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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
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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
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 Aug. 13, 2004

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

  • Anti-war Message Banned
    at Democratic National Convention

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Activist Granny D, 94, Launches
    Campaign for U.S. Senate Seat
    in New Hampshire

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Latin American Musicians Perform
    in Support of Venezuelan
    President Hugo Chavez

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Underreported News Summary
    from Around the World

    For full summary, 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 Aug. 17, 2004.

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

Anti-war Message Banned
at Democratic National Convention

Interview with Medea Benjamin,
co-founder of Global Exchange and
Code Pink Women for Peace, conducted by Scott Harris

The Democrats who gathered in Boston for their presidential convention were subjected to one of the most highly-scripted and controlled events in the recent history of U.S. politics. Every speech given and every sign held by delegates was subject to approval by presidential candidate John Kerry's staff. Outside the FleetCenter convention site, Boston police attempted to corral protesters into a cage-like area compared by many to an internment camp.

But despite all their efforts to control the image of the Democratic party, as seen by Americans in very limited broadcast television coverage, John Kerry received little or no post-convention bounce in his public standing, according to opinion polls. And while many of the thousands of Democratic delegates went home from Boston energized and optimistic about their chances for victory in November, others have lingering doubts about John Kerry's vague strategy for ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of Global Exchange and an activist with the group Code Pink Women For Peace, was in Boston for the Democratic convention. As Teresa Heinz Kerry spoke at the podium in support of women's rights and free speech on the second night of the convention, Benjamin -- who ran as the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate from California in 2000, unfurled a banner which read, "End the Occupation of Iraq." Immediately, she was set upon by security guards and forcibly removed from the convention center. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Medea Benjamin about her experience in Boston and her views about strategic voting in the upcoming presidential election.

Contact Global Exchange by calling 1-800 497-1994 or visit their website at www.globalexchange.org. Visit Code Pink's website at www.codepinkalert.org

Related links:

Activist Granny D, 94, Launches
Campaign for U.S. Senate Seat
in New Hampshire

Speech by Doris "Granny D" Haddock,
at Boston Social Forum July 24, 2004
produced by Melinda Tuhus

Doris Haddock, known as Granny D, is a 94-year-old activist who gained fame five years ago when she walked across the U.S. to promote campaign finance reform. Both John McCain and Russell Feingold, the Senate sponsors of the campaign reform law, have credited Haddock with helping ensure its passage. Though there are many loopholes through which unregulated contributions still flow to candidates, the McCain -Feingold law is viewed by many as a symbolic start in getting big money out of politics.

Haddock began another campaign last year, traveling around the country encouraging working women to register to vote, in line with her conviction that if more working women vote, more progressives will be elected to office at all levels.

She interrupted that campaign in June to announce a run for a U.S. Senate seat from New Hampshire, against well-funded incumbent Republican Sen. Judd Gregg after his Democratic challenger suddenly dropped out of the race. Haddock says she is running to win, and has attracted several highly experienced campaign volunteers, one of whom is Joe Trippi, the mastermind behind Howard Dean's insurgent Internet- driven campaign. Haddock was one of the keynote speakers at the Boston Social Forum which took place the weekend before the Democratic National Convention. The following are excerpts from her July 24th talk, recorded by Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus

For more information on Granny D's New Hampshire Senate campaign, call (603) 563-8036 or visit her website at www.grannyd.com

Related links:

Latin American Musicians Perform
in Support of Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez


Enormous stakes for
Venezuela's poor
in Aug. 15 recall referendum

Interview with Roy Brown,
Puerto Rican new song artist
and political activist,
conducted by Scott Harris

After a failed coup attempt, strikes and sporadic violence targeting Venezuela's populist president Hugo Chavez , well-funded opposition groups allied with the Bush administration will be put to the test in their drive to oust the twice elected former military man in the upcoming Aug. 15th recall referendum.

After much controversy and internationally brokered negotiations a coalition of business leaders, opposition parties and labor union officials finally collected the 2.4 million signatures required to hold a national referendum on Hugo Chavez's rule. But according to polls, the momentum which once seemed on the side of those wanting to depose Chavez, has now switched to the president's supporters. Over the past year Chavez's government has bolstered its support in Venezuela's impoverished neighborhoods by using the nation's vast oil wealth to increase funding for education, housing and health care benefiting the nation's poor majority.

