G-20 Pittsburgh: Open Questions at D-30

I would like to offer accolades and commendations to both the Post-Gazette, which has a G-20 "topic" page at: http://www.post-gazette.com/g20summit/, and also to the Tribune-Review, which has a similar G20 page at http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/specialreports/g20/.

Here's a partial / early listing of announced G20 closures:

• Federal courthouse, Downtown: Closed Sept. 23-25.
  
• Pittsburgh City Council offices: Closed Sept. 23-25.
  
• Community College of Allegheny County: Closed Sept. 23-25.
  
• Duquesne University: Closed from noon, Sept. 23-25.
  
• Point Park University: Closed Sept. 23-26.
  
• Robert Morris University: Pittsburgh Center and Bayer Center closed Sept. 23-27. Moon campus will be open.
  
• Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh: Early dismissal Sept. 23 and closed Sept. 24-25 for 13 elementary schools and 14 high schools
  
• City Charter High School: Closed Sept. 24-25.
  
• Pittsburgh Public Schools: All 66 schools closed Sept. 24-25.
  
• West Mifflin Area School District: Closed Sept. 23-25.
  
• Harris Theater, Downtown: Dates to be announced.
  
• Amtrak: No trip can start or end in Pittsburgh from Sept. 24-26.
  

Sunday's The Observer writes about London's G-20 experience.

(coming soon to a Burgh near you)

I read a well-written post by Sue about City Council closing and the impact on lower-paid employees. She says it better than I can:

What about the rest of City employees? The ones making $24,000/year who need to conserve their PTO for their kids sicks days? What about the non-unionized service employees? What about the people who live Downtown (and not just in the penthouses)? ... I saw a press conference snippet of Joanna Doven practically shaking her finger admonishing people to reschedule their medical appointments. She fails to explain how the small business optometrist is going to weather the enforced closure of his practice for a few days. Who pays the "inconvenienced" staff salaries?

The AngryDrunkBureaucrat has a great G-20 Update that synthesizes the state of affairs: no local people know anything. You may think this means Uncle Sam has this covered. Or, you may think that Luke's administration is hosed. Glass half full, glass half empty. We'll see.

To summarize (ie, repeat) my open questions:

• Who actually said "yes" to having the G-20 in Pittsburgh? What elected official is responsible for bringing it here?
  
  
• What elected official is responsible for public safety in the streets around the G20 perimeter - is it Luke Ravenstahl (city), Dan Onorato (county), or Ed Rendell (state)?
  
  
• Why is Pittsburgh planning on a much smaller police presence than London and Italy used for their G-20 meetings this year? Who made that decision?
  
  
• Was Pittsburgh the first city offered the G-20, or the eleventh?
  
  
• Will government be reimbursing lost salary to people who lose work because of the security zone?
  
  
• After the G-20: What work was done here? Or was it a photo-op?

These questions matter (to me) because in a democracy, government action doesn't just appear from the heavens as a fait accompli. Decisions are made by elected officials, and implemented by careerists. Nobody shuts down a city without the people knowing who made that decision, and holding them accountable. That's the American way.

The alternative, where unidentified, unelected government agencies/ officials take action and the hoi polloi "Make the best of it", is totalitarianism. I get that for security reasons, some details are tightly held. It's too easy for a lazy bureaucrat to wrap himself in that blanker. None of the questions above are security issues.

Philosophically, if we tolerate the (current) totalitarian approach and don't insist on democratic transparency, we're making the Anarchist's argument for them.

Here's my G20 Confidence Chart at DaysToGo=30:


Other than that, readers might want to review the "Miami Model" of American police strategy that we're probably about to get a good view of. Here's a story about the Miami Model at the Republican Convention, one year ago. Expect to see: Police control of the news, embedded reporters reporting from the official point of view, unidentified officers, lethal force, and treating dissent and protest as an offense. Chances are they'll treat the Thomas Merton protesters (the local good guys), the Anarchists (their favorite scapegoat), and the transient sociopaths (who'll be in the mix) as one homogeneous group.

The Pittsburgh Organizing Group's Updates ( Update 5, Update 6, and Update 7 ) are online.

This will, I believe, be my last post on the subject of the G20 in Pittsburgh. Thanks for reading.

Confidence That Hosting G-20 Is A Great Idea : D=90

My compliments to Indexed.

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Pittsburgh: POG G20 Resistance Update #1 I liked what they wrote about You’ve Got to Show Respect to Get Respect, and I liked what they said about external fundraisers.

