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.)

Between The Lines at the World Social Forum
Click here to download audio files, view photos from
the 2006 World Social Forum in Caracas, Venezuela.


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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!

Scott Harris' "Counterpoint" talk show

Between The Lines Executive Producer Scott Harris' live, 2-hour "Counterpoint" program is now archived in its entirety on The White Rose Society website at www.whiterosesociety.org

For downloadable MP3s, Click here!
(Please note that this is an automated recording from WPKN's webcast Monday nights between 8-10 p.m. ET, and may include portions of other programs preceding and following "Counterpoint.")

Check out our
collection
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

"Cheney is Longtime Bad News for U.S.," by John Nichols, by the Madison Capital Times (Wisconsin), Jan. 16, 2007

"Bush administration provokes open war on Iran: Irbil raid, and other operations, authorized "several months ago," by Larry Chin, Global Research, Jan. 15, 2007

"Iran: The Next War," by James Bamford, Rolling Stone, July 24, 2006

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?" 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 March 30, 2007

ANNOUNCEMENTS

"Energy Wars: Popular Movements at Home and Abroad" discussion and booksigning with Benjamin Dangl, author of "The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia," April 28, 2007 from 2-4 p.m. at the Kasbah Garden Cafe, 106 Howe St., New Haven, CT

Ben Dangl, who is also editor of the online publication, www.TowardFreedom.org, will be speaking on "Why the Left is Winning in Latin America." Social Justice activist Frank Panzarella, who is organizing "Fight the Hike", will discuss "Resisting Utility Price Hikes and Deregulation"; clean energy advocate and mechanical engineer Bruce Crowder will talk about public power and environmentally sustainable energy production in his speech, "Connecticut Power Trip: From Power Plant to Pool Pump and all the Tolls in Between"

Suggested donation: $5. Call (203) 268-8446 for more information.

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM
  • Protesting Iraq War,
    Over 200 Christian Peace Activists
    Arrested at White House

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Bush's South and Central American Tour
    Underscores Growing Rift Between
    Washington and Region's Nations

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Firing of U.S. Attorneys Fits
    White House Pattern
    of Abusing Power

    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 April 3, 2007.

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

Protesting Iraq War,
Over 200 Christian Peace Activists
Arrested at White House

Interview with Katie Barge,
spokeswoman for Faith in Public Life,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus

disobedience

On the weekend preceding the 4th anniversary of President Bush's launch of the U.S. war against Iraq, thousands of Americans gathered in marches, rallies, teach-ins and vigils across the country to call for an end to the war which has claimed the lives of over 3,200 U.S. soldiers and an estimated 600,000 Iraqi civilians. A recent ABC News poll found that most Iraqis blame President Bush and America for the violence in their country.

On March 16, more than 3,000 Christians from 48 states converged on the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., to pray for an end to the Iraq war. Then, most of them walked to Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House, where more than 225 eventually crossed police lines to stand or kneel in prayer, and were subsequently arrested. The Christian Peace Witness was organized by a broad coalition of faith-based groups, as a response to the view held by many around the world that the U.S. war in Iraq is a war waged by Christians.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Katie Barge, a spokeswoman for Faith in Public Life, one of the groups that organized the White House protest. She explains the rationale for the action, and what these pro-peace Christians plan to do as the U.S. occupation of Iraq enters its fifth year.

Contact Faith in Public Life at (202) 481-8147 or visit the group's website at www.faithinpubliclife.org More information is also available at www.christianpeacewitness.org

Related links:

Bush's South and Central American Tour
Underscores Growing Rift Between
Washington and Region's Nations

Interview with Mark Weisbrot,
co-director of the Center for Economic Policy Research,
conducted by Scott Harris

latinamerica

President Bush, on his first extended tour of Latin America, visited five nations, including: Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico, where he was confronted by thousands of angry protesters. During his week-long early March trip, the president discussed trade issues and the hemisphere's problem of widespread poverty. In speeches and in conversations with heads of state, Bush spoke often of his administration's commitment to "social justice" for Latin America, surprising many observers, given the devastating impact Washington-driven neo-liberal economic policies have had on the region's poor.

