March New People

- Peace, Justice and Energy Insert

TMC Alive - pg. 5

- Occupy Pittsburgh Insert

PITTSBURGH‘S PEACE & JUSTICE NEWSPAPER Published by the Thomas Merton Center

VOL. 42 No. 3, March, 2012

OCCUPY PITTSBURGH NOW Insert

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ENERGY Insert Produced by John Detwiler

Issue No. 1, March, 2012

March 12, 1972: TMC Opens its Doors for the First Time Thanks to Larry Kessler

By Molly Rush, TMC Co-founder In 1965, Pope Paul VI spoke at the United Nations in New York City, where Cardinal Spellman‘s support for the Vietnam War was so influential that it became known to many as ―Spelly‘s war.‖ Paul‘s words were almost a rebuke to his hawkish subordinate, “No more war, never again war. Peace, it is peace that must guide the destinies of people and of all mankind."

(Story continues on page 5)

In This Issue.....

Page Number

Produced by Occupy Pittsburgh

Issue No. 2, March, 2012

In This Issue: Peace, Justice and Energy Insert

By John Detwiler ―If we care about peace and justice, we need to care about energy.‖ That‘s the theme of a collection of articles (pp. 7-10) in a special section of this issue. The authors include internationallyrecognized experts on energy policy and economic justice, as well as Pittsburgh activists, former

recipients of our Thomas Merton Award, and Thomas Merton himself. Much of the conflict in the world, nationally and internationally, stems from Americans‘ profligacy with fossil fuels. Willing to accept the myth of ‗cheap, abundant energy,‘ and blind to the evils done in our name, we have given up control of

our lives. The economic dysfunction, political upheaval, and threats (real and imagined) of ―terrorism,‖ which so define our times, are interconnected, with energy at the center. We hope that this collection of articles will help put these issues into perspective and to point us toward action.

(Please continue to pages 7 - 10)

Is PA‟s Constitutional Mandate to Work for the Common Good? come as a result of the proposals we are seeing.

Is the Commonwealth Many budget and policy proposals government‘s sense of appear nonsensical, even meanresponsibility to uphold the constitutional mandate to work for spirited. For example, the public welfare budget contains seemingly the common good of all punitive proposals that place blame Pennsylvanians dead? This question came to me as I departed on and punish welfare recipients for being poor. Many proponents claim from the Department of Public that benefit reductions provide Welfare budget briefing on incentives for hard work and February 7. The only answer I could come up with in the moment persistence that will lift persons out of poverty—and if this doesn‘t was not yet—but it‘s on life happen it‘s the person who failed, support and the prognosis looks not the economy. Contrary to what grim.

The outlook is particularly bleak if some believe, sometimes assistance is needed to ―level the playing you are poor, though it isn‘t a lot better for higher education, public field‖ for those who are without the ―equipment‖ they need to play the education, or a lot of other activities that fall under the state‘s game.

One penny-wise and pound-foolish purview. proposal is elimination of General While we in the faith community are doing what we can to alleviate Assistance that provides help to the pain of those who struggle, we only the MOST vulnerable—less simply don‘t have the resources to than half a percent of meet the increased need that would Pennsylvanians. The benefit is barely subsistence, at $205 per

By Rev. Sandra L. Strauss

TMC in 1972

.....................1, 5

TMC in 2012

.....................1, 3

PA Mandate

.....................1, 4

SNAP Asset Test

.........................3

Crisis in Sudan

.........................4

Women for Peace

.........................4

Alive with Spirit

.........................5

Occupy 2.0

.........................6

Energy Insert

...............7 to 10

February Potluck

.......................11

By JT Campbell

Fr. Jack O‘Malley

.......................12

Women at Dusk

.......................13

Amos House

.......................13

Appreciating Iran

.......................14

War on Hunger

.......................14

Gun Loop Holes

.......................15

Justice Calendar

.......................16

The board of directors is happy to announce the appointment of Diane McMahon to the newly created position of Managing Director/Fundraiser of the Merton Center. We thank Diane for her years of service on the Board from January 2008 to December 2011 (this past year as our board president).

month throughout most of the state—with 28 counties actually lower. Still, it means a great deal to those who receive it.

Pennsylvania actually recoups a good chunk of these outlays when people with disabilities are approved for federal Social Security or SSI disability benefits, so the actual saving is even less.

Therefore the funds, reclaimed by the state, are, in essence, a loan.

Another proposal, outside the budget, is reinstituting an asset test for SNAP (Food Stamp) recipients.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities cites that about 75 percent of SNAP recipients live in households with children, and more than one-quarter live in households with seniors or people with disabilities.# In fact, SNAP alone has kept many persons and families out of poverty, and has lessened its affects on many others—including reductions in (Continued on page 4)

TMC Begins Exciting New Chapter: Diane McMahon Named Managing Director / Fundraiser As Diane explains, she began her work with the Center with a passion for activism and a desire to raise awareness for issues relating to homelessness. She reconnected with TMC through Molly Rush, while organizing a Sleep-In for the Homeless as part of her work as the Chief Development Officer at Community Human Services.

Continued on page 3)

Diane McMahon

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.

March, 2012

NEWPEOPLE - 1

PERMIT NO. 458 PITTSBURGH, PA

THOMAS MERTON CENTER, 5129 PENN AVE. PITTSBURGH, PA 15224

PAID U.S. POSTAGE NON-PROFIT ORG.

Thomas Merton Center HOURS of OPERATION

IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE THOMAS MERTON CENTER 5129 PENN AVE., PITTSBURGH, PA 15224 Phone: 412-301-3022 — Fax: 412-361-0540 Website: www.thomasmertoncenter.org Editorial Collective Joyce Rothermel, Diane McMahon, Rob Conroy, Michael Drohan, Russ Fedorka, Corey Carrington, Kenneth Miller, Jordana Rosenfeld, Molly Rush TMC Staff, Volunteers and Interns Diane McMahon, Managing Director / Fundraiser Jibran Mushtaq, Thomas Merton Center Community Organizer / IT Director Roslyn Maholland, Finance Manager / Mig Cole, Assistant Bookkeeper Shirley Gleditsch, Manager, East End Community Thrift Store Shawna Hammond, Manager, East End Community Thrift Store Dolly Mason, Furniture Manager, East End Community Thrift Store Corey Carrington, Public Ally / Yiwei Zhang, Pitt MSW Intern Jordana Rosenfeld, New People Intern TMC Board of Directors Nina Barbuto, JT Campbell, Casey Capitolo, Rob Conroy, Kathy Cunningham, Michael Drohan, Patrick Fenton, Carol Gonzalez, Mary Jo Guercio, Wanda Guthrie, Shawna Hammond, Edward Kinley, Jonah McAllister-Erickson, Francine Porter, Molly Rush.

TMC STANDING COMMITTEES Board Development Committee (Recruits board members, conducts board elections) Building Committee Oversees maintenance of 5123-5129 Penn Ave. Membership Committee Coordinates membership goals, activities, appeals, and communications Editorial Collective Plans, produces and distributes the NewPeople newspaper Finance Committee Ensures financial stability and accountability of TMC Personnel Committee Oversees staff needs, evaluation, and policies Technology Team Provides technical advice and assistance to TMC Special Event Committees Plan and oversee TMC fundraising events with members and friends

TMC PROJECTS Anti-War Committee info@pittsburghendthewar.org www.pittsburghendthewar.org

Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance 412-867-9213

Association of US Catholic Priests Fr.Survil@EmbraceAllOflife.us

Pittsburgh Campaign for Democracy NOW! 412-422-5377, sleator@cs.cmu.edu www.pcdn.org

Book‗Em (Books to Prisoners) bookempgh@gmail.com www.thomasmertoncenter.org/bookem CodePink (Women for Peace) codepinkpgh@aol.com, 412-389-3216 www.codepink4peace.org Diversity Footprint (art, justice, community) draw3rd@verizon.net East End Community Thrift Shop 412-361-6010, shawnapgh@aol.com Economic Justice Committee economicjustice@thomasmertoncenter.org Fight for Lifers West 412-361-3022 to leave a message fightforliferswest@yahoo.com http://fightforliferswest.mysite.com

Pittsburgh Works! (labor history documentaries) connections05@hotmail.com Roots of Promise 724-327-2767, 412-596-0066 rootsofpromise@gmail.com (Network of Spiritual Progressives) spiritualprogressives.pgh@gmail.com Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition jumphook@gmail.com; www.pittsburghdarfur.org Three Rivers Area Medics (TRAM) 412-641-9191 or thefunnysmith@yahoo.com Urban Arts Project mbbpgh@yahoo.com

Monday-Friday 10 am to 3 pm

Saturday 10 am to 1 pm CONTACT INFORMATION

General information……….………...www.bit.ly/merton-contact Submissions …………………...…...www.bit.ly/submitnewpeople Events & Calendar Items ……….…www.bit.ly/merton-calendar

The East End Community Thrift Shop

FASHION SHOW IS COMING!

APRIL 14, 2012 East Liberty Presbyterian Church 116 South Highland Avenue Pgh., PA 15206

11 am to 2 pm Featuring volunteers and friends as models of Thrifty fashions!

Contact Shirley Gleditsch to volunteer at sgleditsch@gmail.com.

TMC AFFILIATES The Africa Project 412-657-8513, peterokema@gmail.com www.africaproject.net Allegheny Defense Project, Pgh Office 412-559-1364 www.alleghenydefense.org Amnesty International info@amnestypgh.org www.amnestypgh.org Association of Pittsburgh Priests Molly 412-343-3027 molly.rush@verizon.net The Big Idea Bookstore 412-OUR-HEAD, www.thebigideapgh.org Black Voices for Peace Gail Austin 412-606-1408

Pittsburgh Committee to Free Mumia 412-361-3022, pghfreemumia@gmail.com Pittsburgh Cuba Coalition 412-563-1519 lisacubasi@aol.com Pittsburgh Independent Media Center info@indypgh.org www.indypgh.org Pittsburgh North Anti-Racism Coalition 412-367-0383 Pittsburgh North People for Peace 412-367-1049 Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee info@pittsburgh-psc.org www.pittsburgh-psc.org Raging Grannies 412-963-7163, eva.havlicsek@gmail.com

Cease Fire

www.pittsburghraginggrannies.homestead.com

info@ceasefirepa.org

Religion and Labor Coalition 412-361-4793 ojomal@aol.com

Global Solutions Pittsburgh 412-471-7852 dan@globalsolutionspgh.org www.globalsolutionspgh.org

School of the Americas Watch of W. PA 412-371-9722, soapittsburgh@gmail.com

Citizens for Social Responsibility of Greater Johnstown Larry Blalock, evolve@atlanticbb.net

United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) 412-471-8919 www.ueunion.org

Haiti Solidarity Committee jrothermel@gpcfb.org 412-271-8414 www.thomasmertoncenter.org/hs

Urban Bikers urbanbikes@yahoo.com

http://www.ceasefirepa.org

PA United for a Single-Payer Health Care www.healthcare4allPA.org www.PUSH-HC4allPa.blogspot.com 2102 Murray Avenue Pgh, Pa 15217 412-421-4242 Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi 412-761-4319

Veterans for Peace Icwheaties@aol.com Voices for Animals voicesforanimals@gmail.com 1-877-321-4VFA Women‘s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Eva 412-963-7163 edith.bell4@verizon.net

Food Not Bombs pittsburgh_fnb@yahoo.com http://fnb-pgh.2ya.com

Progressive Pittsburgh Notebook Call 412-363-7472 or tvnotebook@gmail.com www.progressivepghnotebook.blip.tv

Human Rights Coalition / Fed Up (prisoner support and advocacy) 412-802-8575, hrcfedup@gmail.com www.thomasmertoncenter.org/fedup

Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens Group Wanda Guthrie 724-327-2767 murrysvillemarcellus@gmail.com

Abolition 2000: W. Pa. Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons 724-339-2242 / danfine@igc.org

In Sisterhood: The Women‘s Movement in Pgh 412-621-3252, pmulbrich@yahoo.com

The Pittsburgh Totebag Project Sue Kerr, 412-228-0216 P.O. Box 99204, Pittsburgh, PA 15233 www.tote4pgh.org

Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network 412-621-9230/office@piin.org

2 - NEWPEOPLE

March, 2012

TMC MEMBERSHIPS Organizations/coalitions in which TMC has membership, including payment of dues and fulfillment of other agreed-upon responsibilities as an organizational member

Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty 412-384-4310, osterdm@earthlink.net

Continued, New Chapter at the Thomas Merton Center Membership Committee), Denice Galpern ,Carol Gonzalez (board member), Patrick Fenton (board Last year Diane (an alumni of Carlow College) member), John Oesterle with the Association of completed her PhD in Sociology at Indiana Pittsburgh Priests, Sr. Georgine with the Sisters University of PA, with a specialization in of Mercy, Bette McDevitt, John Haer, Jim Ruck nonprofit leadership and administration. and Gail Britanik (all TMC members) and an Diane explains that the more than 600+ nonprofit extended network of past staffers, friends and groups in the City of Pittsburgh are all challenged supporters. to unify strengths and resources in the work to The board, membership, and friends of the Center create a more holistic and healthy have brought new life to the Thomas Merton environment. The current reductionist (working Center in the past two years. Just as importantly, independently as separate nonprofits) mentality new staff at the center have heralded a unknowingly perpetuates a system of inequality renaissance in thought and effort. Jibran and non-sustainable practices.

Mushtaq, community organizer and IT director of th Diane hopes the 40 anniversary year of the the Center, has built the capacity of TMC in his Thomas Merton Center will continue to build on work with the Economic Justice and Anti-War the strategic plan that has been set forth by the Committees, core focus areas for the Board. A renewed spirit is being organization. Staffers, Corey Carrington (TMC rekindled among the membership. In the year Volunteer Coordinator from the Public Allies) ahead, monthly anniversary activities are being along with Yiwei Zhang, an intern from Shanghai planned to engage past, present and future enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh‘s Master members and friends in the mission of the Center of Social Work program, are also building a solid to create a more peaceful and just world. operations framework within the center. Diane Planning is being led by Molly Rush (board comes to her new position with a stellar member) , Joyce Rothermel (chair of the TMC background of involvement in peace and social

(Continued from Page 1)

justice ventures. For four years she headed up the Sleep -In for the Homeless, an annual event sponsored by Community Human Services. Before that she served as a Staff member and organizer with Brothers Brother Foundation and North Side Common Ministries.

Before that she was the Chief Photographer for seven different papers in the Mon Valley during the period when the steelworkers of the Valley were under siege. As well as her activist career, Diane brings to the Center a very rounded education in social, political and economic sciences. The Merton Center is truly honored to have captured such a wonderful leader which bodes very well for the future of the Center.

The Thomas Merton Center continues to be a place for those who are looking to connect to a broader advocacy network; while serving as a beacon of hope for the 99%. The Center affirms a nonviolent approach to bringing about deep and systemic change. We are confident that Diane will guide the Center as it takes a leading role in the peace and justice community of Pittsburgh.  JT Campbell is a Board Member of the TMC.

SNAP Asset Test Will Drive Families Deeper Into Poverty

By Vic Papale Do we want to drive struggling families into deeper poverty? This question and others are raised by the Corbett Administration‘s decision to reintroduce an asset test for SNAP (food stamp) applicants. Those supporting the asset test do so for several reasons. The worst of these is the proposition or perception that it is an anti-welfare fraud effort. But, the asset test has nothing to do with fighting fraud. The fact that a family might have $6,000 (the asset limit for an under 60 family will be $5,500) in savings and be using food stamps does not mean it is guilty of fraud. That family is adhering to the current rules. If they‘re cut from the program, they‘ll fall deeper and faster into poverty by depleting their savings to pay for food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and medical bills.

Is that the public policy we want - to threaten struggling families with deeper poverty? One response to that question is that by reducing the safety net we incentivize people to seek work and become self-sufficient. But that response has nothing to do with reality. The reality is that 75 percent of low-income working-age adults work – 50 percent full-time. They are not poor because they are lazy. They are poor because our private sector economy doesn‘t pay enough.

