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  • Election Reforms: Falling short

    WASHINGTON — Proponents of progressive election reform gave cautious approval to the recent report issued by a commission assigned to investigate the improvement of federal elections. Many critics, however, point to several obstacles that remain in the way of free and fair elections throughout the United States. The report, issued by the National Commission on…

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  • Son of Star Wars: Another arms race?

    WASHINGTON — Reports emerging from the Pentagon about plans to test a “Space Bomber” are drawing accusations that the U.S. government is attempting to engage in another arms race. The bomber, a spacecraft reportedly capable of destroying targets on the other side of the globe within 30 minutes, is a key component of Defense Secretary…

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  • ExxonMobil: Facing a boycott

    ExxonMobil, one of the biggest corporations on the planet, is now facing a boycott spearheaded by activist groups protesting the company’s policies at home and abroad. The boycott was launched by PressurePoint, a grassroots organization looking to “take real action on climate change and corporate influence,” according to Chris Doran, campaigns director for the group.…

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  • Beyond the Ford-Firestone Uproar: Critics blast lack of regulation, accountability in SUV safety

    WASHINGTON – Recent congressional hearings probed the accountability of Ford and Firestone in many incidents where car or tire malfunctioned, causing injury or death. The hearings also questioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal government’s chief regulator of automobile safety, and its role in providing the public with adequate information. While the blame-placing…

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  • NEWS BRIEFING WITH LAWRENCE SUMMERS, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY RAYMOND OFFENHEISER, PRESIDENT, OXFAM

    Questions from IPA appear below in bold HEADLINE: NEWS BRIEFING WITH LAWRENCE SUMMERS, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY RAYMOND OFFENHEISER, PRESIDENT, OXFAM DEBT RELIEF TO POOR COUNTRIES AND OXFAM EDUCATION NOW AWARD INTRODUCTION: MARTA ARIAS LOCATION: NATIONAL PRESS CLUB, WASHINGTON D.C. BODY:

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  • Ten Real Reasons To Impeach Clinton

    We all seem to have lost our sense of proportion. Why are the political leaders of the United States and the major media talking of impeaching Bill Clinton for lies about sex, surely not the most important sins of his administration? If Clinton is to be impeached, why do it for frivolous reasons? I can…

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  • Autopsy Of A Disaster: The U.S. Sanctions Policy On Iraq

    For a shorter version of this timeline, click here. Myth: The Sanctions Will be Lifted When Iraq Complies with the U.N. Inspections April 3, 1991: U.N. Security Council passes Resolution 687 which states that upon “the completion by Iraq of all actions contemplated in” specific paragraphs of the resolution, “the prohibitions against financial transactions ……

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  • 31 Protesters Arrested at Drone Base in Syracuse

    The Syracuse Post-Standard reports (see video): “About 30 people were arrested outside the Hancock Field Air National Guard Base [Sunday] afternoon during a protest against the use of unmanned aerial drones. “The arrests came at the end of a series of workshops and rallies held in Syracuse this weekend and organized by the Upstate Coalition…

  • Obama’s “Economic Race Legacy”

    The New York Times reports in “Wealth Gap Among Races Widened Since Recession” that: “Millions of Americans suffered a loss of wealth during the recession and the sluggish recovery that followed. But the last half-decade has proved far worse for black and Hispanic families than for white families, starkly widening the already large gulf in…

  • Boston Bombing and Immigration Reform: The Risks of Expanding Biometric Cybersurveillance

    “More surveillance risks this problem: turning all U.S. citizens and all lawful immigrants into potential terrorist suspects. In fact, the bipartisan Senate comprehensive immigration reform proposal that was released last week already showed signs of multiple surveillance cancers, even before the bombing. The bill includes the significant expansion of various cybersurveillance and data surveillance (dataveillance)…

  • Bangladesh Workers Were “Ordered Back to Work” Before Building Collapse

    “Our staff are on the ground. The garment workers saw the crack yesterday and refused to work. A Savar subdistrict officer came and told the owners that the building was unsafe. This morning the factory owners told the workers that ‘some cracks will not be a problem.’ They ordered the workers back to work. The…

  • Qatar “Deforming” Arab Uprisings

    “At the beginning of the Tunisian uprising, Al Jazeera played a generally positive role, but as soon as the dictator was deposed, Al Jazeera had a total shift to featuring more Islamic groups from Tunisia — giving them the platform. Al Jazeera also highlighted and fostered the uprisings in the Republics (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and…

  • * Neocons Backed Chechens * Bush/Putin Deal

    COLEEN ROWLEY, rowleyclan at earthlink.net Consortium News writes: “The revelation that the family of the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings was from Chechnya prompted new speculation about the attack as Islamic terrorism. Less discussed was the history of U.S. neocons supporting Chechen terrorists as a strategy to weaken Russia, as ex-FBI agent Coleen…

  • In Boston Case, Miranda Exception Condemned

    VINCENT WARREN, via Jen Nessel, JNessel at ccrjustice.org, @VinceWarren The Center for Constitutional Rights released a statement from Warren over the weekend: “Our thoughts go out to the friends and families of victims ofthese horrific bombings. While it is difficult to turn to points of law in times of tragedy, those are, in fact, the…

  • Earth Day: “No Profit” When You Add Environmental Costs

    Bloomberg reports: “The environmental impact of doing business costs the global economy $4.7 trillion a year, according to a report released April 15 . “That figure includes the top 100 environmental impacts, such as airpollution-related health costs, the effects of greenhouse gas emissions, the loss of nature-based benefits such as carbon storage by forests, and…

  • Boston Bombings: Reflection from Watertown

    JOSEPH GERSON, jgerson at afsc.org Gerson is director of programs for the American Friends Service Committee in New England. He said today: “It’s been an interesting 18 hours, since we heard the helicopters overhead. I live in Watertown, about a mile and a half from the 20-block area which has been the focus of the…

  • The Other Race: Protests for a New Mideast in Bahrain Today

    BBC is reporting: “Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have blocked a major motorway in Bahrain ahead of Sunday’s F1 Grand Prix in the Gulf kingdom. Some in the crowd carried banners with the slogan: ‘Don’t race on our blood.’ The rally along Budaiya Highway followed a night of heavy clashes between demonstrators and security…

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