BETWEEN THE LINES
A weekly radio newsmagazine
WHO WE ARE

ARCHIVES
[If you don't already have the FREE RealPlayer G2 or RealPlayer 7, then
download it here.]




BROADCAST SCHEDULE
Find a radio station near you which broadcastsBetween The Lines.
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Get Between The Lines delivered right to your desktop

Media Subscriptions


Listener/Activist Network Subscriptions

To sign up for Between The Lines Q&A, a weekly interview transcript with RealAudio link,send an email

To sign up for Between The Lines Weekly Summary, a summary of the week's program with RealAudio link, send an email


Hungry for more news from Between The Lines?

Many BTL interviews are excerpted from Scott Harris' live, 2-hour program, Counterpoint. To hear more in-depth analysis you won't get in mainstream media, listen to Counterpoint LIVE Monday nights from 8 to 10 p.m. EST on WPKN Radio

Counterpoint is now archived in its entirety on The White Rose Society website


Check out our
collection of selected in-depth interviews and other audio collectibles on our distribution production company's site at www.squeakywheel.net

medichannel.org

WPKN Radio mentioned in Danny Schechter's "The News Dissector" column

on independent media values.


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


ISSUES IN DEPTH
War And Profiteering

"The Future of Iraq: The Spoils of War," Blood and oil: How the West will profit from Iraq's most precious commodity, by Danny Fortson, Andrew Murray-Watson and Tim Webb, The Independent/UK, Jan. 7, 2007

"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

"Martial Law Threat is Real," by Dave Lindorff, commondreams.org, July 27, 2007

"ACLU: US Constitution in Grave Danger,"United Press International, July 25, 2007

"Old-line Republican warns 'something's in the works' to trigger a police state," by Muriel Kane, Rawstory.com July 19, 2007

"Fascist America, in 10 easy steps," by Naomi Wolf, The Guardian, April 24, 2007


"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

"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

Between The Lines

Home | Broadcast-Quality MP3s | Archives | Search BTL Archives
About |Broadcast Schedule | Contact | Squeaky Wheel Productions

Between The Lines
For The Week Ending April 11, 2008


libbyafghan

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

  • Iraqi Government Assault
    on al-Sadr's Militia Fails

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Canadian Parliament Member Works Across
    Borders to Connect Progressive
    Legislators and Activists

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Likely Democratic Nominee Obama
    Will Need a Movement to Make Change

    For story text and audio, Click here!

  • Underreported News Summary
    from Around the World

    For full summary text and audio, Click here!
LISTEN to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below.



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


 Iraqi Government Assault on al-Sadr's Militia Fails

Interview with Raul Mahajan,
journalist and author,
conducted by Scott Harris


iraq

The Iraqi government's decision to launch attacks on the militias of Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on March 25 triggered battles from Basra to Baghdad and resulted in the deaths of hundreds on both sides. When Iraqi government troops, backed by U.S. airstrikes, could not dislodge his militia fighters from Basra, al-Sadr called for a conditional cease-fire, demanding the government grant amnesty to members of his militia and release those held in prison not charged with a crime.

Many observers believe that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's failed attempt to drive al-Sadr's militia from Basra has severely weakened his government and bolstered the fortunes of al-Sadr. President Bush was left looking weaker, too, after offering U.S. support for what he claimed was a "bold decision" by Maliki, and describing the failed battle as a "defining moment in the history of a free Iraq." Reports indicate that hundreds of U.S.-trained Iraqi government soldiers and police were fired after refusing to attack the Mahdi militia.

As a result of the still unsettled fighting in Basra, the British government has announced that it would delay a scheduled withdrawal of roughly half of the 4,000 troops currently based at the city's airport. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with journalist and author Rahul Mahajan, who examines the reasons why the Iraqi government decided to attack al-Sadr's militia and how the outcome of this battle may affect the levels of violence in U.S. occupied Iraq.

