Several hundred demonstrators, many of them mental health clinic workers and patients, gathered in front of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s house  Saturday in a rally against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and plans to shut down many of the city’s of mental health clinics.

The protestors met in Horner Park at noon and marched nearly two miles to the mayor’s North Side house, chanting slogans including “You say cut back, we say fight back.” They then sat in the middle of Hermitage Avenue, demanding the mayor and President Obama be responsible for healthcare problems.

“Hey Rahm.  Come on out. See what American is all about,” they shouted.

The mayor didn’t appear at the time of the protest.
The demonstrators said hosting the NATO summit has diverted Chicago’s resources away from where they are most needed. In a controversial move last December, Chicago officials proposed to shut down half of its mental health clinics to slash city spending in a fragile economy.

“I am tired of Rahm Emanuel cutting everything for poor people. Cut, cut, cut,” said Zakiyyah Muhammad, a homecare provider and community activist in Chicago.
“I wish NATO had never come here because the money that the mayor and others have put into welcoming NATO, that money could have been put into a budget to keep the mental health clinics open.”

“I wish NATO would go home ASAP,” she said.

Police used bikes as barricades between the Mayor’s place and the protestors. One protestor went up to a police officer, asking him to shake hands and make a sign of peace. The police didn’t respond.

The three-hour protest today is the third major rally against NATO. The first one started on Friday, with people demonstrating outside the Canadian consulate to protest construction of the Keystone XL pipeline in the ecologically sensitive Sand Hills area in Nebraska. Thousands of people also gathered in Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago calling for a “Robin Hood Tax” on Wall Street.

The biggest rally may be yet to come – protestors from all over the country are expected to meet downtown on Sunday . The Occupy Chicago movement, environmentalists, anarchists, anti-war supporters and numerous other groups seek to get their voices heard when world’s most powerful leaders gather in Chicago.

So far, three self-identified anarchists from other parts of the country have been accused of planning bomb attacks on places including the mayor’s house and Obama’s re-election campaign headquarters  in Chicago’s Loop district.

By ELIZABETH BUNN

The EuroZone crisis heightens NATO’s urge to take immediate effective measures to prevent members’ economic problems from turning into a general, more dangerous security crisis.

NATO relies on contributions from member countries to fund its initiatives. As European countries undergo severe austerity cuts, including massive cuts to defense budgets, their capacity to fulfill those financial obligations diminishes.

“Negative growth, or slow growth, cuts into the ability to sustain the type of funding that is necessary for NATO to operate,” said Ambassador J.D. Bindenagel, a veteran of the U.S. diplomatic corps and 2002 recipient of the Presidential Meritorious Service Award.

The question NATO must address – now more than ever – is how to prevent diminishing finances from weakening the alliance and thwarting its ability to execute its goals.   → Full Story

Differing views keep energy security off summit agenda

BY ROSA LIN

Crude oil remains consistently above $100 a barrel, with intermittent spikes caused by unrest in the Middle East.  Rising countries such as China and India press their demands on the world oil supply. The most viable alternative to crude oil, nuclear power, took a blow from the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

Despite all this, energy security likely won’t be on the agenda at the NATO summit this year.

“Energy security will not play a role in the Chicago summit,” said Michael Rühle, the head of the Energy Security Section at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The only contribution, he said, would be a classified report on energy that is submitted annually.

NATO countries source their energy from a wide variety of places, which is one of the reasons leaders are reticent to discuss energy policies.          → Full Story

BY ALI DURKIN

Less than a year since the completion of NATO’s successful but still controversial Libya mission, the Chicago summit may serve as a venue to discuss both its accomplishments and shortcomings and what they mean for the future of the alliance.

“It is clear that Libya is a precedent for how missions will be carried out in the future and how NATO defines its role as a military organization,” said Graham Paul, the French Consul in Chicago. “We are living in an interconnected era, one in which no country or group of countries is equipped to tackle ever-evolving security threats without input and collaboration from other members of the international community.”  → Full Story

China’s influence felt at G8 despite its absence

BY JOHN SOLYMOSSY

Chinese government leaders will not take part in either the G-8 or NATO summits, though the growing importance of China in the global economy is the 800-pound gorilla in the room at both forums.

Several countries currently included in the G-8 “club,” such as Italy, Canada and France, have faded in importance globally even as China’s influence has soared. Many experts believe for the G-8 to remain an influential and important organization, it will have to consider how China might fit into its global alliance. → Full Story