News Items

  • Affidavit by Daniel Ellsberg for Plowshare Activists Being Allowed a Defense of Necessity

    In 1971 I gave the U.S. Senate, the New York Times and the Washington Post copies of what have come to be known as The Pentagon Papers. I was arrested on twelve felony counts. My trial was dismissed because of government misconduct which figured in the impeachment proceedings against President Nixon…These considerations bear on two other elements of the necessity defense, the “lack of legal alternatives” and the “imminence” of the harms to be averted. Again, I speak from my own experience, but not only mine, in saying that it is the perceived insufficiency of other means, by themselves not…

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  • A Long List of Democratic Candidates Requires a Large Catalog of Their Funders

    By Sam Haut: As the first debates for the Democratic primary begin, and the list of candidates has grown to 24, it can be difficult to contextualize where each candidate has received funding from over the course of their time in office. What follows is a list of the Democratic candidates and the top sources for how much money they’ve made and where those top sources come from.

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  • NATO and US Foreign Policy: Dangers Ahead

    RootsAction.org held a news conference Thursday on “NATO and U.S. Foreign Policy: Dangers Ahead” hosted by the Institute for Public Accuracy. Speakers include former State Department officials Matthew Hoh, Ann Wright, as well as Martin Fleck. The event was moderated by Norman Solomon.

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  • Media Advisory: “NATO and U.S. Foreign Policy: Dangers Ahead”

    At 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at the National Press Club: On the same day that President Trump is scheduled to meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House, this news conference will focus on the U.S.-NATO relationship. Speakers include former State Department officials Matthew Hoh and Ann Wright.

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  • Statement by Floyd Abrams in response to Attorney General nominee William Barr’s remarks on the First Amendment

    “It’s one thing to say that there could be circumstances in which a journalist’s need to protect her sources could lead to a potential finding of contempt of court if she refused to obey a court order requiring such disclosure. But the notion that a journalist could properly be jailed for publishing material that the government thinks could ‘hurt the country’ is something else entirely and would be deeply threatening to First Amendment norms in general and journalistic freedom in particular.”

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  • Statement on NAFTA’s “Kafkaesque” Turn

    The supposedly concluded renegotiation of NAFTA has reached a Kafkaesque stage. As the United States Trade Representative has stated: “The United States and Mexico have reached a preliminary agreement in principle, subject to finalization and implementation.” Not only the negotiations have not been finalized, and without Canada, but the texts remain hidden from the public.

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  • What’s the Cost of Medicare for All?

    Even a Koch-backed think tank finds Medicare for all would cut health care spending. In a report released by the Mercatus Center, a single-payer health care system would offset costs with even greater savings. The Intercept and other media reporting on this are citing the work of Drs. David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler. They are distinguished professors of health policy at the City University of New York at Hunter College and lecturers in medicine at Harvard Medical School. They have written an analysis of the work of the Koch-backed think tank, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, which is…

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  • Trump Team Hired Israeli Spy Firm Used by Harvey Weinstein to Attack Obama Officials on Iran Deal

    “Aides to Donald Trump, the U.S. president, hired an Israeli private intelligence agency to orchestrate a ‘dirty ops’ campaign against key individuals from the Obama administration who helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal, the Observer can reveal. People in the Trump camp contacted private investigators in May last year to ‘get dirt’ on Ben Rhodes, who had been one of Barack Obama’s top national security advisers, and Colin Kahl, deputy assistant to Obama, as part of an elaborate attempt to discredit the deal.”

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  • From the desk of Noam Chomsky

    From the desk of Noam Chomsky

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  • 15 Years Later: The Whistleblower Who Almost Blocked the Iraq War

    Media Advisory: Press Conference to Mark 15th Anniversary Of Leak by GCHQ Translator Katharine Gun Revealing US “Dirty Tricks” at UN for Iraq War When:  Thursday, 1 March 2018 at 11:00 a.m. Where:  Head office, National Union of Journalists Headland House, 72 Acton Street, London, WC1X 9NB Who:  Katharine Gun, Thomas Drake, Matthew Hoh, Jesselyn Radack This press conference will take place the day before the 15th anniversary of the Observer’s publication of the explosive March 2, 2003 story “US dirty tricks to win vote on Iraq war” — based on a leak by GCHQ translator Katharine Gun — revealing the US National Security Agency’s UN surveillance memo that aimed to grease the way for the…

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  • Israel Escalates Attack on Lebanon, Threatens Beirut

    “Trump claimed in two posts on Truth Social after his call with Netanyahu that some sort of ceasefire had been agreed to, though Israeli attacks continue in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah continues to fire at Israeli forces.“

  • Colombia Elections to Proceed to Runoff Between Left-Wing and Far-Right Candidates

    “Colombia held presidential elections yesterday. Among a field of several candidates, far-right criminal defense attorney Abelardo de la Espriella leads with nearly 44 percent of the vote while left-wing Senator Iván Cepeda of the governing Pacto Histórico party came in second with nearly 41 percent. Since no candidate reached the 50 percent threshold needed to…

  • Congress “Moves to Integrate U.S. and Israeli Militaries”

    “Buried in the House’s version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) released [last week], is section 224, entitled ‘United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.’ The provision would arguably do more to intertwine the U.S. military with the Israeli military than the more than $200 billion (inflation adjusted) in military assistance Israel has received…

  • Beyond AIPAC: Protesting the American Jewish Committee

    While many focus solely on AIPAC as “the pro-Israel lobby,” a group of activists note the power of other groups like the American Jewish Committee. This weekend, these activists are protesting outside the AJC’s annual “Global Forum” in Washington, D.C.

  • Bolivia Government Demonizing Protesters

    “The chaotic Paz administration continues to give mixed messages on dialogue as it politically persecutes protest leaders and moves closer to the Bolivian equivalent of martial law. The right, the government and privileged Bolivians continue to stigmatize social movements as bloodthirsty, vandals linked to drug trafficking, although they are on the streets to guarantee subsistence…

  • Netanyahu: “Deepening” Operation in Lebanon, 31 Killed on Tuesday

    “Israel carried out more than 180 strikes across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley on Tuesday, according to local media, despite the ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States.”

  • Ten Arrested at NJ Port for Blockading Israel-Bound Weapons

    “Over 30 activists blockaded the entry point to the Maher Terminals of the Port of Newark-Elizabeth, attempting to prevent a shipment of ammunition and weapons components to Israel by the vessel ZIM Virginia. The activists called for the eviction of the Israeli shipping company Zim Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) and … the Danish Maersk –…

  • This Memorial Day: Remembering When Israel Attacked the USS Liberty

    “There has never been a U.S. Congress investigation into the attack on the USS Liberty. Israel realized they could do whatever they wanted and the U.S. Congress, U.S. government would do nothing.”

  • Analysis of DNC’s Autopsy

    After several months of saying he would not make it public, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin has released the party’s autopsy report on the 2024 election. 

  • The Provocative Reality Behind the Cuban Airplane Shootdown

    “The posting comes as the U.S. Department of Justice prepares to indict Cuban leader Raul Castro for his role in the downing of the BTTR planes. At the time, General Castro served as minister of defense and was the highest officer in the military chain of command in Fidel Castro’s government. The documents offer a…

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