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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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  • Scrutinizing Claims on Iran

    MILAN RAI Rai wrote a recent briefing paper titled “IED Lies: The U.S. claims that Iran supplies Improvised Explosive Devices to Iraqi insurgents. No serious evidence has been provided[PDF].” Rai is author of the book 7/7: The London Bombings, Islam and the Iraq War. More Information STEPHEN ZUNES Professor of politics at the University of…

  • The Watada Case: Blow to the Government?

    The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting today: “The Army court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, which ended in a mistrial Wednesday, may have stranger turns ahead: Prohibitions against double jeopardy may keep prosecutors from having a second trial, his lawyer and another legal expert say.” Lt. Watada is the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse orders…

  • Budget Priorities

    BEN COHEN WARREN LANGLEY President of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, Cohen said today: “Spending on weapons rose nearly 20 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, and President Bush is continuing to demand more funding for exorbitantly priced Cold War weapons. It’s time to provide a strong foundation for growth for the American…

  • Soldiers Refusing to Go to Iraq

    In a story headlined “Watada lawyer rebukes judge,” the Seattle Times reports today: “First Lt. Ehren Watada’s court-martial verdict could hinge on the Fort Lewis officer’s own testimony when he takes the stand later this week to testify about why he refused to go to war.” The following veterans and military family members are among…

  • Anti-War Movement Begins “Extralegal Lobbying”

    As President Bush submits his budget today, various peace groups are launching what they are calling the “Occupation Project,” an eight-week-long campaign to end funding for the Iraq war. This will include citizens around the country nonviolently occupying their representatives’ offices. Among the organizers of this campaign available for interviews are: GAEL MURPHY Co-founder of…

  • Iran Threats: Evidence and Legality

    MARJORIE COHN Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Her most recent piece is “Cruise Missile Diplomacy: Bush Targets Iran,” which states: “Bush is rattling the sabers and opting for gunboat diplomacy by pledging to ‘seek out and destroy’ Iranian networks ‘providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies’ in Iraq. But…

  • The Iraq War and Free Speech: The Pentagon vs. Lt. Watada

    “The U.S. government agreed to drop two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer from its case against the Army lieutenant who called the Iraq war illegal and refused to deploy,” the Associated Press reports. “1st Lt. Ehren Watada, whose court-martial is scheduled Feb. 5, still faces a maximum of four years imprisonment if he is…

  • Funding the Iraq War: Congress at a Crossroads

    ANTHONY ARNOVE Arnove, the author of the recent book Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal, spoke yesterday on Capitol Hill at a forum of the congressional “Out of Iraq” Caucus. “There are differences between Vietnam and Iraq,” he said. “But there are all too many similarities. I fear we are in a moment analogous to the…

  • State of the Union · War · Oil · Healthcare · Immigration · Education

    GARETH PORTER Author, most recently, of the book Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam, Porter said today: “If Bush were really focused on the problem of worsening sectarian violence in Iraq, he would have learned that continuing to make war against Sunni insurgents while supporting a largely Shiite…

  • Pending Iraq Oil Law

    The issue of the pending Iraqi oil law was raised this morning at a news conference with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the National Press Club. In a question, Sam Husseini of the Institute for Public Accuracy quoted from a January 16 article in Britain’s Guardian newspaper written by an…

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