Home > Programs
> FSRN
> Wed., Oct. 5, 2005
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
Thanks to FSRN.org
for making the daily programs available to Pacifica.org
Today's lead stories:
Supreme Court Considers Oregon Assisted Suicide Law
Tensions on the Rise between Uganda and the Democratic Republic
of Congo
US and India Sign Terror Treaty
Bush Suggests Using Troops in Case of Pandemic
The Case of Lisl Auman
Mumia Abu Jamal: Lessons from Katrina, Rita and Beyond
FSRN Headlines
NEW FDA RULES ON ANIMAL FEED
In an effort to prevent an outbreak of mad cow disease in
the country, the Food and Drug Administration called for new
rules to ban cow parts from being used in all animal feed.
Katia Al Awwad reports from Washington D.C.
The new rule prohibits cattle brains and spinal cords in
all animal feed. However, it does not ban the use other tissues
that could bear the disease regardless of age. The FDA has
been modifying rules since the first case of mad cow disease
in the US was confirmed in December 2003. Critics feel the
new regulations made on Tuesday fall short of previous promises
made by the administration. For example, the new plan does
not ban cow blood used at times as a substitute for milk to
feed calves. The meat industry praised the new regulations
saying that a stricter ban on tissues from cattle of all ages
would have strained the industry in disposing of 1.4 billion
pounds of material. For Free Speech Radio News, I'm Katia
Al Awwad
NICARAGUAN OPPOSITION TO CAFTA
A trade agreement between the United States, five Central
American countries, and the Dominican Republic is facing opposition
from the Nicaraguan National Assembly despite growing pressure
from the United States. Nan McCurdy has more from Managua.
Yesterday Deputy Alba Palacios, president of the National
Assembly's labor affairs commission, announced at a press
conference that the Assembly will not relent to U.S. pressure
to ratify the free trade agreement, known as DR-CAFTA. Palacios
said that President Enrique Bolanos himself confessed that
he is under pressure from the U.S. to ensure CAFTA's passage.
Deputy Palacios said that the assembly is working to approve
a package of laws that would protect farmers from the avalanche
of subsidized U.S. agricultural products, eminent with the
onset of CAFTA. Other pending bills include occupational safety
regulations, environmental protection measures and the creation
of a national bank that would provide credit to small farmers.
Former U.S. Trade Representative and current deputy Secretary
of State, Robert Zoellick, arrived in Nicaragua yesterday.
Earlier this week, Zoellich warned that Nicaragua could lose
important funding opportunities if it fails to ratify CAFTA.
CAFTA is scheduled to take effect in January 2006 although
Nicaragua and Costa Rica have not ratified the agreement.
From Managua, for Free Speech Radio News, I'm Nan McCurdy
ILLEGAL LOGGING IN CHILE
Environmental groups have accused Chile's forestry service
of ignoring the illegal logging of ancient protected forests
in southern Chile. In Santiago Jorge Garretón explains.
Chile's Greenpeace chapter says CONAF, Chile's national forestry
service, is turning a blind eye to illegal logging of the
protected ancient Alerce tree by companies that later export
the trees as softwood lumber to the U.S. The Alerce tree is
an evergreen variety unique to Chile's southern Andean region.
Some specimenS ARE over 3 thousand years-old and logging of
the Alerce tree is prohibited under law. Greenpeace wants
the government to fire the director of the forestry service,
saying that he is ignoring charges of illegal logging and
ineffective at protecting the ancient forests. Meanwhile the
courts are prosecuting a group of loggers and local politicians
- ACCUSED of illegally Alerce treeS and exporting the wood
to US-based construction companies. For FSRN this is Jorge
Garretón in Santiago.
COMPENSATION FOR LONDON VICTIMS
A British government agency has started to pay out compensation
to victims of the London bombings - although the size of the
compensation given so far is controversial. Naomi Fowler reports
from London.
