Between The Lines - Dylan Voorhees: Maine Ordinance Blocking Tar Sands Export Model for Cities Across the U.S. (Week Ending Aug. 8, 2014)

Award-winning Investigative Journalist Robert Parry (1949-2018)

Award-winning investigative journalist and founder/editor of ConsortiumNews.com, Robert Parry has passed away. His ground-breaking work uncovering Reagan-era dirty wars in Central America and many other illegal and immoral policies conducted by successive administrations and U.S. intelligence agencies, stands as an inspiration to all in journalists working in the public interest.

Robert had been a regular guest on our Between The Lines and Counterpoint radio shows -- and many other progressive outlets across the U.S. over four decades.

His penetrating analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international conflicts will be sorely missed, and not easily replaced. His son Nat Parry writes a tribute to his father: Robert Parry’s Legacy and the Future of Consortiumnews.

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The Resistance Starts Now!

Between The Lines' coverage and resource compilation of the Resistance Movement

"The man who predicted Trump presidential win now says Trump impeachment could happen," AM Joy with Joy Reid, MSNBC, Jan. 21, 2018
"Sketchy Kazakh money finds its way into Trump dealings," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Red flags seen in many Trump real estate deals," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers," BuzzFeed, Jan. 12, 2018
"The Scandals of Donald Trump: Presidential Edition," The Atlantic, May 15, 2017
"Here's what we know so far about Team Trump's ties to Russian interests," Washington Post's ongoing compilation
"What Comey Was Investigating, Explained," The Moscow Project, Center for American Progress

"Donald Trump's Financial Ties to Russian Oligarchs and Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary from the Netherlands," Dutch TV documentary, Alternet.org, May 12, 2017
Ongoing compilation of Trump's creeping authoritarianism," MotherJones.com
Full resource list ...

SPECIAL REPORT: "The Resistance - Women's March 2018 - Hartford, Connecticut" Jan. 20, 2018

Selected speeches from the Women's March in Hartford, Connecticut 2018, recorded and produced by Scott Harris

SPECIAL REPORT: "No Fracking Waste in CT!" Jan. 14, 2018

Jen Siskind Jennifer Siskind, local coordinator for Food and Water Watch, describes the campaign to stop fracking waste in Connecticut, which so far has led to fracking waste bans in 34 towns around the state. Interviewed by Richard Hill on Mic Check, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT

SPECIAL REPORT: "Resistance Round Table: The Unraveling Continues..." Jan. 13, 2018

Lindsay Kanaly The panel discusses Trump's long history of racism and the Republican voter suppression juggernaut confronting Democrats leading up to the 2018 elections. Special guest: Lindsay Kanaly, a lead organizer of the Women's Marches planned for Jan. 20, 2018. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill on Resistance Roundtable, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT.

SPECIAL REPORT: "Capitalism to the ash heap?" Richard Wolff, Jan. 2, 2018

Richard Wolff, Economics professor Richard Wolff declares U.S. capitalism to be beyond repair and suggests the need for a radical alternative. Interviewed by Richard Hill

SPECIAL REPORT: Maryn McKenna, author of "Big Chicken", Dec. 7, 2017

Maryn McKenna, investigative journalist and author of Big Chicken, talks about the widespread use and dangers of antibiotics in commercial poultry, beef and fruit production. Interview by Bill Duesing, Richard Hill and Guy Beardsly on WPKN's Organic Farm Stand.

SPECIAL REPORT: Nina Turner's address, Working Families Party Awards Banquet, Dec. 14, 2017

Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, talks about the fight ahead for progressives as she receives the Working Families Organization Award for Exceptional Leadership Towards Advancing Progress. The event was held in Meriden, CT. Produced by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Dec. 12, 2017

Working Families Party of CT talks strategy and issues for 2018.
Lindsay Farrell, executive director of the Working Families Party of Connecticut, discusses the state's electoral landscape and lays out the issues and strategies that could lead to progressive victories in 2018. Interviewed by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Dec. 9, 2017

Disturbing developments in the Trump/Republican Agenda
Focus on the tax bill, destruction of our public lands, North Korea and Trump's private CIA. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill. Special guest: Jo Macallero of Rise and Resist.