What about the 25 percent of poor adults not working? Has anyone noticed that the recession that began in 2008 is the worst since the Great Depression? Can we acknowledge that the climb back is slower, and a lot of people are suffering the consequences? And can we acknowledge that the explosion of food stamp

participation is directly linked to the Great Recession?

The State‘s Secretary of Welfare says his objective is to cut costs so as to assure assistance for the most needy. Before going any further, we need real evidence of the fraud and real evidence that administering the asset test won‘t turn out to cost more than it might save.

And we need real evidence that shows that forcing people to reduce their assets is nothing more than driving them into deeper poverty before they can get help.

But the Governor says he has heard complaints of food stamp and welfare fraud. Three things seem to fuel this perception of fraud. People in grocery lines see people using the SNAP card who ―don‘t look poor.‖ They must be committing fraud. But, that‘s not fraud, that‘s actually a sign of some success. The whole point of safety net programs – whether food stamps, child care, Medicaid, housing assistance, etc. – is to keep people from falling too deeply into poverty. Because the deeper into poverty a family falls, the more difficult and costly – for everyone – it is to climb out.

Finally, we need to acknowledge some sobering evidence that points in another direction. Many safety net programs are actually not reaching many needy people. Over 200,000 people in southwestern Pennsylvania are eligible for food stamps but don‘t participate; over 160,000 children are eligible for summer food assistance but don‘t participate; and over 70,000 children are eligible for school breakfast but don‘t participate. These three and some other welfare programs are federally financed and state operated. Before the state cuts more, we need to see real cost-benefit analysis – both to taxpayers in general and to those the programs are meant to serve.

The second fraud alarm is that in those same grocery lines people see what others buy and see waste. They fail to see that the person buying cigarettes is not using the food stamps for that part of their purchase. And as for concern about junk food, there are solutions far more constructive than cutting or eliminating benefits. For instance, why not provide credits extending the value of the food stamps for shoppers purchasing more fresh produce and fewer heavily processed foods? And how about recognizing that a family without access to a full service super market probably pays more at a convenience store and has fewer options for selecting the healthiest food?

The third alarm is the rise in the rolls. Yes, there has been an explosion, and let‘s face the clear culprit – it‘s not fraud; it‘s joblessness and under-employment. The only actual report of food stamp fraud in Pennsylvania, other than isolated individual cases, is that the rate of

HEALTH CARE FOR THE 99% sent a message to UPMC & HIGHMARK: People Over Profits! By Molly Rush

Cartoon by Russ Fedorka

fraud statewide is one-tenth of one percent.

The temperature was near zero, but the spirit was high as a growing crowd weathered the storm to create a storm of their own. It was carried right into the second floors of the U.S. Steel Building, headquarters of UPMC and Highmark‘s home base as marchers‘ signs and banners made the case for health care for all. ―Corporate CEO‖ pulled dollar bills from an uninsured ―patient‖ on a gurney, brushing aside a ―doctor‖ with stethoscope. Later a student from CCAC told his story. See it all in videographer Julie Sokolow‘s inspiring and informative video of the action at http:// healthyartistsblog.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/health-carefor-the-99/. Julie, a volunteer with PUSH/

So, let‘s have a serious discussion about food stamps, welfare, and the safety net. Let‘s ask the Governor to lead it. And let‘s insist that the discussion eliminate myths and build a body of evidence that can lead to truly better public policy. Victor J. Papale is the Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Food Security Partnership partnership@pittsburghfoodbank.org

HealthCare4AllPA, can also be followed at ―healthy artists‖ on YouTube. The event was sponsored by Occupy Pittsburgh, the W.PA Coalition for Single Payer Health Care, Save Out Community Hospitals, and PUSH. PHOTO BY: Tom Jefferson

March, 2012

NEWPEOPLE - 3

Continued, Constitutional Mandate (Continued from page 1) the number of children and seniors who go to bed hungry in Pennsylvania.

And as a student of public policy, I believe re-implementing the asset test would cost the state more than continuing to administer the benefit to all qualified recipients. SNAP is a federal program, and Pennsylvania‘s low error rate calls to question even the need for an asset test. Also, SNAP benefits are beneficial to Pennsylvania‘s economy—Moody‘s Analytics estimates that in a weak economy, every dollar increase in SNAP benefits generates $1.72 in economic activity. Given that rate of return, it seems the cost of this proposal would outweigh any possible benefits.

What is most outrageous, however, is the refusal to consider new sources of revenue and the closure of corporate tax loopholes. The gas drilling industry and many large corporations benefit handsomely through the extraction of John Prendergast, Co-founder of the Enough Project, Speaks to a full house at the Squirrel Hill Carnegie Library, February 13, 2011, as part of the panel "Challenges for Sudan, Challenges for Advocacy."

Message of Thanks to Friends and Supporters of WTAE AFTRA Members

Photo By Pam Panchak

Pennsylvania‘s valuable resources and the efforts and purchases of From John Haer & John Hilsman hard working Pennsylvanians. There Our sincere thanks for helping is no defense for the sorry excuse for a drilling fee passed on February make the community support rally a huge success. Truly, our solidar8 when other major gas producing ity can never be defeated! states have instituted much greater John Silas at ―Rally for Fairness‖ fees with no resulting loss in business. There is no excuse for March 12 Panel Addresses Crises in Sudan companies that earn huge profits in reaching besieged populations.

by David Rosenberg Pennsylvania to pay less in taxes than we who work hard to earn a John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency living in Pennsylvania. the Enough Project, joined Darfur Coalition will be exploring ways to Human Rights Activist push for humanitarian relief to the I am optimistic that like me, many Abdalmageed Haroun and Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile, Pennsylvanians support moral Professor Louis Picard of the while also continuing to focus on decisions that produce moral long range policy issues and budgets, legislation and policies that University of Pittsburgh in "Challenges for Sudan, Challenges challenges to advocacy. support all Pennsylvanians, including those who are vulnerable. for Advocacy," at the Squirrel Hill The event, attended by a packed Branch, Carnegie Library on I believe that we have the power to crowd at the library, was part of Monday February 13. Millions of change a grim prognosis by the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency demanding better of our elected and Darfuris remain displaced inside Coalition's 2011-2012 Speaker Sudan or in Eastern Chad. appointed officials now.

Series. On Monday, March 12, Is that too much to ask? Tensions have continued to flare 2012, the top U.S. diplomat for between Sudan and the newly Darfur in the State Department, The Rev. Sandra L. Strauss is independent South Sudan over oil Ambassador Dane Smith, will be Director of Public Advocacy for the and other issues, and the in Pittsburgh as a guest of the Pennsylvania Council of Churches government of Sudan under Pittsburgh Coalition. Ambassador and Co-Chair of the Coalition for President Omar al-Bashir Smith recently returned from a two Low Income Pennsylvanians (CLIP). continues to attack civilian week trip which included meetings as well as military targets with members of civil society, in areas bordering on leaders of rebel factions, and South Sudan. government officials.

Photo by David Rosenberg

Famine conditions are about to be reached in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile State as the attacks have crippled the agricultural economy and the government is preventing food aid from

He is scheduled to speak at a luncheon at the East Liberty Presbyterian Church on March 12.

For details see www.pittsburghdarfur.org or email jumphook@gmail.com.  David Rosenberg is Co-founder and Coordinator of the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition.

A Decade of Work: WILPF Monitors ―National Commitments‖ to UNSCR1325

By Nyota Robinson Ten years later, WILPF (Women‘s International League for Peace and Freedom) continues to stay the course in monitoring the ―National Commitments‖ pledged by several Member States in support of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR1325). In October 2000, UNSCR1325 was adopted by the UN and its Member States to address the disproportionate number of women and children suffering from the effects of armed conflicts in war-torn countries. In addition, the resolution was designed to function as a ―political instrument‖ to create formal steps to address all aspects of peace-building and wartime conflicts on the national, international, and intergovernmental levels. The resolution and the subsequent resolutions urge that women be represented on all levels and in all phases of government and humanitarian groups‘ efforts to rebuild and maintain peace.

Many war-torn countries not only suffer financial hardships, but also social ones; as the fabrics of their families are unwound by the gross abuse of power by those elected and instructed to protect and serve the countries. As a result, women and children are most often the victims 4 - NEWPEOPLE

March, 2012

of abuse, displacement, forced labor, designed to empower women. The step ―…will be to develop our own sex-trafficking and other ostracisms largest portion, about 17 million, National Action Plan to accelerate that make it difficult to continue or will support civil society groups that the implementation of Resolution re-establish their lives.UNSCR1325 focus on women in Afghanistan.

1325 across our government and and the subsequent resolutions with our partners in civil outline a broad framework of society. And to measure Hear Sameena Nazir Speak About measures and other provisions progress on our plan, we will A Day in the Life of to be adopted by countries and adopt the indicators laid out a Pakistani Woman their governments to be utilized in the Secretary General March 13, 2012 during times of peace, post-war report.‖ In December, 2011 9 am - 3911 West Posvar Hall the US Government turned and war times. According to University of Pittsburgh the 2011 review and research these words in to action with done by WILPF‘s national the publication of the United 7 pm - Friends Meeting House sections and PeaceWomen States National Action Plan 4836 Ellsworth Ave. 15213 Project, approximately 34 on Women, Peace, and Sameena Nazir is a human countries that agreed to commit Security. rights activist and founding member of WILPF in to the resolution, but only 4 In support, WILPF has Pakistan.

Member States have published selected 16 WILPF sections National Action Plans (NAPs) from around the world to at a state level. After a decade of $14million will also go to review and monitor the proposed work, there is still a greater need for nongovernmental organizations NAP‘s. Through the initiative of ―National Commitments.‖ working to make clean water more PeaceWomen, WILPF has In New York at UN headquarters on available in conflict zones, because constructed a database to monitor the 10th anniversary, U.S. Secretary in these areas , when women and and track the progress and of State Hillary Clinton addressed girls go looking for water they are at implementation of these Specific, her colleagues reaffirming the higher risk of being attacked.

Measurement, Relevant, and TimeUnited States support of the Another $1.7 million will help fund Bound (SMART) commitments.

Resolution. The following is an UN activities, including Special Some countries with WILPF excerpt from Secretary Clinton‘s Representative Wallstrom‘s office, sections have begun to see the use of address: ―… I am pleased to and 11 million will help expand the SCR1325‘s framework. For announce two important steps the literacy, job training, and maternal more information please visit http:// U.S. is taking to advance the goals health services for refugee women www.peacewomen.org/. of Resolution 1325. First, the United and girls.‖ Nyota Robinson is a member of States will commit nearly $44 Secretary Clinton also went on to WILFP, Pittsburgh, and a local million to a set of initiatives assert that the United States‘ second Community activist.

Alive with the Spirit of the Thomas Merton Center…

By Bonnie DiCarlo

By Fred Just

By Linda Rich

I was at the Thomas Merton Center when it resided on Carson Street. At that time the Center was the hub of the Anti-Vietnam protests:

At the same time the Thomas Merton Center was opening, I was being assigned to the new position of Director of the Justice and Peace Office for the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Augustine. I spent two weeks in Milwaukee at the Justice and Peace Office run by the Capuchins learning as much as I could.

The five years I worked as a staff person at the Thomas Merton Center in the mid-80‘s taught me a lot; about life and people and myself, too.

What a collection of energies, insights, intentions and perspectives for a better world, a better way for humanity to live together. I remember speaking to students and teachers in the Catholic schools about nuclear disarmament and the Bishops‘ Pastoral letter on Peace, standing in the cold protesting the commissioning of the U.S.S. Pittsburgh nuclear

What I remember most….

1) A funeral procession on the North Side to show that war IS deadly.

2) The savings bond turn-in at the Squirrel Hill Mellon Bank.

3) The candle light processions in Washington, D.C. with our two young children, to protest the atrocities of war.

Very important to me...

1) The work of Shirley Gleditsch (at the East End Community Thrift Store). The great amount of income that the Thrifty earns for the Center is secondary to the wonderful community feeling that Shirley and all the volunteers make happen.

2) Performing with Lynn Beckstrom, at the Annual Award Dinner, the poems of Thomas Merton set to music by John Jacob Niles. Daniel Berrigan was the awardee.

3) The life of Molly Rush, who continues to be the public mentor for all of us who live with the hope for justice and peace. What a treasure! Bonnie DiCarlo is a member of the Thomas Merton Center and a former board member.

When I returned to Pittsburgh, I was looking for a place where I could learn more about social justice issues and be supported by like-minded people. The Thomas Merton Center was just starting, and I was fortunate to be one of the first part-time staff members. My work there allowed me to take back valuable ideas to the Capuchin Friars and to work with a dedicated and wonderful staff.

During my five years there, I often thought that the Thomas Merton Center was like a "Cheers Bar" where Everybody knows your name and discussion on various issues are always welcome. Fred Just is the retired Executive Director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Pittsburgh.

TMC: March 12, 1972—Center Opens Continued (Continued from Page 1)

By 1970, several board members of the Catholic Interracial Council gathered together, including President Larry Kessler to discuss what to do about the war. It was the year that President. Nixon expanded the war to Cambodia; a protest of that action led to the death of four Kent State students, shot by the National Guard. This was the year that the Thomas Merton Center opened its doors.

Inspired by members of the Catholic left, including Frs. Phil and Dan Berrigan, who were jailed for burning draft files in protest of the war, we organized CEASE, Catholics for an End to Asian Slaughter & Exploitation. We held a candlelight walk to the Bishop‘s mansion and urged that he open an office for peace and justice. He didn‘t see the need.

So we said, we‘ll do it ourselves. With the help of friends from the Pittsburgh Conference of Laity, the Religious Education Forum and the Association of Pittsburgh Priests [45 of whom pledged $10 a month; an equal number of lawpersons pledged], we raised enough to rent an office at 1213 East Carson St., Southside and pay a monthly stipend of $150 to three sisters, who were released by their orders. Larry became Executive Director. Sister Helene Del Signore was full-time secretary.

Somehow Larry was able to purchase new office furniture and equipment, put together a board of directors of 12 women and nine men and an advisory committee of 29 from the broader social justice community, including NAACP President Byrd Brown.

It was Larry‘s idea to name the Thomas Merton Center, for the Trappist monk whose writings on spirituality, peace, nonviolence, racial justice, still inspire millions of readers 44 years after his death at age 53.

Attendees at the Open House celebration on March 12, 1972 received a green button with a seed just beginning to sprout: ‗PEACE GROW WITH YOU.‖ Without the creativity, know how and commit-

ment of Larry Kessler, the Center would have never gotten off the ground. A little over a year later, he approached me, saying that he had made a decision to move to Boston. Would I take over as director?!

After the first shock, I thought it over. They needed a lay person. My youngest son, Greg, would be in kindergarten in the fall, so I thought, maybe, with the support and help of our wonderful staff, I could do this part-time for a year. After all, the war would soon be over and I didn’t really expect we’d be able to continue after that.

Well, as it happened, the staff did indeed step up to the plate. Janet Brink, Stella Smetanka, and Betty Sundry stayed on for five years.

While Vietnam and its aftermath continued to be a key issue, the August 1973 issue‘s lead article was on the United Farmworkers struggle with lettuce growers.

Every issue carried articles from a massacre in Mozambique, famine relief in West Africa, arrests at the White House, strip mining, sugar cane workers, the B-1 bomber, racism, housing, to a Gulf Oil Campaign Yes, Catholics initiated the Merton Center, but from the beginning people of every philosophy and faith who support peace and justice have been active as members and leaders in our 40years of struggle for a more just and peaceful world. It‘s been a great ride. Now it‘s up to you to keep the struggle alive. 

Linda Rich, Rally for Jobs 2010, Washington, D.C.

submarine, and leading a peace delegation of Pittsburghers to the then named Soviet Union.

Wow, heady times for an eager but not very politically savvy young woman that I was then.

After doing graduate studies, I continued doing justice work, then at NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice lobby in Washington, D.C. for the next 14 years. But I will always have the Merton Center folks to thank for mentoring me into a life-long involvement in social justice and in working for the common good of all. Congratulations on 40 years!!  Linda Rich is a former staff member of the Thomas Merton Center.

