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THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Our archive server through WPKN's webhost service is back up. Previous archive restoration is underway, some files older than Nov. 2001 may not be available. Please let us know of any nonworking links.
- Bombing of Shiite Holy Shrine
Kills Powerful Cleric and Further
Destabilizes U.S.-Occupied Iraq
For story text and audio, Click here!
- D.C. Congresswoman Fights
to Reprioritize U.S. Spending
from Weapons Programs to Social Needs
For story text and audio, Click here!
- Jesse Jackson Supports Yale University Strikers;
Makes Connections Between Labor
and Civil Rights Struggles
For story text and audio, Click here!
- Underreported News Summary
from Around the World
For full summary and audio, LISTEN to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below. MP3 files available until Sept. 16, 2003.
This week we present Between The Lines' summary of under-reported news stories and:
Bombing of Shiite Holy Shrine
Kills Powerful Cleric and Further
Destabilizes U.S.-Occupied Iraq
Interview with Erik Gustafson,
president of the Education for Peace in Iraq Center,
conducted by Scott Harris
The car bomb which blew up outside Iraq's holiest Shiite shrine in the southern city of Najaf on Aug. 29 took the lives more than 100 worshippers, including that of Ayatollah Muhammad Bakr al-Hakim, one of Shiia's most powerful and moderate religious leaders. While the U.S. occupation force blamed Baathist party loyalists or al Qaeda-connected terrorist groups for the assassination, a tape recording purported to carry the voice of Saddam Hussein denied responsibility. Iraqi police arrested nine people in connection with the bombings, who they say have ties to al-Qaeda.
This was the third and most deadly bombing to have shattered the U.S. occupation since the American-British invasion force overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime in April. Those responsible for previous bombings of the Jordanian embassy and U.N. headquarters have not yet been identified or apprehended. Some observers believe that more militant sectors of the Shiite community may benefit from the assassination by opening up political space for their more directly hostile attitude toward the American occupation and growing public support for the formation of a religious militia to protect the Shiite population.
Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Erik Gustafson, a veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf War and president of the Education for Peace in Iraq Center. He assesses the growing violence and instability in Iraq and his organization's call for a congressional investigation into White House manipulation of intelligence used to justify the war.
Contact the Education for Peace in Iraq Center by calling (202) 543-6176 or visit their website at www.epic-usa.org
Related links:
- "EPIC Accountability Campaign: Urge Your Members of Congress to Support a Full Investigation," Resources to hold your government accountable for costly military campaigns, from the Education for Peace in Iraq Center
- "Iraq: Civil War a Credible Hypothesis; Religious and Ethnic Tensions Threaten the Country," by Marc Semo, La Liberation, Sept. 4 2003
- "Iraqi Shiite Cleric is Buried; Followers Lack a Successor," by Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 3, 2003
- "Facing the Truth About Iraq," by James Carroll, Boston Globe, Sept. 2, 2003
- "Many Iraqis working for U.S. are labeled traitors and killed," by Gary Marx, Chicago Tribune, Aug. 31, 2003
- "Chaos Reigns as Saddam's Plan Unfolds," by Peter Beaumont, The Observer, Aug. 31, 2003
- "Ayatollah's Death Deepens U.S. Woes," by Anthony Shadid, Washington Post, Aug. 30, 2003
- "Calls for Vengeance as Iraq's Shias Mourn Their Dead," by Justin Huggler, Independent Digital, Aug. 30 2003
- "Killing of Ayatollah is Start of Iraqi Civil War,"by William O. Beeman, Pacific News Service, Aug. 29, 2003
- "Saudis in Iraq 'Preparing For a Holy War,'" The Financial Times, Aug. 18, 2003
- "U.S. Planners Surprised by Strength of Iraqi Shiites," by Glenn Kessler and Dana Priest, Washington Post, April 23, 2003
- Occupation Watch at www.occupationwatch.org
- Bring Them Home Now campaign at www.bringthemhomenow.org
- Military Families Speak Out at www.mfso.org
D.C. Congresswoman Fights
to Reprioritize U.S. Spending
from Weapons Programs to Social Needs
Interview with Eleanor Holmes Norton,
U.S. representative,
conducted by David Goodman
and Marc Stern
When Congress returns to work following its summer recess, members will have to figure out how to pay for the ongoing U.S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan; as well as the country's other spending priorities. Not even counting the funds being spent on these ongoing military actions, half of the $800 billion Congress appropriates annually -- using its discretionary power -- already goes to the Pentagon.