Emphasizing his concern for U.S. allies in the region, Bush stated that he had doubled U.S. economic aid to Latin America since 2001. But news reports indicated that U.S. aid to the region has remained relatively stagnant since 2000. In fact the president's proposed budget sent to Congress in February called for an eight percent cut in Latin American aid from $1.6 billion to $1.47 billion.

Although Bush refused to utter the name of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during his seven days in Latin America, the trip was largely thought to be a direct challenge to the populist socialist leader's growing influence. Not to be ignored during Bush's trip, Chavez conducted a shadow tour of the region, leading spirited protest rallies against the U.S. president. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic Policy Research, who assesses the economic realities in Latin America which have fueled the ascendancy of progressive and leftist political movements in the hemisphere and hostility toward U.S. policies.

Contact the Center for Economic Policy Research by calling (202) 293-5380 or visit their website at www.cepr.net

Firing of U.S. Attorneys Fits
White House Pattern
of Abusing Power

Interview with David Becker,
People for the American Way,
conducted by Scott Harris

bushgonzalez

In the swirl of scandals engulfing President Bush's second term, one of the latest involves the Justice Department firing of eight U.S. attorneys. Although these federal prosecutors serve at the pleasure of the president, it appears that the post-election termination of these loyal Republicans was linked to partisan political maneuvering. Many of the eight attorneys fired had either been engaged in prosecuting Republicans or were deemed by the Bush administration as insufficiently aggressive when it came to prosecuting Democrats.

Allegations of misconduct include GOP legislators making calls to U.S attorneys in order to speed up the indictment of Democrats prior to the November 2006 Congressional election. When complaints about attorneys reached the White House, decisions allegedly were made to fire them. Although the White House and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales originally denied any involvement in the firings, email messages confirmed that presidential advisor Karl Rove was involved in communicating some of these complaints to Gonzales.

A little-known provision of the Patriot Act put in place last year, which allows the Justice Department to bypass Senate confirmation for U.S. attorneys appointed to replace terminated predecessors, may have motivated the firings. Now, Democrats chairing key congressional committees are working to forcefully investigate the scandal, and intend to subpoena Karl Rove and other administration officials. Many Democrats and some Republicans are calling for the resignation of Attorney General Gonzales. Between The Lines' Scott Harris, spoke with David Becker, director of People for the American Way's Democracy Campaign, who was a senior trial attorney with the Justice Department for seven years in both the Clinton and Bush administrations. He examines the growing U.S. attorney firing scandal and how this conduct fits into a Bush administration pattern of abusing power.

David Becker is senior litigation counselor with People for the American Way. Contact People for the American Way by calling (202) 467-4999 or visit their website at www.pfaw.org

Related links:

This week's summary
of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • In his latest trip to Latin America, President Bush hailed a new energy alliance with Brazil and called for the growth of an "ethanol OPEC." But the ethanol empire is built on the backs of the migrant poor, who work 12-hour shifts and earn only 400 reais, or less than $200 a month. ("Brazil's Ethanol Slaves," The Guardian, March 9, 2007; "The Big Green Fuel Lie," The Independent, March 5, 2007)
  • British Prime Minister Tony Blair has proposed to mandate reductions in emissions of carbon gases with the possibility of court action if the targets are not met. ("Britain Unveils 'Global First' to Cut CO2 Emissions," Christian Science Monitor, March 14, 2007; "Binding Carbon Targets Proposed," BBC News, March 14, 2007; "EU Summit Adopts Bold Environmental Strategy," Reuters, March 9, 2007)
  • The anti-illegal immigrant Minuteman Project, which received much media attention due to its patrolling of the U.S.-Mexico border is facing its own internal problems due to accusations of financial improprieties. ("Minuteman Project in Turmoil Over Financial Allegations," Washington Post, March 13, 2007)

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 April 3, 2007

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

Credits:
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Segment producers: Scott Harris, Melinda Tuhus
Senior news editor: Bob Nixon
Program narration: Denise Manzari
News reader: Indu Anand
Senior web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Web producer: Jeff Yates
Newswire editor: Hank Hoffman
Photo editor: Scott Harris
Outreach coordinator: Anna Manzo
Distribution: Anna Manzo, Jeff Yates and Bill Cosentino
Theme music: Written by Richard Hill and Jody Gray, and performed by Mikata


Between The Lines
Airs on WPKN 89.5 FM ET
Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Wednesdays, 8 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
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Last Week's Program

