BETWEEN THE LINES
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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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New Haven Advocate's
"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

"The First Hundred Days or the Last Hundred Days? Obama's Rendezvous with Destiny -- and Ours," by Ira Chernus, by TomDispatch.com, Dec. 10, 2008

"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 March 11, 2009

Between The Lines
For The Week Ending March 20, 2009


chavez lede

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:


Obama Budget Makes Clean Break
with Bush Trickle-Down Ideology


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Robert Borosage,
co-director of Campaign for America's Future,
conducted by Scott Harris


budget

In unveiling his first proposed budget for fiscal year 2010, President Barack Obama has staked out new priorities for the nation, making a clean break with his predecessor's trickle down, "government is the enemy" philosophy. In justifying its change in direction, the White House attached a narrative to the budget titled, "Growing Imbalance: Accumulating Wealth and Closing Doors to the Middle Class," which presented a set of statistics illustrating growing wealth inequality and making the case that a change in the tax code was necessary to redress the imbalance that for 8 years has harmed America's middle class.

The 3.6 trillion dollar budget proposes an increase in taxes on couples earning more than $250,000 a year, by raising the top two marginal income tax rates to 39.6 percent and 36 percent, limiting itemized tax deductions and increasing taxes on capital gains to 20 percent from the current 15 percent. Taxes on Wall Street Financiers would also be raised. On the spending side, Obama wants to make major investments in energy independence, the environment, education and health care reform.

The president's budget will undoubtedly be challenged by Republicans, many of whom have a fierce loyalty to policies favoring corporations and the wealthy, an ideology championed by Ronald Reagan. But, conservative Congressional Democrats maybe the most formidable obstacle in winning passage of Obama's key priorities. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Robert Borosage, co-director of Campaign for America's Future, who explains how Obama's budget moves the nation in a more progressive direction and the important political battles that lie ahead.

Contact Campaign for America's Future at (202) 955-5665 or visit the group's website at ourfuture.org


Single-Payer Marginalized at
Obama Health Care Reform Summit


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Dr. Oliver Fein,
president of Physicians for a National Health Program,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus


healthcare

On March 5, President Obama invited over 100 health care experts to the White House to consider solutions for repairing the broken U.S. health insurance system. About 40 million Americans are currently uninsured, which is actually a drop of several million since federal coverage was recently extended to low-income children under the SCHIP bill, which had been vetoed twice by former President Bush. However, several million Americans remain under-insured.

Of all the experts invited, not one was a supporter of single-payer health care, also known as "Medicare for All." Labeled incorrectly by critics as "socialized medicine," single-payer has been targeted by health insurance companies who have an enormous financial interest in discouraging support among the American people. However, polls show a majority of Americans do support the concept of government-provided health insurance.

After protests over the exclusion of single-payer advocates from the Obama health care summit, the guest list was expanded to include Michigan Rep. John Conyers, who has introduced single-payer legislation -- HR676, which now has almost 100 co-sponsors -- and Dr. Oliver Fein, president of Physicians for a National Health Program. Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Dr. Fein, a practicing internist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, about support for single-payer among consumers and health providers, and its chances of success in this year of economic free fall.

For more information, call (312) 782-6006 or visit the group's website at www.pnhp.org

Related links:

Global Activists To Protest
Water Privatization at Istanbul Conference


 RealAudio  MP3

Interview with Wenonah Hauter,
executive director of Food and Water Watch,
conducted by Scott Harris



water

As the world's supply of fresh, potable water declines, multinational corporations around the world have moved to acquire and privatize municipal water supplies in the quest for profit. While big water companies like Bechtel, German energy conglomerate RWE and French-based Vivendi and Suez, argue that privately-owned water utilities lead to greater economic efficiency and stabilize rates, critics maintain that water privatization has been a disaster in terms of declining water quality and unaffordable rates which limit community access.

In Cochabamba, Bolivia, skyrocketing rate hikes on water -- which followed the privatization of water resources by Bechtel -- led to a violent water rebellion in 2000 that forced the government to cancel the contract and turn over management of the water system back to the community.

When the corporate-sponsored fifth World Water Forum convenes in Istanbul, Turkey from March 16 through 22, an international coalition of activists will be present to protest the Forum's stance on water privatization and defend access to water as a universal human right. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch, part of the coalition of groups that will be present in Istanbul. Hauter talks about the failure of water privatization and the campaign to draft an international treaty that will limit the exploitation of water as a for-profit commodity.

