July 25, 2003
Free Speech Radio News Headlines by Randi Zimmerman
US Troops Prepare for Liberia – Martin Browne
Voting Rights Restored in Florida – Mitch Perry
CA Supreme Court Rejects Effort to Halt Recall – Mitch Jeserich
Three Nuns Arrested at Nuclear Missile Silo – Sam Fuqua
New Sanctions on North Korea (4:09)
The United States imposed new sanctions on the North Korean government today saying an already punished firm in the country had continued to violate US law with the sales of missile parts and technology. The State Department announced that the Changgwang Sinyong Corporation, which has been found to be in violation of US arms export control laws on at least five previous occasions, including earlier this month, would be subject to additional sanctions. The United States has consistently imposed economic sanctions on North Korea and asked China, Japan, and South Korea to further squeeze Pyongyang into complying with its demands. But, as Ngoc Nguyen and Aaron Glantz report from Seoul, the sanctions could be fueling the country’s nuclear ambitions.
Palestinian PM Meets President Bush (4:00)
In Washington Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas met with US president George Bush today to negotiate the “roadmap”. This as House Majority leader Tom Delay denounced the creation of a Palestinian state saying it would be a “state of terrorists”, while Secretary of State Colin Powell remarked yesterday that a Palestinian state would be quote “difficult” to achieve by 2005. As these meetings take place in Washington, Mohammed Ghalayini send this report from Gaza with Palestinian reaction to the meeting of leaders.
Global Gag Rule: A Danger to Women’s Health
The last two weeks have been tumultuous for leaders in the reproductive health field. On July 10th the Senate voted to rescind the global gag rule, otherwise known as the Mexico City policy. This policy pulls US AID money to foreign organizations that provide or educate about abortion services. Yet on the heels of this victory in the Senate for reproductive rights advocates, the US House of representatives voted against an amendment to contribute $50 million to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). In this report by Pauline Bartolone from Costa Rica, leaders in the global south explain how the Bush administration’s stance on abortion affects women’s health worldwide.
LPFM Victory (3:58)
On the heels of this week’s overwhelming vote by the House to undo some of the FCC’s pending media ownership rules which would allow greater consolidation in the media market, advocates of LPFM–Low Power FM radio — are saying “We told you so!” in the wake of the recent release of the Mitre Report, an independently produced technical study that shows that LPFM stations will not cause interference with full power radio signals unless the LPFM stations are located very close to the full power stations. The Mitre Report recommends lifting the restrictions that have kept LPFM out of urban areas. But, as Kellia Ramares reports from Pacifica station KPFA in Berkeley, it will take more than a technical report to get LPFM into the cities.
Congress Recess Approaches (4:07)
As Congress readies itself for the August 1 summer recess, the senate today was working on the energy bill, which this time around is not going to include the Arctic wildlife refuge. However environmentalists and consumer advocates say it’s full of subsidies for big oil and nuclear power, and that it leaves little for conservation and alternative energy sources. The White House still opposes moves to make cars more fuel efficient, and anything that would confirm the existence of climate change. Meanwhile, the House voted to fund the aids initiative to the tune of two billion dollars which is a billion dollars less than the three billion Bush pledged in Africa, which aids activists had already said was too little. And today Congress is fighting over whether to expand the Child Tax Credit to include low-income families who don’t pay enough taxes to offset the credit. On this, his last day as our DC editor and reporter, we are joined from the Capitol by Josh Chaffin.
