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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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  • Congressional Abdication: * Impeachment * War Funding

    THEODORE LOWI Lowi is professor of American Institutions at Cornell University and author of several books including The End of Liberalism. He said today: “Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Judiciary Chair John Conyers and the vast majority of Democrats in Congress are making a grave Constitutional error by keeping impeachment off the table. Impeachment does not mean…

  • Oil and the Environment

    STEVE KRETZMANN Executive director of Oil Change International, Kretzmann said today: “Despite how environmentally damaging and tragic the San Francisco and Black Sea spills are, they are only the most visible of the many costs of our oil addiction. Oil spills cannot truly be called accidents. Like human rights abuses, wars for oil, and climate,…

  • Peru Trade Deal

    AP reports: “The House on Thursday approved a free trade agreement with Peru, the first under a Democratic majority in Congress that has declared that labor rights and the environment must be central parts of all such pacts.” WENONAH HAUTER Executive director of Food & Water Watch, Hauter said today: “Unfortunately, the passage of the…

  • Iraqi Parliament Saying UN Renewal of Troop Mandate “Unconstitutional”

    JAMES PAUL Paul is executive director of Global Policy Forum, which monitors the United Nations. He said today: “UN authorization for the U.S.-led force in Iraq is set to expire. The U.S. government has drafted a renewal resolution to submit to the Security Council, and a vote could come up soon. But Iraq’s parliament has…

  • Calls for Impeaching Cheney

    The Politico reports: “Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) plans to take to the floor of the House Tuesday and introduce a privileged resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. The privilege approach allows him to circumvent Democratic leadership, which opposes voting on the measure. “His resolution will be met with a motion to table it. A…

  • Pakistan Coup and U.S. Policy

    The New York Times is reporting today: “The Bush administration signaled Sunday that it would probably keep billions of dollars flowing to Pakistan’s military, despite the detention of human rights advocates and leaders of the political opposition by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the country’s president.” AIJAZ AHMAD Ahmad has written extensively on South Asia. Currently senior…

  • Lieberman-Warner: Give Away to Coal?

    A subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee subcommittee voted today to advance the Lieberman-Warner bill — which sets caps on greenhouse gas emissions and promotes “carbon trading” — to the full committee. The following analysts and activists are available for comment: ERICH PICA Pica is director of economic policy for Friends of…

  • Google and DoubleClick Merger: Online Consumer Profiling

    On Thursday and Friday, the Federal Trade Commission is holding a “town hall meeting” on Internet advertising. JEFF CHESTER Chester is the executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, author of the recently released book Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy and will testify at the FTC. He said today: “A…

  • Blackwater * Mukasey and Torture * LA 8

    JEREMY SCAHILL Scahill is author of the bestseller Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. He just wrote the piece “State to Blackwater: Nothing You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You in a Court of Law.” More Information MARJORIE COHN Currently in Washington, D.C., Cohn recently wrote the piece “Michael…

  • Fires Expose “Two San Diegos”

    JUSTIN AKERS CHACÓN Chacón is professor of Chicano Studies in San Diego, California, and co-author of No One Is Illegal with Mike Davis. He just wrote the piece “Divided by Fire: Two San Diegos Emerge from the Flames,” which states: “While the Southern California wildfires do not discriminate against peoples and property values, the machinery…

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