BETWEEN THE LINES
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ACTIVIST RESOURCES
Panel discussions from the Left Forum, April 18, 2009

10,000 March on Wall St., April 4, 2009

Global social justice movement resources
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Hungry for more news from Between The Lines?

Many BTL interviews are excerpted from Scott Harris' live, 2-hour program, Counterpoint. To hear more in-depth analysis you won't get in mainstream media, listen to Counterpoint LIVE Monday nights from 8 to 10 p.m. EST on WPKN Radio

Counterpoint is now archived in its entirety on The White Rose Society website


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



ISSUES IN DEPTH
'A New Era of Responsibility'

"Push Obama to Follow Through on Peace Vows," by Amy Goodman, The Capital Times (Wisconsin), Jan. 22, 2009
"How to Push Obama," by John Nichols, The Nation, Jan. 12, 2009

"The Danger of Green Stimulus," Jesse Jenkins, Huffington Post, Jan. 5, 2009

"Who Will Seize the Moment?" Turning Crisis into Opportunity, by Ralph Nader, Counterpunch, Dec. 4, 2008

"Community Organizers Press Obama for Real Change," by CommonDreams.org, Dec. 3, 2008

Civil Liberties

"The effects of Obama's refusal to investigate Bush crimes," by Glen Greenwald, Salon.com, Jan. 20, 2009

"Binding U.S. law requires prosecutions for those who authorize torture, " by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Jan. 18, 2009

"Obama Has to Hold Bush Accountable for the Laws He Broke," by Elizabeth Holtzman, The Nation, Jan. 16, 2009

"Obama Must Restore the Constitution: Prosecuting Bush and Cheney," by Dave Lindoff, Counterpunch.org, Jan. 16-19, 2009

A BETTER WORLD IS POSSIBLE: Human Rights Solutions

"Single-Payer Health Care Would Stimulate Economy," by John Nichols, The Nation, Jan. 15, 2009

"Fulfilling the Promise of Human Rights: The Universal Declaration at 60," audio recordings from a Connecticut conference marking the 60th anniversary of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Conn., Dec. 6, 2008

A BETTER WORLD IS POSSIBLE: Converting Fossil Fuel/War Economy to Green, Renewable Energy/Peace Economy


"Green Jobs Should Top Our Economic Recovery List," by Juleyka Lantigua, Jan. 6, 2009

"Obama Must Get Afghanistan Right,"by Katrina Van Heuvel, The Nation, Jan. 9, 2009

"Nine Steps to Peace for Obama in the New Year," by Deepak Chopra, Alternet, Jan. 1, 2009

"Electric Cars Put Hawaii on The Road to Independence," by Times Online/UK, Dec. 4, 2008

"Weapons Come Second: Can Obama Take on the Pentagon?" by Frida Berrigan, TomDispatch.com, Nov. 25, 2008

The FY 2009 Pentagon Spending Request - Global Military Spending, by the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Economic Crisis

"The Outcry Is Muted, But The Food Crisis Is Getting Worse," by Jayati Ghosh, The Guardian/UK, Jan. 9, 2009

"Ideas for Obama, "by Paul Krugman, by The New York Times, Jan. 12, 2009

"The Ponzi Scheme Presidency: Bush's Legacy of Destruction," by Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, January/February, 2009

"Fiscal Therapy," by David Cay Johnston, Mother Jones, January/February, 2009

"A Look At Wall Street's Shadow Market: How Some Arcane Wall Street Financial Instruments Magnified Economic Crisis," 60 Minutes, Oct. 5, 2008

"Swapping Secrecy for Transparency," by Christopher Cox, SEC Chairman, The New York Times Op-Ed, Oct. 19, 2008

"The Bet That Blew Up Wall Street: Steve Kroft On Credit Default Swaps And Their Central Role In The Unfolding Economic Crisis," 60 Minutes, Oct. 26, 2008

Broken Government



"Broken Government: By The Numbers," 40 ways in which the federal government failed to perform under the administration of George W. Bush, 2001-2008

