Friday, October 12, 2007

Headlines
INCOME INEQUALITY AT 1920S LEVELS
The income inequality gap between rich and poor Americans is larger
now than at any other time since the 1920s. A Wall Street Journal
report published today shows that the country's wealthiest one percent
earned just over 21 percent of all income in 2005. Meanwhile the
bottom half of Americans took home just under 13 percent of all income
that same year. The report based its figures on data from the Internal
Revenue Service.

BURMA PM DIES
The Prime Minister of Burma's military junta has died from a long term
illness. The death of General Soe Win will have little impact on the
country's government, as the prime minister position shares power with
a troika of senior generals. Ronald Aung Naing has more.

Rumors about General Soe Win's death began circulating early last
week, but Burmese state-run media reports he died today in a military
hospital. General Win rose to prominence in the military junta after
coordinating an assassination attempt against pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi. The United Nations Security Council issued a
statement yesterday criticizing the military government's violent
crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. The statement calls on Burma
to hold talks with the opposition and to release political prisoners.
Earlier this week, Aung San Suu Kyi rejected talks with the military
junta after top General Than Shwe insisted she drop her so-called
"confrontational attitude" as a pre-condition to dialogue. The number
of dead and detained from the crackdown on Buddhist monks and
pro-democracy activists remains unclear. The government has admitted
to 13 deaths and 2,000 detainees. Internet service returned to Burma
last week, but many telephone lines remain cut.

VANCOUVER DUMPING TOXIC SEWAGE
Environmental groups are criticizing the Canadian government for
staying a pollution charge against the city of Vancouver for its
improper disposal of 10 billion gallons of raw sewage. Zack Baddorf
has the story.

A prominent environmental group in British Columbia says the
government has all the evidence it needs to take the "big powerful
polluters" to trial. The sewage effluent flowing into nearby waterways
contains PCBs, pesticides, heavy metals and other toxic substances
that pollute coastal waters and harm fish. The T. Buck Suzuki
Foundation says Metro Vancouver needs to do the right thing. The
environmentalists demand upgrades of two treatment plants to stop the
dumping of this "foul mix" of human waste and toxic chemicals. The
criticism comes the same day the metropolitan waste management
committee announced plans to buy land for a new sewage treatment
plant. Officials said the nearby indigenous communities, known in
Canada as First Nations, voiced their concerns about repeated dumping
in the area. Metro Vancouver officials deny any wrongdoing and say
they are merely "improving" their systems. For Free Speech Radio News,
I'm Zack Baddorf in Vancouver.

INDIGENOUS ENCUENTRO IN NORTHERN MEXICO
On the 515th anniversary of the start of the European colonization of
the Americas, indigenous groups are meeting in Sonora, Mexico for an
international "encuentro" - or gathering - of first nations. Vladimir
Flores has the story.

Hundreds of native people of several indigenous nationalities
yesterday opened the continental meeting of indigenous peoples of the
Americas in the Yaqui community of Vícam, in the Sonoran desert of
northern Mexico. Encuentro participants have complained of harassment
by police and soldiers at checkpoints set up on the roads leading to
the community.(audio fade down) During the event's opening ceremony,
Juan Chavez from the National Indigenous Congress of Mexico, said the
encuentro is a message of rebellion against neoliberal economic
policies and that one of its objectives is to fortify the liberation
struggles of the continent's indigenous people. The Zapatista rebels
of Chiapas had an important role in calling for the event and its
organization. The indigenous encuentro will include a weekend of group
dialogue, strategy discussion, and exchange before it concludes on
Sunday. For FSRN, I'm Vladimir Flores reporting.

JENA 6 TEEN BACK IN JAIL
The only teenager convicted in the case of the Jena 6 is back in
police custody. A Louisiana judge ruled yesterday that Mychal Bell had
violated his probation from a previous charge when he participated in
a fight after white students hung three nooses from a schoolyard tree.
The judge who sent Bell back into custody for 18 months is the same
who improperly sentenced him as an adult in the Jena 6 trial. The
House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the Jena 6 case next
week.

Features
Al Gore Wins Nobel Peace Prize
Former Vice President and Presidential candidate Al Gore wins the Nobel
Peace Prize for his work on Climate Change. He and the United Nation's
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change join the ranks of Nelson
Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jimmy Carter as the
select few to attain such recognition for their work to promote peace.
But this is the first time the issue of climate change has been
determined a necessity for peace. To talk about this and the latest in
climate change, FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell spoke with Kevin Knobloch
(NOB-block), President of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Campaign against the Construction of a Border Fence in Texas
Residents and community organizers in the border region of Texas have
kicked off a weekend of events to oppose the construction of a wall in
the Rio Grande valley. Ansel Herz brings us this report from Austin.

German Government Goes to Court over Cyber-Surveillance
In
the latest initiative to fight terrorism, the German government has
asked the country's highest court for permission to conduct internet
searches of suspect's computers. The case began on Wednesday with the
government arguing that authorities should be allowed to plant "Trojan"
spyware on the computers of suspected terrorists, sparking intense
debate across Germany. Cinnamon Nippard has more from Berlin.

Deadlock in Nepal Peace Process
Nepal is in a political deadlock after a yearlong peace process. The
Maoists are demanding that the interim parliament abolish the monarchy
and implement a new, fully representative voting system. But, the other
major parties, especially Nepali Congress, oppose the idea. This could
further deepen the political crisis in the country, threatening the
peace process. India, Nepal's closest neighbor, sent a special envoy to
Kathmandu to mediate the deadlock. After three days of meetings with
top leaders of all major political parties, including the Maoists, the
Indian envoy said a parliamentary vote is the only way out of the
current stalemate. Despite some skepticism, it appears the Indian bid
could help ease the crisis. PC Dubey reports from Kathmandu.

South African Public Health Crisis Compels Nurses to Leave
South Africa's public health sector is experiencing a shortage of
qualified nurses who are leaving the country at alarming rates in
search of better working conditions. And a recent scandal involving an
increase in infant mortality rates in public hospitals has put a spot
light on what critics say is a rapidly deteriorating public health
system. Medical workers have been among the most affected. Tiny Magija
reports from Capetown.

FSRN Brings You a Summary of This Week's Election News
In this week's political round up, one candidate makes his debate
debut, a past presidential contender puts his support behind a current
one, and one republican candidate says his party doesn't think he is
republican enough. Karen Miller has more.