This reality disturbs Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington D.C., who has sponsored a bill every year since 1993 that would shift spending from expensive weapons systems to people-centered needs. Called The Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act, the measure requires the United States to dismantle its nuclear weapons following other nuclear nations doing the same, and then to divert those resources to such things as housing, health care, Social Security and the environment.
David Goodman and Marc Stern of the "Radio With A View" program at WMBR, in Cambridge, Mass. recently spoke with Rep. Norton, a law professor and six-term non-voting Democrat representing the District of Columbia. Norton, who has long fought for full voting rights for Washington D.C.'s residents, describes the genesis of the bill and her fight for a less militarized world.
Contact Eleanor Holmes Norton's office by calling (202) 225-8050 or visit her website at: www.Norton.house.gov
Related links
Jesse Jackson Supports Yale University Strikers;
Makes Connections Between Labor
and Civil Rights Struggles
Excerpt of speech by Rev. Jesse Jackson,
speaking at Yale University,
produced by Melinda Tuhus
Over the course of several days in the last week of August, the Rev. Jesse Jackson stood in solidarity with striking workers at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. Locals 34 and 35 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union represent 4,000 office, maintenance and dining hall workers who walked out Aug. 27, 19 months after their last contract expired. They're seeking better wages, more protection against layoffs through outsourcing, and higher pensions. The average monthly pension for those with 20 or more years of service at Yale is $621, while the president of Yale, Richard Levin, recently got a deal from the university's board of trustees to pay him a pension of $29,000 a month when he retires.
Jackson has been in the streets rallying with thousands of Yale strikers and their supporters among faculty, students and community residents. He also held a private meeting with Levin after eight retirees conducted a sit-in at the office of David F. Swensen, the university's chief investment officer. The long-time civil rights leader was arrested on Labor Day at Yale, along with 18 others after they blocked an intersection in an act of civil disobedience.
Aug. 28 was the 40th anniversary of the 1963 civil rights March on Washington, best known for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Jackson delivers a national address every year on the anniversary of the march. This year he spoke from a platform set up on a New Haven street where Yale employees have been picketing. Hanging from the platform was a banner with the words "Bux (as in 'bucks') et Veritas," a spoof on Yale's motto of "lux et veritas" or "truth and light." The following are excerpts from Jackson's speech, recorded by Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus.
For more information, about the demands of the workers and the latest developments in Yale's labor struggle, call HERE at (203) 624-5161 or visit www.yaleunions.org
Related links
- "Jackson Arrested at Labor March," Associated Press, Sept. 2, 2003
- "Yale Braces for Long Strike," by Mary E. O'Leary and Mark Zaretsky, New Haven Register, Aug. 27, 2003
- "The Yale union protests in pictures," Associated Press, Sept. 2, 2003
This week's summary
of under-reported news
Compiled by Bob Nixon
- Survivors of Peru's 20-year civil war are skeptical about ability of the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission to mete out justice. ("Peruvian wait for answers," BBC News, Aug. 28, 2003; "Peru reports 69,000 died in civil war," New York Times, Aug. 29, 2003)
- AIDS now leading cause of death among African-American men between 25 to 44 years old. ("The Changing Face of AIDS," In These Times, Aug. 11, 2003).