Class Warfare

"How the Rich Are Different From You and Me,"Places that went for Obama are richer and smarter than places that went for McCain, by Bill Bishop and Robert Cushing, Slate, Dec. 11, 2008

"Questions About the $700 Billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Funds, " First Report of the Congressional Oversight Panel for Economic Stabilization, Dec. 10, 2008

War And Profiteering

"This Is Change? Twenty Hawks, Clintonites and Neocons to Watch for in Obama's White House," by Jeremy Scahill,Alternet, Nov. 20, 2008


"Don't Let Barack Obama Break Your Heart," Why Americans Shouldn't Go Home, by Tom Engelhardt, Nov. 12, 2008

"The Future of Iraq: The Spoils of War," Blood and oil: How the West will profit from Iraq's most precious commodity, by Danny Fortson, Andrew Murray-Watson and Tim Webb, The Independent/UK, Jan. 7, 2007

"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 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

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

Between The Lines

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Posted Nov. 5, 2009

Between The Lines
For The Week Ending Nov. 13, 2009


SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

After last week's website upgrade, it appears that Between The Lines' webhosting service is still experiencing intermittent problems. If you are unable to access our full-length program, please try these links:

- The A-Infos Radio Project (public access - a.k.a. Radio For All- www.radio4all.net) at http://tinyurl.com/yhmrkhs. This link includes an iTunes podcast subscription.
- Pacifica Radio Network (station affiliates only -- www.audioport.org) at http://tinyurl.com/yjf2gzt or the Pacifica Radio Network satellite, KU left channel


Please feel free to contact us with any questions at (203) 268-8446

"CAPITALISM HITS THE FAN:
The Global Economic Crisis
and What To Do About It"


THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO ATTENDED our OCT. 24 EVENT

Richard Wolff, professor emeritus of economics and consultant
on "Capitalism: A Love Story," shared his analysis and solutions


We had a great turnout, very interesting.
We will be offering an audio version
of the talk, stay tuned. (203) 268-8446
More details on the day's events here.


THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

 RealAudio (full-length) |  MP3 (full-length)
RSS broadcast-quality MP3 RSS near-broadcast quality MP3


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

Karzai Government Corruption Hobbles
Obama Afghan War Strategy


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Mel Goodman,
former CIA analyst,
conducted by Scott Harris


afghan

In a blow to Washington's efforts to restore credibility to a tainted election process, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's main challenger dropped out of the presidential run off election scheduled for Nov. 7. Former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah refused to participate in the second round election, declaring he felt they would be as fraudulent as the first vote in August, in which almost a million ballots for Karzai were thrown out as illegitimate. Karzai was declared the winner by the Afghan Election Commission and will now serve a new five-year term.

Adding to his government's credibility problems, President Karzai's brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, is reported to have been on the payroll of the CIA over the past eights years, while also being involved in Afghanistan's opium trade. He denies both charges. President Obama congratulated Karzai on his victory while reminding him that his government needs to address widespread allegations of corruption and incompetence.

Now Obama must move forward to decide on the future U.S. strategy to confront the growing Taliban insurgency, and whether or not to accept the recommendation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal to deploy up to another 40,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Between the Lines' Scott Harris spoke with former CIA analyst Melvin Goodman, who assesses the credibility of the Karzai government and the choices facing President Obama on defining U.S. objectives and strategy in the Afghan War.

