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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

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, U.N. 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?" 21 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)

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The Lines

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Between The Lines
For The Week Ending Oct. 28, 2005

ANNOUNCEMENTS

"Parallel Deceptions: The Bush Agenda for War in Iraq and Iran"
Speech and Q&A with former U.N. Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter,
Sept. 17

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are already at war with Iran." -- Scott Ritter, former U.N. chief weapons inspector and Marine Intelligence officer

rittercd   ritterdvd          

Click here to order an audio or video recording of Scott Ritter's talk sponsored by Squeaky Wheel Productions!

News stories on this event:

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM
  • Accusations of Fraud and Uncertainty
    for the Future Surround
    Vote on Iraqi Constitution

    For story text, Click here!

  • As CIA Leak Investigation Concludes,
    Critics Say Probe Should Examine
    Possible Presidential Crimes Around Iraq War

    For story text, Click here!

  • "Green" Construction Techniques Advocated
    for Rebuilding New Orleans

    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. 1, 2005.

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

Accusations of Fraud and Uncertainty
for the Future Surround
Vote on Iraqi Constitution

Interview with Hussein Ibish,
executive director of
the Foundation for Arab-American leadership,
conducted by Scott Harris

The Oct. 15 referendum on Iraq's proposed constitution went forward with a lower level of violence than predicted. Despite a recent escalation of attacks by anti-occupation insurgents, there were relatively few strikes on military and civilian targets on the day of the Iraqi election. After hearing initial reports that voter participation may have been higher than last January's legislative election and the failure of opponents to defeat approval of the constitution, President Bush praised the vote as a sign that Iraqis want to settle their disputes peacefully.

But after two days of counting ballots, the Independent Election Commission of Iraq said that they were investigating unusually high vote totals in 12 Shiite and Kurdish provinces, where in some cases 99 percent of the votes were cast in favor of the draft constitution. Prominent leaders of Iraq's Sunni minority, who largely opposed the constitution, were quick to assert that the irregular vote tally may indicate fraud -- calling into question the referendum's credibility.

Despite last minute negotiations to appease the Sunni voters by offering a chance to amend the constitution at a later date, early election results show most Sunnis opposed the charter. One of the most contentious provisions of the document on the minds of opponents was a fear that the sanction of autonomous zones in the oil-rich Kurdish north and a similar zone in the Shiite south would lead to a break-up of the nation. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Hussein Ibish, executive director of the Foundation for Arab-American Leadership. He discusses the results of Iraq's constitutional referendum and how it may affect the war and the timetable for U.S. withdrawal.

Contact the Foundation for Arab-American Leadership by visiting their website at: www.halafoundation.org

Related links:

As CIA Leak Investigation Concludes,
Critics Say Probe Should Examine
Possible Presidential Crimes Around Iraq War

Interview with John Bonifaz,
constitutional attorney,
conducted by Scott Harris

millercooper rove libby
Journalists Judith Miller, left, and Matt Cooper; presidential adviser Karl Rove and Vice President Cheney's Chief of Staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

The federal probe into who in the White House leaked the identity of a covert CIA agent to news reporters is drawing to a close. During his investigation, special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald questioned President Bush's senior adviser Karl Rove four times, confirming, despite early public denials, that he was at least one of those in the White House who revealed the identity of the CIA officer. Fitzgerald also succeeded in pressuring reluctant Time reporter Matt Cooper and the New York Times' Judith Miller to testify before the grand jury hearing the case. Although Miller initially refused to testify, and was jailed on contempt charges for 85 days, she recently changed her mind and made a deal with Fitzgerald to be released after agreeing to speak before the grand jury.

In Miller's own account of her testimony published in the Times, she confirms -- as did with Cooper -- that Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a senior adviser to Vice President Cheney, was a source from whom she had received information about the identity of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame. Plame is the wife of former U.S. ambassador Joseph Wilson who had publicly debunked President Bush 's pre-war declaration that Saddam Hussein was attempting to obtain uranium from the African nation of Niger for an Iraqi nuclear weapons program.

As the nation awaits the conclusion of Fitzgerald's case, which could end in the indictment of Rove or Libby on charges of violating the espionage act or perjury, more important aspects of this affair are being overlooked by much of the corporate media. Central to the case is the Bush administration's use of dubious evidence to justify the Iraq war. The subsequent outing of CIA agent Plame appears to have been part of a larger White House effort to silence and punish the president's critics. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with John Bonifaz, constitutional attorney and co-founder of the group Afterdowningstreet.org, who explains why he believes this investigation must be broadened to include the false pretext under which the nation went to war with Iraq, and the impeachable offenses that may have been committed by President Bush.

