JIM VALLETTE Coauthor of the report “Halliburton’s Destructive Engagement” and consultant to EarthRights International, Vallette said today: “Newsweek reported yesterday that the current CEO of Halliburton asserts that Cheney knew of the accounting practices of the company employed during Cheney’s tenure as CEO — the practices that are now under investigation by the Securities and…

* Pfizer merger DAVID HIMMELSTEIN, M.D. Associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, Himmelstein said today: “The Pfizer buyout of Pharmacia announced today is the industry’s response to the reality that they have very little in the pipeline in terms of new products. Drug firms…

STEFFIE WOOLHANDLER, M.D. Associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, Woolhandler is co-author of a just-released study, “Paying for National Health Insurance — And Not Getting It.” She said today: “We pay the world’s highest health-care taxes. But much of the money is squandered. The…

Earlier this week, protesters at the 14th International Conference on AIDS in Barcelona [see: www.aids2002.com/IE_Home.asp ] shouted “Shame! Shame! Shame!” as U.S. health secretary Tommy Thompson delivered a speech about U.S. policies regarding the global HIV/AIDS crisis. The conference continues through Friday. Available for interviews: ZACKIE ACHMAT Achmat, an anti-apartheid leader in South Africa since…

CHARLIE CRAY Director of the Campaign for Corporate Reform for the group Citizen Works, Cray said today: “Although it appears there are good things in Bush’s speech, a lot of what he is ‘proposing’ is apparently inevitable considering the momentum in Congress for the Sarbanes bill. Bush could have closed the offshore tax haven loophole…

BARBARA OLSHANSKY Author of the recent book Secret Trials and Executions: Military Tribunals and the Threat to Democracy, Olshansky said today: “Since the attacks of September 11, the United States has witnessed a sweeping revision of its immigration laws, foreign intelligence gathering operations, and domestic law enforcement procedures. These changes, like those adopted during some…

MICHAEL PARENTI Author of The Terrorism Trap and Democracy For the Few, Parenti said today: “July 4th celebrates that moment in history, over 225 years ago, when American colonials launched a revolutionary fight for independence from the British empire. In their campaign they were assisted by people from various countries. Today all over the world…

STEPHEN ZUNES Associate professor of politics and chair of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at the University of San Francisco, Zunes is the Middle East editor at the Foreign Policy in Focus Project. He said today: “It is remarkable how President Bush insists on democratic governance and an end to violence and corruption as…

Enron disclosed in court documents on Tuesday that before collapsing last year it paid out $744 million in salary, bonuses and stock grants to the company’s 140 senior officers — an average of $5.3 million each. The following analysts are available for interviews about such practices: DEAN BAKER Co-director of the Center for Economic and…

While the administration signals it is moving toward an all-out attack on Iraq, it has fined a Seattle resident, Bert Sacks, $10,000 for his admission that he took medicines to Iraq. Sacks decided to respond today [Monday] at a 10 a.m. news conference at the National Press Club. HOWARD ZINN A widely read historian who…