Anniversary Kick Off Inspires TMC Members and Supporters

By Joyce Rothermel Over 250 people participated in the inaugural event of the Thomas Merton Center's 40th anniversary year on January 31, 2012 at the East Liberty Presbyterian Church. The center of the evening was the presentation by the Center's former staff and board member, Art McDonald.

A main focus of Art's talk was on the relationship and balance between social activism and the contemplative or reflective spirit and practice. He said, "No one I know had more to say about this than Merton. And there is nothing more important, in my view, for activists to consider." He went on to respond to a question that some have asked over the past few years, "Does it still make sense to have a center for activism, peace and social justice, to be named after a contemplative monk?"

Art begins to answer the question about the relevance of Thomas Merton to the Center today, he quoted Victor Kramer, a Merton scholar, "We have never before had a witness like Merton. Awake to all creation; alert to the horrors of the twentiethcentury and all of the neo-colonial errors of 500 years…. And what's a prophet? …one who cuts through great tangled webs of lies."

Art's own response to this question became the body of his presentation as he first, shared something about Merton's vision, his social analysis, and his relationship to some radical, social activists of his day; second, some thoughts on his complex, somewhat nuanced writings of the question of (Continued on Page 11) March, 2012

NEWPEOPLE - 5

OCCUPY 2.O: Reclaiming the Commons (Part 2)

By Jo Tavener Part 1 of Occupy 2.0 spoke to the issue of reclaiming public spaces as central to Occupy‟s future. Part 2 will look at the role of the church in supporting such transformative social movements.

We have seen how public officials have evicted the public from public spaces when used for First Amendment actions. Similarly, with most church properties. Trinity Wall Street, one of the largest land owners in New York City, proclaims its peace and social justice concerns in its literature and on its website. After being evicted from Zuccotti Park, OWS had hoped to convince Trinity Wall Street to allow it to occupy one of its properties, Duarte Square, an empty and enclosed piece of land at Canal and 6th Ave. Prospects looked promising. Trinity was already providing the use of its offices, rooms, kitchen space and even a place to sleep after the eviction. Its neighborhood center, Charlotte's Place, provided Wi-Fi power sources. However, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and Brookfield Properties, the owner of Zuccotti Park from which Occupy Wall Street was evicted, sit on the board of Trinity Real Estate, the church‘s land-owning arm. It was apparently this group that helped to undermine the potential success of ongoing negotiations between OWS, lead by Occupy Faith, a national organization of approximately 1400 leaders of faith-based communities, and Rector Jim Cooper. Rector Cooper received, as well, a letter from Desmond Tutu, asking him to embrace OWS and provide the space.

Trinity refused the request. The reasons given by Rector Cooper -that the lot was ―not suitable for large-scale assemblies or encampments … [had] no facilities and [was] licensed to the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for art exhibits in the Spring…‖ expose the inability of Trinity to respond to the current crisis in any sustained or meaningful way. Hindered by its commercial interests, Trinity refuses sanctuary and hollows out its stated peace and social justice mission.

Calling Trinity and other American churches to account, Chris Hedges asks, "Where is the church now? Why do so many church doors remain shut? Why do so many churches refuse to carry out the central mandate of the Christian Gospel and lift up the cross? Some day they are going to have to answer the question: ―Where were you when they crucified my Lord?‖ Hedges argues that Christianity needs Occupy as much as Occupy needs the church.

Occupy could infuse the American church with renewed moral vigor and a social and political relevance that would fill its pews with new congregants looking to the church for spiritual guidance. Trinity Wall Street has shown itself incapable of meeting such a challenge unlike the ―African-American church, that made possible 6 - NEWPEOPLE

March, 2012

Photo By Philomena O‘Dea

the civil rights movements.‖ Pittsburgh, however, has a different configuration of forces and relations. A working class town steeped in trade unionism and a longstanding activist tradition, Pittsburgh responded favorably in the most part to its Occupy encampment. The Steel Workers Union provided space for Occupy‘s meetings and cohosted the November teach-in and other events. SIEU Photo By Philomena O‘Dea members have been intricately involved in the workings of Occupy Pittsburgh (OP) and its many actions. So too, the City Council endorsed the Occupy movement and the Mayor refused to evict the campers until BNY Mellon won its request for an injunction in court.

Unfortunately, the judge chose to see Mellon Green as private property even though, as Jules Lobel, attorney for OP notes, "it is designated urban open space, built with public subsidies with the idea it would be a public plaza... I don‘t think she got the First Amendment right.‖ Well before the eviction, the Monumental Baptist Church on Wylie Avenue offered space for an encampment over the winter. OP has not yet decided whether to accept the offer, find an abandoned building to occupy or continue with ad hoc meeting sites for its working groups, general assemblies and

indoor events. For most of OP, the path leads into Pittsburgh's many communities, working to ameliorate conditions as it broadens its base and strengthens its experimentation with participatory democracy. Progressive Pittsburgh, that network of peace and justice organizations along with union locals and environmental groups, have played an important role by connecting their actions, organizations ,and the neighborhoods they service with Occupy. Two examples are the Marcellus Shale/Occupy protest and the February 11th Health Care for the 99% Occupy protest at UPMC and Highmark.

Pittsburgh has many of the problems identified

by Occupy, not the least of which is our statewide energy policies that fuel Western Pennsylvania‘s being among the worst polluted in the nation. Given the state's non-existent energy regulations and its entrenched energy interests, the natural gas industry has employed a full court press to buy up as much land as possible and control energy policy through a beholden state legislature.

What happens here will help determine the fate of the Northeast, its water, air and overall levels of toxicity. We must intensify the fight and strength alliances throughout the state to stop further destruction. Everything is in place. Let Occupy be the match that lights the fire.

Jo Tavener taught film production studies at New York University Film School before retiring as Assistant Professor of Critical Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

Photo By Philomena O‘Dea

Special Peace, Energy and Justice Insert Peace, Justice and Energy

By John Detwiler, Editor of Energy Issue As humankind approaches the end of ‗The Era of Fossil Fuel‘, it is worth reflecting on the profound connections between energy, on the one hand, and all of our ‗civilized‘ notions of peace, justice, progress, freedom, etc., on the other. The easy, cheap oil of the Twentieth Century is no more; the fossil fuels that remain (whether Marcellus Shale gas, mountain-top coal, Canadian tar sands, or what-have-you) are becoming almost impossibly expensive, dirty and dangerous to extract. And, as greenhouse gases accumulate, the effect of consuming these fuels grows more lethal. „Energy‟ – how we obtain it, and how we use it – forms a common thread among many issues of peace and justice:  The two World Wars were triggered by competition for fossil fuel; and America was victorious because we had uncontested access to the most petroleum. As we exhaust our domestic supplies (while trying to believe that we haven‘t), we can no longer deny that our current wars, and threats of war, in the Near East are driven by the demand for oil.  Our industrial agriculture depends upon fossil fuel for its ‗inputs‘ (fertilizers, irrigation, etc.) and for cheap transportation to far-flung markets. At the same time, mountains, cropland and forests are scraped away in order to mine for coal and to drill for oil and natural gas. Indigenous, sustainable cultures are uprooted or crushed to clear the way for extraction, and more food production is lost.  Our paper systems of wealth and credit are hostage to the claimed ‗recoverable reserves‘ of the major oil and gas corporations. If the valuations of these multinational companies collapse, other institutions will go down with them; so rosy energy industry forecasts are a political necessity. And one layer of lies must be shielded by more lies, until telling the truth about

anything becomes a subversive threat.  Thus, our elected officials are drawn to ‗stability‘ over ‗freedom‘, since the profitable delivery of energy requires centralized authority and access to capital. Wars, tyranny, and torture may seem tolerable when they promise to secure our access to energy – or at least to prolong the illusion.  Americans, of course, will vote on a President (and most of the Congress) this year. In the rest of the world, we will see the further evolution of the ‗Arab Spring‘, the climax (or not) of fiscal crisis in the Euro Zone, ongoing consequences of America‘s wars in Iraq-Afghanistan-Pakistan, and brinksmanship over Israel, Palestine and Iran. Climate change will intensify, threatening millions with weather-related famines and ‗natural‘ disasters.

So, 2012 looms as a pivotal year. No matter who is inaugurated as President, he [almost certainly, ‗he‘] will face energy-related crises on every hand. We may be less convinced, now versus four years ago, that our election choices make any real difference. But the campaign itself will frame America‘s moral posture with respect to energy, and – through energy – with respect to each other and to the Creation. How can we, as peacemakers, contribute to that moral framing?

We will be challenged, ―What‘s your solution?‖ meaning ―How shall America maintain its energy-intensive social systems, and how do we insulate ourselves from misery?‖ As the costs of fossil fuel escalate – the economic, environmental, and moral costs – how will we answer?

We begin this special section by reflecting on Thomas Merton, calling attention to how we bow down before the works of our own hands: ―science‖ and ―technology‖. Merton also sees the mire of tactical thinking: how we can be immobilized, or driven to despair, when we accommodate ourselves to systems which are

fundamentally wrong. Claudia Detwiler touches a similar theme, our need for clarity about values, in the face of reframing and sophistry practiced by (in Merton‘s words) ―those who are astute or powerful enough … use every circumstance for their own ends‖.

We can experience one of those manipulations in the framing of ―progress‖, when we‘re asked ―Why deny the aspirations of the rest of the world to enjoy the same economic progress and consumer comforts as Americans?‖ In contrast, here we include the voice of Vandana Shiva, to remind us that the ―rest of the world‖ wants to speak for itself. We complement her view with two American voices (Wendell Berry and Denali DeGraf) arguing that we, too, have a stake in the survival of ‗less-developed‘ cultures, because they may be pointing the way back to a sustainable, human-centered life.

Wanda Guthrie extends this perspective, locating our technological age as only one short chapter in the story of humankind and the Creation. That story, carried forward through all generations, has always included The Fall; and it challenges us to return to our rightful place in the universe.

Then, Joyce Wagner brings her military service in Iraq to use in examining our domestic economy. She also prompts us to note (in the sidebar) the increasing militarization of corporate perspectives and practices, particularly in the energy industry.

Continuing the theme of human rights versus corporate power, Sandra Steingraber focuses on the way in which rampant energy development turns all of us into involuntary subjects in an unplanned experiment on our health. Her article closes the circle, bringing us back to Merton‘s challenge about surrendering to ―the lesser evil.‖ The stakes are high, and the interconnections are powerful. If we care about peace and justice, we need to care about energy.

To the man who concerns himself only with consequences everything soon becomes inconsequential, nothing ―follows from‖ anything The chapter ‘Truth and Violence: An Interesting Era’ forms ‘Part 2’ of Thomas Merton’s 1965 book, Conjectures of a else, all is haphazard, futile, and absurd. Hence Guilty Bystander. As Merton was writing, nearly 50 years ago, the pressing concerns of his nation and world were we come to be forced into evil in order to avoid different from what they seem to be today. So you may or may not agree that his words – as we’ve chosen to excerpt what seem to us evil consequences. We find from them - apply to our present circumstances. We encourage you to read his entire work and to decide for yourself. ourselves more and more backed into a corner in As to vocabulary: we chose not to alter Merton’s use of man to name the human being. But we suggest that science which there seems to be no choice but that of a and technology can apply to other, less tangible forms than, say, energy extraction or information processing (computers – which were unknown to Merton). In particular, we propose that the Western corporate/state system, ―lesser evil‖ for the sake of some urgency, some based on our modern ‘science’ of economics, qualifies as a ‘technology’ for Merton’s purposes. imaginary or desperately hoped for good. ―The business of every God-fearing man‖, says

By Thomas Merton (1915-1968) with this: science can do everything, science must Gandhi, ―is to dissociate himself from evil in total We are living in the greatest revolution in history be permitted to do everything it likes, science is disregard of the consequences. He must have faith infallible and impeccable, all that is done by – a huge spontaneous upheaval of the entire in a good deed producing only a good result.‖ human race: not the revolution planned and carried science is right. No matter how monstrous, no Gandhi pointed out very wisely that our feeling of matter how criminal an act may be, if it is justified out by any particular party, race, or nation, but a helplessness in the presence of injustice and by science it is unassailable. deep elemental boiling over of all the inner aggression arises from ―our deliberate dismissal of The consequence of this is that technology and contradictions that have ever been in man, a God from our common affairs.‖ Those who science are now responsible to no power and revelation of the chaotic forces inside relinquish God as the center of their moral orbit submit to no control other than their everybody. This is not something that we have lose all direction and by that very fact lose and own. Needless to say, the demands of ethics no chosen, nor is it something that we are free to betray their manhood. The become blindly longer have any meaning if they come into avoid. dependent on circumstance, and upon those who conflict with these autonomous We do not know if we are building a fabulously are astute enough or powerful enough to use every powers. Technology has its own ethic of wonderful world or destroying all that we have circumstance for their own ends. expediency and efficiency. What can be done ever had, all that we have achieved!

Reliance on God, of course, does not mean efficiently must be done in the most efficient The Greeks believed that when a man had too passivity. On the contrary, it liberates man for a much power for his own good the gods ruined him way…. Even the long-term economic interests of clearly defined activity. [God] wills that we act in society, or the basic needs of man himself, are not by helping him increase his power at the expense a ―detached manner‖. Detachment is not pure of wisdom, prudence, temperance, and humanity considered if they get in the way of technology. indifference, but again only a concentration on the We are concerned only with ―practicality‖ – until it led to his own destruction. subject of the act itself, not on the results or the ―efficiency‖: that is, with means, not with The central problem of the modern world is the consequences. We are not responsible for more ends. And therefore we are more and more complete emancipation and autonomy of the than our own action, but for this we should take concerned only with immediate technological mind at a time when unlimited complete responsibility. Then the results will consequences. We are the prisoners of every possibilities lie open to it and all the resources follow of themselves, in a manner which we may urgency. In this way we so completely lose all seem to be at hand. Indeed, the mere fact of not always be able to foresee. perspective and sense of values that we are no questioning this emancipation, this autonomy, is Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk that wrote the number-one blasphemy, the unforgiveable sin longer able to estimate correctly what even the extensively on peace and justice through most immediate consequences of our actions may in the eyes of modern man, whose faith begins nonviolent means. turn out to be.

Excerpts from ‘Truth and Violence’

March, 2012

NEWPEOPLE - 7

Special Peace, Energy and Justice Insert

Soil, Not Oil

cultures of fear and insecurity, and climate chaos.

The poor are victims three times over of the fossil fuel-driven industrial system. First they are Wendell Berry was the 1999 Thomas Merton Award displaced from work; then they bear a recipient. The prophetic vision of this poet/farmer is disproportionate burden of the costs of climate exemplified by his 1979 essay, “Energy in chaos through extreme droughts, floods, and Agriculture”. Here he witnesses to the loss of the cyclones; and then they lose once more when vocation of farming, and of the farmer’s respect for pseudo-solutions like industrial biofuels divert the land, under the onslaught of corporate agriculture. He also warns of the destruction of the their land and their food. Whether it is industrial soil by choosing industrial efficiency over integrity, agriculture or industrial biofuels, car factories or and by petroleum-based fertilizers, heavy machinery, superhighways, the displacement and forced and monoculture commodity crops. evictions of indigenous peoples and peasants from the land are an inevitable consequence of

By Wendell Berry an economic model that creates growth by Our curious set of assumptions about ―progress‖ extinguishing people‘s rights.

