THE G-20 IN PITTSBURGH
by Tom Over 9-23-09
<br><br>
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.
<br><br>
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.
<br><br>
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!”
<br><br>
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.
<br><br>
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.
<br><br>
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.”
<br><br>
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.
<br><br>
“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.
<br><br>
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.
<br><br>
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.
<br><br>
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 -- Thailand's U.S.-trained military appears to
support next February's endangered election, and oppose a right-wing
insurrection bent on destroying the government, seizing power,
blacklisting politicians, and cancelling the polls.
The blockades and sit-ins, mostly by Bangkok's wealthy and middle class, are also trying to prevent poorer urban and rural voters repeatedly electing politicians who the comparatively well-off protesters despise.
In some ways, the protesters can be perceived as Thailand's "opulent minority" against the working class, wrote analyst Apivat Hanvongse.
Another commentator said the goal of the insurrection is to clamp this poorly educated Southeast Asian country under a closed system of "elites electing elites to rule the majority."
Wedging itself into this split is the military.
Army generals, including some who participated in a bloodless 2006 coup, are mediating between the protesters' rich and loudly threatening leader, Suthep Thaugsuban, and the damaged government of Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
The blockades and sit-ins, mostly by Bangkok's wealthy and middle class, are also trying to prevent poorer urban and rural voters repeatedly electing politicians who the comparatively well-off protesters despise.
In some ways, the protesters can be perceived as Thailand's "opulent minority" against the working class, wrote analyst Apivat Hanvongse.
Another commentator said the goal of the insurrection is to clamp this poorly educated Southeast Asian country under a closed system of "elites electing elites to rule the majority."
Wedging itself into this split is the military.
Army generals, including some who participated in a bloodless 2006 coup, are mediating between the protesters' rich and loudly threatening leader, Suthep Thaugsuban, and the damaged government of Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Dear friends on Jeju Island : Sung Hee, Paco, Silver, Sister Stella, Dr Park and many others at Gangjeong Village,
I lived in a gorgeous agricultural village in Bamiyan Province of Afghanistan for seven years and like yourselves on Jeju Island in South Korea, every morning, I woke up to a window scene of ‘heaven’. No eyes would believe that wars had brought ‘hell’ to occupy this land.
I imagine you walking on the simple yet unpolluted paths in Gangjeong Village and that if you stopped for a little breather, you’ll be caressed and cared for by the tree shadows with their sunlight, the chatty play of the neighbourhood children, and the wafts of floral perfume dancing by. Neither you nor the villagers I lived among would want to lose your aviary-like homes to Greed.
Save Jeju Island Now
The Afghan Peace Volunteers and I recognize the love which has compelled you to stop the military base construction trucks with your young and old bodies, demonstrating again that the human spirit can speak to heavy, metallic machines.
Stopping an excavator on Jeju island
I lived in a gorgeous agricultural village in Bamiyan Province of Afghanistan for seven years and like yourselves on Jeju Island in South Korea, every morning, I woke up to a window scene of ‘heaven’. No eyes would believe that wars had brought ‘hell’ to occupy this land.
I imagine you walking on the simple yet unpolluted paths in Gangjeong Village and that if you stopped for a little breather, you’ll be caressed and cared for by the tree shadows with their sunlight, the chatty play of the neighbourhood children, and the wafts of floral perfume dancing by. Neither you nor the villagers I lived among would want to lose your aviary-like homes to Greed.
Save Jeju Island Now
The Afghan Peace Volunteers and I recognize the love which has compelled you to stop the military base construction trucks with your young and old bodies, demonstrating again that the human spirit can speak to heavy, metallic machines.
Stopping an excavator on Jeju island
Earlier this year I had the great pleasure to visit South Africa. Compared to most Americans, the passing of Nelson Mandela brought tears to my eyes many times as I recalled being in many of the places being shown on countless news shows.
In particular, I was fortunate in spending significant time with several black elderly South Africans who knew Mandela and were prisoners also, and who spoke in considerable detail about the horrors of living in the apartheid society. Nothing I have seen and heard on many news outlets has presented the true horrors of what life was like for not only blacks but also other people of color in the apartheid society. There were virtually no freedoms whatsoever for nonwhites and the blacks suffered the most. I recall listening to these apartheid experts and feeling absolutely bewildered that the apartheid government and society could actually have been created and prospered for so many decades.
