BETWEEN THE LINES
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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

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New Haven Advocate's
"Best of New Haven 2001"
-- Staff Picks --
Scott Harris, Best Radio News Reporter
WPKN Radio, 89.5 FM



ISSUES IN DEPTH
'A New Era of Responsibility'

"Push Obama to Follow Through on Peace Vows," by Amy Goodman, The Capital Times (Wisconsin), Jan. 22, 2009
"How to Push Obama," by John Nichols, The Nation, Jan. 12, 2009

"The Danger of Green Stimulus," Jesse Jenkins, Huffington Post, Jan. 5, 2009

"The First Hundred Days or the Last Hundred Days? Obama's Rendezvous with Destiny -- and Ours," by Ira Chernus, by TomDispatch.com, Dec. 10, 2008

"Who Will Seize the Moment?" Turning Crisis into Opportunity, by Ralph Nader, Counterpunch, Dec. 4, 2008

"Community Organizers Press Obama for Real Change," by CommonDreams.org, Dec. 3, 2008

Civil Liberties

"The effects of Obama's refusal to investigate Bush crimes," by Glen Greenwald, Salon.com, Jan. 20, 2009

"Binding U.S. law requires prosecutions for those who authorize torture, " by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Jan. 18, 2009

"Obama Has to Hold Bush Accountable for the Laws He Broke," by Elizabeth Holtzman, The Nation, Jan. 16, 2009

"Obama Must Restore the Constitution: Prosecuting Bush and Cheney," by Dave Lindoff, Counterpunch.org, Jan. 16-19, 2009

A BETTER WORLD IS POSSIBLE: Human Rights Solutions

"Single-Payer Health Care Would Stimulate Economy," by John Nichols, The Nation, Jan. 15, 2009

"Fulfilling the Promise of Human Rights: The Universal Declaration at 60," audio recordings from a Connecticut conference marking the 60th anniversary of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Conn., Dec. 6, 2008

A BETTER WORLD IS POSSIBLE: Converting Fossil Fuel/War Economy to Green, Renewable Energy/Peace Economy


"Green Jobs Should Top Our Economic Recovery List," by Juleyka Lantigua, Jan. 6, 2009

"Obama Must Get Afghanistan Right,"by Katrina Van Heuvel, The Nation, Jan. 9, 2009

"Nine Steps to Peace for Obama in the New Year," by Deepak Chopra, Alternet, Jan. 1, 2009

"Electric Cars Put Hawaii on The Road to Independence," by Times Online/UK, Dec. 4, 2008

"Weapons Come Second: Can Obama Take on the Pentagon?" by Frida Berrigan, TomDispatch.com, Nov. 25, 2008

The FY 2009 Pentagon Spending Request - Global Military Spending, by the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Economic Crisis

"The Outcry Is Muted, But The Food Crisis Is Getting Worse," by Jayati Ghosh, The Guardian/UK, Jan. 9, 2009

"Ideas for Obama, "by Paul Krugman, by The New York Times, Jan. 12, 2009

"The Ponzi Scheme Presidency: Bush's Legacy of Destruction," by Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, January/February, 2009

"Fiscal Therapy," by David Cay Johnston, Mother Jones, January/February, 2009

"A Look At Wall Street's Shadow Market: How Some Arcane Wall Street Financial Instruments Magnified Economic Crisis," 60 Minutes, Oct. 5, 2008

"Swapping Secrecy for Transparency," by Christopher Cox, SEC Chairman, The New York Times Op-Ed, Oct. 19, 2008

"The Bet That Blew Up Wall Street: Steve Kroft On Credit Default Swaps And Their Central Role In The Unfolding Economic Crisis," 60 Minutes, Oct. 26, 2008

Broken Government



"Broken Government: By The Numbers," 40 ways in which the federal government failed to perform under the administration of George W. Bush, 2001-2008

Class Warfare

"How the Rich Are Different From You and Me,"Places that went for Obama are richer and smarter than places that went for McCain, by Bill Bishop and Robert Cushing, Slate, Dec. 11, 2008

"Questions About the $700 Billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Funds, " First Report of the Congressional Oversight Panel for Economic Stabilization, Dec. 10, 2008