Between The Lines Week Ending 3/23/07

U.S. Politics

"Senate Keeps Pullout Date In Iraq War Bill," The New York Times, Mar. 27, 2007

"GOP Senators Lug Weight Of Iraq War Toward '08," The New York Times, Mar. 26, 2007

"Emerging Republican Minority," by Paul Krugman, The New York Times, Mar. 26, 2007

"Terrorized By 'War On Terror,'" by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Washington Post, Mar. 25, 2007

"The Crushing Fear That Stalks America," by Robert Fisk, Independent/UK, Mar. 24, 2007

"Explosive New Vote Fraud Developments Continue To Rock Ohio And Florida," by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman, Mar. 23, 2007

More newswire ...

Bush Regime

"Why U.S. Attorneys Were Fired: The Evidence So Far," Christian Science Monitor, Mar. 27, 2007

"Report Charges Broad White House Effort To Stifle Climate Research," ABC News, Mar. 27, 2007

"Aides To Bush Told Not To Destroy Email," Financial Times, Mar. 26, 2007

"White House Use Of Outside Email Accounts Questioned," by Jason Leopold & Matt Renner, Truthout, Mar. 26, 2007

"Gonzales Aide To Invoke 5th Amendment," Associated Press, Mar. 26, 2007

"Bush Administration Callousness Leaves Vets Buried Alive," by Karen Kwiatkowski, LewRockwell.com, Mar. 23, 2007

"New Developments In The U.S. Attorney Controversy," by John W. Dean, Common Dreams, Mar. 23, 2007

"Military Regs Forbid Bush Using Military Troops As Political Props," by John Aravosis, America Blog, Mar. 23, 2007

More newswire ...

American Empire/War Profiteering

"The Coming War With Iran: Is It Inevitable?," by Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, Mar. 26, 2007

"Subverting Iran: Washington's Covert War Inside Iran," by Gregory Elich, ZNet, Mar. 25, 2007

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan

"A Searing Assault On Iraq's Intellectuals," Los Angeles Times, Mar. 25, 2007

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties/ Human Rights

"The American Ghosts Of Abu Ghraib," by Sam Provance, Consortium News, Mar. 27, 2007

"Firms Using Gov't 'Terror' Blacklist To Screen Customers," Washington Post, Mar. 27, 2007

"FBI Provided Inaccurate Data For Surveillance Warrants," Washington Post, Mar. 27, 2007

"The Pentagon's Power To Jail American's Indefinitely," by Jacob Hornberger, Future of Freedom Foundation, Mar. 26, 2007

"Torturer's Toll," by Tara McKelvey, American Prospect, Mar. 26, 2007

"Guanatanamo Bay Tribunals To Begin Again," Los Angeles Times, Mar. 26, 2007

"NYC Police Spied Broadly Before 2004 GOP Convention," The New York Times, Mar. 25, 2007

"Terror Database Has Quadrupled In Four Years," Washington Post, Mar. 25, 2007

"Kissinger's Extradition To Uruguay Sought Over Operation Condor," Agence France Presse, Mar. 25, 2007

"Play About Iraq War Divides A Connecticut School," The New York Times, Mar. 24, 2007

"The Sheikh And The Torture Senator," by Ann Wright, Truthout, Mar. 22, 2007

"Dissent Is Not Terrorism," by Chris Pifer, TomPaine.com, Mar. 22, 2007

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"The War Against Google," by Jeff Chester, The Nation, Mar. 25, 2007

"Lies My Paper Told Me," by Allan Uthman, Buffalo Beast (New York), Mar. 24, 2007

"U.S. News Media's 'War On Gore,'" by Robert Parry, Consortium News, Mar. 22, 2007

More newswire ...

Activism

"Arbitrary Discipline At Columbia: Fallout From The Minutemen Protest," by David Judd, Counterpunch, Mar. 27, 2007

"Counter-Recruitment Deserves Higher Place On Peace Agenda," by Pat Elder, Common Dreams, Mar. 25, 2007

"Americans In The Opinion Polls, Not In The Streets," by Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, Mar. 25, 2007

"Radical Youth In DC: Return Of The Black Bloc," by Matthew Provonsha, Counterpunch, Mar. 24/25, 2007

More newswire ...

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