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> Fri., Sept. 12, 2003
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Israel Expels Arafat
Cheney’s Energy Task Force Dealt Blow
Migrant Workers In Korea
RFID - Radio Frequency Identification
WTO in Cancun Series: We Need Cheap Drugs
FSRN Headlines Produced by Randi Zimmerman
Jobless Economy Harms Black Families - George Starke
Scabs Join Yale Strikers - Melinda Tuhus
Indian Farmers Protest Monsanto - Miranda Kennedy
UN Nuclear Resolution for Iraq - Haider Rizby
Federal Judge Charge D.C. Police - Kevin Little
[top]
Israel Expels Arafat
Today, thousands of Palestinians demonstrated after Friday’s
prayers in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. In Jerusalem,
clashes irrupted between Palestinians with stones and the
Israeli police who retaliated with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The protests sparked by the Israeli parliament's decision
to "expel" Palestinian president Yasser Arafat.
According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the decision to throw
Arafat out of the country is only in "principle"-
Israeli Defense minister Shaul Mofaz initially advocated either
killing or expelling Arafat, and Israeli Defense Forces even
began preparing for such a plan. The parliament says their
decision comes after this weeks suicide bombings which Israel
blames on Arafat’s Fatah group. Meanwhile the Al Alaqsa
brigades said a series of suicide attacks will strike all
Israeli cities in case the Israeli army try to “touch”
the Palestinian president. Awad Duaibes has more from Ramallah
where Palestinians are maintaining a vigil at Arafat’s
compound.
[top]
Cheney’s Energy Task Force Dealt Blow
A federal appeals court has rejected the Bush Administration’s
request to keep Vice President Dick Cheney’s Energy
Task Force documents confidential. The lawsuit is by two advocacy
groups who say the public has a right to know who participated
in the group that Cheney formed two years ago to develop a
national energy policy. Environmentalists suspect the Task
Force was comprised of energy industry executives who would
support traditional energy production and profits over environmental
considerations. Also, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is
refusing to produce records on a Halliburton subsidiary that
received sole source contracts in Iraq. Mitch Jeserich has
more from Washington.
[top]
Migrant Workers In Korea
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or
ASEAN met with delegates from China, Japan, South Korea and
Europe in Indonesia for the 24th annual four-day conference
which began on Monday. High on the agenda was the issue of
international terrorism and migrant workers. Officials attending
the meetings were placed on a state of alert due to the recent
violence in Indonesia. Meanwhile, migrant workers in Korea
hope that the ASEAN meetings will bring relief to those facing
deportation. The landmark Employment Permit System for foreigners
is set to legalize hundreds of thousands of undocumented employees
starting next month but labor activists and migrant workers
remain doubtful about the supposedly worker-friendly program.
From Seoul, Eunji Kang has more.
[top]
RFID - Radio Frequency Identification
Advanced ID Corporation, a pioneer in the radio frequency
identification (RFID) market, today announced that it has
completed a successful field test of its new RFID tags and
readers at one of Canada's largest beef processing plants.
This as a new level of the technology, the Electronic Product
Code or EPC Network, will be unveiled at an executive symposium
in Chicago. RFID microchips are embedded in products, and
a radio antenna gets information to and from the chips. The
EPC network is a way for RFID devises from anywhere to communicate
with each other on a single common platform. RFID technology
is touted as an inventory-control and anti-theft measure.
Some call it the next generation bar code, others call it
an invasion of privacy. Kellia Ramares filed this report.
[top]
WTO in Cancun Series: We Need Cheap Drugs
At the WTO’s 5th ministerial meetings in Cancun Mexico
where some 150 nations are gathered to hash out global trade
agreements, ran into significant roadblocks today. The EU
and Japan have been trying to start new talks on opening up
national markets and financial investment in government procurement
to multinational corporations, but over 70 developing nations
lead by Malaysia announced they would block any such move.
Also a newly formed group of 21 developing countries such
as Brazil and India have brought pressure on the EU, the US
and Japan to end all subsidies to their farmers. These more
powerful countries are now trying to exploit differences between
the groups members. Meanwhile activists have continued to
protest the ministerial meetings by unfurling banners outside
the convention center and staging unannounced protest inside
the building. And as Dan Jaffee and Deepa Fernandes report,
the protestors are highlighting the power of the pharmaceutical
lobby to push through agreements that deny access to generic
drugs for poor countries.
[top]
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