BETWEEN THE LINES
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Panel discussions from the Left Forum, April 18, 2009

10,000 March on Wall St., April 4, 2009

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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


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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 June 3, 2009

Between The Lines
For The Week Ending June 19, 2009




palastdvd BBC-TV's Greg Palast, considered by many to be the top investigative journalist in the United States, has just produced a new video documentary, "Palast Investigates: From 8-Mile to the Amazon - on the Trail of the Financial Marauders." The video covers his recent investigations on financial vultures who prey on the world's poorest nations; the human cost of oil production in the Amazon and the theft of millions of votes from American Indians in New Mexico.

Because Palast serves on the Between The Lines advisory board, he's offering Between The Lines' listeners a special deal. Make a donation of at least $40 and receive his new video DVD, and the proceeds from your contribution will be split 50-50, with half going to Between The Lines and half going to support Palast's Investigative Fund.

Visit www.gregpalast.com/betweenthelines to see the trailer and donate.
For more information, see excerpts from Greg Palast's letter about this project.

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

 RealAudio (full-length) |  MP3 (full-length)
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This week we present Between The Lines' summary of under-reported news stories and:



Obama's Speech to the Muslim World:
Separating the Substance from the Rhetoric


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Sam Husseini,
communications director
the Institute for Public Accuracy,
conducted by Scott Harris


muslim

Even before he took the oath of office as the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama talked about his plan to speak to the Muslim world with an eye toward reversing the antagonism developed over the past eight years of the Bush administration. On June 4, that vision became a reality when Obama delivered an hourlong address from Cairo University in Egypt that was heard around the world.

In his speech, the president noted there had been years of distrust, and called for a "new beginning"and an effort to seek common ground. He criticized the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq as a "war of choice," and said the U.S. sought no permanent military bases there or in Afghanistan. The president declared that the U.S. bond with Israel was unbreakable, but described the Palestinians' plight as "intolerable." While calling for Palestinians to abandon violence, Obama also said there can be no progress towards peace without a halt to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

In reference to the international pressure on Iran not to develop nuclear weapons, President Obama spoke out against a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, but failed to concede Israel's widely acknowledged possession of a nuclear arsenal. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Sam Husseini, communications director with the Institute for Public Accuracy who assesses the Obama speech, separating the rhetoric from a commitment for substantive changes in U.S. foreign policy.

Contact the Institute for Public Accuracy at (415) 552-5378 or visit their website at www.accuracy.org


Abortion in the Spotlight After Murder
of Dr. George Tiller and
Supreme Court Nomination of Sotomayor


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Janet Krepps,
deputy director Center for Reproductive Rights,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus


tiller

In the last week of May, two events occurred that could have a profound impact on the issue of abortion in the U.S. On May 26, President Obama nominated appellate court judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill the upcoming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. The court is currently divided 5 to 4 in favor of abortion rights, with the departing Justice David Souter in the majority. Sotomayor has never ruled directly on the issue, but she did rule on the "global gag rule," first instituted in 1984, which prohibits organizations outside the U.S. that receive federal funds for family planning from providing abortion services or even mentioning the option of abortion.

Then on May 31, late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller was murdered while at church in Wichita, Kansas, in the tragic final act of 20 years of harassment by anti-abortion forces. Dr. Tiller was a victim of a previous assassination attempt and had his clinic bombed. His Wichita, Kansas clinic will now be permanently closed.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Janet Krepps, deputy director of the Center for Reproductive Rights, about the timing of Dr. Tiller's murder and what her group hopes to learn about Judge Sotomayor's position regarding Roe v. Wade, which guarantees a woman's right to abortion.

Contact the Center for Reproductive Rights' New York office at (917) 637-3600 or visit their website at www.reproductiverights.org.

Campaign Moves to Disbar
Former Bush Administration Lawyers
who Authorized Torture


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Kevin Zeese,
executive director of Voters for Peace,
conducted by Scott Harris



torture

As the first terrorist suspect held at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was transferred to New York City to stand trial in federal court, new revelations were published about the role former Vice President Cheney played in authorizing the torture of American-held prisoners. According to a report published in the Washington Post, Cheney personally oversaw at least four briefings with senior members of Congress where he defended the Bush administration's harsh interrogation program used against detainees at Guantanamo and elsewhere. The former vice president's direct role in defending the harsh interrogation had not previously been documented.

Against this backdrop, a campaign is now underway to hold former Bush administration lawyers accountable for their role in authorizing torture. A broad coalition made up of 200 organizations filed complaints with state licensing boards on May 18 seeking disciplinary action and disbarment of 12 attorneys who had advocated torture through the development of legal memos contravening U.S. law and international treaties banning torture. The 12 lawyers targeted are: John Yoo, Jay Bybee, Stephen Bradbury, Alberto Gonzales, John Ashcroft, Michael Chertoff, Alice Fisher, William Haynes II, Douglas Feith, Michael Mukasey, Timothy Flanigan and David Addington.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Kevin Zeese, executive director of www.votersforpeace.us and attorney who signed the complaints against the 12 former Bush lawyers. He discusses the goals of the campaign to hold accountable all government officials that authorized torture of U.S.-held detainees.

