[IMC-DC] BTL Summary Jan. 1, 2009: Cheney Cheers Torture; Islands Threatened by Global Warming; Obama, Rick Warren and Prop. 8

[sharris at snet.net]

Dear Friend of Between The Lines,

Did you know that 91 % of talk radio in the U.S. is conservative. 9% is progressive. Isn't it time for radio programs like Between The Lines to reach more listeners? 

We need your help to counterbalance the misinformation spread by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Glen Beck and other dittoheads who take to the airwaves with their special brand of hate on hundreds of radio stations everyday.
In 2009 we plan to contact hundreds of radio stations in places like Oklahoma, Mississippi and Utah to let them that broadcasting Between the Lines is absolutely FREE! Each week BTL features interviews with progressive perspectives from activists, journalists and others excluded or marginalized in corporate media. Your contribution will make our 2009 distribution project possible. 
  
It's easy to donate online directly and it's tax-deductible: 
www.firstgiving.com/betweenthelines 
  
or, if you prefer to send a check, make your check payable to "The Global Center" 
and mail to: 
Squeaky Wheel Productions 
P.O. Box 110176 
Trumbull, CT 06611

Please forward this email to anyone who may support getting more progressive viewpoints broadcast on American radio.

Wishing you a more economically secure and peaceful world in 2009,
Scott, Denise, Melinda, Bob, Anna, Jeff, Hank, Chris, Bill, Richard, Ruben, Elaine, Indu, Reggie and Prue
***********************************************************************************************

Between The Lines
For The Week Ending Jan. 2, 2009
http://www.btlonline.org/2008/btl010209.html

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: 


Cheney Proudly Admits 
to Authorizing Torture
Detailed in New Senate Report 

RealAudio MP3 

Interview with Sharon Kelly,
coordinator of Human Rights First's We Can End Torture Campaign,
conducted by Scott Harris 

 

A
report from the Senate Armed Services committee, parts of which were
released on Dec. 11, found that former Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld and other top Bush administration officials are directly
responsible for the torture and abuse of American-held detainees. The
bipartisan committee asserts that the White House authorized
interrogation methods that included waterboarding, stress positions,
sexual humiliation, isolation, sleep deprivation, exposure to heat and
cold, and the use of dogs to intimidate prisoners at Guantanamo Bay
U.S. naval in Cuba, military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan and secret
CIA prisons around the world. 

In
a Dec. 15 interview with ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl, Vice
Persident Dick Cheney admitted that he had personally cleared the way
for the U.S. military to employ abusive interrogation techniques
against terrorist suspects. Cheney was unapologetic about approving the
use of waterboarding on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of being a key
al Qaeda planner of the 9/11 attacks. President Bush issued a memo on
Feb. 7, 2002, which declared that that the Geneva Conventions did not
apply to al Qaeda or Taliban detainees. Both Bush and Cheney say the
abuse of prisoners was necessary to keep the nation safe. 

Chair
of the Armed Services Committee Sen. Karl Levin, Democrat of Michigan,
said that the Senate report on torture will be turned over to
Persident-elect Obama’s Department of Justice. He suggested that an
outside commission be formed with subpoena power, which could lead to
indictments or civil action. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with
Sharon Kelly, coordinator of Human Rights First’s We Can End Torture
Campaign. She examines the Senate Committee report and explains the
importance of keeping American officials accountable for violations of
U.S. and international law. 

Contact Human Rights First's We Can End Torture Campaign by calling (212) 845-5200 or visit their website at www.humanrightsfirst.org 

Related links: 
Center for Constitutional Rights at www.ccr-ny.org People for the American Way at www.pfaw.org National Lawyers Guild at www.nlg.org United for Peace and Justice at www.unitedforpeace.org "Dick Cheney Defends Hard Line Tactics," ABC News, Dec. 16, 2008 

Small Island Nations Facing Destruction,
Press for Urgent Action
to Combat Global Warming

RealAudio MP3 

Interview with Nicholas Arons,
co-founder of Islands First,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus 

 

In
the first 12 days of December, environment ministers from 150 nations,
and other leaders including UN chief Ban Ki Moon and representatives of
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, gathered in Poznan, Poland, to work
on a draft of the successor document to the Kyoto climate change treaty
to be signed in Copenhagen next year. The treaty is scheduled to take
effect in 2012. Among the delegates in Poland were representatives from
dozens of small island nations, which have been the first to feel the
catastrophic impacts of climate change. 

