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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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  • * Israel Seizes Jewish Boat to Gaza * UN Finds Israel “Executed” U.S. Citizen

    REUVEN MOSKOVITZ, RAMI ELHANAN, LILIAN ROSENGARTEN, YONATAN SHAPIRA via Yosh Kosminsky The group Jewish Boat to Gaza released a statement several hours ago: “The Irene, a boat carrying nine passengers and aid for Gaza’s population, has been taken over by the Israeli navy and denied access to Gaza. The boat is flying a British flag…

  • Mountaintop Removal Protests in D.C.

    JAMES HANSEN, MATTHEW SHERMAN Sherman is with Appalachia Rising — a group that has been protesting against mountaintop removal and this weekend held educational events in Washington, D.C. The group states it expects thousands to march on the White House today, including climatologist James Hansen, formerly of NASA. Numerous arrests are also expected. See news…

  • Obama at the UN

    DIANA BUTTU, [currently in NYC] A Palestinian-Canadian lawyer and former Palestinian negotiator, Buttu said today: “Obama ‘urges’ an extension on the settlement moratorium rather than ‘demand’ a complete settlement reversal. The message to Israel is clear: continue violating international law. No one will stop you.” Buttu on Twitter PHYLLIS BENNIS Bennis is director of the…

  • “So Long, Summers”

    ROBERT SCHEER also via Natasha Hakimi Editor of TruthDig.com, Scheer is author of The Great American Stickup: How Reagan Republicans and Clinton Democrats Enriched Wall Street While Mugging Main Street, recently released in paperback. Scheer just wrote the piece “So Long, Summers.” Also see IPA news release from earlier this month: “‘Great American Stickup’ Author:…

  • Koch Brothers Funding Threat to California Environmental Law

    The New York Times writes in an editorial today: “Four years ago, bipartisan majorities in the California Legislature approved a landmark clean energy bill [AB 32] that many hoped would serve as a template [nationally] … Now a well-financed coalition of right-wing ideologues, out-of-state oil and gas companies and climate-change skeptics is seeking to effectively…

  • Repression in Honduras? Dinner at the White House

    ADRIENNE PINE Recently back from Honduras, Pine is assistant professor of anthropology at American University. She said today: “There has been an escalation in government attacks on free speech following the resistance movement’s announcement of the collection of over 1,300,000 signatures demanding a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution. Last week, on Honduran Independence Day,…

  • Afghanistan’s “Phony Elections”

    ANAND GOPAL Gopal is an independent journalist based in Afghanistan and has reported for the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal. He is one of the few journalists covering the recent Afghan elections from a war zone. See his piece in the Christian Science Monitor, “Ballot Stuffing Witnessed Amidst Troubled Afghan Vote,” which…

  • Poverty Jump and “Shredding the Safety Net”

    The New York Times is reporting: “Forty-four million people in the United States, or one in seven residents, lived in poverty in 2009, an increase of 4 million from the year before, the Census Bureau reported on Thursday.” GWENDOLYN MINK Mink is co-editor of the two-volume Poverty in the United States: An Encyclopedia of History,…

  • Veteran Testifies About His “Torture” by U.S. Military

    CHUCK LUTHER JOSHUA KORS Kors wrote the Nation cover story “Disposable Soldiers: How the Pentagon Is Cheating Wounded Vets.” Kors and Luther testified this morning before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Kors described Luther’s testimony: “Medal-winning sergeant Chuck Luther described for the committee how he was tortured by the U.S. Army. Luther provided graphic…

  • Nobel Laureate on Mideast

    Talks resume today between the U.S., Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai Desert. Reuters is reporting: “The U.S. envoy to the U.N. atomic watchdog urged Arab states on Monday to withdraw a resolution calling on Israel to sign an anti-nuclear arms treaty, warning it would…

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