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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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  • Advocating Tax Reform

    CHUCK COLLINS Yesterday the House voted to repeal the estate tax. Senior fellow at Responsible Wealth, Collins said today: “Estate tax opponents are fighting to preserve every last dime of Paris Hilton’s inheritance. … Under current law, the tax affects 1.5 percent of the people who die each year, yet will generate more than a…

  • As World Bank Begins Wolfowitz Era …

    The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and G7 will all be meeting this weekend in Washington, D.C. The following are available for interviews: BERNICE ROMERO Romero is international advocacy director for Oxfam. He said today: “Since the G7 met in February, another 2 million people have died due to poverty. … As G7 finance leaders…

  • “Why I Interrupted John Negroponte”

    ANDRES THOMAS CONTERIS Conteris is a Latin America human rights activist. He spoke out during John Negroponte’s Senate confirmation hearing today (and was handcuffed and detained.) Negroponte was U.S. ambassador to Honduras during the Nicaragua Contra war in the early 1980s. Conteris said today: “I spoke up at the hearing just as they were talking…

  • The Bankruptcy Bill: Opening Doors to Debt Slavery?

    ELIZABETH WARREN Warren is a professor at Harvard Law School and coauthor of The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents Are Going Broke. She directed the National Bankruptcy Review Commission’s study of federal bankruptcy laws and drafted its report to Congress. In her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in February, she said: “Overwhelmingly, American families…

  • Perspectives on Bush-Sharon Meeting

    NASEER ARURI Author of the book Dishonest Broker: The U.S. Roles in Israel and Palestine, Aruri is chancellor professor emeritus of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. He said today: “At the rhetorical level, both leaders pay lip service to the creation of a Palestinian state. And yet, both are committed to…

  • Views on Legacy of John Paul II

    MARK ENGLER Engler, a commentator for Foreign Policy in Focus, wrote the recent article “John Paul II’s Economic Ethics.” He said today: “A steady feature in Pope John Paul II’s obituaries has been mention of his unwaveringly conservative stances on issues such as abortion, birth control, gay rights, and the ordination of women. While these…

  • Two Views on Kurdish Iraqi Leader

    EDMUND GHAREEB Professor of Kurdish and Middle East Studies at American University, Ghareeb is author of The Historical Dictionary of Iraq. He said today: “Along with Massoud Barzani, Jalal Talabani has been the most prominent Kurdish leader for decades. This is a landmark step for the long-suppressed Kurdish minority. It signals the unity and territorial…

  • PATRIOT Act Under Scrutiny

    Congress has begun a series of hearings on the PATRIOT Act. The following critics of the Act are available for interviews: KIT GAGE Gage is director of the First Amendment Foundation. She said today: “We applaud the conversation now taking place in the Congress regarding both the PATRIOT Act and many non-legislative changes enacted since…

  • Who is John Bolton?

    John Bolton’s Senate confirmation hearing as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations will be held Thursday. TOM BARRY Barry is policy director of the International Relations Center and author of the recent article “UN Basher as UN Ambassador: Bolton’s Baggage.” He said today: “In early 2001 Bolton observed: ‘It is a big mistake…

  • Choices Ahead at the Vatican

    MARK CHMIEL Chmiel wrote the new article “A Young Woman’s Challenge to the Pope (and the Rest of Us).” He is a member of the Center for Theology and Social Analysis and teaches at St. Louis University. He said today: “The Pope’s successor will inherit [a] position in a structure that provides for security, protection…

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