In particular, I was fortunate in spending significant time with several black elderly South Africans who knew Mandela and were prisoners also, and who spoke in considerable detail about the horrors of living in the apartheid society. Nothing I have seen and heard on many news outlets has presented the true horrors of what life was like for not only blacks but also other people of color in the apartheid society. There were virtually no freedoms whatsoever for nonwhites and the blacks suffered the most. I recall listening to these apartheid experts and feeling absolutely bewildered that the apartheid government and society could actually have been created and prospered for so many decades.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- A court on Thursday (Dec. 12) indicted former
prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for alleged murders, but his deputy
did not arrive for the same indictment because he was whipping up a
right-wing "people's revolution" which cut off the prime minister's
electricity and water to force her resignation.
The murder charges date back to 2010 and are echoing in Bangkok's current month-long "insurrection" which is fueled mostly by urban-based royalists and military officers, plus middle and upper classes who favor dictatorial, appointed officials instead of popularly elected politicians.
In the latest twist, a man standing in the street on Thursday (Dec. 12) afternoon used a lengthy pole to disconnect overhead electric cables leading to Interim Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's now-vacant Government House office, while a curious crowd watched.
Others cut the water supply and some barbed wire protecting the building.
Ms. Yingluck refuses to resign and now uses police and army buildings as her office.
The murder charges date back to 2010 and are echoing in Bangkok's current month-long "insurrection" which is fueled mostly by urban-based royalists and military officers, plus middle and upper classes who favor dictatorial, appointed officials instead of popularly elected politicians.
In the latest twist, a man standing in the street on Thursday (Dec. 12) afternoon used a lengthy pole to disconnect overhead electric cables leading to Interim Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's now-vacant Government House office, while a curious crowd watched.
Others cut the water supply and some barbed wire protecting the building.
Ms. Yingluck refuses to resign and now uses police and army buildings as her office.
Iran! So long our enemy-in-waiting, just asking for it, y’know?
No wonder Americans are confused about the idea of maybe not going to war with that country one of these days, at least according to USA Today, which reported: “The White House and Iran face an uphill selling job to convince Americans to embrace the interim nuclear pact negotiated with Tehran last month.”
Two out of three Americans who have actually heard something about the accord don’t trust it, the paper explains, because, in essence, Iran took American hostages that one time (for no reason) and have been uncooperative toward our interests ever since. Thus, however hopeful or problematic the Geneva agreement between Iran and the P5 + 1 nations (the U.S., Russia, China, France, U.K. and Germany) may be, here in the land of all-that-is-exceptional, pop culture and superficial opinion polls rule and cynical ignorance counts as news.
No wonder Americans are confused about the idea of maybe not going to war with that country one of these days, at least according to USA Today, which reported: “The White House and Iran face an uphill selling job to convince Americans to embrace the interim nuclear pact negotiated with Tehran last month.”
Two out of three Americans who have actually heard something about the accord don’t trust it, the paper explains, because, in essence, Iran took American hostages that one time (for no reason) and have been uncooperative toward our interests ever since. Thus, however hopeful or problematic the Geneva agreement between Iran and the P5 + 1 nations (the U.S., Russia, China, France, U.K. and Germany) may be, here in the land of all-that-is-exceptional, pop culture and superficial opinion polls rule and cynical ignorance counts as news.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Vietnam erased online news by the British
Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) and other media about protesters toppling a
Vladimir Lenin statue in Ukraine, because it "struck a nerve" among
Vietnam's communist regime amid possible concerns about statues of Ho
Chi Minh, the BBC said.
Meanwhile, Lenin statues and busts in Seattle, Antarctica, London, Italy and elsewhere in Ukraine survive unmolested.
During Lenin's life from 1870-1924, he led the 1917 Russian Revolution and used Marxist ideology to create a Bolshevik system after ousting Russia's last emperor, Czar Nicholas II.
Lenin became the first prime minister of the Soviet Union and was revered by many communists around the world.
On Sunday (Dec. 8), protesters destroyed the Lenin statue in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, during an anti-government demonstration about a free trade deal with the European Union (EU).
"As Lenin's statue was toppled in Kiev, the authorities in Vietnam developed cold feet," the BBC's website reported on Tuesday (Dec. 10).
Meanwhile, Lenin statues and busts in Seattle, Antarctica, London, Italy and elsewhere in Ukraine survive unmolested.
During Lenin's life from 1870-1924, he led the 1917 Russian Revolution and used Marxist ideology to create a Bolshevik system after ousting Russia's last emperor, Czar Nicholas II.
Lenin became the first prime minister of the Soviet Union and was revered by many communists around the world.
On Sunday (Dec. 8), protesters destroyed the Lenin statue in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, during an anti-government demonstration about a free trade deal with the European Union (EU).
