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> Tues., Dec. 2, 2003
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Supreme Court on funding for religious schools
CA repeals license for undocumented
Indian farmers to sue Monsanto
FSRN AIDS Series: Harlem, NY
FSRN Headlines from Randi Zimmerman
Investigation of Cincinnati Police
Cincinnati community activists and the U.S. Justice Department
officials agree that the death of a black man at the end of
police nightsticks over the weekend deserves further investigation.
Evan Davis reports.
Immigrants: No Registration, Yes Voice Imprint
The Department of Homeland Security announced today it is
ending a controversial program that forced tens of thousands
of immigrants from Middle-Eastern and South Asian countries
to register with the US immigration service. Jackson Allers
reports from Pacifica station, WBAI in New York City.
HRW Cites Hypocritical Nigeria
Human Rights Watch issues a scathing review of abuses committed
in Nigeria, even as the Nigerian government refuses to invite
Zimbabwe’s President to a meeting as punishment for
his record. Sam Olukoya reports from Lagos.
U.S. Military Officers Support Gitmo Prisoners
Three retired U.S. military officials are offering support
for a few of the people being held without charge or access
to lawyers at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Amanda Johnson reports from D.C.
Venezuelan opposition hand in recall signatures
Yesterday night, Venezuela’s opposition completed a
petition drive to activate a recall referendum against the
country’s leftist President Hugo Chavez. Upon presenting
the results of the petition drive, the opposition and the
government had diametrically opposed claims about the opposition’s
success in collecting the necessary signatures. Greg Wilpert
reports the story from Caracas, Venezuela.
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Supreme Court on funding for religious schools
The U.S. Supreme Court announced it will clarify a ruling
it made last year that juries not judges should rule whether
a defendant in a capitol case should die. The justices will
decide whether their ruling is retroactive, which could effect
the cases of more than 100 people sitting on death row. Also,
today the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments of a case
that could require states to provide funding for religious
schools. The case arises from the state of Washington which
denied a scholarship to a university student because he majored
in theology. The student's lawyers claim the state unfairly
discriminated against him because of his religion and violated
his right to free speech. However, opponents insist that banning
government funds for religious teachings helps insure such
freedoms by prohibiting the use of tax payer money to advance
a religious ideology that not everyone believes. Mitch Jeserich
from Capitol Hill.
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CA repeals license for undocumented
Handing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger a major victory,
the California Assembly has repealed a new law that would
have allowed undocumented immigrants to apply for a driver’s
license. Schwarzenegger had pledged to repeal the law during
his campaign in California’s recall election and yesterday
said he would sign the bill within 48 hours. Christopher Martinez
reports from Sacramento.
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Indian farmers to sue Monsanto
This August, angry farmers in southern India stormed the
facilities of world's largest agro-chemical producer, Monsanto,
protesting after more than 70 farmers committed suicide in
the region. Their deaths are being blamed on debt and drought
- and on the introduction of Monsanto's genetically modified
crops. Last year in South India, the rates of suicide among
farmers rose dramatically after widespread crop failure which
farmers blamed on government approved Monsanto GMO’s.
And this year in the western Indian state of Gujarat it is
reported that Monsanto's seeds have failed again. This time
farmers are contemplating suing the Monsanto corporation for
their losses. But Monsanto India says they will fight any
suits and claims their seeds are of world class quality. From
the cotton fields of Gujarat, our correspondent Binu Alex
reports.
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FSRN AIDS Series: Harlem, NY
As the world paused yesterday to remember what the AIDS
pandemic has done across the world and to demand action, the
World Health Organization and UNAIDS promised cheaper drugs,
simpler treatment regimens and more money to fight the disease.
Here in the U.S., many took to the streets to demand greater
resources for HIV prevention. While significant strides have
been made to control the spread of the disease in affluent
white communities, the levels of HIV infections is rising
among African-Americans and immigrants as Kody Emmanuel reports
from an AIDS march in Harlem in our special World AIDS day
series. Production assistance from Ian Forest.
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