Wednesday, July 23, 2008

• US Lawmakers Encourage More Domestic Surveillance
• Obama Visits Israelis on the Gaza Border
• Border Patrol to Check Immigration Status During Disaster Evacuations
• Tensions Between Russia and Georgia Continue to Escalate
• Indigenous Leaders Meet to Strategize Against Bitumen Extraction on Their Lands

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US Lawmakers Encourage More Domestic Surveillance

The government's expansion of data collecting and sharing of information about US citizens lacks proper oversight and privacy protections – that's according to a new report by a federal watchdog agency.  A Senate panel held a hearing on the report today.  And instead of critiquing local and federal law enforcement agencies for collecting the data without proper checks, lawmakers encouraged a continuation of more.  FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

Obama Visits Israelis on the Gaza Border

US Senator Barack Obama continued his Middle Eastern tour today though areas vital to US interests – including Israel and the West Bank.  Obama packed meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders into a tightly scheduled 36 hours.  The presidential candidate also went down to Israel's border with Gaza to see Israeli residents who live under rocket fire from Palestinian militants.  From Jerusalem, Irris Makler reports.

Border Patrol to Check Immigration Status During Disaster Evacuations

Hurricane Dolly, a category 2 storm in the Gulf, made landfall in South Texas and Northern Mexico today, forcing Brownsville and surrounding areas to evacuate.  But immigrant communities in the region have something else to fear besides the 100 mile-per-hour winds – during a mock evacuation drill earlier this year, border patrol practiced checking the immigration status of would be evacuees.   This sparked trepidation and outrage by Immigrant Rights Groups, who filed a petition in federal court asking border patrol to clarify their policy.  Jim Harrington, the Director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, talks about the suit and how immigrant communities are faring during the current evacuation. The organization is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit asking border patrol to clarify their policy on checking immigration status during disaster evacuations.  They expect a ruling by early next week.

Tensions Between Russia and Georgia Continue to Escalate

Tensions are escalating between Georgia and Russia over Georgia's breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia where Russian peacekeepers are stationed. Recently, Georgia recalled its Moscow Ambassador after Russian military jets entered Georgian airspace.  French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner urged the European Union to mediate.  FSRN's Deborah Wild traveled to upper Kodori, the frontline of the standoff between Georgia and Russia and files this report.  

Indigenous Leaders Meet to Strategize Against Bitumen Extraction on Their Lands

The market may be in recession, but the United States is still the world's most oil-hungry economy. And its corporations are busy tapping new energy sources like tar sands, a mixture of sand and an extremely dense form of petroleum called bitumen. The world's largest deposits of tar sands are in North America and companies use it to produce more than a million barrels of oil per day. But the explosive growth of such projects has huge environmental costs.  They damage land, air, water, forests, and the climate. FSRN's Christina Aanestad traveled to Lee, Nevada for the 15th annual indigenous environmental network conference where she talked to people who live in areas environmentally impacted by bitumen production.