While
holding out hope for improvements to the proposed treaty under the
incoming Obama administration, many environmentalists and
representatives of these island nations were disappointed by the tepid
response of participating countries to already existing climate
disruption, and the more severe changes expected to come. The best news
to come out of the Poznan meeting was the European Union's so-called
"20-20-20" deal, which seeks to decrease greenhouse gas emissions,
increase energy savings and renewable energy sources each by 20
percent, by the year 2020. 

Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus
spoke with Nicholas Arons, cofounder of Islands First, an organization
that assists small island states increase their influence at the United
Nations in their fight against global warming. He discusses the
disruptions that have already occurred on these islands due to global
warming, and their people's hopes for averting more catastrophic damage
and displacement. 

Contact Islands First by calling their interim director Leila Kazemi at (917) 797-0923, or visit their website at www.islandsfirst.org 



Obama Inauguration Invitation
to Prop. 8 Supporter Rev. Rick Warren
Triggers LGBT Outrage 

RealAudio MP3 

Interview with Cary Davidson,
board president of Equality California,
conducted by Scott Harris 


 

When
President-elect Barack Obama announced his selection of evangelical
pastor Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration,
there was immediate negative reaction by many Obama supporters who
object to Rev. Warren’s outspoken opposition to abortion and gay
rights. But the anger wasn’t felt quite so deeply as it was among
California’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, (LGBT)
where Rev. Warren and his Saddleback mega-church actively backed
California Proposition 8, which won voter support to overturn the state
Supreme Court’s May 15 ruling legalizing gay marriage. In selecting
Rev. Warren, Obama cited his friendship with the pastor and his
influence in calling on Christians to become more active on combating
poverty, global warming and AIDS. 

Equality
California is one of the groups that worked hard to defeat Proposition
8. The group’s executive director, Geoff Kors, described Obama’s choice
of Rick Warren to give the invocation as “appalling,” and wrote a
statement explaining why he decided to decline an invitation to attend
the inauguration ceremonies on Jan. 20. Some gay rights groups took
their unhappiness with the Rick Warren controversy to press Obama to
take quick action on protecting the rights of LGBT citizens when he
takes office. 

Between
the Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Cary Davidson, board president of
Equality California, who explains the angry reaction to Rev. Rick
Warren’s participation in the Obama inauguration -- and the steps now
being taken, by his and other groups, to overturn the Proposition 8 ban
on gay marriage. 

Contact Equality California by calling (415) 581-0005 or visit their website at eqca.org 


This week's summary 
of under-reported news 

RealAudio MP3 

Compiled by Bob Nixon 


Zimbabwe's health workers are worried the recent cholera outbreak
has overshadowed the demise of the country's health care system and
hundreds of people who die everyday from AIDS. ("Don't Neglect AIDS
Crisis, Warn Health Workers," The Guardian, Dec. 12, 2008; "Cholera
Epidemic Sweeping Across Crumbling Zimbabwe," New York Times, Dec. 18,
2008) Critics of Lisa Jackson, nominated by Barack Obama to be the next
administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, charge that
she is too close to industry, has failed to reform New Jersey's toxic
cleanup program and is unsupportive of agency whistleblowers. ("Obama's
Controversial EPA Pick" ProPublica, Dec. 16 2008; "Weeding Through the
Controversy Over Obama's EPA Pick" New Republic blog, Dec. 11, 2008) Florida tomato pickers won a historic agreement with
Connecticut-based Subway, the third largest fast food chain in the
country, to pay workers an extra penny per pound of tomatoes. ("U.S.
Tomato Workers Win Better Wages, " OneWorld.net, Dec. 10, 2008; "Subway
to Pay More for Tomatoes," Miami Herald, Dec. 2, 2008; ""CIW/Subway Joint Statement," Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Dec. 2, 2008) 
To unsubscribe, email btlsummary-unsubscribe at lists.riseup.net
To subscribe, email btlsummary-subscribe at lists.riseup.net
To subscribe to Between The Lines Q&A, email btlqa-subscribe at lists.riseup.net
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-dc/attachments/20081228/5492a81a/attachment.htm