Thursday, August 21, 2008

• Georgia Files Claims of Genocide against Russia
• Israeli Soldiers Acquitted in Killing of Palestinian Journalist
• Border Patrol Creates Comprehensive Crossing Database
• Iconic Chicano Arts Center in LA Feeling Gentrification Pressure
• New Wall Eliminates Cross-Border Meeting Spot for Families

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Georgia Files Claims of Genocide against Russia

As the conflict continues between Russia and Georgia, the government of Georgia is filing an case against Russia in the International court of Justice maintaining that Russia committed ethic cleansing in Georgia between 1994 and 2008.  But Russia has countered that claim.  They say Georgia has committed a genocide of their own against Russian citizens living in their country.  FSRN Karen Miller looks at the legal wrangling of both sides.

Israeli Soldiers Acquitted in Killing of Palestinian Journalist

Scores of Gaza journalists participated in a rally on Thursday, demanding an international probe into the killing of their collegue, Fadel Shana'a. Shana'a was a Palestinian working as a cameraman for Reuters.  He was killed this past April by a shell fired from an Israeli tank.  Reports claim his vehicle and clothing clearly designated he was with the press.  Today's protest followed an Israeli military court's ruling that acquitted the Israeli soldiers accused in the killing.  FSRN's Rami Almeghari has more.

Border Patrol Creates Comprehensive Crossing Database

The Department of Homeland Security has disclosed they are collecting personal data from travelers going through US Border Crossings and storing it in a massive database.  DHS announced the policy through a notice in the Federal Register last month, but the issue has just recently received national media attention.  This kind of information gathering and storing at US borders is unprecedented.  FSRN Host Jes Burns interviewed Melissa Ngo, an attorney with privacylives.com, who says the new database casts a wide net.

Iconic Chicano Arts Center in LA Feeling Gentrification Pressure

Self Help Graphics is an iconic East Los Angeles art center that started in the early 1970s.  The arts center gave young Chicano artists a platform to cultivate art free of censorship through programs, exhibitions, and community outreach.  But the groundbreaking visual arts center may be the latest victim in the area's ongoing gentrification.   FSRN's Martin Markovitz has more.

New Wall Eliminates Cross-Border Meeting Spot for Families

After much opposition and a long battle in court, scrapers and bulldozers have finally began filling a deep canyon in Border Field State Park, located on the California-Mexico Border. The US is erecting a second layer of border fencing, which will end at the Pacific Ocean. The hundreds of people who use the park each week as a meeting place between US and Mexico are concerned this new fence will eliminate one of their last remaining contact points. US authorities insist the multi-million dollar fence is needed, despite an increase in patrols and objections from human rights groups and environmentalists. From Tijuana, Mariana Martinez brings this report.