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> Thur., Nov. 16, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Democrats in House Select New Leadership
U.S. Senate Debates India Nuclear Deal
Former Justice Department Employees Say Bush Stacked Division
with Political Appointees
Could Shift in Congressional Power Mean Environmental Policy
Change?
Jean-Pierre Bemba Contests DRC Election Results
Students of Color Underrepresented at UCLA
Video Shows UCLA PD Repeatedly Tasering Student
FSRN Headlines
APEC SUMMIT
President Bush is in Asia today, on his way to Vietnam for
the annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.
This is his first trip abroad since the Republican Party lost
control of Congress in last week's elections. FSRN's Seoul
correspondent Jason Strother reports that the President may
use this tour of the region to show that despite setbacks
at home, he still has political power.
IRAQ RE-CONSTRUCTION BILL
Senators are preparing a bill to extend the tenure of the
Inspector General charged with oversight of reconstruction
projects in Iraq. The stand-alone bill would keep the Inspector
General in Iraq for 10 months after 80 percent of Iraq reconstruction
money has been spent. The IG'S term will expire soon and authors
of the measure say it would be a waste of money if the oversight
job ends before the work is complete. Senators Russ Feingold,
Susan Collins, and Joseph Lieberman sponsored a similar measure,
which was later attached to the military construction and
Veterans Administration spending bills which passed the Senate
on Tuesday. The Senators have sponsored the separate bill
to increase the chances of its passage into law.
NEW STRIKES IN GAZA
Israeli air forces raided a series of targets in the Gaza
Strip today after Palestinian rocket attacks killed an Israeli
resident and injured others in an Israeli border town. FSRN's
Rami Almeghari has more.
President Bush will arrive in Hanoi on Friday, making him
the second US president to visit Vietnam since Bill Clinton
established diplomatic relations with the communist nation
in 1995. Analysts say the President needs to show that he
still carries political capital after the Democratic victory
on November 7th. But convincing his hosts may not be so easy.
Despite dropping Vietnam from the State Department's list
of countries that prohibit religious freedom, a bill that
would have normalized trade with America's wartime enemy was
shot down on the floor of the House of Representatives earlier
this week. Speaking today in Singapore ahead of the APEC summit,
Bush voiced his support for a Pacific Rim Free trade zone
and cooperation in finding alternative sources of energy.
Bush also reaffirmed America's commitment to stopping North
Korea's nuclear weapons program. Envoys meeting on the APEC
sidelines have already announced that the next round of multilateral
talks will begin sometime in December. Reporting for Free
Speech Radio News, I'm Jason Strother in Seoul, South Korea.
TEEN ON TRIAL FOR HORRIFIC ABUSE IN HOUSTON
Jury deliberation begins today in the trial of a Texas teen
accused of yelling racial slurs during a brutal sexual assault
on Latino teenager. Renee Feltz reports from Houston.
18 year old David Tuck is charged with aggravated sexual
assault. He's accused of attacking a 17 year old Latino student
during a party in suburban Houston where heavy drugs were
used. In today's closing arguments, Tuck's attorney called
witnesses who'd testified about the attack liars, and asked
for a not guilty verdict. Tuck and another teen are accused
of stripping the victim naked and then sodomizing, beating,
kicking, and stabbing him in an attack that lasted over four
hours.... and ended with bleach being poured onto the victim's
face and body. The victim was sodomized with a patio umbrella
pole 1 and a ½ inches in diameter. Tuck allegedly kicked
the pole, causing massive internal injuries. Witnesses testified
Tuck is a neo-nazi skinhead prone to wearing swastikas, and
said he yelled out "white power" during the attack.
The incident reportedly began when a 12 year old girl told
her brother the victim tried to kiss her during the party.
Defense attorneys blamed the attack on the girl and her 16
year old brother who testified they observed the assault but
were too scared to intervene. The victim has undergone 30
surgeries during his recovery. Tuck faces 5-99 years in prison
if he's convicted. Prosecutors did not seek a hate crime charge
because it wouldn't change the possible punishment. The victim's
family is working to change Texas hate crime law. In Houston,
I'm Renee Feltz for FSRN.
