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> Tues., Dec. 16, 2003
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
UN Office to Reopen in Baghdad?
More on Iraqi Contracts
Military Families Speak Out
Son of Prop 187
Protests Against Cincinnati Police Brutality
Free Speech Radio News Headlines by Randi
Zimmerman
Saddam Called Into Court
According to U.S. officials, Saddam Hussein will likely be
denied a quick trial as he undergoes further questioning.
But, a 9/11 widow, Ellen Mariani, is seeking to gain testimony
from Saddam Hussein in her civil corruption suit against George
W. Bush and others. Kellia Ramares reports.
Israelis Preparing to Leave Gaza
Israeli newspapers report Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says
Israel will soon be out of Gaza. But as Mohammed Ghalayini
reports from Gaza City, incursions continue elsewhere.
No Blanket Amnesty for Undocumented Immigrants
At President Bush’s press conference yesterday he squelched
implications made by Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge in
Miami last week about the potential for amnesty for undocumented
immigrants. Bush said that he is firmly against blanket amnesty.
Prior to the 2001 attack, Mexican President Vicente Fox and
Bush met hoping to find ways to legalize the estimated 3-million
undocumented Mexicans living in the U.S. But since the invasion
of Iraq, U.S.-Mexican relations have been strained after Fox
refused to support the offensive. During Bush’s comments
on immigration, he also said he wants to create a policy that
helps match a willing employer with a willing employee.
IBM Moving Thousands of Jobs Overseas
IBM will move forward on their plans to outsource more than
47-hundred high paying jobs. Before June Big Blue is expected
to send as many as a thousand jobs to China and India.
TX Quick to Reschedule Execution
A Texas judge wasted no time on resetting an execution date
stayed last week by the U.S. Supreme Court. Renee Feltz reports
from KPFT.
NYC Council Tries Lead Paint Law
The New York City Council approved the nation’s most
strict lead-paint legislation over threats of a mayorial veto
and criticism of landlords. Ama Buadi reports from WBAI in
New York.
[top]
UN Office to Reopen in Baghdad? (1:49)
Iraq’s U.S.-appointed interim foreign minister today
told the United Nations that while next year will see a referendum
on a new Iraqi constitution, elections will not be held until
December 2005. The move comes as US officials voiced hope
that Saddam Hussein’s capture would crystallize support
for Washington’s planned transformation of the Iraqi
economy. But many UN member nations, as well as Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, want to see swifter progress toward a full restoration
of Iraqi sovereignty. And at the United Nations today, a member
of the U.S.-sponsored Iraqi governing council clashed sharply
with UN secretary-general Kofi Annan over the prospects for
reopening the UN office in Baghdad. Susan Wood reports from
the UN.
[top]
More on Iraqi Contracts (4:15)
After meeting with French President Jacques Chirac, U.S.
special envoy James Baker said the two countries agree that
Iraq's 120 billion dollar debt should be restructured. Baker,
who is a former Secretary of State and is a senior counselor
to the defense investment company the Carlyle Group, is now
in Germany where he'll meet with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder
concerning Iraq's debt. The meetings come just days after
the Pentagon announced that corporations from countries opposed
to the Iraqi invasion, like France and Germany, were ineligible
for prime contracts of Iraqi reconstruction money. However,
since the announcement the Pentagon has delayed the contract
bidding process. Still, as Mitch Jeserich reports in collaboration
with Coprwatch, the U.S. government and transnational corporations
are moving quickly in building an open market economy even
before there is a democratic Iraqi government to ensure that
such an economic system has the blessing of the Iraqi people.
[top]
Military Families Speak Out (5:27)
Despite yesterday's arrest of Saddam Hussein the US still
face major problems in Iraq. A group of veterans and military
families recently traveled to Iraq to visit their children
and see for themselves what conditions are like both for US
soldiers and for Iraqi civilians. Tom Gomez files this report.
[top]
Son of Prop 187 (3:51)
During Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recent bid for governor
of California, he made repealing a bill that would have granted
driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants a top
priority. After winning the election, the bill was quickly
scrapped – although anti-immigrant sentiment wasn’t.
California’s voters may soon decide on a measure that
will bar undocumented immigrants from obtaining essential
services. Dubbed the "Son of 187", which refers
to a similar measure passed by California voters in 1994,
the petition drive to gather signatures for the initiative
is grabbing the attention of immigrant rights advocates. From
KPFK, Aura Bogado has more.
[top]
Protests Against Cincinnati Police Brutality
(4:08)
More protests were held in Cincinnati this week in the wake
of the police killing of an unarmed African American man,
Nathaniel Jones, as high school students staged a walkout
and brought their complaints to the city administration. Evan
Davis has more.
[top]
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