Home > Programs
> FSRN
> Thur., Feb. 12, 2004
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
Thanks to FSRN.org
for making the daily programs available to Pacifica.org
Today's lead stories:
Colin Powell on Offensive Over WMD’s
Court Challenge to FCC Media Ownership Rules
FCC Moves in on High Speed Internet
Welfare $ for Marriage
US $ for AIDS or Funding Corruption in Uganda?
Displaced Peoples in Iraq Dramatically Increasing
FSRN Headlines
US Justice Seeking 100s of Patient Records in Abortion Case
The U.S. Justice Department is demanding that various hospitals
around the nation turn over hundreds of patient medical records
on certain types of abortions performed at the facilities.
Investigators say they need the records as part of a lawsuit
challenging the recently passed ban on what anti-abortion
groups call partial-birth abortion. Ginger Otis reports from
New York.
UN Tries to Broker Iraqi Sovereignty and Elections
United Nations officials are attempting to negotiate with
Iraqi leaders who insist on direct elections and the U.S.
installed Provisional Authority who supports the existing
caucuses. Haider Rizvi reports from the U.N.
Bolivian Prisoners Mock Crucifixion
Bolivian prisoners had themselves crucified as part of planned
protests hoping to gain attention for what they are calling
their abysmal treatment. Chip Mitchell has more on the story.
Black Panther Still In Jail After 30-years Served
A former Black Panther, imprisoned for 30 years in the killing
of a police officer, has been denied parole despite a long
record of reform. Ian Forrest reports from WBAI in New York.
[top]
Colin Powell on Offensive Over WMD’s
President Bush yesterday called on the international community
to increase efforts to keep certain countries and so-called
terrorist organizations from developing nuclear weapons. Today
Secretary of State Colin Powell defended Bush’s plan
and the credibility of the Administration over its claims
that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Mitch Jeserich
reports.
[top]
Court Challenge to FCC Media Ownership Rules
Yesterday in Philadelphia, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals
heard a marathon 8 hours of oral arguments in a lawsuit concerning
media ownership laws that the FCC greatly expanded in June
2003. The case, Prometheus Radio Project vs. the Federal Communications
Commission began last year when the Third Circuit imposed
a stay of the implementation of the new rules. Pete Tridish
of the Prometheus Radio Project speaks with Deepa Fernandes.
[top]
FCC Moves in on High Speed Internet
Meanwhile a lesser known proposal of the FCC that was approved
today, is a plan to send high-speed internet over existing
power lines. Supporters say ‘broadband over power lines’,
or BPL, will provide high-speed internet for the first time
to remote areas. But the technology will likely be rolled
out in more densely populated areas, in competition with other
high-speed offerings, including wireless internet providers
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Also, radio enthusiasts
feel the system may cause widespread interference in short-wave
bands uniquely suited for international communication. Leigh
Robartes has more.
[top]
Welfare $ for Marriage
An estimated 1.5 billion dollars over five years has been
requested from Congress for the purpose of infusing heterosexual
marriage education and enrichment services into every appropriate
program for low-income people, including Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families or TANF services, the Refugee Resettlement
program and the Children's Bureau and Community Services.
But as Jenny Johnson reports, poor people want the government
to know that there are better ways to spend the money which
they say will truly move people out of poverty.
[top]
US $ for AIDS or Funding Corruption in Uganda?
This week the US embassy in Uganda announced that the east
African country had received $37 million to fight aids under
the US Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). 63 countries
have been listed as eligible for US aid under the new program.
The funding comes from President Bush's Millennium Challenge
Account which Uganda's opposition says their country does
not qualify for because it does not meet the requirements.
They accuse the Bush Administration of bank rolling President
Museveni’s government despite concerns over human rights.
Joshua Kyalimpa reports from Uganda.
[top]
Displaced Peoples in Iraq Dramatically Increasing
Iraq's US appointed Governing Council is expected to finalize
a draft of the interim legislation for administrating the
Iraqi state. The draft text has been leaked to the media and
it discusses the relationship between the state and Islam,
without mentioning that Iraq is an Arab country. The document
lays down rules for organizing elections, and ways to ensure
that Baathists do not run for elections. It also outlines
a federalist structure within a united Iraq, without giving
any detail. It states that a five-member presidential committee
will be formed to rule Iraq. And while the US selected Iraqi
Governing Council continues to map its plan for the future,
the numbers of displaced Iraqi’s, especially in the
city of Kirkuk grows everyday. As Rafael Kraft reports, basic
services for the internal refugees are almost non-existent
and many people have no place to go.
[top]
|
Listen
to the show 
Help
stream
download
