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

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

Global social justice movement resources
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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


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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

"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 Aug. 19, 2009

Between The Lines
For The Week Ending Aug. 28, 2009


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:

Rise of Extreme Right Anti-Government Groups
Seen at Health Care Protests


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Chip Berlet,
senior analyst with Political Research Associates,
conducted by Scott Harris


armed

The town hall meetings held by congresspersons and senators in their home districts over the summer recess have been a magnet for right-wing activists opposed to President Obama's plan to reform the failed U.S. health care system. Supported by Republican Party officials, conservative talk show hosts and some sectors of the insurance and health care industry, protesters have made outrageously false claims that reform legislation will force the euthanasia of senior citizens, mandate abortions for handicapped fetuses and abolish the nation's private insurance companies. Some activists have compared President Obama with Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Pol Pot, while others have attended recent presidential events carrying firearms and making both blatant and subtle calls for violent resistance to what they call "creeping American socialism."

The incendiary language and conspiracy theories that are helping drive the right-wing response to health care reform in 2009 share many of the same radical views that fueled the McCarthy era of the 1950s and the militia movement of the 1990s. With America's first African-American president in the White House, white supremacist and violent religious groups have increased their criminal activities and recruitment.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Chip Berlet, senior analyst with Political Research Associates and author of the recent report titled, "Toxic to Democracy: Conspiracy Theories, Demonization, & Scapegoating." He examines the militant protests seen at health care reform town hall meetings and their connection to America's wider extreme right movement.

______________________________________________
See rush interview transcript.
Sign up for Between The Lines Q&A
interview transcripts.

______________________________________________
Chip Berlet is author of the recent report titled, "Toxic to Democracy: Conspiracy Theories, Demonization, & Scapegoating." Contact PRA by calling (617) 666-5300 or visit their website at www.publiceye.org

Related Links:
Key Provision of Employee Free Choice Act in Jeopardy

 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Mark Brenner,
director of Labor Notes,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus


freechoiceact

In late July, Democrats in Congress signaled they may drop their support for a key provision of the Employee Free Choice Act -- legislation the labor movement has said is its top priority. The provision in question, referred to as "card check," would require an employer to recognize a union among its workers if a majority of them simply sign union cards, and would not require a secret ballot election now mandated under the National Labor Relations Act. While not ruling out a secret election, the legislation would simply shift the decision-making power about the union ballot process from the employer to the workers.

Under current law, tens of thousands of employees are fired or discriminated against every year for supporting a union. An estimated 60 million Americans would like to join a union, but are unable to do so under the current system. The nation's major corporations, trade associations and conservative groups have vowed to fight the Employee Free Choice Act and pledged to spend millions of dollars to defeat its passage in Congress.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Mark Brenner, director of Labor Notes, a media and organizing project that publishes a monthly magazine. Since its founding in 1979, Labor Notes has been bringing together union activists, leaders and rank-and-file members to strengthen the labor movement -- from the bottom up. Here, Brenner explains where the Employee Free Choice Act now stands and how employers or their workers can benefit, depending on which provisions make it through the legislative process.

______________________________________________
See rush interview transcript.
Sign up for Between The Lines Q&A
interview transcripts.

______________________________________________
For more information on the Employee Free Choice Act and other labor issues, call the Labor Notes office in Detroit at (313) 842-6262 or visit the group's website at www.labornotes.org

Related links:
Limited Torture Probe would Undermine
U.S. Obligation Under International Law


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Scott Horton,
a contributing editor at
Harper's Magazine and a lecturer
at Columbia University Law School,
conducted by Scott Harris


torture

Responding to reports that Attorney General Eric Holder is considering opening a limited investigation of Bush administration torture policy, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. warned President Obama not to pressure Eric Holder against appointing a special prosecutor. The president has repeatedly said he wants to look forward and not backward with regard to Bush administration violations of U.S. and international law.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Holder may soon initiate a criminal probe, but would limit its scope to CIA interrogators who went beyond guidelines established by Justice Department attorneys John Yoo and Jay Bybee in 2002 memos authorizing waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods.

Human rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union have criticized the initiation of a limited investigation, declaring that the prohibition against torture under U.S. and international law is absolute, with no one who authorized torture being above the law. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Scott Horton, a contributing editor at Harper's Magazine and an attorney specializing in human rights and the law of armed conflict. Horton discusses the reasons why a special prosecutor may have no choice but to expand an investigation to hold accountable Bush administration officials who authorized torture.

______________________________________________
See rush interview transcript.
Sign up for Between The Lines Q&A
interview transcripts.

______________________________________________
Scott Horton is a lecturer at Columbia University Law School. Read Horton's "No Comment" blog online at www.harpers.org

Related links:

This week's summary
of under-reported news


 RealAudio  MP3

Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • Iran's police chief Gen. Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam has publicly acknowledged pro-democracy protesters were tortured while in custody at the Kahrizak detention center in Tehran. ("Iran Admits Election Demonstrators Were Tortured, " The Guardian, Aug. 10, 2009; "Jailed Protesters' Brutal Deaths Sparks Fury In Iran," Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2009)
  • A former Blackwater manager and former security contractor have alleged Blackwater founder Eric Prince facilitated the murder of individuals cooperating with a federal investigation of the company ("Explosive Allegations: Blackwater Founder Implicated In Murder," The The Nation, Aug. 4, 2009; "U.S. Still Paying Blackwater Millions," The Nation, Aug. 7, 2009)
  • Nearly 5 million of the most polluting cars, those built before 1984 have been barred from the "Cash for Clunkers" car rebate program, an exemption successfully pushed by the Specialty Equipment Market Association, which feared the clunkers program would damage the market for replacement parts. ("Why 'Clunkers' Program Won't Take Some of the Most Polluting Cars," Los Angeles Times, Aug. 13, 2009)


