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THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

• U.S. Fails to Act as Death Squads Vow
  to Overthrow Government of
  Haitian President Aristide
  For story text and audio, Click here!

• Revived Energy Bill, with Giveaways
  to Big Energy Companies,
  is Again Before Congress
  For story text and audio, Click here!

• Leading U.S. Scientists Condemn
  White House Censorship and
  Distortion of Science Data
  For story text and audio, Click here!

• Underreported News Summary
  from Around the World
  For full summary and audio, Click here!

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As armed rebels seized Haiti's second largest city, Cap Haitien, consolidating their control over the northern half of the country, food supplies were looted and paramilitary gangs hunted down loyalists of embattled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Meanwhile American, French and Organization of American States diplomats attempted to convince opposition groups to accept a peace plan, already agreed to by President Aristide, that would institute a power-sharing arrangement and plan for new legislative elections.

In the capital of Port-au-Prince, supporters of President Aristide built barricades and patrolled city streets to repel an expected rebel attack there. Haiti's small and ill-equipped police force is no match for the heavily armed rebels, many of whom are former members of Haiti's disbanded army. Rebel leaders Louis-Jodel Chamblain and Guy Phillipe are both associated with FRAPH, a death squad accused of murdering, raping and torturing thousands of Haitians after the military overthrew Aristide's first government in 1991. Critics charge that opposition groups who are calling for Aristide's ouster have been funded by the Bush administration through the National Endowment for Democracy, long used by Washington to funnel support to allies.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Larry Birns, executive director with the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Birns discusses U.S. policy in this crisis and the need for international intervention to prevent the establishment of another military dictatorship in Haiti, a nation which has suffered through dozens of coups and revolts over the past 200 years.

Contact the Council on Hemispheric Affairs by calling (202) 216-9261 or visit their web site at www.coha.org

Related links

• Haiti Progres, Haitian newspaper founded in 1983, with articles in English, French and Creole. www.haitiprogres.com in English
• "Worsening Scenes in Haiti Will Test U.S. Tolerance for Chaos," by Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 25, 2004. The White House is reluctant to make a long-term commitment to the troubled nation but remains anxious about a wave of refugees.
• "Background on Haiti: Some Questions and Answers," by Mary Turck, by Americas.org, Feb. 24, 2004
• "Throttled by History," by Gary Younge, The Guardian/UK, Feb. 23, 2004
• "Armed Rebellion Attempts to Oust Haitian President," Between The Lines interview with Kim Ives, Haiti Progres editor, conducted by Scott Harris, week ending Feb. 20, 2004
• "Haiti's Lawyer: US Is Arming Anti-Aristide Paramilitaries, Calls For UN Peacekeepers," by Amy Goodman and Jeremy Scahill, DemocracyNow.org, Feb. 25, 2004

Revived Energy Bill, with Giveaways
to Big Energy Companies,
is Again Before Congress

Interview with Karen Wayland,
acting legislative director,
Natural Resources Defense Council,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Last November, the Senate defeated a mammoth energy bill that would have increased U.S. reliance on oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear power while throwing crumbs to promote renewable energy and conservation. In addition to the active opposition of environmental groups, what killed the bill in the end was the insistence of some legislative leaders that the measure provide protection from lawsuits filed against makers of MTBE, a toxic gasoline additive demonstrated to have contaminated groundwater across the country.

The bill has been introduced in Congress again by Sen. Pete Domenici, Republican of New Mexico. This time, the Senate version omits the liability protection for MTBE, but House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says that makes the bill a non-starter in the House of Representatives. DeLay's district is home to companies that produce MTBE. Other features of the bill include big tax breaks for the oil industry, and expensive tax-payer funded offshore drilling incentives such as a proposed giveaway of undersea oil to energy companies in environmentally fragile Alaskan areas.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Karen Wayland, acting legislative director of the Natural Resources Defense Council. She examines who stands to win and lose in this new incarnation of the energy bill.

For more information on the energy bill, call the NRDC at (202) 513- 6241 or visit their website at www.nrdc.org

Related links:

• Greenpeace at www.greenpeace.org
• Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project at www.citizen.org/cmep

Leading U.S. Scientists Condemn
White House Censorship
and Distortion of Science Data

Interview with Dr. Kurt Gottfried,
chairman of the Union of Concerned Scientists,
conducted by Scott Harris

In a statement signed by more than 60 prominent scientists -- including 20 Nobel laureates -- leading medical experts, former heads of government agencies and presidents of universities condemned the Bush administration for suppressing and distorting scientific analysis and taking actions which have undermined the quality of scientific advisory panels. Russell Train, who served as head of the Environmental Protection Agency under Republican presidents Nixon and Ford, was among the endorsers. The declaration, and an accompanying report titled "Scientific Integrity in Policymaking," was issued by the Union of Concerned Scientists on Feb. 18.

