Keep That Plywood Handy Edition

Say It Ain't So Joe!

OH The Humanity! Haven't they suffered enough?

The 09-29-09 11PM edition of Eyewitness News had a report attributed to reporter and talk show host Marty Griffin, that Pittsburgh is in line to host the next G-20 to be held in the United States! That would be in THREE years. Griffin reports that Obama was so impressed with the way Pittsburgh handled all facets of being the host city.

TRANSLATION: If the administration gets turned down again by any other cities, (which they will) be ready to take another one for the team!

Of course May Luke Skywalker and Obi Dan Kenobie (who thinks he will be governor at that time) are probably busy at this point cleaning the sticky goo from their pants as they are undoubtably are both crying like a little girl who just got pony.

Right now the city is undergoing "reviews" from the ACLU and many of the groups that "protested" during the G-Nothing. They are saying that the police overreacted, acted like storm troopers and started most of the confrontations.

Businesses are upset because they lost so much money, from having to close or move their operations. Parking lots lost money as they were forced to close. Restaurants that stayed open did not have the influx of customers they were told to expect, in fact, most of the ones that stayed open had little or NO business. Workers complained that they either lost work or were inconvenienced so bad, it wasn't worth coming to work.

Thankfully, the damage done by protesters was minimal (if you call up to $150,000 minimal). Maybe they couldn't get here, after all our slogan is YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE!

Maybe next time we won't be so lucky.

Or, maybe next time NO protesters will come!

Of course it didn't bother the big muck-ity mucks. They keep saying how wonderful it was. They keep saying that conventions are now starting to book because of the G-Nothing! BS! Show me, tell me, what conventions are coming here because of the G-Nothing.

As Billy Mays would say:

"BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!"

Keep that plywood handy kiddos! Marty Griffin also reports that Pittsburgh is being considered by the GOP (That's the Republican Party for those of yinz in McKeesport) for their convention in 2012!

Talk about taking a punch in the gut!

You have gots to be kidding me! The GOP in Pittsburgh? Do you know how many lefties will be coming here? Maybe they didn't show up for the G-Nothing, but you can bet your sweet bipie that they WILL be here for ANYTHING held by the GOP.
With the CHANCE that "W" would be there or even the "Evil Dick Cheney," you know they will be there, everyone of them. I don't know if this city can really handle the likes of Michael Moore again!

We'd have to stockpile the cannoli.

They Just Don't Get It Edition

The Bill Clinton Comedy Hour.

I love Bill Clinton. No, really I do. I will admit that before his election to the Oval Office I loathed the guy. During his Presidency I came to realize he couldn't do much irreversible harm, simply because among other talents, he was a "finger wetter." He'd wet his finger, stick it in the air and then make his decision.

The reason I love Bill Clinton is everyday that BHO is in office, I apreciate Bill more and more. Then to add icing on the cake, Bill gives an interview and he just gives me a tingle right up Chris Matthew's leg.

Evidence of this comes from a story on The Clinton News Network (CNN):

The "vast right-wing conspiracy" that attacked him during his presidency has been weakened, but continues to operate against President Obama, former President Clinton said Sunday.

On NBC's "Meet the Press," Clinton was asked about the term his wife Hillary Clinton, now secretary of state, famously coined. "Is it still there?" host David Gregory asked.

"Oh, you bet. Sure it is. It's not as strong as it was, because America's changed demographically, but it's as virulent as it was," the former president replied.

"I mean, they're saying things about him [Obama] -- you know, it's like when they accused me of murder and all that stuff they did," Clinton said, in an apparent reference to conspiracy theories surrounding the suicide of White House deputy counsel Vince Foster.

"It's not really good for the Republicans and the country, what's going on now," Clinton said. "I mean, they may be hurting President Obama. They can take his numbers down, they can run his opposition up. But fundamentally, he and his team have a positive agenda for America."

The nation needs "a credible debate about what's the right balance between continuing to expand the economy through stimulus and beginning to move back to fiscal balance," Clinton said. "We need a credible debate about what's the best way to get to universal [health care] coverage."

Clinton was asked whether he is concerned that the 2010 midterm elections could resemble those of 1994, when Republicans took control of the House and Senate two years into his first term.

"There's no way" that could happen, Clinton said, adding that "the country is more diverse and more interested in positive action." Also, he said, Republicans had control of Congress for several years under President George W. Bush, "and they know the results were bad."

