BETWEEN THE LINES
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ACTIVIST RESOURCES

Global social justice movement resources
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
of selected in-depth interviews and other audio collectibles on our distribution production company's site at www.squeakywheel.net


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
Compilation of 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 July 2, 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

  • 27 Former Diplomats and Generals
    Publicly Condemn Bush Foreign Policy

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Army Conscientious Objector Who Opposed Abuse
    of Iraqi Civilians and Prisoners
    Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison for Desertion

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Commission Investigating 9/11 Attacks
    Concludes Public Hearings

    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 July 13, 2004.

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

Former Diplomats and Generals
Publicly Condemn Bush Foreign Policy

Interview with Robert Oakley,
career U.S. diplomat,
conducted by Scott Harris

In April, 52 former senior British diplomats signed a letter protesting Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George Bush's handling of both the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the occupation of Iraq. Now a group of 27 former U.S. diplomats and military commanders have endorsed a similar statement condemning White House policies in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East.

The group calling itself Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change asserts that U.S. security has been weakened by current administration policies by prosecuting an ill-planned and costly war in Iraq justified by the manipulation of uncertain intelligence. The signers also express concern about growing hostility toward the U.S. in the Arab and Muslim world due to Washington's unquestioning support for Israel and close identification with autocratic regimes across the Middle East.

Those signing the statement -- including Arthur Hartman, former ambassador to the Soviet Union; Admiral Stansfield Turner, former director of the CIA; and General William Crowe one-time chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- have served every Republican and Democratic president since Harry S. Truman. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with 34-year career diplomat Robert B. Oakley, who served as ambassador to Pakistan, Somalia and Zaire. Oakley, a special envoy for Somalia under Presidents George Bush Sr. and Bill Clinton, explains why he and other senior diplomats and former military officials have publicly condemned Bush administration policies and declared that "it's time for a change."

Read the statement by Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change online by visiting the group's website at www.diplomatsforchange.com or call their office at (202) 408-4998.

Related links:

Army Conscientious Objector Who Opposed Abuse
of Iraqi Civilians and Prisoners
Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison for Desertion

Interview with Maritza Castillo,
mother of Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia Castillo,
conscientious objector convicted of desertion,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus

On May 21, Iraq War veteran Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia Castillo was convicted of desertion and sentenced to one year in a military prison. Mejia, who is a citizen of Costa Rica, spent his teenage years in the U.S., where his mother became a naturalized citizen, but he did not. He joined the National Guard at 19 to earn money for college. He was two months short of completing his eight-year Army hitch when he was sent to Iraq. After serving six months there, he returned to the U.S. on a two-week furlough and was then ordered to return to Iraq -- even though he had fulfilled his contractual obligation; the Pentagon's "stop loss" order directed him and thousands of other soldiers to serve beyond their standard tours of duty. Mejia, a member of the Florida National Guard, refused to return to his unit in Iraq, citing moral reasons, the illegality of the war and the conduct of U.S. troops towards Iraqi civilians and prisoners.

He requested discharge as a conscientious objector. The Army chose to prosecute and sentence him, despite a pending decision on his application for conscientious objector status. Mejia contends that a treaty between the U.S. and Costa Rica, which has no army, establishes that a Costa Rican citizen cannot be forced to extend his military service in the U.S. His one-year sentence for desertion was the maximum he could have received, since he was not charged with desertion under fire. He is the first soldier known to be tried for "desertion" after service in combat in the current Iraq conflict. One of his lawyers, Ramsey Clark, spoke of "the incredible irony that we're prosecuting soldiers in Iraq for violations of international law and we're prosecuting a soldier here because he refused to do the same things." Mejia is appealing his conviction.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Maritza Castillo, Mejia's mother. She talks about what led to her son's decision to refuse his military orders, and about her efforts to free him, supported by groups such as Military Families Speak Out and Amnesty International. Camilo's father, Nicaragua's best-known revolutionary singer-songwriter, Carlos Mejia Godoy, is also doing everything he can to help his son.

For more information on efforts to free Camilo Mejia Castillo, visit the website, www.freecamilo.org.

Related links:

Commission Investigating 9/11 Attacks
Concludes Public Hearings


Distressed 9/11 Victims' Family Members
Say Critical Questions Unaddressed

Interview with Bob McIlvaine,
member of September 11th Families
for Peaceful Tomorrows,
conducted by Scott Harris

As the commission investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks concluded their public hearings, the panel issued three reports outlining how al Qaeda planned for the attacks and how U.S. government agencies responded. The commission contradicted the Bush administration's assertion that al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's government had collaborated on attacks against the United States, a key White House justification for launching the Iraq war.

The report also concluded that U.S. defense and civil aviation agencies were unprepared to defend against the Sept. 11th hijacking of four passenger airliners -- and that since the 2001 strikes against New York City and Washington, al Qaeda has transformed itself from a centralized organization into a loose network of regional terror cells.

