Between The Lines - Motivated by her Children’s Future: How Cherri Foytlin, Louisiana Mother of 6 Became a Climate Change Activist (Week Ending Dec. 14, 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.)

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Motivated by Concern for her Children's Future, Louisiana Mother of 6 Makes Journey as Climate Change Activist

RealAudio MP3

Posted Dec. 5, 2012

Interview with Cherri Foytlin, climate change activist, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

In mid-November, more than a hundred activists gathered at a historically black church in Boston's South End for the New England 350.org convergence to share stories about organizing successes and to discuss the next steps in fighting climate change after the U.S. election. Cherri Foytlin, who lives in south central Louisiana, was one of the speakers at a morning roundtable. She's a small-town journalist, blogger and mother of six children. Her husband works on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

After the BP Gulf oil disaster in the Spring of 2011, Foytlin walked more than 1200 miles from New Orleans to Washington, D.C., to demand government action to stop the massive BP Gulf oil spill. In October, as part of the Tar Sands Blockade protest campaign, Foytlin chained herself to a gate of a Texas pipe yard, part of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline project and was charged with criminal trespass.

Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus, who was at the 350.org Boston gathering and heard Foytlin speak about her activism, later caught up with her by phone at her home in Rayne, La. Here, Foytlin describes her journey to becoming an environmental justice activist, and her arrests in several states protesting fossil fuel extraction and climate change, both of which disproportionately impact communities like hers near the Gulf of Mexico.

CHERRI FOYTLIN: I'm a journalist for a small town paper and I went out on a tour that was guided by BP, but I felt like I didn't get the real story. So I went back the next week and jumped on a boat with a fishing family, and was really moved by what I saw as real tangible consequences - devastating consequences - to the communities along the Gulf Coast who I love and the area I love and the ecosystem that I adore. And I took a hard look at myself and realized what I was contributing to that. I don't just mean my husband working in the oil industry; it's a strange paradigm here. We have very few choices. We've become so dependent on the industry itself, so part of my work has been to try to bring in green energy options here and change the social currency that's here that keeps us so reliant on an industry that is so determined to basically kill us. They don't care about us; they don't care about our oil workers; they don't care about our families; they don't care about our ecosystems.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Cherri Foytlin, when you spoke in Boston in mid-November, two other workers had just been killed on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. How common an occurrence is that?

CHERRI FOYTLIN: You are not going to get a study anywhere out of the oil industry itself; it polices itself here in the Gulf of Mexico. It's responsible for reporting its releases and it's also responsible for reporting any injuries. Very often, the oil workers themselves are punished in the way that...you do have stop-work authority, but you can be black-balled for using that authority. We have no unions here. There's no protection here for the oil workers. There's very little protection for the whistleblower. So that's pretty much what happened on the Deepwater Horizon, in that some of the men - even the men who were killed, said to their loved ones that day that they thought they were going to die on that rig. They knew something was wrong; they tried to get help. They called in to Houston, and they were denied a voice, let alone protection of their body, because honestly, for the oil companies, it's cheaper to pay for a funeral than it is to set up engineering and safety restrictions that would protect workers on the rig and on land. It's part of the dilemma we face.

BETWEEN THE LINES: You mentioned trying to bring green alternatives to your community. What does that look like in your town?

CHERRI FOYTLIN: Right now, it looks like we have one house with solar panels. (laughs), but in Lafayette, La., the Sierra Club and myself and others are working very hard to get us off...we actually have two coal-powered plants here. We're trying very hard by 2014 to get us off those coal-powered plants, and bring in energy alternatives. But also an important aspect of that is I would really like to see a co-op kind of agreement so that we can provide the educational and health opportunities that we need here and the industry opportunities here and also community agreements so the oil workers are able to divest themselves from the fossil fuel industry and work with something that's going to provide a sustainable future for our children.

BETWEEN THE LINES: I know you've been arrested several times protesting various fossil fuel projects, basically around the country. How did you, as the mother of six and the wife of an oil worker, come to that decision, to be arrested?

CHERRI FOYTLIN: I was trying to look for anything that would work, and I read a lot about the civil rights movement of the 1960s and I read the letters from Dr. King when he was sitting in the Birmingham jail. And he said that when negotiations fail and there's nothing left, the only thing we have to turn to is non-violent direct action. So last year, I was arrested in front of the BP office for trying to return the tar balls that still litter our beaches and probably will for the next 30 years, and was arrested at that time for refusing to leave. Not too long after tha,t I was up in D.C. protesting the Keystone XL pipeline, thanks to 350.org and the climate justice movement, which also has had devastating effects on our community. We've had six major hurricanes in the past seven years, and are still dealing with Katrina, Rita, Isaac, to this day. And then, unfortunately, the southern leg of that pipeline is coming down through Oklahoma and Texas and threatening our Houston environmental communities as well as Port Arthur, which is one of our most devastated environmental justice communities in the Gulf of Mexico, and so, I was arrested there, I think it was about two months ago. But honestly, it's not about the arrests as it is the fact that people in the Gulf of Mexico have no voice, and this is what we are left to do. And if myself - being a mother of six - have to take one for the home team, and get arrested now and lose my freedom for as long as they decide to keep me, in order to protect my children, so they have clean air and water and a livelihood that doesn't take their life away, then I'll gladly give myself up. I think any mother would.

Cherri Foytlin is author of "Spill It! The Truth About the Deep Water Oil Rig Explosion." Find links to Foytlin's articles and more information on climate change activism at bridgethegulfproject.org.