April, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 1
THOMAS MERTON CENTER, 5129 PENN AVE.
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PITTSBURGH’S PEACE AND JUSTICE NEWSPAPER
Published by the Thomas Merton Center VOL. 41, No. 4 May & June, 2011
NRA
– Page 3
IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN WARS
– Page 5
TMC works to build a consciousness of values and
to raise the moral questions involved in the issues
of war, poverty, racism, classism, economic justice,
oppression and environmental justice.
TMC engages people of diverse philosophies and
faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent
struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just
world.
The Sad Toll of Gun Violence in Pittsburgh
~ Michael Drohan
On Saturday April 30, 2011, Pittsburgh Interfaith
Impact Network (PIIN), The Black Political
Empowerment Project (B-PEP), the National
Council for Urban Peace and Justice, and
CeaseFirePA organized a Rally and March
against the proliferation of guns and gun
violence in the city of Pittsburgh and beyond.
The event began at Freedom Corner in the Hill
District opposite St. Benedict the Moor Catholic
Church with upwards of 150 people in
attendance. The event took place just as the
National Rifle Association was holding its
annual meeting with 65,000 people in attendance
at the Convention Center Downtown. This latter
event reflects the extraordinary adulation of
guns bordering on idolatry with the motto of
their event being ―Acres of Guns and Gear.‖ It
makes it hard to escape the conclusion that the
US is a country deeply in love with guns the
consequences be damned.
The anti gun violence rally and
march advertised their event
under the banner ―Acres of Illegal
Guns =Acres of Death‖. The
organizers were very careful to
underline that they were not
against guns or gun possession
per se but against the illegal
possession of guns and its
consequences. The NRA sees any
restrictions on gun possession,
background checks or denying
possession of guns to people with
criminal records as an
infringement of the Second
Amendment of the Constitution.
Furthermore, despite the enormous power of the
gun lobby and the NRA in particular, they
portray themselves as a persecuted minority
under threat. They also turned down any
dialogue or conversation with the organizers of
the rally and march. In fact, the event took place
precisely because of the outright refusal of the
NRA to talk about curbing illegal possession of
guns.
continued on page 7
The New Persons Award 2011
~ Bette McDevitt
What can you say about an event
that draws about 100 people to the
lower cavern of the very gracious
East Liberty Presbyterian Church,
on a Tuesday night, offers them
good food and excellent ―activated‖
company, an event that leads off
with the Raging Grannies
clambering up onto the stage to sing
their original fracking song,
followed by Mike Stout and his
band with their original fracking
song, with Mike jumping in the air
on the downbeat? It has to be great,
and so it was.
The event was the Thomas Merton
Center 2011 New Persons Award,
April 26, and the awaardee was the
Marcellus Shale Protest Group, a
coalition of western Pennsylvania
groups who confront what several
speakers called the greatest risk to
our public health in our history.
In concise presentations, Jessica
McPherson of the Protest Group,
and Peter Wray of the Sierra Club,
spoke of the risks and the dangers
of this type of drilling. Loretta
Weir of Munhall, a member of the
group, recalled how she became an
activist for this cause. ―I went to
one meeting, heard about the
'Halliburton Loophole' created by
Dick Cheney and I was hooked. I
went home and couldn‘t sleep. I
drank coffee all night.‖ The
Loophole she refers to dates back to
2004. Remember when Cheney
wouldn‘t reveal who was invited to
the ―energy‖ meeting at the White
House? That was when they
devised the plan that removed the
rights of the EPA to regulate
hydraulic fracturing under the Safe
Drinking Water Act, the Clean
Water Act and the Superfund Act.
―I always told my kids that my
yelling and screaming would come
in handy one day.‖ She credits
Alex Lotorto, of East Liberty, with
setting up a meeting at the local
Elks Club that gave birth to that
local group.
Brigit Shields, chosen along with
Loretta Weir, to accept the award
on behalf of the group, said they
have all taken on a full time job.
―This is an amazing group of
people, gaining recognition on a
national and international scale.‖
She pointed out, with a nod to her
husband, Councilman Doug
Shields, that Pittsburgh is the first
city in the country to prohibit
fracking, a story that has gone
global.
Doug Shields, to great applause,
presented the Merton Center with a
proclamation, praising both the
Merton Center and the Protest
group, that named April 27
Marcellus Shale Protest Group day
in Pittsburgh. It is not often that the
Merton Center finds itself on the
same side of the issue as local, state
or any government.
Courtney Smith, Diane McMahon
and Wanda Guthrie spoke on behalf
of the Merton Center, and Guthrie
presented the group with a Peace
Pole, with wise sayings imprinted
on it. Guthrie pointed out one that
comes from the Quakers ―Let Your
Life Speak.‖
Marty O‘Malley wound up the
evening with a fund raising appeal
that started in the usual manner. He
told about the founding of the
Center, in the 1960‘s, a story we all
know. Then he threw in a few
zingers, with his own dry wit.
―Those people who founded the
Center are now old, sick, and dying.
Some of them are dead already.
That‘s why we need YOU, you
young people in the audience, to
join the Merton Center, and take
over the responsibility!!‖ He told
them to pick up the envelope on the
table, put in fifty bucks and drops it
off at the Merton Center. ―I
guarantee you, that if you do that,
you‘ll be accepted as a member of
the Merton Center.‖ So who will
replace Marty? No frackin‘ way, as
they say in the movement.
Photo by Philomeana Day
Families confront the NRA convention in Pittsburgh on
May 7-8th.
Dr. Vandana Shiva
– Page 5
2 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2011
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Dolly Mason, Furniture Manager, East End Community Thrift Store
TMC Board of Directors Casey Capitolo, Kathy Cunningham, Michael Drohan,
Mary Jo Guercio, Wanda Guthrie, Edward Kinley, Shawna Hammond, Jonah McAllister-Erickson, Charles McCollester, Diane McMahon,
Jibran Mushtaq, Francine Porter, Dominique Reed, Chadwick Rink, Molly Rush, Courtney Smith, Carole Wiedmann
STANDING COMMITTEES
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Special Event Committees Plan major TMC events in a collaborative manner and within the current budget. Events include The New Person Awards in May, and the Thomas Merton Award
Dinner in November.
These committees also report regularly to the TMC Board.
TMC PROJECTS and CAMPAIGNS
Anti-War Committee [email protected] www.pittsburghendthewar.org
Book‘Em (books to prisoners)
[email protected] www.thomasmertoncenter.org/bookem
CodePink (Women for Peace) [email protected], 412-389-3216
www.codepink4peace.org
Conscience 412-231-1581
www.consciencepgh.blogspot.com
Demilitarize Pittsburgh: War-Profiteering Edu-cation & Action Network
412-361-3022, [email protected] www.demilitarizepittsburgh.org
Diversity Footprint (art, justice, community)
East End Community Thrift Shop 412-361-6010, [email protected]
Economic Justice Committee [email protected]
Human Rights Coalition / Fed Up
(prisoner support and advocacy) 412-802-8575, [email protected] www.thomasmertoncenter.org/fedup
Fight for Lifers West 412-361-3022 to leave a message
[email protected] http://fightforliferswest.mysite.com
Food Not Bombs
[email protected] http://fnb-pgh.2ya.com
In Sisterhood: The Women’s Movement in Pgh 412-621-3252, [email protected]
Literacy for Ziguinchor 724-549-4933, [email protected]
Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance
412-867-9213
Pittsburgh Campaign for Democracy NOW!
412-422-5377, [email protected] www.pcdn.org
Pittsburgh Works! (labor history documentaries) [email protected]
Roots of Promise 724-327-2767, 412-596-0066 [email protected]
(Network of Spiritual Progressives) [email protected]
Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition [email protected]; www.pittsburghdarfur.org
Sustainable Living Project [email protected], 412-551-6957
Three Rivers Area Medics (TRAM) 412-641-9191 or [email protected]
Urban Arts Project
Pittsburgh Progressive Notebook
Call 412-301-3022 for more info
The Palestine Film Festival
Call 412-301-3022 for more info
Murrysville Marcellus Community Group
Wanda Guthrie
724-327-2767
The Africa Project 412-657-8513, [email protected]
www.africaproject.net
Allegheny Defense Project, Pgh Office 412-559-1364 www.alleghenydefense.org
Amnesty International [email protected] www.amnestypgh.org
Association of Pittsburgh Priests Molly 412-343-3027 [email protected]
The Big Idea Bookstore 412-OUR-HEAD, www.thebigideapgh.org
Black Voices for Peace Gail Austin 412-606-1408
Citizens for Global Solutions 412-471-7852 [email protected]
Citizens for Social Responsibility of Greater Johnstown
Larry Blalock, [email protected]
Haiti Solidarity Committee [email protected],
412-271-8414 www.thomasmertoncenter.org/hs
PA United for a Single-Payer Health Care (PUSH) www.healthcare4allPA.org Molly Rush [email protected]
Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi 412-761-4319
Pittsburgh Committee to Free Mumia 412-361-3022, [email protected]
Pittsburgh Cuba Coalition
412-563-1519 [email protected]
Pgh Independent Media Center [email protected] www.indypgh.org
Pgh North Anti-Racism Coalition 412-367-0383
Pgh North People for Peace 412-367-1049
Pgh Palestine Solidarity Committee [email protected] www.pittsburgh-psc.org
Raging Grannies 412-963-7163, [email protected]
www.pittsburghraginggrannies.homestead.com
Religion and Labor Coalition 412-361-4793 [email protected]
School of the Americas Watch of W. PA 412-371-9722, [email protected]
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)
412-471-8919 www.ueunion.org
Urban Bikers [email protected]
Veterans for Peace [email protected]
Voices for Animals [email protected]
1-877-321-4VFA
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
Karen 412-521-7187 [email protected]
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Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
412-384-4310, [email protected]
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HOURS of OPERATION
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Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Friday
In this Issue Page 4 Book ‗Em Pittsburgh declared 5th Human Rights City
Page 5 Vandana Shiva and the Rights of Mother Earth War Protests
Page 6 Cultural Recyclists Torture and Abuse In PA State Prison
Page 7 Labor in the 1960s and 1970s
Page 8 Tax Day Rally Citizen Action Is Winning Some Battles
Page 9 Are Progressives Too Stupid To Win American Dream Has Gotta Go
Page 10 Schenley Oval Gathering The Tribune-Review‘s Environmental Editorials
Page 11 TMC Corner
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April, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 3
~ Molly Rush, Thomas Merton Center Board
Member
The National Rifle Association, which held its
national convention in Pittsburgh was greeted
with cries of ‖Let‘s Talk‖ from marchers
carrying 100 signs with the names and ages of
person killed by guns last year and this year.