Mel Goodman is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and adjunct professor of Government at Johns Hopkins University. His latest book is titled, "Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA." For more information, visit www.ciponline.org

Civil Disobedience Actions Launched
to Stop Mountain Top Removal


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Matthew Louis-Rosenberg,
anti-mountain top coal mining activist
conducted by Melinda Tuhus


mountaintop

Mountaintop removal is the process of literally blasting the tops off mountains, primarily used in southern Appalachia to mine the thin seams of coal underneath. The blasted rock and clay is dumped into the narrow valleys below, often burying streams and brooks. Using government data, activists have estimated that 2,000 miles of waterways have been buried or destroyed. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that by 2010, a total of 1.4 million acres of Appalachia's mountains will have been destroyed by this coal-mining practice.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spent a week in southern West Virginia in mid-October. One of the activists she met there was Matthew Louis-Rosenberg, who grew up in the Catskill Mountains of New York and traveled to West Virginia to support the residents there opposing mountaintop removal. He currently serves as a staff member of Coal River Mountain Watch. Louis-Rosenberg was one of more than 100 people arrested so far this year for engaging in non-violent civil disobedience to stop the mining practice. A West Virginia jury convicted him of trespassing and conspiracy in mid-October and fined the activist over $2,700. Others have been sentenced to jail time.

In the third installment in her series of interviews on West Virginia coal mining, Melinda Tuhus spoke with Louis-Rosenberg in early November after his trial, where he talks about the alliance between local residents and out of state supporters. He also explains how the extraction and burning of coal has become such an important issue in the national debate on energy and climate change.

Contact Coal River Mountain Watch and Climate Ground Zero at (304) 854-1937 or visit their websites at www.crmw.net or www.climategroundzero.com

Related links:

Former Religious Right Activist Warns
Against Incitement to Violence


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Frank Schaeffer,
conducted by Scott Harris


rightwing

The conservative "tea party" protesters whose signs and shouts at town hall meetings compared President Obama to Hitler and Stalin; accusations that Mr. Obama is not a U.S. citizen and assertions that "death panels" are a central element of health care reform proposals, provides only a quick snapshot of America's resurgent right-wing movement.

Despite conservative anger in April when the Department of Homeland Security had warned about the potential for violence from extremist anti-government and anti-abortion groups, a pattern of such violence has ensued.

In early April, three Pittsburgh police officers were killed by a white supremacist. The man accused of murdering a black security guard at Washington D.C.'s Holocaust Museum on June 10, James von Brunn, was a well-known white supremacist with a documented history of attacks on blacks, Jews, and the federal government. Scott Roeder, the man charged in the May 31 assassination of Kansas abortion provider Dr. George Tiller is purported to have been a member of an antigovernment militia in Montana during the mid-1990s.

One conservative religious leader, Frank Schaeffer, who quit in disgust over the extremist doctrine he and his colleagues preached, has been active in a new movement warning about the rising danger of domestic terrorism by right-wing fringe groups. Schaeffer's evangelical-leader father, Francis Schaeffer, wrote a best-selling book titled, "A Christian Manifesto," in which he equated legal abortion to the Holocaust. Between the Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Frank Schaeffer about the danger he sees in the failure to challenge right-wing hate groups inciting violence and the media outlets that amplify their message.

Frank Schaeffer is author of "Patience With God," and "Crazy for God." Visit his website at www.frankschaeffer.com. Contact a coalition fighting extremist violence at stopdomeesticterror.com


Related Links:

This week's summary
of under-reported news


 RealAudio  MP3

Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • The investigative website ProPublica reports the United Nations cannot account for the tens of millions of dollars given to the Afghan election commission. ( "UN Can't Account for Millions Sent to Afghan Election Board," www.propublica.org, Oct. 29, 2009)
  • Three decades ago, China unleashed economic reforms that spurred massive export-led growth, lifting millions of people out of poverty. But China's economic rise came at a cost of dismantling the Maoist era "cradle to grave" health care system; today over 300 million Chinese lack any health insurance. ("In China, Too, Health-Care System in Disarray," Washington Post, Oct. 29, 2009)
  • San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome has dropped out of the 2010 race for California's governor, leaving the Democratic primary to Attorney Gen. Jerry Brown, who served as the state's governor from 1975 to 1982. ("Gavin Newsome Drops Out of Calif. Governor's Race," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 31, 2009; "See Jerry Run Again, " American Prospect, Sept. 24, 2009


