Tuesday, September 6, 2011

One World Brown-Noser Summit Rewards Pittsburgh For Military-Style Brutality Against Young People During G-20 Siege In Oakland

When we first heard about the "One World Summit" (described as a Davos forum or G-20 event for the world's "young people of leadership calibre"), we suspected it might be another resume-padding product aimed at the world's emerging crop of obsequious, oblivious, insufferable self-promoters.

After learning that this group has selected InsolvenCity for it 2012 event -- disregarding the unnecessary and immoral police brutality directed toward young people at the immediately preceding international summit conducted in Pittsburgh -- our suspicions have become certainty. We expect InsolvenCity to resemble an assembly line for Santorum aides -- preppy clothing, immature moralizing, self-centered brown-nosing, and amateur-hour drinking exhibitions -- during October 2012.

Infytune: Like A Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan
Infytune: Once In A Lifetime, Talking Heads

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Anybody ever told you you use a lot of long sentences? Don't get me wrong, you are the best writer in Pittsburgh I have seen. "Assembly line for Santorum aides" is freaking hilarious. But, I sometimes need to take a break before finishing some of these sentences.

Infinonymous said...

Anybody ever told you you use a lot of long sentences?

No

Anonymous said...

This One Young World thing is nausea-inducing. Most sickening is the fact that it's run by a worldwide PR firm focused on selling junk to young people.

http://www.eurorscg.com/flash/index.html#/Home?id=0

So really, a huge con job in the service of global capitalism, shamelessly hiding behind some do-gooder mumbo jumbo.

Then there's Pittsburgh swallowing it hook, line and sinker. Did you see Ravenstahl's welcome video, posted at Early Returns. (He looks really, really tired, BTW. Must have been an off-the-hook Labor Day Weekend.)

A big event? The first one, in London--a world capital that's easy to fly to--had 823 attendees. Last year's event, in Zurich, had over 2,000, according to the events website. I guess that seems like alot to Ravenstahl, since his alma mater, W&J, only has 1,500 students, but for comparison, the Altoona Curve average over 3,300 fans a game, and 4,238 folks showed for last year's Anthrocon.

I'll have more respect for Ravenstahl, and hope for the city, if next year's furry convention generates as much official high-fiving and Allegheny Conference glad-handing as the One World Youngster Thingy.

Bram Reichbaum said...

As long as we don't incur any crazy expenses, there's no reason not to play along and help make a big happy deal about this. Don't forget in addition to the "delegates" you get your Desmond Tutu and whomevers.

Infinonymous said...

Speaking of crazy expenses, rumor has it some of the G-20 brutality cases are going to an arbitrator soon.

Here's hoping those students get a million dollars apiece, and that the aggregate payout is triple the insurance limit. Liability payments are the only language the Pittsburgh mayors and their police bureau seem to understand.

MH said...

That's because you share the typical suburbanite attitude toward the city: Unless everything in the city is perfect, you don't have to feel bad that city residents have to pay for upkeep of the core on which your low-tax life depends.

Infinonymous said...

The overmatched losers put in positions of authority by city residents launched a military-style attack on a bunch of innocent college kids on campus.

Using "perfect" in that context seems daft. It was the opposite of perfect -- immoral, misguided, abusive, inept.

Who do you think should be held accountable for that wrongdoing, if not the city and its residents?

If you want to think outside the box, it might be reasonable to consider asking the students to abandon their legal claims in exchange for an opportunity to burn down North Catholic High School, a city police station and Stage AE, use a sonic cannon on the North Side for a few hours, and fire rubber bullets at ten randomly selected people who voted for Luke Ravenstahl and Dan Onorato.

Consider yourself lucky our system requires the G20 victims to settle for money in court. Those kids are a lot smarter than city electors or the mayor InsolvenCity elected.

MH said...

North Catholic is moving to Cranberry. Haven't you heard?

MH said...

Of course, Pittsburgh is ungovernable in its current form. There isn't going to be a fix unless there is some regional political integration.

Infinonymous said...

North Catholic is moving to Cranberry. Haven't you heard?

There's still time to torch it.

Or, if the students prefer, 225 Ross Street would suffice.

Bram Reichbaum said...

"losers put in positions of authority by city residents" ... "Who do you think should be held accountable for that wrongdoing, if not the city and its residents?"

You don't think suburban and very broadly regional money has a lot more to say about who is electable than the urban neighborhood shlubs donating $25 a pop? I'm just about up to here with outsiders complaining, "City residents can't vote right!" and "City residents just pull the D lever blindly!" when it's that very conservative corporate "regional" gentry which enables the status quo.

MH said...

I'm just about up to here with outsiders complaining, "City residents can't vote right!"

Me too. And I've voted against everybody incumbent or endorsed.

Infinonymous said...

You elect Luke Ravenstahl, and his administration turns Oakland into a siege with military weapons for no reason other than being out of its depth, you need to expect criticism and accept accountability.

So quit whining and get out your checkbook.

MH said...

Are you talking up your own clients? The students aren't getting much at all.

MH said...

Really, who gets out of college without getting hit by a cop at least once? Mormons and people who know when to run, that's who.

Infinonymous said...

Luckily for G20 victims, they're Walczak's clients. Law may be stacked against them on damages, but if anyone can get a good payday, our bet is on the ACLU. Didn't they just get $50K for one guy whose rights were violated by police arrest for videotaping police?

Infinonymous said...

The students aren't getting much at all.

Worst case, they'll get a college degree and a chance to move to a city that isn't dying.

MH said...

I think this is a better example of how well clients' interests are served.

Infinonymous said...

The dullards on the jury, apparently among those who do not much value freedom and accountability, limited the amount awarded to a person who was abused by police.

The victim is entitled to have reasonable legal fees paid by the government that violated the law and victimized him. In this case, the lawyers established that their clients had been wronged. Perhaps they blew the damages case; more likely, the goofy award is to be ascribed to a yinzer jury.

If the city were required to pay $90,000 with respect to each of the G20 victims, most people interested in justice should find that a reasonable result.