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> Thu., Aug. 12, 2004
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
US Offensive Against Uprisings in Iraq
Halliburton Fails to Account for $2 Billion
Hate Crimes Legislation
Kerry Ambiguous About Gays in the Military
International World Youth Day
Cuban-American Vote in Florida
FSRN Headlines
The California Supreme Court has ruled that San Francisco
Mayor Gavin Newsom exceeded his authority when he ordered
the City to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Kellia
Ramares reports from Oakland.
Federal negotiators are reportedly working with the legal
representative of Yassar Hamdi to possibly release the U.S.
citizen that the Supreme Court ruled must be tried on U.S.
soil rather than in a military tribunal. Grace Anderson reports
from D.C.
The second highest court in Britain ruled that evidence obtained
by torture could be used as long as British officials did
not “procure” or “connive” the torture.
One human rights lawyer said the decision is “tantamount
to contracting out the torture.” The case involves ten
men suspected of being involved with terrorists who are were
being held without charge in what has been called Britain’s
Guantanamo Bay. One of the judges supporting the decision
said in a statement released yesterday, assuming the evidence
came from torture or any other violation of human rights is
“purely hypothetical.”
Today, British government officials are proposing more sweeping
changes to police powers that many say continues the attack
on civil liberties. Naomi Fowler has more from the United
Kingdom.
Environmentalists charge the Bush administration with changing
key legal safeguards and destroying thousands of acres of
previously protected wetlands. Erika McDonald explains.
[top]
US Offensive Against Uprisings in Iraq
Today the U.S. Military, along with its Iraqi counterparts,
began a major offensive against the forces of Cleric Muqtada
Sadr in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf. Using tanks, helicopters,
warplanes, and several thousand U.S. troops, the offensive,
backed by the Iraqi interim government, is seeking to crush
a rebellion that has disrupted oil exports in the southern
region of Iraq. In the southern Iraqi city of Kut, over 72
people have been reportedly killed in US air raids, and another
25 people were killed in clashes in Baghdad. Thousands of
people took to the streets to protest the offensive in Baghdad
and in the southern city of Basra. This newest US led military
intervention has lead some Iraqi Americans and peace activists
to question if the US military is serious about building the
peace. Mitch Jeserich has that story from Washington DC.
[top]
Halliburton Fails to Account for $2 Billion
A new Pentagon audit concludes Halliburton failed to adequately
account for almost $2 billion of its work in Iraq and Kuwait.
At least one critic says this latest news undermines original
claims that privatization of military contracts could save
taxpayers money. Renee Feltz reports.
[top]
Hate Crimes Legislation
Five years after a white supremacist went on a shooting
spree injuring 5 people at a Jewish community center and killing
a Philipino postal worker, some laws are beginning to change.
In June, the US Senate passed legislation that broadened the
categories of bias to include sexual orientation, gender and
disability, in addition to race, religion and national origin.
The bill would enable the Department of Justice to assist
local hate crime prosecutions or carry out its own investigation
and prosecution. In California, the State Legislature is considering
a measure that would standardize the current hodge-podge of
anti-hate crime provisions in the civil and penal codes. From
KPFK in LA, FSRN's Ngoc Nguyen reports.
[top]
Kerry Ambiguous About Gays in the Military
John Kerry has changed his campaign web-site to make his
position on gays in the military more ambiguous. The campaign
made the move after the Orlando Sentinel reported the Democratic
candidate supports allowing gays and lesbians to serve. Before
the change, the Web site said bringing gays into the military
was one of Senator Kerry's "priorities." The page
on sexual equality had gone on to say: [quote] "John
Kerry opposed the Clinton administration's Don't Ask Don't
Tell Policy. He was one of the few senators to testify before
the Senate Armed Services Committee and call on the president
to rescind the ban on gay and lesbian service members."
[unquote]. Kerry does not mention the issue in his speeches,
and the Democratic Party platform is mute on gays in the military.
FSRN's Aaron Glantz has more.
[top]
International World Youth Day
August 12 is International Youth Day. Worldwide, it is estimated
that more than 300,000 children under the age of 18 are fighting
in armed conflicts, and about 250,000 are engaged in child
labor. At the third international gathering of the World Youth
Festival, nearly 10,000 young people from around the world
are meeting to share their ideas on how to push youth policies
in their countries. FSRN´s Avishay Artsy files this
report from Barcelona, Spain.
[top]
Cuban-American Vote in Florida
In the past, the Cuban vote in Florida has historically
gone to hard line Republicans who have been tough on Fidel
Castro's regime. At the same time, Florida's Cuban population
have annually ferried money and medicines to their families
on the island. But now, President Bush has aligned himself
with a faction in the Cuban-American community who are willing
to sacrifice their families back home in order to send Fidel
a message. From Tampa, Mark Antokas has the story.
[top]
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