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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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  • The Economic Toll: War in Iraq and Disaster in New Orleans

    FRANCES FOX PIVEN Author of the book The War at Home: The Domestic Costs of Bush’s Militarism, Piven is distinguished professor of political science and sociology at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. Her past books include The Breaking of the American Social Compact. More Information ERIK LEAVER…

  • Critiques of Today’s Carter-Baker Election Commission Report

    SPENCER OVERTON Overton serves on the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform, which just released its final report. He said today: “I dissent from the voter ID provisions of the report. Unfortunately, the Commission rejected my 597-word dissent and allowed me only 250 words. (This limitation on dissent was first announced at our final meeting.)…

  • Environmental Aspects of New Orleans Disaster

    HUGH KAUFMAN Available for a limited number of interviews, Kaufman is senior policy analyst at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. He has worked at the agency for 35 years and was the chief EPA investigator for the post-9/11 emergency response. Speaking in his personal capacity he said today: “After…

  • Elections in Afghanistan This Weekend

    Nationwide legislative elections will be held in Afghanistan this Sunday. SAHAR SABA Saba is a member of the foreign affairs committee of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. She has just returned from Afghanistan to Pakistan. She said today: “Many people are hopeful about the elections but also are deeply worried about the…

  • As the UN Meets: Interviews Available on International Law · Roberts · Chavez · Sharon

    FRANCIS BOYLE Professor of international law at the University of Illinois, Boyle said today: “As Roberts made clear in Tuesday’s hearings during his interchange with Senator Leahy, he is a partisan of the Imperial Presidency. For example, Roberts refused to repudiate and condemn the infamous Korematsu decision which authorized the president to intern U.S. citizens…

  • The United Nations Summit — Being Derailed?

    YIFAT SUSSKIND SUNILA ABEYSEKERA BETTY MURUNGI TARCILA RIVERA ZEA Susskind is the associate director of MADRE, an international women’s human rights organization. She said today: “This week’s United Nations World Summit — originally intended to assess governments’ progress on pledges to reduce poverty and promote development by 2015 — is in danger of being derailed…

  • As the United Nations Summit Kicks Off

    The United Nations World Summit will take place from Sept. 14 to 16. It is expected to be the largest-ever gathering of world leaders, with more than 170 heads of state to be in attendance. JAMES PAUL Paul is the executive director of the Global Policy Forum, a think tank that monitors policymaking at the…

  • U.S. Military Policies: From New Orleans to the UN

    JEREMY SCAHILL Currently in Louisiana, Scahill is author of the recent article “Overkill: Feared Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans.” The piece notes: “Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm, infamous for their work in Iraq, are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans. … They say they are on contract with…

  • 9-11: · Loved Ones · WTC and Katrina — Environmental Impacts · Dialogue with Syria and Iran

    DAVID POTORTI COLLEEN KELLY Potorti and Kelly are co-directors of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, an organization founded by family members of those killed in the 9-11 attacks. Their membership numbers 4,000, with a core group of 185 family members who lost loved ones on 9-11. The group’s name is inspired by a quote…

  • Oil-for-Food: The Real Scandal

    JOY GORDON Gordon has written extensively on the Oil-for-Food program, including articles in Harper’s Magazine and Le Monde Diplomatique. She said today: “The Volcker Committee’s final report focuses a great deal on improprieties that had little impact on the Oil-for-Food program. Where it adds up the actual money involved, it finds that the amount of…

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