Free Speech Radio News: Obama budget cuts social safety net for vulnerable groups, lowers some corporate taxes; Family of slain teen in Mexico call for investigation into Border Patrol shooting, release of video; In Indian-administered Kashmir, police’s use of pepper gas criticized for recent deaths; Mumia Abu-Jamal on the War of Words

Free Speech Radio News for April 10, 2013

Headlines:
Thousands rally in DC for immigration reform
Chicago gun control advocate wins special election to replace Jesse Jackson Jr.
Russia formally charges first NGO for not registering as a foreign agent
Advocates worry new free trade deal will signal end for cheap medication in India

Features:

Obama budget cuts social safety net for vulnerable groups, lowers some corporate taxes

President Barack Obama submitted his 2014 budget to Congress today. It includes measures to raise the minimum wage, fund preschool for low-income children, and invest in high-speed rail. It pays for this, in part, by raising taxes on the wealthy and ending subsidies for fossil fuel companies. But some economists and progressive lawmakers are speaking out against the package, saying it fails to address other corporate tax breaks that are contributing to US debt. Critics also say cuts to the social safety net will hurt the economy and the most vulnerable individuals in the country. On Capitol Hill, FSRN’s Alice Ollstein has more.


Family of slain teen in Mexico call for investigation into Border Patrol shooting, release of video

Today, in the US-Mexico border city of Nogales, demonstrators joined the family of a 16-year-old boy shot and killed by US Border Patrol agents last year. In October 2012, Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez was killed in a shooting at the border. Arizona police and Border Patrol said they were responding to a 911 call around 11:30 pm at night. But autopsy reports cited by the boy’s attorney showed that seven of the eight bullets fired entered Jose Antonio from behind, indicating that he may have been fired on while he was laying on the ground. An eyewitness also described Jose Antonio being struck by bullets while walking down the street, according to the Arizona Daily Star. The killing brings up the use of lethal force and other abuses by Border Patrol agents. Testimony began Tuesday in San Diego for the trial of Border Patrol Agent Luis Fonseca, accused of kneeing and choking a man into unconsciousness in 2011 at a border patrol station. A series of lawsuits filed in March by immigrants held by Border Patrol agents in Texas outline other abuses, including being forced to sit in freezing holding cells for days at a time. For more, we’re joined by Hannah Hafter, abuse documentation coordinator with No More Deaths, she’s one of the organizers of today’s event and joins us from Tucson.


In Indian-administered Kashmir, police’s use of pepper gas criticized for recent deaths

In Indian-administered Kashmir today, police clashed with public health workers in Srinagar. Police used batons to disperse hundreds of protesting workers, according to Kashmir Media Service and local media. Twenty were taken into police custody. The workers are demanding daily wages and pay to be dispersed regularly. They said they will launch more protests next week. The harsh response from police has recently come under criticism. Human rights advocates are raising concerns about their use of pepper gas on protesters, which can affect entire neighborhoods where it is used. Three deaths have been attributed to the use of pepper gas in recent months, all ordinary residents affected inside their homes. From Srinagar, FSRN's Shahnawaz Khan has the story.


Mumia Abu-Jamal on the War of Words

As war rhetoric continues in the Asia region and across the world, Mumia Abu-Jamal comments on "the war of words" in the current political climate.