Contact Food and Water Watch at (202) 683-2500, or visit their website at www.foodandwaterwatch.org

This week's summary
of under-reported news


 RealAudio  MP3

Compiled by Bob Nixon

  • The future of once-promising secret India-Pakistan talks to create an autonomous Kashmir region with open trade borders are now in doubt. ("The Back Channel" New Yorker, March 2, 2009; "Secret India-Pakistan Talks Cited," Washington Post, Feb. 22, 2009)
  • After the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudan President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes -- namely his complicity in Darfur atrocities -- Bashir expelled 13 western-based humanitarian groups, such as Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders. ("Court Issues War Crimes Warrant for Sudan's Bashir," Associated Press, March 4, 2009; "Sudan Ousts Aid Groups After Court Pursues President," Washington Post, March 4, 2009; "President al-Bashir of Sudan Taunts the West as Aid Agencies Warn of Crisis," Times of London, March 8, 2009; "Sudan's False Dawn," Mail and Guardian, March 6, 2009;)
  • Corporate America has raised an estimated $100 million and created front groups to defeat the labor-backed Employee Free Choice Act that would allow workers to use a card-check system to win union recognition. ("Ready to Rumble," In These Times, Feruary 2009)


Credits:
Executive producer: Scott Harris
Segment producers: Scott Harris, Melinda Tuhus
Senior news editor: Bob Nixon
Program narration: Denise Manzari
News reader: Ruben Abreu
Copy editor: Chris Ferrio
Senior web editor/producer: Anna Manzo
Web producer: Jeffrey P. Yates
Web consultant: Gary Trujillo
Newswire editor: 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
Airs on WPKN 89.5 FM ET
Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Wednesdays, 8 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
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Last Week's Program

Between The Lines Week Ending 3/13/09

Between The Lines' Blog

"Reading Between The Lines"

U.S. Politics

"Israel Lobby Defeats Freeman Appointment," by Robert Dreyfuss, The Nation, Mar. 10, 2009

"Charles Freeman fails the loyalty test," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Mar. 10, 2009

"Can Congress Save Obama from Afghan Quagmire?," by Robert Naiman, Common Dreams, Mar. 10, 2009

"Geithner's Charade: Dithering on the Edge of the Abyss," by Mike Whitney, Counterpunch, Mar. 9, 2009

"Competing Views of Government: Universal Medicare or Government-Protected Insurance Companies," by Dean Baker, Truthout, Mar. 9, 2009

"A fight I didn't intend to get into: Chas Freeman," by James Fallows, The Atlantic, Mar. 6, 2009

"Reimagining Socialism," by Barbara Ehrenreich & Bill Fletcher Jr., The Nation, Mar. 4, 2009

More newswire ...

Economy

"The Coming Economic Storm," by Nicholas von Hoffman, The Nation, Mar. 9, 2009

"Economy, Ecology, Empire," by John Bellamy Foster, The Nation, Mar. 9, 2009

"U.S. Downturn Dragging World Into Recession," Washinton Post, Mar. 9, 2009

"World Bank Says Global Economy Will Shrink in '09," The New York Times, Mar. 8, 2009

"12 Deregulatory Steps to Financial Meltdown," by Robert Weissman, Common Dreams, Mar. 7, 2009

"Depression Nostalgia?: The Deficit vs. Mass Unemployment," by Dean Baker, Counterpunch, Mar. 6-8, 2009

"The Crisis vs. the Dogma: The Recession Forces a Re-Think of America's Most Cherished Economic Theories," by Mark Weisbrot, Counterpunch, Mar. 6-8, 2009

"Kiss the Banks Goodbye," by Dave Lindorff, Counterpunch, Mar. 6-8, 2009

"The Wall Street Criminals Are Still Running Free, Stealing Billions," by Stephen Pizzo, News for Real, Mar. 6, 2009

"Is the Future Going Down the Drain? Baby Boomers Going Bust," b y Alexander Zaitchik, AlterNet, Mar. 6, 2009

"Foreclosures Now Affecting 1 in 8 American Homeowners," Associated Press, Mar. 5, 2009

"A Bank Bailout That Works," by Joseph E. Stiglitz, The nation, Mar. 4, 2009

"Billions Dished Out in the Shadows," by Robert Scheer, TruthDig, Mar. 3, 2009

More newswire ...

Bush Accountability

"Terror-War Fallout Lingers Over Bush Lawyers," The New York Times, Mar. 8, 2009

"Britain's bizarre reaction to war crimes allegations: investigations needed," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Mar. 8, 2009

"Obama lawyers argue to drop Yoo torture suit," San Francisco Chronicle, Mar. 7, 2009

"The Case for Establishing a Truth Commission for Bush's Torture and Spying Crew," by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, Mar. 6, 2009

"Obama, Bush Secret-Keeper," by Dahlia Lithwick, Slate, Mar. 6, 2009

"Judge Weighs Dismissing Case Involving Torture Memorandums," The New York Times, Consortium News, Mar. 6, 2009

"The Collapse of the 'Good Faith' Excuse for Yoo (Bybee, Delahunty)," by Brian Tamanaha, Balkinization, Mar. 5, 2009

"War Crimes and Double Standards," by Robert Parry, Consortium News, Mar. 5, 2009

"Why Did So Few Americans Give a Damn?," by William Pfaff, TruthDig, Mar. 5, 2009

"George W. Bush's Disposable Constitution," by Scott Horton, Harper's, Mar. 3, 2009

More newswire ...

