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> Tues., Feb. 17, 2004
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Wisconsin Primary Today
Teachers protest in Mexico City
Behind Britain’s Guantanamo
Kasmiri’s Doubtful on Talks with India
Regilious Sect's Struggle for Power in Iraq
FSRN Headlines
Palestinian Day Laborers Border Sit-In
Today, several thousand Palestinian day laborers gathered
at the border crossing between Gaza and Israel. Mohammed Ghalayini
explains why from Gaza City.
SF Court Delays Marriage Decision
At deadline the city of San Francisco was still marrying same
gendered couples as two organizations took the process to
court. Tori Taylor was in the courtroom.
State Legislatures Scramble to Change Constitutions
Individual state legislatures around the nation are preparing
to dismiss any same gendered marriages that may take place
in other states, by reinforcing already existing prohibitions
on the practice. Virginia’s House did just that, but
also passed a measure yesterday that would allow employers
to grant health insurance to gays and lesbians living together.
Georgia’s Senate passed an amendment to the state’s
constitution defining marriage as only between one man and
one woman. It is expected to pass the 2/3rds needed in the
House and will likely be on Georgia’s ballot in November.
Fearing existing civil unions in neighboring Vermont and the
likelihood of same sex marriage in Massachusetts, New Hampshire
legislators are holding committee hearings on a proposal that
would ban the recognition of such unions in their state.
Indigenous in Ecuador Stop Traffic
Indigenous people in Ecuador are stopping traffic in an attempt
to get the President’s attention. Kurt Kanu reports
from Quito.
Peace Activists Convicting for Wearing Buttons
5 peace activists in Texas have been convicted of trespassing
on their way to George W. Bush’s Crawford ranch. Pokey
Anderson reports from Houston.
[top]
Wisconsin Primary Today
Thanks in part to an accelerated schedule, Wisconsin today
hosts one of its most significant presidential primaries in
forty years. Wisconsin voters will have the original ten candidates
for the democratic nomination for president to choose from
. Active candidates include front-runner Senator John Kerry,
North Carolina Senator John Edwards, Vermont Governor Howard
Dean, the Reverend Al Sharpton, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich
and Lyndon Larouche. The names of Joe Lieberman, Dick Gephardt,
Wesley Clark and Carol Mosely Braun will remain on the ballot
even though those candidates have ended their campaigns. In
addition, voters can elect “uninstructed delegates,”
who will then - presumably, but not necessarily - support
whomever the democrats nominate at the convention in Boston
this summer. From FSRN affiliate station WORT in Madison,
Wisconsin, Norm Stockwell reports.
[top]
Teachers protest in Mexico City
Yesterday in Mexico's capital, public school teachers from
around the country led a demonstration of some 20,000 workers
to protest proposed reforms to labor law and a narrowly-defeated
15% tax on textbooks. The protests comes as the administration
of Mexican President Vicente Fox continues to promote measures
to privatize state-owned industries and public services. Vladimir
Flores files this report from Mexico City.
[top]
Behind Britain’s Guantanamo
While it's well known world-wide that the US is holding
their Guantanamo Bay prisoners in flagrant disregard of the
Geneva Convention, few people know about Britain's own Guantanamo
-- Belmarsh Prison -- where fourteen prisoners are being held
indefinitely without charge in Britain's so-called war on
terror. FSRN’s Naomi Fowler reports from London.
[top]
Kasmiri’s Doubtful on Talks with India
In day two of official talks between India and Pakistan,
further progress was made towards hammering out an agenda
for formal peace talks between the two nuclear neighbors.
While the meetings thus far have been conducted between middle-ranking
foreign ministry officials, tomorrow the foreign secretaries
of both countries will meet to talk more specifically about
one particularly tense issue: Kashmir. In Kashmir, the All
Parties Hurriat Conference (APHC), the Kashmiri separatist
group that recently began meetings with the Indian government,
yesterday announced that the next round of talks could be
hampered if human rights violations continue in Kashmir. Earlier
this month five Kashmiri’s allegedly used as human shields
by the Indian army were killed. APHC also accused India of
not fulfilling any of the promises made during the first round
of talks. The two parties are expected to meet in March for
second phase talks about Kashmir. FSRN’s Shahnawaz Khan
reports from Srinigar.
[top]
Regilious Sect's Struggle for Power in Iraq
The United Nations mission in Iraq has concluded it would
be difficult to conduct direct elections in the US occupied
country before the transfer of power to Iraqis on June 30th.
Shias, who are a dominant group in Iraq, have recently stepped
up their calls for direct elections. Iraqi Sunnis believe
that elections should not be conducted while the country is
under occupation, while Kurds would like to see a Kurdish
Kirkuk. As Raphaël Krafft reports from Baghdad and the
Shia holy city of Najaf, the next few months will be crucial
as the Americans, Sunnis and Shias tussle for a future share
of power.
[top]
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