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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 Aug. 3, 2007

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM
  • Iraqi Opposition
    to New Oil Law Grows

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Bush, Blair Push to Restart
    Middle East Peace Talks:
    Genuine Effort or Window Dressing?

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Poverty and Economic Inequality Fuel
    Protests and Strikes in Peru

    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. 7, 2007.

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

Iraqi Opposition
to New Oil Law Grows

Interview with Antonia Juhasz,
a fellow with Oil Change International,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus

iraqoilguard

According to President Bush and the U.S. Congress, one of the key benchmarks the Iraqi government is being pressured to achieve by September is passage of a new law governing oil production and distribution, which is being hotly contested inside Iraq. The country's oil resources, the second largest known reserves in the world, were nationalized in the 1970s. Before the U.S. invasion in 2003, the industry was pumping about 2.5 million barrels a day, as compared to the current 2.1 million barrels. State oil companies are still in charge of production, and oil is pumped by the Iraqi Federation of Oil Workers, which is leading opposition to the new oil law.

The proposed Iraq hydrocarbon law would take the majority of Iraq's oil out of the exclusive hands of the Iraqi government and open it to development by private international oil companies for a generation or more. U.S. companies are already making huge profits from marketing Iraq's oil, with an average of 553,000 barrels a day exported to the U.S. last year.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Antonia Juhasz, a fellow with Oil Change International and author of the book "The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time." She discusses the debate over the oil law within Iraq and explains why resistance to the measure has grown.

Contact Oil Change International by calling (202) 518-9029 or visit the group's website at www.priceofoil.org

Related links:

Bush, Blair Push to Restart
Middle East Peace Talks:
Genuine Effort or Window Dressing?

Interview with Chris Toensing,
editor of Middle East Report,
conducted by Scott Harris

Tony Blair, Middle East envoy

Not long after stepping down as British prime minister, Tony Blair was named as international envoy by the U.S., the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. The so-called "quartet" of Middle East negotiators have given Blair a limited mandate to strengthen Palestinian institutions.

In his first trip to the region in his new role the week of July 23, Blair made stops in Israel, Jordan and the West Bank, where he held talks with leaders to "listen, learn and reflect." Although Blair expressed cautious optimism for a resumption of long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, political observers were less confident of a breakthrough.

As President Bush's most important ally in the Iraq war, Tony Blair is seen by many Middle Eastern leaders as lacking independence and ultimately subservient to Washington. The Quartet's continued isolation and exclusion of the Palestinian Hamas party from talks is seen as an insurmountable obstacle to reaching a two-state solution. In June, Hamas attacked forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah party, taking control of the Gaza Strip and bitterly dividing Palestinians between Hamas and Fatah. In a seeming last ditch effort to break the deadlock, President Bush has called for an international conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this fall chaired by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Chris Toensing, editor of Middle East Report, who assesses the wisdom of naming Tony Blair as a lead negotiator and the obstacles and opportunities for restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Contact Middle East Report by calling (202) 223-3677 or visit their website at www.merip.org

Poverty and Economic Inequality Fuel
Protests and Strikes in Peru

Interview with Jo-Marie Burt,
assistant professor of government
and politics at George Mason University,
conducted by Scott Harris

Peru

Much like other nations across Latin America, Peru suffers from a wide disparity between the rich and poor. While campaigning for office in 2006, Peruvian President Alan Garcia pledged to fight poverty by growing the economy. One year later Peru's poor have launched militant protests and labor strikes making known their rejection of Garcia's policies.

Three people have been killed during protests called by teachers and farmers that began this summer. Teachers objected to a proposed law that would have mandated competency tests. Other groups joined nation-wide demonstrations and blockades to demand enforcement of labor laws, increased taxes on mining profits and rejection of a free trade deal with the United States.

Garcia's first term as Peru's president from 1985-90, ended with hyperinflation, price controls and a default on its debt. But since he won last year's election against progressive populist Ollanta Humala, Garcia has worked to win the confidence of financial markets and the U.S. by promising "responsible change." Although Peru's economy expanded by 8 percent last year, half of the nation's population mired in poverty, have seen little or no improvement in their lives. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Jo-Marie Burt, assistant professor of politics and government at George Mason University, who examines the role economic inequality has played in the protests and labor strikes that have gripped Peru in recent weeks.

Jo-Marie Burt's articles, published by the North American Congress on Latin America, can be read online at www.nacla.org

Related links:

This week's summary
of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • Greenpeace accuses the Japanese nuclear industry of lying about the extent of damage to the world's biggest nuclear plant in Kashiwazaki, Japan, shut down indefinitely after an earthquake. ("Japan Nuclear Plant Shut After Quake," Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2007; "Reaction to Fire at the Japanese Nuclear Power Kashiwazaki-Kariwa," Greenpeace, July 17, 2007)
  • President Bush has threatened to veto an expansion of the decade-old State Child Health Insurance Plan, which covers nearly seven million children. ("Bush: No Deal on Children's Health Plan," Washington Post, July 19, 2007; "Congress, Bush Clash Over Children's Health Insurance," Washington Post, July 15, 2007;)
  • After two years, tomato pickers with The Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida won an agreement with McDonald's to double their wages. Tomato pickers were hauling two tons of tomatoes a day to make about $60, or $10,000 annually. ("Doing It For Themselves," In These Times, June 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 Aug. 7, 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: Jeffrey P. Yates
Newswire editor: Bob Nixon, Anna Manzo, Reginald Johnson (Hank Hoffman is on vacation.)
Photo editor: Scott Harris
Outreach coordinator: Anna Manzo
Distribution: Anna Manzo, Bill Cosentino & Jeffrey P. Yates
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 7/27/07

