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> Thur., Jan. 8, 2004
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Haiti Street Protests Escalate
Stop Loss Order for US Troops
Military Vaccines Challenged
Halliburton – Petro Conference
Mistreated Animals at Bell Farms
FSRN Headlines:
US weapons inspectors are being pulled out of Iraq. One
think tank issues a report showing there never were any weapons
to find. David Gruen in D.C. reports.
Today the Center for Public Integrity released a new book
looking at all the Presidential candidates' financial interests.
As Mitch Jeserich reports from D.C., at least one democratic
candidate is linked to corporations vying for Homeland Security
contracts.
Italian airports were all but deserted as air traffic controllers
walked off the job for 8 hours. Now, Italy braces for more
transit workers to strike tomorrow. Diletta Varlese reports.
The Bush administration is proposing to lift the longstanding
buffer zone around streams and waterways to pave the way for
mining interests. Evan Davis has more.
Enron’s former assistant treasurer Lea Fastow has
an approved plea agreement in hand. At issue is whether she
will have to serve her 5-month sentence for tax evasion while
husband Andrew Fastow, former Enron finance officer is also
in prison – leaving their children without one parent
at home. Andrew Fastow is also working on a plea bargain that
would include paying more than 20-million dollars in fines
and as much as 10-years in prison. No charges have been filed
against Enron CEO Kenneth Lay. He is still being investigated.
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Haiti Street Protests Escalate (3:39)
The BBC reported today that opposition leaders in Haiti
have called a two-day nationwide general strike. The strike
follows a day of violent protests in which opposition groups
clashed with supporters of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
At least two people were killed and more than 20 were injured
in the clashes in the capital, Port-au-Prince. The opposition
accuses President Aristide of corruption and is calling for
him to step down. Aristide has pledged to hold fresh legislative
elections this year but also says he plans to serve out his
term until 2006. He has been locked in stalemate with the
opposition since 2000, when he returned to power in a landslide
election which his opponents say was rigged. Deepa Fernandes
begins this report talking with Ron Daniels member of the
Haiti Support Project who says the issue is not as black and
white as the opposition and Aristide supporters paint it to
be.
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Stop Loss Order for US Troops (4:52)
Reports are emerging that thousands of soldiers enlisted
in the US Army, the National Guard and the Reserves have been
forbidden to leave military service on their retirement dates
or their previously assigned date of departure. The Army is
using what is known as a "stop-loss" order to force
soldiers to continue serving. While the Pentagon says the
measures are intended to stop the loss of troops through retirement
and discharge, soldiers and their families are outraged. Deepa
Fernandes reports in collaboration with WBAI's Wake-Up Call.
[top]
Military Vaccines Challenged (3:37)
The federal judge who temporarily halted the Pentagon's
mandatory anthrax vaccination program has lifted his order,
however this will not affect the 6 anonymous plaintiffs who
sued to challenge the Pentagon's policy. Yesterday, Under
Secretary of Defense, David S.C. Chu issued a memorandum ordering
the immediate resumption of the anthrax vaccination program.
This means that the Pentagon, which had suspended the program
after the judge issued his ruling, will again require active
troops, reservists and civilian employees to take the controversial
vaccination. More on the mandatory vaccine program from FSRN’s
Kellia Ramares at Pacifica station KPFA.
[top]
Halliburton – Petro Conference (3:27)
Yesterday, the United States opened up bidding for 5 billion
dollars worth of new contracts to rebuild Iraq. These bids
will be closely scrutinized after the recent Halliburton scandal
where its subsidiary, Kellogg Brown and Root, was accused
of overcharging the U.S. government by at least 61 million
dollars. FSRN’s Selina Musuta reports.
[top]
Mistreated Animals at Bell Farms (3:43)
Last month, the Humane Farming Association filed a petition
with the state of South Dakota citing the alleged mistreatment
of animals at a Bell Farms – Sun Prairie hog farm on
the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. The non-profit organization’s
year-long investigation of the Bell Farms site includes statements
from more than two dozen employees, as well as videotape and
photographs of the squalid conditions the hogs are forced
to live – and die - in. Free Speech Radio News correspondent
Jim Kent has the story.
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