An alternative strategy, that affirms the rights of will seem more and more strange as time goes the poor to their land and livelihoods, and that on. What gave those assumptions power, and addresses issues of poverty, equity, and justice, made them able finally to dominate and reshape will simultaneously address peak oil and climate our society, was the growth of technology for the catastrophe. Such a transition, from ―oil‖ to production and use of fossil fuel energy. This energy could be made available to empower such ―soil,‖ is a multidimensional transition of economy, politics, and culture. First, it is an unprecedented social change because it was economic transition from a fossil fuel-driven ―cheap‖. But we were able to consider it ―cheap‖ only by a kind of moral simplicity: the assumption globalized economy – one that favors that we had a ―right‖ to as much of it as we could corporations by subsidizing oil and outsourcing costs – to a network of renewable energy-driven, use. This was a ―right‖ made solely by climate change-resilient, local economies. might. Because fossil fuels, however abundant they once were, were “Do not destroy what you cannot create.” nevertheless limited in quantity and not renewable, they obviously did not ―belong‖ to one generation Economies rooted in the soil, literally and metaphorically, re-centered on nature and more than another. We ignored the claims of people. posterity simply because we could, the living being stronger than the unborn, and so worked the Second, the transition from oil to soil is a political transition, from undemocratic political ―miracle‖ of industrial progress by the theft of structures – which impose globalization and a energy from (among others) our children. fossil fuel infrastructure on society and force the The final irony is that we are abusing our land in large-scale uprooting of peasants and indigenous this way partly in order to correct our ―balance of peoples – to a decentralized democracy in which payments‖ – that is, in order to buy foreign local communities have a say in what happens to petroleum. In the language of some their land and their lives. ―agribusiness‖ experts we are using ―agridollars‖ Third, the transition from oil to soil is a cultural to offset the drain of ―petrodollars‖. We are, in effect, exporting our topsoil in order to keep our tractors running.

Dr. Vandana Shiva is a physicist, a worldrenowned environmental thinker and activist, and the recipient of the Thomas Merton Award for 2011. The following essay is adapted, with permission, from her 2008 book, Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis (South End Press, Brooklyn, NY).

By Vandana Shiva Two hundred years into the fossil fuel era, we are now facing a triple convergence of crises: climate change, peak oil, and food scarcity.

Of the three, the emerging food crisis poses the most immediate threat to the survival of the poor. The impact of climate change on agricultural production, along with such false solutions to climate change as industrial biofuels, which divert food and land from the poor to the nonsustainable energy needs of the rich, further exacerbate the food crisis.

Most of the discussions and negotiations on climate change have been restricted to the commercial, consumption-oriented energy paradigm rooted in a reductive, mechanistic worldview and consumerist culture. This paradigm, which began in the industrial countries two centuries ago and which is being spread to countries like India through globalization, has given us disposable people, hunger, poverty, 8 - NEWPEOPLE

March, 2012

transition – from a deadly consumerism to reclamation of our rightful place as co-creators and coproducers with nature. The shopping mall and the supermarkets are temples of consumerism through which global corporations seduce us into participating in the destruction of our productive capacities, our ecological rights, and our responsibilities as earth citizens.

The age of oil has symbolized a rule of capital, of centralized control and coercive government, of pollution and non-sustainability, of injustice and inequality, of violence and war.

We will either make a democratic transition from oil to soil or we will perish. The poor, the weak, the excluded, the marginalized are threatened today. In the short term, we can continue to extend the profits and consumerism of the privileged by further dispossessing the poor. But tomorrow even the rich and the powerful will not be immune. We will either have justice, sustainability, and peace together or we will all descend into ecological catastrophe, social chaos, and conflict.

The paths out from this crisis are not being blazed in the boardrooms of the global corporations who dominate our world today and are largely responsible for crimes against nature and humanity. Industrialization of food and agriculture has put the human species on a Leo Szilard slippery slope of selfdestruction and self-annihilation. We need the renewable energy of ecology and sharing, of solidarity and compassion, to counter the destructive energy of greed that is creating scarcity at every level – scarcity of work, scarcity of happiness, scarcity of security, scarcity of freedom, and even scarcity of the future. We can either let the processes of destruction, disintegration and extermination continue unchallenged, or we can unleash our (Continued on page 10)

Making the Connections Between Fracking and War

Joyce Wagner served as a Marine from 2002 to 2008, with two tours of duty in Iraq. She now chairs the Board of Directors of Iraq Veterans Against the War [IVAW]. This essay is adapted, with permission, from her published statement to the IVAW. On July 25, 2011, Arthur ―Jerry‖ Kramer, Chairman of Empire Government Strategies, addressed a letter to the Executive Director of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Jose Vasquez. The letter claims that Empire Government Strategies has been in discussion with veterans‘ organizations that are interested in the job possibilities offered by the controversial practice of hydrofracturing, or fracking. The letter further claims ―we believe, and others join us in feeling that veterans organizations should have an interest in supporting hydrofracking because of the job potential and the fact that our continued reliance on foreign oil should be unnecessary.‖

an end to corporate pillaging.

There is a clear connection between the companies pursuing hydrofracking and the corporations profiting from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

by former IVAW board member TJ Buonomo and current IVAW advisory board member Antonia Juhasz. It explains Chevron‘s role in catalyzing the illegal war in the name of its own profits, disregarding the value of the BlackRock Inc. is the biggest lives of our brothers and sisters hydrofracking investment firm who would be fighting it. in New York with 38.5 million Additionally, corporations like dollars invested in Blackrock who are profiting hydrofracking in that state. They from fracking in our own also encourage their clients to backyards are also deeply invest in oil and other energy invested in Chevron and similar products in the Middle East, corporations who are making North Africa, and Asia, to enormous profits oversees. include Iraq and Afghanistan.

They own shares in a number These corporations did not of corporations who profit from care about our health and the sacrifices that many of us safety when they allowed us have made in war, including to sacrifice our minds and bodies – not to mention our Chevron. brothers and sisters - in the In May 2010, Global Exchange IVAW‘s second point of unity name of their profits, and published an alternative annual states that we believe that they do not care about it now. report on the Chevron veterans should be taken care of Not only does fracking Corporation. This report when they return from war, destroy drinking water, but it exposed Chevron‘s corrupt which indeed includes jobs and also puts workers and political involvement in a healthcare. But our third point communities at risk from number of countries and regions, of unity is reparations and selfmany of the same hazards we including Iraq. The segment on determination for the people of Iraq was written and compiled (Continued on page 10) Iraq and Afghanistan, including

Occupy Pittsburgh Now - Free Press For The People - March 2012

“Each time a [person] stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lots of others, or strikes out against injustice, [they] send forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” ― Robert F. Kennedy

Demonstrators march for affordable and accessible healthcare on February 11th, 2012.

Healthcare for the 99% NOW

By Kristyn Felman

On February 11, Occupy Pittsburgh was joined by the Western PA Coalition for Single-Payer Healthcare, PUSH, SW Healthcare4allPA, and Save Our Community Hospitals to speak up against corporate greed in the healthcare industry. Sixty community members rallied at the UPMC headquarters downtown holding signs that demanded “Health care for the 99%,” “People over profits,” and “Medicare for all.” Citing the profit-driven nature of health insurance practices, healthcare provider Mel Packer called the healthcare system in America “a stain on our moral fabric, a turn away from our moral responsibility to each other, [and] a destruction of our innate moral compass that says that we care for each other.”

Despite greater spending on healthcare than any other nation on earth, the United States ranks 37th in overall health outcomes and 36th in life expectancy.

A recent study of Medicare data also showed that Pittsburgh spends more on hospital care per person than any other major U.S. city, including New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles.

In part, this is because the health insurance industry consumes billions of our healthcare dollars paying for marketing, lobbying, and corporate executive salaries rather than on ensuring the provision of quality health care.

Health insurance companies are free to increase their own profits by placing limits on coverage, denying care, and increasing premiums and out-of-pocket costs for patients. The results are that premiums rose by 130 percent over the last decade, the cost of a family health insurance policy now averages

$15,000 per year, 75 million Americans are underinsured, and medical bills cause 1 million bankruptcies every year. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, UPMC and Highmark squabble over territory, threatening to deny coverage or charge exorbitant rates to patients who carry their “competitor’s” card.

Street theater at UPMC headquarters succinctly illustrated this dynamic, with an actor portraying a healthcare provider being shoved aside by insurance company representatives busily extracting cash from a patient’s abdomen. Robin Clarke, writer and director of this performance, portrayed a UPMC executive and pledged the company’s commitment to “lifechanging profit margins and predatory business strategies.”

Following an occupation of the first and second floors of the UPMC building, activists marched down Liberty Avenue and into 5th Avenue Place, home of Highmark. Informational leaflets were distributed to citizens along the way. Invited to share their own healthcare stories, participants decried class-based health care and the rising cost of coverage, quoted venerated health reform activists, and demanded care based on research rather than on profits.

In addition to drawing attention to unjust practices in the health insurance industry, speakers inspired their audience to imagine a more just society. Mr. Packer challenged Americans to “build a nation that has as its moral underpinning a set of values that trump capitalist greed, that say NO to profits over people, that say we… cannot do less than demand health care for all… The [current] system that allows profits to be made from human misery must be dumped and buried in the landfill of human history.”

Healthcare for the 99% marchers move down Seventh Avenue on the way to the Highmark Building.

Most of the public have known Occupy Pittsburgh through the camp in People’s Park, and mainstream coverage of the movement seems to assume that, since the camp no longer occupies People’s Park, Occupy Pittsburgh has disappeared. But Occupy Pittsburgh, like the Occupy movement itself, is like an iceberg: the camps were just the tip that floats above water, while 7/8ths of the mass hides below the surface, unseen.

The metaphor works for the recent eviction from the People’s Park, too: the top of an iceberg is exposed to the sun and slowly melts away. Eventually, the weight shifts and the iceberg will roll over. The energy produced is enough to create an earthquake, with a magnitude between 5-6 on the Richter Scale, and enough to cause a tsunami, sending a giant, icy wave crashing onto the shore.

The encampment at People’s Park has melted away, and Occupy Pittsburgh is undergoing a revolution. The energy generated within our movement ripples out into the sea of public opinion, and perhaps, if we can generate enough force, our wave of influence will topple the corporatists that have taken ownership of our democracy for far too long.

We continue to demonstrate and Occupy everywhere with new tactics and a heightened focus on the issues that brought us to People’s Park more than five months ago. We occupy for quality affordable healthcare for the 99%, for public transportation, and for all the causes to promote economic and social justice. We are finding new ways to let the disenfranchised, the unemployed and the underemployed know that we fight for them, and that they are part of the 99%.

The process will move slowly, but with enough weight to make powerful splashes during the course of our growth. Icebergs can last many years, and we have no plans to melt away into the watered-down status quo. Instead, the movement against corporate greed and control by the 1% is seeping into the popular imagination. We are reshaping the face of our culture, and shifting the course of our national conversation. We are bursting through the dams that hold back power, and seeking to let it flow freely.

Right to Work Robs Workers’ Rights

By Jeff Cech

In January, Right to Work (RTW) legislation passed in the state of Indiana’s Republican-controlled House, Senate and Executive Office following a well-funded and extremely deceptive ad campaign. It’s the 23rd state in the union to pass such legislation.

With Indiana just two states away, and with the Republican party holding majority and executive power in Pennsylvania’s state government, “right to work” legislation may be on its way here, as well.

The Right always had the best ad men, from Goebbels to the marketing department at Coors. One of the tricks up their brown-shirt sleeves is giving benign names to toxic substances, like calling smokestacks “cloud makers.” That’s why they’ve named legislation that strips away the power of workers to organize, “Right to Work.” More accurately, it should be called, “Right to Freeload,” “Right to be Powerless in the Workplace,” or “A Tactic Designed with the Sole Intention of Diminishing the Political Will of Working People.”

Now is the time to prepare. We have to arm ourselves with information and begin to educate the public so that we can battle the right’s corporate propaganda machine.

Let’s start with RTW’s biggest claim, that the legislation stops "compulsory union membership" or the "closed shop," a practice of shops only hiring union members. In reality, it does no such thing. Closed shops were outlawed by the United States in the Taft-Hartley Act back in 1947.

Now, consider the name. Right to Work legislation does not provide any actual rights for workers, although proponents claim that RTW frees workers from having to pay union dues when they don’t agree with the union’s use of those funds. Again, American workers are already free to withhold a (Continued on page 3)

Occupy Pittsburgh Now - 1

Occupy Pittsburgh Now - Free Press For The People - March 2012

People’s Park, The Law and Public Space Occupy Pittsburgh is the only Occupy group to have held land claimed by a bank. And not just any bank--Mellon Bank was founded by Thomas Mellon, Pittsburgh industrialist, in 1869 “Occupy Wall Street exists in a First Amendment space all its own. The protestors do not, in an to cater specifically to large corporations and the wealthy. It merged with the Bank of New important sense, occupy the spaces in which they exist to the exclusion of other uses, like a rally or a York in 2007, and over the last few months, BNY Mellon has been the target of a growing parade. They depend for their rhetorical force…on the persistent presence, day in and day out, of a number of lawsuits that allege it defrauded pension funds in Florida, New York and Texas. committed core of demonstrators…whose continuing presence forces us to confront those questions BNY Mellon stands accused of making $2 billion in fraudulent charges. Allegedly, BNY we would otherwise more easily avoid. The essential moral challenge is the same as that posed by Mellon charged clients the highest posted rate for buying foreign securities, but would sell the lunch-counter demonstrators of the civil rights era: We are here, we politely dissent, and we defy them on their behalf at the lowest posted rate. The difference went to the bank as pure you to move us along for your own convenience.” profit.

The bank is also being sued by the city of Detroit for causing $1 billion in losses to -Raymond Vasvaril, “Occupying the First Amendment,” Slate Magazine, November 15, 2011 firefighters, police and other workers in its pension system by keeping investments in For months, a community of Occupy Pittsburgh protestors waged a non-violent protest in Lehman Brothers after clear signs the company would fail. It has been accused of People’s Park, in the 54-story shadow of Bank of New York Mellon. participating in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme knowingly. There is a lawsuit pending Every day, the camp stood as symbol of the efforts of the 99% against the terrible power of from some of its former employees because of its management of 401(k) plans, and the the 1%: a group of everyday people standstate of Pennsylvania is considering ing up against a multi-billion dollar banking whether to sue, since BNY Mellon holds its institution that is currently being sued for public workers’, state teachers’ and raking in even more billions via fraudulent municipal employees’ pension funds. charges on public workers’ pension funds.

Pittsburgh has seen robber barons The Occupy protestors are working elsebefore. This city is ground zero for the where now, peacefully dispersing from the centuries-old fight between the 1% and the People’s Park after it became clear that, 99%. A city of steelworkers and just as in Occupy encampments all over manufacturers in the middle of a the world, the law was going to be used to coal-mining region, Pittsburgh was home protect the interests of the powerful rather to generations of men who worked 12-hour than as a tool for obtaining justice. shifts 7 days a week, collapsing into beds Even for those unclear or resistant to still warm from the man on the opposite Occupy’s message of economic and social shift who also rented it. justice and protest against the corporate The city saw the failure of the Homestead ownership of our government and laws, Steel Strike in 1892 (the site of which is the camp was a daily reminder that a now a mall parking lot) and saw the beginstruggle is going on between those who nings of the success of labor unions to have nothing and those who seek to protect working families in the 1930s. control everything.

Pittsburgh is the birthplace of both the AFL So of course BNY Mellon, despite initially and the CIO, as well as the United stating they had no intention of interfering Steelworkers and the Ironworkers. with the protest, decided the camp had to The inheritors of that tradition of justice go. Just as in Occupied cities everywhere, for working people are the members of injunctions were filed, new rules were created overnight, and laws were bent until almost Occupy Pittsburgh, and the descendants of those mega-industrialists are organizations like broken to ensure that public space—whether owned by the nation, state, city, or held in trust BNY Mellon—a bank that stands accused of bilking thousands, perhaps millions, out of by private companies for public use—could not be used by the Occupy movement. retirement money they earned.

A few examples from Occupy encampments across the country: in Tennessee, a county The conflict hasn’t changed, but the tactics used by the 1% have shifted. Why hire commission passed a law banning activities by Occupy Chattanooga, then filed a federal Pinkertons to break strikes, or threaten people’s children? This only highlights the moral suit against the group’s members demanding legal fees for determining whether the law is high ground occupied by protestors for social justice. How much easier it is to simply constitutional. declare that no space is truly public, that there is no area in which protest is strictly legal, On Dec. 9, the city of Honolulu passed a law that, in effect, criminalizes homelessness. and paint protestors as lawbreakers.