Visit John Bonifaz's group's website at www.afterdowningstreet.org

Related stories:

"Green" Construction Techniques Advocated
for Rebuilding New Orleans

Interview with Alex Wilson,
executive editor of
Environmental Building News,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus

As New Orleans continues its slow recovery from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, residents are dealing with hundreds of thousands of damaged buildings and mountains of trash. The mold growing everywhere poses a serious health problem, and the debris is smelly, unsightly, and in some cases toxic. The first priority of many residents, city, state and federal officials is to get rid of the trash, wipe the slate clean and start over.

But some people and organizations are proposing another route to cleanup -- one that separates toxic trash from usable building materials, allowing for re-use of those materials to rebuild the damaged city.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Alex Wilson, executive editor of Environmental Building News, based in Brattleboro, Vt.. In consultation with others in the "green building" movement, he published a Ten-Point Plan for Rebuilding New Orleans. The plan includes proposals for repairing the levees while restoring the floodplain, but focuses much attention on the buildings themselves, and making New Orleans a model of 21st century construction. Wilson developed his plan based on the assumption that New Orleans will be rebuilt in its present site, despite the city's vulnerable location.

For more information, call Building Green at (802) 257-7300 or visit their website at www.buildinggreen.com where the entire Ten Point reconstruction plan is posted.

Related links:

  • Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now www.acorn.org

This week's summary
of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon and Melinda Tuhus

  • Pressure is building to delay Haiti's upcoming election, where only 870,000 Haitians out of a potential 4 million, have registered to vote. The UN Human Rights Commission decried a "catastrophic" situation in Haiti, with acts of arbitrary arrest, torture and summary executions by the Haitian National Police. ("Haiti: Low registration raises doubts," Oneworld.net, Oct. 4, 2005; "Human Rights Violated in Haiti," Associated Press, Oct. 14, 2005; "Can Haiti Hold Elections in 2005?" International Crisis Group, Aug. 3, 2005)
  • A Marine Corps recruiter, Gunnery Sgt. Hubert Lucas, convicted in a military court martial of providing false documents to undocumented immigrants so they could enlist in the military. ("The Few, the Proud, the Guilty," Village Voice, Oct. 13, 2005)
  • Two Connecticut Indian tribes are considering their next move after the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs reversed their ruling granting them federal recognition. Schaghticoke tribal chairman Richard Velky says that the costs of pursuing federal recognition often force tribes to ally themselves with outside interests they might prefer not to deal with, and those are most often gambling interests. Velky says politicians need to separate the issues of federal recognition and gaming. (Report by Melinda Tuhus, for Between The Lines)

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. 1, 2005

Note to our broadcast affiliates: We offer FTP and RSS 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, obtain schedules or send feedback to us at betweenthelines@snet.net.

Credits:
Senior news editor: Bob Nixon
News copy editor: Chris Ferrio
Program narration: Denise Manzari
News reader: Ruben Abreu
Segment producers: Scott Harris, 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: Written by Richard Hill and Jody Gray, and performed by Mikata.


Between The Lines
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Last Week's Program

Between The Lines Week Ending 10/21/05

Between The Lines Community Forum

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

U.S. Politics

"Delphi's Message To Workers: Using Bankruptcy Court To Trim Labor Rights," by John Jordan, Providence Journal (Rhode Island), Oct. 22, 2005

"New Republican Gag Rule On Non-Profits," by Doug Ireland, Direland, Oct. 21, 2005

"GAO Report Finds Flaws In Electronic Voting," Truthout, Oct. 21, 2005

"Texas Court Issues Warrant For DeLay," Associated Press, Oct. 19, 2005

"Corporate Piracy Runs Amok," by Marie Cocco, Boulder Daily Camera (Colorado), Oct. 19, 2005

"What's The Difference Between A Liberal And A Progressive?," by David Sirota, Huffington Post, Oct. 19, 2005

"The New War On The Poor," by Paul Waldman, TomPaine.com, Oct. 19, 2005

"Kevin Zeese's Antiwar Campaign For The U.S. Senate," by Joshua Frank, ZNet, Oct. 18, 2005

More newswire ...