And, he said, "the Democrats haven't taken on the gun lobby like I did."

"Whatever happens, it'll be manageable for our president," Clinton said.

Don't you just love this guy?

Where to start? Bill is like the beer of the month club, he's the gift that keeps giving and giving.

They just don't get it. It wasn't the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" that "stained" Bubba, it was Bubba who stained Bubba and it isn't the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" that is hurting BHO, It's BHO himself.

With the Clintons, (A new show Tuesdays at 9 on NBC) it was the perception of wrong doing, with Bill & Hillary feeding the fire. The $100,000 made off a $10,000 investment in a month, the attempt to discredit Paula Jones and Jennifer Flowers, the missing billing records of Hillary from the Rose Law Firm and it goes on and on.

For BHO, it's not just showing the birth certificate instead of spending money to go to court to fight it.

Look, I am not a "birther" (a term given to those who believe BHO was born outside of the US by BHO's staff) but it seams to me, if you wanted to put this question behind you, instead or ignoring it, or taking people to court to shut them up, just end the discussion once and for all and produce a real certificate and be done with it.

It wasn't the "Right Wing" that appointed tax cheats to cabinet positions during a time when the economy was suffering.

You expect us to buy that Timothy Geithner didn't know he actually had to pay taxes when the World Bank reimbursed him the money for the taxes he did not pay?

You expect us to buy that Tom Daschle who was in the House & Senate since 1978 didn't know he had to pay taxes on the "free" rides he was getting as a lobbyist?

It wasn't the "Right Wing" who made BHO stand in front of the American people and make a big spectacle of announcing that NO lobbyist would be able to apply for positions in his administration and then fill (and still is still doing it to this day) positions with the very Lobbyist he decried.

It wasn't the "Right Wing" who wrote BHO's speeches during the campaign that said BHO had a plan for Heath Care Reform, when he didn't.

It wasn't the "Right Wing" who developed the STIMULUS plan.

It wasn't the "Right Wing" that took over 2/3 the American Auto Industry.

It wasn't the "Right Wing" that forced BHO to shove Cap & Trade down the American people's throat.

It wasn't the "Right Wing" who told ACORN and SEIU that they would have a "seat at the table" for any decisions.

It wasn't the "Right Wing" that put the many lies into BHO's mouth.

The "Loyal Opposition" has proposed real changes to health care reform. It starts with "Tort Reform" and allowing insurance companies to compete against each other. Right now insurance companies are limited in each state. You may find a better deal in Ohio, but if you live In Pennsylvania or Georgia, you're not allowed to buy it. You have to take what's offered in your state.

No Bill, it isn't the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" that gave you grief and is giving BHO grief, it was your smugness and BHO's arrogance.

I still love you though Bill, you bring me hope, glee and comedy.

Bill was right about some things. The Republicans did abandon their core beliefs while they were in power. They spent too much and expanded government too much and they do need to get back to their core beliefs and work for the American people.

Bill's always been pretty good in reading the political tea leaves. One miscue was was '94 mid-term elections. I suspect Bill doesn't believe that the "Tea Party" protest are real and we could be seeing another miscue.

Must be something about mid-term elections that Bill doesn't get.

William Safire 1929-2009

Words cannot not describe.

America lost probably it's best writer today and we will probably never see the likes of someone like him again.

William Safire, the Pulitzer Award winning journalist died today of Pancreatic Caner, he was 79.

Mr. Safire was a college drop-out who with his writing, embarrassed even the most educated writers of our time.

A wordsmith and a linguist, Mr. Safire could make an ordinary sentence describing cow dung being spread over a field read like a Shakespeare sonnet.

In a career that was what some would call "diverse," Mr. Safire started out as a corespondent for the US army before taking a job as a publicist for a home builder, the same one who exhibited a model home in Moscow. It was the very model where Nixon and Khruschchev had their "kitchen debate."

Serving as a speechwriter for Nixon, Mr. Safire was responsible for Spiro Agnew's famous "Nattering Nabobs of Negativism" line.

Mr. Safire joined The New York Times as a columnist in 1973 and instantly became "required" reading for those in power, or political junkies.

