Archive - Feb 2010

• Labor unions in Guatemala charge Coca-Cola with murder, torture
• UN passes resolution to press Israel and Palestine investigations into Gaza war crimes
• Long term medical care in Haiti needed, and scarce
• Legislation to ban torture scrapped under pressure on Capitol Hill
• Cyber security raises question of civil rights in digital age

• Senate fails to pass unemployment extension
• VA to reexamine claims of Gulf War Syndrome
• Suicide bombs rock Afghan capital
• Suu Kyi appeal for release denied
• Berkely students protest fee increases, police on scene
• Paterson drops out of NY governor’s race

A lawsuit that involves labor unions, a multinational corporation and murder is spanning borders. Today, lawyers for labor activists subjected to torture and killings at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Guatemala filed a lawsuit against the company in a New York City court. The attorneys are highlighting a spike in violence against trade unionists in the Central American country. FSRN’s Ari Paul reports.

The United Nations General Assembly voted 98 to 7 to give Israel and the Palestinian Authority an additional five months to investigate war crimes committed during the 2009 Gaza conflict. The United States and Israel voted no. Another 31 abstained and 56 countries didn't vote. But the UK's Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant says there's a growing number of EU countries in support of credible investigations, including the UK, which voted in support of the non-binding resolution.

More than six weeks after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, much of the effort now is going to shelter as people anticipate a fast-approaching rainy season. But many survivors are still in need of vital medical services and recovery after operations. To get an inside look we turn to Ted Reckas. He's a journalist, but he's also an Emergency Medical Technician and he just returned back from the border area between Haiti and the Dominican Republic where he was a member of a medical team.

Federal legislation that would have explicitly outlawed torture during interrogations such as water boarding and electric shocks, was scrapped this week. Democratic leadership withdrew the language due to pressure from Republicans and some conservative lawmakers from their own party. But bill sponsors say the fight doesn't end there. Tanya Snyder reports from Capitol Hill.

Recent reports that the US could be vulnerable to a cyber attack have lawmakers concerned. But while focus is on bulking up the country's cyber security, the effort raises questions over how to maintain civil liberties in a digital age. FSRN's Sam Greenspan reports.