War And Profiteering

"This Is Change? Twenty Hawks, Clintonites and Neocons to Watch for in Obama's White House," by Jeremy Scahill,Alternet, Nov. 20, 2008


"Don't Let Barack Obama Break Your Heart," Why Americans Shouldn't Go Home, by Tom Engelhardt, Nov. 12, 2008

"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

"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 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

"Pipeline Politics: Oil, The Taliban, and the Political Balance of Central Asia," World Press Review Special Report, November-December 2001

Between The Lines

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Posted Jan. 28, 2009

Between The Lines
For The Week Ending Feb. 6, 2009


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THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

 RealAudio (full-length) |  MP3 (full-length)
RSS broadcast-quality MP3 RSS near-broadcast quality MP3


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


Hope Invested in Obama Stimulus Package
to Arrest and Reverse Economic Collapse


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with economist Dean Baker,
author of "Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy,"
conducted by Scott Harris


econ

President Barack Obama's nominee for Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, won Senate confirmation on Jan. 26 after controversial revelations that the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York had failed to pay $50,000 in taxes and interest over four years. Geithner was sworn into his new post as some of the largest U.S. corporations, including Caterpillar, Sprint Nextel, Microsoft and Home Depot, announced plans to layoff at least 75,000 workers in the U.S. and around the world. The unemployment rate for December increased to 7.2 percent, nearly a 16-year high, with fears that the continuing housing meltdown and falling stock market could usher in a 9 percent unemployment rate or higher by the end of the year.

In what economists declare as the nation's longest recession in 25 years, President Obama and his economic team will be working to secure congressional passage of their proposed $825 billion stimulus package, and allocate the second half of a $700 billion bank rescue program.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with economist Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and author of the book, "Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy." Baker assesses Obama's economic team's approach to arresting and reversing America's worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, as well as the corporate media's failure to effectively cover economic issues.

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


Related links:

Scientific Community Optimistic New Administration
will Restore Scientific Integrity to Government


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Celia Wexler,
Washington, D.C. representative for the Union
of Concerned Scientists' Integrity Project,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus


science

From breaking his campaign pledge to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant early in his first term, critics charge former President George Bush showed contempt for the role of science in government. In the view of many observers, he appointed political hacks whose main qualification was their loyalty to him and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Many of those appointees attempted to muzzle scientists who tried to disseminate the truth to the public and Congress about endangered species, climate change and the impact of mountain-top removal. President Bush's appointees also demanded changes or omitted whole sections of government reports to cover up or minimize the damage his administration's policies were causing.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Celia Wexler, the Washington, D.C. representative for the Union of Concerned Scientists' Scientific Integrity Project. UCS fought throughout the Bush/Cheney years to hold the administration accountable for its anti-science bias and actions. Now, with President Obama in the White House, the organization is much more hopeful about restoring scientific integrity to government, and what some are referring to as the president's scientific "dream team." But Wexler says not all the damage can be undone quickly, and it's important to stay vigilant.

Call the Union of Concerned Scientists' Scientific Integrity Project's Washington D.C. office at (202) 223-6133, or visit their website at www.ucsusa.org




Obama Executive Order to Close Guantanamo
Viewed as Minimalist and Evasive


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Aziz Huq,
director of the Liberty and National Security Program
at the Brennan Center for Justice
at New York University,
conducted by Scott Harris



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Soon after being sworn in as president, Barack Obama issued an executive order calling for the closure within a year of the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A second executive order formally banned torture by requiring that the Army field manual be used as the guide for terrorism interrogations. A third order established an interagency task force that will lead a systematic review of U.S. detention policies and procedures and review the cases of 245 terrorist suspects now being held at Guantanamo.

Obama also instructed military prosecutors to seek a 120-day suspension of Military Commissions proceedings involving detainees in the case of five defendants accused of organizing the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. It is unknown if the new president will transfer prisoners to U.S. federal courts, have them face war crimes charges in military courts-martial or modify Bush's Military Commissions procedures that the Supreme Court ruled were unconstitutional. More than 550 detainees have been released from Guantanamo with many former prisoners charging that they were subject to abuse and torture.