Ironically, soon after joining the Times, Safire learned that he had been the target of "national security" wiretaps authorized by Nixon. After noting that he had worked only on domestic matters, wrote with what he characterized as "restrained fury" that he had not worked for Nixon through a difficult decade "to have him - or some lizard-lidded paranoid acting without his approval - eavesdropping on my conversations."

His writings in the New York Times transcended parties, being a "must read" for conservatives, liberals, democrats and Republicans. So influential was his writings, George W Bush in 2008 awarded him the "Medal of Freedom."

Mr. Safire was a novelist as well, writing several best selling novels. While I could probably write for hours about Mr. Safire, this corespondent will not even attempt to memorialize Mr. Safire for fear of being embarrassed even from the beyond by Mr. Safire's writing.

Words cannot describe the magnitude of his contributions.

Mr. Safire was truely the greatest writer of our time and he will be missed.

God's Speed Mr. Safire.

FINAL THOUGHTS EDITION

A Serious look at the Pittsburgh Summit and the cost to the people who live and work there.

(We may poke fun at some people too!)

So the G-Nothing summit is over. The leaders and protesters are gone. The out of town media is gone. The visiting Police are gone. The only one's left here are the people who live in and love the city. Life begins again! For the next couple of days the people of Pittsburgh will be dissecting and talking about the summit. No one outside of Pittsburgh will.
Pittsburgh is a memory to the visitors there. Some of the journalist will show their friends pictures they took. The empty restaurants, the boarded up storefront and the broken glass. I'm sure there will be a lot of pictures of the Police and National Guard in full riot gear. Maybe a photo or two of the limos flying through the city.

Pittsburgher's will now sit down and settle up the bill. A couple of broken glass windows. Some dumpsters set on fire. Restaurants and businesses lost two, three and in some cases, four and five days worth of business. Those that shut down lost profits for those two days. Those that stayed open are in the red. They paid their employees to stand around and had no customers. The hotels did alright and the restaurants in the hotels, but other than that, no one made money.

What did we get for it? Nothing! There will be no new jobs coming to the area because of the summit. No companies are going to set up shop in the area because of the summit. None of the dignitaries or journalist will come back here for a vacation. Pittsburgh has spent $20 MILLION dollars for nothing. What was made in hotel and drink tax and car rentals, will have been eaten up paying for the extra police, barricades and fencing.

Much of the images of the "Pittsburgh Summit" were that of OC canisters emitting their smoke and pepper gas. Pittsburgh is a beautiful city, but with the town closed and the storefront boarded up, no one got a chance to see that. Yeah it was nice to have the summit here, but the cost was too high.

Pittsburgh was once the 8th largest city in the country. Now as the 60th largest city, it has spent money it did not have, for money that will not come. No One is going to come to Pittsburgh because they hosted the G-Nothing.

Some final thoughts on the protesters. How irresponsible is it to bring your child to a protest? No matter how much YOU and your group plan to stay non-violent, with other groups marching, things could spiral downhill real quick. When your child gets hit with pepper spray and gas and their eyes are burning, your'e going to blame the Police, (because you always do) but nothing is going to change. Your child's eyes are still going to burn and they are still going to have trouble breathing.

Great job of parenting to the freaks who brought little Johnny & Suzie to the protest. I hope that someday they will look back on this event in their life and become a CONSERVATIVE, join the National Guard and pepper spray your sorry ass as you protest for your misguided cause.

Even though it was over, the protesters must not have got enough OC gas. So with the contest over, using their rules, we went into overtime. Of course, it was the Police's fault. This from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"

"Vic Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, said there were no legal observers in Oakland last night as there were throughout the other demonstrations. But he said initial reports to the ACLU suggest there was no reason for police to have responded the way they did."

You weren't even there and you are blaming the Cops? Has you no freakin' shame?

This is why people don't have a high opinion of the ACLU. While they have done SOME good, they mostly tie up the court system with these ludicrous accusations that "My First Amendment Rights were violated."

Any REASONABLE person will look at this and see that the Police acted with great restraint and professionalism. The main problem with the protesters is that they aren't reasonable and really don't understand how things work. They would rather tear down a system that has worked for 233 years, rather than working within the system.

There are a lot of things to protest in this country and many people have, without violence and destruction of property. They will continue their protest their displeasure at the ballot box.