Rahul Mahajan is author of the book, "Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond." Read Mahajan's commentaries online at EmpireNotes.org

Related links:



Canadian Parliament Member Works Across Borders
to Connect Progressive Legislators and Activists


Interview with Libby Davies,
member of the Canadian Parliament,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus


libby

After hearing an Iraqi woman speak at a conference for Women and the Media in Boston on March 29, a member of the Canadian parliament rose from the audience to offer solidarity in the struggle to end the war. British-born Libby Davies has served more than a decade in the Canadian House of Commons. She is the House Leader for the New Democratic Party, a center-left party that, while holding just ten percent of the seats, retains the balance of power in Canada's parliamentary system.

Davies was a member of a team of Canadians and elected officials from other nations who made three trips to the U.S. in the run-up to the Iraq war, looking for weapons of mass destruction. It was a publicity stunt, but one carried out in all seriousness, to expose the dubious claims of the Bush Administration about Iraq's alleged possession of WMDs. The U.S. has more weapons of mass destruction than any other nation in the world.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Davies, who discusses the relationship between the U.S. and Canada, after America's northern neighbor opposed the invasion of Iraq, but chose to deploy troops to Afghanistan. She describes her work for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and her efforts to strengthen contacts between legislators and progressive activists from both nations.

Libby Davies is a New Democratic Party member of the Canadian Parliament. Visit the New Democratic Party's website at www.NDP.ca.


Likely Democratic Nominee Obama
Will Need a Movement to Make Change


Interview with John Nichols,
Washington correspondent
with the Nation magazine,
conducted by Scott Harris


clintonobama

While the media continues to focus on the controversial remarks of Barack Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Hillary Clinton's exaggerated description of the danger she encountered on her trip to Bosnia as first lady, the voices demanding an end to the bitter Democratic Party primary contest are getting ever louder.

Recent polls suggest that a large number of supporters of Clinton and Obama may decide to vote for Republican John McCain if their preferred candidate did not win the Democratic nomination. The poll and the growing shrillness of the campaign has moved Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean to call for all his party's superdelegates to declare whom they support by July 1, as a way to avoid a divisive fight at the Party Convention in Denver in late August. The nearly 800 superdelegates, who are mostly elected officials and party activists, will play a critical role in that neither Clinton or Obama are expected to gain the needed 2,025 delegates needed to win the nomination outright.

Between The Lines Scott Harris spoke with John Nichols, Washington correspondent with the Nation Magazine, who assesses the urgent calls to end the Democratic primary battle and takes a closer look at the core politics of Sen. Barack Obama, the candidate who most observers are betting will be the eventual Democratic party nominee.

John Nichols is author of the book, "The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders Cure for Royalism." Read Nichols' columns online at www.thenation.com



  • On the day the Olympic torch was lit, a Chinese court sentenced dissident Yang Chunlin to five years in prison for petitioning against land seizures in northeast China. His petition opened with, "We want human rights, not the Olympics." ("China Slams Jail Door on Olympic Dissident," Toronto Star, March 25, 2008)
  • Pakistan's new Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has challenged President Perez Musharraf by ordering the release of 10 judges arrested in an early November crackdown. ("New Pakistan Prime Minister Frees Judges," The Guardian, March 25, 2008; "New Pakistan Prime Minister Challenges Musharraf with Order to Release Judges," The Guardian, March 24, 2008)
  • Environmentalists are ringing alarm bells about Democratic frontrunners Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's embrace of so-called "clean coal" as an alternative to foreign oil. ("Clinton, Obama Coal Comments Criticized by Environmental Group;" Friends of the Earth Action press release, March 20, 2008," "Trading off jobs and lives for the 'economic necessity of coal,' Gristmill, March 19, 2008; "New Coal Plants: At What Cost,"March 20, 2008)


Credits:
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Segment producers: Scott Harris, Melinda Tuhus
Senior news editor: Bob Nixon
Program narration: Denise Manzari
News reader: Bill Cosentino
Senior web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Web producer: Jeffrey P. Yates
Newswire editor: Hank Hoffman
Photo editor: Scott Harris
Outreach coordinator: Anna Manzo
Distribution: Anna Manzo, Bill Cosentino and Jeffrey P. Yates
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.
(7:30 a.m. - 8 a.m. during April, October fundraising)
Saturdays, 2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.


