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> Wed., Nov. 15, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Washington Weighs in on Iraq
Kidnaped Hostages Freed in Baghdad
Republicans Choose Leadership as Minority Party
India and Pakistan Resume Peace Talks
A Look at the Korean Demilitarized Zone
Civil Rights Groups, Lawyers Challenge City’s Anti-Immigrant
Ordinance
FSRN Headlines
SOLDIER PLEADS GUILTY TO RAPE AND MURDER
An American soldier has admitted to raping a 14 year old Iraqi
and to helping other soldiers kill the girl and her family
in their home in Mahmudiyah. Four soldiers in all have been
implicated in the multiple homicide, but Army Specialist James
Barker is the first to plead guilty.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT APPEALS MILLENNIUM BOMBER'S SENTENCE
The US Department of Justice has appealed the sentence of
the so-called "Millennium Bomber" by a federal judge
in Washington State. Mark Taylor-Canfield reports from Seattle.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
heard the government's challenge to Ahmed Ressam's 22-year
prison sentence on Tuesday. Authorities arrested Ressam in
December of 1999 at the US border in Port Angeles, Washington
after discovering explosives in his rental car. His arrest
prompted the cancellation of millennium celebrations in Seattle.
US District Court Judge John Coughenhour sentenced Ressam
last year for the so-called "millennium" bomb plot,
but prosecutors think the punishment is too light. The Justice
Department claims the judge abused his discretion and misused
Ressam's sentencing to criticize U.S. policy about having
terrorism suspects held indefinitely or tried before secretive
military tribunals. In sentencing Ahmed Ressam, Judge Coughenhour
said, "We did not need to use a secret military tribunal,
detain the defendant indefinitely or deny the defendant the
right to counsel…" Federal prosecutors reportedly
want a 35-year sentence. This is Mark Taylor-Canfield for
Free Speech Radio News in Seattle.
ABRAMOFF GOES TO JAIL
Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff began serving a 5 year, ten
month prison sentence in Maryland today. Abramoff was convicted
on fraud charges related to the purchase of casino boats in
Florida. The one-time lobbyist has also pleaded guilty to
charges of tax evasion, conspiracy and mail fraud as part
of an investigation into a separate lobbying and corruption
scandal that has stained the reputations of a number of high-profile
Republicans.
DENVER ELECTION OFFICIAL OFFERS RESIGNATION
One member of Denver's 3-person Election Commission has offered
his resignation, citing major problems with the voting process
in the recent election. Many voters in Denver were literally
left out in the cold on election day, waiting in long lines
that stretched beyond the doors of the polling centers. Denver
has also had multiple problems with machines that print and
count the ballots. The final results of a number of Colorado
races were not announced until this week.
NATIONAL STRIKE IN PERU
Education workers in Peru have called for a 24-hour long national
strike today in protest of a World Bank-inspired program to
break up the nation's public education system along municipal
lines. Pamela Cueva reports from Lima.
What the so-called "municipalization" program aims
to do is take the administration of the country's public health
and education systems out of the hands of the national government
and make it the responsibility of individual cities or municipalities.
Peru's current Education Minister has announced a "municipalization"
pilot project will take affect in certain areas next year.
In Peru, many municipal governments have demonstrated serious
problems when it comes to the administration of local resources.
Many fear that turning public education over to an incompetent
or corrupt local government could spell disaster for local
schools and eventually lead to their privatization. Critics
of the plan point to the results of a similar experiment in
Chile. High school students there have carried out months
of protests to reform the country's education system and make
education a right and not a privilege. Organized labor also
opposes the project, as it would fracture strong national
unions representing employees in the sectors of public health
and education. The unions backing today's national strike
in Peru are calling for an end to all municipalization plans
and an increase in funding for public education and health
care. For FSRN, I'm Pamela Cueva with Alfredo Cuadras.
