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> Fri., Sept. 9, 2005
FSRN
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Today's lead stories:
Bush Suspends Minimum Pay Requirements for Employees Rebuilding
Hurricane Ravaged Areas
Asian Community Seeks Familiarity in Houston
The Volunteer Efforts for Hurricane Relief
Iraq's President On the Radio
Fifteen Political Prisoners Released in Buenos Aires
Urgent Action Against the Execution of Francis Newton
Four Year Anniversary of 9/11
FSRN Headlines
BROWN OUT
Michael Brown, the head of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency is being pulled off the job in New Orleans. Brown has
drawn increasing fire for mishandling the response to Hurricaine
Katrina, and new reports show he may have lied about his background
in emergency management. We’ll have more on Katrina
later in this newscast.
PADILLA LOSES ON APPEAL
A federal appeals court has sided with the Bush administration
in the case of José Padilla, a US citizen who has been
held without charges for three years. Padilla’s attorney
Andrew Patel says the decision essentially declares the constitutional
rights of U.S. citizens, optional:
[Patel] there may be times when the president & order,
declare you an "nemy combatant", a term that the
Congress has certainly never defined, and you end up spending
an indefinite period of time in jail. Patel plans to appeal
the case to the Supreme court.
CONTRACTOR LOCKS DOWN BAGHDAD AIRPORT
The Baghdad International Airport has shut down because of
a standoff between the Iraqi government and a British Security
Contractor. Since the beginning of the year, Global Strategies
Group has been locked in a dispute with the Iraqi government
over its $4.5 million dollar per month contract—now
it’s shut the airport down in what Iraqi officials are
calling a breach of their national sovereignty. Prathap Chatterjee,
the director of Corpwatch, says disputes are spreading over
contracts U.S. occupation forces bound the Iraqi government
to before making a nominal transfer of sovereignty.
[Chatterjee] They were sort of contracts the US government
sent up without a paper trail, often at exorbitant rates that
the current Iraqi government did not sign on to. And so what's
happening with a lot of them now is that the Iraqi government
is balking at paying these expensive costs. the dispute may
escalate to an armed standoff: Iraq’s Interior Ministry
has dispatched troops to take over control of the airport,
and one anonymous official told the associated press that
the U.S. military has joined the contractor’s forces
at a checkpoint to block those troops.
INTERNATIONAL GANG BUST
The FBI says An international sweep has arrested some 660
suspected gang members in Central America, Mexico and the
United States. Jill Replogle has more from Guatemala City.
THOUSANDS MARCH AGAINST CAFTA IN NICARAGUA
Yesterday Thousands of Nicaraguans marched to stop their country
from ratifying DR-CAFTA, the free trade agreement between
the Dominican Republic, Central America and the United States.
Nan McCurdy has more from Managua.
HUMAN RIGHTS PROTESTS IN INDONESIA
Indonesian Human rights activists are protesting a tribunal’s
decision not to convict two police officers accused of torturing
and killing student activists in 1999. Meggy Margiyono has
more from Jakarta.
[top]
Bush Suspends Minimum Pay Requirements for Employees
Rebuilding Hurricane Ravaged Areas (3:57)
Labor leaders reacted angrily to President Bush's suspension
of minimum pay requirements for employees of contractors who
will have the task of rebuilding areas struck by Hurricane
Katrina. On Thursday, President Bush lifted the Depression
era law known as the Davis Bacon Act that requires companies
who receive government contracts to pay their employees at
least the average wage of the region. Such companies who could
be excluded from the regulation is Halliburton's subsidiary
KBR who has been awarded a half billion dollars to rebuild
military bases that were damaged by the hurricane. For the
second day in a row, demonstrators picketed outside the White
House calling for improved treatment of the people who have
been displaced both while they are away from there homes and
when they return, including with employment. Mitch Jeserich
reports from Washington.
[top]
Asian Community Seeks Familiarity in Houston
(2:52)
Many members of the Asian community who evacuated from areas
devastated by Hurricane Katrina fled to the Asian community
in Houston - seeking familiarity. FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell
reports.
[top]
The Volunteer Efforts for Hurricane Relief
(2:09)
As relief efforts continue across the southern US for Hurricane
Katrina survivors, federal officials have received considerable
help from volunteers. Originally traveling by bus from George
Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, where they had joined Cindy
Sheehan to call for withdrawal of US soldiers from Iraq, one
of the groups that have been delivering aid is Veterans for
Peace. FSRN's David Enders reports from Covington, Louisiana.
[top]
Iraq's President On the Radio (1:30)
Voice of America, the U.S. Government International broadcasting
unit, hosted Iraqi president Jalal Talabani. Ingrid Drake
reports from Washington.
[top]
Fifteen Political Prisoners Released in Buenos Aires
(4:21)
After spending 14 months in prison without trial, 15 political
prisoners detained during a protest in front of the Buenos
Aires city legislature were released from their jail cells.
Relatives and fellow activists fighting for their freedom
waited for hours outside the courthouse for news on the judge's
decision, as defense lawyers argued for their release. Five
of the prisoners had staged a hunger strike for over 20 days
to press for their freedom - two had to be hospitalized. FSRN's
Marie Trigona reports.
[top]
Urgent Action Against the Execution of Francis Newton
(3:33)
The National Coalition to Abolish the death penalty is calling
for urgent action on Frances Newton's behalf - while hundreds
in Texas labor to halt her execution. FSRN's Katie Heim reports.
[top]
Four Year Anniversary of 9/11 (:54)
This Sunday, September 11, marks the four year anniversary
of the World Trade Center attacks in New York City. Immediately
following the attack on 9/11, the US launched it's global
war on terror, starting with Afghanistan. 4 years later, that
country is still embroiled in war-lordism. Parliamentary elections
are scheduled for later this month, where women will, for
the first time, run for political office - but have been threatened
and attacked by fundamentalist forces. Meanwhile, in the United
States, September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows is helping
to coordinate 3 events over the weekend -- including a department
of peace conference, as well as a display of military boots
and civilian shoes to visually represent the human cost of
the US occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. Anti-war activists
are also preparing to converge on Washington DC on September
24, to speak out against the ongoing occupation of Iraq.
[top]
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