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> Tue., July 13, 2004
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
US Senate on Same Gender Marriage
Washington Pressured by Crisis in Sudan
Self Rule of Tribal Areas in India
South Dakota Drought
Sherman Austin Update
FSRN Headlines
The Philippines government is sending an unclear message
to people now holding a Filipino man hostage in Iraq. Girlie
Linow reports from Manila.
The British Prime Minister says he firmly believes the intelligence
he received prior to the most recent invasion of Iraq was
accurate. Tony Blair was referring to the investigative report
set to be released tomorrow in the United Kingdom and the
report released in the United States yesterday that showed
that there were intelligence failures concerning Iraq’s
weapons stocks. When confronted by a reporter Blair was unyielding.
The Bush administration is set to roll back the clock on
Clinton-era protections for 60-million acres of the nation’s
wilderness. Leigh Robartes reports from Moscow, Idaho.
Top White House employee’s salaries follow the national
average when it comes to the discrepancy between men and women’s
pay. Amrutha Nanjappa reports from D.C.
The United States government wants an international waiver
that would allow U.S. farmers to continue using methyl bromide.
The pesticide, scheduled to be banned by the year 2005, contributes
to destruction of the earth's protective ozone layer.
The Bush administration has already secured a one-year reprieve
at the request of U.S. growers of tomatoes, strawberries and
other produce. The growers say they must have the pesticide
until there is a viable alternative.
A spokesperson with the Natural Resources Defense Council
says the issue is more about protecting a major chemical distributor
rather than farm economics. He says U.S. consumption of methyl
bromide meets the current reduction mandate and the requested
increase is a ruse. To date, the amount of methyl bromide
in the U.S. is unknown because there is just one significant
methyl bromide manufacturer, Indiana-based Great Lakes Chemical
Corp. They refuse to release their inventory size to the Environmental
Protection Agency claiming it is confidential business information.
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US Senate on Same Gender Marriage
The U.S. Senate continued debate today on the constitutional
amendment to ban same gender marriage, and tomorrow Republicans
will attempt to break a filabuster on the measure, making
it the first vote by either federal legislative body on the
issue. Grassroots support and opposition is flooding the Capitol
with phone calls, emails, and petitions. However, while most
gay and lesbian rights activist support same sex marriage,
some worry that the national spotlight on the amendment, that
doesn't appear to have the votes to pass, is taking attention
away from other pressing issues. Mitch Jeserich reports from
Capitol Hill.
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Washington Pressured by Crisis in Sudan
After 3 weeks spent floating in the Mediterranean, 36 Sudanese
passengers rescued by a German Aid Ship were granted permission
to dock on the shores of Sicily by Italian authorities. This
is one of many desperate escape attempts by Sudanese affected
by the conflict in the war torn Darfur region of Sudan. Meanwhile,
in Washington, DC, the United States government faces increased
pressure to provide adequate resources to deal with the humanitarian
crisis in Sudan. WPFW's Selina Musuta reports from Capitol
Hill.
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Self Rule of Tribal Areas in India
Some of the frontiers British colonizers could not conquer
during their occupation on the Indian subcontinent were regions
inhabited by indigenous people. Post-independence, indigenous
people or Tribals, as they are called in India, saw their
conditions worsen as a result of having little access to formal
education or healthcare. Now, an amendment in India’s
village council act empowers Tribal regions to proclaim self-rule.
FSRN Correspondent Buni Alex reports from a village in western
India where people say they are happy to break away from government
shackles.
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South Dakota Drought
With summer in full gear, residents of South Dakota are
facing their fifth straight year of drought. Unusually mild
winters and drier than average springs have led to one of
the worst situations for South Dakota ranchers since the Dust
Bowl of the 1930s. Conditions are so bad in the southwestern
part of the state that dozens of ranchers who rely on water
from local reservoirs to irrigate their fields for hay, have
been cut off due to low water levels. Governor Mike Rounds
recently declared ten South Dakota counties disaster areas,
due to drought conditions. Rounds also called for the activation
of the state's Drought Task Force - the first time the unit
has been activated since 1988. The Task Force will assist
ranchers with pursuing drought assistance from state and federal
agencies. Help will most likely come in the form of accessing
state water reserves, and either grazing cattle or gathering
hay from those lands. FSRN Correspondent Jim Kent spoke the
women and men whose families have "toughed it out"
for generations raising cattle in South Dakota.
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Sherman Austin Update
Former website operator and political prisoner Sherman Austin
was released yesterday from the Federal Corrections Institute
in Tuscon, Arizona where he’s been held for nearly one
year. Austin’s dwelling was raided by federal authorities
in January, 2002, when the entire contents of his room were
seized. In this exclusive, FSRN caught up with Austin just
minutes after his plane landed at LAX, on his way to a half-way
home where will he remain for the next few weeks.
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