Not mentioned before (because she's a NOBODY) professional freak Cindy Sheehan was in town for Friday's protest. Today she sent a letter to city officials demanding they apologize to the protesters for violating their rights. Cindy baby, listen, you have a better chance of getting an invite to George Bush's Crawford Texas ranch for dinner, than these trick-or-treaters have in getting an apology. Why? BECAUSE THEY DON'T DESERVE ONE!

The little freaks who threw rocks at the Police, broke windows and set dumpsters on fire did deserve better. They deserved a good dose of Mayor Richard J Daley.

See the Chicago Police in 1968, didn't give a damn about the "rights" of protesters. They didn't think twice about splitting the heads of those freaks protesting the democrat convention.

There were some PITT students involved in last night's demonstration and arrest. The Dean of Students will review each PITT student's arrest and they could be suspended or expelled. Maybe Mommy and Daddy will stop paying their college bill and make them get on with their life's work......at Taco Bell.

The Pittsburgh Police along with the State Police, National Guard and visiting Police Officers spent too much time warning these little "revolutionaries" who know nothing about the real world, only that it's a cool gig going from city to city, living off everyone else and causing disruption and chaos wherever they go.

Bet NONE of them show up in court next week and pay their fine.

Speaking of the out of town Police. The Police from other towns were very impressed with the city, from the professionalism of the Pittsburgh Police Department, to the beauty of the city. One Officer from Cleveland was stationed on the North Side near Heinz Field. As a Browns fan it was killing him, but he thought the city was just beautiful. "Actually, it's better than Cleveland" he said. (And we thought everyone from Cleveland was a moron)


FINAL SCORE (In Overtime)

Police 177 Protestors 0

See ya in a couple of days

GOODBYE, GOOD LUCK, GOOD RIDDANCE

Don't let the front door hit you, where the good Lord split you! So long, bye-bye, have a safe trip home, don't come back!

Finally! They're gone, it's over. The clowns have left, both the protesters and the dignitaries. The roads are starting to open, the plywood will be coming down, the "guest" Police Officers will go back to their towns and the damage will be repaired.

All in all, the protesters were rank amateurs. They couldn't protest a grand opening of a donut shop. All the hype, all the reports of violence and destruction thankfully amounted to little more than a couple of windows. Nothing like London or Seattle. My three year old shouts better profanities and protest more than these chuckle-heads.

Final Score

Police 107 Protesters 0

Meanwhile the war of words heated up between BHO and Mahmoud IAMNUTJOB. Mahmoud playing the role of limp wristed protester, held a news conference shortly after BHO's saying there was no concrete evidence (where have we heard this before?) and that BHO lied. (No one died I presume?) Anyway, Hitler's son said that BHO and the other leaders would "pay" for their transgressions against Iran. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like the time Mummar Gaddaffy Duck said he was sending his "Navy" over to attack the US. (1983) Last time I heard, they were still rowing.
But this nut job is close to having a nuke. Hell, he may already have one. Who knows? I guess BHO and the other world leaders are going to wait for Israel to be lit up like a Roman Candle before they act. Time will tell.
This corespondent has earned taking a few days off after covering the G-Nothing for the past week. More simulating commentary in a couple days, sooner if Iran nukes anyone.

WHO WILL CLEAN THIS UP EDITION

One by-product of all this security and demonstrations is the security and the "vehicles" they use. Motorcades keep their engines running (for security reasons) making the "Carbon Footprint" for this event enormous! OMG! The "Tree Huggers" turn out to the be biggest polluters! But the big question is, with all the "mounted" (and I don't mean Fernandez) units around, WHO IS GOING TO CLEAN UP ALL THIS HORSE DO DO? The horses have to take a leak and a dump like everyone else and they usually do it in the street. Some poor schumck is going to have to clean this up! Well at least another job was created.
You have to to love the chutzpah of this guy. In the middle of the protest, wearing his Armani suit and smoking a cigar, this gentleman greets the Anarchist as they protest. The only problem with his logic is that these trick-or-treaters never had a job.
Then there's the Rev Billy. This guy is against Capitalism against the government, but mostly against an honest day's work.

Have you noticed anything? Do you get it at all? Most of these "protesters" are not residents of this city and ALL of them are leftist, anarchist, liberals, whatever you want to call them.

