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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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  • · Iran · Syria

    CARAH ONG Ong is Iran Policy Analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation. She said today: “For those who have been monitoring the capture of 15 British soldiers in the disputed waters in the Straits of Arab al Assat, the peaceful conclusion today points to further evidence of how Iran is saying it…

  • 40 Years After: King’s “Beyond Vietnam” Speech

    Following are excerpts from the “Beyond Vietnam” speech that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered at the Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967, exactly one year before his assassination. He was addressing the group Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam: “I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies…

  • Iran in Pentagon Cross-Hairs?

    ROSS POURZAL An Iranian-American human rights activist, Pourzal is president of the Campaign Against Sanctions & Military Intervention in Iran. He said today: “As the Gulf region slides into a cold war, Iran’s maneuvers in the region result from the insecure environment and state of siege that Washington and London are intent on imposing on…

  • “Corporate Junk Science” in Capitol Spotlight

    The House Committee on Science and Technology is breaking new ground this afternoon with a hearing titled “Shaping the Message, Distorting the Science: Media Strategies to Influence Science Policy.” The following policy analysts are available for interviews: SHELDON RAMPTON Rampton, research director for the non-profit Center for Media and Democracy, is testifying at today’s hearing…

  • · Today’s Passage of Iraq Bill in House · Iran-Britain Naval Confrontation

    GORDON ADAMS Adams is a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. After the House voted today to approve the Democratic bill on Iraq, he said: “This outcome is a good first step. It is an important victory for Nancy Pelosi, as Speaker, and an important second message — after the…

  • Iraq War Supplemental: Troops and Costs

    ERIK LEAVER A research fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, Leaver is closely following the supplemental. He said today: “Contrary to what has been discussed, the proposed supplemental ensures continued U.S. troops in Iraq beyond August 2008. In addition to the granting of waivers for the President to allow non-combat ready troops and continue…

  • Democratic Party and War Funding

    JOHN STAUBER SHELDON RAMPTON Stauber and Rampton co-wrote the recent article “Why Won’t MoveOn Move Forward?” which states: “MoveOn’s organizing around Iraq has become notably ambiguous lately. Although it talks in general terms about bringing the troops home, specific timetables or meaningful steps in that direction are nowhere discussed. Most strikingly, MoveOn has adamantly refused…

  • “There’s Always Money For War”

    This week, the House is expected to vote on the proposed $100 billion military supplemental. JARED BERNSTEIN Bernstein is senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute. In his most recent piece, “There’s Always Money For War,” he writes: “Okay, this is going to sound really naïve. It’s the kind of question you’d expect from an…

  • Iraq War: Four More Years?

    JAMES PAUL Paul is executive director of the Global Policy Forum, which will soon be releasing a detailed report titled “War and Occupation in Iraq.” Parts of the report are now available online. MEDEA BENJAMIN GAEL MURPHY Benjamin and Murphy are co-founders of the women’s peace group CodePink. Benjamin said today: “Gael and several other…

  • Democracy for D.C.?

    AP is reporting: “A plan to give Utah a fourth congressional seat and the District of Columbia its first voting member of Congress advanced Tuesday, making a floor vote in the House a possibility in the next few weeks.” The House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on the legislation Thursday. ANISE JENKINS MALCOLM WISEMAN…

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