The NRA, which speaks loudly in the halls of
Congress, turned a deaf ear to appeals from
families of Americans killed or injured by
gunfire.
A full page ad in the Post-Gazette, signed by
families of victims from thirteen states,
invited NRA‘s head, Wayne LaPierre, to meet
with Tom Mauser of Littleton CO, Omar
Samaha, whose sister Reema was one of the
Virginia Tech victims, Randy Garner who
survived the Tucson shooting and Rev. Glenn
Grayson of Pittsburgh whose son Jeron was
shot in California PA.
―We are not politicians,‖ the ad read. ―And we
are not interested in a debate on the Second
Amendment. In fact, some of us are longtime
gun owners ourselves.
We are the families of Americans who were
murdered or injured by killers who should
not have had guns….
We have a simple goal we want to make sure
the instant gun background check system,
which the NRA has supported, is effective.
Unfortunately, right now it‘s not….
These checks take about two minutes. Two
minutes to save a life – thousands of lives –
is well worth it.”
As Pittsburgh police chief Nate Harper put it,
―It‘s not about the Second Amendment, it‘s
about common sense.‖
At a tear-filled service and rally at Freedom
Corner, the historic gathering place for
hundreds of civil rights, peace, and justice
marches, blacks and whites prayed together
for an end to gun violence. Then they marched
to the Convention Center. ―Let‘s Talk‖ they
shouted. Mr. LaPierre.
The events were organized by PIIN, the
Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network and
CeaseFirePA.
NRA Turns A Deaf Ear To Families Of Gun Victims
The family of Rev. Glenn Grayson, pastor of
Wesley Center AME Zion Church and past
president of PIIN, continues to mourn the loss of
their son, uncle and brother Jeron, who was shot
and killed on October 17, 2010
Valerie Dixon whose son Robert was shot to death in
2001. She continues to work with other families of
shooting victims.
Photo by Philomeana Day
Photo by Philomeana Day
~ Martha Conley, Attorney
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals
found on April 26, 2011, for the second
time, that Mumia Abu-Jamal is entitled
to a resentencing hearing because of
flawed jury instructions during the pen-
alty phase of his trial for the murder of
police officer Daniel Faulkner, in Phila-
delphia in 1981. The current Philadel-
phia District Attorney, Seth Williams,
has reportedly decided in consultation
with the widow of the slain officer to
petition the U.S. Supreme Court to re-
instate the death penalty.
If the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to
hear the case, the Philadelphia D.A.
will have 180 days to schedule a resen-
tencing hearing or the sentence will
remain a life sentence without the pos-
sibility of parole. Although Federal
District Judge Yohn technically vacated
his death sentence in 2001, Abu-Jamal
has remained in solitary confinement
on death row.
Abu-Jamal is currently represented by
Attorney Judith Ritter of the Widener
Law School and the NAACP Legal
Defense Fund. In responding to this
most recent court ruling Ritter said,
―Each of the four federal judges that
has reviewed Mr. Abu-Jamal‘s case has
found his death sentence to be uncon-
stitutional. The Third Circuit‘s most
recent opinion reflects a detailed analy-
sis demonstrating that their unanimous
decision is well-supported by Supreme
Court precedent. We believe this care-
fully reasoned analysis will stand.‖
Unfortunately, the Pennsylvania and
Federal Courts have steadfastly refused
to revisit the guilt phase of the trial
despite ample evidence of judicial bias,
police misconduct, and prosecutorial
misconduct including improperly elimi-
nating blacks from the jury. Contrary to
statements by the Philadelphia Frater-
nal Order of Police, Abu-Jamal has
steadfastly maintained his innocence.
It is unfair to evaluate this case out of
context. Abu-Jamal‘s ordeal began at
the age of 15. As he describes it, he
was ―…kicked into the Black Panther
Party‖ by the Philadelphia Police. He
was named Minister of Information for
the chapter and wrote articles for the
newspaper, The Black Panther. As a
result, he became the target of the
Counter Intelligence Program
(Cointelpro) of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) and The Philadel-
phia Police Department‘s Civil Defense
Bureau, which worked closely with the
FBI. He remained under surveillance
until at least the time of his incarcera-
tion for the murder of Philadelphia Po-
lice Officer, Daniel Faulkner. His FBI
file released to date under the Freedom
of Information Act amounts to over 800
pages. Despite years of constant sur-
veillance Abu-Jamal had no criminal
record or hint of violence in his back-
ground at the time of his arrest in 1981.
Abu-Jamal left the Black Panther Party
after two years in 1970 and began pre-
paring himself for a career in radio
journalism. He worked for various
radio stations in the Philadelphia area,
became known as ―the voice of the
voiceless‖ and was eventually elected
president of Philadelphia‘s Association
of Black Journalists.
Abu-Jamal was a constant critic of the
vicious tactics of Mayor Frank Rizzo
and gained the enmity of the Philadel-
phia Police Department because he
wrote articles sympathetic to the com-
mune, MOVE which had taken up resi-
dence in Philadelphia.
Amnesty International in its 2000 re-
port A Life in the Balance The Case of
Mumia Abu-Jamal pointed out that in
1979 the U.S. Justice Department filed
a lawsuit against Mayor Rizzo for con-
doning police brutality. The report
stated: ―During Frank Rizzo‘s eight
years as mayor, fatal shootings by
Philadelphia police officers increased
by 20 per cent annually. In the year he
left office, 1980, fatal shootings de-
clined 67 per cent.‖
Because of his support of MOVE, Abu-
Jamal lost work at local radio stations
and began driving a cab to support his
family. He was in possession of a gun
because he had been robbed twice
while driving his cab. Significantly,
the police failed to conduct very basic,
routine tests which, if positive would
have directly linked him to the
crime. Thus, the police never con-
nected Abu-Jamal‘s gun to the crime
(perhaps because they knew it had not
been fired). Fully one third of the po-
lice officers who were involved in the
investigation of the Faulkner murder
were later indicted, served time or re-
signed under a cloud of suspicion for
manufacturing evidence, extorting
money, intimidating legitimate wit-
nesses, paying witnesses to testify
falsely and testifying falsely in
court. Most significantly, the prosecu-
tor never informed the jury that there
was a third person at the scene of the
crime who had been identified as the
shooter in a lineup by one of the wit-
nesses.
Numerous other instances of police
misconduct, prosecutorial misconduct,
clear judicial racial bias and poor legal
representation infect this
case. Precedents applied in other cases
however, are inexplicably not applied
by the Pennsylvania and Federal Courts
in Abu-Jamal‘s case.
The Fraternal Order of Police in Phila-
delphia has vigorously opposed a new
trial for Abu-Jamal and has supported a
―Kill Mumia‖ campaign in Philadelphia
to counter the large ―Free Mumia‖
campaign around the world. Given the
evident corruption and misconduct in
this case it is not surprising that the
F.O.P. would oppose reopening the
case as it threatens to expose, yet again,
the dysfunction of the criminal justice
system in Pennsylvania. A system
which Pierre Sane, Secretary General
of Amnesty International in 1997 stated
was worse than Georgia, worse than
Alabama and worse than Missis-
sippi…‖one of the most racist and un-
fair in the United States.‖
Abu-Jamal‟s Death Sentence Ruled Unconstitutional Further Appeal May Delay Re-sentencing Hearing
4 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2011
Book „Em Confronts the Unimaginable, Book by Book
~ Suzanne Powell
A friend recently said, ―Hell for me
would be a day without a book.‖ I
couldn‘t agree more, as I can‘t even
wait for a bus without pulling out
something to read. All of us who
work with Book ‗Em do so because
we love books and can‘t imagine
being locked in a cell, for year after
year, without anything to read. The
United States has nearly 24% of the
world‘s prison population and
spends over $68 billion a year on
incarceration, yet little of that
money goes towards libraries or
education. It is left to groups like
Book ‗Em to provide as many men
and women as possible with reading
material, as most facilities prohibit
inmates from receiving books from
family or friends. Using volunteer
labor and private donations of books
and money, we are usually able to
mail about 160 packages per month.