The city had to bring in over 4000 Police and National Guard troops, they had to spend millions to shut down the city. The Police had to wear riot and protective gear, use tear gas, rubber bullets and acoustical equipment to control the crowd. Windows have been broken, dumpsters set on fire, rocks thrown at the Police, buildings boarded up and the city had to be emptied, all for what turned out to be a couple of thousand protesters. 66 have been arrested so far and thousands of dollars in damage has been done
When the Conservatives, Libertarians and Constitutionalists marched on Washington DC, the police wore short sleeved shirts, had no riot gear, did not have to use tear gas, rubber bullets or acoustical equipment. No rocks were thrown, no windows broke. Merchants did not have to board up their windows, no dumpsters were set on fire and not one arrest was made. There was virtually no clean up needed as the people cleaned up after themselves........Oh, did I mention............there was 1.8 MILLION people protesting!

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

More reports from my undisclosed location as needed.

IRAN IS BUILDING NUKES? ARE YOU SURE EDITION?

WHEN NEWS BREAKS...................WE FIX IT!

BHO along with the leaders of France and Great Britain, today announce in Pittsburgh that Iran has a covert Uranium Enrichment facility that is used to make weapons! NO! Say it ain't so Joe! ARE YOU SURE? Did you make this up just like you accused "W" of doing with the intelligence he received?

IT GETS BETTER!

BHO gave Mahmoud I'm-a-nut job ONE WEEK to let us look at it or, or, or, or....WE'RE GOING REALLY GET MAD! In fact, BHO may get so mad at Iran that he'll...........well.........Ah, Um.......He's goin' get really made and you'll........YOU'LL SEE! Don't get BHO mad.
France is coming onboard because they finally see that a nuclear Iran is not what the world needs now. (What the world needs now, is love sweet love) He knows, well sort of, that if Iran goes after Israel and are successful, then Europe is next. All Also knows that the WARNING INSENSITIVE REMARKS ARE COMING "Towel Heads" are starting to populate France and it's only a matter of time until he's under Shia Law and he also knows his lifestyle doesn't sit well with Shia Law!

Give me a break. We KNEW for the last couple of years what Iran was doing! You wait to the 11th hour and then start wagging your finger? Give me a break! Now we'll see how much of a leader BHO is. We know he's a good campaigner, now we'll see if he can lead.
The room is ready, the streets are closed, the businesses are loosing money, everything is in place. It's the freaks from the Thomas Merton Center's turn to protest. Don't expect much from these aging dope smokers. Some will have their portable oxygen tanks with them. Some of the wheel chairs will be motorized, but most will not be, so volunteers are needed to help push some of the demonstrators. The police's "Acoustic Cannons" may not be effective if the protesters turn their hearing aids off. No word if "Adult Diaper Changing Stations" will be made available. If they are not, I'm sure the ACLU will be filing a suit against the city.

The march is scheduled to take several hours as there are five scheduled rest stops. Medics are standing by.

The third quarter started early. Last night the cops scored early and often. In the middle of the third quarter the score is:

Police 66 Protesters 0

More updates as needed.

20 MILLION FOR THIS?

A Big yawn fest! Nothing, NaDa, Zippo! If this were a firecracker, it would have been a dud. All fizzled out. No cracked heads, just a handful of arrest, no freaky hippies doing the things that freaky hippies do. We just spent 20 Million dollars for what? Businesses have lost money, employees have lost pay, BHO continues to stick it to the little guy that put him into office.
Oh there were a few protesters, like granny here, but the only thing the cops have to worry about with the likes of her is a bad case of incontinence.
You spend all that money on riot gear and supplies, you might as well launch some tear gas.

The half time score is:

Police 19 Protesters 0

Some protesters were trying to get into Schenley Park where the Phipps Conservatory is located and where the 20 world leaders are meeting. Lots of luck with that.

Meanwhile inside there were some angry exchanges between the world leaders. I'm told that French President Nicolas Sarkozy wanted to go to "Blush," (Formerly the Edison)

while the Italian Silvo Berlusconi wanted to go to "Stiffy's" in McKees Rocks. It was finally decided that Angela Merkel and Hillary Clinton would accompany Sarkozy to Blush, while Ed Rendell, Obi Dan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker would accompany Berlusconi to the Rocks. (Not sure if they will be traveling in their starfighter)

No word on where BHO was headed, but there was hope and speculation from the hood that he would be heading to the Hill to the "Booty Call."

Expect rolling road closures as the motorcades take the dignitaries to their destinations.

