Between The Lines - Michael Albert: Spanish Protests, Challenging the system (Week Ending June 17, 2011)

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.

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Widespread Protests Challenge Spain's Political and Economic Status Quo

RealAudio MP3

Posted June 8, 2011

Interview with Michael Albert, co-founder of Z Magazine , conducted by Scott Harris

The economic crisis gripping Europe and government austerity measures have triggered angry demonstrations in major cities across the continent, including Athens, Paris and London. More recently, young activists in Spain poured into the streets, and taking inspiration from the popular revolts in the Middle East and North Africa, have occupied Madrid’s Puerta del Sol Square. There, Spaniards from all walks of life have gathered in unexpectedly large numbers to protest an economic and political system they say has given them no hope for the future. Activists in the Square, who call themselves “Indignados,” or the outraged, have organized themselves into a small city run by democratic councils. Police attempts to forcibly remove the demonstrators only swelled their numbers.

The protest which began on a small scale prior to local and regional elections on May 22, have spread across Spain to Barcelona and 50 other cities and towns, and are now in their fourth week. Many of the activists camped out in Puerta del Sol Square speak out on behalf of immigrants and against world hunger. But the major motivation for participation is the estimated 45 percent unemployment rate plaguing Spaniards under the age of 30. Even those lucky enough to have a job are frustrated by being stuck in temporary, poorly paid jobs that forces many to live with their parents.

Anger at Spain’s two major political parties, the center left Socialists and the right-wing People’s Party has fueled demands for constitutional change to permit a political opening for new electoral movements. Other demands include increased taxes on the rich; a higher minimum wage; and more control over big banks and financial institutions. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Michael Albert, co-founder of Z Magazine and author who examines the current wave of sustained protests in Spain, challenging the nation’s economic and political status quo.

MICHAEL ALBERT: If you think about it, what's a "crisis"? A crisis is a disruption of the economy that affects the rich and the powerful. If tens of millions of people a year die of starvation, that's not a crisis. People are unemployed; that's not a crisis. It's only a crisis when it threatens profit. Then the media calls it a crisis. And then, the powers that be try to solve the crisis and they try to do it in a way that betters their own lives. Well, if the public buys that, then what you have is a situation where the public goes along with instructions from the top that says, basically: "Look, you have to shoulder the burden. You have to get less income. You have to lose your job. You have to lose public services."

And that's what happens. And the net result is that eventually the economy is righted and the great mass of people is weaker than they were before. So what's happening in Spain, and in Greece, say, or it may be even be larger? What's happening in these countries is the public has decided, or at least a significant portion of the public has decided: "Hold on a second. The solution to this problem shouldn't be that the great bulk of us, the working people and young people and poor people are worse of. It should be that we're better off. It should be that we not only get back to a situation in which the economy is functioning, and we not only get back to a situation in which the causes of these problems are no longer operative, but we should get back to a situation in which some justice has been attained. Maybe not as much as some of us would like, but more than we have now. And that, we're better off. And so, people take to the streets and they start to make demands and what they're demanding is that we go forward in a way that isn't geared to profit -- the profitmakers. It's geared instead to benefit those who have been on the bottom all along. And that's really what's happening.

And then what happens -- you see it in Spain, you see it in Greece, you saw it before in Argentina some years ago -- what happens is, the public starts to get aroused. It might be a small event that kicks it off, say in North Africa, a particular event might kick it off; a long-standing bit of organizing might kick it off; in Egypt, that was the case. It could be that some students become aroused and then the response kicks it off. Whatever happens, people begin to get it in their head that: "Wait a second, we can actually impact the situation." And that's the crucial leap that has to happen. People have to move from cynicism and despair and the belief that "nothing is really possible, and therefore I should just try and come through this surviving" to a belief that we can get together and do something productive here and make a situation that is beneficial for everybody instead of just for the rich.

BETWEEN THE LINES: I just want to gauge your optimism. You've been at this quite a while, reimagining new political and economic structures. Your book, "PARECON: Life After Capitalism [participatory economics]" is something you've talked about, written about and done a lot of work on. Do you see similar signs of people looking for alternatives, trying to re-imagine a future where we could actually put together a blueprint where there will be some alternatives that are workable or pragmatic?

MICHAEL ALBERT: Yes, even if I didn't, I'd still be optimistic, because history is long. And if we keep working and we keep functioning. "You lose, you lose, you lose, you win." You only have to win real liberty, the real participation once. So my answer's I'd still be.

But actually, in answer to your question, yes, at the moment I see tremendous potential. I think if Joe Hill, an American organizer, came back tomorrow, he would look around and he would say, "My gosh, this country is like, an organizer's dream. Everybody understands that the basic institutions are corrupt and rotten and serve only narrow interests. Everybody gets that. Nobody even denies it. All of popular culture is full of novels and movies which show it. And he would say, "in that context, with people's anger, and with people's pain, it would be easy to organize people." But he'd be wrong, because that obstacle of hopelessness and cynicism is a hard one to overcome. But over the past few years and at an escalating rate, I think it is beginning to be chipped away, and it is beginning to dissipate, and people are beginning to think positively rather than just bemoan their pain. And I don't think it takes long. Once you sort of turn a corner, and once people's mindsets starts to shift, the speed with which it's possible for a new attitude to overtake large sectors of the population and lead to activity, will be quite striking.

Michael Albert is author of “Parecon: Life After Capitalism.” Find more about Michael Albert's work at www.zcommunications.org/.