OAXACAN TEACHERS BACK IN THEIR CLASSROOMS
Public school teachers in Oaxaca, Mexico went back in their
classrooms today. The education workers union began its strike
on May 22nd, calling for higher wages and increased funding
for the school system. Teachers later added the resignation
of Governor Ulises Ruiz to their list of demands. The federal
government has agreed to an increase in education funding.
Teachers say they will continue their fight for the removal
of the governor from their classrooms.
INDIA'S CABINET APPROVES EXPANSION OF COMMUNITY RADIO
India's cabinet today approved a measure that would allow
established non-profit organizations and educational institutions
to operate community radio stations. Jean Parker reports from
Pune, India.
The cabinet approval clears one of the last legal hurdles
preventing direct community access to the airwaves in India.
Today's decision came after India's Group of Ministers issued
a recommendation last month to expand the presence of community
broadcasting throughout the country. Under the new regulations,
non-profit organizations that have worked in a community for
at least three years can apply for a radio license. The government
said political parties and trade unions will not be allowed
to apply. The Cabinet authorized the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting to finalize the details of the policy before
granting licenses to new stations. Local community radio advocates,
along with UNESCO and the World Association of Community Radio
Broadcasters began pushing for a policy change in 1995 when
the Supreme Court of India said the airwaves are public property.
Programs on health, women's issues, language preservation,
literacy, and farmers rights will likely soon be broadcast
throughout the country via community radio. For Free Speech
Radio News, I'm Jean Parker in Pune, India.
[top]
Democrats in House Select New Leadership (2:30)
Democrats in the House of Representatives nominated Nancy
Pelosi of California to be the first woman Speaker of the
House. But rank and file members defied Pelosi in her first
challenge and elected Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland
over Pennsylvania’s Jack Murtha to be Majority Leader.
Representative Murtha joined the newly elected leadership
after several hours of casting and counting ballots. Pelosi
and Hoyer walked out holding hands to prove they are a united
party.
[top]
U.S. Senate Debates India Nuclear Deal (4:00)
The U.S. Senate is debating legislation to allow the Bush
Administration's Nuclear Deal with India to move forward.
If passed, India would be able to purchase billions of dollars
worth of nuclear fuel, reactors and related technology from
the United States. FSRN's Eric Klein has more.
[top]
Former Justice Department Employees Say Bush Stacked
Division with Political Appointees (3:20)
The staffing process in the Civil Rights Division of the
Department of Justice is under question in the Senate Judiciary
Committee. During a hearing this morning, former Justice Department
employees accused the Bush administration of stuffing the
division with political appointees and driving out experienced
career attorneys. Yanmei Xie reports from Capitol Hill.
[top]
Could Shift in Congressional Power Mean Environmental
Policy Change? (1:50)
Participants are wrapping up at the United Nation’s
global climate change conference in Nairobi. Environmentalists
say progress was made but didn’t go far enough. And
as Leigh Ann Caldwell reports from Washington DC, a shift
in Congressional power could mean a change in U.S. environmental
policy.
[top]
Jean-Pierre Bemba Contests DRC Election Results
(2:50)
Democratic Republic of Congo presidential candidate Jean-Pierre
Bemba says he will use all legal channels to contest the election
results that gave victory over to incumbent Joseph Kabila.
The Congo independent electoral commission has declared Kabila
the winner with 51% of the votes in the bitterly contested
election with Bemba, who garnered 41%. Peacekeepers are already
poised in the capital city of Kinshasha, with extra troops
on hand in case of trouble. FSRN's Joshua Kyalimpa has the
story.
[top]
Students of Color Underrepresented at UCLA
(3:35)
A decade ago, California voters approved Proposition 209,
an initiative banning affirmative action in public institutions
throughout the state. Since then, Washington and Michigan
have passed measures modeled after Prop 209. The measure has
had dramatic effects on college admissions, most notably on
the University of California system. This year, only 96 African
Americans entered UCLA and only one black woman is expected
to graduate from the Law School in 2008. FSRN's Leilani Albano
reports.
[top]
Video Shows UCLA PD Repeatedly Tasering Student
(1:00)
UCLA’s Police Department says they are investigating
an incident Tuesday night where a student was tasered by officers
several times. Video of the incident was caught by at least
3 cell phone cameras at UCLA’s Powell Library, showing
Mostafa Tabatabainejad screaming in pain as officers repeatedly
stun him with a taser.
[top]
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