On Martin Luther King Day we
teamed up with Amachi, the
mentoring program for youth with
incarcerated parents, to choose and
wrap books for prisoners in
Pennsylvania. It took an entire van
to transport dozens of boxes of
books from our workspace in the
basement of the Merton Center to
the conference center in the Strip
District. Close to 100 volunteers
poured in from across Pittsburgh:
symphony musicians and their
families, young adults with
Pittsburgh Cares and Americorps,
and most importantly, the children
and mentors from the Amachi
program, who reminded us all why
we were supporting the neglected
population locked away in prison.
The initial chaos of confusion,
questions, and conversation settled
into an efficient process of invoiced
books being passed to wrappers
who then passed the packages to
addressers. Meanwhile, new letters
were sorted and marked with the
restrictions required by individual
prisons. Steadily the piles of books
diminished, and four hours later we
were left with 40 postal hods
containing over 1500 books
wrapped in 600 packages. The
finances and logistics of mailing
that many hods created a challenge
for our small Book ‗Em team, but
finally, three months after the event,
the last packages were mailed to a
group of grateful prisoners.
We are now back to our routine of
reading letters, packing books,
rechecking addresses, and mailing 3
or 4 hods a week. There are always
several hundred requests waiting to
be filled, but we know that the
books will be welcomed whenever
they arrive, and will be read and
passed on to other inmates in the
facility. This handwritten letter from
Thomas, an inmate in Houtzdale,
Pennsylvania, says it all: “Hello. I
hope this letter finds all my dear
friends at Book „Em happy and
healthy. I received my 1st five
books about 6 months ago. I read
them all cover to cover. They were
like a miracle to me, see I am
indigent, with no family. As a result
I have no TV. But that‟s OK
because I love to read. I have since
passed those books on to friends
and they promised me they would
do the same. The work you guys/
gals do really does enrich the daily
lives of prisoners. Keep up the good
work. If you have any more books
they would be cherished by my
friends and me.”
Letters like this one keep us going
at Book ‗Em, knowing that we
make a difference in the lives of
incarcerated men and women.
Contributions of time, books and -
most importantly - money are
always welcome. Please join us!
Book ‗Em packs books from 3-7pm
on Sundays at the Thomas Merton
Center, located at 5129 Penn
Avenue.
by Scilla Wahrhaftig , AFSC Pennsylvania Program Director
Through the work of the American
Friends Service Committee‘s Racial
Justice Through Human Rights
(RJTHR) youth group, Pittsburgh
City Council passed a resolution
declaring Pittsburgh the 5th Human
Rights City in the country. Pittsburgh
will be joining cities around the world
who are actively working to protect
the human rights of their citizens.
The RJTHR youth group was initiated
by the AFSC PA Program and has
been partnering with Pittsburgh
Cares, Pittsburgh Young Leaders
Academy. The 13 youths in the
program were racially, culturally and
geographically diverse. They
included people from small towns,
from suburbia, from the Northside,
the Southside, the West and the East.
They came from suburban schools,
inner city schools, schools that were
majority African American and
schools that were majority white. One
student was homeschooled. We had
Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Unitarian
and other main line denominations in
the group.
The idea of calling on Pittsburgh City
Council to commit to respecting the
human rights of all the citizens came
out of the learning experiences the
youth have been getting, on
understanding racial inequality and
human rights. The first step in this
process was to have Pittsburgh
declared a Human Rights City.
A Human Rights City is one in which
the human rights of all it‘s citizens
are respected and where the citizens
as well as the City Council work
towards the betterment of living
conditions in that city. Pittsburgh
would be joining U.S. cities such as
Washington DC, but also cities
around the world, in this effort.
The RJTHR youth wrote letters, made
calls and met with their City Council
representatives. Maya Rosen, one of
the youths, wrote to her
Councilman, ―I am writing to
propose making Pittsburgh a Human
Rights City. A Human Rights City is
one whose residents and local
authorities participate in ongoing
discussions and creative exchange of
ideas in order to more fully
understand human rights. When these
ideas are incorporated as a way of
life, they assist in identifying the
issues and informing the actions in
our local government, for meaningful,
positive economic and social change.
Pittsburgh would become the fifth
Human Rights City in the United
States, joining other Human Rights
Cities around the world where
inhabitants have undertaken ongoing
learning with the understanding that
human rights are central in bringing
forth a viable vision and mission for
the 21st Century.‖
Around 40 high school youth from
the Pittsburgh Young Leaders
Academy joined the Racial Justice
Through human rights youth on April
19th at City Council to be part of the
proclamation ceremony. Five of the
RJTHR youth accepted the
Proclamation and spoke about their
hope and concerns for the future of
Pittsburgh. One young woman spoke
of Pittsburgh being like a train
station. People come from all over the
world to visit and live, and how
important it is
for us to be an
example to the
world and live
up to our
morals. One of
the youth spoke
about the bus
cuts. She has to
take two city
buses to school
and is
concerned that
she may not be
able to get there
on time. Jobs
were another
concern as these
young folk look
at their future in
Pittsburgh.
Finally one
spoke for the
need for safe
communities.
He talked about
a time he
attended a sports event
that ended in a riot.
After the proclamation ceremony, the
youth gathered on the steps of the
City Council building and all 30 of
the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights were read. Then the youth
scattered out in groups and
interviewed people on the streets to
find out what they knew about human
rights. One of the people interviewed
was a Holocaust survivor who
stressed the importance of protecting
everyone‘s rights. She spoke of the
slow whittling away of people‘s
rights in Germany that led to the
Holocaust. It really brought home
why we were doing this.
In presenting the Proclamation
Councilman Patrick Dowd, who had
met with two of the youths,
commented that he was impressed
that they were not content with just
getting the proclamation passed but
already thinking of the next steps to
implementing human rights in
Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh declared 5th Human Rights City in the US
Students from the Pittsburgh Young Leaders
Academy celebrate City Council‘s human right‘s
resolution.
Photo by Philomeana Day
April, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 5
~ Michael Drohan and Pete Shell
The Thomas Merton Center Anti-War
Committee (AWC) and allies have
been busy organizing protests around
the anniversaries of these seemingly
endless wars. On Saturday March 26,
the Committee held a march and rally
in Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh called
―Make Jobs Not Wars!‖ On Saturday
April 9 it took a bus to New York
City to take part in a national protest
against the wars. On March 19, 2003
the U.S. commenced hostilities
against Iraq, so this year‘s march and
rally marked the eighth anniversary.
The Afghanistan war began in
October 2001, making it the eleventh
year and the longest war ever
undertaken in US history. The toll of
these wars is growing more
horrendous: cost of both: $1.183
trillion; Iraqi casualties: 1.421
million; U.S. service personnel
casualties in Iraq: 4,766 and NATO
casualties in Afghanistan: 2,416.
The rally and march in Pittsburgh on
March 26 brought out about 250
people in front of the Teamsters Hall
on Butler St. in Lawrenceville. The
rally at the beginning heard words
lamenting the diversion of massive
funds towards war while social
services such as public transit,
education, and health care are
neglected. It was pointed out that
recently the city had lost 35 of its bus
routes. The crowd listened intently as
TMC board president Diane
McMahon articulated the board‘s
opposition to the just-beginning air
attacks on Libya. Peace and Justice
rock troubadour Mike Stout as well as
the Raging Grannies animated the
participants with their raging anti-war
songs.
A march followed the rally along
Butler St. where businesses and
residents showed their support. It
ended up at the Dough Boy
Monument
at Butler
and Penn
Avenues
with
inspiring
wrap-up
speeches.
As an
active
member of
the UNAC
(United
National
Antiwar
Committee), the AWC
felt it important to participate in the
national rally and march in NYC on
April 9, which called for and end to
wars, occupations, and Islamophobia.
Although not as large as the Bush era
marches, it was an important part of
rebuilding a democratic,
multicultural, and principled antiwar
movement. Organizers estimated that
approximately 10,000 people
attended, making it the largest
antiwar rally in years. There was a
significant turnout of Muslim and
Arab Americans thanks to the effort
of the newly formed Muslim Peace
Coalition. And youth were well
represented. There was also a march
in San Francisco, and sympathy
protests in Canada, Pakistan,
Afghanistan, and Iraq. Several
activists from the Pittsburgh area
helped out with set up and
volunteering to be peace marshals, for
which we are grateful.
There were some challenges in
organizing the march in NYC. The
mainstream media almost completely
refused to cover the story, despite
giving prominent coverage to Tea
Party rallies of 200 people. Many
who participated in the antiwar
marches in earlier years are hesitant
to criticize Obama and the
Democrats. The Thomas Merton
Center and the Anti-War Committee
have important roles to play in
helping to build coalitions against the
wars and campaigns to bring the war
dollars home.
This year‘s protests of the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan took place in
the historical context of grass-roots,
democratic movements struggling for
and winning regime change in
Tunisia and Egypt, both of which had
been non-violent and in the space of a
mere few months had succeeded in
overthrowing dictatorial governments
comparable to Saddam Hussein and
the Taliban in Afghanistan. The
contrast could not be greater. The
violent mode of change imposed by
the US in the countries mentioned has
entailed enormous social and
financial costs. But worse still, these
wars have brought little but havoc,
misery, and unending violence to
these unfortunate peoples.
The AWC will be actively
organizing additional campaigns and
protests in the upcoming period,
emphasizing the impact that these
horrendous wars and occupations
have on people‘s lives, both abroad
and at home:
We are launching a campaign to
get a City Council resolution
passed to Bring the War Dollars
Home. Our goal is to get it
introduced in October.
