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> Fri., Jan. 16, 2004
FSRN
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Today's lead stories:
Bremer is Washington, Thousands Protesting in Iraq
4th World Social Forum hits India!
What the Media Missed at Monterrey
Color-Coding Airline Travelers
Victory for Hmong Refugees
FSRN Headlines
Pickering Appointed by Bush
President Bush has taken an extraordinary step and named Charles
Pickering Sr. to the federal appeals court as a Congressional
recess appointment. Senate Democrats sited Pickering as one
of a handful of judges too right wing to appoint to the court.
Their objections led to a 40-hour standoff last year. In 1959
he wrote an opinion later adopted by the Mississippi legislature
in support of criminalizing inter-racial marriage. More recently,
in 1993 he criticized the one person, one vote principle.
And, in 1994 he handed down a light sentence to a man charged
by federal authorities for burning a cross on an interracial
couple’s front lawn. The NAACP says Judge Pickering
has a record of obstructing civil rights for African-Americans
in Mississippi. Done infrequently, and always controversial,
the recess appointment will stand for one year unless the
Senate acts on the stalled nomination.
Seattle Man Sues Feds Over Iraq Sanctions
Seattle man sues government over his 10-thousand dollar Treasury
fine for violating US sanctions on Iraq because he delivered
humanitarian aid. Martha Baskin reports from Seattle.
Acrobatic Troupe Fires HIV Man
World famous acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil admits firing
a performer because he has HIV. Now, a third California municipality
follows Los Angeles and San Francisco in protesting Cirque
du Soleil’s appearance there. More from Kellia Ramares.
Political Tensions in Sri Lanka Rise
Sri Lanka is heading for another political and constitutional
crisis that is further stalling the peace process and frustrating
factions within the Tamil Tigers. Ponniah Manikavasagam reports
from Sri Lanka.
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Bremer is Washington, Thousands Protesting in Iraq
The Chief US Administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, was in
Washington today where it was announced that Monday he and
the US appointed Iraqi Governing Council will go before the
United Nations and appeal for greater UN involvement in Iraq.
Specifically Bush Administration officials say Bremer will
ask for UN involvement in the process of handing sovereignty
back to the Iraqi people. Current US plans to appoint an interim
government via a caucuses system have been criticized as undemocratic
by many in Baghdad. White House spokesperson Scott McClellan
this morning told reporters that the election process would
follow the November 15 agreement between the US and the Iraqi
governing council. FSRN Host Deepa Fernandes reports.
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4th World Social Forum hits India!
The fourth World Social Forum kicked off in the Indian city
of Mumbai today. FSRN correspondent Binu Alex is there.
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What the Media Missed at Monterrey
After a week of heavy media attention surrounding the special
Summit of the Americas, the industrialized Mexican city of
Monterrey is returning to its usual routine. While the presidential
visits received close attention in the local media, those
protesting the summit's agenda were portrayed as dangerous
criminals. Notably absent from the media coverage was what
the protesters named "two days of collectivity"-
organized in the same spirit as the upcoming World Social
Forum. Vladimir Flores files this report from Monterrey.
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Color-Coding Airline Travelers
The Department of Homeland Security is about to start color-coding
travelers. Under the government's new ‘Computer Assisted
Passenger Pre-Screening Program Two’ (CAPS Two), the
government will use a computer program designed by Lockheed
Martin to sift through public and secret government databases
assigning a color to everyone who wants to fly -- green-coded
passengers will be free to fly after passing through regular
security, yellow-coded passengers will be subjected to thorough
searches. Red coded travelers will not be allowed to fly.
Passengers won’t be able to check their color before
flying. And the Department of Homeland Security also is now
into week 2 of finger-printing and eye-scanning most non-European
visitors before they're allowed to enter the United States.
From San Francisco International Airport, Aaron Glantz has
the story.
[top]
Victory for Hmong Refugees
The Lao American Congressional Policy Conference and the
Center for Public Policy Analysis today held a discussion
about reports by the UN and Amnesty International on the Lao
regime's use of starvation as a weapon against Laotian and
Hmong civilians and other opposition groups. And while Hmong
immigrants here in the US have for many decades fought for
many basis rights, just last month the State Department announced
that resettlement eligibility would be extended to all Hmong
refugees. As Carey Biron and Kristin Lerstrom report, this
news has put in motion the beginning of the end of a thirty-year
long struggle for a group of over 14,000 Hmong refugees.
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