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Collection of interviews and Web sites with contacts for breaking news about the global social justice movement. (Audio files in MP3 and RealAudio formats.)

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Hungry for more news from "Between The Lines?"

Many BTL interviews are excerpted from Scott Harris' WPKN program, "Counterpoint." To hear more in-depth analysis you'll rarely hear in corporate media, listen to "Counterpoint" LIVE Monday nights from 8 to 10 p.m. ET.

Listen during the above time slot by clicking here!

Check out our
new archive
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WPKN Radio mentioned in Danny Schechter's "The News Dissector" column on independent media values. Click here to view the column on Mediachannel.org.

New Haven Advocate's
"Best of New Haven 2001"
-- Staff Picks --
Scott Harris, Best Radio News Reporter
WPKN Radio, 89.5 FM

"Giving Voice to Dissent: Bridgeport's WPKN Radio Covers The News With Left-Of-Center Takes Not Found In The Mainstream Media" Hartford Courant, Feb. 26, 2003

"The Rest of the News," New Haven Advocate, July 3, 2003


ISSUES IN-DEPTH

War And Profiteering

Those Who Dared to Come Forward
In-depth compilation on Washington insiders speaking out on Bush administration policies and actions

"Iraq On The Record," U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman report, March 16, 2004

"Greenspan Testimony Highlights Bush Plan for Deliberate Federal Bankruptcy," by Michael Meurer, truthout.org, March 2, 2004

"Noam Chomsky on Middle East Conflict and U.S. War Plan Against Iraq," Between The Lines interview with Noam Chomsky, conducted by Scott Harris, for the Week Ending May 3, 2002

"The Iraq War & The Bush Administration's Pursuit of Global Domination," Counterpoint, Sept. 15, 2003

The Iraq Crisis, a Global Policy Forum, UN Security Council section on the 13 years of sanctions and other background of the war, the humanitarian situation, the importance of Iraq's huge oil resources, and disputes over a post-war government and reconstruction plan

"Occupation, Inc." Southern Exposure, Winter, 2003/2004

"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

"An Annotated Saddam Chronology," ZNet, Dec. 15, 2003

Civil Liberties

"The Global Gulag: Into The Shadows," by Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, April 5, 2004

"Keeping Secrets: The Bush administration is doing the public's business out of the public eye. Here's how--and why," by Christopher H. Schmitt and Edward T. Pound, U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 12, 2003

"FBI Memo: Tactics Used During Protests And Demonstrations" Federal Bureau of Investigation, Oct. 15, 2003

"F.B.I. Scrutinizes Antiwar Rallies" by Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, Nov. 23, 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)

Between
The Lines

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Between The Lines
For The Week Ending June 25, 2004

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • In case you missed the Media Reform Conference in Madison, Wis. in November, RealAudio and MP3 of speeches and workshops can be heard by clicking here!

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

  • Bush Administration Memos
    on Torture Policy
    Reveal Official Complicity
    in Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Human Rights Investigation
    into the 1980s Murder of Thousands
    of Colombian Political Activists

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • At Their Georgia Summit,
    G-8 Nations Fail to Cancel Debt
    for World's Poorest Countries

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Underreported News Summary
    from Around the World

    For full summary and audio, Click here!
LISTEN to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below. MP3 files available until June 29, 2004.

This week we present Between The Lines' summary of under-reported news stories and:

Bush Administration Memos
on Torture Policy
Reveal Official Complicity
in Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners

Interview with Michael Ratner,
president of the Center for Constitutional Rights,
conducted by Scott Harris

As the investigation into the torture and sexual humiliation of Iraqi detainees held at Abu Ghraib and other U.S.-run prisons continues, a series of memos have been disclosed which reveal that Justice Department and White House lawyers had in essence authorized such abuse.

A January 2002 Justice Department memo argues that U.S. officials could not be charged with war crimes for the abuse of prisoners because the Geneva Conventions did not apply to detainees held in the war in Afghanistan. The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel wrote a memo in August 2002 which concluded that certain acts may be cruel, inhuman or degrading, but still not produce pain and suffering of the requisite intensity to fall within a ban on torture defined in international treaties and U.S. law. Another memo written in March 2003 by the Department of Defense asserted that as commander-in-chief, President Bush was not bound by any international treaties barring torture or by a U.S. federal anti-torture law. In addition to seven American soldiers charged with abusing detainees, four British troops will now be tried in a military court on allegations that they assaulted Iraqi prisoners and forced them to engage in sexual acts.

