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> Tues., Nov. 18, 2003
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Energy Bill faces House & Senate Vote
Profiting from Public Parks?
Arnold Schwarzenegger Inaugurated
Protests to FTAA in Miami
Corpwatch Story: BAE Accused of Fraud
FSRN Headlines by Randi Zimmerman
Gay Marriage in MA
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled it is unconstitutional
to deny the right of marriage to same-sex couples. Dave Goodman
reports from Boston.
Protestors in UK Prepare for Bush
President Bush is due to arrive in London this evening for
three days of meetings with British Leaders, intended to demonstrate
the strength of the British American alliance. England remains
a country deeply skeptical of Bush and his foreign policy
leading to the mobilization of massive protests. Brendan Sweeney
reports from London.
Deregulation of Nuke Waste Disposal
A coalition of environmental and health groups is opposing
the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to deregulate
nuclear waste disposal. Kéllia Ramares has the story.
US Military Tear Down Iraqi Suspects' Homes
The U.S. military has started to evacuate and destroy the
homes of people who they suspect are involved in attacking
US and other coalition forces in Iraq. In a move echoing Israeli
military tactics in occupied Palestine, so-called Operation
Ivy Cyclone II has swept through Tikrit, taking down 15 homes
with heavy weaponry including tanks and Apache helicopter
fire. Reportedly, the family members in one house were given
5 minutes to evacuate.
Hundreds of US soldiers have been killed or seriously injured,
including permanently maimed since George W. Bush declared
an end to the hostilities. Human rights groups are reporting
10’s of thousands of Iraqi soldiers and civilians have
received the same fate.
UNHCR Leaving Afghanistan
Officials at the United Nations High Commission for Refugees
say they will pull more aid workers out of Afghanistan. Haider
Risvi explains from the U.N.
[top]
Energy Bill faces House & Senate Vote
Last night a congressional conference committee passed an
energy bill that will forge the nation's energy policy for
the next decade. The bill does not relieve the country from
its dependency on middle eastern oil, while it does keep intact
an SUV tax credit. The House of Representatives is scheduled
to vote and pass the bill by the end of the day, but it is
still unclear whether it will get through the Senate. The
energy bill will shield oil companies from having to pay the
clean up costs of water that has been contaminated with the
gasoline additive MTBE. The measure also does little to protect
the air. And, as Mitch Jeserich reports, dirty water and dirty
air is most prevalent in low income communities.
[top]
Profiting from Public Parks?
Meanwhile, part of the energy bill entails opening public
lands for resource exploration. Although national parks would
never be open to such exploitation, the parks are still open
to private profit. The non-profit environmental group Campaign
to Protect America’s Land recently released the results
of a survey of 1,300 National Park Service employees. According
to CPAL, the survey shows overwhelming internal concerns among
Park Service employees about the political interference and
special-interest deals that threaten national parks and public
lands under the Bush Administration and the Interior Department
headed by Gale Norton. Patrick Nayliss reports from Boulder.
[top]
Arnold Schwarzenegger Inaugurated
Hollywood movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger was inaugurated
yesterday as the 38th Governor of California. He kept his
campaign promise by immediately repealing the increase to
the vehicle license fee which will take over $4 billion dollars
out of the hands of local government. As KPFA’s Christopher
Martinez reports, the inauguration took place before an invitation
only crowd while outside protesters called for a formal investigation
into the allegations of groping.
[top]
Protests to FTAA in Miami
Thousands of delegates from the 34 countries involved in
the Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA, negotiations
are arriving in Miami for the Summit of the Americas. Also
in Miami are thousands of people who will be in the streets
to voice their concerns about this regional free trade agreement.
Almost a decade after the introduction of the North American
Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, the FTAA promises expand the
mandate of NAFTA. One group of grassroots organizations that
is in Miami to show their opposition to the FTAA is called
Roots Cause. Roots Cause unites migrant farmers, low income
organizers from Miami, and groups representing minority people
from across the United States. They are on a 34 mile march
from Fort Lauderdale to downtown Miami to bring attention
to how the FTAA will negatively impact their groups. From
Miami, Patrick Beckett has more.
[top]
Corpwatch Story: BAE Accused of Fraud
Europe's biggest supplier of military equipment, BAE, has
been accused of fraud. The British newspaper the Guardian
is reporting that BAE officials entertained Saudi arms dealers
with everything from prostitutes to gambling, using an illegal
slush fund worth some $30million. In collaboration with Corpwatch,
Anastasia Kershaw has more from London.
[top]
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