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> Fri., Oct. 7, 2005
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Energy Battle in Congress
The Release of Ireland’s Rossport Five
Everyday Iraqi Stories: Part 1 in an FSRN Series
The Continued Militarization in New Orleans
The Wake of Hurricane Stan Ravages Central America
Red Cross Says Thousands Could Have Been Saved from Tsunami
Worker Run Hotel Holds Rally in Buenos Aires
FSRN Headlines
NYC SUBWAY PLOT
Strict security measures have been implemented in New York
City's subway system after FBI warnings of a terrorist plot
involving bomb-laden baby carriages and briefcases. In New
York City, Rebecca Myles reports.
In New York City, part of Penn Station was closed this morning,
with one entrance sealed off with yellow crime tape... although
Amtrak was still boarding some trains and operating some tickets
windows. At the Port Authority Bus Terminal, one lane of traffic
on Ninth Avenue was reserved for emergency vehicles. Yesterday
afternoon city officials swarmed the transit system, with
an officer assigned to each subway station. New York City
Poice Commissioner, Raymond Kelly said the police department
was stepping up plainclothes patrols, in subway cars and that
bag searches will be increased, and extended to buses and
ferries. On average an estimated 4.7 million commuters ride
the New York subway system. Last night Mayor Michael Bloomberg
rode the subway home in an effort to encourage residents to
keep riding the subways, but cautioned them to be watchful.
KATRINA CONTRACTS RE-OPENED
The new director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
announced Thursday that Hurricane Katrina relief and clean-up
contracts will be re-issued and subjected to an open-bidding
process. Ryme Katkhouda of the DC Radio Coop reports from
Washington DC.
FLAHERTY: "It shows that the grassroots pressure has
been paying off, but we are still not talking about real grassroots
community control of reconstruction."
JORDAN FLAHERTY, a union organizer from New Orleans is not
totally celebrating the recent news that the Federal Emergency
Management Agency will re-issue more than $1.5 billion in
Hurricane Katrina relief and clean-up contracts to private
companies that will do the jobs at the lowest cost, the agency's
new chief promised Congress on Thursday.
FLAHERTY: "We need to have the community controlling
there construction."
Similarly, Curtis Mohammad, the co-founder of Community Labor
United, a coalition of groups in New Orleans is not sure that
this would cure the process which had led to waste, cronyism
and the exclusion of local merchants. Senators on the Homeland
Security Committee lamented that some contracts found their
way to well-connected contractors such as Houston-based KBR,
a subsidiary of Halliburton ran previously by Vice President
Dick Cheney. I’m Ryme Katkhouda, the dc radiocoop.org,
in Washington DC
GUANTANAMO HUNGER STRIKE
An estimated 200 detainees at the US naval base in Guantanamo
Bay have been on hunger strike for nearly two months. Clive
Stafford Smith, an attorney representing 40 detainees, says
that 21 of the hunger strikers are now held in restraints
24 hours a day as they are force-fed through nasal tubes.
The detainees began their hunger strike in protest of the
conditions at the base and circumstances of their detention.
Only a handful of the approximately 500 detainees have ever
been charged.
WEST BANK KIDNAPPINGS
Three Hamas leaders were kidnapped today in the West Bank
after clashes erupted last week in the Gaza Strip between
Hamas operatives and Palestinian police. Manar Jibrin reports
from the West Bank.
Three West Bank Hamas leaders were kidnapped Friday morning
by a group calling itself, the "Al-Farouk Omar Bin El
Khattab" Group. This kidnapping is the first public activity
for this group, which has not mentioned any affiliation with
any of the Palestinian political factions. The first two kidnapping
victims were released after few hours while the third is still
in custody. The group said in a media statement that the kidnappings
were in response to what they called, Hamas' disrespect of
Palestinian law. The group warned Hamas against further violations
of the law. Last week, clashes erupted in Gaza when Hamas
operatives opened fire on Palestinian Police who were attempting
to arrest a Hamas leader. Three people, including a police
officer, were killed and dozens were injured. For Free Speech
Radio News From the International Middle East Media Center
IMEMC.Org in Palestine I'm Manar Jibrin
EU DELEGATION ON NEPAL
At the conclusion of this week's visit to Nepal, a European
Union delegation determined that the country is in danger
of political collapse. Binu Alex has more from Ahmedabad.
Nepalese King Gyanendra seized direct power in February blaming
politicians for their failure to effectively combat Maoists
insurgents. The EU delegation was led by Tom Phillips –
the director for South Asia and Afghanistan at Britain's Foreign
and Commonwealth Office. Phillips said the King's takeover
has pushed the government's institutions to the verge of breakdown.
