Friday, August 15, 2008

• Bush Administration Steps up Stance Against Russia
• Civil Libertarians Question Use of New Technologies for Surveillance
• Monsanto Sells Off Dairy Cow Hormone Division
• A Look at Some State Ballot Measures
• Rewind with the Pacifica Radio Archives: Joan Baez and Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Bush Administration Steps up Stance Against Russia

More than a week after Russia's military attack on South Ossetia, the Bush Administration is making stern remarks, insisting Russia remove its troops from Georgia. After what may have been perceived as an initial lag from the West, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili today – who says that Russia military forces are now occupying a third of the country. Francis Boyle, Professor of International Law at the University of Illinois says any analysis of the situation needs to consider that there has already been U.S. military action in the region.

Civil Libertarians Question Use of New Technologies for Surveillance

Police departments around the country are taking advantage of new technologies to track vehicles and collect information. GPS devices that used to just help you get from Point A to Point B are now used to follow suspects - and cameras mounted on police cars or roadways can help them track anyone's movements. Civil liberties advocates are concerned that these practices infringe on people's privacy. FSRN's Tanya Snyder has the story.

Monsanto Sells Off Dairy Cow Hormone Division

After years of fighting off opposition to artificial growth hormones given to dairy cows, agricultural giant Monsanto announced it is selling off its rBGH division, also know as Posilic. Consumer advocates and some farmers and food producers have long fought the use of rBGH, also called recombinant bovine growth hormone, which was legalized by the FDA in 1993. Patty Lovera, Assistant Director of the consumer group Food and Water Watch talks about the implications of Monsanto's sale.

A Look at Some State Ballot Measures

Ballot initiatives around the country strike at controversial issues and take the debate from the presidential arena to the public arena. The success of ballot initiatives ride on the ability for the campaigns to get the word out about what the initiative actually means and mobilize supporters to make it to the polls on election day. This year's ballot initiatives broach topics like marijuana legalization, gay marriage and abortion, and groups around the country are organizing to bring voters up to speed on what these might mean for their communities. Katharine Jarmul has more.

Rewind with the Pacifica Radio Archives: Joan Baez and Martin Luther King, Jr.

On today's edition of Rewind with the Pacifica Radio Archives, we hear from two voices prominent in the Vietnam War anti-draft movement: Joan Baez and Martin Luther King Jr.  Learn more at www.pacificaradioarchives.org