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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  • UNSC Reported to Back Trump Plan, Palestinians Outraged

    “The U.S. is pushing for a vote on the U.N. Security Council by Monday on the U.S.-Israel colonial land grab in Gaza. The U.S. draft would ignore the findings of the International Court of Justice and U.N. human rights bodies, violate key provisions of international law, reward and normalize the perpetrators of the genocide, punish…

  • U.S. and Israel Trying to Consolidate “Land Grab in Gaza” Using U.N.

    “The co-perpetrators of the genocide are seeking U.N. authorization to take over the lives of the survivors and normalize the status of the perpetrators. Russia and China must stand firm against this abomination, and the UNGA must move now under Uniting for Peace to provide protection for Palestine and accountability for the Israeli regime.”  

  • Epstein’s Work with Israel: New Revelations

    “Jeffrey Epstein used his political network and financial resources to help broker a security cooperation agreement between the governments of Israel and Mongolia, according to a trove of leaked emails from former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. This new set of emails between Barak and Epstein has largely been ignored by the mainstream press, but…

  • Scientists Speak About Federal Agencies

    For Nature, Virginia Gewin spoke to 19 current and formal federal agency scientists at the EPA, CDC, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Institutes of Health. Her article serves as a resource documenting the kind of work that federal agency scientists have historically done and are no…

  • The “Magic Mistake” and “Enemy of the Sun”

    The book has a forward by Greg Thomas who teaches Black Studies and Literature at Howard University and discovered the misattribution, calling it “a magic mistake of revolutionary solidarity and kinship.”

  • “Covid Misinformation Star” Robert Malone

    Robert Malone is a household name in the anti-vaccine movement. The New York Times has called him a “Covid misinformation star.” A medical doctor and infectious disease researcher, Malone is a frequent guest on conservative podcast shows and is well-known for spreading misinformation about the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines. Throughout the pandemic, Malone…

  • Gaza Shelter Aid Blocked as Winter Nears: “The International Community Must Act Now”

    “More than three weeks into the ceasefire, Gaza should be receiving a surge of shelter materials, but only a fraction of what is needed has entered. The international community must act now to secure swift and unimpeded access.”

  • Slower Genocide, Rape Victim Fears for Life, Israel’s Potemkin Village Plans for “East Gaza”

    Shehada highlights that Israel continues airstrikes and attacks in the remaining area of Gaza, (West Gaza), and still prevents delivery of crucial humanitarian relief, including food, medicine and the desperately needed tents, prefab homes and construction materials which will be even more necessary during the winter months. The genocide continues at a slower pace.

  • Threats to First Amendment Rights

    For Documented, Anna Oakes writes that rulings in high-profile cases targeting noncitizen university students who have engaged in pro-Palestine speech, like those of Mohsen Mahdawi and Rümeysa Öztürk, could redefine First Amendment protections.  ANNA OAKES; [email protected]      Oakes is an independent journalist based in New York City. Oakes told the Institute for Public Accuracy: “For the…

  • Should Black People Be Allowed to Vote?

    “Asked by Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut whether he would support bringing back ‘laws in this country to only allow white people to vote,’ Bozell refused to give a direct answer.“

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