CANDID CAMERA EDITION

"When it's least expected, your elected. You're the star today! SMILE! You're On Candid Camera!"

There was a television show in the sixties (so I'm told) where they use to place a hidden camera somewhere in a city, usually in a talking mail box or phone booth. (Yes, we use to have them) They would film the reaction of unsuspecting passersbys as the mail box would talk. They also did other crazy things to solicit some really funny reactions. The man behind this was the genius named Alan Funt. He would always start out each segment with: "We wondered what it would be like if....."
I can almost hear ALan Funt now. "We wondered what it would be like if we put 4,000 Police Officers in a city and told them there were 15,000 protesters on their way. We'd let them mobilize, get into their riot gear and no one would show up! I bet it would make for some fun. Let's watch"
What if you threw a protest and nobody came?

Word on the street (and in the media) is the big protest that was planned for this afternoon, may not be happening at all! They were suppose to be gathering in Lawrenceville for their march of about 30 blocks to the Convention Center. One of the protesters from Colorado (they all are from somewhere else) said that the "Thug Cops" scared everyone away. All the news crews are there and filming maybe 40-50 protesters. The estimates are now there will be maybe a "couple hundred" protesters marching in this "un-permitted" walk. Some are breathing a sigh of relief.

This correspondent for now isn't buying it. These freaks didn't schlep their way across the country to sing a few songs, give a couple of interviews and leave.

I just got off the phone with my source in the PD and he told me (what I have been thinking) the feeling is they are gathering somewhere else, perhaps dividing up into groups and coming from different directions. Of course they hope they are wrong and the the freaks have moved on, but that seams highly unlikely.

The one thing that would make this more fun is if Muammar Gaddaffy Duck would come to the city and set his tent up with "Everybody's Kitchen." I would pay to see Muammar with a ladle in his hand passing out soup.

More as it warrants.

Can we all get together for a minute and throw Ed Rendell a BIG PITY PARTY?
Ed Rendell is the Governor of Philadelphia and want-a-be sportscaster, was on a local radio show whining that because the Commonwealth hasn't passed a budget, he and his wife can't go on their African Safari that they planned for three years! 1-2-3-AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!
Sorry that you had to stay in the state and DO YOUR JOB. What an inconvenience! We feel your pain Ed. Just who do these people think they are? They elected you and now they want you to work? Oh the humanity! You can't go on safari? Some people you serve would be happy to be able to afford to pitch a tent in Latrobe! Give me a break you law breaking fat-ass SOB. (I don't mean Sweet Old Bill)

You were all smiles last night at the rally for the unions, (which you constantly screw and which by the way, Al Gore was a no-show at) you don't mind it when your fat ass is in front of the cameras. Actually, you can take your vacation because no one would notice you were gone except that the air would be a couple of degrees cooler since your pie hole would be closed and the hot air you normally expel wouldn't be there. Before you go, just answer a couple of questions for your loyal servants:

Where's that 30% decrease in property taxes you promised if

"gaming" was approved in PA?

Why won't you give the $40,000.00 back to the tainted political fundraiser Norman Hsu? Hillary and other democrats gave their money back. Why won't you?

How come a dead person from Philadelphia vote several times when I can only vote once?

How come dead people in Philadelphia can vote at all?

Where do you get a safari suit that is big enough for you to wear?

Will Michael Vick start this week against the Chiefs and run the "Wildcat" offense?

Go. Have a good time, believe me, you will not be missed.

Last night's rally was a blast! The unions were there and everyone sang Kum-by-ya! Washed up rocker Joan Jett was the headliner. (with her hair grown back!) I heard she sang her three hits and left!
On a normal day you could roll a nuclear fireball down the center of Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh and not hit anyone. Today the city is a virtual ghost town. Businesses are boarded up, (with the exception of the gay bar called "The Big G." No comment needed) employees are either working from home or not working, commerce is shut down and small businesses are loosing money. The big fear before this week was what were the "protesters" going to destroy? Now the fear is that nothing will happen and all of this was for not.

So the visiting dignitaries and media are going to see a city that is boarded up and empty. So far all the national media (The State Run Media) is showing is all the police in riot gear and saying that "Pittsburgh is shut down expecting violence as the G-20 starts there today."

Great for tourism.

More updates as I report my my undisclosed location. Later I am promised a view from a Blackhawk helicopter. As always, this correspondent will keep you updated with all the inside information.