As the commission prepares to issue a final report in late July that will include recommendations for how to strengthen national defenses against future attacks, the State Department was forced to retract an April report that boasted a decline in terrorist incidents in 2003. The numbers of terrorist acts and the number of victims had actually sharply increased. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Bob McIlvaine, whose son Bobby died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. McIlvaine, a member of the group September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, assesses the work of the commission and expresses concern that critical issues have not been seriously addressed by the panel.

Members of the group September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, will -- from July 26 through September 2 --commemorate civilian war dead by walking from Boston, the site of the Democratic National Convention to New York City, where the GOP will hold its presidential convention. Get more information about the march by visiting the group's website at www.peacefultomorrows.org.

Related links:

This week's summary
of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • New Cold War-style arms race is brewing between U.S. and Russia. ("Back to the Future: New U.S.-Russia arms race," Christian Science Monitor, June 16, 2004)
  • A new Human Rights Watch report titled "Turning a Blind Eye" concludes that Coca-Cola and other multinational companies are indirectly profiting from child labor in El Salvador's sugarcane fields. ("Coke benefiting from child labor in sugar cane fields," Oneworld.net, June 10, 2004)
  • After weeks of box office buzz, McDonald's has launched a counterattack against Morgan Spurlock's film, "Supersize Me," which documented his negative health effects from eating only McDonald's fast food for 30 days. ("The Man who ate McDonald's faces corporate backlash," The Independent, June 19, 2004; "McDonald's Australia launches 'Mac attack' on U.S. documentarymaker," AFP, June 15, 2004 via Yahoo News.)

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 July 13, 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: Elaine Osowski
News reader: Bill Cosentino
Segment producer: Melinda Tuhus
Translator: Genoviva Palmieri
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 6/25/04

Bush Regime/Election 2004

"Supreme Court Deals Blow to War on Terror," Reuters, June 28, 2004

"Bush is Interviewed in Inquiry on Leak of Operative's Name" by David Stout, The New York Times, June 24, 2004

"Cheney Utters 'F-Word' in Senate - Aides," by Reuters, June 24, 2004

"Will the 9/11 Commissioners Cave?" by Ray McGovern, Truthout.org, June 23, 2004

"Memo on Interrogation Tactics Is Disavowed," Washington Post, June 23, 2004

"Court Won't Order Cheney Papers Released," Associated Press, June 24, 2004

"Bush Feels the Heat: U.S. Voters Turn On Him Over Iraq," Independent U.K. June 23, 2004

"Outside View: In Reagan era, it was called diplomacy; The Bush administration calls it strategic influence," by Greg Guma, United Press International, June 21, 2004

"Lawyer Wants Bush on Witness Stand over Iraq Torture," by Reuters/New York Times, June 21, 2004

"U.S. Wrongly Reported Drop in World Terrorism in 2003," Associated Press, June 11, 2004

More newswire ...

American Empire/War Profiteering

"Democracy Itself is in Grave Danger," by Al Gore, CommonDreams.org, June 24, 2004

"Another Rationale for War is Gone," San Diego Union-Tribune, June 24, 2004

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq

"New Poll: 54% Say Sending troops to Iraq was a Mistake," by CNN, June 24, 2004

"Facing Humiliating Defeat, US Abandons Move to Exempt Troops from War Crimes," Inter Press Service June 23, 2004

"Israeli intelligence, military operatives are now quietly at work in Kurdistan," New Yorker, June 28, 2004

"Heard on the Horizon: Calls to Get All U.S. Troops Out of Iraq: Anti-war voices joined by some in the establishment," San Francisco Chronicle, June 23, 2004

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties

"Librarians Set Aside 'Shhh' to Speak Out for Privacy Patriot Act: Government access to data on library users criticized by the normally quiet types," by the Baltimore Sun, June 24, 2004

"At Midvale school, slogans stir debate over speech control," The Salt Lake Tribune, June 21, 2004

"Intelligence: The Pentagon-Spying in America?," by Michael Isikoff, Newsweek, June 21 Issue

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"Red-Hot 'Fahrenheit 9/11' a No. 1 Hit Across America," Reuters, June 27, 2004

"Analyzing Fahrenheit 9/11," The Center for American Progress, June 25, 2004

"'Fahrenheit' Sets Single Day Sales Record in NYC," Reuters, June 24, 2004

"ACTION ALERT: Fox News Spins 9/11 Commission Report," Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, June 22, 2004

"'Big, Big Win for Diversity': FCC Media-Ownership Rules Sent Back for Agency Review," by Bloomberg News, June 24, 2004

More newswire ...

Activism

"This Ain't No Party: First National HipHop Convention," Jeff Chang, AlterNet, June 25, 2004

More newswire ...


Between The Lines
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