News Items

  • Media Advisory: Whistleblowers to Speak About Surveillance and Cyber Issues

    “President Barack Obama is set to sign an executive order on Friday aimed at encouraging companies to share more information about cybersecurity threats with the government and each other, a response to attacks like that on Sony Entertainment. … Obama will sign the order at a day-long conference on cybersecurity at Stanford University in the heart of Silicon Valley.”

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  • Delegation of U.S. and UK Whistleblowers in London: News Conference on “Special Surveillance Relationship” — News Advisory

    Whistleblowers from four American and British “national security” agencies will hold a news conference in London on November 21 in a direct challenge to surveillance policies of the U.S. and UK governments. The whistleblowers — from the NSA, FBI, State Department and GCHQ — will speak about the effects of their governments’ policies on freedom of the press and democracy. They are traveling as a delegation co-sponsored by the U.S.-based organizations RootsAction.org and ExposeFacts, a project of the Institute for Public Accuracy. The news conference is being hosted by the Foreign Press Association.

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  • In Response to the Government’s Lynching of James Risen

    It has been a sharp learning curve for Jim Risen, but by having numerous grand juries and two administrations relentlessly hounding him, he has learned how deeply the government’s malevolence descends. But there was always one steadfast assertion he wound not compromise, Jim Risen assured his sources, from the very start of their first encounter, that he would never divulge their identities nor what information they provided him with.

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  • Militarization of U.S. Police: Ferguson, Mo.

    Community policing reforms came about as a corrective to the 1950-60s professional police model which created a large gulf between police and citizens. Few noticed that underlying all the CP rhetoric was a little noticed yet foretelling trend of para-militarism as found in SWAT teams. What we’re witnessing today, though, with the influence of the Dept. of Homeland Security since 9/11 — along with growing emphasis on military hardware and tactics — is the expansion of police militarization throughout entire police departments — and indeed, the entire police institution.

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  • Unconstitutional acts of war in Iraq

    President Obama ignored the wise direction of President George Washington when he casually told the nation — and Congress — that U.S. military forces will engage in acts of war in Iraq for an extended period of weeks and maybe months. Bombing, he said in a brief statement last week, is needed here and there, but he promised there will be no U.S. boots on the ground. … The announcement seemed almost an afterthought as the president headed for vacation in Martha’s Vineyard. He neglected to seek approval of Congress before authorizing bombardment of the military forces of ISIS, the…

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  • News Conference: Edward Snowden’s Passport, Political Asylum and Related Issues

    Ray McGovern, Coleen Rowley and Norman Solomon spoke at this news conference, sponsored by RootsAction.org and hosted by the Institute for Public Accuracy.

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  • NSA Veterans and Whistleblowers Respond to Obama Speech

    Minutes after President Obama’s major address on NSA surveillance on Friday, Jan. 17, the Institute for Public Accuracy held a news conference with noted NSA veterans and whistleblowers.

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  • The War on Poverty at Fifty

    Fifty years after Lyndon B. Johnson made it the centerpiece of his first State of the Union address on January 8, 1964, the War on Poverty remains one of the most embattled—and least understood—of Great Society initiatives.

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  • Edward Snowden: Profile in Courage

    Edward Snowden may go down in history as one of this nation’s most important whistleblowers. He is certainly one of the bravest.

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  • Obama’s Economic Race Legacy

    From the start, President Barack Obama has shown little interest or loyalty in the issues that affect the poor, working class and people of color in the United States. For almost his entire first term he didn’t utter the words poor or poverty. Early on he reminded African Americans: ‘I’m not the president of black America. I’m the president of the United States of America…’

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  • U.S. Dead and Iraqi Dead

    CINDY SHEEHAN Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq, is currently in Washington, D.C., and will be participating in a vigil with other members of Gold Star Families for Peace in front of the White House this week. She said today: “Mahatma Gandhi stated: ‘Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the State becomes…

  • · Cheney · Syria

    Today the New York Times reports that according to lawyers involved in the Valerie Plame case, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff Lewis Libby first learned of Plame’s identity from Cheney; this would appear to contradict Libby’s prior testimony. Also today, Detlev Mehlis — the prosecutor in charge of the UN investigation into the…

  • Bush-Abbas Meeting Today

    SAMAR ASSAD Assad is executive director of the Palestine Center in Washington. She said today: “Obviously, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wants to get permanent status talks going with Sharon and would like to see Bush get Sharon to negotiate. What’s crucial is that negotiations be about substantial issues: the seaport, the territorial link between…

  • The Trial of Saddam: Victor’s Justice?

    RICHARD FALK Falk is an emeritus professor of international law at Princeton University, currently visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of the book The Great Terror War. He said today: “Saddam Hussein is certainly an appropriate target of a war crimes trial. But it’s obscure exactly what is being undertaken…

  • Budget Debate: Big Picture

    FRANCES FOX PIVEN Author of the book The War at Home: The Domestic Costs of Bush’s Militarism, Piven said today: “Americans are beginning to recognize the recklessness and incompetence of this administration in launching an invasion of Iraq. We saw recklessness and incompetence again in the failure to prepare for Katrina, or to mobilize to…

  • Bush: War for Peace?

    President George W. Bush used the words “peace” or “peaceful” 11 times in brief remarks Monday at the White House. Meanwhile, the AP reported on the same day: “U.S. warplanes and helicopters bombed two villages near the restive city of Ramadi, killing an estimated 70 militants, the military said Monday, though witnesses said at least…

  • 10th Anniversary of the Million Man March

    KEVIN GRAY A contributing editor for Black News in Columbia, S.C., Gray is author of the forthcoming book The Death of Black Politics. He said today: “Recent events — the response to Hurricane Katrina, Bill Bennett’s comments, the tenth anniversary of the Million Man March, the video of New Orleans police bloodying a retired teacher…

  • Assessing Realities: · Iraq · Pakistan

    DAHR JAMAIL Jamail is an independent journalist who reported for eight months from inside Iraq, including the city of Fallujah. He said today: “Two ongoing U.S. military operations in the primarily Sunni province of al-Anbar will make voting in the critical constitutional referendum more difficult for Iraqis in that region. With thousands of families now…

  • Iraqi Constitution: Divide-and-Conquer Strategy?

    ANAS SHALLAL Shallal is an independent Iraqi-American business owner in Washington, D.C. He said today: “As I talk to more and more Iraqis, it’s clear that most do not think this constitution is a good idea. Even many Iraqis who were among the main boosters for the war are speaking out against this constitution, like…

  • · Attacks on Journalists in Iraq · Bush “Democracy” Speech

    This morning, President Bush gave a speech at the National Endowment for Democracy. He said that “we stand for democracy and peace” and that Syria and Iran “share the goal of hurting America.” The following analysts are available for interviews about U.S. government policy: TALA DOWLATSHAHI Dowlatshahi is a spokesperson for Reporters Without Borders. The…

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