As the U.S. prepares for the June 30th symbolic transition to Iraqi sovereignty under a new interim government, violence has surged raising the death toll of American and coalition troops, private contractors and Iraqi police. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who discusses the significance of the Bush administration's memos on torture and summarizes a lawsuit his group has brought against two private security companies accused of torturing Iraqi prisoners in order to secure more Pentagon contracts.

Call the Center for Constitutional Rights at (212) 614-6464 or visit their website at www.ccr-ny.org. Michael Ratner is the author of "Guantanamo: What the World Should Know," published by Chelsea Green.

Related links:

Human Rights Investigation
into the 1980s Murder of Thousands
of Colombian Political Activists

Interview with John Lugo,
of Colombia Action,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus

The nation of Colombia has suffered through one of the world's longest running civil wars, which has claimed over 40,000 lives and displaced millions over the past 40 years. On June 15, 34 workers were massacred on two remote ranches in La Gabarra, 300 miles northwest of Bogota. The mayor of the town says it appears to be the work of FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the country's largest guerrilla group. Almost 20 years ago, thousands of members of Colombia's progressive Patriotic Union party (or UP by its Spanish initials,) were systematically killed by forces connected with the government. Twelve years ago, the head of a Colombian human rights group, Reiniciar, which means "to start again," began investigating the murders. The case is now being reviewed by the Human Rights Office of the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C. The commissioners have recently affirmed that there is sufficient evidence to bring a charge of genocide against the Colombian state.

John Lugo was a student organizer in Colombia during the 1980s who joined the UP. Soon after becoming active with the party, he was arrested by the government. He was later released, but received repeated death threats and fled to the U.S. Lugo now lives in Connecticut, where he remains active in the struggle to bring peace and justice to Colombia.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Lugo about the origin of the Patriotic Union Party, its platform, and what human rights activists hope they will achieve in their efforts to hold government officials accountable for the thousands of UP members murdered.

John Lugo of Colombia Action Connecticut is also a producer at WPKN radio. To support Colombia Action's efforts or to get more information, contact them at colombiaactionct@hotmail.com. Additional information on the human rights situation in Colombia can be found at www.colombiajournal.org

Related links:

At Their Georgia Summit,
G-8 Nations Fail to Cancel Debt
for World's Poorest Countries

Interview with Njoki Njehu,
director of the 50 Years is Enough Network,
conducted by Scott Harris

Heads of state representing the world's wealthiest nations -- the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Russian and Japan -- or Group of 8, convened on Sea Island, Georgia for their annual gathering. There, with the protection of thousands of federal, state and local police, the leaders dealt with issues related to the U.S. occupation of Iraq - including a vain request from President Bush for NATO to send troops to Iraq or assist in the training of Iraqi soldiers.

The G-8 leaders also discussed a range of other issues, which included endorsing of a plan to encourage international cooperation to develop an AIDS vaccine; working to combat famine across the developing world and a commitment to deploy more peacekeeping forces to quell conflicts in Africa. But despite press reports that the G-8 would sign on to a plan put forward by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to cancel the dept of the world's most impoverished nations -- the leaders opted only to extend by two years an existing initiative to reduce those debts.

Protesters who have in recent years staged large demonstrations opposing the policies of the G-8, the World Trade Organization, World Bank and International Monetary Fund, were hard to find in Georgia due in part to the remoteness of the summit site and an extremely heavy police presence. But members of non-governmental organizations who have worked hard in recent years to promote debt cancellation were at the summit to pronounce the G-8's failure to dump the debt as a tragedy that will cost many lives. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Njoki Njehu, director of the 50 Years Is Enough Network, who explains why an initiative to cancel 100 percent of the debt for the world's poorest countries is crucial to saving the lives of millions.

