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> Wed., Sept. 3, 2003
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Pushing Through an Energy Bill
Palestinians Rule Out Holding Abbas Vote
100 Death Row Sentences Likely Commuted
Monsanto Sues Small Dairy Farm
70,000 Dead in Peru: 1980-2000
Pushing Through an Energy Bill
Today Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham told a congressional
committee, that the causes of the mass power outage that hit
the East Coast, Midwest and Canada are still unknown. This
as without full knowledge of what happened August 14th, President
Bush and the Republican congressional leadership are calling
for the quick passage of the National Energy Plan. Environmentalists
worry that such a plan could include an increase and fast-tracking
of coal fired power plants, nuclear power plants and the opening
of the Arctic for drilling. Democrats want to pass an energy
reliability bill and hold off on more controversial measures
of the energy bill until the causes of the national power
outages are known.. Mitch Jeserich has more from Capitol Hill.
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Palestinians Rule Out Holding Abbas Vote
As the Israeli Defense Forces escalate the assassinations
of Palestinian activists, the leadership crisis persists between
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and his Prime Minister
Mahmoud Abbas. Today, the Palestinian Parliament speaker ruled
out holding a vote of confidence on Abbas’ leadership.
And on this the eve of Abbas’ speech to the Palestinian
legislative council detailing the first 100 days in office,
Awad Duaibes has more from Ramallah on the parliamentary conflict
between Arafat and Abbas.
[top]
100 Death Row Sentences Likely Commuted
In a case that may take one hundred prisoners in three western
states off death row, the Ninth Circuit court of appeals has
overturned an Arizona death penalty sentence because the defendant
was sentenced by a judge rather than a jury. Yesterday’s
ruling was the first to make last year’s Supreme Court
decision on jury sentencing retroactive. However, if the Ninth
Circuit decision is upheld, convicts might be still be re-sentenced
to death. Leigh Robartes has more.
[top]
Monsanto Sues Small Dairy Farm
It’s the classic David versus Goliath story. Monsanto,
the chemical giant, whose net sales for the first half of
this year were over $2.8 billion, filed a lawsuit in Federal
District Court in Boston in July against a family owned business
in Portland Maine, Oakhurst Dairy. Monsanto claims Oakhurst
is engaging in ‘ unlawful and deceptive acts and practices’
by labeling their products with the words “Our farmers
pledge: No artificial growth hormones.” Monsanto asserts
consumers are misled into thinking that milk that does not
contain the hormone is better than milk that does contain
it, Monsanto argues the FDA has proven that the hormone is
safe. Recently the Maine State Attorney General Steven Rowe
filed a Friend of the Court brief in support of Oakhurst.
The brief points out that the case could potentially destroy
Maine’s Quality Trademark program that certifies dairies
that do not use the bovine hormone. The bovine battle has
taken on such epic proportions that even presidential hopeful
Dennis Kucinich has gotten into fray and will also file a
Friend of the Court brief. Karen D’Andrea files this
report.
[top]
70,000 Dead in Peru: 1980-2000
Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission has ended
its two-year monumental mandate of investigating the country’s
political violence from 1980-2000. Peru’s internal armed
conflict was harshest on indigenous peasants in the countryside
who faced the brutal wrath of the Maoist rebel group The Shining
Path, as well as Peru’s Armed Forces. The Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, was formed by Peru’s transitional
government shortly after Alberto Fujimori’s 10-year
dictatorship collapsed and he fled to Japan. Among the Commission’s
staggering conclusions, presented in a report thousands of
pages-long, is the finding that more than 69,000 people were
killed in Peru during this 20 year period. From Ayachucho,
Peru, Nicole Karsin has more.
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