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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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  • Libby Sentence: Commutation or Cover-Up?

    ROBERT PARRY Parry, a former reporter for The Associated Press and Newsweek, has written a number of books about Washington politics including, most recently, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq. He said today: “President Bush’s decision to spare Scooter Libby from jail time represents the final step in a…

  • “Excessive” Sentences and the Administration

    In a statement about commutation of Scooter Libby’s sentence, President Bush said: “I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive.” KEVIN and MONICA BENDERMAN Kevin Benderman said today: “I was imprisoned for 14 months after trying to apply for conscientious objector status after seeing the reality of the Iraq war.”…

  • Are Biofuels the Solution?

    RACHEL SMOLKER Research biologist at the Global Justice Ecology Project, Smolker said today: “In just the past week [the U.S. government] permitted field testing of a eucalyptus genetically engineered specifically for biofuel production, a $375 million DOE grant was made to fund three major bioenergy research centers, BP and DuPont fronted most of $400 million…

  • Conflict Over U.S.-Korea Trade Deal

    AP is reporting that “South Korea’s largest labor union escalated a strike Thursday against the country’s free trade agreement with the U.S. as the two governments tried to make last-minute changes to the deal before its scheduled signing later this week.” SIN MOON HEE CHRISTINE AHN Sin Moon Hee is with the Korean Women’s Peasants…

  • Nobel Peace Laureates Oppose Iraqi Oil Law Imposition

    In the past few weeks, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and the chief U.S. commander in the Mideast, Admiral William Fallon, have all traveled to Baghdad to press Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki to pass a controversial oil law. Five Nobel Peace Prize laureates have just released a statement…

  • Iraqi Oil Law Challenged

    The Associated Press reports today: “Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki’s cabinet approved a U.S.-backed draft oil law and the Parliament is expected to start discussing it next week.” The law, which institutes privileges for foreign companies at a level unseen anywhere else in the Middle East, has been challenged inside and outside Iraq. The Iraqi…

  • As Civilian Casualties Mount, Air War Is Questioned

    The Associated Press is reporting today that NATO air strikes “left 25 civilians dead.” AP also reports that NATO “blamed [the insurgents] for the deaths of any innocents, saying they had launched ‘irresponsible’ attacks from civilian homes.” This week, Reuters reported: “At least seven children were killed in a U.S.-led coalition air strike on a…

  • Voices from Gaza

    AMJAD SHAWA Shawa is Palestinian NGO Network coordinator for Gaza. The group just released an urgent statement on the health care situation: “In the last few days, the Gaza Strip has witnessed dramatic serious incidents which resulted in tens of deaths and hundreds of injuries. This has dramatic consequences for the political, economic and social…

  • Cluster Bomb Talks Held in Geneva

    This week, talks on banning cluster weapons will be held in Geneva within the framework on the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, ratified by 100 countries. Last month, 68 national governments conferred in Lima, Peru, to ban cluster weapons. SCOTT STEDJAN Stedjan is the legislative secretary for the Friends Committee on National Legislation and…

  • Independent Report on Iraq

    JAMES PAUL CELINE NAHORY Paul is executive director of Global Policy Forum, which has just released a 117-page report titled “War and Occupation in Iraq.” He said today: “While most people focus on the sectarian bloodshed, our report highlights the enormous violence of the occupation forces. There is an increasing air war that results in…

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