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 -- In the biggest anti-government street protest in
years, tens of thousands of people crippled Bangkok on Monday (Nov.
25), storming and occupying the Finance Ministry and swarming around
military, police and other buildings, demanding the elected prime
minister resign.
"I invite protesters to stay here overnight at the Finance Ministry," tough-talking protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban told supporters at the multi-story building.
"I urge other protesters to do the same and seize other government buildings and offices around the country," Mr. Suthep said.
"I have no intention to resign or dissolve the House," Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told reporters in response.
"The cabinet can still function, even though we are facing some difficulties. All sides have shown their political aims, now they must turn to face each other and talk, in order to find a peaceful way out for the country."
Police said the protesters occupying the Finance Ministry's Budget Bureau and Auditor General's Office would face prosecution.
"I invite protesters to stay here overnight at the Finance Ministry," tough-talking protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban told supporters at the multi-story building.
"I urge other protesters to do the same and seize other government buildings and offices around the country," Mr. Suthep said.
"I have no intention to resign or dissolve the House," Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told reporters in response.
"The cabinet can still function, even though we are facing some difficulties. All sides have shown their political aims, now they must turn to face each other and talk, in order to find a peaceful way out for the country."
Police said the protesters occupying the Finance Ministry's Budget Bureau and Auditor General's Office would face prosecution.
Nelson Mandela's story, if told as a novel, would not be deemed possible in real life. Worse, we don't tell such stories in many of our novels.
A violent young rebel is imprisoned for decades but turns that imprisonment into the training he needs. He turns to negotiation, diplomacy, reconciliation. He negotiates free elections, and then wins them. He forestalls any counter-revolution by including former enemies in his victory. He becomes a symbol of the possibility for the sort of radical, lasting change of which violence has proved incapable. He credits the widespread movement in his country and around the world that changed cultures for the better while he was locked away. But millions of people look to the example of his personal interactions and decisions as having prevented a blood bath.
A violent young rebel is imprisoned for decades but turns that imprisonment into the training he needs. He turns to negotiation, diplomacy, reconciliation. He negotiates free elections, and then wins them. He forestalls any counter-revolution by including former enemies in his victory. He becomes a symbol of the possibility for the sort of radical, lasting change of which violence has proved incapable. He credits the widespread movement in his country and around the world that changed cultures for the better while he was locked away. But millions of people look to the example of his personal interactions and decisions as having prevented a blood bath.
Every new revelation about the global reach of the National Security Agency underscores that the extremism of the surveillance state has reached gargantuan proportions. The Washington Post just reported that the NSA “is gathering nearly 5 billion records a day on the whereabouts of cellphones around the world.” Documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden have forced top officials in Washington to admit the indefensible while defending it. One of the main obstacles to further expansion of their Orwellian empire is real journalism.
Real journalism is “subversive” of deception that can’t stand the light of day. This is a huge problem for the Obama administration and the many surveillance-state flunkies of both parties in Congress. What they want is fake journalism, deferring to government storylines and respectful of authority even when it is illegitimate.
Real journalism is “subversive” of deception that can’t stand the light of day. This is a huge problem for the Obama administration and the many surveillance-state flunkies of both parties in Congress. What they want is fake journalism, deferring to government storylines and respectful of authority even when it is illegitimate.
While catching up with one another over the challenges facing ordinary Afghans and Egyptians, Sherif Sameer and I talked about how ‘opening our eyes’ could go a long way to building a better world. We decided to co-write this piece, from Ismailia, Egypt and Kabul, Afghanistan.
Open Our Eyes in Egypt
The truth is there, clear and burning like a sun. We only need to open our eyes and take a look. ‘Our eyes’ means ‘our minds’. The mind is that big thing on top of our necks inside of our heads, and it has a function called ‘thinking’. Just last year, I was taken from my village in Egypt to spend some time in Spain, because I wrote a short story and won a prize. There, I noticed that I was walking around with a belief in the cleanliness and accuracy of everything. I was drinking tap water believing it was so pure and clean, eating food as if it was coming from heaven, even after I got diarrhoea and had to take medicine. I believed that the medicine will cure me like magic. I had faith in absolutes and that meant that my mind was dysfunctional.
