, even
if they do not suffer from the coronavirus.
Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is not a doctor, shocked the
public when he broke medical protocol and pulled down his own mask, so
it dangled under his chin before angrily cursing Caucasian tourists on
February 7 at a busy public rail station in Bangkok.
He had offered -- with his bare, ungloved hands -- some unwrapped,
unsterilized medical face masks to wary random foreigners who walked
away.
Mr. Anutin then unleashed a stream of verbal abuse during a photo
opportunity showcasing to the media how he dealt with the coronavirus.
"Those damn Caucasian tourists, that is something the embassies should
be notified of, and the public as well, that they are not wearing
medical face masks.
"We are handing them [medical face masks] out and they still refuse.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- When Thailand's popular, anti-government graffiti
artist Headache Stencil wrote racist rants about Chinese infected with
the coronavirus, many of his Thai and foreign fans were shocked,
outraged, and disgusted.
"Hey Chink! Please go back to ur shit-eating country. Our government
need ur money to keep their power but you all not welcome for us now.
#notwelcometothailand #backtourchinklandpls," wrote @headachestencil
on his Twitter site on January 26, which had more than 6,000
followers.
The English-language slur against Chinese is not common in Thailand,
so the artist apparently wanted foreigners to also see his post.
Headache Stencil often tweets several times a day but mostly in Thai language.
Starting in 2018, he gained wide support and pride of place in some of
Bangkok's edgy art galleries when he illustrated Bangkok's dilapidated
streets with wall graffiti showing a large clock, politicians' faces,
and other satirical imagery.
During that year, one of his graffiti targets was coup-installed