U.S. Politics

"Poll Finds Democrats Favored on War," by Jon Cohen and Dan Balz, The Washington Post, July 24, 2007

"The Impeachment Imbroglio: Sheehan, Conyers, Pelosi, and Feingold," by Ruth Conniff, The Progressive, July 25, 2007

"The Unions’ Man?," John Edwards does more than talk the talk on workers’ but will he walk away with labor’s endorsement?, by David Moberg, In These Times, July 23, 2007

"The Democrats' Iraqi Dilemma: Questions Unasked, Answers Never Volunteered," by Ira Chernus, TomDispatch.com, July 22, 2007

"Democrats Will Press Ahead on Pulling US Troops From Iraq: Reid," Agence France-Presse, July 22, 2007

"Democrats Press House to Expand Health Care Bill," by Robert Pear, The New York Times, July 23, 2007

"Liberals Convene - and Air Differences Over Democrats," by Miranda Blue, Congressional Quarterly, June 20, 2007

More newswire ...

Bush Regime

"Counsel Sought to Investigate Attorney General's Testimony," by David Stout, The New York Times, July 26, 2007

"FBI Director Contradicts Gonzales," by Laurie Kellman and Lara Jakes Jordan, The Associated Press, July 26, 2007

"House Democrats Pass Contempt Citations," by Laurie Kellman, The Associated Press, July 25, 2007

"Gonzales Denies Pressuring Ashcroft," by Dan Eggen and William Branigin, The Washington Post, July 24, 2007

"Leahy, Specter Lay Into Gonzales," by Paul Kiel, TPM Muckraker, July 24, 2007

"E-mails Show '02 Lobbying For US Attorney Post in Ohio," by Jack Torry and Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch, July 22, 2007

"U.S. Dropped Enron-Like Fraud Probe,"by Marisa Taylor, McClatchy Newspapers, July 23, 2007

"Is Cheney Evil or Just a Weasel?"b y Susan J. Douglas, In These Times, July 12, 2007

More newswire ...

American Empire/War Profiteering

"The Other War: Iraq Vets Bear Witness," by Chris Hedges & Laila Al-Arian, The Nation, July 30, 2007

"The Iraq War Debate: The Great Denier," The New York Times | Editorial, July 21, 2007

"Bribery Network to Bloat War Costs Is Alleged,"by James Glanz, The New York Times, July 21, 2007

"Watchdog Group: Government Awards Contracts Despite Firms' Misconduct," by Roxana Tiron, The Hill, July 19, 2007

"The Rest Is Marketing," by Sidney Blumenthal, The Guardian UK, July 19, 2007

"Slick Connections: U.S. Influence on Iraqi Oil," by Erik Leaver & Greg Muttitt, Foreign Policy In Focus, July 18, 2007

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan

"More Troops for What?"> by Benjamin H. Friedman, Foreign Policy, July 2007

"Why the US Military Loves Ron Paul," by Tom Engelhardt, The Nation, July 23, 2007

"US Ambassador Says Iraqi Aides Will Quit Unless Granted Asylum," by Ed Pilkington, The Guardian UK, July 23, 2007

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties/ Human Rights

"Unlikely Adversary Arises to Criticize Detainee Hearings," by William Glaberson, The New York Times, July 23, 2007

"Patriot Abuse," by Janet Nocek, The Hartford Courant, July 22, 2007

"Court Tells US to Reveal Data on Detainees at Guantánamo," by William Glaberson, The New York Times, July 21, 2007

"The Assault on Due Process and Civil Liberties," by Ian Welsh Firedoglake, July 21, 2007 "Bush Alters Rules for CIA Interrogations," by Katherine Shrader, The Associated Press, July 21, 2007

"Rorschach and Awe," by Katherine Eban, Vanity Fair, July 17, 2007

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"Swift Boat 2004 vs. 'Swift Boat' 2008," by Eric Boehlert, Media Matters, July 24, 2007

"Savage said Imus was 'lynched,' compared his firing to 'what was done in Nazi Germany to Jews,'" Media Matters, July 23, 2007

"The Media's Mayor: Mythologizing Giuliani and 9/11," by Steve Rendall, Extra! May/June 2007

"Incendiary Weapons Are No 'Allegation'" Times corrects a minor error, ignores the big one, Extra!, June 11, 2007

More newswire ...

Activism

"Sheehan: I Will Beat Speaker Pelosi," by Jeremy Jacobs, The Hill, July 24, 2007

More newswire ...

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