Open Our Eyes in Egypt
The truth is there, clear and burning like a sun. We only need to open our eyes and take a look. ‘Our eyes’ means ‘our minds’. The mind is that big thing on top of our necks inside of our heads, and it has a function called ‘thinking’. Just last year, I was taken from my village in Egypt to spend some time in Spain, because I wrote a short story and won a prize. There, I noticed that I was walking around with a belief in the cleanliness and accuracy of everything. I was drinking tap water believing it was so pure and clean, eating food as if it was coming from heaven, even after I got diarrhoea and had to take medicine. I believed that the medicine will cure me like magic. I had faith in absolutes and that meant that my mind was dysfunctional.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- The authoritarian leader of an increasingly
violent anti-government protest met Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra
on Sunday (Dec. 1) and told her to resign so a dictatorial provisional
regime could run Thailand and stop voters electing "bad politicians".
Hours earlier, the government advised Bangkok residents on Sunday (Dec. 1) to stay indoors overnight after three people died and police battled protesters, while mobs swarmed government ministries, TV stations and police headquarters, escalating their week-long clashes to topple the prime minister.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban "told the prime minister that dissolution of parliament, and her resignation paving the way for new election, could not resolve the underlying deep-rooted problem because bad politicians" could return to power, Thai Public Broadcasting Service (ThaiPBS) reported.
"He said the problem could be resolved only when she returned the power to 'the people' to form the 'people's council' [which could] appoint a 'people's government' to rule the country," the report said.
Hours earlier, the government advised Bangkok residents on Sunday (Dec. 1) to stay indoors overnight after three people died and police battled protesters, while mobs swarmed government ministries, TV stations and police headquarters, escalating their week-long clashes to topple the prime minister.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban "told the prime minister that dissolution of parliament, and her resignation paving the way for new election, could not resolve the underlying deep-rooted problem because bad politicians" could return to power, Thai Public Broadcasting Service (ThaiPBS) reported.
"He said the problem could be resolved only when she returned the power to 'the people' to form the 'people's council' [which could] appoint a 'people's government' to rule the country," the report said.
What goes around comes around . . . and around, and around.
Last month, the day after I left Santa Rosa, Calif., a 13-year-old boy carrying a toy replica of an AK-47 was shot and killed on the outskirts of that town by a Sonoma County deputy sheriff with a reputation for being trigger-happy. The officer had ordered the boy to drop the “gun,” then in a matter of two or three seconds opened fire, giving him no chance to comply.
This is not an isolated incident, which is why it’s yet one more tragedy I can’t get out of my mind — one more logical consequence of the simplistic militarism and mission creep that’s eating us alive. This is gun culture running unchecked from boyhood to manhood, permeating national policy both geopolitically and domestically. This is the trivialization of peace. It results in the ongoing murder of the innocent, both at home and abroad, at the hands of government as well as criminals and terrorists.
“That’s America, we say, as news of the latest massacre breaks,” Henry Porter wrote in September in the U.K. Observer. The massacre of the moment was lone gunman Aaron Alexis’ slaying of 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard.
Last month, the day after I left Santa Rosa, Calif., a 13-year-old boy carrying a toy replica of an AK-47 was shot and killed on the outskirts of that town by a Sonoma County deputy sheriff with a reputation for being trigger-happy. The officer had ordered the boy to drop the “gun,” then in a matter of two or three seconds opened fire, giving him no chance to comply.
This is not an isolated incident, which is why it’s yet one more tragedy I can’t get out of my mind — one more logical consequence of the simplistic militarism and mission creep that’s eating us alive. This is gun culture running unchecked from boyhood to manhood, permeating national policy both geopolitically and domestically. This is the trivialization of peace. It results in the ongoing murder of the innocent, both at home and abroad, at the hands of government as well as criminals and terrorists.
“That’s America, we say, as news of the latest massacre breaks,” Henry Porter wrote in September in the U.K. Observer. The massacre of the moment was lone gunman Aaron Alexis’ slaying of 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- A ten-day meeting of the World Council of
Churches (WCC) ended in South Korea after expressing support for the
world's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community,
reunification of the war-torn Korean peninsula, African rape victims
and others.
"Some 5,000 Christians, representing more than 300 churches from more than 100 countries" gathered in Busan from October 30 to November 8 at the WCC Assembly which meets every seven years, the organization said on its Facebook page.
In the WCC's closing prayer, South Africa's Father Michael Lapsley mentioned his "Facebook friends" and said "God is not limited in the way wisdom is delivered to the human family. For example, I regularly read my NRSV Bible downloaded free on my Samsung phone."
Lapsley also expressed support for HIV-AIDS sufferers, African rape victims, and honored "the Armenian genocide" of 1915.
"Some 5,000 Christians, representing more than 300 churches from more than 100 countries" gathered in Busan from October 30 to November 8 at the WCC Assembly which meets every seven years, the organization said on its Facebook page.
