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> Tues., Mar. 23, 2004
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
September 11 Commission Hearings
Tentative Peace in Kosovo
US Employs Israeli Tactics in Iraq
India Builds Barrier Fence in Kashmir
Colombian Zones – We Go Inside
FSRN Headlines
Both the pre-September 11th Commission hearing and a meeting
at the Senate Judiciary committee were standing room only.
Today, the packed house heard from Senators seeking to change
the U.S. Constitution so that marriage is narrowly defined
as a relationship between one man and one woman. Prior to
the beginning of the hearing, teens with gay, lesbian and
transgender parents explained why they believe this constitutional
amendment is a bad idea.
Benton County Oregon is no longer issuing marriage licenses,
any licenses. County commissioners decided that officials
should wait until the court decides whether same gendered
marriages are legal. Commission chair, Linda Modrell said
straight couples can still go to other counties to get a license.
The Oregon Supreme Court is expected to hear the case in the
upcoming months.
Medicare trustees announced today that unless the system
is changed, it will be bankrupt by the year 2019 – seven
years earlier than predicted in last year’s report.
The trustees say the new prescription drug benefit is draining
the trust and demand is growing. They also announce the Social
Security fund is expected to go broke as predicted in 2042.
Today in the Supreme Court, justices heard arguments in a
case that challenges whether health maintenance organizations,
HMOs can deny medical treatment. David Enders reports from
D.C.
Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip attacked an Israeli
military vehicle and a nearby settlement in two separate incidents.
There were no reported casualties. Representatives with the
armed wing of Hamas say they will continue to retaliate for
the assassination of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin. Israeli
government officials say they will continue to hunt down and
kill Hamas leaders.
In New York, peace activists and Arab Americans respond to
the assassination of the Hamas leader. Meanwhile the New York
Police Department has increased security throughout the area
fearing retaliatory attacks, particularly in Jewish neighborhoods.
Leigh Ann Caldwell reports from WBAI.
[top]
SEPTEMBER 11 COMMISSION HEARINGS
Today the 9/11 Commission held its 8th hearing in Washington
DC, where former and current top administration officials
testified on how the U.S. dealt with the potential threat
from Al-Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks. Mitch Jeserich was
there and he files this report.
[top]
TENTATIVE PEACE IN KOSOVO
A fragile peace is holding in Kosovo in the wake of ethnic
violence between Serbs and Albanians last week, which claimed
at least 28 lives and injured more than 800 others. 2,000
NATO reinforcements remain there as the international community
and Kosovo’s interim UN administration are poised to
revisit the issue of Kosovo’s status in the Balkans.
The Serbian government has repeated their demand for the partitioning
of the region into ethnic cantons. But the Albanian leadership
has rejected the idea – saying 90% of the population
wants to form an independent state. And as Jackson Allers
reports from the capital of Pristina, five years of UN control
has not put Serbs and Albanians any closer to reconciliation.
[top]
US EMPLOYS ISRAELI TACTICS IN IRAQ
Two thousand Iraqi's marched through the center of Baghdad
today to protest Israel's killing of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed
Yassin. It's a demonstration that's not surpising given the
increased cooperation between the US occupation force in Iraq
and the Israeli military. According to the Guardian of London,
Israel has sent two consultants to Iraq to advise the American
Army. The Guardian also reports Israeli urban warfare experts
have also traveled to American military bases in North Carolina
to train US troops. As Aaron Glantz reports from Abu Siffa,
Iraq Israeli military tactics such as house demolitions are
becoming a regular feature of US-ruled Iraq.
[top]
INDIA BUILDS BARRIER FENCE IN KASHMIR
Kashmir's main separatist alliance, set to resume peace
talks with India, said today it will again press New Delhi
to stop human rights violations in the Himalayan region. The
moderate faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference last
month threatened to pull out of talks with India, saying there
had been no promised fall in the alleged violations by security
forces in Kashmir. The Hurriyat and the government are due
to hold their second round of talks this weekend. There is
a cease-fire along the line of control that divides the Indian
and Pakistani held Kashmir.. But even as the peace process
progresses, the Indian army is constructing a fence along
the line of control that divides the two countries, to prevent
infiltration into India. Shanawaz Khan has more from Kashmir.
[top]
COLOMBIAN ZONES – WE GO INSIDE
Today President Bush met with President Alvaro Uribe of
Colombia, one of the US’s staunchest supporters in the
global war on terrorism. This week in Washington Uribe will
request more military aid for Colombia and also ask the US
to become more involved in Colombia's 40-year civil war. The
Bush administration, a key ally to Uribe in his war against
the country's leftist insurgencies, recently requested that
Congress raise the limit of US military personel working in
Colombia. Earlier this month, the general secretary of the
Organization of American States reiterated that unless one
paramilitary group -- the Unites Self Defense Forces of Columbia
– or AUC -- agrees to concentrate in zones, the peace
process in Colombia will fail. The paramilitary group pledged
to disband all its 12,000 fighters by the end of 2005. But
top AUC Commanders, who are wanted by the United States for
charges of drug-trafficking, say that they will not concentrate
their troops in zones unless the government guarantees that
they will not face stiff prison Sentences and extradition
to the US. Nicole Karsin takes us to Medellin, Colombia’s
second largest city and one of the world’s most violent
urban settings to investigate what’s really happening
since the first demobilization last November of 870 AUC combatants.
[top]
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