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> Wed., Jan. 5, 2005
FSRN
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Today's lead stories:
Postpone the Iraqi Elections?
Confirmation Hearing for Gonzalez Tomorrow
UNICEF Head Speaks to FSRN from LTTE Village
Chilean High Court Gives Go Ahead to Try Pinochet
Un-Protecting the Forests?
Mumia Abu Jamal Commentary: Water Wars
FSRN Headlines
Pentagon to Defund High Tech Weapons
Internal Pentagon budget documents leaked to the press show
that the military will be scaling back on futuristic weaponry
in deference to the budget deficit and to cope with operations
in the present. The Bush administration’s keystone missile
defense program is marked to lose 5-billion dollars. By contrast,
army ground operations will see a big hike but in the Rumsfeld-style
by creating lighter, more flexible units. Some defense experts
are critical of the
proposal saying it has no coherent vision. Final decisions
on the 2006 budget requests will be made in two weeks.
Activists from OH Set to Protest Tomorrow's Certification
Voting rights activists are gathering in the nation’s
capitol ready to protest Congress’ pending certification
of the Presidential election. Becky Palmstrom has more from
D.C.
A Million Jobs Gone in 2004
U.S. employers slashed over one million jobs last year and
continued a four-year trend. Sarah Turner has more.
Italy to Dump Nuke Wast in UK
Italy is set to export 99-percent of its nuclear waste to
the United Kingdom even though UK officials are hard pressed
to locate sites for their own waste. From London, Naomi Fowler
reports.
CO Lawmaker Calls for Full Disclosure
A Colorado state legislator wants to insure that everyone
knows about the dangers of a former weapons site that others
want to convert into a wilderness area. Leslie Clark reports
from Denver.
[top]
Postpone the Iraqi Elections? (2:43)
In Iraq today, a suicide car bombing at a police station
in Hilla, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, killed at least
twenty people as new officers took part in a graduation ceremony.
In the capital, a car bomb aimed at a US convoy killed two
Iraqis and in Baquba to the northeast, a suicide car bombing
at a checkpoint killed five police officers. According to
the Ministry of the Interior, more than thirteen hundred police
officers have been killed in the last four months. The violence
has prompted a new wave of calls to postpone upcoming elections.
David Enders files this report from Baghdad.
[top]
Confirmation Hearing for Gonzalez Tomorrow
(4:23)
Cuban born Carlos Gutierrez testified to the Senate Commerce,
Science, and Transportation Committee today on his nomination
to replace Donald Evans as Secretary of Commerce. Gutierrez's
nomination is likely, which would make him the first Latino
to head the Commerce Department. Gutierrez made his fortune
as the CEO of the Kellogg Corporation. As Gutierrez leaves
Kellogg, the cereal giant is giving him an annual pension
payment, beginning in 2009, of 1.3 million dollars. Meanwhile,
an alliance between torture survivor and veteran groups are
campaigning the Senate to reject President Bush' nomination
of Alberto Gonzalez, who will testify tomorrow in front of
the Senate Judiciary Committee to become the next Attorney
General. Mitch Jeserich reports.
[top]
UNICEF Head Speaks to FSRN from LTTE Village
(:40)
Reports now say 158,000 are dead from the tsunami disaster
in Africa and South Asia. In Sri Lanka the official death
toll is over 48,000. Pouring rains in the east have tempered
the rescue and clearing operations. And in the northern Tamil
Tiger controlled regions, aid has been slow to reach. Carrol
Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF visited a village in
the north called Mullaithivu. There she spoke with FSRN’s
Ponniah Manikavasagam.
[top]
Chilean High Court Gives Go Ahead to Try Pinochet
(4:35)
Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was placed under
house arrest today after Chile's top court ruled that murder
and kidnapping charges against him can go forward. FSRN’s
Jorge Garreton reports from Santiago.
[top]
Un-Protecting the Forests? (3:15)
Just before Christmas, the National Forest Service issued
new rules for speeding up the planning process for each of
175 national forests and grasslands. Environmentalists say
the rules take away essential tools protecting wildlife and
public involvement by making wildlife surveys and public input
optional when working on each forest’s fifteen-year
plan. Leigh Robartes has from FSRN affiliate KRFP in Moscow,
Idaho has more.
[top]
Mumia Abu Jamal Commentary: Water Wars (4:02)
[top]
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