August 05, 2002
Victims in Nablus (3:50)
The United Nations General Assembly is today holding the 10th Emergency Special Assembly on the Illegal Israeli Actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It is a closed session with a draft resolution demanding the withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces from Palestinian cities and stresses the need for necessary and appropriate action against violators of international humanitarian law, in particular the perpetrators of war crimes. This comes as a series of Palestinian attacks this past weekend killed 13 people. Israel this morning imposed a complete ban on Palestinian travel in most of the West Bank and used tanks to seal off part of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority condemned Sunday’s bus attack but also said their security forces are crippled by the presence of Israeli tanks and troops on their streets. And as Kata Mester reports from Nablus, Palestinians today are returning to the rubble that was their homes.
Detainee Identitites Released (3:24)
A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Bush administration must reveal the identities of hundreds of immigrant detainees arrested since September 11th. The decision was issued in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by a coalition of civil rights groups. Free Speech Radio News correspondent Scott Gurian reports.
Coca Farmers on Outcome of Bolivian Elections (3:58)
In the recent presidential elections in Bolivia in which Evo Morales, leader of the coca farmers took second place, the United States actively intervened to prevent Morales being elected president. US ambassador Manuel Rocha called him a “danger for the country” and urged the Bolivians not to vote for the left wing politician. The US also openly threatened to withdraw financial aid to the country if Morales became president. And as the new president begins his term in Bolivia, Yvonne Zimmerman reports from Cochabamba, that US intervention in Bolivian politics is nothing new.
SUV Protest in FL (4:02)
The Sierra Club launched a national campaign today in Tampa, Florida to urge the Ford Motor Company to build vehicles that get higher gas mileage and have lower emissions. The environmental group says the technology is available but auto manufacturers are choosing to ignore it. The environmentalists say they are targeting Ford because it is a leader among auto manufacturers. From Saint Petersburg, Sally Watt reports.
Fighting LA Sweatshops (4:10)
The El Monte Thai garment workers won freedom in 1995, when they were finally released from enslavement. They had been held in an apartment complex, behind barbed wire and under armed guard, sewing for many of the nation’s top manufacturers and retailers. Seven years after the case first focused national attention on the issue of sweatshops in Los Angeles, the region’s estimated 150,000 garment workers aren’t that much better off, and many are still trying to expose labor exploitation in the garment industry. And, as Ngoc Nguyen reports, one recent and ongoing anti-sweatshop campaign is directed against LA-based retailer Forever 21.
