Listen Live on KKFI
Every Friday at 9:00amAbout the Show
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.
Listen to the entire program using these links, or to individual interviews via the links appearing prior to each segment description below.
64 kb/s 
broadcast quality 
Podcast
Free Trade Opponents Claim Victory in Defeating Fast Track, But Critical Battles Still Lie Ahead
Interview with Sarah Anderson, director of the Institute for Policy Studies’ Global Economy Project, conducted by Scott Harris
The battle in Congress over President Obama’s goal of gaining congressional passage of Trade Promotion Authority, also known as “fast track” – a necessary pre-requisite for later ratification of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement or TPP – hit a roadblock when members of the president’s own party rebelled. In a critical vote on June 12, the House of Representatives rejected a measure to grant financial aid to displaced workers, one of three elements passed earlier by the Senate which was needed to advance fast track. In a vote of 302 to 126, the majority of Democrats joined a number of Republican lawmakers to defeat the free trade package. On June 16, members of the House voted to give itself six more weeks to schedule another vote to rescue the president’s free trade agenda. Story continues
Rally in New Haven Challenges Yale, Private Sector and City to Create Living Wage Jobs
A report on a New Haven, Connecticut jobs for the unemployed rally with Mothers for Justice’s Kimberly Hart, New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, and resident Dominique Dickey, recorded and produced by Melinda Tuhus
On June 11, a large and boisterous crowd of over 500 gathered in front of City Hall in New Haven, Connecticut, for a march demanding good paying jobs for city residents. According to U.S. Census data, there are 83,000 jobs in New Haven, 47,000 of which pay a “living wage” of at least $20 an hour. But only 9,000 of those 47,000 jobs are held by New Haven residents, and only 2,000 of them by residents in the city’s low-income neighborhoods. The unemployment rate for blacks and Latinos in New Haven is more than 2.5 – 3 times higher than that of white residents. Yale University, the city’s largest employer, has 13,000 employees, fewer than a third of whom live in New Haven. The day before the march a top Yale official said the university would hire 500 residents over the next two years, which is apparently more than its current rate, but many marchers were skeptical if that constitutes a significant change in Yale’s practices. Story continues
Seattle’s Passage of $15 Minimum Wage Inspires Today’s Nationwide Grassroots Efforts
Interview with Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Councilmember, conducted by Scott Harris
Kashama Sawant’s election to the Seattle City Council in 2013 made history, as she was the first Socialist candidate elected in Seattle in 100 years. As a council member, she fought for and delivered on her campaign promise to make Seattle the first major American city to pass a $15/hour minimum wage. The former software engineer, originally from Mumbai, India, ran for office advocating increasing the minimum wage, taxing the rich and re-imposing a rent control ordinance. In her surprising victory, Sawant defeated Richard Conlin, a four-term Democratic council member and past president of the city council. Story continues
This week’s summary of under-reported news
Compiled by Bob Nixon
- Women’s advocates in Argentina say one woman dies from gender violence every 30 hours, with a death toll of eighteen hundred women killed in gender violence over the last seven years. Despite strong laws against domestic violence, including outlawing “femicide”, the crime of killing a woman because of her gender; advocates complain the law has not been enforced. (“#NiUnaMemos: a deafening cry sweeps the country,” Buenos Aires Herald, June 4, 2015; “Femicide protests: How prevalent is violence against women in Argentina?,” International Business Times, June 4, 2015)
- The Los Angeles Times reports the suicide rate for female veterans is soaring, six times higher than the rate for other women in civilian life. In fact the number of suicides for women vets now rivals those of men, who currently make up 90 percent of the nation’s veterans. (“Suicide rate of female military veterans is called ‘staggering’,” Los Angeles Times, June 8, 2015)
- US Attorney General Loretta Lynch has put the clout of the US Justice Department behind new draft legislation granting Native Americans equal voting rights. (“In rare move, the Justice Dept, drafts a bill of its own – to ensure native voting rights,” In These Times, June 1, 2015)
