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Between the Lines
"Between the Lines" is a national, half-hour program that provides a platform for individuals and spokespersons from progressive organizations generally ignored or marginalized by the mainstream media.
Indigenous Activist Berta Caceres Slain Amid Honduras’ Rising Political Violence
Interview with Dana Frank, professor of history at the University of California, Santa Cruz, conducted by Scott Harris
honduras
The Central American nation of Honduras is well known for having one of the highest murder rates in the world that includes violence attributed to narco-trafficking, gang conflicts and street crime. But Honduras is also the most dangerous country for environmentalists, where 116 eco-activists were killed in 2014, many of them defending indigenous communities and lands. The March 3 murder of Berta Caceres, winner of the 2015 Goldman environmental prize, is the latest tragic news from Honduras. Caceres, who was shot by two unknown assailants who broke into her home, led the Council of Popular and Indigenous People’s Organizations of Honduras, or COPINH, that actively opposed the construction of a proposed dam on the Gualcarque river, an area considered sacred by the Lenca people. She had previously reported receiving numerous death threats from police, soldiers and local landowners because of her work. . Story Continues
Reproductive Rights Advocates Hopeful Supreme Court Will Overturn Restrictive Texas Abortion Law
Interview with Gretchen Borchelt, vice president of reproductive rights and health of the National Women’s Law Center, conducted by Melinda Tuhus
abortion
The Texas law passed in 2013 that has severely restricted women’s access to abortion was appealed and reached the Supreme Court this term, where both sides argued their case on March 2. The law required doctors performing abortions to be given admitting privileges at local hospitals and required abortion clinics to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers. Similar laws have passed in many other states. Supporters of these laws maintain that they were implemented to protect women’s health. But women’s health providers and advocates say such laws have had the opposite effect by denying women constitutionally protected health care. The high court’s ruling in the Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt case could come any time up through the end of the Court’s term this June. Story Continues.
‘Bank Whistleblowers United’ Challenge Presidential Candidates to Reject Dirty Wall Street Money
Interview with Michael Winston, former executive at Countrywide Financial & cofounder of Bank Whistleblowers United, conducted by Scott Harris
whistleblowers
Michael Winston had a successful career as an executive at five Fortune 100 corporations for over 30 years. Most recently when he was employed as a high-ranking executive at Countrywide Financial, he tried to stop the fraud, corruption and deception he observed at the mortgage lender in advance of the worldwide 2008 financial collapse. His warnings were dismissed or ignored by management and he was eventually fired. Winston subsequently took Countrywide and Bank of America to court, winning what the trial judge called an “overwhelming” jury verdict. Though the verdict was later overturned by an appeals court, Winston’s legal fight was profiled in a Salon Magazine article titled, “Wall-Street’s Greatest Enemy: The Man Who Knows Too Much.” Story continues
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This week’s summary of under-reported news
Compiled by Bob Nixon
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon angered human rights monitors when he cited the international organization’s legal immunity in rejecting compensation claims by thousands of cholera victims in Haiti. . (“UN will not compensate Haiti Cholera victims, Ban-Ki-moon tells president,”Guardian, Feb. 21, 2016; “Cholera in Haiti: UN experts chastise Ban Ki-moon over handling of outbreak,”, Guardian, March 3, 2016)
Millions of Americans went to the polls on Super Tuesday to pick their party’s candidates to run for president. But six million ex-offenders have lost their voting rights, including two million African Americans. The loss of voting rights for African Americans and the rapid expansion of mass incarceration has been dubbed “The New Jim Crow.” (“A survey of felon voting rights for Super Tuesday,” American Prospect, March 1, 2016)
Before the arrest of serial rapist and murderer Anthony Sewell, Cleveland Hospitals often let victims of sexual violence wait for hours for a rape examination. At the time, few hospital staff were trained in medical and forensic rape examinations. (“What Cleveland has learned,” Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 21, 2016)