Legal and national security officials with the new administration have reported that upon gaining access to classified material, they discovered that there were no comprehensive case files on many Guantanamo detainees and that information on individual prisoners is scattered throughout the executive branch and in disarray. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Aziz Huq, director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. Huq explains whey he believes President Obama's executive order calling for the closure of Guantanamo is minimalist and evasive.

Contact the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University by calling (212) 998-6730 or visit their website at www.brennancenter.org

Related links:



This week's summary
of under-reported news


 RealAudio  MP3

Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • Many Afghan villagers have lost faith in the U.S.-backed Hamid Karzai regime. Aid agencies say Taliban attacks have increased 50 percent this year. ("Who Are the Taliban" The Nation, Dec. 22, 2009)
  • Rwandan troops arrest Tutsi rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, whose militia controls areas of eastern Congo, signals a new level of cross-border cooperation between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. ("Rwanda Arrests Congo Rebel Leader Laurent Nkunda," Washington Post, Jan. 23, 2009; "A Congolese Rebel Leader Who Once Seemed Untouchable is Caught," BBC News, Jan. 24, 2009; "Profile: General Laurent Nkunda," BBC News, Jan. 23, 2009)
  • Food safety advocates are going to have to wait some time for the new Obama administration to push for an overhaul of food safety agencies. ("Food Safety Reform Waits on Back Burner," Los Angeles Times, Dec. 26, 2008; "Inspecting Our Food: How Many Cooks," New York Times, Jan. 11, 2009; "Peanut Butter Suspected in Salmonella Outbreak," Wall Street Journal, Jan. 12, 2009)


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
Web consultant: Gary Trujillo
Newswire editor: Hank Hoffman
Photo editor: Scott Harris
Outreach coordinator: Anna Manzo
Distribution: Anna Manzo and Jeffrey P. Yates
Theme music: Written by Richard Hill and Jody Gray, and performed by Mikata


Between The Lines
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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 1/30/09

Between The Lines' Blog

"Reading Between The Lines"

U.S. Politics

" The Same Old Song," by Bob Herbert, The New York Times, Jan. 27, 2009

"Lynn Gets Waiver from Obama Lobbyist Rules," Federal Times, Jan. 27, 2009

"Obama vs. Labor: Vacillating on Card Check?," by David Macaray, Counterpunch, Jan. 26, 2009

"'Global Gag Rule' Lifted," by Barbara Crossette, The Nation, Jan. 25, 2009

"America Is Moving Toward Czarism and Away from Democracy," by David Sirota, San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 24, 2009

More newswire ...

Economy

"The Crisis is Global," by William Greider, The Nation, Jan. 27, 2009

"Revealed: Bailed-Out Execs Plotting Against EFCA," by Sam Stein, Huffington Post, Jan. 27, 2009

"Financial Elite Have No Shame," by Linda McQuaig, Toronto Star/Canada, Jan. 27, 2009

"John Thain: Corporate Jerk of the Moment," by Greg Palast, Suicide Girls, Jan. 27, 2009

"'Globalization From Below' Tackles the 'Great Recession,'" by Jeremy Brecher, Brendan Smith, and Tim Costello, Common Dreams, Jan. 26, 2009

"The Anti-Stimulus Crowd Blows a Gasket," by Dean Baker, Truthout, Jan. 26, 2009

"From Consumers to Commons," by Robert Reich, The American Prospect, Jan. 26, 2009

"Twenty-five people at the heart of the meltdown ...," by Julia Finch, Guardian/UK, Jan. 26, 2009

"The Union Way Up," by Robert Reich, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 26, 2009

"The Freefalling Economy," by P. Sainath, Counterpunch, Jan. 23/25, 2009

"Flood of foreclosures: It's worse than you think," CNN Money, Jan. 23, 2009

"A Revolution in Spirit," by Benjamin R. Barber, The Nation, Jan. 22, 2009

More newswire ...

