Newscast for Friday, January 9, 2009

• Gaza Conflict Spreads to Lebanon
• Chileans Protest the War on Gaza
• War Rages in Sri Lanka
• Obama Intelligence Appointments Come Under Scrutiny
• Hilda Solis: Nominee for Secretary of Labor Faces Senate Confirmation Hearing
• Correction

Gaza Conflict Spreads to Lebanon

The Lebanese Army and U.N. Peacekeepers have found a cache of rockets inside Lebanon, but these weapons seem to be left over from 2006's fight between Hezbollah and Israel and are not the source of yesterday's rocket fire into Israel.  Hezbollah denies responsibility and some Lebanese officials have suggested Palestinian Militants as the source.  We're joined now by Free Speech Radio News reporter, Jackson Allers, currently living in Beirut.

Chileans Protest the War on Gaza

As the United Nations calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, peace demonstrations are continuing in cities around the world.   Protesters threw thousands of shoes at the Gates of Downing Street in the UK.  Protest organizers in Istanbul say 700,000 people demonstrated there. We take you now to Santiago, Chile where this South American country has an especially intimate tie to the conflict. Kat Shiffler reports with Natalia Neira.

War Rages in Sri Lanka

As the protesters attack the war in Gaza, fighting also continues in Sri Lanka, where the government says it has taken control of a key highway linking the northern Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the country. The military says it is nearing victory in its 25-year conflict with the Tamil Tiger rebels.  But while troops continue their march, a humanitarian crisis is growing and thousands of civilians are trapped among the fighters. FSRN's Ponniah Manikavasagam reports from northern border town of  Vavuniya.

Obama Intelligence Appointments Come Under Scrutiny

Today, President Elect Obama nominated 3 people to his national security team.  Former Clinton Chief of Staff Leon Panetta as CIA Director, former US Pacific Commander Dennis Blair as Director of National Intelligence and former chief of staff for the CIA John Brennan - as the next White House homeland security adviser and deputy national security adviser for counter-terrorism.  But as FSRN's Karen Miller finds, critics are charging Panetta with a lack of experience, Blair with human rights violations and Brennan with being too close to the Bush Administration.

Hilda Solis: Nominee for Secretary of Labor Faces Senate Confirmation Hearing

Also on Capitol Hill today, Hilda Solis became the second Cabinet nominee to face a Senate confirmation hearing.  Although she is receiving broad support on both sides of the aisle, there's concern among some conservatives that she's too pro-union to be Secretary of Labor. Tanya Snyder reports.

Correction

Before we close today . . . a correction, brought to our attention by Tom Keever, who listens to FSRN on WBAI in New York City. Mr. Keever pointed out a small but significant error in our story *Tuesday* on Eric Holder, Barack Obama's nominee for Attorney General.  Reporting on Holder's pardoning of convicted felon Mark Rich, we referred to Rich's "wife" - a Clinton donor. But, she was actually Rich's ex-wife.
Writes Mr. Keever,
I have never had either a wife or an ex-wife, but from what I have heard from my friends who have both the difference is difficult to ignore.
By referring to Rich's ex-wife as if they were married at the time of the pardon, you perpetuate a myth - that the Republican right has managed to put over on most of the media.  These hardened Clinton-haters would have us think that the scandal of the Rich pardon had something to do with Clinton being swayed by campaign donations.
Denise Eisenberg and Rich divorced in 1986, fourteen years before the pardon.
Thank you, Mr. Keever for bringing this important distinction to our attention.