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> Fri., Mar. 11, 2005
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Clear Skies Act Appears to Have Failed in Congress as EPA
Creates New Rules
A Federal Court Dismisses Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange
Grassroots and Elite Politics Clash in Bolivia
Doctors and Health Sector Workers Make Labor Demands in Peru
Draft Agreement Met Between Shiites and Kurds in Iraq
Ransom Likely for French Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq
Government "Secret Documents" Not Really Classified
Material
FSRN Headlines
Allies Refuse to Count Civilian Dead in Iraq
Public health experts in six countries castigated the British
and U.S. governments for failing to investigate civilian deaths
during the invasion and occupation of Iraq. From London Naomi
Fowler has more.
Guatemalan Congress Passes CAFTA
The Guatemalan Congress has ignored three days of protests
and overwhelmingly approved the so-called free trade treaty
with the United States and other Latin American countries.
Tim Russo reports from Guatemala City.
Group to Sue "Dirtiest Power Plant in NH"
An environmental group says they will sue New Hampshire’s
dirtiest power plant for violating mercury pollution limits.
Avishay Artsy reports from Nashua.
Bush Wants to Half Gitmo Prison Population
A recently released White House memo says that the Bush administration
wants to cut in half the number of prisoners being held at
the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. More than 500
prisoners being held at the prison base were picked off battlefields
in Afghanistan and Iraq on suspicion of terrorism but have
not been charged with any crime nor have they had access to
attorneys for more than four years. The U.S. Supreme court
has ruled that the men should immediately be allowed to seek
legal counsel and that the Bush administration does not have
the authority to indefinitely imprison people without charge.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wrote in a memo that
he is seeking interagency cooperation to move half of the
prisoners to jails in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
After recent disclosures of prisoner abuse in such prisons,
analysts say CIA and other agency officials are reluctant
to assist with the transfers.
[top]
Clear Skies Act Appears to Have Failed in Congress
as EPA Creates New Rules (1:58)
The Bush Administration's Clear Skies Act appears to have
failed in Congress as the bill died in Senate Committee this
week. Some say the failure means a key piece of President
Bush's environmental policy will not be enacted this year.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules today
reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions but
extending the deadlines to comply with those standards from
5 years to 10. Leslie Clark reports that mercury emissions
are of major concern in New Mexico- the EPA is expected to
announce those rules next week.
[top]
A Federal Court Dismisses Vietnamese Victims of Agent
Orange (2:00)
A class action law suit filed by Vietnamese victims and
families who claim they are sick because of the Vietnam War
weapon "agent orange" was dismissed in federal court
yesterday. The decision sides with U.S. chemical companies
that produced the chemical used for warfare. FSRN"s Leigh
Ann Caldwell has the story from New York.
[top]
Grassroots and Elite Politics Clash in Bolivia
(4:28)
On Tuesday, Bolivia's parliament voted unanimously to reject
a letter of resignation Mesa had presented the day before,
representing a major political victory for the embattled president.
But the real showdown in South America's poorest nation has
only just begun, and the battle lines are now clearly drawn.
Reed Lindsay reports from La Paz, Bolivia.
[top]
Doctors and Health Sector Workers Make Labor Demands
in Peru (3:53)
Doctors in Peru, on their 11th day of strike, are threatening
to suspend emergency services if their demands are not met.
So far they have rejected all government economic offers as
unjust and have asked for the resignation of Health Minister
Pilar Mazzetti. Aside from Peru's doctors, other healthcare
workers are also demanding benefits from the government. This
week, congress passed a long-awaited law granting payroll
status to all national health professionals employed as contractors.
Kristy Li Puma has more from Lima, Peru.
[top]
Draft Agreement Met Between Shiites and Kurds in
Iraq (no sound)
A draft agreement between Shiite and Kurdish picks in Iraq's
January elections has been announced. Shiites were originally
resistant to a formal pact, but tensions have thawed, leading
the way for the article, which mandates the new government
start discussions on the return of roughly 100,000 Kurds to
the oil-rich city of Kirkuk who were expelled under Saddam
Hussein. The article is scheduled to be signed by Sunday,
after a final review by both sides.
[top]
Ransom Likely for French Journalist Kidnapped in
Iraq (3:37)
U.S. troops who wounded an unembedded Italian journalist
and killed the Italian intelligence agent who freed her from
kidnappers on the road to Baghdad's airport over the weekend
were part of a security detail provided by the U.S. Army to
protect U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte - that according to
a US Embassy spokesman in Baghdad who refused to say whether
Negroponte ever actually traveled on the road. Meantime, unembedded
French journalist Florence Aubenas remains in the custody
of her kidnappers. Observers believe her case - like other
kidnappings in Iraq will be solved with money. FSRN's Aaron
Glantz has the story.
[top]
Government "Secret Documents" Not Really
Classified Material (4:00)
The number of government memos denied to the public is at
an all time high, eclipsing the number of documents classified
during the Cold War. However, a growing number of these secret
documents aren't actually classified, but are withheld under
such designations as Sensitive but Unclassified and Sensitive
Security Information. Critics contend that these classifications
were not approved by Congress nor are subject to judicial
oversight. Mitch Jeserich reports from Washington.
[top]
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