Bush Accountability

"Put Torture on Trial," by by Philip Giraldi, Antiwar.com, Jan. 27, 2009

"UN official: Enough evidence to prosecute Rumsfeld for war crimes," by David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster, Raw Story, Jan. 26, 2009

"Whistleblower Levels Shocking Allegations at Bush's Spying Programs," by Liliana Segura, AlterNet, Jan. 24, 2009

"Are We Civilized Enough to Hold Our Leaders Accountable for War Crimes? The World Is Watching," by John W. Dean, FindLaw, Jan. 24, 2009

"It's time to choose right over wrong," by Joseph L. Galloway, McClatchy Newspapers, Jan. 23, 2009

More newswire ...

International Affairs

"Israel's Lies," by Henry Siegman, London Review of Books/UK, Jan. 29, 2009

"Bolivia Looking Forward: New Constitution Passed, Celebrations Hit the Streets," by Benjamin Dangl, Truthout, Jan. 27, 2009

"Mitchell's Challenge: After Gaza, Five Questions about Palestinian and Israeli Realities," by Tom Engelhardt & Sandy Tolan, TomDispatch, Jan. 26, 2009

"Israel's Leaders Are Frantically Trying to Prevent War Crimes Proceedings for Their Gaza Atrocities," by Jonathan Cook, AlterNet, Jan. 26, 2009

"Reform From the Ground Up?: Winds of Change in Cuba," by Roger Burbach, Counterpunch, Jan. 26, 2009

"Gaza War Pushes Arabs to the Brink," by Robert Dreyfuss, The Nation, Jan. 25, 2009

"The Rule of Law at Home and Abroad," by John I. Laun, Colombia Support Network, Jan. 25, 2009

"Is Mitchell Up to the Task?" by Stephen Zunes, Foreign Policy in Focus, Jan. 23, 2009

"Repudiate the Carter Doctrine," by Michael Klare, Foreign Policy in Focus, Jan. 22, 2009

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan

"US Missile Strikes in Pakistan Will Continue: Gates," Reuters, Jan. 27, 2009, 2009

"Let's Rethink Military Escalation in Afghanistan Before It's Too Late," by Z.P. Heller, Huffington Post, Jan. 27, 2009, 2009

"Continuing Bush policies in Israel and Afghanistan," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Jan. 26, 2009

"Afghan Prison Poses Problem in Overhaul of Detainee Policy," The New York Times, Jan. 26, 2009

"Analysis: Thinking small in Afghanistan," by Anne Gearan, Associated Press, Jan. 26, 2009

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties/ Human Rights

"To favor due process is to favor Terrorists' Rights," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Jan. 26, 2009

"The Torture Ban That Doesn't Ban Torture," by Allan Nairn, Counterpunch, Jan. 26, 2009

"Closing Gitmo just the beginning," by Eric Margolis, Toronto Sun/Canada, Jan. 25, 2009

"On closing Guantanamo: The newest fear-mongering campaign from the Right and the media," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Jan. 23, 2009

More newswire ...

Environment and Sustainability

"Food Summit - Concern Yes, Concrete Steps No," by Tito Drago, Inter Press Service, Jan. 27 2009

"Study: Global Warming Effects to Last 1,000 Years," Agence France Presse, Jan. 26, 2009

"Shrinking Glaciers Have Put Tibetans in the Path of Climate Chaos," by Christina Larson, Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 22, 2009

"Deaths of Old-Growth Trees Double as Western U.S. Warms," Environment News Service, Jan. 22, 2009

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"Richard Cohen fulfills the role of the American journalist," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Jan. 27, 2009

"With Gaza, Journalists Fail Again," by Chris Hedges, TruthDig, Jan. 26, 2009

"The Future of News, Part Two-- Solutions," by C. Edwin Baker, Balkinization, Jan. 22, 2009

"The Future of News, Part One-- The Problem," by C. Edwin Baker, Balkinization, Jan. 21, 2009

More newswire ...

Activism

"Five SOA Watch Protesters Receive Two-Month Sentences," Ledger-Enquirer (Georgia), Jan. 27, 2009, 2009

"Resistance to Housing Foreclosures Spreads Across the Land" by Ben Ehrenreich, The Nation, Jan. 23, 2009

"Most Valuable Progressives: Code Pink's Transition," by John Nichols, The Nation, Jan. 19, 2009

More newswire ...



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