Contact the 50 Years is Enough Network by calling (202)-IMF-BANK or visit their website at www.50years.org

Related links:

This week's summary
of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • Conservatives target federal Judge James Rosenbaum for questioning harsh drug sentences, releasing a 22-page report full of allegations against him. Meanwhile, House Republicans successfully tack an amendment to a bill, making it harder for any federal judge to divert from guidelines set by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. ("Rosenbaum Inquisition," The Nation, Dec. 29, 2004)
  • St. Lucie County in Florida has a 40 percent increase in childhood cancer. However, Florida Light and Power, which operates a local nuclear power plant that releases strontium-90 into the atmosphere, denies it is responsible. ("The Nuke Next Door," E Magazine, May/June 2004)
  • Brian Williamson, Jamaica's best-known gay rights activist found stabbed to death in his Kingston apartment. Activists say his death is a hate crime, while police say it was a robbery. ("Jamaican Gay Activist Murdered," BBC News, June 10, 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 June 29, 2004

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
Program narration: Denise Manzari
News reader: Ruben Abreu
Segment producer: Melinda Tuhus
Distribution: Anna Manzo, Harry Minot, Jeff Yates
Senior Web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Web producer: Jeff Yates
Newswire editor: Hank Hoffman
Web editor: Bill Cosentino
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Theme music: Mikata

... MORE ...

Last Week's Program

Between The Lines Week Ending 6/18/04

Bush Regime/Election 2004

"The Torturer-In-Chief," by Marjorie Cohn, Truthout, June 18, 2004

"Republicans Defeat Efforts To Subpoena Justice Dept. Torture Documents," Knight Ridder, June 18, 2004

"Car Execs Fund Bush Well," Detroit Free Press, June 17, 2004

"Conservatives Attempt To Kill Clean Elections In Arizona," by Molly Ivins, Working For Change, June 17, 2004

"The Failed Seduction Of John McCain: How Democrats Are Their Own Worst Enemy," by Ted Rall, TedRall.com, June 17, 2004

"Kerry Secures The First Mainstream Endorsement," by Dave Lindorff, Counterpunch, June 17, 2004

"9/11 Commission: No Link Between Al-Qaida and Saddam," by Hope Yen, by the Associated Press, June 16, 2004

More newswire ...

American Empire/War Profiteering

"Pentagon Violated Law By Hiring Halliburton For Pre-War Planning Work," Halliburton Watch, June 15, 2004

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq

"Life And Death On Vietnam Street," by Dahr Jamail, The New Standard, June 17, 2004

"Martial Law Threatened For Iraq," Financial Times/UK, June 17, 2004

"War Crime? Rumsfeld Issued Order To Hide Detainee In Iraq," The New York Times, June 17, 2004

"Bush Backs Cheney On Assertion Linking Hussein, Al Qaeda," Boston Globe, June 16, 2004

"Commander Tried To Get Abuse Whistleblower Declared Mentally Unfit," Associated Press, June 16, 2004

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties

"Report Says U.S. Has 'Secret' Detention Centers," Reuters, June 17, 2004

"The Persecution of Steve Kurtz: Perhaps Even More Sinister Than It Appears," by Ed Cardoni, Counterpunch, June 17, 2004

"Rights Groups Push New Bill To Protect Civil Liberties, Immigrants," The New Standard, June 16, 2004

"Justify Secrecy Of 'No-Fly' Lists, Judge Tells Feds," Sacramento Bee, June 16, 2004

"Book 'Em! L.A. Activists Tailed, Arrested On Way To Liberation Weekend Conference," In These Times, June 12, 2004

"G-8 Security Clamps Down On Local Residents," The New Standard, June 12, 2004

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"Al-Jazeera: The World Through Arab Eyes," by Hazem Saghieh, Open Democracy, June 17, 2004

"The Power Of People's Media," by Jim Hightower, Alternet, June 16, 2004

"In 'Control Room,' The Splitting Image Of War Coverage," Washington Post, June 16, 2004

"Cuomo Adds Heat To 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Ratings Fight," Reuters, June 16, 2004

More newswire ...

Activism

"Classes Train GOP Convention Protesters," Associated Press, June 16, 2004

"Father's Day In War: From Grief To Protest," by Paul Rockwell, In Motion, June 16, 2004

"Blood-Pouring Peace Activists Face Feds After State Charges Dropped," by Bill Quigley, Counterpunch, June 15, 2004

"After Hung Jury, Possible Federal Trial For Antiwar Activists," St. Patrick Four press release, June 13, 2004

More newswire ...


Between The Lines
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Wednesdays, 8 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
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