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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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  • Stagflation

    DOUG HENWOOD Henwood is author of the book Wall Street and editor of Left Business Observer. He said today: “Stagflation, that vexing combination of stagnant economy and rising inflation, is back in the news for the first time since the 1970s. And it is a problem. But, unlike the stagflation of the 1970s, this time…

  • Confronting Health Insurance Companies

    The America’s Health Insurance Plans convention will take place later this week at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. The program features former U.S. senators John Breaux and Bill Frist, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, President Bush’s former counselor Dan Bartlett and the Democratic National Committee’s former chairman Terry McAuliffe. A host of…

  • The Ruse Over Bases in Iraq

    RAED JARRAR Earlier this month, Jarrar accompanied two Iraqi parliamentarians in their meetings in Washington, D.C. and New York City; the parliamentarians testified before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee about U.S. bases in Iraq. Jarrar said today: “The leaks we’ve seen lately that the U.S. government is seeking 58 permanent bases seem dubious. For one…

  • Tomato Recall — Is Irradiation the Solution?

    WENONAH HAUTER Executive director of Food & Water Watch and author of the new book Zapped! Irradiation and the Death of Food, Hauter said today: “As stores and restaurants around the country pull tomatoes from shelves and menus in response to the recent salmonella outbreak, American tomato farmers are poised to lose their livelihoods and…

  • Gitmo Decision

    MICHAEL RATNER President of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Ratner said today: “Finally after almost seven years of litigation the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision has upheld the rights of the Guantánamo detainees to challenge their detention in federal court by writs of habeas corpus. The Court finally said enough is enough and that…

  • U.S. Bases in Iraq

    McClatchy reports in a piece headlined “U.S. security talks with Iraq in trouble in Baghdad and D.C.” that “Iraqi lawmakers say the Bush administration is demanding concessions that are unacceptable, among them: dozens of semi-permanent bases from which U.S. forces can launch missions with no prior consent from Iraq’s government; complete immunity for U.S. troops…

  • A Move to Impeach Bush

    The Politico reports: “Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) introduced 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush on Monday night, reading the resolution into the Congressional Record. … Kucinich has introduced a similar impeachment resolution against Vice President Cheney. That resolution was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, which has taken no action on the measure. Speaker…

  • Rome Food Conference

    As government leaders from around the world meet at the U.N. food conference in Rome, nonprofit organizations have also been meeting there. The following analysts are available for a limited number of interviews and are in contact with others in Rome from around the world: FLAVIO VALENTE Secretary general of FIAN [Food First Information and…

  • Major Presidential Candidates at AIPAC

    John McCain spoke at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Monday. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton spoke there this morning. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is meeting with President Bush this afternoon. EDWARD L. PECK Peck, a former ambassador who was chief of mission in Iraq and Mauritania, also served as deputy director of…

  • Unions in Crisis

    The Wall Street Journal is reporting: “Andy Stern, the president of the Service Employees International Union, is moving to further consolidate bargaining and organizing efforts across industry lines, a move that could limit the power of local unions but give the union greater leverage with big employers.” SEIU is currently holding its convention in Puerto…

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