The signers of the statement maintain that the administration has employed censorship, and manipulated data in areas such as air pollution, climate change and the control of toxic substances in pursuit of partisan political gain. Allegations that scientists working at several federal agencies have been subjected to political interference in their research are examined in the report.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Dr. Kurt Gottfried, emeritus professor of physics at Cornell University and chairman of the Union of Concerned Scientists board of directors. Dr. Gottfried summarizes the scientist's critique of the White House handling of science issues and their call for congressional hearings to investigate their charges.

To obtain a copy of the group's statement and report, contact the Union of Concerned Scientists at (617) 547-5552 or visit their website at www.ucsusa.org

Related links:

• "Preeminent Scientists Protest Bush Administration's Misuse of Science," Nobel Laureates, National Medal of Science Recipients and Other Leading Researchers Call for End to Scientific Abuses, Union of Concerned Scientists, Feb. 18, 2004
• "Lies About War, Economics, Science: President's Lies Are Never-Ending," by Bill Gallagher, Niagara Falls Reporter
• "Now the Pentagon Tells Bush: Climate Change Will Destroy Us," by Mark Townsend and Paul Harris, The Observer, Feb. 22, 2004

This week's summary
of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon

• UN report accuses Rwanda of arming militias in order to gain control of the Congo's diamond and gold mines. ("UN names forces in struggle for Congo Gold Fields," The Guardian, Dec. 4, 2004)
• UN investigators are making a new push to have former General Wiranto, the one-time Indonesian defense minister and a current presidential candidate placed under arrest. ("UN seeks arrest of Indonesian president hopeful," Financial Times, Jan. 28, 2004)
• The Bush-Cheney re-election campaign has been in high gear for months employing their big money advantage and voter intimidation tactics. ("The GOP Deploys," American Prospect, February 2004)
  

DOWNLOAD this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below. Needs Quicktime Player or your favorite MP3 player. Note: Make sure your browser is set for streaming or download depending on your connection speed. MP3 files available until Feb. 24, 2004

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Credits:
Senior news editor: Bob Nixon
Program narration: Sasha Summer Cousineau
News reader: Prue Cullen
Segment producer: Melinda Tuhus
Distribution: Anna Manzo, Harry Minot, Jeff Yates
Senior Web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Web producer: Jeff Yates
Web editors: Hank Hoffman and Bill Cosentino
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Theme music: Mikata

Last Week's Program

Between The Lines Week Ending 2/27/04

Election 2004

"The Junk Science Of George W. Bush," By Robert F. Kennedy Jr., The Nation, Mar. 8, 2004

"Bush's Gay Marriage Amendment Support A Move To Satisfy Conservative Base," Washington Post, Feb. 25, 2004

"Disenchanted Bush Voters Consider Crossing Over," by Elisabeth Rosenthal, The New York Times, Feb. 22, 2004

"Kerry & The 'Special Interest' Hit Piece," By Sam Parry, Consortium News, Feb. 19, 2004

"Now In Previews, Political Theater In The Street," The New York Times, Feb. 19, 2004

"Pentagon Offices Face Probe On Iraq Claims," ABC Online, Feb. 19, 2004

American Empire/War Profiteering

"Tomorrow The World," By Thomas Powers, New York Review of Books, Mar. 11, 2004

"Is What's Good For Boeing And Halliburton Good For America?," World Policy Institute, Feb., 2004

"Soldier For The Truth: An Interview With Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski (Ret.)," By Marc Cooper, L.A. Weekly, Feb. 20, 2004

"How Far Will The U.S. Go To Maintain Its Illegitimate Primacy In Iraq?," By Tariq Ali, Information Clearing House, Feb. 18, 2004

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq

"Washington Conceals U.S. Casualties In Iraq," Coastal Post Online, Mar., 2004

"Report Says Military Distorts War Deaths," The Boston Globe, Feb. 18, 2004

"Iraq Bombings Reveal Bigger U.S. Problems," San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 17, 2004

Civil Liberties

"Pentagon Bans Rights Groups From Guantanamo Trials," By Jim Lobe, OneWorld.net, Feb. 24, 2004

"U.S. Still Funding Total Information Awareness Projects," Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 23, 2004

"You Could Get 10 Years In Prison Just For Reading This," By David Grenier, Counterpunch, Feb. 20, 2004

"Rhode Island Governor's Homeland Security Bill Under Fire," Associated Press, Feb. 18, 2004

"John Ashcroft's Subpoena Blitz," FindLaw, Feb. 18, 2004

Media And Activism

"NY Times Fails To Acknowledge Its Role In WMD Hype" Editor & Publisher, Feb. 20, 2004

"Now They Tell Us: The Press' Pre-War WMD Failure," By Michael Massing, New York Review Of Books, Feb. 26, 2004