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Global social justice movement resources
Collection of interviews and Web sites with contacts for breaking news about the global social justice movement. (Audio files in MP3 and RealAudio formats.)

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Hungry for more news from "Between The Lines?"

Many BTL interviews are excerpted from Scott Harris' WPKN program, "Counterpoint." To hear more in-depth analysis you'll rarely hear in corporate media, listen to "Counterpoint" LIVE Monday nights from 8 to 10 p.m. ET.

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Check out our
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WPKN Radio mentioned in Danny Schechter's "The News Dissector" column on independent media values. Click here to view the column on Mediachannel.org.

New Haven Advocate's
"Best of New Haven 2001"
-- Staff Picks --
Scott Harris, Best Radio News Reporter
WPKN Radio, 89.5 FM

"Giving Voice to Dissent: Bridgeport's WPKN Radio Covers The News With Left-Of-Center Takes Not Found In The Mainstream Media" Hartford Courant, Feb. 26, 2003

"The Rest of the News," New Haven Advocate, July 3, 2003


ISSUES IN-DEPTH

War And Profiteering

Those Who Dared to Come Forward
Compilation of Washington insiders speaking out on Bush administration policies and actions

Project for the New American Century's Letter to President Clinton on Iraq, Jan. 26, 1998 Urges President Clinton to remove the threat that Iraq poses by stating a strategy to do so in his "upcoming State of the Union Address."

"Iraq On The Record," U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman report, March 16, 2004

"Greenspan Testimony Highlights Bush Plan for Deliberate Federal Bankruptcy," by Michael Meurer, truthout.org, March 2, 2004

"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 War & The Bush Administration's Pursuit of Global Domination," Counterpoint, Sept. 15, 2003

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

"Occupation, Inc." Southern Exposure, Winter, 2003/2004

"Pipeline Politics: Oil, The Taliban, and the Political Balance of Central Asia," World Press Review Special Report, Nov.-Dec. 2001

"War Profiteering," by The Nation editors, April 24, 2003

"An Annotated Saddam Chronology," ZNet, Dec. 15, 2003

Civil Liberties

"The Global Gulag: Into The Shadows," by Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, April 5, 2004

"Keeping Secrets: The Bush administration is doing the public's business out of the public eye. Here's how--and why," by Christopher H. Schmitt and Edward T. Pound, U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 12, 2003

"FBI Memo: Tactics Used During Protests And Demonstrations" Federal Bureau of Investigation, Oct. 15, 2003

"F.B.I. Scrutinizes Antiwar Rallies" by Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, Nov. 23, 2003

"Fascism Anyone?" 14 Signs of Fascism, Free Inquiry Magazine, Volume 23, No. 2

"Germany In 1933: The Easy Slide Into Fascism," The Crisis Papers, June 9, 2003

Multi-Ethnic Issues Advocacy

Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson's Commentaries, The Hutchinson Report
and in Audio (needs RealPlayer)

Between
The Lines

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Between The Lines
For The Week Ending Dec. 24, 2004

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

  • U.S. Involvement in Ukraine Election Crisis
    Could Trigger a New Cold War with Russia

    For story text, Click here!

  • U.S. Veterans Say Iraq Insurgency Grows
    as the War is Mismanaged

    For story text, Click here!

  • Abuse of Iraqi and Afghan Detainees
    Linked to U.S. Training in Torture
    at Army's School of the Americas

    For story text, Click here!

  • Underreported News Summary
    from Around the World

    For full summary, Click here!
LISTEN to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below. MP3 files available until Dec. 28, 2004.

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

U.S. Involvement in Ukraine Election Crisis
Could Trigger a New Cold War with Russia

Interview with Stephen F. Cohen,
professor of Russian Studies at New York University,
conducted by Scott Harris

For weeks, the U.S. media has featured extensive coverage of the massive protests in Kiev, dubbed the "Orange Revolution," which resulted in Ukraine's Supreme Court invalidating the Nov. 21 presidential election after allegations of widespread fraud. The West's favored candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, will now face Viktor Yanukovich, backed by Moscow, in a new election scheduled for Dece. 26. Yuschenko claims that he was poisoned by dioxin in a failed pre-election assassination attempt that left his face disfigured.

