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> Thur., Oct. 2, 2003
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Nomination of Pickering in Final Stages
Ethnic Profiling in Canada
Musharraf Under Pressure in Pakistan
Immigrant Freedom Riders Merge on DC
Protesters Deplore D.C. School Vouchers
FSRN Headlines by Randi Zimmerman
Partial Birth Abortion Passes House
Reproductive rights advocates lost on Capitol Hill today when
the U.S. House approved a ban on the controversial late term
abortion procedure. Defenders of the procedure also referred
to as “partial birth abortion” say it is sometimes
the safest way to protect the health and fertility of a mother
late in a pregnancy. The White House is encouraging the Senate
to move quickly on the measure. One that the President promises
to sign. Advocates for reproductive freedom believe the ban
is a way for anti-abortion activists to punch holes in the
protections of the Roe v Wade.
Defense and State Employees Told to Hold Docs
The U.S. Justice Department is preparing to send letters to
employees in the Defense and State Departments regarding the
leaked name of a CIA operative. Prosecutors have already sent
a letter to White House staffers requiring them to hold on
to any documents related to the matter. Reportedly, a Bush
administration staffer contacted reporters saying that former
ambassador Joseph Wilson’s wife was a CIA agent after
Wilson questioned the President’s statement that Iraq
was trying to buy uranium in Africa.
US Sends New UN Resolution
The United Nations Security Council today began discussing
a revised U.S. draft resolution on Iraq. Susan Wood reports
from the UN.
Senators Say FCC Wrong
Senators declare today that the FCC’s drive to allow
media conglomerates to control more stations and media outlets
will curtail diversity at the local level. More from Capitol
Hill, Jessamy Norton-Ford.
Fighting Over Fuel Deregulation in Nigeria
Fuel price has gone up by twenty percent in Nigeria following
the deregulation of petroleum products. Sam Olukoya reports
from Lagos.
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Nomination of Pickering in Final Stages
Today the CIA’s David Kay, who two months ago began
the U.S. search for weapons of mass destruction, addressed
Congress in a closed door session. During the buildup up to
the invasion of Iraq, Kay, a former UN weapons inspector,
was adamant that Iraq had such weapons. But Kay in an interim
report is expected to show Congress that his two-month search
has not yielded any evidence that the weapons exist. Meanwhile,
Republicans on the Senate Judicial committee rejected a Democratic
request that it should begin investigating the White House
leak that revealed Ambassador Joseph Wilson’s wife secretly
worked for the CIA. Wilson and many Democrats contend the
leak was in retaliation to Wilson’s report that rebuked
President Bush’s claim that Saddam Hussein was seeking
uranium from Niger, one of the main reasons cited for invading
Iraq. The Senate Judicial Committee had another contentious
debate today concerning Bush’s judicial appointment
of Charles Pickering to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last year a Democratic controlled Senate rejected Pickering
nomination as civil rights and pro choice groups said as a
federal judge in Mississippi he was lenient to those who committed
hate crimes, and as a State Senator supported outlawing abortion.
But now a Republican controlled Senate believes it may even
have enough votes to override a possible filibuster that could
block a vote. Mitch Jeserich has more from Washington DC.
[top]
Ethnic Profiling in Canada
When Canadian headlines screamed about the arrest of a suspected
network of terrorist suspects in Toronto in August, the story
was repeated around the world. But six weeks later, immigration
and police authorities concede that there is no evidence that
the men represent any threat to Canada’s security. Community
members allege racial and religious profiling. Kristin Schwartz
reports from CKLN in Toronto.
[top]
Musharraf Under Pressure in Pakistan
Pakistanis are still debating the message that was delivered
to them this past weekend, supposedly from Al Qaeda, urging
all Muslims in the country to overthrow President Musharraf
and calling Musharraf an ‘infidel‘. The audio
tape which aired on Qatar-based Arabic TV channel, Al-Jazeera,
takes a snipe at Musharraf for his decision to send Pakistani
troops to Iraq and to recognize the state of Israel while
it calls upon the Pakistani army to topple its chief before
he hands them over to Hindus, or neighboring India, and flees
the country to enjoy his bank accounts. The call-to-arms by
Al Qaeda, if it is authentic, is timely considering the new
UN resolution seeking a multinational force for Iraq, under
whose auspices, Musharraf says he will send troops to back
up US forces. Masror Hussain reports from Islamabad.
[top]
Immigrant Freedom Riders Merge on DC
With the California re-call vote coming to its final days,
this week the largest get-out-the vote efforts came from unions
advocating to keep Gray Davis in office, the most active of
which have predominantly immigrant memberships. And as the
Immigrant Worker Freedom Rides comes to DC, the issue of citizenship
in order to vote has become one of many causes that the riders
will demand Congress and the White House address, as Selina
Musuta reports.
[top]
Protesters Deplore D.C. School Vouchers
Late last night, the remaining Washington, DC residents,
who yesterday engaged in a sit-in at Republican Representative
and the Speaker of the House Of Representatives, Dennis Hastert's
office, were released from jail. Almost 80 people engaged
in civil disobedience to protest what they say is taxation
without representation and a lack of Budget Autonomy for DC.
Ingrid Drake reports from the nation's capitol, on how this
incident is an example of how the power struggle between DC
residents and some members of Congress has been heating up
over the last few weeks.
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