Credits:
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Segment producers: Scott Harris, Melinda Tuhus
Senior news editor: Bob Nixon
Program narration: Denise Manzari
News reader: Elaine Osowski
Senior web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Web producer: Jeffrey P. Yates
Web consultant: Gary Trujillo
Newswire editors: 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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Last Week's Program

Between The Lines Week Ending 8/21/09

Between The Lines' Blog

"Reading Between The Lines"

U.S. Politics

"Labor Warns Dems: We'll Sit Out Election If You Oppose Public Plan," by Sam Stein, Huffington Post, Aug. 18, 2009

"Baucus & Grassley Hijack Obama's Agenda," by Ari Berman, The Nation, Aug. 18, 2009

"The Lanny Davis disease and America's health care debate," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Aug. 18, 2009

"Has Labor Been Left Hanging?," by Sarah Jaffe, The Nation, Aug. 17, 2009

" Frank Rich, Barack Obama, and the Corporatist 'Punking' of America," by Paul Street, ZNet, Aug. 15, 2009

More newswire ...

Economy

"GM Recalls 1,350 Workers as It Adds Shifts, Overtime," Bloomberg, News, Aug. 18, 2009

"The Specter of Debt Revolt Is Haunting Europe: Why Iceland and Latvia Won't (and Can't) Pay for the Kleptocrats' Ripoffs ," by Michael Hudson, Counterpunch, Aug. 18, 2009

"Media miss roadkill in auto bailouts," by Roger Bybee, ZNet, Aug. 17, 2009

"What Does Financial Capital Owe Society?," by Barry Zigas, The American Prospect, Aug. 14, 2009

More newswire ...

Bush Accountability

"Protesters want UC Berkeley law professor fired," Associated Press, Aug. 17, 2009

"Can the Washington Post Save Dick Cheney?" by Ray McGovern, Counterpunch, Aug. 17, 2009

"Yoo Returns to Berkeley" by Scott Horton, Harper's, Aug. 17, 2009

More newswire ...

International Affairs

"US Turns Blind Eye to Israel's New Separation Policy," by Jonathan Cook, Antiwar.com, Aug. 18, 2009

"US military denies role in Honduras coup flight," Associated Press, Aug. 16, 2009

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan

"Ballots and Bullets for Afghanistan," by Ann Jones, The Nation, Aug. 18, 2009

"Holbrooke's Projects: Long Occupation of Afghanistan, Pakistan," by Tom Hayden, ZNet, Aug. 18, 2009

"Life and Death in Baghdad as Americans Leave," by Patrick Cockburn, Counterpunch, Aug. 17, 2009

"Taliban hardliners spread out to undermine Afghanistan election," Guardian/UK, Aug. 17, 2009

" 'They Want Us Exterminated': Murder, Torture, Sexual Orientation and Gender in Iraq," Human Rights Watch, Aug. 17, 2009

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties/ Human Rights

"A Culture of Death: Movement Conservative Judges and the Death Penalty," by Scott Horton, Harper's, Aug. 18, 2009

"Bagram Isn't the New Guantánamo, It's the Old Guantánamo," by Andy Worthington, Counterpunch, Aug. 17, 2009

"Overdue Process: When it comes to terrorist suspects in detention, Obama is finding that Bush set a difficult precedent to break," by Adam Serwer, The American Prospect, Aug. 17, 2009

"Why Are Cops Tasering Grandmothers, Pregnant Women and Kids?," by Scott Thill, AlterNet, Aug. 17, 2009

"Right-Wing Militias Haven't Always Been Racist -- But That May Be Changing," by Larry Keller, Southern Poverty Law Center, Aug. 14, 2009

"The Pentagon Wants Authority to Post Almost 400,000 Military Personnel in U.S.," by Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive, Aug. 12, 2009

More newswire ...

Environment and Sustainability

"The Globalization of Garbage," by Michael Fox, ZNet, Aug. 18 2009

"The Fiji Phenomenon: It's a Human Rights and Environmental Nightmare, So Why Is It the #1 Imported Bottled Water in the US?," by Anna Lenzer, Mother Jones, Aug. 18, 2009

"Climate Change to Make Texas Too Hot for Some Species," Star-Telegram (Texas), Aug. 18, 2009

"Organic Agriculture Beats Biotech at its Own Game," Huffington Post, Aug. 17, 2009

"Is there any point in fighting to stave off industrial apocalypse?," by George Monbiot and Paul Kingsnorth, Guardian/UK, Aug. 17, 2009

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"Health care mobs = Swift Boat Vets. And the press plays dumb, again," by Eric Boehlert, Media Matters, Aug, 18, 2009

"Whatever Happened to Progressive Talk Radio?" Did Air America Kiss It Goodbye?, Alternet.org, Aug. 10, 2009

More newswire ...

Activism

"Can Labor Get Out of This Mess?," by David Bacon, ZNet, Aug. 18, 2009

"Soldiers Who Just Say No," by Jon Letman, Antiwar.com, Aug. 18, 2009

"Protesters Descend on Chevron's Richmond Refinery For Climate Justice, To 'Cap The Crude,'" Indybay.org, Aug. 18, 2009

"Health Care, Climate and the Progressive Movement," by Ted Glick, TedGlick.com, Aug. 17, 2009

"The Immigrant Rights Movement in the Obama Era" by Javier, Rodriguez, ZNet, Aug. 16, 2009

More newswire ...



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