January 17, 2003
Turks Protest Iraqi War (3:24)
On this the 12th anniversary of the Gulf War, the White House is seizing on yesterday’s discovery in Iraq of 11 empty chemical warheads, U.N. weapons inspectors are still checking Friday to see if the 11 empty chemical warheads were, if ever, loaded with deadly chemicals. Inspectors are also reviewing last month’s 12,000-page Iraqi declaration to the United Nations to see if the warheads are mentioned. Meanwhile, as tens of thousands prepare to descend on the nations major cities this Martin Luther King Jnr. Weekend for telling the Bush Administration there should be no war on Iraq, Aaron Glantz reports from Ankara that Turkish citizens came out to protest a u-s initiative into Iraq, even as their leadership says Turkey will host US forces.
Palestinians March Against Iraqi War (4:46)
A march by 3,000 Palestinians through the winding streets of Gaza City on the 12th anniversary of the 1991 Gulf War denounced U-S efforts to launch a military campaign into Iraq. Meanwhile dozens of Palestinians were rounded up this week in raids conducted by the Israeli military in a stepped-up campaign ahead of Israeli elections scheduled for Jan 28. This as two Palestinian teenagers and a mentally ill Palestinian man were shot in separate incidents this week in the West Bank. There are also reports of a revived policy by Mossad of extrajudicial killings of Palestinians outside of the occupied territories, and as Awad Duaibes reports, Israel says this latest crack down is happening to “secure” itself for the upcoming elections.
Bush Calls for Elimination of Affirmative Action (3:08)
Regarding the most recent affirmative action case to face the U.S. Supreme Court, President Bush stated that he wants to eliminate affirmative action programs around the nation and opt for what he calls models in California, Texas, and Florida. In all three states, affirmative action programs in state university admissions were eliminated a number of years ago and replaced by other non-race based programs. But, in all three states the percentage of black and Hispanic students has decreased. Randi Zimmerman has more from Tampa, Florida.
FCC Targets Berkeley Liberation Radio (4:30)
While the Federal Communications Commission held a public forum yesterday to address the public’s concern about media ownership, low power FM station Berkeley Liberation Radio is undergoing legal battles with the FCC who is threatening to take them off the air. Congressional regulations in recent years have made it increasingly harder for Low Power Fm stations to get an FCC license, and as Berkeley Liberation Radio experienced just last month, community supported Low Power stations that continue to broadcast risk losing everything under the scrutiny of the FCC. Pauline Bartolone reports
Columbia and U.S. Continue War Escalation Against FARC (3:48)
As car bombs blow up across Colombia, the government is assigning blame to the FARC and says they will denounce them before the UN for these acts. The government is also sitting down with leaders of the right-wing United Self Defense Forces of Colombia to work on guidelines for future dialogues. But, President Uribe says he will only speak to the FARC through the mediation of the United Nations, a condition the FARC has always rejected. Almost a year has passed since the Colombian government broke the dialogue process with the guerilla group that has been waging war for 38 years, and since then the campaign to finish off what the US and Colombian governments call the narco-terrorists continues to escalate. In the second part of an FSRN exclusive interview, Nicole Karsin speaks with one of the FARC´s top commanders.
