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> Fri., Oct. 24, 2003
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Feds Sweep Wal-marts and arrest 100’s of Undocumented
Workers
Corporations Profiting from Employee’s Life Insurance
High Distrust of US in Indonesia
Kashmiri Separatists to Talk with Indian Government
Controversial New UN Police Chief for Liberia
Free Speech Radio News Headlines by Randi
Zimmerman
Iraqi Oil Money Missing? - Susan Wood
A British aid agency claims the United States and Britain
have failed to account for 4 to 5 billion dollars in oil revenue
earmarked for rebuilding Iraq.
Wisconsin Legislature Alters Marriage Definition - Norman
Stockwell
Wisconsin’s legislature redefined the states definition
of marriage leaving gay and lesbian rights activists worried.
15-Thousand Asylum Seekers Freed in UK - Anastasia Kershaw
Pleasing human rights advocates, British officials are moving
more than 15-thousand immigrants from the welfare rolls into
the work force.
US Congress Lifts Cuban Travel Ban - Joseph Mutti
Last night, over threats by George W. Bush to veto the legislation
and the anti-Castro contingent, the U.S. Senate followed the
House and approved lifting travel restrictions to Cuba.
Venezuelan Bonds Good Investment
The populist policies of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
are receiving a vote of confidence from an unusual source
according to Forbes magazine – international investors.
Fund managers are gobbling up the nation’s bonds. It
is viewed as a sign that the Venezuelan economy is more than
just stable, it is also expanding. One financial analyst theorizes
that there is growing skepticism a political referendum seeking
to remove Chavez will succeed. Venezuela is the world’s
5th oil exporter.
[top]
Feds Sweep Wal-marts and arrest 100’s of Undocumented
Workers (3:54)
Yesterday as part of a surprise crackdown called "Operation
Rollback", federal immigration authorities swept into
dozens of Wal-Mart stores in 21 states and arrested more than
300 custodians employed by a company contracted to clean Wal-Marts
around the country. Police also searched the office of a Wal-Mart
executive at the company's corporate headquarters in Bentonville,
Arkansas; others received subpoenas to testify in front of
a grand jury. While Wal-Mart points the finger at its cleaning
contractor, sources inside the sting say they've got surveillance
tape of Wal-Mart representatives discussing the hiring of
undocumented workers. John Hamilton has more.
[top]
Corporations Profiting from Employee’s Life
Insurance (4:17)
Corporations are saving billions of dollars from the pending
deaths of their employees. Many companies, including the retail
giant Walmart, buy tax-exempt life insurance policies on their
workers, often times without the workers knowledge. The life
insurance policy lasts for the entire life of the worker,
regardless of whether the employee stopped working for the
company before their death. These transactions save corporations
billions of dollars and when the worker dies the corporation,
not the worker's family, receives the benefit. The U.S. Senate
Finance Committee agreed last month to curb these tax shelter
mechanisms. But, as Mitch Jeserich reports, an aggressive
lobbying effort by the powerful insurance industry, yesterday
caused the Senate Finance Committee to retract its vote.
[top]
High Distrust of US in Indonesia (3:39)
On the heels of President Bush’s quick visit to Indonesia
this week, the US has agreed to hand over a man accused by
the Bush Administration and the Indonesian government of orchestrating
the Bali bombing last year. Mr. Hambali is the alleged operations
chief of Jemaah Islamiah, and the Indonesian government has
been requesting his extradition from the US for some time
now. Analysts say this overture by the Bush Administration
signals a move to fully restore diplomatic and military relations
with Indonesia that were finally cut after the 1999 East Timorese
referendum when the Indonesian military participated in razing
that country to the ground. Yet as Aaron Glantz reports from
Jakarta, while Presidents Bush and Megawati Sukarnputri may
be collaborating more, the Indonesian people still have a
strong distrust of the US.
[top]
Kashmiri Separatists to Talk with Indian Government
(3:24)
Kashmiri separatists yesterday cautiously accepted a landmark
offer of to begin talks with the Indian government, but said
they would discuss a solution to the Kashmir dispute with
Pakistan as well. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a grouping
of religious and political parties that wants Kashmir to be
separate from India, responded positively to India's announcement
Wednesday that Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani would
hold talks with them about the province's future. However,
as Shahnawaz Khan reports from Srinagar, many wonder what
these talks will bring for the people of Kashmir.
[top]
Controversial New UN Police Chief for Liberia
(3:56)
The United Nations yesterday named former Portland Oregon
Police Chief Mark Kroeker the new police commissioner for
Liberia. On October 1st, the UN took over peacekeeping duties
in Liberia, which had been handled by Nigeria since Liberian
ex-President Charles Taylor fled the country in August. During
Kroeker's time in Portland, he was accused many times of racial
bias and disrespect for community members who wanted to reform
the police department. But beyond Kroeker’s dominating
police style, its his ties to the Bush Administration, and
personal investment in the homeland security industry that
may be indicators of how he will fare in Liberia. Andrew Stelzer
has more from Portland.
[top]
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