But while the Bush administration charged that Russian President Vladimir Putin had improperly interfered in the tainted November election that had initially seen Yanukovich declared the winner, the U.S. was itself deeply involved in Ukraine's political process. British and U.S. press reports indicate that the U.S. spent more than $65 million in support of Ukranian opposition groups and the underwriting of an exit poll used to discredit the election results. Although the U.S. says it did not directly fund candidates -- but rather supported groups working for democracy -- some members of the Ukrainian parliament are demanding an investigation.

The U.S. State Department has been selectively engaged in similar efforts in other nations once part of, or allied with the former Soviet Union such as Georgia, Balarus and Serbia. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with with Stephen F. Cohen, professor of Russian Studies and History at New York University, who examines U.S. involvement in Ukraine's election and the concern that tensions with Moscow there could trigger a new Cold War.

Stephen Cohen's latest book is titled, "Failed Crusade, America and the Tragedy of Post-Communist Russia" published by Norton.

Related links:

U.S. Veterans Say Iraq Insurgency Grows
as the War is Mismanaged

Interview with Paul Rieckhoff,
former U.S. Army lieutenant,
and founder of Operation Truth
conducted by Scott Harris

Dec. 12 marked the deadliest day for U.S. forces serving in Iraq in more than a month, when eight U.S. Marines were killed in operations in and around Falluja. Despite a series of pronouncements designed to assure the American public that the Iraq war is going well, the insurgency continues to grow with security deteriorating across wide swaths of the country. Yet, the White House and Iraq's interim government are determined to proceed with national elections scheduled for Jan. 30, ignoring calls for a delay by a number of important political parties.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, already the target of a lawsuit filed in Germany holding him and other Bush administration officials responsible for torture and war crimes committed in Iraq, recently visited U.S. troops in Kuwait bound for combat duty in Iraq for what he thought was a photo op. But in a meeting with 2, 300 soldiers, the Defense Secretary encountered tough questions from National Guard reservists who asked why they were forced to search out scrap metal to protect their vehicles. Meanwhile Arizona's Republican Sen. John McCain expressed his strong disagreement on the way the war is being run by bluntly telling a reporter that he has "no confidence" in Rumsfeld.

Paul Rieckhoff, a former U.S. Army first lieutenant who served in Iraq from January 2003 through February 2004, came back to the U.S. with deep concerns about the conduct of the war and the treatment of veterans. He recently founded the veterans advocacy group Operation Truth where he serves as executive director. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Rieckhoff about his own experience in Iraq and the reality of the war he is working to convey to the American people.

Call Operation Truth at (212) 982-9699 or visit their website at www.optruth.org

Related links:

Abuse of Iraqi and Afghan Detainees
Linked to U.S. Training in Torture
at Army's School of the Americas

Interview with Kathy Kelly,
founding member, Voices in the Wilderness
conducted by Melinda Tuhus

In 1996, a group of Americans founded Voices in the Wilderness to respond to the U..N/U.S. sanctions imposed on Iraq in 1990. UNICEF, an arm of the United Nations, determined that by the mid-1990s, the sanctions had led to the death of half a million Iraqi children. The first Persian Gulf War had destroyed much of Iraq's infrastructure, and the sanctions prevented the country from rebuilding under Saddam Hussein.

Voices in the Wilderness opposed, first, economic sanctions, and then the U.S. war against the Iraqi people. The group has organized more than 70 delegations to Iraq in deliberate violation of U.N. economic sanctions and U.S. law. Volunteers have lived alongside ordinary Iraqis before and during the U.S. invasion and throughout the current U.S. occupation of Iraq. In defiance of the sanctions, the group publicly delivered modest amounts of medical supplies to children and families in need, for which the organization has been targeted by the government for a civil penalty of $20,000.

Kathy Kelly, a founding member of Voices in the Wilderness, committed civil disobedience last year at the School of the Americas' protest at Fort Benning, Ga. Opponents of the school, which trains Latin American military officers, have long demanded its closure, because many of those trained have committed atrocities against their own people. Kelly served three months in the women's federal prison in Pekin, Ill. earlier this year for committing civil disobedience at the Fort Benning protest. Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Kelly at this year's SOA protest on Nov. 20, where the activist talks about what she learned in prison and why opposing the School of the Americas complements her work against the U.S. military occupation of Iraq.

