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Between The Lines
For The Week Ending Nov. 3, 2000


ANNOUNCEMENTS

Between The Lines/WPKN Radio Webcast: WPKN PRE-ELECTION ISSUE FORUMS

  • "A WPKN Radio Debate: Is a Vote for Nader a Vote for Bush?" Monday, Oct. 30, 8-8:45 p.m. EST. Tune to 89.5 FM in the Bridgeport, Conn.-Long Island, N.Y. listening area. For all others, try our Webcast by clicking here or visit us later for archived excerpts!

    Scott Harris, Between The Lines executive producer, will moderate a debate between progressive activists on the merits of Ralph Nader's presidential campaign and the so-called "spoiler effect," which supporters of Vice President Al Gore assert may elect George W. Bush president on Nov. 7.

    Endorsing Ralph Nader is: Dr. Manning Marable, professor of history and political science, and the director of The Institute for Research in African American Studies, Columbia University.

    Supporting Al Gore is: Robert L. Borosage is co-director of The Campaign for America's Future. He's a former campaign manager for Jesse Jackson's Democratic Party presidential nomination bid.

  • "Growing Economic Inequality, The Failed Drug War & Prison Industrial Complex."Excerpts from the Oct. 21 issues forum (All need RealPlayer 7 or 8):

    • Ralph Nader's speech at Yale University, the day after he was prevented from attending presidential debates in Boston
      • Nader Speech Part 1 (about 40 minutes) Click here to listen to the program
      • Nader Speech Part 2 (about 40 minutes) Click here to listen to the program

    • Author Earl Ofari Hutchinson on affirmative action, the failed drug war, and prison industrial complex.
      • Hutchinson Interview (about 29 minutes) Click here to listen to the program

    • United for a Fair Economy's Chuck Collins, on growing income inequality and his book, "Economic Apartheid: A Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity". (New Press).
      • Collins Interview Part 1 (about 17 minutes) Click here to listen to the program
      • Collins Interview Part 2 (about 10 minutes) Click here to listen to the program

  • "Issues the Major Parties Agree on and Therefore Refuse to Debate." Saturday, Nov. 4 10 a.m.-2 p.m. In the Greater New Haven, Conn., and Long Island, N.Y. listening area, tune to 89.5 FM. For all others, try our Webcast by clicking here or visit us later for archived excerpts!

    Resources:
    See United For a Fair Economy (www.ufenet.org) reports on the growing income gap between rich and poor.
    See The Sentencing Project (www.sentencingproject.org) for reports on racial disparity in the prison industrial complex.


    THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

    LISTEN to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking here or any of the individual interview segments below (All in RealAudio, needs RealPlayer 7 or 8.)
    This week we present Between The Lines' summary of under-reported news stories and:

    Barak's Attempt to Forge Israeli Coalition Government with Ariel Sharon May Deepen Mideast Crisis
    - Interview by Scott Harris.

    With his government considerably weakened from almost a month of violent street battles in the West Bank and Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is now attempting to form a coalition government with right-wing opposition leader Ariel Sharon. It was Sharon's visit to the Al Aksa Mosque in September that sparked clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers which have claimed more than 125 mostly Arab lives.

    Israeli peace activists and Palestinian officials both express fear that inclusion of Sharon, the Likud party leader, in a new government will end the prospect of future peace negotiations and lead to increased bloodshed. Sharon, a former general who led the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, is held responsible by many in the Arab world for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in Beirut.

    Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Geneive Abdo, Middle East correspondent with the Guardian newspaper, who examines why so many Palestinians are risking their lives to confront continued Israeli occupation and the fallout expected from any future labor-Likud coalition government.

    Abdo is the author of "No God, But God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam," published by Oxford University Press.

    Massachusetts' Prop. 5 Mandating Universal Health Care Could Set National Precedent
    Interview by Scott Harris.

    Among the many referenda on state ballots this election year, Proposition 5 in Massachusetts is perhaps one of the most closely watched, particularly by those in the health care industry. If approved by voters on Nov. 7, Question 5 would mandate universal health care for all of the state's citizens by July, 2002. Many of those backing question 5 support a single payer system similar to that now operating in Canada, however, the ballot measure empowers the state to formulate the details of a universal care plan.

    Question 5 also establishes a patient's bill of rights and limits HMOs from spending more than 10 percent on advertising and executive salaries. Although recent polls indicate that the health care ballot initiative has broad public support, the managed care and insurance industry has vowed to spend some $4 million to defeat the measure.

    Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Dr. Alan Meyers, a Boston pediatrician and member of the Ad Hoc Committee to Defend Health Care, who explains why he supports Question 5 and speculates on the national impact of the measure if Massachusetts voters should approve it.

    Contact the Yes on 5 Campaign by calling area code (617) 479-2305 or visit their web site at www.question5.org

    Union President Sees Labor in Race Against Corporate Globalization
    Interview by Melinda Tuhus

    John Wilhelm, president of the 300,000 member Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, has worked in the labor movement for over 30 years. He's won many landmark battles, including a hard-fought struggle to form clerical and maintenance employee unions at Yale University, from which Wilhelm graduated in 1967. The union's successful mid-1980s strike at Yale highlighted working women's long fight for economic equality.

    Wilhelm spent more than a decade organizing workers in Las Vegas, which included a victory in the six-year Frontier Hotel and Casino strike. He has a reputation for organizing creative corporate campaigns and a strong commitment to rank and file participation.

    Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with John Wilhelm at a recent labor rally in Connecticut, where he discussed the labor movement, the importance of this year's national election, and why his union supports Al Gore.

    Contact the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union by calling (202) 393-HERE or visit their Web site at www.hereunion.org

    This week's summary of under-reported news
    Compiled by Bob Nixon.

    • Republican vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney has cashed in on the decade-long economic sanctions against Iraq. (In These Times: Nov. 13 2000)
    • Documents show former head of Chilean secret police, who committed human rights atrocities after1973 coup, was on CIA payroll. (The Nation: October 16, 2000)
    • Native Americans raising funds to defeat long-time foe, U.S. Sen. Slade Gordon, a Washington state Republican who has opposed Indian rights and social programs. (In These Times: Oct. 2, 2000)

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