We will support and participate
in the Other Wars actions that are
being called by the national group
Black Is Back for August 20. They
are calling for local actions
throughout the country to emphasize
the other wars in African (such as
Pakistan and Yemen) that the U.S. is
involved in, as well as the war on
people of color and the poor and
working class.
We are planning to organize an
antiwar action on October 15, the
date of the attack on Afghanistan,
called by UNAC, USLAW (US Labor
Against the World), and other groups.
We urge you to get involved and help
in the critical task of bringing the war
dollars home. For more info and to
get involved with these campaigns,
please visit
www.PittsburghEndTheWar.org
Protests On The Anniversary Of Iraq And Afghanistan Wars
~ Michael Drohan
The recipient of the Thomas Merton
Award for 2011 on November 3 is
Vandana Shiva, a well-known
promoter and advocate for what has
come to be called the Rights of
Mother Earth or Pachamama. On
Earth Day April 22, 2011, she was in
at the United Nations in New York
City as a central figure in the
campaign to get the United Nations to
make a declaration entitled The
Universal Declaration of the Rights
of Mother Earth. This declaration is
modeled on the 1948 declaration of
the UN entitled The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
According to Ms. Shiva, the UN is
still far from unanimity on this issue
and to have it declared by the body as
a whole will take some time. The
movement to have this new
declaration of the rights of Mother
Earth marks a revolutionary transition
in regard to human consciousness and
our relationship with other sentient
creatures and with the earth itself.
The genesis of the movement to have
this new declaration ratified and
passed has a fairly long prehistory but
its most recent development traces
itself to a meeting in Cochabamba,
Bolivia in April 2010 of the World
Peoples‘ Congress on the
Environment. This Congress was, if
one wishes, a Peoples‘ version of the
United Nations Conference on
Climate Change which took place in
Copenhagen a year prior to the
Bolivian one. The inspiration for this
initiative came from the Bolivian
people and other peoples of the Third
World who historically have had a
more wholesome relationship with
the rest of nature than have Western
cultures. According to Shiva and her
collaborators, it is not just a metaphor
to speak of nature as having rights.
She maintains that the earth and all
the creatures of the earth have
inherent rights and are not dependent
on humans to grant them those rights.
We simply have to recognize them
and respect them. This approach goes
against a long history of domination
of nature and a
philosophy that
looked on the rest
of nature as
something just put
there for human
use and
domination. It
goes back to the
Old Testament
creation myths
according to which
God created all the
creatures of the
earth to be
dominated over and
used by ‗man‘.
Shiva also speaks of ―earth
democracy‖ according to which the
earth and all that is in it has to be
recognized as partners in the
decisions made. The effects of human
action on the environment and nature
cannot be considered as mere
―externalities‖ that humans do not
take into account in calculating the
costs of the things they produce and
their effect on the environment.
From this what she calls the
commodification of nature or the
claim to ownership by patenting of
the other species, seeds, plants and so
on, is repugnant. The earth and all
that inhabits it cannot be bought and
sold as they do not belong to any
human or group of humans. We are
part of nature in a condition of co-
dependency and inter-dependency.
We abuse other creatures and the
earth at our peril and eventually a
price has to be paid for our actions
and abuse. We have to cease thinking
of ourselves as above nature, she
declares, and have to recognize that
we are a mere part of nature with
rights coequal to that of other
creatures.
A related cause that Shiva is involved
in is the defense of Dr. Binayuk Sen,
a pediatrician in the Chhattaisgarh
State, who is accused of sedition.
The supposed sedition consists of
collaboration with the Naxalite
Maoist movement in that state.
According to Shiva, however, the real
problem of the State is the defense of
the tribals by Sen and their resistance
to international capital inroads on the
rich agricultural and mineral
resources. He was imprisoned for
several years but received bail on
April 15, 2011.
Vandana Shiva‘s presentation in
Pittsburgh will be of interest to all of
us interested in social justice and the
environment, as she makes the
connections between the political,
economic and industrial actions
which have reaped havoc on the
planet.
Vandana Shiva And The Rights Of Mother Earth
Dr. Vandana Shiva will receive the Thomas Merton
Award on Nov. 3rd at the Sheraton Station Square
Pittsburghers mark 8 years of war in Asia.
Photo credit unavailable
6 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2011
~ Kevin May
Our journey began after
we met each other at Penn State
University. Through shared dreams
and aspirations, we: Amanda,
Charlie, Kevin, Tina,
and Will united to form the Cultural
Recyclists. We began to
conceptualize our bike tour, guided
by a common vision of a
"sustainable future."
We set out from the East Coast
(Delaware Bay) on June 7th,
2010. We left our skeptical parents
behind as we road our loaded bikes
through Delaware, Maryland, and
Pennsylvania. Recycling cultural
objects, several of us attached bright
yellow Kitty Litter buckets to our
bikes, to store our gear in. Our
vision was to learn, explore, and
share transitions towards a more
sustainable, beautiful, and healthy
world.
We visited all varieties of
sustainability projects as we
traversed North America, averaging
about 50 miles a day. We believe
that sustainability is not a spectator
sport, so we volunteered as much as
possible when we visited. We also
shared pictures, videos, and blogs
throughout our journey, so that
more people could learn about the
cutting edge of this paradigm shift.
We held semi-spontaneous
gatherings to share food, books, and
music in Oberlin, Ohio. We
harvested apples at a Permaculture
village in Stelle, Illinois. We wished
essentially everyone we
encountered a ―Happy (day of the
week)‖. We layed mulch at an Eco-
village in Fairfield, Iowa. We
moved a treadmill for an old man in
Nebraska. We were met with
kindness from diverse people all
across the country. We realized that
99 out of 100 people are
kindhearted and the 1 who‘s not
makes the ―news‖.
We biked all the way through
Yellowstone National Park where it
was snowing on September 1st!
Portland was our next big stop as
we neared the Pacific Ocean. We
stayed in Portland for more than a
week, seeing as it is abounding with
Permaculture. We met a woman
who teaches Permaculture, who had
over 50 fruit and nut trees growing
in her tiny front and backyard.
Permaculture is a philosophy for
meshing human life with the
principles of nature, and thus allows
for us to grow tons of food, use
resources efficiently, and be happy!
We then cruised down the Coastal
Highway through Oregon and
California, finally accomplishing
our goal of reaching San Francisco.
It took us six months to complete
the quest, but it felt like several
lifetimes. Every day we met new,
exciting people who inspired us,
and sometimes cooked us food or
let us stay in their living room. I can
barely scratch the surface of our
adventures in this essay, so if you
want to SEE what we did and are
doing, check out
www.CulturalRecyclists.typepad.co
m. We have the bulk of our pictures
on www.Facebook.com/
CulturalRecyclists.
We learned a wide range of skills
on this trip and many valuable life
lessons. We learned how to co-
operate as a bikemadic family,
using non-violent communication
and having a non-hierarchical
structure. We realized that most of
the solutions to the world‘s
problems already exist! Practices
like permaculture, Transition
Towns, alternative energy, natural
building, holistic healing are setting
the stage for an entirely new era in
human existence. What will actually
make this shift occur is a personal
change. We believe that changing
one‘s mindset and perspective on
the world is a key first step to
creating a better one. We feel that
we must question our cultural
assumptions and belief system in
order to get to the root of the
problem.
Throughout our journey we talked
the talked and biked the bike. We
believe that a more beautiful world
is possible. In these times of crisis,
we are hoping to inspire and learn
from others to make a transition
towards a more sane and happy
world. We feel that the most
efficient way to do this is at a
community level. If you were
inspired by our story, please take
action in your own community, and
engage your personal gifts and
skills.
Peace!
- The Cultural Recyclists.
Kevin May of the Cultural
Recyclists is living in Pittsburgh
now and doing community work
with Transition Pittsburgh as well
as various other groups. If you want
to connect with the Cultural
Recyclists in Pittsburgh, please
email him at [email protected]
Cultural “Recyclists” put their vision on the road
SUBMIT! Your stories, letters, poems, essays, cartoon, photos to the
NEWPEOPLE or they may never find an audience!
Texts of six hundred words or less may be sent as a Word or RTF attachments to [email protected] Photos or art
should be sent as JPEG or TIFF attachments.
Postage may be mailed to The Thomas Merton Center, 5129 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Manuscripts will not be returned.
All submissions become property of NEWPEOPLE, a publication of the Thomas Merton Center of Pittsburgh, and may be edited.
ADVERTISING IS AVAILABLE. CONTACT [email protected]
Abraham House Transitional Living Mens & Womens Facilities
Home Plans Thru Sober Living
Contact: Christine Lannak 1590 Rt. 502
Springbrook Twp., PA 18444
Telephone: 570-906-5833.
~ From the Human Rights Committee/ Fed Up
Chapter
After a year-long investigation, the Human Rights
Coalition has issued a report on the conditions of
incarceration for people in the solitary confine-
ment units at the State Correctional Institution in
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. The report, Unity and
Courage, examines discriminatory practices of the
PA Department of Corrections and portrays the
efforts of a group of prisoners engaging in non-
violent and peaceful protest to demand their basic
human rights.
Unity and Courage documents a culture of abuse
fostered by prison staff, characterized by the ex-
cessive use of force, assaults by officers, use of
racial slurs, forced cell extractions, chemical gas-
sing, destruction of legal paperwork, torture de-
vices, and deprivation of food and water. The Hu-
man Rights Coalition began its investigation of
the use of solitary confinement at Huntingdon in
December 2009, when a prisoner committed sui-
cide after being denied mental health treatment by
prison staff.
