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> Wed., Feb. 1, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Democrats and Demonstrators Respond to Bush’s State
of the Union
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Testifies Before US Senate Subcommittee
FSRN Exclusive One-on-One Interview with Subcomandante Marcos:
Part 1
Native Americans May Be Negatively Affected by “Smoke”
Ban
Environmental Activists Indicted on Arson Charges
One Year Anniversary of Nepal’s King Gyanendra’s
Complete Takeover
FSRN Headlines
ACLU FILES FOIA REQUESTS ON PENTAGON SPY PROGRAM
The American Civil Liberties Union and its local affiliates
filed multiple Freedom of Information Act requests today,
in an effort to uncover why the Pentagon has been monitoring
the activities of anti-war groups and pacifist organizations.
The FOIA requests were filed on behalf of Veterans for Peace,
the American Friends Service Committee, Greenpeace, and dozens
of local organizations in seven states.
EFF SUES AT&T OVER NSA PROGRAM
Meanwhile, privacy rights group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation
filed a class-action lawsuit against AT&T yesterday, saying
the telecommunications giant violated the law and the privacy
of its clients by complying with the National Security Agency's
request to access massive amounts of data as part of an illegal
surveillance program. The class-action lawsuit, filed on behalf
of a group of AT&T customers, alleges that AT&T gave
the NSA direct access to databases and key telecommunications
facilities. The EFF calls the NSA's warrant-less wiretapping
and data mining operation, the "largest fishing expedition
ever devised". The legal challenge is based on the First
and Fourth Amendments, as well as on federal electronic surveillance
and telecommunications statutes. AT&T has 30 days to act
on the complaint.
NAACP JOINS NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND DEFENSE
The Connecticut chapter of the NAACP filed a motion this week
to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the state against the Department
of Education over requirements in the No Child Left Behind
Act. Melinda Tuhus reports from New Haven.
Connecticut is challenging certain provisions of the No Child
Left Behind statute, particularly the testing provision, as
an unfunded mandate that it should not be required to meet
without additional federal funding. A lawyer for the NAACP
says it acted in order to prevent the state from creating
a legal defense that it doesn't have to comply with a federal
statute on those grounds. NAACP attorney, John Brittain, says
the civil rights organization has sided with the federal government
and asked to be a party to the suit because ending the annual
assessments would be harmful to low-income and minority students.
[Brittain clip :20] "When two giants are involved in
litigation, the voices of the minority students need to be
heard, and that's why the NAACP wants a seat at the table.
Conn. -- richest state in the nation -- has the worst achievement
gap between poor and non-poor students. It has three of the
most racially isolated cities." The federal judge has
not yet set a hearing date on the NAACP's motion. In New Haven,
MT, FSRN.
AFGHAN BLUEPRINT MAPPED OUT
Representatives from 70 nations have gathered in London to
map out a blueprint for the future of Afghanistan. Helen Kelly
reports.
The five-year plan, dubbed the "Afghanistan Compact,"
will replace a deal reached at a December 2001 conference
in Bonn, Germany. In the new document, Afghanistan undertakes
to disarm illegal militias, guard human rights, cut poverty
and tackle the opium trade through a development program for
farmers and local communities. International donors vow to
provide ongoing support in the form of NATO-led peacekeeping
forces. Cash pledges have also been made. UK Prime Minister
Tony Blair promised £500m in aid while US Secretary
of State Condolezza Rice offered $1.1bn. Russia will wipe
out Afghanistan's $10bn Soviet-era debt. But UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan, who also attended the meeting, urged caution
in the emerging Afghan democracy, which has much to achieve
to pull its people out of widespread poverty. Helen Kelly,
reporting from London for Free Speech Radio News.
PICKETS AT INDIAN AIRPORTS
Airport workers in India have launched an indefinite strike
against a government plan to privatize the country's two largest
airports. From New Delhi Vinod K. Jose reports.
The Indian government announced on Monday that two Indian
firms and their foreign associates won the bid to privatize
Delhi and Mumbai airports. Soon after the Indian cabinet gave
its approval for privatization today, thousands of airport
workers launched a nationwide strike. In Mumbai riot police
caned hundreds of protesting workers. Air traffic at the country's
busiest airports was not disturbed by the strike today. Opponents
of the privatization plan say it will lead to cuts in the
workforce. In the past, following a socialist model, Indian
government controlled most industries and service sectors
including airports and railways. But for the last 15 years,
government opened its market for private players. From New
Delhi, in India, this is Vinod K. Jose for FSRN.
[top]
Democrats and Demonstrators Respond to Bush’s
State of the Union (3:28)
President Bush is touring the country today to promote the
initiatives he presented in his State of the Union Address
– although the speech provided few new ideas. Bush instead
reiterated familiar themes regarding the ongoing war in Iraq
and national security, and also reintroduced initiatives to
curb the rising cost of healthcare and decrease US dependency
on foreign oil. But, as Leigh Ann Caldwell reports, most Democrats
responded by saying Bush’s words were full of empty
promises, while protestors demonstrated outside.
[top]
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Testifies Before US Senate
Subcommittee (1:53)
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin testified before the US Senate
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee today.
He called Hurricane Katrina a man-made disaster, and says
much of the devastation could have been avoided, had the state
and the federal government understood the emergency better.
Yanmei Xie has more at Capitol Hill.
[top]
FSRN Exclusive One-on-One Interview with Subcomandante
Marcos: Part 1 (4:54)
 Zapatista
Subcomandante Marcos, now known as Delegate Zero, continues
to travel thru Mexico, listening to local communities as part
of the Other Campaign. In this exclusive, one-on-one interview
conducted at the Center for the Documentation of Son Jarocho
in Jáltipan, Veracruz, I spoke with Marcos about the
timing of the Other Campaign, the shift towards the so-called
political left in Latin America, the representation of women,
and more.
[top]
Native Americans May Be Negatively Affected by “Smoke”
Ban (3:32)
In December of 2005, Initiative 901 was passed into law
by Washington State voters, amending the 1985 Washington Clean
Air act of 1985, adding additional designation of public places,
where smoking is banned. However, as the law now stands, it
does not provide for exemption for ceremonial uses of “smoke”
in public places and may be seen as unconstitutional by those
who burn plant materials for religious purposes, especially
affecting Native Americans residing and practicing in Washington
State. Robin Carneen has more.
[top]
Environmental Activists Indicted on Arson Charges
(3:31)
Eleven people were indicted late last week in connection
with a series of arsons that took place from 1996-2001. The
fires, the majority of which took place in Oregon, were attributed
to the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front.
FSRN’s Julie Sabatier reports from Portland.
[top]
One Year Anniversary of Nepal’s King Gyanendra’s
Complete Takeover (3:59)
Today marks the one year anniversary in Nepal, of King Gyanendra’s
dismissal of government and imposition of a state of emergency,
which stretched through April. While the King ostensibly took
control of the government in order to deal more effectively
with the country’s decade-long Maoist insurgency, the
last year in Nepal has been mired in conflict, with an alarming
decrease in civil liberties. In addition, the royal regime
has called for municipal elections for February 8, which many
voters will be boycotting. On Monday, one mayoral candidate
was shot in the Kathmandu Valley. FSRN’s Carey Biron
has more.
[top]
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