In advance of the August referendum, both sides have held large rallies to energize the faithful. One such event was an Aug. 1st concert in Caracas organized by the government's ministry of communication that presented Venezuelan, Cuban and Puerto Rican musicians. The concert, dubbed "Voices for Unity" attracted more than 10,000 Chavez supporters and featured performances by famed Cuban artist Silvio Rodriguez, Ibrahim Ferrer of the Buena Vista Social Club and Puerto Rican Nueva Trova singer song-writer and activist Roy Brown. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Brown about the concert and what he feels is at stake for Venezuela and Latin America in the upcoming recall election.

For more information on the August 15th recall referendum visit the English language website www.venezuelaanalysis.com

This week's summary
of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • Indonesia's Constitutional Court has thrown out the Muslim nation's anti-terrorism law, which may result in less severe charges or the release of 32 Islamic militants convicted of the Bali bombing in 2002. ("Justice Perturbed," The Economist, July 31, 2004; "Bali bombers may be freed after court rules against terror laws," The Independent, July 24, 2004)
  • Georgian government halts work on the oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea to Turkey because of British Petroleum's careless disregard for sensitive environmental areas. ("Baku-Ceyhan pipeline construction stopped over environmental issues," Oneworld.net, July 2, 2004; "The Crude Doctrine," Mother Jones, July/August 2004)
  • Ralph Reed, formerly of the Christian Coalition, is now working for the Bush-Cheney campaign. He's also working as a lobbyist for an Indian tribe to protect its casino interests. Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain's Indian Affairs subcommittee is investigating alleged lobbying abuses, corruption and kickbacks in Indian gambling that may target Reed's activities. ("Ralph Reed's Gamble," The Nation, July 12, 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 Aug. 17, 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: Elaine Osowski
Segment producer: Melinda Tuhus
Distribution: Anna Manzo, Harry Minot, Jeff Yates
Senior Web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Web producer: Jeff Yates
Newswire: Bill Cosentino
Production Assistance: Walter Wagoner
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Theme music: Mikata

... MORE ...

Last Week's Program

Between The Lines Week Ending 8/6/04

Bush Regime/Election 2004

"9/11 Commission Chimera," by Ray McGovern, truthout Perspective, Aug. 3, 2004

"Abu Ghraib General Claims Conspiracy," by Michael McDonough, The Associated Press, Aug. 3, 2004

"Another F.B.I. Employee Blows Whistle on Agency," New York Times, Aug. 2, 2004

" Probe Concludes Whistle-Blowing was a Factor in FBI Firing," by the Associated Press, July 30, 2004

"Kerry 'Will Not Change Foreign Policy,'" Telegraph/UK, July 29, 2004

"White House to Project Record Deficit," Associated Press, July 28, 2004

More newswire ...

American Empire/War Profiteering

"Hundreds of Millions Missing in Iraq," The Associated Press, July 30, 2004

"Iraq Funds Are Focus of 27 Criminal Inquiries," Los Angeles Times, July 30, 2004

"The Unbearable Costs Of Empire," by Mark Weisbrot, Business Week, July 29, 2004

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq

"Iraq's Child Prisoners," The Sunday Herald, Aug. 1, 2004

"The Secret File of Abu Ghraib," Rolling Stone, July 28, 2004

"Three Days Of Extraordinary Bloodshed Shake Iraq," The New Standard, July 29, 2004

"Radical Islam Grows Among Iraq's Sunnis," Christian Science Monitor, July 28, 2004

"U.S. General Witnessed Abuses, Iraqi Says," Associated Press, July 28, 2004

"Fort Carson Soldier: I Was Ordered To Push Iraqis Off Bridge," Associated Press, July 28, 2004

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties

"Arab Americans Report Abuse," Washington Post, July 29, 2004

"Canadian Sent To Syrian Prison Disputes U.S. Claims Against Torture," Knight Ridder, July 28, 2004

"Former Prisoners Challenge The Legacy Of Torture In Chicago's Jails," The New Standard, July 28, 2004

"Boston's Pen Of Shame," by Thad Williamson, Common Dreams, July 28, 2004

"U.S. Wins Dubious 'Big Brother' Award," Associated Press, July 28, 2004

"Free Speech Behind The Razor Wire," Wired News, July 27, 2004

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"Patriot Game, Media Shame" by Lawrence Martin, Globe and Mail/Canada, July 29, 2004

"Our Media Kills A Troubling Story The Rest Of The World Saw," by Joshua Holland, Common Dreams, July 29, 2004

"Bloggers Line Up At Media Buffet" MediaChannel.org, July 27, 2004

More newswire ...

Activism

"Anti-Bush Group Combines Humor, Street Theater To Deliver Its Message," Knight Ridder, July 29, 2004

More newswire ...


Between The Lines
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