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> Wed., May. 24, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
New Immigration Bill to Create Database of All New Employees
Deaths on the Rise in Basra
Exiled Iranians Demonstrate Against Military Action and Comprehensive
Sanctions
Clergy Asks Senators to Say No to Gay Marriage Ban
Community Groups to Sue Department of Energy and University
of California
South Central Farmers Issue RED ALERT
FSRN Headlines
HAYDEN ENDORSED BY SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE
The Senate intelligence committee has endorsed Gen. Michael
Hayden to become the new director of the Central Intelligence
Agency. The three Democrats who voted against him cited concerns
over the warrant less wiretapping domestic surveillance program
that began during Hayden's leadership of the National Security
Agency. The full Senate is expected to meet for his confirmation
hearing tomorrow.
ACLU LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN AGAINST WARRANT-LESS WIRETAPPING
Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today
that chapters in 20 states are filing complaints with state
regulators regarding recent reports of NSA access to the phone
records of millions of Americans. Mitch Perry reports from
Tampa.
The ACLU says they are reacting to the 2 major news stories
that have been published in the past 5 months about domestic
surveillance. Howard Simon is Executive Director with the
Florida ACLU. He said his group has filed a complaint and
request for information for several telecommunication companies
with the Florida Public Service Commission. Simon says that
on the face of it, the telephone companies named in the USA
Today report have broken Florida law, as he mentioned a specific
state statute (tape) "which essentially makes it a misdemeanor,
with a $25,000 a day violation for the divulgence of customer
records, unless authorized by customers, are authorized by
some legal process." In Massachusetts, 4 different mayors
are mentioned in complaints sent to the state agency regulating
telecommunications. Michael Bissonette is Mayor of Chicopee,
Massachusetts: (tape) "Unfortunately, we've gone from
'Can you hear me now?' to 'Who can hear me now?'." On
Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission declined to
investigate whether the NSA had access to millions of Americans
telephone records, citing the secrecy of the National Security
Agency. Mitch Perry, FSRN, Tampa.
NYC BOMBING TRIAL
A New York jury is deliberating the outcome of the trial of
a Pakistani immigrant accused of plotting to blow up Herald
Square. Rebecca Myles reports from New York City.
Closing arguments have concluded in the trail of 23-year
old Shahawar Martin Siraj. The Pakistani immigrant is charged
with conspiracy to bomb Herald Square subway, in a dense shopping
district in Manhattan. Siraji was arrested on the eve of the
Republican National Convention in 2004. The defense argued
an undercover informant paid by NYPD used techniques of entrapment
to involve Siraj in a conspiracy. The jury learned that the
Egyptian-born police informant made friends with the accused
and secretly recorded more than 30 hours of conversations.
The defense attorney has argued the U.S. government manufactured
the crime explaining the informant ingratiated himself with
the young man and inflamed his political passions with pictures
from Abu Ghraib and talk of abuse of Muslims in America and
in the Middle East. The prosecution has argued that while
everyone is entitled to their political opinions, talk of
placing a bomb in a crowded subway system does not qualify
as constitutionally-protected free speech. If convicted of
conspiracy, Siraj could face 20 years in prison. For FSRN,
I am Rebecca Myles reporting.
MAPUCHES BACK ON HUNGER STRIKE
In Chile Four Mapuche Indians sentenced to 10 years in prison
and ordered to pay nearly 900 thousand dollars for an arson
campaign, are on hunger strike once again. This comes shortly
after ending a hunger strike of more than 60 days. In Santiago,
FSRN's Jorge Garretón has the story.
Senators who brokered a legislative agreement with the Government
that would allow the four Mapuches to serve their sentences
at a half-way house say the new hunger strike endangers the
legislation that would benefit them. This weekend, the Mapuches
took up their hunger strike for the second time after a parliamentary
commission studying the bill recessed for 30 days. The previous
hunger strike ended when Congress agreed to consider emergency
legislation that would allow the Mapuches to serve their sentences
at a half-way house. The Mapuches say they are innocent. They
were tried under a Pinochet-era anti-terrorism act for the
forest fires set in lands historically controlled by the Mapuches.