SPECIAL REPORT: On Tyranny - one year later, Nov. 28, 2017

Professor Timothy Snyder, author of the highly acclaimed resistance manual On Tyranny, discusses his book and offers a fresh assessment of the state of our beleaguered republic. Timothy Snyder, history professor at Yale, is introduced by Stanley Heller, administrator of Promoting Enduring Peace, a Connecticut-based organization that sponsored this event at the United Church Parish House in New Haven on Nov. 28. A brief interview with Snyder conducted by WPKN radio producer, Richard Hill, follows his talk.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Nov. 12, 2017

Lynne Ide, director of program and policy with the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, talks about the current state of health care coverage in Connecticut. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Nov. 11, 2017

Focus on the Republican tax plan, the just-released autopsy on the Democratic Party, and Internet censorship by Google, Facebook and Youtube. Including an interview with Hilary Grant, a lead organizer with Action Together Connecticut, who discusses the local results of the recent election, with hosts Richard Hill, Scott Harris and Ruth Baumgartner WPKN producers

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Two leaders from Redneck Revolt, an anti-racist, anti-capitalist movement, talk about their work organizing with white working class people in Suffolk County, New York. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator for the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, describes the extent of -- and motives underlying -- the vast US network of military bases around the globe. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resisting U.S. JeJu Island military base in South Korea, Oct. 24, 2017

Joyakol, South Korean peace activist and singer, discusses the crisis on the Korean peninsula and focuses on the resistance to the U.S. huge military base being constructed on Jeju Island. The event was sponsored by the Greater New Haven Peace Council and this audio was recorded by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.
Joyakol discusses Americans' biggest misconceptions about the conflict between North and South Korea and the U.S., Interview by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.

SPECIAL REPORT: John Allen, Out in New Haven

John Allen, founding director of the New Haven Pride Center, Connecticut, talks about his new LGBTQ television show, Out in New Haven, which presents a range of political and cultural issues to the community. Interviewed by Richard Hill on WPKN's Rainy Day Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018.

2017 Gandhi Peace Awards

Promoting Enduring Peace presented its Gandhi Peace Award jointly to renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader and BDS founder Omar Barghouti on April 23, 2017.

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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE...

who helped make our 25th anniversary with Jeremy Scahill a success!

For those who missed the event, or were there and really wanted to fully absorb its import, here it is in video

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 1 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 2 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Between The Lines on Stitcher

Between The Lines Presentation at the Left Forum 2016

"How Do We Build A Mass Movement to Reverse Runaway Inequality?" with Les Leopold, author of "Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice,"May 22, 2016, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, 860 11th Ave. (Between 58th and 59th), New York City. Between The Lines' Scott Harris and Richard Hill moderated this workshop. Listen to the audio/slideshows and more from this workshop.

Listen to audio of the plenary sessions from the weekend.

JEREMY SCAHILL: Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker "Dirty Wars"

Listen to the full interview (30:33) with Jeremy Scahill, an award-winning investigative journalist with the Nation Magazine, correspondent for Democracy Now! and author of the bestselling book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," about America's outsourcing of its military. In an exclusive interview with Counterpoint's Scott Harris on Sept. 16, 2013, Scahill talks about his latest book, "Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield," also made into a documentary film under the same title, and was nominated Dec. 5, 2013 for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Listen to Scott Harris Live on WPKN Radio

Between The Lines' Executive Producer Scott Harris hosts a live, weekly talk show, Counterpoint, from which some of Between The Lines' interviews are excerpted. Listen every Monday evening from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT at www.WPKN.org (Follows the 5-7 minute White Rose Calendar.)

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Maine City's Ordinance Blocking Tar Sands Export Could Be Model for Cities Nationwide

Posted July 30, 2014

Interview with Dylan Voorhees, clean energy director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

On July 21, South Portland, Maine’s city council voted 6 to 1 to approve what’s known as the Clear Skies Ordinance, a regulation that blocks the loading of tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, onto tankers at the city's harbor for export around the world.

A proposal initiated by Exxon Mobil subsidiary, the Portland Pipe Line Corporation, would reverse the flow of conventional oil that currently moves west through a pipeline from the city to Canada – to a new eastbound flow carrying Alberta tar sands through an aging pipeline to Portland’s waterfront. Similar to the dirty process of extracting tar-sands oil, transporting it exacts an environmental cost. The heavy, almost-solid bitumen can only be moved through pipelines after it is thinned out with a mixture of liquid natural gas and other petroleum products to something called diluted bitumen, or dilbit. And then it can only be loaded onto tankers after the added ingredients are burned off. ExxonMobil has secured permits to build two facilities on South Portland’s harbor to do the burning.

Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus covered the start of the campaign opposing the flow of tar sands into Maine at a rally in January 2013. After South Portland’s recent city council vote, she spoke with Dylan Voorhees, clean energy director with the Natural Resources Council of Maine, which was one of the groups supporting the Clear Skies Ordinance. Here he explains how the vote succeeded, why it's considered of national importance in the fight to stop tar sands extraction and export, and what the city can expect from big oil companies who want to overturn the ordinance and see the pipeline project proceed.

DYLAN VOORHEES: To load crude oil, including tar sands onto tankers requires the construction of a variety of polluting infrastructure that doesn't exist there today; that doesn't exist when you take crude oil off of tankers, and this includes loading facilities that have quite a lot of pollution from burning off the chemicals from the operation of loading tar sands and crude oil onto tankers. And at the end of the day that was the concern that really drove multiple proposals to protect the city from a tar sands loading facility and the smoke stacks and the construction of a terminal to do that.

BETWEEN THE LINES: I'm sure there were a lot of pressures and different points of view for the city councilors to consider. How was the organizing done to get six out of out of them to vote in favor of this ordinance?

DYLAN VOORHEES: Well, there really has been a long effort, and it's been led by a really committed group of citizens and residents of South Portland. Last year, residents in South Portland came together, they formed a group, Protect South Portland, a citizen-led organization. They actually brought an ordinance to the ballot last fall and so there was an enormous amount of community education and organizing around that. It was very narrowly defeated because the oil industry had really attacked it very, I think, dishonestly, and it was defeated by a very small number of votes. But the city council was persuaded by the concerns of citizens to try again, and they set up a committee to develop another ordinance that would protect the city from this tar sands facility and the air pollution associated with it. And I think the mood in the community is really fairly clear: they don't really want this. Air quality is already an issue; there are a lot of schools that are exposed to chemicals and fumes in problematic ways already.

And the counter has really been the American Petroleum Institute and oil interests that really are disconnected in a real way from South Portland. There's no benefit to South Portland from having smokestacks and a terminal to load tar sands onto tankers. That's not a local benefit; it's an oil industry benefit. So the American Petroleum Institute – the national lobbying arm, that's Big Oil if there ever was "Big Oil" – spent about $700,000 in this very small city to defeat and attack this referendum last year, and they tried hard to attack the ordinance that the city council supported. But they really weren't successful because ultimately it's not a contest when you have the interests of out of state, far-away tar sands profits compared to the health of the air that residents and kids and the elderly all breathe. So when it comes down to that contest, really, it's nice to see local elected officials responding, and they certainly responded very clearly and positively to this ordinance in South Portland.

BETWEEN THE LINES: There are a lot of proposed pipelines in the U.S. and across Canada. The articles I've read indicate that this vote in South Portland is of national significance. Do you agree with that, and if so, why?

DYLAN VOORHEES: I do and I think that it is important when you see the full pattern of communities resisting tar sands and trying to face down a variety of those threats, and lots of communities have faced threats from tar sands in a lot of different ways. From up in Alberta, where clearly, communities are being horrifically impacted by extraction and mining operations to communities where there are pipelines and pipeline spills have impacted or threatened communities, to a city like South Portland where you have a potential loading operation that would put air pollution into their communities by their schools. I think it's significant because the pattern that is emerging is communities saying No to these variety of threats of tar sands. And I think the oil industry and the tar sands industry just has to reckon with them.

BETWEEN THE LINES: So, Dylan Voorhees, what's the next step? I read that lawsuits are very likely by Portland Pipe Line Corporation or possibly even the government of Canada. What can you tell us about that?

DYLAN VOORHEES: Those deep-pocketed oil resources certainly have suggested that they are considering legal action, and that could happen in federal court; it could be a number of parties. The city stands, I think, confidently, to defend the ordinance. There was a really great, transparent deliberative process that put the ordinance together. A number of organizations, such as the Conservation Law Foundation, have stepped up very articulately to describe why the ordinance will withstand a legal challenge, and that they will participate, as will the Natural Resources Council of Maine, in making sure the ordinance is well-defended in court. That's the decision of the oil industry whether they want to put the community through that costly legal challenge. If they do, we are confident they will ultimately lose.

For more news and analysis on environmental and climate change group’s opposition to tar sands pipelines, visit Natural Resources Council of Maine at nrcm.org.