In a direct attack on Occupy Charlotte, that city’s Council passed an ordinance on Jan. 24 This strategy makes the law a criminal accomplice of the 1%. Rather than protecting the banning camping on city property, as well as scarves, backpacks, duffel bags and coolers. powerless from exploitation, it becomes an arbitrary weapon to protect the status quo, to Like other Occupy encampments, Occupy Pittsburgh took its stand on symbolic land, an ensure there is no space in which we can exercise the First Amendment or protest what is area formerly known as Mellon Green, claimed by the bank but developed using taxpayer being done. money and used as public green space.

Occupy Pittsburgh is not gone, even though the law was used by BNY Mellon to move the But several things make the Occupy Pittsburgh/BNY Mellon fight a particularly resonant protestors along for its own convenience. But law should not be mistaken for Justice. BNY one in terms of economic injustice and the law, and asks us to consider who the true Mellon can use the law to remove Occupy Pittsburgh from Mellon Green, but Justice lawbreakers are. decrees that Occupy Pittsburgh cannot, and never will be, moved from The People’s Park.

By Kate Luce Angell

Sign posted by BNY Mellon after Occupiers peacefully left the encampment at People’s Park.

2 - Occupy Pittsburgh Now

Occupy Pittsburgh Now - Free Press For The People - March 2012

Europe’s Problem Isn’t Socialism

By Tom Prigg

Our current crop of GOP candidates have been quick to point to “socialism” as the reason for Europe’s faltering economy. Clearly, they say, social-safety nets, like universal healthcare and retirement benefits, have now been revealed as the wasteful downfall of Europe.

Corporate-owned mainstream media has done nothing to contradict these bumper-sticker lies of impending socialist apocalypse. Time Magazine recently changed its American cover to keep the European crisis out of American minds. Mainstream news hides the facts, perpetuating the American belief that they are insulated from European economic collapse, as long as they continue to avoid “socialist” policies and pursue austerity.

The truth is that Europe’s economic problems are largely the same as America’s: financial institutions, freed of regulations, have perpetrated fraud on a truly global scale by using debt to make trillions of dollars.

In February of 2010, an article in Spiegel International by Beat Balzli described how Goldman Sachs hid Greek debt using derivatives. Goldman Sachs offered a cross-currency swap beginning in 2002. Balzli stated, “The deal involved so-called cross-currency swaps in which government debt issued in dollars and yen was swapped for euro debt for a certain period—to be exchanged back into the original currencies at a later date.”

Later, a Goldman Sachs managing director admitted to fixing financial records to further Greece’s deception. As reported in The Telegraph, Gerald Corrigan, a Goldman Sachs managing director, stated that the company "enabled politicians to mask borrowings" through a complex currency transaction in 2001. "With the benefit of hindsight, it seems very clear that standards of transparency could have been and should have been higher," Mr. Corrigan said. "It is true that currency swaps entered into by Goldman and Greece did produce a small reduction in the debt to GDP ratio at that time." It’s important to note that using derivatives to circumvent the EU Maastricht Deficit rules is not illegal, but because of the actions of Goldman Sachs the EU is near a total economic collapse.

Even worse, the same hedge-fund strategies that caused the 2008 economic collapse continue to be implemented in the European economy. Collateral Debt Swaps, or CDSs, are being sold almost three times as much as lending as of June 2011. In other words, Goldman Sachs and other U.S. banks are gambling on European countries defaulting.

Right to Work

(Continued from page 1)

portion of their union dues if they do not agree with the political work their union is involved with. For instance, if you are a Republican and your union is backing a Democrat’s campaign, you are not required to pay the portion of your dues that would be used to support that candidate.

What Right to Work legislation actually does is limit workers’ rights. Workers in RTW states are prohibited from organizing in smaller bargaining units that would not include an entire shop. All workers, in every union shop under RTW, must be represented by the unions, whether or not they are members. Non-union workers in union shops in Indiana will now have the ability to exploit the services provided by organized labor, without paying a dime of their dues. They’ll get the same contracts with the same vacation time, healthcare and living wages unions have poured enormous resources into fighting for over the span of generations.

Legislators in favor of the right wing’s idea of workers’ rights claim that these laws are better for business, and invite new opportunities that create jobs and revenue for the state. But statistics have shown no such benefit in states that have passed Right to Work laws. In fact, 6 of the top 10

The five banks writing 97% of the CDSs in the U.S. are JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citigroup Inc. During the 2008 collapse, it was the U.S. government who bailed out the banks to save the economy. This time, it may have to be the E.U. banks who step in to avert the crisis. Timothy Geithner, U.S. Treasury and ex-Goldman Sachs man, keeps urging European banks to fix their economic problems, but has not called for restrictions on the offering of CDSs by U.S. banks. By some estimates, these CDS gambles on the European economy increase the risk of collapse by 20%.

Why should Americans care about the European crisis? Today’s economy is a globaleconomy: the big banks are interconnected with one another. U.S. banks have over a trillion dollars in outstanding loans with European countries, and don’t forget the billions of dollars in credit risks. Not to mention the repercussions on imports and exports of goods.

But as long as Americans think that the European crisis has to do with social safety-nets and other “socialist” programs, they won’t understand that our country’s fate is intimately tied to the fate of Europe. The European debt crisis wasn’t because of their “socialist” policies: it was a crisis, just like the American housing bubble, created by the largest U.S. banks to generate a big payout at the expense of European taxpayers and possibly, through the domino effect, U.S. citizens again.

Americans need to wise up quickly: a default by the Greek economy is expected to occur in late March. At that point, the ocean between us and Europe will have gotten a lot smaller.

states with the highest rates of unemployment are right to work states, including Nevada, at 12.6% of the population out of work. Oklahoma, which was the last state to pass RTW legislation in 2001, has since seen its manufacturing base shrink by a third.

Right to Work ultimately impacts workers themselves, who end up making about $5,333 a year less on average than workers in free bargaining states. In RTW states, 21% more people are without healthcare, and the infant mortality rate, an indication of a state’s economic health, is 16% higher.

Jim Robinson, The United Steelworkers District Director for Illinois and Indiana recalls that, “Martin Luther King said, ‘[Right To Work] grants no rights and provides no work,’ and he’s right” Studies have shown that with weaker unions, job safety deteriorates, and on-the-job injuries increase. The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the rate of workplace deaths is 51% greater in RTW states. Along with that comes lower worker compensation benefits.

If RTW actually damages a state’s economy and lowers employment rates, wages and benefits, why is it such a high priority for Republicans? The answer is simple: it makes unions, traditionally supporters of the Democratic party, much weaker, and greatly dilutes the ability of average

workers to effect political change.

Organized labor relies on its dues-paying members to help grow the labor movement. Unions fight for workers’ interests both on the job and in our democracy. They organize communities, and increase awareness of progressive issues like healthcare, education and unemployment through public education campaigns. Their organizers are at the forefront in the battle for social and economic justice. It’s what brought their support to Occupy Pittsburgh—support that has given Occupiers food, porta-potties, meeting spaces and much more.

“Right to Work” is really about stripping away unions’ power to actively engage in and support the fight for fairness in democracy. The Right believes that by diminishing their opposition, it will make it easier to push forward a pro-corporate, socially oppressive agenda, and RTW supporters are willing to lie and throw workers under the bus to get what they want.

Sooner or later they will try to push it through Pennsylvania’s legislature, but as long as movements like Occupy continue to shine a light on the criminal activities of the 1%, they’ll have a much harder time tricking voters into thinking Right to Work means anything but “A Tactic Designed with the Sole Intention of Diminishing the Political Will of Working People.”

You Can’t Evict an Idea Occupy Pittsburgh Now - 3

Occupy Pittsburgh Now - Free Press For The People - March 2012

The Truth About Transit Economic Myths vs. the Truth About Transit: or Why You Need to Care Even if You Never Take the Bus

By Kate Luce Angell

By now, most residents of Allegheny County are aware that the Port Authority is struggling with a financial crisis and is planning cuts which will eliminate service for 45,000 daily riders, raise fares again and lay off 600 workers. Those cuts will also: 

Eliminate the 28X, the bus service to the airport. Instead of $3.75 to go to the airport— where many county residents work—it will cost $25 for a shuttle and $35-40 for a taxi.



Eliminate bus and ACCESS service for more than 1,000 older and disabled residents.

By the time the planned cuts are put into action this summer, and added to the cuts from 2010, Pittsburgh will have lost around half of its public transit capacity. When a transit system is reduced by half, the result is often a “death spiral”: transit becomes an untenable solution for people looking to get to work on time, and as fares rise, those who can use a car to get to work will opt to do so. With reduced ridership, transit must raise fares again—until there is no transit system left.

Even for those who don’t take the bus or T, these changes will have a huge impact: 

With reduced or no bus service to downtown, thousands more will need to drive and park there. Rush hour traffic and downtown parking rates will likely triple. Our already stressed roads and bridges will be hit even harder.



Without an economical way to reach their jobs, thousands will simply lose them; the rest will shoulder much larger costs in parking, car repair, and car ownership. The ripple effect will mean higher costs, higher unemployment, failed businesses and reduced income for everyone in the region. And since the majority of tax money for the state is produced in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, tax revenue will fall for all of Pennsylvania.



Pittsburgh’s hard-earned reputation as one of the country’s most livable and green cities will be erased overnight—there’s no “livable” and “green” without public transit. The city and the surrounding areas will no longer be able to attract new business and residents based on these assets. Our hospitals and schools will end up with lesser institutional reputations. This will cause wages and taxes to fall, and state revenue to fall again.

How did we get here? A toxic combination of rising costs for retiree health care and pensions, the worldwide financial failure and an almost complete lack of planning by our legislators and leaders.

But as bad as these causes are, they are greatly exacerbated by the fact that public transit—something that benefits every taxpayer, regardless of whether or not they use it— has become a political issue.

It’s important to understand the roots of transit problems without falling into left/right divisions, since everyone in the state will be negatively impacted by the failure of Pittsburgh’s transit, regardless of their party affiliations.

First, transportation infrastructure, including transit, has been radically underfunded for 30 years or more nationally. Both parties recognize this and the results are impossible to ignore. PA has more failing bridges than any other state, and thousands of miles of crumbling highway. Funding infrastructure requires raising revenue, which means taxes and fees. Since the 1980s, the trend has been toward fewer taxes, and fees have not kept up with rising costs. Tax rates nationally have gone down since the 1980s, and far less money has gone to the infrastructure projects, including transit systems, that used to be an American point of pride.

Another major problem is that, believe it or not, Pennsylvania has no dedicated source of funding for transportation infrastructure. In 2010, the federal government ruled that PA’s plan to fund transportation through tolling I-80, Act 44, was against the rules. As a result, Act 44 was mostly eviscerated, leaving the state with a $472 million hole for transportation. At the same time, the federal government dramatically reduced the money it allotted the states for infrastructure.

With Gov. Corbett’s latest budget, he has proposed no solution to any of this, despite having received the recommendations of his very own Transportation Funding Advisory Commission (TFAC), which proposed that the cap on the gas tax be lifted and license and registration fees be increased, producing $2.7 billion. Both Republican and Democratic leaders have offered plans based on the TFAC’s recommendations. But because implementing them would require increasing the tax on gas by several cents, and because Gov. Corbett hopped on the Grover Norquist “no new taxes” pledge bandwagon during his campaign, he has refused to consider these plans.

It’s also important to understand that opponents of funding public transit often make their arguments based on information that is partial or misleading, and that when examined, these arguments go against economic sense in favor of short-sighted austerity.

Probably one of the broadest objections to public transit is that it is a government service and is therefore funded partly through taxes. The conservative position that taxes must Occupy Pittsburgh Now is a media project produced by the Communication Working Group (CWG) of Occupy Pittsburgh.

Editorial Policy: Editorial decisions are made by consensus within the CWG. Submissions to Occupy Pittsburgh Now are open and encouraged. The views of the authors are their own.

4 - Occupy Pittsburgh Now

CWG Members: Kate Luce Angell Jeff Cech Ray Gerard Tom Jefferson Michael Lawson Tom Prigg Contributors: Kristyn Felman

always be negative, that government services must be wasteful or unimportant, is in the case of transit simply untrue. Transit makes overwhelming economic sense—its return on investment is very high, higher than almost any other type of public investment, as numerous studies have shown.

In the case of Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure, the economic analysis clearly supports transit. The amount of increased costs that Pennsylvanians would have to pay as a result of the gas increase and rise in license and registration fees recommended by TFAC is dwarfed by the huge negative impact on the state’s economy as a result of losing a functioning Pittsburgh transit system, by potentially billions of dollars. Gov. Corbett may object to raising taxes, but isn’t losing one’s job, being forced to drive to work and park every day, and having one’s downtown business fail just a different, much more burdensome, kind of tax?

Another complaint is that transit is subsidized, and that it must be able to make money under free market conditions. It’s true that transit is subsidized—but so is all transportation.

Twenty percent of federal transportation funds goes to transit, but a whopping 80% goes to roads. Highways receive an annual subsidy of somewhere between $400 billion and $1 trillion. Transit only gets $17 billion. There is no transportation “free market.”

These numbers also help to explain why public transit doesn’t appear to make money.

First, transit isn’t competing on a level playing field, when 80% of funding goes to its competitor, roads. Also, just because it’s difficult to support public transit on fares alone doesn’t make transit a net economic loss. Over and over, studies have shown that money spent on transit has a much greater return on investment than building roads. Transit allows regions to thrive economically: its true dividends don’t show up in the Port Authority’s bottom line, but in the ledgers of thousands of other businesses and in the pockets of taxpayers.

Non-urban taxpayers complain that their tax dollars are “subsidizing” transit in the cities.

This is true, but again, that amount doesn’t even come close to the level at which Pittsburghers and Philadelphia residents are “subsidizing” the rural parts of the state. The vast majority of Pennsylvania’s money is produced in our two large cities, and a city’s productivity is closely tied to a functioning transit system. Just imagine if counties like Forest, Fayette or Greene had to exist on their own tax revenue, without help from the rest of the state? People in Forest county need Pittsburgh transit almost as much as Pittsburghers do—perhaps even more.

Conservative opponents to funding transit also point to the fact that a portion of the Port Authority’s deficit is a result of underfunded pensions and rising benefit costs for its workers.

This is true all across the country, not just here. Investment didn’t keep pace as medical costs rose, and the market tumble also affected these funds. But Port Authority has received concessions from its unions that have reduced its outstanding debt by tens of millions of dollars, and it continues to do so. And even critics of the Port Authority have been impressed by the organization’s efforts to streamline its operations.

The truth is that, even with all waste eliminated, and with every worker giving up their pensions and medical coverage, Port Authority’s funding gap would still remain—because the bigger problem is lack of revenue, not bloated costs.

It’s easy to see why public transit has conservative political detractors. First, those who directly and immediately benefit from transit are less affluent, and are therefore less politically influential. Working families, retirees, those with disabilities—these are groups with limited voices. Transit serves urban areas, which traditionally tend to vote Democratic, and these areas also tend to be legislatively underrepresented in state and national government.

But transit itself is neither red nor blue, conservative nor liberal. Transit does not benefit only one region or group of people, but rewards public investment across the board, through increased economic health and increased tax revenue. Analysis of transit reveals a truth about our country, our state and our city that is often ignored: none of us is in this alone. We do not succeed or fail only through our own efforts, and our success or failure impacts everyone else. If our national and state leaders refuse to help Pittsburgh’s transit system, they won’t pay nearly as heavy a price as Pittsburghers will, but they will pay just the same.

With budget cuts threatening public transit, the sign on this bus is worth a thousand words.

Photographs in this Issue: Tom Jefferson Ray Gerard

Contact / Send Submissions to: occupypittsburghnow@gmail.com

Occupy Pittsburgh 1 Peoples Park 6th Avenue & Grant Street Pittsburgh PA 15219 www.occupypittsburgh.org This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivs 3.0 Unported License.

Special Peace, Energy and Justice Insert Ethics of Research into Health Impacts of ―Unconventional‖ Fossil Fuels Dr. Sandra Steingraber is Distinguished Scholar in Residence in the Department of Environmental Studies, Ithaca College (NY). The following essay is adapted, with permission, from her presentation to the shale gas conference of Physicians Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy, and the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children‘s Health and the Environment, January 9, 2012. Although originally presented to a ‗professional‘ audience, her remarks are appropriate to laypeople as well.