Prisoners began an organized campaign of resis-
tance in September of 2010, by refusing to come
in from the exercise yard until they could speak
with public officials about their treatment. Cor-
rectional officers wheeled out canisters of chemi-
cal spray, hosing the prisoners down until they
would comply with orders to be handcuffed and
returned to their cells. The prisoners were denied
showers and medical attention for days. Some
were put in isolation cells and had to sleep naked
on concrete slabs.
Approximately 2,500 men and women are housed
in solitary confinement units across the
state. They are in small, brightly lit cells 23 hours
a day, with little or no ability to communicate
with family, and no access to educational and re-
habilitative programming. At Huntingdon, soli-
tary confinement prisoners are dependent on cor-
rectional officers to receive food, have access to
showers, exercise and law library, and to ex-
change ingoing and outgoing mail. With severe
restrictions on outside contact and a Department
of Corrections abuse monitoring system that is
shielded from external scrutiny, policies and prac-
tices of systemic abuse at the prison go unchecked
at the cost of prisoners' health and lives.
―Their goal is to stop us from speaking out
against them,‖ wrote Kyle Klein, ―but it will
never work, not a chance in hell, or the hell we
are in. Even when winning is impossible, quitting
is far from optional.‖
Contact:
Amanda Johnson
(716) 238-4089
New report details systematic torture and abuse in Pennsylvania State Prison
April, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 7
~ Nathan Eckstrand
Anti-war protests. Strikes and sit-ins. Charged
legislative sessions. The labor movement in the
sixties and seventies is by varying degrees beloved or
despised according to one‘s personal relationship with
the era‘s social and political advancements or – take
your pick – affronts to common sense. George
Meany, head of the AFL-CIO during the decade,
described the purpose of the movement as ―to better
the standards of life for all who work for wages and to
seek decency and justice and dignity for all
Americans.‖ Nixon, on the other hand, believed the
workers were moving the country towards atheism
and communism.
Was the labor movement of the sixties and seventies
an era of achievement in regulation, legislation, and
benefits, or was it a period of anti-Americanism,
where the emblematic ideals of free market capitalism
were abandoned in favor of bureaucratic leviathan?
Does either option really capture the reality of what
was going on throughout the decade?
Before we can grasp the significance of the labor
movement in the 1960s and 1970s, one must
understand the labor movement of the previous
decades, since the context of those decades helps to
explain the explosion of labor activity later on.
Throughout the twentieth century up until that point,
with a slight profit reversal during World War II, the
gap between the wages of workers and those of
owners had increased regularly. From 1940-1946,
profits from textile mills grew 600%, while wages
only went up 36%. By the 1950s, the top 1% of
individuals in the country held 31.2% of its entire
wealth.
Unfortunately, during that same period, while unions
made some substantial gains, for the most part ever
since the early 1920s unions had been having a
difficult time. The International Workers of the
World (IWW) had been destroyed and its leadership
locked up. Federal troops and strikebreakers were
regularly brought in by the government and
employers to break up strikes, boycotts, and protests.
The National Labor Relations Board was stocked with
business friendly politicians who made decisions
contrary to the interests of the workers. Local
governments were passing rules to hamper strikes and
other forms of protest. And the Supreme Court
passed a decision declaring sit-ins to be illegal.
Despite the significant number of protests and labor
activism during this period, the status of unions by the
end of the 1950s was grim.
The amazing levels of organization and political
activism in the 1960s and 1970s changed the fortunes
of labor immensely. Because of actions taken by the
newly formed AFL-CIO and its affiliates, many of the
benefits and safety regulations we now take for
granted were finally passed. A few examples:
The gnarled maze of wheels, gears, pulleys,
and levers were a hazard to the young and
inexperienced, who had to bear the brunt of
bills for accidents incurred while working
within it. Not until the landmark
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
did the government finally develop the
regulations necessary to set and enforce
minimal health and safety laws for workers.
In the first half of the twentieth century,
women faced severe economic
discrimination in the workplace. During the
1950s, for example, women working full
time jobs earned on average 62 cents for
every dollar men earned. The classifieds
were filled with listings identifying certain
jobs as only for men, and even jobs that
women were allowed to work held different
pay scales for each gender. The Equal Pay
Act of 1963 for the first time made it illegal
to pay women a different amount for the
same job.
Postal workers in the late 1960s were
severely underpaid, some qualifying for food
stamps on their meager salary. In 1970,
Congress – which just the year before had
voted themselves a 41% salary hike – stalled
in passing a bill to give the postal workers a
5% pay raise, leading to one of the largest
strikes in US history. So effective was the
strike, not only did the postal workers get an
8% pay raise the next year, but they won the
ability to bargain collectively and resolve
conflicts through a binding arbitration
process. One wonders if Scott Walker knows
his history…
The Civil Rights Act, the formation of the United
Farm Workers Organizing Committee, the formation
of the Coalition of Labor Union Women…add it all
up and the picture of what society would look like
without the labor movement of the 60s and 70s
becomes grotesque.
A look at all of this reveals why the pro-business
forces in Wisconsin and elsewhere are rushing to get
new legislation passed. History shows us that the
labor movement, properly motivated and organized, is
powerful, and when workers live without health care,
living wages, collective bargaining rights, or any of
the myriad of other policies the labor movement has
fought for, they do not easily forget the individuals
who opposed them or took them away. My guess is,
come the next election, those who supported these
policies will have difficulty holding on to their jobs.
Labor in the 1960s and 1970s Opinion
East End Community
Thrift Store
5123 Penn Avenue
(a few doors down from TMC) Garfield
Come in today
Tuesday — Friday
10 AM - 4 PM
Saturday Noon - 4 PM
~ ~ ~ ~
what you donate, what you buy
supports Garfield,
supports the Merton Center.
The Sad Toll of Gun Violence in Pittsburgh continued from Page 1
At the rally at Freedom Corner, the
testimonies of many people who had lost
loved ones due to the illegal possession and
use of guns was harrowing and heart-
breaking. The first testimony came from Lori
Hass who travelled all the way from
Richmond, VA for the event. Her daughter
was shot in Virginia Tech in 2007 when 32
students were killed and 17 shot and injured.
Fortunately her daughter survived though
she suffered shot wounds. Another testimony
came from a High School Physical
Education Teacher, John Rivers. He lost his
younger brother in Garfield neighborhood of
Pittsburgh a few years ago simply because
an assailant wanted a neck chain which he
was wearing. And so testimonies followed
one after the other from bereaved mothers,
fathers, brothers and sisters. The pain is still
with each of them as if it was only yesterday
that they had lost their son, daughter,
husband, wife or cousin.
The march following the rally wound its way
to downtown Convention Center demanding
a talk with Wayne La Pierre, the National
President of the NRA. Their demand was not
to ban guns or in any way deny gun rights,
but simply to help put in place laws or
restrictions that would prevent guns getting
into the hands of people with mental
problems or a known history of violence.
Even this simple demand was completely
dismissed by the organizers of the gun fiesta.
One of the saddest dimensions of the entire
event was that in response to the simple
request to ―lets talk‖ participants in the NRA
Conference responded ―Let‘s give them a
group (middle) finger‖ and that they did do.
The behavior of these NRA participants
seemed to suggest that they are not simply
defenders of Second Amendment rights, but
also in a strange way advocates of gun
violence.
Students mark Workers‘ Memorial Day on April 28th in Market Square, in honor of those who have
died on the job in the past year.
Photo by Butch Burgoon
8 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2011
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PROGRESSIVE PITTSBURGH NOTEBOOK = EVERY WEDNESDAY 5 PM
DEMOCRACY NOW = 8 AM Mon- Fri; GRIT TV = 9 AM
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CITY COUNCIL (COMCAST – Channel 13 / Verizon FIOS – Channel 44) Tuesdays CITY COUNCIL; Wednesdays Standing Committees 10 AM live
repeated at 7 PM / REPEATED on SAT & SUN at 10 AM & 7 PM
(Internet access at www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/council Legislative Info Center)
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DEMOCRACY NOW = 8 AM, MON – FRI
RUST BELT RADIO = 6 PM on MON, and 9 AM on TUES
FREE SPEECH RADIO = MON – FRI, 5:30 PM
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“CHRIS MOORE” = SUN, 4 – 9 PM
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“ALLEGHENY FRONT”
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TAX DAY Rally a Success in Squirrel Hill ~ Edith Bell
The April 18th Tax Rally, organized by The
Women‘ s International League for Peace and
Freedom and the American Friends Service
Committee, was very successful this year,
bringing in plenty of people to the Squirrel Hill
post office. The organizers displayed posters that
showed how our tax dollars are spent, the
disproportionate amount that goes to pay
for past and current wars, and other
disturbing facts and figures.
There were signs that showed what the
money could be spent on, instead. Close to
400 flyers were handed out, detailing in a
pie chart the allocations for the proposed
2012 Federal Budget, showing 30% for
current military, 18% for past military
(together $1,372 billion), 38% for human
resources, 8% for general government, and
6% for physical resources.
