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> Thur., Jan. 29, 2004
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
White House Pre-war Intelligence
Israel - Hezbollah Prisoner Exchange
Books Through Bars
Independent Commission forms in NYC Public Education
Southern California Grocery Workers Strike
FSRN Headlines
US Troops to Pakistan???
Officials in Pakistan said today they will categorically reject
U.S. troops seeking to root out Al-Qaeda on their soil. Reports
in the Chicago Tribune yesterday, citing Pentagon sources,
claimed the Defense Department was planning a spring offensive
aiming for Osama bin Laden’s followers based in Pakistan.
The Tribune’s report said thousands of U.S. soldiers
in pursuit of al-Qaeda or Taliban operatives in Afghanistan
heading towards the border would be deployed in Pakistan and
aided by Pakistani troops. A Pakistani military spokesperson
reportedly said “Pakistan ‘has resisted and will
continue to resist such requests from the U.S.”
Trouble at the BBC
There is a shake up going on at the BBC today as a result
of yesterday’s court decision about the British weapons
inspector’s suicide. From London, Naomi Fowler reports.
Drug Makers Won't Turn Over Studies
Manufacturers of popular antidepressant drugs such Zoloft
and Paxil are refusing to publish many of their clinical trials
involving children, citing trade secrecy. Kellia Ramares has
the story.
Protest Over Bush's 1.5 Billion Plan for Poor to Marry
People from low-income community groups held a mock wedding
ceremony in protest of President Bush's 1.5 billion dollar
campaign to encourage poor people to get married. Jenny Johnson
reports from Capitol Hill.
Gays and Lesbians Unable to Adopt in Florida
Gays and lesbians are still unable to adopt children in the
state of Florida. A federal appeals court upheld the law yesterday,
the only one in the country. Mitch Perry reports from WMNF
in Tampa.
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White House Pre-war Intelligence (4:17)
Today, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice told CBS
that some prewar intelligence on Iraq was flawed - but she
blamed this flaw on Saddam Hussein for being secretive about
his programs, even though U.N. weapons inspectors found no
evidence of existing weapons of mass destruction before the
invasion. Rice also indicated she doesn't believe an independent
investigation should be launched to find out what these intelligence
errors were. Yesterday, former CIA Weapons inspector in Iraq,
David Kay, who is a supporter of removing Hussein, said an
independent investigation SHOULD look into the intelligence
errors. Congressional Democrats say, however the Republican
leadership is blocking the Senate Intelligence Committee from
expanding its investigation into how the White House used
the information. And as Mitch Jeserich reports, government
watchdog groups say the U.S. Congress is doing a poor job
in overseeing the White House.
[top]
Israel - Hezbollah Prisoner Exchange (3:19)
This morning’s suicide attack in Jerusalem which killed
more than ten people and wounded 50 more, did not halt a controversial
prisoner swap with Lebanon. Israel released 429 Arab prisoners,
and in exchange Lebanon’s Hezbollah released one Israeli
civilian and the corpses of three Israeli soldiers. Iris Makler
has more from Jerusalem.
[top]
Books Through Bars (3:56)
Despite the enormous profits generated from the prison industry
in the United States, prison libraries have been on the budget
chopping block in many states. While many studies connect
the lack of education inside prisons to high recidivism rates,
it’s no surprise that it might be in the interest of
private and state prisons to keep their prisoners poor and
undereducated. Also, education grants for inmates have long
since been eliminated, dashing any hopes for secondary education
opportunities. However, a grassroots organization called ‘Books
Through Bars’ has been supplying books to prisoners
- sending reading material such as text books and novels to
inmates across the country. From New York, Geoff Brady has
more.
[top]
Independent Commission forms in NYC Public Education
(4:05)
As NY City Mayor Michael Bloomberg inches towards re-election
in 2005, many New Yorkers know that he will be staking his
bid on the gains made in reforming the City’s Education
system, a reform for many, that is proceeding without the
involvement of some of the system's most critical constituencies.
Proposing to take back public education in their city, a few
months ago a coalition of parents, teachers and other education
activists came together to form the Independent Commission
on Public Education. Ian Forrest attended their most recent
meeting yesterday in New York City and files this report.
[top]
Southern California Grocery Workers Strike
(3:21)
Hundreds of supermarket workers and religious and labor
leaders marched to the Alamo, California estate of Safeway
Chairman Steve Burd today to highlight their frustration at
the stalemate in negotiations in the Southern California grocery
strike. The marchers wanted to deliver more than 10,000 letters
and cards to Burd's doorstep. Labor leaders say Burd is responsible
for orchestrating the corporate response to the dispute, which
affects 70 thousand workers at three major supermarket chains.
Max Pringle has more on this story.
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