By Sandra Steingraber Shale gas ―fracking‖ is a form of fossil fuel extraction that turns the earth inside out. It buries a surface resource that is vital to life (fresh water) and brings to the surface subterranean substances (hydrocarbons, radioactive materials, heavy metals, brine) that were once locked away in deep geological strata and which now require permanent containment. As the shale gas boom sweeps into densely populated areas, public health inquiry is desperately needed.

But, what of the ethical question of conducting such research in communities whose residents may be serving, in effect, as involuntary subjects in an ongoing, uncontrolled experiment. What of our moral obligation to prevent harm? When does research serve to sanction and legitimize polluting activities, and when does it challenge them?

I want to suggest a conceptual framework for thinking about our environmental crisis as a human rights crisis, with two facets. One facet is the impact of greenhouse gas emissions: droughts, floods, dissolving coral reefs, and the fact that 1 in every 4 mammal species is headed for extinction. The other facet is the accumulation of inherently toxic chemical pollutants in human bodies, with consequences such as asthma, pediatric cancers, early puberty, learning disabilities, and testicular dysgenesis syndrome.

The common root of this bifurcated crisis is our dependency on fossil fuels. When we burn them, their products of combustion (mainly carbon dioxide) and their unburned fugitive

emissions (mainly methane) become greenhouse gases. Or, when we turn them into petrochemicals, we create toxic molecules that launch our cells onto pathways toward tumor formation, chronic illness, and disruption of childhood development.

In an age of extreme fossil fuel extraction, both sides of the crisis are getting worse. With easyto-get fossil fuels already gotten, the energy industry is pursuing a path of ―unconventional‖ energy extraction, which is both more toxic and more carbon-intense. Extreme energy takes four forms: mountaintop removal (coal); tar sands (oil); deep sea drilling (oil); and fracking (natural gas).

Climate scientists tell us we need to get on a war footing basis vis-à-vis carbon, yet many colleagues in the public health sector are busy advocating for ―best practices‖ – monitoring and ―mitigating‖ as though shale gas extraction were an inevitable foregone conclusion. This is the kind of scientific involvement that can easily legitimize fracking. When scientists are ―studying the problem‖—setting up registries, and monitoring air and water—people relax.

Not that they are actually being protected; but, because scientists and public health officials are on the job, everybody feels safer.

And what can the tools of mitigation accomplish? Mitigation can‘t make toxic matter disappear; it just transfers it from one place to another: If we disallow open pits for wastewater, less benzene evaporates into the air. But more benzene is contained in the wastewater that is buried in deep injection wells, and sooner or

―Download the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual, because we are dealing with an insurgency. Coming from a military background, I found the insight remarkable.‖

By Claudia Detwiler For activists, ―getting it‖ means grasping the devastation to all forms of life caused by fracking. It is a source of great frustration that many people don‘t ―get it‖.

But industry PR people work very hard to make sure people don‘t ―get it‖. If they got it, the game would be over. A major, and overlooked, part of the industry‘s strategy is their skillful framing of the issues as one of implied moral choices.

The result is that many good people - people who do care about the environment and about social justice - are confused about what ―the right thing‖ is.

Some of us are working on an

initiative by Marcellus Outreach Butler to encourage ―faith based‖ communities to speak out on this issue.

A part of this work is to learn how to discuss drilling with people in ways that identify our shared values. Values are why activists do what we do. Sometimes the same values are why some people resist our information - not because they don‘t care about the environment or human needs but because they have been given information that intentionally links drilling with addressing those values.

If we acknowledge our common values, our discussion can then (Continued on page 10)

―Why, in a time of environmental emergency, were they running around trying to blast methane out of the earth? Were they simply unable to accept the idea that the whole fossil fuel party needed to end?”

―Insurgency is an organized, protracted struggle, designed to weaken the control of an established government or occupying power.‖

-External Affairs Manager, Anadarko Petroleum, speaking of community resistance to natural gas development (Nov. 9, 2011)

Some Thoughts on “Why Don‟t They Get It?”

later, finds its way to the surface. It‘s not ―gone‖; we just postpone its release.

The more we insist on triple casings around well bores, the longer we delay their eventual corrosion and leakage. So instead of exposing our own kids to carcinogens, we expose our great-grandchildren.

What if we insist on ―recycling‖ the fracking wastewater (to frack new wells)? It‘s too briny and toxic to use as is, so it must be filtered or distilled – at a massive expenditure of additional energy –making ever-moreconcentrated leftover sludge to be hidden somewhere. Forever.

As researchers, we need to recognize that we are reenacting an old, old drama. The ―characters‖ have changed—cholera, lead paint, tobacco, asbestos—but the ―script‖ is the same. We will be asked over and over again about proof. And about how we don‘t have it.

And about how more research is needed. While the wheels of scientific proof-making grind slowly on, the benefit of the doubt must go to public health, not to the things that threaten it.

We can assert that the burden of proof is not ours to bear. And then we need to bring the conversation directly back to the human rights issues: Fracking is a vast human experiment whose study subjects did not volunteer. As fracking expands, we are enrolling ever more study subjects every week. We don‘t know what the results will be. This is unethical.

How will future generations look back on us? People alive one hundred years from now might well might ask,

-From the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual

The Kin-dom of God is Within and Here

By Wanda Guthrie Thomas Berry, a self-proclaimed ―geologian‖ may very well have been the ―prophet‖ of our time. A Catholic priest of the Passionist Order, he began way back to call us back to ourselves.

Along with many of us, he wondered how it could be that good people caused such devastation of the earth. He studied every culture on the planet including the origin stories of the West and found that these stories almost always included a fall from a perfect world. The stories said the world was a perfect and beautiful place, but something happened. There was

a fall and this world became a world of suffering and only humans had spirit. So people tried to find solace and to make meaning of the suffering and death; they came to believe that one day the earth would return to its normal state, a state where there is no suffering, and that humans would again live in their perfect world.

Berry called us to re-create this story and re-imagine our relationship to the earth. To do this he called on himself and the rest of the human species to first recognize and know what time it is. Human history is now at the (Continued on page 10) March, 2012

NEWPEOPLE - 9

Special Peace, Energy and Justice Insert Making the Connections (Continued from page 8)

have already faced in war, such as explosions and risks to our health and safety.

We often return from war with few employable skills and are frequently preyed upon by corporations and contractors eager to put us back into the wars from which we have just returned. The only difference with hydrofracking is that it‘s happening in our own backyards.

IVAW gathered in Pittsburgh in September of 2009 during the G20 summit to tell major corporations and world economic leaders that we have already sacrificed too much for their wallets, and that we refuse to continue to sacrifice for their profit. Many of our members have joined the occupy movement for similar reasons. Now it's time to tell hydrofracking investors, energy companies, and their representatives that we’ve sacrificed too much already, and we are not interested in supporting their destructive and irresponsible war on our communities and natural resources, whether foreign or domestic, at any price.

Soil, Not Oil (Continued from page 8)

creative energies to make systemic change and claim our future as a species, as part of the earth family.

By Denali DeGraf The ―preferential option for the poor‖, the deep-seated spiritual commitment to care for those most overlooked, is reaching a historical turning point. As industrial civilization hurtles toward ecological collapse, [that commitment] requires siding with the most vulnerable in defense of the land that sustains them. … The differences between ―them‖ and ―us‖ will not be apparent for much longer. Sooner or later, it won‘t matter where you are in the hierarchy of an unjust social system. When the system has eaten away the very ground it rests on, all of us will find ourselves with the short end of the stick. … [Indigenous peoples] are our best hope for rediscovering our relationship to the great mystery of earth and spirit that sustains us. Denali DeGraf is an American activist working alongside indigenous people of the Andes, trying to resist the extraction of minerals by open-pit mining and massive applications of cyanide . In his article, “Poisoning Eden”, published in Sojourners magazine (January, 2012), he explains why rich American Christians should care about the fate of a tiny far-off community, fighting to maintain its subsistence culture.

―Why Don‘t They Get It?‖ (Continued from page 9)

For More Info on Environmental Justice: Environmental Justice Committee: http://goo.gl/J3xbe Marcellus Protest www.marcellusprotest.org

distinguish shared values from the facts about impact of drilling. Some examples are: Gas as a Transitional Fuel speaks to people‘s belief that support for drilling (Continued from page 9) is a way to show respect for creation, a core religious belief for all faiths. If we end of the Cenozoic era, an era 65 million acknowledge that caring for the earth years old. But our imaginations have to that is the basis for people‘s belief in stretch back 5 billion years to the time when the transitional fuel argument we can the earth was being formed. We have only then have a more open discussion about experienced the Cenozoic and it is hard to why we don‘t believe that drilling will imagine what came before, then more be a pathway to respecting the earth, shocking to realize that we are not prepared pointing out that there will be no for what we must recognize as a new reality. transition as long as billions of public He then called upon us to know who we are and private dollars maintain the power as well. We must become aware that we have of the oil and gas industry. a unique gift--we are meaning makers with a An abundance of jobs is an industry capacity to hold meaning. We have message that speaks to people‘s imaginations to take ideas and put them genuine concern for the unemployed. together in whatever way we choose and our People have been led to believe that deepest yearning is to create beauty. We need drilling helps people who need jobs. the outer world to do this; if the outer world When we acknowledge their caring for shrivels, our ability to imagine will also others, that informs their position, we wither. We need to re-imagine our can then separate that motivation from relationship to the outer world. the misleading information Today our technologies, our new sensitive promulgated by the industry. instruments, give our eyes the ability to see ―We Can Do This Right‖ is a more more of the universe than ever before. We see complex industry deception that speaks things never imagined by earlier peoples and to what is often called our ―civil the world has shifted for us. If you believe in religion‖ – our belief in the cultural and God, and that God created the universe, you moral superiority of the ―American need to ask yourself which universe we are Way‖. This is one of the most difficult observing-- the one we see now with our deceptions to discuss because it can be technological advances, or perhaps we‘ve heard as raising doubts about core limited it to the world viewed in the Middle cultural and moral beliefs about Ages or Victorian times or any other age.

American society.

Berry taught us that as we re-imagine our Many people who hold this belief are relationship to the earth, we must not think of already educated and concerned about ourselves as apart from the earth and the only some of the drilling risks, which makes creatures with spirit. We must think of this even more difficult. ourselves as part of the earth, as one with the One way to approach this is to discuss earth, as coming from the earth and in spirit the experimental component implied in with all living things, plants and animals, this, what Sandra Steingraber refers to mountains and rivers, earth and water, and as a human rights issue. Even industry everything in the earth. This is community. people acknowledge that there are risks.

We must re-imagine our dominion over One moral question to be considered in everything. We must work in concert with the discussion is whose health is to be put earth, not as masters. We are the earth; we are at risk while the industry gets better at the environment. We cannot live separately ―doing it right‖. Many people are also from the whole, we are the whole and not aware of the massive scale of the knowing this we must be transformed. drilling and have not considered how As we begin to to realize that fossil fuel upon that will amplify any mistakes. Helping which our whole economy has become people to consider the issue of the dependent is coming to an end, we are doing amount of toxic material left in the desperate things. We can continue to believe earth for generations to come also in a technology based on separation and speaks to people‘s concern for the earth entitlement, or we can contemplate and allow as well as to their own future our new wisdom and understanding to regenerations. image our relationship to the earth and we must become committed to place. If we ―Drilling means national self-reliance choose the former, the earth will eventually and fewer wars‖ appeals to people‘s die and we with it. We have to choose. concern about continuing wars to Our technology must be good technology that protect resources. If we acknowledge is appropriate for this place. If technology is our shared desire for peace, we can then good for the human and good for the distinguish between those values and an community it is good technology. If economic reality in which we will have technology is good for the human, but not more, not fewer, international good for the community, it is not good financial interests to protect technology. worldwide. This does involve a lot of All of this calls for a relational shift teaching about supposed challenging us to know and celebrate our interchangeability of gas and oil and the place within the comprehensive context of multinational nature of gas distribution, this numinous universe as well as within our but people are more likely to hear our particular regions, continents, and blue-green information if we recognize their value planet. concerns.

The Kin-Dom of God

And so we begin to define and learn about the kin-dom of God within and in this place. 10 - NEWPEOPLE

March, 2012

Continued, TMC Anniversary Kick-Off Success (Continued from page 5) non-violence and pacifism; third, his dialogue with the world, especially his interest in the Christian-Marxist dialogue, fourth, his journey to the East and the importance of eastern religion, especially Buddhism, to his thought; and finally, his ultimate defense of monasticism and its worldly role and what it might mean for the Merton Center going forward.

To sum up Merton and his contribution to the world, Art quoted Anthony Padavano, who wrote: "He envisioned a global system of social justice where racism and militarism were eliminated, where technology and affluence were relied on less for the solution of human problems.

He offered spiritual and contemplative alternatives a

generation before they become widely discussed possibilities for the enrichment of life."

Art concluded with a suggestion for all of us: "I recommend returning to the roots of the founding of the Merton Center, knowing that much has changed, our analytical tools have deepened, and our understanding of the spiritual life has expanded. It is more universal and, like Merton, it invites all people of good will to join in the adventure.

Merton would want to dialogue and renew with all of the best people and minds for the sake of bringing justice and peace to our broken world and creating what Dr. King referred to as the 'beloved community.' We should aspire to no less."

Thank you, Art, for inspiring all of us with your presentation!

We are grateful to all who supported the evening. John Meikle provided uplifting music and led us in song. Members of the Peace and Justice Committees from St. James Church in Wilkinsburg and St. Thomas More in South Hills provided the food and beverages. Molly Rush, Corey Carrington and Jules Lobel offered their thoughtful and heartfelt reflections. Rev. John Oesterle made some of the books by and about Thomas Merton available at below market costs and Anne Kernion brought many of her Cards

by Anne that included quotes by Thomas Merton. Proceeds from their sales benefit the Merton Center (They have both promised to bring

Spring, might we call it Pittsburgh Spring, with a dash of the rebellious spirit- was in the air at the Merton Center, on the evening of February 6, as old rabble rousers gathered with some new faces over a covered dish dinner. The second event to celebrate the Merton Center‘s 40th year (the first was on January 31, when Art McDonald spoke to a large crowd at East Liberty Presbyterian Church) was held at the very time that Occupy Pittsburgh was being evicted from their site, at the People‘s Park.

or hub for publicizing events, as well as instigating them. We do know how to do that, having been at it for forty years.

Those present suggested that we gather for a meal, as we did that evening, every month. No date was set, but it may be settled on by the time the New People goes to print. In the meantime, watch for the bi-weekly e-blasts from the Merton Center, or call the office if you don't use the Internet, 412-301-3022, and keep your signs and walking shoes handy. You‘re going to need them. 

--Bette McDevitt is a member of the TMC 40th Helen Gerhardt, one of the members of the Anniversary Committee Occupy Group, was to give us an update on Occupy Pittsburgh; understandably, she could not come to our event. But we came together - a good Join us in Washington, DC for the turnout, with many people, - and had a robust Days of Action to Close the SOA discussion. Nothing less was expected. and End Militarization!

Jibran Mushtaq, a staff member and active participant in Occupy Pittsburgh, came by, directly from the Occupy Site, and gave us an update and answered questions about how Occupy Pittsburgh reaches decisions, about how we can support them, and what the future might look like for Occupy Pittsburgh.

Since the news Jibran gave us about the status of Occupy will be updated by the time the New People goes to print, and since no official action was taken by those at the event, let me focus on ways suggested by Jibran and supported by those present, that we can be supportive of the movement.

Both Occupy and the Merton Center need our support and attendance at as many events as possible, in a way Russ Fedorka called ―The Third Rail;‖ he suggested that those who have been active on different issues for many years, engage with this large and enthusiastic group, (the third rail) who have energized the struggle for peace and justice, and that we do it in as many ways as possible, crossing over to support issues for one another, be it public transit, health care, corporate greed, opposition to the wars, or creating jobs.