But today the government says the emergency legislation period
expired as Congress is on recess until June 6. It is not clear
what will happen to the hunger strike and the emergency legislation.
A Catholic Bishop who helped brokered the deal walked away
from the agreement today. For FSRN this is Jorge Garretón
in Santiago.
KASHMIR ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE
Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh chaired a round table
conference on Kashmir in Sriangar today. The first round table
conference was held in New Delhi in February of this year.
Shahnawaz Khan reports.
Like the first round table conference, Kashmiri separatist
groups stayed away from the conference, calling it futile.
The moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference separatist
alliance had reservations about some people invited to the
round table talks by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Of the 41 invitees, only 30 attended. A general strike called
by the hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference paralysed normal
life in Kashmir today. Guerrillas struck at four places in
Srinagar today, in spite of heavy security arrangements. Although
the round table conference was the first of its kind in which
an Indian prime minister visited Kashmir to discuss Kashmir
issue itself, the non participation of separatist leaders
diminished its importance. For FSRN, I'm Shahnawaz Khan in
Srinagar, Kashmir.
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
...And In Fort Benning, Georgia, the nation's first female
conscientious objector has been sentenced to 120 days of confinement
for refusing deployment to Afghanistan. Army National Guard
Specialist Katherine Jashinski applied for a discharge 18
months ago, but was denied and later court-martialed for refusing
to train with weapons. Jashinski says that at the end of her
sentence she will resume her studies at the University of
Texas at Austin.
[top]
New Immigration Bill to Create Database of All New
Employees (3:28)
The Senate is poised to vote on their entire immigration
bill tomorrow. A worker verification program to verify that
employees are lawfully working in the United States will be
included in the bill. The program would create a database
of all new employees hired, which concerns privacy rights
groups who say this is just one more government database that
could be abused. FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.
[top]
Deaths on the Rise in Basra (4:08)
The Iraqi Oil Ministry's Inspector General reports this
week that one billion dollars of Iraq's oil is being illegally
smuggled out of the country every month. Smuggling on such
a large scale, coupled with increasing violence and the lack
of basic services like water and electricity, have caused
increasing tensions in the Southern Oil city of Basra. Over
100 civilians have been killed in Basra so far this month.
Residents there are pointing the finger at the Governor and
the British military, which occupies the city. FSRN's Aaron
Glantz and Salam Talib have more.
[top]
Exiled Iranians Demonstrate Against Military Action
and Comprehensive Sanctions (2:49)
While the permanent members of the UN Security Council met
today to discuss what action to take over Iran’s nuclear
program, exiled Iranians from the country’s pro-democracy
movement demonstrated against military action in Iran, and
for comprehensive sanctions. Naomi Fowler reports from outside
the British Foreign Office in London.
[top]
Clergy Asks Senators to Say No to Gay Marriage Ban
(2:34)
As the US Senate is scheduled to vote next month on a Constitutional
Amendment banning same-sex marriage, a group of clergy representing
various religious traditions are calling on Senators to say
"no" to the marriage ban. They believe such an amendment
would endanger religious liberty and compromise civil rights.
Yanmei Xie has the story from Washington DC.
[top]
Community Groups to Sue Department of Energy and
University of California (3:05)
According to a coalition of community organizations in northern
New Mexico, the Los Alamos National Laboratory is violating
regulations of the Clean Water Act. The group intends to sue
the Department of Energy and regents of the University of
California who managed the lab. They are demanding that the
lab honor its agreement to clean up the pollution and stop
creating more contaminants that are making their way to the
Rio Grande. Leslie Clark has more.
[top]
South Central Farmers Issue RED ALERT (2:26)
The South Central Farmers have called a Red Alert, and are
asking supporters to take a principled stance to help the
nation’s largest urban farm. The Farmers and their supporters
have established an encampment on the 14-acre green space,
to resist a Sheriff’s eviction, ordered by the court.
The Farmers were unable to secure the over $16-million demanded
by developer Ralph Horowitz to save the farm. Joan Beaz, Daryl
Hannah and Julie butterfly Hill have joined in the call to
pressure LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to intervene behalf
of the South Central Farm, which feeds roughly 350 families.
Christina Aanestad reports.
[top]
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