November 19, 2007
- Kurdish Leaders from Iraq Intensify Efforts to Boost Oil Revenues
- US Army Recruiters Encounter Resistance in US High Schools
- IPCC Releases Final Report, Ahead of International Summit on Carbon Emissions
- Congress Takes a Break, Leaves Much Work Incomplete
- Israeli Travel Restrictions Leave Palestinians Struggling to Get Timely Medical Care
HEADLINES
STACKED PAKISTANI SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS MUSHARREF
A Pakistani Supreme Court hand-picked by President Pervez Musharaff swiftly dismissed legal challenges to his continued rule. The decision opens the way for Musharaff to serve another five year term but opposition leaders rejected the ruling as engineered and illegitimate. Meanwhile, violence rages and emergency rule continues. Masroor Hussain reports from Karachi.
FRENCH STRIKE CONTINUES
A national strike by transportation workers in France entered its sixth day today, and tomorrow the country’s civil servants, lawyers and students will join them. Annette Gartland reports from France.
ANTI WAR ACTIVIST OUSTED FROM CANADA
An American anti-war activist crossed the border from Canada into the US late last night just before the order banning her from the country went into effect. Alison Bodine was barred from our northern neighbor after trying to import printed materials against Canada’s military presence in. From Vancouver, Zack Baddorf reports.
MARYLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT FORCES IMMUNIZATIONS
Parents in Prince George’s County Maryland have been summoned to court ordering their children be immunized or prove that they’ve already gotten their shots. Kellia Ramares has more.
SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS ANNUAL PROTEST
Thousands demonstrated outside Fort Benning Army base in Georgia yesterday to demand the closure of a defense department training school they say promotes torture and murder in Latin America. Over 10,000 protestors attended the annual event outside the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation – formerly known as The School of the Americas. Eleven people were arrested and charged with criminal trespass.
FEATURES
Kurdish Leaders from Iraq Intensify Efforts to Boost Oil Revenues (4:18)
Military official argue that violence in Iraq has dropped 55 percent since the US troop surge. They also claim civilian casualties are down 3-quarters and that attacks on US troops last week were at their lowest levels since January 2007.
Despite this, violence levels in Northern Iraq remain high – and the military says the cause is Al Qaeda forces fleeing the central part of the country. This comes as the Regional Government of Northern Iraq is attempting to restart its oil industry.
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government is in Washington, D.C. soliciting major oil corporations to invest in Kurdish Iraq. The Kurdish government has been relatively successful thus far; they’ve signed five oil contracts in the past week alone. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell has more.
US Army Recruiters Encounter Resistance in US High Schools (4:06)
Although it isn’t over yet, 2007 has already become the deadliest year for American troops in Iraq. As the conflicts grind on, the U.S. military needs to find replacements for the nearly 3 thousand, nine hundred men and women in uniform who have died. Tens of thousands of soldiers have been severely injured or finished their military hitches and not re-enlisted.
On top of this loss of military personnel, the number of U.S. Army soldiers going AWOL has jumped 80 percent since the United States invaded Iraq. The Pentagon announced this weekend that about 4,700 soldiers deserted this year – a 42 percent jump since just 2006.
Without a draft, recruiters are looking to replace these lost soldiers in high schools all over the country.
But, as Melinda Tuhus reports from New Haven, Connecticut, those efforts are encountering disinterest on the part of many youth and active opposition from others.
IPCC Releases Final Report, Ahead of International Summit on Carbon Emissions (4:24)
On Saturday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a major report – summarizing all their findings on global warming released in the last year. The report not only coalesced the scientific aspects of the United Nation’s Sponsored Body’s work, but it creates a roadmap for policy-makers to mitigate the impact of climate change.
The IPCC released the Synthesis report ahead of a summit on climate change, scheduled to begin on December 3rd in Bali, Indonesia. The Indonesian meetings are intended to pick up where the Kyoto Protocol left off.
Democratic Senator John Kerry says a Congressional delegation is planning to attend the meeting to show there are forces in the United States that support the organization’s work.
To get some perspective on the impact of the IPCC Synthesis report and a preview of the Bali meeting, I spoke with Angela Anderson, the vice president of climate programs at the National Environmental Trust. She says the new report highlights the urgency of climate change in a way that has not been presented previously.
Congress Takes a Break, Leaves Much Work Incomplete (4:04)
Congress is now on its two week Thanksgiving recess. They left several important and contentious pieces of legislation on their plates when they left the Capitol. And they only have one month left before winter break when they come back. FSRN Correspondent Matt Laslo has this report on what Congress has been up to, and what they still need to do before the New Year rolls in.
Israeli Travel Restrictions Leave Palestinians Struggling to Get Timely Medical Care (2:52)
A 12-year-old sick boy died today at Gaza Children’s Hospital after his referral to treatment outside the region had been delayed. This, because Israel has tightened controls on the movement of Gaza residents, calling them a “hostile entity.” Today’s is the sixth medical death in the past few months linked to Israeli restrictions on travel. FSRN’s Rami Al-Meghari has more.
