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Pacifica/FSRN Reports from WTO in Hong Kong
PRODUCED BY: Monica Lopez, Aaron Glantz, Ngoc Nguyen, Dante Toza of Free Speech Radio News

The Hong Kong session of the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization (WTO) ended on Thursday with a declaration urging all the WTO members to advance the Doha Round trade talks. The declaration said, “Open, free, fair and growing trade reduces poverty and brings benefits to developing countries.” The US and European Union have in principle refused to budge on giving up unfair subsidies to its agricultural sectors, thereby hurting developing nations access to markets. Pacifica and Free Speech Radio News are in Hong Kong producing daily reports from the 6th WTO Ministerial. Aaron Glantz brings us these headlines followed by a report from Dante Toza.

Next we’ll hear a report by Aaron Glantz about resistance by farmers at the WTO, followed by Ngoc Nguyen’s interview with Mexican actor and Oxfam Ambassador Gael Garcia Bernal.

Neighborhood Peace Vigils

Neighborhood activists all over Southern California hold regular peace vigils to end the war in Iraq. Each week we announce just some of the 50 plus vigils that are taking place. Complete listings of all the vigils are available at www.neighborsforpeaceandjustice.org or www.peacevigils.com.

House Passes Anti-Immigrant Legislation
GUEST: EunSook Lee, Executive Director of National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)

One week ago, a bitterly divided House Judiciary Committee approved the so-called “Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act.” The bill is expected to come to a vote and pass either today or tomorrow in the House of Representatives. If passed, the act would introduce serious changes in US immigration policy. For example, “unlawful presence” in the United States would now be considered an aggravated felony. The bill also calls for an increase in employer fines from the current $1,000 dollar penalty to a new $25,000 penalty. Such measures are not harsh enough for some Republicans in the House, however. Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado proposes amendments such as the construction of a fence along the entire U.S. – Mexico border and the elimination of birthright citizenship. In response, immigrant rights advocates all across the nation are organizing in opposition to the “Border Protection” act saying it would be just another failed “enforcement-only” approach.

The Congressional Switchboard telephone number is 202-224-3121.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day:

“The U.S.-Mexican border is an open wound where the third world grates against the first and bleeds.” — Gloria Anzaldua,1987.