People had the opportunity to demonstrate
how they would like to spend their tax
dollars, if they were permitted to
decide. Participants were given 10 pennies, and
they distributed them as they wanted into jars,
marked with different categories. These were the
people‘s most popular choices: Military
Industrial Complex brought in 13 cents (they
specified it was for the veterans); Food, 58 cents;
Housing, 71 cents; Mass Transit, 94 cents;
Health Care, 99 cents; and Education brought in
a whopping 128 cents.
It is interesting that the average person gives
education the highest priority, while our
government plans to cut money for schools and
universities. The Raging Grannies sang event-
appropriate songs about the waste of unending
taxes for bombs. ―Reinstate some sanity and turn
it to humanity…where does our money go…
weapons, missiles and wars,‖ were some of their
lyrics.
Local News
Citizen Action Is Winning Some Battles ~ Molly Rush, Board Member, Thomas Merton
Center
With all the bad news coming down it‘s very easy
to get depressed.
I know I often wake up to what feels like a living
nightmare: another young person killed by a gun;
endless war in Afghanistan; the loss of our democracy
to the forces of greed; attacks on programs that
sustain the poor, handicapped, elderly, minorities; you
name it.
But then I think about how determined action has
fought off or slowed down:
Privatization of Medicare – even Tea Party
members opposed that by huge margins;
Marcellus Shale drilling: The Corbett
administration has had to back off from
restrictions placed on regulators and is on the
defensive regarding a tax on drilling;
Churches‘ changing policies re gay marriage;
Don‘t Ask Don‘t Tell revoked;
Strong and growing opposition to the Afghan
War;
Democracy movements in the Middle East.
All of these have one thing in common: ordinary
people who refused to go along with the program and
educated themselves, spoke out, joined with others,
took action and refused to quit in the face of
overwhelming odds.
In the nearly forty years of the Merton Center‘s
life – we opened our doors on March 12, 1972 – I
have been privileged to get to know hundreds – no,
thousands – of people who‘ve done just that.
Yes, we‘ve lost a lot of battles, but even then
we‘ve gained adherents who, over time, open new
space by changing the discussion and over time,
making significant change..
Center members speak to their friends, write
letters, meet with legislators, donate and raise funds,
go to endless meetings, organize events, prayer
services, retreats and protests, initiate or join
coalitions and campaigns, get resolutions passed, send
out e-mails, put out messages on Facebook, Twitter
and websites; promote membership in groups, write
or edit articles, volunteer at the office, do trainings,
speak to groups, hand out fliers, do street protests,
civil disobedience or act in support, and more.
In our history we‘ve seen people, issues and
campaigns come and go, but it‘s the stick-to-itiveness
that has really made the difference. Most people have
come to the Center with a particular cause. Often
they‘ve made friends, learned about another issue, and
then just stayed around, doing what they can.
The Center is our members. Without the wide
diversity of people who join and remain members,
we‘d have long ago gone the way of so many other
organizations.
So, dear members, take a moment to congratulate
yourself and celebrate the movements for change that
make peace and justice come alive in our hearts and
our homes. Please share your own story with us so
that we can tell a more complete story of the Merton
Center‘s 40 years of life and inspiration.
If you are not currently a member, remember that
moving from caring to action makes all the difference.
Check our website www.thomasmertoncenter.org and
consider joining our very special company of doers.
The Raging Grannies sing at the Tax Day Rally in
Squirrel Hill.
Photo by Molly Rush
April, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 9
Opinion
~ Carlana Rhoten
If I were a right-winger and took a look at the
Progressive Movement, I would have a good
laugh and say, ―Nothing to worry about there.‖
Progressives are working tirelessly, every
day. We feel overwhelmed, inside a blizzard of
issues, each demanding our attention, our time
and effort and our donations. We are working
VERY hard, but are we working smartly? How
do we spend our time? How do we communicate
with the public? Most importantly, how do we
communicate with the poor folks who vote
conservatively, without realizing that they have
voted to damage their future for themselves, their
families and their friends? The answers to these
questions are not pretty; indeed, they are pitiful.
We keep ourselves busy attending each other‘s
meetings, talking to each other and preaching to
the converted.
We are letting the main media get away with
ignoring our issues and our demonstrations.
Speaking of demonstrations, we are so badly
organized that anyone who happens to drive by is
probably mystified. The March 15th
demonstration outside the Steelworkers Building
is a good example of how NOT to do it. Most of
the people there were hidden on the steps or
clumped together so tightly that the crowds
appeared smaller than it really was. Over two-
thirds of the signs were NOT visible to passers-by
because they were pointed inward, or well behind
the people who were standing on the
curb. Finally, people were making speeches,
wasting their breath preaching to the already
converted. Big deal. These people are not the
ones that need to hear these messages.
The best demonstration I have seen in Pittsburgh
was by an anti- abortion group a few years ago
when they stood along the curb of Fifth Avenue
before it runs through Oakland. They stood
between 5 and 10 feet apart, which made the
crowd look much larger. Their signs were well
made, with high contrast and pointed TOWARD
the street, where people in cars could see them. I
still remember it several years later.
In contrast, Liberals clump together in small
social groups, and most of their signs are pointed
inward and never seen by the public. Ideally, a
demonstration should be strategically designed
and organized to present strength. So, even if the
number of the demonstration is small, it should be
as impressive as possible. People should be
spread out along the curb, directly facing the
street. Or, if the police insist we keep moving,
likewise put space between the folks walking in a
circle. Large or high-contrast signs should be
easily read and designed to photograph well, in
case we do get media coverage. People in
costume are attractive for media photographers.
Musicians playing loud, attractive music is a nice
touch and could be provided by a boom box. At
the very least, we should all come with noise
makers. Chants should be well chosen so they
will be heard and understood by anyone who
hears them. (Half the time I see demonstrations,
I can‘t tell what the chanters are yelling).
MORE IMPORTANT than the demonstrations
will be our success in communicating and
educating the people who have been bamboozled
into supporting the corporate sponsored
conservatives. Governors and legislators are hell-
bent on taking us back to the period of 1880 to
1933, when the only REALLY important citizens
were the fabulously wealthy. So far, we
Progressives have tended to be self-indulgent,
amusing ourselves with ridiculing the folks
attracted to the Tea Party message. These people
and the huge percentage of Independents are
victims of an educational system that does not
teach the history of middle class progress in the
United States. And we are all victims of a main
media that does not report the facts of our
backslide into economic degeneration. We need
to seriously confront
the public with the true
facts they need in order
to think about the
issues of our day, and
in order to decide what
policies will enhance
or doom their future.
Are Progressives Too Stupid To Win???
The American Dream Has Gotta Go ~ Michael Pastorkovich
There is no "kinder and gentler" way of
putting it.
Right now the USA is home to around 5% of
the earth's population. And we consume
about 25% of the world's energy.
Do the math. If the rest of the world tried to
live like us, by the time 20% of the earth's
population had achieved that distinction, our
planet would be completely depleted of
energy resources.
The problem is that, thanks to the
propaganda Hollywood sends all over
creation in the form of movies and TV
programs, much of the rest of the world
DOES want to live like us.
To describe the American Dream as
"unsustainable" has to be the understatement
of the last 4.5 billion years or so.
That's the bad news. But it's not all bad
news.
The good news is that the desire for what is
usually called "The American Dream"--you
know, three cars and four plasma-screen TV
sets and house in the'burbs--is not a desire
set in the stone of some unalterable "human
nature". Indeed, for the most part, the desire
for more and more expensive toys, gadgets
and novelties is the product of the
Advertising Industry, which can perhaps best
be described as the brainwashing division of
the capitalist system. Karl Marx called it the
system's "creation of artificial needs". This
is often accomplished by confiscation or
destruction of something that folks have
been getting for free, or for a very low cost
and then substituting in its place something
far more expensive. Like polluting
municipal water supplies and then selling
people bottled water for a buck and a half or
two bucks a pop. Or by implanting within us
fear and suspicion of our fellow human
beings through the "if it bleeds, it leads"
news media, and then
offering us spectral internet
"friendships" in place of real
intimacy.
The desire for endless
diversion which the high-tech
"toys" that the system cranks
out promise to satisfy is in
reality a "consolation" prize
for the mind-deadening,
poorly compensated alienated
labor into which most
Americans are forced to sell
their souls so that they can
put a "mess of pottage" on
their tables, filled, of
course, with high-fructose
corn syrup and sodium. It is
mighty poor "consolation"
indeed.
It is time to bid "bye, bye" to
the plastic, planet-destroying
"American Dream" and to put
in its stead the far better
dream of living a real,
fulfilling Human Life. This
means, among other things,
refusing to accept the crumbs
which the Plutocracy
contemptuously throws at us
and insisting upon dignified
work adquately compensated
and with benefits like
healthcare and enough free
time during which we can pursue the truly
important things in human existence such as
family, friendship, the beauty and wonder of
nature, and love. In pursuing this authentic
Human Dream, we just might be able to save
the earth by saving ourselves.
Paola and Renata show solidarity at the Dream Rally
on April 18th at the Steelworker‘s Headquarters.
Photo by Molly Rush
10 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2011
~ Susan Richter
On Saturday, May 21, 2011, from 12 noon until
5 PM, a Peaceful Gathering of Hands (PGH) will
occur on the big hill at Schenley Oval next to the
ice rink. Organizers envision this as a gathering
of all the many peace-oriented groups in our
area—hopefully the largest such gathering ever.
The idea for the event grew out of regular meet-
ings of Transition Pittsburgh, often led by Kevin
May, aka, Phil Osophical. Transition Pittsburgh
is part of a world-wide movement aiming to open
up people‘s minds to ideas of permaculture and
sustainability.
