accuracy.org

News Items

  • An Analysis of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441

    as Adopted on November 8, 2002 The Security Council, Recalling all its previous relevantresolutions, in particular its resolutions 661 (1990) of 6 August 1990, 678(1990) of 29 November 1990, 686 (1991) of 2 March 1991, 687 (1991) of 3 April1991, 688 (1991) of 5 April 1991, 707 (1991) of 15 August 1991, 715 (1991) of 11October 1991, 986 (1995) of 14 April 1995, and 1284 (1999) of 17 December 1999,and all the relevant statements of its President, PhyllisBennis, fellow at the Institute for PolicyStudies and author of the newbook Before and After: U.S. Foreign Policy and the September 11thCrisis:”According to…

    Read more »

  • Detailed Analysis of October 7, 2002 Speech by Bush on Iraq

    Thank you for that very gracious and warm Cincinnati welcome. I’m honored to be here tonight. I appreciate you all coming. Tonight I want to take a few minutes to discuss a grave threat to peace and America’s determination to lead the world in confronting that threat. The threat comes from Iraq. It arises directly from the Iraqi regime’s own actions, its history of aggression and its drive toward an arsenal of terror. Chris Toensing, editor of Middle East Report: “This might indicate that Iraq is actively threatening the peace in the region. There is no evidence whatsoever that Iraq…

    Read more »

  • A Detailed Analysis of the Draft UN Security Council Resolution Proposed by the U.S. Government

    (Latest publicly available version, October 23, 2002) PP1 Recalling all its previous relevant resolutions, in particular its resolutions 661 (1990) of 6 August 1990, 686 (1991) of 2 March 1991, 678 (1990) of 29 November 1990, 687 (1991) of 3 April 1991, 688 (1991) of 5 April 1991, 986 (1995) of 14 April 1995, and 1284 (1999) of 17 December 1999, and all the relevant statements of its President, PP2 Recognizing the threat Iraq’s noncompliance with Security Council resolutions and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles poses to international peace and security, Rahul Mahajan [www.rahulmahajan.com], author of…

    Read more »

  • UN Security Council Resolutions Being Violated by U.S. Allies

    The following are some of the UN Security Council resolutions being violated by U.S. allies: Resolution 252 (1968) Israel: Urgently calls upon Israel to rescind measures that change the legal status of Jerusalem, including the expropriation of land and properties thereon. http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/bdd57d15a29f428d85256c3800701fc4/46f2803d78a0488e852560c3006023a8!OpenDocument 262 (1968) Israel: Calls upon Israel to pay compensation to Lebanon for destruction of airliners at Beirut International Airport. http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/bdd57d15a29f428d85256c3800701fc4/74cff7bff73f9ea1852560c30061d11b!OpenDocument 353 (1974) Turkey: Calls on nations to respect the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Cyprus and for the withdrawal without delay of foreign troops from Cyprus. www.pio.gov.cy/docs/un/security_council/res_353.htm 379 (1975) Morocco: Calls for the withdrawal of foreign forces…

    Read more »

  • Is God “Neutral”?

    WASHINGTON — Ever since Sept. 11, some American religious leaders have been outspoken in calling for a peaceful response and respect for civil liberties. Their perspectives contrast sharply with President Bush’s bellicose invocations of religious rhetoric, as in his Sept. 20 address to Congress when he declared that “God is not neutral.” “Christians have a ‘just war’ teaching that in theory can be used to judge any war. In practice, the teaching serves to bless rather than judge wars,” said Sister Evelyn Mattern, a program associate at the North Carolina Council of Churches. “For example, the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops…

    Read more »

  • As Bombs Fall, Critics Question U.S. Approach

    WASHINGTON – As the United States continued with air attacks on targets in Afghanistan, dubbed “strategic military locations” by Pentagon officials, peace advocates found their struggle pushed to the forefront. The U.S. strikes, comprised of cruise missiles launched from remote locations and bomber raids, were initial steps of what President Bush described as a “sustained, comprehensive and relentless” campaign against Taliban forces. According to the Washington Post, the attacks focused on Taliban strongholds in the south of Afghanistan, damaging airports and other military facilities in Kabul and Kandahar. Critics of the campaign questioned the approach behind these “strategic” strikes.

