• Lieberman Stays and Holder Arrives
• International Solidarity Movement Members Removed from Fishing Vessel
• Undocumented Workers Receive Part of Legal Settlement
• Biofuels Report from Brazil
• Amnesty International: Georgia and Russia Both Guilty
• Doctors/Nurses Protest in Zimbabwe
• Tibetan Leaders Meet in India
• Bush Rules Assault Access to Reproductive Health Services

Lieberman Stays and Holder Arrives

Independent Senator Joe Lieberman will keep his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee.  Democratic leadership had considered stripping the Independent Senator of the chair because he publicly backed John McCain for president. And pending vetting, Eric Holder, a former senior official in the Clinton White House, will be named Attorney General. If confirmed, Holder will become the first African American to lead the Justice Department.


International Solidarity Movement Members Removed from Fishing Vessel

Israel attacked Palestinian fishing vessels off the Gaza coast today, arresting eighteen including three international solidarity campaigners. This as Gaza's border crossings remain sealed. Rami al Meghari reports from Gaza.

Israeli authorities intend to deport three international solidarity activists from Gaza who are currently resisting removal. Among them are an Italian, an American and a Scotsman. Feda' Qeshta is a spokeswoman of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)
“Three internationals are now at Ben Gorion airport, the Israeli army wants to deport them to their countries. The internationals refuse to leave the airport and they are asking to release the Palestinian fishermen".

The arrests come on the heels of repeated Israeli attacks on Palestinian fishing boats in Gaza’s territorial waters. Meanwhile, the Israeli army continues its two week closure of all Gaza's border crossings, denying entry of essential goods.  Today, hundreds of Gazans marched toward the northern Israeli checkpoint of Eritz, demanding the crossings be opened. According to the United Nations, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is on the brink of collapse, unless essential goods can move into the region. For Free Speech Radio News, I am Rami Almeghari in Gaza.


Undocumented Workers Receive Part of Legal Settlement

Undocumented workers caught up in a raid on a Massachusetts factory last year are among the beneficiaries of $850,000 settlement. A New Bedford leather goods manufacturer has agreed to pay all former employees for unpaid wages and overtime – irrespective of their status. Earlier this month, the company’s owner pleaded guilty to harboring and concealing undocumented laborers – mostly women from Central America.


Biofuels Report from Brazil

A new report released today in Brazil links the expansion of bio-fuels to major social and environmental damages. Natalia Viana has the story.

The 80-page report released by the catholic Pastoral Land Commission and the Social Network for Justice and Human Rights investigates the recent expansion of sugarcane in 11 Brazilian states. Sugarcane is the basis for the industry of bio-fuels, a main flagship of the Brazilian government. In the last five years, the area for sugarcane monoculture has expanded by as much land as the entire republic of Ireland. Now there are plans for a much wider expansion. Nationwide, over 200 new sugarcane processing plants are planned for the next few years with government incentives. Main infrastructure projects such as water domes and roads that will cut through the Amazon and the tropical savannah are linked to this expansion. Besides the destruction of native forests, says the report, the profitable sugarcane industry replaces areas previously used for farming food and grazing cattle, pressing them further inside the Amazon. The report also reveals that 52% of the enslaved workers freed by the police in 2007 were working in the sugarcane industry. Many were paid less than 5 dollars a day and lived in precarious conditions without water of sanitation. The report was launched as a protest to the government-sponsored "International Conference about Bio-fuels as a Trigger for Sustainable Development", which happens this week. For FSRN, I'm Natalia Viana in São Paulo, Brazil.


Amnesty International: Georgia and Russia Both Guilty

Both Georgia and Russia s are guilty of serious violations of international law, according to a report released by Amnesty International today.  The group says Georgia fired indiscriminately on civilians and Russia allowed their allies to perpetrate violence against ethnic Georgian during this summer’s war.  The report also says nearly 20-thousand Georgians are still unable to return to their homes. 


Doctors/Nurses Protest in Zimbabwe

Riot police broke up protests today by striking health providers in Zimbabwe's capital of Harare.  Doctors and nurses are protesting the country's collapsing health system, which is unable to address a severe outbreak of cholera and lack of basic medical supplies.  After the protest dispersed, health workers attempted to regroup, but police did not allow them to leave their hospital. 


Tibetan Leaders Meet in India

Frustrated Tibetan leaders are in closed-door strategy meetings this week in India after talks with China about gaining greater autonomy proved fruitless. Jes Burns has more.

Bush Rules Assault Access to Reproductive Health Services

The Bush administration continues to push through last minute rules. The latest will provide comprehensive new protections to health care providers who want to refuse delivering certain treatments on moral grounds.  Under the new plan, any group that receives federal funding cannot discriminate against health care providers who refuse to provide procedures like abortion or sterilization or dispense birth control. The rule would also prevent employers from forcing their employees to participate in Department of Health programs they are morally opposed to.  There’s already been much opposition –even the legal council from the EEOC – a Bush appointee. Others are concerned it would overthrow state contraception laws, threaten access to emergency contraception for rape victims and could mean employers would have to hire people, even if they refuse to do their job.