For more information on the campaign to disbar Bush administration attorneys who authorized torture visit the coalition's website at www.disbartorturelawyers.com

This week's summary
of under-reported news


 RealAudio  MP3

Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • The Haqqani network is loosely affiliated with the Taliban, and the most deadly insurgent group in Afghanistan, with a parallel government in much of the country's southeastern region. ("The Most Deadly U.S. Foe in Afganistan," Christian Science Monitor, May 31, 2009)
  • President Obama's support for the 2008 "Secure Communities" initiative, which targets immigrants with felony records could punish both guilty and innocent immigrants due to its failure to distinguish why an individual is arrested and whether or not those arrests were based on racial profiling or were just a pretext of checking immigration status. ( "Detention Detention,"American Prospect, June 2, 2009)
  • Autoworkers are disappointed with the Obama administration's push for General Motors to file for bankruptcy and close factories. Workers in towns with 15 to 20 percent unemployment had hoped for restructuring of auto plants to make high-mileage cars, and mass transit vehicles. ("GM Ghost Town," The Progressive, June 2009)


Credits:
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Segment producers: Scott Harris, Melinda Tuhus
Senior news editor: Bob Nixon
Program narration: Denise Manzari
News reader: Richard Hill
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 6/12/09

Between The Lines' Blog

"Reading Between The Lines"

U.S. Politics

"AIPAC Wall Beginning to Crack," by Ira Chernus, Truthout, June 9, 2009

"119 Million Americans Want a Public Health Option -- Why Aren't Politicians Listening?," by Robert Parry, Consortium News, June 8, 2009

"Debunking Canadian Health Care Myths," by Rhonda Hackett, Denver Post, June 7, 2009

"'Single-Payer' Supporters Challenge Democrats," Washington Post, June 6, 2009

"How Pharma and Insurance Intend to Kill the Public Option, And What Obama and the Rest of Us Must Do," by Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog, June 5, 2009

"The Trouble With Democrats: Reclaiming the Economy for the People," by William Greider, The Nation, June 5, 2009

"'Single-Payer' Supporters Challenge Democrats," Washington Post, June 6, 2009

More newswire ...

Economy

"Break the Banks, for the Good of the People," by Joseph E. Stiglitz, The Age/Australia, June 9, 2009

"Congress Unlikely to Reform Root Cause of Economic Crisis," by Mary Kane, Washington Independent, June 8, 2009

"GM Gets Billions, Says No Money for Crash Victims," by Adrianne Appel, Inter Press service, June 6, 2009

"The Perils of Securitization: The Biggest Rip Off Ever?," by Mike Whitney, Counterpunch, June 5-7, 2009

"The Fall of GM: Why Workers Will Pay the Price," by Lee Sustar, Counterpunch, June 5-7, 2009

"The Path Not Taken, the Choices Down the Road: GM Nationalization," by Robert Weissman, Counterpunch, June 4, 2009

"Econocide: Body Count 3," by Tom Engelhardt & Nick Turse, TomDispatch, June 4, 2009

More newswire ...

Bush Accountability

"Defeat of Graham-Lieberman and the ongoing war on transparency," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, June 9, 2009

"Lieberman, Graham Seek To Block Torture Photos At All Costs," by Jeff Muskus, Huffington Post, June 9, 2009

"CIA Urges Judge To Keep Bush-Era Documents Sealed," Washington Post, June 9, 2009

"What the new Jim Comey torture emails actually reveal," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, June 7, 2009

"Pre-Emptive Strike on OPR Report: NYT Misrepresents Comey Emails, Claims He Approved Torture," by Marcy Wheeler, Firedoglake, June 6, 2009

"U.S. Lawyers Agreed on Legality of Brutal Tactic," The New York Times, June 6, 2009

More newswire ...

International Affairs

"Ahmadinejad's Red Tide," by Robert Dreyfuss, The Nation, June 9, 2009

"Iraeli minister propose sanctions on US," Jerusalem Post/Israel, June 9, 2009

"Iran's Green Wave," by Robert Dreyfuss, The Nation, June 8, 2009

"How Not to Support Democracy in the Middle East," by Stephen Zunes, Foreig Policy in Focus, June 8, 2009

"N. Korea sentences US reporters to 12 years labor," Associated Press, June 8, 2009

"Massacre in Peru in the Name of Free Trade," by Jill Richardson, Daily Kos, June 8, 2009

"As Obama Tries to Shift the Debate, Will Democrats Continue to Endorse Israel's Colonization of the West Bank?," by Stephen Zunes, AlterNet, June 6, 2009

