Archive - Jan 21, 2010

• Support for Haiti comes from Latin American, African, Caribbean nations
• Special immigration status doesn’t reach all Haitians in US
• US Supreme Court ruling paves way for more corporate money in politics
• Obama announces new oversight of federal banking system
• Residents in Kashmir face effects of climate change

• Defense Secretary Gates visits Pakistan
• Mexico prison riot leaves more than 20 dead
• Sectarian violence in Nigeria calms
• UK increases price for visas, further favoring wealthy
• Study: western US smog linked to Asian pollution drift
• Tree sitters block mountain top mining operation in WV

The US Coast Guard partially reopened the damaged seaport in Port Au Prince, Haiti today. And the US military is now operating four airports in the area: Port Au Prince and Jacmel in Haiti and San Isidro and Barahona in the Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, attention is turning to the 1.5 million people left homeless by last week's earthquake. The UN announced today that it will relocate survivors to temporary tented villages outside the capital. According to the UN International Organization for Migration, there are nearly 450 improvised settlements in Port Au Prince alone. Almost none have adequate water or sanitation facilities.

Much of the attention in Haiti has been focused on the US in the rescue and recovery efforts, but other countries - especially from Africa, the Carribbean and Latin America - have played important, life-saving roles. Often getting in early after the disaster with members who have had experience in Haiti. We're joined by Nicole Lee, president of TransAfrica Forum, an advocacy group based in Washington DC.

And the long term recovery in Haiti could also depend on Haitians who are living in the United States and sending money and support back home. Immigrant rights advocates have been calling on the Obama Administration to suspend deportations to the country. And last week, Obama did just that. Today, the Administration is authorizing the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to issue Temporary Protected Status to more than 100,000 undocumented Haitian nationals living in the United States. But not all Haitians in the US are going to enjoy the benefits of the temporary status. FSRN reporter Kristofer Rios of the Community News Production Institute has more from New York.

In its ruling on Citizens United versus the Federal Election Commission, the US Supreme Court stripped away some limits on corporate campaign spending. Public interest groups are criticizing the decision.  They say opening the possibility to more corporate money in politics is a threat to democracy. Tanya Snyder has the story.

President Obama announced new oversight of the banking system today. It is an effort to prevent banks from becoming “too big to fail.” This announcement comes as Goldman Sachs announced it made more in the 4th quarter of 2009 than in any quarter in 140 years. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

Scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have acknowledged that some data about glacier recession in the Himalayas did not meet their own standards for scientific rigor.  The admission comes after the IPCC drew criticism about the quality of their research.  In a statement, the group said this instance of poor scientific judgment does not effect their overall assessment that climate change and the resulting loss of glaciers will have severe and negative effects on human populations. And, as FSRN’s Shahnawaz Khan reports, scientists and residents alike are already seeing the changes in the hilly regions of Kashmir.