Listen to Between The Lines live at these times by clicking here!
Between The Lines Broadcast Availability
- Pacifica Radio Network
Ku Satellite feed (every Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on the Satellite's Left Channel A)
- Contact us for distribution schedule below:




BETWEEN THE LINES c/o WPKN Radio 89.5 FM
244 University Avenue
Bridgeport, CT 06604

Telephone:
(203) 268-8446
or
(203) 331-9756

E-Mail: betweenthelines@snet.net

Distributed by Squeaky Wheel Productions, Inc.
(c)2008 Squeaky Wheel Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


How You Can Support Between The Lines

Click here to learn how to support our efforts!

Last Week's Program

Between The Lines Week Ending 4/4/08

Between The Lines' Blog

"Reading Between The Lines"

U.S. Politics

"Could The Republicans Pick The Democratic Nominee?-The Untold Story Of How The GOP Rigged Florida And Michigan," by Wayne Barrett, Huffington Post, Apr. 1, 2008

"The Republican War On Voting," by Art Levine, The American Prospect, Apr. 1, 2008

"The John McCain 'Centrism' Fallacy," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Mar. 31, 2008

"Lieberman Is Officially The New Zell Miller," by Steve Benen, Carpetbagger Report, Mar. 31, 2008

"Texas Prosecutes Little Old Ladies For Election Fraud," by Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet, Mar. 31, 2008

"Cash-Strapped Clinton Fails To Pay Bills," Politico, Mar. 30, 2008

"McCain, Lieberman And Rev. Hagee: The Pastor Of Armageddon And The Slave Sale," by Christopher Brauchli, counterpunch, Mar. 29/30, 2008

"Hillary Clinton's Iraq Lies," by Stephen Zunes, Antiwar.com, Mar. 29, 2008

"John McCain: The New 'Baghdad Bob'?," by Greg Mitchell, Antiwar.com, Mar. 29, 2008

"10 Days That Changed Capitalism," by Robert Borosage, Campaign for America's Future, Mar. 28, 2008

"Obama's Speech: A Touch Of Bigotry," by John V. Walsh, Counterpunch, Mar. 27, 2008

"McCain, Iraq And Bush's Third Term," by David Bromwich, Huffington Post, Mar. 25, 2008

More newswire ...

Bush Regime

"The Bush Administration Intelligence Hydra," by mcjoan, Daily Kos, Mar. 31, 2008

"Gitmo And The GOP Election Effort," by Scott Horton, Harper's, Mar. 29, 2008

"Siegelman Blames Rove For Prosecution," The New York Times, Mar. 29, 2008

"Michael Mukasey's Tearful Lies," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Mar. 29, 2008

"Mukasey Backs Bush On Wiretapping," San Francisco Chronicle, Mar. 28, 2008

"Bush And McCain's Shared Foreign Policy Approach," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Mar. 28, 2008

"The Little Engine That Couldn't: Rebuilding The American Economy, Bush-Style," by Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, Mar. 27, 2008

"President Bush: Iraq Violence Is 'Positive Moment,'" Times Online/UK, Mar. 27, 2008

More newswire ...

American Empire/War Profiteering

"CIA Chief Says Iran Has Nuclear Weapons Drive," Agence France Presse, Mar. 30, 2008

"A New Diplomatic Order In Pakistan," The New York Times, Mar. 28, 2008

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan

"Embarrassed U.S. Starts To Disown Basra Operation," by Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service, Apr. 1, 2008

"Why al-Maliki Attacked Basra," by Juan Cole, Salon, Apr. 1, 2008

"How Moqtada al-Sadr Won In Basra," by Charles Crain, Time, Mar. 31, 2008

"Iraq In The Balance," by Scott Horton, Harper's, Mar. 31, 2008

"The Iraq Legacy: Millions Of Women's Lives Destroyed," by Nadje Al-Ali, Comment Is Free, Mar. 31, 2008

"Analysis: Iraq Crackdown Backfires, Strengthens Sadrists," by Ross Colvin, Reuters, Mar. 31, 2008

"Sadr Offers Deal For Truce As Fighting Persists In Iraq," The New York Times, Mar. 31, 2008