At a recent meeting they pondered the question:
how many individuals are hoping and working
for the same thing - a peaceful, equitable, healthy
and abundant world, where we are connected to
the Earth and treat it respectfully? They began
making lists of groups working toward these
aims, and it seemed never-ending. So, as one
Transition Pittsburgh member explains, ―Phil
Osophical — in his usual gentle and modest
way—described his vision for ―the biggest Peace
Gathering in the history of Pittsburgh‖. We all
instantly loved the idea, and being hip to the
power of intention, we began exchanging para-
digm-blasting ways to merge this concept with
the People of Peaceburgh.‖
The organizers of the event hope to link all these
environmental, political, and religious groups
with the many ―healers, artists and creative be-
ings in our surprisingly magical city. Holding
hands in a giant circle throughout the day is sym-
bolic of the linking of hearts and minds and the
creation of connection and community,‖ a group
spokesperson added.
Participants are encouraged to bring food, instru-
ments, art, outdoor games, and any information
they wish to share, as well as their vision for a
better life. There will be no tables provided, but
blankets and ―easy-ups‖ are encouraged to attract
others to your creative presentation. Visualize a
sunny day!
Regina Rivers, of SITE (Spiritual, Intuitive &
Telepathic Expansion) Night, one of the first
groups to sign on, describes the event in this
way: ―We're asking each group to paint a banner
- or any signage of their choosing - that demon-
strates how they are creating a more peaceful
city. During the time between each circle we
have the golden opportunity to network, getting
to know others in service we haven't yet met, and
sharing how we are serving the Peaceburgh com-
munity.
The intention is to unite a diverse range of
groups and people from all over the city where
every hour on the hour everyone stands in a cir-
cle holding hands. From this circle will emerge a
true realization of how many people are working
for a more healthy, sustainable, peaceful Pitts-
burgh.
At the Peaceful Gathering of Hands, the vision is
for all of us to come together to declare our
united vision of PEACE and abundance for all. If
this is your vision as well, you are invited to join
in by helping to plan or participate in your own
way. Volunteers to help run the event are, of
course, welcome, and please, let your favorite
friends and groups know about this!
As one organizer reminds us, ―This brilliant and
ever-evolving journey of ideas lives on, and is
open to anyone who wishes to join the process.‖
If you wish to join the discussion, please contact
the author at [email protected].
Huge Gathering of Hands planned at Schenley Oval
~ Nathan Eckstrand
The editorial board of the Pittsburgh Tribune-
Review seems to have found a novel way to
celebrate the spirit of Earth Day. Instead of
considering what they could do to help solve
the various environmental crises and changing
their behavior accordingly, the Tribune-Review
continued full speed ahead, publishing 2
editorials in the 8 days following Earth Day
which castigate the government, the EPA, and
environmentalists. Sadly, yet hardly
unexpectedly, each of the editorials fails to
reasonably consider their subject, leaving
readers with a distorted picture of the facts. A
quick excursion into reality easily reveals their
faults.
Their first editorial fantasy revolves
around an issue that has been working its way
through conservative blogosphere claiming that
in 2005 the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) ―provided a convenient
map‖ which said there would be 50 million
climate refugees by 2010, and that when this
claim was proven false, the UNEP ―botched an
attempt to obscure the matter‖ by removing the
map containing the prediction from their
website. Fancifully named ―Chicken Little
Exposed,‖ the editorial implies that climate
change advocates can now be easily dismissed,
as everyone knows that the conviction that the
globe is warming depends upon the accuracy of
future predictions of human migration patterns,
not on present day measurements of carbon
dioxide emissions and global temperatures.
Completely unmentioned in the
editorial is that the UNEP addressed the matter
of the missing map and prediction on their
website, announcing that both items were never
official predictions of the UNEP but rather
were produced for the French newspaper Le
Monde Diplomatique, a claim easily confirmed
if one looks at the map itself, which is
copyrighted not by the UN but by the French
newspaper. The map containing and prediction
were removed not because of a conspiracy, but
because they were being confused as belonging
to the UNEP. You would think an editorial
board of a newspaper would know enough to
check its sources before making such egregious
claims...
More important than the Tribune-
Review‘s false attribution, however, is whether
the claim of 50 million refugees is that far off.
Perhaps the exact numbers of people and areas
affected were incorrect in this one estimate, but
there is no question that climate change has
affected millions of people across the globe.
According to the Environmental Justice
Foundation, climate change related disasters are
responsible for the 1.5 million homes destroyed
in Bangladesh by Cyclone Sidr, 20,000 people
left homeless in Brazil due to mudslides in
early 2011, and the evacuation of 800,000
people from New Orleans after Hurricane
Katrina. In 2008, the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs found
that over 20 million people had been affected
by climate-related natural hazards, a number
that has certainly increased within the last
couple of years. To use the Tribune-Review‘s
metaphor, the only thing proven by this so-
called ―controversy‖ is that climate change
experts were a bit off about where the sky will
fall. There is still no question, even among
those who question the possibility of predicting
climate-related human migration, that the sky is
falling.
Yet the absurdity of this editorial is
dwarfed by that of the one published April 30,
which argues that the EPA‘s ―behemoth‖-like
regulatory powers are being misused, as
evidenced by EPA administrator Mathy
Stanislaus‘s claim that the EPA did not directly
look at the effect regulating carbon dioxide
emissions would have on American jobs. Not
only is the EPA using powers it was never
intended to have, claims the editorial, but it is
going against one of its primary directives – to
―promote…job creation.‖
The description of the EPA as a
―behemoth‖ is particularly curious in this
editorial given that its $10 billion budget is
1/70th the size of the Pentagon‘s budget, 1/3rd
the size of the Department of Energy, and is in
fact a fraction of the annual income of many of
the corporations it is charged with regulating.
Yet, hyperbole aside, the editorial makes two
major mistakes in its ―analysis‖ of the situation.
First, it charges that the EPA is going beyond
its bounds in regulating carbon dioxide, as
carbon dioxide is never explicitly mentioned in
the Clean Air Act. True enough, but the Clean
Air Act does call for the EPA to ―[prevent] and
control…air pollution resulting from the
combustion of fuels‖ and makes allowances for
new pollutants to be added to the tentative list
found in the law. Any rational reading of the
law would have to conclude that the writers did
intend for pollutants like carbon dioxide to be
controlled.
The second mistake is that the EPA is at
fault for not considering the effect on jobs.
Unmentioned in the editorial is that the EPA
did do an economic analysis of the law – just
not one specifically on jobs. While it may be
true that regulating carbon dioxide will lose
some jobs, Congress could ameliorate the
effects of such a loss by investing in sustainable
alternative energy sources, perhaps in the end
creating more jobs than were lost. The
technology is there – all that is needed is the
will.
But this whole debate raises a different
question. Namely, how many lawmakers do an
environmental analysis every time they pass a
new law? How many corporations consider the
long term effect of their product upon the
ecosystem? It seems that if we are going to
hold the EPA accountable for their effect upon
the job market, Congress and corporations
should be held accountable for their effects
upon the environment.
Obviously, the Pittsburgh Tribune-
Review does not agree. But who knows, maybe
World Environmental Day (June 5) will bring
them the epiphany that Earth Day failed to
deliver.
Lying while Rome burns: The Tribune-Review‟s Environmental Editorials
April, 2011 NEWPEOPLE - 11
Health Care 4 All PA presents its newly formed
STREET ACTIVISM GROUP * First general meeting at 6 PM on Sunday, May 8th *
Street theatre and performance, general spectacle, and boldness.
REQUIRED to bring light to the current unjust health system and the need for single-payer legislation to be passed ASAP.
Bring your most inspired, creative, and outlandish ideas for this casual and impassioned meeting of the minds.
For more information and the meeting location contact Julie Sokolow at [email protected]
TMC Corner
~ Edward L. Kinley, TMC Treasurer
The early months of 2010 found the Thomas
Merton Center in dire financial straits forcing the
Board of Directors to make some difficult
decisions regarding the structure of the Center to
insure its survival. With the 2010 year now
behind us it is time for an update on the current
fiscal condition of the Center.
The Center finished 2010 in a much more
viable financial position with sufficient funds in
reserve to carry the Center through the early
months of 2011. There were many factors
contributing to this outcome. The difficult
decisions the board made to eliminate staff and
to move from 5125 Penn Avenue to rental space
at 5129 were major factors in stabilizing the
finances. They alone, however, did not account
for all the success. Another major component to
this stabilization of finances has been the
Sustainers Program where individuals can pledge
a dedicated amount of funds per month or year to
the Center. These donations have been critical in
meeting the Center‘s monthly expenses.
Additionally in 2010, generous TMC donors and
friends of Thrifty stepped forward to replace the
deteriorating roof on Thrifty, contributing a total
of $13,000 at a time when the resources offered
by the store (donated clothing, coats, shoes,
furniture and small appliances) are needed more
than ever.
The Finance Committee and our new bookkeeper
have spent many hours analyzing the Center‘s
financial documents and have made some
changes to our monthly statements to make it
easier to track more precisely where revenue is
being received from and what expenses that
revenue is being used to cover. All projects are
now receiving regular statements regarding their
funds; procedures to insure funds are distributed
only to authorized representatives of the projects
have been instituted. Checks, and all receipts,
are being deposited in a very timely manner.
