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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 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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  • Leaked: Audio of Bradley Manning Court Statement on WikiLeaks

    “Transparency is vital for an informed public, whether we’re talking about the courtroom, Congress, or the executive branch. We hope this release will shine light on the plight of whistleblowers everywhere.”

  • NYT Report on Selling Post Offices — and Sen. Feinstein’s Husband Profiting from “Manufactured Crisis”

  • Rand Paul’s Filibuster; Holder’s Defense of “Immoral, Illegal” Drone Assassination Program

    Politico reports: “The recent dribble of information about the Obama administration’s armed drone policy does not appear to have done much to satisfy Republicans or Democrats in the Senate. “Attorney General Eric Holder was grilled Wednesday over the policy, a day after the release of a letter in which Holder refused to rule out a…

  • Chavez Beyond the Caricatures

    “Chavez survived a military coup backed by Washington and oil strikes that crippled the economy but once he got control of the oil industry, his government reduced poverty by half and extreme poverty by 70 percent. Millions of people also got access to health care for the first time, and access to education also increased…

  • “Obama’s Department of Fracking and Nukes”

  • Israel Above Sequestration Cuts?

    “AIPAC will be lobbying to avert the impact of sequestration on record-breaking levels of U.S. military aid to Israel. It will also be pushing for legislation to boost the U.S.-Israel ‘strategic alliance’ and green light an Israeli attack on Iran, measures which will both inevitably entail demands for additional U.S. taxpayer-funded weapons to Israel.”

  • 10 Years Ago: “The Most Important Leak” Aimed at Stopping the Iraq War

    “The memo from Frank Koza, chief of staff at the ‘regional targets’ section of the National Security Agency, GCHQ’s sister organisation in the U.S., remains shocking in its implications for British sovereignty. Koza was in effect issuing a direct order to the employees of a UK security agency to gather ‘the whole gamut of information…

  • Senators “Opening a Backdoor to War with Iran”?

    “These Senators are now on the record that they want U.S. to go to war on behalf of Israel if Netanyahu says it’s go time. Ceding the decision of whether to go to war to a foreign leader is the height of irresponsibility from this Congress. But they know the President, the military, and the…

  • After 1000 Days in Prison, Manning Explains Why he Released “Collateral Murder” Video

    “I believe that if the general public had access to the information, this could spark a domestic debate as to the role of the military and foreign policy in general. … I felt I accomplished something that would allow me to have a clear conscience.” He has been held in prison for just over 1000…

  • Violence Against Women Act

    “As advocates for women who have been trafficked and abused, we are relieved that the House ‘substitute’ was defeated and that the Senate version of the Violence Against Women Act was passed in the House today.The Senate version of the bill, which passed with bipartisan support and the vote of every woman Senator, also included…

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