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News Items

  • 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 Federal Election Reform headed by former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, was presented to President Bush. Among its recommendations are provisions regarding increases in equipment standards and stepped-up federal funding for the administration of elections.

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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 Donald Rumsfeld’s plan to modernize U.S. weaponry. The satellite is currently under production by NASA and Lockheed Martin, a leading military contractor. Pentagon claims that the bomber can cause greater and deeper ground damage from a virtually unassailable height have many critics questioning it as…

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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. “The U.S. government’s climate change policy is the ExxonMobil policy,” Doran says. “What sort of democracy do we have when one company can buy off our political process for its own gains?” ExxonMobil is a charter member of the Global Climate Coalition, an influential industry…

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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 among corporate executives and congressional subcommittees occurred on Capitol Hill, several analysts decried the lack of accountability being demanded of the corporations involved. Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, pointed to a lack of regulation of sport utility vehicles and rollover standards.

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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 think of at least ten reasons to impeach him, for acts far more serious than his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky or his lies to Kenneth Starr. I am speaking of matters of life and death for large numbers of people. 1. Clinton approved, very early…

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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 … shall have no further force or effect.” The paragraphs cited have to do with weapons inspections. Other paragraphs in the resolution have to do with “return of all Kuwaiti property seized by Iraq” and Iraqi liability for losses and damage resulting from Iraq’s occupation of…

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  • Media Coverage of Ukraine: When Selectivity Becomes Propaganda

    “The whiteness of Ukrainians may make it easier for Western governments to sell to their publics escalation and intervention instead of urgent negotiations to defuse a potentially catastrophic crisis between nuclear superpowers.

  • What’s Wrong with the CDC’s Decision to Drop Mask Mandate

    The CDC’s new guidelines, which allow around 70 percent of Americans to stop wearing masks indoors, place a double burden on the medically vulnerable, asking them to exclude themselves from society and bear the cost of buying PPE. Disability advocates have decried the agency’s shift. Beatrice Adler-Bolton says, “We should be honest that a lot…

  • Toxic Military “Burn Pits” Across the U.S. and in Iraq: Why Are They Allowed?

    After Joe Biden suggests his son’s fatal cancer could be attributed to toxic “burn pits,” experts and activists question their continued use. Laura Olah of the Cease Fire Campaign said that “Nationwide, there are approximately 60 active private and public sector facilities that routinely conduct OB/OD [open burn/open demolition] of hazardous waste. All are currently…

  • End Ukraine War, and Perpetual Wars: Call for a Transnational Citizens’ Movement

    “What’s needed above all is a courageous and transnational citizens’ movement demanding not simply the end of the war on Ukraine but also an end to perpetual wars. We need political leaders who will speak out about our real security needs and resist the reflex to fall into old patterns that distract from the threats…

  • News Headlines Downplaying Severity of Omicron Variant

    Justin Feldman: “When Omicron first hit the U.S., pundits and government officials painted a misleading picture that downplayed the severe public health consequences of the variant. The truth is that even while people infected with Omicron are less likely to die compared to Delta, it is hardly mild. The narrative of ‘mildness’ provided cover for…

  • Ukraine Crisis: Overlooked Facts

    “Now, sadly, Russia’s illegal actions will embolden the hawks and armament mongers on all sides. Already armchair strategists are calling for doubling the US military budget, for grasping the ‘strategic opportunity’ to bleed Putin in Ukraine while pushing the Europeans to build up their military forces.”

  • Ukraine and the “Borderline Euphoria” of Military Lobbyists

    ANDREW COCKBURN, [email protected], @andrewmcockburn Cockburn is author of the new book The Spoils of War: Power, Profit and the American War MachineAndrew Cockburn’s new book reports on how “Washington expanded NATO to satisfy an arms manufacturer’s urgent financial requirements; the U.S. Navy’s Pacific fleet deployments were for years dictated by a corrupt contractor who bribed high-ranking officers with cash…

  • Can OSCE Help Defuse Ukraine Crisis?

    Nonviolence International released a staetment last week: “A Chane for Peace: OSCE Must Strengthen the Ukraine Peace Monitoring Mission. The U.S. must reverse its withdrawal of OSCE peace observers.” Its director said today: “The escalation in these territories means that peace monitoring to monitor the conflict is needed more than ever.”

  • How Biden Could End the Ukraine Crisis

    Expert David Gibbs on the dangers of expanding NATO into Ukraine and how the Biden administration should deescalate the current conflict. He said that to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, “the Biden administration should offer a written guarantee that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO. To do this would satisfy” a “key Russian demand.”

  • Ukraine, Cyberattacks and Undermining Democratic Processes

    Amid widespread reports of cyberattacks on Ukraine, expert John Quigley weighs in on the “slippery slope” of self defense. He says the notion “has been misused as an illegal threat or for outright war” and that since the context for its creation has passed, “there’s really no legitimate reason for NATO to exist as an…

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