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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

Project for the New American Century's Letter to President Clinton on Iraq, Jan. 26, 1998 Urges President Clinton to remove the threat that Iraq poses by stating a strategy to do so in his "upcoming State of the Union Address."

"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 Nov. 19, 2004

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

  • Voter Suppression in African American Communities
    Likely Affected Election Results

    For story text, Click here!

  • U.S. Electoral System Tainted
    by Partisan Administration of
    Voter Registration and Ballot Count

    For story text, Click here!

  • Moral Values Issues of Unjust War
    and Poverty Ignored By
    Candidates in 2004 Election

    For story text, 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 Nov. 23, 2004.

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

Voter Suppression in African American Communities
Likely Affected Election Results

Interview with Greg Palast,
BBC-TV investigative reporter and author,
conducted by Scott Harris

As voters cast their ballots for president on Nov. 2, exit pollsters reported that Democrat John Kerry held a decisive lead in many of the key battleground states. The news of an impending Kerry victory derived from the exit polls, buoyed his supporters and depressed those backing the Bush campaign. But as election night wore on, and votes were counted in the crucial state of Ohio, it became clear that President Bush, not Kerry would be the victor. Sen. Kerry conceded the election just 12 hours after his running mate John Edwards had promised supporters that the Democratic candidates would fight to insure that every vote would be counted.

But disturbing questions about how the election was conducted are gathering momentum around the country. Journalists and activists are now looking into reports that tens of thousands of ballots, cast primarily by people of color, were improperly thrown out after being labeled as "spoiled." Other questions involve miscounts in favor of the president made by electronic voting machines and GOP election tactics employed to suppress the democratic vote through a variety of means. A pattern of anomalies in some Florida counties operating with optical scanning machines, which saw Democratic Party majority districts overwhelmingly vote for president Bush, is also being investigated. Several Democratic congressional representatives have sent a letter to the General Accounting Office requesting an inquiry into voting irregularities.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with BBC television reporter Greg Palast, author of the New York Times bestseller, "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy," who's investigations uncovered a Republican purge of tens of thousands of voters in the 2000 Florida election. Palast discusses his investigation into the 2004 election and explains why he believes that if all the votes are counted, John Kerry would win the presidency.

Read Greg Palast's columns online and get more information about his new BBC-TV film documentary, "Bush Family Fortunes," at www.gregpalast.com

Related links:

U.S. Electoral System Tainted
by Partisan Administration of
Voter Registration and Ballot Count

Interview with Bruce Ackerman,
Yale University professor of constitutional law,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Although it appears that George W. Bush won the presidential election with a majority of electoral votes and about 3 million more votes than his opponent -- the election also revealed deep -- perhaps fatal flaws in the linchpin of American democracy -- the concept that everyone's vote counts equally. Watchdog groups documented problems with voter intimidation, so-called "lost" ballots, and millions of ballots that were cast on electronic voting machines with no paper trail.

One flaw that underlies many of the nation's electoral problems is that the guarantor in each state of a citizens' right to vote -- the secretary of state -- is a partisan political operative. This was made starkly clear in Florida's 2000 election, when Secretary of State Katherine Harris served simultaneously as candidate George W. Bush campaign co-chair. The same thing occurred this year in the critical state of Ohio, where Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell served as co-chair of President Bush's re-election campaign in that state.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Bruce Ackerman, professor of constitutional law at Yale University School of Law, about the origins of the American system which has partisan officials overseeing the electoral process, and explains how other nations surpass the U.S. when it comes to running fair and transparent elections.

For more information on electoral reforms, call the Center for Voting and Democracy at (301) 270-4616 or visit the group's website at www.fairvote.org

Moral Values Issues of Unjust War
and Poverty Ignored By
Candidates in 2004 Election

Interview with Rev. Jim Wallis,
editor of Sojourners Magazine,
conducted by Scott Harris

After casting their ballots on Nov. 2, a sampling of voters were questioned about the issues important to them. Pollsters reported that the 22 percent of U.S. voters who named "moral values" as their primary issue supported President Bush by an overwhelming percent. Opposition to abortion, and gay marriage were among the issues most important to these voters.

After John Kerry conceded the election to Mr. Bush, the media and the "pundits-ocracy" focused like a laser beam on the perceived "moral values gap" between the Democratic and Republican parties. In the aftermath of their defeat, elected Democrats and party officials joined in the hand wringing and the search for answers as to why they were unable to connect with Americans living in the "red state" heartland. Some commentators went so far as to suggest that because gay marriage was such a losing issue for Democrats, they should abandon their fight to extend equal rights and protections for gay and lesbian citizens. Many progressives, fearing that Democrats would now swing to the right in order to win future elections, cautioned that a belief in moral values should incorporate a rejection of unjust wars, support for policies to overcome poverty and protection of the environment.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Rev. Jim Wallis, a long time social justice religious activist and editor of Sojourners Magazine. He assesses the issue of moral values as expressed by voters in the 2004 presidential election and offers advise on new ways to reach out to voters whose' politics are driven by fear and rejection of the unfamiliar.

Contact Sojourners magazine by calling (202) 328-8842 or read Rev. Wallis' commentaries online at: www.sojo.net

This week's summary
of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • Aid agencies, including the United Nations World Food Program, are evacuating staff and shutting down operations in Sudan's wartorn Darfur region, abandoning 160,000 refugees who rely on food aid to survive. ("Darfur Aid Groups Fear Fresh Violence, Move Staff," Reuters, Nov. 5 and Nov. 14, 2004)
  • The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists documents a growing global stockpile of plutonium and highly enriched uranium -- 3,700 metric tons of material to make hundreds of nuclear weapons in nearly 60 countries. ("Growing stock of nuke bomb material growing," Reuters, Oct. 3, 2004)
  • Despite growing number of lawsuits against factory farms -- which warehouse chickens, hogs and cows, producing an annual total of 1.3 billion tons of waste that create toxic emissions -- the EPA is seeking voluntary agreements with the poultry industry to set up air pollution monitoring. ("Environmental Hogwash," In These Times, Oct. 25, 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 Nov. 23, 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, Bill Cosentino
Senior Web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Web producer: Jeff Yates
Newswire editor: Hank Hoffman
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Theme music: Mikata

... MORE ...