"As Lenin's statue was toppled in Kiev, the authorities in Vietnam developed cold feet," the BBC's website reported on Tuesday (Dec. 10).
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Hours after the prime minister dissolved
parliament on Monday (Dec. 9), a tough-talking "insurrection" leader
strangled Bangkok's streets with more than 100,000 protesters,
rejected a nationwide election scheduled for Feb. 2, and declared a
right-wing "people's revolution".
The anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban told his supporters to lay siege overnight until Tuesday (Dec. 10) around Government House, which is the prime minister's now-vacant office.
In a nationally televised speech on Monday (Dec. 9) delivered outdoors at Government House, Mr. Suthep declared his "prachapiwat" or "people's revolution" will end only with the total surrender of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, her powerful family and their political allies.
Mr. Suthep said his would-be "people's council" tribunal will summon government officials and politicians and demand they confess whether or not they support Mrs. Yingluck or "the people".
He instructed people throughout Thailand to set up volunteer security forces to replace the police, because Mr. Suthep perceives police as biased in favor of Mrs. Yingluck.
The anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban told his supporters to lay siege overnight until Tuesday (Dec. 10) around Government House, which is the prime minister's now-vacant office.
In a nationally televised speech on Monday (Dec. 9) delivered outdoors at Government House, Mr. Suthep declared his "prachapiwat" or "people's revolution" will end only with the total surrender of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, her powerful family and their political allies.
Mr. Suthep said his would-be "people's council" tribunal will summon government officials and politicians and demand they confess whether or not they support Mrs. Yingluck or "the people".
He instructed people throughout Thailand to set up volunteer security forces to replace the police, because Mr. Suthep perceives police as biased in favor of Mrs. Yingluck.
Carl Gibson and Steve Horn have done an important service in writing their article outlining Srdja Popovic’s inexcusable collaboration with the global intelligence company STRATFOR and his disclosure of the activities of movements and activists with whom he has worked. Unfortunately, as will be spelled out below, the article falls into a rather simplistic and reductionist analysis of Popovic’s motivations and, more critically, misrepresents the nature of the popular uprisings in Serbia and other countries. The article also contains a number of factual errors and misleading statements.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Violence worsened on Monday (Dec. 2) between
anti-government mobs using a hijacked bulldozer, fire engine, garbage
truck and homemade explosives to attack police who responded for the
first time with rubber bullets after the prime minister rejected the
insurrectionists' demands to cancel Thailand's elections and submit to
a dictatorial "people's council".
The Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban on Monday (Dec. 2) on charges of insurrection, punishable by life imprisonment or death under the Criminal Code's Section 113.
Insurrection under Section 113 includes anyone who "threatens to commit an act of violence" to "overthrow" the government or "seize the power."
Mr. Suthep responded on Monday (Dec. 2) night by taunting the police to "catch him" and said they should defect to his side or else his protesters would strip them of their uniforms.
"We will seize Bangkok's police headquarters" on Tuesday (Dec. 3), Mr. Suthep told his protesters occupying offices in a government complex.
The Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban on Monday (Dec. 2) on charges of insurrection, punishable by life imprisonment or death under the Criminal Code's Section 113.
Insurrection under Section 113 includes anyone who "threatens to commit an act of violence" to "overthrow" the government or "seize the power."
Mr. Suthep responded on Monday (Dec. 2) night by taunting the police to "catch him" and said they should defect to his side or else his protesters would strip them of their uniforms.
"We will seize Bangkok's police headquarters" on Tuesday (Dec. 3), Mr. Suthep told his protesters occupying offices in a government complex.
December 10th was Human Rights Day. This day is an opportunity for all of us to reflect on the importance of human rights in our increasingly interconnected world. Human Rights are basic freedoms to which all humans are entitled: the right to life, the freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law. But are these rights applied equally, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and other differences?
Last month I traveled on a two-week delegation to Palestine and Israel organized by Interfaith Peace-Builders. During my trip, I spoke with many individuals, both Israeli and Palestinian, and heard their personal stories. With every experience, my eyes were opened to the harsh reality of life in this region. I couldn’t help but feel outraged, knowing that the U.S. government is an ally that provides major funding to the Israeli government.
Last month I traveled on a two-week delegation to Palestine and Israel organized by Interfaith Peace-Builders. During my trip, I spoke with many individuals, both Israeli and Palestinian, and heard their personal stories. With every experience, my eyes were opened to the harsh reality of life in this region. I couldn’t help but feel outraged, knowing that the U.S. government is an ally that provides major funding to the Israeli government.