Credits:
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Segment producers: Scott Harris, Melinda Tuhus
Senior news editor: Bob Nixon
Program narration: Denise Manzari
News reader: Emily Santos-Poplawski
Senior web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Web producer: Jeffrey P. Yates
Web consultant: Gary Trujillo
Newswire editors: Hank Hoffman
Photo editor: Scott Harris
Outreach coordinator: Anna Manzo
Distribution: Anna Manzo and Jeffrey P. Yates
Theme music: Written by Richard Hill and Jody Gray, and performed by Mikata


Between The Lines
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Wednesdays, 12 noon; Sundays, 5:30 p.m. ET


Listen to Between The Lines live at these times by clicking here!
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Last Week's Program

Between The Lines Week Ending 11/6/09

Between The Lines' Blog

"Reading Between The Lines"

U.S. Politics

"Lieberman Puts the Brakes on the Public Option," by Scott Galindez, Truthout, Oct. 27, 2009

"Democrats Divided Over Reid Proposal for Public Option," The New York Times, Oct. 27, 2009

"Senate's Leader Vows to Pursue a Public Option on Health Care," The New York Times, Oct. 26, 2009

More newswire ...

Economy

"Wall Street adds insult to injury," by Dean Baker, Guardian/UK, Oct. 26, 2009

"Showdown Against the Greedy Bankers in Chicago," by Rob Johnson, NewDeal 2.0, Oct. 26, 2009

"Trying to Rein In 'Too Big to Fail' Institutions," The New York Times, Oct. 25, 2009

"Freddie Mac, Given Oversight of Mortgage Mod Program, Falls Down on Job," Pro Publica, Oct. 22, 2009

"Why Wall Street Reform is Stuck in Reverse," by Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog, Oct. 21, 2009

"Financial Support for the Unemployed Dries Up at the Worst Possible Time," by Marianne Hill, Dollars and Sense, Oct. 15, 2009

More newswire ...

Bush Accountability

"Is that 'Keep America Safe'-or 'Keep Cheney Out of Jail?,'" by Scott Horton, Harper's, Oct. 26, 2009

"The Cover-Up Continues," The New York Times editorial, Oct. 26, 2009

"Obama Urged to Fully Comply with Anti-Torture Treaty," Inter Press Service, Oct. 26, 2009

"Bush Jokes as Protesters Burn His Effigy in Montreal," CTV News/Canada, Oct. 23, 2009

More newswire ...

International Affairs

"Honduran Coup Myths Dispelled," by Stewart J. Lawrence, Counterpunch, Oct. 27, 2009

"Welcome to 2025: American Preeminence Is Disappearing Fifteen Years Early," by Tom Engelhardt & Nick Turse, TomDispatch, Oct. 26, 2009

"ElBaradei to the Rescue," by Gordon Prather, Antiwar.com, Oct. 24, 2009

"What Really Prompted Iran to Build the Qom Enrichment Facility?," by Gareth Porter, Counterpunch, Oct. 23-25, 2009

"Whatever Bibi Wants, Bibi Gets: Will the real Barack Obama please stand up to Israel?," by Yousef Munayyer, Foreign Policy, Oct. 21, 2009

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan

"October new deadliest month for US in Afghanistan," Associated Press, Oct. 27, 2009

"Former Marine captain resigns in protest of Afghanistan war," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Oct. 27, 2009

"U.S. official resigns over Afghan war," Washington Post, Oct. 27, 2009

"Iraq is safer - but by no means safe," by Patrick Cockburn, Independent/UK, Oct. 26, 2009

"Bombings rock Iraq's political landscape," Washington Post, Oct. 26, 2009

"Iraq Bombings, Deadliest Since 2007, Raise Security Issue," The New York Times, Oct. 25, 2009

"Karzai rules out sharing power," Washington Post, Oct. 25, 2009

"Beware a Times/Pentagon 'Virtual Coup' on Aghanistan," by Harvey Wasserman, Common Dreams, Oct. 25, 2009

