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> Wed., Jan. 21, 2004
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Bush with State of the Union
Military Families Mourn Lost Soldiers
Russian Outrage over US military Bases in Poland
Booming Garment Sector in Vietnam – At What Expense?
SEIU Waits on Election Results
LGBT Series: Part 2: Argentina
FSRN Headlines:
Arab Response to State of Union
George Bush’s State of the Union speech was watched
around the world. Many in the Arab world were displeased by
much of what they heard. Oula Al-Farawati reports from Amman.
Lawyers Request Blair Investigated by ICC
The International Criminal Court received papers asking for
an investigation of British Prime Minister Tony Blair for
war crimes. Naomi Fowler reports from London.
UN Back to Iraq
There’s much uncertainty around how and when the United
Nations will lead Iraq towards the next political step. Haider
Rizvi has more from the U.N.
WEF Opens in Switzerland
Amnesty International is requesting Swiss officials mind standard
practices of human rights during the World Economic Forum
and planned counter protests during the event. During today’s
peaceful political ballet, police surrounded 50 people and
arrested 10. Diletta Varlese reports from Zurich.
Former Guatemala Military Officer Sentenced
Human rights activists were anxiously waiting for the arrest
of a former army colonel and intelligence chief after Guatemala's
supreme court sentenced him to thirty years of prison this
week. Catherine Elton reports from Guatemala City.
[top]
Bush with State of the Union (4:00)
Last night President George Bush gave his last State of
the Union Address for his 4-year term. In his address to Congress
Bush stated his support for a constitutional amendment to
ban same sex marriage, he proposed making his faith based
initiatives permanent, increasing funds for drug testing in
schools and starting a campaign to combat sexually transmitted
diseases through abstinence. Bush also proposed re-authorizing
the two previous year's tax cuts and the Patriot Act before
provisions in those measures expire. While Bush defended the
invasion of Iraq, he made no mention of last year's dubious
assertions of Iraq trying to buy Uranium from Africa or that
Saddam Hussein was close to unleashing weapons of mass destruction
on the U.S. and its allies. FSRN correspondent Mitch Jeserich
was at Capitol Hill last night and he brings us this report.
[top]
Military Families Mourn Lost Soldiers (0:57)
Though President Bush has attended dozens of fundraisers
for his re-election campaign since the invasion of Iraq began,
he has yet to attend a single funeral for any of the more
than 500 U.S. military personnel that have died during the
war and occupation of Iraq. During the State of the Union
Address, military family members and peace activists held
a vigil outside the capitol for all the people who have died
in the war. Jenny Johnson, from our DC Bureau, brings us this
sound collage.
[top]
Russian Outrage over US military Bases in Poland
(4:10)
There is growing outrage in Australia over US moves to station
military bases and troops on Australian soil. Joint Chiefs
of Staff chairman Richard Myers is currently visiting Australia
where he is laying the groundwork for what he says is not
a military base but a joint military training facility in
northern Australia which will pre-position equipment and materials
in case of war. Myers told the Australian press that in its
global reassessment of its force deployment the US has developed
a ‘places not bases’ doctrine under which it will
store large amounts of equipment from tanks to aircraft, and
fuel and ammunition around the world to allow the rapid deployment
of troops into US war-fields. Meanwhile debate is also raging
in Russia over U.S. military moves closer to its border. Russian
military expert, Rus’an Puchow, speaking on Polish Radio
in Warsaw claimed that the location of American military bases
in Poland will influence the Polish-Russian relations in a
very negative way. Danuta Szafraniec reports from Warsaw.
[top]
Booming Garment Sector in Vietnam – At What
Expense? (4:03)
Vietnam today reported that it has bridged its trade deficit,
bringing the figure down by $120 million from the same time
last year to $170 million, one of the lowest in trade deficits
in Asia. One of the reasons for the reduced deficit is the
country’s booming garment export sector, which is growing
at a rate of 20 percent each year. Garment exports, second
only to crude oil, is expected to earn more than 3 and a half
billion dollars this year, with goods headed to the United
States, Europe and other Asian countries. The sector is employing
a growing number of Vietnamese, who are leaving farms for
factories. Ngoc Nguyen reports from Hanoi.
[top]
SEIU Waits on Election Results (3:15)
Yesterday was the last day for many retail Candy workers
with Fannie May in Chicago, as the plants shut down. While
the Service Employees International Union, or the SEIU, Local
1 is in negotiation to ensure the worker’s pay and benefits,
SEIU local 36 in Philadelphia is waiting for election results
from an election that has been long due. Dante Toza has more
from Philadelphia.
[top]
LGBT Series: Part 2: Argentina (2:32)
Buenos Aires is the first Latin American city to recognize
the civil union among people of the same or different sex.
Two weeks ago, the Nation's Chamber of Representatives included
the sexual orientation and gender identity into the Anti-Discrimination
Act. Many applaud Argentina President, Néstor Kirchner,
for welcoming the LGBT Community for the first time in Argentine
history. However, in Part 2 of our special series looking
at the world-wide assault on the rights of LGBT communities,
as Miguel Lara reports from Buenos Aires, the issue has opened
a fierce debate among human rights activists, the Catholic
Church, and traditional political parties.
[top]
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