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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.

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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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  • Poll Watchers Encourage Voters

    WARREN STEWART JOAN KRAWITZ Stewart is the policy director and Krawitz is the executive director with VoteTrustUSA.org. Stewart said today: “The first step in protecting your vote is to vote! We advise people to confirm if they are registered before they go to the polls. For many states, you can find much of this information…

  • Election Technology Experts

    MICHAEL ALVAREZ TED SELKER RON RIVEST Alvarez is professor of political science at Caltech. Selker is an associate professor of the program in media arts and sciences at MIT. Rivest is the Viterbi Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at MIT. All three are faculty members from the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project and will be…

  • Confusion Threatens Voting Rights: Voters Warned to Defend Their Rights

    SPENCER OVERTON A law professor at George Washington University, Overton was a commissioner on the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform. Author of the new book Stealing Democracy: The New Politics of Voter Suppression, Overton said today: “In the 2006 elections, mass confusion is the biggest threat to the right to vote. Much disenfranchisement will…

  • Fencing the U.S.-Mexico Border

    The New York Times is reports: “President Bush signed into law on Thursday a bill providing for construction of 700 miles of added fencing along the Southwestern border, calling the legislation ‘an important step toward immigration reform.’” The following analysts and activists are available for interviews: DEEPA FERNANDES Fernandes is author of the forthcoming book…

  • Voter Rolls and Election Day

    ION SANCHO Available for a limited number of interviews, Sancho is elections supervisor for Leon County in Florida. He said today: “Florida’s new statewide voter registration database may result in thousands of Floridians not being allowed to vote despite their good-faith efforts to register to vote. The three previous efforts by Florida Secretaries of State…

  • Saddam Verdict and the Election

    SCOTT HORTON Earlier this month, the U.S.-backed special tribunal in Baghdad set Nov. 5 as the date for the announcement of the verdict and sentence in the first trial of Saddam Hussein. The U.S. midterm election is Nov. 7. Horton is chairman of the International Law Committee at the New York City Bar Association and…

  • Voting-Rights Activists Working to Overcome ID Barriers in Arizona

    “On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that Arizona’s new voter ID laws — requiring photo IDs and proof of citizenship — will remain in place for the November 7 elections,” says Alex Keyssar, a professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. “Although the Supremes took no position on the legal issues that will…

  • Loved Ones of Fallen Respond to Bush

    During his news conference today, President Bush spoke about the relatives of American soldiers who have died in Iraq. “I’ve met too many wives and husbands who’ve lost their partners in life, too many children who won’t ever see their mom and dad again,” Bush said. “I owe it to them and to the families…

  • Gas Price Manipulation?

    NOMI PRINS Author of the piece “How the Republicans Can Manipulate Oil Prices for Political Gain,” Prins said today: “Since their August highs, oil prices dropped from $77 to $59 per barrel. Gas prices have fallen from an average of $3.04 to $2.25 per gallon. In a September USA Today poll 42 percent of Americans…

  • Election Protection Efforts

    A nonpartisan “election protection” coalition, led by the People For the American Way Foundation, the NAACP, and the Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law, has announced that it is launching a national 1-866-OUR-VOTE voter-assistance hotline and the poll-location web site MyPollingPlace.com. The hotline is staffed by live call-center operators trained to provide state-specific assistance…

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