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> Thur., June. 9, 2005
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
Thanks to FSRN.org
for making the daily programs available to Pacifica.org
Today's lead stories:
House Considers Resolution for the US to Withdraw from the
WTO
Consumer Groups Question the High Fee of Bank Overdraft Charges
Sunni Arab Leaders Demanding Representation on Committee to
Draft Iraqi Constitution
Protests Continue in Bolivia
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Visits
California Peace Activists Protests Lockheed Martin
FSRN Headlines
Some US Representatives are seeking to slow down the quickly
diminishing national pension fund as corporate giants cash
in employee accounts to stave off the consequences of bankruptcy.
Kate Paulman reports from D.C.
Another round of strikes by hotel workers started today.
Kelly Barnes with the People Without Borders Collective at
KPFK in Los Angeles.
The Philippine military steps up alert in the capital seriously
considering fresh rumors of a coup plot against the President.
Girlie Linao reports from Manila.
Human rights groups in Montreal and Toronto held 24-hour
vigils against Canadians being deported to face torture in
other countries, as the inquiry into the case of Maher Arar
continues. Kristen Schwartz has more from CKLN in Toronto.
The capitol of Ethiopia was mostly locked down today after
yesterday?s riots over May elections. At least 22 people were
killed as police fired into crowds of protestors, who were
mostly students. Protestors, who broke a government decree
against public demonstrations, said the ruling party rigged
legislative elections. Also, several hundred people have been
arrested over the past few days. Ethiopian government officials
said election results will be held up another month, until
sometime in July. Human Rights Watch researcher Chris Albin-Lackey
says the opposition party did better than expected. TAPE (0:12)
Albin-Lackey also criticized the US and UK response to the
situation. TAPE (0:15) The United States provides considerable
military assistance to Ethiopia to fight what is considered
a terrorist threat from Somalia.
[top]
House Considers Resolution for the US to Withdraw
from the WTO (3:30)
The Chair of the Federal Reserve Board, Alan Greenspan,
told a Congressional Committee today that the economy was
on firm footing and that interest rates could continue to
rise to keep pace. But, Greenspan also indicated that the
ever increasing divide between the rich and the rest of society
is a threat to both US Democracy and Capitalism. Meanwhile,
the House of Representatives debated a resolution calling
for the US to withdraw from the World Trade Organization.
Supporters of such a withdrawal say the divergence in wages
between the rich and the rest can, in part, be attributed
to what they say are WTO policies that support the bottom
line of multinational corporations. Mitch Jeserich reports
from Washington.
[top]
Consumer Groups Question the High Fee of Bank Overdraft
Charges (3:03)
A bomb exploded outside of a Hilton Hotel that also houses
a branch of Citibank in Quayaquil, Ecuador yesterday, shattering
windows and causing structural damage. No injuries were reported.
The People's Combatant Group, or GCP for its Spanish acronym,
took responsibility for the blast, in opposition to the tenth
round of free trade talks being held in Ecuador between that
country, Peru, Colombia and the United States. The GCP maintains
that free trade will ruin the working classes, lead to greater
unemployment and poverty, while benefiting banks and US-based
multinationals. The group targeted Citibank in particular,
calling it the Yankee Vampires. Meanwhile, in the United States,
overdraft protection for checking accounts called "courtesy
loans" are costing cash-strapped consumers more than
traditional contractual transfer protections, and are reaping
big profits for the banking industry. According to consumer
interest groups, the vast majority of big banks are moving
into these more expensive overdraft protection programs, while
hiding the true costs from consumers. Jenny Johnson reports.
[top]
Sunni Arab Leaders Demanding Representation on Committee
to Draft Iraqi Constitution (2:55)
Top Sunni Arab leaders have demanded major representation
on a 55-member committee to draft the Iraqi Constitution.
At a news conference in Baghdad, Shi'a and Kurdish groups
who currently dominate the committee, have announced that
they are interested in working with Sunnis to achieve sovereignty
and security in Iraq. But Sunnis, who have been excluded since
they boycotted elections in January, are threatening to boycott
the process is their demands are not met. Eliana Kaya has
the story.
[top]
Protests Continue in Bolivia (3:35)
In Bolivia, the National Congress is still attempting to
reach an agreement to accept President Carlos Mesa's resignation.
The special session in Congress should decide an outcome by
this evening. For weeks, tens of thousands of protestors have
been demanding the full nationalization of oil and gas, the
resignation of President Mesa, who tendered his resignation
to Congress this week, and the total closure of the national
Congress, with a call for early elections and a constitutional
assembly. We're joined on the line by independent journalist
Luis Gomez, who is in La Paz.
[top]
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Visits
(3:37)
Washington George Bush hailed Turkey as a democratic example
in the Middle East as he met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan at the White House yesterday in what is being described
as a global kiss and make up session after the Turkish Parliament's
refusal to allow the United States to launch a Northern front
against Iraq in the Spring of 2003. FSRN's Aaron Glantz reports.
[top]
California Peace Activists Protests Lockheed Martin
(1:57)
A small group of peace activists assembled in Bonny Doon,
CA early this morning, outside the main gate of Lockheed Martin,
the world's largest weapons contractor. Located behind a wrought
iron gate and barbed wire fences on 4,400 acres of pristine
woodlands in rural Santa Cruz County, sits a sprawling complex
of warehouses, and laboratories. The facilities are used to
test components and subsystems of the US Navy's Trident II
missile. Vinny Lombardo reports.
[top]
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