Contact Voices in the Wilderness by calling (773) 784-8065 or visit their website at www.vitw.org

This week's summary
of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • The U.S. and Japan are the only industrialized nations that carry out executions. However, a growing number of Japanese lawyers and legislators are urging the suspension of executions and abolition of the death penalty. ("Capital Questions," The Guardian, Oct. 12, 2004)
  • A Human Rights Watch report documents the level of anti-gay violence in Jamaica and its relationship to the nation's HIV-infection rate, which is the highest outside of sub-Saharan Africa. ("The Fear That Spreads Death," The Economist, Nov. 27, 2004 and "Jamaica: Police Violence Fuels AIDS Epidemic," Human Rights Watch, Nov. 16, 2004)
  • The Environmental Protection Agency reclassifies six chemicals which environmentalists say are still toxic and require regulation in the interest of public health. ("EPA reclassifies 6 chemicals as less toxic," Environmental News Service, Nov. 22, 2004)

DOWNLOAD this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below. Needs Quicktime Player or your favorite MP3 player. Note: Make sure your browser is set for streaming or download depending on your connection speed. MP3 files available until Dec. 28, 2004

Note to our broadcast affiliates: We are now offering FTP access for faster, more reliable download of our broadcast quality files. Please call Anna Manzo at (203) 268-8446 ext. 2, to register for FTP logon access or send feedback to us at betweenthelines@snet.net.

Credits:
Senior news editor: Bob Nixon
Program narration: Elaine Osowski
News reader: Indu Anand
Segment producer: Melinda Tuhus
Distribution: Anna Manzo, Harry Minot, Jeff Yates, Bill Cosentino
Senior Web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Web producer: Jeff Yates
Newswire editor: Hank Hoffman
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Theme music: Mikata


Between The Lines
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Last Week's Program

Between The Lines Week Ending 12/17/04

Between The Lines Community Forum

Share your thoughts with the Between The Lines crew and listeners' community!

Election 2004

"Ohio Justice Throws Out Election Challenge," Associated Press, Dec. 16, 2004

"Conyers 'Prepared' To Contest Ohio Electoral Vote," by Keith Olbermann, MSNBC, Dec. 16, 2004

"The Return Of The Hanging Chad," Associated Press, Dec. 16, 2004

"American Democracy Hangs By A Thread In Ohio," by Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld & Harvey Wasserman, Columbus Free Press, Dec. 15, 2004

"Proof Of Ohio Election Fraud Exposed," by William Rivers Pitt, Truthout, Dec. 15, 2004

More newswire ...

Bush Regime

"Bush Gets To Fill Ranks Of New Intelligence Superstructure," Washington Post, Dec. 16, 2004

"Inaugural Events To Salute Armed Forces; Tightest Security Ever," Washington Post, Dec. 16, 2004

More newswire ...

American Empire/War Profiteering

"Gearing Up For A Draft?," by Mike Whitney, Counterpunch, Dec. 16, 2004

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan

"A Flood Of Troubled Soldiers In The Offing," The New York Times, Dec. 16, 2004

"The Pattern Of Discontent In The Ranks," Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 16, 2004

"Mass Graves: Are We There Yet?," by Mark Drolette, Antiwar.com, Dec. 16, 2004

"For Faith And Country, Insurgents Fight On," Guardian/UK, Dec. 16, 2004

"War Funding Request May Hit $100 Billion," Boston Globe, Dec. 15, 2004

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties/ Human Rights

"Pentagon Tells Detainees About Their Right To Go To Court," Washington Post, Dec. 16, 2004

"New Revelations Indicate Abuse Was Systemic," by Jim Lobe, Antiwar.com, Dec. 16, 2004

"The Legacy Of Judicial Activism," by Stephen Pomper, Washington Monthly, Dec. 16, 2004

"After Pinochet, Prosecute Kissinger," by Paul Cantor & Roger Burbach, Pacific News Service, Dec. 15, 2004

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"A Dubious Doc," by Eartha Meltzer, In These Times, Dec. 16, 2004

"Killing Us Softly: The Cowardice Of The Mainstream Press In The Face Of American Wars," by Abhinav Aima, Common Dreams, Dec. 15, 2004

"Balance In The Service Of Falsehood," by David Edwards & David Cromwell, Guardian/UK, Dec. 15, 2004

More newswire ...

Activism

"Staughton Lynd: A Pacifist Who Means Business," American Leftist, Dec. 15, 2004

"Getting Out Of Iraq: A Letter To The Peace Movement," by Mike Kress, Common Dreams, Dec. 14, 2004

More newswire ...

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