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> Thur., May. 25, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Senate Passes Controversial Immigration Reform Bill
South Central Farmers
Palestinian Legislative Council Convenes National Dialogue
on Internal Conflict
Tension Remains 6 Year Anniversary of Israel Withdrawal from
Lebanon
House Passes Bill to Drill and Explore in Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge
Iraqi Expatriates in Jordan
FSRN Headlines
GUILTY VERDICTS IN THE ENRON TRIAL
The jury of the Enron Trial handed down a flurry of guilty
verdicts today in Houston. Lisa Cohen reports from the courthouse.
(no transcript available)
GUILTY VERDICT IN SUBWAY BOMBING CASE
A 23-year old Pakistani immigrant has been found guilty by
a New York jury of conspiracy to place and detonate a bomb
in the Herald Square subway station. Shahawar Matin Siraj
was convicted based on conversations recorded by an informant
paid by the NYPD to spy on local mosques. The defense argued
Siraj was entrapped by the older man, but the members of the
jury decided there was not enough physical evidence to prove
that the bombing plan originally came from the informant.
Defense attorneys say they will appeal.
DEATH TOLL FROM POLICE CRACKDOWN IN SAO PAULO
In Brazil, details of a bloody crackdown are slowly emerging
one week after police and members of a criminal organization
battled in the streets of São Paulo. Natalia Viana
has the story.
A total of 110 people were killed by the police last week.
The general commander of the São Paulo Police, Elizeu
Edair Borges, denied that any of them were innocent, but on
Tuesday the government admitted that only 79 people were actually
suspected of involvement with the crime organization. One
week after the crackdown, the government still refuses to
make public the names of the victims. FSRN talked to a family
in Capão Redondo, a poor neighborhood in the south
of São Paulo, and discovered that 5 men were killed
after leaving a bar on May 15th. According to witnesses, four
men wearing black clothes and ski masks jumped from a car,
yelled "Police!" and then started shooting. The
same black car was seen hours later riding together with 3
police vehicles. All testimonies say the 5 men killed were
regular workers. The secretary of public security told FSRN
that their deaths were not counted in the official number
of deaths at the hands of the police. They were considered
a "regular casualty". That is, the police have apparently
killed more than they admit. For FSRN, I am Natalia Viana
in São Paulo, Brazil.
AUSTRALIAN SENDS TROOPS TO EAST TIMOR
One-hundred and fifty Australian commandos landed in East
Timor today to to help quell a recent upsurge of violence
in the tiny nation. The wave of violence was sparked in April
when 600 Timorese soldiers were dismissed after protesting
discrimination within the ranks. Ahead of the troops' arrival,
the security situation in the capital city of Dili was reportedly
grave as pro-government forces and rebel troops waged gunfights
in the city's center. Australia is to send an additional 1,300
troops. New Zealand, Malaysia, and Portugal have also committed
peacekeeping forces.
WRAP UP ON THIS WEEK'S CONFERENCES IN KASHMIR
The hyped Round Table conference chaired by India´s
Prime Minister concluded in Srinagar, Kashmir today. None
of the Kashmiri Separatist groups attended the conference.
Shahnawaz Khan has the story.
Although there were no major decisions or announcements at
the end of the Round Table Conference in Srinagar today, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh said he was hopeful that separatists
will join the series of round table conferences in future.
Singh announced the formation of five working groups to work
on issues like confidence building measures, the rehabilitation
of people affected by violence, strengthening relations across
the line of control in Kashmir, good governance and economic
development. Singh also talked about reviewing cases of Kashmiri
detainees languishing in jails for many years. Meanwhile,
Indo-Pak talks on the demilitarization of the Siachen Glacier
ended in New Delhi Wednesday without making any breakthrough.
The Siachen Glacier is the world's highest battlefield. Harsh
weather there claims more lives of troops than enemy fire.
For FSRN, I'M Shahnawaz Khan.
