Archives
For the Month of April, 2000

News and Analysis
For The Week Ending April 7, 2000

Listen to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines or any of the individual interview segments below (in RealAudio).

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

Newly-elected Russian President Vladimir Putin's questionable past
Interview by Scott Harris.

David Kotz, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, takes a look at the personal history and politics of Vladimir Putin, winner of Russia's March 26th presidential election. Kotz raises questions about Putin's background as an intelligence agent, manager of federal assets, and his hard line approach to law and order as Putin confronts Russia's devastating economic crisis and ongoing conflict in Chechnya.

Professor Kotz is the author of "Revolution from Above: The Demise of the Soviet System."

30 cities slate April 1st as Rescue Health Care Day
Interview by Scott Harris.

Dr. Karen Shore, president of the National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers, discusses Rescue Health Care Day, a series of national events scheduled for April 1st -- to spark national dialogue and protest deficiencies of the nation's managed health care system.

To learn how you can act locally on this issue, contact groups organizing Rescue Health Care Day at 1- (888) SAY-NOMC or visit their Web site at: www.rescuehealthcareday.com

Building clean cars for the future
Interview by Scott Harris.

Jim Motavalli, author of "Forward Drive: The Race to Build Clean Cars for the Future," examines the effort now underway to develop less polluting automobiles, after automakers and oil companies had worked for years to hamper clean air regulations.

Motavalli is managing editor of E: The Environmental Magazine. "Forward Drive" is published by Sierra Club books. Visit E: The Environmental Magazine's Web site at: www.emagazine.com

This week's summary of under-reported news
Compiled from alternative media sources by Bob Nixon and Rich Fraser

• World Press Review, March 2000: Bhopal, India residents living with contaminated local drinking water -- more than 15 years after the Union Carbide disaster -- are still demanding justice from the chemical company and the Indian government.
  
• Nation magazine: Right-wing foundations win political battles by investing heavily in conservative writers and mainstream marketing of their books. The radical downsizing of social welfare programs in the 1990s is but one example of an ideological battle the Right has won.
  
• Whole Earth magazine, Spring 2000: 90 percent of the 6,000 languages in the world could disappear by the year 2100, comparable to the loss of biodiversity.