    Read more »

  • Critics Blast Bush’s Call for “Lengthy Campaign”

    WASHINGTON – When President Bush took the national pulpit on September 20 to address a joint session of Congress, he faced perhaps his greatest challenge since his inauguration. Mainstream media pundits spoke at length of his need to rise to the occasion — to solidify the nation’s commitment to fighting terrorism. With the chamber’s applause still audible, the reports were already coming out. Bush’s approval rating had risen ten more points, to an astronomical 91 percent. His singling out of common citizens — some of whom sat in the audience — had captured the allegiance of skeptics. His calls for…

    Read more »

  • Rethinking Welfare Reform

    WASHINGTON — With re-authorization of key “welfare reform” legislation due in the coming year, activists are mobilizing to place the rights of minorities and women foremost on the agenda. Many indict the current system — established by the 1996 passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act — as a racist and gender-biased structure that keeps the poor in poverty and further burdens disadvantaged families. The five-year-old legislation has in fact reduced welfare rolls. A White House report in 2000 said that the number of Americans on welfare had decreased from 5.5 percent in 1993 to 2.3 percent…

    Read more »

  • Uncontrolled Burn: How congress is adding fuel to the western wildfires

    As wildfires rage through woodland in the West, critics are questioning the federal government’s role in protecting the National Forests. Recently, President Bush proposed a $175 million increase in commercial timber sales on public lands — a move that, along with a planned repeal of the “roadless rule” established by former President Clinton, has many suspicious of where the Bush administration’s true agenda lies. Big forest fires make the news every summer. Last year, over 7 million acres of U.S. land burned during wildfire season. Many forest advocates believe that wildfires are a naturally occurring, healthy phenomenon and should, to…

    Read more »

  • Are Americans “Vacation Starved”?

    WASHINGTON — When President Bush clocked out to start on a 30-day vacation at his Texas ranch, a collective lament was in the air from much of the population: “When do we get a break?” The vacation brings to 52 days the president’s total vacation time since his swearing-in last January, a number that dwarfs the average eight days of vacation most U.S. small business employees receive each year, according to Joe Robinson, director of the Work to Live campaign. Robinson, declaring America to be “the most vacation-starved country in the industrialized world,” is one of many people leading the…

    Read more »

  • From Cairo: Egypt’s Military Leading the Counter-Revolution?

    As media have turned their attention elsewhere, breaking news of Egypt’s uprising has fallen into the shadows. Local activists report that in Egypt the military is banning the local press from covering any of its activities. So Egyptian activists are turning to other methods — including testimonial videos on YouTube — to reach the public…

  • Breaking: Arab Democracy Protests in D.C.

    Several hundred people are now protesting at the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C. and plan to march to the White House. Organizers expect between one and two thousand people to take part today. The rallies protest the Bahrain regime’s crackdown against the pro-democracy movement there as well as Saudi and U.S. government backing of the…

  • Cost of War “Elephant in Room”

    President Obama said yesterday: “This larger debate we’re having, about the size and role of government, has been with us since our founding days. And during moments of great challenge and change, like the one we’re living through now, the debate gets sharper and more vigorous. That’s a good thing. As a country that prizes…

  • Fracking and T. Boone Pickens’ Myths

    MAURA STEPHENS Stephens is a co-founder of the Coalition to Protect New York. She said today: “T. Boone Pickens has President Obama and a lot of other politicians buying into his propaganda that ‘natural’ gas is a clean domestic fuel. “But it’s not clean, it’s filthy. A new study shows the entire process of high-volume…

  • * Medicare * Real Deficit “Courage”

    STEFFIE WOOLHANDLER, M.D., MARGARET FLOWERS, M.D. Woolhandler, a professor of public health at CUNY and visiting professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, is a co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program. She said today: “Congressman Ryan promises to save money by ending Medicare and instead giving seniors a voucher to pay for private…

  • Equal Pay Day: Obama to Back Cuts Hurting Women?

    TERRY O’NEILL, via Lisa Bennett O’Neill is president of the National Organization for Women. She said this morning: “Today we mark Equal Pay Day, which occurs at a pivotal time for U.S. workers, particularly women. As feminists call attention to the persistent gender wage gap, we would do well to demonstrate its link to the…

  • Budget “Decimates” Water Protections

    WENONAH HAUTER, via Darcey Rakestraw Executive director of Food and Water Watch, Hauter said today: “The latest agreement between Congressional leaders and President Obama decimates water protections. The ability of the Environmental Protection Agency to help municipalities deliver clean water to U.S. citizens has been seriously threatened with cuts to the Clean Water and Drinking…

  • Japan Disaster to Level Seven: “The Explosion of Nukespeak”

    The Japanese government has raised the emergency at the Fukushima nuclear plant to level seven, from a level five. This puts it at the highest level, as was Chernobyl. KARL GROSSMAN Grossman and others have been advocating raising the emergency level as a first step for weeks. Professor of journalism at the State University of…

  • $1.6 Trillion Spent on Military; Global Day of Action

    JOHN FEFFER Feffer is a fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies. He said today: “Just-released figures for global military expenditures by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute show that the world spent more than $1.6 trillion on the military. Even in the middle of a global economic crisis, military spending has increased, with the…

  • “Unnecessary Austerity”

    Reversing tax giveaways to the super-rich and the nation’s largest corporations could raise $4 trillion within a decade and avert possible government closures, according to a newly released report.   Today the Institute for Policy Studies issued the report “Unnecessary Austerity,”  which states Congress could raise more than $4 trillion in revenue over the next…

Mastodon