Those in attendance had new ideas to bring to the movement, such as beginning a national movement to boycott, to refuse to listen, to ―tune out‖ or ―mute‖ tv election campaign ads, as well as the tried and true methods of taking to the streets in large numbers for rallies, using the Internet, and making the Merton Center a conduit,

The warm and joyous atmosphere of the evening came from the great reunion so many of us enjoyed by being together and exchanging with so many like minded folks who continue their engagement in the struggle for a more peaceful and just world. We are grateful to each of you for attending, completing the short survey to assist us in our future TMC planning, and the generous contributions made in response to the light but serious appeal from Merton Center member and Forest Hills Mayor, Marty O'Malley. (To get a copy of Art's complete talk,

visit the TMC website.)

Congratulations!

Happenings at TMC

By Bette McDevitt

their "wares" for future celebrations throughout 2012.)

Plan to come to DC from April 14-17 for four days of lobbying, conferences, strategy sessions, concerts and street theater, as we make our demands heard for a just world.

Prior to the Days of Action, we will hold a Direct Action Training camp from April 11-13 to train movement activists in the skills needed to carry out effective actions to put the SOA and militarization on the national agenda. www.soaw.org

Join us from April 14-17 as we struggle forward!

In solidarity, Nico Udu-gama SOA Watch Field Organizer

Joni Rabinowitz... will receive the Woman of Achievement Award on Wednesday, March 7, at 6:00 pm at the Omni William Penn Hotel.

Joni is a long-time Thomas Merton Center member.

Her community activism has been witnessed by all of us. Celebrate & Share, cofounded by Bonnie DiCarlo and JoAnn Forrester, is organizing the 7th Annual Dinner to benefit Cribs for Kids.

Jazz and Blues Divas honor Anne Feeney for her contributions to Social Justice and Women's Rights on March 20th for Women‘s History Month! So far, we have Etta Cox, Maureen Budway, Freddye Stover, Tania Grubbs, Donna Peck, Sweaty Betty, and Phat Man Dee! Tuesday, March 20, 2012 7:00pm to 10:00pm The Rex, 1602 E. Carson Street, Pgh, 15203 Contact Maryellen Deckard maryellen@actionunited.org

The New People Advertising Rates

It‘s your chance to get the word out! The New People circulation is 3,000 monthly.

Additional 10% discount for non-profit organizations and faith-based groups.

Page size Full Half Quarter Sixth Eighth Business card

Monthly $250 $130 $70 $50 $40 $15

6 Mos. @10% off

12 Mos.@ 20% off

$1350 ($225) $702 ($117 ) $378 ($63) $270 ($45) $216 ($36) $81 ($14)

$2200 ($200) $1144 ($104) $616 ($56) $396 ($36) $352 ($32) $132 ($12)

To place an advertisement CONTACT - 412-301-3022 or email the NEWPEOPLE@THOMASMERTONCENTER.ORG March, 2012

NEWPEOPLE - 11

THOMAS MERTON CENTER ACTIVIST FORUM A Conversation with PA Labor Chaplain Jack O‘Malley In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Merton Center, we are beginning a listening project to learn more about the struggles folks have engaged in and the wisdom they've gained. In response to the Occupy movement, we ask the following questions: how do we foster understanding and strengthen alliances; how can we grow closer together and find common ground as we seek the common good? The interviewer is Jo Tavener.

first. Years ago many priests worked with labor and immigrants.

You don‘t see that many interested in becoming labor priests today.

What has become of that relationship between labor and the Church?

There‘s a great Church tradition and teaching that workers have a right to a living wage and safe working conditions. Today other

Community organizers don‘t take on anything they can‘t win so they don‘t take on the war but they do take on the need for a stop sign.

We have the power to get a stop sign to make the street safer. You pick off little bits to empower people, bits you can accomplish that make communities safer and more livable.

When people look outside their window and see the stop sign, they are more likely to join you because

Photo by Jasmine Gehris

When did you get interested in labor issues?

My first assignment as parish priest changed my whole life. In terms of looking at discrimination, it was in the water, in the air, in what you ate. Our heroes were Gandhi, Dr. King and those in civil rights movement. It was a wonderful time to get educated. People in the parish educated me about my own racism and the unfairness of the economy for the poor. They kept challenging me. I was called to minister to them but they kept ministering to me, teaching me how to listen, understand and support them.

So for you issues of labor and poverty and faith were all mixed up together.

We were all challenged by Vatican II Council telling us to be more ecumenical. This was also the time of the civil rights movement and anti-Vietnam war protests. It was inspiring. The Merton Center was where we encouraged and taught one another, a true support group.

Then there was the Plowshares action. Church people started thinking about peace and nonviolence. The Friends and the Quakers were asking the same questions.

How did you become part of the labor community?

11 years ago, in 2001, Rose Trump, then President of the Service Employees International Union, and Charlie McCollester asked us to bring a moral dimension to issues of wages and working conditions for unions that were predominantly Catholic. She went to see the Bishop and asked him to release me from parish work to work full time with organized labor. The union picked up my salary and pension.

I went on to work across the state but mostly with the Allegheny County Labor Council, an umbrella for union locals where they report on what's going on in the unions and support one another.

I was a worker chaplain, maybe the 12 - NEWPEOPLE

March, 2012

Rev. Jack O'Malley chaplain for Pennsylvania AFL-CIO speaking at St. Regis.

issues take away interest from these issues and collective bargaining.

Why isn‟t the interest there anymore?

That‘s a profound question. I think the Church got more involved with social concerns like abortion and school vouchers. We‘ve forgotten how unfair the gap between the very wealthy and the working class is. Many Catholics today are upset.

They sit in the pews and hear the priests preach about abortion, abortion, abortion and hardly ever talk about a living wage, the right to organize, healthcare, pensions or living with dignity. Wages are stagnating and the rich are getting richer so why don‘t more priests address this? I don‘t know. I wish there were more labor priests to explore how the Church could help labor and labor could help the Church.

You‟re talking about coalition building. Talk more about that.

PIIN, the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, addresses the challenges facing working people and immigrants today. Based on the Saul Alinsky model; you‘re trained to listen, to empower people and get out of the way, letting people take over.

you got something done for them.

You‘re building up a bigger situation. You want to stop crime, but you start with a stop sign.

Here‘s one action this group is engaged in. We have janitors working in most city buildings.

We‘re trying to help them and security guards organize for a living wage. Union and religious folks talk to the bosses and say, ―look, you can‘t raise a family on $7.50 an hour and your profits are very good.‖ This is a moral issue.

Sometimes this plea works and sometimes they say, ―You‘re religious people who don‘t know what you‘re talking about. This is about the real world and the economy. You don‘t understand how the economy works.‖ Greed is the great sin today!

What do you think about Occupy in relation to labor?

Many people wouldn‘t expect the labor movement to understand Occupy. In the ‗60s labor wrote off the peace movement and there was the racial divide. The building trades were generally the good old white boys, and even today, there are not enough women or people of color. But the economy was good and the old timers weren‘t afraid of losing their jobs. They had security. The union was also

family with sons following their fathers into the trades. Now it‘s different. Unions are weaker.

Republicans are out to get the public sector unions. This time we listened when Occupy said we are all a heartbeat away from insecurity and minimum wage jobs.

Insecurity and poverty destroy the family. We see that in the Church.

Relationships deteriorate: children are battered; so are spouses. The Church should be much stronger on these issues. It should focus more on supporting them.

We all know the code words for privatization. You start by saying that teachers have too much free time and are making too much money. Now we have charter and cyber schools. We know that‘s about breaking the union. The black community knows it better than anyone. They‘ve always been victimized.

How do you see the peace and social justice community working with Occupy?

It should be around issues, coming together when the timing is right.

When I first became labor chaplain, I realized how little I knew about organized labor and how little labor knew about the Church. I didn‘t realize in the 60s how conservative people were.

Perhaps now that our wages have stagnated, we listen more to one another. I don‘t know if the Locals always talked together but we‘re coming together more now. For the last several years organized labor has taken a terrible beating.

It‘s under attack. Even those sympathetic to unions are saying that maybe labor is too greedy.

Maybe labor has served its purpose. Labor doesn‘t have all the allies we think it has. So this whole new wave of Occupy, the whole dialogue of fairness and the evils of inequality, are good for organized labor.

And there is the Merton Center supporting Occupy and fighting alongside them. The Merton Center was begun by church people. It may be more secular now but if you‘re committed to your neighbor, you are a person of spiritual depth. Keep it simple. The Merton Center has been doing that for 40 years. Jo Tavener taught film production studies at New York University Film School before retiring as Assistant Professor of Critical Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

Women at Dusk In Memory of Shirley Bay Nusser A crowd could have gathered on a street in any city, but gathered here that day. Every year when the air, even in sunlight, first becomes frosty, a crowd grows

"Let Justice Flow Like Water and Integrity Like an Unfailing Stream."

--Amos the Prophet, 5: 24

raucous with broken throats. Cops strangled a man whose last words named the one on his chest— ―Keith, I‘m only thirty-one.‖ The speaker shouts Justice for Jonny.

Placards seize the sky. Two white-haired matriarchs, bundled up against a cold sluice of wind, skirt the jostling shoulders. Until now they have joined hundreds of dusk protests together, all of which grew loud because old women gave their gent and curving bones, gave their long arms, their loose and tattered hops.

One of the matriarchs-she is Eliza-waves a placard: We Must Disenthrall Ourselves. We Must Think Anew.

The other, her wispy hair falling out of a big hat, stuffs her ears with tissues as they join the crowd— whose sheets, tissues so large, one after another hushing The clamor, that she wears them like an incantation, a secret name disclosed among us, one so counted on, so much a part of the coats we pulled on, boots, gloves, our spontaneous streamings into avenues and chants at street corners, that she had become, as old women do, almost invisible like breath: Shirley remembered cops on horseback wielding nightsticks in a market street, splitting open the brow of a crowd as men bludgeon carp on a spillway. Thousands occupy the streets, encompass the courthouse, but pass it in silence.

There was no crowd ever louder than this one.

Some may have seen nothing but a pair of eccentrics in red sneakers, too many sweaters, billowing skirts disrupting traffic—and for what? Her spirit and hers persists, disquiets, remains.

The ancient woman with tissues waving from her ears is gone now. She is gone, and mornings come— ruthless, yet bound to end—when I want to say the first prayer of the Shacharis for Shirley.

She would have been impatient with the moment or argued with its attention. Yet the urge to say it out loud among friends and strangers, and not only in the private early light of a bedroom, though it is unorthodox, like her, feels holy.

It opens a pause, otherwise lost or overlooked, in the rushing away of a life. I gratefully thank You… She was with us and hardly seems gone and the day will arrive when the crowd of her last shout will no longer meet. One day, none who heard her will be gathered into the next offense.

Her eyes were large and steady in the thick lenses of her glasses, the city a scuffing tide of footfalls from Crawford & Centre in the Hill, down and back.

(Shirley Nusser, now deceased, is a former member and volunteer at the Merton Center.) Lawrence Wray is a former staff member of the Thomas Merton Center.

Submitted by Lawrence Wary Past TMC Staffer lgwray@gmail.com

By Joyce Rothermel In the early 1980's, several long time members of the Thomas Merton Center read about the work of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement (not one focusing on church rules but focused on having a compassionate world view). Like the Catholic Worker, the Merton Center had its regular monthly publication, The New People, but it did not have a house of hospitality. Years earlier, Msgr.

Charles Owen Rice had begun St. Joseph House of Hospitality in the Hill District, but it disassociated with the Catholic Worker during World War II due to differences about the U.S. involvement in the war. (St. Joseph House of Hospitality still provides housing to low income people in the Hill above the old Civic Arena.)

Vince Scotti (Eirene) had begun a hospitality house called Duncan and Porter in Manchester in the 1970's, but its connection to the Center and Catholicism were not strong (Duncan and Porter is now closed.)

Later, members of the Center assisted with the beginning of the Jubilee Soup Kitchen in Pittsburgh Hill District in November of 1979. There the true spirit of the Catholic Worker is lived out each day through several needed ministries.

Amos House was found was found at 5135 Dearborn Street only a block away from the Center. The first inhabitants moved in taking meals in common, sharing expenses, hosting gatherings for the broader Amos House Community, and offering hospitality as needed. The inevitable conflicts of living together were peacefully resolved at monthly house meetings.

Amos House continued to be a place of solidarity for members and friends of the Merton Center, bringing people together, and substantially supporting the Merton Center with personnel (several staff members of the Center over the years lived there - Beth Kinney, Bette McDevitt, Gail Britanik, Suzanne Polen, Action Reconciliation person, and myself) and financial resources until 1995 (the mortgage of the house had been paid off by a generous donor in the mid 1980's).

After the house was completely paid for, house members each donated what would have gone to rent into a "community fund". Each month we gathered to allocate these funds (some times up to $1000) to local, national and international causes -from immediate and personal assistance to long-term, strategic root-problems and solutions. The majority of the funds were directed to the Merton Center. "Pray and Resist" members continued to meet for several years after that in a variety of locations.

With the recent visit by Jim Forest and the retreat on his writings about Dorothy Day in October 2011, interest is growing again for the formation of a Catholic Worker Community in Pittsburgh. If you are interested, please contact the Thomas Merton Center and leave your name and the best way to reach you.

So in 1980, a few members of the Center decided to live together in community and support the Thomas Merton Center. They attracted a small group of folks who eventually named themselves the Amos House Community, seeking the fulfillment of the prophet Amos, "Let justice flow like water, and integrity like an unfailing stream." Some members lived in community while the broader group met together regularly to "pray and resist.‖ Several had been influenced by Fr. Philip and Fr. Dan Berrigan, the martyrdom of the four religious women in El Salvador, and other

powerful witnesses throughout the country and the world. To bring more people into community living, a house was sought close to the Thomas Merton Center that had recently moved to Garfield.

Here is a listing of some of the people who lived in Amos House sometime between 1980 and 1995: Suzanne Polen, Ray Sheldon, Redmond McGoldrick, Ann Schiff, Mabel Karsch, Sue David, Patrick Burns, Beth Kinney, Paul Patterson, Bette McDevitt, Michael Drohan, Gail Britanik, Tom Webb, Kathy Reed, Tim Cimino, Claire Connor, Mildred Burgess, the Francois Family from Haiti, Deb Weber, and myself along with many others who were offered hospitality along the way.

Continued on page 14)

March, 2012

NEWPEOPLE - 13

hunger. Their advocacy focus in 2012 is on protecting the federal programs most vital to hungry people at home and abroad from cuts in the name of deficit

By Joyce Rothermel reduction. They call it "Creating a All are welcome to attend the Bread Circle of Protection." for the World Workshop on Saturday, April 28, from 9:30 AM to There is a lot of work to do to convince Congress not to balance 12:30 PM at The Good Shepherd the budget on the backs of those Church, 4503 Old William Penn who are most needy. The workshop Highway, Monroeville, PA will help the attendees prepare to 15146. Bread for the World is a raise their voices in these national Christian anti-hunger and challenging economic times. For educational organization based in information on the 2012 campaign Washington, D.C. They focus on and access to the many resources both international and domestic

WAR ON HUNGER

Bread has prepared, go to www.bread.org/ol.

Mark your calendars now and plan to attend. Please help spread the word. Watch the Thomas Merton Center calendar at www.thomasmertoncenter.org for registration details, including RSVP processes, directions, and parking information.

"If we are going to stop wars on earth, we are going to have to make war on hunger our number one priority.'' - David W. Brooks

Appreciating Iran‟s Culture and People Islamic Iran is inflected by its roots in Zoroaster, which is in turn the core and prototype of Judaic and Christian ethical notions - is a cultural gift Iran has given to all humanity.

It is difficult to compress into a few words Iran‘s 4500 year history, the decades of estrangement between Iran and the US, and the dehumanization Iranians are subjected to by propagandists against Iran who misinterpret the struggle that Iran has waged against outside imperial control. http://www.raceforiran.com/ is an excellent blog by former Bush National Security staffers Flynt and Hillary Leverett. American policymakers display ignorance of some very basic facts of Iranian life, yet theyare making life-and-death decisions. We can change that if we seek out sound information and think critically about our nation and about Iran.

