Home > Programs
> FSRN
> Mon., Sept. 15, 2003
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
Thanks to FSRN.org
for making the daily programs available to Pacifica.org
Today's lead stories:
WTO Talks Break Down
Fired Teacher Takes Case to Court
Yale Workers Still In Negotiations
Rally for Reparations at UN
WTO Affects African Cotton Farmers
WTO Talks Break Down
India joined Malaysia in rejecting the revised draft Cancun
ministerial declaration, charging that the WTO is not only
deliberately neglecting their concerns, but comfort is being
given to developed countries which provide huge trade-distorting
subsidies. Meanwhile, many activists and delegates of non-government
organizations (NGOs) celebrated the collapse of the talks
as a triumph for developing nations, which proved their increased
negotiating power. Led by India, Brazil and China, the so-called
G21 group of developing countries collectively rejected the
draft ministerial declaration, which top US trade representative
Robert Zoellick dismissed as countries going for “freebies”.
Zoellick said that the US was bending over backwards to help
poor countries with the G21 rejecting every attempt. With
additional sound from Meredith DeFrancesco of WERU on Norm
Stockwell of WORT, Dan Jaffee wraps up the failed ministerial
talks and the action on the streets from Cancun.
[top]
Fired Teacher Takes Case to Court
A high school teacher and poetry team coach who was fired
at the start of the US bombing of Iraq takes his case to court
today. Teacher Bill Nevins says he lost his position at Rio
Rancho High School in New Mexico when one of his students
read a poem criticizing war fervor to the student body. As
Joe Gardner Wessely reports, the poetic community of New Mexico
is rallying around him while his legal team is readying its
case.
[top]
Yale Workers Still In Negotiations
On Saturday, thousands of workers from Boston, Philadelphia,
New York and other cities around the Northeast converged on
New Haven. They came for a massive rally in support of striking
Yale workers, who are members of H.E.R.E., the Hotel Employees
and Restaurant Employees International Union. They are in
the third week of a strike for higher pay, better job security
and especially decent pensions. At a march following the rally
on the New Haven Green, 130 people were arrested for civil
disobedience, including AFL-CIO president John Sweeney. Melinda
Tuhus reports from New Haven, Conn.
[top]
Rally for Reparations at UN
On Saturday, despite the threat of rain and despite a plethora
of other activities taking place in NY city, reparations activists
from all over the country gathered at Dag Hammerskjold plaza
at the United Nations to press home the case for reparations
to people of African Descent. Reporting on that activity is
FSRN correspondent in NY, Ian Forrest.
[top]
WTO Affects African Cotton Farmers
One of the most contentious issues being discussed at the
World Trade Organization meeting in Cancum Mexico is agricultural
subsidies to farmers in rich countries a situation that has
put farmers in poor countries at a disadvantage. One key commodity
is Cotton. United States subsidy to American cotton farmers
has substantially brought down cotton prices creating hardship
for ten million peasant farmers in West and Central Africa.
Sam Olukoya has been looking at the effects of the US cotton
subsidies on African farmers.
[top]
|
Listen
to the show 
Help
stream
download
