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> Wed., June. 21, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
Thanks to FSRN.org
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Today's lead stories:
Majority of Democrats Support Moderate Troop Withdrawal
U.S. Focuses on North Korea’s Nuclear Plans
Minimum Wage Measure Fails in the Senate
Volatile Situation Continues in Oaxaca
Bolivia Set to Nationalize Five More Resource Sectors
Louisiana Shrimpers Demand Investigation into Price Fixing
FSRN Headlines
SADDAM LAWYER KILLED
Gunmen murdered an attorney on Saddam Hussein's defense team
today. Khamis al-Obeidi is the third attorney killed during
the course of the trial of the former Iraqi leader and his
7 co-defendants. Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants have
reportedly begun a hunger strike to call for international
protection for the defense team.
IRAQI WORKERS KIDNAPPED
Elsewhere in Iraq, the Agence France Press is reporting that
over 100 Iraqi workers were abducted today by gunmen at the
end of their shifts in a factory complex north of Baghdad.
RAFAH CROSSING CLOSED
Four people - including three children - have been killed
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the last twenty four hours.
Manar Jibrin reports.
An Israeli undercover army unit, backed by armored vehicles,
clashed with Palestinians today during a pre-dawn invasion
at Eien Beit-Ilma refugee camp near the West Bank city of
Nablus. The Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition at Palestinian
resistance fighters, killing twenty one year-old Daoud Al
Qatuni and injuring two members of Al Aqsa Martyrs brigade,
the armed wing of Fatah. In the northern Gaza Strip, An Israeli
warplane fired a missile on a Palestinian car in a failed
assassination attempt on Tuesday night. The targets were meant
to be members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs brigade, but the attack
instead killed three children and injured ten civilians. The
Rafah border crossing between the Gaza strip and Egypt is
closed today. International monitors say this is because of
an Israeli security alert. The Rafah crossing is Gaza's only
international crossing point. International monitors staff
the crossing in accordance with a United States brokered agreement
last summer after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
For FSRN from IMEMC.org in Palestine I am Manar Jibrin.
EAST TIMOR'S PRIME MINISTER ASKED TO RESIGN
East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao today urged the country's
prime minister to resign. The tiny island nation has been
plagued by conflict recently after the Prime Minister ordered
the dismissal of some 600 soldiers. Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri
is expected to announce his resignation sometime tomorrow.
ATTACK ON HINDU PILGRIMS
At least five Hindu Pilgrims were wounded in Indian-administered
Kashmir today when suspected guerrillas hurled a grenade at
a vehicle carrying the pilgrims from a holy site on the outskirts
of Srinagar. Shahnawaz Khan has the story.
The pilgrims were returning from the cave shrine in Amarnath,
a site visited by thousands of devotees each year. Police
sources said all of the injured pilgrims are from Indian state
of Rajasthan. This is the first attack on Hindu Pilgrims this
year since the annual pilgrimage to Amarnath commenced on
June 10. In the past month, at least four tourists were killed
and scores injured in a spate of grenade attacks on tourist
vehicles in Srinagar. For FSRN, I'm Shahnawaz Khan.
AT&T CHANGES PRIVACY POLICY
The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that telecommunications
giant, AT&T has re-written its privacy policy to make
it easier to divulge customer data to the government. The
new policy, which goes into effect on Friday, stipulates that
AT&T is the owner of a customer's private data.
DRONES OVER LOS ANGELES
The Los Angeles Sheriffs Department has announced plans to
begin using an unmanned surveillance aircraft for urban policing
purposes. Marco Amador reports from Los Angeles.
The LA County Sheriff's department is the first in the nation
to launch an unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV, for civilian
policing duties. The United States Army has been using UAVs
for years in combat zones, but this particular aircraft has
been specifically designed for law enforcement. Branded with
the name SkySeer, the drone is lightweight, portable, and
resembles a toy model aircrafts. The UAV is only one part
of the Los Angeles Sheriff's technological development project,
which includes the creation of a cyber-command post similar
to the effort made by the NYPD. The project also includes
a radio-wave emitting gun that would kill the engine on a
fleeing car, as well as a light emitting diode incapacitator
which will daze fleeing suspects with high light frequencies.
Commander Sid Heal, who heads the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department
Technology Exploration project, says that the SkySeer would
only be used for surveillance tasks that are considered too
risky and that the agency does not intend to use the drones
for general surveillance. Melissa Ngo, Director of the Identification
and Surveillance Project at the Electronic Privacy Information
Center says the program raises concerns. (audio 00:14) The
SkySeer drone is now undergoing field-testing, but could soon
come into regular use by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.
From KPFK in LA, I'm Marco Amador for FSRN.
[top]
Majority of Democrats Support Moderate Troop Withdrawal
(4:42)
The Defense Department announced that the Marine Corps will
charge 8 service members for the April death of a civilian
in the village of Hamdania, Iraq. The charges stem from an
allegation that one sailor and seven Marines took a civilian
from his home and shot him to death for no reason. Meanwhile,
on Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives passed a $450-billion
defense spending bill with $50-billion going to fund the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile lawmakers in the Senate
brought the debate over troop withdrawal to the floor. A majority
of Democrats signal that they will support a more moderate
measure of troop withdrawal - what they call a new direction.
FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.
[top]
U.S. Focuses on North Korea’s Nuclear Plans
(3:37)
Iran's president announced today that he will respond to
an offer from European countries regarding his nation's nuclear
power plans by August 22. Attention to nuclear issues in the
U.S. has shifted this week however to North Korea, which according
to a report in the New York Times, is preparing to launch
a ballistic missile for the first time since 1998. DC Correspondent
Darby Hickey reports on differing responses and perspectives
about what exactly is happening on the Korean Peninsula.
[top]
Minimum Wage Measure Fails in the Senate
(2:06)
The Senate once again rejected a measure to raise the minimum
wage. The measure failed 52-to-46. The federal wage rate has
remained at 5 dollars and 15 cents per hour for the past nine
years. The amendment would have implemented a phased increase
to $7.25 per hour. An impassioned Senator Edward Kennedy from
Massachusetts, who introduced the measure, called a decent
minimum wage essential. (:25)
[top]
Volatile Situation Continues in Oaxaca (3:51)
With less than 2 weeks until Mexico’s presidential
elections, the level of political tension is on the rise in
Oaxaca, where public school teachers have now been on strike
for one month. Business leaders and allies of the PRI party
are organizing a pro-government response to the mounting calls
for the resignation of the state’s governor. This, after
as many as half a million people took to the streets of Oaxaca
City Friday, demanding the governor leave office. Vladimir
Flores brings us this update on the situation brewing in Southern
Mexico.
[top]
Bolivia Set to Nationalize Five More Resource Sectors
(2:13)
Bolivia’s Minister of Development and Planning has
declared the country will nationalize 5 more resource sectors.
Bolivia already nationalized its energy, or hydrocarbons industry
last month. Diletta Varlese reports.
[top]
Louisiana Shrimpers Demand Investigation into Price
Fixing (3:53)
Louisiana’s men and women who toil long days trolling
nets to catch shrimp are being hit by low prices while struggling
to rebuild their communities after last fall's storms. Shrimpers
make up the backbone of rural southern Louisiana economies,
and are fighting to survive in an industry dominated by cheap
imports. 100 shrimpers recently made their way to Louisiana's
capitol building, demanding an investigation into price fixing.
FSRN’s Christian Roselund has more.
[top]
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