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> Mon., June. 20, 2005
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Senate Addresses Global Warming
Confusion over "Strike" at Oaxaca's Best-Selling
Newspaper
Roma Community Marginalized in Kosovo
Demonstrators Support Immigrant Day Laborers in Los Angeles
Activists Protest Coal Industry Trade Show
FSRN Headlines
Opposition leader and anti-Syrian Saad al-Hariri claimed
victory Monday in Lebanon's elections, beating pro-Syrian
Christian former minister Suleiman Franjieh. The anti-Syrian
party also won parliament, which breaks Syria's hold over
the country. The campaign of Hariri was built on the popular
energy of the demonstrations that took place after his father
Hariri's assassination over Syrian troop presence and with
hopes of changing Lebanon's political system.
And in Iranian elections, a run-off will take place in the
first democratic election in that country in 25 years. The
runoff will take place between hard line conservative and
former mayor of Tehran, Mahmood Ahmadinejad, and reform candidate
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. In a rare show of opposition in
Iran, Left candidate Mehdi Karoubi, who came third, spoke
out saying that the that Ahmadinejad's strong show was the
result voter fraud. Two newspapers - Aftab and Eghbal - were
closed on Monday for publishing their claims of vote rigging.
Norman Soloman is the author of War Made Easy and was in Iran
for the Elections.
Violence erupts amidst diplomatic talks in Israel and the
Palestinian territory. Tomorrow is a summit meeting between
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President
Mohammed Abbas. They are expected to talk about how to continue
peace talks. Manar Jibreen reports.
The pentagon announced Houston-based Halliburton has been
awarded a $30 million subsidiary to build a 220-bed prison
for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Grace Chough
has the story.
Halliburton is also the subject of a subpoena. Rep. Henry
Waxman, Democrat from California asked to subpoena documents
that would expose why U.S. officials withheld information
about $177 million in Halliburton overcharges that were billed
to the Development Fund for Iraq.
And the House of Representative is expected to vote and pass
today 45 Billion dollars for Iraq. That's in addition to the
350 billion Congress has passed for the wars in Iraq and Afganistan.
Venezuela Proposes Creation of a South American “Energy
Ring” at a South American leader's summit. Greg Wilpert
reports from Caracas.
[top]
Senate Addresses Global Warming (4:10)
The Senate is planning to consider 3 different proposals
to address global warming this week as part of the Energy
bill. The proposals range from offering incentives to polluting
companies to reduce the amount of dirty emissions, to mandates
that would require companies to reduce their emissions over
the next 15 years. Nevertheless, none of the proposals meet
the standards of the Kyoto Protocol. Mitch Jeserich reports
from Capitol Hill.
[top]
Confusion over "Strike" at Oaxaca's Best-Selling
Newspaper (3:45)
The best-selling and most widely distributed newspaper in
the Mexican state of Oaxaca has been under siege since Friday
when the newspaper's offices in Oaxaca City were surrounded
by hundreds of people - including children and seniors - who
claim to be employees on strike. The staff and editors of
the paper say the crowd has nothing to do with the media outlet,
and that the people were bussed in from a nearby town, taking
direction from a local politician. Vladimir Flores and Shannon
Young file this report from Oaxaca City.
[top]
Roma Community Marginalized in Kosovo (4:00)
It has been six years since the end of a US-led NATO bombing
campaign in Kosovo halted the Serbian crackdown on Kosovo's
independence-minded Albanian majority. Among the key priorities
of the United Nations administration is the return of Kosovo's
refugee minority community displaced after reprisal attacks
by ethnic Albanians in 1999, and again in ethnic rioting in
2004. Now, the international community and the Bush Administration
are pressing for a swift resolution of Kosovo's status - but
not at the expense of its embattled minority communities -
normally referring to the approximately 100 thousand Kosovo
Serbs who remain in the province. Meanwhile, Kosovo's Roma
or Gypsy minority have been lost in this political fallout,
and as Jackson Allers reports, over 8,000 members of one of
the oldest settled out Roma communities in Eastern Europe
is still fighting to return to their former homes.
[top]
Demonstrators Support Immigrant Day Laborers in Los
Angeles (3:51)
Immigrant day laborers in and around the Los Angeles area
face tough working conditions. They gather near home improvement
stores at dawn, waiting for hours to be picked up for temporary,
often hazardous and underpaid labor. This weekend, they found
the support of the local residents, as community activists
organized a counter-demonstration against the anti-immigrant
Save Our State group rally. From the People without Borders
Collective at KPFK, Kelly Barnes has more.
[top]
Activists Protest Coal Industry Trade Show
(3:45)
US Coal Company executives attended the National Coal Show
recently in the city they call the center of the coal industry:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But while the industry is predicting
a "bright future" for the coal market, not everyone
is happy about the new growth and techniques of coal mining.
A coalition of groups from urban and rural western Pennsylvania
and West Virginia held a protest march outside the coal industry
trade show, while clean energy activists hosted a conference
on the costs of coal power and argued for cleaner renewable
alternatives. Matt Toups has more.
[top]
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