Thursday, August 7, 2008

• Tibetans in India Protest China One Day before Start of Beijing Games
• Groups Call on McCain to Stand Against Torture
• Denver Court Rules on DNC Protest Case
• Environmentalists Split Over EPA Bio Fuels Decision
• Two-Way - Daniel Hernandez on AIDS Conference
• Street Beat: Sex Workers at 2008 AIDS Conference

Click here for Headlines Package
Click here for 13 Meg Version
Click here for Dial-Up Version

Tibetans in India Protest China One Day before Start of Beijing Games

President Bush Calls on China to Protect Basic Freedoms After facing pressure from human rights groups and members of Congress, President Bush today took a public stand on Chinese human rights. Speaking in Thailand on his way to Beijing for the opening of the Olympic Games, Bush called on China to give its people basic freedoms.Meanwhile, Tibetan exiles in India have intensified their anti-China protests, just one day ahread of the start of the Beijing Olympics. Members of the exiled community have been holding rallies and demonstrations across the world to protest against Chinese repression in Tibet. They have now launched a mass movement in India, to garner international attention to their struggle. India is home to the largest number of Tibetan refugees and it also houses the Tibetan government in exile. Bismillah Geelani has more.

Groups Call on McCain to Stand Against Torture

Anti-torture groups are calling on Republican Senator and Presidential hopeful John McCain to oppose torture. We hear from Joshua Casteel, who served as a US Army interrogator at Abu Grahib and from School of the Americas Watch fouder Father Roy Bourgeois, founder of School of the America's Watch.

Denver Court Rules on DNC Protest Case

A Denver court ruled that the City of Denver can cordon off protestors away from the upcoming Democratic National Convention site behind wire blockades.  Protesters said the City and the Secret Service are ignoring the right to free speech. In the court case, the City said the protest zones will be put in palce for security reasons. Blake Wesley files this report from Denver.

Environmentalists Split Over EPA Bio Fuels Decision

The Environmental Protection Agency rejected a request by Texas Governor Rick Perry today to waive a federal mandate that blends 9 million gallons of corn based ethanol into gasoline. Perry says the mandate increases the cost of corn, and is hurting live stock producers who buy corn as feed. As FSRN's Karen Miller reports, environmental groups are split on today's decision. 

Two-Way - Daniel Hernandez on AIDS Conference

The International AIDS Conference continues in Mexico City this week, where more than 25,000 doctors, policymakers and activists are gathered to strategize on ways to tackle the pandemic. We speak to Daniel Hernandez, a freelance journalist, former staff writer at the LA Weekly and LA Times, who is currently working on a book about subcultures in Mexico City and is blogging about the conference.

Street Beat: Sex Workers at 2008 AIDS Conference

One of the many controversial issues to emerge at International AIDS Conference is a long-standing divide between those forming HIV/AIDS policies and those most affected, who are often left at the sidelines. One marginalized group - sex workers - has struggled for years to get their voices included in the discussion. But some sex workers at the conference in Mexico City reported being told there was no scholarship money for registration fees, while others were told that they needed to speak English. Some did get into the events, which drew some 25,000 people, and FSRN contributor Darby Hickey was there to record their messages in our latest edition of Street Beat.