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> Thur., Aug. 28, 2003
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Halliburton Contracts Spent on Military Not Iraqis
Ashcroft Sells the Patriot Act
Hamas Bank Accounts Frozen
IMF Hurts Jordan’s Farmers
Execution Set for Murderer of Abortion Doctor
FSRN Headlines Produced by Randi Zimmerman
Jesse Jackson with Striking Yale Workers - Melinda Tuhus
Bush Won't Give Raises - John Hamilton
Shell Workers on Strike in Nigeria - Sam Olokoye
India Confirms Pesticides in Coke and Pepsi - Vinod K. Jose
[top]
Halliburton Contracts Spent on Military Not Iraqis
(3:52)
The Washington Post gained the attention of the nation today
with a front page story showing that Halliburton, the company
formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, has been awarded
over 1.7 billion dollars under the Pentagon’s Operation
Iraqi Freedom. Halliburton is also poised to receive hundreds
of millions of dollars in no-bid contracts from the U.S. Army
during the upcoming months. The Post reported that a 3rd of
the 3.9 billion dollars a month that the U.S. spends in Iraq
goes to private corporations that have close ties to the Bush
administration, which along with Halliburton includes Bechtel,
whose president at one time was former Secretary of State
George Schultz. And, as Mitch Jeserich reports, the majority
of money that Halliburton receives won’t be going to
improve conditions of the Iraqi people, but to build the infrastructure
to meet the needs of the U.S. Military.
[top]
Ashcroft Sells the Patriot Act (3:58)
Attorney General John Ashcroft’s Patriot Act tour
came to Boise this week, near the home of Butch Otter, the
Republican Congressman who has lead the charge in the House
for repealing parts of the act. Critics believe by bringing
the debate to Idaho, Ashcroft is targeting Otter. Otter’s
bill prohibiting warrentless "sneak and peak" searches
passed the house 309 to 118. Ashcroft’s tour so far
has hit Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit and Des Moines. If
it’s successful, it may lead to the introduction of
Senator Orin Hatch’s so-called Victory Act this fall,
which contains many of the provisions found in the leaked
version of the second Patriot Act. Leigh Robartes has more
from Idaho.
[top]
Hamas Bank Accounts Frozen (4:31)
Israeli Forces rolled into northern Gaza today with a bulldozer
and 10 armored personal carriers after a “Qassam”
rocket was launched from inside the territory and landed near
Ashkelon. Israel says this is the northern most point a Qassam
rocket has reached from Gaza. Shortly after the rocket launch,
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the Israeli military
to take “all necessary steps” against those he
described as militants. Earlier in the day, in a move welcomed
by some in the Israeli government, the Palestinian authority
called on all Palestinian banks to put a “pre-emptive
freeze” on the assets of 6 Islamic charities and NGOs
throughout the Gaza strip, saying at least two of the charities
may be fronts for the military wing of Hamas. The move to
freeze assets prompted protests throughout the Gaza Strip.
In Gaza City some 2000 Palestinians protested calling Abbas
an ”American agent” when they arrived at various
welfare offices only to discover much needed aid will not
be offered. Awad Duaibes has more from Ramallah on the political
moves of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.
[top]
IMF Hurts Jordan’s Farmers (2:57)
Massive street demonstrations have rocked the Honduran capital
of Tegucigalpa over the past few days as tens of thousands
protest economic reforms the government is making; what the
Honduran people say is to impress the International Monetary
Fund. Honduras' Congress last week passed a law allowing private
companies to buy concessions in the state water sector and
is planning a law to regulate the salaries of some 100,000
public sector employees in the poor Central American nation.
Honduras’ President Ricardo Maduro says the measures
will persuade the IMF to go ahead with a new credit line for
Honduras that has been on hold since November. Eighty percent
of Honduras' 6.5 million people live in poverty. Meanwhile
in Jordan, the farmers’ union has threatened to launch
a nationwide strike to pressure the government to retract
harsh water saving mechanisms that are threatening the lives
of farmers. The price of vegetables has sharply decreased
and many are quitting the profession because of the lack of
marketing strategies. And as Oula Farawati reports from the
Jordanian valley that borders Israel, a whole segment of society
is being threatened by these IMF imposed economic policies.
[top]
Execution Set for Murderer of Abortion Doctor
(3:55)
State officials in Florida are preparing for the execution
next week of a man convicted of killing a doctor who performed
abortions and his security escort. This is the first execution
in the country for the murder of an abortion doctor. The pending
event has become a lightning rod for anti abortion and anti
death penalty activists who say they’re afraid the execution
will result in more violence. From St. Petersburg, Sally Watt
reports.
[top]
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