Crackdown appears imminent
I was just told by an officer to get my bike out of a barricaded area. Time will tell whether I am mistaken, but it seems that the police have been allowing the Free Tibet protest to carry on for a period of time but perhaps now are thinking that time for that is up or maybe they are just annoyed by the repetitious chanting. Some of the onlookers seem to be having a good time. . My guess is that for some people this spectacle, along with the days off work, have been a break in routine. Some Pittsburghers may also like the fact that their city will be the focus of international attention.
Yesterday, at a meeting in the Hill District here in Pittsburgh, there were reporters there from France, Germany as well as reporters from NBC and a photographer who said he was working with a writer from Penthouse Magazine. So some people may be excited about the international attention their city is getting and some also may like the thrill of something 'crazy' happening. A guy standing nearby just said "catch a Pirates game and watch a protest. That's a good day."
Yesterday, at a meeting in the Hill District here in Pittsburgh, there were reporters there from France, Germany as well as reporters from NBC and a photographer who said he was working with a writer from Penthouse Magazine. So some people may be excited about the international attention their city is getting and some also may like the thrill of something 'crazy' happening. A guy standing nearby just said "catch a Pirates game and watch a protest. That's a good day."
Activists can form working relationships via G-20 regardless of whether officials are paying attention to protests
Though it's not clear whether any of the G-20 officials are paying attention to this protest,let alone the question about the extent to which any of them care about the issues , well, an idea is that these G-20-related events have value for common people in the sense of being opportunities with activists and other concerned citizens to form working relationships.
Events Shut Down
I have bee using G-20 Media.org to find out about the events that are going on . What I found today on that website was that many of the events read "SHUT DOWN" next to their listings.
As I stand here with my notebook on a concrete barricade with the free-Tibet chants in the background, I wonder about what, if anything is getting accomplished at this protest and at the various other events I have attended so far.
All the chanting is pretty much a repetitious sound in the background. By the way, there was a person with one of those big shoulder-mounted cameras with a person with a microphone, that is someone from a network or one of their local affiliates.
Sure, perhaps it is good that some Pittsburghers have showed up to downtown, but I wonder about the extent to which the onlookers here will increase their civic engagement. In some ways the ambience here reminds me of other public gatherings such as those events that involve watching a parade, watching fireworks, or waiting in line to buy concert tickets(if that's even done anymore).
As I stand here with my notebook on a concrete barricade with the free-Tibet chants in the background, I wonder about what, if anything is getting accomplished at this protest and at the various other events I have attended so far.
All the chanting is pretty much a repetitious sound in the background. By the way, there was a person with one of those big shoulder-mounted cameras with a person with a microphone, that is someone from a network or one of their local affiliates.
Sure, perhaps it is good that some Pittsburghers have showed up to downtown, but I wonder about the extent to which the onlookers here will increase their civic engagement. In some ways the ambience here reminds me of other public gatherings such as those events that involve watching a parade, watching fireworks, or waiting in line to buy concert tickets(if that's even done anymore).
Heightened security results in bicyclists , skateboarders, and pedestrians having greater usage of the streets
As I crossed one of the several yellow steel bridges here in Pittsburgh, I noticed the drastically reduced presence of autos. A person would perhaps think this is Carfree day in Pittsburgh or a North American version of Ciclovia, (well, not quite), were it not for helicopters flying overhead, National Guard personnel, cops on motorcycles, and the occasional dark sedan with opaque windows racing through the streets.
Across the Allegheny River, it seemed like a usual autumn day with nice weather, except that many people have today and tomorrow off from work, unable to travel easily to and from downtown. People relaxed in parks in an area across the river called the North Side. Two people I spoke with on the street during the small protest against the US backing of the Ethiopian dictatorship told me they were dissappointed about the lack of "action." They also said that some Pittsburghers want to " beat up the hippies," as they tell it.
Across the Allegheny River, it seemed like a usual autumn day with nice weather, except that many people have today and tomorrow off from work, unable to travel easily to and from downtown. People relaxed in parks in an area across the river called the North Side. Two people I spoke with on the street during the small protest against the US backing of the Ethiopian dictatorship told me they were dissappointed about the lack of "action." They also said that some Pittsburghers want to " beat up the hippies," as they tell it.
Activists plan protest without permit
Some activists plan to hold a march this afternoon without a permit from the city. At least two people working with independent media organizations here in Pittsburgh say that the march is almost certain to involve many arrests. During the past several days, police here in the North Side district have impounded vehicles of activists and one group here said that a police informant had attended one their meetings last night, making arrests as people left the meeting.
Protest against Ethiopian Dictatorship
Protestestors cried out "America, land of the free, home of the brave" and asked onlookers or anyone else who might be watching and listening in other parts of the world, why the US government is backing the Ethiopian dictatorship.
Free Press coverage of G20 meeting
The Free Press is covering the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with updates throughout the day. Check the front page and the G20 - Reports from the Field section for updates.
Your electronic vote in the 2010 election has just been bought
Unless US Attorney General Eric Holder intervenes, your electronic vote in 2010 will probably be owned by the Republican-connected ES&S Corporation. With 80% ownership of America's electronic voting machines, ES&S could have the power to shape America's future with a few proprietary keystrokes.
ES&S has just purchased the voting machine division of the Ohio-based Diebold, whose role in fixing the 2004 presidential election for George W. Bush is infamous. (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2004/03/diebolds-political-machine)
Critics of the merger hope Holder will rescind the purchase on anti-trust grounds.
But only a transparent system totally based on hand-counted paper ballots, with universal automatic voter registration, can get us even remotely close to a reliable vote count in the future.
ES&S has just purchased the voting machine division of the Ohio-based Diebold, whose role in fixing the 2004 presidential election for George W. Bush is infamous. (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2004/03/diebolds-political-machine)
Critics of the merger hope Holder will rescind the purchase on anti-trust grounds.
But only a transparent system totally based on hand-counted paper ballots, with universal automatic voter registration, can get us even remotely close to a reliable vote count in the future.
Activists protest against large banks as G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh approaches
A couple of hours after an AIDS Funeral March and Protest outside the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, about 60 activists associated with the Bail Out the People Movement demonstrated in the same spot, on Tuesday, Sept 22.
One man stepped forward to speak. Picketers walked slowly in a ring around him, with signs saying “Bail out the people, not the banks” and “Mellon Bank, the real Pittsburgh ‘Stealers’ and Pirates.”
The speaker, who introduced himself as Larry, said “I’m unashamed to say I’m homeless.” He apparently called out to the onlookers and passersby who were in autos or walking part of their afternoon commute : “We’re not scum or lowlifes. Get to know us.”
Another speaker, a demonstrator from Jersey City, N.J. , led a chant by calling out “housing is a human right,” getting the response from the crowd of fellow demonstrators, “tell those bankers we’re going to fight.”
One man stepped forward to speak. Picketers walked slowly in a ring around him, with signs saying “Bail out the people, not the banks” and “Mellon Bank, the real Pittsburgh ‘Stealers’ and Pirates.”
The speaker, who introduced himself as Larry, said “I’m unashamed to say I’m homeless.” He apparently called out to the onlookers and passersby who were in autos or walking part of their afternoon commute : “We’re not scum or lowlifes. Get to know us.”
Another speaker, a demonstrator from Jersey City, N.J. , led a chant by calling out “housing is a human right,” getting the response from the crowd of fellow demonstrators, “tell those bankers we’re going to fight.”
The G-20 in Pittsburgh
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.
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.
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!”
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.
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.
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!”
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.