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> Thur., Mar. 11, 2004
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Sweatshops en Route to Haiti?
Islamic Conference Dealing with Image Crisis
Bushwomen Part 3: Ann Veneman
French Researchers Protest
Cuban Five Appeal Heard in Miami
Connecticut’s Prison Overcrowding Problem
FSRN Headlines
Bomb Blasts Kill Dozens in Spain
Only Spanish sources are blaming the Basque separatist group,
ETA for the 13 bomb blasts that killed more than 150 people
and injured more than 500. While those numbers are still coming
in, foreign reporters say evidence points towards other groups.
David Oancia has more from the disaster site near Madrid.
Same Sex Marriage in MA
Same gender marriage is the only thing on the agenda at a
constitutional convention of Massachusetts states legislators.
Chuck Rosina reports from Boston.
Caps on Class Action Suits Discriminate?
Caps on class action lawsuits unfairly discriminates against
ethnic groups and low income people, according to a study
released today by the Center for Justice and Democracy. On
Capitol Hill, Karen Mitchell reports.
Settlement for TX Wrongly Accused
Today a 5-million dollar settlement was reached for residents
of a small Texas town arrested in a discredited drug bust.
Renee Feltz from KPFT in Houston has the story.
[top]
Sweatshops en Route to Haiti? (4:04)
A U.S. delegation that met with deposed Haitian President
Jean Bertrand Aristide in the Central African Republic has
returned to the U.S. At a DC press conference members of the
delegation said that Aristide is still being held against
his will and that it is the French and the U.S. who are calling
the shots there. Meanwhile, since Aristide's departure from
Haiti, a new bill is moving through the U.S. Congress that
would create incentives for the garment industry to set up
shop in the island nation. Mitch Jeserich has more from Capitol
Hill.
[top]
Islamic Conference Dealing with Image Crisis
(2:45)
The OIC, Organization of Islamic Conference held its 3rd
session Senegal’s capital Dakar. For three days, participants
have tried to find solutions to the different challenges facing
Muslim countries. After September 11th, Islam has been broadly
associated with terrorism, something that worries Islamic
elders. They are taking steps to reverse this public sentiment,
one of which includes creating a fund to help poorer member
states by bridging the gap between the richest and the poorest
countries on the planet. An Islamic-Christian dialogue conference
is also slated, aiming to improve relationships between Islamic
countries and the Western World. From Senegal, FSRN’s
Ndiaga Seck reports.
[top]
Bushwomen Part 3: Ann Veneman (3:16)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture today put out a call
for nominations to fill five upcoming vacancies on the National
Organic Standards Board (NOSB), a 15 person team that is responsible
for advising Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman on all issues
that relate to Organic produce and farming. Veneman will personally
appoint the 5 empty seats to serve a 5-year term of office,
a move many small farmers and farm-workers see as good for
agribusiness and bad for workers and consumers. As we continue
our series exposing the women of the Bush Administration,
today Deepa Fernandes talks to Laura Flanders, author of “Bush
Women. Tales of a cynical species” about Veneman’s
love-affair with corporate agriculture.
[top]
French Researchers Protest (3:47)
Several thousand French researchers marched in Paris yesterday
to protest cuts in funding to public research facilities.
The protestors warned that if the government does not release
funds it had promised, the national research facilities will
shut down. Avishay Artsy has more from Paris.
[top]
Cuban Five Appeal Heard in Miami (2:15)
Yesterday, lawyers representing the Cuban Five presented
oral arguments before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in
Miami, Florida. During the much-anticipated hearing, the defense
team for the five argued for a new trial and a change of venue
for the five Cuban men who were arrested while monitoring
Miami-based terrorist groups like Brothers to the Rescue and
Alpha 66. Gail Walker has more.
[top]
Connecticut’s Prison Overcrowding Problem
(3:32)
In 1999, Connecticut chose to deal with its prison overcrowding
problem by sending 500 of its approximately 19,000 inmates
to a state prison in Virginia. Within a few months of their
arrival, one Connecticut prisoner committed suicide, and another
died when he did not receive medical care for a life-threatening
ailment. Last year, despite a drop of 600 inmates in the system,
Connecticut Gov. John Rowland requested, and legislators passed,
a law allowing up to 2,000 more prisoners to be sent out of
state. Then, Virginia announced last month it was ending its
contract with Connecticut a year early and sending the original
500 prisoners back north this October. Melinda Tuhus reports
from New Haven on the numbers game, and on efforts to reduce
prison overcrowding by other means.
[top]
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