BailOutPeopleMovement:    (website)     (blog)     (call to action)

Protests Set for Pittsburgh (BOPM press release)


UK Wombles: See You In The Rustbelt


G-20 Term of the Day: Kettling (verb) Also known as containment or corralling. Kettling is a police tactic for the management of large crowds during demonstrations or protests. It involves the formation of large cordons of police officers who then move to contain a crowd within a limited area. Protesters are prevented from leaving the area for several hours; as a result, detainees can be denied access to food, water and toilet facilities for a long period. The ostensible aim is to leave would-be violent protesters too tired to do anything but want to go home.

P-G Headline: City could need 4,000 police officers money quote: About 10,000 officers were on duty for the London G-20 meeting in April. What's the difference?

Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project PG-20RP

This link announced the Meeting to Form Anti-Authoritarian Working Group to Organize Resistance to the G20 in Pittsburgh, which met last weekend (June 13-14).


The details of scheduling an anarchist meeting are fascinating to me. There was a draft agenda, a call for review and revision, and a small verklempt moment over the use of non-inclusive language (one person thought the phrase "get 'r done" was misogynist).

The shallow mocking part of me wonders: is anybody in charge at an Anti-Authoritarian Working Group? Do they take minutes at the Anarchist Section? Surely they can't embrace Robert's Rules?

Apparently they did conduct an effective weekend seminar, because these colleagues reported back that over 60 anarchists, radicals, and anti-authoritarians from the Pittsburgh area attended the summit, and that from that summit emerged the Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project (PG-20RP).

The PG-20RP has a website, of course: http://resistg20.org/. The site has some angsty posters, and also some posters advocating violence. Check out the poster (below-right) presenting the two Bubbas talking. The file name is: yinzer.png, which should tell you something about their view of - well, of me, I guess. The source image can be here. (I've used it myself elsewhere.)

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An Open Letter to Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project

I believe in the right to assembly. I believe in confronting power. I support civil disobedience. I completely support civil, peaceful protest at the G-20.

I am old. I remember the summer riots - the New York race riots of 1964, the Philadelphia race riots of 1964, the LA (Watts) riots of 1965. In 1967, 128 American cities suffered 164 riots(source). I saw a riot for the first time in NY City in '67. It was not a pretty thing. Newark in '67 was that year's worst. Chicago in '68. New York's Stonewall riots in '69. Burning cities. Dead cops and dead kids. Black Panthers. SDS. The Weathermen. What a pointless, immoral, ineffective waste of time, lives, treasure, and passion.

I cannot support local activists generating support with chest-thumping pictures of burning streets, and posters of hooded activists carrying bricks to throw. I reject the "firebomb the police car" presented in the color poster.

I call on the PG-20RP to explicitly renounce violence, to remove the violent imagery, and to ensure that each communique calls for peaceful means.

If local activists want to organize, demonstrate, and make their case - great. I can support that. If local anarchists want to incite violence and set a violent tone for a Pittsburgh event, that's unacceptable. When their propaganda results in death and damage, I doubt these activists will go to the funerals.

The PG-20RP's purported rationale that the "power leaders" need to have physical meetings, and that The Man's hegemony over The People can be disturbed by blocking streets so they can't meet, denies the understanding of the modern world that their website indicates. Does anybody believe that the Davos crowd is incapable of a Web Conference?

If the Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project wants any public support, they're going to have to develop and present a cogent argument for the effectiveness of their demonstrations, and they're going to have to conduct peaceful demonstrations. On the other hand, if they're going to riot and burn, I hope they get put away forever.

Finally, the PG-20RP would do well to consider the details of the Chicago police riot at the 1968 Democratic Convention protests. Democratic activists descended on the Democratic-controlled city. When faced with widespread civil disturbances, melees ensued as the police attempted to maintain order.

If you look at Pittsburgh's boy mayor and the Pittsburgh police department, which just buried three of its members who were surprised on a domestic call, the situation is ripe for local police to be overwhelmed, resulting in a repeat of the Chicago 1968 scenario.

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• 2009 G-20 London summit protests
• Wiki page on Pittsburgh's G-20 summit
• Pittsburgh Organizing Group (POG)
• Anarchy Summer Camp, July 17-19, Northern Va. Prep for G-20 in 412 (also)
• Annual Pittsburgh Anarchist Picnic: August 1, Schenley Park
• I've sent this link to: press@resistg20.org, legal@resistg20.org, action@resistg20.org, info@resistg20.org, materials@resistg20.org, local-outreach@resistg20.org, press@resistg20.org

Comments are open, welcome, and un-moderated.