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> Wed., May. 17, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Immigrant Rights Advocates Rally on Capitol Hill and Senate
Continues Debate
Senators Push Rumsfled on Iraq Withdrawal
New York Counting Prison Inmates for Legislative Seats
Delphi Auto Workers Agree to Strike
Nepal Residents Nervous Over Slow Progress
University of Colorado Releases its Report on Ward Churchill
FSRN Headlines
UN PREPARES FOR OPERATION IN DARFUR
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved
a measure to begin preparing for a UN-led peacekeeping mission
in Sudan's Darfur region. Sudan signed a peace agreement with
Darfur's largest rebel group on May 5th. The AU has given
the other two rebel groups until the end of the month to sign
on - or face sanctions.
L.R.A TALKS WITH UGANDA
The Ugandan government and authorities in southern Sudan have
agreed to hold peace talks with the brutal Lords Resistance
Army rebels. Joshua Kyalimpa reports.
The LRA overall commander, Joseph Kony sent a request to
President Yoweri Museveni for peace talks through Sudan First
Vice-President and President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir
over the weekend. A statement released today from State house
in Kampala says the LRA rebels have been given until July
to peacefully end their terrorist activities, or the Ugandan
government and it's ally, the Sudanese People's Liberation
Army, will launch joint operations against them. President
Yoweri Museveni made the latest peace offer after meeting
the British overseas development minister, Hillary Benn in
Kampala. The president said the rebel leader, Joseph Kony
and his top commanders indicted by the international criminal
court would be guaranteed safety if they take up the latest
peace offer. The LRA is listed as a terrorist organization
by the US government. For Free Speech Radio News, this is
Joshua Kyalimpa, reporting from Kampala, Uganda.
ENRON TRIAL CLOSES
In Houston, the jury has begun deliberations in the Enron
trial. Lisa Cohen reports from the courthouse.
(no transcript available)
LAWSUIT ALLEGES LEAD IN COKE
A lawsuit has been filed in Los Angeles against the Coca-Cola
Company and its Mexican affiliates, alleging the glass bottles
of imported Mexican Coca-cola contain dangerous levels of
lead in the painted labels. KPFK's Kelly Barnes reports.
California's Attorney General and the City Attorney who filed
the suit, say that consumers have not been warned about the
presence of the toxic chemical in the bottles, which constitutes
a violation of the state's Proposition 65. The prosecutors
say lead is so toxic, even ingesting minuscule amounts can
be hazardous to human health. PepsiCo settled a similar suit
last month by agreeing to phase out bottles with lead-painted
labels within the next 10 years. PepsiCo will also pay a $1
million fine, attorney's fees and cover the costs of surveillance
to endure that Mexican Pepsi bottles are not sent to California.
Coca-cola says the refillable bottle from Mexico was never
authorized for sale in California and that all bottles being
manufactured today for Coca-Cola from Mexico are 100% lead-free.
A statement released by Coca-Cola today quotes a toxicologist
and a founding member of the Proposition 65 Science Advisory
Board as saying that many residents of Los Angeles drink tap
water with higher levels of lead.
CLIMATE TALKS
A two day meeting of the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change closed in Bonn, Germany yesterday, reflecting the ongoing
controversy on how nations should best respond to climate
change. FSRN's Alison Benjamin reports.
A non-binding, two-day dialogue between 189 nations on how
to combat global warming wrapped up in Bonn, Germany yesterday.
Controversy marred the talks as the chair of the meeting,
Canadian Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, was criticized
for her government's anti-Kyoto stance. Canada said last week
that it could not meet its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol,
an announcement that was criticized by environmentalists and
by German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel. In Canadian
Parliament yesterday, opposition parties passed a non-binding
bill demanding the government live up to its Kyoto commitments.
During the Bonn talks, India said that rich nations should
bear responsibility for cutting emissions, saying poverty
eradication was a more urgent threat for poorer nations than
global warming. US climate negotiator Harlan Watson announced
that Canada, Japan, China, India, Australia and South Korea
are interested in a US-led pact called the Asia-Pacific Partnership
on Clean Development and Climate. The partnership would involve
voluntary emissions cutting measures and green technology
sharing to combat global warming. Monday and Tuesday's Bonn
talks were a precursor to negotiations that begin today on
how to extend Kyoto past 2012. For FSRN in Vancouver, I'm
Alison Benjamin.
LAND REFORM IN BOLIVIA
Bolivia's Minister of Agriculture has presented a 6-point
plan to reform land distribution. Diletta Varlese reports.
The set of land reforms announced yesterday by Bolivia's
Minister of Agriculture Hugo Salvatierra and Vice President
Alvaro Garcia Linera will entail the re-distribution of between
2 and 4.5 millions of hectares of unused lands. The lands
will be confiscated from large landowners and handed to small
farmers. The six decrees will serve to modify the current
law governing land ownership. In addition to land re-distribution,
the reforms will also combat the ongoing practice of slavery.
Although slavery is illegal in Bolivia, it still occurs in
isolated areas controlled by large landowners. Indigenous
people and women are most often the victims of slavery. President
Evo Morales is expected to sign the set of reforms as early
as today. For FSRN, Diletta Varlese in La Paz, Bolivia.
[top]
Immigrant Rights Advocates Rally on Capitol Hill
and Senate Continues Debate (3:40)
The U.S. Senate is considering a series of votes that would
amend the compromise immigration legislation it's currently
considering, closer to the Draconian proposals that have provoked
mass demonstrations since March. Immigrant rights advocates
are rallying outside the US Capitol in protest. FSRN’s
Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.
[top]
Senators Push Rumsfled on Iraq Withdrawal
(2:30)
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the head of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff testified this morning before a Senate
sub-committee on the Department of Defense budget for fiscal
year 2007. Rumsfeld said there is no timetable for withdrawing
troops from Iraq. Darby Hickey reports from Capitol Hill,
where protestors disrupted that hearing, as well as another
one on Iran's nuclear capabilities.
[top]
New York Counting Prison Inmates for Legislative
Seats (2:30)
A lawsuit seeking to give prisoners the right to vote was
rejected by the New York Court of Appeals. But the Court did
express interest in how the counting of inmates in upstate
counties creates more Republican seats in the legislature.
If the legal argument is pursued, it could give Democrats
a majority in the NY Senate. Rebecca Myles has more.
[top]
Delphi Auto Workers Agree to Strike (4:00)
Members of the United Auto Workers union voted overwhelmingly
this week to authorize a strike at parts manufacturer Delphi
over the company’s proposal to cut positions, pay and
benefits for its US hourly workers as part of its plan to
emerge from bankruptcy. Max Pringle reports.
[top]
Nepal Residents Nervous Over Slow Progress
(3:40)
For the first time since the democratic government regained
control in Nepal, violence has spilled out onto the streets
of Katmandu this week. It’s been two-and-a-half weeks
since the Nepali Parliament reconvened following the popular
uprising that forced the king from power, and many have started
to worry about slow progress. Carey Biron reports from Katmandu.
[top]
University of Colorado Releases its Report on Ward
Churchill (3:00)
The University of Colorado in Boulder released its report
into the investigation into Ward Churchill. A tenured professor
in the Ethnic Studies Department, Churchill has been under
fire for remarks he made about 9/11, and has been under investigation
by the University for plagiarism and academic misconduct.
The investigation and controversy surrounding Churchill's
writings has sparked debate over the academic tenure system,
and critics say the investigation is an attempt to quell free
speech on campus. Maeve Conran reports.
[top]
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