Blog

  • 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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  • Clinton and Child Labor Rights

    In his speech today at the International Labor Organization Conference in Geneva, President Clinton said: “We must wipe from the Earth the most vicious forms of abusive child labor. Every single day, tens of millions of children work in conditions that shock the conscience… There are children handling dangerous chemicals; children forced to work when…

  • Russians in Kosovo: Analysis

    DAVID KOTZ Co-author of Revolution From Above: The Demise of the Soviet System and professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Kotz said Monday: “The Russians’ preemptive move into Kosovo is a consequence of the two-track strategy that NATO followed regarding ending the war. The first track was their insistence on a NATO force…

  • Was This War Necessary?

    While many are claiming the peace agreement shows that Milosevic backed down, some analysts are suggesting that essentially the same agreement could have been achieved without bombing. They point to U.S. demands at Rambouillet in February that are absent from the current agreement. While some elements of the new accords remain unclear, apparent major differences…

  • Mental Health

    The White House Conference on Mental Health convened today in Washington. These policy analysts are available for interviews: DR. PETER BREGGIN Author of Back to Prozac and Talking Back to Ritalin: What Doctors Aren’t Telling You About Stimulants for Children, Breggin said: “Psychiatric drugs are far more dangerous than the public is led to believe.…

  • Voices on Yugoslavia

    GEORGE KENNEY A former Yugoslavia desk officer at the U.S. State Department, Kenney said: “An unimpeachable press source who regularly travels with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told [me] that, swearing reporters to deep-background confidentiality at the Rambouillet talks, a senior State Department official had bragged that the United States ‘deliberately set the bar higher…

  • Behind the “Economic Miracle”

    JOEL BLAU Author of the just-released Illusions of Prosperity: America’s Working Families in an Age of Economic Insecurity, Blau said: “Below the rosy surface of economic exuberance lurk low-paying jobs, job insecurity, corporate downsizing and massive inequality. The average worker’s pay (in real terms) actually declined 8 percent from 1973 to 1997. CEO compensation has…

  • War Crimes?

    WALTER ROCKLER Rockler, a Washington lawyer and a former prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, said: “For some to shout ‘war criminal’ at Milosevic only emphasizes that those who live in glass houses should be careful about throwing stones. The Nuremberg Court found that to initiate a war of aggression, as the U.S. has…

  • Perspectives on China and Spying

    MIKE MOORE Editor of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Moore said: “What the Chinese are doing is developing a survivable second-strike force — that is the ability to respond if they are attacked. To do this, they need to miniaturize their nuclear warheads to fit them on mobile missiles. To do that, you need…

  • War Powers Violation Today?

    WASHINGTON — From all indications, today will mark the first time since enactment of the 1973 War Powers Resolution that a President has openly violated the termination requirements of that law. Air strikes against Yugoslavia began on March 24. The House of Representatives refused to give approval for the air war in a stunning tie…

  • Food Safety: New Arguments About U.S. Health and Foreign Trade

    As tensions mount between Europe and the United States on trade disputes over food and other issues, some researchers contend that Europeans are raising issues vital to American consumers. Among the analysts available for comment are: MARK RITCHIE President of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Ritchie said: “The United States is known for…

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