The July 7 attacks on three underground trains and one bus
killed 52 passengers and left 750 wounded. Britain's Criminal
Injuries Compensation Authority has sent its first two compensation
cheques this week. But some victims and bereaved families
believe the process has been too slow and the size of the
payments too small. Families of those killed are to receive
around 20,000 dollars; they say that compares poorly with
the one and a half million dollars the US authorities paid
out to the victims of the September 11 attacks. One woman
who lost her legs is expected to receive 200,000 dollars.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority chief executive Howard
Webber defended the level of payments describing the money
as "a small token of public sympathy,". But the
lawyer representing 15 claimants Colin Ettinger says it’s
just not enough. It must be understood, he said, that compensation
needs to cover all expenses in particular for those who will
need on-going care for the rest of their lives. This is Naomi
Fowler in London for Free Speech Radio News.
NEW EVIDENCE IN GIULIANI CASE
New evidence could lead to the re-opening of the case of Carlo
Guiliani - a protestor killed during a 2001 G8 summit in held
in Genoa. Diletta Varlese files this report from Brescia.
Carlo Giuliani's death was not accidental - according to
the results of a recent autopsy investigation. The new evidence
emerged yesterday as part of an ongoing trial of twenty-five
demonstrators accused of property damage during a protest
of a G8 summit meeting. The doctor who performed the autopsy
concluded that the death was caused by a bullet carefully
aimed at Giuliani's head. The gunshot came from a police car
that Carlo was in front of. The police officer, Mario Placanica,
was acquitted in 2003 after arguing that he fired a warning
shot without intent to hit Giuliani, but that a stone crossed
the trajectory and the bullet ended up in his face. The Committee
for Truth and Justice, led by Carlo's mother, Heidi Guiliani,
has been collecting evidence for the past two years in an
attempt to re-open the case. Guiliani's family lawyer is urging
for new investigations. For FSRN, Diletta Varlese from Italy
[top]
Supreme Court Considers Oregon Assisted Suicide
Law (4:00)
For over 7 years, Oregon residents who are considered terminally
ill have had the option of ending their life with the help
of a doctor. The Justice Department has been fighting against
the practice, saying that assisted suicide is not a legitimate
reason for prescribing drugs. Patients' rights advocates say
this is an issue of states' rights, while several disability
rights groups, who rallied in front of the Supreme Court,
filed friend of the court briefs in support of the Justice
Department's oral arguments before the Supreme Court today.
Selina Musuta reports.
[top]
Tensions on the Rise between Uganda and the Democratic
Republic of Congo (2:47)
The UN has begun sending troops to the Eastern Democratic
Republic of Congo in an attempt to disarm Ugandan rebels who
crossed from the Sudan. The presence of the Lord's Resistance
Army (LRA) rebels on Congolese territory has triggered a diplomatic
row with Uganda. Last week, Uganda threatened to send its
soldiers into DR Congo to hunt for the rebels. Joshua Kyalimpa
has more.
[top]
US and India Sign Terror Treaty (3:02)
Four years after India and the United States inked an agreement
to help each other investigate offences related to terrorism,
narcotics and other organized crimes, the two countries brought
the treaty into force on Monday. Pro-administration lobbyists
call it a milestone in the war against terrorism that woos
India closer to the wars the US fights. From New Delhi, Vinod
K. Jose reports.
[top]
Bush Suggests Using Troops in Case of Pandemic
(2:04)
President Bush proposed to use the military to enforce quarantine
in case of avian flu outbreak. Experts say that even though
this outbreak is possible, using the military will not serve
the purpose, but will instead cause damage to civil liberties.
Anastasia Gnezditskaia reports from DC.
[top]
The Case of Lisl Auman (4:20)
The life of a Denver woman who served 7-and-a-half years
in prison because of her part in a crime spree that left a
veteran Denver Police officer dead has taken a dramatic turn.
Lisl Auman is now in a Denver County jail, but out of prison
and looking forward to entering a halfway house. Maria Cecile
Callier reports.
[top]
Mumia Abu Jamal: Lessons from Katrina, Rita and Beyond
(3:24)
[top]
|
Listen
to the show 
Help
stream
download