Last Week's Program

Between The Lines Week Ending 11/12/04

Between The Lines Community Forum

Share your thoughts with the Between The Lines crew and listeners' community!

Election 2004

"Progressives: Get Ready To Fight," by Robert L. Borosage & Katrina Vanden Heuvel, The Nation, Nov. 29, 2004

"Mapping The Election," by Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, Nov. 14, 2004

"Ohio Voters Tell Of Election Day Troubles At Hearing," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Nov. 14, 2004

"Web Abuzz With Vote-Rigging Tales," by Antonia Zerbisias, Toronto Star/Canada, Nov. 14, 2004

"Looking For Voter Reform, Groups Keep Eyes On Ohio," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 13, 2004

"Amid Charges Of Vote Suppression, Activists Look For Larger Fraud," by Jessica Azulay, The New Standard, Nov. 13, 2004

"The Architects Of Defeat: Dem Pollsters, Strategists, Consultants And Clintonistas," by Arianna Huffington, Alternet, Nov. 12, 2004

"The Perfect Election Day Crime," by Stephen Rosenfeld, TomPaine.com, Nov. 12, 2004

"What Happened In New Mexico?," by Zachary Smith, Santa Fe Reporter, Nov. 12, 2004

"A Legitimate Recount Effort In Ohio," by Steven Rosenfeld, Alternet, Nov. 12, 2004

"Electoral Bright Spots," by Evan Derkasz, Alternet, Nov. 10, 2004

"Progressives Were Winners In This Election Cycle," by Rick Mercier, Free Lance Star (Virginia), Nov. 9, 2004

More newswire ...

Bush Regime

"White House Orders Purge Of CIA 'Liberals,' Sources Say," Baltimore Sun, Nov. 14, 2004

More newswire ...

American Empire/War Profiteering

"The Politics Of Imperialism," by James Petras, Counterpunch, Nov. 13, 2004

"The Prague Summit: Propaganda War Against Cuba," by Salim Lamrani, ZNet, Nov. 9, 2004

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan

"U.S. Troops Shot Civilians Escaping From Fallujah," Associated Press, Nov. 14, 2004

"55 U.S. Soldiers Killed This Week," by Michael Ewens, Antiwar.com, Nov. 14, 2004

"Civilian Cost Of Battle For Fallujah Emerges," Observer/UK, Nov. 14, 2004

"In Fallujah, Marines Feel Shock Of War," Washington Post, Nov. 14, 2004

"Violence Erupts Across Iraq As Aid Agencies Warn Of Disaster And U.S. Declares Battle Of Fallujah Is Over," Independent/UK, Nov. 14, 2004

"Wrath, Anger And Sadness," by Dahr Jamail, Antiwar.com, Nov. 13, 2004

"New Rebel Tactics Emerge In Fallujah" Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 12, 2004

"U.S. Soldiers Raid Homes Of Sunni Muslim Clerics Critical Of Offensive," Knight Ridder, Nov. 12, 2004

"Human 'Disaster' Looms In Encircled Fallujah," Reuters, Nov. 11, 2004

"Scores Of Civilians Killed In Fallujah," Reuters, Nov. 9, 2004

"The Crushing Of Fallujah Will Not End The War In Iraq," by Patrick Cockburn, Independent/UK, Nov. 9, 2004

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties

"Private Jet Takes Men For Torture ," The Weekend Australian/Australia, Nov. 15, 2004

"Groups, U.S., Battle Over 'Global Terrorist' Label," Washington Post, Nov. 14, 2004

"Gonzales' Appointment Is A Danger To Human Rights," by Joel Wendland, ZNet, Nov. 14, 2004

"Ashcroft Says Judges Threaten National Security By Questioning Bush Decisions," Associated Press, Nov. 13, 2004

"Exit Ashcroft, Enter Gonzales," by Mark Whitney, Alternet, Nov. 12, 2004

"Bob Dylan Song Brings Secret Service Visit To Boulder High School," Rocky Mountain News, Nov. 12, 2004

"Curbing Your Enthusiasm: The Bush Anti-Sex League," by Regina Lynn, Wired News, Nov. 12, 2004

"Alberto Gonzales: A Record Of Injustice," by Christy Harvey & Jud Legum & Jonathan Baskin, The Progress Report, Nov. 11, 2004

"Ashcroft's Legacy: A Blot On The Bill Of Rights And The Constitution," by Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive, Nov. 11, 2004

"Bush Fingers Torture Apologist For Attorney General," The New Standard, Nov. 11, 2004

"Photos: Marine APC's Appear At Antiwar Protest In Westwood," Los Angeles Independent Media Center, Nov. 10, 2004

"Marine APC's Appear At Antiwar Protest In Westwood," Los Angeles Independent Media Center, Nov. 9, 2004

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"Big Media, Some Nerve," by Robert Parry, Consortium News, Nov. 13, 2004

"Vote Shows Media Failed," by Margaret Crome, Madison Capital Times, Nov. 11, 2004

More newswire ...

Activism

"Dems Must Swap Yard Signs For Protest Signs," by Ed Tant, Athens Banner-Herald, Nov. 14, 2004

More newswire ...


Between The Lines
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