August 18, 2003
Headlines Produced by Randi Zimmerman
Latinos on the CA Recall – Jordan Davis
Reuters Journalist Killed in Gaza Strip – Mohammed Ghalayini
Turkey’s Oil Flow – Ezgi Sertage
Poverty on the Rise – Robert Flaxman
Anniston Protests Military Incineration – Jim Hickey
War Games on Korean Peninsular Begin
The Bush Administration may be moving toward talks with North Korea, but that hasn’t stopped the Pentagon from launching a number of dramatic military maneuvers which the North Korean government calls preparations for a pre- emptive war. The New York Times reports today the US Navy will carry out war games in the Coral Sea off Australia where American soldiers will practice intercepting and boarding enemy vessels. Also, today, the American and South Korean armed forces launched their biggest joint exercises ever — the operation code-named Ulchi Focus Lens, involves more than 8,000 South Korean soldiers and close to 15,000 US troops. The US Army is also in the process of consolidating its 37,000 troop presence in South Korea in a way that activists say makes it easier for the Bush Administration to launch an attack. And as Aaron Glantz reports from Pyon-tech South Korea, the redeployment is also harming the South Korean people.
Power Restored – Who Will Foot the Bill?
Electric services have returned to normal throughout the Northeast and Midwest after last Thursday’s massive power outage that left millions without electricity for up to 40 hours. Investigators from the industry group, the North American Electric Reliability Council, say the power outages may be attributed to breakdowns near Cleveland, Ohio. Three energy lines owned by the power conglomerate First Energy Corp failed an hour before the lights went out. First Energy is deflecting the blame and saying unusual electric activity began in the north east earlier in the day. If the Ohio energy company is found fraudulent, it could face multi billion dollar lawsuits. Meanwhile, Sunday morning political talk shows paraded energy officials and political leaders calling for the modernization of the energy grids which, according to Secretary of Energy Spencer Abrahams, will be paid for by consumers. However, as Mitch Jeserich reports, consumer rights activists say Energy First and other energy companies should be held to pay the bill.
Women Protest Shell in Nigeria
Ethnic violence in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region has left more than twenty people dead. The fighting in the oil city of Warri, involves youths from the rival Itsekiri and Ijaw ethnic groups and both sides are known to be using sophisticated weapons. In the last three days, more than twenty people have been killed while several houses have been destroyed. Many people including oil workers have been forced to flee the areas affected by the fighting. Nigeria is the world’s sixth largest oil producer and the town is one of the main operational bases of western oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region. This as peasant women in a village in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region have forced the Anglo Dutch Oil Company Shell to suspend its operations in their community. The women from the Amukpe village have occupied the company’s installations over the last four weeks. As Sam Olukoya reports from Amukpe, the action is an indication of the growing anger of women against the activities of western oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region.
Part 1: Future of the Internet Series
The rules of the internet are changing. As American consumers have increasingly turned to high speed so-called “broadband” portals to the world wide web, the quality of connections and the way in which the internet is used is evolving. Today as we begin our three part series on Cyber – surveillance and the freedom of public access to information on the internet, Brendan Sweeney reports that many of the regulatory precedents being set by Congress and the Federal Communications Commission, could undermine and perhaps effectively privatize much of the world wide web.
The Blackout: Voices from NYC Streets
As a sense of normalcy returns to the areas affected by last week’s massive power outage that rocked cities stretching from Detroit Michigan in the US to Montreal in Canada, federal, state and local authorities seem to be nowhere closer to answers than they were when the incident first occurred. On Thursday, moments after the loss of power, FSRN’s Ian Forrest was on the streets of Downtown Manhattan and at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge as hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers made their way home. He brings us this collage of their voices.
