Between The Lines - Cindy Corrie: The ongoing struggle for justice in the case of Rachel Corrie (Week Ending Oct. 19, 2012)

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.

You can also listen to full unedited interview segments from Counterpoint, which are generally available some time the day following broadcast.

Subscribe to Counterpoint bulletins via our subscriptions page.

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Slain Peace Activist Rachel Corrie's Parents Carry on Struggle for Peace and Justice in her Name

RealAudio MP3

Posted Oct. 10, 2012

Interview with Cindy Corrie, mother of peace activist Rachel Corrie, killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old student from Olympia, Wash., was crushed to death by a bulldozer on March 16, 2003, as she stood wearing a neon vest in nonviolent civil disobedience with activists from the International Solidarity Movement. They were trying to protect a Palestinian family's home in the Gaza strip against demolition. In late August, an Israeli judge ruled that Israel’s military was not responsible for Corrie’s death. Her family had brought a civil suit seeking a symbolic $1 in damages and legal expenses after no action was taken against the military driver of the bulldozer by the Israeli government. The family had previously lost a civil suit in U.S. courts against Caterpillar, the manufacturer of the specially equipped bulldozer.

The memory of Rachel Corrie is revered around the world. Her parents, Craig and Cindy Corrie, addressed hundreds of people who gathered on Oct. 6 and 7 in New York City for the fourth Bertrand Russell Tribunal on Palestine. At the Tribunal, the Corries announced they were flying to Reykivik, Iceland on Oct. 7 to accept the Ono-Lennon Peace Prize on Rachel's behalf. She was one of five winners of the prize, including John Perkins, Lady Gaga, the late Christopher Hitchens and the Russian punk music group Pussy Riot. The prize money will go to the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, founded by her family after her death.

Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Rachel’s mother, Cindy Corrie, just before she addressed the New York Tribunal. Here, she discusses her family's ongoing efforts for justice in Rachel's case, as well as their promotion of human rights in Palestine and around the world.

CINDY CORRIE: In terms of gaining accountability – and really, truth, about what happened to Rachel – and justice, ultimately, we filed a civil lawsuit in Israel. That was because the position of the U.S. government was that the investigation into what happened to her by the Israeli military was not thorough, credible and transparent, but the U.S. was not taking further positions. They said they couldn't, so we felt we needed to take that step. It's been a very long process. We're starting into our 10th year of dealing with this. With the lawsuit in Israel, oral testimony began in 2010, in March. It ended in July 2011, and we've just had a verdict in the case. It was in Haifa District Court, on Aug. 28 we were in court. Judge Oded Gershon gave the verdict – there was only one judge, not a jury – and he found against us. He found that what happened to Rachel was an act occurring during war, and according to that, he stated that the military was therefore not responsible for what happened. Those aren't the legal words, but that's the gist of it. And, of course, that's very concerning because it impacts all civilians whenever there's a conflict taking place there. He had other things to say; he thought the investigation was made entirely appropriately, and we definitely disagree with his judgment on that; also that the military behaved completely well on the day that Rachel was killed, and we have a lot of concerns about that as well. So that was the outcome. I think from our family's perspective, the decision was such a bad one, and such a disappointing one. It was an upsetting day for us, but not entirely unexpected. But I think it's provided another window into what's happening with institutions inside Israel. This was one judge; I don't know what might have happened before another. But I know that Israeli human rights organizations have raised a lot of concerns about the courts and how the courts stand with the military and it contributes, actually, to the impunity the military enjoys.

We still feel that there was a promise made from the Israeli government, from Ariel Sharon to President Bush, that there'd be a thorough, credible and transparent investigation into the case, and that's a diplomatic promise that has yet to be fulfilled. We have met with high-level officials in the U.S. government, at the embassy and so forth, and we have some assurance that the U.S. will be looking at this decision. And, I think our expectation is that that has to happen, in the same way that human rights organizations are looking at these decisions and how the courts function there. I think it also has to happen here in the U.S. because we, of course, are providing the funding for so much of this to continue.

BETWEEN THE LINES: When you said the judge ruled that it was an incident that happened during war; that was March 2003. I'm not aware that Israel...do they just put everything under a state of war? Because I didn't think there was a state of war at the time.

CINDY CORRIE: I can't speak for the Israeli military and Israeli states' attorneys in how they try to characterize what was happening there, but I think there are very real questions about whether you can actually have a state of war with people that you're occupying in the West Bank and Gaza. One thing that happened with this lawsuit is that for awhile it was stopped, because there was a law passed in the Knesset that said if something happened in an area of conflict, nobody could bring a lawsuit from anything that happened there, and they could determine where the area of conflict was – and of course it would be the West Bank and Gaza, maybe East Jerusalem – but it could be of anywhere. That decision was eventually overturned – or pieces of it – by the Israeli Supreme Court, which allowed our case to move forward. So these are the kinds of legal questions that are involved. But I think the bottom line that we all have to be concerned about is that if we allow the rights of civilians, whether they're protesters or civilians in homes during times of conflict to be completely disregarded, those are our rights that will be lost as well, and any of us who find ourselves in situations like that will be under the same threats. And I also think the decision creates a situation of impunity that is ultimately very damaging for the military – for the young people I've seen in Israel who are wearing the uniforms and carrying the guns. I don't think it's helpful to them.

BETWEEN THE LINES: How would you describe Rachel's legacy, specifically in Gaza or among the Palestinians?

CINDY CORRIE: It's...the love really that our family feels from Palestinians is very moving to us. In the beginning, it took me awhile to really understand how much it meant to Palestinians – worldwide – that she had gone there, that she had taken the stand she did, and that her life was taken from her as a result of that. People would come up to me and they would burst into tears and they could hardly speak. So, gradually I came to understand how intensely this is felt. For our family, it means that we've been embraced by the Palestinian people and really by all people who support human rights for people everywhere.

Find links to the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice and related information by visiting The Russell Tribunal on Palestine at .