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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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  • The Presidential Candidates and Israel

    Rabbi ARNOLD JACOB WOLF Sen. Barack Obama lives across the street from Rabbi Wolf’s synagogue, KAM Isaiah Israel, Chicago’s oldest Jewish congregation. Wolf, who has known Obama for about 10 years, said today: “Some of what has been ascribed to Obama is ridiculous. He takes very cautious positions on the Mideast. I am a supporter…

  • With McCain Visiting the White House, New Spotlight on Lobbying Scandal

    “At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust nor make a decision which in any way would not be in the public interest and would favor anyone or any organization.” — Sen. John McCain, Feb. 21, 2008 JEROLD STARR Starr just wrote the Nation magazine piece “The Other Side…

  • From Gaza

    AFP is reporting today: “Israel vowed on Monday to keep hitting Gaza even as troops pulled out of the … territory after clashes that killed at least 120 Palestinians.” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Brussels from March 3 to 7. The following individuals are in Gaza,…

  • Obama Finance Chair Tied to Sub-Prime Disaster

    DENNIS BERNSTEIN Bernstein just wrote the piece “Obama’s Sub-Prime Conflict” for ConsortiumNews.com. He said today: “During a recent campaign stop in south Texas, Obama met with San Antonio-area residents who had been particularly hard hit by the sub-prime meltdown. He expressed dismay over how lobbyists for the sub-prime lending industry had spent more than $185…

  • The White House Agenda on Iran

    The New York Times reports: “The [UN] Security Council is expected to vote in the coming days on a third resolution to tighten sanctions against Iran… [Iranian ambassador Mohammad] Khazaee … brought up a new report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna on Friday, which said that suspicions about many Iranian activities…

  • Why do McCain, Obama and Clinton Want a Bigger Military?

    ERIK LEAVER Leaver is a research fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. He said today: “Obama and Clinton have both talked about cutting some wasteful systems but both have also talked about increasing the size of the military — a far more costly endeavor. So any of those savings will be dwarfed by troop…

  • Cuba and Terrorism: Villain or Victim?

    “I think it’s naive to think you can sit down and have unconditional talks with a person [Raul Castro] who has [been] part of a government that has been a state sponsor of terrorism not only in the hemisphere but throughout the world.” — Sen. John McCain, Feb. 23, 2008 http://www.democracynow.org/2008/2/25/headlines#2 WAYNE SMITH Available for…

  • Cuba and Castro

    AP reports: “On Sunday, the [Cuban] assembly will name the president, first vice president and five other vice presidents, and 24 other members of the Council of State. Fidel, who was re-elected to the National Assembly, could remain on the council but is unlikely to receive a top position.” PETER ROMAN Author of People’s Power:…

  • Serbian-Kosovo Crisis

    STEPHEN ZUNES Professor of politics at the University of San Francisco, Zunes returned from Serbia last week. He just wrote the piece “Kosovo and the Politics of Recognition.” Zunes said today: “Even among longstanding supporters of independence for Kosovo, the eagerness with which the Bush administration extended diplomatic recognition immediately upon that country’s declaration of…

  • Behind the Satellite Shoot-Down

    The Times of London reports that the U.S. government’s “decision to destroy a defunct spy satellite orbiting Earth by firing a missile into outer space provoked a diplomatic row today, with both China and Russia accusing the U.S. of having carried out a covert weapons test.” ALICE SLATER Slater is director of the Nuclear Age…

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