Routine matters such as annual renewal of our
501(c)3 status and submission of all required
government forms have been completed and the
annual review of TMC finances by an outside
agency is in progress.
In March of 2011 the sale of 5125 was
completed resulting in an influx of funds to the
Center. The Board and the Finance Committee
have insured these funds are safely deposited
while appropriate uses for them are defined.
Some funds have been spent on an upgrade of
computer equipment in the office which will also
benefit the projects. The expenditure of any
major component of these funds will not occur
until the current visioning process is completed.
With the leadership of Mary Jo Guercio, the
Board has completed an update of its Mission
and Vision Statements. The Board is now
completing the guiding principles and value
statements. Once these are completed strategic
goals will be set. These goals will be utilized to
guide the future expenditure of funds.
The financial standing of The Thomas Merton
Center is secure at this time due in no small
measure to our Sustainers, contributors and
members. Although we are not flush with funds
we will be able to meet our expenses for the
foreseeable future. The continued support and
involvement of all members, friends, and
associates of the TMC is critical for its long-term
survival. We have made huge steps in the
revitalization of the TMC to ensure our shared
mission of building a consciousness of values
that raise the moral questions involved in the
issues of war, poverty, racism, classism,
economic justice, oppression and environmental
justice. TMC engages people of diverse
philosophies and faiths who find common
ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about
a more peaceful and just world.
TMC Financial Condition Stabilizes in 2011
~ Michael Drohan
On March 14, 2011 the Thomas Merton Center finally
divested itself of the 5125 Penn Ave property that had
been its home since 1981. The buyer of the building is
Ben Saks, originally from Cleveland, Ohio and the
following interview tells of his plans and hopes for the
space
MD: Tell us a little about yourself and how you
discovered Pittsburgh BEN: I am originally from Cleveland, Ohio. As a
young person I was fascinated with making things,
especially building airplanes. With this interest I came
to CMU to study architecture. While studying
architecture, I came to know the city of Pittsburgh and
I fell in love with the city and its surroundings. The
topography of the city, its neighborhoods, the quality
of life and the people of Pittsburgh captured my heart.
Pittsburgh is special to me and always will be. I have
lived in Cleveland, Los Angeles and other American
cities but Pittsburgh stands out among all these as a
very special place. I moved back here in 2009 after
helping my father start a business called Green Paper
Products which distributes bio-degradable food-
service products such as cups, plates and so on ( The
cups used at the New Person Award were provided by
Green Paper Products for the event). I still work with
Green Paper Products as the Sustainability Director.
MD: What are your plans for the 5125 Penn Ave
space? BEN: The first floor of the building is already in use
as a non-profit organization named ―Assemble‖. They
can be found at www.assemblepgh.org This is an
organization that puts on programs in arts and
technology and is headed up by Nina Barbuto, who is
also an architect. As it says in its Mission, Assemble
is ―a place where one can engage one‘s intrigue
through hands on activities about art and technology
while making physical and nonphysical, community
connections‖. Essentially Assemble has created a
community space for arts and technology out of the
first floor. (In next issue of The New People an
interview with Nina and her endeavor will have more
details on this initiative) For the second and third floor of 5125, it is a work
in progress. I will be living in part of this space and I
am also using part of it for an office of my digital film
production company called FloatFilms. We are
working on a documentary about flying machines
which can be seen at www.floatdocumentary.com
There are many possibilities for the space.
MD: How do you see your relationship with the
neighborhood and your contribution to it? BEN: The neighborhood is critical. We want to
embrace the neighborhood and we hope that it will
embrace us. I enjoy the neighborhood and it is a great
place to live. Already, I have established relationships
with people and businesses in the neighborhood and it
is developing slowly.
MD: How do you see your relationship with the
Thomas Merton Center? BEN: For starters, it is unusual to have the former
owner of your property located right next door and that
the relationships between the Center and us is so good.
We feel lucky to be in this relationship of mutual
friendship and acceptance. We would love to be
invited to your events and to meet people involved
with the Center. Prior to buying the property, I did not
have much contact with peace and justice centers or
institutions but we would be happy to learn more about
what you do and what you are.
MEET THE NEW NEIGHBOR! The NewPeople Interview With BEN SAKS
12 - NEWPEOPLE April, 2011
S O C I A L A C T I O N C A L E N D A R
SUNDAYS __________________________ Anti-War Committee meeting
Every other Sunday 2:00pm - 3:30 Merton Center, 5129 Penn Ave., Garfield
Book 'Em Packing Day
Meets every Sunday 4:00pm - 7pm Thomas Merton Center, 5129 Penn Avenue Join others sending requested books to prison-
ers. Bring a group. For more info call the Thomas Merton Center, 412.361.3022
MONDAYS __________________________ Weekly North Hills Weekly Peace Vigil
4:30pm-5:00pm In front of the Divine Providence Motherhouse,
9000 Babcock Blvd., Allison Park Sponsored by the Pittsburgh North People for
Peace & the Srs. of Divine Providence WEDNESDAYS ______________________ Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition
Monthly Meeting Meets the 1st Wednesday of every month 5:30pm - 7:00pm Squirrel Hill Carnegie Library 5801 Forbes Avenue Meeting Room B
Write On! Letters for Prisoner's rights
Meets weekly on Wednesday 6:30pm – 9:00pm Merton Center, 5129 Penn Avenue, Garfield Write On! Letters for Prisoner's rights We need
help answering our 60 letters a month from people in prison dealing with abuse and ne-
glect. Come and meet new people, learn about people in prison while advocating for their rights from the outside! Please bring food to share! Info 412-361-3022
PUSH [Pennsylvanian United for Single-
Payer Healthcare] Meets monthly on the second Wednesday 6:15 pm
Health Care 4 All PA office, 2101 Murray Avenue,
Squirrel Hill
All welcome Info: [email protected]
Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (PADP) meeting
Monthly on the first Wednesday 7:00pm - 8pm
First Unitarian Church (Ellsworth/Morewood,
Shadyside)
For more information, call 412-384-4310.
THURSDAYS _________________________
Green Party meeting First Thursday of the month 7:00pm - 9pm Citizen Power's offices, 2121 Murray Avenue
in Squirrel Hill, second floor FRIDAYS ____________________________
Peaceburgh Drumming Circle 7pm-8:00pm, Weekly Grandview Park in Mt. Washington Raise the Vibration for peace every Friday....
Consciously raise the vibration for peace!! FREE-Family friendly event Bring a drum,flutes,rattles, didge( we REALLY need a didge) singing voices -dancing feet- happy hearts!! Bring some food to share at the potluck!!( we need plates, ice, forks, cups,
napkins and drinks too..) BRING A CAMERA — THE VIEW IS AWESOME!!
SATURDAYS ________________________
Project to End Human Trafficking Volunteer signup 2nd Saturday of each month 10:00am - 12:00pm Campus of Carlow University Project to End Human Trafficking (PEHT) of-
fers FREE public volunteer/information. Please pre-register by the Wednesday be-fore via [email protected].
For more information check out our website www.endhumantrafficking.org
PEHT Information and Training Seminars
Second Saturday of every month 12:00pm - 1:00pm Carlow University, Antonian Room #502, RSVP by the Wednesday before to smoh-
[email protected] Open to the public.
Peace Vigils to End the War Every Saturday, following locations & times
Regent Square Peace Vigil Corner of Forbes and Braddock 12:00pm - 1pm
*Black Voices for Peace Anti-War Protest Corner of Penn & Highland in East Liberty 1:00pm - 2:00 pm
Beaver County Peace Links Peace Vigil Beaver County Courthouse, 3rd Street
(Beaver) 1:00pm - 2pm
Recurring Meetings and Meet Ups
~ MAY ~
Tuesday, May 24
Forum: Capitalism Hits the Fan -- Understanding the Global Economic Meltdown
7:30 to 9:00 PM William Pitt Union, Dining Room B University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh,PA 15260
"CAPITALISM HITS THE FAN -- The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About It" Filmed lecture by noted Economist Richard Wolff followed by open discussion
For more information please email: [email protected]
Saturday May 28
Justice for Jordan Miles 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Allegheny County Courthouse 436 Grant St. Pittsburgh,PA Join the Alliance for Police
Accountability in These Crucial Protests to Demand:
Prosecute Richard Ewing, David Sisak, and Michael Saldutte!
Fire the Three Officers! Release the OMI report on the
beating to the public! For more information:
www.justiceforjordanmiles.com [email protected] or 412-628-5849
Saturday, June 4
Defeating racism & building class unity 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM Schenley Park Ice Rink Lodge 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM 130 S. Whitfield Street (East Liberty
Library) Pittsburgh,PA 15206
Join the Party for Socialism and Liberation for a monthly class series on socialism. We will discuss the basics of socialist theory and what we can do to fight for a better world.
Saturday, June 11
Project To End Human Trafficking Volunteer Sign-Up 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Campus of Carlow University Project to End Human Trafficking
(PEHT) offers FREE public volunteer/information. Please pre-register by the Wednesday before via [email protected]. For more information check out our website www.endhumantrafficking.org
Sunday, June 12
Women In Back Vigil 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM Ginger Hill Unitarian Universalist
Congregation
Women, Men, Children Welcome, Wear black if possible
For More Events and Information Visit:
http://thomasmertoncenter.org/calendar/
To Submit An Event Visit:
http://thomasmertoncenter.org/calendar/
submit-event/
To Become A Member Visit:
http://thomasmertoncenter.org/join-donate/