Home > Programs
> FSRN
> Thur., Dec. 14, 2005
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
Thanks to FSRN.org
for making the daily programs available to Pacifica.org
Today's lead stories:
House Passes Patriot Act Reauthorization Bill, as Critics
Look to the Senate
Essential Medicines Missing From WTO Agenda
Water Wars in Rajastan
Uruguayan Political Prisoners Freed
New York Transit Workers Threaten to Strike
AIM Addresses Native American Profiling in South Dakota
FSRN Headlines
FAULTY INTELLIGENCE
President George W. Bush admitted today that the intelligence
used as the basis for going to war with Iraq - was faulty.
In his latest of four speeches on Iraq, President Bush defended
his decision to invade, even though weapons of mass destruction
were never found. Bush concluded his address by saying, "Freedom
in Iraq will inspire reformers from Damascus to Tehran".
Iraq will hold parliamentary elections tomorrow.
PUBLIC INQUIRY REJECTED
The British government has decided not to hold a public inquiry
into the July 7th bombings. Naomi Fowler reports from London.
Families and campaigners today expressed their anger and
disappointment that, instead of an independent judicial inquiry,
a senior civil servant will compile a 'narrative' on the attacks.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke says an inquiry would take too
long and would duplicate the work of Parliamentary committees
already looking into aspects of events on July 7th. Campaigners
and some politicians believe an inquiry could shed light on
intelligence failures and help answer why the UK's security
alert level was dropped five weeks before the attack. The
security services have been accused of focusing too much on
a threat from foreign terrorists rather than anticipating
terrorism from British citizens. Many Muslim organisations
say understanding the factors influencing the actions of the
London bombers is crucial to fighting such crimes in the future.
This is Naomi Fowler in London for Free Speech Radio News.
VIGIL AT GUANTANAMO
A group of 22 peace activists from the United States continue
to fast outside the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay. Joseph
Mutti reports from Havana.
Kneeling before a banner reading "Torture, NO! Geneva
Conventions, YES!" Witness Against Torture members continue
their fast today in protest of conditions at the Guantanamo
Bay detention facility. The protesters say that detainees
there have been tortured, humiliated, and held in violation
of international law. They have yet to be allowed past the
perimeter fence into the base some 5 kilometers away. The
protest is the first of its kind in Cuba which strongly opposes
the very existence of the naval base, let alone using it as
a prison for housing some 500 inmates without charges or trial.
The group began a fast outside the base three days ago. They
say that they are simply doing what US President George Bush
suggested they do in response to recent allegations of detainee
abuse - go take a look for themselves. Seventy-nine year-old
Sister Anne Montgomery, who previously worked as a peace activist
in Iraq, made two appeals during a press conference on Tuesday.
One to the US authorities to allow her group to meet with
the Guantanamo base prisoners and the other to the Iraqi captors
that are currently holding other Christian peace activists
under threat of execution. For Free Speech Radio News, I'm
Joseph Mutti in Havana.
COLOMBIAN TROOP WITHDRAWAL
The Colombian government has accepted a European proposal
to break a deadlock with the nation's largest leftist guerrilla
army. Chip Mitchell reports from Bogotá.
The two sides have been wrangling for months over starting
talks on freeing each other's captives. The guerrilla group,
known as the FARC, has offered to negotiate the release of
about 60 people. They include a former presidential candidate
and three U.S. citizens contracted by the Pentagon. President
Alvaro Uribe had always refused to withdraw troops from any
area to enhance guerrilla security for the talks. But last
night he said he'd accepted a proposal from a panel representing
France, Spain and Switzerland. Under the plan, the government
would withdraw troops from a 70-square-mile southwestern area.
(Uribe clip)
The president said the proposal neither violates the country's
sovereignty nor puts government troops at risk. There's been
no word whether the guerrillas have also accepted the plan.
In the past, they've demanded a troop withdrawal from an area
four times larger. The announcement comes as President Uribe
seeks a second four-year term. The balloting is next May.
In Bogotá, I'm Chip Mitchell.
NIGERIAN AIRLINES GROUNDED
In Nigeria, the two leading domestic airlines have been grounded
after the latest in a series of recent air disasters. Sam
Olukoya reports from Lagos.
The Nigerian government says the grounding of the two airlines
is one of several measures it plans to take in its effort
to overhaul the country's aviation industry. The government
says the measures are necessary to save the nation further
deaths. Three air crashes in the last two months have claimed
two hundred and thirty lives. The latest incident occurred
over the weekend. All but two of the one hundred and ten people
on board died. President Olusegun Obasanjo who summoned all
stakeholders in the aviation industry to a forum said the
industry is compromising standards at the expense of precious
lives. Besides grounding two airlines, the government says
all planes flying Nigerian airspace must undergo safety checks
within a week. In the meantime, two senior officials of the
aviation ministry have been sacked. For Free Speech Radio
News, this is Sam Olukoya in Lagos.
[top]
House Passes Patriot Act Reauthorization Bill, as
Critics Look to the Senate (4:04)
The House of Representatives approved the Patriot Act Reauthorization
bill that will extend many of the most controversial provisions
of the Act for at least another 4 years. Civil libertarians
and privacy rights advocates now turn to the Senate where
a potential filibuster might be the only way to stop the controversial
measure. Mitch Jeserich reports from Capitol Hill.
[top]
Essential Medicines Missing From WTO Agenda
(3:54)
The issue of patents and public health is not on the table
at this WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong. The WTO ratified the
2003 Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights,
or TRIPS, a few weeks ago. However, health advocates and ailing
people in economically developing countries are concerned
that the deal still doesn't guarantee access to affordable
medicine. And, as Ngoc Nguyen reports from Hong Kong, they
say free trade agreements pose an even bigger threat.
[top]
Water Wars in Rajastan (4:06)
According to the World Water Commission, the worst water
crisis in the world is in Rajastan, a West Indian boundary
state with Pakistan – where the situation is so critical,
the region has seen its share of water riots. This past summer,
5 farmers were shot dead during a protest demanding their
share of the water from Bisalpur dam, which is diverting water
from villages to the cities. As resource experts predict that
water wars will soon be the biggest conflicts in the years
to come, FSRN’s Vinod K. Jose traveled to Rajastan to
file this report.
[top]
Uruguayan Political Prisoners Freed (3:09)
Uruguayan courts ordered the release of 4 prisoners who
had been incarcerated for over one month, after being detained
at demonstrations in Montevideo that concurred with the fourth
Summit of the Americas held in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Thousands
of people from Uruguay and around the world rallied for the
release of the political prisoners for weeks. FSRN’s
Marie Trigona reports from Uruguay.
[top]
New York Transit Workers Threaten to Strike
(2:29)
New York’s Supreme Court has issued an injunction
prohibiting a transit strike, as the New York’s Transit
Workers Union continues to negotiate its contract for an 8%
pay increase with the Transit Authority. The union had originally
planned on starting a strike Friday. FSRN’s Rebecca
Myles has more.
[top]
AIM Addresses Native American Profiling in South
Dakota (2:04)
Representatives of the American Indian Movement recently
gathered at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion for
a forum on racial profiling. The meeting was called at the
request of the University's Native American Student Association
after local police allegedly indiscriminately questioned Native
American males regarding a recent case of attempted rape.
FSRN's Jim Kent spoke to Native Americans as well as Vermillion's
police chief about complaints of racial profiling incidents
in the community.
[top]
|
Listen
to the show 
Help
stream
download
