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> Wed., Mar. 30, 2005
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
US Retaliation Against Philippines for Iraq Withdrawal
Right Wingers Get A Pass on Homeland Security List
Somalia After the Tsunami
Archbishop Oscar Romero Killed 25 Years Ago
Judge Refuses to Hear War Resisters’ Case
Water Restrictions in South Dakota
Denying Emergency Contraception to Women?
FSRN Headlines
Protests in Egypt
Protesters took to the streets of several Egyptian cities
today in defiance of a ban on public dissent to protest a
potential fifth term in office for President Hosni Mubabrak.
In Cairo, hundreds of protestors were met by thousands of
riot police who turned them away from the Parliament building.
Street demonstrations are officially banned in Egypt by emergency
laws enacted after President Anwar Sadat's assassination in
1981. Police said 20 people were detained in Alexandria and
another two were held at a rally in the Nile Delta town of
Mansoura. There were no arrests reported in Cairo.
State of the Earth
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report released today
concludes that human activities threaten the Earth's ability
to sustain future generations. Haider Rizvi reports from the
United Nations.
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court ruled today that older workers do not have
to prove that discrimination based on age was intentional
to prevail in cases brought under the federal Age Discrimination
in Employment Act. The decision extends to age discrimination
plaintiffs the same legal weapons available to race discrimination
plaintiffs in employment cases, with one important exception.
In age bias cases a workplace policy that disfavors older
workers may be legal if "based on reasonable factors
other than age," such as competitive pressures from the
marketplace. In race cases, such a defense is not permissible.
Also at the High Court today, justices took up the issue of
prisoner assignment to super maximum prisons. David Koppel
reports from Washington DC.
Social Security Town Hall
As President Bush continues to campaign for Social Security
reform, members of the African American community in Washington
attended a town hall meeting to learn more about the proposed
private investment accounts. Dolores M. Bernal was there and
files this report.
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US Retaliation Against Philippines for Iraq Withdrawal
(3:33)
President Bush is proposing a 30% cut in US aid to the Philippines.
The reduction is proposed, in part, due to the Filipino military’s
claim that the militant group Jemaah Islamiya has been forced
to stop its training activities in the southern Island of
Mindanao. But, as FSRN’s Carey Biron reports, many in
the Philippines are question if the cut in US Aid is in retaliation
against the Philippines for withdrawing its troops from Iraq
last year in a move to free Filipino hostage Angelo de la
Cruz.
[top]
Right Wingers Get A Pass on Homeland Security List
(2:40)
This week the publication the Congressional Quartely, a
capital insider newspaper, was leaked an internal Homeland
Security Department memo that cited organizations that the
Department would have to pay close attention over the next
5 years. However, while the list obviously contained Al-Qaeda,
it also listed domestic Islamic groups and left wing groups
such as the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation
Front. Yet, not a single right wing group found its way onto
the Department’s list. Joining us by telephone is the
CQ reporter who broke the story Justin Rood. Justin thank
you for joining us, what can you tell us about the Homeland
Security list?
[top]
Somalia After the Tsunami (3:30)
While the international community is focused on the latest
earthquake in Indonesia, the effects of the December 26 tsunami
are still being felt in Somalia. Julia Steinberger reports.
[top]
Archbishop Oscar Romero Killed 25 Years Ago
(2:35)
Thousands of people have are gathered in the capital of
El Salvador this week to commemorate the 25th anniversary
of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. Romero, who
was killed by a sharpshooter while giving Mass, was an outspoken
critic of the military repression that killed thousands of
Salvadorans during the country’s 12-year civil war.
Jill Replogle reports.
[top]
Judge Refuses to Hear War Resisters’ Case
(3:03)
A federal judge in Mew Mexico will not hear a case of two
soldiers who are refusing to go with their brigade to Iraq.
The judge threw the case out saying he doesn’t have
jurisdiction in the matter, But, as Leslie Clark reports,
others say the case is just too hot for the judge to handle.
[top]
Water Restrictions in South Dakota (2:38)
Five years of drought across the Northern Plains have impacted
farmers, ranchers and others who live off the land. Starting
in the month of April, the region's continued dry weather
will also affect people living in urban areas, when Rapid
City will begin initiating water restrictions for its residents.
FSRN correspondent Jim Kent spoke to the Rapid City water
department superintendent as well as a local geologist about
the water restrictions and the long term outlook for such
water controls.
[top]
Denying Emergency Contraception to Women?
(2:11)
Colorado’s Republican Governor Bill Owens says he
has not decided whether he’ll sign a bill, now sitting
on his desk, that would require hospitals to provide information
about emergency contraception to rape victims. The Democratic
controlled state legislature overwhelmingly passed the measure,
but opponents, led by the Catholic Church, are heavily lobbying
the governor to veto it. And in Texas, the state legislature
there is considering a bill that would allow pharmacists to
deny emergency contraception prescriptions to women. Syria
Boyd has that story from Houston.
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