"Police Refuse To Support Iraqi PM's Attacks On Mehdi Army," by Patrick Cockburn, Independent/UK, Mar. 29, 2008

"Where Are the Iraqis In The Iraq War?," by Ramzy Baroud, Cyrano's Journal, Mar. 29, 2008

"If It Explodes, It Will Crush Their Rotten Heads," by Ron Jacobs, ZNet, Mar. 29, 2008

"Growing Dread About iraq: The Democrats And Their Lousy Options," by Saul Landau, Counterpunch, Mar. 28, 2008

"Iraqi Prime Minister Softens Ultimatum As Militias Stand Ground," McClatchy Newspapers, Mar. 28, 2008

"Analysis: Iraqis' Basra Fight Not Going Well," by Barbara Starr, CNN, Mar. 28, 2008

"Five Things you Need To Know To Understand The Latest Violence In Iraq," by Joshua Holland & Raed Jarrar, AlterNet, Mar. 27, 2008

"Basra Erupts: The Rising Of The Mehdi Army," by Patrick Cockburn, Counterpunch, Mar. 27, 2008

"Sadr Offensive Shows Failure Of Petraeus Strategy," by Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service, Mar. 27, 2008

"Iraqi Army's Assault On Militias In Basra Stalls," The New York Times, Mar. 27, 2008

"Thousands In Baghdad Protest Basra Assault," The New york Times, Mar. 27, 2008

"Iraq Implodes as Shiite Fights Shiite," by Patrick Cockburn, Independent/UK, Mar. 27, 2008

"The Threat Of A Re-Surge In Iraq," by Darrin Mortensen, Time, Mar. 26, 2008

"Sadrists Order Disobedience Campaign," Associated Press, Mar. 25, 2008

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties/ Human Rights

"The March 2003 Yoo Memo Emerges!: The Torture Memo To Top All Torture Memos," by Marty Lederman, Balkinization, Apr. 1, 2008

"Secret Spying In U.S. Caused Fears At The Outset," by Eric Lichtblau, The New York Times, Mar. 30, 2008

"Outrage And Controversy At NY Museum Art Show Depicting Police Brutality," by Dread Scott, AlterNet, Mar. 29, 2008

"Unlawful Influence At Gitmo," by Ross Tuttle, The Nation, Mar. 28, 2008

"A Day In A Guantanamo Detainee's Life," by Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times, Mar. 28, 2008

"Governments Ever More Draconian, Group Says," by William Fisher, Inter Press Service, Mar. 28, 2008

"Growing Database Of Tourist Fingerprints Raises Privay Concerns," by Alexandra Marks, Christian Science Monitor, Mar. 27, 2008

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"Siegelman And The Fairness Doctrine," by Scott Horton, Harper's, Mar. 31, 2008

"Comcast Changes Tune, Won't Blok Lrge Files; Critics Pleased, But Skeptical," San Francisco Chronicle. Mar. 28, 2008

"NPR News: National Pentagon Radio?," by Norman Solomon, Counterpunch, Mar. 27, 2008

"Fear & Favor: News, Journalism And Power," by Janine Jackson, Common Dreams, Mar. 27, 2008

"The Winter Soldier Hearings And Indy Media: Evidence of Weakness?," by Sam Husseini, Counterpunch, Mar. 26, 2008

"NPR Underreports Iraq Deaths," Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, Mar. 26, 2008

More newswire ...

Activism

"Fracturing The Peace To End The War: The Story Of The Holy Name 6," by Jeff Leys, Counterpunch, Apr. 1, 2008

"Police Arrest Antiwar Protester, 80, At Mall," Newsday (New York), Mar. 30, 2008

"An Open Letter To The U.S. Left On the Importance of Culture," by David Rovics, ZNet, Mar. 27, 2008

"Homeowners Plan Demonstration At NYC Offices Of Bear Stearns, JPMorgan Chase To Protest Government Bailout," Democracy Now!, Mar. 26, 2008

More newswire ...



Home | Archives | About Between The Lines | Search BTL Archives
Broadcast Schedule | Contact us

[Return to top of this page]