FOLLOW UP ON PARIS AIRPORT CLEARANCE
Two Paris airport-workers have been given back their security
clearance today. They were among seven Muslims who took legal
action last Friday to regain the right to work in the security
zone of the Charles de Gaulle airport. But another 68 remain
affected by the ban and an anti-racist group is to take legal
action against the local officials responsible for the move,
accusing them of racial or religious discrimination. Tony
Cross reports from Paris.
The local court in Cergy, near Paris, gave security badges
back to two airport-workers. One of them was Mohammed Seddiqi,
who had been summoned to answer secret service accusations
against him while he was on holiday in Algeria. Today he urged
his colleagues to fight on, declaring "Look at me. I
was wrongly accused and I won." Another two workers won
back their badges last week, but today's judgment upheld the
ban on five others, judged to be potential security threats.
In all 72 workers have had their clearance lifted since May
last year; most of them Muslims of immigrant origin. The anti-racist
group, Mrap, claims that the only basis for action against
them was their racial or religious affiliations. It's taking
the top local official, the Prefect, to court for discrimination.
Meanwhile, trade-unionists have made public a film in which
they brought modeling-paste, that resembled the explosive
semtex, through security. They say that proves that it's employers'
laxness which is the real danger. For FSRN, I'm Tony Cross
in Paris.
[top]
Washington Weighs in on Iraq
Congress focused on Iraq today. Democrats in both houses
seized the opportunity to challenge U.S. policy in Iraq, less
than one week after the country voted against the current
Iraq strategy. And for Republicans, it was one of their last
chances to hold an Iraq oversight hearing; they too showed
concern with the situation there. Washington Editor Leigh
Ann Caldwell has the story.
[top]
Kidnaped Hostages Freed in Baghdad
The death of 6 U.S. soldiers in Iraq yesterday has brought
the U.S. military death toll to at least 2,859 since the start
of the invasion. As the violence continues, dozens of hostages
were released in Baghdad after a kidnaping at a ministry of
Education building in the center of the capital on Tuesday.
David Enders reports with Salam Talib.
[top]
Republicans Choose Leadership as Minority Party
Now that Senate Democrats have elected their new leadership,
Mississippi Senator Trent Lott has made a major political
comeback securing the second ranking post for his party as
Republican Whip. He beat Tennessean Lamar Alexander by one
vote: 25-to-24 after announcing his bid for the position just
two days ago. Lott fell from the leadership power he held
for 6 years in 2002 when he made controversial comments about
race and segregation at Senator Strom Thurmond’s 100th
birthday party. But he convinced fellow republicans that his
knowledge and experience in the Senate will make him the better
assistant leader.
[top]
India and Pakistan Resume Peace Talks
India and Pakistan concluded their first peace talks in
nearly a year today, with both sides promising to do more
to achieve lasting peace in South Asia. The two nuclear rivals
fought three wars and were at the brink of another war in
2002 when international diplomatic pressure persuaded both
sides to start a dialogue process on their differences, including
Kashmir. But after recent train bombings in the Indian city
of Mumbai killed more than 200, India canceled the talks,
accusing the Pakistani intelligence agency of "masterminding
terrorist attacks" in India. FSRN’s Vinod K. Jose
has the latest on the peace process.
[top]
A Look at the Korean Demilitarized Zone
Washington's efforts to enforce the U.N. sanctions on North
Korea have hit a sticking point. Seoul announced this week
that it will not participate in inspections of North Korean
vessels, something the Bush administration had been pressuring
the South to do. South Koreans are concerned about sparking
another conflict with their isolated neighbor, and as FSRN’s
Jason Strother reports, signs of their half century old civil
war are still visible at the border between the two nations.
[top]
Civil Rights Groups, Lawyers Challenge City’s
Anti-Immigrant Ordinance
A federal district court judge will hear oral arguments
regarding a temporary restraining order tomorrow filed by
a coalition of civil rights organizations and law firms to
stop the enforcement of an anti-immigrant ordinance which
bans the rental of homes and apartments to undocumented residents.
FSRN’s Alonso Rivera reports.
[top]
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