BLOCKADES IN WASHINGTON STATE
Anti-war protesters were arrested in Olympia, Washington on
Wednesday while try to block US Army convoys headed for Iraq
for the 3rd day in a row. Mark Taylor-Canfield reports.
Equipment for the 3rd Stryker Brigade, headquartered at Fort
Lewis, is being loaded onto ships at the Port of Olympia as
troops prepare to leave for Iraq on their second deployment.
Anti-war protesters have continued to commit acts of civil
disobedience in an attempt to block the military vehicles'
access to port facilities. Witnesses say police arrested ten
people on Wednesday. There have been a total of 17 arrests
since the protests began. So far, most of the demonstrators
have been charged with misdemeanors for blocking traffic.
The demonstrators say they oppose the use of the public port
to support what they call an illegal and immoral war. Their
repeated attempts to force the port commission to stop accepting
military shipments since 2004 have been unsuccessful. The
military convoys are scheduled to continue for another week
and protesters say they will be back for more demonstrations.
This is Mark Taylor-Canfield reporting for Free Speech Radio
News in Seattle.
[top]
Senate Passes Controversial Immigration Reform Bill
(2:46)
The Senate is about to vote on its controversial immigration
reform bill. Those who opposed the bill because they say it
includes a path to citizenship for currently undocumented
immigrants are hopeful that the bill will shed such provisions
when it meets House negotiators. FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell
reports.
[top]
South Central Farmers (3:00)
Hundreds of South Central Farmers and their supporters held
a candlelight vigil on the Farm’s perimeter last night,
and people say they are willing to risk arrest in the struggle
to save the largest urban farm in the nation. The Farmers
are asking supporters to keep pressure on LA Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa to make good on his promise to help save the
land. As demonstrators made their way back inside the Farm,
speakers, spoken word artists and musicians entertained the
crowd of about 500 people until midnight. Many in the crowd
became anxious when at least 4 armed Federal Agents identified
themselves and said they were there to guard the train tracks,
adjacent to the Farm. A helicopter also flew over the Farm’s
main gathering area, shining a nearly blinding light on people
for about 10 minutes. At around 3 am, an explosion was heard,
and the warehouse about 50 yards away from where the South
Central Farm supporters were sleeping, caught on fire. As
fire trucks, ambulances and police vehicles arrived at the
scene, the Farm organizers declared a complete lock down to
maintain the safety of supporters there, and no incident between
police and activists occurred. Rosa Romero works with the
South Central Farmers Support Coalition. We caught up with
her this morning inside the Farm.
[top]
Palestinian Legislative Council Convenes National
Dialogue on Internal Conflict (4:33)
The Palestinian Legislative Council has convened a two-day
National Dialogue, in a bid to end the internal unrest and
factional fighting in the Gaza Strip. The continuing conflict
resulted in one death and four injured in Gaza. Saed Bannoura
reports from Beit Sahour, Palestine.
[top]
Tension Remains 6 Year Anniversary of Israel Withdrawal
from Lebanon (4:11)
Today marks the 6th anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal
from South Lebanon, ending its 22-year occupation. Yet six
years later, a state of war between the two countries persists.
Emily Becker and Jamal Ghosn report from Beirut.
[top]
House Passes Bill to Drill and Explore in Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge (2:43)
The House of Representatives has passed a bill to drill
and explore for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge,
or ANWR 221-to-201. Opening ANWR up for oil exploration is
a cornerstone for President Bush's energy independence blueprint.
Shifting oil extraction to domestic sites has been actively
supported by many House Republicans, who deem it necessary
to be actively involved in energy issues as congressional
elections approach. Anastasia Gnezditskaia reports from DC.
[top]
Iraqi Expatriates in Jordan (3:37)
Since the US invasion of Iraq more than three years ago,
as many as one million Iraqis have gone to Jordan to escape
lawlessness or to find jobs. That flight has created a dichotomous
exile community. David Enders files this report from Amman,
Jordan.
[top]
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