• Florida Holds Primary Today
• Bush Administration Wants Another $70B for Terror Wars
• Legislation in Vermont to Bring National Guard Troops Home
• FARC Leader Sentenced to 60 Years in US Prison
• New PM for Thailand

Florida Holds Primary Today
The primary election campaign moves to Florida today, the biggest state to vote so far this year. WMNF’s Mitch Perry reports.

Wanting to be a major player this year, the Florida legislature moved its Primary up to late January. That violated an edict by the Democratic National Committee, which responded by stripping the state of all its delegates. To add insult to injury for Florida Democrats, the candidates themselves then signed a pledge NOT to campaign in the state as well. Polls indicate Hillary Clinton has a strong lead over Barack Obama. Clinton said last week she would recognize the delegates if she is the nominee, but Obama has not said he would do the same. That has made it tough for Obama supporters in Florida. Patrick Cannon is a co-chairman of the Tampa Bay O Train (clip) "Since Barack did not campaign here in Florida he is at an extreme disadvantage…since this is a name recognition contest, and also because the Clinton’s have had an organization here in Florida since before ‘92.” The Republican National Committee also penalized the Republicans, taking away half their delegates. Nevertheless, the 57 delegates up for grabs tonight are the biggest of any state so far this year, and most polls indicate it’s a dead heat between John McCain and Mitt Romney. Mitch Perry, FSRN, Tampa.

Bush Administration Wants Another $70B for Terror Wars
The White House is poised to request another 70 billion from Congress next week to continue to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since late 2001, Congress has approved nearly 700 billion dollars for the so-called War on Terror. The new 70 billion dollar request Bush is expected to submit on Monday is to keep the wars going from the end of the 2008 fiscal year until soon after he leaves office in January of 2009.

Legislation in Vermont to Bring National Guard Troops Home
Legislation was introduced today in Vermont to bring National Guard troops home from Iraq. Similar legislation is in the works in at least seven other states. WORT’s Norm Stockwell has this report.

Vermont State Representative Michael Fisher, together with State Senator Peter Shumlin, introduced legislation today in the Vermont State House to recall Vermont members of the National Guard from active duty in Iraq. The bill, one of several similar bills being considered in over a half dozen states says that the 2002 federal authorization to call up the Guard has expired. Under US law, each state's Guard unit is controlled by the governor unless called up for federal duty by the president pursuant to his authority. Representative Fisher: (audio). Today’s bill changes the debate around the Iraq War, according to Ben Manski, executive director of the pro-democracy group “Liberty Tree” based in Madison, Wisconsin: (audio). Over 300 cities and twelve States have passed anti-war resolutions over the past four years, but today’s bill may be the first that actually has the effect of bringing troops home from Iraq. For Free Speech Radio News, this is Norman Stockwell.

FARC Leader Sentenced to 60 Years in US Prison
A Washington DC district court has sentenced a Colombian guerrilla leader to a sixty year prison term. FARC commander Simon Trinidad was extradited to the US in 2005, and convicted yesterday for organizing the kidnappings of three American defense contractors. Manuel Rueda has more from Bogota.

Political analysts here speculate the US government could use this sentence to pressure the FARC to release its three American hostages. The sentence could be up for review in a year and some believe the guerrilla commander could play an important role in breaking the stalemate in negotiations with the FARC. But it looks like the guerrillas are sticking to their demands. Anncol, a pro-FARC news agency, yesterday reiterated the FARC's traditional stance: The Americans, it said, will not be released until Trinidad, and his colleague Sonia are liberated. In the meantime, the Colombian military continues to apply its own pressure tactics. Yesterday, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said that if the military locates guerrilla camps with hostages, Colombian troops could surround and besiege those camps. Family members of FARC-held hostages reacted saying this tactic could put their relative's lives at risk. Manuel Rueda, FSRN, Bogota.

New PM for Thailand
Thailand's newly-seated parliament has elected a new Prime Minister; the first since the military coup in 2006. Claudia Cragg has the details.

72 year-old Samak Sundaravej Sundaravej is the first leader of an elected government since a 2006 military coup ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Samak is a conservative politician, former Bangkok governor, TV chef and talk show host. Although his party won the December election by a landslide, Samak's appointment is controversial. Samak has been blamed for inciting a right wing paramilitary massacre of protesters at Thammasat University at the height of Thailand's anti-communist fervour in 1976. He was also linked as a Deputy MP to a 1992 campaign to shut down newspapers critical of the army's actions against so-called "communist troublemakers". Dr. Thitinan Pongsudhirak, professor of Political Science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok on what to expect from Samak: (audio) "His style is likely to reinforce the polarization and divisions in in Thailand, but we may need that. I think Thailand is undergoing a transformation and Mr. Samak is the spearhead of it." Pending corruption charges could cut Samak's term in office short. Samak is currently under investigation for the illegal acquisition of firetrucks during his governorship and was recently found guilty of defamation in a separate case. For FSRN, this is Claudia Cragg.