Bush Regime

"Fitzgerald's Historic Opportunity," by James Moore, TomPaine.com, Oct. 21, 2005

"Waiting For The Valerie Plame Wilson Grand Jury: Was Dick Cheney A Target?," by John W. Dean. FindLaw, Oct. 21, 2005

"A Long Overdue Frog-March," by Ray McGovern, BuzzFlash, Oct. 21, 2005

"A Palpable Silence At The White House," Washington Post, Oct. 21, 2005

"Posting Of CIA Leak Probe Documents May Signal Indictments Ahead," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 21, 2005

"Bush Critic Became Target Of Libby, Aides Say," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 21, 2005

"Dick Cheney's Covert Action," by Larry Johnson, TomPaine.com, Oct. 19, 2005

"No Final Report Seen In CIA Leak Case," The New York Times, Oct. 19, 2005

"A Web Of Truth: Whistle-Blower Bunny Greenhouse Isn't Backing Down," Washington Post, Oct. 19, 2005

"Parochial Schools To Get U.S. Funds For Rebuilding," Washington Post, Oct. 19, 2005

"CIA Leak Case Spotlights Bush White House Tactics," Associated Press, Oct. 18, 2005

"Plame And Wilson Might Sue Bush And Cheney," by Michael Scherer, Salon.com, Oct. 18, 2005

"Rove Cancels Appearances Before Conservatives," Associated Press, Oct. 18, 2005

More newswire ...

American Empire/War Profiteering

"Gore Vidal On The End Of Empire," by Marc Cooper, The Nation, Nov. 7, 2005

"Invading Iran: Who Is To Stop Them?," by Joshua Frank, Counterpunch, Oct. 22/23, 2005

"A Foreign Policy Of Free-Floating Belligerence," by Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive, Oct. 21, 2005

"Attack Syria? Invade Iran? By What Constitution?," by Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith, Truthout, Oct. 21, 2005

"Bush Calls For Immediate U.N. Session On Syria," Associated Press, Oct. 21, 2005

"U.S. Military's Recruiting Methods Challenged," Agence France Presse, Oct. 19, 2005

"Are We Going To War With Iran?," by Dan Plesch, Guardian/UK, Oct. 18, 2005

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan

"Seymour Hershe And Scott Ritter On Iraq, WMDs And The Role Of The Clinton Administration In the 1990's," Democracy Now!, Oct. 21, 2005

"New Constitution May Have a Hard Time Halting Iraq's Fragmentation," Knight Ridder, Oct. 21, 2005

"As The Casualty Count Rises, An 'Iraq Syndrome' Emerges," by Daniel Sneider, The State (South Carolina), Oct. 19, 2005

"Rice: U.S. May Be In Iraq 10 Years, May Strike Iran And Syria," Associated Press, Oct. 19, 2005

"Film Captures U.S. Troops Burning Bodies Of Dead Taliban," Sydney Morning Herald/Australia, Oct. 19, 2005

"Returning U.S. Soldiers Face Financial, Medical Difficulties," Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 18, 2005

"Military Strategy In Iraq: What Is It?," Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 17, 2005

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties/ Human Rights

"Torture In Iraq," Human Rights Watch, Nov. 3, 2005

"Ann Coulter At University Of Florida: 'I'm Not A Big Fan Of The First Amendment,'" Independent Florida Alligator, Oct. 21, 2005

"A Constitutional Disaster: PATRIOT Act Renewal Nears," by Chip Pitts, The Nation, Oct. 21, 2005

"Hunger Strikers Allege 'Force Feed Torture' At Guantanamo," Guardian/UK, Oct. 21, 2005

"Serious Lapses Taint Probes Of Detainee Deaths," by Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service, Oct. 21, 2005

"Brevard Sheriff Agrees Not To Keep Files On Anti-Bush Protesters," South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Oct. 21, 2005

"Recently Declassified Notes Reveal Brutal Treatment Of Hunger-Striking, Detainees At Guantanamo," Center for Constitutional Rights press release, Oct. 19, 2005

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"Keller Memo Admits 'Mistakes,' Regrets In Miller Saga," Editor & Publisher, Oct. 21, 2005

"Rise Of The 'Patriotic Journalist,'" by Robert Parry, Consortium News, Oct. 20, 2005

"Sharing The Airwaves," by Dawn Holian, TomPaine.com, Oct. 19, 2005

"The Washington Post Editorial Board: 'Wanker's Just Another Word For Nothing Left To Lose," by Will Bunch, Attytood, Oct. 19, 2005

"Sinclair Sues Former D.C. Bureau Chief Who Criticized Anti-Kerry Doc As 'Political Propaganda,'" Daily Record (Maryland), Oct. 19, 2005

"FOX News Pushing 'Criminalization Of Politics' Talking Point," Think Progress, Oct. 18, 2005

"Pro- And Anti-Judith Miller Fallout Grips New York Times Newsroom," Editor & Publisher, Oct. 18, 2005

More newswire ...

Activism

"Burt Bacharach Pents Anti-Iraq War Songs On New Album," Entertainment News, Oct. 21, 2005

"'Raging Granny' Gets Marine Recruitment Letter," Associated Press, Oct. 21, 2005

More newswire ...

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