ANARCHISTS SEIZE BONY PONY

Also, a chat with Nathaniel Glosser:

Four Mour People from People's Park

Whilst awaiting dispersal orders:

Let's Get it Over with...

Occupy Journalism: Don't Just Believe Everything You Hear and Are Told

So much I'd rather be writing about -- maybe better suited to the sign-o-sphere.

But in regards to what sorts of things can actually be learned with "thermal imaging cameras"...



If that's not plain enough, there is a sequel here and more in-depth article here from the Guardian. Even Glen Beck's the Blaze is backing off.

We can honestly appreciate the sentiment behind trying to alienate Occupy Pittsburgh as thoroughly as possible from its natural allies -- the 99%, whomever is watching Ch. 2 -- in order to suppress widespread popular support before the curtain rises on the eviction. In the interest of keeping the law enforcement situation manageable.

Also appearing in the same tactical parlay:

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who watched Marty’s video, says it’s time for the camp to go. But he’s also heard what Marty has been told – that hundreds of reinforcements may be called in from Washington, D.C. to repopulate the camp. (KDKA)

It's unclear from that phrasing whether or not the Mayor heard that alleged rumor from Marty Griffin, just then, along with the watching of his thermal video.

And it's debatable whether these two busloads of out-of-town occupiers will be anything like these two busloads of out-of-town atheists besieging Ellwood City. Which did not exist. But boy, did passing around those thinly sourced rumors really "stir things up!" Who doesn't like chaos and misinformation?

Unfortunately, people tend to be taken in by these little games generated at the intersection of politics, ambition and and psy-ops:

“Obviously, this tape shows it, nobody’s been there for a long period of time,” Ravenstahl said. “If a large number of people all of a sudden show up, I think it really shows you what the Occupy folks are all about. (ibid)

Aw, no! Aw! Ouch! That phrasing was unfortunate. Maybe the quote was really painfully extracted. The implied inclination towards a sweeping negative appraisal is frustrating, though once again -- media / political gamesmanship was at play.

But let the record show, in the war between Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Occupy Pittsburgh, it was the mayor who threw the first swing. Let it be a brief war.

Civic Milestones: A Historical Aside

Now this is an elegy!

Now, the [Civic Arena] has been replaced by a soulless structure akin to the Soviet era, devoid of Pittsburgh personality and character. The upper levels, covered in siding, show that the architects did not know that Pittsburgh is a vertical city and that our buildings, seen from the surrounding hills, must be interesting from bottom to top. She never had that problem. (Trib, Joseph Sabino Mistick)

One could add, the old steampunk mother ship and its attendant parking lots reeked of history and of a history that is signally unfinished. It will be spellbinding to watch the debris and dust settle!

Lighters, please!

Judge: No More Weeks of Occupy

Any advice? Will be sure to pass it along.

What will the News in NeoPittsburgh Be Like?

The Municipality is borrowing $80 million for its capital needs over this year and the next, and it somehow seems drenched in signs and portents.

"You're going to see a different city now," Councilman Ricky Burgess, the finance chairman, predicted after council gave the borrowing final approval.

Officials said market interest in the borrowing, which comes about two weeks after two ratings agencies revised the city's financial outlook from "negative" to "stable," offered additional evidence of the city's financial progress.

"This is proof positive that our mayor has been leading the city on strong fiscal ground and is leading us toward economic recovery," Mr. Burgess said. (P-G, Joe Smydo)

This is where the Comet and I both typically get hung up over what sort of image I and we should pair with the blog post. Something cheerful and optimistic like this?



Or something with a wry and cynical edge, albeit a bit easy to miss?



Do we latch onto the concept of "transformation" to smash-cut to something civilly jarring?




Trib writers seem to have the most fun sometimes. (Trib, Rick Willis)

Then again, what's wrong with progress already?

Developers of a long-blighted North Side block at North Avenue and Federal Street said on Friday that they signed a lease with Nakama restaurant, which should help jump-start development there. (Trib, Thomas Olson)

As a Deutschtowner, it's fantastic to see some momentum around that intersection. I was holding my breath for a Trader Joe's or an East End Co-op North to spring up there and I guess I still am since as a member of the 1% sandwiched between the top 85% and the bottom 14% I could actually use one of those. Again, it's exciting but I'm having a hard time envisioning how Light of Life Ministries, the ARC House and the old YMCA are going to interact with this...




Wait, what the butt? Where is that image of Celebrity Chef Ravenstahl flipping a shrimp and trying to catch it in his mouth? We were going to crop it and everything!

Alright. Anyway, back to the bond issuance, or that is, the $80 million we're putting on our credit card because we've been good and finally qualified for a metallurgical-caliber card. What do the experts say?

So, the city took out this huge loan which seems like a sort of good idea. On the one hand, the refinancing should help out with their last loan but on the other hand, it seems a little like we're still paying off our undergraduate degree in psychology and have decided to get a Master's degree...at 30k/year. I guess I would be less worried if I knew exactly what all of this money was going to be spent on. (The Collected Notes of Secret Agent Ska)

Oh boy, now the wheels are really coming off. Any sense of decency and prudence is falling by the wayside.



And it's not like we have a gigantic cushion.

Anyway, ahem. "Experts":

Thing is that these bonds are callable on March 1, 2012, with a minimum of a 30 day notice to the registered holders of those bonds. 30 days left of March 1st is... tomorrow? You are talking seriously down to the wire in all of this. (Null Space)

Right, good to know some things are immutable. And...?

Like I said.. not quite the stuff for a general audience, but beyond any headlines on this, there must be a very serious inside game of poker going on between the city, ICA and everyone else involved in the timing of this. Given how much ink we spill over some incredibly minutia things, you think this all would get a little more coverage or public debate. (ibid)

Oh yeah, "coverage!" That old thing.




It's not as easy as the professionals make it look:

For more than a year, reporters and anchors seeking a contract through collective bargaining at WTAE-TV (Channel 4) have been stonewalled by owner Hearst TV. After 13 bargaining sessions, Hearst still refuses employee proposals for such basic contract standards as:

• Severance benefits when the station fires a worker without cause.
• A minimum salary scale.
• Overtime pay after eight hours work in a day.
• Retirement plan benefits on same terms as other employees at the station.
• Consideration for unscheduled call-outs, split shifts and work on the sixth consecutive day and thereafter.

Meanwhile, Hearst signed collective-bargaining agreements containing these basic standards in six other cities: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Boston, New Orleans and Omaha. (Fairness 4 WTAE)

Not going to have time to cover this story at every base, but those are some pretty reasonable proposals for any workers to put forward -- much less highly skilled and educated ones with good teeth and cheekbones. Therefore in our autonomous capacity we / I / the Comet endorses WTAE workers' demands (nyeah nyeah) not to be treated worse than your average Hollywood Video trainee just because there's a steady stream of starving single childless journalism graduates out there desperate to catch a break. You have the website already, now sign the petition, follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebook, and subscribe to their YouTubage.

We need real reporters. Could you imagine the state of things if there wasn't any good reporting?



I know, right? What?