News Items

  • Calls to Suspend Syrian Refugee and Other Recent Anti-Muslim Statements by Government Officials

    Compiled by the Institute for Public Accuracy with Arun Kundnani and Deepa Kumar. Kundnani said: “While it’s very easy to denounce Trump’s recent repugnant, bullying statements — and much of the political class has — it’s important to keep several things in mind: First, as the compilation of statements by elected officials makes clear, he made these statements after many officials from across the country made scores of statements playing on unfounded fears against Syrian refugees and other Muslims.”

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  • Classified Politics: A System and a Clinton in Disrepute

    It is most unlikely, however, that Hillary Clinton will fall victim to accusations that rely on improper over-­classification. The State Department and White House, including President Obama himself, sought to protect her and to minimize the effects of her behavior. The case is extremely high­-profile, Democrats in Congress would attack any borderline classification, and a host of well-­paid lawyers would rise to her defense. Improperly classified items or those deemed Sensitive but Unclassified may be redacted from publicly released documents, but it is hard to imagine that Mrs. Clinton would be falsely accused of felonies.

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  • Video of Sterling News Conference

    Please enjoy the full video of Holly Sterling’s news conference, which was her first such appearance since her husband’s trial and imprisonment. The news conference also featured Thomas Drake, Delphine Halgand, Ray McGovern, and Jesselyn Radack.

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  • Open Letter to President Obama from Holly Sterling

    Does the government have no shame in destroying one man’s life and wasting tens of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money to punish a man who had the audacity to do two things: Stand up for his constitutional rights and utilize proper channels provided to him to express concern for the citizens of our country? I am deeply saddened by our lives’ events that Jeffrey and I have suffered and endured. You publicly committed to a transparent government led by your administration, yet it has been shrouded in mistruth and secrecy.

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  • Unprecedented News Conference: Wife of Imprisoned CIA Whistleblower to Speak Out

    Jeffrey Sterling was convicted under the Espionage Act as a source for New York Times reporter James Risen’s book State of War. He began serving his three-and-a-half year prison sentence in June. His wife’s news conference will be the first time the spouse of a CIA whistleblower has made such an appearance.

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  • Cultural Shift Needed on Police Militarization

    Police militarization is a 25 year long trend that has only grown in momentum over time. The restrictions on militaristic gear directed by the White House while important symbolically, will certainly not substantively impact this trend in and of itself. Police militarization at this point is as much a cultural problem as it is a material one, and reversing the cultural trend toward police militarization will require more far reaching efforts.

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  • Watch the Short Documentary “The Invisible Man: CIA Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling”

    “‘The federal courtroom in northern Virginia where Holly and Jeffrey Sterling returned for the sentencing on May 11 was the scene of a disturbing, though scantly reported, simulation of justice in late January. At the outset, covering the trial, I noted that ‘prospective jurors made routine references to ‘three-letter agencies’ and alphabet-soup categories of security clearances.’ Steeped in a local atmosphere of deference to mega-employers like the CIA and Pentagon along with numerous big contracting firms nearby, ‘the jury pool was bound to please the prosecution.’”

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  • On Jeffrey Sterling: From the Filmmaker of “Invisible Man”

    “The most shocking element of this story it that Jeffrey Sterling seems to be punished because he ‘pulled on Superman’s cape’ first with a racial discrimination suit they were able to squash and then by reporting what he considered a dangerous CIA operation to the proper government channels for hearing such a concern.”

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  • News Conference: Whistleblowers Weigh In on Policy

    William Binney (NSA), Thomas Drake (NSA), Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon Papers), Raymond McGovern (CIA), Jesselyn Radack (Justice Department), Coleen Rowley (FBI) and Kirk Wiebe (NSA) spoke at this news conference, sponsored by ExposeFacts.org, a project of the Institute for Public Accuracy.

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  • Netanyahu Victory Opens Door for One-State Solution

    Just before the election, Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu ruled out the creation of a Palestinian State, which means that he repudiated the two-state solution to the dispute between the Israelis and the Palestinians. This has been the pronounced objective of American foreign policy since the Madrid Conference and the Middle East Peace Negotiations in 1991 held under the auspices of the United States government and with the full support of the international community.

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  • * Romney’s War Cabinet * Israel’s Record in Gaza and Nukes * How the World Sees the Debates

    Elik Elhanan, Yonatan Shapira and Reut Mor, co-founders of Combatants for Peace, were among the passengers on a boat to Gaza that was intercepted by the Israeli military on Friday. A former paratrooper in the Israeli military, Elhanan was just released from prison and is currently under house arrest in Israel. He said today: “We…

  • Where’s the Foreign Policy Debate? * Kuwait * Drones * Libya

    A scholar in Middle East politics at Durham University, Christopher Davidson is author of the new book After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies. He said today: “The pro-loyalist groups are not serious about reform. While riot police were attacking peaceful protesters, the Emir was meeting with other members of the ruling…

  • * Syria * Pakistani Malala Yousafzai’s Shooting

    Sonali Kolhatkar is co-author of Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence and is co-director of the Afghan Women’s Mission. She said today: “The U.S. has been waging an undeclared drone war in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, including in the Swat valley where Malala Yousufzai was attacked. What is not…

  • How Romney and Vulture Funds Milked the Auto Bailout

    Investigative reporter Greg Palast wrote the just-published piece “Mitt Romney’s Bailout Bonanza: How Mitt and Ann made millions — and Mitt’s hedge fund donors made billions — from the auto-industry rescue that he condemned.” The piece states: “Mitt Romney’s opposition to the auto bailout has haunted him on the campaign trail, especially in Rust Belt…

  • Why the Silence on Global Warming?

    Daphne Wysham is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and is the co-director of the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network. She said today: “The Arctic is melting to record lows, extreme weather is increasing, grain reserves are at record lows threatening millions with hunger should there be another bad grain harvest next year,…

  • Empowering Voter Choice: * Killing the Congressional Gerrymander * Instant Runoff Voting

    Rob Richie is executive director of FairVote, which has just released a pair of reports on “the roots of lack of competition in congressional races and a roadmap for reform.”

  • * Wal-Mart Strikes * Nobel in Economics

    Nelson Lichtenstein recently wrote the piece “A New Era for Wal-Mart Workers?” which states: “During this week and the last, perhaps a couple of hundred of Wal-Mart workers have walked out of their stores in at least a dozen cities across America. They have formed picket lines, spoken to the press, and demonstrated that it…

  • “Koch Sends Pro-Romney Mailing to Employees While Stifling Workplace Political Speech”

    Mike Elk just wrote the piece “Koch Sends Pro-Romney Mailing to 45,000 Employees While Stifling Workplace Political Speech” for In These Times where he is a staff writer and regular contributor to the magazines’ “Working” blog. The new piece states: “In a voter information packet obtained by In These Times, the Koch Industries corporate leadership…

  • * Iran Sanctions * Biden Antiwar? * Phony Nobel?

    Muhammad Sahimi is a professor at the University of Southern California and lead political columnist for the website PBS/Frontline/Tehran Bureau. While both Biden and Ryan touted the sanctions on Iran in last night’s debate, Sahimi said: “The sanctions were supposed to be ‘smart’ and ‘targeted,’ but they have turned to be anything but. They have…

  • Debate Disinformation on Social Security and Medicare

    Eric Kingson is co-chair of the Strengthen Social Security Campaign. He said today: “In her opening question on Social Security to Mr. Ryan, Martha Raddatz drew on and reinforced a common myth — that Social Security ‘is going broke’ and that dramatic change is needed for it ‘to survive.’ Her assumptions were wrong. Social Security…

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