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> Fri., Feb. 10, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Michael Brown Accuses DHS for Hurricane Katrina Response Failure
Civil Libertarians Weary of Senate’s Agreement on Patriot
Act
Subcomandante Marcos Visits Political Prisoners in Oaxaca
Community Leaders Address Root Causes of Prison Violence
Demonstrations Against Winter Olympics
Former Senegalese PM Released from Prison
FSRN Headlines
PROTESTS CONTINUE ACROSS MUSLIM WORLD
Protests continue to rage across the Muslim world today incondemnation
of cartoon depictions of the Islamic Prophet Mohammad. InIndia,
home to the world's second largest Muslim population, thousandsparticipated
in nationwide demonstrations. Vinod K. Jose reports fromDelhi.
Today after the Friday prayers, members of India'sMuslim
community organized massive rallies across the country. Thousands
demonstrated in cities and townsthroughout India. They burned
Danish flags and asked the Indiangovernment to cut diplomatic
ties with Denmark. Imams, the religiousleaders, gave special
talks in the Mosques. The Imam of Old Delhi'sJama Masjid,
Syed Ahmed Bukhari, warned that the Muslim communitycould
not take humiliation by the West any longer. Some other leadersattacked
the US and its war against terror for targeting Muslims. The
community leaders also expressed their anger at theIndian
government's silence on the matter. From Old Delhi,in India,
this is Vinod K. Jose for Free Speech Radio News.
CONTROVERSIAL LABOR BILL BECOMES LAW IN FRANCE
France's right-wing government has rammed its controversial
new youthemployment law through parliament, using special
procedure to cutshort the debate.But opposition parties and
workers' and students' unions have vowed tofight on. Tony
Cross reports from Paris.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin enraged Socialist Party
MPs byguillotining parliamentary debate. He invoked a special
article of theconstitution to stop it. The only way the opposition
could haveresponded would have been to put a vote of censure
in his government.They failed to do so today, ahead of the
assembly's winter break nextweek. So de Villepin's First Job
Contract becomes law. It givesemployers the right to take
on young workers on two-year contractsduring which they can
be fired at any time without any reason. Theleft spun out
the debate as long as it could, making sure that it wasstill
going on on Tuesday, when about 400-thousand workers andstudents
demonstrated against the proposal throughout France. TheSocialists
say they will table a censure vote when the holiday is overon
February 21st. Even though a minor right-wing party, the UDF,
votedagainst the measure, and several ministers are reportedly
unhappyabout it, the vote of censure is very unlikely to be
passed. Workers'and students' unions haven't given up hope,
however ... they've calleda second day of protest for March
the seventh, where they'll call forthe law to be repealed.
For FSRN I'm Tony Cross in Paris.
LIBBY AUTHORIZED TO LEAK
According to court documents, Vice president Dick Cheney's
formerchief of staff, Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, has testified
to a federalgrand jury that his superiors authorized him to
leak secretinformation to reporters. Selina Musuta reports
from Washington, DC.
Lewis "Scooter" Libby resigned last year after
he was indicted oncharges of lying to FBI agents and the grand
jury about how he learnedthe identity of former CIA operative,
Valerie Plame. Plame is marriedto former U.S. Ambassador to
Iraq, Joseph Wilson; a staunch critic ofthe Bush administration.
After traveling to Niger to investigateallegations that Saddam
Hussein had sought to buy uranium there,Wilson accused White
House officials of using misleading intelligenceabout Hussein's
nuclear weapons capacity to justify the invasion ofIraq. Eight
days later, syndicated columnist, Robert Novak, based onLibby's
information, disclosed Plame's covert CIA status. Exactly
wholeaked the information to Libby remains to be seen. For
FSRN, inWashington, DC, I am Selina Musuta.
FOOT AND MOUTH DETECTED IN ARGENTINA
Sanitation officials have detected foot and mouth disease
in cattle innorthern Argentina this week. Argentina has announced
a nationalhealth crisis to control the spread of the disease.
Marie Trigona hasmore from Buenos Aires.
Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, Israel and South
Africa haveclosed their doors to Argentine beef imports following
the outbreak offoot and mouth disease near the Paraguayan
border. The NationalService for Food Safety and Quality said
it had found some 70 cattleshowing signs of the infection
in the province of Corrientes.Sanitation officials suspect
that the animals were not vaccinated orgiven defective vaccines
by provincial governor, Romero Feris, whoowns the ranch. Argentina's
Agricultural Secretary will travel to theUS to fight off prolonged
market closures. Argentina, one of theworld's leading beef
exporters, was hit by a foot-and-mouth crisisfive years ago.
