Home > Programs
> FSRN
> Tue., Aug. 3, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
Thanks to FSRN.org
for making the daily programs available to Pacifica.org
Today's lead stories:
Republicans Facing Tough Campaigning After Scandal Erupts
Supreme Court Considers Deportation of Documented Immigrants
Convicted on Drug Charges
Iraq’s Educational Brain Drain
Relief and the Construction Industrial Complex
Los Angeles Mobilizes in Support of People in Oaxaca
FSRN Headlines
TURKISH PLANE HIJACKED
A hijacked Turkish airplane has been forced to land in the
Italian city of Brindisi. The plane was en route from the
capital of Albania to Istanbul when two Turkish hijackers
had the pilot direct the aircraft to Italy. F-16 fighter jets
intercepted the plane shortly afterwards. The hijacking reportedly
came in protest of an announcement that Pope Benedict plans
to visit Turkey next month. The Pope recently angered many
in the Muslim world by linking Islam to violence. Rising tension
between Georgia and Russia Russia today began the suspension
of all air, rail, sea and road links as well as postal communication
to neighboring Georgia. Deborah Wild reports from Tbilisi.
The announcement to suspend most physical links between Russia
and Georgia came just hours before Georgian authorities released
the four Russian military officers accused of espionage into
the custody of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe, which escorted them to the airport from where they
were flown out to Moscow. The handover was a publicly staged
event witnessed live by journalists and cameras from around
the world in front of the Prosecutor's Generals Office here
in the Tbilisi. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said
the release was a gesture of good will towards Georgia's western
friends and in no way a response to the threats voiced by
the Russian leadership. OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Belgian Foreign
Minister Karel de Gucht called on Russia to respond in a similar
way to decrease tensions rapidly. However, the Russian Duma
is still scheduled to discuss a bill also banning money transfers
to Georgia. An estimated 1 million Georgians live and work
in Russia. According to the Georgian National Bank, 219 million
US Dollars were transferred from Russia in the first eight
months of this year. For Free Speech Radio, I'm Deborah Wild
in Tbilisi, Georgia.
SECURITY INCIDENTS IN NIGER DELTA
Militants in the Niger Delta region have killed five soldiers
during an attack on a boat convoy carrying supplies for the
multinational oil company, Shell Petroleum. Sam Olukoya reports
from Lagos.
Ten soldiers and 16 oil contractors are missing after yesterday's
attack on a supply boat convoy. Some of the oil workers employed
by the Anglo Dutch Oil Company, Shell Petroleum are believed
to have been kidnaped. A militant group, the Niger Delta People's
Volunteer Force, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The group threatened more attacks unless a separatist leader,
Mujaheed Asari Dokubo is released. Dokubo is in the forefront
of the struggle waged by communities in the Niger Delta against
western oil companies in the Niger Delta. The communities
want a share of oil revenue. Militants have in recent months
been taking foreign oil workers hostage. Just last month,
oil workers went on strike to protest the growing insecurity
in the Niger Delta. For Free Speech Radio News, this is Sam
Olukoya in Lagos.
BRITAIN REFUSES TO TAKE NATIONALS AT GUANTANAMO
British newspaper, the Guardian, has published the details
of secret talks between the US and Britain where the US offered
to send back most of the nine British residents detained at
Guantánamo Bay. But Britain is refusing their return.
From London, Naomi Fowler reports.
Many of the men concerned have lived in Britain for up to
twenty years. They have children and other family members
who are British citizens. Because they never formalized their
British passports, they fell through the gaps during negotiations
for the return of British citizens from Guantanamo Bay. The
British government has always denied legal or moral responsibility
for the return of these men. The men's lawyers say they continue
to suffer ill-treatment in Guantanamo Bay, with four being
subjected to the extremes of freezing cold and then high heat.
The unwillingness of the British government to accept them
back into Britain may be because they know they'll encounter
problems in trying to deport them; they're already being blocked
by the courts from deporting other men whom they refer to
as 'terrorist suspects' who are a 'threat to security.' Like
all the Guantanamo Bay detainees, none has been found guilty
of any crime by the courts. Some have even been tried and
acquitted of all charges. The government is seeking 'diplomatic
assurances' from countries such as Algeria that they will
not torture or execute deportees in an attempt to find a way
round Britain's obligations under international law. The US
doesn't want these British residents either because they also
will have legal problems in returning them to possible persecution
in their countries of origin. Foreign Office officials have
denied that any talks are taking place. This is Naomi Fowler
in London for Free Speech Radio News.
CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FILES A LEGAL CHALLENGE
TO THE MILITARY COMMISSION ACT
The Center for Constitutional Rights yesterday filed the first
constitutional challenge to the Military Commissions Act,
passed last week by Congress. Nan McCurdy has more from Washington,
DC.
The Habeas Corpus petition filed on behalf of 25 detainees
held at Bagram Air Force base in Afghanistan, demands the
U.S. government either charge the prisoners with a crime or
release them. Some of the men have been held for years without
ever receiving a hearing. The new bill, passed by Congress
last week and signed by the president, denies prisoners the
right to challenge their detention or treatment through traditional
habeas corpus petitions. The bill also empowers the executive
branch to indefinitely detain anyone it determines to have
"purposefully and materially" supported anti-US
hostilities. Bill Goodman, Legal Director of the Center for
Constitutional Rights calls the suspension of the writ of
habeus corpus "a shocking and sad moment in US history".
Activist group World Can't Wait is organizing emergency protests
on Thursday in over 170 towns and cities to condemn the US
government's new guidelines for the treatment of detainees,
which many say amounts to the official sanctioning of torture.
For FSRN, from Washington DC, I'm Nan McCurdy.
[top]
Republicans Facing Tough Campaigning After Scandal
Erupts (4:30)
President Bush and Vice President Cheney spent yesterday
and today campaigning for Republican House candidates. Tomorrow,
First Lady Laura Bush will hit the campaign trail as well.
But Republicans could loose major ground as a new scandal
disturbs their focus on the campaigns, and as many conservative
groups express outrage. Washington Editor Leigh Ann Caldwell
reports from Capitol Hill.
[top]
Supreme Court Considers Deportation of Documented
Immigrants Convicted on Drug Charges (2:45)
The U.S. Supreme Court started their 2006/2007 term by looking
at two cases arguing whether or not immigrants should face
automatic deportation if they are charged with a crime that
is considered a felony in their state but a misdemeanor under
federal law. Selina Musuta reports from the Supreme Court,
where immigrant rights advocates are calling for discretion
in deportation proceedings for those facing drug charges.
[top]
Iraq’s Educational Brain Drain (5:00)
The Pentagon announced today that four U.S. soldiers were
killed Monday evening while they were patrolling a neighborhood
in Northern Baghdad. The killings come after the deaths of
five Marines in Anbar province over the weekend. At least
2,726 U.S. troops have died since George Bush invaded Iraq
in 2003. … Over 100,000 Iraqi have died during the same
time, among them at least 161 professors. Aaron Glantz and
Salam Talib file this report on Iraq's brain drain.
[top]
Relief and the Construction Industrial Complex (3:30)
After natural disasters hit some of the world’s poorest
countries, they often turn to the United States for aid. In
exchange for the needed help, stricken countries, such as
Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, are obliged to liberalize
their markets and deregulate essential services like water
and electricity. Some critics see the exchange as the latest
form of colonialism. Cinnamon Nippard has more from Berlin.
[top]
Los Angeles Mobilizes in Support of People in Oaxaca
(4:00)
Tension remains high in Oaxaca City as military flights
continue, creating a general anxiety among residents over
a possible massive crackdown against a popular movement demanding
the resignation of the state’s governor. Mexico’s
Attorney General’s office said it is looking into the
cases of small explosions that shattered windows and glass
doors at 3 different banks in Oaxaca City yesterday. A previously
unknown guerrilla group claimed responsibility for the blasts,
although many suspect the attacks were staged to create a
pretext for an intervention by federal forces. Meanwhile,
in Los Angeles, a group of people is protesting in front of
the Mexican Consulate, in an attempt to raise awareness about
the volatile situation. Christina Lopez works with the Frente
Indigena de Organizaciones Binacionales, or the Indigenous
Front of Bi-national Organizations, one of the groups that
organized today’s demonstration.
[top]
|
Listen
to the show 
Help
stream
download
