[IMC-DC] BTL Summary 9-12-08: Police Supress RNC Protests; Renewable Energy Obstacles; Obama Pushed to Embrace Economic Populism

Thu Sep 4 10:49:38 PDT 2008

			Between The Lines 
Week Ending 9/12/08
http://www.btlonline.org 

Announcements

			COMING TO NEW HAVEN, CT SATURDAY, SEPT. 27, 2008
 A FORUM WITH MICHAEL T. KLARE

"OIL, WAR and the FUTURE of AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY"

featuring a documentary film screening of

"BLOOD AND OIL: The Dangers and Consequences of 
America's Dependency on Foreign Petroleum"

based on his book, "Blood and Oil"
Visit www.squeakywheel.net for more information.

See a trailer of the film

Michael Klare, one of the world's most renowned experts on
energy and security issues, unearths declassified documents and
highlights forgotten passages in prominent presidential doctrines to
show how concerns about oil have been at the core of American foreign
policy for more than 60 years, rendering our contemporary energy and
military policies virtually indistinguishable.

"Blood and Oil" calls for a radical re-thinking of U.S. energy
policy, warning that unless we change direction, we stand to be drawn
into one oil war after another as the global hunt for diminishing world
petroleum supplies accelerates.

Klare will also discuss his new book, "Rising Powers, Shrinking
Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy," and describe the innovative
policy changes at the national and international level -- including the
development of new energy sources and climate-friendly industrial
processes -- that can make a difference.
Visit our website at www.squeakywheel.net for more information.

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:

					 Police-State Tactics Suppress Dissent
 at Republican National Convention

  RealAudio
 MP3

                  Interviews with non-violent, civil disobedience activist Starhawk,
 Cheryl Honkala, national coordinator 
of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, 
 and Tom Hayden, a longtime peace and justice activist,
 former California state senator and Chicago 8 trial defendant, 
 on Republican National Convention,
 in St. Paul, Minn.,produced by Scott Harris 

Beginning on the Friday before the Republicans convened their
convention in St. Paul, gun-wielding police officers and sheriffs
working with the FBI raided a number of homes and offices where they
detained activists who were in town planning protests, as well as
journalists and attorneys. Without explanation, police confiscated
political pamphlets, computers and other constitutionally protected
political material.

On Labor Day, tens of thousands of demonstrators conducted a
legal anti-war march from the state Capitol to the Xcel Center, site of
the GOP convention. Police officers, using pepper spray, rubber bullets
and concussion grenades indiscriminately attacked protesters when a
small self-described anarchist splinter group, calling themselves the
Anti-Capitalist Bloc, were accused of smashing windows, puncturing car
tires and throwing bottles.

Police in riot gear arrested more than 280 people, including
journalist Amy Goodman, host of "Democracy Now!," and two of the daily
radio show's producers, Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. The three
have since been released, but still face charges.

					 Uneven Federal Support Hampers 
Development of Renewable Energy Sources

                  RealAudio
 MP3

                  Interview with George Sterzinger,
executive director of the
 Renewable Energy Policy Project,
 conducted by Melinda Tuhus  

Over the past decade, federal production and investment tax credits for
renewable energy have been passed in annual increments, and often
expired before they were renewed, making it difficult if not impossible
for companies to invest substantially in these forms of energy that
would reduce greenhouse gases that cause global warming and reduce U.S.
reliance on foreign carbon-based energy sources.

Efforts to extend the tax credits in Congress have failed
repeatedly this year, as some politicians have held them hostage to a
demand to allow offshore oil drilling as a way to expand domestic
production. But just before breaking for their summer recess, members
of both the House and Senate put forward similar bills that would renew
the energy tax credits for five years and allow offshore drilling along
some parts of the U.S. coast with restrictions like a 50-mile buffer
zone from shore.

 In Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic
Convention, he promised to tap natural-gas reserves, invest in what he
called clean-coal technology, and safely harness nuclear power. He
promised to invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable,
renewable sources of energy -- wind and solar power and the next
generation of biofuels. Between the Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with
George Sterzinger, executive director of the Renewable Energy Policy
Project. He discusses the lack of ongoing support for renewables and
what needs to be done to make these energy sources economically viable.

Contact the Renewable Energy Policy Project at (202) 293-2898 or visit their website at www.repp.org

					Unions Push Obama to Take
 A More Populist, Anti-Corporate Stand

  RealAudio
 MP3

                  Interview with Greg Denier,
 communications director with the
 Change to Win labor coalition, 
conducted by Scott Harris 

As this year's presidential election campaign moves into high gear, one
of the Democratic party's most loyal and dependable constituency groups
is organized labor. But unions have seen a steady decline in membership
in recent decades and have been under attack by the Bush administration
over the past eight years.

According to a recent poll conducted by Lake Research Partners
and released by the Change to Win Labor coalition, American workers are
looking to support a presidential candidate who is not controlled by
big corporations, supportive of progressive tax reform, limits
corporate power and advocates worker rights. The survey found that
working families want to preserve the American dream by guaranteeing
affordable healthcare for all, government action to protect retirement
benefits and negotiate fair international trade agreements.

 While the leadership of the AFL-CIO and change to Win labor
coalitions both strongly support Democratic candidate Barack Obama due
to his positions on issues important to unions, the race is tight among
white workers, with many supporting Republican candidate John McCain.
The 10 million-member AFL-CIO made up of 56 unions and Change to Win, a
partnership of seven unions with six million members plan to spend a
combined $300 million on voter registration, issue ads, direct mail,
get-out-the-vote operations and other campaign activities to convince
their members to vote for Obama. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke
with Greg Denier, communications director with Change to Win, who talks
about why it is important for Barack Obama to articulate a populist
economic message if he is to win the majority of workers votes in this
November's election.

Contact Change to Win at (202) 721-0660 or visit their website at changetowin.org

             Related links:

                 AFLCIO at www.aflcio.org
			 United for a Fair Economy  at www.faireconomy.org
         Class Action Net at www.classactionnet.org

				 This week's summary 
of under-reported news 

  RealAudio
 MP3

Compiled by Bob Nixon 

Former Nepal Maoist Guerrilla Leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been sworn
in as the country's new prime minister, marking a milestone in the
Asian nation's democratic transition. 
  During his last six months in office,
President Bush is pushing an initiative that could make it much more
difficult to regulate on-the- job exposure to toxic chemicals. 
  A growing number of moderate Republican state
legislators are switching parties and joining the Democrats. 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-dc/attachments/20080904/b446687d/attachment.htm 