"The Murderous Thugs We are Supporting in Afghanistan--and Why a Heroine Wants Us Out," by Brian Tamanaha, Balkinization, Oct. 25, 2009

"NATO 'sorry' for killing Afghans, to investigate," Reuters, Oct. 24, 2009

"NATO 'sorry' for killing Afghans, to investigate," Reuters, Oct. 24, 2009

"Bomb hits outside suspected Pakistani nuclear-weapons site," McClatchy Newspapers, Oct. 23, 2009

"Obama's Choice: Failed War President or the Prince of Peace?," by Tom Engelhardt & Nick Turse, TomDispatch, Oct. 22, 2009

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties/ Human Rights

"Who's in Big Brother's Database?," by James Bamford, New York Review of Books, Nov. 5, 2009

"The Death of Privacy: Technology and the Challenge for Social Activists," by Tolu Olorunda, Truthout, Oct. 27, 2009

"Details of CIA Snatch Effort Unfold in a Canadian Courtroom," by Scott Horton, Harper's, Oct. 27, 2009

"Intel Panel: CIA Misled Lawmakers On Torture, Other Issues," by Zachary Roth, Talking Points Memo, Oct. 27, 2009

"The Execution of Cameron Willingham," by Michael Snedeker, Counterpunch, Oct. 26, 2009

"4 Prisoners Facing Executions or Serving Extreme Jail Sentences Who Very Well May Be Innocent," by Liliana Segura, AlterNet, Oct. 26, 2009

"Tell Me This Isn't Torture," by digby, Hullabaloo, Oct. 26, 2009

"When Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib Come Home," by Bill Quigley and Deborah Popowski, Counterpunch, Oct. 26, 2009

"Peaceful protesters included on police database of 'domestic extremists,'" Telegraph/UK, Oct. 26, 2009

"Prosecutors Turn Tables on Student Journalists," The New York Times, Oct. 24, 2009

"Texas, the Eyes of Justice Are Upon You," by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship, Common Dreams, Oct. 24, 2009

"The unconstitutionality of the congressional GOP's ACORN obsession," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Oct. 23, 2009

"Musicians (Finally) Say No to Music Torture," by Andy Worthington, Common Dreams, Oct. 23, 2009

"Have Any Patriot Act Horror Stories Come True?," by Julian Sanchez, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 23, 2009

More newswire ...

Environment and Sustainability

"Go veggie to fight global warming, says expert," Independent/UK, Oct. 27, 2009

"Chromium 6 still threatens California's drinking water," by Erin Brockovich, Sacramento Bee (California), Oct. 26, 2009

"Battle at Coal River Mountain Explodes: Green Jobs Vs. Big Coal Showdown," by Jeff Biggers, Common Dreams, Oct. 26, 2009

"Getting One's Polar Bearings on Climate Change," by Randall Amster, Common Dreams, Oct. 23, 2009

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"The Presidency and The Rise of the New Partisan Press," by Jack Balkin, Balkinization, Oct. 23, 2009

"Latinos to CNN: Are You With Us or Against Us?," by Manuel Avendano, El Diario La Prensa (New York), Oct. 22, 2009

More newswire ...

Activism

"Showdown in Chicago: Protesters Rally Against Big Banks' Anti-Reform Lobbying," by Meg White, BuzzFlash, Oct. 27, 2009

"Protesters in Chicago March on Offices of Goldman, Wells Fargo," Wall Street Journal, Oct. 26, 2009

"Protesters storm big bankers meet, chant 'we'll be back' as police escort them out," Raw Story, Oct. 25, 2009

"Serving soldier leads London protest against war in Afghanistan," Guardian/UK, Oct. 24, 2009

"Public Option Annie: Activists serenade AHIP members," Billionaires for Wealthcare, YouTube, Oct. 23, 2009

"Cyber Resistance," by Dahr Jamail, Truthout, Oct. 23, 2009

More newswire ...



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