Between The Lines - Cynthia Sartou: New Orleans Still Faces Enormous Challenges 10 Years After Katrina, 5 Years After the BP Oil Disaster (Week Ending Aug. 28, 2015)

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.)

Counterpoint in its entirety is archived after midnight ET Monday nights, and is available for at least a year following broadcast in WPKN Radio's Archives.

You can also listen to full unedited interview segments from Counterpoint, which are generally available some time the day following broadcast.

Subscribe to Counterpoint bulletins via our subscriptions page.

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New Orleans Still Faces Enormous Challenges 10 Years After Katrina, 5 Years After the BP Oil Disaster

Posted Aug. 19, 2015

Interview with Cynthia Sarthou, executive director of the Gulf Restoration Network, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Aug. 29 marks the tenth anniversary of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and along the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf coasts. The bulk of the damage in New Orleans occurred as a result of the failure of Mississippi River levees, which inundated vast swaths of the city. The devastating flood led to the horrific, iconic images of residents frantically calling for help from their rooftops, and of thousands of storm refugees stranded for days in the Superdome without adequate food and water.

New Orleans is 100 miles upriver from the Gulf of Mexico, where damage resulted more from the impact of Katrina's winds and waves on already compromised wetlands. These wetlands have been destroyed over the past half century by oil and gas development, natural subsidence – or sinking of land – and the rise in sea level due to climate change.

Five years after Katrina, the BP oil disaster devastated the area again in 2010. Effects of the massive oil spill are still being felt today both in the ecosystem and in human health. Many residents say a recent $18 billion settlement from BP will help, but is not enough to restore the area or compensate workers and businesses who lost everything. Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Cynthia Sarthou, the longtime executive director of the Gulf Restoration Network, based in New Orleans. Here she highlights some of the ongoing challenges facing the Gulf Coast before the region can recover and thrive.

CYNTHIA SARTHOU: Sadly, five years after the storm, many communities – particularly communities dependent on natural resources, like fish and shrimp – were heavily hit by Katrina because of loss of equipment and just upheaval. And five years after the hurricane, that fishing community was just coming back. They were thinking 2010 would be their big year, they could recover all their losses and return to status quo, and then they were hit by the BP disaster. So, many members of those communities have been devastated. They have not recovered from the BP disaster, despite all the media otherwise. They are hanging on by a thread. Shrimp prices and shrimp imports are adding to the injury, and some are predicting that most of that community will not survive as a result of all this. So, you know, that traditional live from the land community that made up coastal Louisiana is very much at risk, and sadly, it was the BP disaster on the heels of Hurricane Katrina that put them there.

BETWEEN THE LINES: For years, I’ve been hearing that coastal Louisiana loses a football field worth of land every 45 minutes, that it just slips into the Gulf. Has that land loss accelerated, slowed down, or stayed the same in the past few years?

CYNTHIA SARTHOU: There’s been a little bit of slowdown – not a lot. And there is movement. We now have a state master plan, and the state of Louisiana has been very good at focusing all the money they can get on that master plan, and has begun restoration projects which are focused on making communities more resilient, but that restoration process is going to take a long time. But at the same time, no one in the US has really taken action to reduce the impacts of climate change, and we are at ground zero for sea level rise, and I’m hearing predictions that even in parts of New Orleans, if you take into account both sea level rise and subsidence, which is soil compaction, that some places may be as much as 15 feet below sea level that are not at sea level. So we are facing not just status quo. The concerns for scientists and the state in terms of restoration is that things are not going to be status quo, just as they are not going to be status quo in any coastal community.

BETWEEN THE LINES: What’s the position of your governor, Bobby Jindal, who’s also running for the Republican nomination for president?

CYNTHIA SARTHOU: He’s a big climate change denier. He will talk about sea level rise, but really, according to NOAA at least – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – the state is way under-estimating sea level rise, and they are total deniers of climate change and in fact are one of the groups that has sued the president over almost anything having to do with reducing greenhouse gases or otherwise reduce the impacts of climate change.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Cynthia Sarthou, I’m reading a fascinating book called Rising Tide. It’s about the 1927 Mississippi River flood and how it changed America. It was amazing to me that despite the insistence of the top engineers of the turn of the 20th century that a levees-only policy would be a disaster, that’s exactly the policy that was followed to try to control the river.

CYNTHIA SARTHOU: I don’t think we have at this time a levees only policy. The state has actually acknowledged the need for what’s called a multiple lines of defense strategy, which means you have to marry coastal restoration outside the levees with some structural protections like levees or roads that are elevated, then married with things like home elevation, green infrastructure inside the levees, then of course evacuation. It’s called a multiple lines of defense strategy. The concern is that people’s first knee-jerk reaction is, Give us a levee; levees will protect us. Sadly, as Katrina taught us, and this hasn’t changed at all, levees along are not enough. Levees without wetlands are not protected and are not very sturdy. What you need to do is have environmental protections. The problem really is the same as coastal restoration for us. You know the [Army] Corps [of Engineers] has rebuilt levees and rebuilt storm surge barriers. I don’t know that they’re stronger than ever, but they’ve made them as strong as they can, and they still have to revisit some of them because subsidence has been faster than they projected. But what hasn’t really happened is money has not come in for comprehensive wetland restoration in front of those levees that’s needed to really dampen storm surge.

BETWEEN THE LINES: So, ten years after Katrina and five years after the BP disaster, how would you sum up the situation for New Orleans and the Louisiana coast?

CYNTHIA SARTHOU: I’ve been just a little bit concerned because I hear even in New Orleans, that oh, New Orleans is back, we’re as resilient as we’ve ever been, we’re stronger than ever. And to be honest, New Orleans since Katrina is not stronger than ever. I told somebody the other day, we’re stronger than we were the day before Katrina, but really, the lines of defense needed haven’t been restored.

For more information visit Gulf Restoration Network at healthygulf.org.