By Florence Wyand

In 2008 I spent 21 days in Iran. I traveled over 2000 miles in-country, stopping in over 25 locations from major cities to remote villages in the company of 90-year old Brother Richard Frye, a preeminent expert on Iranian history and author of ―The Heritage of Persia. ‖ I found an inventive, centered, and generous people who, confronted with a desert, sought out and channeled precious water. digging wells connected by underground tunnels—the world‘s first and most persistent environmentalists, Caravansaries, 3,000 year old life-saving precursors to today‘s hotels, offer shelter, water, and nourishment to travelers along the Silk Road.

In a desolate landscape under a cloudless blue sky, I saw where traders, merchants, and pilgrims stopped to rest for the night, tethering their camels and mules outside. Steep steps led to a Florence Wyand lives in the North Side and is wellspring, protected by a roof that became a one of Pittsburgh‟s most informed people on the patio. Travelers gathered to share myths and tales history and culture of Iran. of their places of origin, from Venice to Timbuktu, Jerusalem to China. Our guide told us, ―THIS is where the stories of the world‘s TMC 40th Events Continue religions were exchanged.‖ Thanks to all for joining us at the Jan. 31 The region around Qom, Islam‘s ―Vatican City,‖ TMC 40th Anniversary kick-off event with on the edge of a desert now green and speaker Art McDonald at East Liberty productive, provides wealth to a number of Presbyterian Church. The participation of landowners, mostly clerics, and employment and the membership gave great spirit to the food to many. As I understand it, after Khomeini‘s rise Qom‘s mullahs‘ influence forced evening! a project that diverted water from another region.

The region around the nuclear facility at Natanz is March 12, 2012 is the actual anniversary of also in the 20+ year long process of being the beginning of the Merton Center in greened for development. Power lines radiate 1972. To celebrate, all are invited to attend from the nuclear plant to high-tension towers a party at the Shadow Lounge in East many miles distant. Acres and acres have been Liberty on Monday, March 12 from 5 planted with pine trees to cool the area in 9:30 PM. Come and enjoy the company of preparation for future residential and commercial others as we renew our spirits for the peace development. Along the roadways, as far as the and justice struggles ahead. eye can see bushes have been planted to keep the desert sands from blowing over the roads and A group of Merton Center members are blocking them. hoping to form a Merton Book Study There‘s a massive windmill farm not too distant during 2012 using Jim Forest's biography from the Natanz facility. The green infrastructure on Merton: "Living with Wisdom - A Life at Natanz suggests that the purpose of the facility of Thomas Merton". We have not yet at Qom might also be related to planning for future energy needs for new residential and decided times for this book study group to commercial development. When Iran says its meet. Are you interested? Do you know nuclear project is for energy, what I have seen others who might be? Please contact Carol causes me to give them at least the benefit of the Gonzales at 412-322-2189 or me at 412doubt.

780-5118 as soon as possible.

Iran is rapidly urbanizing; its topography is extremely challenging; the few cities in Iran are We look forward to a very inspiring year extremely crowded — Tehran is tremendously that will strengthen us individually and congested, very expensive, and, on an earthquake collectively for the work the TMC does. fault. Real estate development in Iran is not as simple a project as Florida. There‘s a good reason Joyce Rothermel serves as Co-Chair with why the most prestigious occupation for an Molly Rush on the TMC 40th Anniversary Iranian is engineering.

Committee.

Iran‘s religious complexity – especially how 14 - NEWPEOPLE

March, 2012

Joyce Rothermel is Co-Chair of the SW PA Food Security Partnership.

The Genetically Modified Rice Invasion of China

By Jianyu Hou After China joined the WTO, many foreign companies, especially large companies began to export their products as well as technologies to China. Today , genetically modified rice is largely despised by the public.

Rice is the most prominent food to Chinese people. The Chinese government claimed that the genetically modified rice (GMR) would come to the table of Chinese within three years. They officially said the GMR had no harm to human bodies, while some researchers in the universities reported that after three generations after eating GMR, white mice would irreversibly lose the ability of reproduction. However, China has passed the act to accept the GMR without necessary research.

Some government officials involved in the legislation have accepted the financial support from an American food company—Monsanto, when they pursued doctor degrees in the U.S..

Others in the legislation group were previously the managers in Monsanto. As Chinese, they don't care about the health of their compatriots, but their own interest. Many Chinese people take actions to prevent the GMR officially flowing into the market. They come to the street with banners, make videos and put them online to let the truth be known by more people.

In the development process of GMR, Monsanto owns more than 20 patents, from which they can charge patent fees from the pockets of 1.3 billion Chinese people who are the consumers of GMR. That's a big issue that will not only affect the financial interest of this large population, but also their health and human rights! The fast food in America is produced by GMO, causing many people to become overweight. Chinese people must not let the GMO invade China and lose our ability of reproduction!

Jianyu Hou lives in China and interned at the Thomas Merton Center in 2011.

Let Justice Flow, Continued ...Continued from page 13 An El Salvadoran refugee, Manuel Gonzalez by name, was also with us for awhile. Watch for some of them in the monthly Merton Center 40th anniversary writings from members that are appearing in The NewPeople during 2012.

The former Amos House is now owned by Tim Cimino, one of the former Amos House members, who still lives there and shares the house with others seeking housing in the Garfield area.

Our dream continues, for "justice to flow like water, and integrity like an unfailing stream."

Joyce Rothermel is a TMC Volunteer, Chair of the Membership Committee, and past resident of Amos House

Gun Loopholes Kill

By Rob Conroy Although supporters of the Thomas Merton Center‘s ongoing fight for peace are familiar with the toll of gun violence, a predictable majority of the U.S. House of Representatives has once again conveniently donned blinders provided by the National Rifle Association (NRA). This time, however, the consequences could be more deadly than ever.

This time last year, officials were still investigating the murder of Irving Santana, an unarmed Philadelphia teenager who was shot 13 times. One year later one piece of the puzzle is clear: the shooter, Marqus Hill, took advantage of a loophole in Pennsylvania‘s concealed carry law – an unintentional gap in our reciprocity agreement with Florida that allowed him to sidestep the Pennsylvania authorities who had revoked his permit – and the ruling of a state judge who had denied his appeal to have it returned.

Since then, the state legislature has repeatedly ignored reasonable suggestions – from sheriffs who administer concealed carry permits, prosecutors who seek justice for victims of shootings, and police officers– to close the loophole that allowed Hill to commit murder.

Now, instead of addressing this problem, Congress is considering a bill that will expand this loophole to every other state in

our nation. HR 822, introduced by Congressman Cliff Stearns (RFlorida), would expand reciprocity for concealed carry permits to all states. The proposed bill—which has already garnered more co-sponsors than it needs to pass in the House--renders reciprocity obsolete.

Marqus Hill‘s PA permit was revoked in 2007 because of his involvement with a shooting. In 2008, after his appeal was denied, he attacked a police officer in the courtroom. But none of that information was available to the Florida Department of Agriculture when they reviewed Hill‘s application in 2009, and shortly after, mailed him a concealed carry permit good for seven years, with his Philadelphia address printed.

Congress first considered this proposed change to federal law in 2009 – before Hill had exposed the deadly consequences of the Florida loophole. After hearing the opposition and concern of hundreds of Pennsylvania mayors and police chiefs, former Senator Arlen Specter cast a decisive vote against the amendment and blocked it from becoming law.

Unfortunately for Pennsylvania and our nation, Senator Robert Casey, (D-PA) voted in favor, disregarding the recommendations of his constituents and local law enforcement.

It was a mistake in 2009 when Congress first considered this bill. Now that we have seen the

deadly consequences it is absolutely unconscionable that Congress would consider HR 822.

This affects all Pennsylvanians, but poses unique problems for law enforcement, who will face added dangers as well as additional challenges in checking the validity of concealed carry permits. Instead of pulling the rug out from beneath law enforcement, Congress should be giving them more tools (like funds for a national background check database that actually works) not fewer.

HR 822 makes it even harder for Pennsylvania police to protect our communities. We are already struggling with gun violence in our neighborhoods and with enforcement of our flawed current system. However, under the current system, we as citizens can at least take theoretical comfort in the fact that our state government has the ability to determine which states have rigorous enough standards for Pennsylvania to accept their concealed carry permits. Ironically enough, HR 822 would remove the states authority and place it in the hands of the Federal Government – a clear violation of the states‘ rights arguments that the NRA‘s political allies are so keen on brandishing when it comes to federal labor standards and other issues.

With more than 3,000 concealed carry permits issued to Pennsylvania residents by Florida alone, such incidents are bound to multiply. If Congress passes HR 822, all states will automatically be able to grant concealed carry permits to Pennsylvania residents – despite the best efforts of Pennsylvania law enforcement to minimize the risk of hidden, loaded guns, carried by known dangerous people, in public spaces.

Since HR 822 is all but guaranteed to pass in the House, it‘s up to Senators Toomey and (more importantly) Casey to cast what will almost certainly be decisive votes against it and protect the health of both ordinary citizens and law enforcement officers. Rob Conroy is a member of the TMC Board and the Western Pennsylvania Field Coordinator for CeaseFirePA, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting violence caused by illegal firearms. Please direct any questions to rrrob.conroy@ceasefirepa.org.

James Lucius (left) stops off at the Allegheny County election office to deliver 75 voter registration cards. He is pictured holding a banner from the 14th Annual Summit Against Racism organized by the Black and White Reunion. For more information about the voter registration campaign call Jim at 412-758-1250.

March, 2012

NEWPEOPLE - 15

S O C IAL ACTI ON CALE N DAR MARCH 2012 See calendar on TMC Website for more details about events. www.thomasmertoncenter.com/calendar/

Thu 1

MARCH TMC EVENTS

Green Party Meeting 7pm on 2nd floor of Citizen Power‘s Offices, 2121 Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill http://www.gpoac.org/

March 1st - TMC Membership Committee Meeting - 5:30 PM at the Merton Center March 12th - TMC Birthday Bash 6-9 PM Shadow Lounge at 5972 Baum Blvd

Sex, Gender, & Economics 7:30 pm Friend's Meeting House 4836 Ellsworth Avenue

March 19th -TMC Board Meeting - 7 PM at the Thomas Merton Center March 21st– TMC 40th Anniversary Committee Meeting 12 PM at the Merton Center

Fri 2

Sat 3

First Friday Action on Unemployment Comp.

1:30pm at the Post Office, Grant and 7th Avenue, Downtown Contact Tony at 412.462.9962

Education Under Attack What Do We Do? Stand Up Fight Back! 9:30 am Pgh Obama International Studies Academy 129 Denniston Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206

New People Editorial Collective Meeting at Thomas Merton Center 10:30 am

Haiti Solidarity Committee Meeting 10 AM to noon at TMC Peace Vigil 1pm– Beaver County

Sun 4 Anti-War Meeting 2pm at the Thomas Merton Center

Mon 5 TMC Project Committee Meeting at 2:30 at the Thomas Merton Center

Tue 6 Pittsburgh International Socialist Organization (ISO) meeting 7pm, Thomas Merton Center

Wed 7 W. PA Coalition for Single-Payer Healthcare Meeting Sixth Presbyterian Church, 2102 Murray Ave Squirrel Hill

Amnesty Int‘l Letter Writing Salon 4-6pm Kiva Han Oakland, weekly

8

9

Alive with the Spirit of Peace and Justice

CAIR Banquet 5:00- 10:00 PM Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall 4141 Fifth Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (PADP) Meeting 7pm at the First Unitarian Church, Ellsworth and Morewood, Shadyside

Book‘Em Packing Day 4-7pm Merton Center weekly

Peace Vigil 1pm– Beaver County

Women Achievement Awards (See page 11)

11 Women in Black Monthly Peace Vigil in Slippery Rock 10am at the Ginger Hill Unitarian Universalist Congregation Empty Bowls Sunday, March 11, 2 – 6 PM at Rodef Shalom in Oakland, 5th Avenue Economic Justice Meeting—4 pm– TMC Book‘em Packing 4-7pm TMC

12 Thomas Merton Center Birthday Bash

6:00 to 9:00 PM Shadow Lounge 5972 Baum Boulevard Pgh, PA 15206 (This is the day TMC was founded in 1972.)

18 Anti-War Meeting 2pm at the Thomas Merton Center

19 TMC Board Meeting 7 pm at the Thomas Merton Center

13 A Day in the Life of a Pakistani Woman—Hear Sameena Nazir Speak At 9 am University of Pittsburgh, Room 3911 in Wesley W. Posvar Hall.

At 7 pm Friends‘ Meeting House, 4836 Ellsworth Avenue

14 Darfur Coalition Meeting 5:30pm in Meeting Room C of Carnegie Library, Squirrel Hill PUSH Meeting 6:15pm at Health Care 4 All PA Office, 2102 Murray Avenue, Squirrel Hill

20

21

Book‘Em Packing Day 4-7pm Merton Center weekly

16 New People Editorial Collective Meeting at Thomas Merton Center 10:30 am

17 Fight For Lifers Meeting 10am at Crossroads United Methodist Church, 325 N. Highland Avenue, East Liberty Black Voices for Peace Anti-War Protest 1pm at the corner of Penn and Highland, East Liberty Peace Vigil 1pm– Beaver County

22 ―Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice.

It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience.‖

TMC 40th Anniversary Committee—Noon—TMC

Pittsburgh United Presents Jazz and Blues Divas Honored 7:00to 10:00pm The Rex, 1602 E. Carson St. Pgh, 15203 (See page 11)

Amnesty Int‘l Letter Writing Salon 4-6pm Kiva Han Oakland, weekly

15 Looking for a way to get more involved with the Thomas Merton Center?

Contact Corey Carrington, TMC Volunteer Coordinator at (412) 301-3022.

Pittsburgh International Socialist Organization (ISO) meeting 7pm, TMC

Pittsburgh International Socialist Organization (ISO) meeting 7pm, TMC

10 Black Voices for Peace Anti-War Protest 1pm at the corner of Penn and Highland, East Liberty

23 New People Editorial Collective Meeting at Thomas Merton Center 10:30 am

24 Black Voices for Peace Anti-War Protest 1pm at the corner of Penn and Highland Peace Vigil 1pm– Beaver County NCM Food Pantry Brunch Challenge 11-1pm 415 East Ohio St, PGH jay.poliziani @ncmin.org

Thomas Merton

25

26 ―Give Peace A Chance.‖ John Lennon

Economic Justice Meeting 4pm at the TMC Benefit Gallery Show and Art Auction Artists for Haiti 1 pm-5pm Fr. Ryan Arts Center of Focus on Renewal 420 Chartiers Avenue, McKees Rocks, PA 15136 Amnesty Int‘l Letter Book‘em Packing (See above)

27 Pittsburgh International Socialist Organization (ISO) meeting 7pm, Thomas Merton Center

28

30 Amnesty International 3-Day Conference in Denver (see TMC website)

Progressive Pittsburgh Notebook - To view on internet go to (www.ProgressivePghNotebook.blip.tv). CSRhoten Producer ―Let‘s Talk About Sweatshops @ PNC Park‖ Kenneth Miller Producer (412-867-9213) Free Speech TV— AL JAZEERA, Public Access TV Democracy Now - 8 am-Mon-Fri@ 8 am; AJ Stream @9 am, with Faultlines at @9:30

IN THIS EDITION THOMAS MERTON CENTER has partnered with OCCUPY PITTSBURGH‘s Communication Work Group to support their production of a four page insert .

The opinions expressed in the Occupy Insert are those of the individuals who wrote them and are neither endorsed, approved or censored by the Merton Center .

16 - NEWPEOPLE

29

Darfur Coalition Meeting 5:30pm in Meeting Room C of Carnegie Library, Squirrel Hill

March, 2012

31 Black Voices for Peace Anti-War Protest 1pm at the corner of Penn and Highland Peace Vigil 1pm– Beaver County

TMC CLASSIFIED SECTION One and Two Bedroom Apartment Needed First floor apartment needed (minimum stairs) in the East End near the bus, Under $400 +utility.

After March 15. PLEASE TEXT 412.689.1864

Needed for Summer Small apartment, one bedroom with kitchen, for an engineering student doing an internship in Pittsburgh, southwest area.

He comes with a good recommendation.

Contact: Kyle McDevitt at kmmcdev+apt@gmail.com