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> Fri., Feb. 25, 2005
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Consumer Rights Groups Take on Chamber of Commerce
Iraqis Look Forward to Shorter Work Week
Battle Against Discrimination in Health Care
Study Finds Alarming Rates of Rocket Fuel in Breast Milk
Youth to Gather to Bring Attention to HIV/AIDS Pandemic
Concrete Reconciliation After the 1990 Balkan Wars
FSRN Headlines
CT Closer to Same Sex Unions
State supported same-sex unions may be legal in Connecticut
soon. The proposal, which has moved out of a legislative committee,
will create civil unions for gays and lesbians but stops short
of granting marriage licenses. Political analysts say the
bill has bipartisan support in the legislature and at the
moment looks like it will pass before they let out in June.
Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell says that she wants to review
the language before she comments on whether she would sign
the bill. She has previously said that she supports civil
rights for same-sex couples but that marriage should only
be between one man and one woman.
US Army Gives Halliburton Millions as Bonus
Halliburton will receive a 9.4 million dollar bonus from the
U.S. Army for “good work” in Kuwait and Afghanistan.
Renee Feltz reports from KPFT in Houston.
UNICEF Report on Suffering in Uganda
The United Nations International Children’s Fund enumerates
the suffering in Uganda after 18 years of war that has also
created hundreds of thousands of internal refugees. Joshua
Kyalimpa has more from Uganda.
Colombian Candidate's Kidnapping Remembered
Colombian and French activists marked the third anniversary
of the kidnapping of a Presidential candidate. Chip Mitchel
reports from Bogotá.
[top]
CONSUMER RIGHTS GROUPS TAKE ON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Less than 4 years ago corporate America was in the hot seat
for numerous scandals, including those that involved Enron,
WorldCom, and Arthur Anderson. But, it's found its footing
again in the legislative halls on Capitol Hill. In large part
due to the US Chamber of Commerce, many measures meant to
protect companies from lawsuits are moving through Congress
and are likely to land on President Bush's desk. Our correspondent
Mitch Jeserich takes a look at some of the measures backed
by the Chamber and how consumer rights groups are struggling
to compete.
[top]
IRAQIS LOOK FORWARD TO SHORTER WORK WEEK
Three US soldiers on foot patrol north of Baghdad were killed
by a roadside bomb today, bringing the number US body count
in Iraq to at least 1,489. Political leaders in the country
continue to vie for power in the newly elected national assembly,
but many Iraqis today were looking forward to having the day
off tomorrow - for the first time, Saturday will be a national
holiday. David Enders has this report from Baghdad.
[top]
BATTLE AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN HEALTH CARE
A central New York couple has filed a discrimination lawsuit
against a health care facility that refused them service on
the basis of their sexual orientation. While many same-sex
couples experience regular acts of bias and discrimination,
civil rights advocates hope the lawsuit sends a strong message
that this behavior will not be tolerated. From Syracuse, FSRN's
Catherine Komp has more.
[top]
STUDY FINDS ALARMING RATES OF ROCKET FUEL IN BREAST
MILK
A Texas Tech University study published this week found
elevated levels of the hazardous chemical perchlorate, the
major component of rocket and missile fuel, in the breast
milk every woman tested. Erika McDonald reports from Texas.
[top]
YOUTH TO GATHER TO BRING ATTENTION TO HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC
The Indian Parliament convened today for their first session
of the year, focusing on India's economy. The parliament will
also consider ratifying controversial legislation in the next
few months, already signed by the president, which would allow
the patenting of pharmaceuticals, in line with the World Trade
Organization or WTO. If the Patents Ordinance is passed in
the next six months, millions of Indians, including over 5
million people in that country alone who suffer from HIV and
AIDS, will not be able to afford the 99% increase to the much
needed medicines. A majority of African nations who import
generic drugs from India will also be severely affected if
the legislation is passed to comply with the WTO on intellectual
property rights. Meanwhile, in Washington DC, students and
youth activists are gathering Saturday to march for debt cancellation,
an end to drug patents, and other issues that are tied to
addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Selina Musuta of the dc
radio coop reports from Washington, DC.
[top]
CONCRETE RECONCILIATION AFTER THE 1990 BALKAN WARS
The top administrator in Kosovo presented his quarterly
report on the provinces' political and security conditions
to the United Nations Security Council yesterday. The report
highlights the lack of political will by Kosovo's provisional
government to extend a policy of inclusion for its minority
inhabitants,- mainly Kosovo Serbs. Kosovo has been a UN protectorate
for the last five years, and much like other parts of the
former Yugoslavia, ethnic and cultural tensions between former
combatants of the Balkan wars of the 1990's remains high.
But, as Zoran Culafic reports, an event held in the northern
Serbian city of Novi Sad in early February, brought together
former fighters and youth from throughout the Balkans for
what some political analysts are saying is the first open
attempt at reconciliation since the end of the last Balkan
conflict in Kosovo in 1999.
[top]
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