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HeadlinesJune 20, 2000

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Protesters Call on Texas Gov. Bush to Stop Scheduled Execution of Gary Graham

Jun 20, 2000

More than 200 people demonstrated outside the official residence of Governor George W. Bush yesterday. Twelve were arrested protesting the scheduled execution of Texas prisoner Gary Graham. Yesterday, a day of national protest against his execution, was June 19th, or Juneteenth, which marks the day word reached slaves in Texas that they were free — two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Gary Graham’s supporters are calling on 10,000 people to go to Huntsville on Thursday to protest his execution. Meanwhile, George Bush was confronted about the death penalty on a campaign stop yesterday in California.

Protesters Occupy U.S. Air Force Bombing Range in South Korea

Jun 20, 2000

And now to news in what many call the Vieques of Korea, Maehyang-ri, South Korea. Eleven protesters were arrested yesterday after they occupied a U.S. Air Force bombing range in a campaign to close it down. A total of 12 protesters got through a cordon of riot police and a barbed wire fence surrounding the Koon-ni Training Range, 50 miles southwest of Seoul. Six were quickly arrested. Another five hid on the range before a police helicopter swooped down and picked them up. In front of a nearby U.S. military camp, about 200 protesters, including college students, also demonstrated, shouting, “Yankee, go home! Shut down the firing range!” U.S. aircraft resumed training exercises on Monday at the Koon-ni range as scores of protesters scuffled with riot police. For the first time in a month, A-10 attack jets conducted bombing exercises on the range, while F-16s strafed the beach. In May, Democracy Now broke the story of a U.S. warplane dropping six 500-pound bombs near the village of Maehyang-ri on May 7. Villagers there say the bombing injured several people and damaged some 170 homes.

State Dept.: U.S. Drops Use of Term “Rogue State”

Jun 20, 2000

This news from the State Department: The United States has quietly dropped the use of the term “rogue state” from its foreign policy lexicon, in favor of the broader categorization “state of concern,” to allow greater flexibility in its dealings with those nations. State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher said “rogue state,” a description reserved for the seven countries designated by Washington as state sponsors of terrorism, quote, “has outlived its usefulness.” The change does not affect sanctions that are placed on the seven countries designated terrorism sponsors by Washington. Boucher said the change reflects a recognition that some are progressing in U.S. eyes and could no longer be fairly identified as rogues.

Spanish Police Find 36 Immigrants Crammed into Truck

Jun 20, 2000

Spanish police discovered 36 immigrants crammed into a truck on the same day British authorities found the bodies of 58 Asians in the back of a lorry. The Civil Guard police force said in a statement the immigrants — 32 Moroccans and four Algerians — had not eaten in four days and had little to drink, when the truck was pulled over by a highway patrol late on Monday in southern Málaga province. They were in weak condition, and some had wet clothes, suggesting they had just crossed the Strait of Gibraltar.

South Korean Doctors Begin Indefinite Strike

Jun 20, 2000

Up to 35,000 doctors in South Korea, upset about a law that will hit their pocketbooks, began an indefinite strike today, throwing the nation’s healthcare system into havoc. The doctors will strike until the government steps in to remedy the situation, but South Korean President Kim Dae-jung said the government would not negotiate at the cost of people’s lives.

Supreme Court Reaffirms Preeminent Role of Federal Gov’t in Setting Foreign Policy

Jun 20, 2000

A unanimous Supreme Court decision yesterday reaffirming the federal government’s preeminent role in setting U.S. foreign policy overturned a Massachusetts statute that was designed to protest Burma’s human rights record by denying state contracts to companies that do business with that country. We’ll talk with the author of the bill in just a few minutes.

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