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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  • “Downing Street Memo” Shadowing Blair Visit with Bush in Washington

    Two days before Tony Blair’s scheduled Tuesday meeting with President Bush in Washington, the chairman of the Republican National Committee faced questioning on NBC’s “Meet the Press” about the festering Downing Street Memo scandal. Tim Russert said: “This was a memo, July 23, 2002, from the head of British intelligence to Prime Minister Blair; in…

  • Beyond “Deep Throat”: The FBI and American Democracy

    ATHAN THEOHARIS Professor of history at Marquette University, Theoharis has written a number of books about the FBI, most recently The FBI and American Democracy: A Brief Critical History. He said today: “Contrary to what some are implying, it was hardly unprecedented for the FBI to leak derogatory information about people — they typically did…

  • The Future of Europe

    This week, voters in both France and the Netherlands turned down the proposed European Constitution despite intense efforts by their governments. The following analysts and activists are available for interviews: ERIK WESSELIUS DANIEL DEJONGH Wesselius is a member of the board of the Dutch Committee for a No Against This Constitution. He said today: “This…

  • “Deep Throat”: Then and Now

    MIKE GRAVEL U.S. Senator from 1969-81, Gravel said today: “W. Mark Felt, the assistant director of the FBI during the Watergate scandal, has admitted to being ‘Deep Throat.’ He was the source of important information for Washington Post investigative reporters Woodward and Bernstein. Felt’s revelations and tips kept the investigation alive by pulling back the…

  • Political Theater of “Absurd”: Bush on Amnesty International

    Dismissing criticism from Amnesty International, President Bush said at his news conference today: “I’m aware of the Amnesty International report, and it’s absurd. … When there’s accusations made about certain actions by our people, they’re fully investigated in a transparent way. … It was an absurd report.” The following analysts are available for interviews: REED…

  • Victory for Nuclear Proliferation?

    Four weeks of meetings at the United Nations to review the Non-Proliferation Treaty are expected to end today in failure. Arms control and disarmament groups are blaming the United States and other nuclear weapons states. The following policy analysts are available for interviews: Amb. THOMAS GRAHAM, Jr. Graham is a member of the Global Security…

  • * Abbas * Bolton * AIPAC

    STEPHEN ZUNES Zunes is a professor of politics and chair of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at the University of San Francisco. He said today: “It was a telling juxtaposition that as Senate Republicans were arguing for the confirmation as UN ambassador of John Bolton, who has displayed contempt for international law, President Bush,…

  • Democrats vs. Bush? * Filibuster * Veto

    THEODORE LOWI Lowi is Professor of American Institutions at Cornell University and author of several books including The End of Liberalism. He said today: “It was very sad to see the Democrats draw their ‘line in the sand’ on the filibuster, given the history of the use of the filibuster by Southern Democratic segregationists —…

  • Weapons in Space and More “Usable” Nukes

    Today the New York Times in its lead editorial criticizes plans for U.S. weapons in space. Last Wednesday the paper reported that the Air Force is seeking a presidential directive that could strengthen military uses of space. The following policy analysts are available for interviews: DAVID WRIGHT Wright is a physicist and co-director of the…

  • Karzai in Washington, Torture in Afghanistan

    While President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan visits Washington, the following analysts are available for interviews: SONALI KOLHATKAR Kolhatkar, based in Los Angeles, is co-director of the Afghan Women’s Mission and has recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan. More Information REED BRODY Currently in Los Angeles, Brody is special counsel with Human Rights Watch, which…

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