The delegation also voiced concern over the Maoists' continued
recruitment of child soldiers and condemned the use of violence
to promote Maoist ideology as the answer to Nepal's problems.
More than 12,000 people have been killed during the nine-year
Maoist insurgency which seeks to replace the country's monarchy
with a communist republic. The EU delegation concluded that
the only solution is for Nepal to return to multi-party democracy.
From Ahmedabad in India, I am Binu Alex for Free Speech Radio
News
[top]
Energy Battle in Congress (2:32)
Market analysts say that as consumer demand for crude oil
decreases, so does the price. However, those same analysts
also say that, with winter approaching, the price of heating
oil and natural gas could skyrocket. Meanwhile an energy battle
is taking place in Congress today, as the House voted on a
bill that would make it easier for more refineries to be built
in the United States. Republicans say this bill will address
the energy needs that arose due to hurricanes Katrina and
Rita. Democrats argue that Republicans are using the hurricanes
as an excuse to provide kickbacks to oil companies. Selina
Musuta reports from Washington.
[top]
The Release of Ireland’s Rossport Five
(3:12)
Five men from the west of Ireland are celebrating victory
after their release, following 94 days in prison for protesting
against an illegal pipeline built through their lands. Willie
Corduff, brothers Vincent and Philip McGrath, Micheál
O'Seighín, and Brendan Philbin, collectively-known
as the Rossport Five, have been held since June 29th in Dublin's
Cloverhill prison following a breach of a High Court injunction
taken out by Shell, Statoil, and Marathon, Shell's partner
companies. The five County Mayo men, three part-time farmers
and two retired school teachers, were jailed after objecting
to the proposal and then partially constructed gas pipeline
connecting the Corrib gas field in the Atlantic Ocean to an
onshore refinery set to be built nine kilometers inland. From
Dublin, Rachel Ingersoll has more.
[top]
Everyday Iraqi Stories: Part 1 in an FSRN Series
(2:19)
Violence has surged in Iraq in recent weeks, particularly
ahead of the crucial October 15 national vote on the new constitution.
Near-daily reports of car bombings, roadside bombs, gun battles
and kidnappings riddle media reports around the globe. What
unfolds in the broader media is a public record of snapshot
stories describing incidents of violence. What is sometimes
missing are accounts from everyday Iraqis earning a living,
making their homes, and raising their children in the middle
of what analysts say is beginning to look, and feel like,
civil war. Throughout the month of October, FSRN will bring
accounts of Iraqi life in the midst of military occupation.
Faliha Mosa is a mother of nine. She spoke with FSRN’s
Salam Talib about life in Baghdad and what is no longer being
reported about in the news.
[top]
The Continued Militarization in New Orleans
(2:54)
As residents begin coming home to New Orleans, arrests and
police violence are on the rise in the militarily-occupied
city. With every type of police and federal officer in the
US - from the DEA to the FBI to the New Orleans Police Department
itself roaming the streets of New Orleans, many former residents
are afraid to come home, and some wonder if the ongoing military
occupation is being used to intimidate them into not returning
to their homes. Jenka Soderberg reports from New Orleans.
[top]
The Wake of Hurricane Stan Ravages Central America
(2:19)
Torrential rains continue in Central America, as the death
toll has climbed to more than 250 people. The region is facing
the wake of tropical storm Stan, a category 2 storm, which
left the ground severely soaked. As rains continue, the region
has faced hundreds of massive landslides. Ten of thousands
of people have fled their now destroyed homes. Tim Russo is
our correspondent in Mexico, where rains there have affected
more than 1.5 million Mexicans in 5 states, and has claimed
at least 30 lives.
[top]
Red Cross Says Thousands Could Have Been Saved from
Tsunami (3:05)
The International Red Cross released its annual report this
week on world disasters and found that the number of deaths
more than tripled in 2004 from the previous year. The Indian
Ocean tsunami alone killed a quarter-of-a-million people.
The Red Cross report says tens of thousands of people could
have been saved is they had been given earlier warning. FSRN’s
Doualy Xaykaothao has more from Bangkok.
[top]
Worker Run Hotel Holds Rally in Buenos Aires (3:03)
In the center of downtown Buenos Aires, workers from the
cooperative-operated BAUEN hotel set up a demonstration with
a banquet table and hotel beds in the streets to prove that
workers can successfully run a business. They are demanding
that the city government pass a law so that the worker’s
cooperative can continue to legally manage the hotel. FSRN’s
Marie Trigona reports from Buenos Aires.
[top]
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