THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

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

Major Media Ignores Afghanistan's Growing Refugee Crisis
Corporate media and heads of state assail Taliban destruction of Buddhist statues, but fail to call attention to the plight of refugees, comparable to Kosovo crisis
Interview by Scott Harris.

Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, this nation, one of the poorest in the world, has been devastated by war, drought and the fanatical rule of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban government. In recent months some 200,000 refugees have fled Afghanistan into squalid camps across the border in Pakistan. Nearly 1.2 million refugees already populate camps in Pakistan which are plagued by rampant disease and malnutrition.

But the latest refugee crisis in Afghanistan has been all but ignored by the U.S. corporate media, which has chosen instead to focus their attention on the Taliban's destruction of ancient Buddhist statues at Bumiyan.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan recently visited Afghan refugee camps in order to enlist humanitarian support for victims of the crisis.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Sonali Kolhatkar, of the aid organization Afghan Women's Mission, who describes the plight of the refugees and the brutal subjugation of women under Taliban rule.

Contact the Afghan Women's Mission by calling (626) 485-3092 or visit their Web site at: www.afghanwomensmission.org or www.rawa.org, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.

Related links:

• Human Rights Watch World Report 1999 on Afghanistan www.hrw.org
• "Major Media Ignores Afghanistan's Growing Refugee Crisis," Between The Lines Q&A, transcript of this interview, March 19, 2001.

Author Barbara Ehrenreich Criticizes Democratic Party's Weak Response to Bush Administration's Right-Wing Agenda
Interview by Scott Harris.

George W. Bush, in office for only six weeks, can already point to several victories for Republicans. His administration's $1.6 trillion dollar tax cut proposal was passed by the House of Representatives March 8, with 10 Democrats joining the GOP to support a bill which critics say will disproportionately benefit the nation's wealthiest citizens. The legislation now moves to the evenly split Senate where it faces a tougher fight. At the urging of the new president, Congress repealed the Clinton administration's workplace protection rules against repetitive motion injuries. And George Bush is also hopeful that a Republican bill will succeed in allowing his friends in the oil business to soon start drilling in the pristine Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.

Bush executive orders have denied future funding to overseas family planning clinics that either provide abortion counseling or services, and overturned a previous White House rule that supported agreements with labor unions on federal building projects.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with author and columnist Barbara Ehrenreich, who assesses the Bush administration's brand of so-called "compassionate conservatism" and the Democratic party's response.

Author and columnist Barbara Ehrenreich's latest book, "Nickel and Dimed, On Not Getting by in America" will be published by Metropolitan this May.

Related links:

• "Show a Little Compassion," Barbara Ehrenreich's column "Flip Side," The Progressive, March 2001.

Militant Protest Against White Supremacist Leader Matt Hale Leads to Clashes with Police in Wallingford, Conn.
Produced by Scott Harris.

The visit of white supremacist leader Matt Hale to Wallingford, Conn. March 10th, set off militant protest as the founder of the Illinois-based World Church of the Creator spoke to supporters at the town's public library. Hale gained national attention in 1999 when a follower of his went on a shooting spree in a Chicago suburb targeting blacks, Jews and Asians, which killed two and injured nine. Between The Lines' Scott Harris files this report.

Related links:

• Wallingford's White Power Weekend: Cops and anarchists make Matt Hale a hot ticket" New Haven Advocate, by Edward Ericson, Jr., March 15, 2001. Sidebar: "White Power's Friends in Blue," by Hank Hoffman.

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

• Legislative action opposes International Monetary Fund and World Bank's user fees for primary health care, which caused public health indicators to fall in many poor nations during the 1990s. (New Internationalist, January/February, 2001)
• Russia moving to overhaul its harsh prison system. (In These Times, Feb. 19, 2001)
• Award-winning Japanese filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku has generated a storm of controversy about youth violence with his movie "Battle Royale." (World Press Review, March 2001)

Credits:
Senior news editor: Bob Nixon
Program narration: Denise Manzari
News reader: Nigel Rees
Distribution: Anna Manzo, Harry Minot, Jeff Yates
Web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Executive producer: Scott Harris

... MORE ...

Between The Lines Special Report on Protest Against White Supremacists in Wallingford, Conn.

"Protesters Confront World Church of the Creator Founder Matthew Hale" Between The Lines report, March 10, 2001

April 17-22, 2001 FTAA Summit Protest Resources

"Labor, Environmental and Human Rights Groups Organizing to Oppose April Americas Free Trade Treaty Summit in Quebec City" Between The Lines interview with Alliance for Responsible Trade's Karen Hansen Kuhn, Feb. 26, 2001

"Quebec City Crackdown," www.AlterNet.org, by Darryl LeRoux, Feb. 20, 2001

People's Summit of the Americas II, Grassroots coalition Schedule of Events for people's forums, teach-ins, rallies, mass demonstration. (www.sommetdespeuples.org)

Quebec Independent Media Center quebec.indymedia.org

ZNet's Global Economic Crisis resource site Excellent source for understanding global economics and trade issues and particularly in preparation for ongoing demonstrations about economic justice

Between The Lines/WPKN Report on Pacifica Radio Network-WBAI, N.Y. Crisis
Jan. 8, 2001 Interviews with Utrice Leid, Leslie Cagan, and Bernard White

Foreign Reports on the U.S. Election Cover-Up

"Silence Of The Lambs: The Election Story Never Told" www.mediachannel.org, Whistleblowers Section, by Greg Palast, March 1, 2001

Post Inauguration and Electoral Reform Resources

"Making Every Vote Count", The Nation Magazine, Special Section

"Hailing the Thief," The Nation Special Web Exclusive Report, by Ben Ehrenreich

Between The Lines/WPKN 'Profiles Bush Cabinet Nominees' Archive:

"John Ashcroft Sought White Supremacist Political Support"

Interior Department Nominee Gale Norton at Odds with Public Support for Protecting the Environment

"Attorney General Nominee's Career Marked by Opposition to Reproductive Rights and Civil Rights Law"

"From Vietnam to Florida's Disenfranchisement of Black Voters: Unheroic Moments in Secretary of State Nominee Colin Powell's Career"