July 09, 2003

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Free Speech Radio News Headlines
Medical Malpractice show-down in the US Senate — Pamela Barnett
Tony Blair and the “Dodgy Dossier” — Ama Buadi
Teen joblessness — Brenden Sweeney
Palestinian PM Abbas’ resignation officially rejected — Awad Duaibes

Pentagon Stymieing 9-11 Investigation  (3:42)
The White House has issued a rare formal retraction of the allegations of Iraqi nuclear weapons evidence that George W Bush cited in the State of the Union before the Iraq invasion. The threat of weapons of mass destruction was Bush’s principal justification for the invasion, but no such weapons have yet been found in Iraq.  Bush continues to maintain that the invasion, in which press reports show as many as seventy seven hundred civilians were killed, was necessary. In Pretoria, South Africa today, he sidestepped a question about the State of the Union allegations. Bush said “there’s no doubt in my mind that the United States, along with friends and allies, did the right thing in removing Saddam Hussein from power.  And there’s no doubt in my mind that the facts will show the world the truth.” The Pentagon is reportedly set to reveal that the popular media version of the Private Jessica Lynch story was wrong, that Lynch was injured when her plane crashed, and not by Iraqi combatants, as had been reported.  Meanwhile the official panel investigating the 9-11 attacks says it’s feeling stymied by the Pentagon.  The panel held its third public hearing today, on Capitol Hill. Josh Chaffin reports from DC.

ISM Volunteers Arrested by IDF  (4:00)
Four volunteers for the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) in Palestinian Occupied Territories were arrested by the Israeli army today near Jenin.  The volunteers were at the site of a Peace Camp created this past Monday to protest confiscation of Palestinian land for construction of the Israeli security fence known to critics as the “Apartheid Wall”. Meanwhile in Oregon, two Portland Attorneys File Brief With Israeli Supreme Court Challenging Israeli Policy of Assassination of Palestinians. David Baum of Pacifica Affiliate KBCS in Seattle has more.

Police Brutality in Oregon  (3:35)
In Portland, Oregon, the killing of a 21 year old black woman by police has brought the community together to demand changes. Tired of empty promises, over 500 people came to a community forum last week, to hear why the officer who shot Kendra James was ruled not guilty by a grand jury, and to voice their concerns that the cops are out of control. But as Andrew Stelzer reports, instead of dialogue, the police danced around questions and left the forum with less trust than ever.

Radioactive Ruling  (3:36)
A federal judge in Idaho has ruled that high-level nuclear waste stored in underground tanks must be cleaned up entirely.  The July 3rd decision, which affects massive Department of Energy clean-ups at Savannah River in South Carolina and Hanford in Washington state, says the government cannot mix residual waste with concrete, reclassify it as ‘low-level,’ and leave it there. Leigh Robartes has more.

Justice in Post-Saddam Baghdad  (4:21)
While Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld today asserted that large parts of Iraq are now stable, the Pentagon yesterday raised its count of Americans killed in Iraq since the war began to 143, a figure that approaches the 147 killed in the 1991 Gulf War. This as in some cities in Iraq, the justice system is being revived in the midst of chaos but in parts of Baghdad, the religious courts, outlawed under Saddam Hussein, are filling the void of a judiciary. Fariba Nawa reports.

We at Free Speech Radio News send our deepest condolences to the KPFA staff and the family of FSRN correspondent and KPFA morning news anchor, Chris Bruney. He died suddenly of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 44. We thank Chris Bruney for his contributions to progressive news, the Pacifica Network, and Free Speech Radio News.

 

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