"Obama hardens US stance on North Korean defiance," Associated Press, June 6, 2009

"Clinton Rejects Israeli Claims of Accord on Settlements," Washinton Post, June 6, 2009

"Hamas Leader to Obama: Deeds, Not Words," Inter Press Service, June 5, 2009

"Chomsky: What Obama Didn't Say in His Cairo Address Speaks Volumes About His Mideast Policy," by Noam Chomsky, AlterNet, June 4, 2009

"Obama, Like Bush, Just Doesn't Get It," by Jacob G. Hornberger, Future of Freedom Foundation, June 4, 2009

"Clinton Rejects Israeli Claims of Accord on Settlements," Washinton Post, June 6, 2009

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan

"The Rise of Private Armies -- Mercenaries, Murder and Corruption in Iraq and Afghanistan," by Bill Moyers, Bill Moyers' Journal, June 9, 2009

"Our McMan in Bananastan," by Jeff Huber, Antiwar.com, June 9, 2009

"A High-Priced Media Campaign That Iraqis Aren't Buying," Washington Post, June 7, 2009

"Face of Attacks in Iraq Turns Younger, U.S. Says," The New York Times, June 6, 2009

"Iraq's New Death Squad," by Shane Bauer, The Nation, June 3, 2009

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties/ Human Rights

"CIA Stance On Torture Tape Docs Suggests Obama's New Open Government Era Won't Materialize," by Zachary Roth, Talking Points Memo, June 9, 2009

"ABC News' interview with Lakhdar Boumediene and our current policies," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, June 8, 2009

"Confronting the CIA's Mind Maze: America's Political Paralysis Over Torture," by Tom Engelhardt & Alfred W. McCoy, TomDispatch, June 7, 2009

"Five New Reasons (and One Old One) Why We Must Close Guantanamo Now," by Liliana Segura, AlterNet, June 7, 2009

"The Ghost Haunting Obama: Death at Guantánamo," by Andy Worthington, Counterpunch, June 5-7, 2009

"U.S. May Permit 9/11 Guilty Pleas in Capital Cases," The New York Times, June 5, 2009

"Who killed George Tiller?," by Jill Filipovic, Guardian/UK, June 1, 2009

More newswire ...

Environment and Sustainability

"Hold Steady: Population Growth on a Shrinking Planet," by Deborah Rich & Jason Mark, Earth Island Journal, Summer, 2009

"U.N. environment chief urges global ban on plastic bags," McClatchy Newspapers, June 8, 2009

"The Amazon is dying," by John Sauven, Guardian/UK, June 8, 2009

"Public support creation of marine nature reserve," Independent/UK, June 8, 2009

"California's Water Woes Threaten the Entire Country's Food Supply," by Scott Thill, AlterNet, June 7, 2009

"A Green-Powered Trip Through Ecotopia," by Ernest Callenbach & Harvey Wasserman, Counterpunch, June 5-7, 2009

"A Dirty Joke: Gag Me With Clean Coal," by Karyn Strickler, Counterpunch, June 5-7, 2009

" US Lawmakers Seek More Nuclear Power in Bill," Reuters, June 5, 2009

" Obama Caves in to Coal Pressure," Lexington Herald-Leader editorial (Kentucky), June 5, 2009

"A Green-Powered Trip Through Ecotopia," by Ernest Callenbach & Harvey Wasserman, Counterpunch, June 5-7, 2009

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"Fox Propaganda Site Goes to New Lengths to Distort Reality," by Karl Frisch, Media Matters for America, June 8, 2009

"The NYT's nice, new euphemism for torture," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, June 6, 2009

"Censored by the Huffington Post and Imprisoned By The Past: Why I Made 'Feeling the Hate in Jerusalem,'" by Max Blumenthal, Mondoweiss, June 6, 2009

"'NYT' (Finally) Issues Corrections on Botched Front-Page 'Gitmo' Story -- Now Public Editor Slams It," by Greg Mitchell, Editor & Publisher, June 6, 2009

"Welcome to a dying industry, journalism grads," by Barbara Ehrenreich, San Francisco Chronicle, May 31, 2009

More newswire ...

Activism

A Bad Time for Unions: Does Organized Labor Need to Get Ugly?," by David Macaray, Counterpunch, June 9, 2009

Unions Embrace Street Corner Solidarity," by Peter Costantini, Inter Press Service, June 8, 2009

"Activist Cindy Sheehan in Dallas to Renew Anti-Bush Protests," Dallas Morning News, June 8, 2009

"Doctor critical of Baucus promotes single-payer plan," Billings Gazette (Montana), June 6, 2009

"Protesters Want Baucus to Consider Single-Payer System," Great Falls Tribune (Montana), June 6, 2009

"A War Against Organizing," by Kate Bronfenbrenner, Washington Post, June 3, 2009

More newswire ...



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