accuracy.org

News Items

  • 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.

    Read more »

  • 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…

    Read more »

  • 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…

    Read more »

  • 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.

    Read more »

  • 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:

    Read more »

  • 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…

    Read more »

  • 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…

    Read more »

  • Cheney, Pelosi Speak at AIPAC; Democrats Remove Barrier to Iran Attack

    CARAH ONG Ong is Iran Policy Analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation. She said today: “Rep. Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership decided to pull language from the supplemental appropriations bill which stated that no funds may be authorized for military operations in or related to Iran unless specifically authorized by the…

  • Veterans and Military Families

    WES HAMILTON Hamilton, a Vietnam War veteran, is one of more than 30 people who have been arrested in the last week protesting the military’s use of the Port of Tacoma, Washington. Late Friday night, the police used tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters. Video is here. The military has been using the Port…

  • Bush in Latin America: Major Issues · Trade · Chavez · Military Bases

    HECTOR DE LA CUEVA Hector de la Cueva is director of the Center for Labor Research and Union Consultation (the Spanish acronym is CILAS). He said today: “Bush is in Latin America in part to promote ‘free trade,’ but this does not look good to most people in Mexico. Since NAFTA, wages have gone down…

  • Bush in Latin America: Major Issues · Biofuels · Basic Income · Military Bases · Chavez ·Trade

    MARIA LUISA MENDONÇA Maria Luisa Mendonça is in São Paulo where Bush will be arriving this afternoon; protests are expected. She is director of the Social Network for Justice and Human Rights and can address a host of issues pertaining to Brazil and Latin America. Most recently, she co-wrote an article in the newspaper Brazil…

  • Report: Attack Could Speed Up Iranian Nuclear Weapons

    A just-released report from the Oxford Research Group in the U.K. indicates that an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities could actually accelerate Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons. The report has gotten substantial notice in much of the world, but minimal coverage in the U.S. FRANK BARNABY Barnaby is nuclear issues consultant to Oxford Research Group…

  • Libby Verdict

    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: “Criminal trials are imperfect vehicles for discovering the full truth about a political or a national…

  • New U.S. Nuclear Weapons

    AP has reported: “The Bush administration selected a design Friday for a new generation of atomic warheads, taking a major step toward building the first new nuclear weapon since the end of the Cold War nearly two decades ago. “The military and the Energy Department selected a design developed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory…

  • 18 Months After Katrina

    CHRIS KROMM Executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies, Kromm founded Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch in October 2005 to watchdog the Katrina recovery. He is co-author of the newly released report “A New Agenda for the Gulf Coast,” which documents the state of the Gulf and shows what steps leaders in Washington can take…

  • Former Diplomats on Iran and Syria Opening

    EDWARD L. PECK Peck, a former U.S. chief of mission in Iraq and former ambassador to Mauritania, was deputy director of the White House Task Force on Terrorism in the Reagan administration. He said today: “Issuing threats, and/or demanding significant concessions before talks can start has nothing whatever to do with engaging in diplomacy. Bellicose,…

  • Stock Market Drop

    DEAN BAKER Co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Baker said today: “A lower stock market is good for a lot of people. If corn prices fell 30 percent, that would be bad for you if you’re a corn farmer, but good for you if you weren’t and ate a lot of corn.…

Mastodon