In the WCC's closing prayer, South Africa's Father Michael Lapsley mentioned his "Facebook friends" and said "God is not limited in the way wisdom is delivered to the human family. For example, I regularly read my NRSV Bible downloaded free on my Samsung phone."
Lapsley also expressed support for HIV-AIDS sufferers, African rape victims, and honored "the Armenian genocide" of 1915.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Turkey's first sex shop for devout Muslims has
opened for business online, prompting a debate among Turks, Islamists
and local media about the role their religion should play in the sale
of such items.
The website Bayan describes its aphrodisiacs, creams, condoms, alcohol-free lubricants and other intimate products as safe and "halal" -- which it spells "helal" -- meaning they conform to Islamic traditions.
"Scream Orgasm Cream" sells for 74 Turkish lire (about US $38.00).
"Bella Donna Spanish Fly" is available for 34 lire ($18.00).
"We don't sell vibrators for example, because they are not approved by Islam," said the website's owner, entrepreneur Haluk Murat Demirel, 38, according to Reuters.
"There are also other sections on the website that discuss sexual intercourse in terms of Islam," Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News reported.
Turkey's Muslim majority are Sunni and the government is constitutionally secular.
The website Bayan describes its aphrodisiacs, creams, condoms, alcohol-free lubricants and other intimate products as safe and "halal" -- which it spells "helal" -- meaning they conform to Islamic traditions.
"Scream Orgasm Cream" sells for 74 Turkish lire (about US $38.00).
"Bella Donna Spanish Fly" is available for 34 lire ($18.00).
"We don't sell vibrators for example, because they are not approved by Islam," said the website's owner, entrepreneur Haluk Murat Demirel, 38, according to Reuters.
"There are also other sections on the website that discuss sexual intercourse in terms of Islam," Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News reported.
Turkey's Muslim majority are Sunni and the government is constitutionally secular.
BANGKOK, Thailand -- India's Hindu temples possess donated gold which
may equal half of America's Fort Knox bullion, but some are rejecting
demands by the government to reveal the value of their sacred
stockpiles.
"India's Hindu temples are resisting divulging their gold holdings," Reuters reported on Sept. 30.
For example one of the holiest Hindu temples in India, Kerala state's Guruvayur temple, said it would not describe how much its gold was worth after receiving an official request.
The London-based World Gold Council estimates India's temples possess 2,240 tons worth $84 billion at current prices.
The website of the U.S. Bullion Depository Fort Knox, Kentucky, says its "present gold holdings" total "147.3 million ounces," or about 4,603 tons.
Fun Facts
Concern about huge caches of temples' gold began two years ago when the ancient Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum, Kerala, announced it discovered $20 billion worth of bullion in secret subterranean vaults.
"India's Hindu temples are resisting divulging their gold holdings," Reuters reported on Sept. 30.
For example one of the holiest Hindu temples in India, Kerala state's Guruvayur temple, said it would not describe how much its gold was worth after receiving an official request.
The London-based World Gold Council estimates India's temples possess 2,240 tons worth $84 billion at current prices.
The website of the U.S. Bullion Depository Fort Knox, Kentucky, says its "present gold holdings" total "147.3 million ounces," or about 4,603 tons.
Fun Facts
Concern about huge caches of temples' gold began two years ago when the ancient Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum, Kerala, announced it discovered $20 billion worth of bullion in secret subterranean vaults.
As President Hassan Rouhani of Iran makes his debut appearance before the United Nations in New York this week, the world is exercised with anticipation about his remarks. Granted Mr. Rouhani’s words will surely not resemble the theatrics put on by his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, performances that resulted in the U.S. and Israeli delegations walking out of the venue. No, expectations this time around are much higher for the Iranian President, perhaps too high.
Since his election, Rouhani has used the podium in Tehran to promote a contemporary relationship between Iran and the West. Whereas Ahmadinejad preferred anti-Semitic hyperbole and diplomatic posturing, President Rouhani has suggested over the past month that he sees a somewhat different path ahead for Iran. For Rouhani positive relations with the United States appear to be atop his agenda. Before we break out the champagne, however, there are some inconvenient truths that qualify this reality.
Since his election, Rouhani has used the podium in Tehran to promote a contemporary relationship between Iran and the West. Whereas Ahmadinejad preferred anti-Semitic hyperbole and diplomatic posturing, President Rouhani has suggested over the past month that he sees a somewhat different path ahead for Iran. For Rouhani positive relations with the United States appear to be atop his agenda. Before we break out the champagne, however, there are some inconvenient truths that qualify this reality.