December 21, 2004
Headlines
Demos Planned for Bush Inaugeration
This morning the DC Resistance Media Collective announced that like grassroots organizers fighting against electoral fraud in Ukraine, the Philippines, and Haiti, there will be large-scale demonstrations leading up to the inauguration of George W. Bush on January 20th. Ingrid Drake was there.
Dow Research Trumps EPA Ban
The Environmental Protection Agency may allow chemical giant Dow to continue producing a pesticide for three more years and ignore a ban on the chemical that was to have gone into effect next week. Erika McDonald has more.
Nurses Strike in St. Louis
Union members rallied behind striking nurses in freezing temperatures at a St. Louis medical center. Sarah Turner with the Workers Independent News Service reports.
U.S. Accounting Practices Cloud Reality
U.S. government accounting practices are so off base that the office charged with managing the budget is unable to assess how government officials spend taxpayers’ dollars. Adam Sharon reports from D.C.
100-Thousand Flee Homes in Congo
United Nations officials said that more than 100-thousand Congolese have left the country in renewed violence. UN officials say it is hard to tell if the fighting is being instigated by Congolese or Rwandan rebels in the mineral rich eastern part of the country. The people have fled deep into the jungle where there have few resources and humanitarian groups say no way to reach them. An activist with Great Lake Women in the Congo and Peace Women International, Aninginia Bibiane Tshefu, calls the conflict genocide. (AUDIO) She adds that the upcoming elections in the early part of 2005 may actually be destabilizing the situation because many current political interests are concerned that they do not have popular support.
Features
Military Poses as FBI in Guantanamo? (3:10)
Civil liberties groups today are accusing military interrogators of posing as FBI agents at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay while humiliating and abusing detainees. Selina Musuta reports from Washington, DC.
US Threatens UN Over Human Rights Report (3:53)
The head of the United Nation’s panel of reform and democracy in the Arab world told international news sources this week that the Bush Administration has threatened to defund the entire United Nation’s Development Program, if the panel publishes their report on human rights. According to members of the panel the Bush administration may be fearful that the report implicates the US government in human rights violations in the Middle East. From Cairo, Aaron Glantz has the story.
CA Grocery Workers Strike Deal (2:41)
Unionized northern California grocery workers have announced a tentative agreement with the supermarket chains: Safeway, Albertson’s and Ralph’s. This deal may cover 19,000 workers from the Central Valley to the Oregon border. The supermarket chains had until midnight Sunday to come to an agreement. Max Pringle has more.
Argentina Marks 3 Years Since Social Uprising (4:01)
Yesterday marked the 3rd anniversary of the 2001 social uprising in Argentina which saw the end of the government of Fernando de la Rua. As FSRN’s Mat Goldin reports from Buenos Aires, a rally was held in Buenos Aires to commemorate the event.
A New South American Union? (4:04)
South American leaders recently signed a framework agreement that may lead towards the creation of one community of nations along the lines of the European Union. The agreement seeks solutions to many pressing regional needs such as poverty and hunger. As FSRN’s Jorge Garreton reports from Santiago, Chile, the 12 leaders have agreed to a Brazilian initiative called hunger zero as a starting point for this potential union.
CO Residents Oppose Uranium Mining (2:31)
As the Colorado mining industry rushes to meet the growing demand for uranium, mining opposition groups are coming forward to show how staking a claim is quite easy under an old 1872 federal law which states that mining is the best use of public land. FSRN’s Courtney Smith explains.
