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Paradise
Paradise Gray, Jasiri X and Sister Teisha visit an area on the Northside of Pittsburgh, PA, A five minute walk from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center where the G20 was held.
So you think that you live in a “Hole in the wall”?
You aint’ seen nothing yet! This is the Pittsburgh, PA that they did not want visitors at the G20 Summit to see.
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I am just arriving in Pittsburgh this Friday morning as folks are gearing up for this morning’s huge protest which starts around 12 noon.. Just spoke to my man Paradise Gray of X-Clan and One Hood.. who has been on the ground covering the haps like there’s no tomorrow.. He just alerted me to two disturbing things.. First, the police used some sort of ‘noise weapon’ on crowds yesterday. You can see it pictured on top of the tank in the photo below. It’s a loud irritating noise and makes people want to leave an area almost immediately.. We will gather more information on this later today..
The second disturbing thing is that police have been aggressively filming and making their presence known to Gray and other One Hood members. Paradise describes police officers he had never seen before walking near him and saying his name. One officer told him he’s been reading his blogs and reports.. Pittsburgh is definitely on lock down and a total police state. You could see that driving into the city… Follow the tweets and Facebook blogs as we will be updating all day..
-Davey D-
http://g20pgh.ning.com/profiles/blogs/use-the-force-luke-storm
PittsburghMayor Luke Ravenstahlsaid that the level of security that we are seeing in the streets of Pittsburgh is normal for the G20 and these type of events, however I am from New York and have never seem a city locked down like Pittsburgh is locked down right now. The city is like a ghost town right now. Boarded up businesses and residents afraid to leave their homes for media driven fear of the protesters or intimidation from the massive display of military power by an occupying force that looks like a scene from “Clone Wars” in the Star Wars Universe. It’s ironic that with the amount of metal cages surrounding the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and Downtown Pittsburgh our city can once again can make the claim of “Steel City”. Way to run “The Steel Curtain Defense” Pittsburgh!
I was at a March in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh today and I saw one of the largest gatherings of Police/troops that I have ever seen domestically, I saw nothing like what I saw today at the The United Nations, The Million Man March, The Millions More Movement, nor President Obama’s Inauguration. I haven’t seen anything like this in Post 911 New York. Sheer numbers of heavily armed officers in full riot gear, complex tactical crowd dispersal maneuvers, flash bangs, tear gas and cutting edge audio technology were used to totally smash the un-authorized protest.
Police also fired rubber bullets and teargas in Oakland area of Pittsburgh. Mostly at University Of Pittsburgh Students! According to Councilman Bill Peduto Cathedral of Learning surrounded, police giving dispersal orders, helicopters flying low w/ searchlight most of Fifth all Forbes Ave. closed.
Black Hawk and Chinook Helicopters, Gunboats, Armored Humvee’s, at least two Lenco Bears, Secret Command Posts, The Secret Service, The National Guard, Coast Guards, Swat Teams, State Troopers, National, City and County Police, Transit Cops, Security Guards and I swear that I heard the Darth Vador Music play when these guys marched by:
Talk about “Star Wars Defense” Systems!
I can’t wait to see the numbers of lost money by the downtown business’s that the city begged to stay open during the G20 summit only to see their customers “fenced off”.
$20 Million for G20 security, nothing for the “Woman’s Walk For Peace” on Oct. 3rd on the North Side. http://www.womenswalk.org
More Photos:
G20 Summit 2009 Pittsburgh, PA Album 3 – Military Zone!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114075&id=507894491&l…
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Jasiri X gave a sobering wake up call about the state of affairs in Pittsburgh which has been deemed 'America's Most Liveable City'
We sat down with Pittsburgh rap star Jasiri X of the organization One Hood who talked to us about all that was going on the city which has made national news because of the city’s infamous footbal team , the Steelers winning a record number 6 superbowls. Residents proudly refer to the city as Sixburgh as people around the nation praised the city as one that has returned from the harsh economic turbulance of Steelmills shutting down and factories leaving to go overseas.
Jasiri X laid to rest those myths by pointing out that underneath the pride and swagger is another story as the city gets prepared for the upcoming G20 Summit. His assessment was sobering and eye opening and in stark contrast with the nationwide write up Pittsburgh had recently gotten as being the ‘most liveable city in America’.
Most notable in this interview was Jasiri expressing profound disappointment in the way President Obama has allowed a number things around the issues of poverty and police brutality slide. There were many within the organization One Hood who spent countless hours registering people to vote and taking them to the polls only to have them and their community overlooked when Obama’s aid Valerie Jarrett came to town and made shocking statements about how economic hardships have not befallen Pittsburgh. Jasiri talked in great detail about the immense poverty that still exists in many of the city’s Black communities. He talked about how gentrification and new developments have worsened things not made them better.
He talked about the on going police harrassment and terror residents are experiencing on a routine basis. He talked about how the Pittsburgh police department has been making practice runs for the upcoming G20 summit, in the Black community. They been using all sorts of new crowd control and surveillenace techniques in the hood.
Jasiri X talked about how the police have been showing up in the hood with army tanks and extra man power even though several officers have been killed in in neighborhoods outside the hood. Pittsburgh is becoming a police state with all sorts of laws restricting people’s movements being put into place. Among those victimized by this new crackdown are people activist/journalist Paradise Gray of X-Clan. He was recently arrested on trumped up charges when he came to film a protest that people were having against gentrification. Many feel Gray was arrested so he could be on the books and face stiffer penalties should he show up to film or protest at the upcoming G20 summit.
Jasiri talked about how officers have been put on notice that if they leak out any information about security plans for the upcoming G20 Summit, they will be terminated. Sadly no officer has been terminated for committing acts of brutality. He noted how the city has been hiring police outside the city of Pittsburgh and how its caused a lot of tension and unrest.
Jasiri talked about how all protests in city parks have been banned in preparation for the G20. All permits have been denied including one solicted by a Pittsburgh legislator.
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Breakdown M Podcast Interview w/ Pittsburgh Rapper Jasiri X
http://odeo.com/episodes/25040378-Jasiri-X-Pittsburgh-the-Police-and-the-G20