- Unions rethinking stance on healthcare reform as they find they can't fix America's healthcare crisis at the bargaining table. ("Labor's Health Problem," The Nation, July 7, 2003)
DOWNLOAD this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below. Note: Make sure your browser is set for streaming or download depending on your connection speed. MP3 files available until Sept. 16, 2003
Note to our broadcast affiliates: We are now offering FTP access for faster, more reliable download of our broadcast quality files. Please call Anna Manzo at (203) 268-8446 ext. 2, to register for FTP logon access or send feedback to us at betweenthelines@snet.net.
Credits:
Senior news editor: Bob Nixon
Segment producers: Melinda Tuhus, David Goodman and Marc Stern
Program narration: Sasha Summer Cousineau
News reader: Denise Manzari
Distribution: Anna Manzo, Harry Minot, Jeff Yates and Bill Cosentino
Senior Web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Web producer: Jeff Yates
Web editor: Bill Cosentino
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Theme music: Mikata
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... MORE ...
Last Week's Program
Between The Lines Week Ending 9/5/03
Bush Re-Election Issues
"From Swagger to Stagger," New York Times, Sept. 7, 2003
"U.N. Role Won't Fix U.S. Mess in Iraq," Boston Globe, Sept. 4, 2003
"Bush Seeks an Exit Strategy as War Threatens His Career," The Observer, Sept. 7, 2003
"Who's Counting the Dead in Iraq?" Knight Ridder, Sept. 6, 2003
"Iraq: Civil War a Credible Hypothesis," La Liberation, Sept. 4, 2003
"White House CoverUp: What Was Known About Post-9/11 Air," NBC News, Sept. 3, 2003
"Number of Wounded in Action on Rise," Washington Post, Sept. 2, 2003
"U.S. Failures in Iraq Set Stage For Deeper Trouble," by Georgie Anne Geyer, Universal Press Syndicate, Aug. 29, 2003
"Killing of Ayatollah Is Start of Iraqi Civil War," Pacific News Service, Aug. 29, 2003
"Is a Perfect Storm Brewing for Bush?" Reuters, Aug. 24, 2003
"A Tally of US Taxpayers' Tab for Iraq," by David R. Francis, The Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 25 2003
"The Bush Administration Adopts a Worse-than- Nixonian Tactic: The Deadly Serious Crime Of Naming CIA Operatives," by John W. Dean, Aug. 15, 2003
"Impeaching Bush,"Counterpunch, July 25, 2003
American Empire/War Profiteering
"A Debate Over U.S. 'Empire' Builds in Unexpected Circles," The Washington Post, Aug. 10, 2003
"As Ordered, It's About Oil," San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 8, 2003
"Immunity for Iraqi Oil Dealings Raises Alarm," Los Angeles Times, Aug. 7, 2003
"North Korea Next to Hear U.S. War Drum," Toronto Globe and Mail, Aug. 7, 2003
"Rivals Say Halliburton Dominates Iraq Oil Work," New York Times, Aug. 8, 2003
"Pipeline Politics: Oil, The Taliban, and the Political Balance of Central Asia," World Press Review Special Report, Nov.-Dec. 2001
"War Profiteering," by The Nation editors, April 24, 2003
Postwar Occupation of Iraq
"Many Iraqis working for U.S. are labeled traitors and killed," Chicago Tribune, Aug. 31, 2003
"Massive Explosion at U.N. Headquarters in Iraq," www.truthout.org, Aug. 18, 2003, CBS video
"Saudis in Iraq 'Preparing For a Holy War,'"The Financial Times, Aug. 18 2003
"Democracy Might be Impossible, US Was Told," The Boston Globe, Aug. 14, 2003
Civil Liberties
"Conservative Backlash," Conservative Backlash, Baltimore Sun Editorial, Aug. 22, 2003
"Fascism Anyone?" 14 Signs of Fascism, Free Inquiry Magazine, Volume 23, No. 2
"Germany In 1933: The Easy Slide Into Fascism," The Crisis Papers, June 9, 2003
Multi-Ethnic Issues Advocacy
Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson's Commentaries, The Hutchinson Report
and in Audio (needs RealPlayer)
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