International Affairs

"Battle Over Bases," by David Vine, Foreign Policy in Focus, Mar. 9, 2009

"Obama will use spring summit to bring Cuba in from the cold," by Rory Carroll, Guardian/UK, Mar. 8, 2009

"Obama and Israel's Military: Still Arm-in-Arm," by Stephen Zunes, ZNet, Mar. 8, 2009

"Call to 'Resist and Deter' Nuclear Iran Gains Key Support," by Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service, Mar. 7, 2009

"Iran weighing US invitation to Afghan conference," Associated Press, Mar. 6, 2009

"Disturbing Idea of Expelling Arabs from Israeli Territory Gains Ground" by Conn Hallinan, AlterNet, Mar. 5, 2009

"Will Obama capitulate to the Israel lobby?," by Paul Woodward, War in Context, Mar. 5, 2009

More newswire ...

"Postwar" Occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan

"Pakistan Political Crisis Deepens," by Juan Cole, Informed Comment, Mar. 10, 2009

"Lakhdar Brahimi: Afghanistan's Future," by Barbara Crossette, The Nation, Mar. 9, 2009

"Obama Has Things Backward in Afghanistan," by Phyllis Bennis and Farrah Hassen, Antiwar.com, Mar. 9, 2009

"Obama's Coalition of the Unwilling," by Amy Goodman, TruthDig, Mar. 6, 2009

"Pakistan: A country staring disaster in the face," by William Dalrymple, Guardian/UK, Mar. 4, 2009

More newswire ...

Civil Liberties/ Human Rights

"New U.N. human rights report and America's lectures to other countries," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Mar. 10, 2009

"CIA Confirms 12 of 92 Videotapes Destroyed Showed Prisoners Tortured," by Jason Leopold, Truthout, Mar. 10, 2009

"UN Experts to Probe Secret CIA Detention Centers," Agence France Presse, Mar. 9, 2009

"Torturers told Binyam: 'We're going to change your brain,'" by Valtin, Invictus, Mar. 9, 2009

"The Beat Goes On: Guantánamo Under Obama," by Stephen Lendman, Counterpunch, Mar. 9, 2009

"Detainee's Account Roils U.K. Leaders," Washington Post, Mar. 9, 2009

"How MI5 colluded in my torture: Binyam Mohamed claims British agents fed Moroccan torturers their questions," by David Rose, Daily Mail/UK, Mar. 8, 2009

"Obama's backsliding on torture," by Cori Crider, Guardian/UK, Mar. 7, 2009

"Preventing a judicial ruling on the power to imprison without charges," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Mar. 7, 2009

"Guantanamo: The Definitive Prisoner List," by Andy Worthington, ZNet, Mar. 6, 2009

"CIA Confirms 12 Destroyed Videotapes Depicted 'Enhanced Interrogation Methods,'" by Daphne Eviatar, Washington Independent, Mar. 6, 2009

"Obama's Guantanamo?: Bush's Living Legacy at Bagram Prison," by Tom Engelhardt & Karen Greenberg, TomDispatch, Mar. 5, 2009

More newswire ...

Environment and Sustainability

"Carbon emissions creating acidic oceans not seen since dinosaurs," Guardian/UK, Mar. 10, 2009

"Green For All Founder Joins White House As Green Jobs Advisor," Environment News Service, Mar. 10, 2009

"Carbon cuts 'only give 50/50 chance of saving planet,'" by Michael McCarthy, Independent/UK, Mar. 9, 2009

"Czech leader joins meeting of climate change deniers," Guardian/UK, Mar. 9, 2009

"Greenwash: Coal industry tries to hide dirty facts behind 'clean' claims," by Fred Pearce, Guardian/UK, Mar. 5, 2009

"Workers Retrain for Wind-Energy Jobs," Los Angeles Times, Mar. 5, 2009

"Climate change: The semantics of denial," by George Monbiot, Guardian/UK, Feb. 27, 2009

More newswire ...

Media Issues

"Media Blackout on Single-Payer Healthcare," Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, Mar. 7, 2009

"The casual, corrupting use of anonymity for political officials," by Glenn Greenwald, Salon, Mar. 6, 2009

"Why Did Newsweek Say 'We are All Socialists Now?,'" by Paul Street, ZNet, Mar. 5, 2009

"What Battered Newsrooms Can Learn From Stewart's CNBC Takedown," by Will Bunch, Huffington Post, Mar. 5, 2009

More newswire ...

Activism

"Activists Set to Defy Ban on WVa Mining Protests," Associated Press, Mar. 10, 2009

"Fashioning Resistance to Militarism" by Christine Ahn and Gwyn Kirk, Foreign Policy in Focus, Mar. 9, 2009

"Dirty Coal, Climate Destabilization and the Nonviolent Resistance Movement," by Gary Houser, Common Dreams, Mar. 9, 2009

"Rage Is Good," by Tom Hayden, The Nation, Mar. 6, 2009

"Green Power Struggle," by Christopher Hayes, The Nation, Mar. 4, 2009

More newswire ...



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