Foot-and-mouth is a highly contagious viral diseasethat causes
blistery lesions on the tongue, lips and hoofs of cows,sheep
and pigs, but does not harm humans. Economists estimate that
thefoot and mouth virus will cause over 500 million dollars
in loses.
SOUTH CENTRAL FARMERS UPDATE
In Los Angeles, the farmers of the country's largest community
gardenannounced this week that an anonymous donor has pledged
eight milliondollars to help them buy back their collective
farm from would-bedeveloper, Ralph Horowitz. KPFK's Kelly
Barnes has more.
LA's mayor recently responded to the South Central Farmers'letter-writing
campaign, demanding the City buy the farm and stopdevelopment.
He said the city has no money for the purchase, and hewished
people would send dollars, not just letters. Friends of theFarmers
launched a "send-the-mayor-a-dollar" campaign, and
tomorrow,they'll stage a "vegetable die-in" at Horowitz'
home to focus on whatthey call the greed and usury of Horowitz,
who is not willing to sellthe farm back for a mere 3 million
dollars profit. The developer paid5.1 millions dollars for
the tract of land three years ago in what theFarmers say was
a back-room deal. Instead of accepting the 8 milliondollar
pledge to the farmers by the anonymous donor, Horowitz isreportedly
holding out for 16 million dollars. I'm Kelly Barnes in LAfor
FSRN.
[top]
Michael Brown Accuses DHS for Hurricane Katrina
Response Failure (3:06)
Former FEMA Director, Michael Brown, said that the Bush
Administration's focus on Terrorism is the reason why the
response to Hurricane Katrina failed. Speaking as a private
citizen at a Senate hearing, Brown criticized the Department
of Homeland Security, and told Senators he was in constant
contact with the White House on the urgent situation in New
Orleans. Ingrid Drake reports from Capitol Hill on the ongoing
search for answers into what went wrong.
[top]
Civil Libertarians Weary of Senate’s Agreement
on Patriot Act (2:59)
The Senate reached an agreement on the Patriot Act, paving
the way for its passage, although staunch civil liberties
proponents are discouraged by the deal. As Leigh Ann Caldwell
reports from Capitol Hill, they say it offers little protection
against government intrusion.
[top]
Subcomandante Marcos Visits Political Prisoners in
Oaxaca (4:08)
Zapatista Subcommandante Marcos, or "Delegate Zero",
wraps up his 6-day trip to the Mexican state of Oaxaca tomorrow
- part of the nationwide listening tour known as the Other
Campaign. One of the key demands of the social movements involved
in the Other Campaign is the liberation of the country’s
political prisoners. Upon his arrival to the Oaxacan capital,
the Zapatista representative paid a visit to the Ixcotel State
Penitentiary to meet with over a dozen indigenous political
prisoners. FSRN's Vladimir Flores was there and files this
exclusive report.
[top]
Community Leaders Address Root Causes of Prison Violence
(3:33)
Prison inmates at a Southern California detention center
have lived through six days of rioting, as fighting among
200 Latino and African Americans inmates continues at the
medium-security facility. FSRN’s Leilani Albano was
at the Pitchess Detention Center, and takes a look at what
community leaders call the root causes of prison violence.
[top]
Demonstrations Against Winter Olympics (3:28)
Much of the international sports world has set it's sights
on the Winter Olympic Games, which kick off today in Turin
Italy. But behind the celebration and pageantry, human rights
activists, University students, and other community members
are converging on the heavily secured event to call attention
to international struggles. Manuela Aldabe reports from Turin.
[top]
Former Senegalese PM Released from Prison
(1:53)
Former Senegalese Prime Minister Idrissa Seck was set free
this week after 7 months in prison. After his release, the
one-time top ally of Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade,
said that nothing weighs on him more heavily than the difficulties
the country face! s and nothing will stop him from his ambition
to serve Senegal. His imprisonment led to some of his supporters
abandoning the Senegalese Democratic Party, or PDS, and causing
a split in the party – yet his release does not appear
to be a unifying factor. In Senegal, FSRN’s Ndiaga Seck
reports.
[top]
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